2,769 research outputs found
Die “ek” in (‘YK’): Die desentralisasie van die subjek in Breyten Breytenbach se digbundel (‘YK’)
No full textIn Breyten Breytenbach’s poetry the “I” is complex. “I” and “you”, the writer and the reader, are not represented with constituted meanings but as signifiers and as part of language production. This article reflects on the development process of the writer as the textual “I”, the “I” narrator in the poetic text – the “I” of language that is not homogeneous or constant. The text is regarded as a pluriform in dialogue (often incomplete) with a variety of texts, the writer and his text, the texts of the reader and the texts of society and history. The author discusses the decentralisation of the subject in Breytenbach’s poetry with respect to his prison collection (‘YK’), and especially the poem “nekra” (a neologism recalling “necro”)
Analysis and Reconstruction of Shipwreck YK 11 (c. Seventh Century A.D.) from the Theodosian Harbor at Yenikapı in Istanbul, Turkey
No full textSince 2004, the Istanbul Archaeological Museums have conducted salvage archaeological excavations at the construction site of an underground railway station at Yenikapı in Istanbul, Turkey. These excavations have unearthed the remains of Constantinople’s Theodosian Harbor (Portus Theodosiacus), including 36 Byzantine shipwrecks. The detailed study of eight of these wrecks was allocated to a small international team under the direction of Cemal Pulak from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at Texas A&M University. One of these shipwrecks, YK 11, was a small, heavily-repaired, pine-built merchantman abandoned as a derelict at the western end of the harbor early in the seventh century. This dissertation serves as a detailed record of the YK 11 hull remains, provides a theoretical reconstruction of the vessel, compares the ship’s construction with that of contemporaneous vessels, and explores the ship’s historical context.
The YK 11 hull was excavated, dismantled, and removed from the construction zone at Yenikapı in 2008. The author conducted the post-excavation documentation of the ship’s timbers between 2009 and 2012, following methods established by Fred van Doorninck and J. Richard Steffy of INA in their work with Mediterranean shipwrecks. This documentation revealed that YK 11 had undergone a series of significant repairs over the ship’s lifetime. In these repairs, much of the ship’s original planking, edge fastened with unpegged mortise-and-tenon joints below the waterline, was replaced with planks lacking edge fasteners; a considerable number of the ship’s frames were also replaced. These repairs to YK 11 significantly complicated the interpretation of its original construction.
The paucity of edge fasteners, presence of caulking, and attachment of frames to the keel might be taken as evidence that YK 11 was built after a skeleton-based tradition. However, with the detailed documentation of each component timber, a careful analysis of fastening patterns, the identification of repairs, and a thorough study of the preserved surface detail, it is clear that YK 11, although exhibiting evidence of both shell-first and skeleton-first techniques, was initially designed and built as a primarily shell-based vessel. As such, this study of YK 11 contributes valuable new information toward a better understanding of the transition from shell-based to skeleton-based shipbuilding in the Mediterranean
Suržyk as a Transitional Stage from Russian to Ukrainian: The Perspective of Ukrainian Migrants and War Refugees in Finland
No full textThis article examines how Ukrainian migrants and war refugees in Finland perceive and use Suržyk, a cluster of intermediate varieties between Ukrainian and Russian, as a transitional stage facilitating the shift from Russian-dominant to Ukrainian-dominant speech. Drawing on 1615 survey responses collected between November 2022 and January 2023, the study reveals that 42 respondents view Suržyk as a bridge that supports the gradual acquisition of standard Ukrainian. Qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses shows repeated references to Suržyk as a “stepping stone”, “temporary means” or “bridge”, highlighting its role in maintaining intelligibility and fluency for speakers who are not confident in standard Ukrainian. Although some respondents acknowledge the stigma associated with mixed speech, they also stress Suržyk’s practical advantages in contexts shaped by the 2022 full-scale war and heightened purist discourses. Speakers report pressure to adhere to purist language norms in formal settings, whereas in informal spaces, they consider Suržyk a natural outcome of bilingual backgrounds. These findings illuminate the interplay between language ideologies, sociopolitical dynamics, and individual agency, suggesting that for many Ukrainians in Finland, Suržyk serves as a temporary yet functional means to align with Ukrainian identity under rapidly changing circumstances
Understanding the formation of ultrafine spinel CoFe₂O₄ nanoplatelets and their magnetic properties
No full textAuthor name used in this publication: Leung, Chiwah.Author name used in this publication: Chan YukkwanAuthor name used in this publication: Mak, CheeleungAuthor name used in this publication: Wong, Kinhung2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishedVoR allowe
Harnessing the power of deep learning for ophthalmic disease diagnosis : a study on glaucoma and exudative age-related macular degeneration
No full textThis thesis aims to bring about a paradigm shift in managing and classifying medical diseases,
mainly focusing on two prevalent eye conditions: glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration
(AMD). Our research integrates advanced imaging technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to
transition from a static approach, which classifies diseases based on a single time point, to a dynamic
one, which monitors disease progression over time.
The first part of the thesis focuses on improving the diagnosis of normal tension glaucoma (NTG)
using a U-net to segment large central vessels. By calculating radial peripapillary vessel density in a
dataset of 3051 OCTA images, this approach discriminates between normal subjects, those with
suspected glaucoma, and NTG subjects. The methodology includes layer and clock-hour analysis for
every subject, enabling dynamic diagnosis and monitoring of vessel density abnormalities over time.
The developed classification model accurately distinguishes between glaucomatous and normal subjects,
with an AUC of the ROC and PRC curve of 0.97 and 0.96, respectively. Furthermore, the exact clock
hour and layers contributing to the decision-making can be localised, enhancing the model's
interpretability. The model's performance on a suspect glaucoma dataset introduces uncertainty,
reflecting the model's capacity to learn and interpret ambiguous cases implicitly. This capability could
significantly improve early intervention in clinical practice by accurately identifying asymptomatic or
suspect cases.
The second part of the thesis presents a novel machine-learning model designed to monitor the
progression of AMD over time. Using a 'time-differential superimposition' methodology, we create
artificial longitudinal datasets for training a model to manage exudative AMD using Macular crosssectional
OCT images. This model discerns multiple stages of AMD progression within the same image,
marking a significant advancement in the field. The decision-making process is interpreted using Grad-
CAM and EigenCAM visualisations, illuminating the areas the AI model deems necessary for AMD
progression. The model's ability to focus on areas of clinical relevance and provide near-perfect
prognostic classifications on a per-slice basis illustrates its potential utility in a clinical setting, offering
actionable insights for clinicians. The model displayed substantial agreement when tested against three
independent clinicians on an external validation set. Fleiss's Kappa scores revealed strong agreement
among all experts (0.876), between the AI model and the human experts (0.887), and almost perfect
agreement between the consensus of experts and the AI model (0.96). These results underscore the
interpretability of the AI model, providing clinicians with intuitive and actionable insights. Efforts are
underway to translate the AI model into commercially available software, demonstrating the practical
and marketable application of the research.This thesis paves the way for future research, advocating a shift from static to dynamic disease
classification and management while enhancing the interpretability and reliability of AI models. The
findings of this study have far-reaching implications for ophthalmology and beyond, highlighting the
potential for seamlessly integrating the developed AI tools into clinical practice. These tools enhance
clinicians' capabilities, contributing to more effective and dynamic disease management. Including
uncertainty quantification and model interpretability underscores the importance and feasibility of
transparent AI applications in healthcare.published_or_final_versionOphthalmologyDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Evolutionary relationships between and within the highland papayas (Genus vasconcellea) and the common papaya (Carica papaya)
No full textBeing less known than the common papaya, but offering a variety of tasty fruits and great economical potential for breeding programmes, highland papayas (Vasconcellea spp.) are generally considered as under-utilized Andean crops. In the course of ethnobotanical surveys, an undescribed morphological variability among and within species of the genus Vasconcellea was observed, and identification of some of the taxa appeared to be hard or sometimes impossible. This high amount of diversity is probably partly caused by the intercompatibility between several species leading to the production of hybrids, spontaneously occurring in areas where species distributions overlap. Several recent molecular studies have focused on unraveling the taxonomy and the complicated evolutionary relationships between Vasconcellea spp. By using different molecular marker techniques and DNA sequence analyses, these studies provided new information about the genetic diversity and evolution of Vasconcellea in comparison with Carica papaya and other related genera. This review illustrates the utility of molecular marker techniques and sequence analyses to resolve taxonomic questions in Caricaceae. In general, the evolution of Vasconcellea has been shown to involve both recent speciation and reticulation
