Network capital: Emigration from Hong Kong

In this paper, we argue that it would be fruitful to regard personal networks as a form of capital capable of generating economic returns by drawing on our research findings on the recent wave of emigration from Hong Kong. By putting network capital on a par with economic and cultural capital, we seek to identify its distinctive features in terms of institutionalization, capacity, moral economy, and processes of conversion and reproduction. In substantiating our argument, we present some quantitative evidence from our survey data on the uneven distribution of kinship ties which can be mobilized for emigration among different occupational classes. We then make use of our in-depth interview data to show that there is a qualitative variation too in the type of networks used by different occupational classes for emigration purposes. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of the concept of network capital for the study of migration, class formation, and the global economy.postprin

Violence, mental health and violence risk factors among community women: an epidemiological study based on two national household surveys in the UK

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.MY is funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the NHS to the Collaboration Leadership for Applied Health Research (CLAHRC) at University of Nottingham, and China Medical Board at Sichuan University . SW is funded by the NHS at the Institute of Mental Health University of Nottingham. JC is partly funded by the UK NIHR Grant Programme (RP-PG-0609-10107) at Queen Mary University of London

Event-related potential using task-based electroencephalogram may differentiate between mild cognitive impairment and normal controls

BACKGROUND: New non-invasive biomarkers to diagnose early Alzheimer’ disease are needed. We investigated the role of event-related potential (ERP) using task-based electroencephalogram (EEG) in differentiating patients with mild cognitive problems from cognitive-normal healthy controls …published_or_final_versio

Secondary production and diet of an invasive snail in freshwater wetlands: Implications for resource utilization and competition

Invasive species can monopolize resources and thus dominate ecosystem production. In this study we estimated secondary production and diet of four populations of Pomacea canaliculata, a freshwater invasive snail, in wetlands (abandoned paddy, oxbow pond, drainage channel, and river meander) in monsoonal Hong Kong (lat. 22°N). Apple snail secondary production (ash-free dry mass [AFDM]) ranged from 165.9 to 233.3 g m-2 year-1, and varied between seasons. Production was lower during the cool dry northeast monsoon, when water temperatures might have limited growth, but fast growth and recruitment of multiple cohorts were possible throughout much (7-10 months) of the year and especially during the warm, wet southwest monsoon. The diet, as revealed by stomach-content analysis, consisted mainly of detritus and macrophytes, and was broadly consistent among habitats despite considerable variation in the composition and cover of aquatic plants. Apple snail annual production was >10 times greater than production estimates for other benthic macroinvertebrates in Hong Kong (range 0.004-15 g AFDM m-2 year-1, n = 29). Furthermore, annual production estimates for three apple snail populations (i. e. >230 g AFDM m-2 year-1) were greater than published estimates for any other freshwater snails (range 0.002-194 g AFDM m-2 year-1, n = 33), regardless of climatic regime or habitat type. High production by P. canaliculata in Hong Kong was attributable to the topical climate (annual mean ~24°C), permitting rapid growth and repeated reproduction, together with dietary flexibility including an ability to consume a range of macrophytes. If invasive P. canaliculata can monopolize food resources, its high productivity indicates potential for competition with other macroinvertebrate primary consumers. Manipulative experiments will be needed to quantify these impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function in wetlands, combined with management strategies to prevent further range extension by P. canaliculata. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201

The behavior of two-way reinfoced concrete slabs externally strengthened with steel plate to subject patch load

2001-2002 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Report of 2 fatal cases of adult necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus agalactiae.

We describe 2 cases of fatal necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus agalactiae-a rare entity that has been reported in only 9 patients-in 2 nonpregnant adults.published_or_final_versio

En-face optical coherence tomography in the diagnosis and management of age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

published_or_final_versio

Telemonitoring after discharge from hospital with heart failure: cost-effectiveness modelling of alternative service designs.

Objectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of remote monitoring strategies versus usual care for adults recently discharged after a heart failure (HF) exacerbation. Design Decision analysis modelling of cost-effectiveness using secondary data sources. Setting Acute hospitals in the UK. Patients Patients recently discharged (within 28 days) after a HF exacerbation. Interventions Structured telephone support (STS) via human to machine (STS HM) interface, (2) STS via human to human (STS HH) contact and (3) home telemonitoring (TM), compared with (4) usual care. Main outcome measures The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained by each strategy compared to the next most effective alternative and the probability of each strategy being cost-effective at varying willingness to pay per QALY gained. Results TM was the most cost-effective strategy in the scenario using these base case costs. Compared with usual care, TM had an estimated incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £11 873/QALY, whereas STS HH had an ICER of £228 035/QALY against TM. STS HM was dominated by usual care. Threshold analysis suggested that the monthly cost of TM has to be higher than £390 to have an ICER greater than £20 000/QALY against STS HH. Scenario analyses performed using higher costs of usual care, higher costs of STS HH and lower costs of TM do not substantially change the conclusions. Conclusions Cost-effectiveness analyses suggest that TM was an optimal strategy in most scenarios, but there is considerable uncertainty in relation to clear descriptions of the interventions and robust estimation of costs

The importance of sonographic landmarks by transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasonography in post-thyroidectomy vocal cord assessment

During examination of the vocal cords (VC) using transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasonography (TLUSG), 3 sonographic landmarks (namely, false VC [FC], true VC [TC], and arytenoids [AR]) are often seen. However, it remains unclear which landmark provides a more reliable assessment and whether seeing more landmarks improves the diagnostic accuracy and reliability. METHODS: We evaluated prospectively 245 patients from 2 centers. One assessor from each center performed all TLUSG examinations and their findings were validated by direct laryngoscopy. All 3 sonographic landmarks were routinely visualized whenever possible. The rate of visualization and diagnostic accuracy between the 3 landmarks were compared. RESULTS: Eighteen patients suffered postoperative VC palsy (VCP). Both centers had comparable visualization or assessability rate of ≥ 1 sonographic landmark (94.9 and 95.3%; P = 1.000) and 100% sensitivity on postoperative TLUSG. The rates of FC, TC, and AR visualization were 92.7%, 36.7%, and 89.8%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy and the proportion of true positives, false positives, and true negatives between using 1, 2, landmarks and 3 landmarks were comparable (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Each sonographic landmark had similar reliability and diagnostic accuracy. Identifying all 3 sonographic landmarks was not mandatory and visualizing normal movement in one of the sonographic landmarks would be sufficient to exclude VCP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.postprin