Retinal changes and cardiac biomarker assessment in relation to chronic kidney disease: a single centre study.

Background: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising in Malaysia. Early detection is necessary to prevent disease progression, especially in terms of cardiovascular (CV) risk, the main cause of death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Retinal changes have proven to be a good predictor of CKD whereas cardiac biomarkers are useful in cardiovascular risk stratification.

Impact of COVID-19 on Breast Cancer Management in a Multiethnic Middle-Income Asian Country Setting.

Objective: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has caused hospitals to suspend routine procedures. As the world recovers, there is concern that the outcome of many diseases has been impaired. This study aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on breast cancer demography, clinicopathological characteristics and patient management at a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Self-efficacy, stress and job satisfaction among pre-service, novice and experienced English teachers: a study of their occupational health.

Background: This study aimed to investigate English teachers' self-efficacy for student engagement, classroom management, instructional strategies and literacy instruction, as well as to determine whether teacher stress and job satisfaction may affect their occupational health (in terms of self-efficacy). In addition, this is one of the first studies to examine the differences in self-efficacy among pre-service, novice and experienced in-service teachers in a Chinese society, where English is positioned as a foreign language.

Participants And Procedure: 271 English teachers (90 pre-service, 181 in-service) with mean teaching experience of 5.

Tai Chi as an Alternative Exercise to Improve Physical Fitness for Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Tai Chi (TC) on anthropometric parameters and physical fitness among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID).

Methods: Sixty-six Chinese individuals engaged in sport-related extracurricular activities (TC and aerobic exercise (AE)) as exercise interventions or arts/crafts activities as a control condition (CON). The experimental protocol consisted of a baseline assessment, a 12-week intervention period, and a post-intervention assessment.

A phase II trial of preoperative concurrent chemotherapy and dose escalated intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer.

To determine the pathological response rates and toxicity and in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with concurrent capecitabine and dose escalated intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) Patients with stage II or III adenocarcinoma of the rectum were treated with preoperative concurrent capecitabine and IMRT. Dose of capecitabine was 825mg/m, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. IMRT was used to deliver a dose of 45Gy in 25 fractions (1.

MRI-Guided Prostate Interventions.

Objective: The objective of this study is to discuss the use of MRI-guided and MRI-directed prostate biopsy techniques, describe how interventional MRI focal therapies are used for the treatment of prostate cancer, and predict future directions in prostate interventional MRI. The prospect of establishing a center for prostate imaging, diagnosis, and treatment is also discussed.

Conclusion: Low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer can be safely treated with MRI-compatible devices and techniques such as biopsy, cryoablation, high-intensity focused ultrasound, or focal laser ablation performed from a transrectal or transperineal approach.

Multimodality imaging of left circumflex artery to coronary sinus fistula.

Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare anomaly of the coronary artery. Patients with this condition are usually asymptomatic. However, cardiac failure may occur later in life due to progressive enlargement of the fistula.

Examination of mercaptobenzyl sulfonates as catalysts for native chemical ligation: application to the assembly of a glycosylated Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue.

3/4-Mercaptobenzyl sulfonates were investigated as aryl thiol catalysts for native chemical ligation (NCL). Whilst catalysing NCL processes at a similar rate to 4-mercaptophenyl acetic acid (MPAA), the increased polarity and solubility of 3-mercaptobenzyl sulfonate in particular may favour its selection as NCL catalyst in many instances.

Sex differences in the development of perceived family cohesion and depressive symptoms in Taiwanese adolescents.

This study investigates the progression of family cohesion perceptions and depressive symptoms during the character development stage in adolescents. Data were used from the Taiwan Youth Project. The final sample comprised 2,690 adolescents with 1,312 girls (48.

The effectiveness of physical restraints in reducing falls among adults in acute care hospitals and nursing homes: a systematic review.

Background: Physical restraint was introduced as the primary measure to maintain patient safety in preventing falls. However, physical restraints may lead to complications such as functional loss, immobility, delirium, pressure sore, and even falls or injuries. Despite all these negative effects and many alternatives that are available, physical restraint is still commonly used in hospitals and nursing homes.

Optical proximity communication using reflective mirrors.

