In our region with a high incidence of tuberculosis, the most frequent cause of pleural exudates is tuberculosis followed by malignancy, particularly lung cancer.

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The microbiology of CAP in patients requiring hospitalization in Malaysia appears to be different from that in Western countries. Gram-negative bacilli were more frequently isolated in older patients and in those with comorbidity. Mortality from CAP is more likely in patients with comorbidity and in those who are bacteraemic.

The prevalence of SPT reactivity to common aeroallergens is high among Malaysian asthmatics, particularly in those with an early age of onset and in those with coexisting rhinitis.

Background: Two devices are available for making transcutaneous estimates of serum bilirubin (SBR): the Minolta AirShields JM102 and the new SpectRx BiliCheck. Objectives: (a) To measure how well the readings produced by these devices agree with SBR measured in the laboratory; (b) to estimate for each device, the proportion of infants with clinical jaundice who would require blood sampling if the device was used as a screening tool to detect infants with SBR > 250 µmol/l. Design: Prospective cohort study of jaundiced infants who required SBR at < 20 days of postnatal age. Those who had received phototherapy or exchange transfusion were excluded. Setting: Tertiary neonatal service in South-East Scotland. Interventions: Within 30 minutes of SBR sampling, transcutaneous bilirubinometry was performed using one Minolta and two SpectRx devices (designated A and B). Results: Sixty four neonates were enrolled, 19 of which were preterm (31-35 weeks). The 95% confidence intervals of a device reading corresponding to SBR were ± 66.7, ± 67.9, and ± 66.4 µmol/l respectively. Using the devices to identify all SBR > 250 µmol/l would reduce SBR sampling by 23%, 16%, and 20% respectively. Conclusions: Given that SBR levels range from 50 to 400 µmol/l in jaundiced infants, the 95% confidence intervals of the devices are wide at ± 67 µmol/l. The SpectRx can be used as a screening tool for hyperbilirubinaemia but there is no advantage in using it over the Minolta.

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This study explores the transitional processes of Taiwan's innovation system over the past half century, evolving from being rooted in traditional industries to attaining development in a virtuous cycle of development. Our approach is inspired by the Arena of Development theory and acknowledges the system of transformation failures, in which we highlighted the types of failures that might impede economic progress and how they were overcome in the evolutionary targeting of Taiwan's industrial development.Our findings demonstrate that the success of Taiwan's economic transition is targeted on, and evolves with, a series of macrolevel policies in the early phase of development; mesolevel institutional mechanisms to attain the industrial emergence settings; and, in pursuit of the virtuous cycle of development, the microlevel collaboration platform. We attribute the success of Taiwan's industrial system to this series of systematic government interventions. This study provides novel and salient normative principles that guide transformational policymakers in governing transitional processes of innovation system.

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