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This article argues for a revisionist reading of The Goddess to redirect critical attention to its film form and narrative style. Yet, it also explores the social-economic and technological conditions of filmmaking in early Chinese cinema that circumvented the filmmaker’s aesthetic choices and devices. A political reading of the film within either the leftist-progressive or nationalist agenda is inadequate in explicating the film’s narrative capacity and affective power in engaging social commentary. Reading The Goddess as a Chinese manifestation of Hollywood’s maternal melodrama has equally dismissed the film’s contestation of the complex political and ideological discourses in which it was produced. Inspired by a neoformalist approach to studying film form and social reality, this article articulates the working of Wu Yonggang’s cinematic style as a crafted combination of artistic choices and interventions, which are made within the classical Hollywood paradigm and Soviet montage, to define an early Chinese cinematic language that is specific to 1930s Shanghai film industry and Chinese society, the filmmaker’s aesthetic pursuit, and Ruan Lingyu’s stardom.

In their general introduction to the present Special Issue the authors trace the origins of and motivation behind much of the independent documentary filmmaking produced in the city during a period of great sociopolitical turbulence, leading up to the tight censorship protocols put in place after the mainland government’s promulgation of the repressive National Security Law in 2020. With reference to the individual essays that comprise this volume, they chart the sudden and unprecedented rise of documentary filmmaking in Hong Kong following many decades of public indifference to the genre. Limited public and underground screenings that took place before absolute censorship measures were implemented in 2021 showed huge box-office demand for these topical films, reflecting images of ordinary Hong Kong people and their struggle for political representation. This opening essay introduces a range of essays and one interview, mostly in relation to specific films, dealing with the now-contentious coupling of documentary films or television broadcasts and democracy. As the essays indicate, some directors and producers of these observational and participatory documentaries are still active overseas and many of the films discussed can now only be screened outside Hong Kong. Nevertheless, they bear witness to a spirit of resilience and resistance as well as a deep-seated desire for a genuine democracy based on universal suffrage constantly reneged on by the city’s various rulers, from the colonial era until now.

Cosmopolitanism promises to go beyond national thinking and tradition-bound parochialism by reemphasizing the interconnectedness of individuals, communities, and cultures. This article probes the politics of adaptation of the left-leaning Cantonese Union Film Enterprise (Zhonglian 中聯, 1952–1967) in colonial Hong Kong, and scrutinizes how it embraced world literary classics to enhance the prestige of Cantonese films. It focuses on three 1955 adaptations: An Orphan's Tragedy (Guxing xuelei 孤星血淚; from Great Expectations), Anna (Chuncan mengduan 春殘夢斷; from Anna Karenina), and Eternal Love (Tianchang dijiu 天長地久; from Sister Carrie). The founding of Union was a conscientious response of Cantonese film workers to the call of the Cantonese Film Clean-up Campaign (Yueyu dianying qingjie yundong 粵語電影清潔) in the 1940s, launched by leftist filmmakers from Shanghai (Cai Chusheng 蔡楚生, Situ Huimin司徒慧敏) and supported by Cantonese film leaders Ng Cho-fan 吳楚帆 and Lo Duen 盧敦. The study interrogates the predicaments and vicissitudes of Union's cosmopolitan stances as it wrestled with the cultural politics of Chinese cinema during the Cold War. It elucidates the ethnically rooted and culturally cosmopolitan Cantonese progressive cinema. The social realism represented by Union is not local or passé. The Union artists envisioned from below a humane and cosmopolitan community inhabited by workers and intellectuals, locals and diasporic Chinese subjects, which connects people beyond their parochialism and nationhood.

Photon-induced deactivation of traps in MAPbI3 can strongly affect charge relaxation behavior. Charge relaxation associated with photo-induced deactivation of various traps in MAPbI3 films was investigated through steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy under laser excitation at 635 and 430 nm to investigate the properties of the traps. Three types of traps that could be deactivated by photons were observed in the MAPbI3 films, namely TL, TH, and TGB. TL and TH, which were related to MAPbI3 bulk, had low and high photon energy thresholds (red and blue photons) for deactivation, respectively. TGB was related to the traps at grain boundaries in MAPbI3 and had a low photon energy threshold (red photons) for deactivation. The energy level of TGB was higher than that of the conduction band of MAPbI3. Under blue excitation, TGB mediated a fast nonradiative recombination at few nanoseconds, and TL and TH mediated a slow nonradiative recombination at few 100 ns. The fast nonradiative recombination led to a significantly low initial normalized photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) (1/22) under blue excitation, compared with that obtained under red excitation (1/4). The deactivation of TL and TH resulted in increases in both the amplitude of PL and recombination time. The deactivation of TGB resulted only in a significant increase in PLQY of blue excitation.

