Evaluation of a Structured Volunteering Programme as an Intervention for Enhancing Resilience Level of Parents of People with Learning Disabilities

The East Asian Archives of Psychiatry can be viewed at: http://easap.asia/journal_file/EASAP-Suppl-2012.pdfPoster session D: Child and Adolescent Mental Health ProblemsConference Theme: Mental Health for AllBackground: Stresses have consistently been found to be higher in parents of people with learning disabilities (LD). However, some parents are able to be more resilient and better adapted in the face of these challenges. It is known that volunteering experience is able to increase one’s resilient protector factors. This study was an initial attempt to evaluate how a structured volunteering programme enhances the resilience level of parents of people with LD. The programme lasted for 6 months and the parent volunteers paid home visits regularly to elderly who were living alone and were invited to attend the debriefing sessions after every visit. Objectives: The researchers examined the effectiveness of the structured volunteering programme in enhancing the resilience level of parents of people with LD, and to identify the specific resilience domains that are correlating with the programme. Methods: A pretest-posttest design was adopted, with the intervention of a 6-month structured volunteering programme. The researchers developed a 24-item scale which extracted from the Resilience Scale – Chinese Version (Chen, 2007; the original scale was developed by Friborg et al. in 2006) and the Purpose in Life Test – Chinese Version (Song, 1992; the original test was developed by Crumbaugh & Maholic in 1964). The scale achieved good reliability (α = 0.935). Data on 36 participants’ measures of 4 resilience domains, namely, self-competence, social skills, social resources, and meaning of life, were analysed. Results: Statistically significant positive changes in the resilience domains of social resources (p = 0.05) and meaning of life (p = 0.04) were found, the domain of social skills also showed positive change. Conclusion: The results suggest the effectiveness of the structured volunteering programme for parents of LD in resilience enhancement. The programme design would be discussed.published_or_final_versio

Sentinel lymph node biopsy based on anatomical landmarks and locoregional mapping of inguinofemoral sentinel lymph nodes in women with vulval cancer:an operative technique

Inguinal lymph node involvement is the most robust predictor of mortality in vulval cancer and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is a safe diagnostic modality. We describe a technique based on anatomical landmarks. Our aims are (1) to describe the territorial mapping of SLNs, (2) to evaluate the associated complication rate vis-à-vis those reported in the literature, and (3) to assess its accuracy in detecting SLNs. Data from women who underwent groin SLN biopsies for vulval cancer at a single cancer centre were prospectively collected. All subjects met the GROINSS-V eligibility criteria. The location of the SLN relative to the saphenous vein was recorded. All women were followed up and early and late complications were recorded. The recurrence rate at the time of the census was calculated. A total of 71 groins in 44 women were included. The SLN was primarily located over Cloquet’s node (85.2%). The incidence of early wound cellulitis and dehiscence were 2.8% and 11.3% while lymphocysts were present in 11.3% of groins. The negative nodal recurrence rate was 1.7%. Results showed that this reproducible technique allows access to 96.7% of SLNs, including both deep and superficial SLNs whilst minimising the need for extensive dissection and complications associated with overharvesting of lymph nodes

Cost-Effectiveness of a Short Message Service Intervention to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes from Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Aims. To investigate the costs and cost-effectiveness of a short message service (SMS) intervention to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Methods. A Markov model was developed to simulate the cost and effectiveness outcomes of the SMS intervention and usual clinical practice from the health provider’s perspective. The direct programme costs and the two-year SMS intervention costs were evaluated in subjects with IGT. All costs were expressed in 2011 US dollars. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated as cost per T2DM onset prevented, cost per life year gained, and cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained. Results. Within the two-year trial period, the net intervention cost of the SMS group was $42.03 per subject. The SMS intervention managed to reduce 5.05$118.39 per subject over two years. In the lifetime model, the SMS intervention dominated the control by gaining an additional 0.071 QALY and saving $1020.35 per person. The SMS intervention remained dominant in all sensitivity analyses. Conclusions. The SMS intervention for IGT subjects had the superiority of lower monetary cost and a considerable improvement in preventing or delaying the T2DM onset. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01556880.published_or_final_versio

Nitrogen doped-ZnO/n-GaN heterojunctions

Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanorods were prepared by electrodeposition using two different Zn precursors (zinc nitrate and zinc acetate), while all other growth conditions (dopant precursor, concentration, growth temperature, and bias) were identical. We have shown that the precursor used affects the properties of the ZnO nanorods, and that the presence of rectifying properties in n-GaN/N:ZnO heterojunctions is strongly related to the use of nitrate precursor for ZnO growth. The difference in the properties of ZnO obtained from two precursors is attributed to the differences in native defect and impurity concentrations, which could affect the electronic properties of the samples. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

Solution-based growth of ZnO nanorods for light-emitting devices: Hydrothermal vs. electrodeposition

ZnO nanorods have been grown by two inexpensive, solution-based, low-temperature methods: hydrothermal growth and electrodeposition. Heterojunction n-ZnO nanorods/p-GaN light-emitting diodes have been studied for different nanorod growth methods and different preparation of the seed layer. We demonstrate that both the nanorod properties and the device performance are strongly dependent on the growth method and seed layer. All the devices exhibit light emission under both forward and reverse bias, and the emission spectra can be tuned by ZnO nanorod deposition conditions. Electrodeposition of rods or a seed layer results in yellow emission, while conventional hydrothermal growth results in violet emission. © The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201

An Exome-Chip Association Analysis in Chinese Subjects Reveals a Functional Missense Variant of GCKR That Regulates FGF21 Levels

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is increasingly recognized as an important metabolic regulator of glucose homeostasis. Here, we conducted an exome-chip association analysis by genotyping 5,169 Chinese individuals from a community-based cohort and two clinic-based cohorts. A custom Asian exome-chip was used to detect genetic determinants influencing circulating FGF21 levels. Single-variant association analysis interrogating 70,444 single nucleotide polymorphisms identified a novel locus, GCKR, significantly associated with circulating FGF21 levels at genome-wide significance. In the combined analysis, the common missense variant of GCKR, rs1260326 (p.Pro446Leu), showed an association with FGF21 levels after adjustment for age and sex (P = 1.61 × 10−12; β [SE] = 0.14 [0.02]), which remained significant on further adjustment for BMI (P = 3.01 × 10−14; β [SE] = 0.15 [0.02]). GCKR Leu446 may influence FGF21 expression via its ability to increase glucokinase (GCK) activity. This can lead to enhanced FGF21 expression via elevated fatty acid synthesis, consequent to the inhibition of carnitine/palmitoyl-transferase by malonyl-CoA, and via increased glucose-6-phosphate–mediated activation of the carbohydrate response element binding protein, known to regulate FGF21 gene expression. Our findings shed new light on the genetic regulation of FGF21 levels. Further investigations to dissect the relationship between GCKR and FGF21, with respect to the risk of metabolic diseases, are warranted.postprin

Nitrogen doped-ZnO/n-GaN heterojunctions

Author name used in this publication: Aleksandra B. DjurišičAuthor name used in this publication: Kok Wai CheahAuthor name used in this publication: Chi Chung LingAuthor name used in this publication: Wai Kin ChanAuthor name used in this publication: Patrick W. K. FongAuthor name used in this publication: Hsian Fei Lui2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Cmr1/WDR76 defines a nuclear genotoxic stress body linking genome integrity and protein quality control

DNA replication stress is a source of genomic instability. Here we identify ​changed mutation rate 1 (​Cmr1) as a factor involved in the response to DNA replication stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and show that ​Cmr1—together with ​Mrc1/​Claspin, ​Pph3, the chaperonin containing ​TCP1 (CCT) and 25 other proteins—define a novel intranuclear quality control compartment (INQ) that sequesters misfolded, ubiquitylated and sumoylated proteins in response to genotoxic stress. The diversity of proteins that localize to INQ indicates that other biological processes such as cell cycle progression, chromatin and mitotic spindle organization may also be regulated through INQ. Similar to ​Cmr1, its human orthologue ​WDR76 responds to proteasome inhibition and DNA damage by relocalizing to nuclear foci and physically associating with CCT, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved biological function. We propose that ​Cmr1/​WDR76 plays a role in the recovery from genotoxic stress through regulation of the turnover of sumoylated and phosphorylated proteins

ZnO nanorod/GaN light-emitting diodes : the origin of yellow and violet emission bands under reverse and forward bias

Author name used in this publication: Xinyi ChenAuthor name used in this publication: Alan Man Ching NgAuthor name used in this publication: Aleksandra B DjurišićAuthor name used in this publication: Kok Wai CheahAuthor name used in this publication: Patrick Wai Keung Fong2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe