| changes in knowledge, perceptions, preventive behaviours and psychological responses in the pre-community outbreak phase of the h1n1 epidemic. | to investigate the changes in community responsiveness during the pre-community-outbreak phase of the h1n1 epidemic in hong kong, a pooled sample of 999 adults was interviewed in three surveys (s1, s2, s3) from 7 may to 6 june 2009. over time, fewer people felt confident in staying free from h1n1 infection in the following year (s1, 63·3%; s3, 46%; p<0·001). the level of distress due to h1n1 remained modest throughout the study period. people's confidence in the government's ability to control a ... | 2011 | 20800008 |
| sero-immunity and serologic response to pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 virus in hong kong. | to study the serologic response to the new pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 virus in hong kong, the level of immunity was measured before and after the occurrence of the outbreak, and the titer of antibody to the pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 virus in serum samples of laboratory confirmed cases. the presence of pre-outbreak pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 virus antibodies in 37% of individuals older than >65 years suggested previous exposures to heterologous virus strains may have elicited c ... | 2010 | 20872705 |
| comparison of the incidence of influenza in relation to climate factors during 2000-2007 in five countries. | relatively few international comparisons of the incidence of influenza related to climate parameters have been performed, particularly in the eastern hemisphere. in this study, the incidence of influenza and climate data such as temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall, from cities at different latitudes with contrasting climates: singapore, hong kong (china), ulaanbaatar (mongolia), vancouver (canada), and three australian cities (brisbane, melbourne and sydney) were examined to determine w ... | 2010 | 20872724 |
| influenza and parainfluenza associated pediatric icu morbidity. | to investigate if morbidity in young children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (picu with a laboratory proven diagnosis of influenza and parainfluenza infection) had increased. | 2010 | 20882437 |
| possible role of aerosol transmission in a hospital outbreak of influenza. | we examined the role of aerosol transmission of influenza in an acute ward setting. | 2010 | 20942655 |
| increased genetic diversity of hiv-1 circulating in hong kong. | hiv-1 group m strains are characterized into 9 pure subtypes and 48 circulating recombinant forms (crfs). recent studies have identified the presence of new hiv-1 recombinants in hong kong and their complexity continues to increase. this study aims to characterize the hiv-1 genetic diversity in hong kong. phylogenetic analyses were performed by using hiv-1 pol sequences including protease and partial reverse transcriptase isolated from 1045 local patients in hong kong from 2003 to 2008. for the ... | 2010 | 20808942 |
| how is health a security issue? politics, responses and issues. | in the closing decade of the 20th century the myriad challenges posed by infectious disease in a globalized environment began to be re-conceptualized as threats to national and human security. the most widely applied model for identifying and responding to such threats is securitization theory, as proposed by the copenhagen school. although its analytical framework is generally accepted, its utility remains contested; especially in non-european and non-state settings. the papers in this special ... | 2010 | 20961945 |
| major pollutants in soils of abandoned agricultural land contaminated by e-waste activities in hong kong. | polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (pah), polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb), polybrominated diphenyl ether (pbde) compounds and five heavy metals (cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, and zinc) were determined in soil samples collected from six sites of abandoned agricultural land affected by electronic-waste: e-waste dismantling workshop [ew (dw)], e-waste open burning site [ew (obs)], e-waste storage [ew (s)], and agricultural (a) in the new territories, hong kong. persistent organic pollutants (pops) a ... | 2010 | 20811881 |
| situational awareness and health protective responses to pandemic influenza a (h1n1) in hong kong: a cross-sectional study. | whether information sources influence health protective behaviours during influenza pandemics or other emerging infectious disease epidemics is uncertain. | 2010 | 20967280 |
| willingness to accept h1n1 pandemic influenza vaccine: a cross-sectional study of hong kong community nurses. | the 2009 pandemic of influenza a (h1n1) infection has alerted many governments to make preparedness plan to control the spread of influenza a (h1n1) infection. vaccination for influenza is one of the most important primary preventative measures to reduce the disease burden. our study aims to assess the willingness of nurses who work for the community nursing service (cns) in hong kong on their acceptance of influenza a (h1n1) influenza vaccination. | 2010 | 21034439 |
| facing the threat of influenza pandemic - roles of and implications to general practitioners. | the 2009 pandemic of h1n1 influenza, compounded with seasonal influenza, posed a global challenge. despite the announcement of post-pandemic period on 10 august 2010 by the who, h1n1 (2009) virus would continue to circulate as a seasonal virus for some years and national health authorities should remain vigilant due to unpredictable behaviour of the virus. majority of the world population is living in countries with inadequate resources to purchase vaccines and stockpile antiviral drugs. basic h ... | 2010 | 21044300 |
| association of srd5a2 variants and serum androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol glucuronide concentration in chinese elderly men. | results of recent studies have demonstrated that genetic variants of the enzyme steroid 5α reductase type ii (srd5a2) are associated with serum concentrations of major androgen metabolites such as conjugates of androstane-3α,17β-diol-glucuronide (3α-diol-g). however, this association was not consistently found among different ethnic groups. thus, we aimed to determine whether the association with srd5a2 genetic variations exists in a cohort of healthy chinese elderly men, by examining 2 metaboli ... | 2010 | 20855474 |
| protective efficacy of seasonal influenza vaccination against seasonal and pandemic influenza virus infection during 2009 in hong kong. | the relationship between seasonal influenza vaccine and susceptibility to 2009 pandemic a/h1n1 virus infection is not fully understood. | 2010 | 21067351 |
