Assessment of Dietary Restraint: Psychometric Properties of the Revised Restraint Scale in Hong Kong Adolescents

Background: The psychometric properties of the Revised Restraint Scale (RRS) have been well established in western populations but not in Chinese adolescents. Purpose: This study investigated the psychometric properties of RRS and its validity in different subgroups for Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. Method: In 2007, 909 Hong Kong students aged 12 to 18 years (55.3% boys) completed a questionnaire including demographic items, RRS, Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and Motivation for Eating Scale (MFES)-physical. Moreover, subjects' height and weight were measured. To examine the factor structure of RRS, the whole sample was randomly split into two groups (sample 1: N=454 and sample 2: N=455) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. Convergent and discriminant validity of RRS were investigated by correlating the RRS with EAT-26 and MFES-physical. Multigroup CFA was conducted to test the three-factor model of RRS in different sex, age, and weight status subgroups. Results: Results of EFA for sample 1 revealed three strongly correlated factors for the RRS construct, and were supported by the CFA results in sample 2. Multigroup CFA further suggested that the three-factor model of RRS was stable across sex, age, and weight status subgroups. Conclusions: A new three-factor model is proposed for Hong Kong adolescents in this study. In general, RRS is a reliable and valid measure of restrained eating for adolescents, regardless of sex, age, and weight status. © 2011 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

An effieient algorithm for fractal image coding using kick-out and zero contrast conditions

Title should be: An efficient algorithm for fractal image coding using kick-out and zero contrast conditionsCorrect title: An efficient algorithm for fractal image coding using kick-out and zero contrast conditionsRefereed conference paper2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

A fast fractal image coding based on kick-out and zero contrast conditions

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Maternal age of menarche and blood pressure in adolescence: evidence from Hong Kong’s “Children of 1997” birth cohort

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Assessment of the health impacts and economic burden arising from proposed new air quality objectives in a high pollution environment

We conducted a health impact assessment of the government’s proposed new air quality objectives (AQO) in Hong Kong, a high pollution environment. We based this on the World Health Organization (WHO) 2005 Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) and used a lognormal probability density function to model possible changes in annual mean pollutant levels resulting from the new AQO. All of the proposed short-term AQO were based on WHO interim targets (IT) or AQG, but allowed additional exceedances of these single limit values. Compliance with these short-term AQO may reduce (18-30%) the current annual mean concentrations but the distribution proportions exceeding the annual or annualized AQG remain high (83-100%). For SO2, the proposed 24-hr AQO of 125 µg m-3, with 3 days exceedances, cannot ensure reduction of the current annual mean but may legally permit an increase of the pollutant concentration distribution. If the proposed legal limits of AQO are fully exploited by polluters, we estimated the annual number of avoidable deaths at 1860, and avoidable health care events at 5.2 million doctor visits and 92745 hospital bed-days with a total annual community cost of US$2.6 billion. The proposed AQO may only reduce the current air pollution health impacts by 17% but could achieve 41% reduction if additional exceedances were not permitted. An epidemiologic approach should be adopted to assess external costs arising from modifications of WHOAQG and support accountability in air quality management. This analysis of the WHOAQG in a high pollution setting demonstrates problems arising from the absence of annual limits for some pollutants and the discordance between the short-term and annual AQG, suggesting that revisions based on a lognormal probability model should be considered.published_or_final_versio

Effects of fluorine plasma and ammonia annealing on pentacene thin -film transistor with ZrLaOx as gate dielectric

Pentacene organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) based on ZrLaOx gate dielectric is proposed and has been fabricated. The effects of fluorine plasma and ammonia annealing on the properties of the OTFT have been studied. It reveals that the plasma treatment can greatly improve carrier mobility and shift the threshold voltage in the positive direction. With a threshold voltage less than 0.5 V, the OTFT can work at very low supply voltage. On the other hand, the ensuing ammonia annealing counteracts the plasma treatment and shifts the threshold voltage in the opposite direction. © 2012 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Spatial clustering of SARS in Hong Kong.

1. Geographic information system (GIS) can be applied during an acute infectious disease outbreak to reveal new geospatial information in addition to standard field epidemiological analyses. 2. When applied in real time during the onset and evolution of an epidemic, GIS can monitor and enhance understanding of the transmission dynamics of an infectious agent, thereby facilitating the design, implementation and evaluation of potential intervention strategies.published_or_final_versio

Suppression of myocardial fibrosis by valsartan and monopril in animals after acute myocardial infarction

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Living donor liver transplantation in adults

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Expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 Protein in Acute Myocardial Infarction

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