Farmers' perception of and adaptation to climate change: An investigation in Northeast Vietnam

This study investigates farmers’ perception of and adaptation to climate change in Thai Nguyen province in the Northeast region of Vietnam. Using a structured survey questionnaire, personal interviews were conducted with 534 farmers in the study province. A multivariate probit model was utilized to examine factors affecting farmers’ choices of adaptation to climate change. The results show that climate change has threatened farmers’ livelihood and agricultural cultivation. Gender, education, farming experience, land, perceived temperature, perceived precipitation, income source, climate information, agricultural training, membership and credit access significantly affect farmers’ choices of different adaptation methods. The results suggest that government should integrate climate change adaptation activities into local development plans. In addition, climate information, agricultural training, and community-based networks should be made available and accessible to all farmer

A numerical study on rear-spoiler of passenger vehicle

Author name used in this publication: Eric T.T. WongRefereed conference paper2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

An Assessment Of Traditional Uighur Medicine In Current Xinjiang Region (China)

Background: The main objectives of this study were to assess the current research and development of traditional Uighur medicine in Xinjiang (China), and to evaluate the promising pharmacological products of traditional Uighur medicine for further studies.Materials and Methods: Traditional Uighur medicine data of medicine registry, patent, and academic publications was collected and analyzed.Results: Data showed that, among the registered and studied traditional Uighur medicine, the main therapeutic areas of traditional Uighur medicine focused on skin disease, urogenital disease, rheumatism and digestive system disease. The representative traditional Uighur patent medicine included the following: BaixuanXiatare Tablets, Kaliziran Tincture and Vernoniaanthelmintica Injection (Psoriasis and vitiligo); Xi-payimazibiziLiquid (prostatitis); KursiKaknaq (urinary tract infection); Tongzhisurunjiang Capsules (anti-rheumatism medicine); HuganBuzure Granules (digestive system disease). Moreover, ten Uighur herbs were widely used, including: ResinaScammoniae, Folium FumicisDentati, HerbaDracocephali, Semen AmygdaliDulcis, HerbaChamomillae, FructusPimpinellaeanisi, Cortex Foeniculi, FructusVernoniae, FructusApii, and Radix AnacycliPyrethri.Conclusion: This study concluded by indicating that traditional Uighur medicine with excellent curative effect should be screened in details for their phytochemical properties and pharmacological activity to discover new bioactive constituents.Key words: Traditional Uighur medicine, Traditional Uighur patent medicine, Uighur her

A prospective clinical, cost and environmental analysis of a clinician-led virtual urology clinic

INTRODUCTION: Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) for primary hyperparathyroidism is dependent upon accurate prediction of single-gland disease on the basis of preoperative imaging and biochemistry. The aims of this study were to validate currently available predictive models of single-gland disease in two UK cohorts and to determine if these models can facilitate MIP. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We collected data prospectively from our weekly follow-up virtual clinic over a continuous four-month period between July and September 2017. RESULTS: In total, we reviewed 409 patients. Following virtual clinic consultation, 68.5% of our patients were discharged from further follow-up. The majority of our patients (male 57.7%, female 55.5%) were of working age. The satisfaction scores were high, at 90.1%, and there were no reported adverse events as a result of using the virtual clinic. Our calculated cost savings were £18,744, with a predicted 12-month cost saving of £56,232. The creation of additional face-to-face clinic capacity has created an estimated 12-month increase in tariff generation for our unit of £72,072. In total, 4623 travel miles were avoided by patients using the virtual clinic, with an estimated avoided carbon footprint of 0.35-1.45 metric tonnes of CO2e, depending on mode of transport. Our predicted 12-month avoided carbon footprint is 1.04-4.04 metric tonnes of CO2e. CONCLUSIONS: Our virtual clinic model has demonstrated a trifecta of positive outcomes, namely, clinical, financial and environmental benefits. The environmental importance and benefits of a virtual clinic should be promoted as a social enterprise value when engaging stakeholders in setting up such a urological service. We propose the adoption of our virtual clinic model in those urological units considering this method of telemedicine

Can quantitative analysis of multi-parametric MRI independently predict failure of focal salvage HIFU therapy in men with radio-recurrent prostate cancer?

OBJECTIVES: Focal salvage HIFU is a feasible therapeutic option in some men who have recurrence after primary radiotherapy for prostate cancer. We aimed to determine if multi-parametric quantitative parameters, in addition to clinical factors, might have a role in independently predicting focal salvage HIFU outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective registry analysis included 150 consecutive men who underwent focal salvage HIFU (Sonablate500) (2006-2015); 89 had mpMRI available. Metastatic disease was excluded by nodal assessment on pelvic MRI, a radioisotope bone-scan and/or choline or FDG PET/CT scan. All men had mpMRI and either transperineal template prostate mapping biopsy or targeted and systematic TRUS-biopsy. mpMRI included T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhancement. Pre-HIFU quantitative mpMRI data was obtained using Horos DICOM Viewer v3.3.5 for general MRI parameters and IB DCE v2.0 plug-in. Progression-free survival (PFS) was defined by biochemical failure and/or positive localized or distant imaging results and/or positive biopsy and/or systemic therapy and/or metastases/prostate cancer-specific death. Potential predictors of PFS were analyzed by univariable and multivariable Cox-regression. RESULTS: Median age at focal salvage HIFU was 71 years (interquartile range [IQR] 65-74.5) and median PSA pre-focal salvage treatment was 5.8ng/ml (3.8-8). Median follow-up was 35 months (23-47) and median time to failure was 15 months (7.8-24.3). D-Amico low, intermediate and high-risk disease was present in 1% (1/89), 40% (36/89) and 43% (38/89) prior to focal salvage HIFU (16% missing data). 56% (50/89) failed by the composite outcome. A total of 22 factors were evaluated on univariable and 8 factors on multivariable analysis. The following quantitative parameters were included: Ktrans, Kep, Ve, Vp, IS, rTTP and TTP. On univariable analysis, PSA, prostate volume at time of radiotherapy failure and Ve (median) value were predictors for failure. Ve represents extracellular fraction of the whole tissue volume. On multivariable analysis, only Ve (median) value remained as an independent predictor. CONCLUSIONS: One pharmacokinetic quantitative parameter based on DCE sequences seems to independently predict failure following focal salvage HIFU for radio-recurrent prostate cancer. This likely relates to the tumor microenvironment producing heat-sinks which counter the heating effect of HIFU. Further validation in larger datasets and evaluating mechanisms to reduce heat-sinks are required

