Effect of applying the new clinical and laboratory standards institute ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam and imipenem susceptibility breakpoints for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Hong Kong

Letters to the editorpostprin

Cerebrospinal fluid to serum glucose ratio in non-hypoglycorrhachic neurological conditions

Objective. To explore the relevance of cerebrospinal fluid to serum glucose ratio in non-hypoglycorrhachic conditions. Design. Retrospective observational study. Setting. Neurology ward, university teaching hospital, Hong Kong. Patients. Adult patients with conditions unrelated to hypoglycorrhachia who underwent lumbar puncture. Main outcome measures. Cerebrospinal fluid and simultaneous serum glucose concentrations, and their ratio to each other. Results. Between September 1998 and August 2003, 170 cerebrospinal fluid and serum glucose samples were collected from 138 patients. Mean cerebrospinal fluid to serum glucose ratio was 0.61 (standard deviation, 0.142; range, 0.21-1.00). With the exception of cerebrospinal fluid protein level, laboratory parameters were similar among different diseases. The glucose ratio was lower than 0.6 in 43% and lower than 0.5 in 19% of samples. Cases with a low glucose ratio appeared to have higher serum glucose concentrations (significant among groups with different glucose ratios, P<0.001). The mean glucose ratio (0.65) was also significantly higher in patients with serum glucose concentration of lower than 7.8 mmol/L compared with those with serum glucose concentration between 7.8 and 11.1 mmol/L (mean, 0.46), or higher than 11.1 mmol/L (mean, 0.46) [P<0.001]. There was a strong negative correlation between the glucose ratio and serum glucose concentration (r= -0.704, P<0.001). Conclusion. A lowered cerebrospinal fluid to serum glucose ratio is often seen in the absence of an appropriate disorder, especially when simultaneous serum glucose concentration is elevated. This may be explained by the saturation kinetics of glucose transportation in hyperglycaemia, and the time lag for cerebrospinal fluid and glucose to equilibrate when the blood level fluctuates.published_or_final_versio

Characterization of Two-Pore Channel 2 by Nuclear Membrane Electrophysiology

Lysosomal calcium (Ca2+) release mediated by NAADP triggers signalling cascades that regulate many cellular processes. The identification of two-pore channel 2 (TPC2) as the NAADP receptor advances our understanding of lysosomal Ca2+ signalling, yet the lysosome is not amenable to traditional patch-clamp electrophysiology. Previous attempts to record TPC2 single-channel activity put TPC2 outside its native environment, which not reflect TPC2’s true physiological properties. To test the feasibility of using nuclear membrane electrophysiology for TPC2 channel characterization, we constructed a stable human TPC2-expressing DT40TKO cell line that lacks endogenous InsP3R and RyR (DT40TKO-hTPC2). Immunostaining revealed hTPC2 expression on the ER and nuclear envelope. Intracellular dialysis of NAADP into Fura-2-loaded DT40TKO-hTPC2 cells elicited cytosolic Ca2+ transients, suggesting that hTPC2 was functionally active. Using nuclear membrane electrophysiology, we detected a ~220 pS single-channel current activated by NAADP with K+ as the permeant ion. The detected single-channel recordings displayed a linear current-voltage relationship, were sensitive to Ned-19 inhibition, were biphasically regulated by NAADP concentration, and regulated by PKA phosphorylation. In summary, we developed a cell model for the characterization of the TPC2 channel and the nuclear membrane patch-clamp technique provided an alternative approach to rigorously investigate the electrophysiological properties of TPC2 with minimal manipulation.published_or_final_versio

Comparative host gene transcription by microarray analysis early after infection of the Huh7 cell line by SARS coronavirus and human coronavirus 229E

During the early stages of infection, SARS-CoV produces more severe perturbation of host cell gene expression in a human epithelial cell line of liver origin than the HCoV-229E.published_or_final_versio

