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Objective: To compare the effects of the simplified 5-step and the conventional 7-Step hand hygiene programme in a cluster randomized controlled trial among students with intellectual disabilities. Method: A total of 472 Chinese students with intellectual disabilities were randomized to either simplified 5-step or conventional 7-step hand hygiene programme. Assessments included handwashing technique, cleanliness and sick leave days. Results: Handwashing technique scores (g = 0.25, 95% CI [0.18, 0.32]) and hand cleanliness scores (g = 0.33, 95% CI [0.26, 0.4]) in intervention group were significantly higher than those scores in control group at 6th month post-intervention although there were significant increases in the scores within both groups. The mean number of sick leave days decreased between baseline and 10 month in both groups according to descriptive statistics. Conclusions: It is feasible and effective to adopt the simplified 5-step intervention as a standardized handwashing technique for the population group with intellectual disabilities.

• Integration between CO 2 mineralization and desalination. • Integrated process is designed and simulated. • Economic viability and CO 2 reduction potential are examined. • Using wind-based electricity significantly improves the process performance. This study presents a novel process integration scheme between CO 2 mineralization and brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO). The integration is based on the reciprocal nature of these two processes: While CO 2 mineralization needs metal ions such as Na+ to convert CO 2 into mineral carbonates like sodium bicarbonate, BWRO is designed to reject such ions to produce fresh water. Thus, there is a potential synergy that can be gained through their integration. To examine the feasibility of such process integration, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and CO 2 life cycle assessment (LCA) are conducted for various possible configurations of the integrated process. A key requirement for TEA and CO 2 LCA is the availability of mass and energy balance data. Therefore, the process is simulated with the commercial simulation software tool of Aspen Plus combined MATLAB. Another requirement is the selection of appropriate evaluation scenarios. Based on a market analysis, the proposed process is assumed to be installed either in the US or in the China to replace a respective conventional benchmark process. Also, two sources of electricity (coal and wind onshore) are considered in the evaluation in order to investigate the sensitivity of the process performance on the type of electricity used. As a result of the analysis, the CO 2 avoidance cost of the designed process is calculated to be 132˜245$/metric ton of CO 2 with wind-based electricity. Given other advantages of the mineralization over the geological storage, the presented process integration between CO 2 mineralization and BWRO deserves further investigation as a means to produce useful chemicals and fresh water while curbing CO 2 emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ting Kau Bridge in Hong Kong is a cable-stayed bridge comprising two main spans and two side spans. The bridge deck is supported by three towers, an end pier and an abutment. Each of the three towers consists of a single reinforced concrete mast strengthened by transverse cables and struts. The bridge deck is supported by four inclined planes of cables emanating from anchorages at the tower tops. In view of the heavy traffic on the bridge, and threats from typhoons and earthquakes originated in areas nearby, the dynamic behaviour of long-span cable-supported bridges in the region is always an important consideration in their design. Baseline finite element models of various levels of sophistication have been built not only to match the bridge geometry and cable forces specified on the as-constructed drawings but also to be calibrated using the vibration measurement data captured by the Wind and Structural Health Monitoring System. This paper further describes the analysis of axle loading data, as well as the generation of random axle loads and simulation of vibrations of the bridge using the finite element models. Various factors affecting the vehicular loading on the bridge will also be examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which compares the methods, nutrient enrichment bioassays, ambient nutrient ratios and turnover times of phosphorus that are applied to evaluate which nutrient most limits phytoplankton growth in Hong Kong, China. Researchers believe that knowing which nutrient is limiting the growth of phytoplankton is important in order to alleviate hypoxia. They conclude that the comparison of bioassays and nutrient ratios indicates that nutrient ratios are an effective method to predict limiting nutrient.

Both the Hong Kong and Singapore education systems have been affected by the trend of marketization over the past two decades. The focal points of the education reform have been placed to improve the overall quality of education by allowing more choices for parents and students, granting schools more autonomy, and bringing about a more diversified education system. While the Hong Kong government has introduced and implemented the ‘Direct Subsidy Scheme’ (DSS) with an aim to build up a strong and independent private school system since the early 1990s, the Singapore government formulated such policies as the introduction of independent and autonomous schools, the institutionalization of a school ranking system, and the conferment of quality school awards between the late 1980s and early 1990s. This article reviews major educational developments in Hong Kong and Singapore, and examines and compares the motives of both governments to advocate the growth of private, or perhaps more appropriately pseudo-private, education and the changing role performed by the governments in their education policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]