Leveraging functional annotations to map rare variants associated with Alzheimer's disease with gruyere.

The increasing availability of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has begun to elucidate the contribution of rare variants (RVs), both coding and non-coding, to complex disease. Multiple RV association tests are available to study the relationship between genotype and phenotype, but most are restricted to per-gene models and do not fully leverage the availability of variant-level functional annotations. We propose Genome-wide Rare Variant EnRichment Evaluation (gruyere), a Bayesian probabilistic model that complements existing methods by learning global, trait-specific weights for functional annotations to improve variant prioritization.

A quick method to customize pictorial blood assessment tools towards better measurement: Method development and validation.

Objective: Identification of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) cases in primary care settings is often done by using pictorial blood assessment charts (PBAC). The study aims to highlight the challenge of assessing blood loss, to develop a standardized method to efficiently customize a patient-reported pictorial chart, to validate the tool produced with our proposed method, and to demonstrate the feasibility of using PBACs in settings where resources are scarce.

Materials And Methods: Using blood samples and feedback from 21 women aged 30-51 years, we followed guidelines suggested in the literature, developed a method to produce PBACs for regular, long and night sizes, and had 9 participants testuse them.

Levonorgestrel intrauterine devices improve body constitution deviations in the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine and quality of life in patients with chronic pelvic pain and heavy menstrual bleeding.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether the use of levonorgestrel intrauterine devices (LNG-IUD) in the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can improve the body constitution deviations and quality of life (QoL) in patients with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).

Materials And Methods: To understand the TCM body constitution differences between patients, patients with CPP from a gynecology clinic were first compared to a healthy control group from the Academia Sinica Taiwan Biobank (TWB). Patients with CPP were also compared with patients with pelvic diseases from the TWB.

The Association Between Traditional Chinese Medicine Body Constitution Deviation and Essential Hypertension: A Case-Control Study.

Background: The prevention and treatment of hypertension is valued globally. The World Health Organization advocates combining traditional medicines in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) assumes that diseases originate from the attenuation of one's body constitution.

The use of time-domain analysis on the choice of measurement location for pulse diagnosis research: A pilot study.

Background: Pulse diagnosis researches acquiring pulse waves from the wrist radial artery has not yet addressed the issue of whether this information is affected by differences in the hemodynamic characteristics of pressure waves derived from different locations. This study aimed to clarify whether the blood dynamic states are identical with regard to the "three positions and nine indicators" ((Equation is included in full-text article.)) listed in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

The Relationship between Stasis-Stagnation Constitution and Peripheral Arterial Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Objectives. In traditional Chinese medicine, Yu-Zhi (YZ, indicating stasis and stagnation) constitution describes a body that tends to express abnormal circulatory conditions. This study identified the linkage between YZ constitution and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

BCQ-: A Body Constitution Questionnaire to assess Yin-Xu. Part II: evaluation of reliability and validity.

Background: Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory and guided by the principles of modern medicine (MM), we aimed to develop an effective and reliable diagnostic tool using self-reported data in order to assess the Yin-Xu body constitution. In this study, we further evaluated a provisional 22-item version of the Yin-Xu Body Constitution Questionnaire (BCQ-) previously derived from the Delphi process.

Methods: A total of 1,272 eligible participants aged between 20 and 60 years was recruited.

BCQ-: a body constitution questionnaire to assess Yin-Xu. Part I: establishment of a provisional version through a Delphi process.

Background: Nowadays, the individual differences are emphasized in personalized medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which prescribes tailored treatment based on each patient's different body constitution may provide new strategy to break the bottleneck of modern medicine (MM). Therefore, to integrate TCM into MM, an objective, reliable and rigorous diagnostic tool is necessary for the assessment of TCM constitution of each individual.

Traditional Chinese Medicine ZHENG Identification Provides a Novel Stratification Approach in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis.

Background. We aimed to apply the ZHENG identification to provide an easy and useful tool to stratify the patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) through exploring the correlation between the quantified scores of AR symptoms and the TCM ZHENGs. Methods.

Comparison of a Chinese Herbal Medicine (CCH1) and Lactulose as First-Line Treatment of Constipation in Long-Term Care: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Double-Dummy, and Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Many institutionalized patients and their healthcare providers are dissatisfied with current laxative therapy. This study compared therapeutic efficacy, safety, and laxative cost of an herbal formula (CCH1) and lactulose for long stay patients with constipation. In this double-blind, double-dummy, and placebo-controlled trial, we randomized 93 residents with chronic constipation from two long-term care facilities in Taiwan to receive either CCH1 with lactulose placebo or CCH1 placebo with lactulose for 8 weeks, then followed up for 4 weeks without study medication.

