On exceptional sets for numbers representable by binary sums

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Effects of fear-avoidance beliefs on Chinese patients with neck pain.

Key Messages 1. The Chinese version of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) has good content validity, testretest reliability, internal consistency, construct validity, responsiveness, and factor structure. Thus, fear-avoidance beliefs can be used in Chinese patients with neck pain. 2. The validated FABQ facilitates future research on the effects of fear-avoidance behaviour on patients with neck pain and hence a better service for and evaluation of patients with neck pain can be provided. It may also facilitate cross-cultural studies on this common problem between western and Chinese populations. 3. The construct of fear-avoidance beliefs can be applied to patients with neck pain. 4. The fear-avoidance beliefs are an important psychosocial measure in predicting future disability level and return to complete work capacity (immediately and 3 months after physiotherapy).published_or_final_versio

Mass of galaxy lenses in modified gravity: any need for dark mass?

Using strong lensing data, Milgrom's modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) and its covariant TeVeS (tensor-vector-scalar theory) are examined here as an alternative to the conventional ΛCDM paradigm. We examine 10 double-image, gravitational lensing systems in which the lens masses have been estimated by stellar population synthesis models. While mild deviations exist, we find no strong case of outliers to the TeVeS theory. © 2011 American Physical Society.published_or_final_versio

Kawasaki disease in Hong Kong, 1994 to 2000

OBJECTIVE. To describe the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and management of Kawasaki disease in children in Hong Kong. DESIGN. Retrospective survey of medical records from July 1994 to June 1997, and prospective data collection from July 1997 to June 2000. SETTING. Hospitals with a paediatric unit in Hong Kong. PATIENTS. Patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease between July 1994 and June 2000 in public hospitals in Hong Kong. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Incidence of Kawasaki disease and coronary artery aneurysm rates. RESULTS. A total of 696 cases of Kawasaki disease were reported. There were 435 (62.5%) boys and 261 (37.5%) girls giving a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. The age ranged from 1 month to 15 years 5 months with a median of 1.7 years. Infants (<1 year) constituted the largest group of patients (223,32.0%) and overall, 638 (91.7%) were younger than 5 years. Skin rash, conjunctivitis, and oral signs were among the principal clinical features present in over 80% of cases. Prominent cervical lymph nodes larger than 1.5 cm were less commonly found (24%). Coronary artery aneurysms or ectasia were present in 15.7% (109/696), 8.5% (59/696), and 5.0% (35/696) of patients at 2, 4, and 8 weeks, respectively. The incidence of Kawasaki disease per 100 000 children under 5 years was significantly higher in the prospective study period than in the retrospective period (39 vs 26, <0.001). CONCLUSION. The incidence of Kawasaki disease is high in Hong Kong and is 39 per 100 000 children below 5 years of age. The coronary artery aneurysm prevalence is 5%. Intravenous gamma-globulin and high-dose aspirin is the mainstay of treatment.published_or_final_versio

Using Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) to study dynamics of the Structural Maintenance of Chromosome (SMC) complex in vivo

The SMC complex, MukBEF, is important for chromosome organization and segregation in Escherichia coli. Fluorescently tagged MukBEF forms distinct spots (or 'foci') in the cell, where it is thought to carry out most of its chromosome associated activities. This chapter outlines the technique of Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) as a method to study the properties of YFP-tagged MukB in fluorescent foci. This method can provide important insight into the dynamics of MukB on DNA and be used to study its biochemical properties in vivo

Altered thymic differentiation and modulation of arthritis by invariant NKT cells expressing mutant ZAP70

Various subsets of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells with different cytokine productions develop in the mouse thymus, but the factors driving their differentiation remain unclear. Here we show that hypomorphic alleles of Zap70 or chemical inhibition of Zap70 catalysis leads to an increase of IFN-gamma-producing iNKT cells (NKT1 cells), suggesting that NKT1 cells may require a lower TCR signal threshold. Zap70 mutant mice develop IL-17-dependent arthritis. In a mouse experimental arthritis model, NKT17 cells are increased as the disease progresses, while NKT1 numbers negatively correlates with disease severity, with this protective effect of NKT1 linked to their IFN-gamma expression. NKT1 cells are also present in the synovial fluid of arthritis patients. Our data therefore suggest that TCR signal strength during thymic differentiation may influence not only IFN-gamma production, but also the protective function of iNKT cells in arthritis

Sprint interval and sprint continuous training increases circulating CD34+ cells and cardio-respiratory fitness in young healthy women

The improvement of vascular health in the exercising limb can be attained by sprint interval training (SIT). However, the effects on systemic vascular function and on circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) which may contribute to endothelial repair have not been investigated. Additionally, a comparison between SIT and sprint continuous training (SCT) which is less time committing has not been made

Imbibition in Disordered Media

The physics of liquids in porous media gives rise to many interesting phenomena, including imbibition where a viscous fluid displaces a less viscous one. Here we discuss the theoretical and experimental progress made in recent years in this field. The emphasis is on an interfacial description, akin to the focus of a statistical physics approach. Coarse-grained equations of motion have been recently presented in the literature. These contain terms that take into account the pertinent features of imbibition: non-locality and the quenched noise that arises from the random environment, fluctuations of the fluid flow and capillary forces. The theoretical progress has highlighted the presence of intrinsic length-scales that invalidate scale invariance often assumed to be present in kinetic roughening processes such as that of a two-phase boundary in liquid penetration. Another important fact is that the macroscopic fluid flow, the kinetic roughening properties, and the effective noise in the problem are all coupled. Many possible deviations from simple scaling behaviour exist, and we outline the experimental evidence. Finally, prospects for further work, both theoretical and experimental, are discussed.Comment: Review article, to appear in Advances in Physics, 53 pages LaTe