Promotion of collaboration between medical and dental professionals

Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-26).published_or_final_versio

Metaverse consumer behavior : investigating factors driving consumer participation in the transitory metaverse, avatar personalization, and digital fashion adoption

202412 bcchNot applicableOthersSchool of Fashion and Textiles (Project IDs: P0042649 and P0044162); Educational Development Centre (Project Code: SPF21-22/A3/ITC03 and TDG22- 25/VTL-25); Industry donation from Della (Project ID: P0045875)Published36 monthsGreen (AAM

Fun by design : visual form, realism, and the hedonic appeal of AI-powered virtual assistants

202510 bcchNot applicableOthersThis research received funding from the School of Fashion and Textiles (Project IDs: P0042649; P0044162; and P0048945P0048945) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as well as an industry donation from Della (Project ID: P0045875).Published24 monthsGreen (AAM

Prevalence of clinically significant depressive symptoms in an epidemiologic sample of community-dwelling elders with milder forms of cognitive impairment in Hong Kong SAR

Background: Depression and cognitive impairment in later-life have great bearings on public health. The two conditions often co-occur and have mutual implications on short-term risk and long-term prognosis. Method: A two-phase epidemiologic survey on the prevalence of dementia in elders aged 60 and over was conducted in Hong Kong in 2005-2006. In the first phase, 6,100 randomly selected community dwelling elders were assessed with Cantonese version of Mini-Mental State Examination (C-MMSE) and Abbreviated Memory Inventory for Chinese (AMIC). Two thousand and seventy-three subjects were screened positive and invited for second phase cognitive and psychiatric assessment. 35.5% of screen-positive subjects participated in Phase 2 assessment conducted by psychiatrists for diagnosis of dementia. Severity of dementia was determined using Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR). Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) and a structured bedside cognitive battery were also administered to each subject. Results: 1.7% of subjects with CDR 0.5 and 5.9% of subjects with CDR 1 had clinically significant depressive symptoms (>/= 8 on CSDD). Score on CSDD correlated positively with duration of cognitive symptoms, scores on CIRS and CMMSE in linear regression model. In a logistic regression model, male gender, duration of cognitive symptoms, CIRS and CMMSE was associated with increased risk for clinically significant depressive symptoms. Conclusions: In our sample, milder forms of cognitive impairment were associated with increased risk for depression in the presence of other risk factors such as male gender, higher physical illness burden and longer duration of cognitive symptoms. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Prevalence of very mild and mild dementia in community-dwelling older Chinese people in Hong Kong

Introduction: In this report, the results of a household survey were used to examine the prevalence of very mild and mild dementia in Chinese older persons in Hong Kong. Methods: The study adopted a two-phase design. At Phase 1, 6100 subjects were screened using the Cantonese version of the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and a short memory inventory. At Phase 2, 2073 subjects were screened positive and 737 were evaluated by psychiatrists. Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and cognitive assessment were used for diagnosis of dementia. Very mild dementia (VMD) was defined as a global CDR of 0.5, with memory and non-memory subscale scores of 0.5 or more. Mild dementia was classified for subjects with a CDR of 1. Results: The overall prevalence of VMD and mild dementia for persons aged 70 years or above was 8.5% (95%CI: 7.4-9.6) and 8.9% (95%CI: 7.8-10.0) respectively. Among subjects with clinical dementia, 84.6% had mild (CDR1) dementia. Logistic regression analyses revealed that older age, lower educational level and significant cerebrovascular risk factors were risk factors for dementia, while regular physical exercise was a protective factor for dementia. Conclusions: A sizable proportion of community-living subjects suffered from milder forms of dementia. They represent a high risk for early intervention to reduce potential physical and psychiatric morbidity. © 2007 International Psychogeriatric Association.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Modality of physical exercise and cognitive function in Hong Kong older Chinese community

