204 research outputs found
Preliminary biological screening of microbes isolated from cow dung in Kampar
Five distinct morphologically and physiologically isolates were isolated from cow dung at Kampar, Perak, Malaysia and cultured on nutrient agar (NA) plates. Morphological studies including microscopic examination, gram-staining and endospore staining were performed. Isolates K1 and K5 were gramnegative, while isolates K2, K3 and K4 were gram-positive. Isolates K2 and K4 were able to form endospore. Susceptibilities of five isolates to 17 different types of antibiotics were evaluated using theKirby-Bauer assay. Each individual isolate was resistant to at least 35% of the antibiotics tested. Antibacterial activities against 11 types of test organisms were evaluated. Isolate K4 produced antibacterial agent which inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli. Enzymatic assay for the presence of22 types of enzymes were screened. All isolates produced protease, lipase and esterase lipase. Further studies will be done for identification of all the species.Key words: Nutrient agar (NA), Kirby-Bauer assay (disk-diffusion assay), antibacterial activities, enzymatic assay
Intracerebral haemorrhage complicating anticoagulant therapy among Hong Kong Chinese
PosterBACKGROUND: Anticoagulation is effective to prevent cardioembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and prosthetic heart valves, but carries risk of potentially life-threatening intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). The ideal international normalised ratio (INR) for Chinese patients on warfarin treatment is uncertain. We aimed to study the clinical and radiological characteristics of Chinese patients who developed acute ICH while on warfarin …published_or_final_versio
Brainstem encephalitis in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders
Poster: abstract no. 41published_or_final_versionThe 17th Medical Research Conference (MRC), Department of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 14 january 2012. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2012, v. 18 suppl. 1, p. 3
Prognostic implications of surrogate markers of atherosclerosis in low-to-intermediate risk patients with type 2 diabetes
Poster PresentationINTRODUCTION: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular events. Unfortunately traditional risk assessment scores, including the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), have only modest accuracy in cardiovascular risk prediction in these patients. METHODS: We sought to determine the prognostic values of different non-invasive markers of atherosclerosis, including brachial artery endothelial function, carotid artery atheroma burden, ankle-brachial index, arterial stiffness and computed tomography coronary artery calcium score (CACS) in 151 T2DM Chinese patients who were identified low-intermediate risk from the FRS recalib…published_or_final_versio
Stroke Patients with a Past History of Cancer Are at Increased Risk of Recurrent Stroke and Cardiovascular Mortality
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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: time lapse before diagnosis and treatment
This is a descriptive study of 168 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who were referred to public oncology departments for primary treatment between July and September 1996. The mean duration from the onset of the symptoms to histological diagnosis was 5.0 months; the duration ranged from 6.1 months (for patients presenting with nasal symptoms) to 1.8 months (for those with cranial nerve dysfunction). The mean period between the onset of symptoms and the seeking of medical advice was 2.9months. For 54% of the patients, there was a further delay of up to 2.4 months between the initial medical consultation and referral to the appropriate specialist. The majority (84%) of patients attended public institutions for histological confirmation. The mean total time taken from the onset of symptoms to the commencement of radiotherapy was 6.5 months (range, 1.3-74.0 months)---45% of the delay was attributed to the patient, 20% to initial consultations, 14% to diagnostic arrangement, and 21% to preparation for radiotherapy. Concerted efforts are needed to minimise further the time between the onset of symptoms and treatment. A substantial reduction in this delay can be achieved if both public and primary care doctors were made more aware of the significance of relevant symptoms.published_or_final_versio
Is there an impact of public smoking bans on self-reported smoking status and exposure to secondhand smoke?
