43 research outputs found
From appreciation to dwelling : on the evolution of Hong Kong's non-fiction nature writing = Cong shang wan dao qi ju : lun Xianggang fei xu gou zi ran shu xie zhi yan bian
No full textRecent scholarship on Hong Kong’s nature-oriented literature predominantly looks into fiction. This thesis examines non-fictional prose, so as to highlight the generic feature of nature writing, in which field experience, knowledge and emotions of the author are intertwined. It aims to fill the gap in literary ecocriticism and trace the evolving trajectory of Hong Kong’s nature writing since the 1930s. How do these texts reflect the interrelationship between humans, non-human beings and the environment? How do they interact with the environmental discourse in Hong Kong over time? In particular, this study focuses on three types of nature writing—travel accounts of the countryside, plant and animal writing, as well as pastoral writing. Borrowing the theoretical lens of “mobility” and “sense of place” from human geography, this thesis explicates how various mobilities in the texts alter human-nature relations and present the possibility of “nature as a place”. It first explores how different ways of walking shape the travelers’ perceptions towards the countryside. It then illustrates the influence of interactive dynamics between human and non-human beings on the imagination of a cohabiting place. Eventually, it elaborates how the author establishes a profound connection with the land through farming. Despite the distinctive development and internal heterogeneity of each type, the texts generally demonstrate a turn from the anthropocentric, urban identified topophilia to the nature-oriented topophilia. It shows humans gradually move beyond their experiences of leisure, stop manipulating nature, and (re-)learn to dwell with it in the Anthropocene.published_or_final_versionChineseMasterMaster of Philosoph
Trends of prescribing adherence of antiplatelet agents in Hong Kong patients with acute coronary syndrome: a 10-year retrospective observational cohort study
No full textObjectivesThe objective of this study is to examine the temporal trend of antiplatelet prescribing pattern during index hospitalisation discharge in Hong Kong (HK) acute coronary syndrome (ACS) population.DesignThe study is a retrospective observational cohort study.SettingThe study retrieved data from electronic health record from Hospital Authority (HA), HK.ParticipantsThe study included patients aged 18 years old or above, who were admitted to seven institutions under HA with diagnosis of ACS during 2008–2017.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the frequency of antiplatelet therapy prescription at the point of index hospitalisation discharge each year during 2008–2017. Association between demographics, baseline comorbidities, procedures and antiplatelet prescription were examined as secondary outcome using multivariate logistic regression model, with commonly used antiplatelet groups selected for comparison.ResultsAmong the included 14 716 patients, 5888 (40.0%) discharged with aspirin alone, 6888 (46.8%) discharged with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with clopidogrel, and 973 (6.6%) discharged with DAPT with prasugrel/ticagrelor. Prescribing rate of aspirin alone decreased substantially from 56.8% in 2008 to 27.5% in 2017. Utilisation of DAPT with clopidogrel increased from 33.7% in 2008 to 52.7% in 2017. Use of DAPT with prasugrel/ticagrelor increased from 0.3% in 2010 to 15.3% in 2017. Compared with those prescribed with DAPT with clopidogrel, male patients (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.34, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.65), patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (aOR 2.50, 1.98 to 3.16) or ST-elevation myocardial infarction (aOR 3.26, 2.59 to 4.09), use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (aOR 3.03, 2.48 to 3.68) or undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (aOR 3.85, 3.24 to 4.58) or coronary artery bypass graft (aOR 6.52, 4.63 to 9.18) during index hospitalisation, concurrent use of histamine-2 receptor antagonists (aOR 1.35, 1.10 to 1.65) or proton pump inhibitors (aOR 3.57, 2.93 to 4.36) during index hospitalisation discharge were more likely to be prescribed with DAPT with prasugrel/ticagrelor. Patients with older age (aOR 0.97, 0.96 to 0.97), diabetes (aOR 0.68, 0.52 to 0.88), chronic kidney disease (aOR 0.43, 0.22 to 0.85) or concurrent use of oral anticoagulant (aOR 0.16, 0.07 to 0.42) were more likely to received DAPT with clopidogrel.ConclusionsUse of DAPT with prasugrel/ticagrelor was suboptimal yet improving during 2008–2017 in HK patients with ACS. Considering DAPT, predictors for clopidogrel prescription, compared with prasugrel/ticagrelor, were consistent with identified risk factors of bleeding
Life’s simple 7 and cardiovascular disease risk knowledge in Hong Kong
