以化觀之 : 《莊子》的「化」與生命流變的關係

「道」一直是道家學說的核心思想。「道」雖為一，但老莊所著重的「道」卻有所不同。《老子》重視「道」的「常」，而《莊子》卻以「道」的「化」為中心。莊子以「化」闡述宇宙萬物的存在和運行的法則，同時亦以「化」道出在大化中生命應如何自處。「化」作為《莊子》的討論中心，蘊含著莊子的宇宙觀及對萬物的思考，而生命又是人世間最重要的課題，故此文將以《莊子》有關「化」的段落為研究重心，分析「化」與生命流變的關係。 本篇論文將細分為四部分：第一章為緒論；第二章為論述「化」與宇宙萬物的關係，闡述「化」作為宇宙本體及萬物運行的法則；第三章為論述「化」與生命的關係，闡述以「化」作為對待生命的態度、方法和影響；第四章為全文總結

Antecedents Of Information Systems Habit In Sporadic Use Of Learning Systems: Personalization And Peer Effects

Research on Information Systems (IS) habit formation has been focused mostly on IS habit’s effect on IS continuance. Antecedents of IS habit formation, as reported in the literature, are primarily on users’ prior behavior and comprehensiveness of usage. Most of the literature focus on analyzing the relationship between users’ IS usage behavior and IS habit. Limited work has been reported to investigate genuine and practical ways to develop IS habit, as well as to address the issue of sporadic IS usage, which leads to different interpretations on IS habit and continuance. This study purports to address the theoretical gap on issues related to IS habit antecedents and sporadic IS usage habit in the educational context. Adopting an empirical survey in universities’ (sub-degree and postgraduate settings) learning systems usage, data from cross-sectional survey on learning systems usage on per-course basis is analyzed. Theoretically, our results suggest that IT functionality design (personalization) and social factor (peer effect) have strong and positive relationship on IS habit with respect to the sporadic usage nature of course based learning systems. Practically, we suggest some dimensions for teachers on curriculum design that facilitate IS habit development, e.g., maintaining an online community with substantial student peer input at the early stage of a course

A targeted gene panel that covers coding, non-coding and short tandem repeat regions improves the diagnosis of patients with neurodegenerative diseases

Genetic testing for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) is highly challenging because of genetic heterogeneity and overlapping manifestations. Targeted-gene panels (TGPs), coupled with next-generation sequencing (NGS), can facilitate the profiling of a large repertoire of ND-related genes. Due to the technical limitations inherent in NGS and TGPs, short tandem repeat (STR) variations are often ignored. However, STR expansions are known to cause such NDs as Huntington\u27s disease and spinocerebellar ataxias type 3 (SCA3). Here, we studied the clinical utility of a custom-made TGP that targets 199 NDs and 311 ND-associated genes on 118 undiagnosed patients. At least one known or likely pathogenic variation was found in 54 patients; 27 patients demonstrated clinical profiles that matched the variants; and 16 patients whose original diagnosis were refined. A high concordance of variant calling were observed when comparing the results from TGP and whole-exome sequencing of four patients. Our in-house STR detection algorithm has reached a specificity of 0.88 and a sensitivity of 0.82 in our SCA3 cohort. This study also uncovered a trove of novel and recurrent variants that may enrich the repertoire of ND-related genetic markers. We propose that a combined comprehensive TGPs-bioinformatics pipeline can improve the clinical diagnosis of NDs

Efficacy And Safety Of Hylan G-F 20 Injection In Treatment Of Knee Osteoarthritis In Chinese Patients: Results Of A Prospective, Multicentre, Longitudinal Study

published_or_final_versio

The Role of Vitamin D in the Pathogenesis of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Several theories have been proposed to explain the etiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) until present. However, limited data are available regarding the impact of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency on scoliosis. Previous studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are prevalent in adolescents, including AIS patients. A series of studies conducted in Hong Kong have shown that as many as 30% of these patients have osteopenia. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 level has been found to positively correlate with bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy adolescents and negatively with Cobb angle in AIS patients; therefore, vitamin D deficiency is believed to play a role in AIS pathogenesis. This study attempts to review the relevant literature on AIS etiology to examine the association of vitamin D and various current theories. Our review suggested that vitamin D deficiency is associated with several current etiological theories of AIS. We postulate that vitamin D deficiency and/or insufficiency affects AIS development by its effect on the regulation of fibrosis, postural control, and BMD. Subclinical deficiency of vitamin K2, a fat-soluble vitamin, is also prevalent in adolescents; therefore, it is possible that the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is related to decreased fat intake. Further studies are required to elucidate the possible role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis and clinical management of AIS

Minimal intervention for controlling nosocomial transmission of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in resource limited setting with high endemicity

