Psycho-educational intervention for achieving and maintaining adequate dietary calcium intake in pre-menopausal Chinese women

Health Services Research Fund & Health Care and Promotion Fund: Research Dissemination Reports (Series 5)published_or_final_versio

A case of cerebellar hypoplasia in a Chinese infant with osteogenesis imperfecta

We report a unique case of unilateral cerebellar hypoplasia in a young Chinese girl with osteogenesis imperfecta type IV. Magnetic resonance imaging showed mild basilar invagination and impression. Although unilateral cerebellar hypoplasia and osteogenesis imperfecta may have been coincidental diagnoses, we propose possible mechanisms for unilateral cerebellar hypoplasia secondary to osteogenesis imperfecta. For example, cerebellar hypoplasia may have been because of vascular disruption or direct compression to the posterior circulation in utero. Foetuses with osteogenesis imperfecta are more susceptible to the above risks compared to the normal foetus because of associated craniocervical anomalies and a poorly ossified skull.published_or_final_versio

Shrinkage of Hong Kong granite aggregate concrete

In the design of many concrete structures, it is important to assess the amount of shrinkage that could occur because shrinkage could lead to extensive cracking or substantial prestress loss. A number of shrinkage models have been developed all over the world but they differ widely from each other, indicating that the shrinkage of concrete is dependent on the characteristics of the materials used and the local conditions. Early experimental studies in Hong Kong suggested that the shrinkage of Hong Kong concrete is considerably larger than that estimated using shrinkage models developed elsewhere. This is probably due to the local granite aggregate used. In order to resolve this problem and develop a shrinkage model for Hong Kong, a comprehensive testing programme using fibre-optic strain gauges to measure the shrinkage strain was launched. The shrinkage measurement lasted over 3.5 years and covered concrete mixes with and without pulverised fuel ash added and with paste volume varying from 30 to 40%. © 2010 Thomas Telford Ltd.published_or_final_versio

Bacteremia caused by staphylococci with inducible vancomycin heteroresistance

The clinical significance of bacteremia due to vancomycin- heteroresistant staphylococci and a rapid laboratory screening method were examined; 203 strains of staphylococci isolated from patients with clinically significant bacteremia were screened by the disk-agar method with use of vancomycin-salt agar to demonstrate satellitism around an aztreonam disk as well as by conventional population screening. Eighteen isolates (three Staphylococcus aureus and 15 coagulase-negative staphylococci) were shown to be heteroresistant to vancomycin. A case-control clinical study showed that the interval between admission and bacteremia, admission to the intensive care unit, prior use of vancomycin and/or β-lactams, and isolation of methicillin-resistant staphylococci were significantly more common among patients with bacteremia due to staphylococci with heteroresistance to vancomycin; these patients had an overall mortality of 44.4%. The use of vancomycin and admission to the intensive care unit were independently significant risk factors on multivariate analysis. Vancomycin heteroresistance is inducible by salt and β-lactams. Indiscriminate sequential use of β-lactams and glycopeptides may facilitate the emergence of glycopeptide resistance.published_or_final_versio

Population-based incidence of community-acquired pneumonia hospitalization in Hong Kong children younger than 5 years before universal conjugate pneumococcal immunization

Objectives: We sought to document the incidence of pediatric hospitalization for bacterial pneumonia before universal childhood conjugate pneumococcal vaccination using two different methods of diagnosis. Methods: By following the World Health Organization (WHO) chest radiography (CXR) protocol, two radiologists independently read the CXRs of a cohort of systematically recruited children younger than 5 years. The children had acute respiratory infections and were admitted to one of two hospitals that care for 72.5% of all pediatric admissions on Hong Kong Island. Medical records were reviewed for clinical manifestation and to identify bacterial pneumonia diagnosed by pediatricians. Results: In children younger than 5 years, the incidences of bacterial pneumonia, as diagnosed by pediatricians and by the WHO CXR standard, were 775.7 per 100,000 population [95% confidence interval (CI, 591.8-998.3)] and 439.5 per 100,000 population (95% CI, 304.6-614.5), respectively. The study period was from 2002 to 2004. Conclusion: This study provided a reliable baseline estimate of the hospitalization burden of pneumococcal pneumonia in Hong Kong children before the advent of universal conjugate pneumococcal vaccination. © 2014

Observing object lifting errors modulates cortico-spinal excitability and improves object lifting performance.

PublishedJournal ArticleObserving the actions of others has been shown to modulate cortico-spinal excitability and affect behaviour. However, the sensorimotor consequences of observing errors are not well understood. Here, participants watched actors lift identically weighted large and small cubes which typically elicit expectation-based fingertip force errors. One group of participants observed the standard overestimation and underestimation-style errors that characterise early lifts with these cubes (Error video--EV). Another group watched the same actors performing the well-adapted error-free lifts that characterise later, well-practiced lifts with these cubes (No error video--NEV). We then examined actual object lifting performance in the subjects who watched the EV and NEV. Despite having similar cognitive expectations and perceptions of heaviness, the group that watched novice lifters making errors themselves made fewer overestimation-style errors than those who watched the expert lifts. To determine how the observation of errors alters cortico-spinal excitability, we measured motor evoked potentials in separate group of participants while they passively observed these EV and NEV. Here, we noted a novel size-based modulation of cortico-spinal excitability when observing the expert lifts, which was eradicated when watching errors. Together, these findings suggest that individuals' sensorimotor systems are sensitive to the subtle visual differences between observing novice and expert performance.G. Buckingham was supported with a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC

Acinetobacter bacteremia in Hong Kong: Prospective study and review

The epidemiological characteristics of 18 patients with acinetobacter bacteremia were analyzed. Patients (mean age, 55.5 years) developed bacteremia after an average of 14.1 days of hospitalization. Fifteen of 16 patients survived bacteremia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii. Cultures of blood from the remaining two patients yielded Acinetobacter Iwoffii. Most patients (78%) resided in the general ward, while four patients (22%) were under intensive care. Genotyping by arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction analysis and the temporal sequence of isolation were more useful than phenotyping by antimicrobial susceptibility in the determination of the source of bacteremia, and the intravascular catheter was the leading infection source (39% of cases). The possibility of an association of glucose with the pathogenesis of acinetobacter infection was raised.published_or_final_versio

Prognostic Value of 18 F-FDG PET-CT in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Is Dynamic Scanning Helpful?

published_or_final_versio

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