Knowledge of vitamin D and perceptions and attitudes toward sunlight among Chinese middle-aged and elderly women: A population survey in Hong Kong

Background: Physical and biological risk factors for vitamin D inadequacy are known; however, cultural- and population-specific behaviours and attitudes that influence these risk factors, particularly among Asian people, are less well documented. To understand more about prevailing attitudes and behaviour toward sunlight and knowledge of vitamin D among a population at greater risk of impaired vitamin D status, poor bone health and osteoporosis, we conducted a telephone interview survey of 547 middle-aged and elderly Chinese women living in Hong Kong. Methods: All telephone interviews were conducted using the Computer Assisted Telephone Technique and target respondents were selected by random sampling. Interviews were conducted in Cantonese and eighteen main questions were asked pertaining to personal characteristics, perceptions, attitudes and behaviour toward sunlight, and knowledge about vitamin D. Results: The survey results showed that 62.3% (n = 341) did not like going in the sun and 66.7% of respondents spent an average of 6-10 hours indoors, between 6:30 am and 7:00 pm, during weekdays. However, 58% of people thought that they had enough exposure to sunlight. The majority had heard of vitamin D, but knowledge about the role and sources of vitamin D was low. Among those who knew that sunlight was a source of vitamin D, the majority spent less than 1 h in the sun in the past week (76.4% vs 23.6%, 1 h in the sun in the past week, chi-square p < 0.05). There were significantly more users of sunscreen products (75.5% vs 53.0%, p < 0.0001, sunscreen users vs non-users) and parasols (68.4% vs 43.7%, p < 0.0001, parasol users vs non-users) among respondents who knew that vitamin D was good for bone health and that sunlight was a source of vitamin D. Age, occupation, subjects who liked going in the sun were factors associated with awareness of vitamin D but age was the only predictive factor for giving correct answers to the actions and sources of vitamin D. Conclusion: The survey revealed considerable ignorance and confusion about the role of sunlight in vitamin D production, and the function and sources of vitamin D. Attitudes and behaviour toward sunlight were largely negative and many took measures to avoid sunlight, particularly among younger (middle-aged) women who had good awareness of vitamin D. © 2006 Kung and Lee; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

Correlates of sexual behaviors with health status and health perception in Chinese adolescents: A cross-sectional survey in schools

Sexual intercourse remains taboo among adolescents in a Chinese society such as Hong Kong. It is not openly discussed and little research has been done on its impact on health, although it carries serious risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)/HIV. In 1999, a cross-sectional, self-report survey on youth risk behaviors was carried out on 8382 students 15-18 years of age from 48 schools in Hong Kong. Three hundred seventy-seven (4.69%) reported that they had had sexual intercourse. Among them, forced sex (16.94%) was common, most often happening to boys (52.38%). They were more likely to have consulted doctors in the last month (odds ration [OR] 1.41 in boys 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03, 1.94; OR 2.46 in girls 95% CI 1.81, 3.30) and 6 months (OR 1.33 in boys 95% CI 0.98, 1.78; OR 2.66 in girls 95% CI 1.80, 3.91). They also perceived poorer and deteriorating health. The sexually active female students were 6.70 times (95% CI 4.65, 9.66) more likely to attempt suicide than the other group and were more likely to take sick leaves (OR 3.56 in girls 95% CI 2.35, 5.41). Parental education and occupation, place of birth, and type of housing did not correlate in the initiation of sexual intercourse. The sexually experienced group reported worse physical and psychological health as well as health perception. Some of the characteristics and patterns identified in our study were quite different from the findings in the West but further studies are required to determine the reason for this.published_or_final_versio

Cognitive profiles and subtypes of epilepsy

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Comparison of effects of sleeve gastrectomy, duodenal-jejunal bypass and ileal transposition for type II diabetes