No full textBackgroundThis study aimed at investigating the CV health and CV disease knowledge in terms of LS7 score among 3 age groups in Hong Kong.MethodsA cross-sectional multicenter observational study was conducted to observe the CV health and disease risk knowledge in Hong Kong. Elderly subjects were recruited from 15 elderly centers, whereas young adults and the middle-aged were recruited from 6 on-campus health check sessions. Subjects’ demographics, lifestyle behavior and risk knowledge were obtained through questionnaire while their body mass index, random capillary blood glucose, blood cholesterol and blood pressure were measured. LS7 score and risk knowledge score was calculated.ResultsThe LS7 of younger adult, middle-aged and elderly were 10.6 ± 1.3, 9.3 ± 1.9 and 9.7 ± 1.7 respectively. Only 0.6% participants have attained ideal CV health and 35.9% have 5 to 7 ideal CV health metrics. Elderly performed worst in risk knowledge with a score of 8.1 ± 3.3 while young adult and middle-aged were similar (9.6 ± 1.8 and 9.7 ± 1.5). 71% of the participants correctly identified ≥9 components. Logistic regression revealed that subjects aged ≤65 years (OR 2.341, 95% CI 1.779 to 3.080) and with tertiary education (OR 2.031, 95% CI 1.527 to 2.701) were more likely to obtain optimum LS7. No association was found between having optimum LS7 and full knowledge.ConclusionOnly few adults in this study population had ideal CV health as defined by AHA. Knowledge has no association but young age and tertiary education has positive association with CV health.</p
Warfarin control in Hong Kong clinical practice: a single-centre observational study
No full textIntroduction: Time in therapeutic range (TTR) assesses the safety and effectiveness of warfarin therapy using the international normalised ratio. This study investigated the TTR in Hong Kong patients using both European and Japanese therapeutic ranges and patients' economic and clinical outcomes. Predictors of poor warfarin control and patient knowledge concerning warfarin therapy were assessed. Methods:A 5-month observational study with retrospective and prospective components was conducted in the Prince of Wales Hospital. The study examined electronic patient records of patients who received warfarin for at least 1 year during the period from January 2010 to August 2015.Patient knowledge was assessed via phone interview using the Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge (OAK) test. Results:In total, 259 patients were included; 174 completed the OAK test. The calculated mean TTR was 40.2±17.1% (European therapeutic range), compared with 49.1±16.1% (Japanese therapeutic range) [P<0.001].Mean TTR was higher in patients with atrial fibrillation than in patients with prosthetic heart valve (P<0.001).The abilities of TTR to predict clinical and economic outcomes were comparable between European and Japanese therapeutic ranges. Patients with ideal TTR had fewer clinical Warfarin control in Hong Kong clinical practice: a single-centre observational stud
Hand, foot and mouth disease: spatiotemporal transmission and climate
No full textBACKGROUND: The Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD) is the most common infectious disease in China, its total incidence being around 500,000~1,000,000 cases per year. The composite space-time disease variation is the result of underlining attribute mechanisms that could provide clues about the physiologic and demographic determinants of disease transmission and also guide the appropriate allocation of medical resources to control the disease.METHODS AND FINDINGS: HFMD cases were aggregated into 1456 counties and during a period of 11 months. Suspected climate attributes to HFMD were recorded monthly at 674 stations throughout the country and subsequently interpolated within 1456 × 11 cells across space-time (same as the number of HFMD cases) using the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) method while taking into consideration the relevant uncertainty sources. The dimensionalities of the two datasets together with the integrated dataset combining the two previous ones are very high when the topologies of the space-time relationships between cells are taken into account. Using a self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm the dataset dimensionality was effectively reduced into 2 dimensions, while the spatiotemporal attribute structure was maintained. 16 types of spatiotemporal HFMD transmission were identified, and 3-4 high spatial incidence clusters of the HFMD types were found throughout China, which are basically within the scope of the monthly climate (precipitation) types.CONCLUSIONS: HFMD propagates in a composite space-time domain rather than showing a purely spatial and purely temporal variation. There is a clear relationship between HFMD occurrence and climate. HFMD cases are geographically clustered and closely linked to the monthly precipitation types of the region. The occurrence of the former depends on the later.<br/
1,2-Migration in the reactions of ruthenium vinyl carbene with propargyl alcohols
