LASSO-derived model for the prediction of lean-non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in examinees attending a routine health check-up.

Background: Lean individuals with non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NAFLD) often have normal body size but abnormal visceral fat. Therefore, an alternative to body mass index should be considered for prediction of lean-NAFLD. This study aimed to use representative visceral fat links with other laboratory parameters using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method to construct a predictive model for lean-NAFLD.

Clinical Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of Osteoporosis Screening With Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for osteoporosis screening.

Materials And Methods: Eligible patients who had and had not undergone DXA screening were identified from among those aged 50 years or older at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Age, sex, screening year (index year), and Charlson comorbidity index of the DXA and non-DXA groups were matched using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) for propensity score analysis.

Examining patient flow in a tertiary hospital's emergency department at a low coronavirus prevalence region.

Background: Taiwan's successful containment of the COVID-19 outbreak prior to 2021 provided a unique environment for the surveillance of unnecessary emergency medical use. The aim of the study is to examine the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the patient flow in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary hospital over 1 year in southern Taiwan, a region with low COVID-19 prevalence.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study was conducted from January to December 2020.

Risk Factors and Prevalence of -Positive in Fecal Carriages Among Community Children in Southern Taiwan.

Colistin is the last resort antimicrobial for treating multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections. The plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene, , crucially influences colistin's resistance transmission. Human fecal carriages of -positive were detected in many regions worldwide; however, only a few studies have focused on children.

Risk Prediction of Barrett's Esophagus in a Taiwanese Health Examination Center Based on Regression Models.

Determining the target population for the screening of Barrett's esophagus (BE), a precancerous condition of esophageal adenocarcinoma, remains a challenge in Asia. The aim of our study was to develop risk prediction models for BE using logistic regression (LR) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods. Their predictive performances were compared.

A Large Spatial Survey of Colistin-Resistant Gene -Carrying in Rivers across Taiwan.

Background: Colistin is one of the last-line antimicrobial agents against life-threatening infections. The distribution of the colistin resistance gene has been reported worldwide. However, most studies have focused on the distribution of -positive bacteria in humans, animals, food, and sewage; few have focused on their distribution in natural environments.

Kinetics of hepatitis B surface antigen and estimated glomerular filtration rate in telbivudine-treated hepatitis B patients with different rescue strategies.

This study investigated the kinetics of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) in telbivudine (LdT)-treated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients whose treatment was subsequently adjusted with the adding on adefovir or by switching to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) as rescue. Of 295 CHB patients initially treated with LdT, 102 of them who subsequently receiving either adding-on adefovir (group A, n = 58) or switching to TDF (group B, n = 44) for more than 24 months were enrolled. Serial eGFR and qHBsAg levels (3 to 6 monthly) in both LdT monotherapy and rescue therapy periods were analyzed retrospectively.

Enhanced Biophotocurrent Generation in Living Photosynthetic Optical Resonator.

Bioenergy from photosynthetic living organisms is a potential solution for energy-harvesting and bioelectricity-generation issues. With the emerging interest in biophotovoltaics, extracting electricity from photosynthetic organisms remains challenging because of the low electron-transition rate and photon collection efficiency due to membrane shielding. In this study, the concept of "photosynthetic resonator" to amplify biological nanoelectricity through the confinement of living microalgae ( sp.

Monitoring by viral load and quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen in patients with hepatitis B virus infection receiving immunosuppressive therapy.

Objectives: Hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients on immunosuppressive therapy is a critical issue. We aimed to verify the monitoring strategies of hepatitis B virus DNA and quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen in patients receiving therapies with moderate risk.

Methods: We enrolled 25 patients with autoimmune diseases receiving immunosuppressive therapy.

Risk factors for Barrett's esophagus in young adults who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in a health examination center.

Background: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition with increased incidence worldwide both in old and young individuals. However, the role of certain potential risk factors remains unclear in young adults (< 50 years). We aimed to determine the risk factors of BE in young adults.

Prevalence and risk factors for colonization by extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing or ST 131 among asymptomatic adults in community settings in Southern Taiwan.

Fecal carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing (ESBL-EC) is common in Asia, especially in China and Southeast Asia. There are no data about fecal carriage of ESBL-EC and -positive in Taiwan, and few studies focusing on the risk factors of asymptomatic fecal carriage of epidemic ST131 have been published. From healthy inhabitants attending health examinations at a medical center in southern Taiwan in 2017, we collected 724 stool samples, which were examined for ESBL-EC fecal carriage using chromogenic medium.

Role of Fatty Liver Index and Metabolic Factors in the Prediction of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Lean Population Receiving Health Checkup.

Objectives: Some metabolic factors and noninvasive markers, including fatty liver index (FLI), are used to predict nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese patients. Despite the increasing prevalence of NAFLD in lean patients (lean-NAFLD), the risk factors and predictors are not well determined in this population. We investigated factors associated with lean-NAFLD and validated their predictive ability.

Gender Differences in Outcome of an Attempt to Stop Smoking Among Smokers Attending a Smoking Cessation Clinic in Taiwan: 3-Year Follow-Up Study.

Studies that have examined gender differences in smoking cessation have produced mixed results. The purpose of the study was to examine whether there are gender differences in long-term smoking abstinence rates in smokers treated with nicotine patches at a smoking cessation clinic in Taiwan, where 39% of men and 5% of women smoke. This study included 1,065 smokers, comprising of 940 men and 125 women.

A flat lens with tunable phase gradient by using random access reconfigurable metamaterial.

The first demonstration of an optofluidic metamaterial is reported where resonant properties of every individual metamolecule can be continuously tuned at will using a microfluidic system. This is called a random-access reconfigurable metamaterial, which is used to provide the first demonstration of a tunable flat lens with wavefront-reshaping capabilities.

Prevotella brain abscesses and stroke following dental extraction in a young patient: a case report and review of the literature.

A brain abscess is a life-threatening infection. There are few reports describing Prevotella bacteremia with middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion and brain abscess following dental extraction in the literature. We herein describe a 32-year-old healthy man who experienced headache after tooth extraction.