Publications

investigation of killer cell immunoglobulinlike receptor gene diversity: i. kir2dl4.	polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes typing procedures identifying alleles of the killer immunoglobulin-like gene (kir2dl4) have been established. the methods, designed around the specific amplification of the d0 and d2 domains of this gene, produce discrimination of kir2dl4 alleles. the methods have been applied to a healthy northern irish control group, establishing frequencies for this caucasian population. additionally, the kir2dl4 allele status of cell line dna ...	2004	14700593
identification of serum amyloid a protein as a potentially useful biomarker to monitor relapse of nasopharyngeal cancer by serum proteomic profiling.	nasopharyngeal cancer (npc) is a common cancer in hong kong, and relapse can occur frequently. using protein chip profiling analysis, we aimed to identify serum biomarkers that were useful in the diagnosis of relapse in npc. experimental design: profiling analysis was performed on 704 sera collected from 42 npc patients, 39 lung cancer patients, 30 patients with the benign metabolic disorder thyrotoxicosis (tx), and 35 normal individuals (nm). protein profile in each npc patient during clinical ...	2004	14734450
wet markets--a continuing source of severe acute respiratory syndrome and influenza?	context: live-animal markets (wet markets) provide a source of vertebrate and invertebrate animals for customers in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. wet markets sell live poultry, fish, reptiles, and mammals of every kind. live-poultry markets (mostly chicken, pigeon, quail, ducks, geese, and a wide range of exotic wild-caught and farm-raised fowl) are usually separated from markets selling fish or red-meat animals, but the stalls can be near each other with no physical separation. ...	2004	14738798
cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis in a hong kong chinese kinship with a novel splicing site mutation ivs6-1g>t in the sterol 27-hydroxylase gene.	we reported a hong kong chinese proband with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis in which a novel acceptor splicing site mutation (ivs6-1g>t) was identified. family screening revealed the same mutation in his elder brother and the youngest sister. all the three affected siblings were compound heterozygous for ivs6-1g>t and a known missense mutation r372q (genbank accession no. m62401). significant phenotypic variation was noted among them that the youngest sister was still symptom-free at the time of ...	2004	14741198
[sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome). emergent transmissible disease].	of the reemergent transmissible diseases of the past decades, sars is probably not the last to express the alterations occurring in the relationships of the human being with its global ecosystem. the life of contemporary man is characterized, among others, by a huge thirst for traveling, for varied reasons, consequence of the globalization process. sars virus, mutant belonging to coronaviridae, occurred in one of the most densely populated areas of the world. there are two main moments marking t ...	2003	14755924
pb contamination and isotopic composition of urban soils in hong kong.	in the urban environment, intense human activities can lead to degradation of environmental quality and have potential long-term effects on human health. in the present study, pb contamination of urban soil cores in hong kong was investigated using a combination of the 'total' concentration, chemical partitioning and isotopic composition of pb in the soils. the analytical results showed that urban soil cores in close vicinity to high traffic volumes (> 40000 vehicles per day) were usually contam ...	2004	14967510
epidemiology of hepatitis a and hepatitis e infection and their determinants in adult chinese community in hong kong.	current epidemiology of hepatitis a virus (hav) and hepatitis e virus (hev) in hong kong was evaluated in 936 adult chinese subjects recruited through a telephone interview in 2001. some 15% of the subjects had igg antibodies to both hav and hev while 665 (71.0%) and 176 (18.8%) had anti-hav and anti-hev, respectively. age was the most significant independent factor. six hundred thirty-eight (79.8%) and 165 (20.7%) subjects aged > or =30 had anti-hav and anti-hev, respectively, as compared with ...	2004	14981755
re-emergence of fatal human influenza a subtype h5n1 disease.	human disease associated with influenza a subtype h5n1 re-emerged in january, 2003, for the first time since an outbreak in hong kong in 1997. patients with h5n1 disease had unusually high serum concentrations of chemokines (eg, interferon induced protein-10 [ip-10] and monokine induced by interferon gamma [mig]). taken together with a previous report that h5n1 influenza viruses induce large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines from macrophage cultures in vitro, our findings suggest that cytokin ...	2004	14987888
auricular anthropometry of hong kong chinese babies.	to provide a database of the auricular measurements of chinese infants born in hong kong.	2004	14989749
risk factors affecting the severity of single vehicle traffic accidents in hong kong.	a population-based case-control study was conducted to examine factors affecting the severity of single vehicle traffic accidents in hong kong. in particular, single vehicle accident data of three major vehicle types, namely private vehicles, goods vehicles and motorcycles, which contributed to over 80% of all single vehicle accidents during the 2-year-period 1999-2000, were considered. data were obtained from the newly implemented traffic accident data system (trads), which was developed jointl ...	2004	15003577
overview on sars in asia and the world.	severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) is the first major novel infectious disease to hit the international community in the 21st century. it originated in southern china in november 2002, reached hong kong in february 2003 and spread rapidly thereafter to 29 countries/regions on five continents. at the end of the epidemic, the global cumulative total was 8098 with 774 deaths. seven asian countries/regions were among the top ten on the list. mainland china and hong kong, sar, accounted for 87% ...	2003	15018125
