Roles of transcriptional factor PsrA in the regulation of quorum sensing in PAO1.

The transcription factor PsrA regulates fatty acid metabolism, the type III secretion system, and quinolone signaling quorum sensing system in . To explore additional roles of PsrA in , this study engineered a PAO1 strain to carry a recombinant plasmid with the gene (pMMB) and examined the impact of elevated expression to the bacterium. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that PsrA significantly downregulated genes encoding the master quorum-sensing regulators, RhlR and LasR, and influenced many quorum-sensing-associated genes.

Joint hypermobility and preschool-age flexible flatfoot.

Flexible flatfoot is the most common condition seen in pediatric orthopedic practice and generalized joint hypermobility is widely regarded as one of the predisposing factors. However, in previous studies, the flatfoot was defined by observers' subjective evaluation of the eversion of the bare foot in the standing position; and the joint hypermobility was defined by the Beighton score. The objective of this study is to evaluate the correlation between preschool-age flexible flatfoot and joint hypermobility in preschool-age children objectively.

Peel Extract Retards Alcoholic Liver Disease Progression by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Responses in C57BL/6 Mice.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has become a health problem as alcohol consumption has increased annually. Hepatic lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation are important factors in the progression of ALD. Red pitaya ( (Weber) Britt.

Recognizing the peak bone mass (age 30) as a cutoff point to achieve the success of orthodontic implants.

The aim of present study was to investigate the critical risk factor (age 30: peak bone mass) to evaluate the success of orthodontic implants. A total of 426 orthodontic implants were placed in 270 patients as orthodontic anchorages. Data were analyzed according to patient's characteristics, location of placement, implant categories, and orthodontic force.

Comparison between single-incision and multiple-incision laparoscopic surgery for totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair.

We compared the clinical outcomes of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) and multiple-incision laparoscopic surgery for totally extraperitoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair. This retrospective study included 134 consecutive patients undergoing single-incision or multiple-incision laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernia between January 2012 and December 2016 at our hospital. In total, 62 patients undergoing SILS-TEP and 72 receiving multiple-incision laparoscopic surgery were included in this study.

Epigenetic regulation of COX‑2 expression by DNA hypomethylation via NF‑κB activation in ketamine‑induced ulcerative cystitis.

The present study investigated the methylation of CpG sites in the cyclooxygenase (COX)‑2 promoter via nuclear factor (NF)‑κB transcriptional regulation and elucidated its effect on the COX‑2 transcriptional expression in a ketamine‑induced ulcerative cystitis (KIC) animal model. The results of the present study revealed that ketamine treatment induced NF‑κB p65 translocation to nuclei and activated COX‑2 expression and prostaglandin (PGE)2 production in bladder tissue, whereas COX‑2 inhibitor suppressed the inflammatory effect. Moreover, DNA hypomethylation of the COX‑2 promoter region located from ‑1,522 to ‑829 bp might contribute to transcriptional regulation of COX‑2 expression and induce a pro‑inflammatory response in KIC.

The 12-month follow-up of the low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy in the treatment of patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome refractory to 3-As medications.

Purpose: Applying low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (LI-ESWT) has been reported to improve symptoms of refractory chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) in short-term follow-up. This study aims to demonstrate the effect of LI-ESWT on refractory CPPS over the span of a 12-month follow-up.

Materials And Methods: This was an open-label, single-arm prospective study.

Efficacy of Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Men With Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome Refractory to 3-As Therapy.

Managing patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) refractory to the traditional 3-As therapy (antibiotics, alpha-blockers, and anti-inflammatories) is a challenging task. Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (LI-ESWT) was recently reported to be able to improve pain, urinary symptoms, and even sexual function by inducing neovascularization and anti-inflammation, reducing muscle tone, and influencing nerve impulses. This study evaluates whether combined treatment with LI-ESWT can restore clinical ability and quality of life (QoL) in patients refractory to 3-As therapy.

Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Can Improve Erectile Function in Patients Who Failed to Respond to Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors.

Managing patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) who failed to respond to phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5is) is a challenging task. Recently, low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (LI-ESWT) was reported to improve ED by enhancing perfusion of the penis. The current study was performed to evaluate whether combined treatment with LI-ESWT and PDE5is can restore erectile function in patients who failed to respond to PDE5is alone.

Lower SHBG level is associated with higher leptin and lower adiponectin levels as well as metabolic syndrome, independent of testosterone.

In addition to testosterone (T), the emerging role of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been noted recently. However, reports of associations with serum adipocytokine levels are still limited. Therefore, we conducted this study to evaluate whether serum T and SHBG levels are independent predictors for the risk of MetS that are associated with adiponectin and leptin levels in 614 Taiwanese men over 40 years old collected from a free health screening.

Associations of VEGF Gene Polymorphisms With Erectile Dysfunction and Related Risk Factors.

Background: Repeated evidence from animal models suggests a strong link between vascular endothelial growth factor (VGEF) and penile vasculature and erectile function because VEGF can alter the physiologic pathways involved in the regulation of penile vasomotor tone.

