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RESEARCH
approach to exact categories. The Statistics Unit, newly established in October 1960, has carried on the research already begun by the Department in applied statistics. A series of unit value and quantum index numbers for Hong Kong imports was published early in the year and work has continued on the corresponding export series together with terms of trade. The econometric study of demand elasticities for rice is due for completion early in 1961. Apart from these studies the Unit has given consultative services both within and without the University.
In the Department of Chemistry new discoveries continue to be made both in Hong Kong plant product chemistry and about the mechanisms of chemical reactions, and results from these fields of research have been published in learned British journals of chemistry. Research in plant product continues to be helped financially from outside sources.
Research has been pursued by the Department of Zoology in neurology, entomology, genetics, morphology, and fisheries; the neurological programme is financially supported by the US Public Health Service. The results of a number of fisheries investigations appeared in the third issue of the Hong Kong University Fisheries Journal, April 1960; the results of other research have been published in various international journals during the year.
Members of the Department of Anatomy have continued work on various aspects of gross and microscopical anatomy, particularly in the fields of physical anthropology, comparative anatomy, and endocrincology. The results of completed work have been pub- lished in various scientific journals.
The Department of Physiology has investigated the metabolic effects of cold in relation to thyroid activity; the metabolic role of vitamin E; the glyoxalic acid metabolism in thiamine deficiency; narcotic problems in Hong Kong; and the study of urinary bladder function in pregnancy.
In the Department of Pathology, research has included a survey of blood constituents of healthy Chinese and studies of intestinal parasites with special reference to trace elements; ovarian tumours, their histogenesis, and experimental production in rats; and studies of the pathology of the upper respiratory tract with special reference to the nasopharynx. Work is in progress on malignant tumours and 'hamartomas' of the liver and on abnormalities of