Evaluating an expressive language screening tool for five-year-old Cantonese-speaking children

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2010."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2010."Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-30).This study examined the screening accuracy of the Cantonese Early Identification Test for Pre-primary Children (CEIT) in identifying Cantonese-speaking preschool children with language impairment (LI). Nineteen children, aged between 5;01 and 5;06, from 2 kindergarten-cum-nurseries and an Early Education Training Centre, were administered the CEIT and the HKCOLAS’s Cantonese Grammar subtest. The CEIT was found to have high sensitivity (100%), fair specificity (77%), and modest LR+ (4.35) and LR- (0.23) values if the “gold” standard for the child’s language status was determined by the Cantonese Grammar subtest score. This finding provides further evidence that the CEIT is a potentially useful language screening tool for preschool children in Hong Kong. Further research should examine its screening accuracy with a larger and broader age group of children, and with the use of current performance in objective measures as the “gold” standard of language status.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Atmospheric Impairments and Mitigation Techniques for High-Frequency Earth-Space Communication System in Heavy Rain Region: A Brief Review

This work surveys the atmospheric impairments that affect a satellite link operating in a high-frequency band, such as Ka and Q/V bands, particularly in heavy rain regions. The impacts of hydrometeors and cloud attenuation are emphasised and discussed along with the contribution of gases and scintillation to signal fade. Also, propagation impairment mitigation techniques are reviewed from the perspective of satellite operators in heavy rain areas

The management of municipal solid waste in Hong Kong : a study of civic engagement strategies

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

Clear sky diurnal behavior of tropospheric scintillation at ku-band satellite communication in equatorial Malaysia

Tropospheric scintillation is referred to rapid fluctuation of received signal amplitude. It can cause propagation impairments that affect satellite communication systems operating at above 10 GHz of frequency. In this work, we have exploited 1 year of measured broadcasting signal data collected in Johor, Malaysia to investigate the effects of scintillation intensity on a SatCom system operating at 11.075 GHz with its links pointed towards the MEASAT-1 satellite (an elevation angle of 75.61°). We have investigated the behavior of this scintillation amplitude through the classification and analysis of a timeseries satellite broadcasting signal and have then compared the statistical results with existing scintillation prediction models. The comparison results indicate that there is a significant discrepancy between measured data and those models and that the performance of these prediction models does not appear to be satisfactory, with the exception of the ITU-R and the Ortgies Refractivity model. In addition, we have investigated the diurnal behavior of the scintillation intensity at four different periods of the day and proposed a modified Marzano model to accommodate local meteorological input parameters. The models performances are assessed against the available measurement dataset. The proposed models provide system operators and radio communication engineers with critical information on the fluctuations of tropospheric scintillation variance on the satellite signal during a typical day taken into the account of local meteorological peculiarities

Age-Specific Associations of Usual Blood Pressure Variability With Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: 10-Year Diabetes Mellitus Cohort Study.

Background The detrimental effects of increased variability in systolic blood pressure (SBP) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality risk in patients with diabetes mellitus remains unclear. This study evaluated age-specific association of usual SBP visit-to-visit variability with CVD and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods and Results A retrospective cohort study investigated 155 982 patients with diabetes mellitus aged 45 to 84 years without CVD at baseline (2008-2010). Usual SBP variability was estimated using SBP SD obtained from a mixed-effects model. Age-specific associations (45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75-84 years) between usual SBP variability, CVD, and mortality risk were assessed by Cox regression adjusted for patient characteristics. After a median follow-up of 9.7 years, 49 816 events (including 34 039 CVD events and 29 211 mortalities) were identified. Elevated SBP variability was independently, positively, and log-linearly associated with higher CVD and mortality risk among all age groups, with no evidence of any threshold effects. The excess CVD and mortality risk per 5 mm Hg increase in SBP variability within the 45 to 54 age group is >3 times higher than the 70 to 79 age group (hazard ratio, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.49-1.85 versus hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.15-1.23). The significant associations remained consistent among all subgroups. Patients with younger age had a higher association of SBP variability with event outcomes. Conclusions The findings suggest that SBP visit-to-visit variability was strongly associated with CVD and mortality with no evidence of a threshold effect in a population with diabetes mellitus. As well as controlling overall blood pressure levels, SBP visit-to-visit variability should be monitored and evaluated in routine practice, in particular for younger patients

