Surgeon and hospital volume as quality indicators for CABG in Taiwan: examining hazard to mortality and accounting for unobserved heterogeneity.

Objective: To investigate whether provider volume has an impact on the hazard of mortality for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients in Taiwan.

Data Sources/study Setting: Multiple sources of linked data from the National Health Insurance Program in Taiwan.

Study Design: The linked data were used to identify 27,463 patients who underwent CABG without concomitant angioplasty or valve procedures and the surgeon and hospital volumes.

Quality of life in Taiwanese breast cancer survivors with breast-conserving therapy.

Background/purpose: Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy in Taiwan; however, quality of life (QOL) following breast cancer therapy remains rarely studied. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QOL among Taiwanese breast cancer patients with and without breast-conserving therapy.

Methods: A total of 130 women with breast cancer (37 with breast-conserving therapy and 93 with modified radical mastectomy) were enrolled between August, 2004 and December, 2007 in a single center.

Perchlorate removal by acidified zero-valent aluminum and aluminum hydroxide.

Removal of perchlorate using either acid-washed zero-valent aluminum or aluminum hydroxide was studied in batch reactors under ambient temperature and pressure. Approximately 90-95% of perchlorate was removed within 24h in the presence of 35 g L(-1) aluminum at acidic pH (4.5+/-0.

Trimetallic Pd/Fe/Al particles for catalytic dechlorination of chlorinated organic contaminants.

Zero-valent aluminum based trimetallic particles comprising a combination of catalytically effective amounts (1 wt%) of palladium and zero-valent iron on the aluminum surface were synthesized and tested for the dechlorination of chlorinated methanes in batch reactors. XRD analysis indicated the trimetallic particles present in zero-valent form of all three components. Trimetallic Pd/Fe/Al particles showed a very rapid degradation of carbon tetrachloride leading to a surface normalized rate constant (k(SA)) of approximately 0.

Global budgets and provider incentives: hospitals' drug expenditures in Taiwan.

Purpose: This chapter examines how drug prescribing behavior in Taiwanese hospitals changed after the government changed reimbursement systems. In 2002, Taiwan instituted a system in which hospitals are reimbursed for drug expenditures at full price from a fixed global budget before the remaining budget is allocated to reimburse all other expenditures, often at discounted prices. Providers are thus given a financial incentive to increase prescriptions.

Effect of pravastatin on ventricular arrhythmias in infarcted rats: role of connexin43.

Epidemiologic studies showed that men treated with statins appear to have a lower incidence of sudden death than men without statins. However, the specific factor for this remained disappointingly elusive. We assessed whether pravastatin enhanced connexin43 expression after myocardial infarction through attenuation of endothelin-1.

Effect of electroacupuncture on St. 36 (Zusanli) and LI. 10 (Shousanli) acupuncture points on heart rate variability.

Electrical stimulation of St. 36 (Zusanli) has been shown to enhance the regularity of gastric myoelectrical activity in healthy subjects. However, the underlying mechanism by which acupuncture alters gastric myoelectrical activity is still not clear.

Quality-of-life measures in Taiwanese adults with symptomatic gallstone disease.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the association of quality-of-life status with baseline laboratory findings among Taiwanese adults having symptomatic gallstone disease.

Methods: A prospective quality-of-life survey was administered at a tertiary referral medical center among 102 consecutive adults with symptomatic gallstone disease. Patients underwent regular laboratory testing at admission and were evaluated using the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI).

SPARC (osteonectin) in breast tumors of different histologic types and its role in the outcome of invasive ductal carcinoma.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the immunohistochemical distribution of secreted protein acidic and rich in cystein (SPARC) in benign and malignant breast tumors of different histologic types and define its association with the outcome of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) patients. A total of 286 samples of benign and malignant breast lesions between 1994 and 2005 were retrieved from National Taiwan University Hospital. Up to 11 years clinical follow-up data were available for 185 patients with IDC.

