Human coronaviruses were first discovered in 1960s and believed to be the causative agents of only mild respiratory tract infections. In 2003, the worldwide outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome caused by SARS-CoV had greatly boosted the research interest on coronaviruses. Two more human coronaviruses – HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1 were then discovered in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Events of recombination between different genotypes had also been detected in HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1 in natural circulating strains that are causing infections. Creation of novel genotypes is resulted, which may possibly associate with more severe disease. In this study, twenty seven HCoV-NL63 strains in Hong Kong from 2004 to 2012 were included in the investigation. RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase gene, Spike gene and the Nucleocapsid gene of these strains were sequenced, followed by phylogenetic analysis and bootscan analysis. Antigenic drift from genotype A (in 2004-2006) to B (in 2003-2010) and C (in 2009-2012) were observed. Two local strains clustered with an American strain in all three genes, which the American strain had been formed by recombination between genotype A and C. Five recent strains from 2009 to 2012, along with two Beijing strains, may belong to a potential novel genotype. Two more strains were discovered with atypical genomic profile. Complete genome sequencing would be the further work for clear investigation on their sites of recombination. No clear association between the genotypes and clinical features had been observed. / published_or_final_version / Microbiology / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

The study area of Deep Bay in the Southern China has been recognized as ecologically important site. This study presents a wetland change detection analysis incorporating both geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques. Both natural and artificial wetlands are considered as part of the Deep Bay wetland system. For instance, mangrove forests, fish ponds and shrimp ponds (gei wai) are all considered as wetlands in this study. This study is to find out how much area of the wetland system has been lost due to the conversion of land cover types in recent decades. In particular, this study uses supervised classification and change detection analysis on the satellite images which were acquired in three different time periods (1975, 1994, and 2009). It is a quantitative result which was based on the numbers of pixel changed on the images. The result shows that 39.76 % of fishpond and 20.47% of mangrove in terms of pixels have been changed to urban or residential area between 1975 and 2009. The result implies both Shenzhen and Hong Kong side of Deep Bay has significant wetland loss in recent decades. Moreover, the Deep Bay in Hong Kong includes an Aerial Photos area change analysis. This study presents three different sets of land use data which was created according to the manual interpretation of aerial photos in three different time periods (1973, 1986, and 2011). The aerial photos mainly focus on the fishpond and mangrove change in recent decades. The qualitative results show that a lot of locations were no longer mapped as wetlands in recent decades. The quantitative results illustrate the total wetland areas in the Hong Kong side of Deep Bay were continuously decreased from 1973 to 2011 by 19.06%. Additionally, the study also presents a change analysis of the nightlight imageries. Previous research found that urban development and the brightness value of nightlight imageries are highly correlated. The study uses two nightlight imageries which were acquired from 1992 and 2009 to examine whether Deep Bay has a rapid increase in urban developments. The result shows that the brightness value has continuously increased during the period with more changes in the western side of the study area. Moreover, the average brightness value of the study area has increased by 17.6%. It can show that there is an increase of urban activities in recent years. Based on the change detection analysis, it can be concluded that urban development such as reclamation is the major threat to the Deep Bay wetland system. Furthermore, there are more changes occurred in the Wetland Conservation Area and Wetland Barrier Area in Hong Kong. Both of them are either close to or around the Ramsar site. The area may not be able to support further wetland loss in the future. This study can definitely provide some information to the government and policy-makers on strategic planning of land use in Deep Bay. Sustainable development in Hong Kong is crucial in balancing the ecology and development of the city. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Introduction: Sleep-related cognitive and behavioral characteristics play an important role in the maintenance of insomnia. Culture affects individuals’ belief system and behaviors, but few studies have examined how Chinese subjects describe their experiences of insomnia and how they deal with it. This study explored the topic using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Methods: Participants were recruited from the community via advertisements. Their DSMIV diagnosis of primary insomnia for at least 6 months was confirmed by a sleep specialist with the help of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and sleep-wake questionnaires. A focus group approach was used to elicit participants’ insomnia experiences. They were also asked to keep a 1-week insomnia experience diary prior to attending the focus group and to complete a set of sleepwake questionnaires, including the 30-item Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale after the group meeting. Each focus group comprised 6 to 8 participants. Discussion was led by a facilitator with a pre-determined question route and it was audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and managed with NVivo software to facilitate coding and analysis. Focus group data collection ceased when data saturation was achieved. All data were fragmented into meaningful units, compared iteratively, and assigned with descriptive codes to condense the emerging meanings. Codes pertaining to the same phenomena were grouped together and a coding framework was built. The findings from the qualitative study were then validated in a quantitative questionnaire survey of a separate group of participants with chronic primary insomnia and good sleepers. Results: A