PM induces lung inflammation through ANGPTL4.

Fine particulate matter (PM) is a common major air pollutant associated with decreased lung function, induced allergic airway inflammation closely correlated with chronic lung diseases. Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is a cytokine with multiple functions, participating in processes such as inflammation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Curcumin is an active compound found in turmeric plants and possesses various pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and immunomodulatory properties.

Prognostic value of combining clinical factors, F-FDG PET-based intensity, volumetric features, and deep learning predictor in patients with EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma undergoing targeted therapies: a cross-scanner and temporal validation study.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of F-FDG PET-based intensity, volumetric features, and deep learning (DL) across different generations of PET scanners in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated lung adenocarcinoma receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the pre-treatment F-FDG PET of 217 patients with advanced-stage lung adenocarcinoma and actionable EGFR mutations who received TKI as first-line treatment. Patients were separated into analog (n = 166) and digital (n = 51) PET cohorts.

Multiplexed transcriptional profiling of Dermatophagoides house dust mites allergens in human epithelium cells.

Allergic asthma, a chronic disease characterized by airway inflammation, poses a significant public health concern. It is well-established that house dust mites (HDMs) are common inducers of allergic responses in individuals, particularly children. In central Taiwan, our research team observed that over 80% of allergic children exhibited sensitization to various HDMs species.

Comorbid asthma is associated with rhinitis severity in children exposed to air pollutants.

Background: The impact of asthma on the severity of rhinitis when children with allergic rhinitis (AR) are exposed to air pollutants has not been studied.

Methods: Children with AR (65 with asthma, 208 without asthma), aged 6-13 years, were recruited from a hospital in Taichung, Taiwan, between 2007 and 2011. Correlations between Pediatric-Rhinoconjunctivitis-Quality-of-Life score, nasal peak expiratory flow, and air pollutants were compared.

Clinical effects of dupilumab: A novel treatment for Kimura disease.

Background: Kimura disease (KD) is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder involving the Th2 pathway. Although medical treatment with steroids or other immunosuppressants is available, they may cause developmental issues in the pediatric population. Surgical intervention has also been suggested; however, it is associated with high recurrence rates.

Impact of respiratory motion on F-FDG PET radiomics stability: Clinical evaluation with a digital PET scanner.

Purpose: F-FDG PET quantitative features are susceptible to respiratory motion. However, studies using clinical patient data to explore the impact of respiratory motion on F-FDG PET radiomic features are limited. In this study, we investigated the impact of respiratory motion on radiomics stability with clinical F-FDG PET images using a data-driven gating (DDG) algorithm on the digital PET scanner.

A comparison of 18 F-FDG PET-based radiomics and deep learning in predicting regional lymph node metastasis in patients with resectable lung adenocarcinoma: a cross-scanner and temporal validation study.

Objective: The performance of 18 F-FDG PET-based radiomics and deep learning in detecting pathological regional nodal metastasis (pN+) in resectable lung adenocarcinoma varies, and their use across different generations of PET machines has not been thoroughly investigated. We compared handcrafted radiomics and deep learning using different PET scanners to predict pN+ in resectable lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pretreatment 18 F-FDG PET from 148 lung adenocarcinoma patients who underwent curative surgery.

Comprehensive Assessment of the Clinical Risk Factors of Postoperative Adverse Events and Survival in Patients With Non-small-cell Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: Postoperative adverse events are associated with poor clinical outcomes and survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with curative operation. However, comprehensive evaluation of the clinical characteristics associated with postoperative adverse events and survival outcomes is lacking.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study that evaluated patients with NSCLC who underwent curative surgery between 2008 and 2019 was conducted in a medical center.

Association Between the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Infection and Survival in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma.

Background/aim: Infection is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, there is limited information on the impact and risk factors for infection among patients receiving rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisolone (R-CHOP).

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study evaluating patients with DLBCL receiving R-CHOP and R-COP between 2004 and 2021 was conducted at a medical center.

Allergic rhinitis children with obesity are more vulnerable to air pollution: a cross sectional study.

The association between air pollution, allergic rhinitis (AR), and obesity has not been studied. From 2007 to 2011, 52 obese and 152 non-obese children (7-17 years old) with AR were recruited. Pediatric-Rhinoconjunctivitis-Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (PRQLQ) and nasal peak expiratory flow (NPEF) were tested.

