Publications by authors named "Shih S"

Serological and plasmablast responses and plasmablast-derived IgG monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been analysed in three COVID-19 patients with different clinical severities. Potent humoral responses were detected within 3 weeks of onset of illness in all patients and the serological titre was elicited soon after or concomitantly with peripheral plasmablast response. An average of 13.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aberrant miRNA expression has been associated with many diseases, and extracellular miRNAs that circulate in the bloodstream are remarkably stable. Recently, there has been growing interest in identifying cell-free circulating miRNAs that can serve as non-invasive biomarkers for early detection of disease or selection of treatment options. However, quantifying miRNA levels in biofluids is technically challenging due to their low abundance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dermatologic procedures are performed under varying degrees of antisepsis, and no clear guidelines exist regarding the role of the aseptic technique in dermatology. This review aims to clarify the terminology surrounding surgical asepsis and examines the importance of various components of the aseptic technique in cutaneous surgery. Included are studies examining optimal glove type, surgical instruments, skin antisepsis, and cost-reducing protocols.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on using optogenetics to control gene expression more accurately than traditional methods, allowing for better management of engineered biological systems.
  • A real-time optogenetics platform was developed to control the CcaR-CcaS two-plasmid system, enabling closed-loop control through model-based design.
  • The platform demonstrates the ability to adjust gene expression by inducing or repressing the system while monitoring biological data, providing a foundation for similar applications in other biological systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To project the prevalence, causes, associated factors of vision-related disability and demand for orientation and mobility (O&M) services in Australia from 2020 to 2060.

Methods: The age-specific prevalence and main causes of vision-related disability were estimated based on primary data of 74,862 participants in 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associated factors for the outcome variables including vision-related disability, cataract, macular degeneration and glaucoma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Seizures and Outcomes Study in Children (SOS-KIDS) identifies risk factors, etiologies, and comorbidities in a pediatric epilepsy population in a major city with diversity in socioeconomic levels. A thorough understanding of the range of issues impacting children with epilepsy is critical to establishing treatment that will produce better health outcomes. SOS-KIDS is a cross-sectional cohort study of pediatric epilepsy patients who live in Washington D.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The pathogenic human enterovirus EV-A71 has raised serious public health concerns. A hallmark of EV-A71 infection is the distortion of host transcriptomes in favour of viral replication. While high-throughput approaches have been exploited to dissect these gene dysregulations, they do not fully capture molecular perturbations at the single-cell level and in a physiologically relevant context.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: HealthyHearts NYC was a stepped wedge randomized control trial that tested the effectiveness of practice facilitation on the adoption of cardiovascular disease guidelines in small primary care practices. The objective of this study was to identify was to identify attributes of small practices that signaled they would perform well in a practice facilitation intervention implementation.