phenotypic alterations induced by the hong kong-prevalent epstein-barr virus-encoded lmp1 variant (2117-lmp1) in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells.	epstein-barr virus (ebv) is closely associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (npc), a common cancer in hong kong. the ebv-encoded lmp1 protein is believed to play an important role in cell transformation. we have previously identified a prevalent lmp1 variant (2117-lmp1) that is expressed in 86% of primary npc in hong kong. in this study, the biologic phenotypes induced by 2117-lmp1 were compared with those of the prototypic b95.8-lmp1 in an immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cell line, np69 ...	2004	15027126
sars-related virus predating sars outbreak, hong kong.	using immunofluorescence and neutralization assays, we detected antibodies to human severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (sars-cov) and/or animal sars-cov-like virus in 17 (1.8%) of 938 adults recruited in 2001. this finding suggests that a small proportion of healthy persons in hong kong had been exposed to sars-related viruses at least 2 years before the recent sars outbreak.	2004	15030679
consideration of highly active antiretroviral therapy in the prevention and treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome.	we observed that 0 of 19 patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) infection, including those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (aids), who were hospitalized together and who had close contact with 95 patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) on the same hospital floor contracted sars, whereas 6 of 28 medical workers who served on this floor contracted sars while caring for these patients. our investigation found that most of the patients with hiv-1/aids were r ...	2004	15034838
[severe acute respiratory syndrome: a singular epidemic of viral pneumonia].	infectious agent: the severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) is a febrile pneumonia initially observed in china at the end of 2002. the infectious agent has rapidly been identified as a new coronavirus, baptised sars-associated coronavirus (cov-sars). transmission is inter-human, via respiratory particles mainly. clinical presentation and treatment: the clinical presentation is highly variable, from a mild fever to an acute respiratory distress syndrome. there is no specific treatment. ribavir ...	2004	15041887
responsiveness to a pandemic alert: use of reverse genetics for rapid development of influenza vaccines.	in response to the emergence of severe infection capable of rapid global spread, who will issue a pandemic alert. such alerts are rare; however, on feb 19, 2003, a pandemic alert was issued in response to human infections caused by an avian h5n1 influenza virus, a/hong kong/213/03. h5n1 had been noted once before in human beings in 1997 and killed a third (6/18) of infected people. the 2003 variant seemed to have been transmitted directly from birds to human beings and caused fatal pneumonia in ...	2004	15064027
epstein-barr virus latent membrane protein 1 (lmp1) upregulates id1 expression in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells.	nasopharyngeal carcinoma is closely associated with epstein-barr virus (ebv) infection. the ebv-encoded lmp1 has cell transformation property. it suppresses cellular senescence and enhances cell survival in various cell types. many of the downstream events of lmp1 expression are mediated through its ability to activate nf-kappab. in this study, we report a novel function of lmp1 to induce id1 expression in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells (np69) and human embryonal kidney cells (hek293). the id1 ...	2004	15064751
non-myeloablative allogeneic peripheral stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.	to present an institution's 2-year experience of non-myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation among chinese patients.	2004	15075426
oseltamivir prophylaxis during the influenza season in a paediatric cancer centre: prospective observational study.	to determine the role of oseltamivir prophylaxis for immunocompromised patients.	2004	15075430
reemerging h5n1 influenza viruses in hong kong in 2002 are highly pathogenic to ducks.	waterfowl are the natural reservoir of all influenza a viruses, which are usually nonpathogenic in wild aquatic birds. however, in late 2002, outbreaks of highly pathogenic h5n1 influenza virus caused deaths among wild migratory birds and resident waterfowl, including ducks, in two hong kong parks. in february 2003, an avian h5n1 virus closely related to one of these viruses was isolated from two humans with acute respiratory distress, one of whom died. antigenic analysis of the new avian isolat ...	2004	15078970
h5n1 influenza: a protean pandemic threat.	infection with avian influenza a virus of the h5n1 subtype (isolates a/hk/212/03 and a/hk/213/03) was fatal to one of two members of a family in southern china in 2003. this incident was preceded by lethal outbreaks of h5n1 influenza in waterfowl, which are the natural hosts of these viruses and, therefore, normally have asymptomatic infection. the hemagglutinin genes of the a/hk/212/03-like viruses isolated from humans and waterfowl share the lineage of the h5n1 viruses that caused the first kn ...	2004	15148370
[pay enough attention to human infection with avian influenza virus].		2004	15157379
genome-wide scan for type 2 diabetes loci in hong kong chinese and confirmation of a susceptibility locus on chromosome 1q21-q25.	we conducted an autosomal genome scan to map loci for type 2 diabetes in a hong kong chinese population. we studied 64 families, segregating type 2 diabetes, of which 57 had at least one member with an age at diagnosis of </=40 years. these families included a total of 126 affected sibpairs and 4 other affected relative pairs. nonparametric linkage analysis revealed seven regions showing nominal evidence for linkage with type 2 diabetes (logarithm of odds [lod] >0.59, p(pointwise) < 0.05): chrom ...	2004	15161769
