Exploring Swarm-Based Visual Effects

In this paper, we explore the visual effects of animated 2D line strokes and 3D cubes. A given 2D image is segmented into either 2D line strokes or 3D cubes. Each segmented object (i.e., line stroke or each cube) is initialised with the position and the colour of the corresponding pixel in the image. The program animates these objects using the boid framework. This simulates a flocking behavior of line strokes in a 2D space and cubes in a 3D space. In this implementation the animation runs in a cycle from the disintegration of the original image to a swarm of line strokes or 3D cubes, then the swarm moves about and then integrates back into the original image (an example clip has been uploaded to YouTube and can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV6h0VzTZ8)

Association of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor vs Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor Use With Risk of Incident Obstructive Airway Disease and Exacerbation Events Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Hong Kong

Importance Patients with diabetes are at higher risk for obstructive airway disease (OAD). In recent meta-analyses of post hoc analyses of cardiorenal trials, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2Is) were suggested to reduce the risk of OAD adverse events. However, a clinical investigation of this association is warranted. Objective This study aimed to investigate the association of SGLT2I use vs dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP4I) use with OAD incidence and exacerbation events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective population-based cohort study used electronic health data from a territory-wide electronic medical database in Hong Kong. Data were collected for patients with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed SGLT2Is or DPP4Is between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018. Patients were followed for a median of 2.2 years between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020. A prevalent new-user design was adopted to match patients based on previous exposure to the study drugs. Propensity score matching was used to balance baseline characteristics. Exposures Patients with type 2 diabetes using SGLT2Is (exposure of interest) or DPP4Is (active comparator). Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcomes were the first incidence of OAD and the count of OAD exacerbations. The risk of incident OAD was estimated using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. The rate of exacerbations was estimated using zero-inflated Poisson regression. Statistical analysis was performed on November 13, 2022. Results This study included 30 385 patients. The propensity score–matched non-OAD cohort (incidence analysis) consisted of 5696 SGLT2I users and 22 784 DPP4I users, while the matched OAD cohort (exacerbations analysis) comprised 381 SGLT2I users and 1524 DPP4I users. At baseline, 56% of patients in the non-OAD cohort were men and the mean (SD) age was 61.2 (9.9) years; 51% of patients in the OAD cohort were men and the mean age was 62.2 (10.8) years. Compared with DPP4I use, SGLT2I use was associated with a lower risk of incident OAD (hazard ratio, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.54-0.79]; P < .001) and a lower rate of exacerbations (rate ratio, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.36-0.83]; P = .01). The associations were consistent in sex subgroup analysis. Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this retrospective cohort study of patients with type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong suggest that SGLT2I use was associated with a reduced risk of incident OAD and a lower rate of exacerbations in a clinical setting compared with DPP4I use. These findings further suggest that SGLT2Is may provide additional protective effects against OAD for patients with type 2 diabetes and that further investigation is warranted

Reply to: Association Between Alendronate and All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Mortality Among Hip Fracture: An Alternative Explanation.

To the Editor: We are thankful to Prof. Nguyen and Dr. Tran for their interest in our study and we appreciate the opportunity to respond to their comments. As Prof. Nguyen and Dr. Tran suggested that censoring patients at the time of switching medications might have inflated the effect size, we investigated this potential bias by excluding patients with switching of medications. Of the 3,081 alendronate-treated patients, 281 patients (9.1%) switched the therapy during the study period. After excluding these patients, we observed similar findings (Table), suggesting that bias due to treatment of censoring data should be minimal in our study

Mirizzi syndrome type IV associated with cholecystocolic fistula: a very rare condition- report of a case

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mirizzi syndrome is a rare complication of prolonged cholelithiasis with presence of large, impacted gallstone into the Hartman's pouch, causing chronic extrinsic compression of common bile duct (CBD). Fistula formation between the CBD and the gallbladder may represent an outcome of that condition. According to Mirizzi's classification and Csendes's subclassification, Mirizzi syndrome type IV represents the most uncommon type (4%).</p> <p>Spontaneous biliary-enteric fistulas have also been rarely reported (1.2–5%) in a large series of cholecystectomies. Cholecystocolic fistula is the most infrequent biliary enteric fistula, causing significant morbidity and representing a diagnostic challenge.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We describe a very rare, to our knowledge, combination of Mirizzi syndrome type IV and cholecystocolic fistula. A 52 year old male, presented to our clinic complaining of episodic diarrhea (monthly episodes lasting 16 days), high temperature (38°C–39°C), right upper quadrant pain without jaundice. The definitive diagnosis was made intraoperatively. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) demonstrated the presence of Mirizzi syndrome with cholecystocolic fistula formation. The patient was operated upon, and cholecystectomy, cholecystocolic fistula excision and Roux-en-Y biliary-enteric anastomosis were undertaken with excellent post-operative course.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Appropriate biliary tree imaging with ERCP and MRI/MRCP is essential for the diagnosis of Mirizzi syndrome and its complications. Cholecystectomy, fistula excision and biliary-enteric anastomosis with Roux-en-Y loop appears to be the most appropriate surgical intervention in order to avoid damage to Calot's triangle anatomic elements. Particularly in our case, ERCP was a valuable diagnostic tool that Mirizzi syndrome type IV and cholecystocolic fistula.</p

Genome-Wide Association Study in Asian Populations Identifies Variants in ETS1 and WDFY4 Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a complex and potentially fatal autoimmune disease, characterized by autoantibody production and multi-organ damage. By a genome-wide association study (320 patients and 1,500 controls) and subsequent replication altogether involving a total of 3,300 Asian SLE patients from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Thailand, as well as 4,200 ethnically and geographically matched controls, genetic variants in ETS1 and WDFY4 were found to be associated with SLE (ETS1: rs1128334, P = 2.33×10−11, OR = 1.29; WDFY4: rs7097397, P = 8.15×10−12, OR = 1.30). ETS1 encodes for a transcription factor known to be involved in a wide range of immune functions, including Th17 cell development and terminal differentiation of B lymphocytes. SNP rs1128334 is located in the 3′-UTR of ETS1, and allelic expression analysis from peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed significantly lower expression level from the risk allele. WDFY4 is a conserved protein with unknown function, but is predominantly expressed in primary and secondary immune tissues, and rs7097397 in WDFY4 changes an arginine residue to glutamine (R1816Q) in this protein. Our study also confirmed association of the HLA locus, STAT4, TNFSF4, BLK, BANK1, IRF5, and TNFAIP3 with SLE in Asians. These new genetic findings may help us to gain a better understanding of the disease and the functions of the genes involved

Cross-species inference of long non-coding RNAs greatly expands the ruminant transcriptome

Additional file 3. This file contains all supplementary tables relating to lncRNA identification via the conservation of synteny. Table S3. lncRNAs inferred in one species by the genomic alignment of a transcript assembled with the RNA-seq libraries from a related spdecies. Table S12. Presence of intergenic lncRNAs both in sheep and cattle, in regions of conserved synteny. Table S13. Presence of intergenic lncRNAs both in sheep and goat, in regions of conserved synteny. Table S14. Presence of intergenic lncRNAs both in cattle and goat, in regions of conserved synteny. Table S15. Presence of intergenic lncRNAs both in sheep and humans, in regions of conserved synteny. Table S16. Presence of intergenic lncRNAs both in goat and humans, in regions of conserved synteny. Table S17. Presence of intergenic lncRNAs both in cattle and humans, in regions of conserved synteny. Table S18. High-confidence lncRNA pairs, those conserved across species both sequentially and positionally

Toxic epidermal necrolysis: clinical profile, aetiology and treatment in a tertiary hospital over a 16-year period

Conference Theme: Tomorrow’s medicines: pharmacology, patients and population

The Quality of Life in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Quality of life, Democracy, Asia, AsiaBarometer, Happiness,