Clinical features and prognostic factors of duodenal neuroendocrine tumours: A comparative study of ampullary and nonampullary regions.

Background: Duodenal neuroendocrine tumours (DNETs) are rare neoplasms. However, the incidence of DNETs has been increasing in recent years, especially as an incidental finding during endoscopic studies. Regrettably, there is no consensus regarding the ideal treatment of DNETs.

Morphology and chemical composition of Taiwan oil millet (Eccoilopus formosanus) epicuticular wax.

Taiwan oil millet has two types of epicuticular wax: platelet wax composed primarily of octacosanol and filament wax constituted essentially by the singular compound of octacosanoic acid. Taiwan oil millet (TOM-Eccoilopus formosanus) is an orphan crop cultivated by the Taiwan indigenous people. It has conspicuous white powder covering its leaf sheath indicating abundant epicuticular waxes, that may contribute to its resilience.

Applying the Student Response System in the Online Dermatologic Video Curriculum on Medical Students' Interaction and Learning Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted medical education worldwide. Online lecture is increasingly prevalent in higher education, but students' completion rate is quite low.

Aims: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the student response system (SRS) in the online dermatologic video curriculum on medical students.

Design and Implementation of a New Training Flight Simulator System.

Aircraft flight simulators have good cost efficiency, high reusability, and high flight safety. All airlines and aircraft manufacturing companies choose it as sophisticated training equipment for ground simulation, effectively reducing pilot training costs, ensuring personnel safety and aircraft wear and tear. The new simulator proposed in this paper combines a digital motion-cueing algorithm, flight software and motion platform to make pilots feel as if they are in the real world.

Alterations in bile acid metabolizing gut microbiota and specific bile acid genes as a precision medicine to subclassify NAFLD.

Multiple mechanisms for the gut microbiome contributing to the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been implicated. Here, we aim to investigate the contribution and potential application for altered bile acids (BA) metabolizing microbes in NAFLD by post hoc analysis of whole metagenome sequencing (WMS) data. The discovery cohort consisted of 86 well-characterized patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 38 healthy controls.

Identification of microbial markers across populations in early detection of colorectal cancer.

Associations between gut microbiota and colorectal cancer (CRC) have been widely investigated. However, the replicable markers for early-stage adenoma diagnosis across multiple populations remain elusive. Here, we perform an integrated analysis on 1056 public fecal samples, to identify adenoma-associated microbial markers for early detection of CRC.

Dr AFC: drug repositioning through anti-fibrosis characteristic.

Fibrosis is a key component in the pathogenic mechanism of a variety of diseases. These diseases involving fibrosis may share common mechanisms and therapeutic targets, and therefore common intervention strategies and medicines may be applicable for these diseases. For this reason, deliberately introducing anti-fibrosis characteristics into predictive modeling may lead to more success in drug repositioning.

The response of archaeal species to seasonal variables in a subtropical aerated soil: insight into the low abundant methanogens.

Archaea are cosmopolitan in aerated soils around the world. While the dominance of Thaumarchaeota has been reported in most soils, the methanogens are recently found to be ubiquitous but with low abundances in the aerated soil globally. However, the seasonal changes of Archaea community in the aerated soils are still in the mist.

Isolation and characterization of genome-specific markers in Oryza species with the BB genome.

Wild species of rice with many valuable agronomic traits are an important genetic resource for improving cultivated rice by wide hybridization. Genome- or chromosome-specific markers are useful for monitoring genome introgression and for identifying genome components. From 47 random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) of nine Oryza species, three bands (Ogla225, Opun225, and Opun246) were found to be genome specific with distinct sizes.

Chromosomal conservation and sequence diversity of ribosomal RNA genes of two distant Oryza species.

Contrary to the chromosomal polymorphism of 45S ribosomal genes (45S rDNA) loci in other Oryza species, each of Oryza australiensis and Oryza brachyantha has only one 45S rDNA locus at the most conserved position of 45S rDNAs in Oryza. O. australiensis and O.

[Research on the ultraviolet reflectivity characteristic of simulative targets of oil spill on the ocean].

The authors set up an experiment instrument to measure the ultraviolet (UV) characteristic of oil spill simulation targets for the marine oil spill. After selecting appropriate conditions for experiments, the authors tested UV reflective spectrum of four simulation targets for oil spill (gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, lubricating oil). The authors calculated the UV absolute spectrum reflectivity of all testing targets from the standard white board as reference, whose UV reflectivity was given.

Adolescent family experiences and educational attainment during early adulthood.

In this study, the authors investigated the degree to which a family investment model would help account for the association between family of origin socioeconomic characteristics and the later educational attainment of 451 young adults (age 26) from 2-parent families. Parents' educational level, occupational prestige, and family income in 1989 each had a statistically significant direct relationship with youths' educational attainment in 2002. Consistent with the theoretical model guiding the study, parents' educational level and family income also demonstrated statistically significant indirect effects on later educational attainment through their associations with growth trajectories for supportive parenting, sibling relations, and adolescent academic engagement.

Changes in family financial circumstances and the physical health of married and recently divorced mothers.

This study investigates how divorce followed by single parenthood undermines the long-term physical health of rural mothers using four waves of survey data collected in Iowa, USA from 336 married and 80 divorced mothers during a 10-year period. Findings generally support the hypothesized pathways in that single-parenthood creates financial difficulties for rural mothers. Furthermore, this financial adversity is linked to self-assessed physical health trajectories that then contribute to change in morbidity.

Gendered trajectories of work control and health outcomes in the middle years: a perspective from the rural Midwest.

Objective: The objective was to investigate whether increasing health heterogeneity during the middle years is attributed, at least in part, to the influence of varying levels of, and changes in, work control of the current midlife cohort.

Method: The study used four waves of data collected from 372 employed rural women and 320 employed men of the midlife cohort during a 10-year period. Variables included self-reported work control, stressful nonwork life events, and mental and physical health.

High-performance liquid chromatography of peptides at reduced temperatures: separation of isomers.

Cholecystokinin analogues containing N-methyl amino acids were studied by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography at reduced temperatures. A reduction in temperature to -17 degrees C led to lower efficiency, but at the same time separations of cis and trans isomers (and some impurities) were achieved. The velocity constants for cis-trans equilibria were calculated.

Cholecystokinin analogues with high affinity and selectivity for brain membrane receptors.

A series of CCK analogues in which positions 28 and 31 have been replaced by N-methylnorleucine residues have been synthesized. It has been found that most of these N-methylnorleucine containing analogues of CCK are highly potent and some are extraordinarily selective for the central vs. peripheral receptor in two animal models (guinea pig and rat).