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Advances in Care
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1 Advancing Cardiology and Heart Surgery Through a History of Collaboration 20:13
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On this episode of Advances in Care , host Erin Welsh and Dr. Craig Smith, Chair of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia discuss the highlights of Dr. Smith’s 40+ year career as a cardiac surgeon and how the culture of Columbia has been a catalyst for innovation in cardiac care. Dr. Smith describes the excitement of helping to pioneer the institution’s heart transplant program in the 1980s, when it was just one of only three hospitals in the country practicing heart transplantation. Dr. Smith also explains how a unique collaboration with Columbia’s cardiology team led to the first of several groundbreaking trials, called PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic TraNscatheteR Valve), which paved the way for a monumental treatment for aortic stenosis — the most common heart valve disease that is lethal if left untreated. During the trial, Dr. Smith worked closely with Dr. Martin B. Leon, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Chief Innovation Officer and the Director of the Cardiovascular Data Science Center for the Division of Cardiology. Their findings elevated TAVR, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, to eventually become the gold-standard for aortic stenosis patients at all levels of illness severity and surgical risk. Today, an experienced team of specialists at Columbia treat TAVR patients with a combination of advancements including advanced replacement valve materials, three-dimensional and ECG imaging, and a personalized approach to cardiac care. Finally, Dr. Smith shares his thoughts on new frontiers of cardiac surgery, like the challenge of repairing the mitral and tricuspid valves, and the promising application of robotic surgery for complex, high-risk operations. He reflects on life after he retires from operating, and shares his observations of how NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia have evolved in the decades since he began his residency. For more information visit nyp.org/Advances…
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Video news from Hong Kong and around the world.
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204 episodes
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Content provided by RTHK.HK. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by RTHK.HK or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Video news from Hong Kong and around the world.
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204 episodes
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×Police on Wednesday said that a man had been arrested on suspicion of scamming people by sending phishing text messages that start with a hashtag. A little more than a year ago, authorities introduced a scheme under which registered firms and organisations can send messages that start with the symbol, in a bid to combat scams. The force said officers received around 30 reports in the past week about suspected fraud messages with the hashtag. Officers then arrested the suspect, 23, on Monday, and plan to lay charges against him. "After careful planning, officers arrested the man in Mong Kok on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud," said senior inspector Wan Chun-hong from the police's Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau. "The suspect was inside a van, and police seized two mobile phones and a radio jammer that was in operation." Wan said at a police briefing that one victim claimed to have lost around HK$22,000 after clicking a hyperlink from a suspicious text message and giving out credit card information. The Office of the Communications Authority said they found that some of the recent suspicious hashtag messages were not sent out by local telecommunication firms. Principle regulatory affairs manager Andrew Lo said people should be extra careful when they see their phone signal dip suddenly from maximum coverage to 2G, as messages they receive during that period could be from people using illicit radio jammers. "The jammers would pretend to be a 2G base station, because under this standard, mobile phones generally won't authenticate the 2G station," he said at the same briefing. "So it's possible to deceive these phones, connect to their network and send fraudulent messages to them." Lo added that extra caution is also needed when the messages involve strange hyperlinks, or that they ask for money.…
Ride-sharing operators and the taxi trade can coexist under a "balanced and sustainable" framework on regulating car-hailing services, Uber's boss in Hong Kong said on Wednesday. Estyn Chung, Uber Hong Kong’s general manager, also said he's hopeful for further exchanges with the government and the taxi industry. "We believe a balanced and sustainable regulatory framework will allow taxis and ride-sharing to co-exist for the benefit of all Hongkongers, for Hongkongers to have more choice when it comes to point-to-point transportation," Chung said. "We believe it's really important to protect the flexibility and earnings opportunity of drivers, and also to protect the safety and service quality for all Hongkongers." Representatives from Uber attended an afternoon meeting with government officials to share their views on regulating ride-hailing platforms in the city. Earlier, taxi industry representatives held talks with transport authorities before deciding to call off a planned strike to push for a crackdown on illegal ride-hailing services in the SAR. The government is seeking to introduce a regulatory framework to the Legislative Council on ride-sharing platforms, with authorities stressing illegal services would not be tolerated.…
The taxi industry has called off a strike next month to push for a crackdown on illegal ride-hailing services, after meeting with transport officials on Wednesday morning. The Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association had earlier threatened five days of industrial action from March 5, saying their business was seriously hurt by their unlicensed rivals. The association's chairman, Wong Yu-ting, apologised after the meeting for causing "unease" to the public. He added authorities should be given time to take enforcement action, so a strike was no longer necessary. But Wong maintained the government should take action against ride-hailing service providers. "The number of arrestees (ride-hailing drivers) is actually not the top priority. Most importantly, they should take immediate action to prosecute the drivers, so as to deter others from doing so," Wong told reporters. Ryan Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi Council, described the meeting as positive and constructive. He said the government would submit a legislative proposal within this year to regulate ride hailing platforms. "The ride-hailing platforms must ensure all the vehicles hailed from their platforms must have legal licence," Wong said. He also hoped the government would require ride-hailing service providers to attend professional training beforehand, and have their vehicles undergo inspections annually. Transport Commissioner Angela Lee said the government was looking at next steps. "The government is now studying with the Department of Justice on fine-tuning existing laws to optimise the enforcement process," she added.…
Record-breaking blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" is set for general release in Hong Kong on Saturday, as it dethroned Disney's "Inside Out 2" and became the highest grossing animated film of all time -- based on domestic ticketing data. It premiered in the city on Tuesday night, after it garnered significant attention in the SAR over the past month, which saw the animated movie break records for the number of distributors and daily screenings for a mainland film in Hong Kong. "We are honoured to bring this world-class phenomenon-level animation to Hong Kong and Macao, allowing viewers to experience the charm of Ne Zha in the theatres", said a representative of Emperor Motion Pictures, which is a co-distributor of the film. Meanwhile, some local fans went to Shenzhen to see the animation, ahead of its SAR release. "I've seen online comments about the animated film, saying it is a good and touching movie with an excellent storyline that's enlightening for viewers," said a Hongkonger who viewed the movie across the border. "I specifically watched the first movie in Hong Kong and came today to watch its sequel here in Shenzhen, as it hasn't been screened in Hong Kong. I want to see what makes this animation so successful in attracting many adults and to learn about the latest development of Chinese animation." A sequel to the 2019 hit "Ne Zha 1", "Ne Zha 2" has already packed out cinemas in China, where it claimed the title of the nation's biggest box-office hit since its release last month. State media, citing ticketing platform, Maoyan, said on Tuesday the fantasy epic had raked in over 12.32 billion yuan (about US$1.72 billion), which surpassed "Inside Out 2" that took US$1.7 billion following its release last year. "Ne Zha 2" tells the tale of a rebellious young deity who uses his powers to battle formidable foes after his village is destroyed. The film was released overseas this month, sparking hopes that it would garner similar acclaim abroad. The original "Ne Zha" became what was then China's highest-grossing animated film, after it was released in 2019.…
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Wednesday the government plans to establish up to five community pharmacies in each district, so patients can more easily get their medicine. Speaking on RTHK’s Overview Policy programme, Lo said through the Hospital Authority’s centralised procurement, patients and private doctors can get cheaper medicine for chronic and episodic illnesses at community pharmacies. He said community pharmacies will also help to reduce drug wastage as patients need not take home several months’ worth of medication. “With community pharmacies, citizens will not need to get months of medication at one time. They can get one month of medication after visiting the doctor,” Lo said. “They also don't need to have a monthly follow-up appointment to get the same medicine. Instead, they can go to a community pharmacy to fill a prescription,” he added. The health minister also expressed the hope that citizens would consult their own family doctors first for minor illnesses or chronic diseases. He added residents can select a general practitioner in their neighbourhood from a list of eligible doctors provided at District Health Centres (DHC). Currently, there are seven DHCs in the city, located in Kwai Tsing, Sham Shui Po, Southern District, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Wong Tai Sin and Yuen Long. Lo also said the government has subsidised family doctors in the community to provide screening services for diabetes and hypertension for eligible citizens.…
Cigarette smuggling accounted for around 68 percent of the total number of cases the Customs and Excise Department worked on last year, according to customs officers. The department handled more than 31,000 cases in 2024, which was a 63 percent increase from 2023. It said cigarette smuggling increased 80 percent last year. Customs commissioner Chan Tsz-tat on Tuesday said the numbers were due to the increased tobacco tax over the past two years. "The duty rates of cigarettes has increased from HK$1.9 to HK$3.3 per stick over the past two years. Inevitably, this would add the incentive to smugglers as well as incoming passengers to bring in excessive duty-free cigarettes," he said. He added the department had cracked 40 large-scale cigarette smuggling cases in 2024, similar to 2023, but the number of cigarettes seized dropped 33 percent to around 600 million sticks. Chan said the drop was due to syndicates decreasing the number of cigarettes being smuggled out at any one time and using differenct smuggling methods in order to reduce losses if smuggled products were seized. Meanwhile, customs officers seized 6.3 tonnes of drugs and arrested 366 people last year in connection with these seizures. Among them, 19 cases involved the import of space oil drugs. Customs said it has stepped up its actions following the classification of etomidate, the key ingredient of the space oil drug, as a dangerous drug last Friday. "We have strengthened our enforcement covering the whole supply chain, including import and export, distribution and retail, and to crack down on their supply," Chan said. "The department has also enhanced intelligence analysis and risk management so as to ensure precise cargo and passenger selections. Etomidate has been added to the database of our Raman spectrometers to enhance detection on the front line," he added.…
Ngong Ping 360 on Tuesday said it will work on attracting more long-haul tourists, as its visitor numbers last year surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The company said it received record-breaking cable car revenue of over HK$413 million last year. It said the facility welcomed more than 1.5 million guests in 2024, showing a 10 percent growth when compared with pre-pandemic levels. About 40 percent of the visitors were from short-haul markets, followed by mainland tourists, local people, and visitors from long-haul markets. Speaking to the press, managing director James Tung said the company will do its best to attract more visitors, especially those from long-haul markets. “We are actually talking to some online travel agencies, trying to target those free and independent travellers - FIT - who may not necessarily follow a tour itinerary pattern, but they can get access to our tickets very easily,” he said. “So we are even targeting potentially backpackers from the US, from Australia, from Europe as well.” Last month, the Airport Authority unveiled the Airport City development blueprint, aiming to create a new landmark for Hong Kong. Tung said the cable car facility has an advantage of being close to Chek Lap Kok. “We’ve been talking to different operators, different stakeholders who are involved in the project, to see what we can do moving forward… how we can actually get the tickets to the hands of the travellers,“ he said.…
Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park will mark a significant milestone in Hong Kong's sporting and cultural landscape. An opening ceremony will begin at 6.30pm on March 1, with a joint broadcast at 9.30pm across four free TV channels, rather than being shown live. Asked about the broadcast arrangements, Lee said he believes the production company has tried its best. "We have to make sure that members of the public will be able to view the event for free through the TV channels so that we can share the happiness with everyone," he said. "The production company will seek partners to help deal with all the challenges that they are going to face. In this regard I believe the production company has been working very hard. They're going to find the best solution within such a short period of time." The park's opening is part of what is being billed as Hong Kong's "Super March", alongside Art Basel, ComplexCon, and the World Grand Prix snooker tournament. Lee said the mega events scheduled for the first half of this year are expected to attract 840,000 tourists and generate HK$3.3 billion in spending.…
Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday urged the taxi industry to avoid "drastic action" such as strikes, warning such moves would harm the public interest and could be hijacked by people with bad motives. His comments came after the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association threatened a five-day strike from March 5 unless officials take immediate action against illegal ride-hailing services. Speaking to reporters before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said strikes would not be good for society. "Any drastic action is not going to solve the problem. Drastic action may also hurt the interests of normal citizens in the course of their daily going about of their lives. It is not going to receive public support," he said. The CE noted that many taxi drivers have said they wouldn't support strike action. The Transport Advisory Committee will meet representatives from both the taxi industry and ride-hailing platforms on Wednesday to discuss the issue.…
Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday that he's all for his ministers reaching out to the community and explaining their work, including to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. The head of the office, Xia Baolong, made a three-day visit to the Greater Bay Area earlier this month and met with some of the SAR's ministers, when Lee was in Harbin attending the Asian Winter Games. Speaking before the weekly Executive Council meeting, the CE said Xia is a busy leader, and that he and the top mainland official maintain good communication. "I also support my ministers in doing their work in their own right... I support them in explaining issues to different people and reporting their work to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, especially in explaining their specific portfolio to Director Xia personally. "This precisely reflects my demands for different ministers to do their own part, taking charge of their responsibilities in resolving problems. "And at the same time, there's synergy among the team, united as one, complementing one another in handling problems." Lee said he wanted to once again thank Xia for pointing the way forward for Hong Kong. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said Xia exchanged views with a number of SAR government officials on how Hong Kong will speed up reform and better integrate into the Greater Bay Area's development. During his trip, he visited the Hetao Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone, as well as Qianhai and Yantian.…
A Delta Air Lines jet with 80 people onboard crash-landed on Monday at Toronto's main airport, officials said, flipping upside down and leaving at least 18 people injured but causing no deaths. Endeavor Air Flight 4819 with 76 passengers and four crew was landing in the afternoon in Canada's largest metropolis, having flown from Minneapolis in the US state of Minnesota, the airline said. No explanation of the cause of the accident, or how the plane ended up flipped with its wings clipped, has been provided. "It's very early on. It's really important that we do not speculate. What we can say is the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions," said Todd Aitken, the airport's fire chief. He confirmed that 18 people had been injured in the accident, with no fatalities. All of the wounded, including those with minor injuries, were taken to area hospitals either by ambulance or helicopter, said the paramedic services' Lawrence Saindon. Dramatic images on local broadcasts and shared on social media showed people stumbling away from the upside down CRJ-900 plane, shielding their faces from strong gusts of wind and blowing snow. Fire crews appeared to douse the aircraft with water as smoke wafted from the fuselage and as passengers were still exiting the plane. RTHK's North America correspondent Simon Marks said it had been snowing at the airport. "The images in which through the snow that was enveloping the airport, you could just make out the visual of a CRJ-900 regional jet that had crash at the airport and somehow ended up…literally upside down on the runway." Toronto airport authority chief executive Deborah Flint told a news conference the incident did not involve any other planes. Emergency crews were "heroic" in their response, she said, "reaching the site within minutes and quickly evacuating the passengers." Some of them "have already been reunited with their friends and their families," she added. The airport suspended all flights after the incident, before resuming them at around 5:00pm EST, more than two hours later. It said passengers should expect long delays. _____________________________ Last updated: 2025-02-18 HKT 10:46…
Hong Kong universities have seen a surge in non-local students, after the government doubled the enrolment ceiling for them to 40 percent. So, how are these students adjusting to life here? And what efforts are being made to help them feel at home? RTHK spoke to the warden and some students at St. John's College -- University of Hong Kong’s oldest residential hall -- to find out more.…
Health authorities said the heart of a baby who received a successful cross-boundary organ donation is functioning well, with little post-operative bleeding. Eight month-old Whitney underwent a heart transplant on Sunday and is now in intensive care. "We have at least a dozen of these monitoring lines attached to Whitney. We have minute-by-minute monitoring for at least a dozen of these parameters, and this is coupled with another list of interval monitoring like echocardiograms to look at the heart function, and radiographers to look at the chest conditions," said Dr Nicholson Yam, the head surgeon of the operation from the Hong Kong Children's Hospital. "We have a team of dedicated nurses to look at the surgical wound condition, the bleeding conditions from the tubes that we place after surgery, and this will continue at least for the coming weeks." Yam said this was the baby's third open-heart surgery, presenting challenges such as removing the previously implanted biventricular assist device and minimising ischemia time -- the period during which tissue, such as a heart, is deprived of blood supply. "A lot of work has been done before to make sure the logistics [are] as