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Students smoking less, HKU study shows
An HKU School of Public Health study, commissioned by the Food and Health Bureau and conducted from November 2016 to June 2017, revealed that smoking prevalence among Primary Four to Six and Form One to Six students was 0.1% and 2.5% respectively, representing a drop of 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points compared to the 2014/15 survey. According to the latest Thematic Household Survey published by the Census and Statistics Department, conducted from June to September 2017, among teenagers aged between 15 and 19, daily cigarette smoking prevalence also decreased from 1.1% in 2015 to 1.0% in 2017.
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Sociology UG Capstone Archive launched
The Department of Sociology has launched the UG Capstone Archive to showcase capstone projects produced by undergraduate students that aim to transform both society and our students.
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Making Our City More Walkable for All
The HKUrbanLab, the research and knowledge exchange arm of the Faculty of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong, is working with Civic Exchange and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service on a project called ‘Walking with Wheels’, aimed at finding the best barrier-free routes for people in wheelchairs and those with prams and trolleys. Watch the full video.
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HKU medical chemists discover peptic ulcer treatment metallodrug effective in “taming” superbugs
A research team led by Professor Sun Hongzhe of the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Dr Richard Kao Yi-Tsun of the Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, discovered an alternative strategy by repositioning colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS), an antimicrobial drug against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) -related ulcer. The team revealed a bismuth-based antimicrobial drug for treating peptic ulcers can effectively paralyze multi-resistant superbugs, e.g. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP), and significantly suppress the development of antibiotic resistance, allowing the lifespan of currently-used antibiotic to be largely extended. Director of the HKU Centre for Infection Dr Ho Pak Leung said CBS can disarm superbugs reducing them to almost sensitive strain which can be easily killed by commonly used Carbapenem antibiotics and is having a good potential for future clinical applications. A patent has been filed in the US for the discovery.
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HKU to establish Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing with $100 million donation
In the 1950s, the Department of Architecture was housed in the Engineering Faculty. Mr Tam Wing Fan Edmund, amongst the first cohort of HKU Architecture students admitted to the Faculty of Engineering, has made a gift of HK$100 million to his alma mater to establish an Innovation Wing in support of the experiential learning activities of Engineering students. In recognition of Mr and Mrs Tam’s generous gift, the University has named the infrastructure the “Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing”. The Inno Wing will serve as an iconic landmark of the Faculty of Engineering. Home of future cutting-edge research projects, the Inno Wing will provide an open environment to foster multidisciplinary innovation among students and teachers, enabling generations of students to gain comprehensive knowledge and a deep understanding of the latest discoveries and challenges in a wide range of emerging technologies. It will serve as a platform to engage the young generation in exploring the world, raising their creative and multidisciplinary abilities, and ensuring they acquire the practical hands-on experience they need to serve the community.
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HKU marine biologist collaborative study revealed overfishing and illegal trade of live reef fish
Figures from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation showed Hong Kong had the second-largest per capita consumption of seafood in Asia at 60kg, three times the world average. The report, Going, Going Gone: The Trade in Live Reef Food Fish, jointly published by the HKU Swire Institute of Marine Sciences, ADM Capital Foundation and the WWF Coral Triangle Program revealed that between 20,000 and 30,000 metric tonnes of live reef fish were traded legally in Hong Kong each year, with a value more than US$1 billion. The volume of imports could be underestimated by 50% in account of illegal trade from inadequacies in the monitoring protocols and the culture of deliberate misreporting in the industry. The report’s lead author Professor Yvonne Sadovy, of the School of Biological Sciences, said it is critical for Hong Kong to take steps to regulate before it is too late, or popular wild-caught reef fish could be gone in the next couple of decades. The team urged the government to update laws on the importation of live fish and the seafood trade, and called on consumers to choose sustainable seafood.
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HKU JC JoyAge project releases findings on public awareness and misunderstandings on elderly depression
Professor Terry Lum, Project Director of JC JoyAge and Professor of Department of Social Work and Social Administration, released findings of a survey on awareness and attitude towards elderly depression. Of the 1,332 respondents, more than half (52%) estimated at least 10% of elderly are suffering from depression, even up to 30% predicted by half of them. Over 85% of the respondents agreed to help the emotionally distressed elderly friends, relatives and neighbours. The survey also revealed common myths about elderly depression with half of the respondents failed to recognise depression is not a normal feature of ageing. About 40% of them did not take it seriously when the elderly express suicidal thoughts, and 48% were not aware that memory problem can be one of the depression symptoms. Up to 75% of them thought that it would be helpful to depressed elderly by reminding them to count their blessings and advising them to focus on positive thinking. Researchers reminded the public to pay more attention to changes in elderly's conditions and their complaints as elderly depression could be expressed as physical discomforts or cognitive problems.
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