Utilizing polygenic risk score for breast cancer risk prediction in a Taiwanese population.

Background: Breast cancer has been the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Taiwan since 2003. While genetic variants play a significant role in the elevated risk of breast cancer, their implications have been less explored within Asian populations. Variant-based polygenic risk scores (PRS) have emerged as valuable tools for assessing the likelihood of developing breast cancer.

Fostering holistic eye care for children with special educational needs: an interprofessional education program bridging optometry and education.

Purpose: This study outlines the initiation of an interprofessional education (IPE) program designed for optometry and education students. The program aimed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and improve the management of eye health in children with special educational needs (SEN) - a vulnerable and underserved group.

Methods: This program incorporated lectures and workshops to impart essential knowledge about SEN and to develop the necessary attitudes and skills for conducting eye examinations.

Mediastinal Epithelioid Angiosarcoma, New Insights into an Uncommon Diagnosis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Angiosarcoma is an uncommon malignant mesenchymal neoplasm, accounting for 1-2% of all sarcomas. More than half are cutaneous, with the remainder arising in the deep soft tissue, breast, bone or viscera, particularly the liver, spleen and heart. Mediastinal angiosarcomas are exceedingly uncommon.

Wild-Type Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis in a Transplanted Heart.

Wild-type transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTRwt-CM) is more prevalent than appreciated in the elderly. We present the case of an 88-year-old woman who underwent heart transplantation for ischemic cardiomyopathy and then presented 21 years later with new onset atrial flutter, found on endomyocardial biopsy to have new ATTRwt-CM. ().

Evaluation of technical urinary tract complications in kidney transplantation recipients with a prolonged dialysis history.

Background: The kidney transplant waiting list continues to expand, resulting in prolonged dialysis times exceeding 8 years before transplantation in some regions. The relationship between long-term dialysis and urinary tract complications after kidney transplant remains largely unexplored. This study aims to evaluate post-kidney transplant complications in patients with a history of prolonged dialysis.

Can teaching serious illness communication skills foster multidimensional empathy? A mixed-methods study.

Background: To investigate the impact of a serious illness communication skills training course on medical students' attitudes regarding clinical empathy, self-efficacy in empathic communication, and learning on different dimensions of empathy.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was used. A blended learning Serious Illness Communication Skills Training (SI-CST) course was delivered to sixth-year medical students.

Aetiology of extracranial carotid free-floating thrombus in a prospective multicentre cohort.

Background: Carotid free-floating thrombi (FFT) in patients with acute transient ischaemic attack (TIA)/stroke have a high risk of early recurrent stroke. Management depends on aetiology, which can include local plaque rupture, dissection, coagulopathy, malignancy and cardioembolism. Our objectives were to classify the underlying aetiology of FFT and to estimate the proportion of patients with underlying stenosis requiring revascularisation.

Revisiting the Kittel's model of antiferroelectricity: phase diagrams, hysteresis loops and electrocaloric effect.

We revisit the Kittel's model of antiferroelectricity by extending the model to study the phase transitions, hysteresis loop behaviors and electrocaloric effect (ECE) of antiferroelectrics (AFEs). By considering both the first- and second-order AFEs, explicit expressions for the physical and staggered polarizations of AFEs in the stable states are derived. We also obtain the analytical solutions for describing the dielectric susceptibilities of AFEs in the AFE and paraelectric (PE) phases.

Initiation of noninvasive surveillance for allograft rejection in heart transplant patients > 1 year after transplant.

Background: Gene expression profiling (GEP) and donor-derived, cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) measurement are alternative methods to endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) to monitor for rejection following heart transplantation. We aim to describe our use of GEP and dd-cfDNA in heart transplant recipients > 1-year post-transplantation.

Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective study in post-transplant recipients.

The potential of using artificial intelligence to improve skin cancer diagnoses in Hawai'i's multiethnic population.

