Effects of mindfulness on stress, life satisfaction, and savoring beliefs among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adolescents all over the world are vulnerable in facing developmental challenges. Recent studies have evidenced that the unexpected interruptions of school learning during the COVID-19 pandemic have raised concerns about the well-being of adolescents. This present study sought to investigate the relationship between mindfulness, stress, savoring beliefs, and satisfaction of life among adolescents in Hong Kong during COVID-19.

Measurements of droplet size distribution and analysis of nasal spray atomization from different actuation pressure.

Background: To evaluate the deposition efficiency of spray droplets in a nasal cavity produced from a spray device, it is important to determine droplet size distribution, velocity, and its dispersion during atomization. Due to the limiting geometric dimensions of the nasal cavity airway, the spray plume cannot develop to its full size inside the nasal vestibule to penetrate the nasal valve region for effective drug deposition.

Methods: Particle/droplet image analysis was used to determine local mean droplet sizes at eight regions within the spray plume under different actuation pressures that represent typical hand operation from pediatric to adult patients.

High resolution visualization and analysis of nasal spray drug delivery.

Purpose: Effective nasal drug delivery of new-generation systemic drugs requires efficient devices that can achieve targeted drug delivery. It has been established that droplet size, spray plume, and droplet velocity are major contributors to drug deposition. Continual effort is needed to better understand and characterise the physical mechanisms underpinning droplet formation from nasal spray devices.

External characteristics of unsteady spray atomization from a nasal spray device.

The nasal route presents an enormous opportunity to exploit the highly vascularized respiratory airway for systemic drug delivery to provide more rapid onset of therapy and reduced drug degradation compared with conventional oral routes. The dynamics of atomization at low injection pressure is less known as typical spray atomization studies have focused on industrial applications such as fuel injection that are performed at much higher pressure. An experimental test station was designed in house and an alternative method to characterize the external spray is presented.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions to enhance mammography compliance using computer modeling (CAN*TROL).

Objective: Tailored telephone counseling and physician-based and clinic-based interventions have been shown to be cost-effective in enhancing utilization of mammography among nonadherent women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs and benefits of a broad implementation of these interventions from a health payer perspective.

Methods: CAN*TROL computer modeling was employed in the cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions in a 2000 Texas female population.

[Evidence-based management of chemotherapy related thrombocytopenia].

The availability of G-CSF increases the safety margin of chemotherapy use, especially in the management of infection. This in turn makes administration of a more intense regimen of chemotherapy possible. However, this improvement in neutropenic management could lead to an undesirable concurrent rise in thrombocytopenia risk due to the higher dose of chemotherapy administered.

[Evidence-based management of neutropenia and fever].

Neutropenia and related fever are the most frequently observed toxicities associated with chemotherapy use. In this review, the current approaches based on various Japanese and American medical societies' guidelines in managing these toxicities are examined. First, the therapeutic and prophylactic use of G-CSF is explored.

[Chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer: analysis of 43 randomized trials in 3 decades (1974-2002)].

Pancreatic cancer represents a major challenge to oncologists because of its high chemoresistant nature and dismal outcomes, especially in advanced diseases. Clinical trials on the effects of systemic chemotherapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer have not been shown to have consistent benefits. A systematic review and meta-analysis was therefore conducted to examine this issue.

[Gemcitabine-based chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)--a review of 30 randomized trials].

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a major challenge to oncologists because of its dismal outcomes. Conventional cytotoxic therapies for advanced disease have been unsatisfactory with modest efficacy and high toxicities. The last decade witnessed the introduction of many novel agents with enhanced efficacy and more manageable safety profile than conventional therapies.

What's new in pancreatic cancer treatment?

Pancreatic cancer represents a major challenge to oncologists because of its high chemoresistant nature and dismal outcomes. Conventional therapy for advanced disease relied for a long time on palliative 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy, but with unsatisfactory results. The introduction of the novel antimetabolite gemcitabine provides new optimism for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, as multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the superiority of gemcitabine over 5-FU and other agents for these patients.