(Basidiomycota, Mycenaceae), a new species of sect. from China.

Background: (Pers.) Roussel (1806) is a large genus of Mycenaceae known for having small to medium-sized basidiomata. It is typified by the species (Scop.

Comparison of paper-based nucleic acid extraction materials for point-of-care testing applications.

Unlabelled: Cheap, rapid, simple and equipment-free nucleic acid extraction (NAE) is highly preferred for implementing nucleic acid detection at point-of-care (POC). Paper-based NAE materials have been extensively utilized due to their low cost, abundance, portability, biocompatibility and ease of chemical modification. However, it is challenging for users to choose the proper one from existing paper-based NAE materials for specific POC applications, which is determined by their physical and chemical properties.

Liquid biopsy for ALK-positive early non-small-cell lung cancer predicts disease relapse.

We aimed to determine whether circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) aids in prognosis of relapse-free survival (RFS). Non-small cell lung cancer patients with mutations were recruited prospectively. CTCs and cfDNA were quantified at different time points.

Modification of a nitrocellulose membrane with cellulose nanofibers for enhanced sensitivity of lateral flow assays: application to the determination of Staphylococcus aureus.

Lateral flow assays, as a low-cost, simple, portable and disposable product of vitro diagnostic, are being widely used for point-of-care testing. However, the poor sensitivity of LFAs is the main challenge for commercialization. In order to enhance the sensitivity of LFAs, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) have been integrated into LFAs to enhance the sensitivity of protein LFAs.

A review on advances in methods for modification of paper supports for use in point-of-care testing.

Paper is a widely used support for use in devices for point-of-care testing (POCT) in clinical diagnosis, food safety monitoring and environmental pollution. Paper is inexpensive, biocompatible, biodegradable and allows a sample fluid to flow by capillary force. Numerous method have been developed recently for chemical modification of papers in order to introduce different functionalities.

A Decade of Changes in Family Caregivers' Preferences for Life-Sustaining Treatments for Terminally Ill Cancer Patients at End of Life in the Context of a Family-Oriented Society.

Context: Temporal changes in different family caregiver cohorts' preferences for life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) at end of life (EOL) have not been examined nor have the concept of whether caregivers' LST preferences represent a homogeneous or heterogeneous construct. Furthermore, LST preferences are frequently assessed from multiple treatments, making clinical applications difficult/infeasible.

Objectives: To identify parsimonious patterns and changes in the pattern of LST preferences for two independent cohorts of family caregivers for terminally ill Taiwanese cancer patients.

A Decade of Changes in Preferences for Life-Sustaining Treatments Among Terminally Ill Patients With Cancer.

Background: Changes over time in preferences for life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) at end of life (EOL) in different patient cohorts are not well established, nor is the concept that LST preferences represent more than 2 groups (uniformly prefer/not prefer).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore heterogeneity and changes in patterns of LST preferences among 2 independent cohorts of terminally ill patients with cancer recruited a decade apart.

Methods: Preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intensive care unit care, cardiac massage, intubation with mechanical ventilation, intravenous nutritional support, nasogastric tube feeding, and dialysis were surveyed among 2,187 and 2,166 patients in 2003-2004 and 2011-2012, respectively.

Characteristics and Correlates of Increasing Use of Surgery in Taiwanese Cancer Patients' Last Month of Life, 2001-2010.

Background/objectives: Surgery offers the potential to relieve symptoms for patients with cancer at the end of life (EOL) but at significant physiological and economic costs. However, the characteristics and correlates of surgery in last month of life (EOL surgery) of patients with cancer have not been comprehensively explored. This population-based study characterized EOL surgery use and identified its correlates.

Serodiagnosis of trichinellosis by ELISA using recombinant nudix hydrolase of Trichinella spiralis.

Trichinella spiralis nudix hydrolase (TsNd) gene encoding a 46 kDa protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and the potential of recombinant TsNd protein (rTsNd) as an antigen for the serodiagnosis of trichinellosis was investigated by ELISA and compared with those of ELISA with T. spiralis muscle larval excretory-secretory (ES) antigens. The sensitivity of both ELISA was 100% (30/30), for the detection of anti-Trichinella IgG antibodies in sera of the experimentally infected mice, and the specificity of rTsNd-ELISA and ES-ELISA was 100% (54/54) and 98% (53/54), respectively (P;0.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a Spirometra erinacei casein kinase I.

The Spirometra erinacei casein kinase I (SeCKI) gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and its characteristics were investigated in this study. The recombinant SeCP protein (rSeCKI) was purified. The vaccination of mice with rSeCKI induced the Th1/Th2-mixed type of immune response with Th2 predominant (high levels of IgG1).

The Use of Recombinant 31 kDa Antigens of Trichinella spiralis for Serodiagnosis of Experimental Trichinellosis.

Background: We have previously reported that a 31 kDa protein was screened from the excretory-secretory (ES) proteins of Tichinella spiralis muscle larvae (ML) by immunoproteomics using early infection sera, and the gene encoding a 31 kDa protein from T. spiralis was cloned and expressed in an E. coli expression system.

Characterization of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei Plerocercoid Cysteine Protease and Potential Application for Serodiagnosis of Sparganosis.

Background: Sparganosis is a neglected but important food-borne parasitic zoonosis. Clinical diagnosis of sparganosis is difficult because there are no specific manifestations. ELISA using plerocercoid crude or excretory-secretory (ES) antigens has high sensitivity but has cross-reactions with other helminthiases.

Protective immunity against Trichinella spiralis infection induced by TsNd vaccine in mice.

