Functional Genomics Profiling of Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma MicroRNAome as a Potential Biomarker.

Though bladder urothelial carcinoma is the most common form of bladder cancer, advances in its diagnosis and treatment have been modest in the past few decades. To evaluate miRNAs as putative disease markers for bladder urothelial carcinoma, this study develops a process to identify dysregulated miRNAs in cancer patients and potentially stratify patients based on the association of their microRNAome phenotype to genomic alterations. Using RNA sequencing data for 409 patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas, we examined miRNA differential expression between cancer and normal tissues and associated differentially expressed miRNAs with patient survival and clinical variables. We then correlated miRNA expressions with genomic alterations using the Wilcoxon test and REVEALER. We found a panel of six miRNAs dysregulated in bladder cancer and exhibited correlations to patient survival. We also performed differential expression analysis and clinical variable correlations to identify miRNAs associated with tobacco smoking, the most important risk factor for bladder cancer. Two miRNAs, miR-323a and miR-431, were differentially expressed in smoking patients compared to nonsmoking patients and were associated with primary tumor size. Functional studies of these miRNAs and the genomic features we identified for potential stratification may reveal underlying mechanisms of bladder cancer carcinogenesis and further diagnosis and treatment methods for urothelial bladder carcinoma

Electrode Side Reactions, Capacity Loss and Mechanical Degradation in Lithium-Ion Batteries

For advancing lithium-ion battery (LIB) technologies, a detailed understanding of battery degradation mechanisms is important. In this article, experimental observations are provided to elucidate the relation between side reactions, mechanical degradation, and capacity loss in LIBs. Graphite/Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 cells of two very different initial anode/cathode capacity ratios (R, both R \u3e 1) are assembled to investigate the electrochemical behavior. The initial charge capacity of the cathode is observed to be affected by the anode loading, indicating that the electrolyte reactions on the anode affect the electrolyte reactions on the cathode. Additionally, the rate of “marching” of the cathode is found to be affected by the anode loading. These findings attest to the “cross-talk” between the two electrodes. During cycling, the cell with the higher R value display a lower columbic efficiency, yet a lower capacity fade rate as compared to the cell with the smaller R. This supports the notion that columbic efficiency is not a perfect predictor of capacity fade. Capacity loss is attributed to the irreversible production of new solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) facilitated by the mechanical degradation of the SEI. The higher capacity fade in the cell with the lower R is explained with the theory of diffusion-induced stresses (DISs)

Long-term oral nitrate therapy is associated with adverse outcome in diabetic patients following elective percutaneous coronary intervention

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To assess the impact of long-term oral nitrate therapy on clinical outcome following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with type II diabetes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) following elective PCI for stable coronary artery disease was evaluated in 108 patients with type II diabetes (age 64.6 ± 10.5 years, 67.7% men). Major adverse cardiovascular events were defined as the need for revascularization, non-fatal myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of MACEs by clinical characteristics and the prescription of long-term nitrate therapy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN) was prescribed to 46 patients with an average dose of 44.3 ± 15.2 mg/day. After a mean follow up of 25.3 ± 25 months, 16 patients developed MACEs. Patients who received ISMN were more likely to suffer from MACEs (26.1% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.01), mainly driven by a higher rate of acute coronary syndrome (13.0 vs 0%, P = 0.01). Average daily dose of nitrate and other cardiovascular medication was not associated with MACEs. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that prescription of only ISMN (Hazard Ratio 3.09, 95% CI 1.10-10.21, P = 0.04) was an independent predictor for the development of MACEs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Long-term oral nitrate therapy was associated with MACEs following elective coronary artery revascularization by PCI in patients with type II diabetes.</p

Microstructured Fibre Taper with Constant Outer Diameter

Department of Electrical Engineerin

Knowledge profiling for social networking news releases

This paper presents a case study of the news item categorization for a social networking mashup.Since it is time consuming to develop the hierarchical news categories on an iterative and incremental basis using a conventional knowledge mapping approach, an alternative approach is derived by using the Subject Reference System (SRS) guidelines as the reference for categorizing various types of news releases.With the ulterior aim of enabling automatic generation of knowledge maps, this research project adopts only a manual process for the creation of knowledge profile entries, which would then form the input references for future automatic generation of knowledge maps.The approach for transforming a news item to a knowledge profile entry involves some computer-assisted extraction of keywords, which is then linked to the Subject Reference System (SRS) guidelines repository for ease of knowledge profiling.It is argued that the alternative knowledge profiling approach is easier and more efficient than a manufacturing-oriented conventional approach, because the knowledge ontology and validation of news releases have already been proven and accepted by a large community of news agencie

