Oral health students' perceptions of clinical reflective learning--relevance to their development as evolving professionals.

Context: A clinical professional should be a reflective practitioner, however reflective learning and deliberate clinical reflections have not traditionally featured in dentistry or dental hygiene programs. To the authors' knowledge, there are no studies exploring the perceptions of oral health students to reflective learning and clinical reflective practices.

Aim: This study determined student perceptions of clinical reflective learning and its relevance to their clinical and professional development.

Individual and societal impact on earnings associated with serious mental illness in metropolitan China.

To evaluate individual-level and societal-level losses of income associated with serious mental illness in metropolitan China, a multi-stage probability survey was administered to adults aged 18-70 years in Beijing and Shanghai. We used data to estimate individual-level expected earnings from a model that included information about the respondents' education level, marital status, age, and gender. Expected earnings were compared to observed earnings among respondents with mental illness and serious disability.

Concordance between telephone survey classification and face-to-face interview diagnosis of one-year major depressive episode in Hong Kong.

Background: Community-based telephone surveys of depression have generated reliable findings but their concordance with standardized clinical diagnostic interviews is uncommonly examined, especially in non-western populations.

Method: 106 consenting participants from a previous telephone-based population survey of major depressive episode (MDE) using a structured questionnaire were re-assessed face-to-face by clinical interviewers using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorder (SCID-I). Receiver operating characteristic and other predictive indicators were used to investigate the concordance between the telephone survey instrument and SCID interview.

A population-based study on the prevalence and correlates of drinking and driving in Hong Kong.

To examine the prevalence and correlates of drinking and driving in Hong Kong, an anonymous, random telephone survey was conducted on 9860 Chinese adults (18-70 years of age) from April to June 2006. Trained interviewers administered a structured interview consisting of questions on socio-demographic information, drinking pattern, drink-driving, and motor vehicle accidents. The census age-standardized past-year prevalence of driving within 2h of drinking was 5.

Contraception, communication and counseling for sexuality and reproductive health in adolescents and young adults with CF.

With survival now into the fourth decade and rapid growth of the adolescent and adult population of people with cystic fibrosis CF sexual and reproductive health issues are integral to the management of adolescents and adults with CF. Education and counseling for sexual health related issues must be included in the daily routine of CF care. With advances in genetic counseling, contraception, assisted reproductive technology and collaborative management adolescents and young adults with CF realizing their sexual and reproductive potentials safely and realistically can be possible .

The prevalence of family childhood adversities and their association with first onset of DSM-IV disorders in metropolitan China.

Background: The prevalence of family childhood adversities (FCAs) and their joint effects on the first onset of subsequent mental disorders throughout the life course are rarely examined, especially in Asian communities.

Method: Face-to-face household interviews of 5201 people aged 18-70 years in Beijing and Shanghai were conducted by a multi-stage household probability sampling method. The first onsets of four broad groups of mental disorders and six categories of FCAs were assessed using The World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI).

Rapid-cycling bipolar disorder: cross-national community study.

Background: The epidemiology of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder in the community is largely unknown.

Aims: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of rapid-cycling and non-rapid-cycling bipolar disorder in a large cross-national community sample.

Method: The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI version 3.

A six-month prospective case-controlled study of the effects of the clubhouse rehabilitation model on Chinese patients with chronic schizophrenia.

Objective: To investigate the effects of the 'clubhouse' model of rehabilitation on various psychosocial issues for Chinese patients with schizophrenia living in the community.

Methods: A longitudinal, case-controlled and naturalistic design was used. A total of 92 participants were recruited via criteria-guided systematic sampling for a study lasting 6 months.

The epidemiological profile of alcohol and other drug use in metropolitan China.

Purpose: There is evidence that alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use may be rising in China, but epidemiological studies that examine several drugs simultaneously and the transition from initial try to current use are limited. The present study provides an epidemiological profile of drug use in contemporary metropolitan China.

Methods: A multistage probability sampling method was used to select household-dwelling adults in Beijing and Shanghai.

Water-soluble triarylphosphines as biomarkers for protein S-nitrosation.

S-Nitrosothiols (RSNOs) represent an important class of post-translational modifications that preserve and amplify the actions of nitric oxide and regulate enzyme activity. Several regulatory proteins are now verified targets of cellular S-nitrosation, and the direct detection of S-nitrosated residues in proteins has become essential to better understand RSNO-mediated signaling. Current RSNO detection depends on indirect assays that limit their overall specificity and reliability.

