Positive Association Between Fluoroquinolone Exposure and Tendon Disorders: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Fluoroquinolone exposure is reportedly associated with a higher risk of tendon disorders, tendonitis, or tendon rupture. However, studies in East Asian populations have not confirmed these risks in patients with comorbidities or concomitant medication use. This cohort study was designed to investigate the associations among fluoroquinolone exposure, comorbidities, medication use, and tendon disorders in Taiwan.

New insights into precocious puberty and ADHD: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children; however, studies delineating the association between ADHD and central precocious puberty are limited. This study aimed to understand whether children with ADHD are at a higher risk of central precocious puberty.

Methods: This population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to investigate the association between ADHD and the incidence of central precocious puberty between 2000-2015.

Factors Influencing the Reputation of Assistive Technology Resources Center: An Example from Yunlin County, Taiwan.

By the end of 2020, a total of 34 multifunctional Assistive Technology Resources Centers (ATR centers) were set up in 22 counties and cities in Taiwan. This study examines the perceptions of the users and their caregivers of the government-established ATR centers in Taiwan and examines the impact on the reputation of the public institution. The research framework and hypotheses were developed by examining the factors of "service convenience", "center-related factors", "justice", and "perceived value" and using "perceived value" as a mediating variable.

Baicalein ameliorates ulcerative colitis by improving intestinal epithelial barrier via AhR/IL-22 pathway in ILC3s.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which is closely related to gut barrier dysfunction. Emerging evidence shows that interleukin-22 (IL-22) derived from group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) confers benefits on intestinal barrier, and IL-22 expression is controlled by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Previous studies show that baicalein protects the colon from inflammatory damage.

Implantation of monocusp valve prolongs the duration of chest tube drainage in children with tetralogy of fallot after corrective surgery.

Background: Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction relief is one of the major procedures during the total correction of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Pulmonary insufficiency (PI) is usually inevitable after a transannular incision with a patch repair is performed. Therefore, some surgeons advocate to place a monocusp valve within the transannular patch (TAP) in order to decrease the severity of the PI.

Association Between Tetralogy of Fallot and Psychiatric Disorders: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Objective: The tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) has been reported to be associated with some neurodevelopmental impairment and psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, a nationwide study to clarify the risk between TOF and comorbid psychiatric disorders is lacking. Using a nationwide database in Taiwan, this study aimed to explore the role of TOF in various psychiatric disorders and analyze whether there are patient-related risk factors.

A Novel Multiprotein Bridging Factor 1-Like Protein Induces Cyst Wall Protein Gene Expression and Cyst Differentiation in .

The capacity to synthesize a protective cyst wall is critical for infectivity of . It is of interest to know the mechanism of coordinated synthesis of three cyst wall proteins (CWPs) during encystation, a differentiation process. Multiprotein bridging factor 1 (MBF1) gene family is a group of transcription coactivators that bridge various transcription factors.

Social Image Impacting Attitudes of Middle-Aged and Elderly People toward the Usage of Walking Aids: An Empirical Investigation in Taiwan.

The elderly need the assistance of walking aids due to deterioration of their physical functions. However, they are often less willing to use these aids because of their worries about how others may think of them. Not using professional walking aids often makes elderly people fall easily when walking.

Baicalin prevents LPS-induced activation of TLR4/NF-κB p65 pathway and inflammation in mice via inhibiting the expression of CD14.

Previous studies have shown that baicalin, an active ingredient of the Chinese traditional medicine Huangqin, attenuates LPS-induced inflammation by inhibiting the activation of TLR4/NF-κBp65 pathway, but how it affects this pathway is unknown. It has been shown that CD14 binds directly to LPS and plays an important role in sensitizing the cells to minute quantities of LPS via chaperoning LPS molecules to the TLR4/MD-2 signaling complex. In the present study we investigated the role of CD14 in the anti-inflammatory effects of baicalin in vitro and in vivo.

Diagnosis and Surgical Outcomes of Patients with Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery: A Single Taiwanese Medical Center Experience.

Background: Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA), a very rare congenital cardiac anomaly, is associated with a high mortality rate among infants who are not diagnosed or treated in a timely manner. Surgical intervention with the reconstruction for a two-coronary-system circulation is the main treatment; however, there have been very few reported cases from Taiwan. In this study, we aim to describe the clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, surgery types, and surgical outcomes in patients with ALCAPA from a single Taiwanese medical center.

Oroxindin inhibits macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome activation in DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice via suppressing TXNIP-dependent NF-κB pathway.

Oroxindin is a flavonoid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Huang-Qin, which has shown various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, etc. Thus far, the effect of oroxindin on colonic inflammation and the underlying mechanism remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the tissue distribution of oroxindin and its therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis (UC) as well as the underlying mechanisms.

EXIA2: web server of accurate and rapid protein catalytic residue prediction.

We propose a method (EXIA2) of catalytic residue prediction based on protein structure without needing homology information. The method is based on the special side chain orientation of catalytic residues. We found that the side chain of catalytic residues usually points to the center of the catalytic site.

CELLO2GO: a web server for protein subCELlular LOcalization prediction with functional gene ontology annotation.

CELLO2GO (http://cello.life.nctu.

Reevaluating reference ranges of oxygen saturation for healthy full-term neonates using pulse oximetry.

Background: We compared our clinical experience with currently available reference oxygen saturation level (SpO(2)) values from the American Academy of Pediatrics/American Heart Association (AAP/AHA) neonatal resuscitation program guidelines.

Methods: We enrolled 145 healthy full-term neonates; infants showing respiratory distress and those with serious congenital anomalies were excluded. SpO(2) values at every 1 minute until 10 minutes after birth were measured and recorded.

On the structural context and identification of enzyme catalytic residues.

Enzymes play important roles in most of the biological processes. Although only a small fraction of residues are directly involved in catalytic reactions, these catalytic residues are the most crucial parts in enzymes. The study of the fundamental and unique features of catalytic residues benefits the understanding of enzyme functions and catalytic mechanisms.

Accurate prediction of protein catalytic residues by side chain orientation and residue contact density.

Prediction of protein catalytic residues provides useful information for the studies of protein functions. Most of the existing methods combine both structure and sequence information but heavily rely on sequence conservation from multiple sequence alignments. The contribution of structure information is usually less than that of sequence conservation in existing methods.

Design, synthesis and fungicidal activity of novel sclerotiorin derivatives.

Sclerotiorin, a chlorine-containing azaphilone-type natural product, was first isolated from Penicillium sclerotiorum and has been reported to exhibit weak fungicidal activity. Optimization of the substituents at the 3- and 5-positions of the sclerotiorin framework was investigated with the aim of discovering novel fungicides with improved activity. The design of sclerotiorin analogues involved replacing the diene side chain with a phenyl group or an aromatic- or heteroaromatic-containing aliphatic side chain.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of novel sclerotiorin analogues.

Sclerotiorin 1, first isolated from Penicillium sclerotiorum, has weak antifungal activity and belongs to the azaphilone-type family of natural products. Several series of sclerotiorin analogues were designed and synthesized with the aim of discovering novel fungicides with improved activity. The syntheses involved two key steps, cycloisomerization and then oxidation, and used a simple and efficient Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction to construct the required functionalized precursor.

A novel E2F-like protein involved in transcriptional activation of cyst wall protein genes in Giardia lamblia.

Giardia lamblia differentiates into resistant walled cysts for survival outside the host and transmission. During encystation, synthesis of cyst wall proteins is coordinately induced. The E2F family of transcription factors in higher eukaryotes is involved in cell cycle progression and cell differentiation.

On the relationship between catalytic residues and their protein contact number.

Due to advances in structural biology, an increasing number of protein structures of unknown function have been deposited in Protein Data Bank (PDB). These proteins are usually characterized by novel structures and sequences. Conventional comparative methodology (such as sequence alignment, structure comparison, or template search) is unable to determine their function.

Ethyl 7-chloro-methyl-5-(2-chloro-phen-yl)-7-hydr-oxy-2-methyl-sulfanyl-4,5,6,7-tetra-hydro-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxyl-ate.

In the title compound, C(16)H(18)Cl(2)N(4)O(3)S, the five-membered ring is almost planar [maximum deviation = 0.011 (3) Å] and the six-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation. In the crystal structure, N-H⋯N, O-H⋯N and C-H⋯O inter-actions link mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network.

[Separation and purification of flavonoids from Smilax glabra by macroporous adsorption resin].

Objective: To investigate the process of separating and purifying flavonoids from Smilax glabra.

Method: With the yield of flavonoids as index, the optimum process of separating and purifying flavonoids from S. glabra Roxb was screened by static and dynamic adsorption tests.