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Delineating temporal dynamics for the linkage between anxiety symptoms and problematic media use among Chinese adolescents
No full textAnxiety symptoms (AS) and problematic media use (PMU) represent two salient developmental challenges during adolescence. Although research demonstrates their comorbidity, extant findings on the temporal dynamics of their linkage remain mixed. Using three-wave longitudinal data from Chinese adolescents (N = 844, Meanage = 13.21, SD = 0.39 at Wave 1, 53 % boys) across their junior high school years, this study conducted a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) to delineate between- and within-person associations between two major forms of AS (i.e., anxiety symptoms in general [ASG] and social anxiety symptoms [SAS]) and two major forms of PMU (i.e., problematic internet gaming [PIG] and problematic smartphone use [PSU]). At the between-person level, there were positive associations between SAS and ASG, PIG and PSU, ASG and PIG, as well as ASG and PSU. More importantly and at the within-person level, several patterns of results emerged, including: (a) unidirectional positive associations from earlier SAS to subsequent PSU across waves; (b) a transactional interplay between ASG and SAS over time; (c) indirect effects spreading over time across media use domain and mental health domain; as well as (d) autoregressive indirect effects across waves for each of the four studied symptoms. These findings shed light on the under-delineated temporal complexity and nuance (by focusing on some specific forms of AS and PMU over time) within the link between AS and PMU during adolescence. The effectiveness of relevant practices might be enhanced by carefully considering such temporal intricacy.</p
Near-Field Clutter Mitigation in Speckle Tracking Echocardiography
No full textObjective: Near-field (NF) clutter filters are critical for unveiling true myocardial structure and dynamics. Randomized singular value decomposition (rSVD) stands out for its proven computational efficiency and robustness. This study investigates the effect of rSVD-based NF clutter filtering on myocardial motion estimation. Methods: In silico, material points and their displacements in a homogeneous medium under uniaxial compressions (0.5% - 9% axial strains at 0.5% increments) were simulated in finite-element models. They were exported to the k-Wave toolbox for simulations of pre- and post-deformed ultrasound images with/ without a realistic phase aberrating layer in a high-contrast diverging wave compounding scheme. In vivo, echocardiograms of 20 normal human hearts were acquired using a coded diverging wave compounding imaging method at 3200 frames/second in the transthoracic apical four-chamber view. Morphological component analysis (MCA), which is also a sparse representation method but computationally intensive, was used for comparison with rSVD. Both rSVD- and MCA-based filters were applied to beamformed ultrasound radio-frequency (RF) data before cross-correlation-based speckle tracking. Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) and root-mean-square deviations (RMSDs) were computed from regions of interest to evaluate NF clutter filtering performance of rSVD and MCA. Results: In silico, 2-D displacements estimated from rSVD-based clutter-reduced image data showed strong agreement with ground truth (R of 0.95). In vivo, CNR improvements ranged from 1.02 dB to 17.68 dB, consistently enhancing image quality across all subjects. An improvement of ∼4.9 dB in the apical segments was observed in 80% of cases. Mean RMSDs were below 5.0% for all rSVD-based NF clutter-reduced data. While both rSVD and MCA effectively filtered NF clutter, rSVD was significantly more practical. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the reliability, accuracy, and efficiency of rSVD-based clutter filtering in speckle tracking echocardiography. This underscores the feasibility of matrix decomposition-based methods, exemplified by rSVD, in NF clutter filtering for myocardial motion estimation.</p
Pneumothorax associated with a displaced thoracoamniotic Somatex shunt in an infant with congenital pulmonary airway malformation: a case report
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Ecology of semi-terrestrial crabs in back mangroves and adjacent woodlands in the Monsoonal tropics
No full textThe colonization of land from the sea, known as ‘terrestrialization’, occurred relatively recently among Brachyuran crabs (Decapoda, Crustacea). Many crab species invaded the supralittoral and terrestrial environment from the sea via intertidal habitats, which involves crabs spending most of their time in air and facing the challenges of temporal variations in temperature, water salinity, and availability and changes in food sources. This thesis studies the various adaptations to semi-terrestrial life in eight species of semi-terrestrial crabs common in the back mangroves and adjacent riparian woodland in Hong Kong (Chiromantes haematocheir, Orisarma patshuni, Orisarma intermedium, Orisarma dehaani, Neosarmatium indicum, Parasesarma continentale, Parasesarma pictum and Chasmagnathus convexus) to identify their behaviours, life histories and gut microbiomes, as well as the potential resource partitioning that allows their co-existence.
The distribution of the semi-terrestrial crabs was defined by the salinity gradient, with only two species (C. haematocheir and O. patshuni) expanding into the riparian woodlands, while the remaining species were confined to the back mangroves and other lower shore habitats. Within the riparian woodlands, C. haematocheir was more abundant than O. patshuni at higher elevations, suggesting it was better adapted to the low salinity and variable water conditions in upper stream areas. These two riparian woodland species had slower growth rates and longer lifespans compared with species that live in intertidal habitats.
To cope with variable environmental conditions, crabs showed seasonal activity patterns, with higher activity in the wet-and-hot summer than in the cold-and-dry winter. Temperature was a key factor, as the abundances of C. haematocheir and O. patshuni were positively correlated to mean daily temperatures. Burrows were refuges for N. indicum and C. convexus, which they remained in throughout winter and when the soil surface was hotter than burrow temperatures in summer.
In terms of diet, the crabs showed subtle partitioning of food sources. Apart from P. pictum, which consumed more animal tissues, the other species ingested large amounts of plant materials. Differences in the freshness of consumed leaves were found: whilst most crabs consumed leaf litter, O. intermedium consumed more green leaves. The crabs also relied on soil microalgae and animal tissues to supplement their diets. Competition for food might induce caching behaviour in summer as N. indicum and C. convexus brought potential food sources into burrows more frequently in areas with higher burrow density. This caching of leaf litter improved leaf palatability as it promoted the leaching of phenolic compounds, especially in winter. The gut microbiomes of the crabs reflected their phylogeny, habitat and food sources and may improve their nutrition by providing essential amino acids and vitamins.
In summary, this thesis highlights the variety of potential adaptations of semi-terrestrial crabs to survive in the challenging supralittoral habitats, which may be used to inform their conservation, given the threats to their habitats now and in the future.published_or_final_versionBiological SciencesDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Dilemmas of legal interpretation : religious freedom, anti-discrimination, free speech, and state interests
No full textThe sociocultural conflict between religious individuals/organizations and members of the LGBTQ community has raised significant concerns in American jurisprudence. Accordingly, the legal dilemma between religious freedom and anti-discrimination rights has become more apparent in this age of diversity and political polarization. Moreover, in the American culture of Jurismania where people look to law and doctrinal technicalities to resolve all kinds of sociocultural conflict, the broader tension between religion and secularism has emerged as a pressing concern for the judiciary.
In response, this research explores the conceptual gaps and inconsistencies involved in the legal controversy between religious freedom and anti-discrimination rights, offering close readings of the selected Supreme Court cases from the following areas of jurisprudence: free exercise, the Fourteenth Amendment, and free speech. Taking close reading as the primary method of research, it aims to identify the major legal principles involved, to demonstrate how the U.S. Supreme Court has conceptualized these principles overtime, to determine the chosen mode of legal interpretation, and to evaluate the validity of the Court’s understanding.
Based on the analysis of the key areas of jurisprudence, this thesis highlights the complexity of constitutional interpretation, which confronts dilemmas and controversies of a fundamentally sociopolitical and ideological nature, in contrast to statutory interpretation. Moreover, it highlights the paradoxical nature of religious liberty as a constitutional principle, which appears to further complicate the underlying tension between religion and secularism as philosophical entities entangled within law. Through a chronological overview of the key areas of jurisprudence, this thesis also demonstrates how the Supreme Court’s conceptualization of constitutional principles has shifted over time, depending on its overall political leaning, and offers a reconsideration of the judiciary as a branch of government.published_or_final_versionEnglishMasterMaster of Philosoph
Intramural pregnancy after in vitro fertilisation
No full textWe present two cases of suspected intramural pregnancy after failed intervention for’miscarriage’ of an initially presumed normally sited pregnancy. The diagnosis of intramural pregnancy was assumed retrospectively after taking into consideration the whole clinical picture. These cases illustrate the difficulty in early diagnosis and further confirmation, and the need for a high index of suspicion in case of failed standard management for miscarriage. </p
Cell-associated galectin 9 interacts with cytotoxic T cells confers resistance to tumor killing in nasopharyngeal carcinoma through autophagy activation