Boolean Game on Scale-free Networks

Inspired by the local minority game, we propose a network Boolean game and investigate its dynamical properties on scale-free networks. The system can self-organize to a stable state with better performance than random choice game, although only the local information is available to the agent. By introducing the heterogeneity of local interactions, we find the system has the best performance when each agent's interaction frequency is linear correlated with its information capacity. Generally, the agents with more information gain more than those with less information, while in the optimal case, each agent almost has the same average profit. In addition, we investigate the role of irrational factor and find an interesting symmetrical behavior.Comment: 12 pages and 6 figure

香港鄉村地區長者居家養老的需要：錦田例案報告 = The needs of ageing in place in rural Hong Kong: The case of Kam Tin

香港面臨人口高齡化，政府統計處（2020）估計65 歲或以上人口會由2019年的120萬增加至2039年252 萬。長者佔總人口比例亦由18.4%上升至33.3%；而老年撫養比率（65 歲及以上人口相對每千名15 至64 歲人口的比率）將由249大幅上升至508。這意味着社會在撫養和照顧長者, 將會面對更大的壓力。另外，老年家庭人口亦不斷增加, 家庭所有成員均為長者的數目從2006年大約18萬上升至2016年超過30萬（增長67.4%）；獨居長者佔長者人口的比例亦由11.6%上升至13.1% （政府統計處，2018）。面對人口老化﹑雙老及獨居家庭等問題，社區需要有更全面的支持配套，才能使長者有良好的生活質素。 香港「社區照顧」（community care）政策源於政府於1977年發佈的《老人服務綠皮書》，強調居家安老為服務原則。該綠皮書（政府社會事務科，1977，頁5）指出，在社會及財政上而言，最可行的辦法就是提供適當的社會服務以幫助老年人能繼續與社會接觸在一起…當一個家庭在照顧老年人方面感到吃力時，政府便提供各種服務作爲對家庭一種的支持和協助。使老年人能繼續在家庭生活。 儘管政府一直強調「居家安老為本，院舍照顧為後援」，但多年來的資源分佈仍是以院舍照顧服務佔較大比例 （香港政策研究所，2017；羅致光，2018）。政府近年開始作出規劃上的調整，安老事務委員會（2017）於2017年發佈《安老服務計劃方案》建議加大社區照顧服務的比例，將社區照顧服務及院舍照顧服務的名額比率 由2016 年的1:1.3 加大至2031年的1:1.1（安老事務委員會，2017；羅致光， 2018）。因此, 加強「居家安老」政策，將會是政府其中一個安老服務規劃方向。 雖然政府及不同的社福機構在「居家安老」方面都有提供長者服務，但服務主要仍集中在城市，居住鄉村的長者因缺乏資源和渠道，較難得到協助。以居於元朗錦田 的長者為例，公營長者日間護理服務單位，全部位於元朗、天水圍或朗屏市區（社會福利署，2021），與他們的住處有一段距離。此外，針對鄉郊長者情況的「居家安老」服務規劃，亦未有在《安老服務計劃方案》中提及。因此, 本研究選取錦田區的長者作為主要訪談對象, 以了解鄉郊長者的「居家安老」情況。 錦田有悠久歷史，為最早來港定居的鄧氏族人居住地，有相當豐富的歷史建築群（陳天權，2016）。錦田面積龐大，近年開始規劃的錦田南和錦田北，佔地約1,400 公頃 （政府新聞公報，2014），佔元朗區14,430 公頃約一成面積，但人口只有 13,489，佔元朗人口約2% （政府統計處，2017；民政事務署，2021）。政府在錦 田規劃大綱中，仍保留不少地帶作「農業」、「自然保育區」或「鄉村式發展」用途（政府新聞公報，2014，2018）。因此，錦田仍然是本港主要的鄉郊地區之一。 本研究希望了解錦田長者的居家養老狀況和需求，為發展鄉郊長者服務的提供參考 資料。研究團隊探討長者於三個範疇的狀況，包括「社交支持」、「居所及社區支援 服務」和「長期護理服務的認識及意見」，並針對這三部分的發現提供相關建議