total of 6 focus groups were arranged, involving 31 women and 12 men, with an average age of 51 years. Participants had a mean duration of insomnia of 11.81 years, and an average sleep-diary derived sleep efficiency of 70.57%. There were 16 sub-categories and 4 categories of characteristics. The 16 sub-categories could be grouped under: 1) beliefs regarding the nature and treatment of insomnia, 2) behavioral responses to insomnia, 3) cognitive-emotional and physiological arousal, and 4) emotional experiences associated with insomnia. Significant difference between primary insomniacs and good sleepers was found on 9 out of 14 items of the quantitative scale we developed based on the qualitative study results. Seven items remained significant after Bonferroni correction (p < .003), including 1) puzzlement about cause, 2) realistic sleep expectation, 3) constant search for treatment, 4) nighttime negative emotions and physiological symptoms, 5) heightened vigilance, 6) association of sleep with suffering, and 7) sleep problem not understood by others. Conclusion: The present study serves as the first to use both qualitative and quantitative approaches to identify the subjective experience of Hong Kong Chinese insomnia patients. Questionnaire study confirmed that the identified experience was also found in a separate chronic insomnia sample. It sheds light on tailoring CBT-I for the local population with chronic insomnia. Further research on the efficacy and acceptance of a tailor-made local CBT-I program is needed. / published_or_final_version / Psychiatry / Master / Master of Philosophy

This research aims at examining how the Central People’s Government’s Liaison Office (hereafter CPGLO) exercises political and ideological leadership over three pro-China youth organizations, namely the Youth Branch of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the Y. Elites Association and the Federation of the New Territories Youth, through its United Front work in Hong Kong. It particularly looks into how the CPGLO (1) cultivates political connections with these pro-China organizations, and (2) gains its moral and ideological appeal among members of the organizations through patriotism. It compares patriotic discourses constructed by the members of the pro-China organizations with that of the CPGLO, and seeks to show consensus, negotiations and inner contradictions between the two in giving interpretations to various political events. This thesis argues that patriotic United Front is a governing strategy employed by the CPGLO to structure its relationship with the Hong Kong society, and the pro-China organizations function as part of the United Front. Critically drawn upon Antonio Gramsci, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, it also argues that the political relationship between the CPGLO and the pro-China organizations can be described as a hegemonic one. It finds that the CPGLO establishes and sustains political connections with the three pro-China organizations through assisting their establishment, co-opting the core members, serving as their patrons, and so on. It also demonstrates that official patriotism wins its moral and ideological leadership by projecting a collective imaginary called “the Chinese nation”. The collective is portrayed as threatened by antagonistic forces, and it can only survive under the political order established by the Communist party. Finding shows that the respondents from the three pro-China organizations agree with official patriotism at large. They establish the principles of supporting “one-party rule”, “the Socialist road” and “territorial integrity” as the baseline for being “patriotic” in the context of Hong Kong. These political orders are seen as indispensable to the survival of the Chinese nation, and they are not conditioned by any commitment to universal values. By selective recall of myths, traditions and episodes in history, interests associated with the Communist regime are generalized into the interests of the entire nation. Despite resemblance between the patriotic discourses constructed by the respondents and those of the CPGLO, negotiations of meaning and even resistance against top-down political orders can still be observed within these organizations. On certain occasions, the respondents reference to the democratic discourses in their interpretation of specific political events and issues, though the critical elements of these discourses are dismissed at large. / published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

There has been a growing interest in promoting active transportation as an effective route to address the issues caused by the heavy reliance on motorized modes. Walking, as a unique form among all types of active transportation mode, is highly accessible and easy to be incorporated into every trip. A number of distinct benefits of walking deserve special mention. Among the whole transport system, walking is a fundamental and integral part linking various elements of trip together, irrespective of public or private modes. Besides, walking offers people an opportunity for regular physical activity that contributes to substantial health benefits. In order to identify how built and social environmental attributes influence on walking, four communities in Hong Kong with different physical and/or social characteristics were selected as case study. First hand data was collected by on-site questionnaire survey, together with objective assessments towards neighborhood walkability and condition of socio-economic disadvantage, the influences of physical and social factors on the level of walking were examined. For the study on walking intensity, individual characteristics including gender and income were found to be better predictors for the level of walking intensity. Among environmental determinants, the perceptions of pedestrians towards neighborhood walkability might be particularly important to predict one’s intensity of walking activity. Besides, positive association was observed between health condition and the level of walking activity. In terms of the study exploring the concordance between perceived and objective walkability, a moderate concordance between dual environmental measurements was found. The results of the study revealed that pedestrians’ perceptions towards neighborhood walkability might be crucial influencing one’s propensity and intensity. / published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