use of an electronic barcode system for patient identification during blood transfusion: 3-year experience in a regional hospital.	to evaluate the use of an electronic barcode system for patient identification during blood transfusion.	2004	15181220
stress and health-related quality of life among hiv-infected persons in hong kong.	this study examines the relationships among illness-related factors, stress, health-related quality of life (hrqol), and psychological distress in persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) living in hong kong (n = 55). participants completed questionnaires including a symptom checklist, modified hiv stressor scale (hivss), medical outcomes study short-form 36 (sf-36), and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (hads). in addition, cd4 count information was obtained. multipl ...	2004	15187474
molecular diversity of epstein-barr virus igg and iga antibody responses in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a comparison of indonesian, chinese, and european subjects.	epstein-barr virus (ebv)-specific immunoblot analysis was used to reveal the molecular diversity of immunoglobulin (ig) g and iga antibody responses against epstein-barr nuclear antigen (ebna), early antigen (ea), and viral capsid antigen (vca) in serum samples from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (npc) and control subjects, by use of immunofluorescence assay (ifa). control donors (n=150) showed igg responses to few ebv proteins--vca-p18, vca-p40, ebna1, and zebra--and sporadically weak i ...	2004	15195243
outcome of patients with positive epstein-barr virus serologic status in the absence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in hong kong.	to evaluate the current clinical practice of follow-up and the outcomes of patients with raised epstein-barr virus (ebv) antibody levels but without pathological evidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (npc) for a possible risk of developing npc in the future.	2004	15210561
excess hospital admissions for pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure during influenza seasons in hong kong.	it is widely held that southern china is a hypothetical influenza epicentre for the emergence of pandemic influenza viruses. however, influenza is perceived as a relatively unimportant infection in this part of the world compared with western countries. hong kong is situated within the hypothetical epicentre and serves as a sentinel post for the region. in a retrospective study, the influenza-associated excess hospitalisations in a regional hospital for pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary d ...	2004	15221909
breast milk substitutes in hong kong.	in 1981 the world health assembly (wha) adopted the international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes (the code) to support breastfeeding. despite improving trends, hong kong has low rates of breastfeeding compared to other developed countries.	2004	15228560
dioxin-like components in human breast milk collected from hong kong and guangzhou.	the h4iie rat hepatoma cell line was employed as a cell model to screen 7-ethoxyresorufin o-deethylase (erod)-tcdd equivalents (erod-teq) of human breast milk samples collected from hong kong and guangzhou, china. the screening methods employed a 96-well plate spectrofluorometer-erod assay. for cell-line validation, our results demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in the ah receptor-mediated response (i.e., cyp1a1 mrna and erod) of the cells upon exposure to a number of known ah receptor agoni ...	2004	15261788
associations between il12b polymorphisms and tuberculosis in the hong kong chinese population.	interleukin (il)-12 plays a vital role in regulating cell-mediated immunity against tuberculosis (tb).	2004	15295696
the use of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhegf) in a gentleman with drug-induced steven johnson syndrome.	a case of drug-induced steven johnson syndrome in a gentleman is reported. its course of treatment with rhegf was compared to conventional treatment in historical control.	2004	15347507
transforming growth factor-beta1 gene polymorphisms and bone turnover, bone mineral density and fracture risk in southern chinese women.	genetic contributions play an important role in determining bone mineral density (bmd) and bone turnover. transforming growth factor-beta (tgf-beta) is abundant in bone and has been implicated as an important regulator of both bone formation and resorption. several polymorphisms of the tgf-beta1 gene have recently been suggested to be associated with bmd and susceptibility to osteoporotic spine fractures. to determine the relationship between tgf-beta1 polymorphisms and bmd in southern chinese w ...	2004	15354859
genome-wide scan for metabolic syndrome and related quantitative traits in hong kong chinese and confirmation of a susceptibility locus on chromosome 1q21-q25.	we conducted autosomal genome scans to map loci for metabolic syndrome (mes) and related traits in the hong kong family diabetes study. we selected 55 families with 137 affected members (121 affected relative pairs) for nonparametric linkage analysis on mes. we also selected 179 families with 897 members (2,127 relative pairs) for variance component-based linkage analyses on seven mes-related traits: waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (bp), triglyceride, hdl cholesterol, ...	2004	15448100
delayed progression to death and to aids in a hong kong cohort of patients with advanced hiv type 1 disease during the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.	the magnitude of the impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (haart) since its introduction in non-western countries is not entirely clear. we studied disease progression among adult patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) infection in the pre-haart (i.e., 1996 and earlier) and haart eras in hong kong.	2004	15472819
