Disrupted HIV care during COVID-19 pandemic associated with increased disabilities among people living with HIV in Belize.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted disabilities among people living with HIV; however, data on the association between COVID-19 pandemic-related healthcare disruptions and disabilities among people living with HIV is limited. We aimed to evaluate the association between COVID-19-affected HIV care behaviors and disability domains among people living with HIV in Belize. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Western Regional Hospital and Southern Regional Hospital between August and October 2021 among people living with HIV in Belize aged ≥ 21 years and on antiretroviral therapy.

Surveillance and genetic diversity of bovine viral diarrhea virus in dairy herds across Taiwan.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) significantly impacts cattle worldwide, causing respiratory, gastrointestinal, and reproductive disorders that lead to substantial economic losses. Despite its high global prevalence and various genotypes, the infection status of BVDV in Taiwan has not been reported. This study conducted large-scale surveillance in 2014, analyzing 460 bovine serum samples collected from 49 dairy herds across Taiwan.

Association between Activity Quotient and cause-specific mortality - A prospective cohort study of 0.5 million participants in Asia.

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) is important for reducing the risk of chronic diseases and improving overall health. Activity Quotient (AQ) is a novel metric that translates heart rate during PA into a weekly score, providing an objective measure of an individual's PA. We prospectively examined the association of AQ with cancer and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality outcomes, the two major causes of death, in a Taiwanese population.

Association Between Current Medical Decision-Making Participation Self-Efficacy and Advance Care Planning Engagement Among Older Adults: Baseline Findings from a Nationwide Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Misconceptions of and cultural differences in aging influence older adults' medical decision-making self-efficacy and engagement in advance care planning (ACP). This study aims to investigate the association between current medical decision-making participation self-efficacy and ACP engagement among older individuals receiving home-based medical care (HBMC) in Taiwan. Baseline data analysis of a nationwide cohort study.

Garden EngAGEment: Cultivating Cultures of Care Through Artful Place-Making.

By describing the practices of Garden EngAGEment, a community garden project at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU), we articulate the concept of as an alternative, experiential approach to organizing and teaching care for people with Alzheimer's dementia and other associated dementias (AD/OADs). Drawing from arts-based research, place-based education, and sensory studies, we describe how artful place-making involves the dynamic interplay of , and in the garden where Garden EngAGEment's activities take place. Our analysis describes how Garden EngAGEment, through the process of artful place-making, seeds a new culture of care for health professions training, grows connections through multi-sensorial experiences, and cultivates personal, relational, and community transformations.

Corrigendum: Arsenic exposure and lung fibrotic changes-evidence from a longitudinal cohort study and experimental models.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.

Adaptation of the Taiwan Version of the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT-TW) and Its Association with Six-Month Mortality: A Multi-Center Validation Study in Older People.

The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) was developed for identifying, in a timely manner, patients who may benefit from supportive and palliative care for better treatment review, care-plan discussion, and end-of-life care. Although the SPICT has been validated in different languages and for patients living in different settings, it has not been validated for patients receiving home-based medical care (HBMC), or in the context of using traditional Chinese characters. The present study aimed to validate the Taiwanese version of the SPICT (SPICT-TW) and to measure its ability to predict six-month mortality in patients who received HBMC in Taiwan.

Increased risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women with pituitary gland disorders in Taiwan: a population-based matched-cohort study.

Purpose: An association between pituitary gland disorders and breast cancer remains controversial. We examined the prevalence and risk of breast cancer over a 15-year follow-up period or until diagnosed as breast cancer among premenopausal women (12-49 years old) with pituitary gland disorders in Taiwan.

Methods: This retrospective matched-cohort study included 52,265 individuals each in the study group (women with pituitary gland disorders) and the matched control group from 2000 to 2004 identified using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

Taxane/anthracycline combinations reduced incidence of breast cancer recurrence in young women across molecular subtypes: a real-world evidence of Taiwan from 2011 to 2019.

Purpose: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with breast cancer generally have poor prognoses and a higher risk of secondary cancers compared to those at the same cancer stage. Notably, AYA patients in Asia exhibit a higher incidence rate of breast cancer, with Luminal A as the predominant molecular subtype, which contrasts with the trends observed in Western countries. This study aims to compare the efficacy of Taxane/Anthracycline combination-based regimens (TACB) versus Anthracycline-based regimens (AB) in AYA patients with stage I-II breast cancer, focusing on different molecular subtypes.

Clustering-based risk stratification of prediabetes populations: Insights from the Taiwan and UK Biobanks.

Aims/introduction: This study aimed to identify low- and high-risk diabetes groups within prediabetes populations using data from the Taiwan Biobank (TWB) and UK Biobank (UKB) through a clustering-based Unsupervised Learning (UL) approach, to inform targeted type 2 diabetes (T2D) interventions.

Materials And Methods: Data from TWB and UKB, comprising clinical and genetic information, were analyzed. Prediabetes was defined by glucose thresholds, and incident T2D was identified through follow-up data.

Neurodevelopmental disorders in children born to mothers involved in maternal motor vehicle crashes.

Background: To evaluate the association between maternal MVCs during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs, including intellectual disability, ADHD, ASD, and infantile cerebral palsy) in children.