This article examines the promises and predicaments of May Fourth writers in their experimental writing of the “long novel” (changpian xiaoshuo 長篇小說) as a Chinese brand of the modern epic. May Fourth intellectuals showed a conscious effort to institute a new brand of fictional genre to enlighten the reading public. Yet their “education of the novel” was far from complete, as New Literature writers found fictional expressions primarily in the form of the short story, with strong undertones of individualism, subjective lyricism, and elitism. By focusing on Mao Dun's 茅盾 (1896–1981) Ziye 子夜 (Midnight; 1933), the article examines his call for the establishment of the long novel and his strenuous efforts to “take over” the modern novel as an ideological form to narrate a teleological progression of history. How do Mao Dun's fictional narratives illuminate the representational problems between fiction, locality, and modernity? For Mao Dun and his May Fourth contemporaries, modernity at large was expressed in a teleological mode of time and progress, both in the rhetoric of modernity and in fiction writing. The article reflects on Mao Dun's creative and ideological impasse by teasing out the narrative loopholes of traditional voices and popular fictional registers in the modern epic.

No abstract available.

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is one of the most common causes of death in childhood. It is also a frequent cause of chronic cough in children, adolescents, and adults.Global and Hong Kong perspectives of childhood pertussis were described.Hong Kong has prided herself in the city's childhood immunization program. There appear to be no major outbreaks of pertussis since the 1960s. Nevertheless, pediatricians may see isolated cases of pertussis or pertussis-like cases from time to time. Occasionally, infants are severely affected with apneas and managed with ventilator supports in the PICU. Outbreaks of the notifiable disease continue to occur despite a reasonable surveillance system and vaccination program in Hong Kong. Vaccination of mothers, adolescents, and adults are efficacious methods to further reduce the risks of pertussis. Macrolides remain efficacious antibiotics especially used early during the infectious phase. Infants with pertussis may require intensive care support and morbidity is high.Physicians should be reminded from time to time that outbreaks of pertussis still exist in Hong Kong and in many cities globally.

Background: Tumor size (TS) represents a critical parameter in the risk assessment of laparoscopic liver resections (LLR). Moreover, TS has been rarely related to the extent of liver resection. The aim of this study was to study the relationship between tumor size and difficulty of laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (L-LLS). Methods: The impact of TS cutoffs was investigated by stratifying tumor size at each 10 mm-interval. The optimal cutoffs were chosen taking into consideration the number of endpoints which show a statistically significant split around the cut-points of interest and the magnitude of relative risk after correction for multiple risk factors. Results: A total of 1910 L-LLS were included. Overall, open conversion and intraoperative blood transfusion were 3.1 and 3.3%, respectively. The major morbidity rate was 2.7% and 90-days mortality 0.6%. Three optimal TS cutoffs were identified: 40-, 70-, and 100-mm. All the selected cutoffs showed a significant discriminative power for the prediction of open conversion, operative time, blood transfusion and need of Pringle maneuver. Moreover, 70- and 100-mm cutoffs were both discriminative for estimated blood loss and major complications. A stepwise increase in rates of open conversion rate (Z = 3.90, P

Background This study compared outcomes of nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who had transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) vs. stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) after TACE (TACE + SBRT). Methods This was a retrospective study of 2 centers in Hong Kong. There were 49 patients who had TACE + SBRT and 202 patients who had TACE alone. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for differences in patients’ demographics and tumor characteristics between the 2 groups. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS) and secondary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and treatment-related toxicity. Results After matching, 49 patients were in the TACE + SBRT group and 98 patients in the TACE group with similar baseline characteristics. The 1-&3-year OS were better in TACE + SBRT group (67.2 vs. 43.9% and 36.5 vs. 13.3%, p = 0.003). The 1-&3-year PFS was also better in TACE + SBRT group (32.5 vs. 21.4% and 15.1 vs. 5.1%, p = 0.012). Radiological disease control was better in the TACE + SBRT group (98 vs. 56.7%). Risk of severe toxicity was uncommon in both treatment arms. TACE + SBRT was an independent good prognostic factor for OS and PFS in multivariate analysis, whereas AFP>200 ng/ml, large tumor and multiple tumors predicted worse OS. Conclusion TACE + SBRT is safe and results in better survivals in nonresectable HCC patients.

Purpose Glycemic control has been recognized as an important modifiable risk factor for diabetic retinopathy (DR). Whether hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), as an indicator of glycemic control, could modify the genetic susceptibility to severe DR remains to be investigated. This study aimed to investigate whether HbA1c could modulate the genetic susceptibility to severe DR in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 3,093 Chinese individuals with type 2 diabetes were included in the cross-sectional case-control study: 1,051 with sight-threatening DR (STDR) and 2,042 without STDR. Sixty-nine top-ranked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified from previous genome-wide association studies were examined for their associations with STDR and proliferative DR as a subgroup analysis. SNPs showing suggestive associations with DR were examined in the stratified analysis by dichotomized HbA1c (

