Changes in Lumbopelvic Movement and Muscle Recruitment Associated with Prolonged Deep Squatting: A Pilot Study.

This study examined the changes in spinal kinematics and muscle recruitment of the lumbopelvic region associated with prolonged squatting. Eight subjects with chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP) and eight asymptomatic subjects (AS) performed squat-to-stand and reverse movements, before and immediately after 15 min deep-squatting. Within-group and between-group differences in lumbopelvic kinematics and electromyographic activity acquired in lumbar erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (GM), and vastus lateralis (VL) were analyzed.

A case of tension faecopneumothorax after delayed diagnosis of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia.

Background: Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries from blunt or penetrating trauma are difficult to detect in the acute setting and, if missed, can result in significant morbidity and mortality in the future. We present a case demonstrating the natural progression of this resulting in faecopneumothorax, which is a rare but serious presentation.

Case Presentation: A 22-year-old young man presented with left upper quadrant and chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and intermittent obstipation with a background of previous lower chest wall stabbings.

Temporal prediction of in-hospital falls using tensor factorisation.

In-hospital fall incidence is a critical indicator of healthcare outcome. Predictive models for fall incidents could facilitate optimal resource planning and allocation for healthcare providers. In this paper, we proposed a tensor factorisation-based framework to capture the latent features for fall incidents prediction over time.

Outcomes of presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Background: Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is the most common refractive surgery in young patients, which aims at providing a clear distance vision without the use of spectacles. With time, these patients develop symptomatic cataract, which affects activities of daily living, and to improve visual acuity, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation can be considered. In post-myopic LASIK patients, to allow continuation of spectacle independence, the implantation of presbyopia-correcting IOLs is a suitable option.

Prenatal sonography of placental abscess and prolonged antibiotic treatment for bacteremia.

Termination of pregnancy is indicated for bacteremia, a major cause of mortality. Our present case was highly challenging because the patient wished to continue with her pregnancy, and the ultrasonography showed features of a placental abscess. Although the outcomes were good after prolonged antibiotic treatment, this was an exceptional case.

Operative Time and Flap Failure in Unilateral and Bilateral Free Flap Breast Reconstruction.

Background:  There is an increasing trend toward bilateral breast reconstruction. Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, we sought to understand the association between unilateral and bilateral free flap breast reconstruction and operative time and flap failure.

Methods:  We selected a cohort of patients undergoing free flap breast reconstruction using the 2005 to 2010 NSQIP database.

Complications and their associations following the surgical repair of pressure ulcers.

Background: Despite high expenditure, there is little national data on rates of complications following pressure ulcer repair. Complications, mortality and their predictors following surgical repair of pressure ulcers were evaluated.

Methods: Patients undergoing pressure ulcer repair were identified in the NSQIP database from 2005 to 2015.

Osteoporotic Vertebral Fracture Prevalence in Elderly Chinese Men and Women: A Comparison of Endplate/Cortex Fracture-Based and Morphometrical Deformity-Based Methods.

This study aims to evaluate endplate/cortex fracture (ECF)-based method for detecting osteoporotic vertebral fracture (VF) in elderly Chinese population (age ≥ 65 years). The radiographs of 1954 elderly Chinese men (mean: 72.3 years) and 1953 elderly Chinese women (mean: 72.

Unplanned Readmission in Outpatient Hand Surgery: An Analysis of 23,613 Patients in the NSQIP Data Set.

In an era of controlling cost and improving care, 30-day readmission rates have become an important quality measure. The purpose of this study was to identify the rates of 30-day unplanned readmission and the associated risk factors in patients undergoing outpatient hand surgery. The 2011-2014 National Surgical Quality Improvement Project data were queried for patients who met 368 hand-specific Current Procedural Terminology codes.

Age- and Gender-Associated Liver Physiological T1rho Dynamics Demonstrated with a Clinically Applicable Single-Breathhold Acquisition.

To understand women's and men's physiological ranges of liver T1rho relaxation time measured with a single breathhold black blood sequence, this healthy volunteer study was conducted in 62 women (mean age, 38.9 y; range, 18-75 y) and 34 men (mean age, 44.7 y; range, 24-80 y).

Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disc Area Morphometry in Elderly Chinese Men and Women: Radiographic Quantifications at Baseline and Changes at Year-4 Follow-up.

Study Design: A population-based radiographic study with longitudinal follow-up.

Objective: To develop a quantitative index for lumbar disc space narrowing (DSN) evaluation in elderly subjects; to determine how DSN in the elderly is influenced by osteoporosis and sex.

Summary Of Background Data: There is paucity of research on quantitative classification of lumbar DSN based on disc areal morphometry.