Treatment of constipation in long-term care with Chinese herbal formula: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Objectives: This study is aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of CCH1, modified from an ancient herbal formula in Traditional Chinese Medicine, for the residents with constipation in long-term care.

Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 90 residents from three long-term care units were randomized to 8 weeks of treatment with CCH1 or placebo and then the subjects were followed up for an additional 4 weeks.

Results: The mean numbers of weekly spontaneous bowel movement in the CCH1 group were greater than in the placebo group during the treatment phase of 8 weeks (p < 0.

Postoperative care with Chinese herbal medicine or amoxicillin after functional endoscopic sinus surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Background: A number of herbal preparations have been reported being used as adjunctive treatment of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). This study was designed to examine the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in the postoperative care of post-FESS patients.

Methods: Patients with CRS who underwent FESS were prospectively enrolled in the study.

BCQ+: a body constitution questionnaire to assess Yang-Xu. Part II: Evaluation of reliability and validity.

Introduction: Integrated medicine has become an important issue in this century. In order to bridge the gap between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and modern medicine, we have established a first final version of a Yang-Xu constitution questionnaire, the BCQ+, in a previous study. The objective of the present investigation is to assess the reliability and validity of the BCQ+.

BCQ+: a body constitution questionnaire to assess Yang-Xu. Part I: establishment of a first final version through a Delphi process.

Introduction: Assessing an individual's level of Yang deficiency (Yang-Xu) by its manifestations is a frequent issue in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical trials. To this end, an objective, reliable and rigorous diagnostic tool is required. This study aimed to develop a first final version of the Yang-Xu Constitution Questionnaire.

Pulse spectrum analysis, a faster and easier way to predict outcome of sepsis?

In order to provide a faster and easier way for outcome prediction of sepsis, this study aimed to characterize the pattern of arterial pulse spectrum by a rat cecum ligation and puncture (CLP) model and explore whether specific harmonic components of pulse spectrum are associated with the mortality of CLP rats, followed by the comparison of accuracy between these specific variables and IL-6. Nineteen Sprague-Dawley rats receiving CLP were analyzed. Femoral artery of each rat was catheterized for blood pressure recording and blood sampling in the first 24 hours after CLP.

A new noninvasive approach to detect the artery's pulsating properties via tissue control method.

This paper presents a new approach, named as Tissue Control Method, to obtain the pulsating properties for artery. These properties are the variations of blood vessel diameter, instantaneous intra-arterial blood pressure, and the dynamic impedances of blood vessel. By maintaining the stiffness of tissue and tracking the variations of blood pressure at a critical location, it decouples the effect of the arterial pulsation from the tissue and measures the variations of the blood vessel diameter.

On measuring the instantaneous blood pressure in an artery via the tissue control method.

This paper presents a non-invasive approach to measuring the instantaneous arterial blood pressure based upon the tissue control method. According to animal experiments, there exists a pressed location where the mean blood pressure in the artery is equivalent to the mean pressure measured on the skin. At this location, the stiffness measured on the skin is equivalent to the stiffness of the tissue only.

Zhi-fuzi, a cardiotonic Chinese herb, a new medical treatment choice for portal hypertension?

Zhi-Fuzi (Radix Aconiti lateralis preparata) is prescribed fairly frequently in Chinese medicine clinical practice for treating the complications of cirrhosis. However, scientific evidence regarding its efficacy and safety has not been available until now; in addition, its treatment efficacy has not yet been evaluated in well-designed clinical trials. Hence, we investigated the hemodynamic effects of Zhi-Fuzi in conscious rats with portal vein ligation (PVL) and the safety in normal rats.

Different patterns of pulse spectrum between survivors and non-survivors during progressive hemorrhage in rats.

Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated that the percentage differences of 2nd (C2) and 3rd (C3) pulse harmonics related to Kidney and Spleen were both increased toward another steady state in rats after acute hemorrhage. Therefore, it is suggested that changes in pulse spectra might represent the ability of animals to survive a model of progressive hemorrhage. In this study, the difference of the pulse spectra patterns between survivors and non-survivors after progressive hemorrhage (by loss of 5%, 10% or 20% of the estimated blood volume) in anesthetized rats is determined.