Influence of the methodological aspects of the dichotomization of total metabolic tumor volume measured through baseline fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET on survival prediction in lymphoma.

Objective: The total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) measured from fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET can be useful for determining the prognosis of patients with lymphoma. Stratifying patients into high- and low-TMTV risk groups requires a cutoff point, which is determined through the dichotomization method. This study investigated whether different TMTV dichotomization methods influenced survival prediction in patients with lymphoma.

The combined tumor-nodal glycolytic entropy improves survival stratification in nonsmall cell lung cancer with locoregional disease.

Objective: To investigate whether combining primary tumor and metastatic nodal glycolytic heterogeneity on 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET ( 18 F-FDG PET) improves prognostic prediction in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with locoregional disease.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 18 F-FDG PET-derived features from 94 patients who had undergone curative treatments for regional nodal metastatic NSCLC. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models.

Glucose metabolic heterogeneity correlates with pathological features and improves survival stratification of resectable lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: We investigated whether glycolytic heterogeneity correlated with histopathology, and further stratified the survival outcomes pertaining to resectable lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-derived entropy and histopathology from 128 patients who had undergone curative surgery for lung adenocarcinoma. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models.

Application of Tunica Vaginalis Flap for Epispadias Repair in the Epispadias-Exstrophy Complex.

Objective: To describe long-term outcomes and experience with the tunica vaginalis flap (TVF) as a tissue augment for complex epispadias repair.

Methods: A prospectively maintained institutional database was reviewed for patients who underwent epispadias repair with TVF from 2010 to 2021. Evaluation of patient characteristics between those who developed dehiscence or UCF and those who did not was performed via Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

Effect of combination treatment with Lactobacillus rhamnosus and corticosteroid in reducing airway inflammation in a mouse asthma model.

Background: Asthma is a complex multifactorial chronic airway inflammatory disease with diverse phenotypes and levels of severity and is associated with significant health and economic burden. In a certain population of asthma patients, the symptoms cannot be well controlled with steroid. There has been long standing interest in the use of probiotics for treating allergic diseases.

Integrated OMICs Approach for the Group 1 Protease Mite-Allergen of House Dust Mite .

House dust mites (HDMs) are one of the most important allergy-causing agents of asthma. In central Taiwan, the prevalence of sensitization to (), a particular mite species of HDMs, is approximately 80% and is related to the IgE crossing reactivity of () and (). Integrated OMICs examination was used to identify and characterize the specific group 1 mite-allergic component ().

Association between Sarcopenia and Immediate Complications and Mortality in Patients with Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Undergoing Surgery.

Sarcopenia negatively affects oncologic outcomes. However, studies have yet to reveal whether it is associated with postoperative complications and survival among patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study retrospectively enrolled 592 patients undergoing primary OSCC surgery with available computed tomography (CT) images of their third cervical vertebrae (C3) within 30 days before surgery between January 2011 and December 2020.

Lessons from an eight-country community health data harmonization collaborative.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are individuals who are trained and equipped to provide essential health services to their neighbors and have increased access to healthcare in communities worldwide for more than a century. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline on Health Policy and System Support to Optimize Community Health Worker Programmes reveals important gaps in the evidentiary certainty about which health system design practices lead to quality care. Routine data collection across countries represents an important, yet often untapped, opportunity for exploratory data analysis and comparative implementation science.

Systemic Inflammation Index and Tumor Glycolytic Heterogeneity Help Risk Stratify Patients with Advanced Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the first-line treatment for patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor ()-mutated lung adenocarcinoma. Over half of patients failed to achieve prolonged survival benefits from TKI therapy. Awareness of a reliable prognostic tool may provide a valuable direction for tailoring individual treatments.

Early Bronchiolitis Contributes to Preschool Asthma.

This study aims to analyze whether bronchiolitis in children younger than one-year-old contributes to subsequent asthma. Medical data were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Participants were divided into study (N = 65,559) and control (N = 49,656) groups, depending on whether they had early bronchiolitis.

Tumor glycolytic heterogeneity improves detection of regional nodal metastasis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: The diagnostic performance of F-FDG PET for detecting regional lymph node metastasis in resectable lung cancer is variable, and its sensitivity for adenocarcinoma is even lower. We aimed to evaluate the value of F-FDG PET-derived features in predicting pathological lymph node metastasis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pretreatment F-FDG PET-derived features of 126 lung adenocarcinoma patients who underwent curative surgery.