This research seeks to examine the difference in meaning of policing between two different generations in Hong Kong. When we look into the history of Hong Kong police, the police force has experienced two major historical changes, being the shift from a paramilitary force to a service-oriented organization in 1995; and the transition from Royal Police to the HKSAR Police Force in 1997. These changes are critical in constructing the idea of policing in Hong Kong. Concerning people’s expectations, it is important to note that different generations that have or have not experienced these changes should have formed different views to the idea of policing. Based on the in-depth interviews with 20 local residence, in which half of them are 18-year-old or above in 1997 and the others are below 25-year-old at the time of interview, this research identifies three main differences in their understandings of policing: (i) Younger generation focuses more on civil right and older generation focuses more on social stability; (ii) Younger generation tends to politicalize police action; and (iii) Younger generation expects policing to be more diversified. / published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Hantavirus infection has been a notifiable disease since 2008in Hong Kong. A total of 44 cases were reported from 1995 to 2013. Rodents are the major hosts of pathogenic hantaviruses. However, the epidemiology data about hantavirus infection in rodents is not known. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of hantavirus infection in rodents and strains of hantaviruses prevailing in Hong Kong. A total of 502 street rodents were collected from various districts between October 2008 and July 2013 and the majority was Rattus norvegicus. Spleen and kidney tissues were extracted to perform RT-PCR. Among 1004 tissue samples, hantaviruses were detected in 15 samples (1.49%) from 11 rodents (2.19%). The hantavirus positive rodents were widely distributed in Hong Kong in which most cases were found from Yuen Long and Wong Tai Sin. Hantavirus infection cases were mainly reported in early-spring and summer. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial nucleocapsid protein gene of the positive rodent sequences revealed that all of them belonged to Seoul virus (SEOV). Three strains of SEOV which were genetically close to strains in China, Indonesia and Vietnam, were identified. / published_or_final_version / Microbiology / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem. Globally, the incidence and mortality of TB were 122 and 18 per 100 000 population in 2012, while TB notification and death rate were 67.9 and 2.8 per 100 000 population in Hong Kong. With improvement in diagnosis and case finding, the TB incidence, prevalence and mortality rate were descending. Also, TB treatment success and detection rates were increasing. TB is still an infectious disease leading to considerable burden in Hong Kong. Many studies have found seasonal pattern of TB in other countries or cities. However, the reason of seasonality of tuberculosis is still remain unknown. This dissertation assessed yearly trends and seasonal variability of tuberculosis and the potential impact of meteorological variables on seasonality of TB in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2012. The finding could help us to better understand the pattern and the factors associated with seasonality of TB, and to inform future TB research and health policy strategies for TB control. Method Firstly, we did a literature review of seasonality of TB. Then we assessed the disease burden, trends and seasonality of TB. The data of TB age-specific and sex-specific notifications and notification rate, TB disease form-specific notifications and meteorological observations are mainly aggregated sources downloaded from public websites. Descriptive analysis methods were used to assess the characteristics of disease burden of TB and analytical analysis methods were used to assess the trends of TB age-specific, sex-specific notification rates and disease form-specific TB notifications in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2012. We assessed the seasonality of TB in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2012 with a Serfling model. Lastly, we used linear regression model to assess the potential impact of the meteorological predictors on the seasonality. Results The mean TB notification rate and death rate were 83.4 and 3.6 per 100, 000 population respectively in 2001 -2012. The overall trends of TB notification rate and death rate are descending in Hong Kong for the period. The disease burden of TB was much higher but decline faster for men than that for female. For age-specific descending trends of disease burden of TB, the trends were faster as the age groups getting older. In most of the reviewed studies from 1971 to 2012,the peak of TB cases was mainly in spring and summer and trough in winter. The seasonal pattern of TB of some countries and cities had different characteristics stratified by factors such as gender, sex, latitude and disease form. Most of the studies suggested that vitamin D deficiency, indoor activities, meteorological observations and health care seeking behaviour are the main possible factors contributing to seasonality of TB. TB notifications in Hong Kong exhibited a peak in summer and trough in winter. Except duration of sunshine, all meteorological variables including temperature, humidity, and solar radiation were significantly associated with monthly TB notification rate. The final predictive model included predictors such as time, temperature and solar radiation. 1 deg. C increase in monthly mean temperature was associated with 0.12(with 95% CI of (0.084, 0.16)) per 100, 000 population increasing of TB monthly notification rate, while 1 MJ/m2increase in monthly global solar radiation was associated with 0.064(with 95% CI of (0.005, 0.12)) per 100, 000 population decreasing of TB monthly notification rate. By comparing different models, temperature seemed to explain the observed seasonal pattern, while solar radiation had a more independent effect. Conclusion The study showed a higher TB disease burden in male which increases with age. The peak season of TB transmission should be in winter. We suggest more effective TB control strategies focusing on target groups including children, elders and relapse cases. As a general measure, we may encourage outdoor activities and more exposure to sunlight. We also suggest further studies to explore the relationship between humidity and vitamin D deficiency and seasonality of TB. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture