1,240 research outputs found
Clinical characteristics of viral infection of central nervous system in Queen Mary Hospital
published_or_final_versio
Reactive balance performance and neuromuscular and cognitive responses to unpredictable balance perturbations in children with developmental coordination disorder
Pitfalls in diagnosing septic arthritis in Hong Kong children: ten years' experience
published_or_final_versio
An analysis on reasons of non-compliant to cardiac rehabilitation programme
Abstract no. 09published_or_final_versio
Cardiac rehabilitation improves functional and clinical status of patients after AMI or PTCA - a randomised controlled study
published_or_final_versio
Influence of clinical parameters on short-term outcome in cardiac rehabilitation patients after actue myocardial infarction
published_or_final_versio
Active cardiac rehabilitation program is able to improve risk factors profile
Abstract no. 08published_or_final_versio
Annual variation in the levels of transcripts of sex-specific genes in the mantle of the common mussel, Mytilus edulis
Mytilus species are used as sentinels for the assessment of environmental health but sex or stage in the reproduction cycle is rarely considered even though both parameters are likely to influence responses to pollution. We have validated the use of a qPCR assay for sex identification and related the levels of transcripts to the reproductive cycle. A temporal study of mantle of Mytilus edulis found transcripts of male-specific vitelline coat lysin (VCL) and female-specific vitelline envelope receptor for lysin (VERL) could identify sex over a complete year. The levels of VCL/VERL were proportional to the numbers of sperm/ova and are indicative of the stage of the reproductive cycle. Maximal levels of VCL and VERL were found in February 2009 declining to minima between July - August before increasing and re-attaining a peak in February 2010. Water temperature may influence these transitions since they coincide with minimal water temperature in February and maximal temperature in August. An identical pattern of variation was found for a cryptic female-specific transcript (H5) but a very different pattern was observed for oestrogen receptor 2 (ER2). ER2 varied in a sex-specific way with male > female for most of the cycle, with a female maxima in July and a male maxima in December. Using artificially spawned animals, the transcripts for VCL, VERL and H5 were shown to be present in gametes and thus their disappearance from mantle is indicative of spawning. VCL and VERL are present at equivalent levels in February and July-August but during gametogenesis (August to January) and spawning (March to June) VCL is present at lower relative amounts than VERL. This may indicate sex-specific control mechanisms for these processes and highlight a potential pressure point leading to reduced reproductive output if environmental factors cause asynchrony to gamete maturation or release
Genetics of Apparently Sporadic Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma in a Chinese Population
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart New York.Identification of germline mutation in patients with apparently sporadic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas is crucial. Clinical indicators, which include young age, bilateral or multifocal, extra-adrenal, malignant, or recurrent tumors, predict the likelihood of harboring germline mutation in Caucasian subjects. However, data on the prevalence of germline mutation, as well as the applicability of these clinical indicators in Chinese, are lacking. We conducted a cross-sectional study at a single endocrine tertiary referral center in Hong Kong. Subjects with pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas were evaluated for the presence of germline mutations involving 10 susceptibility genes, which included NF1, RET, VHL, SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, TMEM 127, MAX, and FH genes. Clinical indicators were assessed for their association with the presence of germline mutations. Germline mutations, 2 being novel, were found in 24.4% of the 41 Chinese subjects recruited and 11.4% among those with apparently sporadic presentation. The increasing number of the afore-mentioned clinical indicators significantly correlated with the likelihood of harboring germline mutation in one of the 10 susceptibility genes. (r=0.757, p=0.026). The presence of 2 or more clinical indicators should prompt genetic testing for germline mutations in Chinese subjects. In conclusion, our study confirmed that a significant proportion of Chinese subjects with apparently sporadic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma harbored germline mutations and these clinical indicators identified from Caucasians series were also applicable in Chinese subjects. This information will be of clinical relevance in the design of appropriate genetic screening strategies in Chinese populations.postprin
High-transition-temperature superconductivity in the absence of the magnetic-resonance mode
The fundamental mechanism that gives rise to high-transition-temperature
(high-Tc) superconductivity in the copper oxide materials has been debated
since the discovery of the phenomenon. Recent work has focussed on a sharp
'kink' in the kinetic energy spectra of the electrons as a possible signature
of the force that creates the superconducting state. The kink has been related
to a magnetic resonance and also to phonons. Here we report that infrared
spectra of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+d), (Bi-2212) show that this sharp feature can be
separated from a broad background and, interestingly, weakens with doping
before disappearing completely at a critical doping level of 0.23 holes per
copper atom. Superconductivity is still strong in terms of the transition
temperature (Tc approx 55 K), so our results rule out both the magnetic
resonance peak and phonons as the principal cause of high-Tc superconductivity.
The broad background, on the other hand, is a universal property of the copper
oxygen plane and a good candidate for the 'glue' that binds the electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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