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Democratisation by design: new possibilities of design education by sharing design knowledge to the community
No full textIn vitro study of DNA protective effect of duzhong (eucommia ulmoides oliv) using single cell gel electrophoresis
No full textIntroduction: DuZhong (Eucommia ulmoidesOliv.) is a Chinese traditional medicinal herb with antioxidant actions toward oxidative damage which is well documented in different scientific researches. Comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis) is a well-developed technique for the analysis on DNA damage in single cell level. The purpose of this study is to compare aqueous and alcoholic crude extract of DuZhong cortex for its potential in vitro DNA protective effect on human lymphocytes against oxidative stress environment.
Design: Venous blood was collected from three healthy adult volunteers followed by isolation of lymphocytes. DuZhong extract was obtained by boiling inwater and ultrasound-assisted alcoholic extraction. Lymphocytes were incubated to different dilutions of DuZhong extract before oxidative challenge with hydrogen peroxide solution in standard and lysed cell comet assay. The nucleus of lymphocyte was stained and manually scored under fluorescent microscope.
Results: Significant reduction in length of comet was only found in 0.1mg/ L of aqueous extract undergone lysed cell comet assay while alcoholic extract did not show significant reduction with same other experimental setting. No significant reduction in comet length and no obvious difference were seen among aqueous and alcoholic extracts in standard comet assay. The result demonstrated that DuZhong shows some DNA protection action against oxidant stress for specific experimental condition
籠子裏的天鵝 Swan in the cage
No full text當候鳥不再停留I城，NGM環保房——「籠子」取代傳統物業成為民眾嚮往的理想居所。同時，懂得說話的CP Doll (Coppélia Doll) 風靡全城，用獨一無二的聲線撫平人際關係造成的任何傷痕。
學習古典芭蕾的靜為求在「籠子」裏跳舞，不惜拋棄當白天鵝皇后的夢，投身「籠子」代理之列。暎帶着CP Doll尋找離家出走的姊姊，偶然間當上經紀，推銷能夠「預防人生遺憾」的保險。
當房價指數成為股票指數、天氣、時間以外，I城民眾心中的第四條弦線時，文字撥動出來的音色，莫不悵然而熟悉。
此書由〈籠子裏的天鵝〉和〈柯貝莉亞的洋娃娃〉構成，糅合幻想與現實、人工智能與芭蕾，寫就關於尋夢、覓房、出走、求職的故事
High prevalence of false-positive plateau phenomena during VO2max testing in adolescents
No full textObjectives: It is believed that a plateau in oxygen consumption (VO2) at the end of an incremental exercise test identifies the upper limits of cardiovascular capacity. We investigated how different criteria influence the frequency with which the “plateau phenomenon” is detected and the prevalence at which “false” plateau phenomena occurs during sub-maximal exercise.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Methods: Six different criteria with 3 different sampling intervals each were used to identify the “plateau phenomenon” from a single data set comprising 63 incremental exercise tests along with secondary criteria based on target heart rate (HR) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER). A single criterion from the original 18 (HALF) was also used to detect the incidence of any plateau phenomena during each test.
Results: The plateau phenomenon was detected in 16–82% of the tests depending on the criteria used, mostly as a result of the different sampling intervals. HALF identified 103 “plateau phenomena” but 73 (70.9%) of these occurred during sub-maximal exercise and so were “false”. “False” plateaus were verified by at least one secondary criterion in 27% of cases. Participants reached the HR and RER targets after 83.6 ± 11.7% and 81.9 ± 18.1% of total test duration, respectively.
Conclusions: The wide range in the percentage of plateau phenomena detected by different criteria plus the high rate (71%) of “false” plateau during sub-maximal exercise could indicate that this phenomenon is a calculation artifact rather than an indicator of true physiological events. Secondary criteria can be reached early in exercise and often identify “false” plateau phenomena as “true”
Inhibition of Candida albicans hyphal development by sub-lethal levels of solasodine
No full textOpportunistic human fungal pathogen Candida albicans poses a serious health concern. It exists as part of the normal microbiota on the skin and mucosal surfaces of the mouth, digestive and urogenital systems. This unicellular microbe can be invasive and cause both superficial and disseminated infections (candidiasis) in patients with impaired immunity with high morbidity and mortality rates (40-60%). Clinical usefulness of the current limited arsenal of antifungal agents has been hampered by toxic side effects, poor pharmacokinetics, and emergence of drug-resistant isolates. One striking virulence trait of C. albicans is its ability to grow and switch between budded yeast and filamentous forms (hyphae), and it is conceivable that perturbation of hyphal development can be an attractive target in the management of candidiasis. We screened a 400-membered compound library and found that solasodine could inhibit C. albicans hyphal growth under hyphal-inducing conditions (i.e in Lee\u27s medium at 37oC). At sub-MIC levels (≤ 60 microM), solasodine halted C. albicans yeast-to-hyphal morphological transition in a concentration-dependent manner. Physiological disturbance of cellular metabolism could be excluded as C. albicans growth was not affected. Safe concern and high selectivity of purpurin for C. albicans were justified by its non-toxic nature to primary human gingival fibroblasts and keratinocytes (2x MIC; viability = 95%). Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analyses of hyphal specific genes indicated that solasodine upregulated the expression of TUP1 expression, but downregulated the expression of TEC1. To conclude, solasodine abrogates hyphal development in C. albicans under hyphal-inducing conditions via modulation of hyphal specific genes. Solasodine may therefore represent a potential candidate that deserves further investigations in the development of antifungal strategies against candidiasis – for example, combinational use of solasodine with antifungal agents possessing different modes of action may reduce the likelihood of acquired drug resistance
Understanding policy change: multiple streams and national education curriculum policy in Hong Kong
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the policymaking process of the Moral and National Education (MNE) curriculum in Hong Kong by employing Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework. The aim of the paper is threefold. First, it will describe the policy process of the national education curriculum policy as a foundation for the analysis. Second, the author will critically evaluate and apply Kingdon’s MSF to examine the policymaking process, both to analyse how such policy came to be constructed as a problem and to consider the proposed policy solutions, as well as the surrounding political forces. Third, the analysis will identify the possible coupling of these lines of thought and the notions of policy entrepreneurs and policy windows .
The MNE policy provided a good example of how a policy problem is constructed in various policy contexts, as well as how the solution is matched to the problem. Although the policy outcome is not entirely predictable, Kingdon’s framework is excellent for explaining the likely outcomes.
This paper contributes to the wider policy literature by bridging the East-West gap in policy analysis. It provides a better understanding of the policymaking process in Asian countries, and it should also prove useful to both education policy scholars and policymakers. Finally it suggests further research is needed on how social media affects each of Kingdon’s streams in Hong Kong
