Medical tourism and medical tourists: providing a sustainable course to integrating health treatments with tourism.

Medical tourism (MT) is an expanding multidisciplinary economic activity that combines the healthcare and tourist industries, with patients increasingly travelling worldwide for medical treatments. MT provides economic benefits to destinations while raising ethical, quality, informed and risk concerns for medical tourists. Greater cross-disciplinary studies and collaboration across sectors are advocated.

Facile and Unplugged Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor with NIR-Emitting Perovskite Nanocomposites for Fast Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted researchers to develop portable biosensing platforms, anticipating to detect the analyte in a label-free, direct, and simple manner, for deploying on site to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. Herein, we developed a facile wavelength-based SPR sensor built with the aid of a 3D printing technology and synthesized air-stable NIR-emitting perovskite nanocomposites as the light source. The simple synthesis processes for the perovskite quantum dots enabled low-cost and large-area production and good emission stability.

Clinical Impact of the Revised 2019 CLSI Levofloxacin Breakpoints in Patients with Bacteremia.

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) revised the fluoroquinolone MIC breakpoints for in 2019, based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses. However, clinical evidence supporting these breakpoint revisions is limited. A retrospective study was conducted at 3 hospitals in Taiwan between January 2017 and March 2019.

Identification of Important N-Linked Glycosylation Sites in the Hemagglutinin Protein and Their Functional Impact on DC-SIGN Mediated Avian Influenza H5N1 Infection.

DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin mainly expressed in dendritic cells (DCs), has been reported to mediate several viral infections. We previously reported that DC-SIGN mediated H5N1 influenza A virus (AIVs) infection, however, the important DC-SIGN interaction with N-glycosylation sites remain unknown. This study aims to identify the optimal DC-SIGN interacting N-glycosylation sites in HA proteins of H5N1-AIVs.

The Combination of CA125 and NSE Is Useful for Predicting Liver Metastasis of Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Liver metastasis is the final stage of cancer progression and is associated with poor prognosis. Although numerous indicators have been identified as having prognostic value for lung cancer and liver metastasis, liver metastases are still not diagnosed by imaging in many patients. To provide a more accurate method for clinical prediction of liver metastasis, we analyzed multiple factors to identify potential predictive factors for liver metastasis of lung cancer.

CYFRA21-1/TG ratio as an accurate risk factor to predict eye metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A STROBE-compliant article.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a distinctive geographical distribution in China, especially southern China. There are several risk factors for NPC, such as Epstein-Barr virus, genetics, and environmental exposures. Although the incidence of eye metastasis (EM) is lower than metastasis in other body parts, it often indicates poor prognosis.

Optimization of the CDC Protocol of Molecular Diagnosis of COVID-19 for Timely Diagnosis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the current uncontrolled outbreak of infectious disease, has caused significant challenges throughout the world. A reliable rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 is demanded worldwide. The real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain was one of the most quickly established methods in the novel viral pandemic and was considered as the gold standard for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Evolutionary histories of coxsackievirus B5 and swine vesicular disease virus reconstructed by phylodynamic and sequence variation analyses.

Coxsackievirus (CV)-B5 is a common human enterovirus reported worldwide; swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV) is a porcine variant of CV-B5. To clarify the transmission dynamics and molecular basis of host switching between CV-B5 and SVDV, we analysed and compared the VP1 and partial 3D gene regions of these two viruses. Spatiotemporal dynamics of viral transmission were estimated using a Bayesian statistical inference framework.

Phylodynamic Characterization of an Ocular-Tropism Coxsackievirus A24 Variant.

Recent phylodynamic studies have focused on using tree topology patterns to elucidate interactions among the epidemiological, evolutionary, and demographic characteristics of infectious agents. However, because studies of viral phylodynamics tend to focus on epidemic outbreaks, tree topology signatures of tissue-tropism pathogens might not be clearly identified. Therefore, this study used a novel Bayesian evolutionary approach to analyze the A24 variant of coxsackievirus (CV-A24v), an ocular-tropism agent of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis.

Phylodynamic reconstruction of the spatiotemporal transmission and demographic history of coxsackievirus B2.