Optical proximity communication (OPxC) with reflecting mirrors is presented. Direct optical links are demonstrated for silicon chips with better than -2.5dB coupling loss, excluding surface losses.

A cross-functional service-oriented architecture to support real-time information exchange in emergency medical response.

Real-time information communication presents a persistent challenge to the emergency response community. During a medical emergency, various first response disciplines including Emergency Medical Service (EMS), Fire, and Police, and multiple health service facilities including hospitals, auxiliary care centers and public health departments using disparate information technology systems must coordinate their efforts by sharing real-time information. This paper describes a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that uses shared data models of emergency incidents to support the exchange of data between heterogeneous systems.

Use of a variable-stiffness colonoscope decreases the dose of patient-controlled sedation during colonoscopy: a randomized comparison of 3 colonoscopes.

Background: The variable-stiffness colonoscope incorporates different degrees of stiffness of the insertion tube, which can be adjusted during the examination. Whether its use can lead to reduced procedure-related pain and sedative use is unknown.

Objective: Our purpose was to compare the use of 3 types of colonoscope with different shaft stiffnesses in relation to procedure-related pain and sedative consumption.

PAM-4 Signaling over VCSELs with 0.13microm CMOS Chip Technology.

We present results for VCSEL based links operating PAM-4 signaling using a commercial 0.13microm CMOS technology. We perform a complete link analysis of the Bit Error Rate, Q factor, random and deterministic jitter by measuring waterfall curves versus margins in time and amplitude.

The safety, feasibility, and acceptability of patient-controlled sedation for colonoscopy: prospective study.

Objective: To assess the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of patient-controlled sedation for elective day-case colonoscopy, and the factors predicting patients' unwillingness to use patient-controlled sedation for colonoscopy.

Design: Prospective, non-randomised study.

Setting: University-affiliated endoscopy centre, Hong Kong.

Selective lobar collapse for video-assisted thoracic surgery.

Background: Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is conventionally performed under single-lung ventilation. A small proportion of patients are often excluded from undergoing VATS because of their inability to tolerate single-lung ventilation. We describe a simple technique of selective lobar lung collapse that may help to recruit additional, selected patients for VATS.

Accurate mass measurements for peptide and protein mixtures by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry.

A new analytical scheme based on a combination of scanning FTMS, multiple-ion filling, and potential ramping methods has been developed for accurate molecular mass measurement of peptide and protein mixtures using broadband MALDI-FTMS. The scanning FTMS method alleviates the problems of time-of-flight effect for FTMS with an external MALDI ion source and provides a systematic means of sampling ions of different mass-to-charge ratios. The multiple-ion filling method is an effective way of trapping and retaining ions from successive ion generation/accumulation events.

Patient-controlled sedation versus intravenous sedation for colonoscopy in elderly patients: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background: A prospective randomized trial was conducted to compare the safety, effectiveness, and patient acceptance of patient-controlled sedation and intravenous sedation for colonoscopy in a group of elderly patients undergoing outpatient colonoscopy.

Methods: One hundred patients over 65 years of age were recruited and randomized to patient-controlled sedation (n = 50) or intravenous sedation (n = 50) groups by means of computer-generated numbers. In the patient-controlled sedation group, a mixture of propofol and alfentanil was delivered by means of a patient-controlled pump; each bolus delivered 4.

Relaxation music decreases the dose of patient-controlled sedation during colonoscopy: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background: A prospective randomized controlled trial was performed to test the hypotheses that music decreases the dose of sedative medication required for colonoscopy and that the combination of music and patient-controlled sedation improves patient acceptance of colonoscopy.

Methods: One hundred sixty-five patients scheduled to undergo elective colonoscopy were randomized to receive 1 of 3 different modes of sedation: Group 1, a combination of music and patient-controlled sedation with a mixture of propofol and alfentanil; Group 2, patient-controlled sedation alone; Group 3, music alone with diazemuls and meperidine administered intravenously if requested by the patient. Each bolus of patient-controlled sedation delivered 4.

A simple contour matching algorithm.

Two similarity measures between strings are proposed. This correspondence also describes an experiment performed to illustrate the inadequacy of a commonly used measure.