In Hong Kong, transfer students encounter different challenges unfolding in their transition from community college to university study. However, limited research has been conducted to explore their ...discipline-specific challenges. To address this gap, in this study three engineering and science faculties were selected from which to collect data through 35 in-depth interviews with transfer students, followed by a thorough thematic analysis. With the concept of in-betweenness, three main themes were identified: (1) "shifted the focus of study" (three sub-themes: (i) academic excellence in community college; (ii) future career in the university; and (iii) university life); (2) "encountered challenges in the transition" (four sub-themes: (i) non-matching program articulation; (ii) heavy study workload and its associated consequences; and (iii) non-specific administration arrangement and support from university); and (3) "students' voices to enhance learning experiences" (four sub-themes: (i) modify the study duration; (ii) improve program articulation; (iii) improve social adjustment; and (iv) overseas exchange). The results of this study indicate the challenges faced by transfer students in their transition from community college to university and have implications for universities to design and implement appropriate strategies to prepare for the future.
A novel line of research suggests that eating at nighttime may have several metabolic consequences that are highly relevant to breast cancer. We investigated the association between nighttime eating ...habits after 10 p.m. and breast cancer in Hong Kong women.
A hospital-based case-control study was conducted during 2012-2015. A total of 922 patients with incident breast cancer (cases) and 913 hospital controls were recruited and interviewed using a standard questionnaire including information on eating behavior during both daytime and nighttime. We collected the timing, duration, types and frequencies of food intake of eating at nighttime. Odds ratios (ORs) for the risk of breast cancer in relation to nighttime eating-related variables were calculated by unconditional multivariable logistic regression.
Eating at night after 10 pm was significantly associated with breast cancer with an adjusted OR of 1.50 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-2.12, P = 0.02), and the associations were stronger in women who had the longest duration of nighttime eating (≥20 years) (adjusted OR = 2.28 (95% CI 1.13-4.61, P = 0.02) and who ate late (midnight to 2 a.m.) (adjusted OR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.01-6.99, P = 0.04). Interestingly, nighttime eating was only associated with breast cancer among women who consumed staple foods (OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.42-3.29, P < 0.001) but not those who ate vegetables or fruits as nighttime meals. The significant association between nighttime eating and breast cancer was observed among women with body mass index (BMI) <25 (OR = 2.29, 95% CI 1.48-3.52, P < 0.001) but not among women with BMI ≥25.
Results from this study suggest a possible association between nighttime eating behavior and breast cancer. These findings need to be confirmed by independent large studies.
To examine the incidence and trend of child maltreatment and its associated health problems in Hong Kong by linking healthcare and social service databases.
Data on 4816 children under the age of 18 ...years registered with the Child Protection Registry and matching health records in public hospitals in Hong Kong from 2003 to 2010 were extracted. Associations were examined between different types of child maltreatment and child's medical diagnosis according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision codes including suicidal attempt (X60-X84), nonchild maltreatment related injuries (S00-S99; T00-T98, excluding T74 and T76 that are maltreatment related injuries), mental health problems (F00-F99), and congenital malformations/chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99).
Significant rising trends were found for child physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse during the period from 2003 to 2010. Psychological abuse remained stable. Risk of suicide attempt was higher among children suffering from sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and children experiencing multiple abuses; mental health diagnoses were more common in victims of psychological and multiple abuses. Congenital malformations and chromosomal abnormalities were more commonly found among neglected children.
In contrast to the decreasing trend observed in the West during the study period, there has been an escalating trend in child maltreatment in Hong Kong and child maltreatment is strongly associated with major health problems. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate the power of linking healthcare and social service databases, which allows for both a better understanding of the impact of child maltreatment and as a guide future policy and service planning.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The role of locoregional radiotherapy in patients with de novo metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (mNPC) is unclear.
To investigate the efficacy and safety of locoregional radiotherapy in de novo ...mNPC.
Patients with biopsy-proven mNPC, who demonstrated complete or partial response (RECIST v1.1) following 3 cycles of cisplatin and fluorouracil chemotherapy, were enrolled. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either chemotherapy plus radiotherapy or chemotherapy alone. Overall, 126 of 173 patients screened were eligible to the study, and randomized to chemotherapy plus radiotherapy (n = 63) or chemotherapy alone (n = 63). Median (IQR) follow-up duration was 26.7 (17.2-33.5) months.
The chemotherapy regimens were fluorouracil continuous intravenous infusion at 5 g/m2 over 120 hours and 100 mg/m2 intravenous cisplatin on day 1, administered every 3 weeks for 6 cycles. Patients assigned to the chemotherapy plus radiotherapy group received intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) after chemotherapy.
The primary end point of the study was overall survival (OS). The secondary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) and safety.