Direct engagement of the PI3K pathway by mutant KIT dominates oncogenic signaling in gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) predominantly harbor activating mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase KIT. To genetically dissect in vivo the requirement of different signal transduction pathways emanating from KIT for tumorigenesis, the oncogenic mutation was combined with point mutations abrogating specific phosphorylation sites on KIT. Compared with single-mutant mice, double-mutant knock-in mice lacking the SRC family kinase-binding site on KIT (pY567) exhibited attenuated MAPK signaling and tumor growth.

Clinical features and seasonality of parechovirus infection in an Asian subtropical city, Hong Kong.

Background: The epidemiology of human parechovirus (HPeV) in Asia remains obscure. We elucidated the prevalence, seasonality, type distribution and clinical presentation of HPeV among children in Hong Kong.

Methods: A 24-month prospective study to detect HPeV in children ≤36 months hospitalized for acute viral illnesses.

Research Progress towards Understanding the Unique Interfaces between Concentrated Electrolytes and Electrodes for Energy Storage Applications.

The electrolyte is an indispensable component in all electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices with batteries being a prime example. While most research efforts have been pursued on the materials side, the progress for the electrolyte is slow due to the decomposition of salts and solvents at low potentials, not to mention their complicated interactions with the electrode materials. The general properties of bulk electrolytes such as ionic conductivity, viscosity, and stability all affect the cell performance.

Reduced Willingness to Expend Effort for Reward in Obesity: Link to Adherence to a 3-Month Weight Loss Intervention.

Objective: This study aimed to (1) compare the willingness to expend effort for rewards between young adults with healthy weight, overweight, and obesity; and (2) to examine how individual differences in the willingness to expend effort for rewards predict adherence to weight loss treatment.

Methods: Seventy-three participants completed the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT). Of those 73 participants, 42 young adults with excess weight took part in a 3-month weight loss treatment after completing the EEfRT.

A complete thermodynamic analysis of enzyme turnover links the free energy landscape to enzyme catalysis.

Our understanding of how enzymes work is coloured by static structure depictions where the enzyme scaffold is presented as either immobile, or in equilibrium between well-defined static conformations. Proteins, however, exhibit a large degree of motion over a broad range of timescales and magnitudes and this is defined thermodynamically by the enzyme free energy landscape (FEL). The role and importance of enzyme motion is extremely contentious.

Anti-inflammatory effects of adjunctive macrolide treatment in adults hospitalized with influenza: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: - Macrolides can ameliorate inflammation in respiratory diseases, providing clinical benefits. Data in influenza is lacking.

Method: - A randomized, open-label, multicenter trial among adults hospitalized for laboratory-confirmed influenza was conducted.

Peptide Dendrimer-Lipid Conjugates as DNA and siRNA Transfection Reagents: Role of Charge Distribution Across Generations.

Transfection reagents are used to deliver DNA and siRNA into cells to achieve genetic manipulations, and may ultimately enable nonviral gene therapy. Progress in transfection reagents is limited by the fact that such reagents cannot be easily optimized due to their polymeric nature and/or difficult synthesis. We have developed a new class of well-defined and easily modifiable transfection reagents in the form of peptide dendrimers.

School-based surveillance for influenza vaccine effectiveness during 2014-2015 seasons in Hong Kong.

Background: Influenza imposes substantial healthcare burden in children, which can be prevented by vaccination. Influenza vaccination coverage varies widely among childhood populations worldwide, which has significant impact on herd immunity and usefulness of influenza vaccine. However, there are limited real-life data on influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) in children.

Addressing Adolescent Oral Health: A Review.

Oral health is one of the most unmet health care needs of adolescents. Oral disease can have a profound effect on overall health, including pain, missed school, heart disease, and even death. Adolescents have specific needs pertaining to oral health in addition to the usual lifelong issues of caries management, sports injury prevention, and dental referrals.

Selectivity switch between FAK and Pyk2: Macrocyclization of FAK inhibitors improves Pyk2 potency.

Herein, we describe the synthesis of Pyk2 inhibitors via macrocyclization of FAK and dual Pyk2-FAK inhibitors. We identified macrocycle 25a as a highly potent Pyk2 inhibitor (IC=0.7nM), with ∼175-fold improvement in Pyk2 potency as compared to its acyclic counterpart.

Efficient Transfection of siRNA by Peptide Dendrimer-Lipid Conjugates.

Efficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) into cells is the basis of target-gene-specific silencing and, ultimately, gene therapy. However, current transfection reagents are relatively inefficient, and very few studies provide the sort of systematic understanding based on structure-activity relationships that would provide rationales for their improvement. This work established peptide dendrimers (administered with cationic lipids) as siRNA transfection reagents and recorded structure-activity relationships that highlighted the importance of positive charge distribution in the two outer layers and a hydrophobic core as key features for efficient performance.

Time is now: venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in blunt splenic injury.

Background: The safety and timing of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in patients with blunt splenic injuries is not well known. We hypothesized that early initiation of VTE prophylaxis does not increase failure of nonoperative management or transfusion requirements in these patients.

Methods: A retrospective review of trauma patients with blunt splenic injury was performed.