Predictors of hepatic flares after nucleos(t)ide analogue cessation - Results of a global cohort study (RETRACT-B study).

Background & Aims: Flares after nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) cessation are common and potentially harmful. Predictors of flares are required for risk stratification and to guide off-treatment follow-up.

Method: This multicenter cohort study included virally suppressed patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who were hepatitis B e antigen negative at NA cessation.

Development of Etf-3-specific nanobodies to prevent Ehrlichia infection and LNP-mRNA delivery in cellular and murine models.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis is an obligatory intracellular bacterium that infects monocytes and macrophages and causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Ehrlichia translocated factor-3 (Etf-3) is a type IV secretion system effector that binds host-cell ferritin light chain and induces ferritinophagy, thus increasing cellular labile iron pool for Ehrlichia proliferation. To further characterize roles of Etf-3 in Ehrlichia infection, we produced immune libraries of Etf-3-specific nanobodies (Nbs).

Rheumatoid factor levels indicate cryoglobulinemia severity in hepatitis B e antigen-negative hepatitis B virus carriers: a 7-year prospective cohort study.

Background: The phenotype of cryoglobulinemia in hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers remains elusive.

Methods: A 7-year prospective cohort of 648 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative Taiwanese HBV carriers [males: 344 (53%)] was conducted.

Results: Among 648, 189 (29.

Predicting Survival Status in COVID-19 Patients: Machine Learning Models Development with Ventilator-Related and Biochemical Parameters from Early Stages: A Pilot Study.

: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause intubation and ventilatory support due to respiratory failure, and extubation failure increases mortality risk. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the feasibility of using specific biochemical and ventilator parameters to predict survival status among COVID-19 patients by using machine learning. : This study included COVID-19 patients from Taipei Medical University-affiliated hospitals from May 2021 to May 2022.