Risk of sarcopenia among older persons with Type 2 diabetes mellitus with different status of albuminuria: A dose-responsive association.

Background: The association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and sarcopenia has been reported before, but little was known regarding associations between albuminuria status in the development of sarcopenia. This study aimed to explore the associations between albuminuria status and sarcopenia among older patients with T2DM.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited T2DM patients aged 65 years and older from the DM shared care center in a regional hospital who were grossly absent from functional impairment.

Heparin at physiological concentration can enhance PEG-free in vitro infection with human hepatitis B virus.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a blood-borne pathogen responsible for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The mechanism of HBV entry into hepatocytes remains to be investigated. Recently, sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) was discovered as a major HBV receptor based on an in vitro infection system using NTCP-reconstituted HepG2 cells.

Lymphopenia and poor performance status as major predictors for infections among residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs): a prospective cohort study.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors and consequence of LTCFs-acquired infections in Taiwan through a 16-month follow-up. This prospective cohort study invited residents of 10 private LTCFs in Taipei for study. For each participant, Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS), use of feeding tube and/or urinary catheters, serum levels of albumin, total cholesterol, complete blood count, occurrence of LTCF-acquired infections, all-cause mortality were recorded.

Ptenb mediates gastrulation cell movements via Cdc42/AKT1 in zebrafish.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3 kinase) mediates gastrulation cell migration in zebrafish via its regulation of PIP(2)/PIP(3) balance. Although PI3 kinase counter enzyme PTEN has also been reported to be essential for gastrulation, its role in zebrafish gastrulation has been controversial due to the lack of gastrulation defects in pten-null mutants. To clarify this issue, we knocked down a pten isoform, ptenb by using anti-sense morpholino oligos (MOs) in zebrafish embryos and found that ptenb MOs inhibit convergent extension by affecting cell motility and protrusion during gastrulation.