Entomologic and molecular investigation into Plasmodium vivax transmission in Singapore, 2009

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Singapore has been certified malaria free since November 1982 by the World Health Organization and despite occasional local transmission, the country has maintained the standing. In 2009, three clusters of malaria cases were reported in Singapore.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Epidemiological, entomological and molecular studies were carried out to investigate the three clusters, namely Mandai-Sungei Kadut, Jurong Island and Sembawang.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 29 malaria patients, with no recent travel history, were reported in the three clusters. Molecular analysis based on the <it>msp3α </it>and <it>msp1 </it>genes showed two independent local transmissions: one in Mandai-Sungei Kadut and another in Sembawang. Almost all cases within each cluster were epidemiologically linked. In Jurong Island cluster, epidemiological link remains uncertain, as almost all cases had a unique genetic profile. Only two cases shared a common profile and were found to be linked to the Mandai-Sungei Kadut cluster. Entomological investigation found <it>Anopheles sinensis </it>to be the predominant Anopheline in the two areas where local transmission of <it>P. vivax </it>was confirmed. <it>Anopheles sinensis </it>was found to be attracted to human bait and bites as early as 19:45 hrs. However, all <it>Anopheles </it>mosquitoes caught were negative for sporozoites and oocysts by dissection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Investigation of <it>P. vivax </it>cases from the three cluster areas confirmed the occurrence of local transmission in two areas. Although <it>An. sinensis </it>was the predominant Anopheline found in areas with confirmed transmission, the vector/s responsible for the outbreaks still remains cryptic.</p

Chronic adiponectin deficiency leads to Alzheimer’s disease-like cognitive impairments and pathologies through AMPK inactivation and cerebral insulin resistance in aged mice

(a) Immunoblotting analysis of IRβ in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of 18-month old wildtype and APN-KO mice. (b) Densitometric analysis of the ratio of IRβ. Mean ± S.E.M.; ***p < 0.001, n.s. statistically not significant; Scale bar: 100 μm. (JPG 30 kb

The LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area (LaCoSSPAr) in the Southern Galactic Cap I. The Spectroscopic Redshift Catalog

We present a spectroscopic redshift catalog from the LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area (LaCoSSPAr) in the Southern Galactic Cap (SGC), which is designed to observe all sources (Galactic and extra-galactic) by using repeating observations with a limiting magnitude of $r=18.1~mag$ in two $20~deg^2$ fields. The project is mainly focusing on the completeness of LAMOST ExtraGAlactic Surveys (LEGAS) in the SGC, the deficiencies of source selection methods and the basic performance parameters of LAMOST telescope. In both fields, more than 95% of galaxies have been observed. A post-processing has been applied to LAMOST 1D spectrum to remove the majority of remaining sky background residuals. More than 10,000 spectra have been visually inspected to measure the redshift by using combinations of different emission/absorption features with uncertainty of $\sigma_{z}/(1+z)<0.001$. In total, there are 1528 redshifts (623 absorption and 905 emission line galaxies) in Field A and 1570 redshifts (569 absorption and 1001 emission line galaxies) in Field B have been measured. The results show that it is possible to derive redshift from low SNR galaxies with our post-processing and visual inspection. Our analysis also indicates that up to 1/4 of the input targets for a typical extra-galactic spectroscopic survey might be unreliable. The multi-wavelength data analysis shows that the majority of mid-infrared-detected absorption (91.3%) and emission line galaxies (93.3%) can be well separated by an empirical criterion of $W2-W3=2.4$. Meanwhile, a fainter sequence paralleled to the main population of galaxies has been witnessed both in $M_r$/$W2-W3$ and $M_*$/$W2-W3$ diagrams, which could be the population of luminous dwarf galaxies but contaminated by the edge-on/highly inclined galaxies ($\sim30\%$).Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 2 MRT, accepted by ApJ