Fat loss and muscle gain: The possible role of striatal dopaminergic tone in determining the efficacy of physical exercise.

The effectiveness of exercise for obesity is contentious due to individual response variability. Owing to the roles of dopamine in motor functions, metabolism, and appetite, this study aimed to identify striatal dopamine as a predictor of variability in exercise response, specifically in terms of fat loss and muscle gain. Healthy non-exercising males completed an 8-week program, exercising 1 h, 4 days a week.

Fat loss and muscle gain: The possible role of cortical glutamate in determining the efficacy of physical exercise.

Background: Physical exercise is widely acknowledged for its health benefits, but its effectiveness in treating obesity remains contentious due to variability in response. Owing to the roles of glutamate in appetite regulation, food addiction, and impulsivity, this observational cohort-study evaluated medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) glutamate as a predictor of variability in exercise response, specifically in terms of fat loss and muscle gain.

Methods: Healthy non-exercising adult men (n = 21) underwent an 8-week supervised exercise program.

Striatal subregional functional connectivity and its association with sustained attention in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The functional connectivity (FC) of striatal subregions is correlated with cognitive functions in child attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, increasing age changes the pattern of cognitive functions and clinical presentation. The changes in the pattern of cognitive functions may be associated with underlying age‑dependent striatal subregional FC alterations.

Dopaminergic and glutamatergic biomarkers disruption in addiction and regulation by exercise: a mini review.

Introduction: Drug addiction is associated with disruption of a multitude of biomarkers in various brain regions, particularly in the reward centre. The most pronounced are dopaminergic and glutamatergic biomarkers, which are affected at various levels. Neuropathological changes in biomarkers alter the homeostasis of the glutamatergic and dopaminergic nervous systems and promote addiction-associated characteristics such as repeated intake, maintenance, withdrawal, reinstatement, and relapse.

Altered glutamate level and its association with working memory among patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS): a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Background: Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) and non-TRS may be associated with different dopaminergic and glutamatergic regulations. The concept of dysregulated glutamatergic concentrations in specific brain regions remains controversial. Herein, we aimed to assess (i) the distribution of the glutamatergic concentration in the brain, (ii) the association between working memory (WM) differences in TRS and non-TRS patients, and (iii) whether an alteration in the glutamate (Glu) level is associated with WM.

The integrated model of glutamate and dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia: Prediction and personalized medicine for prevent potential treatment-resistant patients.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is one of the subgroups of schizophrenia of which little is known with regard to its optimal mechanism. Treatment response, either as full remission of symptoms or prediction by biomarker, is important in psychiatry. We have proposed a model that integrates dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems with the biological interactions of TRS patients.

The caregivers' dilemma: Care burden, rejection, and caregiving behaviors among the caregivers of patients with depressive disorders.

Taking care of depressed patients significantly impacts caregivers' lives, both objectively and subjectively. The effects of caregivers' burden on their responses to their patients has yet to be investigated. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships among caregivers' subjective and objective burden, depression, frequency of caregiving behaviors, and rejective attitude.

Diabetes pay-for-performance program can reduce all-cause mortality in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus.

This study aimed to examine the effect of a diabetes pay-for-performance (P4P) program on all-cause mortality in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. Using a Taiwanese representative nationwide cohort, we recruited 5478 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes enrolled in the P4P program within 5 years after a diagnosis of diabetes between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2010 and individuals not enrolled in the P4P program were recruited as the control group matched 1:1 with the study group. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazard models analysis to investigate the effect of the P4P program and adherence on all-cause mortality.

Epidemiology and patterns of facial fractures due to road traffic accidents in Taiwan: A 15-year retrospective study.

Objective: The facial region is a commonly fractured site, but the etiology varies widely by country and geographic region. To date, there are no population-based studies of facial fractures in Taiwan.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with facial fracture and registered in the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan between 1997 and 2011.

Plasmonic tooth-multilayer structure with high enhancement field for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

The significant enhancement seen in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) heavily relies on the ability of plasmonic structures to strongly confine light. Current techniques used to fabricate plasmonic nanostructures have been limited in their reproducibility for bottom-up techniques or their feature size for top-down techniques. Here, we propose a tooth multilayer structure that can be fabricated by using physical vapor deposition and selective wet etching, achieving extremely small feature sizes and high reproducibility.

Sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of mood disorders: a population-based cohort study.

Purpose: The symptoms of sleep apnea, such as sleep fragmentation and oxygen desaturation, might be risk factors for subsequent mood disorder (MD), but associations between sleep apnea and MD remain unclear. This nationwide population-based study thus aimed to identify the risk of MD in patients with vs. without sleep apnea.

Spectrally Selective Photocapacitance Modulation in Plasmonic Nanochannels for Infrared Imaging.

The optical response of subwavelength plasmonic structures can be used to monitor minute changes in their physical, chemical, and biological environments with high performance for sensing. The optical response in the far field is governed by the near-field properties of plasmon resonances. Sharp, tunable resonances can be obtained by controlling the shape of the structure and by using resonant cavities.

Chronic Kidney Disease is Associated With Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Increased urinary tract malignancy has been reported in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, little is known about chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study is designed to explore the association between CKD and upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

Acute Urinary Retention During Pregnancy--A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.

The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiology and risk factors of acute urinary retention (AUR) during pregnancy. We included all cases of pregnancies with AUR reported in Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2011. Cases of AUR onset 1 day before delivery were excluded.

Prevalence, incidence, and comorbidity of clinically diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder in Taiwan: a national population-based study.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic debilitating anxiety disorder significant in intrusive thoughts and compensation repetitive behaviors. Few studies have reported on this condition Asia. This study estimated the prevalence, incidence and psychiatric comorbidities of OCD in Taiwan.

Amisulpride and symptomatic bradycardia: a case report.

Objective: Amisulpride is a second-generation antipsychotic agent indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia and other major psychotic illnesses. Amisulpride-induced bradycardia is a rare condition of unknown etiology and mechanism. Asymptomatic bradycardia has been associated with amisulpride in only two cases.