Hong Kong Holidays
Saturday February 13 Day preceding Lunar New Year's Day Monday February 15 2nd day Lunar New Year Tuesday February 16 3rd day Lunar New Year
Selection from Classical Literature of China Kao-Shih ~ A.D. 700 Desolation I
There was a King of Liang -- a king of wondrous might --
Who kept an open palace, where music charmed the night --
II
Since he was Lord of Liang a thousand years have flown,
And of the towers he builded yon ruin stands alone.
III
There reigns a heavy silence; gaunt weeds through windows pry,
And down the streets of Liang old echoes, wailing, die.
Non-viral reprogramming. . "We are moving toward clinically applicable regenerative medicine." Michael Longaker MD, Professor of Surgery from Stanford University, has said:
"This technique is not only safer, it's relatively simple ..."
"It will be a relatively straightforward process for labs around the world to begin using this technique."
"We are moving toward clinically.....
Epigenetic memory. "... direct perturbation of the Smad signaling pathway ..." Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have indicated that "... the TGF;#946;-Smad signaling pathway, which is over activated in late-stage cancers, is responsible for the "epigenetic memory" that maintains unique patterns of regulatory DNA hypermethylation causing silencing of critical.....
Acute lung injury. Professor Rick Wetsel PhD, from the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, University of Texas, Houston, Texas, has indicated ... "that an experimental treatment involving transplantable lung cells was associated with improved outcomes in tests on mice with acute lung.....
Gap junctions. Direct contact. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have indicated "... that stem cells transplanted into damaged or threatened nerve tissue quickly establish direct channels, called gap junctions, to the nerve cells. "
More from a Release dated February 1, sourced from Karolinska Institutet: Stem cells rescue.....
Expanded umbilical-cord blood unit. Rapid engraftment. Colleen Delaney MD has indicated '... first use of a method to vastly expand the number of stem/progenitor cells from a unit of cord blood in the laboratory that were then infused into patients resulting in successful and rapid engraftment.'
More from a Release dated January 17, sourced from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research.....
Reporter stem cell line. "... used to measure endothelial cell production ..."
Daylon James PhD, from Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, has indicated '... a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) "reporter" line that can be used to measure endothelial cell production and activity.' More from a Release dated January 21, sourced from New York Stem Cell Foundation: NYSCF Fellow lead author on.....
Differentiated cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells. Ng Huck Hui PhD, from Genome Institute of Singapore, has indicated:
"This is a very exciting moment ..."
"Fundamental research in embryonic stem cells is extremely important for us to harness the full potentials of these cells, and this study provides valuable and crucial insights into the mechanism of.....
Nanoscopic magnetic islands. According to a Release from the American Physical Society:
"Minute magnetic particles, whether bonded to plastic tape or coated onto a hard disk, are the basis of modern data storage."
"Information is encoded in the magnetic orientation of these nanoparticles, but particles can sometimes switch orientations.....
...
Magnetic nanosensor. Nanotags. Shan Wang, Professor of Materials Science and engineering and of Electrical Engineering from Stanford University has informed:
"In the early stage [of a cancer], the protein biomarker level in blood is very, very low, so you need ultra-sensitive technology to detect it ..."
"If you can detect it early, you.....
New 'adjuvant' could hold future of vaccine development Zhengrong Cui, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceuticsfrom Oregon State University has said:
"In many cases, to make progress with vaccine development we need new adjuvants ..."
"The material has to be safe, and lecithin is a common food product that's already widely used in pharmaceuticals. This new form of.....
Biosensor. "... detect extremely low concentrations of bacteria immediately, easily and reliably ..." Professor F Xavier Rius, from the Chemometrics, Qualimetrics and Nanosensors research group in the Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Department of Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain, has informed:
"We have developed a new biosensor that can detect extremely low concentrations of bacteria.....
Nanobees. "Nanobees are an effective way to package the useful, but potentially deadly, melittin ..." Paul Schlesinger MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology from Washington University School of Medicine has said:
"Melittin has been of interest to researchers because in high enough concentration it can destroy any cell it comes into contact with, making it an effective antibacterial and antifungal.....
...
Strain engineering. Nanocrystals. Magnetoresistance. Superconductivity. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have indicated "... that the selective placement of strain can alter the electronic phase and its spatial arrangement in correlated electron materials. This unique class of materials is commanding much attention now because they can.....
Biodiesel blends. Fuel economy. Gregory Shaver, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, from Purdue University, has said:
"We were able to improve the fuel economy with a biodiesel blend while reducing nitrogen oxides to where they were with conventional diesel ..."
"At the same time, we were able to maintain the customary.....
Advanced biofuels. "... clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America." During the State of the Union address delivered on January 27, President Barack Obama mentioned "... continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies."
More from a Release dated January 27, sourced from The White House - Office of the Press Secretary:
Remarks by the President in State of.....
Intrastromal corneal ring segments.
"To evaluate and compare visual, refractive, and corneal aberrometric outcomes after implantation of 2 types of intrastromal corneal ring segments (ICRS) in eyes with early to moderate ectatic disease."1
Researchers from Vissum Corporation-Instituto Oftalmológico de Alicante, in Alicante, Spain; Universidad.....
Blurred vision. "The patient was discharged on full dose aspirin and a statin ..."
"A 29-year-old man, with no significant past medical history, was in his usual state of health until the afternoon of admission."1
"The patient was seated at work eating lunch when he suddenly noticed that his vision became blurry."
"He covered his right eye and had no visual difficulty but.....
Autologous tissue regeneration. "... wrinkles, laugh lines and even difficult-to-treat acne scars." Anthony P Sclafani MD FACS Director of Facial Plastic Surgery at The New York Eye ;amp; Ear Infirmary and Professor at New York Medical College, has indicated that a "... new therapy harnesses the body's natural healing ability to improve skin appearance while avoiding the use of synthetic implants, fillers and.....
Virtual eye surgery. Training. "... performing cataract surgery in a virtual environment." John Loewenstein MD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Associate Chief of Ophthalmology for Clinical Affairs, has informed:
"We're pleased that the findings of this study suggest that The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Cataract Surgery Trainer could be an effective supplement to traditional.....