Methods: This population-based cohort of live births in Taiwan was analyzed, comparing children born to mothers involved in MVCs during pregnancy with those without such exposure. Children were linked to the insurance database to identify the possible diagnosis of NDDs.

BMP receptor 2 inhibition regulates mitochondrial bioenergetics to induce synergistic cell death with BCL-2 inhibitors in leukemia and NSLC cells.

Background: Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling cascade is a phylogenetically conserved stem cell regulator that is aberrantly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSLC) and leukemias. BMP signaling negatively regulates mitochondrial bioenergetics in lung cancer cells. The impact of inhibiting BMP signaling on mitochondrial bioenergetics and the effect this has on the survival of NSLC and leukemia cells are not known.

Sorafenib, a Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, Synergistically Enhances the Ferroptosis Effects of Asiatic Acid in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most common cancers worldwide. Asiatic acid (AA) is a natural triterpene, which is recognized as effect of antioxidant and antitumor. Sorafenib (Sor), an orally target drug, has been applicate for the HCC therapy.

Association between high-density lipoprotein and functional outcome of ischemic stroke patients in a Taiwanese population.

Despite recent findings indicating a paradoxical association between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, the impact of HDL-C on subsequent outcomes after ischemic stroke remains unclear. The study aims to investigate the relationships between HDL-C levels and post-stroke functional outcomes while examining the potential modifying influence of HDL-C-related single nucleotide polymorphisms identified through genome-wide association studies. This cohort study included 1,310 patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), all of whom had their admission serum lipid profile and genotyping information.

Understanding and alleviating informal caregiver burden through the development and validation of a caregiver strain index-based model in Taiwan.

Background: Quantifying the informal caregiver burden is important for understanding the risk factors associated with caregiver overload and for evaluating the effectiveness of services provided in Long-term Care (LTC).

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)-based score for quantifying the informal caregiver burden, while the original dataset did not fully cover evaluation items commonly included in international assessments. Subsequently, we utilized the CSI-based score to pinpoint key caregiver burden risk factors, examine the initial timing of LTC services adoption, and assess the impact of LTC services on reducing caregiver burden.

Associations of diabetes status and glucose measures with outcomes after endovascular therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke: an analysis of the nationwide TREAT-AIS registry.

Background: Hyperglycemia affects the outcomes of endovascular therapy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study compares the predictive ability of diabetes status and glucose measures on EVT outcomes using nationwide registry data.

Methods: The study included 1,097 AIS patients who underwent EVT from the Taiwan Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Impact of Telemedicine on Blood Glucose Control and Ophthalmic Screenings for Patients with Diabetes in Remote Areas During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Real-World Study in Northern Taiwan.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of telemedicine on ophthalmic screening and blood glucose control for patients with diabetes in remote areas of Northern Taiwan during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Telemedicine was implemented in Shiding and Wanli Districts using a 5G platform from April 2021 to December 2022. Patients with poorly controlled diabetes received real-time consultations from endocrinologists at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, 50 km away, for medication adjustment, diet control, and lifestyle recommendations.

Association of Childhood Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder With Adolescent Traditional and Cyberbullying Victimization in the Digital Generation: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Purpose: This population-based cohort study aimed to examine the association with childhood attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bullying experiences during adolescence among Digital Generation individuals, exploring both traditional and cyberbullying.

Methods: This study included data from 15,240 participants, collected from the Taiwan Adolescent to Adult Longitudinal Study project. Participants, initially in seventh and 10th grade in 2015, were selected through a multistage stratified sampling approach.

Beyond misinformation: developing a public health prevention framework for managing information ecosystems.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how infodemics (defined as an overabundance of information, including misinformation and disinformation) pose a threat to public health and could hinder individuals from making informed health decisions. Although public health authorities and other stakeholders have implemented measures for managing infodemics, existing frameworks for infodemic management have been primarily focused on responding to acute health emergencies rather than integrated in routine service delivery. We review the evidence and propose a framework for infodemic management that encompasses upstream strategies and provides guidance on identifying different interventions, informed by the four levels of prevention in public health: primary, secondary, tertiary, and primordial prevention.

Social histories of public health misinformation and infodemics: case studies of four pandemics.

Recognition of misinformation as a public health threat and interest in infodemics, defined as an inundation of information accompanying an epidemic or acute health event, have increased worldwide. However, scientists have no consensus on how to best define and identify misinformation and other essential characteristics of infodemics. We conducted a narrative review of secondary historical sources to examine previous infodemics in relation to four infectious diseases associated with pandemics (ie, smallpox, cholera, 1918 influenza, and HIV) and challenge the assumption that misinformation is a new phenomenon associated with increased use of social media or with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma through machine-learning-driven prediction model in a population-based healthcare record database.

Objective: Early diagnosis and treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are vital for a better prognosis. Still, because of obscure anatomical sites and insidious symptoms, nearly 80% of patients with NPC are diagnosed at a late stage. This study aimed to validate a machine learning (ML) model utilizing symptom-related diagnoses and procedures in medical records to predict nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) occurrence and reduce the prediagnostic period.