Newsletter No. 276

EYE ON CAMPUS TheGreenFleet C UHK's green scooter fleet, unique amon g Hong Kong' s tertiar y institutions , i s completely exhaust-free . When staf f o f th e Estate s Managemen t Office ar e neede d a t differen t part s o f ou r 134-hectare campu s fo r maintenanc e work , they are usually whisked to their destination s by scooters. To reduce exhaus t produce d b y campus vehicles , th e Universit y firs t introduced three electric scooters in Apri l 2002 , an d the n tw o more afte r that . Electric scooters hel p prevent ai r o r nois e pollution. The y do no t run o n diesel hence do not emi t exhaus t ga s and black smoke; they are als o ver y quiet . The batter y o f gree n scooters ha s t o b e recharged for five to six hours daily for two t o three hours ' use . Their maximum speed is 60 kmph, an d lowe r whe n negotiatin g th e campus's gruelin g slopes . Electri c scooter s consume ove r $ 1,000 worth o f electricity per year, muc h cheape r than the $5,00 0 fuelin g cost o f traditional scooters . Electri c scooter s are als o mor e expensive . Howeve r havin g clean air on campus i s well worth th e price . Distinguished Scholar of Political Science Visits United College P rof. Pete r C . Ordeshook , Professo r o f Politica l Science , California Institut e of Technology, visited United College, from 20th t o 31s t Marc h 200 6 a s the college' s secon d Distinguishe d Visiting Schola r i n 2005-06 . During his visit, Prof. Ordeshook delivered two publi c lecture s entitled 'Theoretica l Underpinning s o f Constitutiona l Desig n fo r New Democracies ' an d 'The Uses and Misuse s o f Game Theor y in Politica l Science' . As a member o f the American Academy o f Sciences and pas t president of the Public Choice Society, Prof. Ordeshook i s the author of eight books and over a hundred scholarl y papers . Hi s publishe d essays cove r suc h subject s a s the applicatio n o f experimenta l methods t o politica l analysis , legislativ e vot e trading, th e game-theoreti c underpinning s o f Sun Tzu's Art of War, cooperativ e game theory, and the spatial analysis of parties and voting. His recent research includes developing an evolutionar y gam e theoreti c model o f i n d i v i d u a l t im e preferences, an d a n ongoin g study o f econome t r i c methods fo r detectin g an d measuring th e exten t o f electoral fr aud. Member of Medical Faculty Honoured by Vietnamese Government P rof. Cliv e Cockram , professo r o f medicine , received th e Insigni a o r Memorabili a o f People's Healt h fro m th e Ministr y o f Health, Vietnam, on 21st Februar y 2006. Th e awar d wa s give n fo r services t o the healt h o f peopl e i n Vietnam spannin g a period o f fiv e years and i n relatio n t o diabetes . Prof. Cockram (centre) with the Vice- Minister of Health in Vietnam (right) and another award recipient, Dr. Gauden Galea, WHO regional adviser in non- communicable disease SUPPORT FOR SIX PROJECTS T he following project s undertake n b y faculty member s of the Universit y hav e succeeded i n attracting funding support : • Evaluation Studies on Sexual Abuse Prevention Programmes for Upper Primary and Junior Secondary School Students (HK$136,735) Sponsor: En d Child Sexua l Abuse Foundatio n Principal investigator: Prof . Catherine Tang So-kam (Department o f Psychology ) • Developing and Conducting a Review into the Support Services Offered to Schools (HK$1,284,874) Sponsor: Educatio n and Manpower Burea u Principal investigator: Prof . Wong Hin-wah (Departmen t of Curriculum an d instruction ) • Mortality Experience of Register II Silicotic Patients in an Extended Follow-up (1981 -2005) (HK$500,000) Sponsor: Pneumoconiosi s Compensation Fun d Boar d Principal investigator: Prof . Ignatius Yu (Department o f Community an d Family Medicine ) • Post-menopausal Women Walk Towards a Healthy Life (HK$299,104) Sponsor: Healt h Car e and Promotion Fun d Principal investigator: Prof . Leung Kwok-sui (Departmen t o f Orthopaedics and Traumatology ) • The Technological Upgrading and Clinical Validation of a Prototypical Near Infrared Spectrophotometer (HK$700,000 ) Sponsor: innovatio n an d Technology Fun d Principal investigator: Prof . Andrew Bur d (Departmen t o f Surgery) Other investigators: Prof . Chinlon Lin, Prof. Chen Lian Kuan, Dr. Luo Yuhui, and Prof. Huang Lin • Intelligen t Omoi-directiooal Hybri d Electric Vehicle (IOHEV) (HK$11,414,500) Sponsor: Innovatio n an d Technology Fun d Principal investigator ： Prof . Xu Yang Sheng (Department of Automation an d Computer-Aide d Engineering) Other CUHK investigators ： Dr . Le e Ka-keung, Mr. Huan g Bufu, Mr. Shi Xi, Mr. Zhong Zhi, Mr. Ye Wei Zhong, and Mr. Ou Yongshen g Higher Incidenc e o f H. pylori Infectio n and Gastri c Lesio n Foun d in Relatives o f Gastri c Cance r Patient s G astric cance r i s the fourt h leadin g caus e o f cancer-relate d deaths i n Hon g Kong . I n 2002 , 1,00 0 ne w case s wer e diagnosed an d ove r 60 0 patient s die d fro m thi s malignancy , according to the Hong Kong Cancer Registry. It is well documente d that famil y member s o f gastri c cance r patient s hav e a higher ris k of developin g th e condition , bu t th e exac t mechanis m remain s unclear. The Institut e o f Digestiv e Diseas e of the Facult y o f Medicin e has recently acquired a novel endoscopic imagin g technique called 'narrow ban d imaging ' (NBI ) t o hel p identif y earl y neoplasti c lesions i n the gastric mucosa . I t consists of a sequential electroni c endoscope system and a source of light equipped with new narro w band filters . From 2001-2004 , th e institut e conducted a screening of 27 0 first-degree relative s (sibling s an d offsprings ) o f gastri c cance r patients usin g uppe r gastrointestina l endoscop y t o determine th e prevalence o f H. pylori infectio n an d pre-neoplastic lesion s i n the stomach. Th e prevalenc e o f H. pylori infectio n wa s found t o b e significantly highe r i n gastric cancer relative s (59. 6 pe r cent) than age- an d sex-matche d control s withou t a family histor y o f th e disease. Moreover , 3 0 pe r cen t wer e foun d t o hav e intestina l metaplasia, a pre-neoplastic lesion , i n the stomach . Ris k factor s associated wit h th e presenc e o f intestina l metaplasi a includ e H. pylori infection , the male gender, age and a history of gastric cancer in siblings . The institut e believes that screening of relatives of patients b y endoscopy ma y be beneficial fo r detecting H. pylori infectio n an d early gastric lesions. Its researchers will conduc t a study to evaluate the rol e of NB I i n screening such lesion s i n the relative s o f gastric cancer patients . (From left) Prof. Enders Ng, associate dean (clinical), and Prof. Joseph Sung, associate dean (general affairs) of the Faculty of Medicine, and Prof. Leung Wai-keung of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics announcing the novel NBI technique on 16th March at the Postgraduate Education Centre 2 No. 27 6 4t h Apri l 200 6