DNA barcoding of marine organisms from trawl fishery in Hong Kong

Poster presentation: P-14Biodiversity PatternsEffective conservation management can only be formulated and implemented with a thorough understanding on biodiversity in the region of interest. Yet the alpha diversity of many areas remains understudied. In the present study, DNA barcoding was employed to identify marine fish and crustacean species from trawl fishery in Hong Kong waters. A total of 140 fish specimens and 106 crustacean specimens were sampled from 12 collection sites in the eastern, southern and western waters of Hong Kong in 2012. Based on morphology, the fishes are identified into 76 ...postprin

Surgical treatment of penile curvature

OBJECTIVE: To review long-term efficacy and complications of surgical treatment of penile curvature in a Chinese population. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Regional hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS. Patients who underwent surgical treatment of penile curvature between January 1997 and March 2005 inclusive. INTERVENTION: Penile curvature corrective surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Penile curvature recurrence, early and late complications. RESULTS: Of 22 patients who underwent surgical treatment of penile curvatures, 19 had congenital and three had acquired diseases. The mean angle of deformity was 52.5 (range, 20-90) degrees. Ten patients had Nesbit procedures, ten had modified Nesbit procedures, and two underwent vein grafting. Twenty patients had residual or recurrent penile curvatures at a mean follow-up of 50.9 months. Fifteen patients had less than 30 degrees curvature and five had 30 to 60 degrees curvature. Early complications included wound infection (n=3), penile skin necrosis (n=1) treated by skin graft, and urethral injury (n=1). Three patients had erectile dysfunction; four complained of glans paraesthesia. Penile shortening (mean, 1.4 cm) and palpable knots were common late complications. A total of 19 patients were satisfied with the final outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment of penile curvature produces long-term patient satisfaction. Preoperative counselling on potential recurrence and common minor complications is crucial to produce favourable outcomes.published_or_final_versio

Predictors of treatment outcome in patients treated with radical chemoradiotherapy for stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Proffered SessionBACKGROUND: Chemoradiation has been well established as standard treatment for stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Previous studies have shown that the tumour size as well as its metabolic activity predict treatment outcome after definitive treatment for early-stage disease. We would like to investigate if there are any clinical and metabolic predictors of treatment outcome for stage III NSCLC after chemoradiation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 56 consecutive patients (46 males and 10 females) treated with radical concurrent chemoradiation for their stage IIIA (n=21) and IIIB (n=35) (AJCC 7th edition) unresectable non-small cell lung cancer between July 2006 to February 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. 42 patients had positron emission tomography with integrated computed tomography (PET-CT) scan performed at diagnosis. Of which 14 patients also had PET-CT scan after induction chemotherapy and before concurrent chemoradiation. All received concurrent chemoradiation +/- induction ...postprin

Comparison of post-treatment plasma EBV DNA with nasopharyngeal biopsy in patients after radical (chemo) radiotherapy for non-metatatic nasopharyngeal cancer

This journal suppl. entitled: Proceedings of the American Society for Radiation Oncology 56th Annual Meeting, ASTRO's 56th Annual Meeting ... 2014Oral Scientific SessionPURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S): Random nasopharyngeal biopsy after completion of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is routinely practiced in Hong Kong to confirm local remission. Plasma EBV DNA is proven an accurate marker for NPC. We carried out a prospective study comparing the correlation between post-IMRT nasopharyngeal biopsy and EBV DNA, to investigate if EBV DNA can substitute biopsy to confirm local remission. MATERIALS/METHODS: Patients with non-metastatic NPC treated with definitive (chemo) IMRT diagnosed between January 2011 and March 2013 were recruited. After baseline workup ...postprin

Inositol for the prevention of neural tube defects: a pilot randomised controlled trial

Although peri-conceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation can prevent a proportion of neural tube defects (NTD), there is increasing evidence that many NTD are FA non-responsive. The vitamin-like molecule inositol may offer a novel approach to preventing FA-non-responsive NTD. Inositol prevented NTD in a genetic mouse model, and was well tolerated by women in a small study of NTD recurrence. In the present study, we report the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects by Inositol (PONTI) pilot study designed to gain further experience of inositol usage in human pregnancy as a preliminary trial to a future large-scale controlled trial to evaluate efficacy of inositol in NTD prevention. Study subjects were UK women with a previous NTD pregnancy who planned to become pregnant again. Of 117 women who made contact, ninety-nine proved eligible and forty-seven agreed to be randomised (double-blind) to peri-conceptional supplementation with inositol plus FA or placebo plus FA. In total, thirty-three randomised pregnancies produced one NTD recurrence in the placebo plus FA group (n 19) and no recurrences in the inositol plus FA group (n 14). Of fifty-two women who declined randomisation, the peri-conceptional supplementation regimen and outcomes of twenty-two further pregnancies were documented. Two NTD recurred, both in women who took only FA in their next pregnancy. No adverse pregnancy events were associated with inositol supplementation. The findings of the PONTI pilot study encourage a large-scale controlled trial of inositol for NTD prevention, but indicate the need for a careful study design in view of the unwillingness of many high-risk women to be randomised

Metronomic oral cyclosphosphamide as third-line systemic treatment or beyond in patients with inoperable locoregionally advanced recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

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Robotic Extrusion of Algae-Laden Hydrogels for Large-Scale Applications