Full text linkImmune effector cells, including cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play essential roles in eliminating cancer cells. However, their functionality is often compromised, even when they infiltrate the tumor microenvironment (TME) or are transferred to cancer patients adoptively. In this study, we focused on galectin 9 (G9), an inhibitory ligand that we observed to be predominately positioned on the plasma membrane and readily interacts with CD8 + CTL in the TME of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We discovered that cell-cell contact between activated effector CTLs and target tumor cells (TarTC) with G9 overexpression led to cellular death defects. Despite the formation of CTL–TarTC conjugates, there is no impact on the cell number nor viability of CTL, and the release of cytolytic content and associated activity were not completely abrogated. Instead, this interaction promoted autophagy and restricted necrosis in the TarTC. Furthermore, reducing G9 expression in tumor cells enhanced the suppressive effect on tumor growth upon adoptive transfer of activated effector CTL. Additionally, inhibiting autophagy effectively controlled tumor growth in cases of G9 overexpression. Therefore, we highlight the contribution of G9 in facilitating the resistance of NPC to CTL-mediated killing by inducing a selection-cell death state in tumor cells, characterized by increased autophagy and decreased necrosis.published_or_final_versio
Exploring the human-animal interaction (HAI) for children with ASD across countries: A systematic review
No full textHuman–Animal Interaction (HAI) has been widely adopted as an approach to enhance the well-being of children with ASD, who often experience significant social impairments, emotional dysregulation, and other daily challenges. Given the potential variation of HAI across countries, there is a particular need to explore this phenomenon within different cultural contexts and to illuminate directions for facilitating positive HAI among children with ASD. The purpose of this review is to systematically synthesize the current knowledge of HAI as applied to children with ASD and to discuss possible variations across different cultural contexts. A systematic database search was conducted to synthesize HAI characteristics from existing studies that met the selection criteria. The results highlighted that most of the selected studies (N = 97) were conducted in Europe or the United States. The most common format of HAI identified was animal-assisted intervention, followed by pet ownership. Dogs and horses were the primary animals involved in HAI for children with ASD, while the majority of HAI occurred in home settings and at horse riding or training centres. To conclude, this review provides a more comprehensive lens for understanding the phenomenon of HAI for children with ASD across different countries and discusses cultural variations in terms of the companion animals involved, the formats, and the settings of HAI. It also offers therapeutic insights into the multicultural aspects of HAI, which may shed light on future interventions for children with ASD through HAI in more diverse settings.</p
Global Burden of Major Chronic Liver Diseases in 2021
No full textBackgroundThis study utilised the Global Burden of Disease data (2010–2021) to analyse the rates and trends in point prevalence, annual incidence and years lived with disability (YLDs) for major chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases.MethodsAge-standardised rates per 100,000 population for prevalence, annual incidence and YLDs were compared across regions and countries, as well as the socio-demographic index (SDI). Trends were expressed as percentage changes (PC) and estimates were reported with uncertainty intervals (UI).ResultsGlobally, in 2021, the age-standardised rates per 100,000 population for the prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, MASLD and cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases were 3583.6 (95%UI 3293.6–3887.7), 1717.8 (1385.5–2075.3), 15018.1 (13756.5–16361.4) and 20302.6 (18845.2–21791.9) respectively. From 2010 to 2021, the PC in age-standardised prevalence rates were−20.4% for hepatitis B, −5.1% for hepatitis C, +11.2% for MASLD and + 2.6% for cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases. Over the same period, the PC in age-standardized incidence rates were -24.7%, -6.8%, +3.2%, and +3.0%, respectively. Generally, negative associations, but with fluctuations, were found between age-standardised prevalence rates for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases and the SDI at a global level. However, MASLD prevalence peaked at moderate SDI levels.ConclusionsThe global burden of chronic liver diseases remains substantial. Hepatitis B and C have decreased in prevalence and incidence in the last decade, while MASLD, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases have increased, necessitating targeted public health strategies and resource allocation.</p
Engaging and supporting young adults in smoking cessation: Insights from a mobile-based cessation program in China
Full text linkObjectiveEvidence-based smoking cessation treatments are underutilized by young adult smokers. This study explored young smokers’ experiences with a mobile-based smoking cessation program that included a Quit & Win contest at a university in Zhuhai, China, aiming to identify key engagement and cessation mechanisms.MethodsTwenty participants (aged 18–25 years) were selected through purposive sampling. Semistructured interviews explored participants’ experiences, motivations, and perceptions of the intervention. Thematic analysis was used to identify major themes from interview transcripts.FindingsTwo main themes emerged: (1) strategies for enhancing program engagement, including the influence of campus-wide smoke-free environments, the appeal of the Quit & Win contest, and the use of peer counselors for recruitment; and (2) strategies for supporting smoking cessation, emphasizing the importance of a multifaceted approach. This approach included financial incentives as a motivator for quitting, sustaining cessation efforts with online group support, and building a therapeutic alliance with cessation counselors.ConclusionMobile-based interventions, combined with peer support, financial incentives, and campus-wide smoke-free activities, can effectively engage young adults in smoking cessation. Future interventions should implement comprehensive programs that incorporate these elements to address the unique challenges faced by this population.published_or_final_versio