Prevalence and correlates of depression with atypical symptoms in Hong Kong.

Objective: Previous studies of atypical depression have been conducted in Western communities. There has been no community-based epidemiological study of atypical depression that covers the entire spectrum of bipolar disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine the 12 month prevalence of atypical depression and the differences in demographic and clinical profiles between depressed patients with and without atypical symptoms in the Chinese adult population of Hong Kong.

Impaired role functioning and treatment rates for mental disorders and chronic physical disorders in metropolitan China.

Objectives: To compare impairments in role functioning and treatment rate of mental disorders and chronic physical disorders in the general population of metropolitan China.

Method: Face-to-face household interviews of 5201 people aged 18 to 70 years in Beijing and Shanghai were conducted from November 2001 to February 2002, using a multistage household probability sampling method. The World Mental Health version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) was used for assessing sociodemographic characteristics, diagnoses, and treatment.

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) Q169 is essential for telomerase function in vitro and in vivo.

Background: Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase that maintains the telomeres of linear chromosomes and preserves genomic integrity. The core components are a catalytic protein subunit, the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), and an RNA subunit, the telomerase RNA (TR). Telomerase is unique in its ability to catalyze processive DNA synthesis, which is facilitated by telomere-specific DNA-binding domains in TERT called anchor sites.

Femoral artery complications after cardiac catheterization: a study of patient profile.

Background: Femoral artery complications after cardiac catheterization range from simple events to severe complications requiring invasive techniques or surgery with significant economic costs. This study evaluated early femoral arterial complications from percutaneous arterial access during diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterizations in an era of widespread use of closure devices and intense anticoagulation.

Methods: Patients undergoing percutaneous cardiac catheterization via the femoral artery between August 2005 and December 2005 were identified using an ICD-9 patient database.

Oral Streptococcus species in pre-term and full-term children - a longitudinal study.

Background: Despite high clinical significance, the microbiology of the dental biofilm in young children remains poorly understood.

Aim: The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate five Streptoccocus species commonly found in the oral biofilm of children, namely Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Streptococcus salivarius to determine their relative numbers in caries-free pre-term children, and age-matched full-term controls.

Design: Plaque and saliva samples were obtained from 15 pre-term children and 15 age-matched controls at ages 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months.

Drug ratio-dependent antitumor activity of irinotecan and cisplatin combinations in vitro and in vivo.

Irinotecan and cisplatin are two established anticancer drugs, which together constitute an effective combination for treating small-cell lung cancer. We investigated whether the efficacy of this combination could be improved by controlling drug ratios following in vivo administration. Irinotecan and cisplatin combinations were evaluated systematically for drug ratio-dependent synergy in vitro using a panel of 20 tumor cell lines.

Analytical and computational approaches to define the Aspergillus niger secretome.

We used computational and mass spectrometric approaches to characterize the Aspergillus niger secretome.The 11,200 gene models predicted in the genome of A. niger strain ATCC 1015 were the data source for the analysis.

Irritable bowel syndrome is strongly associated with generalized anxiety disorder: a community study.

Background: No previous study has examined the comorbidity of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in a general population using standardized diagnostic methods.

Aim: To examine the prevalence, comorbidity and risk correlates of IBS and GAD in a general population.

Methods: A random community-based telephone survey was conducted.

Generalized anxiety disorder with and without excessive worry in Hong Kong.

Background: Two previous U.S. studies found that although generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) without self-perceived excessive worry was milder than GAD with excessive worry, its persistence, impairment, and risk for subsequent onset of other mental disorders were still substantial.

Prevalence and correlates of active and ever-smokers in metropolitan China.

This study investigated the prevalence and demographic correlates of active and ever-smokers in Beijing and Shanghai. Using a multi-stage household probability sampling method, 5201 participants aged 18-70 underwent face-to-face interviews using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. 67.

Associations of cohort and socio-demographic correlates with transitions from alcohol use to disorders and remission in metropolitan China.

Aims: To examine socio-demographic associations of transitions from alcohol use to disorders and of remission from disorders in metropolitan China.

Design And Setting: Face-to-face interviewing by trained lay-interviewers on a multi-staged, clustered sample from the general population of Beijing and Shanghai, China.

Participants: A total of 5201 adults aged 18-70 years and with household registration.