Primary and secondary prevention of stroke

Results from recent clinical trials have shown that stroke is preventable both before and after symptomatic cerebrovascular disease through a change in lifestyle, medical therapy and surgical procedures. Risk factor control, antiplatelet agents, anticoagulation, and carotid endarterectomy have been proven to be effective under appropriate clinical circumstances. In this update, we shall highlight the areas in which scientific evidence is available.published_or_final_versio

X-Chromosome Inactivation in Rett Syndrome Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects girls due primarily to heterozygous mutations in the X-linked gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2). Random X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) results in cellular mosaicism in which some cells express wild-type (WT) MECP2 while other cells express mutant MECP2. The generation of patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) facilitates the production of RTT-hiPSC-derived neurons in vitro to investigate disease mechanisms and identify novel drug treatments. The generation of RTT-hiPSCs has been reported by many laboratories, however, the XCI status of RTT-hiPSCs has been inconsistent. Some report RTT-hiPSCs retain the inactive X-chromosome (post-XCI) of the founder somatic cell allowing isogenic RTT-hiPSCs that express only the WT or mutant MECP2 allele to be isolated from the same patient. Post-XCI RTT-hiPSCs-derived neurons retain this allele-specific expression pattern of WT or mutant MECP2. Conversely, others report RTT-hiPSCs in which the inactive X-chromosome of the founder somatic cell reactivates (pre-XCI) upon reprogramming into RTT-hiPSCs. Pre-XCI RTT-hiPSC-derived neurons exhibit random XCI resulting in cellular mosaicism with respect to WT and mutant MECP2 expression. Here we review and attempt to interpret the inconsistencies in XCI status of RTT-hiPSCs generated to date by comparison to other pluripotent systems in vitro and in vivo and the methods used to analyze XCI. Finally, we discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of post- and pre-XCI hiPSCs in the context of RTT, and other X-linked and autosomal disorders for translational medicine

Compressed-domain techniques for error-resilient video transcoding using RPS

Centre for Signal Processing, Department of Electronic and Information Engineering2008-2009 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Reference picture selection in an already MPEG encoded bitstream

Centre for Multimedia Signal Processing, Department of Electronic and Information EngineeringRefereed conference paper2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Robust and fast global motion estimation for arbitrarily shaped video objects in MPEG-4

Centre for Multimedia Signal Processing, Department of Electronic and Information EngineeringRefereed conference paper2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Microstructural study in heteroepitaxial YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7//Nd/sub 2/CuO/sub 4/ multi-layers by using electron microscopy

Neodymium copper oxide Nd/sub 2/CuO/sub 4/ (NCO) has been applied as a buffer material to improve the epitaxy of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ (YBCO) thin films on reactive substrates and as a potential barrier to construct multi-layer junctions. The microstructures and interfaces in heteroepitaxial Nd/sub 2/CuO/sub 4//YBCO multi-layer have been characterized by using an electron microscopy. Cross-sectional images obtained on a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed an atomically sharp boundary between layers, underlining the excellent compatibility of NCO with YBCO. No chemical reaction occurred between film and substrate. It was found that all layers grow highly epitaxially with their c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. On the other hand, various defects such as mis-oriented grains and stacking faults were found near the interfaces.published_or_final_versio

Investigation of voltage dip restorer using square wave inverter

Author name used in this publication: K. W. E. ChengAuthor name used in this publication: S. L. HoAuthor name used in this publication: K. P. WongRefereed conference paper2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Clinical characteristics of viral infection of central nervous system in Queen Mary Hospital

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Assessment of cell proliferation in hydatidiform mole using monoclonal antibody MIB1 to Ki-67 antigen

Aims - To assess the role of Ki67 immunoreactivity in predicting the clinical progress of hydatidiform mole. Methods - Tissue from 87 hydatidiform moles, 11 normal first trimester placentas, 11 normal term placentas and 17 spontaneous abortions were examined for expression of Ki67 antigen, using the monoclonal antibody MIB1. Results - Ki67 immunoreactivity was significantly higher in the tissue from normal first trimester placentas than in that from normal term placentas and spontaneous abortions. Among the 87 patients with hydatidiform moles studied, 20 developed persistent gestational trophoblastic disease and required subsequent treatment. There was no statistically significant difference in the Ki67 index between the 20 patients who developed persistent disease and those who did not. Conclusion-Hydatidiform moles which give rise to persistent trophoblastic disease do not have a higher proliferative rate than those which do not. The Ki67 index is not useful for predicting the prognosis of molar pregnancies.published_or_final_versio

A systematic review on the anxiolytic effects of aromatherapy in people with anxiety symptoms

Purpose: We reviewed studies from 1990 to 2010 on using aromatherapy for people with anxiety or anxiety symptoms and examined their clinical effects. Methods: The review was conducted on available electronic databases to extract journal articles that evaluated the anxiolytic effects of aromatherapy for people with anxiety symptoms. Results: The results were based on 16 randomized controlled trials examining the anxiolytic effects of aromatherapy among people with anxiety symptoms. Most of the studies indicated positive effects to quell anxiety. No adverse events were reported. Conclusions: It is recommended that aromatherapy could be applied as a complementary therapy for people with anxiety symptoms. Further studies with better quality on methodology should be conducted to identify its clinical effects and the underlying biologic mechanisms. © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.published_or_final_versio