No full textReactions of the ruthenium vinyl carbene complex [Ru{CHC(PPh3)CH(2-Py)}Cl2PPh3]BF4 (1) with five propargyl alcohols HC CC(OH)(RR2)-R-1, (R-1 = R-2 = Ph; R-1 = Ph, R-2 = CH3; R-1 = H, R-2 = Ph; R-1 = H, R-2 = CH3; R1 = CH=CH2, R-2 = CH3) have been investigated, which led to the formation of several ten-membered eta(2)-olefin coordinated ruthenacycles [Ru{O=(CRCHR1)-C-2-eta(2)-CH=CHC(PPh3)=CH(2-Py)}Cl2PPh3]BF4 (R-1 = R-2 = Ph, 2; R-1 = Ph, R-2 = CH3, 3; R-1 = H, R-2 = Ph, 4; R-1 = H, R-2 = CH3, 5; R-1 = CH=CH2, R-2 = CH3, 6), respectively. In these reactions, insertion of alkynes and intramolecular 1,2-migration of propargyl alcohols were performed in tandem. The results show that the 1,2-migratory preference of the groups is in the order of H > Ph > CH3. Complexes 2, 3, 5, and 6 were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectra.SCI(E)[email protected]
Explaining Output Volatility: The Case of Taxation
No full textThis paper presents empirical evidence against the popular perception that macro volatility is exogenous. We obtain tax effects on macro aggregates in the stochastic neoclassical model. Taxes are shown to affect the second moment of output growth rates without affecting the first moment. Exploiting heterogeneity patterns in a panel of OECD countries, we estimate tax effects on macro volatility, explicitly modeling the unobserved variance process. We find a strong empirical link between taxes and output volatility. Accounting for non-stationarity of taxes and output volatility, we find empirical evidence of a cointegrating relationship.macroeconomic volatility, tax effects, continuous-time DSGE models
Lineage Divergence and Historical Gene Flow in the Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sinicus)
No full textPMCID: PMC3581519This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Involvement of Na/K-ATPase in hydrogen peroxide-induced activation of the Src/ERK pathway in LLC-PK1 cells
No full textWe have shown that Na/K-ATPase interacts with Src. Here, we test the role of this interaction in H2O2-induced activation of Src and ERK. We found that exposure of LLC-PK1 cells to H2O2 generated by the addition of glucose oxidase into the culture medium activated Src and ERK1/2. It also caused a modest reduction in the number of surface Na/K-ATPases and in ouabain-sensitive Rb+ uptake. These effects of H2O2 seem similar to those induced by ouabain, a specific ligand of Na/K-ATPase, in LLC-PK1 cells. In accordance, we found that the effects of H2O2 on Src and ERK1/2 were inhibited in alpha 1 Na/K-ATPaseknockdown PY-17 cells. Whereas expression of wild-type alpha 1 or the A420P mutant alpha 1 defective in Src regulation rescued the pumping activity in PY-17 cells, only alpha 1, and not the A420P mutant, was able to restore the H2O2-induced activation of protein kinases. Consistent with this, disrupting the formation of the Na/K-ATPase/Src complex with pNaKtide attenuated the effects of H2O2 on the kinases. Moreover, a direct effect of H2O2 on Na/K-ATPase-mediated regulation of Src was demonstrated. Finally, H2O2 reduced the expression of E-cadherin through the Na/K-ATPase/Src-mediated signaling pathway. Taken together, the data suggest that the Na/K-ATPase/Src complex may serve as one of the receptor mechanisms for H2O2 to regulate Src/ERK protein kinases and consequently the phenotype of renal epithelial cells. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyEndocrinology & MetabolismSCI(E)[email protected]
Electroacupuncture at PC6 or ST36 Influences the Effect of Tacrine on the Motility of Esophagus
No full textAim. To investigate the mechanisms of gastrointestinal side effects of tacrine, and find treatment methods with electroacupuncture (EA). Methods. Twenty-five healthy cats were randomly divided into 5 groups: gastric-distention group (model group), tacrine group (cholinesterase inhibitor), tacrine + sham acupoint group (control group), tacrine + PC6 (neiguan) group, and tacrine + ST36 (zusanli) group, with 5 cats in each group. Saline 2mL i.p. was given 30 min before gastric distention in model group. Tacrine 5.6mg/kg i.p. was given 30 minutes before gastric distention in the other groups. Tacrine + sham acupoint group (control group), tacrine + PC6 group, and tacrine + ST36 group received EA at corresponding acupoints during gastric distention. The frequency of TLESRs and LESP were recorded by using a perfused sleeve assembly. Results. Compared with the model group, tacrine significantly increased the frequency of gastric distention-induced TLESR (P < 0.05) but did not influence the rate of common cavity during TLESR. Tacrine significantly increased the LESP, which could not remain during gastric distention. EA at PC6 could decrease the frequency of TLESR and maintain the increase of LESP, but EA at ST36 did not have these effects. Conclusion. Tacrine can significantly increase the gastric distention-induced transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations (TLESRs). Electroacupuncture (EA) at PC6 may reverse the above side effect.Integrative & Complementary MedicineSCI(E)[email protected]
