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Workplace inclusion is a core component of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Hong Kong. Workplace inclusion points to the need for employers to recognize diversity among employees, to acknowledge their contributions to the work environment and to raise professional standards for the work force. Diversity within a workplace indicates inclusion of persons with different backgrounds as in racial, ethnic, sex, health status, sexual orientation and gender identity. Women are already less represented at senior levels across various business sectors in Hong Kong. Lesbians and bisexual women face a double glass ceiling in the workplace as a result of both their gender and sexual orientation. Funded by Lingnan University’s Innovation and Impact Fund, and in partnership with Interbank Forum and Lesbians in Finance, Prof. Denise Tse-Shang Tang conducted an online survey and two focus groups targeting lesbians and bisexual women working in Hong Kong’s financial and banking industry. The aim of the study is to examine the specific challenges and barriers faced by lesbians and bisexual women in Hong Kong’s financial services industry. We found that only 37% of survey respondents were out at work, with 23% partially out to close colleagues. In other words, there are still key concerns with being out at work. On the issue of a glass ceiling for LGBT+ corporate employees, 18% of the survey respondents agreed and 47% somewhat agreed that such a ceiling exists. When asked whether it is harder for lesbians and bisexual women to come out in the workplace than it is for gay men, 32% agreed and 46% somewhat agreed. 27% agreed and 39% somewhat agreed with the statement that it is difficult for lesbians and bisexual women to climb up the corporate ladder. Other findings pointed to the low visibility of lesbians and bisexual women in corporate settings, lack of mentorship, increased levels of stress and anxiety, and the fear of being judged as both a woman and a lesbian. Masculine-presenting employees face significantly more scrutiny than cisgender female employees. Therefore, even though discussion on diversity and inclusion has been on the agenda for better corporate work environment in Hong Kong, there still remain gaps in raising awareness of lesbian and bisexual women’s issues.

Objective To compare the effects of treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Design Living systematic review and network meta-analysis. Data sources WHO covid-19 database, a comprehensive multilingual source of global covid-19 literature, up to 1 March 2021 and six additional Chinese databases up to 20 February 2021. Studies identified as of 12 February 2021 were included in the analysis. Study selection Randomised clinical trials in which people with suspected, probable, or confirmed covid-19 were randomised to drug treatment or to standard care or placebo. Pairs of reviewers independently screened potentially eligible articles. Methods After duplicate data abstraction, a bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted. Risk of bias of the included studies was assessed using a modification of the Cochrane risk of bias 2.0 tool, and the certainty of the evidence using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) approach. For each outcome, interventions were classified in groups from the most to the least beneficial or harmful following GRADE guidance. Results 196 trials enrolling 76 767 patients were included; 111 (56.6%) trials and 35 098 (45.72%) patients are new from the previous iteration; 113 (57.7%) trials evaluating treatments with at least 100 patients or 20 events met the threshold for inclusion in the analyses. Compared with standard care, corticosteroids probably reduce death (risk difference 20 fewer per 1000 patients, 95% credible interval 36 fewer to 3 fewer, moderate certainty), mechanical ventilation (25 fewer per 1000, 44 fewer to 1 fewer, moderate certainty), and increase the number of days free from mechanical ventilation (2.6 more, 0.3 more to 5.0 more, moderate certainty). Interleukin-6 inhibitors probably reduce mechanical ventilation (30 fewer per 1000, 46 fewer to 10 fewer, moderate certainty) and may reduce length of hospital stay (4.3 days fewer, 8.1 fewer to 0.5 fewer, low certainty), but whether or not they reduce mortality is uncertain (15 fewer per 1000, 30 fewer to 6 more, low certainty). Janus kinase inhibitors may reduce mortality (50 fewer per 1000, 84 fewer to no difference, low certainty), mechanical ventilation (46 fewer per 1000, 74 fewer to 5 fewer, low certainty), and duration of mechanical ventilation (3.8 days fewer, 7.5 fewer to 0.1 fewer, moderate certainty). The impact of remdesivir on mortality and most other outcomes is uncertain. The effects of ivermectin were rated as very low certainty for all critical outcomes, including mortality. In patients with non-severe disease, colchicine may reduce mortality (78 fewer per 1000, 110 fewer to 9 fewer, low certainty) and mechanical ventilation (57 fewer per 1000, 90 fewer to 3 more, low certainty). Azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir-ritonavir, and interferon-beta do not appear to reduce risk of death or have an effect on any other patient-important outcome. The certainty in effects for all other interventions was low or very low. Conclusion Corticosteroids and interleukin-6 inhibitors probably confer important benefits in patients with severe covid-19. Janus kinase inhibitors appear to have promising benefits, but certainty is low. Azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir-ritonavir, and interferon-beta do not appear to have any important benefits. Whether or not remdesivir, ivermectin, and other drugs confer any patient-important benefit remains uncertain. Systematic review registration This review was not registered. The protocol is publicly available in the supplementary material. Readers’ note This article is a living systematic review that will be updated to reflect emerging evidence. Updates may occur for up to two years from the date of original publication. This is the fourth version of the original article published on 30 July 2020 ( BMJ 2020;370:m2980), and previous versions can be found as data supplements. When citing this paper please consider adding the version number and date of access for clarity.

