Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

of secondary students suffering f r om it. Together w i t h an ageing population, i t is anticipated that the incidence of macular diseases w i l l be on the rise. Current treatmen t for the above t wo conditions includes mainly laser treatment and surgery. Yet most patients are not suitable candidates for such treatments. Pho t odynami c therapy (PDT) is a n ew treatment approved by the US Food and D r u g Adm i n i s t r a t i on i n A p r i l 2000 for t r e a t i ng A M D . Th e D e p a r t m e nt o f Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is the first centre i n Asia to conduct clinical trials on the safety and efficacy of PD T i n treating macular diseases. Since February 2000, close to 100 patients have received the treatment, an d the overall results have been encouraging. Training Course for Mainland Microbiologists Y o u n g f e l l o w s s p e c i a l i z i n g i n microbiology f r om different institutions a n d h o s p i t a l s i n m a i n l a n d C h i n a participated i n the Summer Course 2001 i n M i c r o b i o l o g y , o r g a n i z ed b y t he Department of Microbiology f r om 6th to 19th June 2001 at the Prince of Wales Hospital. The course not on ly gave the pa r t i c i pan t s a chance to upda te t he ir laboratory skills and techniques, bu t also extended research collaboration between H o n g K o n g a nd the m a i n l a n d, a n d attracted qualified candidates to enrol i n postgraduate studies at the department. New Age of E-procurement for the University The University has successfully developed and introduced an advanced electroni c p r o c u r eme n t s y s t em , e - j i n g , w h i c h ope r a t es t h r o u g h th e I n t e r n e t . The University Bursary has been using e-jing since Ma y 2001, p l a c i ng C U H K at the f o r e f r o n t of e l e c t r on i c p r o c u r eme nt development among local universities. With e-jing, every step from the issuing of p u r c h a s e o r d e rs t o i n v o i c i ng is automated on the Internet. Compared to other e-procurement systems, e-jing uses both Chinese (traditional and simplified characters) and English, costs less, and is compa t i b l e w i t h mo re p l a t f o rms. Th e s y s t em can he lp local a n d ma i n l a nd businesses, large and small, to reduce the cost of tendering and improve efficiency. The robust functionalitie s of e-jin g i n c l u d e mo d u l e s s u c h as c a t a l o g u e managemen t, co l l abo r a t i ve p l a n n i n g, purchase order management, and system administration. Ancient Chinese Texts to be Translated and Published The C H A NT Projec t (Chinese An c i ent Texts Database) of the Institute of Chinese Studies has signed an agreement w i t h Yale University Press i n July 2001 to publish a series of books under the title Culture and News in Brief 59