Tuberculous liver abscess in a case without lung involvement.

Hepatic tuberculosis is an uncommon form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, particularly when it presents in the form of liver abscess. Here, we report a 64-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital having experienced intermittent chills for 3 months. Aspiration of the liver abscess revealed neither bacteria nor acid-fast bacilli, but pus and granulation tissue were found.

Varying postprandial abdominovagal and cardiovagal activity in normal subjects.

Background: Several studies have supported the hypothesis of different presentations in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) between cardiac and gastric vagal activity. Due to the regionality of the ANS, different responses among different organ systems to the same stimulation (such as a meal) are quite possible.

Methods: In this study we monitored the postprandial changes of heart rate variability (HRV) and gastrointestinal (GI) hormones to determine whether both responded in a similar pattern.

Fractionated evaluation of immunohistochemical hormone receptor expression enhances prognostic prediction in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen as adjuvant therapy.

Objective: To compare the prognostic prediction between dichotomized and fractionated evaluations of hormone receptor expressions.

Methods: Patients with stages I-III breast cancers, who received adjuvant tamoxifen, were enrolled. The expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Progress and compliance in alcohol abuse treatment.

Improving patient compliance with physicians' treatment or prescription recommendations is an important goal in medical practice. We examine the relationship between treatment progress and patient compliance. We hypothesize that patients balance expected benefits and costs during a treatment episode when deciding on compliance; a patient is more likely to comply if doing so results in an expected gain in health benefit.

Antitumor effect of BPR-DC-2, a novel synthetic cyclic cyanoguanidine derivative, involving the inhibition of MDR-1 expression and down-regulation of p-AKT and PARP-1 in lung cancer.

In our previous study, a series of novel cyclic cyanoguanidine compounds, eg. 5-substituted 2-cyanoimino-4-imidazodinone and 2-cyanoimino-4- pyrimidinone derivatives have been successfully synthesized and showed remarkable cytotoxicity in several cancer cell lines. In this present study, it is our aim to screen more potential candidates among the cyclic pyridyl cyanoguanidine compounds (BPR-DC-1, 2, 3) by in vitro and in vivo studies for the therapy of lung cancer, alternatively.

Changes in quality-of-life following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adult patients with cholelithiasis.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in quality-of-life following laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in adults with cholelithiasis.

Methods: Patients were evaluated with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) preoperatively and 12 months after LC. Outcome predictors were analyzed using correlation and regression statistics.

Influence of nanoscale zero-valent iron on geochemical properties of groundwater and vinyl chloride degradation: A field case study.

A 200m(2) pilot-scale field test successfully demonstrated the use of nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) for effective remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated organic compounds in Taiwan within six months. Both commercially available and on-site synthesized NZVI were used. A well-defined monitoring program allowing to collect three-dimensional spatial data from 13 nested multi-level monitoring wells was conducted to monitor geochemical parameters in groundwater.

Association of heartburn and laryngopharyngeal symptoms with endoscopic reflux esophagitis, smoking, and drinking.

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the association of laryngopharyngeal symptoms and heartburn with endoscopic esophagitis, smoking, and drinking. The clinical importance of the Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) in predicting endoscopic esophagitis was also evaluated.

Study Design: Case series with planned data collection.

Regulation of clpQ⁺Y⁺ (hslV⁺U⁺) gene expression in Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli ClpYQ (HslUV) complex is an ATP-dependent protease, and the clpQ⁺Y⁺ (hslV⁺U⁺) operon encodes two heat shock proteins, ClpQ and ClpY, respectively. The transcriptional (op) or translational (pr) clpQ⁺::lacZ fusion gene was constructed, with the clpQ⁺Y⁺ promoter fused to a lacZ reporter gene. The clpQ⁺::lacZ (op or pr) fusion gene was each crossed into lambda phage.

