Arthroscopic treatment of osteoid osteoma in the posterior proximal tibia: A case report and literature review.

Background: Osteoid osteoma (OO) is a benign lesion characterized by an increased fibrous component in the bone marrow, presence of bone-like structures within the medullary cavity, and a surrounding sclerotic bone rim. Reports on OO located in the posterior proximal tibia are rare.

Case Summary: Herein, we report the case of an 18-year-old male, admitted for the evaluation of right knee pain.

Tunable tapered waveguide for efficient compression of light to graphene surface plasmons.

Dielectric-graphene-dielectric (DGD) structure has been widely used to construct optical devices at infrared region with features of small footprint and low-energy dissipation. The optical properties of graphene can be manipulated by changing its chemical potential by applying a biased voltage onto graphene. However, the excitation efficiency of surface wave on graphene by end-fire method is very low because of large wavevector mismatch between infrared light and surface wave.

Magnetically controlled planar hyperbolic metamaterials for subwavelength resolution.

Breaking diffraction limitation is one of the most important issues and still remains to be solved for the demand of high-density optoelectronic components, especially for the photolithography industry. Since the scattered signals of fine feature (i.e.

Posttraumatic growth and demoralization after cancer: The effects of patients' meaning-making.

Objective: It is common for patients to experience positive and negative psychological changes (e.g., posttraumatic growth or demoralization) after being diagnosed with cancer.

Guideline and preliminary clinical practice results for dose specification and target delineation for postoperative radiotherapy for oral cavity cancer.

Background: Surgery followed by radiotherapy (RT) is indicated for patients with high-risk oral cavity cancer (OCC). Based on multi-institutional reports, we developed a guideline for postoperative RT for patients with OCC.

Methods: A multidisciplinary OCC team was recruited to develop a questionnaire concerning details of risk-factor categorization, target delineation, and dose specification.

Simultaneous imaging of temporal changes of NF-κB activity and viable tumor cells in Huh7/NF-κB-tk-luc2/rfp tumor-bearing mice.

Few studies have reported that the effect of sorafenib on advanced human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is taking place via the inhibition of NF-κB signal transduction. Here we constructed a human HCC Huh7 stable clone with NF-κB-responsive element to drive dual reporter genes, herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (tk) and firefly luciferase (luc2), and co-transfected with a third red fluorescent protein (rfp) gene, renamed as Huh7/NF-κB-tk-luc2/rfp cells, and combined with bioluminescent imaging (BLI) and red fluorescent protein imaging (RFPI) to monitor the effect of sorafenib on NF-κB activation and tumor inhibition. The results show that sorafenib could suppress the NF-κB-DNA binding activity, and the expression of downstream effector proteins.

Acute effects of three club drugs on the striatum of rats: evaluation by quantitative autoradiography with [18F]FDOPA.

In this work, we used quantitative autoradiography to study the acute effect of cocaine, methamphetamine, and ketamine on the uptake of [(18)F]FDOPA in the striatum of rats. Drugs were treated 0.5 h before (pre-treated), and 1.

Mirtazapine inhibits tumor growth via immune response and serotonergic system.

To study the tumor inhibition effect of mirtazapine, a drug for patients with depression, CT26/luc colon carcinoma-bearing animal model was used. BALB/c mice were randomly divided into six groups: two groups without tumors, i.e.

Sorafenib inhibits TPA-induced MMP-9 and VEGF expression via suppression of ERK/NF-κB pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Invasion by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported to occur via the up-regulation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB). Sorafenib can improve the overall survival in patients with HCC, however, the association of its inhibitory mechanisms with the inactivation of NF-κB remains unclear. Here, Huh7 cell line transfected with NF-κB-luc2 vector was used to study the effects of sorafenib on NF-κB activity, on expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which were induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA).

A novel infusible botanically-derived drug, PG2, for cancer-related fatigue: a phase II double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study.

Purpose: This study investigated the efficacy of the botanical-derived drug, PG2, a partially purified extract of Astragalus membranaceus, as a complementary and palliative medicine for managing cancer-related fatigue (CRF).

Methods: Patients with advanced cancer and moderate to severe CRF were randomized to receive either PG2 or a placebo (normal saline, NS) in the first treatment cycle (four weeks) in a double-blind manner; thereafter, on the next cycle (four weeks), all patients received open-label treatment with PG2.

Results: PG2 significantly improved CRF in the NS-primed group.

The association between skull bone fractures and outcomes in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

Background: In traumatic brain injury (TBI), computed tomography (CT) provides a good assessment of anatomic pathologic findings and the prognostic value of CT characteristics has been well discussed. However, few studies have focused on skull bone fracture and its clinical prognostic importance. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the effects of skull bone fracture on patients with severe TBI admitted to the emergency unit.

Demoralization syndrome among cancer outpatients in Taiwan.

Goals: This paper aims to explore characteristics of demoralization syndrome as well as the relationship between demoralization syndrome and psychosocial issues as seen through examinations of cancer outpatients in Taiwan.

Materials And Methods: Outpatients with different cancer types were enrolled in this study. The Demoralization Scale Mandarin Version (DS-MV), Patient Health Questionnaire, Beck Hopelessness Scale, and McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Taiwan Version were used as instruments.

Comparison of the efficacy and toxicity of two dose levels of cisplatin/5-fluorouracil as the chemoradiotherapy regimen for the treatment of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Conclusion: The low-dose regimen brought less grade 3?4 neutropenia and mucositis with similar treatment efficacy. It should be further investigated in prospective randomized clinical trials to confirm its effectiveness and tolerability.

Objectives: This nonrandomized study compared the efficacy and toxicity profiles of two dose levels of cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as the chemoradiotherapy regimen for the treatment of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Therapeutic efficacy evaluation of curcumin on human oral squamous cell carcinoma xenograft using multimodalities of molecular imaging.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignancy of the oral cavity; however the treatment approaches are still unsatisfactory. We used a luciferase-transfected animal model to evaluate the therapeutic effects of curcumin. Human oral squamous cell carcinoma SAS cell line was stably transfected with luc gene, named SAS/luc cells.

Indoor air distribution of nitrogen dioxide and ozone in urban hospitals.

Indoor air pollution has recently become a public concern in Taiwan. People recognize that indoor air quality (IAQ) may be more important than outdoor air quality because they spend over 80% of their time indoors. IAQ could affect health and comfort of building occupants.

Epstein-Barr virus infection and plasma transforming growth factor-beta1 levels in head and neck cancers.

Conclusions: In addition to the correlation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 levels to the radiation toxicity, both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and postoperative status play roles in the change in plasma TGF-beta1 levels in patients with head and neck cancers.

Objectives: To assess the parameters involved in the change in plasma TGF-beta1 level during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).

Patients And Methods: Blood samples (n=307) before, during, and after treatment were obtained from 39 patients with head and neck cancers treated with definitive or adjuvant CCRT.

MDM2 SNP 309 and p53 codon 72 polymorphisms are associated with the outcome of oral carcinoma patients receiving postoperative irradiation.

Background And Purpose: The p53 tumor suppression pathway is important in effects associated with radiotherapy. The mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) plays a pivotal role in this pathway by down regulating p53. A functional T-to-G polymorphism at nucleotide 309 in MDM2 promoter intron 1 (SNP309) has been identified which influenced transcription activity.

Element composition of tea leaves and tea infusions and its impact on health.

Tea infusion is the most frequently consumed beverage worldwide next to water, with about 20 billion cups consumed daily. In Taiwan, daily consumption averages 2.5 cups of tea infusion per person.

Prevalence, detection and treatment of delirium in terminal cancer inpatients: a prospective survey.

Background: Delirium is a common syndrome in terminal cancer patients. However, its detection and treatment by palliative care teams are not well documented. This survey aimed to determine the prevalence, detection and treatment of delirium in terminal cancer inpatients.

Determination of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine by acid hydrolysis coupled to solid-phase microextraction and semi-microcolumn liquid chromatography.

This study developed an acid hydrolysis coupled to a solid-phase microextraction method employing a semi-microcolumn liquid chromatography system, instead of enzyme hydrolysis with solid-phase extraction for the pretreatment of human urine samples, to detect urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP). The complete separation and detection of urinary 1-hydroxyprene was performed using a high-performance liquid-chromatography fluorescence detection system with an analytical C(18) semi-microcolumn, 60% (v/v) aqueous acetonitrile elution, and a lambda(ex/em) = 348/388 nm pair detection wavelength. Calibration graphs were linear with very good correlation coefficients (r = 0.

Post-operative concurrent chemoradiation therapy using oral uracil-tegafur versus weekly intravenous fluorouracil for locally advanced rectal cancer.

Background: This prospective, nonrandomized study was conducted to compare the efficacy and toxicity of post-operative concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) using daily oral uracil-tegafur plus leucovorin (UFUR/LV) vs. weekly intravenous fluorouracil plus leucovorin (5-FU/LV) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: From November 1996 through December 2004, 30 patients with stage II or III rectal cancer were enrolled.