Bridging Size and Charge Effects of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective cellular barrier that tightly controls the microenvironment of the central nervous system to restrict the passage of substances, which is a primary challenge in delivering therapeutic drugs to treat brain diseases. This study aimed to develop simple surface modifications of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) without external stimuli or receptor protein conjugation, which exhibited a critical surface charge and size allowing them to cross the BBB. A series of MSNs with various charges and two different sizes of 50 and 200 nm were synthesized, which showed a uniform mesoporous structure with various surface zeta potentials ranging from +42.

The effect of a virtual simulation-based educational application on nursing students' belief and self-efficacy in communicating with patients about complementary and alternative medicine.

Background: Simulation-based learning that focuses on the development and assessment of communication and counseling skills can help nursing students achieve better skill performance and gain self-confidence with decision-making ability. It is unknown whether virtual simulation as an instructional design significantly improves educational outcomes than a traditional lecture with low-fidelity simulation in students.

Objectives: The aim was to explore the effect of a virtual simulation-based educational smartphone application on nursing students' beliefs and self-efficacy in communicating with patients about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use.

A Novel Role of Arrhythmia-Related Gene Revealed by Multi-Omic Analysis: Theragnostic Value and Potential Mechanisms in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

The early diagnosis, prognostic prediction, and personalized therapy of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains a challenging issue. (potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q Member 1) is implicated in long QT syndrome (LQTS) and cardiac arrhythmia, while its significance in LUAD remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the significance of in terms of clinical value, tumor immunity, underlying mechanisms, and a precision medicine approach by means of multi-omics analysis.

Body volume estimation equation for male laborers in Taiwan.

The purpose of this study was to develop a body volume () estimation equation for male laborers in Taiwan with body weight () and stature height () as initial estimators. A three-dimensional (3D) body scanner and a 3D foot scanner were used to measure the 3D range data of 100 male laborers in this study. Subjects' was extracted from the 3D body model, and and were used as independent variables in regression analysis.

[A Challenge for Home-Based Hospice Care: Good Death at Home].

Taiwan is expected to become a "super-aged" nation in 2065. Modern medical advancements, while extending the average human lifespan, has led to higher incidence of patient suffering and greater medical expenses due to chronic disease and terminal illnesses. As the concept and services of hospice and palliative care have become increasingly accepted by the public, the issue of final care for a good death has become a priority concern for both patients and their families.

A Pilot Study of Five Types of Maximum Hand Strength among Manufacturing Industry Workers in Taiwan.

The purpose of this study is to collect five types of maximum hand strength among workers in the manufacturing industry in Taiwan. This study is a cross sectional study with a stratified and convenient sample of workers on the production line in manufacturing industries in Central Taiwan. In total, we recruited 198 healthy subjects to participate in this study.

Indoor ozone levels, houseplants and peak expiratory flow rates among healthy adults in Taipei, Taiwan.

The association between houseplants and indoor air quality improvement has been reported in previous studies. However, the effect of houseplant-emitted isoprene on the association between ozone (O) formation and respiratory health remains unclear. We recruited 60 adult subjects from 60 houses with or without houseplants (1:1) in Taipei; twelve house visits were conducted in each home throughout 2014.

[Mutual Support Beyond Suffering and Mortality-Spiritual Care for Families of Terminal Cancer Patients].

With the progression of cancer and the approach of death in terminal cancer patients, the suffering of the family members of patients increases drastically, often leading into a difficult spiritual journey. The needs for spiritual care in this population generally consist of: 1. Empathy: Bearing the psychological stress due to the sharing of physical pain with the patients; 2.

Antibody-free isolation of rare cancer cells from blood based on 3D lateral dielectrophoresis.

We present an antibody-free approach for the high-purity and high-throughput dielectrophoretic (DEP) isolation of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from blood in a microfluidic chip. A hydrodynamic sheath flow is designed upstream in the chip to direct the suspension samples to the channel side walls, thus providing a queue to allow DEP-induced lateral displacements. High-throughput continuous cancer cell sorting (maximum flow rate: ~2.

Personal exposure to household particulate matter, household activities and heart rate variability among housewives.

Background: The association between indoor air pollution and heart rate variability (HRV) has been well-documented. Little is known about effects of household activities on indoor air quality and HRV alteration. To investigate changes in HRV associated with changes in personal exposure to household particulate matter (PM) and household activities.

Single-step protein purification by back flush in ion exchange chromatography.

Ion exchange chromatography, one of the major procedures for protein purification, seldom provides single-step purification due to a lack of specific affinity. In this work, a novel and simple method called "back flush" (i.e.

Preliminary study of planar RF coils for Magnetic Resonance Microscopy.

In this study, we attempt to do a preliminary study of planar RF coils that are aimed for the application of Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (MRM). We will discuss the requirements and considerations for designing such a device. And at last, we conducted a small experiment to show that the design solution we propose is in the correct direction.