Increases in absenteeism among health care workers in Hong Kong during influenza epidemics, 2004–2009

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Effect of group-delay ripples on dispersion-managed soliton communication systems with chirped fiber gratings

Author name used in this publication: Y. H. C. KwanAuthor name used in this publication: P. K. A. WaiAuthor name used in this publication: H. Y. Tam2001-2002 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Incremental predictive value of vascular assessments combined with the Framingham Risk Score for prediction of coronary events in subjects of low-intermediate risk

Background: In patients with low-intermediate risk, the use of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) may not allow accurate prediction of the occurrence of coronary events. Objective: To determine whether non-invasive vascular sonographic assessments add value to the FRS for prediction of coronary events. Methods: Brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of carotid plaque in 70 male subjects (mean (SD) age 62 (9) years) with a low-intermediate FRS who presented with a recent coronary event were evaluated and compared with those in 35 male controls matched for age (mean age 60 (9) years). Results: Patients with a recent coronary event had a significantly higher FRS than controls. They had a significantly lower FMD (3.56 (2.41)% vs 5.18 (2.69)%, p = 0.003) and significantly higher prevalence of carotid plaque (67% vs 40%, p = 0.008), but there was no significant difference in mean maximum IMT between the two groups (1.01 (0.28) vs 0.96 (0.14) mm, p = 0.32). Multivariate analysis revealed that FMD ≤ 4.75% was an independent predictor of an acute coronary event. Of the three vascular markers, FMD ≤ 4.75% and presence of carotid plaque provided the best diagnostic accuracy for a coronary event, with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.70 and 0.64 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.033), respectively, based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Furthermore, incorporating carotid plaque or FMD ≤ 4.75% into the FRS (AUC = 0.72 and AUC = 0.78) provided incremental benefit in risk stratification over FRS alone (AUC = 0.66) (p = 0.008 and p = 0.007, for comparison of difference in two receiver operating characteristic curves). Conclusions: Incorporating a measure of FMD or carotid plaque burden with FRS significantly increases the accuracy of predicting coronary events in subjects of low-intermediate risk and hence should be considered as additional investigations to improve coronary risk assessment.published_or_final_versio

Core muscle activity during TRX suspension exercises with and without kinesiology taping in adults with chronic low back pain: Implications for rehabilitation

This study aimed to examine the effects of kinesiology taping (KT) and different TRX suspension workouts on the amplitude of electromyographic (EMG) activity in the core muscles among people with chronic low back pain (LBP). Each participant (total n=21) was exposed to two KT conditions: no taping and taping, while performing four TRX suspension exercises: (1) hamstring curl, (2) hip abduction in plank, (3) chest press, and (4) 45-degree row. Right transversus abdominis/internal oblique (TrAIO), rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), and superficial lumbar multifidus (LMF) activity was recorded with surface EMG and expressed as a percentage of the EMG amplitude recorded during a maximal voluntary isometric contraction of the respective muscles. Hip abduction in plank increased TrAIO, RA, and LMF EMG amplitude compared with other TRX positions (P0.05). Hip abduction in plank most effectively activated abdominal muscles, whereas the hamstring curl most effectively activated the paraspinal muscles. Applying KT conferred no immediate benefits in improving the core muscle activation during TRX training in adults with chronic LBP.published_or_final_versio

Worsened arterial stiffness in high-risk cardiovascular patients with high habitual carbohydrate intake: a cross-sectional vascular function study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that high dietary carbohydrate intake is associated with increased cardiovascular risk through raised triglyceride and decreased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. However, the relation between carbohydrate intake and arterial stiffness has not been established. The purpose of this study was to examine this relation among high-risk cardiovascular patients. METHODS: We studied the relation between dietary macronutrient intake and arterial stiffness in 364 patients with documented cardiovascular diseases or risk equivalent (coronary artery diseases 62%, ischemic stroke 13%, diabetes mellitus 55%) and in 93 age-and-sex matched control subjects. Dietary macronutrient intake was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for Chinese. Heart-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured non-invasively with a Vascular Profiling System (VP2000, Colin Corp. USA). A dietary pattern with >/=60% total energy intake derived from carbohydrates was defined as a high-carbohydrate diet according to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for Chinese. RESULTS: Subjects who consumed a high-carbohydrate diet had significantly higher mean PWV than those who did not consume a high-carbohydrate diet (P = 0.039). After adjustment for potential confounders, high-carbohydrate diet was associated with significantly increased PWV [B = 73.50 (10.81 to 136.19), P = 0.022]. However, there was no significant association between high-carbohydrate diet and PWV in controls (P = 0.634). CONCLUSIONS: High-carbohydrate diet is associated with increased arterial stiffness in patients with established cardiovascular disease or risk equivalent.published_or_final_versio

Change in patient-reported outcomes in single-unit transfusion comparable with double-unit transfusion

Session - 401. Basic Science and Clinical Practice in Blood Transfusion: Poster 2: Paper 93706INTRODUCTION: Patient blood management was developed to reduce allogeneic blood exposure and enhance patient outcomes. If transfusion is required in stable and non-bleeding hospitalized patients, prescribing one unit of red blood cells (RBC) followed by reassessment of clinical condition is recommended. Double-unit RBC transfusion, the routine practice in the past, is still widely practiced despite the advocate of restrictive transfusion strategy. One of the reasons could be a ...postprin

A Smart Card-Based Electronic School Absenteeism System for Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance in Hong Kong: Design, Implementation, and Feasibility Assessment

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A foodborne outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by vibrio parahaemolyticus and norovirus through non-seafood vehicle

Foodborne outbreaks caused by a mixed infection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and norovirus have rarely been described. We reported a mixed outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and norovirus causing acute gastroenteritis in 99 staff members of a company in Guangdong, China, in May 2013, following consumption of roasted duck, an uncommon non-seafood vehicle for such mixed infection, in one meal served in the company's catering service. Epidemiological and laboratory findings indicated that a single asymptomatic food handler was the source of both pathogens, and the high rate of infection of both pathogens was exacerbated by the setting's suboptimal food hygiene practice. © 2015 Liu et al.published_or_final_versio

Polynomial Growth Harmonic Functions on Finitely Generated Abelian Groups

In the present paper, we develop geometric analytic techniques on Cayley graphs of finitely generated abelian groups to study the polynomial growth harmonic functions. We develop a geometric analytic proof of the classical Heilbronn theorem and the recent Nayar theorem on polynomial growth harmonic functions on lattices \mathds{Z}^n that does not use a representation formula for harmonic functions. We also calculate the precise dimension of the space of polynomial growth harmonic functions on finitely generated abelian groups. While the Cayley graph not only depends on the abelian group, but also on the choice of a generating set, we find that this dimension depends only on the group itself.Comment: 15 pages, to appear in Ann. Global Anal. Geo