Naresuan University Journal
Not a member yet
39887 research outputs found
Sort by
How are normal sleeping controls selected? A systematic review of cross-sectional insomnia studies, and a standardised method to select healthy controls for sleep research.
No full text
Effect of bariatric surgery on apolipoproteinE concentration and distribution
No full textAim: Apolipoprotein E (apoE) plays a key role in lipoprotein metabolism. It is likely to have different functions in different lipoproteins, and glycation almost certainly affects its functionality. This study aimed to assess the effects of obesity on apoE concentration and distribution across lipoproteins, and its susceptibility to glycation, and discover the effect of weight loss after bariatric surgery.Methods: We studied total and glycated apoE, and the distribution of apoE across different lipoprotein sub-fractions in 20 non-obese and obese patients before and after bariatric surgery.Results: In obese patients total apoE and glycated apoE were higher compared with non-obese controls, at 59.5(27-108) vs. 46.7(30-88.5) mg/l (p1.21g/ml (13.3% vs. 16.5%, p0.05). Six months after bariatric surgery, total apoE decreased by 18.9%. The percentage apoE in VLDL increased by 31.6% (p1.21g/ml fractions (
Anti-osteoporosis drug prescribing after hip fracture in the UK: 2000-2010.
No full textUNLABELLED: The probability of initiating with anti-osteoporosis therapy increased from 7 % in 2000 to 46 % in 2010. This improvement was greater for patients over the age of 75 years. Men, those overweight, having dementia or exposed to antipsychotics, sedatives/hypnotics or opioid analgesics were significantly less likely to receive anti-osteoporosis drugs. INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to examine trends and determinants of anti-osteoporosis drug prescribing after hip fracture in the UK between 2000 and 2010. METHODS: Data were extracted from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink for patients ≥50 years who had a first hip fracture between 2000 and 2010 and who did not currently (≤6 months prior) receive anti-osteoporosis drugs (bisphosphonates, strontium ranelate, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and raloxifene) (n = 27,542). The cumulative incidence probability of being prescribed anti-osteoporosis drugs within 1 year after hip fracture was estimated by Kaplan-Meier life-table analyses. Determinants for treatment initiation were estimated by Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: The probability of being prescribed any anti-osteoporosis drug after hip fracture increased from 7 % in 2000 to 46 % in 2010. This trend was more marked in patients ≥75 years. The increase in prescribing of anti-osteoporosis drugs was complemented by a similar increase in vitamin D/calcium provision. Cumulative incidence of receiving anti-osteoporosis therapy was greater at any given point in time in women (8 % in 2000, 51 % in 2010) compared to men (4 % in 2000, 34 % in 2010). In addition to male gender, multivariable Cox regression identified reduced likelihood of receiving anti-osteoporosis drugs for those being overweight, having dementia and exposed to psychotropic drugs (antipsychotics, sedatives/hypnotics) or opioid analgesics. CONCLUSION: Although the prescribing of anti-osteoporosis drugs after hip fracture has increased substantially since 2000, the overall rate remained inadequate, particularly in men. With the continuing increase in the absolute number of hip fractures, further research should be made into the barriers to optimise osteoporosis management
Response to the Comment by Westaway et al. (Applied Energy, available online 20 March 2015) on the paper œLife Cycle Environmental Impacts of UK Shale Gas by Stamford and Azapagic (Applied Energy 134 (2014) 506-581)
No full textIn the recent Comment on our paper Life cycle environmental impacts of UK shale gas (Applied Energy 134 (2014) 506-518), Westaway et al. (Applied Energy, available online 20th March 2015) allege that we exaggerated the potential impacts of shale gas extraction in the UK. They first take an issue with our inclusion of worst case scenarios despite our clear declaration in several places in the paper that this is indicative of what could happen within the confines of a very ill-defined and highly variable future reality. Secondly, Westaway et al. claim that key assumptions in the modelling reflect illegal practices that would not occur, when in fact this is an exaggeration of the legal situation and these practices are still viable. This rebuttal addresses some of the claims made by Westaway et al. while welcoming further open and impartial discourse in this area
Initial assessment of voltage-led demand response from UK residential loads
No full textOne way of unlocking aggregated demand response without directly managing customers is to exploit the positive correlation between voltage and demand. This work presents an initial assessment of the potential residential response in UK primary substations (e.g., 33/11 or 33/6.6 kV) as part of the trial “Customer Load Active System Services (CLASS)” run by the distribution network operator Electricity North West Limited (ENWL). Two load modelling methodologies, time independent and time varying, are presented and applied to a single primary substation and then extended to the ENWL area. For the latter, the results considering the time-varying model, purely residential load, and 3% voltage reduction during a winter day show that it could be possible to achieve an aggregated peak reduction exceeding 150 MW (>3%). Although the two load models have shown strong agreement the latter is a more accurate alternative when demand response throughout the day is of particular interest
Novel switching mode in a vertically aligned liquid crystal contact lens.
No full textLiquid crystal (LC) contact lenses are emerging as an exciting technology for vision correction. A homeotropically (vertical) aligned LC lens is reported that offers improved optical quality and simplified construction techniques over previously reported LC contact lens designs. The lens has no polarization dependence in the off state and produces a continuous change in optical power of up to 2.00 ± 0.25 D with a voltage applied. The variation in optical power results from the voltage-induced change in refractive index of the nematic LC layer, from 1.52 to a maximum of 1.72. One device substrate is treated with an alignment layer that is a mixture of planar and homeotropic polyimides, rubbed to induce a preferred director orientation in the switched state. Defects that could occur during switching are thus avoided and the lens exhibits excellent optical quality with a continuous variation in focal power
Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with top quarks and decaying into in pp collisions at = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector
No full textMoving beyond local practice: Reconfiguring the adoption of a breast cancer diagnostic technology
No full textThis paper explores the ways in which technological innovation becomes adopted and incorporated into healthcare practice. Drawing upon the notion of ‘field of practices’, we examine how adoption is subject to spatially and temporally distributed reconfigurations across a multi-level set of practices, ranging from the policy level to the micro-level setting of individual action. The empirical backdrop is provided by a case study of the adoption of Breast Lymph Node Assay (BLNA), a diagnostic technology innovation for the treatment of breast cancer patients. Our aim is to contribute to the development of a more comprehensive analysis of the processes surrounding the adoption and incorporation of complex healthcare technologies into routine practice