Splice variant profiling in relation to tamoxifen resistance in breastcancer
No full textpublished_or_final_versionPathologyMasterMaster of Philosoph
Study of minichromosome-maintenance-deficient 4 (MCM4) gene in breast cancer
No full textpublished_or_final_versionPathologyMasterMaster of Philosoph
藟緣論集
No full text《藟緣論集》是為紀念香港大學中文學院李家樹先生榮休而結集出版的學術文集。本書是關於語言學研究的文學文集，收錄了張天翼的兒童文學觀、《和合本》在中文聖經多元系統中的位置、《紅樓夢》眾文體的作用等相關語言學文集
Functionalized hydrogel-based corneal bandage for treatment of corneal diseases
No full textThe cornea serves as a barrier for eye against the external environment, while the optimal barrier hinges upon the completeness of the corneal structure. However, the cornea is constantly exposed to a range of threats from the outside environment, such as pathogen invasion and physical injury. Bacterial keratitis is commonly encountered that can rapidly deteriorate the cornea which can give rise to complications, including severe damage to the corneal epithelial layer. Excessive use of antibiotics for treatment of bacterial keratitis can result in the emergence of drug-resistance. Consequently, development of a treatment method to effectively eliminate bacteria without fostering drug-resistance becomes an urgent necessity. Furthermore, it is imperative to facilitate the recovery of the impaired corneal epithelial layer and other corneal tissues once the bacteria are eradicated to prevent subsequent corneal inflammation or scarring.
Approaches have been explored for management of these corneal disease. Notably, hydrogels garnered growing interest due to their excellent transparency, exceptional biocompatibility, and ease of modification. This study primarily centers around the development of a treatment approach for bacterial keratitis and epithelial defect, utilizing a modified biocompatible hydrogel, poly-lysine (PεK) hydrogel.
Near-infrared activated nanomaterials were encapsulated within PεK hydrogel to fabricate an antibacterial tear-responsive photo-activated hydrogel bandage (tgr-PAHB), with the aim of treating bacterial infections. The antibacterial efficacy and biocompatibility of tgr-PAHB were evaluated through in-vitro investigations. Tgr-PAHB exhibited exceptional antibacterial capabilities, achieving nearly 100% elimination of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while maintaining approximately 90% viability of epithelial cells. Additionally, tgr-PAHB demonstrated promising ability to eliminate drug-resistant bacteria in ex-vivo models compared to antibiotics employed in clinical treatment.
Following the successful development of the tgr-PAHB, our endeavors extended to the construction of a living corneal bandage (LCB) for healing of substantial corneal epithelial defects. A scaffold-free cell planar structure was prepared within an aqueous two-phase system and subsequently transferred onto a PεK hydrogel to form the LCB. In-vitro experiments substantiated that cells in LCB retain proliferation and migration capabilities. Furthermore, ex-vivo investigations demonstrate that the application of the LCB promptly filled the epithelial defect, covering over 50% of the affected area following transplantation. These findings supported that the LCB holds the promise as a viable approach for the treatment of extensive epithelial defects.
Additionally, constructing of cell structures with diverse spatial shapes was also conducted within an all-aqueous system aiming at regenerating damaged corneal tissue. By introducing a controllable droplet phase, cell structures exhibiting monolayer and hollow configurations can be fabricated with the ability to vary in size accordingly. Explorations to the physical nature of the aqueous system and the assembly behavior of the cells were conducted to enhance the control of synthesis. These results showcase the potential for precise manipulation of cell structures, which can inspire avenues for the regeneration of injured corneal tissue.
This study provides potential approaches with modified hydrogels for treatment of bacterial keratitis and epithelial defects, as well as methods for preparing various cell structures for corneal tissue regeneration. These innovative solutions may be developed and undergo commercialization in the future.published_or_final_versionOphthalmologyDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
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