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Abstract Background Newborn screening programmes offer an opportunity to obtain dried blood spots (DBS) cards that contain a wealth of biological information that can be stored for long periods and have potential benefits for research and quality assurance. However, the storage and secondary uses of DBS cards pose numerous ethical, clinical, and social challenges. Empirical research exploring public attitudes is central to public policy planning as it can indicate whether or not there is broad public support, define public concerns, and ascertain the circumstances required to alleviate concerns and ensure support. This study aims to describe the clinical experience and attitudes towards newborn screening and investigate the perceptions and expectations of Hong Kong parents and healthcare providers regarding the retention of DBS cards and their usage for research. Methods We conducted semi-structured in-person interviews with 20 parents and healthcare providers in Hong Kong. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results Awareness of the significant research value of secondary uses of dried blood spot cards is low. Parents and healthcare providers support the storage and secondary uses of DBS cards with some concerns, including privacy and confidentiality breaches, the risk of discrimination or stigmatisation based on genetic information, and their inability to oversee the use of their child’s biospecimen. Parents, however, prioritise their child’s health over privacy concerns and support identifiable storage using pseudonymity to gain more information about their children's health. Conclusion Child information takes precedence over potential concerns over privacy, underscoring the significance of engaging patients and the public in shaping public policy related to biobanking and healthcare research, in line with cultural and social values.

Abstract Developmental stuttering is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by disfluent speech. It has been associated with mutations in genes involved in lysosomal enzyme trafficking. Mice with mutations in one such gene, Gnptab, exhibit atypical vocalizations analogous to stuttering in humans. This mouse model has enabled the study of various molecular mechanisms related to the disorder. Simultaneously, an increasing number of reports have suggested the role of gut microbiota in altered brain function and development in neurological disorders. In this study, we compared gut microbiota profiles from Gnptab mutant mice to wildtype control mice. Microbiome analysis demonstrated a distinct microbiota profile in Gnptab mutant mice. The most significant alteration was an increased relative abundance of Akkermansia, a genus of mucin degrading bacteria, which has previously been associated with multiple neurological disorders. Moreover, the altered microbiota profile of these mice was predicted to result in differences in abundance of several metabolic pathways, including short chain fatty acid and lipopolysaccharide synthesis. These pathways may play a role in the onset, progression and persistence of developmental stuttering. This is the first study to show a potential link between developmental stuttering and changes in the gut microbiota, laying the groundwork for a new research direction.

Anode modification and optimization is crucial towards improving performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). PEDOT:PSS is the most common choice as a hole transport layer (HTL) material, but suffers from issues including low conductivity. In this work, three alkyl amine derivatives - methylamine hydrochloride (MA), ethylamine hydrochloride (EA) and propylamine hydrochloride (PA) are doped into the commercially available Al 4083 PEDOT:PSS to form PEDOT:PSS-MA, PEDOT:PSS-EA and PEDOT:PSS-PA, as modified HTLs. All these modified HTLs exhibit improved chemical and electrical properties including work functions (WF), conductivities and charge carrier motilities. The alkyl amine doping shows compatibility in both Small Molecular Acceptors and All-Polymer OSCs. With PEDOT:PSS-MA demonstrates a highest PCE of 18.49 % compared to the 17.84 % of OSC devices prepared with pristine PEDOT:PSS with the PM6:L8-BO system, while PM6:PY-IT all-polymer OSCs improve PCE from 14.53 % to 15.22 %. AFM characterizations reveal that the introduction of the dopants have smoothened the surface morphology of spin-coated HTL films, which contributes towards more efficient charge extraction. In summary, this study not only presents a method of improving OSC efficiencies, but also provides insight and further possible directions towards anode optimization of OSCs.

We present the clinical course of a 4-year-old girl with neurofibromatosis type 1-associated, unresectable, symptomatic urinary bladder ganglioneuroma. She was initially trialed on sirolimus without response and subsequently responded to MEK inhibitor trametinib, with improvement clinically and radiographically over 10 months. This report broadens the repertoire of therapeutic strategies for MEK inhibition in diseases related to the MAPK pathway.

