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Accelerated damage testing method for evaluating the service performance of asphalt pavement affected by acid rain
No full textClimate change and environmental pollution pose challenges to the sustainable development of human society. Acid rain phenomenon occurs persistently in Hong Kong, and is one of the major impact factors that may affect asphalt pavement service performance, leading to the reduction in service life. This paper presents the use of an innovative accelerated damage testing machine with acidic solution of different pH values ranging from 3.0 to 7.0 to study the effects of acidic solution on the performance of the asphalt mixtures. The study involves laboratory tests to examine the service performance of the conventional wearing course of asphalt mixtures. The accelerated damage testing machine can effectively simulate the acid rain effects on the asphalt pavement in laboratory under the quality control of using dynamic permanent deformation test and mass loss ratio
Novel cycloartane triterpenoid from Cimicifuga foetida (Sheng ma) induces mitochondrial apoptosis via inhibiting Raf/MEK/ERK pathway and Akt phosphorylation in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells
No full textBackground: Cycloartane triterpenoids exhibited anticancer effects. This study aims to identify any potential novel anticancer cycloartane triterpenoids from Cimicifuga foetida L. rhizome (Sheng ma) and the mode of actions.
Methods: Cycloartane triterpenoids were isolated from the C. foetida rhizome by a series of column chromatography and identified by IR, MS and NMR. Their anticancer effects on several human cancer cell lines, MCF-7, HepG2, HepG2/ADM, HeLa, and PC3, and normal human mammary epithelial cells MCF10A were investigated by colony formation and MTT assays. Morphological analysis of apoptosis induction was performed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide dual-staining and Hoechst 33258 nuclear staining. The cell-cycle profile and annexin V staining were evaluated by flow cytometry. Apoptosis were investigated by measuring changes in mitochondrial membrane potential and analyzing expression of cell cycle- and apoptosis-related proteins in MCF-7 cells by Western blotting.
Results: A novel cycloartane triterpenoid, 25-O-acetyl-7,8-didehydrocimigenol-3-O-β-d-(2-acetyl)xylopyranoside (ADHC-AXpn), together with the known 7,8-didehydrocimigenol-3-O-β-d-xylopyranoside (DHC-Xpn) were isolated. MCF-7 growth was significantly inhibited by ADHC-AXpn in a dose- and time-dependent manner (IC50: 27.81 µM at 48 h; P = 0.004 vs. control at 25 μM for 48 h treatment), and ADHC-AXpn was selectively cytotoxic for cancerous cells (MCF-7, HepG2/ADM, HepG2 and HELA cells) based on its higher IC50 values for normal cells MCF10A (IC50: 78.63 µM at 48 h) than for tumor cells. In MCF-7 cells, ADHC-AXpn induced G2/M cell cycle arrest by mediating cyclin-B1, and CDK1 and its phosphorylation; and induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic pathway, with inhibition of Akt activation. As ADHC-AXpn suppressed phosphorylation of ERK1/2, Raf and Akt proteins in MCF-7 cells, its apoptotic effect might be associated with Raf/MEK/ERK signaling and Akt activation.
Conclusions: ADHC-AXpn significantly suppressed the growth of MCF-7 cells, induced mitochondrial apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest, and inhibited Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway and Akt phosphorylation
Psychosomatic and physical responses to a multi-component stress management program among teaching professionals: a randomized study of cognitive behavioral intervention (CB) with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approach
No full textBackground: The present study aims to assess psychosomatic and physical responses to a multi-component stress management program with the use of CAM and CB approaches among teaching professionals in Hong Kong.
Method: A random controlled trial (RCT) was used to compare between CB group (n = 26) and the CAM-CB group (n = 30). Interventions were administered for 1.5 h once a week for eight consecutive weeks. A self-administered questionnaire including perceived stress scale (PSS) and frequency of psychosomatic symptoms were measured at baseline (T1), immediate after the program (T2), and 4 weeks after the program (T3). Physical parameters were measured at T1 and T2.
Result: A reduction of 23% in PSS was observed in the CB group, while the CAM-CB group yielded 18% reductions in PSS from T1 to T3 [F(2,108) = 3.099; p = .049]. No significant interactions were observed in the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms and physical parameters. However, a significant downward time trend was observed (p \u3c .001) and larger percentage changes in physical responses were shown in the CAM-CB group than CB group.