Improved performance for OTFT with HfTiO2 as gate dielectric by N2O annealing

OTFTs with HfTiO 2 as gate dielectric have been successfully fabricated. The devices show small threshold voltage and subthreshold slope, and thus are suitable for low-voltage and low-power applications. This work also finds that OTFT with gate dielectric annealed in N 2O has larger dielectric constant, smaller threshold voltage, smaller subthreshold slope and larger on/off ratio than the N 2-annealed sample. This demonstrates that the N 2O annealing is an important surface treatment for preparing a high-quality insulator/organic interface. © 2007 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

An epidemiological study of motor neuron disease in Hong Kong

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Clinical relevance of severe initial hypertension in acute intracerebral haemorrhage

Free Paper Presentations – Session 2OBJECTIVE: To characterise severe initial hypertension (SIH) in the acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and the related clinical outcomes. METHODOLOGY: We prospectively identified patients admitted to a regional hospital with acute ICH between January 2003 and September 2003. SIH was defined by systolic BP >180 mmHg, diastolic BP >105 mmHg and/or mean BP >130 mmHg for 2 or more readings at 10 or more minutes apart. Clinical data was recorded and analyzed. The modified Rankin score was used to assess disability. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were identified. SIH was found in 72 patients (70.6%). Comparing those with SIH and those without SIH, they differed statistically in Glasgow Coma Scale (p=0.03), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (p<0.001), volume of ICH (p=0.006), past history of hypertension (p=0.03) and time from onset to hospital arrival (p=0.013). Patients with SIH had a statistically significant increase in 30-day mortality (p=0.028) and 3-month mortality (p=0.016) as well as increase in 30-day disability (p=0.003) and 3-month disability (p=0.006). However, the correlation between SIH and mortality or disability was lost when controlling for the above factors. Furthermore, about half of the patients with SIH had their BP subsided within the first day, and this was associated with a significantly lower 30-day disability (p=0.033) and 3-month disability (p=0.045). CONCLUSION: SIH in acute ICH is related to a poor neurological state, an increased volume of ICH, a past history of hypertension and a shorter delay from onset. SIH is a prognostic indicator for mortality and disability but is not an independent factor. As those with early settle of BP have a lower disability, aggressive BP control in the acute phase of ICH may lessen the morbidity.published_or_final_versio

A prevalence study of epilepsy in Hong Kong

Objectives. To examine epidemiological data on epilepsy for the Hong Kong west region. Design. Descriptive study. Setting. Epilepsy clinic, university teaching hospital, Hong Kong. Patients and methods. The epilepsy clinic of Queen Mary Hospital manages the majority of adult patients (aged 15 years or older) with chronic seizure disorders resident in the Hong Kong west area with an adult population of 475 900. All patients underwent electroencephalography examination and each subject was independently assessed by two epileptologists for diagnosis and classified according to the International League Against Leaoue Epilepsy recommendations. Results. Seven hundred and thirty-six patients (female, 42.9%; male, 57.1%; mean age, 40.8 years; standard deviation, 13.6 years) with epilepsy were enrolled in the study. The prevalence rate of active epilepsy in the population 15 years or older was estimated at 1.54 per 1000 on 1 January 2002. Two hundred and eighty-five (38.7%) patients had idiopathic epilepsy syndromes, 100 (13.6%) had cryptogenic epilepsy, and 285 (38.7%) had a remote symptomatic aetiology. Seizure type was partial in 408 (55.4%) patients and generalised in 285 (38.7%). Thirty-one (4.2%) patients had a positive family history. Idiopathic generalised epilepsy syndromes described as common in the literature, such as juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and childhood absence epilepsy, were infrequently seen at 0.68% and 0.95% of cases, respectively. Conclusions. This study provides baseline data for epilepsy service development and research in Hong Kong. The prevalence rate of active epilepsy in this Chinese, adult population was low compared with that reported in other developed countries. Further population-based epidemiological research is indicated to confirm the prevalence of seizure disorders in this locality.published_or_final_versio

Cognitive impairment in adiponectin-knockout mice

Oral Presentationpublished_or_final_versio

Adiponectin is protective against oxidative stress induced cytotoxicity in amyloid-beta neurotoxicity

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