ALBERT

Description: Skin is an attractive site for drug administration partly because of its easy accessibility and favorable properties (e.g., less invasiveness and high patient compliance) over some other common routes of administration. Despite this, the efficiency in transdermal drug delivery has been largely limited by poor skin permeation. To address this problem, this study reports the generation of oleic acid-containing vesicles, which can enhance the drug delivery efficiency while showing good stability and limited skin disruption. Upon being loaded into a complex gel, along with the incorporation of the polymer blending technique, a delivery system exhibiting tunable transdermal flux of 2,3,5,4′-tetrahydroxystilbene 2-O-β-D-glucoside is reported. Taking the good biocompatibility and tunable delivery performance into account, our system warrants further development and optimization for future applications in the treatment of skin diseases.

Description: Eczema is a multifactorial skin disease that affects 20% of children worldwide and has a complex relationship with microbial, nutritional, parental and environmental factors. In this study, we investigated the potential association of eczema with the gut microbiome and environmental factors. One hundred and fifty-two newborn subjects and their mothers were recruited within 10 days postnatally at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, China and asked to complete questionnaires on allergies, maternal diet and environmental assessment at enrolment. Then, the participants were classified as with or without eczema at four months after birth based on the Comprehensive Early Childhood Allergy Questionnaire (CECAQ) and SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index (n = 48, with 24 in each group). Stool samples were collected from both groups at the same time. Microbial DNA was extracted from each stool sample, and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to analyze the gut microbiome profiles of the subjects. Our results indicated that the abundance of Bifidobacterium was significantly higher in the eczema group than in the control group (p = 0.04). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted, and the results showed that the father’s education level and maternal intake of cereal products and nutritional supplements during pregnancy were associated with the development of eczema (p = 0.008, 0.032 and 0.015, respectively). In conclusion, this study provided preliminary information about the potential risk factors of eczema development in Hong Kong infants in support of a future full study.

Description: Bioaerosol generated in wastewater treatment plants has potential to harm human health. Survival of bacteria in bioaerosol during suspension is one of the major factors that affect its biological risk. It is hypothesized that bacteria grown in different wastewater have different physiology and lead to variation in airborne survival. This study investigated the relationship between the cultured conditions and the bioaerosol survival. Synthetic wastewater was used as the culture medium to simulate the water quality of wastewater. Escherichia coli BW25113 were cultured in different conditions, including growth salinity, growth temperature, growth pH, and presence of pesticide. The fatty acid composition and the reduction in airborne survival of the E. coli cultured under these conditions were determined and compared. Results showed that increasing growth salinity and temperature led to a lower reduction in airborne survival of E. coli. E. coli cultured at pH 6 had a higher reduction in airborne survival than those cultured at pH 7 and 8. Moreover, a correlation was observed between the membrane fluidity (fluidity index) and the reduction airborne survival for both aerosolization and airborne suspension. A link between culture conditions, bacterial membrane fluidity, and airborne survival was established. Culture conditions (wastewater quality) that lead to a low membrane fluidity of bacteria increase the airborne survival of bioaerosol, and vice versa. This provides a new aspect to evaluate bioaerosol survival and improve assessment on biological risk of bioaerosols.

Description: This study examines the sustainability of financial integration between China (represented by Shenzhen and Shanghai) stock markets and Hong Kong stock market over the period of pre and post launch of the Stock Connect Scheme. This paper aims to fill the gap in the financial literature by providing empirical research on the dynamics of the financial integration process, and examining the sustainability of financial integration among the three Chinese stock markets. We apply cointegration and both linear and nonlinear causalities to investigate whether the Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect has any impact on both market capitalizations and market indices of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen markets. Through cointegration tests and linear Granger causality techniques, it was found that the stock markets from mainland China are increasingly influencing the Hong Kong stock market after the introduction of the Stock Connect Scheme; however, when using nonlinear Granger causality analysis for confirming China market dominance, the result shows an reverse relationship whereby the Hong Kong stock market is still relevant to understand and predict China stock market after the introduction of the Stock Connect Scheme. Overall, our findings support the view that the Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect has a significant impact on both market capitalizations and market indices of the Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen markets, but Hong Kong stock market is still relevant to understand and predict China stock market after the introduction of the Stock Connect Scheme. The change in share premium difference between mainland China’s domestic A-share markets and Hong Kong’s H-share market could change investors’ appetites or sentiments. Further research includes examining whether there is any functional relationship including nonlinear relationship and studying the dynamic drivers of the relationships.

