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Differences in asthma genetics between Chinese and other populations
No full textAsthma is caused by complex gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. Most asthma genes are not replicable across populations, which is possibly because of differences in the epidemiology of these genes. Our case-control association and next-generation sequencing studies revealed substantial discrepancies in the frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotype blocks for asthma genes between Chinese and other populations. The minor allele frequencies for nearly half of our studied SNPs differed by 0.2 or greater between southern Chinese subjects in Hong Kong and European white populations, African populations, or both. Because genome-wide association studies for asthma have not been performed in Chinese subjects, we cannot tell whether the genomic findings of recent consortium-based genome-wide association studies are applicable to our population. In addition, our group performed Roche 454 pyrosequencing on a 100-kb area spanning each of 10 asthma loci in 24 healthy Hong Kong children. For the 17q21 locus, there was substantial variation in the haplotype structures that were constructed from 224 common SNPs among Hong Kong subjects and 6 ethnic groups under the 1000 Genomes Project. Sixteen mostly small haplotype blocks were formed in Hong Kong, whereas 6 haplotype blocks were identified in Han Chinese in Beijing and central European subjects and 11 and 19 blocks were identified in Puerto Rican and Yoruba African subjects. In conclusion, differences in allele frequencies of asthma genes and haplotype structures of asthma loci are found between Chinese subjects and other ethnic groups. These sequence variations must be considered during the selection of tagging SNPs for replicating genetic associations between populations
Economising subsidies for green housing features: a stated preference approach
No full textIn light of the enormous amounts of energy and resources consumed by housing development and operations, many governments have started recognising the urgent need to promote green or eco-friendly housing with the aim of achieving sustainable development. Apart from regulations, governments can offer incentives to developers to provide green features in their developments by offering subsidies in various forms. However, such subsidisation is often uneconomical. In theory, market forces can lead to green housing provision without any government intervention if the market players are willing to pay extra for the green features of housing. Against this background, this article presents the findings of a study that compared potential homebuyers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for various green housing features based on findings from a structured questionnaire survey in Macau. The housing attributes under investigation included uses of green materials (e.g., sustainable forest products) and construction methods (e.g., prefabrication), energy-efficient technologies (e.g., LED lighting) and water-saving devices (e.g., grey-water recycling systems). Results indicate that the respondents’ WTP was mainly motivated by economic incentives. Green housing attributes that can offer direct financial benefits corresponded to greater WTP. The policy implications of the research findings then follow
Discovery and creation in art history classes
No full textThis paper will outline the planning and implementation of assignments in History of Visual Arts classes, taught as part of a Higher Diploma in Visual Arts in Hong Kong. In this generation of post 90s students, concentration in class is becoming harder to maintain and an addiction to ‘screens’ that constantly deliver ‘info-tainment’ directly to an individual’s mobile phone has created an expectation within students that is often at odds with traditional methods of teaching.
The challenge within an educational institution is to create activities that can fulfill the intended learning outcomes while at the same time presenting enjoyable and rewarding experiences that break down the students’ preconceptions and expectations of a subject and actively engage their attention.
The paper will introduce my personal experiences of learning the history of art as a student, how dry and monotonous it seemed and how this part of learning seemed totally unconnected to my own art practice. I have grown to believe that an awareness of the history and development of art can positively inform the perception and attitude of a young artist. As a teacher responsible for the teaching of art history I became determined to find a way to teach Art History in a way that brought it to life and so practical projects were introduced into the teaching modules. The paper will go on to explain the reasons for the introduction of this style of pedagogy, how and why the assignments were created, how they were implemented and ultimately how the students responded to them.
Finally the paper will describe the fun the students had, the pleasure they obviously gained from the experience and how their final project led to an exhibition in a major local museum, which gifted the participating students a wonderful opportunity to exhibit their work in a public space
Learning on the move: appreciating culture and design in Osaka and Sasayama
No full textIn this paper we will outline our experience of teaching cultural studies and design to young students while at the same time placing the design solutions in a cultural context. Art and design are inseparable from culture and in order to fully understand design that originates overseas, we need to learn more about the culture from which it grew. After some research we were grateful to find a designer in Japan (Toshiyuki Kita) who values traditional culture and craftsmanship yet who is also committed to producing contemporary solutions that can sit comfortably within both realms.
In order to present this delicate balance to our students we then wished to find two locations in Japan that could illustrate this relationship of design and culture, one a modern metropolis and the other situated in the traditional heartland. Our chosen designer, Kita provided an opportunity to realise our plan, his office in downtown Osaka and his studio in rural Sasayama an hour and a half train ride out of the city. We planned to visit both locations to allow our students to experience firsthand how Kita San’s designs can be appreciated in either setting.
Through tutorials on site and feedback in later sharing sessions we saw how the experiences had left an indelible impression on the students. The students recognized the meaning of the two locations we had taken them to and they began to understand the relationship between design and craftsmanship. Designers work for society, they seek to satisfy society’s needs and make people feel happy
Engaging students with clickers in language lessons
No full textTo engage students, researchers have been integrating clickers in classroom delivery for study. Clickers, also known as \u27personal response systems\u27, \u27student response systems (SRS), audience response systems (ARS), or personal response systems (PRS)\u27, are a technology that allow students to respond to the teacher in real time and receive instant feedback from the teacher, thus enhancing learning and teaching. Featuring instance and interaction, the technology can cater to students\u27 needs and learning styles as \u27[Net Generations] are used to interactive, participatory, investigative enquiry\u27. Some researchers have explored the functions and effectiveness of clickers for use as question aids in class, promotion of active learning and improvement in learning. This study aimed to investigate the effect of clickers as a pedagogical approach on student satisfaction..
VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor II (VRI) induced vascular insufficiency in zebrafish as a model for studying vascular toxicity and vascular preservation
No full textIn ischemic disorders such as chronic wounds and myocardial ischemia, there is inadequate tissue perfusion due to vascular insufficiency. Besides, it has been observed that prolonged use of anti-angiogenic agents in cancer therapy produces cardiovascular toxicity caused by impaired vessel integrity and regeneration. In the present study, we used VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor II (VRI) to chemically induce vascular insufficiency in zebrafish in vivo and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro to further study the mechanisms of vascular morphogenesis in these pathological conditions. We also explored the possibility of treating vascular insufficiency by enhancing vascular regeneration and repair with pharmacological intervention. We observed that pretreatment of VRI induced blood vessel loss in developing zebrafish by inhibiting angiogenesis and increasing endothelial cell apoptosis, accompanied by down-regulation of kdr, kdrl and flt-1 genes expression. The VRI-induced blood vessel loss in zebrafish could be restored by post-treatment of calycosin, a cardiovascular protective isoflavone. Similarly, VRI induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in HUVEC which could be rescued by calycosin post-treatment. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms showed that the PI3K/AKT/Bad cell survival pathway was a main contributor of the vascular regenerative effect of calycosin. These findings indicated that the cardiovascular toxicity in anti-angiogenic therapy was mainly caused by insufficient endothelial cell survival, suggesting its essential role in vascular integrity, repair and regeneration. In addition, we showed that VRI-induced blood vessel loss in zebrafish represented a simple and effective in vivo model for studying vascular insufficiency and evaluating cancer drug vascular toxicities
Changes in strength and aerobic performance by concurrent training in under-19 soccer players
No full textBackground: This study aimed to determine: 1) the changes in the physical conditioning of under-19 soccer players, 2) the effects of strength training using resistance executed as a function of the speed of a Smith machine bar, 3) relationships between heart rate (HR) values recorded during training and competition and changes in players\u27 physical conditioning.
Methods: Nineteen field players from a team in the U-19 Spanish first division participated in the study. Changes in jump ability (CMJ, CMJL), bar movement speed in a loaded full squat (FSL), sprint time over 30m (T10, T20, T30, T10-20,T10-30, T20-30), and maximal aerobic speed (MAS) were evaluated three times (E1, E2, E3) during the fourth months studied. Players\u27 HR during practices and matches were recorded. Improvements in MAS, application of strength in CMJ, CMJL, and FSL were reported, while the players significantly worsening their sprint times.
Results: No significant relationships were found between HR values and changes in players\u27 physical conditioning. Changes in sprint times (T30 and T10-30) were correlated with changes in bar speed for the FS60kg (r = 0.53-0.64, p \u3c 0.05) and volume of strength training performed (r = 0.53-0.59, p \u3c 0.05). These improvements in strength did not induce expected improvement in sprint time, possibly due to the interference effect between concurrent aerobic and strength training.
Conclusions: The results suggests that improved ability to accelerate could be related to improvements in loaded full squats moving at speed near 1m.s-1, and the inhibitor effect obtained shows the importance of monitoring the intensity of aerobic training
Guanxi and Chinese brand loyalty
No full textThis exploratory study examined how brand loyalty can be established in a non-Western market where Chinese customers are motivated to be loyal to a brand by cultural drivers, specifically guanxi (personal relationships) and mianzi (face). The brand loyalty of Chinese customers for financial products in Hong Kong and mainland China was investigated using a qualitative, grounded theory approach. Nine semi-structured, indepth interviews were conducted with three expert interviewees. The results demonstrate that companies can cement client loyalty through using guanxi as an attitudinal trait to secure introductions in a buyer-seller relationship. Sellers strive to join a client’s guanxi network and then accumulate credit for offering good value and showing respect. They trade favours and later call in debts. This has been one of the first studies to use grounded theory to investigate the influence of key Chinese cultural attributes on brand loyalty to financial products
Landscape architecture and the green elements in Hong Kong housing development
No full textHong Kong is well known for its high density population with most of the people living in a concrete jungle. At the same time Hong Kong has a long history of preserving its natural landscape through statutory and administrative control, and also one of the earliest in having its own registration system for landscape architect protected by legislation. As sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the development of cities, the effective application of landscape and greening in our housing development is crucial to Hong Kong for its future development. This article has mainly two parts, the first part being an introduction of the landscape architectural profession and its relationship to the built-environment; second part on the development of incorporating green elements in the housing projects and appraisal on the built environment of Hong Kong
Construction frameworks in the UK public sector: a procurement performance model for driving improvement of project outcomes
No full textCollaborative construction frameworks have been developed in the UK to create longer term relationships between clients and suppliers in order to improve project outcomes. Research undertaken into highways maintenance set within a major county council has confirmed that such collaborative procurement methods can improve time, cost and quality of construction projects. Building upon this and examining the same single case, this research aims to develop a performance model through identification of performance drivers in the whole project delivery process including pre and post contract phases. A priori performance model based on operational and sociological constructs was proposed and then checked by a pilot study. Factor analysis and central tendency statistics from the questionnaires as well as content analysis from the interview transcripts were conducted. It was confirmed that long term relationships, financial and non–financial incentives and stronger communication are the sociological behaviour factors driving performance. The interviews also established that key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used as an operational measure to improve performance. With the posteriori performance model, client project managers can effectively collaboratively manage contractor performance through procurement measures (use of longer term and KPIs for the contract) so that expected project outcomes can be achieved