Objective: To control nosocomial transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in resource-limited healthcare setting with high endemicity. Methods: Three phases of infection control interventions were implemented in a University-affiliated hospital between 1- January-2004 and 31-December-2012. The first phase of baseline period, defined as the first 48-months of the study period, when all MRSA patients were managed with standard precautions, followed by a second phase of 24-months, when a hospital-wide hand hygiene campaign was launched. In the third phase of 36-months, contact precautions in open cubicle, use of dedicated medical items, and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate daily bathing for MRSA-positive patients were implemented while hand hygiene campaign was continued. The changes in the incidence rates of hospital-acquired MRSA-per- 1000-patient admissions, per-1000-patient-days, and per-1000-MRSA-positive-days were analyzed using segmented Poisson regression (an interrupted time series model). Usage density of broad-spectrum antibiotics was monitored. Results: During the study period, 4256 MRSA-positive patients were newly diagnosed, of which 1589 (37.3%) were hospitalacquired. The reduction of hospital-acquired MRSA per 1000-patient admissions, per 1000-patient-days, and per 1000- MRSA-positive-days from phase 1 to 2 was 36.3% (p<0.001), 30.4% (p<0.001), and 19.6% (p = 0.040), while the reduction of hospital-acquired MRSA per 1000-patient admissions, per 1000-patient-days, and per 1000-MRSA-positive-days from phase 2 to 3 was 27.4% (p<0.001), 24.1% (p<0.001), and 21.9% (p = 0.041) respectively. This reduction is sustained despite that the usage density of broad-spectrum antibiotics has increased from 132.02 (phase 1) to 168.99 per 1000 patient-days (phase 3). Conclusions: Nosocomial transmission of MRSA can be reduced with hand hygiene campaign, contact precautions in open cubicle, and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate daily bathing for MRSA-positive despite an increasing consumption of broadspectrum antibiotics. © 2014 Cheng et al.published_or_final_versio

Harvesting convalescent plasma for hyperimmune intravenous globulin production: a multicentre randomised double-blind controlled trial for treatment of patients with serious S-OIV H1N1 infection

Poster Presentations: Emerging / Infectious Diseases: abstract no. P107-Ab0089Symposium Theme: Translating Health Research into Policy and Practice for Health of the Populationpublished_or_final_versio

Harvesting convalescent plasma for hyperimmune intravenous globulin production: a multicentre randomised double-blind controlled trial for treatment of patients with serious S-OIV H1N1 infection

Poster Presentations: Emerging / Infectious Diseases: abstract no. P107-Ab0089Symposium Theme: Translating Health Research into Policy and Practice for Health of the Populationpublished_or_final_versio

The Strengths Model in Hong Kong

Mental health practice involves the continuous process of learning and refinement, especially when practitioners focus on the strengths and aspirations of individuals who are coping with serious mental illnesses (Tse et al., 2016). Cross-cultural considerations include beliefs, language, the role of social support, and the distinctive characteristics of specific communities that require localization in designing and offering mental health services. In this chapter, we describe the experience of adopting the Strengths Model in Hong Kong, starting with an introduction to the mental health system in the city. We then illustrate the development and implementation of the Strengths Model for the Chinese population in Hong Kong. We also briefly review research studies focusing on the Strengths Model in mental health practice in this cultural context (Tsoi et al., 2018; Tsoi, Tse, Canda, & Lo, 2019; Tse et al., 2019). The process of localization described in this chapter required the building of complex relationships among Strengths Model founders, scholars, organizations, caseworkers, and people facing mental health challenges

Comparative study on saponin fractions from Panax notoginseng inhibiting inflammation-induced endothelial adhesion molecule expression and monocyte adhesion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Panax notoginseng </it>is commonly used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China. The present study investigates the effects of three different saponin fractions (<it>ie </it>total saponins, PNS; protopanaxadiol-type saponin, PDS; and protopanaxatriol-type saponin, PTS) and two major individual ingredients (<it>ie </it>ginsenoside Rg₁and Rb₁) from <it>P. notoginseng </it>on the endothelial inflammatory response <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was added to the culture medium of human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) to induce an inflammatory response. A cell adhesion assay was used to determine the effect of the <it>P. notoginseng </it>saponin fractions on endothelial-monocyte interaction. The cell adhesion molecule (CAMs) expression, including ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, in the protein level on the surface of endothelial cells were measured by cellular ELISA. CAMs expression in mRNA level was also assayed by qRT-PCR in the HCAECs and the aorta of rat fed with high cholesterol diet (HCD). Western blotting was used to detect effect of the saponin fractions on CAMs protein expression in HCAECs. In addition, nuclear translocation of p65, a surrogate marker for NF-κB activation, was measured by immunostaining.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three saponin fractions and two individual ginsenosides exhibited the inhibitory effects on monocyte adhesion on TNF-α-activated HCAECs and expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 at both mRNA and protein levels <it>in vitro</it>. The saponin fractions exhibited a similar trend of the inhibitory effects on the mRNA expression of CAMs in the aorta of HCD-fed rat <it>in vivo</it>. These inhibitory effect of saponin fractions maybe attribute partially to the suppression of the TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data demonstrate that saponin fractions (<it>ie </it>PNS, PDS and PTS) and major individual ginsenosides (<it>ie </it>Rg₁and Rb₁) have potential anti-atherogenic effects. Among the tested saponin fractions, PDS is the most potent saponin fraction against TNF-α-induced monocyte adhesion as well as the expression of adhesion molecules <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>.</p