Aim: To investigate three VEGF polymorphisms and their link to erectile dysfunction (ED).

Methods: We enrolled 688 Taiwanese men with a mean age of 55.

Urinary Incontinence in Alzheimer's Disease.

Objectives: Urinary incontinence (UI) is more prevalent in the elderly populations with dementia than without dementia, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Urinary incontinence may complicate AD morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and annual incidence and determine the risk possibility of UI, which is the main type of incontinence in patients with AD in Taiwan.

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease: a nationwide 4-year longitudinal cohort study.

Introduction: Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is recognized to be the preferred first-line treatment for advanced prostate cancer. However, the risk-benefit ratio of ADT remains poorly defined and the relationship between androgen depletion and dementia is not clear.

Aim: To investigate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) in patients undergoing ADT for prostate cancer.

A prospective study of factors associated with orthodontic mini-implant survival.

The orthodontic mini-implant (MI) is a widely used anchorage device in orthodontic treatment. This prospective study analyzed MI survival and factors associated with MI survival in 139 patients (114 females and 25 males; average age, 25.7 years; age range, 12-56 years) who had received orthodontic treatment with MIs.

Enhancing the Antioxidant Ability of Trametes versicolor Polysaccharopeptides by an Enzymatic Hydrolysis Process.

Polysaccharopeptides (PSPs) are among the main bioactive constituents of Trametes versicolor (T. versicolor). The purpose of this research was to investigate the antioxidant activities of enzymatic hydrolysates obtained from T.

Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy without intracorporeal suturing.

Background: Partial nephrectomy has gained wider acceptance as a surgical technique in treating small renal tumors. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) still remains a technically demanding surgery to this day. We present our technique of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, one that is performed without intracorporeal suturing.

Biological Activities of the Polysaccharides Produced from Different Sources of Xylaria nigripes (Ascomycetes), a Chinese Medicinal Fungus.

Xylaria nigripes, a local rare medicinal fungus, has multi-antioxidant activities owing to its water extraction as shown by previous research. However, the main indicator causing the antioxidant effect was not clear, so this research focused on the antioxidant activities from different sources of X. nigripes such as fruiting body polysaccharides, mycelium intracellular polysaccharides, mycelium extracellular polysaccharides, and their deproteinization products.

Proteomic analysis in serum of rat hind-limb allograft tolerance induced by immunosuppressive therapy with adipose-derived stem cells.

Background: Adipose-derived stem cells combined with transient immunosuppression prolonged vascularized composite tissue allotransplant survival and induced immune tolerance in a rodent hind-limb model. The authors investigated serum proteins in the adipose-derived stem cell tolerance group and control group using proteomic study.

Methods: An orthotopic hind-limb model from Brown-Norway to Lewis rats was used.

Selective dynamic concentration of peptides at poles of cation-selective nanoporous granules.

The authors exposed a non-equilibrium dynamic counterion and coion analyte concentration to an AC electric field to selectively concentrate peptides at the poles of a cation-selective granule. The counterion polarization results from the focusing of the electric field show a discontinuous drop in the intra-granule counterion electromigration flux at the pole. The coion concentration polarization is due to the combined external convective and electromigration fluxes toward the pole that neutralize the accumulating counterions.

Comparison one-step procedure with two-step procedure in percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of one-step percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) by the urologist alone and two-step PCNL by cooperating with the radiologist. We included 168 patients who underwent surgery by the same surgeon, 83 who underwent two-step PCNL, in which percutaneous nephrostomy insertion was performed by the radiologists on the day before endo-surgery, and 85 who underwent one-step PCNL, which involved the creation of a nephrostomy tract and performing the PCNL at the same time in the operating room, by a urologist. We compared the perioperative and postoperative parameters between these two groups.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival rate in advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Radical surgery (RS) with adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) or radiotherapy has been conventionally used for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (AUC). Recent research has indicated that systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) with RS yields better outcomes than RS alone for patients with locally advanced bladder cancer. However, there are no reports indicating whether NC or AC would be beneficial for patients with AUC.

Enterovirus 71 infection increases expression of interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 which protects mice by reducing viral burden in multiple tissues.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection has induced fatal encephalitis in thousands of young children in the Asia-Pacific region over the last decade. EV71 infection continues to cause serious problems in areas with outbreaks, because vaccines and antiviral therapies are not available. Lymphocytes are present in the brains of infected patients and mice, and they protect mice from infection by decreasing the viral burden.

The impact of school closures on pandemic influenza: Assessing potential repercussions using a seasonal SIR model.

When a new pandemic influenza strain has been identified, mass-production of vaccines can take several months, and antiviral drugs are expensive and usually in short supply. Social distancing measures, such as school closures, thus seem an attractive means to mitigate disease spread. However, the transmission of influenza is seasonal in nature, and as has been noted in previous studies, a decrease in the average transmission rate in a seasonal disease model may result in a larger final size.