Objective: We reported the association between modality of Physical Exercise and cognitive function in 782 older Chinese adults assessed in the second phase of a population survey for dementia in Hong Kong. Methods: Profiles of physical exercise was measured by a questionnaire (no exercise, stretching, aerobic and mind-body exercise). Cognitive Assessments included the CMMSE, ADAS-Cog, and Category Verbal Fluency Test (CVFT). Results: The aerobic and mind body exercise groups with longer exercise habits (>5 years) had higher scores in most cognitive tests (Kruskal Wallis tests, p<0.01). Beneficial effects were more significant in the young old group from 65-75 years. Conclusions: Possible age related specific effects of aerobic and mind body exercise on cognitive reserve are worthy of further exploration. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Preclinical evaluation of the AKT inhibitor MK-2206 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic to Asia and over 40 % of NPC tissues harbor PIK3CA amplifications. This study characterized the preclinical activity of MK-2206, an oral allosteric inhibitor of AKT in 6 NPC cell lines: C666-1, HK1, HONE-1-EBV, HONE-1, CNE-2 and HNE-1. Exposure to increasing concentrations of MK-2206 resulted in over 95 % of growth inhibition in all NPC cell lines with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. Further experiments were performed in 3 representative NPC cell lines: CNE-2 (harbor PIK3CA mutation and most sensitive to MK-2206), C666-1 (carries PIK3CA amplification), and HONE-1-EBV (least sensitive to MK-2206). MK-2206 induced G0/G1 cycle arrest in all 3 cell lines, but could induce apoptosis only in CNE-2 cells. MK-2206 significantly abrogated AKT signaling in all 3 cell lines by inhibiting the activation of AKT and its downstream effectors (FKHR, GSK3β and BAD). MK-2206 also reduced mTOR signaling by reducing activation of mTOR and its downstream 4E-BP1 and p70S6 kinase. MAPK activation was observed in HONE-1 and C666-1 cells, but not in CNE-2 cells following exposure to MK-2206. The addition of MK-2206 to cisplatin (but not with paclitaxel) has a supra-additive inhibitory effect on growth in vitro. In summary, MK-2206 can inhibit growth and abrogate AKT and mTOR signaling in NPC cell lines. This agent is currently being evaluated in a phase II study in metastatic NPC. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Preclinical evaluation of combined TKI-258 and RAD001 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Purpose: RAD001 targets at the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), while TKI-258 is a potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting at fibroblast growth factor receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, platelet-derived growth factor receptor and c-kit. We aim to study the activity of combined RAD001 and TKI-258 in cell lines and xenograft model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with reference to the parallel and upstream pathways of Akt-mTOR axis. Methods: A panel of 4 human HCC cell lines HepG2, Hep3B, PLC/PRF/5 and Huh7 and the Hep3B-derived xenograft were treated with TKI-258 or/and RAD001, respectively. Related mechanistic studies (including apoptosis and angiogenesis) were conducted. Results: There was an enhanced increase in suppression of cell proliferation with combined TKI-258 and RAD001 compared with either drug alone. The combination could significantly suppress the phosphorylation of mTOR, MEK1/2 and p38 MAPK. Although the addition of the TKI258 only slightly suppressed the phosphorylation of AKT induced by RAD001, the pi-mTOR and its downstream signaling pathways including pi-p70S6K, pi-S6 and pi-4EBP1 were lowered in the combination. In Hep3B-derived xenograft, TKI-258 and RAD001 had shown an enhanced inhibition of tumor growth without impact on the weight of animals. There was a reduction in microvessel density in the xenograft with the combination, which indicated an enhanced inhibition on angiogenesis. Pro-caspases-3 and PARP cleavage were slightly detected at 48 h after treatment, suggesting that the combination mainly increased the cytostatic arrest ability. Conclusions: The combination of RAD001 and TKI-258 was active in HCC via inhibition of both mTOR-mediated signaling and its parallel pathways. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is an important mediator in the pathoenesis of gastric inflammation in rats

BACKGROUND and AIMS: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been shown to play a pivotal role in inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. This study investigates the role of MIF in gastric inflammation. METHODS: Expression of MIF was examined in a rat gastric ulcer model induced by acetic acid, and the functional role of MIF in acute gastric ulcer was investigated by administration of a neutralizing anti-MIF antibody. RESULTS: MIF messenger RNA and protein were markedly up-regulated in acute gastric ulcer, which correlated with the accumulation of macrophages (P < 0.001) and neutrophils (P < 0.05) at the site of inflammation. Macrophages, like neutrophils, were the major inflammatory cells infiltrating the ulcer base and they strongly expressed inducible nitric oxide synthase. However, macrophages, not neutrophils, were a rich source of MIF production in acute gastric ulcer. In vivo and in vitro blockade of MIF with the neutralizing anti-MIF antibody significantly inhibited the marked up-regulation of MIF, tumor necrosis factor alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1. This was associated with the marked inhibition of macrophage (70% reduced) and neutrophil (60% reduced) accumulation and activation, thus reducing ulcer sizes and attenuating ulceration. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that MIF was markedly up-regulated during acute gastric ulcer. Inhibition of acute gastric ulcer by blockade of MIF indicates that MIF is a key inflammatory mediator and plays a pathogenic role in gastric inflammation

Preclinical evaluation of the mTOR-PI3K inhibitor BEZ235 in nasopharyngeal cancer models

The dual PI3K-mTOR inhibitor BEZ235 was evaluated in preclinical models of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The IC50 value of BEZ235 for growth was in the nanomolar range in vitro, induce G1 cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inhibited AKT and mTOR signaling in most NPC cell lines. No synergistic effect was observed when BEZ235 was combined with chemotherapy. BEZ235 increased MAPK activation in vitro but not in vivo. A daily schedule was more effective than a weekly schedule on tumor growth and inhibition of downstream mTOR signaling in vivo. The activity of BEZ235 maybe independent of the PIK3CA amplification and mutation status. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex