Reference ranges for lymphocyte subsets among healthy Hong Kong Chinese adults by single-platform flow cytometry.

Race, age, sex, and environmental conditions have significant impacts on lymphocyte subset values. It is important to establish the local reference ranges from healthy and non-HIV-positive adults in the local population for clinical decision making. In this study, the reference ranges for lymphocyte subsets among Chinese adults were established by analysis by single-platform flow cytometry of the lymphocyte compositions of 273 healthy adult blood donors between 17 and 59 years of age. The 95% reference ranges for CD3(+) T cells, CD3(+) CD4(+) T helper cells, and CD3(+) CD8(+) T suppressor cells are 723 to 2,271 cells/µl, 396 to 1,309 cells/µl, and 224 to 1,014 cells/µl, respectively. The 95% reference ranges for CD19(+) B cells and CD56(+) NK cells are 118 to 645 cells/µl and 61 to 607 cells/µl, respectively. Significant gender and age differences in the lymphocyte subsets have been demonstrated. Our results have also shown that the T-lymphocyte compositions in Hong Kong Chinese were comparable to those of other Asian populations but were different from those of Caucasians.

Performing probe experiments in the SEM.

A four nanoprobe system has been installed inside a FEI XL30 F scanning electron microscope (SEM), and shown to be fully compatible with the normal functions of the SEM and also a Gatan cold stage (model C1003, -185-400 degrees C). With some selected examples of applications, we have shown that this nanoprobe system may be used effectively for gripping, moving and manipulating nanoobjects, e.g. carbon nanotubes, setting up electric contacts for electronic measurements, tailoring the structure of the nanoobject by cutting, etc. and even for making unexpected nanostructures, e.g. a nanohook. Applications in other areas have also been speculated, limitations or disadvantages of the current design of the probe system were discussed, and methods for possible improvement were suggested.

Social class, socialization practices, and psychosomatic ailments in adolescents.

The relationships among social class, socialization practices, and psychosomatic ailments have been reported by several psychological and sociological studies. However, a careful review of these studies reveals some contradictory results. In addition to inadequate sample size, these studies have been carried out on children of preschool and grade school ages. We collected data from 1518 high school aged adolescents who had unbroken families and who might be regarded as products of their families' class and socialization practices. Our findings suggest definite effects of socioeconomic status on the mental health of the developing female children. The effects of some socialization practices, such as parental dominance, restrictiveness, punishment types, and warmth, on psychosomatic incidences are further examined. Implications of the present study are discussed.