Influencing effect of non-motor symptom clusters on quality of life in Parkinson's disease.

The heterogeneity of non-motor symptoms (NMSs) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) has been well established. We investigated the effects of NMS as a cluster on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with PD. We recruited 180 patients with PD and used a descriptive cross-sectional study design.

All-in-one nanowire-decorated multifunctional membrane for rapid cell lysis and direct DNA isolation.

This paper describes a handheld device that uses an all-in-one membrane for continuous mechanical cell lysis and rapid DNA isolation without the assistance of power sources, lysis reagents, and routine centrifugation. This nanowire-decorated multifunctional membrane was fabricated to isolate DNA by selective adsorption to silica surface immediately after disruption of nucleus membranes by ultrasharp tips of nanowires for a rapid cell lysis, and it can be directly assembled with commercial syringe filter holders. The membrane was fabricated by photoelectrochemical etching to create microchannel arrays followed by hydrothermal synthesis of nanowires and deposition of silica.

Refillable and magnetically actuated drug delivery system using pear-shaped viscoelastic membrane.

We report a refillable and valveless drug delivery device actuated by an external magnetic field for on-demand drug release to treat localized diseases. The device features a pear-shaped viscoelastic magnetic membrane inducing asymmetrical deflection and consecutive touchdown motion to the bottom of the dome-shaped drug reservoir in response to a magnetic field, thus achieving controlled discharge of the drug. Maximum drug release with 18 ± 1.

Primary histiocytic sarcoma of the central nervous system.

Histiocytic sarcoma is a type of lymphoma that rarely involves the central nervous system (CNS). Its rarity can easily lead to a misdiagnosis. We describe a patient with primary CNS histocytic sarcoma involving the cerebral hemisphere and spinal cord, who had been initially misdiagnosed as demyelinating disease.

Acute myocardial infarction and subclavian artery occlusion in a 41-year-old woman with Behçet's disease: coronary and large vessel arteritis.

We report the case of a 41-year-old Chinese woman with Behçet's disease (BD) complicated by acute myocardial infarction, requiring inotropic and ventilatory support. Angiography showed critical left anterior descending coronary artery stenosis, a blocked left subclavian artery and left carotid artery stenosis. The patient was successfully treated with a high dose of immunosuppressants, standard anti-ischaemic therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention.

10-year outcome study of an early intervention program for psychosis compared with standard care service.

Background: Despite evidence on the short-term benefits of early intervention (EI) service for psychosis, long-term outcome studies are limited by inconsistent results. This study examined the 10-year outcomes of patients with first-episode psychosis who received 2-year territory-wide EI service compared to those who received standard care (SC) in Hong Kong using an historical control design.

Method: Consecutive patients who received the EI service between 1 July 2001 and 30 June 2002, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, were identified and matched with patients who received SC first presented to the public psychiatric service from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001.

Accurate parameter estimation for unbalanced three-phase system.

Smart grid is an intelligent power generation and control console in modern electricity networks, where the unbalanced three-phase power system is the commonly used model. Here, parameter estimation for this system is addressed. After converting the three-phase waveforms into a pair of orthogonal signals via the α β-transformation, the nonlinear least squares (NLS) estimator is developed for accurately finding the frequency, phase, and voltage parameters.

Hierarchically structured ZnO/petal hybrid composites with tuned optoelectronic and mechanical properties.

Impressive biophotonic functions of flora in Mother Nature are often attributed to the optical diffraction occurring on hierarchically structured surfaces. The petals, displaying vivid colors, have diverse surface structures. The shapes of those structures alter significantly depending on the part of the petal, and they adjust the intensity of the reflected color and the light absorbance.

Probability of high-risk colorectal neoplasm recurrence based on the results of two previous colonoscopies.

Background: Current guidelines for the surveillance colonoscopy interval are largely based on the most recent colonoscopy findings.

Aim: We aimed to evaluate differences in the probability of high-risk neoplasm recurrence according to the two previous colonoscopy findings.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from a tertiary-care center.

Effect of trunk-to-head bathing on physiological responses in newborns.

Objective: To determine the effect of trunk-to-head bathing versus the traditional head-to-trunk bathing on newborns' body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation.

Design: A prospective, two-group, quasi-experimental repeated measures design.

Setting: A newborn nursery in an urban university hospital.

Spectroscopic characterization and reactivity studies of a mononuclear nonheme Mn(III)-hydroperoxo complex.

We report the first example of a mononuclear nonheme manganese(III)-hydroperoxo complex derived from protonation of an isolated manganese(III)-peroxo complex bearing an N-tetramethylated cyclam (TMC) ligand, [Mn(III)(TMC)(OOH)](2+). The Mn(III)-hydroperoxo intermediate is characterized with various spectroscopic methods as well as with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, showing the binding of a hydroperoxide ligand in an end-on fashion. The Mn(III)-hydroperoxo species is a competent oxidant in oxygen atom transfer (OAT) reactions, such as the oxidation of sulfides.

Rubi Fructus (Rubus coreanus) activates the expression of thermogenic genes in vivo and in vitro.

Objective: To investigate the anti-obesity effect of Rubi Fructus (RF) extract using brown adipose tissue (BAT) and primary brown preadipocytes in vivo and in vitro.

Methods: Male C57BL/6 J mice (n=5 per group) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks with or without RF. Brown preadipocytes from the interscapular BAT of mice (age, post-natal days 1-3) were cultured with differentiation media (DM) including isobutylmethylxanthine, dexamethasone, T3, indomethacin and insulin with or without RF.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours of the urinary bladder: multi-centre 18-year experience.

