Values, priorities and responses: Comparing English headteachers' and Hong Kong principals' perceptions of their work

This article investigates the perceptions of English headteachers and Hong Kong principals on the kinds of pressures that they believed affected the way they did their job, and in particular the degree to which they felt their governments were affecting their leadership role. The research utilised semi-structured interviews to generate written ‘portraits’ of these individuals, which were then examined to answer questions about current pressures. The findings suggested that (1) there was considerable variation in the manner these individuals responded to key issues; (2) all individuals prioritised local concerns, and particularly with consideration to the children in their care; (3) there was a greater sense of embattlement from the English headteachers and a more critical approach to legislation, than from the Hong Kong principals, though with considerable individual variation in the degree of overt resistance shown; (4) whilst current educational reforms in Hong Kong seemed to favour the development of creativity more than those in England, there was within both national contexts evidence of the damaging effects of the pace and quantity of reforms

Portrait methodology and educational leadership : putting the person first

This article describes a variant on a methodological approach which provides ways of developing educational leaders' understandings of themselves and their situation through the production of individually written 'portraits' which focus upon the individuals' personal concerns and issues. It describes the process undertaken in forming a particular application of this approach, which is characterised by being highly private, highly personal and conducted by peers, rather than by others in a hierarchical relationship, to produce a picture of a person's concerns at one moment in time. It examines a number of possible criticisms, before arguing that there are a number of distinct benefits to its adoption. A description is provided of how such a methodology can be translated into a useful tool that provides individuals with the non-judgemental space to reflect upon themselves and their performance, and to develop supportive networks of peers who can help to sustain them in their job. This approach then could not only help remediate current issues of recruitment and retention to leadership positions, it could also provide private development space in societies and educational systems increasingly characterised by surveillance and public criticism of performance. Finally, whilst this article focuses upon the use of portraits for educational leaders, it is suggested that it is a technique that could be used by virtually anyone in order to create space for private reflection

Embedded Librarians in the Classroom: A Case Study at HKUST Library

The introduction of new 4-year undergraduate program has unprecedented impacts on the curriculum design, pedagogies and student learning styles for higher education institutions in Hong Kong. In order to prepare for this challenging reform, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has strategically redeveloped its undergraduate curriculum. The new curriculum also emphasizes the student-centric approach, with new teaching initiatives to enhance students learning and personal development. Apart from equipping students with sound knowledge in specialized subject areas, graduates are also expected to develop high-level, transferable competencies including critical thinking, leadership, teamwork and information literacy. For many years, the Library has been offering information literacy instructions in all means through orientation programs, course-related classes, credit-bearing information literacy course, database workshops and web-based tutorials. To support the new pedagogical reforms, the Library must be proactive in promoting ourselves to faculty and students as their partners in teaching, learning and research. The librarians must also recognize users’ information needs and behaviors in order to deliver effective, relevant and creative services. In spring, 2011, two reference librarians were invited to join a newly developed engineering course; worked closely with undergraduate students and faculty on solutions to real world challenges throughout the semester. It was the first time HKUST librarians embedded in a course. This collaboration not only strengthened our relationship with faculty and students, it also helped us better understand the learning and information-seeking behaviors of our young generations, and gave us directions on what and how to support student learning in the future. This paper chronicles the faculty-librarian collaboration; follows by the discussion of emerging opportunities and challenges for embedded librarianship in one of the signature courses at the HKUST

Persistent hiccup in a continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patient following ingestion of star fruit

AbstractAnimal studies have suggested that ingestion of star fruit, which belongs to the Oxalidaceae family, may cause neurotoxicity. Outbreaks of intractable hiccups have been reported following ingestion of star fruit in patients on regular hemodialysis. Other complaints have included insomnia, agitation and mental confusion. We report a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) who presented with acute confusion and persistent hiccup following ingestion of star fruit. Symptoms resolved spontaneously. Other reported cases and management strategies are discussed

The osteoprotective effect of Herba epimedii (HEP) extract in vivo and in vitro

Herba epimedii (HEP) is one of the most frequently used herbs prescribed for treatment of osteoporosis in China. In the present study, the in vivo effects of HEP extract on bone metabolism were evaluated using 4-month-old ovariectomized (OVX) or sham-operated (Sham) female Sprague-Dawley rats orally administered with HEP extract (110 mg kg(−1)d(−1)), 17ß-estrogen (2 mg kg(−1)d(−1)) or its vehicle for 3 months. HEP extract significantly decreased urinary calcium excretion, suppressed serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and urinary deoxypyridinoline levels in OVX rats (P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated OVX rats). Histomorphometric analysis indicated that HEP extract could prevent OVX-induced bone loss by increasing tibial trabecular bone area and decreasing trabecular separation in OVX rats (P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated OVX group). The in vitro effects of HEP extract were also studied using rat osteoblast-like UMR 106 cells. HEP extract significantly stimulated cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated) and increased ALP activity at 200 μgml(−1) (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated) in UMR 106 cells. It modulated osteoclastogenesis by increasing osteoprotegrin (OPG) mRNA and decreasing receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) mRNA expression, resulting in a dose-dependent increase in OPG/RANKL mRNA ratio (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated). Taken together, HEP treatment can effectively suppress the OVX-induced increase in bone turnover possibly by both an increase in osteoblastic activities and a decrease in osteoclastogenesis. The present study provides the evidence that HEP can be considered as a complementary and alternative medicine for treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis

Oleanolic Acid and Ursolic Acid Improve Bone Properties and Calcium Balance and Modulate Vitamin D Metabolism in Aged Female Rats

Oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) are the major chemical constituents in Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL), a kidney-tonifying Chinese herb that is previously shown to improve bone properties and enhance calcium balance in aged female rats. The present study was designed to study if OA and UA act as the active ingredients in FLL to exert the positive effects on bone and mineral metabolism in aged rats. Aged (13-month-old) Sprague-Dawley female rats were randomly assigned to four groups with oral administration of drug or vehicle treatment for 12 weeks: medium calcium diet (MCD, 0.6% calcium), high calcium diet (HCD, 1.2% calcium), MCD + FLL (700 mg/kg/day), MCD + OA (23.6 mg/kg/day) + UA (8.6 mg/kg/day). A group of mature (3-month-old) female rats fed with MCD was included as positive control. The results demonstrated that FLL and OA+UA increased bone mineral density and improved microarchitectural properties of aged female rats. The osteoprotective effects of FLL and OA+UA might be, at least in part, associated with their actions on enhancing calcium balance and suppressing age-induced secondary hyperparathyroidism in aged female rats. FLL and OA+UA also significantly induced renal CYP27B1 protein expression and OA+UA treatment decreased CYP24A1 mRNA and protein expressions in aged female rats. In addition, FLL and OA+UA significantly increased the promoter activity, mRNA and protein expressions of renal CYP27B1 in vitro in human proximal tubule HKC-8 cells. The present findings suggest that OA+UA can be regarded as the active ingredients of FLL and might be a potential drug candidate for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis

The Enhanced metastatic potential of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells with sorafenib resistance

Acquired resistance towards sorafenib treatment was found in HCC patients, which results in poor prognosis. To investigate the enhanced metastatic potential of sorafenib resistance cells, sorafenib-resistant (SorR) cell lines were established by long-term exposure of the HCC cells to the maximum tolerated dose of sorafenib. Cell proliferation assay and qPCR of ABC transporter genes (ABCC1-3) were first performed to confirm the resistance of cells. Migration and invasion assays, and immunoblotting analysis on the expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulatory proteins were performed to study the metastatic potential of SorR cells. The expression of CD44 and CD133 were studied by flow cytometry and the gene expressions of pluripotency factors were studied by qPCR to demonstrate the enrichment of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in SorR cells. Control (CTL) and SorR cells were also injected orthotopically to the livers of NOD-SCID mice to investigate the development of lung metastasis. Increased expressions of ABCC1-3 were found in SorR cells. Enhanced migratory and invasive abilities of SorR cells were observed. The changes in expression of EMT regulatory proteins demonstrated an activation of the EMT process in SorR cells. Enriched proportion of CD44+ and CD44+CD133 + cells were also observed in SorR cells. All (8/8) mice injected with SorR cells demonstrated lung metastasis whereas only 1/8 mouse injected with CTL cells showed lung metastasis. HCC cells with sorafenib resistance demonstrated a higher metastatic potential, which may be due to the activated EMT process. Enriched CSCs were also demonstrated in the sorafenib resistant cells. This study suggests that advanced HCC patients with acquired sorafenib resistance may have enhanced tumor growth or distant metastasis, which raises the concern of long-term sorafenib treatment in advanced HCC patients who have developed resistance of sorafenib. © 2013 Chow et al.published_or_final_versio

Genome-Wide Association Study of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Southern Chinese Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

One of the most relevant risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development is chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but only a fraction of chronic HBV carriers develop HCC, indicating that complex interactions among viral, environmental and genetic factors lead to HCC in HBV-infected patients. So far, host genetic factors have incompletely been characterized. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association (GWA) study in a Southern Chinese cohort consisting of 95 HBV-infected HCC patients (cases) and 97 HBV-infected patients without HCC (controls) using the Illumina Human610-Quad BeadChips. The top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were then validated in an independent cohort of 500 cases and 728 controls. 4 SNPs (rs12682266, rs7821974, rs2275959, rs1573266) at chromosome 8p12 showed consistent association in both the GWA and replication phases (ORcombined = 1.31–1.39; pcombined = 2.71×10−5–5.19×10−4; PARcombined = 26–31%). We found a 2.3-kb expressed sequence tag (EST) in the region using in-silico data mining and verified the existence of the full-length EST experimentally. The expression level of the EST was significantly reduced in human HCC tumors in comparison to the corresponding non-tumorous liver tissues (P<0.001). Results from sequence analysis and in-vitro protein translation study suggest that the transcript might function as a long non-coding RNA. In summary, our study suggests that variations at chromosome 8p12 may promote HCC in patients with HBV. Further functional studies of this region may help understand HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis