Automatic retinal image analysis methods using colour fundus images for screening glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

Objectives: Train an automatic retinal image analysis (ARIA) method to screen glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) on non-mydriatic retinal images labelled with the additional results of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and assess different models for the GON classification.

Methods: All the images were obtained from the hospital for training and 10-fold cross-validation. Two methods were used to improve the classification performance: (1) using images labelled with the additional results of OCT as the reference standard and (2) generating models using retinal features from the entire images, the region of interest (ROI) of the optic disc, and the ROI of the macula, and the combination of all the features.

Superspreading and heterogeneity in transmission of SARS, MERS, and COVID-19: A systematic review.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have caused substantial public health burdens and global health threats. Understanding the superspreading potentials of these viruses are important for characterizing transmission patterns and informing strategic decision-making in disease control. This systematic review aimed to summarize the existing evidence on superspreading features and to compare the heterogeneity in transmission within and among various epidemics of SARS, MERS and COVID-19.

Long-term effectiveness of elderly health care voucher scheme strategies: a system dynamics simulation analysis.

Background: The elderly healthcare voucher (EHCV) scheme is expected to lead to an increase in the number of elderly people selecting private primary healthcare services and reduce reliance on the public sector in Hong Kong. However, studies thus far have reported that this scheme has not received satisfactory responses. In this study, we examined changes in the ratio of visits between public and private doctors in primary care (to measure reliance on the public sector) for different strategic scenarios in the EHCV scheme.

Clinical study of diabetic peripheral neuropathy screening by retinal vascular geometric parameters.

To investigate the relationship between geometrical changes of retinal vessels and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and to determine the effectiveness of retinal vascular geometry analysis and vibration perception threshold (VPT) for DPN assessment. Type 2 diabetes patients (n = 242) were categorized by stage of DPN. VPT and fundus photography was performed to obtain retinal vascular geometry parameters.

Clinical significance of site-specific metastases in pancreatic cancer: a study based on both clinical trial and real-world data.

There is limited consensus on whether metastatic patterns are correlated with prognosis and treatment efficacy in pancreatic cancer. A better understanding of clinical implication of the metastatic patterns is pivotal for therapeutic decision-making and drug development. This study included 977 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC) in three cohorts.

In silico prediction of influenza vaccine effectiveness by sequence analysis.

The effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines varies with the matching of vaccine strains to circulating strains. Based on the genetic distance of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase gene of the influenza viruses to vaccine strains, we statistically quantified the relationship between the genetic mismatch and vaccine effectiveness (VE) for influenza A/H1N1pdm09, A/H3N2 and B. We also proposed a systematic approach to integrate multiple genes and influenza types for overall VE estimation.

Independent association between meteorological factors, PM2.5, and seasonal influenza activity in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.

Background: Due to variations in climatic conditions, the effects of meteorological factors and PM on influenza activity, particularly in subtropical regions, vary in existing literature. In this study, we examined the relationship between influenza activity, meteorological parameters, and PM .

Methods: A total of 20 165 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, were documented in our dataset and aggregated into weekly counts for downstream analysis.

Monitoring disease transmissibility of 2019 novel coronavirus disease in Zhejiang, China.

Owing to the frequent travel connections between Wuhan and Zhejiang, Zhejiang was the third worst-affected province in China with 1,205 cases confirmed before 26 February 2020. The transmissibility of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease was monitored in Zhejiang, accounting for the transmissions from imported cases. Even though Zhejiang was one of the worst-affected provinces, an interruption of disease transmission (i.

Epidemiological changes in measles infections in southern China between 2009 and 2016: a retrospective database analysis.

Background: The incidence rate of measles in China reached a nadir in 2012 after 2 supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) were undertaken in 2009 and 2010. However, the disease began re-emerging in 2013, with a high prevalence rate observed in 2013-2014 in the southern province of Guangdong. In this study, we assessed the changes that occurred in measles epidemiology during 2009-2016, particularly between 2009 and 2011 (when the influence of the SIAs were in full effect) and between 2012 and 2016 (when this influence subsided).

wtest: an integrated R package for genetic epistasis testing.

Background: With the increasing amount of high-throughput genomic sequencing data, there is a growing demand for a robust and flexible tool to perform interaction analysis. The identification of SNP-SNP, SNP-CpG, and higher order interactions helps explain the genetic etiology of human diseases, yet genome-wide analysis for interactions has been very challenging, due to the computational burden and a lack of statistical power in most datasets.

Results: The wtest R package performs association testing for main effects, pairwise and high order interactions in genome-wide association study data, and cis-regulation of SNP and CpG sites in genome-wide and epigenome-wide data.

Effects of Kinesio tape on lower limb muscle strength, hop test, and vertical jump performances: a meta-analysis.

Background: To date, published systematic reviews concerning the effects of Kinesio Taping (KT) on muscle strength have not analysed facilitatory and inhibitory applications separately. As a result, their results could be substantially affected by clinical heterogeneity. This meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using a facilitatory application of KT for lower limb muscle strength and functional performance (distance in a single-leg hop and vertical jump height) in individuals without disabilities and in those with musculoskeletal conditions (muscle fatigue, chronic musculoskeletal diseases, and post-operative orthopaedic conditions).

Mathematical modelling of the impact of treating latent tuberculosis infection in the elderly in a city with intermediate tuberculosis burden.

Hong Kong is a high-income city with intermediate tuberculosis (TB) burden primarily driven by endogenous reactivations. A high proportion of remote latently infected people, particularly elderly, hinders the effectiveness of current strategies focusing on passive TB detection. In this study, we developed a mathematical model to evaluate the impact of treating latent TB infection (LTBI) in the elderly in addition to current TB control strategies.