Characterization of the Escherichia coli ClpY (HslU) substrate recognition site in the ClpYQ (HslUV) protease using the yeast two-hybrid system.

In Escherichia coli, ClpYQ (HslUV) is a two-component ATP-dependent protease in which ClpQ is the peptidase subunit and ClpY is the ATPase and the substrate-binding subunit. The ATP-dependent proteolysis is mediated by substrate recognition in the ClpYQ complex. ClpY has three domains, N, I, and C, and these domains are discrete and exhibit different binding preferences.

Increasing prevalence of erosive esophagitis among Taiwanese aged 40 years and above: a comparison between two time periods.

Background: Earlier prevalence studies have reported an increasing trend of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Asia, and obesity may be the promoting factor.

Goals: This study compared the prevalence of erosive esophagitis and obesity status among the same source of subjects in Taiwan between 1995 and 2002.

Study: In the same routine health checkup unit, we recruited 1902 apparently healthy adults in 2002 matched by sex and age with 2044 individuals recruited in 1995.

Activation of human valve interstitial cells by a viridians streptococci modulin induces chemotaxis of mononuclear cells.

Infective endocarditis is characterized by inflammatory infiltrates of mononuclear cells in infected cardiac valve leaflets. To delineate the role of valve interstitial cells (VICs) in leukocyte recruitment, we stimulated human VICs with glucosyltransferase, a modulin from viridians streptococci. Interstitial cells were activated directly by glucosyltransferase in a dose-dependent manner through concerted mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathways; activation resulted in up-regulation of synthesis and release of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, or monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and enhanced transwell migration of U937 monocytic cells or primary mononuclear cells.

Inhibition of Anchorage-Independent Proliferation and G0/G1 Cell-Cycle Regulation in Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cells by 4,7-Dimethoxy-5-Methyl-l,3-Benzodioxole Isolated from the Fruiting Body of Antrodia camphorate.

In this study, 4,7-dimethoxy-5-methyl-l,3-benzodioxole (SY-1) was isolated from three different sources of dried fruiting bodies of Antrodia camphorate (AC). AC is a medicinal mushroom that grows on the inner heartwood wall of Cinnamomum kanehirai Hay (Lauraceae), an endemic species that is used in Chinese medicine for its anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties. In this study, we demonstrated that SY-1 profoundly decreased the proliferation of human colon cancer cells (COLO 205) through G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest (50-150 μM) and induction of apoptosis (>150 μM).

Statistical identification of gene association by CID in application of constructing ER regulatory network.

Background: A variety of high-throughput techniques are now available for constructing comprehensive gene regulatory networks in systems biology. In this study, we report a new statistical approach for facilitating in silico inference of regulatory network structure. The new measure of association, coefficient of intrinsic dependence (CID), is model-free and can be applied to both continuous and categorical distributions.

Beta-catenin expression and mutation in adult and pediatric Wilms' tumors.

Wilms' tumor is the most common pediatric renal neoplasm, but its occurrence in adults is very rare. In contrast to pediatric Wilms' tumor (PWT), very little is known about the pathogenesis of adult Wilms' tumor (AWT). Despite there currently being no morphological difference between AWT and PWT, a cytogenetic study has suggested that the pathogenesis of AWT might be different from that of PWT.

Microchip and capillary electrophoresis for quantitative analysis of hepatitis C virus based on RT-competitive PCR.

A method to quantitatively perform reverse transcription-competitive PCR (RT-cPCR) of hepatitis C virus followed by both microchip and capillary electrophoretic separation and detection was described. In this method, HCV wild-type (WT) RNA extracted from serum was coretrotranscribed and coamplified with a constant amount of recombinant internal standard (IS) RNA which had the same primer binding region as the target RNA and was constructed by removing a centrally located 25-bp segment from the target template. A linear calibration curve was constructed by adding IS RNA at a constant concentration of 8000 copies mul(-1) into a series of RNA target standards ranging from 400 to 10(6) copies mul(-1).