Evaluation of the potential of Ergostatrien-3β-ol for treating Sjögren's syndrome.

Aim: Ergostatrien-3β-ol (EK100) is a bioactive compound found in the fruiting bodies and mycelia of Antrodia cinnamomea and has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. This study aims to evaluate the potential of EK100 as a treatment for Sjögren's syndrome (SS).

Methods: We employed a spontaneous SS model in non-obese diabetic (NOD)/Ltj mice to assess the therapeutic potential of EK100.

Service Innovation, Inter-organizational Trust, and Performance in Hospital Platforms: Social Network and Agency Perspectives.

Service industries contribute significantly to the economic, social, and even life aspect of the world. However, service innovation has been rarely discussed in healthcare context, especially in the digital healthcare context Service innovation needs to be organized in the premise of mutual trust to be efficient, thereby improving service performance. The trust and efficiency here demands a good online platform service to both virtualize the interaction processes and maintain trust and agency.

Fuzzy Logic Analysis for Key Factors for Customer Loyalty in E-Shopping Environment.

Due to subjective evaluation and qualitative characteristics, the assessment processes of loyalty often cannot use the crisp value to express the final value. That makes the evaluation of online store performance usually filled with uncertainty and ambiguity. The loyalty assessment of electronic shopping is complex, and online stores' strategy and production control problems are frequently accompanied by uncertain conditions.

Optimizing laboratory workflow for the diagnosis of Clostridiodes difficile infection in a medical center in Northern Taiwan.

Background/purpose: There are few attempts at diagnosis among physicians who pay less attention to Clostridiodes difficile infection (CDI) and think that one-step enzyme immunoassay (EIA) toxin tests and anaerobic cultures are untrustworthy.

Methods: This study investigated patients that had loose stool more than 3 times/day after admission from April 2016 to January 2017. We replaced the one-step toxin rapid test and culture with a two-step rapid test of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and toxins, and we optimized the process of microbiology culture.

Citrobacter freundii bacteremia: Risk factors of mortality and prevalence of resistance genes.

Background/purpose: Multidrug-resistant strains of Citrobacter have emerged, which carry Amp-C β-lactamase (Amp-C), broad-spectrum β-lactamase, extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), and other resistance mechanisms. These strains are associated with a higher rate of in-hospital mortality. The object of this study is to determine the mortality risk factors, susceptibility pattern to antibiotics, and prevalence of resistance genes in patients with Citrobacter freundii bacteremia.

Clinical characteristics in adult patients with Salmonella bacteremia and analysis of ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible isolates.

Background/purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe clinical characteristics of Salmonella bacteremia in adult patients and analyze ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible isolates.

Methods: A total of 101 Salmonella blood isolates from adult patients were collected from January 2011 to December 2013 in MacKay Memorial Hospital. Eight ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible Salmonella blood isolates were screened for carbapenemase and other β lactamase genes.

Antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical outcomes of Candida parapsilosis bloodstream infections in a tertiary teaching hospital in Northern Taiwan.

Background: Candida parapsilosis is an emerging non-albicans Candida that is associated with central line-associated infection. C. parapsilosis has higher minimal inhibitory concentration to echinocandin than Candida albicans, and the effects of echinocandin on C.

Unraveling the role of the rssC gene of Serratia marcescens by atomic force microscopy.

The product and direct role of the rssC gene of Serratia marcescens is unknown. For unraveling the role of the rssC gene, atomic force microscopy has been used to identify the surfaces of intact S. marcescens wild-type CH-1 cells and rssC mutant CH-1ΔC cells.

Significance of the pH-induced conformational changes in the structure of C-reactive protein measured by dual polarization interferometry.

Emerging evidence indicates that the conformation of C-reactive protein (CRP) plays important roles in human inflammation and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The different conformations in the structure of CRP under different pH conditions remain an important issue to be investigated for explaining various functions of CRP under certain physiologic and pathologic conditions. We directly measured the pH-induced conformational changes in the structure of CRP by dual polarization interferometry (DPI).