[Growth and degradation characteristics of an efficient and broad-spectrum atrazine-degrading strain SB5].

In this study, triazine-degrading strain SB5 was isolated and screened from the activated sludge contaminated with atrazine by enrichment culture technology. Based on its morphology and 16S rRNA gene analysis, strain SB5 was initially identified as sp. It contained the atrazine-degrading genes , and .

Allergic fungal sinusitis caused by Schizophyllum commune.

A case of allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) due to Schizophyllum commune was reported. The pathogen was identified using molecular bioanalysis. The patient underwent the functional endoscopic sinus surgery followed by the radical maxillary sinusotomy with canine fossa trephine.

[An overview of non-specific lipid transfer protein in plant].

Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are a group of abundantly expressed small basic proteins, which can reversibly bind and transport hydrophobic molecules in vitro. Nine types of nsLTP have been identified from a variety of plants. All the type of nsLTPs possesses the conserved eight cysteine residue motif with a three-dimensional structure of an internal hydrophobic cavity and the lipid binding site.

[Plant Trihelix transcription factors family].

The Trihelix transcription factor family has raised great concerns only in recent years. It was named after its conserved DNA binding domain containing three tandem helix (helix-loop-helix-loop-helix), which could bind specifically with GT element, a light-responsive DNA element. So, this family is also known as GT factors.

Rapid identification and characterization of Penicillium marneffei using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) in paraffin-embedded tissue samples.

Penicillium marneffei infection is a deadly disease and early diagnosis leads to prompt and appropriate antifungal therapy. To develop a sensitive method to diagnose P. marneffei infection, a multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assay was adapted.

[Inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on myeloid differentiation factor 88 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha expressions in mouse peritoneal macrophages].

Objective: To study the inhibitory effect of dexamethasone (DEX) on myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages in innate immune response to Penicillium marneffei (PM).

Methods: Mouse peritoneal macrophages were cultured in the presence of heat-inactivated yeast-phase PM with or without DEX, and the protein and mRNA expressions of MyD88 in the macrophages were detected using Western blotting and real-time PCR, respectively. TNF-alpha in the cell culture supernatant was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The effects of a self-esteem program incorporated into health and physical education classes.

Background: Self-esteem, a key construct of personality, influences thoughts, actions, and feelings. Adolescence is a critical stage to the development of self-esteem. Taiwan currently offers no self-esteem building curriculum in the public education system.

Pseudomembranous-like tinea of the scrotum: report of six cases.

Six cases of tinea of the scrotum with atypical clinical features were observed in the dermatology department of our hospital between 2001 and 2007. The age of onset ranged from 14 to 26 years. Unusual clinical presentations of pseudomembranous-like disease were observed in every patient.

Cloning of fatty acid elongase1 gene and molecular identification of A and C genome in Brassica species.

The fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) genes of Brassic napus were cloned from two cultivars, i.e. Zhongshuan No.

Psychosocial factors affecting hip fracture elder's burden of care in Taiwan.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the factors that affect the burden of care for primary caregivers of older people during the transition period after discharge from the hospital to home.

Methods: Using convenience sampling, 95 older patients who had been hospitalized for a hip fracture and their primary caregivers were enrolled. Data pertaining to the burden experienced by the caregivers were collected 1 week and 1 month after discharge from the hospital.

Hip fracture: family caregivers' burden and related factors for older people in Taiwan.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the burden experienced by caregivers during the transition from hospital to home.

Background: With a growing older population, home-based care has gradually gained more recognition. Most older people with hip fracture in Taiwan have to be discharged at a relatively early stage.

An agonist human ICOS monoclonal antibody that induces T cell activation and inhibits proliferation of a myeloma cell line.

The inducible costimulator (ICOS), the third member of the CD28/CD152 receptor family, is an important costimulatory molecule during the immune response. In this study, a functional anti-human ICOS MAb 2C7 was obtained. The specificity of this MAb was verified by flow cytometry, Western blotting, and competition with anti-ICOS MAb ISA3.

Effects of a self-management asthma educational program in Taiwan based on PRECEDE-PROCEED model for parents with asthmatic children.

This study was conducted to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of two different asthma educational programs. One was self-management asthma education based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to change the influential factors based on a previous need assessment study in Taiwan. The other consisted of regular outpatient asthma education.

Expression of recombinant human ICOS and in vitro characterization of its bioactivity on B lymphocytes.

Inducible costimulator (ICOS) is a novel costimulatory molecule expressed in activated T cell and has critical regulation effect on special immune response. In this study, the cDNA encoding human ICOS was cloned from activated tonsil cells via RT-PCR, and was expressed in E. coli on pET28 expression vector.

Educational diagnosis of self-management behaviors of parents with asthmatic children by triangulation based on PRECEDE-PROCEED model in Taiwan.

This assessment study is an educational and behavioral diagnosis based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model which identifies factors (predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing) that must be changed to initiate and sustain the self-management behaviors of parents with asthmatic children (aged 3-14 years) in the largest children's hospital in northern Taiwan. In the first step, 21 self-management behaviors were induced from the content analysis of qualitative interviews of 16 successful parents. The construct validity of 21 self-management behaviors was established by principal component factor analysis, followed by the rotation method with Varimax and Kaiser normalization.

Impact of a transtheoretical model on the psychosocial factors affecting exercise among workers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise intervention on improvement of perceived exercise benefit, perceived exercise barrier, and exercise self-efficacy. A quasi- experimental design was utilized and purposive sampling was conducted at a telecom worksite in southern Taiwan. One hundred and ninety-three subjects were assigned to an experimental and a control group.

Increasing bioactivity of Flt3 ligand by fusing two identical soluble domains.

Flt3 ligand (FL) is a hematopoietic growth factor, initiating its in tracellular signaling cascade by binding to counterpart receptor and driving receptor dimerization. The native form of soluble FL in vivo is mainly monomeric. In this study, we constructed a rFL-FL fusion protein cDNA by linking two copies of cDNA encoding the soluble domain of FL in tandem and expressed it in Pichia pastoris.