Effect of the sound of dental equipment on dental anxiety and noise control techniques

The dental office environment subjects both patients and dental professionals to the noises associated with dental equipment. The sound of the dental drill, for example, usually causes some discomfort and anxiety. Fear and anxiety due to these noises are among the major reasons why patients avoid dental visits. It is important that these fears are addressed and patients are encouraged to seek the oral healthcare treatment they need. Long-term exposure to these noises also puts dental professionals themselves at high risk of hearing loss. It is unclear about the psychological influence of the sound of dental equipment on dental anxiety. This paper presents a questionnaire survey previously conducted by the authors to study the effects of the sound of dental equipment on people’s perceptions and dental anxiety levels and discusses solutions to the problem by means of passive and active noise control technologies or a combination of both of them.published_or_final_versio

Reply to: Atom gravimeters and the gravitational redshift

We stand by our result [H. Mueller et al., Nature 463, 926-929 (2010)]. The comment [P. Wolf et al., Nature 467, E1 (2010)] revisits an interesting issue that has been known for decades, the relationship between test of the universality of free fall and redshift experiments. However, it arrives at its conclusions by applying the laws of physics that are questioned by redshift experiments; this precludes the existence of measurable signals. Since this issue applies to all classical redshift tests as well as atom interferometry redshift tests, these experiments are equivalent in all aspects in question.Comment: Reply to P. Wolf et al., arXiv:1009.060

Medical treatment of viral pneumonia including SARS in immunocompetent adult

Since no randomized controlled trials have been conducted on the treatment of viral pneumonia by antivirals or immunomodulators in immunocompetent adults, a review of such anecdotal experience are needed for the more rational use of such agents. Case reports (single or case series) with details on their treatment and outcome in the English literature can be reviewed for pneumonia caused by human or avian influenza A virus (50 patients), varicella zoster virus (120), adenovirus (29), hantavirus (100) and SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) (841). Even with steroid therapy alone, the mortality rate appeared to be lower when compared with conservative treatment for pneumonia caused by human influenza virus (12.5% vs. 42.1%) and hantavirus (13.3% vs. 63.4%). Combination of an effective antiviral, acyclovir, with steroid in the treatment of varicella zoster virus may be associated with a lower mortality than acyclovir alone (0% vs. 10.3%). Combination of interferon alfacon-1 plus steroid, or lopinavir/ritonavir, ribavirin plus steroid were associated with a better outcome than ribavirin plus steroid (0% vs. 2.3% vs. 7.7%, respectively). Combination of lopinavir/ritonavir plus ribavirin significantly reduced the virus load of SARS-CoV in nasopharyngeal, serum, stool and urine specimens taken between day 10 and 15 after symptom onset when compared with the historical control group treated with ribavirin. It appears that the combination of an effective antiviral and steroid was associated with a better outcome. Randomized therapeutic trial should be conducted to ascertain the relative usefulness of antiviral alone or in combination with steroid. © 2004 The British Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.postprin

Serum soluble E-cadherin is a good prognostic marker in gastric cancer

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Profiles of cytokine and chemokine gene expression in human pulmonary epithelial cells induced by human and avian influenza viruses

Influenza pandemic remains a serious threat to human health. In this study, the repertoire of host cellular cytokine and chemokine responses to infections with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, low pathogenicity avian influenza H9N2 and seasonal human influenza H1N1 were compared using an in vitro system based on human pulmonary epithelial cells. The results showed that H5N1 was more potent than H9N2 and H1N1 in inducing CXCL-10/IP-10, TNF-alpha and CCL-5/RANTES. The cytokine/chemokine profiles for H9N2, in general, resembled those of H1N1. Of interest, only H1N1, but none of the avian subtypes examined could induce a persistent elevation of the immune-regulatory cytokine - TGF-β2. The differential expression of cytokines/chemokines following infection with different influenza viruses could be a key determinant for clinical outcome. The potential of using these cytokines/chemokines as prognostic markers or targets of therapy is worth exploring

Perioperative nutritional support in patients undergoing hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Background. Resection of hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Since intensive nutritional support can reduce the catabolic response and improve protein synthesis and liver regeneration, we performed a prospective study to investigate whether perioperative nutritional support could improve outcome in patients undergoing hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods. We studied 124 patients undergoing resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Sixty-four patients (39 with cirrhosis, 18 with chronic active hepatitis, and 7 with no associated liver disease) were randomly assigned to receive perioperative intravenous nutritional support in addition to their oral diet, and 60 patients (33 with cirrhosis, 12 with chronic active hepatitis, and 15 with no associated liver disease) were randomly assigned to a control group. The perioperative nutritional therapy consisted of a solution enriched with 35 percent branched-chain amino acids, dextrose, and lipid emulsion (50 percent medium-chain triglycerides) given intravenously for 14 days perioperatively. Results. There was a reduction in the overall postoperative morbidity rate in the perioperative-nutrition group as compared with the control group (34 percent vs. 55 percent; relative risk, 0.66; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.45 to 0.96), predominantly because of fewer septic complications (17 percent vs. 37 percent; relative risk, 0.57; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.34 to 0.96). There were also a reduction in the requirement for diuretic agents to control ascites (25 percent vs. 50 percent; relative risk, 0.57; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.37 to 0.87), less weight loss after hepatectomy (median loss, 0 kg vs. 1.4 kg; P = 0.01), and less deterioration of liver function as measured by the change in the rate of clearance of indocyanine green (-2.8 percent vs. -4.8 percent at 20 minutes, P = 0.05). These benefits were seen predominantly in the patients with underlying cirrhosis who underwent major hepatectomy. There were five deaths during hospitalization in the perioperative-nutrition group, and nine in the control group (P not significant). Conclusions. Perioperative nutritional support can reduce complications after major hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma associated with cirrhosis.published_or_final_versio

Prevalence of allergic rhinitis and its associated morbidity in adults with asthma: A multicentre study

Objectives To assess the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in adult patients with asthma in Hong Kong, and to compare the morbidity endured by asthma patients with and without allergic rhinitis. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Respiratory clinics of four major public hospitals in Hong Kong. Patients A total of 600 adults with asthma were recruited from March to May 2007. Main outcome measures Doctors and patients completed separate questionnaires evaluating symptoms, treatment, and health care utilisation. Spirometry data were obtained for a subgroup of patients at the time of survey completion. Results The patients consisted of 267 males and 333 females, with 251 having spirometry data. The mean pre-bronchodilator 1-second forced expiratory volume predicted among those who had spirometry performed was 88% (standard deviation, 28%). In all, 50% of the patients had intermittent and 50% had persistent asthma. Over three quarters (463/600; 77%) of patients had experienced allergic rhinitis symptoms in the past 12 months, of whom 96% had a previous diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. Asthmatics without allergic rhinitis symptoms had higher rates of visits to doctors, pharmacy visits, emergency department attendances, and hospitalisations for asthma than those with both conditions. Among subjects with asthma and allergic rhinitis, those taking nasal steroid (226/463; 49%) had lower rates of emergency department visits (13 vs 25%, P=0.002) and hospitalisations (7 vs 13%, P=0.045) for asthma than those who were not. Conclusion Allergic rhinitis is a common co-morbid condition of asthma in this hospital clinic cohort. Treatment of allergic rhinitis with intra-nasal steroid was associated with less health care utilisation for asthma.published_or_final_versio

Reliability and validity of the overactive bladder symptom score in Hong Kong Chinese

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Lymphocyte surge as a marker for immunorestitution disease due to Pneumocystis in jiroveci HIV-negative immunosuppressed hosts

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Sustained response after a 2-year course of lamivudine treatment of hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72882/1/j.1365-2893.2004.00556.x.pd