Methods: A mixed methods multiple-case study design was used.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The development of depressive symptoms in youth with IBD is a concerning disease complication, as higher levels of depressive symptoms have been associated with poorer quality of life and lower medication adherence. Previous research has examined the association between disease activity and depression, but few studies have examined individual differences in experience of stressful life events in relation to depressive symptoms. The purpose of the current study is to examine the relation between stressful life events and depression within pediatric IBD and to determine whether individual differences in stress response moderates this association.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is typically examined from a deficit standpoint, meaning that little is known about factors associated with higher HRQOL in pediatric illness samples. The aim of the current study was to investigate demographic, disease, and temperamental factors associated with child and parent-report of HRQOL in youth newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: Participants included 52 youth ages 8-17 diagnosed with IBD and their caregivers who each completed ratings of the child's HRQOL.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Acclaimed as one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs, the technology of CRISPR has brought significant improvement in the biotechnological spectrum-from editing genetic defects in diseases for gene therapy to modifying organisms for the production of biofuels. Since its inception, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has become easier and more versatile to use. Many variants have been found, giving the CRISPR toolkit a great range that includes the activation and repression of genes aside from the previously known knockout and knockin of genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Taiwan, lower nonpolio enterovirus activity during the coronavirus disease pandemic in 2020 compared with 2014-2019 might be attributable to adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions. The preventable fraction among unexposed persons indicated that 90% of nonpolio enterovirus activity might have been prevented during 2014-2019 by adopting the same measures enforced in 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypersialylation caused by the overexpression of sialyltransferases (STs) is a common feature in cancer that is associated with several characteristics of tumorigenesis. Thus, identifying cancer-associated STs is critical for cancer therapy. However, ST screening has been frequently conducted in cell line models.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To estimate the clinical and economic impact of intensive care unit-acquired bloodstream infections in Taiwan.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Nationwide Taiwanese population in the National Health Insurance Research Database and the Taiwan Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (2007-2015) dataset.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The role of oxidative stress in ligamentum flavum (LF) hypertrophy has not been elucidated. We hypothesize that oxidative stress induces inflammatory responses and the subsequent fibrotic processes in LF, via activation of the Akt and MAPK pathways. Specimens of LFs were collected during surgeries for lumbar disc herniation (LDH) or lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In other species characterized to date, aging, as a function of reproductive potential, results in the breakdown of proteaostasis and a decreased capacity to mount responses by the heat shock response (HSR) and other proteostatic network pathways. Our understanding of the maintenance of stress pathways, such as the HSR, in honey bees, and in the reproductive queen in particular, is incomplete. Based on the findings in other species showing an inverse relationship between reproductive potential and HSR function, one might predict that that HSR function would be lost in the reproductive queens.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We discovered that neuropilin 1 (NRP1) is a new receptor candidate to mediate enterovirus A71 (EVA71) into cells. In the engineered form as a decoy receptor, NRP1 was able to recognize and neutralize EVA71 but not enterovirus D68 or coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). NRP1 recognizes EVA71 through a novel domain on the VP3 capsid protein.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly identified pathogen causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an antimalarial and anti-inflammatory drug, has been shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and tested in clinical studies. However, achievement of lung concentrations predicted to have in vivo antiviral efficacy might not be possible with the currently proposed oral dosing regimens.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Organized physical activity (OPA) is an important contributor to physical, social, and emotional health and well-being; however, young people with disabilities are participating at lower rates than their peers without disabilities. This study aimed to (1) compare facilitators and barriers to OPA for young people with disabilities who currently do and do not participate in OPA and (2) to assess whether groups differed in the type of internal and external assets they reported. Parents of 218 young people (41% with a primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder) with a diverse representation of disabilities completed an online survey.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The Inverse Care Law states that healthcare availability is inversely related to the needs of the population served. Increasing the provision of community pharmacy (CP) services for cardiovascular disease has been suggested to improve equity of healthcare access, particularly for screening, but few studies examine this. The aim of this study was to determine how the availability and uptake of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention services in CPs varies according to practice and local population characteristics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although the impact of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) extends beyond the patient to their parents and families, the focus of previous literature has largely been on investigating the patient's medical and psychosocial functioning, with less consideration of the family system. Having a comprehensive understanding of parent and family functioning within the context of pediatric IBD is important given the role parents and family members have in the successful management of the disease and caring of the child. The current review paper aggregates the empirical research regarding parent and family functioning, including comparisons to normative samples, other illness groups, and how functioning relates to child psychosocial and health outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most severe complications of burn injury. AKI with severe burn injury causes high mortality. This study aims to investigate the incidence of and predisposing factors for AKI in burn patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, we optimized the geometry and composition of additive-manufactured pedicle screws. Metal powders of titanium-aluminum-vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) were mixed with reactive glass-ceramic biomaterials of bioactive glass (BG) powders. To optimize the geometry of pedicle screws, we applied a novel numerical approach to proposing the optimal shape of the healing chamber to promote biological healing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Norovirus is a common cause of acute gastroenteritis in children, making it challenging to identify due to overlapping symptoms with other pathogens.
  • A study in Taiwan involving children under 5 revealed that norovirus patients often displayed milder symptoms, such as lower fever rates and different stool characteristics compared to non-norovirus controls.
  • Key risk factors for norovirus included close contact with infected individuals and lower frequency of hand washing and specific dietary habits, suggesting that improved hygiene and diet may help prevent infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF