The spatial context of clinic-reported sexually transmitted infection in Hong Kong

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted infection (STI) in China has been on the rise in the past decade. Delineation of epidemiologic pattern is often hampered by its uneven distribution. Spatial distribution is often a neglected aspect of STI research, the description of which may enhance epidemiologic surveillance and inform service development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Over a one month-period, all first time attendees of 6 public STI clinics in Hong Kong were interviewed before clinical consultation using a standard questionnaire to assess their demographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics. A GIS (geographic information system)-based approach was adopted with mapping performed. The cases attending the clinics in different locations were profiled. A comparison was made between neighbourhood cases (patients living near a clinic) and distant cases (those farther off), by calculating the odds ratio for demographic, behavioural and geographic characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 1142 STI patients evaluated, the residence locations of 1029 (90.1%) could be geocoded, of which 95.6% were ethnic Chinese and 63.4% male. Geographically only about a quarter lived in the same district as the clinic. STI patients aged 55 or above were more likely to be living in the vicinity of the clinic, located in the same or adjacent tertiary planning unit (a small geographic unit below district level). A majority of patients came from locations a few kilometers from the clinic, the distance of which varies between clinics. Overall, more syphilis cases were reported in patients residing in the same or adjacent tertiary planning unit, while distant cases tended to give a higher risk of inconsistent condom use. There were otherwise no significant clinical and epidemiologic differences between neighbourhood and distant STI cases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There was no specific relationship between STI and the residence location of patients as regards their clinical and epidemiologic characteristics in the territory of Hong Kong. Older STI patients were however more inclined to attend the nearby STI clinics. Most patients have travelled a variable distance to access the STI service. The relationship between STI clinic cases and distance could be a complex issue intertwined between psychosocial characteristics and STI service coverage.</p

Home healthcare services in Taiwan: a nationwide study among the older population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Home healthcare services are important in aging societies worldwide. The present nationwide study of health insurance data examined the utilization and delivery patterns, including diagnostic indications, for home healthcare services used by seniors in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients ≥65 years of age who received home healthcare services during 2004 under the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Program were identified and reimbursement claims were analyzed. Age, gender, disease diagnoses, distribution of facilities providing home healthcare services, and patterns of professional visits, including physician and skilled nursing visits, were also explored.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among 2,104,978 beneficiaries ≥65 years of age, 19,483 (0.9%) patients received 127,753 home healthcare visits during 2004 with a mean number of 6.0 ± 4.8 visits per person. The highest prevalence of home healthcare services was in the 75-84 year age group in both sexes. Females received more home healthcare services than males in all age groups. Cerebrovascular disease was the most frequent diagnosis in these patients (50.7%). More than half of home healthcare visits and around half of the professional home visits were provided by community home nursing care institutions. The majority of the home skilled nursing services were tube replacements, including nasogastric tubes, Foley catheter, tracheostomy, nephrostomy or cystostomy tubes (95%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Nine out of 1,000 older patients in Taiwan received home healthcare services during 2004, which was much lower than the rate of disabled older people in Taiwan. Females used home healthcare services more frequently than males and the majority of skilled nursing services were tube replacements. The rate of tube replacement of home healthcare patients in Taiwan deserves to be paid more attention.</p

Polyenylpyrrole Derivatives Inhibit NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Inflammatory Mediator Expression by Reducing Reactive Oxygen Species Production and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation

10.1371/journal.pone.0076754PLoS ONE810-POLN

Successful Amelioration of Mitochondrial Optic Neuropathy Using the Yeast NDI1 Gene in a Rat Animal Model

Background: Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a maternally inherited disorder with point mutations in mitochondrial DNA which result in loss of vision in young adults. The majority of mutations reported to date are within the genes encoding the subunits of the mitochondrial NADH-quinone oxidoreductase, complex I. Establishment of animal models of LHON should help elucidate mechanism of the disease and could be utilized for possible development of therapeutic strategies. Methodology/Principal Findings: We established a rat model which involves injection of rotenone-loaded microspheres into the optic layer of the rat superior colliculus. The animals exhibited the most common features of LHON. Visual loss was observed within 2 weeks of rotenone administration with no apparent effect on retinal ganglion cells. Death of retinal ganglion cells occurred at a later stage. Using our rat model, we investigated the effect of the yeast alternative NADH dehydrogenase, Ndi1. We were able to achieve efficient expression of the Ndi1 protein in the mitochondria of all regions of retinal ganglion cells and axons by delivering the NDI1 gene into the optical layer of the superior colliculus. Remarkably, even after the vision of the rats was severely impaired, treatment of the animals with the NDI1 gene led to a complete restoration of the vision to the normal level. Control groups that received either empty vector or the GFP gene had no effects

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

n/

Electrospray Ionization on Porous Supporting Tip for Mass Spectrometric Analysis: from Material Studies to Real Sample Analysis

PC69Electrospray lonization (ESI) on porous materials has recently been developed and applied to the direct analysis of a wide variety of samples, due to its simplicity in sample preparation. In order to have a better understanding on choosing and designing porous materials as spraying tip, MS detection sensitivity for different analytes using porous tips of different properties, such as polarities and porosities, had been investigated.''' Our results showed that hydrophobic tips gave higher detection sensitivity for polar analytes, while hydrophilic tips were more suitable for the detection of non-polar compounds. Porosity of tips also affected the MS detection sensitivity by mean of offering stable spraying of solvent. Based on the findings, we had successfully applied porous hydrophobic tips for sampling nitroaromatic-based explosives and for their detection by ESI-MS in negative ion mode. The nitroaromatic-based explosives were ionized through electron-capture ionization and detected in radical anion form. Apart from using porous supports as spraying tips, we had also reported the direct analysis of raw herbs (ginseng tissue) by tissue-spray ionization mass spectrometry. Various phytochemicals, metabolites and even thermally labile malonyl-ginsenoside in ginseng tissues could be detected by using the herbal tissue itself as the tip for ESI-MS. lt is anticipated that with the use of proper choice of porous supporting tips, the application of ESI-MS can be further expanded as a versatile detection technique

Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry: noble metal nanoparticles as efficient substrates for forensic applications

PC70Chemical analysis of forensic evidence collected from a crime scene is important for criminal investigations. The uniqueness and specificity of chemical information obtained from the forensic sample is critical for successful prosecution. Imaging Mass Spectrometry (IMS) is a powerful analytical technique which allows direct chemical analysis of forensic samples without extensive sample extraction. With high sensitivity and specificity, the chemical identity and the spatial distributions of analytes in the sample will be revealed. Recently nanomaterials have been used in Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (SALDI)-based MS and IMS as substrate for forensic sample analysis. We have applied Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) as efficient LDI substrate in previous studies. Forensic samples including latent fingerprint and questioned documents were firstly coated with a layer of AuNPs using solvent-free Argon lon Sputtering, followed by the subsequent spectrometric analysis. Double imaging of latent fingerprint can be developed. The latent fingerprint can be optically visualized due to the plasmonic properties of AuNPs. Exo- and endogenous compounds found on latent fingerprint can also be molecularly imaged by SALDI-IMS. Questioned document such as cheque with suspicious altered writing can be examined through the minimally-destructive ink analysis by SALDI-IMS. Writings using different pens can be distinguished by the MS images targeting different characteristic ions with specific m/z values. Hence, altered words can be identified on the questioned cheque. Our team is developing other noble metal nanoparticles, such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs), palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) and bimetallic nanoparticles with well-defined physiochemical properties as potential efficient substrates for SALDI-MS and -lMS analysis. We anticipated that the use of nanoparticles as substrate will enhance the analytical performance and extend the application in forensic science