Hybrid silica and laser-dye-doped polymer fiber

Workshop on Specialty Optical Fibers and their Applications, WSOF 2013, Sigtuna, 28-30 August 20132013-2014 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Safety of BNT162b2 or CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccines in patients with heart failure: A self-controlled case series study

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccines are important for patients with heart failure (HF) to prevent severe outcomes but the safety concerns could lead to vaccine hesitancy. This study aimed to investigate the safety of two COVID-19 vaccines, BNT162b2 and CoronaVac, in patients with HF. METHODS: We conducted a self-controlled case series analysis using the data from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and the Department of Health. The primary outcome was hospitalization for HF and the secondary outcomes were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and all hospitalization. We identified patients with a history of HF before February 23, 2021 and developed the outcome event between February 23, 2021 and March 31, 2022 in Hong Kong. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated using conditional Poisson regression to evaluate the risks following the first three doses of BNT162b2 or CoronaVac. FINDINGS: We identified 32,490 patients with HF, of which 3035 were vaccinated and had a hospitalization for HF during the observation period (BNT162b2 = 755; CoronaVac = 2280). There were no increased risks during the 0–13 days (IRR 0.64 [95% confidence interval 0.33–1.26]; 0.94 [0.50–1.78]; 0.82 [0.17–3.98]) and 14–27 days (0.73 [0.35–1.52]; 0.95 [0.49–1.84]; 0.60 [0.06–5.76]) after the first, second and third doses of BNT162b2. No increased risks were observed for CoronaVac during the 0–13 days (IRR 0.60 [0.41–0.88]; 0.71 [0.45–1.12]; 1.64 [0.40–6.77]) and 14–27 days (0.91 [0.63–1.32]; 0.79 [0.46–1.35]; 1.71 [0.44–6.62]) after the first, second and third doses. We also found no increased risk of MACE or all hospitalization after vaccination. INTERPRETATION: Our results showed no increased risk of hospitalization for HF, MACE or all hospitalization after receiving BNT162b2 or CoronaVac vaccines in patients with HF. FUNDING: The project was funded by a Research Grant from the Food and Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Ref. No. COVID19F01). F.T.T.L. (Francisco T.T. Lai) and I.C.K.W. (Ian C.K. Wong)'s posts were partly funded by the D24H; hence this work was partly supported by AIR@InnoHK administered by Innovation and Technology Commission

COVID-19 Vaccination Preferences of University Students and Staff in Hong Kong

IMPORTANCE: COVID-19 has required universities to rapidly develop vaccination policies for students and staff, yet little is known about the preferences of these individuals toward vaccination. OBJECTIVE: To quantify student and staff preferences for COVID-19 vaccination at a university in Hong Kong. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted from July 20 to September 21, 2021, before the announcement of a campus-wide vaccine mandate. A survey of 42 451 eligible university students and staff used discrete-choice experiment methods to quantify 7 attributes of COVID-19 vaccination: risk of a mild or moderate adverse event after vaccination, risk of a severe adverse event after vaccination, efficacy against COVID-19 infection, efficacy against severe manifestation of COVID-19 infection, duration of protection after vaccination, incentive for completing vaccination, and out-of-pocket costs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: A mixed logit regression model was used to estimate the preferences of attributes for COVID-19 vaccines and marginal willingness to pay (mWTP) adjusted for background characteristics, role, vaccination, and COVID-19 infection status of family or friends, adverse event status after vaccination among family and friends of participants, and scenario block. RESULTS: Among 42 451 eligible university students and staff invited, 3423 individuals completed the survey (mean [SD] age, 27.1 [9.9] years; 2053 [60.0%] women). Participants included 2506 students (73.2%) and 917 staff (26.8%), with a response rate of 8.1%. Quarantine-free travel was preferred (β = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.72-0.99; mWTP: $235.9; 95$190.3-$294.2), followed by efficacy against any COVID-19 infection (β = 0.30; 95$84.1; 95% CI, $71.8-$100.8), against severe manifestation of COVID-19 infection (β = 0.25; 95% CI, 0.24-0.27; mWTP: $69.7; 95$465-$653), and risk of severe adverse events following vaccination (β = −0.24; 95$66.8; 95% CI, −$81.5 to −$55.3). Participants were less concerned about protection duration (β = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.15-0.18; mWTP: $46.0; 95$38.6-$56.2) and risk of mild to moderate adverse events (β = −0.12; 95$32.7; 95% CI, −$41.2 to −$26.4). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Preference of all attributes were significant and were considered important by the participants for vaccine decision-making. Insights drawn could assist policy makers in future vaccination decisions, such as campus vaccine mandate and requirement of a third dose