A prospective clinical, cost and environmental analysis of a clinician-led urology virtual clinic

Introduction: A virtual clinic is a form of telemedicine where contact between clinical teams and patients occur without face-to-face consultation. Our study aims to quantify the clinical, financial and environmental benefits of our virtual urology clinic. / Material and methods: We collected data prospectively from our weekly follow-up virtual clinic over a continuous four-month period between July and September 2017. / Results: In total, we reviewed 409 patients. Following virtual clinic consultation, 68.5% of our patients were discharged from further follow-up. The majority of our patients (male 57.7%, female 55.5%) were of working age. The satisfaction scores were high, at 90.1%, and there were no reported adverse events as a result of using the virtual clinic. Our calculated cost savings were £18,744, with a predicted 12-month cost saving of £56,232. The creation of additional face-to-face clinic capacity has created an estimated 12-month increase in tariff generation for our unit of £72,072. In total, 4623 travel miles were avoided by patients using the virtual clinic, with an estimated avoided carbon footprint of 0.35–1.45 metric tonnes of CO2e, depending on mode of transport. Our predicted 12-month avoided carbon footprint is 1.04–4.04 metric tonnes of CO2e. / Conclusions: Our virtual clinic model has demonstrated a trifecta of positive outcomes, namely, clinical, financial and environmental benefits. The environmental importance and benefits of a virtual clinic should be promoted as a social enterprise value when engaging stakeholders in setting up such a urological service. We propose the adoption of our virtual clinic model in those urological units considering this method of telemedicine

Histological outcomes after focal high‐intensity focused ultrasound and cryotherapy

Introduction Focal therapy has increasingly become an accepted treatment option for patients with localised pros- tate cancer. Most follow-up protocols use a mixture of pro- tocol biopsies or “for cause” biopsies triggered by a rising PSA. In this paper, we discuss the histological outcomes from these biopsies and their use in guiding subsequent management and trial development. Methods We conducted a literature search and reviewed the post-treatment biopsy results from studies on focal HIFU and focal cryotherapy. We subsequently reviewed the results of three recently published consensus statements released discussing many of the issues concerning focal therapy. Results Research suggests that 1 in 5 of all post-treat- ment biopsies after focal therapy are positive. However, the majority of these seemed to be from the untreated por- tion of the gland or met criteria for clinically insignificant disease. The histological outcomes from focal therapy are promising and confirm its effectiveness in the short to medium term. Furthermore re-treatment is possible whilst maintaining a low-side-effect profile. Conclusion Debate is ongoing about the clinical signifi- cance of various levels of residual disease after focal ther- apy and the exact threshold at which to call failure within a patient who has had focal therapy

Are autistic traits measured equivalently in individuals with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder?:An invariance analysis of the Autism Spectrum Quotient Short Form

It is common to administer measures of autistic traits to those without autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) with, for example, the aim of understanding autistic personality characteristics in non-autistic individuals. Little research has examined the extent to which measures of autistic traits actually measure the same traits in the same way across those with and without an ASD. We addressed this question using a multi-group confirmatory factor invariance analysis of the Autism Quotient Short Form (AQ-S: Hoekstra et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 41(5):589-596, 2011) across those with (n = 148) and without (n = 168) ASD. Metric variance (equality of factor loadings), but not scalar invariance (equality of thresholds), held suggesting that the AQ-S measures the same latent traits in both groups, but with a bias in the manner in which trait levels are estimated. We, therefore, argue that the AQ-S can be used to investigate possible causes and consequences of autistic traits in both groups separately, but caution is due when combining or comparing levels of autistic traits across the two group

Gene expression drives the evolution of dominance.

Dominance is a fundamental concept in molecular genetics and has implications for understanding patterns of genetic variation, evolution, and complex traits. However, despite its importance, the degree of dominance in natural populations is poorly quantified. Here, we leverage multiple mating systems in natural populations of Arabidopsis to co-estimate the distribution of fitness effects and dominance coefficients of new amino acid changing mutations. We find that more deleterious mutations are more likely to be recessive than less deleterious mutations. Further, this pattern holds across gene categories, but varies with the connectivity and expression patterns of genes. Our work argues that dominance arises as a consequence of the functional importance of genes and their optimal expression levels