Publications by authors named "Emily Li"

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and fibrosis. Cardiac involvement in SSc is often subclinical and portends a worse prognosis. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) improves survival in SSc but its effect on cardiac function is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation is known to reduce morbidity and improve quality of life in people living with heart disease, however, adherence, access and completion of these programmes is suboptimal. Peer support may offer an opportunity to close this service gap. The aim of the study is to determine whether the effectiveness of a digital peer support programme for people living with heart disease is effective in improving social connectedness, clinical and patient-reported outcomes and experience measures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The study aimed to examine the individual and joint effects of hypertension and diabetes on cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality among the middle-aged and older Chinese population.

Methods: A total of 9681 individuals without preexisting CVD from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were included. Participants were classified into four different groups: hypertension alone, diabetes alone, both conditions, neither condition.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite recent advances in the treatment of thyroid eye disease thyroid-related eye disease (TED), marked gaps remain in our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms, particularly concerning the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) pathway. To dissect the pathophysiology of TED, we used single-nucleus RNA-Seq to analyze orbital fat specimens from both patients with TED and matched individuals acting as controls. The analysis demonstrated a marked increase in the proportion of fibroblasts transitioning to adipogenesis in the orbital fat of patients with TED compared with that in control patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To examine risks of severe adverse patient outcomes shortly after a left-without-being-seen emergency department (LWBS ED) visit since 2020.

Methods: In this retrospective study using linked administrative data, we examined temporal trends in monthly rates of ED and LWBS visits for adults in Ontario, Canada, 2014‒2023. In patient-level analyses restricted to the first eligible LWBS ED visit, we used modified Poisson regression to compare the composite outcome of 7-day all-cause mortality or hospitalization following a LWBS ED visit for April 1, 2022‒March 31, 2023 (recent period) to April 1, 2014‒March 31, 2020 (baseline period), adjusted for age, sex, and Charlson comorbidity index.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Online health information seekers may access information produced by artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT (OpenAI). The medical field may pose a significant challenge for incorporating these applications given the training and experience needed to master clinical reasoning. The objective was to evaluate the performance of ChatGPT responses compared to human oculofacial plastic surgeon (OPS) responses to FAQs about an upper eyelid blepharoplasty procedure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Ocular adnexal sebaceous carcinoma (SebCA) is a type of eye tumor that is hard to understand and often needs intense surgery to treat.
  • Researchers aimed to create new cell lines from tumor samples to better study the tumor and test drugs.
  • Three cell lines were created, showing specific growth patterns and reactions to drug treatments, which will help scientists learn more about SebCA and find better treatment options.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze trends in the severity and management of orbital cellulitis (OC) from 2016 to 2022, particularly focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A total of 367 cases were reviewed, with a notable increase in cases of subperiosteal abscess (SPA) and orbital abscess (OA) in 2022, especially among pediatric patients and those with co-existing sinusitis.
  • Results indicated that while the severity of OC was stable before the pandemic, there was a significant rise in abscess formation during the pandemic, highlighting a shift in infection patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Globally, billions of people burn fuels indoors for cooking and heating, which contributes to millions of chronic illnesses and premature deaths annually. Additionally, residential burning contributes significantly to black carbon emissions, which have the highest global warming impacts after carbon dioxide and methane. In this study, we use Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to analyze fine-particulate emissions collected on Teflon membrane filters from 15 cookstove types and 5 fuel types.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess predictors and outcomes of subperiosteal abscess (SPA) management in adolescents and adults at two tertiary care centers.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included cases of SPA from January 1 2000 to October 9 2022 at two institutions. Patients 9 years or older were categorized into surgical and nonsurgical cohorts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a unique class of chemicals synthesized to aid in industrial processes, fire-fighting products, and to benefit consumer products such as clothing, cosmetics, textiles, carpets, and coatings. The widespread use of PFAS and their strong carbon-fluorine bonds has led to their ubiquitous presence throughout the world. Airborne transport of PFAS throughout the atmosphere has also contributed to environmental pollution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Septic cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST) is a rare condition traditionally associated with high morbidity and mortality. More recent case series report more favorable outcomes, including full functional recovery. A comprehensive assessment of the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of visual and survival outcomes in septic CST is warranted to contemporize current understanding and help guide management.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV) can lead to both benign conditions like genital warts and serious issues like various cancers, including oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs).
  • The 9-valent HPV vaccine (Gardasil 9) protects against high-risk HPV strains linked to OPSCC, aiming to lower the rates of all HPV-associated cancers through widespread vaccination.
  • The article focuses on educating oral healthcare providers about the HPV vaccination schedule and its effectiveness in preventing OPSCCs, emphasizing the differences between HPV-related and non-HPV-related OPSCCs in terms of treatment response and clinical presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a reactivation of dormant varicella-zoster virus that most often erupts as painful vesicles in a unilateral dermatomal distribution. A sequela of HZ is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is debilitating and may be persistent. Therefore, vaccination for the prevention of HZ and its sequelae is recommended for adults aged 50 years and older as well as immunocompromised adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To compare the clinical features, management, and outcomes between orbital cellulitis patients with subperiosteal abscess (SPA) and those with orbital abscess (OA).

