Narrow Results

The following topics are under this section:

• A general framework for predictive maintenance of manufacturing systems
• A remote-controlled smart platform for organ repair
• COVID-19 and its genetic relationship with other coronaviruses
• East meets West: cancer therapy using acupuncture and electrochemistry
• A triple-function bismuth oxochromate photocatalyst
• AI enables whole-slide imaging for diagnosis of nasal polyps

The impacts of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on the social work students were examined using a combined quantitative and qualitative method. A survey was conducted with 114 social work undergraduate students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong to assess their perception of the impacts of SARS on them at personal and professional level. Four focus groups had been conducted to examine the social work students' interpretation and their reflection of their experience. Results show that the SARS crisis has positive impacts on social work students. The findings indicate that students with direct exposure to SARS perceived themselves as becoming more appreciative in attitude and have greater involvement and devotion to the social work profession. Moreover, the result shows that three variables — recognition of risk, commitment and devotion, and professional reflection are positively correlated. The findings articulate the relationship between experience (risk), profession reflection and meaning generation (commitment and devotion). The findings of this study provide us with insights to rethink on our social work education.

Studies on disaster have been criticised as putting too much emphasis on individual therapy. The community perspective highlights the significance of the sociopolitical factors in causing disasters and intervention at the community level. This paper, examining the contribution of community development services during the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, reveals the significance of establishing an extensive network of vulnerable groups and community organising groundwork in times of crisis. Intervention during the SARS crisis included crisis intervention, providing community education, promoting community care, community participation and supporting the unemployed. After SARS, the focus was on reinforcing the spirit of mutual help, anti-discrimination and reconstructing positive shared meanings of the disaster. In mobilising community resources, the concept of the "strength" community has been confirmed. The SARS experience has revealed that, although disasters are becoming complex and global, remedies can be found in the local community. Community is an important disaster resource.

本文檢視社區發展服務在“非典型肺炎”期間的貢獻：危機介入、社區教育、社區照顧、社區參與及支援失業人士。“非典”之後，服務集中於強化互助、反歧視及建構災難的正面意義。介入的過程引證了“力量”社區的概念。

本文嘗試比較兩個危機管理模式，其一是香港家庭福利會“綜合家居照顧服務隊”在2003年SARS 於牛頭角下邨及淘大花園爆發時，總結和歸納出來的一個“危機管理實戰模式”。另一個是 Gonzalez Herrerom 及 Pratt (1995) 建立的一個“危機管理概略模式”。實戰模式更針對其缺漏加以修正和完善，嘗試把概念和實戰經驗融合。經修正後，“實戰模式”的實用性，應可推及至由其他傳染病引致的危機管理上。

This article compared two crisis management models. One of the models — 'crisis management practice model' is formulated from the practical crisis management experiences of the integrated home care service center during the SARS attack in 2003. It is based on the service delivery in the two most affected areas, the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate and the Amoy Garden. The other model is a four-phase 'crisis management conceptual process model' developed by Gonzalez Herrerom and Pratt (1995). The practice model is further consolidated, enriched and refined in view of the Gonzalez Herrerom and Pratt's model to integrate the conceptual and practical aspects. Its applicability can be extended to other crisis caused by outbreak from other infectious diseases.

This paper concerns the risk that women faced during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003. The concept of a "risk society", which is developed by Ulrich Beck, has made a major contribution to our understanding of the SARS crisis. He points out that risk is not equally distributed among all people in society, but adheres to patterns that are based on class and gender. He also suggests that the increasing trend of individualization has created a set of obligations and responsibilities to people, any individuals who failed to avoid risk are seen as personal failure and to be blamed. During the SARS crisis, women were more likely to be infected by the virus, as the primary care takers of the family, in the community, and being health care workers in hospitals. However, women were at risk not only due to their role as carers, but the dominant and authoritative discourses that undermined their claims for protection. This paper attempts to deconstruct the discourses of the roles of women in health crises, and to discuss how the discourses interplay with other social structures to construct a "reality", to marginalise and silent women in a crisis situation.

How do state leaders use crisis management to strengthen state infrastructural power? What explains the strategic choices of a state’s selective institutionalization of crisis measures? Crises offer unique opportunities for state-building, yet the role of crisis management in consolidating state power is underexamined. This paper explores these important issues by examining how the Chinese government has deployed wartime-like measures in battling the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19. While authorities in China have adopted unconventional measures in managing the crises, they have selectively normalized ad hoc practices and institutionalized certain measures to strengthen state infrastructural power once they have ended or been temporarily contained. Drawing on the frameworks of rational choice and historical institutionalism, our analysis suggests that the central government normalizes or institutionalizes measures that help to consolidate its control of the bureaucracy and enhance regime legitimacy.

During last two decades, the biggest global epidemic had been associated with middle east respiratory syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and novel coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) with clinical symptoms of bronchitis, pneumonia, and fetal respiratory illness. Infection caused by COVID-19 initially assumed to be milder in nature but consequently spreading across the globe and devastating mortality rate rapidly made it a pandemic. Having enormous challenges, many significant issues are yet to be addressed. Scientific community is engaged in designing and developing effective nano-biosensors for the quick detection of COVID-19, easy diagnosis as well as absolute tracking of infected population in order to prevent pandemic outbreak further. In this paper, key stages like suppressing the immune response of COVID-19 patients, diagnosis of COVID-19, and prevention of COVID-19 using nanomaterials have been discussed. Further, the unresolved challenges and drawbacks toward treatments and vaccine development at the earliest to win over this war have also been critically discussed.

Several related viral shell disorder (disorder of shell proteins of viruses) models were built using a disorder predictor via AI. The parent model detected the presence of high levels of disorder at the outer shell in viruses, for which vaccines are not available. Another model found correlations between inner shell disorder and viral virulence. A third model was able to positively correlate the levels of respiratory transmission of coronaviruses (CoVs). These models are linked together by the fact that they have uncovered two novel immune evading strategies employed by the various viruses. The first involve the use of highly disordered “shape-shifting” outer shell to prevent antibodies from binding tightly to the virus thus leading to vaccine failure. The second usually involves a more disordered inner shell that provides for more efficient binding in the rapid replication of viral particles before any host immune response. This “Trojan horse” immune evasion often backfires on the virus, when the viral load becomes too great at a vital organ, which leads to death of the host. Just as such virulence entails the viral load to exceed at a vital organ, a minimal viral load in the saliva/mucus is necessary for respiratory transmission to be feasible. As for the SARS-CoV-2, no high levels of disorder can be detected at the outer shell membrane (M) protein, but some evidence of correlation between virulence and inner shell (nucleocapsid, N) disorder has been observed. This suggests that not only the development of vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, unlike HIV, HSV and HCV, is feasible but its attenuated vaccine strain can either be found in nature or generated by genetically modifying N.

To predict SARS epidemic spread with more precision, the adaptive neural network with the adaptive filter is used to predict SARS epidemic in this paper. With the adaptive BP neural network, we set up the relationship between the previous daily suspect, probable cases and the probable cases of next day, with the adaptive filter, we have got the more precision of the prediction. Finally we have predicted the probable cases in Beijing from May 22, 2003 to June 10, 2003, the result is satisfied.

This note is concerned with estimating the number of SARS cases in the 2002–3 epidemic in mainland China. Some recorded data from Hong Kong, and partial data from the mainland are used, while SARS incidence is modelled by a Beta function in order to derive likely outcomes. The conclusion is that there were many more cases of SARS in mainland China than were officially recorded.