Elevated circulating levels of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) have been reported in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its associated microvascular complications. This study aimed to 1) identify the genetic determinants influencing circulating PEDF levels in a clinical setting of T2D, 2) examine the relationship between circulating PEDF and diabetes complications, and 3) explore the causal relationship between PEDF and diabetes complications. An exome-chip association study on circulating PEDF levels was conducted in 5,385 Chinese subjects with T2D. A meta-analysis of the association results of the discovery stage (n = 2,936) and replication stage (n = 2,449) was performed. The strongest association was detected at SERPINF1 (p.Met72Thr; Pcombined = 2.06 × 10−57; β [SE] −0.33 [0.02]). Two missense variants of SMYD4 (p.Arg131Ile; Pcombined = 7.56 × 10−25; β [SE] 0.21 [0.02]) and SERPINF2 (p.Arg33Trp; Pcombined = 8.22 × 10−10; β [SE] −0.15 [0.02]) showed novel associations at genome-wide significance. Elevated circulating PEDF levels were associated with increased risks of diabetic nephropathy and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy. Mendelian randomization analysis showed suggestive evidence of a protective role of PEDF on sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (P = 0.085). Our study provided new insights into the genetic regulation of PEDF and further support for its potential application as a biomarker for diabetic nephropathy and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy. Further studies to explore the causal relationship of PEDF with diabetes complications are warranted.

In Hong Kong, compulsory admission is governed by the Mental Health Ordinance Section 31 (detention of a patient under observation), Section 32 (extension of period of detention for such a patient), Section 36 (detention of certified patients), and the sections in Part IV for hospital order, transfer order, and removal order. Mental health professionals adopt both legal criteria and practice criteria for compulsory admission. The present study discusses the harm principle, the patient's decision-making capacity, the multi-axial framework for compulsory admission, and the balance between paternalism and patient liberty.

As pharmacological treatment of hypertension has become a burden worldwide, the study looked into nonpharmacological ways of reducing blood pressure. The objective was to determine if music guided, slow and deep breathing will reduce the blood pressure among patients with hypertension in eight weeks.A participant blinded, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial was conducted in which the participants in the intervention group (IG) practiced deep breathing exercise guided by sound cues and those in the control group (CG) listened to the music. The primary end point was reduction in blood pressure at eight weeks.87 patients, 46 males and 41 females with mean age of 61.1 years were recruited and 93.1% of them successfully completed the study. There was significant reduction in systolic and diastolic Blood Pressure from baseline by 8 weeks in both groups. The reduction in Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the control arm was 10.5mmHg compared to 8.3mmHg (p0.001) in intervention group. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reduction in control and intervention groups were 5.2 mmHg (p0.001) and 5.6 mmHg (p0.001) respectively. The absolute difference in SBP reduction from baseline in IGCG was -2.2 (95%CI: -7.8 to 3.5) and DBP was -0.4 (95%CI: -2.9 to 3.6). However, blood pressure reduction between the two groups was not significant.Both listening to music and deep breathing exercise were associated with a clinically significant reduction in SBP and DBP. However, deep breathing exercise did not augment the benefit of music in reducing BP.

Immunosuppressive state due to haematological malignancies and chemotherapy may cause disruption to wound healing despite optimum conventional treatment and standard wound dressing. Non-healing wounds are predisposed to infection whereas chemotherapy dose reductions or interruptions are associated with poor survival.Mononuclear cells contain progenitor cells including haematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells and fibroblasts which facilitate wound healing through cytokines, growth factor secretions, cell-cell interactions and provision of extracellular matrix scaffolding. Clinical applications of autologous mononuclear cells therapy in wound healing in non-malignant patients with critical limb ischaemia have been reported with remarkable outcome.We report three patients with haematological malignancies undergoing chemotherapy, who received autologous mononuclear cells implantation to treat non-healing wound after optimum conventional wound care. The sources of mononuclear cells (MNC) were from bone marrow (BM), peripheral blood (PB) and mobilised PB cells (mPB-MNC) using granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). The cells were directly implanted into wound and below epidermis. Wound sizes and adverse effects from implantation were assessed at regular intervals.All patients achieved wound healing within three months following autologous mononuclear cells implantation. No implantation adverse effects were observed.Autologous mononuclear cells therapy is a feasible alternative to conventional wound care to promote complete healing in non-healing wounds compounded by morbid factors such as haematological malignancies, chemotherapy, diabetes mellitus (DM), infections and prolonged immobility.

Démons et fantômes, gui 鬼 , comptent parmi les figures les plus marquantes de la culture chinoise, et continuent de hanter encore de nos jours la société de la Chine et de ses voisins. En faisant appel aux taxinomies bouddhiques médiévales, aux livres de morale pré-modernes, aux débats philosophiques chinois ou japonais, comme aux œuvres littéraires ou aux enquêtes de terrain, ce premier volume de Fantômes dans l’Extrême-Orient d’hier et d’aujourd’hui essaye de préciser les contours des êtres qui, en Asie orientale, se rapprochent le plus de nos « fantômes » et autres « ghosts ».

