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The primary goal of engineering outreach is to attract prospective students to engineering education and the engineering profession. Gifted students, especially those identified as possessing unusually high abilities in science and technology, are especially promising students to attract to careers in engineering. It is critical to cultivate these students' interests and develop their potential for engineering while encouraging them to pursue engineering studies beyond K-12 education. This article presents examples of the successful learning outcomes of an ongoing University-based Electronics Technology Project Study (UETPS) program, a joint endeavor between the IEEE Hong Kong Section, the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the Hong Kong Academy of Gifted Education (HKAGE). The UETPS program promotes electrical, electronic, and computer engineering education in Hong Kong and is aimed particularly at gifted students as well as their parents, teachers, and schools. Project applicants underwent formal identification procedures by the Gifted Education Section of the HKSAR Education Bureau and were identified as being gifted in the area of science and technology. Selected participants then participated in one-year research projects in electronics and computer engineering under the guidance of university professors in their respective engineering departments. This program addresses an urgent need of the engineering education sector by reaching out to highly talented K-12 students and their surrounding communities. According to the evaluation results, the UETPS program has significantly enhanced the participating students' interest in engineering as a career choice and encouraged them to pursue undergraduate studies in engineering. This article also discusses lessons learned and proposes strategies for future potential implementers. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence, associations, and causes of visual impairment and blindness in the adult population of Hong Kong., Methods: This cross-sectional population-based study included 2018 (870, 43% male) randomly selected adults with a mean age 52 ± 16 years (range 18-90 years) in Hong Kong. Each participant underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations. Presenting visual acuity (PVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of each eye was recorded. Prevalence of visual impairment and blindness was calculated using both World Health Organization (WHO) and United States (US) definitions, based on BCVA and PVA., Results: Visual acuity measurements were available for 1952 (96.8%) participants. The prevalence of visual impairment, based on BCVA value, using WHO and US definition, was 1.0 ± 0.1% and 2.7 ± 0.4%, respectively. The prevalence of visual impairment, based on PVA value, was 5.1 ± 0.5% and 14.0 ± 0.8%, using WHO and US definition, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated the presence of visual impairment (PVA, WHO definition) increased significantly with older age (odds ratio 1.039, P < .001) and thinner central cornea thickness (odds ratio 0.994, P = .014), but not significantly associated with other socioeconomic, systemic or ocular parameters after adjusting for age and central corneal thickness. Under-correction of refractive error was the most common reason for presenting visual impairment. Causes of impaired BCVA were cataract (37%), age-related macular degeneration (26%), diabetic macular edema (11%), glaucoma (11%), epiretinal membrane (5%), and unknown (11%)., Conclusion: The prevalence of visual impairment in Hong Kong increased significantly with older age and thinner central corneal thickness. The major causes for impairment were under-correction of refractive error, cataract, and age-related macular degeneration.

This study aims to establish the range of exophthalmometry values (EV) in the adult Hong Kong (HK) Chinese population, its relationship with various anthropometric parameters, and to compare it with the EV in different ethnic groups.About 1485 adult HK Chinese were drawn from a random sample from the community-based FAMILY Cohort. Participants were interviewed, and comprehensive ophthalmological assessments were conducted. EV was measured using the Hertel's exophthalmometer.EV of both eyes from 630 male (42.4%) and 855 female (57.6%) participants, mean age 54 ± 17.2 and 52 ± 16 respectively were analyzed. The mean EV were found to be 15.3 ± 2.8 mm in the right eye, 15.2 ± 2.9 mm in the left eye for men and 14.4 ± 2.7 mm in the right eye, 14.3 ± 2.7 mm in the left eye for women. There were no differences in the EV between right and left eyes (P > .05). Men had significantly higher EV than women (P < .05) and age was found to be negatively correlated to EV (P < .05). Body height (r = 0.20), weight (r = 0.25), waist (r = 0.11), hip circumference (r = 0.15), body mass index (r = 0.17), interpupillary distance (r = 0.54), and axial length (AL) (r = 0.20) were all found to have statistically significant positive correlations with EV (P < .01). Spherical equivalent was found to have statistically significant negative correlation with EV (P < .01).Our study provides normative data on EV in the HK Chinese population. Height, weight, interpupillary distance, waist, hip circumference, and AL had positive correlations with EV. Spherical equivalent had negative correlation with EV. There was no significant difference in EV between the right and left eye. Age and gender had significant effect on EV.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the long-term retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) status and determinants of RNFL thinning after an episode of unilateral primary acute angle closure (AAC). This cross-sectional study analyzed the medical records of consecutive patients with a single episode of unilateral AAC from 1999 to 2009 in Hong Kong. The peripapillary RNFL thickness was correlated with age, gender, presenting intraocular pressure (IOP), time to laser iridotomy, time to cataract extraction, follow-up duration, as well as the last IOP, vertical cup-to-disc ratio (CDR), and vision. The fellow uninvolved eye was used as a proxy comparison of RNFL loss in the attack eye. In 40 eligible patients, the mean age was 68.3 ± 8.7 years with a male-to-female ratio of 1:7. The mean presenting IOP was 49.2 ± 14.0 mm Hg and the time from presentation to laser iridotomy was 6.7 ± 6.9 days. Forty percent of subjects received a cataract extraction at 3.2 ± 2.9 years after the attack. The last IOP, CDR, and LogMAR vision were 16.0 ± 3.8 mm Hg, 0.6 ± 0.2, and 0.6 ± 0.6 LogMAR units, respectively, at 7.9 ± 2.4 years. The RNFL thickness in the attack eye (69.2 ± 19.1 μm) was 25.2 ± 17.9% thinner than the fellow eye (93.0 ± 17.8 μm) at 7.5 ± 2.9 years post-AAC. Using univariate analysis, the last vertical CDR (odds ratio [OR] = 17.2, P = 0.049) and LogMAR visual acuity (VA) (OR = 6.6, P = 0.03) were the only significant predictors for RNFL thinning whereas none of the other covariates showed significant associations (P > 0.1). At 7.5 years following unilateral AAC, the RNFL thickness was 25% thinner than the fellow eye. CDR enlargement and poor VA were the only significant predictors for RNFL loss.

