Short and Mid-Term Outcomes of Rotarex Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Limb Ischemia in Taiwan: A Retrospective Study in a Single Medical Center.

Background: Acute limb ischemia (ALI) is a medical emergency necessitating immediate action to avert irreversible tissue harm and limb loss. Rotarex mechanical thrombectomy (RMT) has become an efficient treatment alternative for ALI. However, there is a lack of data on RMT in Taiwan.

The Association between Percentage of Mean Arterial Pressure and Long-Term Mortality in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients: An Observational Cohort Study.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a critical cardiovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality. Identifying practical parameters for predicting long-term mortality is crucial in this patient group. The percentage of mean arterial pressure (%MAP) is a useful parameter used to assess peripheral artery disease.

The Beneficial Effect of the SGLT2 Inhibitor Dapagliflozin in Alleviating Acute Myocardial Infarction-Induced Cardiomyocyte Injury by Increasing the Sirtuin Family SIRT1/SIRT3 and Cascade Signaling.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have a variety of cardiovascular and renoprotective effects and have been developed as novel agents for the treatment of heart failure. However, the beneficial mechanisms of SGLT2i on cardiac tissue need to be investigated further. In this study, we established a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using coronary artery constriction surgery and investigated the role of dapagliflozin (DAPA) in protecting cardiomyocytes from hypoxic injury induced by AMI.

Skin sympathetic nerve activity and ventricular arrhythmias in acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is major cause of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) and sudden death. neuECG is a noninvasive method to simultaneously record skin sympathetic nerve activity (SKNA) and electrocardiogram.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that (1) ACS increases average SKNA (aSKNA), (2) the magnitude of aSKNA elevation is associated with VAs during ACS, and (3) there is a gender difference in aSKNA between patients without and with ACS.

CHADS-VASc Score and Risk of New-Onset Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease in Patients without Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: CHADS-VASc score is a useful score to evaluate the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and it has been shown to outperform CHADS score. Our recent cross-sectional study showed that CHADS-VASc score was associated with an ankle-brachial index < 0.9.

Bioinformatis analysis reveals possible molecular mechanism of PXR on regulating ulcerative colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of IBD. Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily.

Usefulness of Estimated Pulse Wave Velocity in Prediction of Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an excellent index of arterial stiffness and can be used to predict long-term cardiovascular (CV) outcome. In recent years, estimated PWV (ePWV), calculated by equations using age and mean blood pressure, was also reported to be a significant predictor of CV outcomes. However, there was no literature discussing about usefulness of ePWV in patients of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) for prediction of long-term CV and overall mortality.

Usefulness of the ratio of brachial pre-ejection period to brachial ejection time in prediction of cardiovascular and overall mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Left ventricular systolic function is a good indicator of cardiac function and a powerful predictor of adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. High ratio of pre-ejection period (PEP) to ejection time (ET) is associated with reduced left ventricular systolic function. Brachial PEP (bPEP) and brachial ET (bET) can be automatically calculated from an ankle-brachial index (ABI)-form device and bPEP/bET was recently reported to be a new and useful parameter of cardiac performance.

Using CHADS, RCHADS, CHADS-VASc score for mortality prediction in patients with abnormal low and high ankle-brachial index.

Abnormal low and high ankle brachial index (ABI) is regarded as peripheral artery disease (PAD) which has extremely high morbidity and mortality. How to identify high-risk PAD patients with increased mortality is very important to improve the outcome. CHADS, RCHADS, and CHADS-VASc score are clinically useful scores to evaluate the annual risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Upstroke Time Per Cardiac Cycle as A Novel Parameter for Mortality Prediction in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. How to simply predict mortality for AMI patients is important because the appropriate treatment should be done for the patients with higher risk. Recently, a novel parameter of upstroke time per cardiac cycle (UTCC) in lower extremities was reported to be a good predictor of peripheral artery disease and mortality in elderly.

A novel PCR-based point-of-care method enables rapid, sensitive and reliable diagnosis of Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs.

Background: Babesia gibsoni (B. gibsoni) is an intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite of dogs that causes fever and hemolytic illness. A timely diagnosis is essential for the disease management.

Molecular cloning, expression, and biochemical characterization of a novel cold-active α-amylase from Bacillus sp. dsh19-1.

A novel gene (ANK58566) encoding a cold-active α-amylase was cloned from marine bacterium Bacillus sp. dsh19-1 (CCTCC AB 2015426), and the protein was expressed in Escherichia coli. The gene had a length of 1302 bp and encoded an α-amylase of 433 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 50.

Characterization of a cold-adapted and salt-tolerant exo-chitinase (ChiC) from Pseudoalteromonas sp. DL-6.

We have previously reported a non-processive endo-type chitinase, ChiA, from a newly isolated marine psychrophilic bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. DL-6. In this study, a processive exo-type chitinase, ChiC, was cloned from the same bacterium and characterized in detail.

Characterisation of a chitinase from Pseudoalteromonas sp. DL-6, a marine psychrophilic bacterium.

In this study, we isolated a new psychrophilic bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. DL-6 from marine sediments, which grew well on chitin-containing plates at 4°C. One endo-type chitinase gene, chiA, was cloned from the genomic DNA of this bacterium and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3).

[Cloning and expressing of 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase-encoding gene].

Based on what mentioned above, the gene encoding 1,3-propanediol Oxidoreductase (dhaT) in Clostridium pasteurianum CpN-86 was cloned by using PCR method. The sequence, expressing vector construction and its expression of dhaT in E. coli were accomplished respectively.

Applications of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to study interactions of metalloenzymes with Cu(II) ions.

In the past, the method of reconstitution was used to investigate the interaction between metalloenzymes (containing Zn(II)) and metal ions. In this paper, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been employed to firstly study the direct interactions between Bacillus subtilis neutral proteinase (BSNP), nuclease P1 and Cu(II) ions added in aqueous solution, respectively. These results show that a dynamic equilibrium exists between the Zn(II) in the active site of native enzymes and the added Cu(II), the added Cu(II) partly replaces the Zn(II), forming Cu(II)-enzyme derivatives.