METHODS: The model used the best available data inputs, with uncertainty considered using probabilistic sensitivity analysis. We additionally assessed the impact of neonatal jaundice (NNJ) on the economic benefits of increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates.
RESULTS: During 2010-2019, five admissions for GE and three admissions for LRTI per 1000 births would have been prevented in the first year of life if the exclusive breastfeeding rate at 4 months increased from the actual levels (~15-30%) to 50%, resulting in annual healthcare cost savings of USD1.05 (95% CI 1.03-1.07) million/year. The cost saving would reach USD1.89 (95% CI 1.86-1.92) million/year if the exclusive breastfeeding rate at 4 months increase to 70%. However, if higher NNJ admissions during 7-90 days related to more exclusive breastfeeding are considered, the cost saving would reduce by 60%.
CONCLUSION: Our findings can guide policymakers in allocating budget and resources for breastfeeding promotion in Hong Kong. The prevention of unnecessary NNJ admissions would maximise the economic benefits of exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months.
METHODS: Two types of phantoms were developed: phantoms A and B. Phantom A was made from a base material consisting of polyvinyl chloride-plastisol with the addition of glycerol, whereas phantom B consisted of polyvinyl chloride-plastisol with the addition of graphite. Each phantom had a stiff and soft lesion shaped like a sphere, with a diameter of 1.4 cm. The phantoms were cuboids with dimensions of 10 × 10 cm2 and a thickness of 5 cm. A series of phantom evaluations was performed, consisting of density, elasticity, acoustic properties, B-mode ultrasound images, and strain ratio.
RESULTS: The characterisation results show that background A closely resembles fibroglandular tissue in terms of density and acoustic properties (<5% variation); background B only resembles fibroglandular tissue in terms of density (-1.8% variation). In terms of elasticity, both backgrounds were close to the minimum value of fibroglandular tissue elasticity. The soft lesion on the phantom had a slightly lower density and elasticity than the carcinoma, whereas its acoustic properties (speed of sound and attenuation coefficient) were slightly higher than those of the reference carcinoma. Both phantoms were consistent with the literature in terms of strain ratio, geometric accuracy, lesion detection, and mean pixel value and showed good potential stability over one year.
CONCLUSION: This study successfully described the fabrication and evaluation sequence of a phantom equivalent to breast fibroglandular tissue and its evaluation via ultrasound imaging.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study offers proprietary information essential for the fabrication of phantoms that can be used for quality assurance and control in ultrasound imaging.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationships between age, ANA, RF levels, RA (disease present), and treatment response using Pearson correlation analysis and a neural network model, to predict treatment outcomes in patients with coexisting SS and RA.
METHODS: A cohort of 56 female patients aged 30-73 was analyzed. Descriptive statistics provided an overview of key variables, followed by Pearson correlation analysis to assess relationships between age, ANA, RF, RA, and treatment response. A neural network model was developed to predict treatment response based on age, ANA, and RF levels, using a training-to-testing split of 81.3 % and 18.8 %, respectively.
RESULTS: The Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between age and ANA levels (r = .541, p = 0.031), though no significant correlations were found between age, RF, RA, and treatment response. The neural network model achieved an accuracy of 92.3 % during training and 100 % accuracy during testing for most treatment categories. However, the model struggled to accurately distinguish between certain classes, particularly treatment categories 1 and 3.
CONCLUSION: Age showed a significant correlation with ANA levels, indicating that older patients may have elevated ANA. The neural network model demonstrated strong predictive power for treatment response, although further refinement is needed to improve its ability to distinguish between all response categories. These findings suggest that machine learning models could enhance personalized treatment strategies for patients with SS and RA, but additional validation with larger datasets is required.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study where patients with haematological cancers attending two major hospitals were recruited. Anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS). Quality of life (QoL) of these patients was measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ C30). An overall summary QoL score in combination with financial difficulty score and global health score were used for analysis.
RESULTS: A total of 319 patients were recruited. Thirty-three percent of patients had anxiety symptoms, 23.5% had depression symptoms. In summary the overall score of QoL is significantly lower in patients with higher scores for depression and anxiety, (p<0.05). Patients who exhibit anxiety symptoms were more frequently female, still undergoing treatment whereas patients who had higher depression scores were older and had acute leukemias or myeloproliferative neoplasms. Patients who have depression are significantly associated with a higher financial difficulty score, p<0.05.
CONCLUSION: The poor quality of life in patients who have anxiety and depression should raise awareness amongst the health professions treating them so that additional support can be provided.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a single-center, single-dose, open-label, randomized, 2-treatment, 2-sequence and 2- period crossover study with a washout period of 7 days. All 28 adult male subjects were required to fast for at least 10 hours prior to drug administration and they were given access to water ad libitum during this period. Thirty minutes prior to dosing, all subjects were served with a standardized high-fat and high-calorie breakfast with a total calorie of 1000 kcal which was in accordance to the EMA Guideline on the Investigation of Bioequivalence. Subsequently, subjects were administered either the test or reference preparation with 240mL of plain water in the first trial period. During the second trial period, they received the alternate preparation. Plasma levels of glibenclamide and metformin were analysed separately using two different high performance liquid chromatography methods.
RESULTS: The 90% confidence interval (CI) for the ratio of the AUC0-t, AUC0-∞, and Cmax of the test preparation over those of the reference preparation were 0.9693-1.0739, 0.9598- 1.0561 and 0.9220 - 1.0642 respectively. Throughout the study period, no serious drug reaction was observed. However, a total of 26 adverse events (AE)/side effects were reported, including 24 that were definitely related to the study drugs, namely giddiness (n=17), while diarrheoa (n=3), headache (n=2) and excessive hunger (n=2) were less commonly reported by the subjects.
CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the test preparation is bioequivalent to the reference preparation.