Motivating smokers at outdoor public smoking hotspots to have a quit attempt with a nicotine replacement therapy sample: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

© 2016 Cheung et al.Background: About half of the daily smokers in Hong Kong have never tried and have no intention to quit smoking. More than one-third (37.9 %) of daily smokers have attempted to quit but failed. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a safe and effective pharmacotherapy to increase abstinence by reducing withdrawal symptoms during the early stage of smoking abstinence. However, the prevalence of NRT use in Hong Kong is lower than in most developed countries. The proposed study aims to assess the effectiveness of providing free NRT samples to smokers on increasing quit attempts and the quit rate. Methods: Trained university undergraduate students as ambassadors will invite smokers at outdoor public smoking hotspots to participate in the randomized controlled trial, in which eligible smokers will be randomized to receive a 1-week free NRT sample and medication counselling (intervention) or advice to purchase NRT on their own (control). The primary outcome is self-reported quit attempts (no smoking for at least 24 hours) in the past 30 days at 1-month and 3-month telephone follow-up. Discussion: The findings will inform the effectiveness of delivering free NRT samples at outdoor public smoking hotspots to increase quit attempts and abstinence. The study will also provide information on smokers' adherence to the NRT sample, side effects and safety issues related to the usage. This will improve the design of a large trial to test the effect of the NRT sample. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02491086. Registered on 7 July 2015.published_or_final_versio

The mechanical and biological properties of a novel biodegradable polycaprolactone-magnesium porous scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Session: Biomaterial-based Tissue Regeneration: abstract no. 150INTRODUCTION: Bone tissue engineering offers an alternative solution to the traditional methods of bone replacement including allografts and autografts. Tissue grafting has been used since 1660s1. However, there are concerns of tissue shortage and transmission of disease. Therefore, the use of scaffold is the most common technique and good approach to regenerate diseased or damaged bone tissue. Polycaprolactone (PCL) is one of the suitable candidates to be used as the scaffold material since it has a low degradation rate when compared with other polymers. However, the low mechanical strength and intrinsic …postprintThe 2010 North America Conference of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-NA 2010), Orlando, FL., 5-8 December 2010

An economical fabrication technique for SIMOX using plasma immersion ion implantation

Buried oxide layers in Si were fabricated using non-mass analyzed plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The implantation was carried out by applying a large negative bias to a Si wafer immersed in an oxygen plasma and a dose of 3×1017 cm-2 of oxygen was implanted in about three minutes. Cross section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RES) were used to characterize the wafers. Our results indicate that a continuous buried oxide layer with a single crystal silicon overlayer was synthesizedpublished_or_final_versio

Subcapsular hematoma after ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy

published_or_final_versio

Engineered magnesium-based resorbable porous scaffold for bone tissue engineering

INTRODUCTION: Bone tissue engineering offers an alternative solution to the traditional methods of bone replacement including allografts and autografts [1]. Although these biological materials possess good osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties, both of them have limitations in terms of the availability, donor site morbidity and the risk of disease transmission with the use of allografts [2]. Therefore, the use of synthetic scaffold is the most common technique and good approach to regenerate diseased or damaged bone tissue. An ideal bone substitute should possess certain properties including ...postprin

Low modulus novel bone substitutes for osteoporotic vertebral fracture management

Oral presentationpublished_or_final_versioneCM XIII - Bone Fixation, Repair & Regeneration, Davos Platz, Switzerland, 24-26 June 2012. In European Cells & Materials, 2012, v. 24 n. Suppl. 1, p. 1

Magnesium plasma modified bone allograft for Large Bone Defect Treatment

Invited TalkBone allograft is the most widely accepted approach in treating patients suffering from large segmental bone defect regardless of the advancement of synthetic bone substitutes[ I, 2]. However, the long-term complications of allograft application in term of delayed union or even nonunion were reported due to the stringent sterilization process prior to clinical implantation[3, 4]. Our previous studies demonstrated that the incorporation of magnesium ions (Mg2+) into biomaterials could …postprin

Modelling and prediction of particulate matter, NOx, and performance of a diesel vehicle engine under rare data using relevance vector machine

2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Improved corrosion resistance of plasma carbon coated NiTi orthopedic materials

Nickel titanium (NiTi) alloys are useful in orthopedic applications because of their super-elastic properties and shape memory effects. However, when NiTi is used for a prolonged period of time, harmful Ni ions can leach out into the surrounding body fluid inside a human body, and so it is important to design a method to impede the out-diffusion of nickel from the materials into the biological medium. We aim at producing a barrier to mitigate the release of Ni ions during normal use. Carbon coatings have been shown to possess excellent bio-compatibility and good mechanical strength. In this work, amorphous hydrogenated DLC films with a graded C/NiTi interface were fabricated by plasma immersion ion implantation & deposition (PU & D) to provide such a barrier layer on NiTi. The elemental depth profiles and film thickness were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) whereas the surface morphology was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The film structure was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance of the film was investigated using electrochemical tests based on ASTM G5-94. Compared to the control sample, the corrosion potential of the sample with the carbon coating changes from -250 to -50 mV and the film breakdown potential increases from 250 to 1200 mV. The corrosion current also diminishes from 10-6 to 10-7 A. The simulated body fluid (SBF) solutions after the electrochemical test were analyzed for Ni concentrations by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and that data show that a much smaller amount of Ni has been released from the treated sample surface compared to the untreated control sample surface. Our results thus indicate that the deposited DLC film is effective in retarding the release of Ni ions from the bulk materials and more superior corrosion resistance is achieved based on our tests in a simulated fluid medium and at human body temperature.published_or_final_versio

Effects of high versus low flux membranes on O2 saturation in hemodialysis patients

Background: Several studies have been carried out to evaluate the effects of dialysis on O2 saturation. While the dialysis procedure may lead to hypoxia under different circumstances, there are few studies available on the effects of membrane type on O2 saturation in these patients. objectives: This study was to appraise the effects of high and low flux membrane on pulse oxymetery in dialysis patients. Patients and Methods: In a cross-sectional evaluation, 43 hemodialysis patients without pulmonary disease were enrolled. Of this group, dialysis was performed by low and high flux membranes, and pulse oxymetery was applied before and after the procedures. Results: Mean age of the patients was 56.34 years. Of these patients, 23 (53.5) and 20 (46.5) were women and men, respectively. Type of membrane (high flux vs. low flux) did not show any significant effect on pulse oxymetery results (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Due to the lack of a significant difference in pulse oxymetery and creation of hypoxia between two types of membranes in hemodialysis patients, as well as the high cost of high flux membrane as compared to the low flux membrane, we do not suggest the use of high flux membrane in dialysis. © 2013, Kowsar Corp.; Published by Kowsar Corp