(American Association for the Advancement of Science) A one-hour exercise designed to increase feelings of social belonging administered during the first year of college appears to significantly improve the lives and careers of black students up to 11 years later, psychologists report.

(University of Cambridge) Parents should not feel pressured to make their young children undertake structured learning or achieve specific tasks, particularly during lockdown. A new study of children under the age of two has found that parents who take a more flexible approach to their child's learning can - for children who were easy babies - minimise behavioural problems during toddlerhood.

(Arizona State University) Gary Moore, assistant professor in ASU's School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute's Center for Applied Structural Discovery has just been named one of 14 young faculty nationwide to be honored with a 2020 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

A pet dog repeatedly tested weak positive for the COVID-19 virus, indicating a low-level of infection with the virus, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department said today.

The department first collected test samples from the dog on February 26. It detected low levels of COVID-19 virus from its nasal and oral cavity samples on February 27.

The dog also tested weak positive for the virus when the department repeated the test on February 28 and March 2.

Experts from Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health, City University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Life Sciences and the World Organisation for Animal Health have been consulted, and unanimously agreed that these results suggest that the dog has a low-level of infection and it is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission, the department noted.

The dog has not shown any signs of disease related to COVID-19. It is currently under quarantine at the animal keeping facility at the Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The department will closely monitor the dog and repeat the test later.

To ensure public and animal health, the department strongly advises that mammalian pets from households with COVID-19 infected people, or close contacts of infected individuals, should be put under quarantine in the department’s facilities.

The department emphasised that there is currently no evidence that pets can be a source of infection of COVID-19 and under no circumstances should people abandon their pets.

Hong Kong Observatory Director Cheng Cho-ming today said he expects four to seven tropical cyclones to hit Hong Kong this year.

Presenting the weather outlook at a press briefing in the afternoon, Mr Cheng also said the overall mean temperature for the year will be higher than normal.

“The way that we produce our temperature forecast is based on a couple of things. One is based on the worldwide climate model - what they forecast for this year - and also based on some objective indicators.

“Based on all these indicators we expect that the overall mean temperature this year will be above normal, and very likely, will have a high chance of reaching the top 10 positions.”

Reviewing last year’s weather, Mr Cheng noted Hong Kong experienced its second warmest winter since records began, with a mean temperature of 18.7 degrees Celsius.

There was only one day when the temperature fell below 12 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, Mr Cheng said the new Hong Kong Hiking Trail Weather Service webpage has been launched to provide weather information services to people taking part in outdoor activities.

He added the Observatory also collaborated with the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department to provide weather information at popular hiking hotspots via QR codes.

The Government today announced that applications are open for several support schemes following the funding approval of the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund and other relief measures by the Legislative Council Finance Committee.

The Club-house Subsidy Scheme, which provides a one-off subsidy of $100,000 to eligible club-houses, is now open for application. The deadline for application is May 18.

Upon submission of the completed application form and supporting documents, the disbursement of subsidies could generally be made in around two weeks.

The Travel Agents & Practitioners Support Scheme and the Hotel Sector Support Scheme are also open for applications, with the deadlines on June 15 and May 18 respectively.

The Subsidy Scheme for the Refuse Transfer Station Account Holders for Transporting Municipal Solid Waste, which offers a one-off subsidy of $8,000 to each of the eligible private municipal solid waste collectors operating in the first quarter, was also endorsed.

To ease the application procedures, the Environmental Protection Department will post cheques to recipients of this special subsidy in about a week after the funding endorsement.

Meanwhile, the total guarantee commitment of the Special 100% Loan Guarantee under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme has been increased to $50 billion.

The maximum loan amount per enterprise has been increased to $4 million and the principal moratorium arrangement has been extended to the first 12 months.

The Special 100% Loan Guarantee will start receiving applications from April 20 and the application period has been extended to one year.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today welcomed the promulgation of the Meteorological Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2020-2035) by the China Meteorological Administration.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the promulgation of the plan would further strengthen meteorological co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in areas such as data sharing, scientific research and innovation, and training of meteorological personnel.

Such co-operation would in turn enhance the meteorological services in the three places, it added.

The relevant co-operation initiatives will benefit the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) in its development of fine-scale meteorological monitoring, warning and forecasting services, and will further enhance Hong Kong's capability in forecasting extreme weather events, the statement said, adding the HKO will take forward the initiatives in collaboration with the relevant authorities in Guangdong and Macau.

The full text of the meteorological plan is available on the China Meteorological Administration's website. It can also be accessed via the Hong Kong SAR Government's Greater Bay Area and HKO websites.

Carlos Gustavo T. Moreira, Maria José Pacifico and Sergio Romaña Ibarra
Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 57 (2018), 269-292.
Abstract, references and article information

The Government is actively exploring sustainable and innovative approaches to expand the city’s land resources. One viable source of land supply is rock cavern development.

The relocation of suitable existing government facilities to caverns can release above-ground sites for housing and other beneficial uses. This would reduce the amount of land occupied by them, as well as relocate facilities which do not need to be above-ground and are incompatible with the surrounding environment and land uses nearby.

Mountain move

Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works is one such facility. It will be relocated to caverns in Nui Po Shan of A Kung Kok to release the existing site of about 28 hectares for housing and other uses that will enhance Hong Kong’s living quality and bring extended benefits to the community and environment of Sha Tin.

Drainage Services Department Sewerage Projects Division Engineer Brian Chan said that moving the sewage treatment plant to caverns minimises any adverse impact on the environment and community.

“The whole sewage treatment works will be put inside the cavern and the cavern will serve as a natural barrier fully enclosing the sewage treatment works. With the implementation of an effective odour management system, the odour impact to the community will be minimised.”

Mr Chan added that moving the existing plant, which has been in operation for more than 35 years, provides an opportunity to formulate a long-term strategy for the ageing facility.

High-tech solutions

The relocated Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works will consist of several caverns.

A successful local example of accommodating facilities in rock caverns is Stanley Sewage Treatment Works on which the layout for the Sha Tin treatment plant is based.

To reduce the required cavern space and shorten the construction period, advanced sewage and sludge treatment technologies will be used.

Water recycling is a multi-stage process in wastewater treatment plants.

Mr Chan explained that moving bed biofilm reactors will be used in the secondary treatment process at the relocated Sha Tin plant as they require less space than the traditional wastewater treatment.

“Compared to the conventional method, there will be some biofilm carriers inside the reactor and this biofilm carrier will enlarge the surface area for the biological treatment and therefore, the overall size will be reduced. In terms of the sewage treatment process, there will be about a 20% reduction in the areas.”

Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works serves a population of about 630,000 in Sha Tin and Ma On Shan, which produce 250,000 cubic metres (m3) of sewage daily. After the relocation, the facility will be able to handle 340,000 m3 of sewage per day.

The first phase of works to relocate Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works to caverns began in February. The Drainage Services Department hopes to start the second phase from the end of next year to early 2021 with the excavation of the caverns. The department plans to move the whole sewage plant in five stages. The project is expected to be completed by 2031.

Members of the public can visit the department's website for more details about the project and its latest developments.

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