Conclusion: Clinical evidence of both the CAM-CB and CB program has been demonstrated in the current study and both approaches are easy to be self-implemented. The CAM technique might serve as an alternative choice for self-administered stress management to replace the additional time needed for professional follow-up contacts. It might further improve some physical responses such as handgrip strength and resting heart rate, which are associated with better psychosomatic health and better occupational stress management
Barriers to elearning as perceived by management and hospitality undergraduate students
No full textELearning is not only a trend, it becomes essential in today’s university students’ preference in learning. With the advanced of technology, students can easily access materials by their mobile phones and internet. This research aims to investigate any barriers perceived by undergraduate students studying in Faculty of Management and Hospitality at the Technological & Higher Education Institute in Hong Kong (THEi). Before quantitative survey, focus group interviews were performed to identify the potential barriers as perceived by the students. After the interviews, 26 statements measuring barriers, 3 statements measuring the overall satisfaction, and 1 statement measuring the overall intention to use ELearning were developed into the questionnaire. A total of 232 valid responses were received. Multiple regression were tested between the overall satisfaction to ELearning with the 26 perceived barriers. Independent t-tests and ANOVA were performed to test any significance differences existed between demographic variables and the dependent and independent variables. At the end, recommendations were suggested to ensure ELearning can be proceeded by reducing the barriers so that learning can be more effective by using the new technology
3D food printing with edible ink = 3D「珍」材實料
No full text3D printing technology not only applies to printing 3D models or designs but also to printing food. Such an application of technology in the catering industry opens the door to food innovation and creates new business opportunities in food research and development. Many edible materials can be used for food printing, such as chocolate, jelly, minced meat, cheese and pizza dough. The 3D printer turns food into a slurry, which can then be printed into exquisite 3D patterns based on individual preference on food texture and nutritional needs
Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Special School Students with Mild Intellectual Disability in Hong Kong
Get PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to predict the fruit and vegetable consumption intention of students with mild intellectual disability in Hong Kong by the application of Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour.
Methods: 50 students with mild intellectual disability (30 male and 20 female), ranging in age from 15 to 38 years, were participated in this study. By means of face-to-face interviews, demographic data, Food Preference and variables of Theory of Planned Behaviour, such as Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioural Control were measured.
Results: 20%, 28% and 10% students with mild intellectual disability were rated to be overweight, obese and severely obese respectively. The rest of 10% were classified to be underweight. Regarding the daily intake of fruit and vegetable, 96% students with mild intellectual disability failed to consume sufficient amount. The variables of Theory of Planned Behaviour explained 47.7% of fruit and vegetable consumption intention with significant factors of Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioural Control. Food Preference was found to be a useful construct and further improve the prediction by about 7% after incorporating into the model.
Conclusions: Results of this study indicated that Theory of Planned Behaviour is a useful model to predict dietary intention of students with mild intellectual disability in Hong Kong. Food Preference was a significant predictor to model the intention of fruit and vegetable consumption among students other than Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioural Control
Is a flipped learning approach suitable for part-time engineering students at tertiary level education?
Get PDFIn a flipped learning model, teachers shift traditional educational arrangement outside the classroom and make teacher-driven instruction to student-centered learning. Meanwhile, students are the agents of their own learning and typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Very often, flipped classrooms are designed for secondary schools and for full-time courses and programs. As there has been growing interest in incorporating flipped learning into higher education, this calls for more high quality researches to inform practitioners on the use of flipped learning in different study modes. Rarely have they been examined in tandem with part-time study mode, this paper provides information on previous research studies and outlines benefits and major challenges of flipped learning particularly for this study mode. An investigation of a part-time higher diploma engineering course at Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Tuen Mun) has been conducted. It reveals the learning needs in which flipped learning approach would have benefited their studies somewhat. The results of this investigation have been used as the basis for developing the course to allow a more effective flipped style. Pedagogical implications are drawn from the analysis and the way forward
Hong Kong student retention: theories, models, approaches
No full textStudent retention studies have been examined for many years for reasons of students’ educational experience and the determinants in affecting students’ overall satisfaction, intention and retention. However, most of the published literatures are in English and undertaken in the western world context, particularly the United States and in Western Europe. As such, not much is known about the practices in Asia and in the Chinese context in particular. This study focuses on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of The People’s Republic of China. The researcher reviews the major factors that most influence student satisfaction and retention. Another objective is to discover whether the institution’s current “support strategies” have a positive impact on student satisfaction, intention and retention at the continuing education institution of OUHK. The findings of this research can be a useful starting point for educators who may want to understand why Chinese students choose to persist in a programme or decide to drop-out. The study can generally provide information on the key factors that most influence student satisfaction and their intention to stay at the institution
Reflection for tri-city student exchange programmes on students\u27 learning
Get PDFStudent exchange programmes or study tours have been used in various education institutes in different regions to enrich students’ learning experience. Previous studies have demonstrated the positive impacts of student exchange programmes to students’ learning and development. However, the effectiveness in achieving the intended goals of a student exchange tour might substantially affected by the programme design, planning and implementation. This paper discusses the development and implementation of a tri-city student exchange programme in achieving the intended learning outcomes based on a joint student exchange programme to Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), Singapore. A group of higher diploma engineering students in Hong Kong attended the second tri-city student exchange programme in Singapore and mixed together with the local Singaporean students and another group of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kumamoto College students from Japan for a series of exchange activities, including joint project development, industrial visits and cultural activities. With the effective coordination among the three institutes involved, the tour was successfully completed with positive feedbacks from various stakeholders. This paper aims to address and reflect the benefits of undertaking a student exchange programme to higher diploma engineering students in Hong Kong. Students’ feedbacks and reflective writings of the programme will be reviewed and analyzed. Discussion on the design, planning and implementation for future multi-city student exchange programmes as an effective learning tool is also provided in the paper. Recommendations in organizing similar programmes will be addressed