| reconstruction of epidemic curves for pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 at city and sub-city levels. | to better describe the epidemiology of influenza at local level, the time course of pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 in the city of hong kong was reconstructed from notification data after decomposition procedure and time series analysis. gis (geographic information system) methodology was incorporated for assessing spatial variation. between may and september 2009, a total of 24415 cases were successfully geocoded, out of 25473 (95.8%) reports in the original dataset. the reconstructed epidemic ... | 2010 | 21078195 |
| risk factors for cervical abnormalities among hong kong chinese women: a large-scale community-based cervical screening program. | we sought to identify the prevalence of and risk factors associated with cervical abnormalities among chinese women in hong kong. | 2010 | 21091197 |
| downregulation of aspp1 in gestational trophoblastic disease: correlation with hypermethylation, apoptotic activity and clinical outcome. | gestational trophoblastic disease encompasses a spectrum of trophoblastic lesions including true neoplasms such as choriocarcinomas and the potentially malignant hydatidiform moles, which may develop persistent disease requiring chemotherapy. aspp1, a member of apoptosis-stimulating proteins of p53 (aspps), is a proapoptotic protein that can stimulate apoptosis through its interaction with p53. we evaluated the promoter methylation and expression profiles of aspp1 in different trophoblastic tiss ... | 2010 | 21102414 |
| network analysis of global influenza spread. | although vaccines pose the best means of preventing influenza infection, strain selection and optimal implementation remain difficult due to antigenic drift and a lack of understanding global spread. detecting viral movement by sequence analysis is complicated by skewed geographic and seasonal distributions in viral isolates. we propose a probabilistic method that accounts for sampling bias through spatiotemporal clustering and modeling regional and seasonal transmission as a binomial process. a ... | 2010 | 21124942 |
| pandemic influenza 1918 h1n1 and 1968 h3n2 dna vaccines induce cross-reactive immunity in ferrets against infection with viruses drifted for decades. | alternative influenza vaccines and vaccine production forms are needed as the conventional protein vaccines do not induce broad cross-reactivity against drifted strains. furthermore, fast vaccine production is especially important in a pandemic situation, and broader vaccine reactivity would diminish the need for frequent change in the vaccine formulations. | 2010 | 21138536 |
| young-onset parkinsonism in a hong kong chinese man with adult-onset hallervorden-spatz syndrome. | neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (nbia) is a heterogeneous group of disorders varied in genetic etiologies, clinical presentations, and radiological features. nbia is an iron homeostasis disorder with progressive iron accumulation in the central nervous systems and is clinically characterized by extrapyramidal movement abnormalities, retinal pigmentary changes, and cognitive impairment. panthothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (hallervorden-spatz disease) is the commonest ... | 2011 | 21198414 |
| sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in hong kong: the role of migration status. | female sex workers (fsw) have been considered reservoirs and vectors of sexually transmitted infections (sti) in the community. this study estimated the prevalence of sti/human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) among fsw of various migration and residential status in hong kong and identified possible risk factors. | 2010 | 21199136 |
| relationships among diabetic retinopathy, antioxidants, and glycemic control. | type 2 diabetes mellitus (dm) is increasing worldwide and affects ∼11% of the hong kong population. diabetic retinopathy (dr) is a common cause of vision loss in type 2 dm. risk of dr is increased by poor glycemic control, elevated lipids, and blood pressure, but it is not possible to predict the development or progression of dr at an individual level. increased oxidative stress is thought to play a role. the use of a wider biomarker profile incorporating biomarkers of antioxidant status and oxi ... | 2011 | 21217409 |
| longitudinal data analyses using linear mixed models in spss: concepts, procedures and illustrations. | although different methods are available for the analyses of longitudinal data, analyses based on generalized linear models (glm) are criticized as violating the assumption of independence of observations. alternatively, linear mixed models (lmm) are commonly used to understand changes in human behavior over time. in this paper, the basic concepts surrounding lmm (or hierarchical linear models) are outlined. although spss is a statistical analyses package commonly used by researchers, documentat ... | 2011 | 21218263 |
| coxsackievirus b3-associated aseptic meningitis: an emerging infection in hong kong. | enterovirus (ev) infection is a common disease of childhood and associated not uncommonly with aseptic meningitis. in the summer of 2008, laboratory surveillance has detected increased number of coxsackievirus b3 (cvb3) associated aseptic meningitis in hong kong, constituting 11.6% of those infected. this study analyzed the epidemiology, circulating pattern, and clinical presentations of cvb3 in hong kong over the last 10 years with reference to the circulation of ev in the locality. enterovirus ... | 2011 | 21264869 |
| c-reactive protein as a predictor of hypertension in the hong kong cardiovascular risk factor prevalence study (crisps) cohort. | inflammation contributes to the development of hypertension. whether c-reactive protein (crp) has a causal role in hypertension remains unknown. we studied the relationship between circulating crp levels and hypertension. the role of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) in the crp gene as determinants of its plasma levels and the propensity to develop hypertension was investigated. plasma crp and genotypes of nine snps were determined in 1925 unrelated subjects from the hong kong cardiovascula ... | 2011 | 21270838 |
| distribution, availability, and sources of trace metals in different particle size fractions of urban soils in hong kong: implications for assessing the risk to human health. | the concentration and loading distribution of trace metals (cu, zn, pb, co, ni, cr, and mn) and major elements (al, ca, fe, and mg) in different particle size fractions (2000-280, 280-100, 100-50, 50-10, 10-2, and <2 µm) of surface soils from highly urbanized areas in hong kong were studied. the enrichment of pb, cu, and zn in the urban soils was strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities, and pb accumulated in fine particles was mainly derived from past vehicular emissions as shown by pb i ... | 2011 | 21296471 |
| gene expression of tweak/fn14 and ip-10/cxcr3 in glomerulus and tubulointerstitium of patients with lupus nephritis. | the role of the tumour necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (tweak)/fn14 and interferon-inducible protein (ip-10)/cxcr3 axis in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis were studied. | 2011 | 21303425 |
| psychological burden of testing positive for high-risk human papillomavirus on women with atypical cervical cytology: a prospective study. | to assess the psychological burden of testing positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (hpv) on chinese women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ascus). | 2011 | 21306349 |
| two missense variants in uhrf1bp1 are independently associated with systemic lupus erythematosus in hong kong chinese. | uhrf1bp1 encodes a highly conserved protein with unknown function. previously, a coding variant in this gene was found to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (sle) in populations of european ancestry (rs11755393, r454q, p=2.22 x 10?8, odds ratio=1.17). in this study, by a combination of genome-wide study and replication involving a total of 1230 patients and 3144 controls, we confirmed the association of this coding variant to sle in hong kong chinese. we also identified another codi ... | 2011 | 21326321 |
| clinical and virological course of infection with haemagglutinin d222g mutant strain of 2009 pandemic influenza a (h1n1) virus. | aspartic acid to glycine substitution (d222g) of haemagglutinin subunit (ha1) was associated with adverse outcomes in 2009 pandemic influenza a (h1n1) infections. | 2011 | 21330192 |
| infection of immunocompromised patients by avian h9n2 influenza a virus. | avian influenza a (h9n2) virus is transmitted sporadically from avian species to human causing mild diseases in immunocompetent person. we report two cases of human infection in immunocompromised patients in hong kong between 2008 and 2009. one patient had uneventful recovery with viral shedding at day 10 after symptom onset despite her underlying acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. the other patient with post-bone marrow transplant chronic graft-versus-host disease and bronhioltis obliterans went in ... | 2011 | 21356238 |
| a 3-bp deletion in the hbs1l-myb intergenic region on chromosome 6q23 is associated with hbf expression. | fetal hemoglobin (hbf) is regulated as a multigenic trait. by genome-wide association study, we confirmed that hbs1l-myb intergenic polymorphisms (hmip) and bcl11a polymorphisms are highly associated with hbf in chinese +¦-thalassemia heterozygotes. in this population, the variance in hbf resulting from the hmip is 13.5%; that resulting from the bcl11a polymorphism is 6.4%. to identify the functional variant in hmip, we used 1000 genomes project data, single nucleotide polymorphism imputation, c ... | 2011 | 21385855 |
| the influence of social-cognitive factors on personal hygiene practices to protect against influenzas: using modelling to compare avian a/h5n1 and 2009 pandemic a/h1n1 influenzas in hong kong. | understanding population responses to influenza helps optimize public health interventions. relevant theoretical frameworks remain nascent. | 2011 | 20949342 |
| the infection attack rate and severity of 2009 pandemic h1n1 influenza in hong kong. | serial cross-sectional data on antibody levels to the 2009 pandemic h1n1 influenza a virus from a population can be used to estimate the infection attack rates and immunity against future infection in the community. | 2010 | 20964521 |
| factors affecting intention to receive and self-reported receipt of 2009 pandemic (h1n1) vaccine in hong kong: a longitudinal study. | vaccination was a core component for mitigating the 2009 influenza pandemic (ph1n1). however, a vaccination program's efficacy largely depends on population compliance. we examined general population decision-making for ph1n1 vaccination using a modified theory of planned behaviour (tbp). | 2011 | 21412418 |
| psychological factors in association with uptake of voluntary counselling and testing for hiv among men who have sex with men in hong kong. | to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with uptake of voluntary counselling and testing (vct) for human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) among men who have sex with men (msm) in hong kong. | 2011 | 21419466 |
| part 4. interaction between air pollution and respiratory viruses: time-series study of daily mortality and hospital admissions in hong kong. | background: populations in asia are not only at risk of harm to their health through environmental degradation as a result of worsening pollution problems but also constantly threatened by recurring and emerging influenza epidemics and. pandemics. situated in the area with the world's fastest growing economy and close to hypothetical epicenters of influenza transmission, hong kong offers a special opportunity for testing environmental management and public health surveillance in the region. in t ... | 2010 | 21446214 |
| hiv-1 drug resistance mutations among antiretroviral-naive hiv-1-infected patients in asia: results from the treat asia studies to evaluate resistance-monitoring study. | of 682 antiretroviral-naïve patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in a prospective, multicenter human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) drug resistance monitoring study involving 8 sites in hong kong, malaysia, and thailand, the prevalence of patients with =1 drug resistance mutation was 13.8%. primary hiv drug resistance is emerging after rapid scaling-up of antiretroviral therapy use in asia. | 2011 | 21460324 |
| regional effects on the mental health of immigrant children: results from the new canadian children and youth study (nccys). | children in immigrant families from hong kong, mainland china, and the philippines living in toronto and montreal are at higher risk of emotional problems than children in immigrant families in winnipeg, calgary, edmonton, and vancouver (beiser et al., 2010). the current publication explores human capital, social capital, institutional receptivity, and perceptions of welcome as explanations for regional disparities. parent's lack of linguistic fluency, and depressive symptoms provided the most l ... | 2011 | 21463966 |
| association of the pou class 2 homeobox 1 gene (pou2f1) with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in chinese populations. | pou class 2 homeobox 1 (pou2f1), also known as octamer-binding transcription factor-1 (oct-1), is a ubiquitous transcription factor that plays a key role in the regulation of genes related to inflammation and cell cycles. pou2f1 is located on chromosome 1q24, a region with linkage for type 2 diabetes in chinese and other populations. we examined the association of pou2f1 genetic variants with type 2 diabetes in hong kong chinese using two independent cohorts. | 2010 | 21059098 |