Since the advent of film censorship administered by cultural bureaucrats in 1930s Shanghai, Chinese horror cinema had become a tabooed subject because it was spreading superstitions and “feudalistic” beliefs. The post-1949 Communist regime continued to sanctify its state-owned cinema by exorcising demonic elements from the screen, while reserving the wicked spirits as malicious labels for her ideological class enemies. The unwelcomed supernatural beings and wandering Chinese spirits had nowhere to go but took roots and flourished in postwar Hong Kong cinema, particularly in Cantonese-speaking pictures. Cantonese ghost films have been a hybrid genre drawing on myth and sorcery from Chinese operatic repertoires, the Gothic and horror elements from Hollywood, and mixing kungfu action, erotic sexuality, and gruesome blood with the eerie and macabre. In the genre’s twilight zone frequented by the lowly figures of zombies and exorcists, vampires and sorcerers, headless queens and flying heads, there is a powerful representation of the “phantom heroine” who tenaciously return to the human world to seek retaliation, redo justice, or reclaim mortal love. My paper is a preliminary study of Cantonese ghostly films in the 1950s and 60s by looking into a few exemplars, including Li Chenfeng’s (李晨風) A Beautiful Corpse Comes to Life (《豔屍還魂記》, 1956), a popular Cantonese appropriation of Tang Xianzu’s 湯顯祖 famous A Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭), and Zhang Ying’s (張瑛) The Haunted Night (《回魂夜》, 1962), allegedly inspired from Alfred Hitchcock. Avec l’apparition de la censure au cinéma administrée par la bureaucratie culturelle à Shanghai dans les années 1930, le film d’horreur chinois est devenu tabou parce qu’il était sensé répandre superstitions et croyances « féodales ». Le régime communiste, à partir de 1949, a sanctifié le cinéma d’État en exorcisant les éléments démoniaques de l’écran, tout en réservant l’étiquette malveillante d’esprits maléfiques à ses ennemis de classe idéologiques. Les êtres surnaturels et esprits chinois errants, si mal accueillis, n’eurent d’autre choix que de se réfugier dans le cinéma de Hong-Kong, où ils s’enracinèrent et prospérèrent, en particulier dans les films cantonais. Le cinéma de fantômes cantonais est un genre hybride puisant dans les mythes et la magie du répertoire de l’opéra chinois ainsi que dans le gothique et le films d’horreur de Hollywood, mêlant action du kungfu, sexualité érotique et terribles bains de sang à l’étrange et au macabre. Dans une zone floue peuplée d’humbles personnages de zombies, d’exorcistes, de vampires, de sorciers, de reines acéphales et de têtes volantes, on trouve une représentation puissante de l’« héroïne fantôme » qui retourne obstinément vers le monde des humains pour y prendre sa revanche, rendre justice et susciter un amour fatal. Cet article est une étude préliminaire des films de fantômes cantonais des années 1950 et 1960 à travers quelques exemples, dont Un beau cadavre ressuscité (《豔屍還魂記》de Li Chenfeng (李晨風), 1956), appropriation populaire cantonaise du célèbre Pavillon des pivoines (牡丹亭) de Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖, et la nuit hantée (《回魂夜》de Zhang Ying (張瑛), 1962), supposément inspiré d’Alfred Hitchcock. 1930年代民國期間，國民黨文宣部門開始厲行電影審查措施，仗賴儒教和新生活運動，以科學和掃除“封建”和迷信之名，行黨國專政之實。1949年後中共建政,對文化監控殆無異于前人，繼續凈化國營電影，驅走銀幕上的魑魅魍魎，以至一切靈異之物，皆視為意識形態上的階級敵人，為其貼上邪惡的標籤。蓋電影雖為西方科技產物，但早期中國電影的確充斥不少神怪片，張皇怪力亂神，在民初的亂世，曾大行其道，娛樂至上，頗得民心。新中國成立後，鬼神妖怪也曾花果飄零，無處容身，被冷落的鬼魅卻庇蔭和托身於戰後的香港電影，尤其是粵語片。香港的粵語鬼片成為了一種混合的電影類型，既吸取了中國戲曲劇目的神話與巫術元素，以及好萊塢哥德式的恐怖片 (Gothic horror)，並融合了功夫動作、情慾和恐怖的血腥與陰森的怪誕。在這個類型的“迷離時空” (twilight zone)充斥著殭屍與驅魔人、吸血鬼與巫師、無頭皇后與飛頭女鬼。這些幽靈女鬼(phantom heroine)的化身，她們執著於返回人間，以尋求報復、伸張正義、重拾凡人的愛情或人間的正道。本文將要探討張瑛的《回魂夜》（1962年），一部深受希治閣（Alfred Hitchcock）電影的啟發，以及李晨風的《豔屍還魂記》（1956年），改編自湯顯祖著名劇目《牡丹亭》的通俗粵語片，嘗試對1950及60年代的粵語鬼片作初步研究。

Aim. We presented the case of a child with central hypoventilation syndrome (CHS) to highlight issues that need to be considered in planning long-haul flight and problems that may arise during the flight.Case. The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) received a child with central hypoventilation syndrome (Ondine’s curse) on nocturnal ventilatory support who travelled to Hong Kong on a make-a-wish journey. He was diagnosed with central hypoventilation and had been well managed in Canada. During a long-haul aviation travel, he developed respiratory symptoms and desaturations. The child arrived in Hong Kong and his respiratory symptoms persisted. He was taken to a PICU for management. The child remained well and investigations revealed no pathogen to account for his respiratory infection. He went on with his make-a-wish journey.Conclusions. Various issues of travel medicine such as equipment, airline arrangement, in-flight ventilatory support, travel insurance, and respiratory infection are explored and discussed. This case illustrates that long-haul air travel is possible for children with respiratory compromise if anticipatory preparation is timely arranged.

