Hong Kong: Employment of People with Disabilities: From Traditional Concept of Sheltered Employment to Creating New Employment Initiatives for People with Disabilities

No104.pdf: 1950 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Estimation of fractal dimension for a class of Non-Gaussian stationary processes and fields

We present the asymptotic distribution theory for a class of increment-based estimators of the fractal dimension of a random field of the form g{X(t)}, where g:R\to R is an unknown smooth function and X(t) is a real-valued stationary Gaussian field on R^d, d=1 or 2, whose covariance function obeys a power law at the origin. The relevant theoretical framework here is ``fixed domain'' (or ``infill'') asymptotics. Surprisingly, the limit theory in this non-Gaussian case is somewhat richer than in the Gaussian case (the latter is recovered when g is affine), in part because estimators of the type considered may have an asymptotic variance which is random in the limit. Broadly, when g is smooth and nonaffine, three types of limit distributions can arise, types (i), (ii) and (iii), say. Each type can be represented as a random integral. More specifically, type (i) can be represented as the integral of a certain random function with respect to Lebesgue measure; type (ii) can be represented as the integral of a second random functio

Prosperity Gospel

Mirroring the capitalist world around it, the American Protestant Church preaches a prosperity gospel, a theological, economic, and social force within American religion. This research examines the history and emergence of the prosperity gospel and its relationship to capitalism. Its theology teaches adherents that they will be blessed with material prosperity in the form of health and wealth if they practice its teachings, that is, if they are capitalists. The core idea that religion begets wealth bridges Christianity and capitalism, allowing believers to believe they are Christians while unconditionally accepting market capitalism. In this research, I demonstrate how three streams of thought led nominations of American Protestantism to this point: New Thought, Pentecostalism, and American gospel; in the first, believers accessed supernatural powers of healing through prayer; the second followed the ideas of New Thought but emphasized material prosperity over health; and, finally, these elements coalesced with American individualism and the so-called Protestant work-ethic (of Max Weber) into the prosperity gospel\u27s message that this capitalism masquerading as Christianity would bring blessings upon followers.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2023/1018/thumbnail.jp

Downstream Alteration of Copyrighted Works in a World of Licensed, Digital Distribution

The prospect of downstream alteration raises questions about the appropriate scope of licensing terms, the objectives of copyright law and even the meaning of art. It provides an impetus to tackle these questions by concretizing what was once but a thought experiment. Part I introduces the notion of copy ownership and contrasts it with the increasingly popular method of licensing copyrighted works. Part II argues that downstream alteration of a copyrighted work through the use of software-like updates impermissibly expands authorial control. Finally, Part III briefly outlines several ways in which licensing terms that purport to allow the copyright holder to make downstream changes to a copyrighted work can be limited

Interview by Chan, Grace Siu Wai

The interviewee (Anita) is my mother who spent her childhood in a boat. She was borned in a fishing family. It is a big family that includes ten people in total, her parents, two elder brothers, five younger brothers (it should be six in total actually, but one of them died because of sickness) and one younger sister. Her family was a poor family, as what she described, we could earn the breakfast but dinner or the dinner but breakfast . Therefore, Anita did not have chance to go to the school (so was her eldest brother), besides, she had to take care of her younger siblings. The only entertainment or hobby for her was making clothes and seeing films and she learned clothing by herself. Her friends were those girls from other boats but they have not contacted each other after marriages. They could not contact each other since they didn\u27t have telephones that time. Compared to her younger sister and other siblings those who had studies she felt they were luckier. She has not blamed her parents this since she felt her parents had worked very hard already. There was once Anita\u27s eldest brother dropped the fishing founding carelessly back into the sea, she tried very hard to jump into the sea to get them back, this event was vivid in Anita\u27s mind. Overall, Anita could not say whether her childhood a happy one or not, she said there was nothing she could regards as happy or unhappy