smooth as possible, all the transportation, all the cross-boundary action, and then the transport to the Children's Hospital is as fast as possible, as smooth as possible," he said. "As for Whitney's surgery, the main challenge was it was the third time the chest was opened, so she had two previous chest openings for heart surgery. We have expected quite a bit of scarring tissue inside the chest and that will make the heart removal procedure technically more challenging." Meanwhile, Simon Tang, director of cluster services at the Hospital Authority, said close communication with mainland authorities -- specifically strengthened collaboration with the centre for the China Organ Transplant Response System -- was essential for ensuring a smooth cross-boundary organ transplant. He noted the first successful cross-boundary organ donation was in 2022 with a then four-month-old baby girl. "We established the communication channels and we also established the essential pathway. So in case if we have suitable grafts in mainland China, but there is no suitable recipients in mainland China, then this graft, we will see if it can be matched to a potential recipient in Hong Kong," Tang said. "The key step is we need good preparations and so in these two years we have already set up various guidelines and protocols, so that we can ensure ... things can go smooth." Mr Cheung, Whitney's father, expressed his gratitude to the medical team, relevant departments and the donor's family for saving his daughter's life, calling the procedure a miracle.…
President Xi Jinping on Monday called for efforts to promote the healthy and high-quality development of China's private sector. He made the remarks when attending a symposium on private enterprises. President Xi said the private sector enjoys broad prospects and great potential on the new journey in the new era, and it is a prime time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to give full play to their capabilities. He also called for efforts to reach consensus and firming up confidence, to promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private sector. "We hope that all private enterprises and private entrepreneurs will have the ambition to serve the country, strive for development, operate in accordance with the law and promote common prosperity, so as to make new and greater contributions to promoting Chinese-style modernisation," Xi said. He added that policies regarding the private sector would not change. The president delivered the speech after listening to representatives of private companies at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang were among those attending the symposium, which was presided over by Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chairman Wang Huning. Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources, that Xi planned to chair a symposium to boost private sector sentiment, a meeting which would be attended by the country's business leaders, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. The symposium would be aimed at boosting private-sector sentiment, and Xi was expected to encourage company chiefs to expand their businesses domestically and internationally. Xi first chaired a high-profile symposium for the private sector in 2018. At the time, he pledged tax cuts and a level playing field while reaffirming that private firms would have access to financial backing. The symposium also comes as DeepSeek's AI platform has triggered investor speculation about its potential to buoy China's broader tech sector, leading to calls for an upward repricing of Chinese assets. (Xinhua & agencies) _____________________________ Last updated: 2025-02-17 HKT 20:28…
The Consumer Council on Monday said around 75 percent of nappy cream samples it tested contained fragrances or chemicals that can cause irritation or allergic reactions. The watchdog tested 16 nappy creams priced from HK$52 to HK$218. Most of them claimed to be suitable for use on infants, with three types also suitable for adults or the elderly who need to wear adult diapers. Seven samples contained fragrances. Most of them had one or two types of fragrant substances, but Weleda baby's sample had six types. Essential oils or plant extracts were found in four samples, including the aromatic compound terpenes. The European medicines regulatory body has warned that terpenes can cause adverse neurologic effects such as twitches in babies. Two samples, a diaper rash cream from Baby Sebamed, and QV baby’s nappy cream, contain preservatives restricted in the United States and France. The council said those ingredients may worsen diaper rashes or cause allergenic reactions like dermatitis. “If nappy creams contain ingredients of concern, they are more likely to irritate the skin, pose allergy risks or may even cause adverse neurologic effects,” said chairman of the council’s committee on research and testing Chung Chi-yung. “Infants, having thinner skin and a higher body surface area-to-body weight ratio, are particularly susceptible to allergic reactions,” he added. The council urged manufacturers to improve their labelling by listing all ingredients clearly, including their concentrations. They should also pay attention to the latest international regulations to improve product formulations. The watchdog also hoped local regulatory bodies would establish regulations on the safety and labelling of nappy creams.…
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