An Extended Model of Moral Outrage at Corporate Social Irresponsibility

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s10551-014-2487-

Generalisation in myasthenia gravis presenting with pure ocular symptoms

INTRODUCTION: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by impaired skeletal muscle neuromuscular transmission mediated by anti-acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies (AChRAb) in the majority of patients. Factors that determine generalisation in MG patients who have clinically restricted extraocular involvement at onset are uncertain. METHODS: Records of MG patients followed up in our neurology clinic were reviewed. Patients who had MG clinically restricted to extraocular muscles on initial presentation were studied. Classification and outcome were assessed according to Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) 2001 recommendations. RESULTS: A total of 31 patients presenting with pure ocular symptoms at clinical onset were studied. Twenty patients (65%) were female with a mean follow-up duration of 92 months (range, 5-480 months). Among them, seven (22%) subsequently developed generalised MG at a mean age of 53.9 years (range, 23-72 years). The mean disease duration at generalisation was 48 months (range, 3-121 months). Four of these seven patients had thymectomy performed; two had reactive lymphofollicular hyperplasia, one thymoma, and one thymic lymphoepithelial carcinoma. Four patients continued to require cholinesterase inhibitors and immunosuppressants (MGFA post-intervention status [PIS] MM-3); two on low-dose cholinesterase inhibitor only (MM-2) and one required no pharmacological treatment in the past year (MM-0). There was no difference in onset age, sex, duration of follow-up, acetylcholine receptor antibodies and striated muscle antibodies seropositivity rates, electrophysiological findings between patients who developed generalised MG and patients who did not. Patients who subsequently developed generalised MG had a higher frequency of thymoma (defined by CT scan or histology) than those who did not (43% vs 8%, P=0.029). As expected, patients who developed generalised MG were more likely to be treated with immunosuppressants (57% vs 29%, P=0.033) and thymectomy (57% vs 4%, P=0.007) than patients who did not. CONCLUSION: Presence of thymoma in MG patients who had disease clinically restricted to extraocular muscles on initial presentation is associated with a higher risk of subsequent MG generalisation

The familial risk and HLA susceptibility among narcolepsy patients in Hong Kong Chinese

Study Objectives: To explore the familial aggregation and HLA susceptibility of narcolepsy in Hong Kong Chinese by objective sleep measurements and HLA typing. Design: Case control design Participants: Twelve narcoleptic probands, 34 first-degree relatives, and 30 healthy controls. Interventions: N/A Measurements and Results: Each subject underwent a standardized nocturnal polysomnogram (PSG), followed by a daytime multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). HLA typing was performed for all subjects. One relative (2.9%) was diagnosed as suffering from narcolepsy with cataplexy. Nearly 30% of the relatives fulfilled the criteria of narcolepsy spectrum disorder (shortened mean sleep latency [MSL] and/or the presence of sleep onset REM periods [SOREMPs]). When using the population data for comparison, the relative risk of narcolepsy in first-degree relatives was 85.3. The odds ratio of narcolepsy spectrum disorder in first-degree relatives was 5.8 (95% CI: 1.2-29.3) when compared to healthy controls. There existed 6 multiplex families, in which all 10 relatives with narcolepsy spectrum disorders, including all 3 relatives with multiple SOREMPs, were positive for HLA DQB1*0602. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a definitive familial aggregation of narcolepsy, narcolepsy spectrum disorders, and possibly cataplexy in Hong Kong Chinese. This familial aggregation supported an inherited basis for narcolepsy spectrum. The tight co-segregation of HLA DQB1*0602 and narcolepsy spectrum disorders might suggest that HLA typing, especially DQB1*0602, at least partly confer the familial risk of narcolepsy. In addition, our study suggested that the subjective questionnaire measurements including Ullanlinna Narcolepsy Scale and Epworth Sleepiness Scale were unable to detect the presence of narcolepsy spectrum disorders among the relatives. Astringent objective measurement-based design for family studies is suggested for future study. Further studies are indicated for the determination of the mode and molecular level of narcolepsy transmission.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The visual object tracking VOT2014 challenge results

The Visual Object Tracking challenge 2014, VOT2014, aims at comparing short-term single-object visual trackers that do not apply pre-learned models of object appearance. Results of 38 trackers are presented. The number of tested trackers makes VOT 2014 the largest benchmark on short-term tracking to date. For each participating tracker, a short description is provided in the appendix. Features of the VOT2014 challenge that go beyond its VOT2013 predecessor are introduced: (i) a new VOT2014 dataset with full annotation of targets by rotated bounding boxes and per-frame attribute, (ii) extensions of the VOT2013 evaluation methodology, (iii) a new unit for tracking speed assessment less dependent on the hardware and (iv) the VOT2014 evaluation toolkit that significantly speeds up execution of experiments. The dataset, the evaluation kit as well as the results are publicly available at the challenge website (http://votchallenge.net)