The association between long-term ambient fine particulate exposure and the mortality among adult patients initiating dialysis: A retrospective population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

Fine particulate matter (PM) has been reported to be associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, studies on whether long-term exposure to PM negatively impacts the survival of patients with ESRD are very limited. To conduct this study, we linked Taiwan Air Quality-Monitoring Database (TAQMD) and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) by zip-code.

Association of age with risk of major depression among patients with chronic kidney disease over midlife: a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: The impact of age on the development of depression among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at stages before dialysis is not well known. We aimed to explore the incidence of major depression among predialysis CKD patients of successively older ages through midlife.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the longitudinal health insurance database 2005 in Taiwan.

The Relationship between the Methylated Septin-9 DNA Blood Test and Stool Occult Blood Test for Diagnosing Colorectal Cancer in Taiwanese People.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and lethal disease in the world. There is an increasing number of cases in Taiwan and a higher rate at advanced stages. The immune fecal occult blood test (iFOBT) has been used as a screening method in Taiwan for years.

Risk of major depression in patients with chronic renal failure on different treatment modalities: A matched-cohort and population-based study in Taiwan.

The influence of different treatment modalities on the risk of developing major depression in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) is not well understood. We aimed to explore the incidence of major depression among patients with CRF who were on different dialysis modalities, who had received renal transplantation (RT), and those who had not yet received any of the aforementioned renal replacement therapies. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using a national health insurance research database.

Determination of the degree of deacetylation of chitosan by capillary zone electrophoresis.

In this study we have developed a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the determination of the degree of deacetylation (DDA) of chitosan. The electrophoretic mobilities of chitosans were measured by using the optimized CZE conditions. An internal standard, hexammine cobalt(III) chloride, was used to improve the precision of the electrophoretic mobility measurement.

Implementing dynamic daylight spectra with light-emitting diodes.

Algorithms for selecting LEDs to imitate a group of daylight spectra, instead of fixed-spectrum lighting, are based on minimizing two indices. The first index related to the LEDs only is minimized for determining LED candidates. Minimizing the second index obtained by applying the daylight spectra to the candidates achieves a minimax solution.

Sirolimus-induced interstitial pneumonitis in a renal transplant recipient.

Sirolimus is a recently licensed immunosuppressant for organ transplantation that has been used as basic, adjuvant, or maintenance therapy for prevention of organ rejection. Well-known side effects of this agent are hyperlipidemia and bone marrow suppression. Interstitial pneumonitis is a relatively newly described adverse effect of the drug.