1,233 research outputs found
High frequency ultrasound assessment of skin fibrosis : clinical results
Author name used in this publication: Y. P. HuangAuthor name used in this publication: Y. P. ZhengAuthor name used in this publication: S. F. LeungAuthor name used in this publication: A. P. C. Choi2007-2008 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe
Biomechanical assessment of plantar foot tissue in diabetic patients using an ultrasound indentation system
Author name used in this publication: Y. P. ZhengRehabilitation Engineering Centre2000-2001 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe
Parents' understanding of their child's congenital heart disease
Objectives: To assess parents' understanding of their child's congenital heart disease in various knowledge domains and to identify significant determinants of parental knowledge. Design: Cross sectional questionnaire survey. Setting: Tertiary paediatric cardiac centre. Patients: 156 parents of children with relatively simple congenital heart defects were recruited from the outpatient clinic of a tertiary cardiac centre over a three month period. The questionnaire comprised 10 items of knowledge under three domains: nature of heart disease and its treatment; impact of heart disease on exercise capacity; and infective endocarditis and its prevention. The frequency distribution of the parents' knowledge in the different domains was determined. Univariate analyses and logistic regression were performed to identify significant determinants of knowledge in selected items. Results: While 59% of parents correctly named their child's congenital heart disease, only 28.8% correctly indicated the heart lesion(s) diagrammatically. However, more than 80% of parents were aware of the indications and aims of previous surgical and transcatheter interventions. About half of the parents were aware of possible aetiologies and of the hereditary nature and symptoms attributable to underlying heart disease. Disappointingly, of the 56 parents whose children were taking cardiac medications, only 25 (44.6%) and 4 (7.1%) knew correctly the functions and important side effects of the medications, respectively. With regard to exercise capacity, 59% of parents indicated its level appropriate for the heart lesion. While 26.9% of parents had heard of the term "infective endocarditis", slightly more than half of the parents were aware of the need for antibiotics before dental procedures. Significant determinants of knowledge in the nature of heart disease were cardiac diagnosis, occupation of parents, and their educational level. Logistic regression failed to identify any significant determinants of parental knowledge in the other two domains. Conclusions: Parents of children with congenital heart disease have important knowledge gaps. Our findings suggest that the current educational programme is inadequate and needs to be refined to promote better parental understanding of their child's heart disease, with the ultimate aim of enabling parents to impart such knowledge accurately to their children.published_or_final_versio
Ultrasound palpation sensor for tissue thickness and elasticity measurement - assessment of transverse carpal ligament
Author name used in this publication: Y. P. ZhengAuthor name used in this publication: A. P. C. ChoiAuthor name used in this publication: M. H. LuAuthor name used in this publication: X. ChenAuthor name used in this publication: Q. H. Huang2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe
Adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of Dyspnoea-12 scale in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Introduction: Dyspnoea-12 scale is a validated assessment tool, capturing the perception of dyspnoea and its physical and affective effects in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A validated version for the Chinese-speaking population has been unavailable. Objective: To develop a Chinese version of D-12 (D-12-C) scale and evaluate its validity and reliability. Methods: D-12 was translated from English to traditional Chinese in collaboration with a physician and a linguist. Back translation was adopted to ensure accuracy of the translation. A total of 155 COPD patients were recruited to test the reliability and validity of the D-12-C scale. Internal reliability and test-retest reliability were measured with Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intra-class correlation coefficient, respectively. Construct validity was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Concurrent validity was assessed by the correlation of D-12-C total score and sub-scores and the Chinese version of Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) total score and sub-scores. Results: The two-factor structure of D-12-C was confirmed by EFA. D-12-C and its sub-scores demonstrated high level of internal reliability (Cronbach's alphaĀ =Ā 0.88) and moderate level of test-retest reliability. D-12-C total score, physical and affective sub-scores were significantly correlated to SGRQ total score (rsĀ =Ā 0.59, pĀ <Ā 0.001) and activity sub-score (rsĀ =Ā 0.38, pĀ =Ā 0.006), SF-36 mental health sub-score (rsĀ =Ā ā0.36, pĀ <Ā 0.001), CAT (rsĀ =Ā 0.56, pĀ <Ā 0.001), HADS anxiety (rsĀ =Ā 0.51, pĀ <Ā 0.001) and depression sub-scores (rsĀ =Ā 0.44, pĀ <Ā 0.001). Conclusion: D-12-C scale was developed, which demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity in measuring dyspnoea among COPD patients
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2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe
Relationship between cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration and aerosol optical depth in the Arctic region
To determine the direct and indirect effects of aerosols on climate, it is important to know the spatial and temporal variations in cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations. Although many types of CCN measurements are available, extensive CCN measurements are challenging because of the complexity and high operating cost, especially in remote areas. As aerosol optical depth (AOD) can be readily observed by remote sensing, many attempts have been made to estimate CCN concentrations from AOD. In this study, the CCNāAOD relationship is parameterized based on CCN ground measurements from the Zeppelin Observatory (78.91Ā° N, 11.89Ā° E, 474 m asl) in the Arctic region. The AOD measurements were obtained from the Ny-Ć
lesund site (78.923Ā° N, 11.928Ā° E) and Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 reanalysis. Our results show a CCNāAOD correlation with a coefficient of determination R2 of 0.59. Three additional estimation models for CCN were presented based on the following data: (i) in situ aerosol chemical composition, (ii) in situ aerosol optical properties, and (iii) chemical composition of AOD obtained from reanalysis data. The results from the model using in situ aerosol optical properties reproduced the observed CCN concentration most efficiently, suggesting that the contribution of BC to CCN concentration should be considered along with that of sulfate
Theoretical study of the insulating oxides and nitrides: SiO2, GeO2, Al2O3, Si3N4, and Ge3N4
An extensive theoretical study is performed for wide bandgap crystalline
oxides and nitrides, namely, SiO_{2}, GeO_{2}, Al_{2}O_{3}, Si_{3}N_{4}, and
Ge_{3}N_{4}. Their important polymorphs are considered which are for SiO_{2}:
-quartz, - and -cristobalite and stishovite, for
GeO_{2}: -quartz, and rutile, for Al_{2}O_{3}: -phase, for
Si_{3}N_{4} and Ge_{3}N_{4}: - and -phases. This work
constitutes a comprehensive account of both electronic structure and the
elastic properties of these important insulating oxides and nitrides obtained
with high accuracy based on density functional theory within the local density
approximation. Two different norm-conserving \textit{ab initio}
pseudopotentials have been tested which agree in all respects with the only
exception arising for the elastic properties of rutile GeO_{2}. The agreement
with experimental values, when available, are seen to be highly satisfactory.
The uniformity and the well convergence of this approach enables an unbiased
assessment of important physical parameters within each material and among
different insulating oxide and nitrides. The computed static electric
susceptibilities are observed to display a strong correlation with their mass
densities. There is a marked discrepancy between the considered oxides and
nitrides with the latter having sudden increase of density of states away from
the respective band edges. This is expected to give rise to excessive carrier
scattering which can practically preclude bulk impact ionization process in
Si_{3}N_{4} and Ge_{3}N_{4}.Comment: Published version, 10 pages, 8 figure
The prion protein protease sensitivity, stability and seeding activity in variably protease sensitive prionopathy brain tissue suggests molecular overlaps with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
INTRODUCTION: Variably protease sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) is a recently described, sporadic human prion disease that is pathologically and biochemically distinct from the currently recognised sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) subtypes. The defining biochemical features of the abnormal form of the prion protein (PrP(Sc)) in VPSPr are increased sensitivity to proteolysis and the presence of an N- and C-terminally cleaved ~8 kDa protease resistant PrP(Sc) (PrP(res)) fragment. The biochemical and neuropathological profile of VPSPr has been proposed to resemble either GerstmannāStrƤusslerāScheinker syndrome (GSS) or familial CJD with the PRNP-V180I mutation. However, in some cases of VPSPr two protease resistant bands have been observed in Western blots that co-migrate with those of type 2 PrP(res), suggesting that a proportion of the PrP(Sc) present in VPSPr has properties similar to those of sCJD. RESULTS: Here, we have used conformation dependent immunoassay to confirm the presence of PrP(Sc) in VPSPr that is more protease sensitive compared with sCJD. However, CDI also shows that a proportion of PrP(Sc) in VPSPr resists PK digestion of its C-terminus, distinguishing it from GSS associated with ~8 kDa PrP(res), and showing similarity to sCJD. Intensive investigation of a single VPSPr case with frozen tissue from multiple brain regions shows a broad, region-specific spectrum of protease sensitivity and differential stability of PrP(Sc) in the absence of PK treatment. Finally, using protein misfolding cyclic amplification and real-time quaking induced conversion, we show that VPSPr PrP(Sc) has the potential to seed conversion in vitro and that seeding activity is dispersed through a broad range of aggregate sizes. We further propose that seeding activity is associated with the ~19 and ~23 kDa PrP(res) rather than the ~8 kDa fragment. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, PrP(Sc) in VPSPr is heterogeneous in terms of protease sensitivity and stability to denaturation with the chaotrope GdnHCl and includes a proportion with similar properties to that found in sCJD. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40478-014-0152-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users
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