Purpose Cardiac native-T1 times have correlated to extracellular volume fraction in patients with confirmed fibrosis. However, whether other factors that can occur either alongside or independently of fibrosis including increased intracellular water volume, altered magnetization transfer (MT), or glycation of hemoglobin, lengthen T1 times in the absence of fibrosis remains unclear. The current study examined whether native-T1 times are elevated in hypertrophic diabetics with elevated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) without diffuse fibrosis. Methods Native-T1 times were quantified in 27 diabetic and 10 healthy adults using a modified Look-Locker imaging (MOLLI) sequence at 1.5 T. The MT ratio (MTR) was quantified using dual flip angle cine balanced steady-state free precession. Gadolinium (0.2 mmol/kg Gd-DTPA) was administered as a bolus and post-contrast T1-times were quantified after 15 min. Means were compared using a two-tailed student's t-test, while correlations were assessed using Pearson's correlations. Results While left ventricular volumes, ejection fraction, and cardiac output were similar between groups, left ventricular mass and mass-to-volume ratio (MVR) were significantly higher in diabetic adults. Mean ECV (0.25 ± 0.02 Healthy vs. 0.25 ± 0.03 Diabetic, P = 0.47) and MTR (125 ± 16% Healthy vs. 125 ± 9% Diabetic, P = 0.97) were similar, however native-T1 times were significantly higher in diabetics (1016 ± 21 ms Healthy vs. 1056 ± 31 ms Diabetic, P = 0.00051). Global native-T1 times correlated with MVR (ρ = 0.43, P = 0.008) and plasma HbA1c levels (ρ = 0.43, P = 0.0088) but not ECV (ρ = 0.06, P = 0.73). Septal native-T1 times correlated with septal wall thickness (ρ = 0.50, P = 0.001). Conclusion In diabetic adults with normal ECV values, elevated native-T1 times may reflect increased intracellular water volume and changes secondary to increased hemoglobin glycation.

Systolic cardiac function is typically preserved in obese adults, potentially masking underlying declines in cardiomyocyte metabolism that may contribute to heart failure. We used chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI, a sensitive method for measurement of myocardial creatine, to examine whether myocardial creatine levels correlate with cardiac structure, contractile function, or visceral fat mass in obese adults. In this study, obese (body mass index, BMI > 30, n = 20) and healthy (BMI < 25, n = 11) adults were examined with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to quantify fat masses. Cine MRI and myocardial tagging were performed at 1.5 T to measure ventricular structure and global function. CEST imaging with offsets in the range of ±10 parts per million (ppm) were performed in one mid-ventricular slice, where creatine CEST contrast was calculated at 1.8 ppm following field homogeneity correction. Ventricular structure, global function (ejection fraction 69.4 ± 4.3% healthy versus 69.6 ± 9.3% obese, NS), and circumferential strain (-17.0 ± 2.3% healthy versus -16.5 ± 1.5% obese, NS) and strain rate were preserved in obese adults. However, creatine CEST contrast was significantly reduced in obese adults (6.8 ± 1.3% healthy versus 4.1 ± 2.7% obese, p = 0.001). Creatine CEST contrast was inversely correlated with total body fat% (ρ = -0.45, p = 0.011), visceral fat mass (ρ = -0.58, p = 0.001), and septal wall thickness (ρ = -0.44, p = 0.013), but uncorrelated to ventricular function or contractile function. In conclusion, creatine CEST-MRI reveals a strong correlation between heightened body and visceral fat masses and reduced myocardial metabolic function that is independent of ventricular structure and global function in obese adults.