prevalence and risk behaviors of hong kong males who seek cross-border same-sex partners in mainland china.	little is known about cross-border sex-networking behaviors among men who have sex with men (msm) goal: the goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of cross-border sex-networking in mainland china among msm in hong kong and the associated risk behaviors	2004	15480120
the chronology of the 2002-2003 sars mini pandemic.	severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) was a new human disease in the autumn of 2002. it first occurred in southern china in november 2002 and was transported to hong kong on february 21, 2003 by an infected and ill patient. ten secondary cases spread the infection to two hospitals in hong kong and to singapore, toronto and hanoi. in march 2003 a novel coronavirus (sars-cov) was found to be the causative agent. within 11 weeks from the first sars case in hong kong it had spread to an additiona ...	2004	15531249
scary strains.		2004	15543717
interindividual and intraindividual variability of the urinary 6beta-hydroxycortisol/cortisol ratio in chinese subjects: implications of its use for evaluating cyp3a activity.	the present study determined the interindividual and intrandividual variability of the urinary 6beta-hydroxycortisol/cortisol ratio, a useful marker for cyp3a induction and inhibition in chinese subjects. the study consisted of 2 parts. in part i, 82 healthy male chinese subjects underwent 3 study sessions, each separated by a 1-week interval. in part ii, 20 subjects who initially completed part i underwent another 3 sessions over a period of 3 to 4 months. during each session, a first-morning u ...	2004	15545313
influenza-associated mortality in hong kong.	the impact of influenza on mortality in countries in subtropical and tropical regions is poorly quantified. estimation of influenza-related illness in warm-climate regions is more difficult, because the seasonality of virus circulation is less well-defined. partly as a result of these factors, influenza vaccine is grossly underutilized in the tropics, even for individuals >or=65 years of age.	2004	15578360
htlv-1-related lymphoma in hong kong chinese.		2005	15609285
ventilation performance in the operating theatre against airborne infection: numerical study on an ultra-clean system.	a laminar airflow study was performed in a standard operating theatre in hong kong, the design of which followed the requirements of the uk health technical memorandum. the study of the ultra-clean ventilation system investigated the effectiveness of the laminar flow in: (i) preventing bioaerosols released by the surgical staff from causing postoperative infection of the patient; and (ii) protecting the surgical team against infection by bacteria from the wound site. seven cases of computer simu ...	2005	15620448
[the world prepares for influenza epidemics].		2004	15656418
experiences of online learning: students' perspective.	this paper explores students' views of an online learning initiative within a post-registration degree in nursing in hong kong. a self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. one hundred and ninety eight students completed the study. online learning was seen to be convenient allowing students to study at their own pace and time. students reported that online learning enabled them to hold a higher level of accountability for their own learning and to learn independently. not all ...	2004	15701540
severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) and healthcare workers.	the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory synt drome (sars) was spread by international air travel, a direct result of globalization. the disease is caused by a novel coronavirus, transmitted from human to human by droplets or by direct contact. healthcare workers (hcws) were at high risk and accounted for a fifth of all cases globally. risk factors for infection in hcws included lack of awareness and preparedness when the disease first struck, poor institutional infection control measures ...	2004	15702757
association of essential hypertension with a microsatellite marker on chromosome 17.	hypertension is related to sodium intake, and many patients with essential hypertension are overweight and have the metabolic syndrome. we therefore studied microsatellite markers close to the thiazide-sensitive na-cl cotransporter on chromosome 16 and a quantitative trait locus for abdominal obesity-metabolic syndrome (aoms2) on chromosome 17, which have been found to be linked to hypertension in a previous genome scan in chinese. there were 84 hypertensive subjects (44 men, 40 women, age 53+/- ...	2005	15716982
b-cell responses in patients who have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome target a dominant site in the s2 domain of the surface spike glycoprotein.	severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) is a recently emerged infectious disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus. examination of the immune responses of patients who have recovered from sars should provide important information for design of a safe and effective vaccine. we determined the continuous viral epitopes targeted by antibodies in plasma samples from convalescent sars patients through biopanning with a vast m13 phage display dodecapeptide library. these epitopes converged to ve ...	2005	15731234
the use of an herbal formula by hospital care workers during the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in hong kong to prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome transmission, relieve influenza-related symptoms, and improve quality of life: a prospective cohort study.	to investigate the efficacy of an herbal formula in the prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) transmission among health care workers. the secondary objectives are to investigate quality of life (qol) and symptomology changes among supplement users, and to evaluate the safety of this formula.	2005	15750363
cross-reactivity to highly pathogenic avian influenza h5n1 viruses after vaccination with nonadjuvanted and mf59-adjuvanted influenza a/duck/singapore/97 (h5n3) vaccine: a potential priming strategy.	antigenically well-matched vaccines against highly pathogenic avian influenza h5n1 viruses are urgently required. human serum samples after immunization with mf59 or nonadjuvanted a/duck/singapore/97 (h5n3) vaccine were tested for antibody to 1997-2004 human h5n1 viruses. antibody responses to 3 doses of nonadjuvanted vaccine were poor and were higher after mf59-adjuvanted vaccine, with seroconversion rates to a/hongkong/156/97, a/hongkong/213/03, a/thailand/16/04, and a/vietnam/1203/04 of 100% ...	2005	15776364