The customer wants to outfit aircraft (de Havilland Twin Otter) with optical sensors. In previous product generations the sensor line-of-sight direction was fixed – the sensor’s direction relied on the orientation of the aircraft. The next generation sensor will be packaged in a rotatable turret so that the line-of-sight is reasonably independent of the aircraft’s orientation. This turret will be mounted on a boom protruding from the side of the aircraft. The customer wants to outfit aircraft (de Havilland Twin Otter) with optical sensors. In previous product generations the sensor line-of-sight direction was fixed – the sensor’s direction relied on the orientation of the aircraft. The next generation sensor will be packaged in a rotatable turret so that the line-of-sight is reasonably independent of the aircraft’s orientation. This turret will be mounted on a boom protruding from the side of the aircraft.

The Infrared Lock-in Thermography (LIT), which is well establish technique for non-destructive evaluation, can be used to identify and locate thermal active electrically defects like shorts and resistive open in microelectronic devices. Most of the localization methods are performed directly on top of die surface. However, the Infrared Lock-In Thermograph (IR-LIT) is one of the localization methods can be performed with front side and backside localization. Basically the backside localization is to overcome the limitation of the front side hotspot localization especially low leakage current failure. To achieve better hotspot localization from the package backside, three important factors are studied; namely die thickness, build-in power setting for IR-LIT, as well as the pulse.

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle with embedded membrane reactor modules (IGCC-MR) represents a new technology option for the coproduction of electricity and pure hydrogen endowed with enhanced environmental performance capacity. It is viewed as an alternative to conventional coal- and gas-fired power generation technologies. An IGCC-MR power plant needs to be techno-economically evaluated in the presence of irreducible regulatory and fuel market uncertainties for the potential deployment of an initial fleet of demonstration plants at the commercial scale. This paper applies a systematic methodological framework to assess the economic value of flexible alternatives in the design and operation of an IGCC-MR plant under the aforementioned sources of uncertainty. The main objective is to demonstrate the potential value enhancements associated with the long-term economic performance of flexible IGCC-MR project investments, by managing the uncertainty associated with future environmental regulations and fuel costs. The paper provides an overview of promising design flexibility concepts for IGCC-MR power plants and focuses on operational and constructional systems flexibility. Operational flexibility is realized through temporary plant shutdown with considerations of regulatory and market uncertainties. Constructional flexibility is realized by considering the installation of a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) unit at three strategic periods: (1) installation at the initial construction phase, (2) retrofitting at a later stage, and (3) retrofitting at a later stage with preinvestment. Monte Carlo simulations and financial analysis demonstrate that, in the presence of irreducible uncertainty, the most economically advantageous flexibility option is to install CCS in the initial IGCC-MR construction phase.

Papillary serous adenocarcinoma has been recognized as a highly malignant ovarian cancer and is also not uncommonly seen in primary lung cancer. Difficulty may exist in determining the origin of the primary tumor in women with synchronous pulmonary and ovarian tumors. We present a patient who was initially diagnosed and treated as stage IV papillary serous ovarian cancer with diffuse pulmonary metastases. Only transient symptomatic improvement was achieved after standard chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, and then she died of respiratory distress during treatment. Poor tumor response to chemotherapy prompted us to reevaluate the previous bronchoscopic biopsy, and immunohistochemical studies, which were cytokeratin (CK) 7 positive, CK20 negative, and thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1)–positive, provided irrefutable evidences for the diagnosis of primary lung cancer. We suggest that in dealing with coexistence of ovarian and pulmonary tumors, immunohistochemical study by using CK7, CK20, and TTF-1 may be helpful in the differentiation of the primary origin.

Asthma is a prevalent childhood atopic disease associated with significant impairment of quality of life. Management relies on avoidance of triggers such as food and aeroallergens, the use of inhaled bronchodilators/corticosteroids and anti-allergic or immune-modulating therapies. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) and bronchodilators have been the mainstay of treatment. In China as well as throughout Asia, myths and misconceptions on western medicine and corticosteroids are prevalent and result in non-adherence of treatment. A wide variety of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are available. Some of these have undergone extensive clinical trials and have been documented to have some therapeutic effects on asthma. Nevertheless, the majority of these treatment modalities is not efficacious and may even be detrimental. This article overviews the evidence for the clinical efficacy of all major CAM modalities. Despite CAM modalities are extensively used by the patients with asthma, very few CAM patents are available. This article also discusses recent patents pertinent to asthma. Only a few patents on herbal medicine for asthma have been evaluated but therapeutic efficacy is not substantially documented. Parents seeking CAM for asthma must consult qualified registered practitioners before using it.