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Implementation of smoke free policies has potentially substantial effects on health by reducing secondhand smoke exposure. However little is known about whether the introduction of anti-smoking legislation translates into decreased secondhand smoke exposure. We examined whether smoking bans impact rates of secondhand smoke exposure in public places and rates of complete workplace smoking restriction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Canadian Community Health Survey was used to obtain secondhand smoking exposure rates in 15 Ontario municipalities. Data analysis included descriptive summaries and 95% confidence intervals were calculated and compared across groups</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Across all studied municipalities, secondhand smoke exposure in public places decreased by 4.7% and workplace exposure decreased by 2.3% between the 2003 and 2005 survey years. The only jurisdiction to implement a full ban from no previous ban was also the only setting that experienced significant decreases in both individual exposure to secondhand smoke in a public place (-17.3%, 95% CI -22.8, -11.8) and workplace exposure (-18.1%, 95% CI -24.9, -11.3). Exposures in vehicles and homes declined in almost all settings over time.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Implementation of a full smoking ban was associated with the largest decreases in secondhand smoke exposure while partial bans and changes in existing bans had inconsistent effects. In addition to decreasing exposure in public places as would be expected from legislation, bans may have additional benefits by decreasing rates of current smokers and decreasing exposures to secondhand smoke in private settings.</p
Stroke patients with cancer are at increased risk of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular mortality
Background: Cancer patients are at increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. It is unclear
whether cancer confers any additional risk for recurrent stroke or cardiovascular mortality after stroke.
Methods: This was a single-centre, observational study of 1105 consecutive Chinese ischaemic stroke patients
recruited from a large stroke rehabilitation unit based in Hong Kong. We sought to determine whether patients
with cancer are at higher risk of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular mortality.
Results: Among 1105 patients, 58 patients (5.2%) had cancer, of whom 74% were in remission. After a mean
follow-up of 76 ± 18 months, 241 patients developed a recurrent stroke: 22 in patients with cancer (38%, annual
incidence, 13.94%/year), substantially more than those without cancer (21%, 4.65%/year) [P < 0.01]. In a Cox
regression model, cancer, age, and atrial fibrillation were the three independent predictors of recurrent stroke
with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.42 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.54-3.80), 1.01 (1.00-1.03), and 1.35 (1.01-1.82),
respectively. Likewise, patients with cancer had a higher cardiovascular mortality compared with those without
cancer (4.30%/year vs 2.35%/year; P = 0.08). In Cox regression analysis, cancer (HR = 2.08; 95% CI, 1.08-4.02), age
(HR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02-1.06), heart failure (HR = 3.07; 95% CI, 1.72-5.47), and significant carotid atherosclerosis
(HR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.02-2.36) were independent predictors for cardiovascular mortality.
Conclusions: Cancer patients who develop ischaemic stroke are at increased risk of recurrent stroke and
cardiovascular mortality.published_or_final_versio
One-dimensional Topological Edge States of Bismuth Bilayers
The hallmark of a time-reversal symmetry protected topologically insulating
state of matter in two-dimensions (2D) is the existence of chiral edge modes
propagating along the perimeter of the system. To date, evidence for such
electronic modes has come from experiments on semiconducting heterostructures
in the topological phase which showed approximately quantized values of the
overall conductance as well as edge-dominated current flow. However, there have
not been any spectroscopic measurements to demonstrate the one-dimensional (1D)
nature of the edge modes. Among the first systems predicted to be a 2D
topological insulator are bilayers of bismuth (Bi) and there have been recent
experimental indications of possible topological boundary states at their
edges. However, the experiments on such bilayers suffered from irregular
structure of their edges or the coupling of the edge states to substrate's bulk
states. Here we report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments which
show that a subset of the predicted Bi-bilayers' edge states are decoupled from
states of Bi substrate and provide direct spectroscopic evidence of their 1D
nature. Moreover, by visualizing the quantum interference of edge mode
quasi-particles in confined geometries, we demonstrate their remarkable
coherent propagation along the edge with scattering properties that are
consistent with strong suppression of backscattering as predicted for the
propagating topological edge states.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, and supplementary materia
Burden of rare variants in ALS genes influences survival in familial and sporadic ALS
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