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care center through medical record search to identify patients with orbital cellulitis from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2022. Charts were screened for those with radiographic evidence of SPA or OA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the microbiology and antibiotic resistance profiles of orbital subperiosteal abscesses (SPA) among 3 age cohorts.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care center through a medical record search to identify patients with orbital cellulitis and SPA on imaging from January 1, 2000 to September 10, 2022. Patients were categorized into pediatric (<9 years old), adolescent (9-18 years old), and adult (>18 years old) cohorts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the incidence of skin cancer increasing in the United States, the role of dental providers in noting suspicious skin lesions as well as advising patients in proper sun-protective strategies is more important than ever. However, the public conversation about proper sun protection is often laden with misunderstandings and pervasive myths. This article reviews the most common types of skin cancer, elucidates the differences among the types of UV radiation, and offers updated recommendations for proper sunscreen use along with adjunctive sun-protective strategies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Many ant species possess chemical defenses, but their effects on the nervous system remain poorly understood.
  • Research showed that various ant strains respond to chemical extracts from the invasive Argentine Ant, and a specific ion channel is necessary for this response.
  • Conducted in an undergraduate lab course, the study demonstrated that chemotaxis assays can yield valuable research experiences and enhance understanding of interactions between different ant species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

During thermal processes utilized in affixing fluoropolymer coatings dispersion to fibers and fabrics, coating components are vaporized. It is suspected that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the dispersions may undergo chemical transformations at the temperatures used, leading to additional emitted PFAS thermal byproducts. It is important to characterize these emissions to support evaluation of the resulting environmental and health impacts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To demonstrate novel treatments for patients with high juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) eyelid lesion burden.

Case Report: A 14-year-old girl was referred to the oculoplastic surgery service for management of worsening extensive bilateral eyelid and adnexal lesions in the setting of JXG. The patient underwent intra-lesional steroid injections, serial excisions, and reconstruction with skin grafts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tadpoles display preferences for different environments but the sensory modalities that govern these choices are not well understood. Here, we examined light preferences and associated sensory mechanisms of albino and wild-type tadpoles. We found that albino tadpoles spent more time in darker environments compared to the wild type, although they showed no differences in overall activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental pollutants associated with negative health impacts. Assessments of tubing-related measurement bias for volatile PFAS are lacking, as gas-wall interactions with tubing can delay quantification of gas-phase analytes. We use online iodide chemical ionization mass spectrometry measurements to characterize tubing delays for three gas-phase oxygenated PFAS - 4:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (4:2 FTOH), perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thyroid eye disease (TED), an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the orbit, presents with a potential array of clinical sequelae. The pathophysiology behind TED has been partially characterized in the literature. There remain certain elusive mechanisms welcoming of research advances.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess how different image processing techniques affect quantitative measurements in OCTA images of diabetic patients.
  • Various preprocessing methods and binarization algorithms were applied to OCTA scans to evaluate the impact on vessel density, skeletonized vessel density, and fractal dimension.
  • The results revealed that the choice of image processing method significantly influences OCTA metrics, highlighting the need for standardization in future studies to ensure reliable interpretations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: fopen(/var/lib/php/sessions/ci_sessionpthhkuuc4p2oekcfvrjai13hefhsrn52): Failed to open stream: No space left on device

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 177

Backtrace:

File: /var/www/html/index.php
Line: 316
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_start(): Failed to read session data: user (path: /var/lib/php/sessions)

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 137

Backtrace:

File: /var/www/html/index.php
Line: 316
Function: require_once