Effects of carbon and nitrogen plasma immersion ion implantation on in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility of titanium alloy.

Growth of bony tissues on titanium biomedical implants can be time-consuming, thereby prolonging recovery and hospitalization after surgery and a method to improve and expedite tissue-implant integration and healing is thus of scientific and clinical interests. In this work, nitrogen and carbon plasma immersion ion implantation (N-PIII and C-PIII) is conducted to modify Ti-6Al-4V to produce a graded surface layer composed of TiN and TiC, respectively. Both PIII processes do not significantly alter the surface hydrophilicity but increase the surface roughness and corrosion resistance.

Acute treatment with Danshen-Gegen decoction protects the myocardium against ischemia/reperfusion injury via the redox-sensitive PKCɛ/mK(ATP) pathway in rats.

Danshen-Gegen (DG) decoction, an herbal formulation comprising Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza and Radix Puerariae Lobatae, is prescribed for the treatment of coronary heart disease in Chinese medicine. Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that DG decoction can reduce the extent of atherosclerosis. In the present study, using an ex vivo rat model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, we investigated the myocardial preconditioning effect of an aqueous DG extract prepared from an optimized weight-to-weight ratio of Danshen and Gegen.

Antibiotics nonadherence and knowledge in a community with the world's leading prevalence of antibiotics resistance: implications for public health intervention.

Background: Community determinants of antibiotics nonadherence, an important contributor of antibiotics resistance, remained unclear.

Objectives: Our objective was to investigate whether deficient antibiotics knowledge could contribute to nonadherence in a community with high prevalence of antibiotics resistance.

Methods: We recruited 465 people by random sampling from 5 urban areas in Hong Kong.

Myocardial post-conditioning with Danshen-Gegen decoction protects against isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury via a PKCε/mKATP-mediated pathway in rats.

Background: Danshen-Gegen decoction (DG), a Chinese herbal formula, has been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of coronary heart disease such as myocardial infarction. In the present study, we investigated the effect of DG post-conditioning on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial injury in rats.

Methods: ISO was injected intraperitoneally (200 mg/kg) to induce acute (2-6 hours) myocardial injury in adult female rats.

Long-term treatment with danshen-gegen decoction protects the myocardium against ischemia/reperfusion injury via the redox-sensitive protein kinase C-ε/mK(ATP) pathway in rats.

Danshen-Gegen (DG) decoction, an herbal formulation comprised of radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza and radix Puerariae Lobata, is prescribed for the treatment of coronary heart disease in Chinese medicine. Experimental and clinical studies have indicated that DG decoction can reduce the extent of atherosclerosis. In the present study, using an ex vivo rat model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, we investigated the myocardial preconditioning effect of an aqueous DG extract prepared from an optimized weight-to-weight ratio of danshen and gegen.

A case-control study of bipolar depression, compared with unipolar depression, in a regional hospital in Hong Kong.

Objective: To determine the characteristics of diagnostic conversion from unipolar depression to bipolar depression in psychiatric outpatients, and to compare the profiles of the 2 groups of patients.

Method: This is a case-control study in which outpatients newly diagnosed with unipolar depression were reviewed. Outpatients who had polarity conversion to bipolar depression were recruited as subjects and control subjects were matched.

Age distribution of human papillomavirus infection and cervical neoplasia reflects caveats of cervical screening policies.

Although a second age-related peak of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is observed in many populations, it does not seem to have any impact on cervical screening policies. We examined the age-specific prevalence of HPV infection among 2,604 women enrolled for cervical screening and correlated the age at diagnosis of 2,491 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia Grade 2/3 (CIN2/3) lesions and 801 invasive cervical cancers (ICC). Two peaks of HPV infection were detected at 26-30 and 46-50 years, respectively.