The use of the observational learning in enhancing Hong Kong grade 5 students' Chinese argumentative structuring abilities

Paper Session - SIG Research on reading, writing and oraciesArgumentative writing has a highly hierarchical structure, and structuring is one of the important abilities involved in the students’ argumentation process. While the learning of text structure is important, few researches have paid attention to text structure in the process and products of writing. Following the Western studies which have explored the use of observational learning in writing studies in text process and writing products, the present study explored if observational learning can be used to enhance the argumentative structuring abilities in Grade 5 Chinese students in Hong Kong. The study was guided by the theoretical framework of Learning Study, a ...postprin

12-year follow-up student of mortality due to suicide among first-episode psychosis cohort: Is the early intervention program more effective in reducing excess mortality due to suicide in psychosis

Oral Presentation: O10. Treatment and clinical service: no. O10.8published_or_final_versio

The role of religion in moderating the impact of life events on material life goals: Some evidence in support of terror management theory.

How would religion and a life event carrying an existential threat (LEET) jointly impact a person's life goals of becoming wealthy and successful in one's career? Goal reprioritisation, socioemotional selectivity, and gerotranscendence theories predict a shift away from material goals following a LEET, independent of the effect of religion. However, terror management theory (TMT) predicts that the effect of death thoughts depends on one's prevailing cultural values. As religion can be regarded as a culture, it is possible that Christians' and non-believers' material life goals would be differentially altered by LEET. Data from 1259 young Chinese adults reveal no main effect of LEET, but a strong effect of religion. Moreover, there was an interaction effect between LEET and religion on material life goals: LEET weakened material goals for Christians but not for non-believers. These findings suggest that TMT is more suitable than the other theories for predicting life goal changes.postprin

Using hypertext and mind-map to enhancing grade 5 students' literacy strategies and self-efficacy in informational text reading in Hong Kong

Psper Session - SIG Research on reading, writing and oraciesRELEVANT NATIONAL CONTEXT: Expository readings found in Chinese language textbooks are often much more difficult to understand than narrative readings because of greater concept load. Textbook reading written to convey information about Chinese culture can be an especially formidable hurdle for the struggling reader in grades 4 through ...postprin

Alice in the multicultural-land: the reading/writing and writing/oracy connection to enhance Chinese competence in literature education

Paper Session - SIG Research on reading, writing and oraciesBACKGROUND: Foreign language anxiety (FLA)(Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) has often been reported by Chinese language teachers among ethnic minority (EM) students. Second language performance seems negatively correlated with higher levels of FLA, and FLA is typically highest for speaking. Not only do EM students need to learn Chinese as a second language to enhance Chinese competence and promote social inclusion, local students with Chinese as their native language would also add dimensions to their Chinese learning by multicultural exposures. Literature was employed to link students with their multicultural and ...postprin

Neuropsychiatric Events Associated with Leukotriene-Modifying Agents: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Leukotriene-modifying agents (LTMAs) including montelukast, zafirlukast, and zileuton are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Various neuropsychiatric events (NEs) have been reported; however, the evidence of the association is conflicting. This systematic review investigates the association between NEs and LTMAs by assessing the relevant published literature. / Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library were searched using keywords. Studies designed to investigate the association were eligible for inclusion without restriction to any study design or language. The primary outcome was defined as suicidal conditions, while secondary outcomes included all other NEs. / Results: Thirty-three studies were included for a narrative review. Four observational studies did not find a significant association, while ten pharmacovigilance studies using different global databases detected the signals. Notably, some studies suggest that the FDA warning issued in 2008 might have influenced the reporting rate of NEs as a result of increased awareness. / Limitations: The risk of NEs was not quantified, because of the lack of randomized controlled trials and observational studies investigating the association. / Conclusion: Many pharmacovigilance studies have been conducted to determine the association between NEs and LTMAs, but there is limited evidence from observational studies. High-quality epidemiological studies should be conducted to evaluate the association and quantify the risk, not only in children, but also in adults

Examining factor structure of the Chinese version of the PIRLS 2011 home questionnaire

2016-2017 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journal201811_a bcmaVersion of RecordPublishe

Potassium channel openers reduce the caspase-3 expression of triamcinolone-treated retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE19) cells

Our objective was to alleviate the reduction of viability and caspase-3 expression alteration of cultured retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE19) cells in the presence of triamcinolone acetonide ( TA) using potassium (K+) channel openers: pinacidil ( PIN) and P1060. Four groups were compared: cells only; cells treated with TA (0.1 mg/mL); cells pretreated with either PIN or P1060 for 30 minutes before TA administration; and cells treated with either PIN or P1060 only. The difference in cell numbers in the presence of TA over 1, 3, or 5 days was performed by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell numbers under the treatment of a single concentration of TA or in concomitant administration of a single concentration of the K+ channel openers were quantified by using DAPI nuclear stain. Gene expressions of caspase-3 were also determined by following different treatments. Results were analyzed by using ANOVA, and p < 0.05 was considered significantly different between groups. TA reduced the number (\% +/- SD) of ARPE19 cells to 50.2 +/- 2.3\%( control 100 +/- 4.9\%, p < 0.001) after 1 day of exposure. Similar extents of reductions (i.e., about 50\% of the controls) were also observed on days 3 and 5, and both PIN and P1060 reversed this TA-induced reduction of cell viability. The TA-induced caspase-3 level alteration was significantly reduced when the cells were pretreated with either PIN or P1060. TA-induced reduction of viability could be alleviated by the application of K+ channel openers, and this effect was at least partly due to the inhibition of caspase-3 expression