Oral Presentations: OS9 - Surgery for Diabetes: no. OS9.02INTRODUCTION: Sleeve gastrectomy (SG), duodenal jejuna bypass (DJB) and ileal transposition (IT) have been reported to be effective for the treatment of T2DM. OBJECTIVES: It is unknown which procedure has a stronger anti-diabetic effect. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of these novel procedures METHODS: SG, DJB, IT and sham operation of each procedure were performed in 10-12 weeks old Goto-Kakizaki rats, a spontaneous non-obese model of T2DM. The glucose homeostasis effect was evaluated by measuring fasting glucose (FBG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Gut hormonal profiles and lipid absorption were also examined. Rats were observed for 1 year. RESULTS: All three procedures had significant lower FBG when compared to the respective sham groups. DJB and IT had lower FBG than SG (SG vs DJB, p=0.023; SG vs IT, p=0.009) whereas DJB and IT had a similar FBG level, p=0.678. For HbA1c, all procedures had lower levels than the respective sham groups, p<0.001. The HbA1c of SG rebounded on 8th week whereas HbA1c of DJB and IT remained at low level. SG had a significant higher HbA1c level than DJB and IT, p<0.001 while DJB and IT had a similar level, p=0.685. GLP-1 and PYY were raised in DJB and IT whereas GIP level increased in DJB. All three procedures have different lipid absorption profile. CONCLUSION: SG, DJB and IT all had anti-diabetic effect. DJB and IT had more potent anti-diabetic effect than SG. Each procedure has different effects on metabolic diseases and their clinic application deserve individual consideration.published_or_final_versio

PD-0458: AFP response as a predictor of clinical outcome after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for advanced HCC

POSTER DISCUSSION: YOUNG SCIENTISTS 2: LUNG AND GASTROINTESTINAL TUMOURSpublished_or_final_version2nd ESTRO Forum, Geneva, Switzerland, 19-23 April 2013, In Radiotherapy & Oncology, 2013, v. 106, p. S17

Effects of treatment of acromegaly with Sandostatin® LAR® on lipolytic enzymes and cholesteryl ester transfer protein activities

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Temperature-compensated fibre optic strain gauge

Inventor name used in this publication: Hwa Ywa TamInventor name used in this publication: Siu Lau HoUS7796844; US7796844 B2; US7796844B2; US7,796,844; US 7,796,844 B2; 7796844; Appl. No. 12/177,830Inventor name used in this publication: Shun Yee LiuUSVersion of Recor

Performance of large-size superconducting coil in 0.21T MRI system

A high-temperature superconductor (HTS) was used on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) receiver coils to improve image quality because of its intrinsic low electrical resistivity [1], [2]. Typical HTS coils are surface coils made of HTS thin-film wafers. Their applications are severely limited by the field of view (FOV) of the surface coil configuration, and the improvement in image quality by HTS coil is also reduced as the ratio of sample noise to coil noise increases. Therefore, previous HTS coils are usually used to image small in vitro samples, small animals, or peripheral human anatomies [3]-[5]. We used large-size HTS coils (2.5-, 3.5-, and 5.5-in mean diameter) to enhance the FOV and we evaluated their performance through phantom and human MR images. Comparisons were made among HTS surface coils, copper surface coils, and cool copper surface coils in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity profile of the images. A theoretical model prediction was also used to compare against the experimental result. We then selected several human body parts, including the wrist, feet, and head, to illustrate the advantage of HTS coil over copper coil when used in human imaging. The results show an SNR gain of 200% for 5.5-in HTS coil versus same size copper coils, while for 2.5- and 3.5-in coils it is 250%. We also address the various factors that affect the performance of large size HTS coils, including the coil-to-sample spacing due to cryogenic probe and the coil-loading effect.published_or_final_versio

Modeling drying kinetics of thyme (thymus vulgaris l.): theoretical and empirical models, and neural networks

[EN] The drying kinetics of thyme was analyzed by considering different conditions: air temperature of between 40 C and 70 C, and air velocity of 1 m/s. A theoretical diffusion model and eight different empirical models were fitted to the experimental data. From the theoretical model application, the effective diffusivity per unit area of the thyme was estimated (between 3.68 10 5 and 2.12 10 4 s 1). The temperature dependence of the effective diffusivity was described by the Arrhenius relationship with activation energy of 49.42 kJ/mol. Eight different empirical models were fitted to the experimental data. Additionally, the dependence of the parameters of each model on the drying temperature was determined, obtaining equations that allow estimating the evolution of the moisture content at any temperature in the established range. Furthermore, artificial neural networks were developed and compared with the theoretical and empirical models using the percentage of the relative errors and the explained variance. The artificial neural networks were found to be more accurate predictors of moisture evolution with VAR 99.3% and ER 8.7%.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the 'Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia' in Spain, CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 (CSD2007-00016).Rodríguez Cortina, J.; Clemente Polo, G.; Sanjuán Pellicer, MN.; Bon Corbín, J. (2014). Modeling drying kinetics of thyme (thymus vulgaris l.): theoretical and empirical models, and neural networks. Food Science and Technology International. 20(1):13-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1082013212469614S132220