A bioprinting technique for large‐scale, custom‐printed immobilization of microalgae is developed for potential applications within architecture and the built environment. Alginate‐based hydrogels with various rheology modifying polymers and varying water percentages are characterized to establish a window of operation suitable for layer‐by‐layer deposition on a large scale. Hydrogels formulated with methylcellulose and carrageenan, with water percentages ranging from 80% to 92.5%, demonstrate a dominant viscoelastic solid–like property with G′ > G″ and a low phase angle, making them the most suitable for extrusion‐based printing. A custom multimaterial pneumatic extrusion system is developed to be attached on the end effector of an industrial multiaxis robot arm, allowing precision‐based numerically controlled layered deposition of the viscous hydrogel. The relationship between the various printing parameters, namely air pressure, material viscosity, viscoelasticity, feed rate, printing distance, nozzle diameter, and the speed of printing, are characterized to achieve the desired resolution of the component. Printed prototypes are postcured in CaCl2 via crosslinking. Biocompatibility tests show that cells can survive for 21 days after printing the constructs. To demonstrate the methodology for scale‐up, a 1000 × 500 mm fibrous hydrogel panel is additively deposited with 3 different hydrogels with varying water percentages

A dispositional approach to psychological climate: relationships between interpersonal harmony motives and psychological climate for communication safety

This study examined the dispositional antecedents of a climate at the individual level, psychological climate for communication safety. The impact of two interpersonal harmony motives, harmony enhancement and disintegration avoidance, on psychological climate for communication safety, innovative performance and the moderated mediated processes associated with job autonomy were examined in a survey study in China. Results showed that harmony enhancement was positively related to innovative performance through psychological climate for communication safety. Moreover, job autonomy moderated the relationship between harmony motives and psychological climate for communication safety. Harmony enhancement was more strongly associated with psychological climate for communication safety when job autonomy was low. The relationship between disintegration avoidance and psychological climate for communication safety was positive when job autonomy was high, but negative when job autonomy was low. Conditional indirect effects consistent with these interaction effects were also found

Three-Dimensional Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Data Analysis for Glaucoma Detection

Purpose: To develop a new three-dimensional (3D) spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) data analysis method using a machine learning technique based on variable-size super pixel segmentation that efficiently utilizes full 3D dataset to improve the discrimination between early glaucomatous and healthy eyes. Methods: 192 eyes of 96 subjects (44 healthy, 59 glaucoma suspect and 89 glaucomatous eyes) were scanned with SD-OCT. Each SD-OCT cube dataset was first converted into 2D feature map based on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) segmentation and then divided into various number of super pixels. Unlike the conventional super pixel having a fixed number of points, this newly developed variable-size super pixel is defined as a cluster of homogeneous adjacent pixels with variable size, shape and number. Features of super pixel map were extracted and used as inputs to machine classifier (LogitBoost adaptive boosting) to automatically identify diseased eyes. For discriminating performance assessment, area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics of the machine classifier outputs were compared with the conventional circumpapillary RNFL (cpRNFL) thickness measurements. Results: The super pixel analysis showed statistically significantly higher AUC than the cpRNFL (0.855 vs. 0.707, respectively, p = 0.031, Jackknife test) when glaucoma suspects were discriminated from healthy, while no significant difference was found when confirmed glaucoma eyes were discriminated from healthy eyes. Conclusions: A novel 3D OCT analysis technique performed at least as well as the cpRNFL in glaucoma discrimination and even better at glaucoma suspect discrimination. This new method has the potential to improve early detection of glaucomatous damage. © 2013 Xu et al

Dolutegravir in pregnant mice is associated with increased rates of fetal defects at therapeutic but not at supratherapeutic levels

BACKGROUND: Dolutegravir (DTG) is a preferred regimen for all people with HIV including pregnant women, but its effects on the fetus are not fully understood. Periconceptional exposure to DTG has been associated with increased rates of neural tube defects (NTDs), although it is unknown whether this is a causal relationship. This has led to uncertainty around the use of DTG in women of reproductive potential. METHODS: Pregnant C57BL/6J mice were randomly allocated to control (water), 1x-DTG (2.5 mg/kg-peak plasma concentration ~3000 ng/ml - therapeutic level), or 5x-DTG (12.5 mg/kg-peak plasma concentration ~12,000 ng/ml - supratherapeutic level), once daily from gestational day 0.5 until sacrifice. DTG was administered with 50 mg/kg tenofovir+33.3 mg/kg emtricitabine. Fetal phenotypes were determined, and maternal and fetal folate levels were quantified by mass-spectrometry. FINDINGS: 352 litters (91 control, 150 1x-DTG, 111 5x-DTG) yielding 2776 fetuses (747 control, 1174 1x-DTG, 855 5x-DTG) were assessed. Litter size and viability rates were similar between groups. Fetal and placenta weights were lower in the 1x-DTG vs. control. Placental weight was higher in the 5x-DTG vs. control. Five NTDs were observed, all in the 1x-DTG group. Fetal defects, including microphthalmia, severe edema, and vascular/bleeding defects were more frequent in the 1x-DTG group. In contrast, defect rates in the 5x-DTG were similar to control. Fetal folate levels were similar between control and 1x-DTG, but were significantly higher in the 5x-DTG group. INTERPRETATION: Our findings support a causal relationship of DTG at therapeutic doses with increased risk for fetal defects, including NTDs at a rate that is similar that reported in the Tsepamo study for women exposed to DTG-based ART from conception. The non-monotonic dose-response relationship between DTG and fetal anomalies could explain the previous lack of fetal toxicity findings from pre-clinical DTG studies. The fetal folate levels suggest that DTG is unlikely to be an inhibitor of folate uptake. FUNDING: This project has been funded with Federal funds from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN275201800001I