| seroprevalence of antibody to pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 among healthcare workers after the first wave in hong kong. | during the first wave of an influenza pandemic prior to the availability of an effective vaccine, healthcare workers (hcws) may be at particular risk of infection with the novel influenza strain. we conducted a cross-sectional study of the prevalence of antibody to pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 (ph1n1) among hcws in hong kong in february-march 2010 following the first pandemic wave. sera collected from hcws were tested for antibody to ph1n1 influenza virus by viral neutralisation (vn). we ass ... | 2011 | 21501896 |
| responses of aerobic and anaerobic ammonia/ammonium-oxidizing microorganisms to anthropogenic pollution in coastal marine environments. | up to date, numerous studies have shown that the community structure of aerobic ammonia oxidizers including ammonia-oxidizing betaproteobacteria (beta-aob) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (aoa) and, more recently, the anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria is responsive to environmental conditions including salinity, ph, selected metal ions, concentrations of inorganic nitrogen, total phosphorus, the ratio of organic carbon and nitrogen, and sedimentological factors such as the sediment m ... | 2011 | 21514459 |
| simvastatin-induced myopathy, the role of interaction with diltiazem and genetic predisposition. | what is known and objective: diltiazem shows a pharmacokinetic interaction with statins that are cyp3a substrates but this may not result in myopathy unless additional genetic or clinical factors are present. subsequent changes in treatment or underlying disease may result in a delayed onset of this adverse affect. our objective is to report on two cases of statin-induced myopathy associated with concomitant use of diltiazem and other contributing factors, and to briefly review the related lite ... | 2011 | 21545622 |
| prevalence and risk factors of human papillomavirus (hpv) infection in southern chinese women - a population-based study. | persistent high-risk type human papillomavirus (hpv) infection is recognized as a necessary cause of cervical cancer. this study aimed to compare the hpv prevalence and risk factors between women residing in hong kong (hk) and guangzhou (gz) region of china. | 2011 | 21559276 |
| molecular analysis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency in hong kong chinese patients. | background: congenital adrenal hyperplasia (cah) caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21ohd) is an autosomal recessive disorder due to mutation in the cyp21a2 gene. objective: to elucidate the genetic basis of 21-hydroxylase-deficient cah in hong kong chinese patients. patients and methods: mutational analysis of the cyp21a2 gene was performed on 35 hong kong chinese patients with 21ohd using direct dna sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (mlpa). results: the genetic ... | 2011 | 21570420 |
| development and validation of a surgical workload measure: the surgery task load index (surg-tlx). | background: the purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a multidimensional, surgery-specific workload measure (the surg-tlx), and to determine its utility in providing diagnostic information about the impact of various sources of stress on the perceived demands of trained surgical operators. as a wide range of stressors have been identified for surgeons in the operating room, the current approach of considering stress as a unidimensional construct may not only limit the degree t ... | 2011 | 21597890 |
| great hospitals of asia: neurosurgery at prince of wales hospital. | prince of wales hospital, a 1400-bed regional referral center, was established in 1984 as the primary teaching hospital of the second medical school in hong kong at the chinese university of hong kong. the academic division of neurosurgery was given an autonomous status, the support of 40 acute beds, and a well-equipped and well-staffed intensive care unit (icu), in developing neurosurgery as a distinct surgical specialty. over this short 26-year history, we have gone through the difficult time ... | 2011 | 21600469 |
| the clustering and transmission dynamics of pandemic influenza a (h1n1) 2009 cases in hong kong. | objectives: human influenza a (h1n1) 2009 has caused severe epidemics in many countries, but its dynamics in spatial and temporal contexts have so far been poorly appreciated. methods: a total of 24,414 laboratory confirmed human influenza a (h1n1) 2009 cases reported from may to september 2009 in hong kong were evaluated, using a geographic information system (gis)-based approach. spatio-temporal clustering was assessed after dividing hong kong into 4 geographic sectors, 18 districts and 500 m ... | 2011 | 21601284 |
| circulating influenza virus, climatic factors, and acute myocardial infarction: a time series study in england and wales and hong kong. | (see the editorial commentary by finelli and chaves, on pages 1701-4.) background. previous studies identifying associations between influenza and acute cardiac events may have been confounded by climatic factors. differing seasonal patterns of influenza activity in hong kong and england and wales provide a natural experiment to examine associations with myocardial infarction (mi) independent of cold weather effects. methods. weekly clinical and laboratory influenza surveillance data, environmen ... | 2011 | 21606529 |
| prevalence of human papillomavirus, epstein-barr virus, p21, and p53 expression in sinonasal inverted papilloma, nasal polyp, and hypertrophied turbinate in hong kong patients. | background: the purpose of this study of human papillomavirus (hpv), epstein-barr virus (ebv), p21, and p53 in sinonasal inverted papilloma (ip) was to help elucidate its pathogenesis. methods: seventy-three ips, 48 nasal polyps, and 85 hypertrophied turbinates were subjected to hpv polymerase chain reaction (pcr) study. seventy-three ips, 30 nasal polyps, and 32 hypertrophied turbinates were subjected to ebv in situ hybridization (ish), p21, and p53 immunohistochemical (ihc) studies. results: h ... | 2011 | 21608063 |
| long-term evolution and transmission dynamics of swine influenza a virus. | swine influenza a viruses (swiv) cause significant economic losses in animal husbandry as well as instances of human disease and occasionally give rise to human pandemics, including that caused by the h1n1/2009 virus. the lack of systematic and longitudinal influenza surveillance in pigs has hampered attempts to reconstruct the origins of this pandemic. most existing swine data were derived from opportunistic samples collected from diseased pigs in disparate geographical regions, not from prospe ... | 2011 | 21614079 |
| a synopsis of current haemophilia care in hong kong. | objective. to provide a synopsis of current haemophilia care in hong kong. design. retrospective survey. setting. all haematology units of the hospital authority in hong kong. patients. all patients with haemophilia a and haemophilia b. results. to date, there were 222 mild-to-severe haemophilia patients (192 type a, 30 type b) under regular public care in hong kong (43% were considered severe, 33% moderate, and 24% mild), which gave a crude prevalence of 6.8/100 000 male inhabitants. a total of ... | 2011 | 21636866 |