Summary: Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is common following first-episode psychosis (FEP), contributing to substantial morbidity and mortality. The Psychosis Metabolic Risk Calculator (PsyMetRiC), a risk prediction algorithm for MetS following a FEP diagnosis, was developed in the United Kingdom and has been validated in other European populations. However, the predictive accuracy of PsyMetRiC in Chinese populations is unknown. Methods: FEP patients aged 15–35 y, first presented to the Early Assessment Service for Young People with Early Psychosis (EASY) Programme in Hong Kong (HK) between 2012 and 2021 were included. A binary MetS outcome was determined based on the latest available follow-up clinical information between 1 and 12 years after baseline assessment. The PsyMetRiC Full and Partial algorithms were assessed for discrimination, calibration and clinical utility in the HK sample, and logistic calibration was conducted to account for population differences. Sensitivity analysis was performed in patients aged >35 years and using Chinese MetS criteria. Findings: The main analysis included 416 FEP patients (mean age = 23.8 y, male sex = 40.4%, 22.4% MetS prevalence at follow-up). PsyMetRiC showed adequate discriminative performance (full-model C = 0.76, 95% C.I. = 0.69–0.81; partial-model: C = 0.73, 95% C.I. = 0.65–0.8). Systematic risk underestimation in both models was corrected using logistic calibration to refine PsyMetRiC for HK Chinese FEP population (PsyMetRiC-HK). PsyMetRiC-HK provided a greater net benefit than competing strategies. Results remained robust with a Chinese MetS definition, but worse for the older age group. Interpretation: With good predictive performance for incident MetS, PsyMetRiC-HK presents a step forward for personalized preventative strategies of cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality in young Hong Kong Chinese FEP patients. Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Abstract About 15–40% of patients with schizophrenia are treatment resistance (TR) and require clozapine. Identifying individuals who have higher risk of development of TR early in the course of illness is important to provide personalized intervention. A total of 1400 patients with FEP enrolled in the early intervention for psychosis service or receiving the standard psychiatric service between July 1, 1998, and June 30, 2003, for the first time were included. Clozapine prescriptions until June 2015, as a proxy of TR, were obtained. Premorbid information, baseline characteristics, and monthly clinical information were retrieved systematically from the electronic clinical management system (CMS). Training and testing samples were established with random subsampling. An automated machine learning (autoML) approach was used to optimize the ML algorithm and hyperparameters selection to establish four probabilistic classification models (baseline, 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month information) of TR development. This study found 191 FEP patients (13.7%) who had ever been prescribed clozapine over the follow-up periods. The ML pipelines identified with autoML had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ranging from 0.676 (baseline information) to 0.774 (36-month information) in predicting future TR. Features of baseline information, including schizophrenia diagnosis and age of onset, and longitudinal clinical information including symptoms variability, relapse, and use of antipsychotics and anticholinergic medications were important predictors and were included in the risk calculator. The risk calculator for future TR development in FEP patients (TRipCal) developed in this study could support the continuous development of data-driven clinical tools to assist personalized interventions to prevent or postpone TR development in the early course of illness and reduce delay in clozapine initiation.

This article examines the role of university students during the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong, analyzing their strategy to mobilize schools' physical, symbolic, and interpersonal resources, and how the authorities reacted by restricting and redefining key resources. Universities have served as a safe space since police officers traditionally are not allowed to enter them. Some schools are also strategically located to allow for more disruptive protests. Since Confucianism venerates the moral value of learning, universities are perceived as a hallowed symbol of intellectual conscience, justifying students' defiance. Universities are commonly seen as warm families whose leaders are obliged to protect students. Finally, universities sustain a rich network of cross-mobilization. The regime restricts access to resources by tightening campus control and reshuffling university leadership, and redefined the symbolic meanings by discrediting higher education. We find interpersonal relationships constitute the most resilient resource because they are embedded in everyday life common identities.