Resistance to adamantanes for treating influenza A(H3N2) has increased dramatically, worldwide, over the past 5 years. A comprehensive 10-year data set on the rise of adamantane-resistance in Hong Kong is reported. Nucleotide sequences encoding the M2-ion channel of influenza A(H3N2) were obtained from 281 H3N2 isolates collected from adamantane-naive children admitted to a teaching hospital in Hong Kong, between 1997 and 2006. These sequences were screened for the presence of recognized adamantane resistance-associated amino acid mutations (L26F, V27A, A30T, S31N, G34E). The amantadane (rimantadine is not used in Hong Kong) usage for this hospital during this period was also collated. Fifty-eight isolates harbored at least one of these resistance signatures, the majority (57/58) being S31N, which increased rapidly over 2003-2005 from 20% to 83.3%. Other amino acid mutations, not previously associated with adamantane resistance, were also found. In particular, I51V was found to rise in frequency, along with S31N, though the significance of this mutation remains uncertain at present. A rise in amantadane usage occurred in Hong Kong between 2000 and 2002, which slightly preceded the subsequent rise in adamantane-resistant influenza A(H3N2) isolates. This study shows a temporal correlation between increases in amantadane prescriptions and the prevalence of adamantane-resistant influenza A(H3N2) viruses in Hong Kong. The underlying reasons for these findings are unclear and similar studies are required elsewhere to elucidate these and prevent this spread of drug-resistance happening again in future.

Objective: We sought to determine 1) long-term lipid-lowering treatment patterns; 2) cholesterol goal attainment rates and possible determinants of goal achievement; and 3) effects of cholesterol goal attainment on coronary events in hospitalized Hong Kong patients., Methods: In this retrospective cohort analysis, records of two public Hong Kong hospitals were reviewed for 196 adults (69% with coronary heart disease (CHD) or CHD-risk equivalent) who received at least one lipid-lowering therapy during hospitalization. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets were <2.6 mmol/l (<100 mg/dL) for patients with CHD or CHD risk equivalents and <3.37 mmol/l (<130 mg/dL) for those without., Results: Most participants were initiated on regimens of low to midequipotency doses and never had their regimens adjusted to higher potency. Approximately 44% of patients not at LDL-C at baseline failed to achieve goal during a median follow-up of 1.9 years. Patients with higher coronary risk and/or LDL-C levels at baseline were less likely than their lower-risk counterparts to achieve goal; for each 1-mmol/l (38.7-mg/dL) increase in LDL-C at baseline, the likelihood of attaining goal declined by 64%. Patients achieving cholesterol goal had significantly longer cardiovascular event-free times., Conclusions: A total of 44% of Hong Kong patients not at LDL-C goals at baseline did not achieve them over 1.9 years. More effective and well-tolerated therapies, including adjunctive regimens (e.g., ezetimibe-statin, niacin-statin), may be necessary to enhance LDL-C goal achievement and increase event-free time.