| exposure of hong kong residents to pbdes and their structural analogues through market fish consumption. | high concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) and their structural analogues (such as methoxylated (meo) and hydroxylated (oh) pbdes) had been observed in environmental samples and human tissues. this study evaluated the occurrence, potential source and human exposure of these organobrominated compounds via market fish consumption in hong kong. the contamination of 22 pbdes, 7 meo-bdes, 15 oh-bdes and 3 bromophenols (brps) were analyzed in 20 fish species (279 samples). the estim ... | 2011 | 21658843 |
| enzyme replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis vi (maroteaux-lamy syndrome): experience in hong kong. | mucopolysaccharidosis vi (maroteaux-lamy syndrome) is a very rare inherited lysosomal storage disease. we evaluated the efficacy and safety of weekly infusions of recombinant human arylsulfatase b as enzyme replacement therapy for two patients in whom this condition was advanced. the primary outcome variables were the distance walked in a 6-minute walk test, forced vital capacity, and ejection fraction. the secondary outcome variables were the number of stairs climbed in a 3-minute stair climbin ... | 2011 | 21813902 |
| acute and 16 months outcomes of a new stent: the first-in-man evaluation of the medtronic s9 (integrity) stent. | objective: a first-in-man evaluation of the safety, feasibility, deliverability, and efficacy of the new medtronic s9 (integrity) bare metal stent (bms) in complex coronary diseases. background: excellent deliverability remains an unmet clinical need among stents especially in complex lesions. the s9 (integrity) bms utilizes a new, continuous sinusoidal manufacturing technology to enhance stent flexibility and deliverability, without sacrificing radial strength. methods: this is a first-in-man, ... | 2011 | 21805593 |
| viral genetic sequence variations in pandemic h1n1/2009 and seasonal h3n2 influenza viruses within an individual, a household and a community. | background: there are few data in the literature on viral sequence variation between host generations/successive transmission events. relatively little is known about the sequence heterogeneity of the influenza viruses transmitted within families. objectives: to study the molecular epidemiology of influenza virus and to determine the sequence variation within an individual, a household and a community during the first wave of influenza pandemic in 2009. study design: a prospective study of house ... | 2011 | 21802983 |
| incorporating individual health-protective decisions into disease transmission models: a mathematical framework. | it is anticipated that the next generation of computational epidemic models will simulate both infectious disease transmission and dynamic human behaviour change. individual agents within a simulation will not only infect one another, but will also have situational awareness and a decision algorithm that enables them to modify their behaviour. this paper develops such a model of behavioural response, presenting a mathematical interpretation of a well-known psychological model of individual decis ... | 2011 | 21775324 |
| salivary epstein-barr virus dna level in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma following radiotherapy. | nasopharyngeal carcinoma (npc) is a solid tumor closely associated with epstein-barr virus (ebv) infection. the purpose of this investigation was to detect and quantify the ebv dna level in salivary samples of npc patients following treatment using real-time pcr. a total of 175 consecutive newly diagnosed npc patients' whole saliva samples were collected before treatment, and the ebv dna level was measured by real-time pcr, with the primers and probe targeting the bamhi-w region of the ebv genom ... | 2011 | 21767975 |
| clinical and nonclinical health care workers faced a similar risk of acquiring 2009 pandemic h1n1 infection. | (see the editorial commentary by drumright and holmes, on pages 284-286.) reporting of confirmed pandemic influenza a virus (ph1n1) 2009 infection was mandatory among health care workers in hong kong. among 1158 confirmed infections, there was no significant difference in incidence among clinical versus nonclinical staff (relative risk, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.78-1.20). reported community exposure to ph1n1 was common and was similar in both groups. | 2011 | 21765076 |
| a serial cross-sectional serologic survey of 2009 pandemic (h1n1) in hong kong: implications for future pandemic influenza surveillance. | | 2011 | 21761588 |
| the role of animal surveillance in influenza preparedness: the consequence of inapparent infection in ducks and pigs. | | 2011 | 21751455 |
| efficacy of dual vaccination of pandemic h1n1 2009 influenza and seasonal influenza on institutionalized elderly: a one-year prospective cohort study. | background: the influenza a (h1n1) 2009 pandemic was declared by the who in april 2009. in hong kong, the vaccination program began in december 2009 in addition to the annual seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination program. the clinical efficacy of dual vaccination was unknown. method: from december 2009 to november 2010, a prospective 12-month cohort study on institutionalized elderly of nine nursing homes was conducted. elderly persons who were followed up by the hong kong west community geri ... | 2011 | 21821084 |
| extensive dissemination of ctx-m-producing escherichia coli with multidrug resistance to 'critically important' antibiotics among food animals in hong kong, 2008-10. | to assess the occurrence of faecal carriage of escherichia coli with resistance to 'critically important' antibiotics in various animals. | 2011 | 21393133 |
| health risk assessment of organochlorine pesticides with emphasis on ddts and hchs in abandoned agricultural soils. | the aim of this study was to evaluate the consequence of changing land use from agriculture land to other use purposes with respect to ocps non-cancer and cancer risk on human health, based on concentrations of ddts and hchs in soils collected from 55 locations representing 12 different land use types. there were no non-cancer risks of ddts and +¦-hchs on adults and children, and there were very low cancer risks of ddd, o,p'-dde, ddt, +¦-hch, +¦-hch, +¦-hch based on their total concentrations in ... | 2011 | 21677982 |
| review of vector-borne diseases in hong kong. | the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases in hong kong has changed over the past decade but still poses a significant public health risk. we provided a comprehensive review of the epidemiological information and analysed the trends of major vector-borne diseases, including the vector situation in hong kong. the incidence of malaria has dropped dramatically in the past few decades and is now mainly an imported disease acquired from malaria endemic countries. locally acquired dengue fever occurred ... | 2011 | 21679886 |
| overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase-12 (mmp-12) correlates with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. | tumour recurrence and metastasis are pressing issues of hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) patients who receive surgical treatments. matrix metalloproteinase-12 (mmp-12), previously identified from our animal model, is involved in tumour invasiveness of rat hepatoma. we aimed to investigate the significance and prognostic value of mmp-12 expression in human hcc. mmp-12 mrna level of 139 pairs of tumour and non-tumour liver tissues of hcc patients after hepatectomy were investigated by quantitative r ... | 2011 | 21683576 |
| analysis of genetic polymorphisms in skeletal class i crowding. | dental crowding is a problem for both adolescents and adults in modern society. the purpose of this research was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) responsible for crowding in subjects with skeletal class i relationships. | 2011 | 21724072 |
| epidemiological characteristics of 2009 (h1n1) pandemic influenza based on paired sera from a longitudinal community cohort study. | while patterns of incidence of clinical influenza have been well described, much uncertainty remains over patterns of incidence of infection. the 2009 pandemic provided both the motivation and opportunity to investigate patterns of mild and asymptomatic infection using serological techniques. however, to date, only broad epidemiological patterns have been defined, based on largely cross-sectional study designs with convenience sampling frameworks. | 2011 | 21713000 |
| risk assessment for human consumption of perfluorinated compound-contaminated freshwater and marine fish from hong kong and xiamen. | perfluorinated compounds (pfcs) are man-made fluoro-surfactants that are identified as global pollutants and can pose health risks to humans and wildlife. two aspects of risk assessment were conducted in this study, including exposure and response. exposure was estimated by using the concentrations of pfcs in fish and applying standard exposure factors. among different pfcs, pfos, pfoa, pfna, pfda, pfuda and pftrda were detected. total concentrations of pfc in fish ranged from 0.27-8.4 ng g(-1) ... | 2011 | 21705041 |
| caveolin-1 overexpression is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma tumorigenesis and metastasis. | caveolin-1 (cav1) has been implicated in diverse human cancers; yet its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) tumorigenesis and metastasis remain elusive. in the current study, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding regarding the functional role of cav1 in hcc tumorigenesis and metastasis. cav1 expression was examined in a panel of human hcc cell lines using western blotting analysis and quantitative rt-pcr and human tissues by immunohistochemistry. cav1 was not detected in normal live ... | 2011 | 22072235 |
| An investigation of predictors of successful aging in the workplace among Hong Kong Chinese older workers. | ABSTRACTBackground: We examined associations between successful aging in the workplace (adaptability and health, positive relationship, occupational growth, personal security, and continuous focus on goals) and two major factors of work stressors (work family conflict and discrimination against older workers) and coping resources (perceived organizational support, supportive human resource policies, and social support from friends and family) among Chinese older workers in Hong Kong. Furthermore ... | 2011 | 21996077 |
| clinical spectrum of human rhinovirus infections in hospitalized hong kong children. | background:: human rhinovirus (hrv) is classified into a, b, and c genogroups. hrvs cause mild upper respiratory infections, but hrv-c was recently found to be a major cause of asthma exacerbation in whites. this study elucidated disease spectrum of hrv infections among hong kong children hospitalized with respiratory illnesses. methods:: this retrospective study recruited 128 children with asthma exacerbations and 192 inpatient controls without allergy and hospitalized for respiratory illnesses ... | 2011 | 21494174 |
| urine nitrification and sewer discharge to realize in-sewer denitrification to simplify sewage treatment in hong kong. | the chemically enhanced primary treatment works in hong kong will be upgraded for biological nitrogen removal. this study proposed a novel approach to waive the upgrading by urine source-separation, onsite nitrification and discharge of nitrified urine into sewers to achieve in-sewer denitrification. human urine was collected and a lab-scale experiment for full urine nitrification was conducted. the results showed that full nitrification was achieved with alkaline addition. simulation of nitrifi ... | 2011 | 22097039 |
| Prevalence and diversity of norovirus genogroups I and II in Hong Kong marine waters and detection by real-time PCR. | Marine waters from six sites around Hong Kong with varying levels of sewage pollution were examined for noroviruses (NoVs) by PCR cloning and sequencing of a highly-variable N-terminal region of the VP1 capsid gene, at the ORF1-ORF2 junction of NoV. Phylogenetic analysis of genogroups GI- and GII-specific PCR clones obtained from different marine sites indicated that human NoV GI.1 and GII.4 strains are the most prevalent genotypes circulating in Hong Kong waters. GI- and GII-specific TaqMan-bas ... | 2012 | 22119412 |
| an h9n2 influenza virus vaccine prepared from a non-pathogenic isolate from a migratory duck confers protective immunity in mice against challenge with an h9n2 virus isolated from a girl in hong kong. | h9n2 influenza viruses circulate in wild birds and poultry in eurasian countries, and have been isolated from pigs and humans in china. h9n2 viruses isolated from birds, pigs and humans have been classified into three sublineages based on antigenic and genetic features. chicken antisera to h9n2 viruses of the korean sublineage reacted with viruses of different sublineages by the hemagglutination-inhibition test. a test vaccine prepared from a non-pathogenic a/duck/hokkaido/49/1998 (h9n2) strain ... | 2011 | 22123308 |
| human papillomavirus vaccine: what are women most concerned about? | aim: this study aims to investigate the areas of concerns that women have regarding human papillomavirus (hpv) vaccination. material and methods: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in a convenience sample of 1450 women attending outpatient family planning clinics in hong kong to assess women's concerns regarding hpv vaccination. the associations between each demographic characteristics and the importance of various issues concerning the vaccine, such as short and long-term si ... | 2011 | 21917074 |