Background: Studies regarding coxsackievirus (CV) tend to focus on epidemic outbreaks, an imbalanced topology is considered to be an indication of acute infection with partial cross-immunity. In enteroviruses, a clear understanding of the characteristics of tree topology, transmission, and its demographic dynamics in viral succession and circulation are essential for identifying prevalence trends in endemic pathogens such as coxsackievirus B2 (CV-B2). This study applied a novel Bayesian evolutionary approach to elucidate the phylodynamic characteristics of CV-B2.

Transmission and Demographic Dynamics of Coxsackievirus B1.

The infectious activity of coxsackievirus B1 (CV-B1) in Taiwan was high from 2008 to 2010, following an alarming increase in severe neonate disease in the United States (US). To examine the relationship between CV-B1 strains isolated in Taiwan and those from other parts of the world, we performed a phylodynamic study using VP1 and partial 3Dpol (414 nt) sequences from 22 strains of CV-B1 isolated in Taiwan (1989-2010) and compared them to sequences from strains isolated worldwide. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by neighbor-joining, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov Chain methods.

Molecular Epidemiology and Phylogenetic Analysis of Human Adenovirus Caused an Outbreak in Taiwan during 2011.

An outbreak of adenovirus has been surveyed in Taiwan in 2011. To better understand the evolution and epidemiology of adenovirus in Taiwan, full-length sequence of hexon and fiber coapsid protein was analyzed using series of phylogenetic and dynamic evolution tools. Six different serotypes were identified in this outbreak and the species B was predominant (HAdV-3, 71.

The development of a beacon-based real-time PCR for cytomegalovirus and its application in immunocompromised patients.

Background: Because of the high cost of commercially available quantitative PCR kits, we developed a beacon- based real-time PCR (B-rt-PCR) for Cytomegalovirus (CMV) viral load determination.

Methods: A total of 197 samples from 60 immunocompromised patients, who were bone marrow transplantation recipients or had hematological malignancies, were tested using B-rt-PCR, COBAS Amplicor CMV Monitor test (Amplicor CMV test), and conventional CMV PCR. The correlation results among these 3 assays were calculated.

Rapid identification of M. abscessus and M. massiliense by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry with a comparison to sequencing methods and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns.

Aim: Development of the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-TOF (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry method to rapidly identify Mycobacteria abscessus and Mycobacteria massiliense from M. abscessus complex in clinical microbiology laboratories.

Materials & Methods: Of 128 M.

Peritonitis due to Burkholderia gladioli.

We report a case of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD)-related peritonitis. Burkholderia gladioli, as a plant pathogen, were cultured from peritoneal effluent. Peritonitis healed after intraperitoneal cefazolin and gentamicin.

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a case of pyelonephritis and herbal therapy.

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was only susceptible to colistin, was isolated from the urine of a patient with pyelonephritis. The isolates were confirmed as class A Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing isolates. A blaBEL allele was detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.

Molecular epidemiology of Echovirus 30 in Taiwan, 1988-2008.

To investigate the molecular epidemiology of Taiwanese Echovirus 30 (E-30) strains, we analyzed the 876 bp sequence of the VP1 gene from 32 Taiwanese strains isolated in 1988-2008, 498 reference sequences, and one Echovirus 21 strain as the out-group. Phylogenetic analysis detected six E-30 genotypes (designated GI-GVI) that had circulated globally during the past five decades. The genotypes varied widely in geographic distribution and circulation half-life.

Coxsackievirus B4 in southern Taiwan: molecular epidemiology.

Background: Enterovirus outbreaks caused by Coxsackievirus B4 (CB4) in Taiwan in 2004 and 2008.

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the molecular epidemiology and pathogenicity of CB4 in Taiwan.

Study Design: This study analyzed twenty-three CB4 strains isolated in Taiwan during 1993-2004.

Evolution of EV71 genogroup in Taiwan from 1998 to 2005: an emerging of subgenogroup C4 of EV71.

In Taiwan, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has played an important role in severe enterovirus-related cases every year since the devastating outbreak in 1998. Three genogroups A, B, C occur worldwide; with the B and C genogroups being subdivided into B1-B4 and C1-C4 subgenogroups respectively. To understand the mutation of the EV71 genogroup in Taiwan before and after 1998, a total of 54 worldwide strains were studied including 41 Taiwanese strains obtained in 1986 and 1998-2004.