Our ability of controlling the growth and interfaces of thin dielectric films on III–V semiconductors by ultrahigh vacuum deposition has led to investigations of gate stacks containing rare earth oxides of Gd 2 O 3 and Y 2 O 3 as alternative high κ gate dielectrics for Si. The abrupt interfaces achieved in these gate stacks have enabled the electrical, chemical, and structural studies to elucidate the critical materials integration issues for CMOS scaling, including morphology dependence, interfacial structure and reaction, thermal stability and gate electrode compatibility.

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle with embedded membrane reactor modules (IGCC-MR) represents a new technology option for the co-production of electricity and pure hydrogen endowed with enhanced environmental performance capacity. It is an alternative to conventional coaland gas-fired power generation technologies. As a new technology, the IGCC-MR power plant needs to be evaluated in the presence of irreducible regulatory and fuel market uncertainties for the potential deployment of an initial fleet of demonstration plants at the commercial scale. This paper presents the development of a systematic and comprehensive three-step methodological framework to assess the economic value of flexible alternatives in the design and operations of an IGCC-MR plant under the aforementioned sources of uncertainty. The main objective is to demonstrate the potential value enhancements stemming to the long-term economic performance of flexible IGCC-MR project investments, by managing the uncertainty associated with future environmental regulations and fuel costs. The paper provides an overview of promising design flexibility concepts for IGCC-MR power plants and focuses on operational and constructional flexibility. The operational flexibility is realized through the option of a temporary shutdown of the plant with considerations of regulatory and market uncertainties. This option reduces the probability of loss and the downside risk compared to the base case. The constructional flexibility considers installation of a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) unit in the plant under three different alternatives: 1) installing CCS in the initial construction phase, 2) retrofitting CCS at a later stage and 3) retrofitting CCS with pre-investment at a later stage. Monte Carlo simulations and financial analysis are used to demonstrate that the most economically advantageous flexibility option is to install CCS in the initial IGCC-MR construction phase.

The symmetry of the superconducting phase of Sr2RuO4 is identified as the odd-parity pairing state d(k)=\hat{z}(k_x \pm i k_y) based on recent experiments. The experimental evidence for the so-called orbital dependent superconductivity leads to a single-band description of superconductivity based on spin fluctuation mechanism. It is shown that the state \hat{z}(k_x \pm i k_y) can be stabilized by the spin fluctuation feedback mechanism analogous to the A-phase in 3He and by spin-orbit coupling effects., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Proc. of the conference "Anomalous Complex Superconductors" (Crete, 1998)

Background Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men are associated with obesity, particularly central obesity as measured by waist circumference (WC), and may improve with weight loss. We aimed to compare effects of a meal-replacement based diet with isocaloric reduced-fat plan on LUTS and nutrient intake in obese Asian men. Methods Obese Asian [mean (range) body mass index of 32.9 (30.5–42.3) kg m–2] men [mean (range) age 40.2 (30–61) years] were randomised to a reduced-fat (< 30% of energy) diet [conventional reduced-fat diet (CD) group; n = 23] or meal-replacement-based plan [meal replacement (MR) group; n = 23], to reduce daily intake by 2000 kJ for 12 weeks. Results CD and MR groups had statistically significant and similar reductions in weight (−2.6 ± 1.9 kg versus −4.2 ± 3.8 kg), overall LUTS severity measured with International Prostate Symptom Scale (IPSS) scores (−1.71 ± 1.93 points versus −2.42 ± 2.12 points) and insulin resistance [homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) calculated from plasma glucose and insulin]. The MR group had significantly greater decreases in WC (−4.8 ± 3.3 cm versus −2.5 ± 2.3 cm), fat mass (−2.47 ± 3.63 kg versus −1.59 ± 2.32 kg), fat intake, plasma C-reactive protein, and in storage LUTS score (−1.59 ± 1.33 points versus −1.00 ± 0.87 points), which was associated with a decreased fat intake (r = 0.48, P = 0.03). A decrease in overall IPSS score was associated with reductions in weight, WC and HOMA. Conclusions Weight loss as a result of CD or MR had similar efficacy in relieving LUTS. MR produced greater reductions in fat intake, adiposity and storage LUTS.

Purpose Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infection in young children. However, there are limited data on severe RSV infection requiring pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission. This retrospective study described features of RSV-associated PICU admissions in Hong Kong and investigated factors for mortality and duration of PICU stay. Methods Children with laboratory-confirmed RSV infection and admitted to the PICUs of all eight government hospitals in Hong Kong between January 2009 and June 2011 were identified from computerized auditing systems and PICU databases. RSV in respiratory samples was detected by direct immunofluorescence and/or viral culture. The relationships between mortality and PICU duration and demographic and clinical factors were analyzed. Results A total of 118 (2.4 %) PICU admissions were identified among 4,912 RSV-positive pediatric cases in all hospitals. Sixty-five (55.6 %) patients were infants. PICU admissions were higher between October and March. Eight (6.8 %) patients died, but only two were infants. RSV-associated mortality was related to prior sick contact, presence of older siblings, neurodevelopmental conditions, chromosomal and genetic diseases, and bacterial co-infections, but none was significant following logistic regression analyses (odds ratio 9.36, 95 % confidence interval 0.91–96.03 for prior sick contact, p = 0.060). Chronic lung disease was the only risk factor for the duration of PICU admission (β = 0.218, p = 0.017). Conclusions The majority of RSV-infected children do not require PICU support. There is winter seasonality for RSV-associated PICU admission in Hong Kong. Prior sick contact is the only risk factor for RSV-associated mortality, whereas the presence of chronic lung disease is associated with longer PICU stay. The current risk-based approach of RSV prophylaxis may not be effective in reducing severe RSV infections.

Fault localization technique is commonly used in failure analysis process, and is being used to detect the defect location of a faulty semiconductor device. Most of the localization methods are performed directly on top of die surface. However, the Infrared Lock-In Thermograph (IR-LIT) is one of the localization methods that can be performed without the needs to expose the chip surface (before destructive decapsulation process) Therefore, it is very useful in localizing defects that produce a heat-source which is commonly caused by conductive particle short, metallization short and active damage. In order able to perform the hotspot localization at optimum settings, it is important to study the factors that will affect the characteristic for hotspot localization. In this paper, three important factors are studied; namely the thickness of packages, the device biasing power and as well as the lock-in frequency.

This paper provides simple methods to characterize the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) signal for a Power Mosfet device. The interfaces under investigation were: die attach, die/wire and wire/lead. The study was also extended to investigate the influence of single, double and triple aluminum wire bonded Power Mosfet on the TDR signal.

Recently, significant progress has been made on GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) using atomic-layer deposition (ALD)-grown Al2O3 as gate dielectric. We show here that further improvement can be achieved by inserting a thin In0.2Ga0.8As layer as part of the channel between Al2O3 and GaAs channel. A 1-μm-gate-length, depletion-mode, n-channel In0.2Ga0.8As/GaAs MOSFET with an Al2O3 gate oxide of 160 A shows a gate leakage current density less than 10−4 A/cm2, a maximum transconductance ∼105 mS/mm, and a strong accumulation current at Vgs>0 in addition to buried-channel conduction. Together with longer gate-length devices, we deduce electron accumulation surface mobility for In0.2Ga0.8As as high as 660 cm2/V s at Al2O3/In0.2Ga0.8As interface.

Immunisation is a very important aspect of child health. Invasive pneumococcal and influenza diseases have been major vaccine-available communicable diseases. We surveyed demographics and attitudes of parents of primary school students who received pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV) and compared them with those who did not receive pneumococcal vaccination. The survey was carried out in randomly selected primary schools in Hong Kong. Questionnaires were sent to nine primary schools between June and September 2014. Parents of 3,485 children were surveyed, and 3,479 (1,452 PCV immunised, 2,027 un-immunised) valid questionnaires were obtained. Demographic data were generally different between the two groups. PCV-immunised children were more likely to be female (57.0 vs. 52.2%, P=0.005), born in Hong Kong (94.2 vs. 92.3%, P=0.031), have a parent with tertiary education (49.2 vs. 31.8, P

A GaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) with thin Al2O3 gate dielectric in nanometer (nm) range grown by atomic layer deposition is demonstrated. The nm-thin oxide layer with significant gate leakage current suppression is one of the key factors in downsizing field-effect transistors. A 1 μm gate-length depletion-mode n-channel GaAs MOSFET with an Al2O3 gate oxide thickness of 8 nm, an equivalent SiO2 thickness of ∼3 nm, shows a broad maximum transconductance of 120 mS/mm and a drain current of more than 400 mA/mm. The device shows a good linearity, low gate leakage current, and negligible hysteresis in drain current in a wide range of bias voltage.

This paper presents a bi-level consumer-utility optimization model to schedule an energy consumption pattern of controllable loads in the face of a time varying price function depending on system conditions and market operations. The controllable loads are classified into three types based on their natures and operating characteristics for an upper-level consumer's problem. To formulate the stochastic wind generators, a security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) model is proposed for a lower-level utility's problem to consider various wind power scenarios. We then convert the bi-level model into a single-level of mathematical program with equilibrium constraints' (MPECs) problem to obtain the optimal load scheduling results. Finally, a simple case study is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the method.

Recurrent ovarian cancer with long-term survival is uncommon and often associated with poor prognosis. We report three cases of patients with advanced ovarian cancer who have achieved long-term disease-free survival following a single prior relapse. Case 1 relapsed with a localized bulky tumor and received a complete surgical resection and chemotherapy. Case 2 had a persistent central pelvic tumor after debulking surgery and second-line chemotherapy, and yet achieved excellent control with concurrent chemoradiation to the true pelvis. Case 3 relapsed with paraaortic lymph node metastasis and probable lung metastasis (subsequently negated by positron emission tomography) and received chemotherapy alone. These three patients have since remained disease-free for 13, 12, and seven years, respectively, since their first relapse. We conclude that select patients can obtain long-term disease-free survival after the first relapse by accurate restaging and aggressive multimodality treatment.