| genogroup i and ii picobirnaviruses in respiratory tracts of pigs. | sequence-independent amplification and specific reverse transcription pcrs identified genogroup i and ii picobirnaviruses in respiratory tracts of pigs. these data expand knowledge of picobirnavirus diversity and tropism. genetic relationships between porcine respiratory and human enteric picobirnaviruses suggest cross-species transmission of picobirnaviruses between pigs and humans. | 2011 | 22172405 |
| Assessment of knowledge and stigmatizing attitudes related to human papillomavirus among Hong Kong Chinese healthcare providers. | To assess knowledge and stigmatizing attitudes related to human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV testing among Chinese healthcare providers in Hong Kong. | 2012 | 22036061 |
| evolution of the haemagglutinin gene of the influenza a(h1n1)2009 virus isolated in hong kong, 2009-2011. | phylogenetic analysis of the haemagglutinin (ha) gene shows that the influenza a(h1n1)2009 viruses collected in hong kong clustered in two main branches characterised by the e391e and e391k amino acids. the main branch e391k evolved in two sub-branches with n142d and s202t mutations that first appeared in march and july 2010, respectively, with the latter becoming the predominant strain. these genetic variants that emerged display similar antigenic characteristics.concurrent with genetic surveil ... | 2011 | 21392488 |
| Complete genome sequence of a coxsackievirus A22 strain in Hong Kong reveals a natural intratypic recombination event. | Coxsackievirus A22 (CVA22) belongs to the species human enterovirus C in the Picornaviridae family. We report the first complete genome sequence of CVA22 with natural intratypic recombination between CVA22 prototype strain Chulman and CVA22 strain ban99-10427, identified in the stool of a patient in Hong Kong. | 2011 | 22021251 |
| sonoanatomy relevant for ultrasound-guided central neuraxial blocks via the paramedian approach in the lumbar region. | objectives: the use of ultrasound to guide peripheral nerve blocks is now a well-established technique in regional anaesthesia. however, despite reports of ultrasound guided epidural access via the paramedian approach, there are limited data on the use of ultrasound for central neuraxial blocks, which may be due to a poor understanding of spinal sonoanatomy. methods: this study was designed to define the sonoanatomy of the lumbar spine relevant for central neuraxial blocks via the paramedian app ... | 2011 | 22010025 |
| A case-referent study of lung cancer and incense smoke, smoking, and residential radon in chinese men. | Background: Burning incense generates large amounts of air pollutants, many of which are confirmed or suspected human lung carcinogens.Objectives: We conducted a population-based case-referent study to examine the effect of incense smoke exposure on lung cancer risk among Chinese males and explored the joint effect of cigarette smoking and exposure to residential radon.Methods: We recruited 1,208 male lung cancer incident cases and 1,069 community referents from 2004 to 2006 and estimated their ... | 2011 | 22067552 |
| major human hepatitis a virus genotype in hong kong marine waters and detection by real-time pcr. | marine waters from seven sites around hong kong with varying levels of sewage pollution were analyzed for hepatitis a virus (hav) by pcr cloning and dna sequencing of the highly variable vp1/2a junction of the hav genome. phylogenetic analysis of 10 pcr clones from each of the hav-positive marine sites indicated that human hav genotype ib is the most widely distributed type in hong kong waters. a sensitive and quantitative taqman-based pcr method targeting the 5'-noncoding region (5'-ncr) of hav ... | 2011 | 22001296 |
| Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis is a rare but potentially fatal emergency: case report and literature review. | We report a case of a 39 year-old Asian man in whom profound lower limb paralysis, along with severe hypokalemia and electrocardiographic changes, were the presenting features of Graves' disease (GD)-related thyrotoxicosis. Rapid recognition and management of the disorder were the key factors to avoid fatal hypokalemia-induced cardiac arrhythmias and promptly restore patient's capacity to ambulate. | 2011 | 22111475 |
| stability of bovine coronavirus on lettuce surfaces under household refrigeration conditions. | fecal suspensions with an aerosol route of transmission were responsible for a cluster of severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) cases in 2003 in hong kong. based on that event, the world health organization recommended that research be implemented to define modes of transmission of sars coronavirus through sewage, feces, food and water. environmental studies have shown that animal coronaviruses remain infectious in water and sewage for up to a year depending on the temperature and humidity. i ... | 2011 | 22265299 |
| a novel dirofilaria species causing human and canine infections in hong kong. | dirofilariasis is globally the commonest manifestation of zoonotic filariasis. we report the detection of a novel canine species causing human and canine dirofilariasis in hong kong. three human cases occurring over 10 months were identified, one presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy, one with an abdominal subcutaneous mass, and one with a subconjunctival nodule. transected worms recovered from the resected abdominal subcutaneous mass were morphologically compatible with dirofilaria. the cox1 ... | 2012 | 22915604 |
| clonal diversity of ctx-m-producing, multidrug-resistant escherichia coli from rodents. | this territory-wide study investigated the occurrence of faecal carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (esbl)-producing escherichia coli among wild rodents from the 18 districts in hong kong. individual rectal swabs were obtained from the trapped animals and cultured in plain and selective media. a total of 965 wild rodents [148 chestnut spiny rats (niviventer fulvescens), 326 indo-chinese forest rats (rattus andamanensis), 452 brown rats (rattus norvegicus) and 39 black rats (rattus rattus)] ... | 2015 | 25627207 |
| one health: the hong kong experience with avian influenza. | the occurrence of avian influenza a(h5n1) in hong kong in 1997 led to the development of a "one-health" approach to deal with emerging infectious diseases that has been applied to other emergent diseases such as sars and the pandemic h1n1 2009. evaluation of poultry marketing and production systems and investigations at the animal-human interface, led to defining the routes of human exposure to avian influenza and factors that allowed virus to multiply and persist. active and systematic surveill ... | 2013 | 22903569 |
| emergence of a c-terminal seven-amino-acid elongation of ns1 in around 1950 conferred a minor growth advantage to former seasonal influenza a viruses. | influenza a viruses circulating in humans from ∼1950 to ∼1987 featured a nonstructural (ns1) protein with a c-terminal extension of seven amino acids. the biological significance of this ns1 elongation remained elusive. we observed that replication kinetics of the wild-type virus a/hong kong/01/68 (h3n2) and a mutant encoding a truncated ns1 were indistinguishable in most experimental systems. however, wild-type virus outcompeted the mutant during mixed infections, suggesting that the ns1 extens ... | 2013 | 23926347 |
| isolation of h5n6, h7n9 and h9n2 avian influenza a viruses from air sampled at live poultry markets in china, 2014 and 2015. | zoonotic infections by avian influenza viruses occur at the human-poultry interface, but the modes of transmission have not been fully investigated. we assessed the potential for airborne and fomite transmission at live poultry markets in guangzhou city and in hong kong special administrative region (sar), china, during 2014 and 2015. viral genome and infectious avian influenza a viruses of h5n6, h7n9, and h9n2 subtypes were detected predominantly from particles larger or equal to 1 μm in diamet ... | 2016 | 27608369 |
| population behavior patterns in response to the risk of influenza a(h7n9) in hong kong, december 2013-february 2014. | a novel avian influenza a(h7n9) virus, first identified in mainland china in february and march 2013, caused an outbreak in humans in april and may, 2013. closure of live poultry markets in some affected cities dramatically reduced numbers of cases during summer of 2013, but the epidemic resurged during the winter 2013-14, increasing reported cases to 393 in mainland china as of 30 march 2014. | 2015 | 25622816 |
| molecular epidemiology and strain comparison between hepatitis e virus in human sera and pig livers during 2014-2016 in hong kong. | hepatitis e virus (hev) causes substantial morbidity and mortality in developing countries and is considered an emerging food-borne pathogen in previously non-endemic developed countries. to investigate genetic association between human hev infection and hev-contaminated high-risk food in hong kong, we compared local virus strains obtained from hepatitis e patient sera with those surveyed from high-risk food items during 2014-2016. twenty-four cases of laboratory-confirmed human hev infections w ... | 2017 | 28202801 |
| Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of serum and tissue Dickkopf-1 levels in human hepatocellular carcinoma. | Although Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) is known to be a negative regulator of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, it has been recently found to be upregulated in cancers. | 2011 | 21955977 |
| aerosol transmission is an important mode of influenza a virus spread. | influenza a viruses are believed to spread between humans through contact, large respiratory droplets and small particle droplet nuclei (aerosols), but the relative importance of each of these modes of transmission is unclear. volunteer studies suggest that infections via aerosol transmission may have a higher risk of febrile illness. here we apply a mathematical model to data from randomized controlled trials of hand hygiene and surgical face masks in hong kong and bangkok households. in these ... | 2013 | 23736803 |
| characterization of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus isolates from pig carcasses in hong kong. | this study describes the isolation and characterization of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) from slaughtered pigs sampled from local markets in hong kong. the nares of 400 slaughtered pigs were cultured and mrsa isolates characterized for the presence of antibiotic-resistance determinants, toxins and sccmec and spa types using pcr. clonality was investigated using pfge and mlst. the prevalence of mrsa colonization of slaughter pigs was 39.3%, the majority (92%) harbouring sccme ... | 2012 | 23057086 |
| organotin contamination in seafood and its implication for human health risk in hong kong. | organotins (ots) have caused widespread adverse effects on marine organisms, while they can also induce health problems to humans via consumption of contaminated seafood. this study aimed to quantify the tissue concentrations of ots in 11 seafood species in hong kong, and assess the human health risk for consuming these species. the tongue sole paraplagusia blochii had the highest concentration of total ots. triphenyltin (tpt) accounted for 56-97% of total ots. the highest hazard quotient (hq) f ... | 2014 | 24456855 |
| relative incidence and individual-level severity of seasonal influenza a h3n2 compared with 2009 pandemic h1n1. | two subtypes of influenza a currently circulate in humans: seasonal h3n2 (sh3n2, emerged in 1968) and pandemic h1n1 (ph1n1, emerged in 2009). while the epidemiological characteristics of the initial wave of ph1n1 have been studied in detail, less is known about its infection dynamics during subsequent waves or its severity relative to sh3n2. even prior to 2009, few data was available to estimate the risk of severe outcomes following infection with one circulating influenza strain relative to ano ... | 2017 | 28494805 |
| 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 |
| the contribution of social behaviour to the transmission of influenza a in a human population. | variability in the risk of transmission for respiratory pathogens can result from several factors, including the intrinsic properties of the pathogen, the immune state of the host and the host's behaviour. it has been proposed that self-reported social mixing patterns can explain the behavioural component of this variability, with simulated intervention studies based on these data used routinely to inform public health policy. however, in the absence of robust studies with biological endpoints f ... | 2014 | 24968312 |
| serologic assays for the detection and strain identification of pteropine orthoreovirus. | pteropine orthoreovirus (prv), potentially of bat origin, is reported to be a causative agent of emerging respiratory tract infections among humans in southeast asia. we evaluated the efficacy of serologic assays using the major outer capsid and cell attachment proteins (cap) of prv strains in the screening, confirmation and identification of three groups of human prv infections; indonesian/japanese, indonesian/hong kong and malaysian strains. the different serologic assays were tested using rab ... | 2016 | 27165561 |
| 2015 epidemic of severe streptococcus agalactiae sequence type 283 infections in singapore associated with the consumption of raw freshwater fish: a detailed analysis of clinical, epidemiological, and bacterial sequencing data. | streptococcus agalactiae (group b streptococcus [gbs]) has not been described as a foodborne pathogen. however, in 2015, a large outbreak of severe invasive sequence type (st) 283 gbs infections in adults epidemiologically linked to the consumption of raw freshwater fish occurred in singapore. we attempted to determine the scale of the outbreak, define the clinical spectrum of disease, and link the outbreak to contaminated fish. | 2017 | 28475781 |