Skin cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the USA with more than 1 million new cases each year. Melanomas account for about 1% of all skin cancers and most skin cancer deaths. Multiethnic individuals whose skin is pigmented underestimate their risk for skin cancers and melanomas and may delay seeking a diagnosis.

Exopolysaccharides Inhibit Tumor Growth via Immunomodulation.

(GF) is a medicinal mushroom endemic to Taiwan. Previous research established the optimal culture conditions to produce exopolysaccharide rich in β-glucan (GF-EPS) from submerged fermentation of GF. The present study investigated the antitumor effects of GF-EPS in a Lewis lung carcinoma cell (LLC1) tumor-bearing mice model.

Differentiating Carotid Free-Floating Thrombus From Atheromatous Plaque Using Intraluminal Filling Defect Length on CTA: A Validation Study.

Objective: To validate a previously proposed filling defect length threshold of >3.8 mm on CT angiography (CTA) to discriminate between free-floating thrombus (FFT) and plaque of atheroma.

Methods: This was a prospective multicenter observational study of 100 participants presenting with TIA/stroke symptoms and a carotid intraluminal filling defect on initial CTA.

Fibroelastic Tissue Ring Causing ECMO Catheter Obstruction: An Unusual Complication of Avalon Elite Catheter Insertion.

The Avalon Elite catheter (Maquet Cardiopulmonary, Rastatt, Germany) is a bicaval catheter for single-site cannulation that can be used in the initiation of venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or as a transition from venoarterial ECMO. We report a unique complication of tissue obstructing the outflow aperture during insertion. ().

Relapsing Polychondritis Requiring Orthotopic Heart Transplant Despite Coronary Artery Bypass and Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement.

A 32-year-old man with a history of relapsing polychondritis presented with acute coronary syndrome due to aortitis with ostial coronary artery involvement from his underlying autoimmune condition. Concomitant aortic insufficiency with ostial coronary lesions is a rare complication of relapsing polychondritis, requiring a multidisciplinary team approach for management. ().

Uncommon obstacle: management of end-stage heart failure in thrombocytopenia with absent radii (TAR) syndrome.

Thrombocytopenia with absent radii (TAR) syndrome is a rare genetic condition causing absent radial bones and thrombocytopenia. Management is generally supportive although there may be a role for platelet-stimulating agents such as romiplostim. In this case, we highlight the obstacles in managing end-stage heart failure in a patient with TAR syndrome.

Combination immunotherapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab in patients with advanced adrenocortical carcinoma: a subgroup analysis of CA209-538.

: Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare malignancy, with poor prognosis and limited treatment options for patients with advanced disease. Chemotherapy is the current standard first-line treatment, providing only a modest survival benefit. There is only limited treatment experience with immunotherapy using single-agent anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.

Neoadjuvant Therapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Recent Advances and Ongoing Challenges.

Locally advanced rectal cancer has a rising global incidence. Over the last 4 decades, advances first in surgery and later in radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy have improved outcomes, particularly with regard to local recurrence. Unfortunately, distant metastases remain a significant problem.

Evolutionary history of in the Pacific Islands.

As one of the oldest known human diseases, leprosy or Hansen's disease remains a public health concern around the world with over 200 000 new cases in 2018. Most human leprosy cases are caused by , but a small number of cases are now known to be caused by , a sister taxon of . The global pattern of genomic variation in is not well defined.

Modulating Charge Carrier Dynamics and Transfer via Surface Modifications in Organometallic Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots.

We investigate the effect of functionalization by acid/amine combinations of four aromatic capping ligands on the optoelectronic properties of CHNHPbBr perovskite quantum dots (PQDs). These include benzoic acid (BA), phenylacetic acid (PAA), benzylamine, and isopropyl benzylamine. We observe that charge transfer efficiency in PQD films comprising BA-ligated samples varies between 12% and 95% as the dot density is tuned from 10 to 10 dots/μm but is consistently ∼92% over that entire range for PAA-ligated PQDs.