Background: We have previously reported that Trichinella spiralis Nudix hydrolase (TsNd) bound to intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), and vaccination of mice with recombinant TsNd protein (rTsNd) produced a partial protective immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the immune protection induced by TsNd DNA vaccine.

Methods: The full-length cDNA sequence of TsNd gene was cloned into pcDNA3.

Genetic structure analysis of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei isolates from central and southern China.

Background: Sparganosis caused by invasion of the plerocercoid larvae (spargana) of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei have increased in recent years in China. However, the population genetic structure regarding this parasite is still unclear. In this study, we used the sequences of two mitochondrial genes cytochrome b (cytb) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) to analyze genetic variation and phylogeographic structure of the S.

Biochemical and functional characterization of the glutathione S-transferase from Trichinella spiralis.

Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) is a family of multifunctional enzymes catalyzing detoxification reactions. Our previous study showed that Trichinella spiralis GST (TsGST) gene is an up-regulated gene in intestinal infective larvae (IIL) compared to muscle larvae (ML) and vaccination of mice with rTsGST displayed a partial protection against challenge infection. The purified rTsGST showed the maximum enzymatic activity at pH 6.

Trichinella spiralis: low vaccine potential of glutathione S-transferase against infections in mice.

We have previously reported that Trichinella spiralis glutathione-S-transferase (TsGST) gene is an up-regulated gene in intestinal infective larvae (IIL) compared to muscle larvae (ML). In this study, the TsGST gene was cloned, and recombinant TsGST (rTsGST) was produced. Anti-rTsGST serum recognized the native TsGST by Western blotting in crude antigens of ML, adult worm (AW) and newborn larvae (NBL) of T.

Oral vaccination of mice with Trichinella spiralis nudix hydrolase DNA vaccine delivered by attenuated Salmonella elicited protective immunity.

We have previously reported that Trichinella spiralis Nudix hydrolase (TsNd) bound to intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), and the vaccination of mice with recombinant TsNd protein (rTsNd) produced a partial protective immunity against challenge infection in mice. In this study, the full-length cDNA sequence of TsNd gene was cloned into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1, and the recombinant TsNd DNA was transformed into attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strain ⊿cyaSL1344.

Phylogenetic Location of the Spirometra Sparganum Isolates from China, Based on Sequences of 28S rDNA D1.

Background: The phylogenetic location of Chinese Spirometra sparganum isolates remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the phylogenetic location of the Spirometra sparganum isolates from China.

Methods: The 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) D1 sequences of 14 Spirometra sparganum isolates collected from thirteen locations in China were analyzed by using Neighbor-Joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI), respectively.

Serodiagnosis of sparganosis by ELISA using recombinant cysteine protease of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei spargana.

The Spirometra erinaceieuropaei cysteine protease (SeCP) gene encoding a 36 kDa protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the potential of recombinant SeCP protein (rSeCP) as an antigen for the serodiagnosis of sparganosis was investigated by ELISA and compared with those of ELISA with sparganum excretory-secretory (ES) antigens. The sensitivity of rSeCP-ELISA and ES-ELISA was 96.67 % (29/30) and 100 % (30/30) respectively, for the detection of anti-sparganum IgG antibodies in sera of the experimentally infected mice (P > 0.

Molecular identification of Trichinella spiralis nudix hydrolase and its induced protective immunity against trichinellosis in BALB/c mice.

Background: Nudix hydrolases (Nd) is a widespread superfamily, which is found in all classes of organism, hydrolyse a wide range of organic pyrophosphates and has a 'housecleaning' function. The previous study showed that Trichinella spiralis Nd (TsNd) bound to intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), and the vaccination of mice with T7 phage-displayed TsNd polypeptides produced protective immunity. The aim of this study was to clone, express and identify the full-length TsNd and to investigate its immune protection against T.

Characterization of a Trichinella spiralis 31 kDa protein and its potential application for the serodiagnosis of trichinellosis.

The Trichinella spiralis 31 kDa protein (Ts31) was screened from the excretory-secretory (ES) proteins of muscle larvae (ML) by immunoproteomics using serum from mice infected with T. spiralis at 18 days post infection (dpi). The aim of this study was to characterize the Ts31 protein and to evaluate the potential of the recombinant Ts31 protein (rTs31) for serodiagnosis of human trichinellosis.

Molecular characterization of a Spirometra mansoni antigenic polypeptide gene encoding a 28.7 kDa protein.

The Spirometra mansoni antigenic polypeptide (SmAP) gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, and its characteristics and value as an antigen for the serodiagnosis of sparganosis were investigated. The recombinant SmAP protein (rSmAP) has the molecular weight of 28.7 kDa.

Identification of early diagnostic antigens from Spirometra erinaceieuropaei sparganum soluble proteins using immunoproteomics.

In order to identify early specific diagnostic antigens of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (syn. S. erinacei or S.

Physician-patient end-of-life care discussions: correlates and associations with end-of-life care preferences of cancer patients-a cross-sectional survey study.

Background: Honoring patients' treatment preferences is a key component of high-quality end-of-life care. Connecting clinical practices to patients' preferences requires effective communication. However, few cancer patients reported discussing end-of-life-care preferences with their physicians.

Preferences for Aggressive End-of-life Care and Their Determinants Among Taiwanese Terminally Ill Cancer Patients.

Background: Studies on factors influencing preferences for aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care have focused predominantly on preferred goals of EOL and seldom comprehensively incorporate patients' predisposing, enabling, and need factors into their analyses.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the determinants of preferences for a wide range of aggressive EOL care from the aforementioned factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 2329 terminally ill cancer patients recruited from 23 hospitals throughout Taiwan.