Effects of practice variability on learning of relaxed phonation in vocally hyperfunctional speakers

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2008.Also available in print.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-30).A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2008.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Overexpression, purification and characterization of potential iron-trafficking proteins from a phenol-degrading pseudomonad

Frataxin is a small protein implicated in intracellular and mitochondrial iron trafficking. Some studies of frataxin have suggested that it can act as an iron donor for iron-sulfur cluster assembly and heme assembly. We are interested in iron-binding proteins involved in phenol degradation by Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600, and the possible involvement of frataxin and other proteins in their assembly. One of the goals of this research was to overexpress, purify, and to characterize the stability, metal iron binding properties, and subunit structure of CyaY, the frataxin homologue from Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600. CyaY was successfully overexpressed and CyaY purified to homogeneity using Fast-Flow DEAE-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-300HR Gel Filtration, and High-Performance Phenyl Sepharose chromatographies. Analytical ultracentrifugation studies indicated that CyaY exists mainly as a monomer and that it does not aggregate in the presence of Fe(II). Isothermal titration calorimetry results were consistent with the binding of 1 Fe(II) or 1 Mn(II) per monomer of CyaY, with Fe(II) binding with a higher affinity. These and other results were similar to the reported iron-binding properties of CyaY from E. coli . Additional studies showed that CyaY significantly retarded oxidation of Fe(II), helping to keep it available for incorporation into other proteins. A second goal was to overexpress and purify a putative iron-sulfur protein (CyaZ) that is encoded in the Pseudomonas putida genome adjacent to CyaY. This was successfully accomplished, and the resulting preparation appears to contain an iron-sulfur cluster. As was demonstrated for CyaY, CyaZ significantly retarded oxidation of Fe(II) in the presence of both proteins. CyaY and CyaZ are currently being tested for their ability to affect assembly of iron-containing proteins involved in phenol degradatio

Who reports insufficient and disturbed sleep? Results from a representative population-based health survey in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVES: To highlight the prevalence of sleep problems and identify associated risk factors among a representative sample recruited from the general population of Hong Kong. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 12 022 individuals (aged 15 or above) who took part in the Population Health Survey 2014/15, a territory-wide survey conducted by the Department of Health of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes were the prevalence of (1) insufficient sleep (<6 hours sleep per day) and (2) any sleep disturbance (difficulty initiating sleep, intermittent awakenings, early awakening) ≥3 times per week in the past 30 days. Multivariable logistic regression identified associations between sleep problems and sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: 9.7% of respondents reported insufficient sleep and 10.5% reported sleep disturbances ≥3 times a week. Female gender, monthly household income <$12 250 (Hong Kong dollar), lower education level, mental health condition and physical health condition were significantly associated with both insufficient and disturbed sleep (all p<0.05). Unemployment, homemaker, insufficient physical activity, current/former smoking status and harmful alcohol consumption were associated with sleep disturbances only (all p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep problems are highly prevalent in Hong Kong. As such problems are associated with a range of health conditions, it is important to facilitate improvements in sleep. Our results show that harmful alcohol consumption, insufficient physical activity and current smoking are modifiable risk factors for sleep disturbances. Public health campaigns should focus on these risk factors in order to promote a healthy lifestyle and ultimately reduce sleep disturbances. Targeted interventions for high-risk groups may also be warranted, particularly for those with doctor-diagnosed physical and mental health conditions

Towards a global partnership model in interprofessional education for cross-sector problem-solving

Objectives A partnership model in interprofessional education (IPE) is important in promoting a sense of global citizenship while preparing students for cross-sector problem-solving. However, the literature remains scant in providing useful guidance for the development of an IPE programme co-implemented by external partners. In this pioneering study, we describe the processes of forging global partnerships in co-implementing IPE and evaluate the programme in light of the preliminary data available. Methods This study is generally quantitative. We collected data from a total of 747 health and social care students from four higher education institutions. We utilized a descriptive narrative format and a quantitative design to present our experiences of running IPE with external partners and performed independent t-tests and analysis of variance to examine pretest and posttest mean differences in students’ data. Results We identified factors in establishing a cross-institutional IPE programme. These factors include complementarity of expertise, mutual benefits, internet connectivity, interactivity of design, and time difference. We found significant pretest–posttest differences in students’ readiness for interprofessional learning (teamwork and collaboration, positive professional identity, roles, and responsibilities). We also found a significant decrease in students’ social interaction anxiety after the IPE simulation. Conclusions The narrative of our experiences described in this manuscript could be considered by higher education institutions seeking to forge meaningful external partnerships in their effort to establish interprofessional global health education

Expanding the diversity of mycobacteriophages: insights into genome architecture and evolution.

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand our knowledge of mycobacteriophage diversity and enhance our understanding of the roles of mobile elements in viral evolution. Expansion of the number of mycobacteriophages grouped within Cluster A provides insights into the basis of immune specificity in these temperate phages, and we also describe a novel example of apparent immunity theft. The isolation and genomic analysis of bacteriophages by freshman college students provides an example of an authentic research experience for novice scientists

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The effects of relative frequency of augmented feedback on resonant voice training in adults and children with normal voice

Motor learning is widely investigated in the literature on sports and rehabilitation sciences. In recent years, researchers have begun to apply general motor learning principles to voice motor learning. This study investigated the effects of relative frequency (100% feedback versus 50% feedback versus 0% feedback) of augmented vibration feedback on the acquisition of resonant voice in a motor learning task. Thirty adults and 30 children with normal voice were randomly assigned to three groups of different relative frequencies of feedback: 100%, 50% and 0% feedback. During resonant voice training, participants were taught how to read aloud nasal nonsense consonant vowel (CV) syllables and short phrases with resonant voice. Vibration feedback using piezoelectric accelerometers placed at the nasal bridge was provided for participants. Participants in the 100% feedback group received vibration feedback after the production of every training stimulus. Participants in the 50% feedback group received vibration feedback after the production of every two training stimuli. Participants in the 0% feedback group received no vibration feedback during the training sessions. Motor learning and generalization were assessed using accelerometric vibrations detected at baseline (before training), during training, retention and transfer (one week after completing the training). With respect to the adult participants, vibration feedback presented at frequencies of 100%, 50% and even at 0% was effective in facilitating the acquisition of resonant voice. Generalization of resonant voice production to untrained short phrases was also evidenced. No significant time (time phase) by group (different relative frequency of feedback) interaction effect was shown on three groups of relative frequencies of feedback on learning or generalization in the adult group. With respect to the child participants, significant time effect was observed in most of the trained stimuli and untrained stimuli. Significant time (time phase) by group (different relative frequency of feedback) interaction effect was noted across three relative frequencies of feedback groups. The results demonstrated that the greatest increment in accelerometric vibrations occurred in the 100% feedback group, followed by 50% feedback group. The group which received 0% feedback had the least improvement on acquiring resonant voice. The present study demonstrated that there were learning differences in acquiring resonant voice between adults and children. Adults did not require as much feedback during the acquisition of resonant voice when compared to children. Children required more feedback than adults in order to facilitate their learning. The differences in learning of this voice task between adults and children may shed light on later voice motor learning studies. The provision of relative frequency of feedback may need to be adjusted when working with different age groups in both populations.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesMasterMaster of Philosoph

Additional file 1 of Feasibility and acceptability of electronic EQ-5D-5L for routine measurement of HRQOL in patients with chronic musculoskeletal problems in Hong Kong primary care

Additional file 1: Supplementary Materials on e-EQ-5D-5L platform, study questionnaires, interview guides and qualitative interview subject characteristics