Newsletter No. 462

Calcium Deficiency Raises Risk of Elderly Hypertension H ypertension, defined as b l ood pressure over 140/90 mmHg, affects about 55 per cent of elderly subjects in Hong Kong. In Westernized societies, high salt intake combined w i th l ow potassium and calcium intakes, and other factors may be responsible f or the prevalence of hypertension and related complications among seniors. The Faculty of Medicine has conducted two studies to determine the prevalence of hypertension in older subjects in Hong Kong in relation to their calcium intake. Among 110 vegetarians aged over 55, 65 per cent were found to have hypertension. They were found to have lower calcium and potassium intake but higher salt intake. Among 234 free-living subjects aged over 55,53 per cent were found to suffer from hypertension. A similar trend for the protective effect of dietary calcium intake against hypertension was detected. Subjects with higher calcium intake tend to have lower blood pressure and reduced risk of hypertension. Age-related increases in blood pressure are attenuated by higher calcium intake. Calcium may help decrease blood pressure by increasing sodium excretion by the kidneys and relaxing blood vessels. The Faculty of Medicine urges seniors to consumer more calcium and potassium and less salt as protection against hypertension, and to be aware of the crucial role of calcium in disease prevention and its main dietary sources. Student Exchange Act ivi t ies • B A Faculty Seven top Year 1 to Year 3 students from the BBA Programme in Insurance, Financial and Actuarial Analysis of the University took part in the first Swiss Re University Student Exchange Programme from 27th May to 5th June. Sponsored by Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd. and coorganized by the Chinese University, the programme provides insurance students of Hong Kong and mainland China with a chance to enhance their knowledge of the culture and the insurance industries of the two regions. The students arrived in Shanghai on 27th May for a five-day visit which covered Bao Steel Company, Shanghai Biochip Company, an A I G subsidiary in China, China Pacific Insurance Company, China Life Insurance Company, Shanghai Stock Exchange Market, and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The Hong Kong visit, which began on 1st June, covered the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Ltd., HSBC Broking, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance (HK) Ltd., and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. •Department of Psychology The Psychology Departments of Peking University, Taiwan University, and the Chinese University organized the Student Visitor Exchange Programme 2005 from 19th to 24th May in Beijing. The aim is to provide psychology students from the three institutions with an informal educational opportunity to advance their academic knowledge of the subject and to improve communication among the psychology departments. The CUHK delegation was led by Prof. Chan Wai and Prof. Winnie Mak of the Department of Psychology. They visited the Institute of Psychology which enhanced their understanding of the development of psychology in China. Chung Chi Receives HK$1 Mi l l i on Mr. Alfred W.F. Hau (right), Chung Chi graduate and executor and trustee of the Estate of Hardman Queenie Lew Quan, presenting a HK$1 million cheque on 15th April to Chung Chi Co l l ege wh i ch is represented by its head, Prof. Leung Yuen-sang Global Study Finds Hong Kong One of the Least Entrepreneurial H ong Kong's total entrepreneurial activity in 2004 is still among the lowest in the world, according to a study conducted by the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University jointly with the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences. The study is the third of a three-year study of entrepreneurship led by CUHK to measure Hong Kong's performance against some 30 other economies in the Global En t r ep r eneu r sh ip Mo n i t or ( GEM) Consortium, an international consortium of some 150 researchers in over 40 countries who periodically poll entrepreneurship worldwide. The GEM is a research project launched by leading scholars from Babson College and the London School of Business in 1999 to measure, on an annual basis, entrepreneurship around the world. From 2003, the Hong Kong study also covers Shenzhen as we ll as the cross-border entrepreneurial activities. The Hong Kong team is led by Prof. Chua Bee-leng, director of the CUHK Centre for Entrepreneurship. Using a measure called total entrepreneurship activity which counts the percentage of adults in the population that are involved in starting new companies in the last three years, the study shows that Hong Kong, w i th three per cent of the population involved in new start-ups, is among the least entrepreneurial in the world and trails well behind Shenzhen with 11.6 per cent. Barriers to early stage entrepreneurial activity are found to be Hong Kong's high cost base, lack of entrepreneurial education and inadequate links between R&D and the market. Prof. Jack Cheng (left), pro-vice-chancellor, and Prof. Chua Bee-leng officiating at the launch of the centre on 24th May 2005 CUHK Hosts Inter -School Robotics Competition T he Faculty of Engineering jointly organized the first Internet-based Robotics Inter-School Competition (IRIS) w i t h the Ho ng K o ng Te c h n o l o gy Education Association. The competition, which comprised a series of Internet robotic soccer matches, is based on the latest networked mechatronics control technology researched and developed by the faculty in collaboration with its mainland and overseas research partners. The event was solely sponsored by the Shun Hing Charity and Education Fund. The competition consisted of two levels, IRIS-1 and IRIS-2. IRIS-1 was an open competition for both primary and secondary school students who competed using soccer robots provided by the organizer. IRIS-2, by invitation and for higher forms, required the teams to design their own robots. The c ompe t i t i on enhanced the s t uden t s' hands - on experience in Internet technology and robotics and cultivated teamwork and sportsmanship, wh i ch are essential attributes for good engineers. The launch ceremony and the first round were held on 28th May 2005 in the W i l l i am M . W. M o n g En g i n e e r i ng Building. The ceremony was officiated by Prof. Kenneth Young, pro-vice- chancellor, M r . Da v id Mong, chairman of the Shun Hing Charity and Education Fund, and Mr. M.H. All, director-general of telecommunications. Sixteen winning teams competed in the second round on 4th June 2005 after which eight teams won tickets to the final competition, to be held on 2nd July 2005 together with the IRIS-2 competition. Corrigendum I n the article 'CUHK's First Course on Bone Anchored Hearing', in Issue 261 of the CUHK Newsletter, the first sentence should have read 'The D i v i s i on of Otorhinolaryngology of the Department of Surgery and the Institute of Human Communicative Research of the University jointly organized the University's inaugural Bone Anchored Hearing Aid ( BAHA) Course on 30th April.' 2 No. 262 19thJune 2005