characterization of a bacillus anthracis isolate causing a rare case of fatal anthrax in a 2-year-old boy from hong kong.	we used multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (mlva) and paga sequencing to genotype a bacillus anthracis isolate from a fatal case of human anthrax in hong kong. the isolate has a unique mlva genotype, is related to the sterne and ames strains, and is consistent with genotypes identified in china.	2005	15815041
a new haplotype of pdcd1 is associated with rheumatoid arthritis in hong kong chinese.	the programmed death 1 (pd-1) molecule is a negative regulator of t cells, and a genetic association between pd-1 and systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis (ra) in caucasians has been reported. the aim of this study was to investigate the association of pdcd1 polymorphisms and haplotypes with ra in the chinese population.	2005	15818672
precautions in ophthalmic practice in a hospital with a major acute sars outbreak: an experience from hong kong.	many new infectious diseases in humans have been derived from animal sources in the past 20 years. some are highly contagious and fatal. vaccination may not be available and antiviral drugs are not effective enough. infectious control is important in clinical medicine and in ophthalmology. severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars), as an example, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that has recently been reported in asia, north america, and europe. within a matter of weeks, the outbreak ha ...	2006	15877099
human coronavirus nl63 infection and other coronavirus infections in children hospitalized with acute respiratory disease in hong kong, china.	human coronavirus nl63 (hcov-nl63) is a recently discovered human coronavirus found to cause respiratory illness in children and adults that is distinct from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) coronavirus and human coronaviruses 229e (hcov-229e) and oc43 (hcov-oc43).	2005	15909257
metal contamination in urban, suburban, and country park soils of hong kong: a study based on gis and multivariate statistics.	the urban environment quality is of vital importance as the majority of people now live in cities. due to the continuous urbanisation and industrialisation in many parts of the world, metals are continuously emitted into the terrestrial environment and pose a great threat on human health. an extensive survey was conducted in the highly urbanised and commercialised hong kong island area (80.3 km2) of hong kong using a systematic sampling strategy of five soil samples per km2 in urban areas and tw ...	2006	15913711
the sars epidemic in hong kong--a human calamity in the 21st century.	this paper reviews the epidemiology and control measures of the sars epidemic in hong kong. it sets out proposals for better preparedness to tackle the disease in future.	2005	15924195
human infection by avian influenza a h5n1.	the southeast asian outbreak of the highly lethal avian influenza a h5n1 infection in humans is unlikely to abate because of the enormous number of backyard farms providing poultry as the main source of food protein in developing countries. this increases the risk of the emergence of a reassortant pandemic influenza virus with improved human-to-human transmissibility. currently triage of suspected cases by epidemiological risk factors remains the only practical way of case identification for lab ...	2005	15951584
multinational impact of the 1968 hong kong influenza pandemic: evidence for a smoldering pandemic.	the first pandemic season of a/h3n2 influenza virus (1968/1969) resulted in significant mortality in the united states, but it was the second pandemic season of a/h3n2 influenza virus (1969/1970) that caused the majority of deaths in england. we further explored the global pattern of mortality caused by the pandemic during this period.	2005	15962218
norovirus contamination found in oysters worldwide.	noroviruses (norwalk-like viruses) are recognized as major causes of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis are often associated with consumption of oysters. in this study, oysters imported into hong kong from 11 countries over a 3-year period were screened by rt-pcr. overall, 53 out of 507 (10.5%) samples were positive for norovirus-rna, and a wide variety of strains were found. two novel genetic clusters were detected, which could indicate novel human or animal ...	2005	15977231
three dimensions of the survival curve: horizontalization, verticalization, and longevity extension.	three dimensions of the survival curve have been developed: (1) "horizontalization," which corresponds to how long a cohort and how many survivors can live before aging-related deaths significantly decrease the proportion of survivors; (2) "verticalization," which corresponds to how concentrated aging-related ("normal") deaths are around the modal age at death (m); and (3) "longevity extension," which corresponds to how far the highest normal life durations can exceed m. our study shows that the ...	2005	15986985
polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in human adipose tissue and breast milk collected in hong kong.	contamination from persistent organic pollutants is a pervasive global problem that urgently demands global concern and action. in the present study, concentrations of organochlorine (oc) pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) were determined in 37 samples of female adipose tissue collected in hong kong hospitals. among the pollutants analyzed, ddts (2.79 ng/g fat), hchs (0.72 ng/g fat), and pcbs (0.19 ng/g fat) were prominent compounds in most of the adipose tissue. p,p'-dde and hexach ...	2005	16001156
organochlorines and dioxin-like compounds in green-lipped mussels perna viridis from hong kong mariculture zones.	concentrations of persistent organic pollutants including polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), organochlorine (oc) pesticides and dioxin-like compounds were measured in green-lipped mussels, perna viridis, collected from seven mariculture zones in hong kong between september and october in 2002 in order to evaluate the status, spatial distribution and potential sources of pollution in these areas. concentrations ranged from 300 to 4400 ng/g lipid weight for total ocs and 170-1000 ng/g lipid weight ...	2005	16023147
chromosomal abnormalities and fmr1 gene premutation in chinese women with premature menopause.	to study the prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities and fmr1 gene premutation in chinese women with premature menopause in hong kong.	2005	16085940
cytogenetic analysis of patients with primary and secondary amenorrhoea in hong kong: retrospective study.	to estimate the incidence and type of chromosomal abnormalities in patients with primary and secondary amenorrhoea in hong kong.	2005	16085943
identification of hepatitis b virus x gene mutation in hong kong patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.	chronic infection by hepatitis b virus (hbv) is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) in man. the viral transactivator hbv x (hbx) gene plays a critical role in the molecular pathogenesis of hbv-related hcc.	2005	16087118
synchronous and asynchronous presentations of auditory and visual signals: implications for control console design.	in this study, the effects of synchronous and asynchronous auditory and visual signal presentation on reaction times and response errors were examined to provide data for developing ergonomics recommendations for control console design. the results showed that synchronous presentation for combined visual and auditory stimulation facilitated responses, and shorter reaction times and higher response accuracies were obtained. when visual and auditory stimuli were presented synchronously but in oppo ...	2006	16102721
selecting small reserves in a human-dominated landscape: a case study of hong kong, china.	in this case study of a degraded tropical landscape, we examine how the protected area system in hong kong, china, should be modified to improve its efficiency in protecting the surprisingly rich biota. the challenge lies in the fine scale of site selection, and the absence of a core area with high species richness and rarity. site selection was first conducted in 1 km grid units by selecting hotspots and irreplaceable sites using field records for eight groups of species (amphibians, reptiles, ...	2006	16102890
near-miss errors in laboratory blood test requests by interns.	human errors have proven to be one of the most formidable patient care challenges in acute hospital setting.	2005	16126739
factors affecting the maintenance stable warfarin dosage in hong kong chinese patients.	multiple factors can affect the anticoagulation effect of warfarin. the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between different clinical factors and outcomes of warfarin therapy in hong kong chinese patients.	2005	16133893
association of vitamin k epoxide reductase complex 1 (vkorc1) variants with warfarin dose in a hong kong chinese patient population.	to evaluate the association of vkorc1 genetic variants with warfarin dose requirements in a hong kong chinese patient population.	2005	16141794
human parainfluenza virus 4 outbreak and the role of diagnostic tests.	owing to the difficulties in isolating the virus and the lack of routine surveillance, the clinical significance of human parainfluenza virus 4 (hpiv-4) is less well defined than that of the other human parainfluenza viruses. we describe the first outbreak of hpiv-4 infection in a developmental disabilities unit, involving 38 institutionalized children and three staff members, during a 3-week period in autumn 2004. most subjects had upper respiratory tract infections (urti), while lower respirat ...	2005	16145100
unusual cases of human myiasis due to old world screwworm fly acquired indoors in hong kong.	myiasis is the infestation of tissue by the larvae of flies. we report eight cases of human myiasis in hong kong. all patients were nursing home residents with an average age of 81.8 years. seven patients were bedridden with advanced dementia. four patients had pre-existing wounds. five had poor oral hygiene and four of those were on tube feeding. all of the five patients with poor oral hygiene suffered from oral myiasis. two patients had vaginal infestations and one had wound myiasis in his dia ...	2005	16154168
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in chinese horseshoe bats.	although the finding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov) in caged palm civets from live animal markets in china has provided evidence for interspecies transmission in the genesis of the sars epidemic, subsequent studies suggested that the civet may have served only as an amplification host for sars-cov. in a surveillance study for cov in noncaged animals from the wild areas of the hong kong special administration region, we identified a cov closely related to sars-cov (ba ...	2005	16169905
[digenic association of rho and rp1 genes with retinitis pigmentosa among chinese population in hong kong].	to identify the mutation patterns of rho and rp1 genes in the chinese patients with retinitis pigmentosa (rp) and to explore their potential interactions in the pathogenesis of rp.	2005	16185528
a survey of attitudes toward homosexuality in hong kong chinese medical students.	homosexuality is now considered an alternative lifestyle occurring with some regularity as a variant of human sexuality, rather than a pathological disorder. it is important to understand the attitudes of medical professionals toward homosexuality, as their attitudes may influence their approach to gay men and lesbians as patients. it is also important to understand the current attitudes of medical students who will be the future generation of health care providers.	2005	16197321
hla-b alleles, high-risk hpv infection and risk for cervical neoplasia in southern chinese women.	a population-based study was conducted on 256 southern chinese with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade iii (cin iii) or invasive cervical cancer (icc) and on 258 controls to examine the associations between hla-b alleles, infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (hpvs) and the development of cervical neoplasia. hla-b15 was found to be protective for cin iii/icc overall (p(corrected) = 0.003), and for hpv52-positive cin iii/icc (p(corrected) = 0.003). a marginal protective effect of ...	2006	16206270
numerical analysis of electrophoretic periplasmic protein patterns of aeromonas sp. strains.	a total of 103 strains of aeromonas spp. isolated from clinical and from environmental samples was compared by using sds-page of periplasmic proteins patterns. strains isolated from polish children suffering from gastroenteritis did not appear similar to strains isolated from human living in hong-kong. aeromonas sp. strains did not show a tendency to cluster according to their origin. our results have demonstrated no species-specific periplasmic protein profiles. a significant protein electropho ...	2005	16209101
the clinical outcome of 137 rape victims in hong kong.	from 1 august 2001 to 31 july 2004, 137 patients were referred from the association concerning sexual violence against women to the accident and emergency department at the kwong wah hospital for alleged rape. approximately half of the patients presented within 3 days of the alleged assault. fifty-one patients were prescribed emergency contraception: one patient remained pregnant despite treatment and was referred with a further six patients to the gynaecology department for termination of pregn ...	2005	16219959
a case of human brucellosis in hong kong.	brucellosis is an infectious disease of humans and animals caused by brucella species. we report on a 34-year-old housewife who presented with recurrent headache, fever, and malaise. blood cultures yielded slow-growing gram-negative coccobacilli that were later identified as brucella melitensis. the patient recalled handling goat placenta in china. she was prescribed a 6-week course of doxycycline and rifampicin. laboratory staff who had been exposed to the isolate remained asymptomatic. the epi ...	2005	16219962
vibrio vulnificus peritonitis after handling of seafood in a patient receiving capd.	vibrio vulnificus is a marine bacterium and opportunistic human pathogen. associated infections have contributed to the majority of seafood-related deaths in the united states. in patients with such predisposed clinical conditions as chronic liver disease, immunocompromised state, and end-stage renal disease, this organism has been associated with the development of life-threatening primary septicemia and severe wound infection. however, continuous ambulatory peritonitis dialysis (capd)-related ...	2005	16253715
stiff child syndrome with mutation of dyt1 gene.	the authors report a chinese boy with a dyt1 gene mutation having muscle stiffness, severe painful muscle spasm, myoclonus, and dystonia compatible with stiff child syndrome. autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-gad) were absent. his asymptomatic mother had a dyt1 mutation. his asymptomatic sister has diabetes mellitus and antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase but no dyt1 mutation.	2005	16275837
residues of ddts, pahs and some heavy metals in fish (tilapia) collected from hong kong and mainland china.	most of the freshwater fish consumed in hong kong is imported from the southern part of china, although hong kong also produces a small amount of freshwater fish. the major aim of the present study was to conduct a health risk assessment of fish produced from the mainland (purchased from four local markets in hong kong) compared with those produced from hong kong fishponds. thirty tilapia fish (tilapia mossambicus) were collected from the fishponds at tam kon chau, nam sang wai, and mai po natur ...	2005	16287644
seasonal variation of air pollution index: hong kong case study.	air pollution is an important and popular topic in hong kong as concerns have been raised about the health impacts caused by vehicle exhausts in recent years. in hong kong, sulphur dioxide so2, nitrogen dioxide (no2), nitric oxide (no), carbon monoxide (co), and respirable suspended particulates (rsp) are major air pollutants caused by the dominant usage of diesel fuel by goods vehicles and buses. these major pollutants and the related secondary pollutant, e.g., ozone (o3), become and impose har ...	2006	16325232
human embryo cloning prohibited in hong kong.	since the birth of dolly (the cloned sheep) in 1997, debates have arisen on the ethical and legal questions of cloning-for-biomedical-research (more commonly termed "therapeutic cloning") and of reproductive cloning using human gametes. hong kong enacted the human reproductive technology ordinance (cap 561) in 2000. section 15(1)(e) of this ordinance prohibits the "replacing of the nucleus of a cell of an embryo with a nucleus taken from any other cell," i.e., nucleus substitution. section 15(1) ...	2005	16331533
transforming growth factor-beta1 gene polymorphism in renal transplant recipients.	cytokine transforming growth factor (tgf) is involved in regulation of tissue repair after injury. more recently, tgf-beta1 codon 10 gene polymorphism has been shown to be associated with circulating tgf-beta levels. we tested whether tgf-beta1 genotype polymorphism was predictive of renal allograft function decline.	2005	16350816
hong kong battens down the hatches.		2005	16365938
homozygous l-sign (clec4m) plays a protective role in sars coronavirus infection.	severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) is caused by infection of a previously undescribed coronavirus (cov). l-sign, encoded by clec4m (also known as cd209l), is a sars-cov binding receptor that has polymorphism in its extracellular neck region encoded by the tandem repeat domain in exon 4. our genetic risk association study shows that individuals homozygous for clec4m tandem repeats are less susceptible to sars infection. l-sign is expressed in both non-sars and sars-cov-infected lung. compar ...	2006	16369534
pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in hong kong: a 10 year retrospective study.	a retrospective review was performed of patients diagnosed with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (pcp) from 1994 to 2003 at the prince of wales hospital in hong kong. eighteen patients were identified. six (33.3%) were co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv). the remaining 12 non-hiv-infected patients had underlying diseases: three post-renal transplant recipients, three with haematological malignancies, two with auto-immune diseases, two with renal diseases, one with hepatocellular ca ...	2006	16388034
virtual acupuncture human based on chinese visible human dataset.	in this paper, we present our application of latest information technology in assisting the chinese acupuncture research. having integrated the chinese visible human (cvh) data, virtual reality, visualization and imaging techniques, we have constructed a 3-dimensional digital human model for acupuncture. this model integrates the meridian positioning, acupoint positioning, arbitrary cutting-plane visualization, multi-layer dissection, needle puncturing simulation, as well as the common diseases- ...	2006	16404043
semi-automatic segmentation and tracking of cvh data.	construction of speed function is crucial in applying level set method for medical image segmentation. we present a unified approach for segmenting and tracking of the high-resolution chinese visible human (cvh) data. the underlying link of these two parts relies on the proposed variational framework for the speed function. our proposed method can be applied to segmenting the first slice of the volume data, in the first step; it can also be adapted to track the boundaries of the homogeneous orga ...	2006	16404094
breast milk dioxins in hong kong and pearl river delta.	there are no previous reports from south china on chemically determined polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (pcdds), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (pcdfs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) in human breast milk expressed as world health organization (who) toxic equivalents (teqs). in a 2002-2003 who exposure study, 13 pools of breast milk comprising samples from 316 primiparous women in hong kong in 2002 were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for 29 pcdd/f and diox ...	2006	16451855
epidemiology and clinical features of sporadic hepatitis e as compared with hepatitis a.	to compare the epidemiology and clinical features of two enterically transmitted hepatitis, namely hepatitis e and hepatitis a.	2006	16454833
avian influenza: risk, preparedness and the roles of public health nurses in hong kong.	this paper provides an overview of the hong kong government's influenza preparedness plan and the key roles of public health nurses in that plan. the part played by hong kong public health nurses in the management of the avian influenza outbreak in hong kong in 1997 and the sudden acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, together with the capacity-building work they are now undertaking in preparing for an influenza pandemic, highlight their crucial role in public health. recent strengthening ...	2006	16494661
influenza pandemics of the 20th century.	three worldwide (pandemic) outbreaks of influenza occurred in the 20th century: in 1918, 1957, and 1968. the latter 2 were in the era of modern virology and most thoroughly characterized. all 3 have been informally identified by their presumed sites of origin as spanish, asian, and hong kong influenza, respectively. they are now known to represent 3 different antigenic subtypes of influenza a virus: h1n1, h2n2, and h3n2, respectively. not classified as true pandemics are 3 notable epidemics: a p ...	2006	16494710
is hong kong ground zero for the next avian influenza pandemic?		2006	16495598
photorealistic virtual anatomy based on chinese visible human data.	virtual reality based learning of human anatomy is feasible when a database of 3d organ models is available for the learner to explore, visualize, and dissect in virtual space interactively. in this article, we present our latest work on photorealistic virtual anatomy applications based on the chinese visible human (cvh) data. we have focused on the development of state-of-the-art virtual environments that feature interactive photo-realistic visualization and dissection of virtual anatomical mod ...	2006	16506219
influenza in tropical regions.		2006	16509764
association of hypertension with single nucleotide polymorphisms in the quantitative trait locus for abdominal obesity-metabolic syndrome on chromosome 17.	genome scan in chinese revealed an association of blood pressure with the microsatellite marker d17s1303, which lies in a quantitative trait locus for the abdominal obesity-metabolic syndrome (aoms2) at 17p12 on chromosome 17. we previously reported that d17s1303 was associated with hypertension and obesity. therefore, we studied 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (snp) within 3 kb of d17s1303. one hundred and eighty hypertensive subjects (91 men, 89 women, age 53+/-12 years) and 180 normotensiv ...	2006	16511504
[hong kong and the bird flu ].		2006	16512010
influenza-associated hospitalization in a subtropical city.	the impact of influenza on morbidity and hospitalization in the tropics and subtropics is poorly quantified. uniquely, the hong kong special administrative region has computerized hospital discharge diagnoses on 95% of total bed days, allowing disease burden for a well-defined population to be accurately assessed.	2006	16515368
risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in shrimp farming in mai po nature reserve, hong kong.	an ecological survey was carried out to determine the sediment concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish and shrimp including tilapia (oreochromis mossambicus x o. nilotica), grey mullet (mugil cephalus), gei wai shrimp (metapenaeus ensis) and caridean shrimp (macrobrachium nipponensis) in the traditional tidal shrimp ponds (gei wais) of mai po nature reserve, hong kong. the sediments collected from the landward sites contained higher nutrient conte ...	2006	16528597