This paper presents a comprehensive sizing methodology which could contain all key elements necessary to obtain a practical sizing result for a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system. First, a stochastic solar radiation model based on limited/incomplete local weather data is formulated to synthesis various chronological solar radiation patterns. This enables us to evaluate a long-term system performance and characterize any extreme weather conditions. Second, a stochastic load simulator is developed to simulate realistic load patterns. Third, two reliability indices, Expected-Energy-Not-Supplied (EENS) and Expected-Excessive-Energy-Supplied (EEES), are incorporated with an Annualized Cost of System (ACS) to form a new objective function called an Annualized Reliability and Cost of System (ARCS) for optimization. We then apply a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to obtain the optimum system configuration for a given acceptable risk level. An actual case study is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the proposed methodology.

Various analysis techniques inclusive cross section, parallel grinding, package decapsulation, SEM and EDX had been performed to determine the cause of high leakage on MLCC samples. At the end, analysis method combining the mechanical cracking and laser ablation was successfully pin point the failure was due to Ag migration at the external package of MLCC.

Electrical appliances have distinct consumption patterns of which can be interpreted as signatures and used for various applications. Based on traditional power quality monitoring techniques, coupled with optimization algorithms and innovative pattern recognition methods and stochastic simulation tools, we are going to demonstrate in this paper how we defined different load signatures systematically, structured a disaggregation framework to identify and track individual appliances, assembled different Monte-Carlo simulators for testing purposes and proposed some innovative applications such as smart metering and equipment health monitoring using different load signatures.

This paper presents a bi-level aggregator-utility optimization model to schedule an energy consumption pattern of controllable loads in a power system with a high penetration of renewables. The upper level is an aggregator's problem which aims to minimize the electricity payment by managing the energy consumption of three types of controllable loads. On the other hand, the lower level is a utility's problem which is assumed to be a follower. The utility's problem is a market-clearing model which provides a spot price to the aggregator's problem. We derive the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions of the lower-level utility's problem as the equilibrium constraint in the upper-level aggregator's problem. Therefore, the bi-level formulation is converted into a form of mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPECs) which can be solved analytically. A numerical example is conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed model.

To identify the perception on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among female nursing students in Hong Kong.Data were collected through focus group discussions and semi-structured in-depth interviews. All participants (n=28) were female nursing students of a university in Hong Kong. Tape recordings of individual interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim in Chinese, translated into English, and analyzed according to Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis.Four major themes emerged from the data: nursing students' understanding about HPV vaccine, nursing students' attitude on HPV vaccine, nursing students' perspective on HPV vaccination promotion, and nursing role on HPV vaccination.Government should take initiative in promotion with vaccine suppliers. The awareness and knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination among women should be increased in order to raise the positive attitude of women towards HPV vaccination and prevention of cervical cancer. Health professionals should work together on HPV promotion among women and increase the HPV vaccination rates. Moreover, further studies regarding attitude and awareness of HPV vaccination among women in different age groups are needed in order to identify more associated factors affecting their perceptions towards HPV vaccination.

OBJECTIVES. To assess primary care patients for their awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards colorectal cancer and screening, to report on the uptake of faecal occult blood test screening and the results of screening, and explore predictors of screening uptake. DESIGN. Cross-sectional study. SETTING. Four primary care clinics in Hong Kong. PATIENTS. A total of 1664 patients aged 50 to 74 years attending the clinics in the period July 2006 to July 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Percentage of subjects who were aware that colorectal cancer is common and curable at an early stage, and who knew that faecal occult blood test or colonoscopy is useful for screening; relevant knowledge score; uptake rate of faecal occult blood testing; rate of testing positive; and factors predicting uptake. RESULTS. A total of 1645 questionnaires were collected. In all, 89% (95% confidence interval, 88-91%) were aware that colorectal cancer is common, 95% (94-96%) believed faecal occult blood test and colonoscopy are useful for screening, and 58% (56-61%) achieved a knowledge score of 50% or above. The uptake rate of the faecal occult blood test was 35%. Uptake was higher among those with a positive family history (odds ratio=1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.27; P=0.02), those who were more aware that colorectal cancer is common (1.86; 1.29-2.69; P=0.001), and that colorectal cancer is potentially curable at an early stage (1.76; 1.32-2.36; P=0.0001). Rate of testing positive was 2.1% (95% confidence interval, 0.9-3.3%); no colorectal cancer was detected and the neoplasia detection rate (for cancers and adenomas) was 5.1 per 1000 subjects screened. CONCLUSIONS. Patients were aware that colorectal cancer is common in our community, and faecal occult blood test or colonoscopy is useful for screening. The uptake of screening was low, though relatively higher for those with a positive family history and greater awareness of the high frequency and potential for cure of colorectal cancer. Faecal occult blood test positivity rate was 2.1%, and neoplasia detection rate 5.1 per 1000 screened.