Does change in positive affect mediate and/or moderate the impact of symptom distress on psychological adjustment after cancer diagnosis? A prospective analysis

Physical symptom distress is one of the commonest correlates of psychological adjustment in cancer patients. Positive affect (PA) can be a dynamic resource for patients to cope with the cancer-related physical demands. The present study examined whether differential patterns of change in PA were associated with anxiety and depressed mood, and whether PA modified the association between change in symptom distress and psychological distress in 215 Chinese people newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC). Participants completed measures of physical symptoms, PA, and anxiety and depression at diagnosis and again at 3-month follow-up. Multivariate analyses of covariance revealed that at follow-up, people reporting higher anxiety and depressed mood demonstrated loss in PA, whereas those reporting lower depressed mood demonstrated a gain in PA. Structural equation modelling revealed that change in PA significantly mediated and moderated the associations between increased symptom distress and anxiety and depressed mood. We conclude that in line with Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory, continuous physical symptom distress depletes PA of newly diagnosed cancer patients, resulting in higher levels of anxiety and depressed mood. Effectiveness of symptom management intervention could be enhanced by preserving or enhancing PA in patients. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.postprin

Light-emitting multifunctional rhenium (I) and ruthenium (II) 2,2′-bipyridyl complexes with bipolar character

A series of multifunctional molecules consisting of hole transport, electron transport, and light-emitting moieties were synthesized and fabricated into single-layer organic light-emitting devices. The light-emitting units were based on 2,2′-bipyridine complexes of rhenium and ruthenium. It was found that, due to the bipolar character of the molecules, the charge carrier mobilities, charge injection barrier, and the device performance were improved. The electron carrier mobilities are on the order of 10-4 cm2V-1 s-1 and a maximum luminescence of 730 cd/m2 was observed. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

Development of metal-containing polymers for optoelectronic applications

Most of the work in organic electroluminescent polymers has been focused on organic conjugated polymers. However, polymers attached with transition metal complex have received relatively less attention. We have synthesized and studied the light emitting properties of some metal containing polymers based on the polypyridine complexes of rhenium and ruthenium. These complexes exhibit long-lived excited states caused by the metal to ligand charge transfer transitions. By varying the structure of the ligand and/or the transition metal, we are able to fine-tune the electronic properties of the resulting metal complexes.We have synthesized a series of poly(phenylenevinylene) (PPV) derivatives which are functionalized with ruthenium polypyridine complexes at the polymer mainchain or side chain. These complexes are able to act as photosensitizers which enhance the photoconductivity of these polymers at longer wavelength. Both the conjugatedbackbone and the metal complex can emit light upon excitation. As a result, it is possible to tune the color by loading different amount of ruthenium complex to the polymer. Luminescence studies showed that the ruthenium complex could quench the emission of the conjugated backbone in some polymers, which suggests an energy transfer processbetween the backbone and the metal complexes. It was also found that the presence of metal complexes could enhance the charge carrier mobilities of the polymers, as the metal and/or ligands can act as extra charge carriers in the charge transport process.published_or_final_versio

The modified two-by-one fixed orthodontic appliance for bodily movement of canine: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

A Systematic Framework to Derive N-glycan Biosynthesis Process and the Automated Construction of Glycosylation Networks

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Novel application of magnetoresistive sensors for high-voltage transmission-line monitoring

High-voltage transmission lines are responsible for transmission of electric power. Their sag and electric current are important parameters for transmission-line monitoring. In this paper, a simple and promising method based on magnetoresistive sensors is proposed for transmission-line monitoring. This is a noncontact method and its installation is simple without the need for power cut. The method involves measuring emanated magnetic field from a line conductor at the ground level and, then, calculating the source position and current inversely. A proof-of-concept laboratory setup was constructed and a series of experiments were carried out for demonstration. This method can handle complicated transmission-line configuration by integrating the stochastic optimization approach into the inverse electromagnetic calculation. It was tested with the computational simulation of a 500 kV transmission-line configuration. The result shows the feasibility of using this transmission-line monitoring method in reality. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Finding and Analyzing the Minimum Set of Driver Nodes in Control of Boolean Networks

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Hadamard Kernel SVM: Applications for Breast Cancer Outcome Predictions

16th International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB 2017): Systems Biologypublished_or_final_versio

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in Hong Kong: a review of 235 cases

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Intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of cancer perception: a confirmatory factor analysis of the cancer experience and efficacy scale (CEES)

Purpose Sociocultural factors influence psychological adjustment to cancer in Asian patients in two major ways: Prioritization of relationships over individual orientations and belief in the efficacy of interpersonal cooperation. We derived and validated among Chinese colorectal cancer (CRC) patients an instrument assessing cancer perceptions to enable the study of the sociocultural processes. Patients and methods Qualitative interviews (n=16) derived 15 items addressing interpersonal experience in Chinese CRC patients' adjustment. These 15 items and 18 corresponding self-referent items were administered to 166 Chinese CRC survivors and subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish the initial scale structure and reliability. The final 29 items, together with other psychometric measures, were administered to a second cohort of 215 CRC patients and subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results EFA (63.35% of the total variance) extracted six factors: Personal strain, socioeconomic strain, emotional strain, personal efficacy, collective efficacy, and proxy efficacy. CFA confirmed the psychometric structure [?2(df)=702.91 (368); Comparative Fit Index=0.95; Nonnormed Fit Index= 0.94; Incremental Fit Index=0.95; standardized root mean square residual=0.08] of the six factors by using a model with two latent factors: Experience and efficacy. All subscales were reliable (a=0.76-0.92). Appropriate correlations with adjustment outcomes (symptom distress, psychological morbidity, and subjective well-being), optimistic personalities, and social relational quality indicated its convergent and divergent validity. Known group comparisons (i.e., age, active treatment, and colostomy) showed its clinical utility. Conclusion The cancer experience and efficacy scale is a valid multidimensional instrument for assessing intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of cancer experience in Asian patients, potentiating existing patient-reported outcome measures. © Springer-Verlag 2009.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201