Overall, 126 patients were enrolled (105 men 83.3% and 21 women 16.7%; median IQR age, 46 39-52 years). The 24-month OS was 76.4% (95% CI, 64.4%-88.4%) in the chemotherapy plus radiotherapy group, compared with 54.5% (95% CI, 41.0%-68.0%) in the chemotherapy-alone group. The study met its primary end point of improved OS (stratified hazard ratio HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23-0.77; P = .004) in favor of chemotherapy plus radiotherapy. Progression-free survival was also improved in the chemotherapy plus radiotherapy group compared with the chemotherapy-alone group (stratified HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.23-0.57). No significant differences in acute hematological or gastrointestinal toxic effects were observed between the treatment arms. The frequency of acute grade 3 or higher dermatitis, mucositis, and xerostomia was 8.1%, 33.9%, and 6.5%, respectively, in the chemotherapy plus radiotherapy group. The frequency of late severe grade 3 or higher hearing loss and trismus was 5.2% and 3.4%, respectively, in the chemotherapy plus radiotherapy group.
In this randomized clinical trial, radiotherapy added to chemotherapy significantly improved OS in chemotherapy-sensitive patients with mNPC.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02111460.
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Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen ex C. H. Chow (P. notoginseng) is a highly valued Chinese materia medica having a hemostatic effect and mainly used for the treatment of trauma ...and ischemic cardiovascular diseases. Stringent growth requirements, weak resistance to insect pests and plant diseases, arsenic contamination and continuous cropping constitute hurdles to further increases in the agricultural production of P. notoginseng. This review focuses on the traditional uses (based on traditional Chinese medicine theory), major chemical components, biological activities, pharmacological properties, geographical distributions and historical development of taxonomy of P. notoginseng and its related species in Panax genus, including Panax japonicus C. A. Meyer (P. japonicus), Panax japonicus C. A. Meyer var. major (Burkill) C. Y. Wu et K. M. Feng (P. japonicus var. major) and Panax japonicus C. A. Meyer var. bipinnatifidus (Seem.) C. Y. Wu et K. M. Feng (P. japonicus var. bipinnatifidus) are reviewed. This review sheds light on the origin herbs of Zhujieshen (ZJS) and Zhuzishen (ZZS), e.g., P. japonicas var japonicas, P. japonicus var. major and P. japonicus var. bipinnatifidus could be used as a substitute for P. notoginseng as hemostatic herbs.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Marine organisms including bacteria, fungi, algae, sponges, echinoderms, mollusks, and cephalochordates produce a variety of products with antifungal activity including bacterial chitinases, ...lipopeptides, and lactones; fungal (-)-sclerotiorin and peptaibols, purpurides B and C, berkedrimane B and purpuride; algal gambieric acids A and B, phlorotannins; 3,5-dibromo-2-(3,5-dibromo-2-methoxyphenoxy)phenol, spongistatin 1, eurysterols A and B, nortetillapyrone, bromotyrosine alkaloids, bis-indole alkaloid, ageloxime B and (-)-ageloxime D, haliscosamine, hamigeran G, hippolachnin A from sponges; echinoderm triterpene glycosides and alkene sulfates; molluscan kahalalide F and a 1485-Da peptide with a sequence SRSELIVHQR; and cepalochordate chitotriosidase and a 5026.9-Da antifungal peptide. The antiviral compounds from marine organisms include bacterial polysaccharide and furan-2-yl acetate; fungal macrolide, purpurester A, purpurquinone B, isoindolone derivatives, alterporriol Q, tetrahydroaltersolanol C and asperterrestide A, algal diterpenes, xylogalactofucan, alginic acid, glycolipid sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol, sulfated polysaccharide p-KG03, meroditerpenoids, methyl ester derivative of vatomaric acid, lectins, polysaccharides, tannins, cnidarian zoanthoxanthin alkaloids, norditerpenoid and capilloquinol; crustacean antilipopolysaccharide factors, molluscan hemocyanin; echinoderm triterpenoid glycosides; tunicate didemnin B, tamandarins A and B and; tilapia hepcidin 1-5 (TH 1-5), seabream SauMx1, SauMx2, and SauMx3, and orange-spotted grouper β-defensin. Although the mechanisms of antifungal and antiviral activities of only some of the aforementioned compounds have been elucidated, the possibility to use those known to have distinctly different mechanisms, good bioavailability, and minimal toxicity in combination therapy remains to be investigated. It is also worthwhile to test the marine antimicrobials for possible synergism with existing drugs. The prospects of employing them in clinical practice are promising in view of the wealth of these compounds from marine organisms. The compounds may also be used in agriculture and the food industry.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Copper paste is poised to replace silver paste in some applications because of its low cost. However, a high temperature (>900 °C) is required for sintering a film printed with a copper micro-flakes ...paste, while film cracking might occur if the paste is made up of copper nanoparticles. In this study, these problems are ameliorated by using a mixture of copper micro-flakes and nanoparticles in the paste. The film printed with the paste containing bimodal particles could be sintered at a much lower temperature, and the presence of flakes could suppress the formation of cracks during sintering. The optimal formulation of the screen-print paste was determined to be 20 wt% copper flakes and 80 wt% copper nanoparticles in this study, leading to a volume resistivity of 28 µΩ cm for a film sintered with intense-pulsed light.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Coordination of cell division timing is crucial for proper cell fate specification and tissue growth. However, the differential regulation of cell division timing across or within cell types during ...metazoan development remains poorly understood. To elucidate the systems‐level genetic architecture coordinating division timing, we performed a high‐content screening for genes whose depletion produced a significant reduction in the asynchrony of division between sister cells (ADS) compared to that of wild‐type during Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis. We quantified division timing using 3D time‐lapse imaging followed by computer‐aided lineage analysis. A total of 822 genes were selected for perturbation based on their conservation and known roles in development. Surprisingly, we find that cell fate determinants are not only essential for establishing fate asymmetry, but also are imperative for setting the ADS regardless of cellular context, indicating a common genetic architecture used by both cellular processes. The fate determinants demonstrate either coupled or separate regulation between the two processes. The temporal coordination appears to facilitate cell migration during fate specification or tissue growth. Our quantitative dataset with cellular resolution provides a resource for future analyses of the genetic control of spatial and temporal coordination during metazoan development.
Synopsis
An RNAi screen followed by quantitative analyses of cell division timing reveals dual roles of fate determinants in temporal regulation and cell fate specification and provides a resource for analyzing the genetic control of spatiotemporal coordination during metazoan development.
A high‐content screen for C. elegans genes whose depletion affects asynchrony in cell division demonstrates that fate determinants are not only essential for establishing fate asymmetry, but also important in controlling division asynchrony regardless of cellular context.
Perturbation of cell fate determinants involved in the regulation of division pace frequently leads to a defective migration of the same cell.
The quantitative data with cellular resolution (available in the “Phenics” Database http://phenics.icts.hkbu.edu.hk/) constitute a resource for inferring cell‐specific gene pathways controlling spatiotemporal coordination during fate specification or tissue growth.
An RNAi screen followed by quantitative analyses of cell division timing reveals dual roles of fate determinants in temporal regulation and cell fate specification and provides a resource for analyzing the genetic control of spatiotemporal coordination during metazoan development.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Pricing is a crucial decision for electronic fashion retailers. Motivated by various observed industrial practices in electronic retailing, we study in this paper the optimal Internet pricing schemes ...which employ price testing with Bayesian information updating following the Bernoulli process. This paper contributes to the literature and advancement of knowledge in a number of ways: (i) we propose an analytical model to study the Internet pricing problem with price-testing and Bayesian information updating for fashion retailers. (ii) We derive the closed-form expressions of the expected value of sampling information (EVSI) and the expected value of perfect information (EVPI) under the price testing scheme. (iii) We conduct the pre-posterior analysis and construct the optimal sampling plan with three different rules. (iv) We develop the optimal posterior pricing policies, with respect to the mean-risk and Value-at-Risk (VaR) objectives. Numerical analyses, which include the studies on EVPI and the efficient frontiers, are presented to generate more insights.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
WW domain containing oxidoreductase, designated WWOX, FOR or WOX1, is a known pro-apoptotic factor when ectopically expressed in various types of cancer cells, including glioblastoma multiforme ...(GBM). The activation of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling, especially paracrine Shh secretion in response to radiation, is associated with impairing the effective irradiation of cancer cells. Here, we examined the role of Shh signaling and WOX1 overexpression in the radiosensitivity of human GBM cells. Our results showed that ionizing irradiation (IR) increased the cytoplasmic Shh and nuclear Gli-1 content in GBM U373MG and U87MG cells. GBM cells with exogenous Shh treatment exhibited similar results. Pretreatment with Shh peptides protected U373MG and U87MG cells against IR in a dose-dependent manner. Cyclopamine, a Hedgehog/Smoothened (SMO) inhibitor, reversed the protective effect of Shh in U87MG cells. Cyclopamine increased Shh plus IR-induced H2AX, a marker of DNA double-strand breaks, in these cells. To verify the role of Shh signaling in the radiosensitivity of GBM cells, we tested the effect of the Gli family zinc finger 1 (Gli-1) inhibitor zerumbone and found that it could sensitize GBM cells to IR. We next examined the role of WOX1 in radiosensitivity. Overexpression of WOX1 enhanced the radiosensitivity of U87MG (possessing wild type p53 or WTp53) but not U373MG (harboring mutant p53 or MTp53) cells. Pretreatment with Shh peptides protected both WOX1-overexpressed U373MG and U87MG cells against IR and increased the cytoplasmic Shh and nuclear Gli-1 content. Zerumbone enhanced the radiosensitivity of WOX1-overexpressed U373MG and U87MG cells. In conclusion, overexpression of WOX1 preferentially sensitized human GBM cells possessing wild type p53 to radiation therapy. Blocking of Shh signaling may enhance radiosensitivity independently of the expression of p53 and WOX1. The crosstalk between Shh signaling and WOX1 expression in human glioblastoma warrants further investigation.
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