Gender and Posture are Significant Risk Factors to Musculoskeletal Symptoms during Touchscreen Tablet Computer Use

[Purpose] To investigate the prevalence of neck and shoulder symptoms during the use of tablet computer, and to identify the risk factors associated with these symptoms. [Subjects and Methods] A cross-sectional survey was conducted to study tablet computer usage, posture during use, and neck and shoulder symptoms in 412 participants in a school setting. Significant risk factors for musculoskeletal symptoms during tablet computer use were identified. [Results] Overall prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms during tablet computer use was 67.9% with greater prevalence of neck symptoms (neck: 84.6%; shoulder/upper extremity: 65.4%). Significant risk factors associated with symptoms during use were: current musculoskeletal symptoms, gender, roles, and postural factors including: sitting without back support, sitting with device in lap, and lying on the side and on the back during tablet computer use. A multivariate analysis further showed that the odds for females to have symptoms were 2.059 times higher than males. [Conclusion] The findings revealed that female gender and other postural factors were significantly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms during the use of tablet computer. Among all postural factors, sitting without back support was identified as the most important risk factor for having musculoskeletal symptom

Combined Tractional and Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy in the Anti-VEGF Era

Purpose. To investigate the clinical features, surgical outcomes, and prognostic factors of combined rhegmatogenous and tractional detachment (combined RD) in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in recent years. Methods. Medical records of PDR and combined RD treated with vitrectomy from 2008 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Results. A total of 57 eyes from 49 patients were included. Nine eyes had received panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) and 7 eyes had intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) within 3 months before RD developed. Thirty-eight eyes (66.7%) had ≧3 sites of broad adhesion of fibrovascular proliferation (FVP). Thirty-three eyes (57.9%) showed active FVP. Thirty-four eyes (59.6%) had extent of RD involving 3 or 4 quadrants. The primary reattachment rate was 93.0%, and the final visual acuity (VA) improved by more than 3 lines in 80.7% of eyes. Neovascular glaucoma occurred in 4 eyes postoperatively. Poor preoperative VA, severe vitreoretinal adhesion, and broad extent of RD had significant correlation with poor visual outcomes. Conclusion. PRP or IVB might play a role in provoking combined RD. The anatomical and functional success rates of surgery were high. Poor preoperative VA and severe proliferations predicted poor visual outcomes

Apoptosis Induction in Primary Human Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines and Retarded Tumor Growth in SCID Mice by Sulforaphane

We have investigated the anticancer effects of the dietary isothiocyanate sulforaphane (SFN) on colorectal cancer (CRC), using primary cancer cells lines isolated from five Taiwanese colorectal cancer patients as the model for colorectal cancer. SFN-treated cells accumulated in metaphase (SFN 6.25 μM) and subG1 (SFN 12.5 and 25 μM) as determined by flow cytometry. In addition, treated cells showed nuclear apoptotic morphology that coincided with an activation of caspase-3, and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Incubations at higher SFN doses (12.5 and 25 μM) resulted in cleavage of procaspase-3 and elevated caspase-2, -3, -8, and -9 activity, suggesting that the induction of apoptosis and the sulforaphane-induced mitosis delay at the lower dose are independently regulated. Daily SFN s.c. injections (400 micromol/kg/d for 3 weeks) in severe combined immunodeficient mice with primary human CRC (CP1 to CP5) s.c. tumors resulted in a decrease of mean tumor weight by 70% compared with vehicle-treated controls. Our findings suggest that, in addition to the known effects on cancer prevention, sulforaphane may have antitumor activity in established colorectal cancer

Interfacial Properties of Polyethylene Glycol/Vinyltriethoxysilane (PEG/VTES) Copolymers and their Application to Stain Resistance

In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) were used in different proportions to produce a series of PEG–VTES copolymers. The copolymer molecular structures were confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. In addition, their surface activities were evaluated by evaluating the surface tension, contact angle, and foaming properties. The results showed that these surfactants exhibited excellent surface activities and wetting power, as well as low foaming. Consequently, the application of a series of PEG/VTES copolymers can make cotton fabrics stain resistant

Infections Caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae: An Update on Therapeutic Options

Carbapenems are considered as last-resort antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. With the increasing use of carbapenems in clinical practice, the emergence of carbapenem-resistant pathogens now poses a great threat to human health. Currently, antibiotic options for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are very limited, with polymyxins, tigecycline, fosfomycin, and aminoglycosides as the mainstays of therapy. The need for new and effective anti-CRE therapies is urgent. Here, we describe the current understanding of issues related to CRE and review combination therapeutic strategies for CRE infections, including high-dose tigecycline, high-dose prolonged-infusion of carbapenem, and double carbapenem therapy. We also review the newly available antibiotics which have potential in the future treatment of CRE infections: ceftazidime/avibactam, which is active against KPC and OXA-48 producers; meropenem/vaborbactam, which is active against KPC producers; plazomicin, which is a next-generation aminoglycoside with in vitro activity against CRE; and eravacycline, which is a tetracycline class antibacterial with in vitro activity against CRE. Although direct evidence for CRE treatment is still lacking and the development of resistance is a concern, these new antibiotics provide additional therapeutic options for CRE infections. Finally, we review other potential anti-CRE antibiotics in development: imipenem/relebactam and cefiderocol. Currently, high-dose and combination strategies that may include the new β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors should be considered in severe CRE infections to maximize treatment success. In the future, when more treatment options are available, therapy for CRE infections should be individualized and based on molecular phenotypes of resistance, susceptibility profiles, disease severity, and patient characteristics. More high-quality studies are needed to guide effective treatment for infections caused by CRE

Case Report: Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist as an effective rescue treatment for pulmonary interstitial emphysema in extremely low birth weight infants

Pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE) is a complication observed in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants on mechanical ventilation. Despite various proposed therapeutic interventions, the success rates have shown inconsistency. Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) stands out as a novel respiratory support mode, offering lower pressure and tidal volume in comparison to conventional ventilation methods. In this case report, we present five ELBW infants with refractory PIE who were transitioned to NAVA ventilation. Following the switch to NAVA, all cases of PIE gradually resolved. In contrast to traditional modes, NAVA provided respiratory support with significantly lower fraction of inspired oxygen, reduced peak inspiratory pressure, diminished mean airway pressure, and decreased tidal volume within 7 days of NAVA utilization (p = 0.042, 0.043, 0.043, and 0.042, respectively). Consequently, we propose that NAVA could serve as a valuable rescue treatment for ELBW infants with PIE

Characterization of magnetic properties of Sr2CuWO6 and Sr2CuMoO6

In this work we examine the low-temperature magnetic properties of the two double-perovskite compounds Sr2CuWO6 and Sr2CuMoO6 using magnetic susceptibility, muon spin rotation and relaxation, and neutron powder diffraction measurements. Additionally, the most relevant spin exchange interaction constants are derived from ab initio electronic structure calculations, aided by x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The compounds exhibit quasi-two-dimensional magnetic properties, with broad maxima at Tmax = 83 and 95 K for Sr2CuWO6 and Sr2CuMoO6, respectively. However, three-dimensional long-range order takes place below TN = 24(1) and 28(2) K for Sr2CuWO6 and Sr2CuMoO6, respectively. Our results show that the low-dimensional magnetic correlations are mainly due to the significant next-nearest-neighbor interactions in the ab plane of the double-perovskite structure, whereas three-dimensional long-range magnetic order is caused by weaker next-nearest-neighbor interactions along the c axis. Next-nearest-neighbor interactions are also slightly frustrated by weaker nearest-neighbor interactions within the ab plane. Based on these results we predict the low-temperature magnetic structure in these compounds to be type-II antiferromagnetic order of the double-perovskite lattice.Peer reviewe

Risk Analysis of Cargos Damages for Aquatic Products of Refrigerated Containers: Shipping Operators’ Perspective in Taiwan

As the development of refrigerated container, transportation of aquatic products is growing rapidly in recent years. It is very important to avoid cargos damages for aquatic products of refrigerated containers, while the shipping operators are running this scope of business. Hence, the risk issue of adopting various improvement strategies would be important for the container shipping operators. In the light of this, the main purpose of this paper is to analyze the risks of cargos damages for aquatic products of refrigerated containers based on the container shipping operators’ perspective in Taiwan. We use four risk assessment procedures - risk identification, risk analysis and evaluation, risk strategies, and risk treatment - as the research method in this paper. The risk factors are generated from literature review and experts interviewing. Then, three dimensions with nineteen risk factors are preliminary identified. We used these risk factors to proceed with the empirical study via questionnaires. Three points of empirical results are presented. At first, the top factor of perceived risk as well as of risk severity is ‘container data setting errors.’ Secondly, the top factor of risk frequency is ‘lack of the goods’ pre-cooling themselves.’ Thirdly, three risk factors are classified into the low-risk area, whereas sixteen risk factors are placed on the medium-risk area. There is no risk factor fix on the high-risk area. Furthermore, three risk strategies - risk prevention, risk reduction, and risk transfer - are suggested to adopt by different risk factors