Objective: To review a series of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours (IMTs) of the urinary bladder in 10 hospitals in Hong Kong.

Methods: A database search in the pathology archives of 10 hospitals in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2013 was performed using the key words 'inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour', 'inflammatory pseudotumour' and 'spindle cell lesion'. Patient characteristics, clinical features, histological features, immunohistochemical staining results and treatment outcomes were reviewed.

Comparison of the serum fibrin-fibrinogen degradation products with cytokeratin 19 fragment as biomarkers in patients with lung cancer.

Lung cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related mortality. The identification of early diagnostic biomarkers improved outcomes for lung cancer patients. Serum fibrin-fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) levels are elevated in numerous malignancies due to hemostatic alterations.

Neurocognitive dysfunction and grey matter density deficit in children with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Background: Cerebral structural changes related to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have been reported in adult OSA patients; however, similar data and their associations with neurocognitive dysfunction are scarce in childhood OSA.

Objective: To compare neurocognitive function, regional grey matter density and cerebral volume in children with and without OSA.

Methods: Fifty OSA cases and 27 normal controls underwent a panel of neurocognitive tests.

Augmentation of NAD(+) by NQO1 attenuates cisplatin-mediated hearing impairment.

Cisplatin (cis-diaminedichloroplatinum-II) is an extensively used chemotherapeutic agent, and one of its most adverse effects is ototoxicity. A number of studies have demonstrated that these effects are related to oxidative stress and DNA damage. However, the precise mechanism underlying cisplatin-associated ototoxicity is still unclear.

Recent Trends in PET Image Interpretations Using Volumetric and Texture-based Quantification Methods in Nuclear Oncology.

Image quantification studies in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) are of immense importance in the diagnosis and follow-up of variety of cancers. In this review we have described the current image quantification methodologies employed in (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) PET in major oncological conditions with particular emphasis on tumor heterogeneity studies. We have described various quantitative parameters being used in PET image analysis.

Prevalence and associated factors of reduced bone mineral density in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and identify the associated factors of reduced bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs).

Method: Existing patients diagnosed to have IIMs were recruited for measurement of BMD by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Demographic, clinical and treatment variables of these patients were recorded.

Incidence of influenza virus infections in children in Hong Kong in a 3-year randomized placebo-controlled vaccine study, 2009-2012.

Background: School-aged children suffer high rates of influenza virus infections and associated illnesses each year, and are a major source of transmission in the community. However, information on the cumulative incidence of infection in specific epidemics is scarce, and there are limited studies with sufficient follow-up to identify the strength and duration of protection against reinfection.

Methods: We randomly allocated children 5-17 years of age to receive trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) or placebo from September 2009 through January 2010, and then conducted follow-up for 3 years including regular collection of sera, symptom diaries, and collection of nose and throat swabs during illness episodes in participants or their household members.

Caterpillar locomotion-inspired valveless pneumatic micropump using a single teardrop-shaped elastomeric membrane.

This paper presents a microfluidic pump operated by an asymmetrically deformed membrane, which was inspired by caterpillar locomotion. Almost all mechanical micropumps consist of two major components of fluid halting and fluid pushing parts, whereas the proposed caterpillar locomotion-inspired micropump has only a single, bilaterally symmetric membrane-like teardrop shape. A teardrop-shaped elastomeric membrane was asymmetrically deformed and then consecutively touched down to the bottom of the chamber in response to pneumatic pressure, thus achieving fluid pushing.

Hierarchical silicon nanospikes membrane for rapid and high-throughput mechanical cell lysis.

This letter reports an efficient and compatible silicon membrane combining the physical properties of nanospikes and microchannel arrays for mechanical cell lysis. This hierarchical silicon nanospikes membrane was created to mechanically disrupt cells for a rapid process with high throughput, and it can be assembled with commercial syringe filter holders. The membrane was fabricated by photoelectrochemical overetching to form ultrasharp nanospikes in situ along the edges of the microchannel arrays.

Alpha-lipoic acid protects against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity via the regulation of MAPKs and proinflammatory cytokines.

Cisplatin is an effective antineoplastic drug that is widely used to treat various cancers; however, it causes side effects such as ototoxicity via the induction of apoptosis of hair cells in the cochlea. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) has been reported to exert a protective effect against both antibiotic-induced and cisplatin-induced hearing loss. Therefore, this study was conducted to (1) elucidate the mechanism of the protective effects of ALA against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity using in vitro and ex vivo culture systems of HEI-OC1 auditory cells and rat cochlear explants and (2) to gain additional insight into the apoptotic mechanism of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity.

NAD(+) Metabolism in Age-Related Hearing Loss.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), a degenerative disorder characterized by age-dependent progressive increase in the threshold of auditory sensitivity, affects 40% of people over the age of 65, and it has emerged as an important social and public health problem. Various factors, including genetic and environmental components, are known to affect both the onset and severity of ARHL. In particular, age-dependent changes in cellular oxidative stress and inflammatory responses accompanied by altered cellular signaling and gene expression progressively affect the function of the auditory system and eventually lead to hearing impairment.

Low copy number of the salivary amylase gene predisposes to obesity.

Common multi-allelic copy number variants (CNVs) appear enriched for phenotypic associations compared to their biallelic counterparts. Here we investigated the influence of gene dosage effects on adiposity through a CNV association study of gene expression levels in adipose tissue. We identified significant association of a multi-allelic CNV encompassing the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) with body mass index (BMI) and obesity, and we replicated this finding in 6,200 subjects.