Safety and Efficacy of Oral Nalbuphine on Postoperative Pain in Hemorrhoidectomy Patients: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Pivotal Trial.

Objectives: Severe postoperative pain requiring opioid treatment has been reported in 20% to 40% of hemorrhoidectomy patients. Compared with morphine, nalbuphine offers better hemodynamic stability, a lower risk of respiratory depression, and a lower potential for addiction. Nalbuphine was developed from the intravenous form into an oral form (PHN131) to alleviate moderate-to-severe pain.

Change Trajectory of Symptom Distress, Coping Strategies, and Spiritual Wellbeing in Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy.

Impacts caused by cancer and associated treatment may change with time. The objective of this study is to examine the change trajectory of symptom distress, coping strategies, and spiritual wellbeing in colorectal cancer patients during chemotherapy and to further examine the predictors of spiritual wellbeing. A prospective longitudinal repeated measures study design was employed.

Population and Conservation Status of the Flying Fox in Taiwan.

is widely distributed on islands throughout the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The Formosan flying fox, , is an endemic subspecies in Taiwan found mainly on Lyudao; it was previously thought to have been extirpated. Since 2005, intensive surveys have been conducted to investigate the residency, population size and plant resource utilization of in Taiwan.

Elevated alanine aminotransferase is associated with biphasic insulin secretion in the healthy elderly Han Chinese population.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between alanine transaminase (ALT) level and biphasic insulin secretion (BPIS) in healthy elderly Han Chinese individuals.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled healthy elderly participants aged ≥60 years that were part of a health examination programme. In order to explore the correlation and severity of the clinical condition, those with any possible confounding factors known to affect insulin secretion or liver function were excluded from the study.

Tumor pH-functionalized and charge-tunable nanoparticles for the nucleus/cytoplasm-directed delivery of oxaliplatin and miRNA in the treatment of head and neck cancer.

Prospective tumor pH-responsive and charge-convertible nanoparticles have been utilized to reduce side effects and improve the active tumor-targeting ability and nuclear/cytoplasmic localization of chemo- and gene therapeutics for the treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC). Oxaliplatin (Oxa) is a third-generation platinum compound that prevents DNA replication. miR-320 may regulate cancer cell apoptosis, resistance, and progression.

Differential DNA methylation analysis of , , and provides novel insights into colorectal cancer prognosis prediction in Taiwan.

Background: Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) undergo surgery, as well as perioperative chemoradiation or adjuvant chemotherapy primarily based on the tumor-node- metastasis (TNM) cancer staging system. However, treatment responses and prognostic outcomes of patients within the same stage vary markedly. The potential use of novel biomarkers can improve prognostication and shared decision making before implementation into certain therapies.

Accumulation of cholesterol suppresses oxidative phosphorylation and altered responses to inflammatory stimuli of macrophages.

Hypercholesterolemia induces intracellular accumulation of cholesterol in macrophages and other immune cells, causing immunological dysfunctions. On cellular levels, cholesterol enrichment might lead to mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming and change macrophage functions. Additionally, as cholesterol is permeable to the plasma membrane and might integrate into the membranous organelles, such as endoplasmic reticulum or mitochondria, cholesterol enrichment might change the functions or properties of these organelles, and ultimately alters the cellular functions.

Anti-angiogenic treatment (Bevacizumab) improves the responsiveness of photodynamic therapy in colorectal cancer.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment utilizing the combined action of photosensitizers and light for the treatment of various cancers. The mechanisms for tumor destruction after PDT include direct tumor cell kill by singlet oxygen species (OS), indirect cell kill via vascular damage, and an elicited immune response. However, it has been reported that many cellular activators, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), are produced by tumor cells after PDT.

SPECT imaging evaluation of indium-chelated cetuximab for diagnosing EGFR-positive tumor in an HCT-15-induced colorectal xenograft.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) is a tumor target for developing the anti-tumor theranostic agents. Cetuximab, an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody against EGFR-positive tumors, inhibits cell proliferation and growth was labeled with radioactive indium (In) in this study for diagnosing EGFR-positive CRC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of noninvasive nuclear imaging agent In-cetuximab and investigate the biological distribution of In-cetuximab in the HCT-15-induced EGFR-positive CRC tumor xenografts.

Neutrophil elastase as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in colorectal cancers.

Neutrophil elastase (NE), a serine protease secreted by neutrophils, contributes to the progression of cancers to enhance tumor invasion and metastasis. It has been well reported that the regions surrounding the colorectal cancerous tissues usually are decorated with increased accumulation or aggregation of neutrophils coupled with a higher deposition/expression of NE. Therefore, we hypothesized that an increased expressional level of NE in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) may represent as one of putative biomarkers for CRC.

Structural difference between group I and group II cobra cardiotoxins: X-ray, NMR, and CD analysis of the effect of cis-proline conformation on three-fingered toxins.

Natural homologues of cobra cardiotoxins (CTXs) were classified into two structural subclasses of group I and II based on the amino acid sequence and circular dichroism analysis, but the exact differences in their three-dimensional structures and biological significance remain elusive. We show by circular dichroism, NMR spectroscopic, and X-ray crystallographic analyses of a newly purified group I CTX A6 from eastern Taiwan cobra (Naja atra) venoms that its loop I conformation adopts a type VIa turn with a cis peptide bond located between two proline residues of PPxY. A similar "banana-twisted" conformation can be observed in other group I CTXs and also in cyclolinopeptide A and its analogues.