IN VITRO INTERACTION OF AMINOGLYCOSIDES AND BETA-LACTAM PENICILLINS

The aminoglycoside antibiotics are often used in combination with a f3-lactam antibiotic, to provide either a wider spectrum of activity against gram-negative bacilli or a synergistic antimicrobial effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and various enterobacteria. In 1971, MacLaughlin & Reeves found that the combined use of gentamicin and carbenicillin resulted in an interaction and loss of activity of both antibiotics. Since then more studies, in vitro and in vivo, have been performed to study the effect of medium, temperature, concentration, time, pH and different penicillin-aminoglycoside combinations on the interaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetics of the interaction in vitro. Four different concentrations of aminoglycosides (A) (5, 10, 15 & 20 pg/mL of gentamicin or tobramycin) and penicillins (P) (100, 200, 400 & 600 pg/mL of carbenicillin or ticarcillin) were incubated in plasma at 37°C for 3 days. Samples taken at 12 h intervals were analyzed for both aminoglycoside and penicillin by radioimmunoassay and high pressure liquid chromatography, respectively. Degradation of all four antibiotics in controls were first order reactions. The degradation of penicillins was faster than the aminoglycosides, with only 50% of the original concentration remaining at 24 h. In incubation mixtures, the rate of loss of penicillins was not significantly different from the controls and still appeared as a first order reaction. The interaction did not contribute significantly to the loss of penicillin. However, the rate of loss of aminoglycosides was greater than in controls and appeared as a second order reaction dependent on the concentration of both penicillin and aminoglycoside. The loss of aminoglycoside was due to its degradation in plasma and its interaction with penicillin. The degradation constants of penicillins (Kp) were calculated as dP/dt = -K PP and averaged 1.8 x 10 -2 h -1 for carbenicillin and 2.6 x 10 -2 h -1 for ticarcillin in controls and averaged 2.2 x 10 -2 h -1 for carbenicillin and 3.0 x 10 -2 h -1 for ticarcillin in antibiotic mixtures. In both controls and mixtures, the time required for loss of 50% of initial analyzed concentration (t50) was 30 & 55% larger, for carbenicillin and ticarcillin respectively, at higher penicillin concentrations of 400 & 600 µg/mL compared to lower penicillin concentrations of 100 & 200 µg/mL. The degradation constants of aminoglycosides (KA) in controls were calculated as dA/dt = -K A A and averaged 0.9 x 10 -3 h -1 for gentamicin and 1.2 x 10 -3 h -1 for tobramycin. The degradation constants of aminoglycosides in antibiotic mixtures and the interaction rate constants (K.) were determined by computer fitting of the aminoglycoside concentrations in incubation mixtures to a model incorporating a second order loss of aminoglycoside and a first order loss of penicillin from the mixtures. The degradation constants of aminoglycosides in antibiotic mixture were less than 1 x 10 -8 h -1 . The t 50 values of aminoglycosides in antibiotic mixtures were shorter than in controls (> 25 days) and were related to the concentration of penicillin. The t50 values of aminoglycosides were longer than 72 h at a penicillin concentration of 100 µg/mL. As the concentration of penicillin became higher, the t50 values became shorter and were less than 10 h for a penicillin concentration of 600 µg/mL. The interaction rate constants averaged 2.2 x 10-4 mL/µgxh and 1.6 x 10 -4 mL/µgxh for both carbenicillin and ticarcillin interactions with gentamicin and tobramycin, respectively. The "effective" interaction rate constants (K. x P) were larger for the higher penicillin concentrations. Examination of both the t 50 values of aminoglycosides and the K. indicated that there was no significant difference between the interaction rate produced by carbenicillin and ticarcillin and gentamicin was inactivated more by carbenicillin and ticarcillin than tobramycin. The effect of the interaction in vivo was examined by computer simulation using the kinetic parameters determined in vitro. The interaction of penicillin and aminoglycoside would be significant in patients with impaired renal function and might be significant in patients with normal renal function when the concentration of penicillin is very high

Tuberculous Meningitis: Diagnosis and Treatment Overview

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most common form of central nervous system tuberculosis (TB) and has very high morbidity and mortality. TBM is typically a subacute disease with symptoms that may persist for weeks before diagnosis. Characteristic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings of TBM include a lymphocytic-predominant pleiocytosis, elevated protein, and low glucose. CSF acid-fast smear and culture have relatively low sensitivity but yield is increased with multiple, large volume samples. Nucleic acid amplification of the CSF by PCR is highly specific but suboptimal sensitivity precludes ruling out TBM with a negative test. Treatment for TBM should be initiated as soon as clinical suspicion is supported by initial CSF studies. Empiric treatment should include at least four first-line drugs, preferably isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and streptomycin or ethambutol; the role of fluoroquinolones remains to be determined. Adjunctive treatment with corticosteroids has been shown to improve mortality with TBM. In HIV-positive individuals with TBM, important treatment considerations include drug interactions, development of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, unclear benefit of adjunctive corticosteroids, and higher rates of drug-resistant TB. Testing the efficacy of second-line and new anti-TB drugs in animal models of experimental TBM is needed to help determine the optimal regimen for drug-resistant TB

Are Metric Methods Really User-Friendly? A Methodological Study of Sex Estimation Techniques for the Talus and Calcaneus

Skeletal sex is most commonly estimated using the pelvis and the skull. These elements, however, are not always available in archaeological and forensic situations as they may be missing or damaged as a result of burial practices or poor preservation. Anthropologists have developed sex estimation methods that utilize other skeletal elements, and many of these alternative methods rely on statistical analyses of bone metrics. Because metric methods are seen as more objective and less dependent on examiner experience, most have not undergone the independent validation to which morphologic methods have been subjected. The purpose of this research is to validate two previously developed metric methods for the talus and the calcaneus using a different population than the ones on which these methods were developed, and explore potential issues of precision and validity when these methods are applied by external users. This thesis recommends several areas for improvement in the development and publication of metric methods, including the necessity for more external validation studies, greater standardization of variables and methodology, an increased use of probabilistic estimates, and a re-evaluation of how symmetry and error are conceptualized and assessed

The normal ranges of cardiovascular parameters measured using the ultrasonic cardiac output monitor

The ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM) is a noninvasive transcutaneous continuous wave Doppler method for assessing hemodynamics. There are no published reference ranges for normal values in adults (aged 18– 60 years) for this device. This study aimed to (1) measure cardiovascular indices using USCOM in healthy adults aged 18–60 years; (2) combine these data with those for healthy children (aged 0–12), adolescents (aged 12–18), and the elderly (aged over 60) from our previously published studies in order to present normal ranges for all ages, and (3) establish normal ranges of USCOM-derived variables according to both weight and age. This was a population- based cross-sectional observational study of healthy Chinese subjects aged 0.5–89 years in Hong Kong. USCOM scans were performed on all subjects, to produce measurements including stroke volume, cardiac output, and systemic vascular resistance. Data from previously published studies (children, adolescents, and the elderly) were included. Normal ranges were defined as lying between the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles. A total of 2218 subjects were studied (mean age = 16.4, range = 0.5–89; 52% male). From previous studies, 1197 children (aged 0–12, 55% male), 590 adolescents (aged 12–18, 49% male), and 77 elderly (aged 60–89, 55% male) were included. New data were collected from 354 adults aged 18–60 (47% male). Normal ranges are presented according to age and weight. We present comprehensive normal ranges for hemodynamic parameters obtained with USCOM in healthy subjects of all ages from infancy to the elderly