Description: Background: In recent years, studies and reviews have reported the therapeutic benefits of both mindful and non-mindful exercises in reducing anxiety. However, there have not been any systematic reviews to compare their relative effectiveness for therapeutic application, especially among the non-clinical population. Thus, the aim of this review is to compare the effectiveness between mindful and non-mindful exercise on treating anxiety among non-clinical samples. Methods: Potential articles were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Academic Search Premier, and PsycInfo. Randomized controlled trials, which involved both mindful and non-mindful exercises as intervention, and the use of anxiety outcome measures were included. Results: Twenty-four studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in our systematic review. In addition, 14 studies provided sufficient data to be included in the meta-analysis. For studies that reported significant group differences at post-assessment, results showed that mindful exercise was more beneficial in reducing anxiety than non-mindful exercise. The meta-analysis reported that yoga was more effective in reducing anxiety than non-mindful exercise. Conclusions: Compared to non-mindful exercise, yoga is shown to be more effective in alleviating anxiety symptoms. It is recommended that yoga could be used as a primary healthcare intervention to help the public reduce anxiety.

Description: The advancement of 3D printing and scanning technology enables the digitalization and customization of foot orthosis with better accuracy. However, customized insoles require rectification to direct control and/or correct foot deformity, particularly flatfoot. In this exploratory study, we aimed at two design rectification features (arch stiffness and arch height) using three sets of customized 3D-printed arch support insoles (R+U+, R+U−, and R−U+). The arch support stiffness could be with or without reinforcement (R+/−) and the arch height may or may not have an additional elevation, undercutting (U+/−), which were compared to the control (no insole). Ten collegiate participants (four males and six females) with flexible flatfoot were recruited for gait analysis on foot kinematics, vertical ground reaction force, and plantar pressure parameters. A randomized crossover trial was conducted on the four conditions and analyzed using the Friedman test with pairwise Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Compared to the control, there were significant increases in peak ankle dorsiflexion and peak pressure at the medial midfoot region, accompanied by a significant reduction in peak pressure at the hindfoot region for the insole conditions. In addition, the insoles tended to control hindfoot eversion and forefoot abduction though the effects were not significant. An insole with stronger support features (R+U+) did not necessarily produce more favorable outcomes, probably due to over-cutting or impingement. The outcome of this study provides additional data to assist the design rectification process. Future studies should consider a larger sample size with stratified flatfoot features and covariating ankle flexibility while incorporating more design features, particularly medial insole postings.

Description: The Chinese electric power industry, including its coal industry and other energy industries that are not efficient, contributes to China’s serious energy shortages and environmental contamination. The governing authority considers energy conservation to be one of the most prominent national targets, and has formulated various plans for decarbonizing the power system. Applying the trans-log cost function, this paper examined the trans-log cost function to analyze the potential inter-factor substitution among energy, capital and labor. We also investigated what role human capital played in energy substitution for the electric power sector during the period from 1981 to 2017. Three key results were derived: (1) energy is price-insensitive, (2) there exists large substitution sustainability between both capital and labor with energy, and (3) human capital input not only enhances the extent of energy substitutability with capital and labor but also is a substitute to energy itself. These findings imply that the liberalization of the electric price mechanism is conducive to lessening energy use and augmenting non-energy intensiveness, and that energy conservation technology could become more sustainable by investing more capital in the electricity sector, thereby achieving a capital–energy substitution and a decrease of CO2 emissions. We further suggest that the priority for the Chinese electric power industry should be to attach more importance to increasing human capital input.

Description: This study uses the BEKK-GARCH model to examine the return-and-volatility spillover between the world-leading markets (USA and China) and four emerging Latin American stock markets over the global financial crisis of 2008 and the crash of the Chinese stock market of 2015. Regarding return spillover, our findings reveal a unidirectional return transmission from Mexico to the US stock market during the global financial crisis. During the crash of the Chinese stock market, the return spillover is found to be unidirectional from the US to the Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru stock markets. Moreover, the results indicate a unidirectional return transmission from China to the Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru stock markets during the global financial crisis and the crash of the Chinese stock market. Regarding volatility spillover, the results show the bidirectional volatility transmission between the US and the stock markets of Chile and Mexico during the global financial crisis. During the Chinese crash, the bidirectional volatility transmission is observed between the US and Mexican stock markets. Furthermore, the volatility spillover is unidirectional from China to the Brazil stock market during the global financial crisis. During the Chinese crash, the volatility spillover is bidirectional between the China and Brazil stock markets. Lastly, a portfolio analysis application has been conducted.

Description: Two studies were conducted to support the development of an eight-item Cybercrime Rapid Identification Tool (CRIT) and evaluate the psychometric properties of the proposed scale on samples of secondary school and university students. The CRIT was developed and evaluated in two cross-sectional studies with 2044 respondents from Hong Kong and China. Study 1 recruited 1533 secondary school students from Hong Kong with a mean age of 14.91 (SD = 1.77) years, and Study 2 recruited 511 university students from mainland China with a mean age of 20.41 (SD = 2.49) years. A stepwise confirmatory factor analytical approach was taken with further verification by exploratory factor analysis based on different samples. Factorial validity was further verified using confirmatory factor analysis. The analyses supported an eight-item scale with a two-factor structure. The eight-item CRIT was found to possess good internal consistency and concurrent validity. The studies offer promising support for the CRIT. It has the potential to advance epistemological methods and clinical research related to cybercrime prevention.