Phase 2 Study of Adjuvant Radiotherapy Following Narrow-Margin Hepatectomy in Patients With HCC.

Background And Aims: Surgical resection is the primary treatment for HCC; however, it is associated with a high rate of recurrence and death. We conducted this phase 2 study to investigate the efficacy and safety of postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for HCC after narrow-margin hepatectomy.

Approach And Results: We designed a single-arm, prospective phase 2 trial to evaluate overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence patterns, and toxicity in patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy.

Inhibition of EPS8L3 suppresses liver cancer progression and enhances efficacy of sorafenib treatment.

Background: Liver cancer is a devastating disease that has second highest cancer mortality rate worldwide. Although surgical resection or liver transplantation sometimes cures early stage liver cancer, few therapeutic options are available for advanced-stage liver cancer, highlighting the importance of a better understanding of the disease to find novel therapeutic targets.

Methods: Firstly, clinical features of EPS8L3 on liver cancer RNA-seq dataset of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was analyzed, including gene expression levels in tumor tissues in comparison with the normal tissues as well as the patients' OS.

The psychosocial indicators related to neuroticism in both sexes: A study of incoming university students.

Neuroticism may have great impact on mental and physical health in both sexes. The aims of this study were to explore whether relationships between neuroticism scores and psychosocial indicators as well as metabolic syndrome in a population of incoming university students existed in the different sexes. In total, 4266 incoming students were included in this study.

Factors Related to Self-Reported Attention Deficit Among Incoming University Students.

Objective: This study was designed to explore physical, social/behavioral, and mental health factors among incoming university students with elevated self-reported ADHD symptoms.

Method: A total of 5,240 incoming university students were recruited. The test battery included the ADHD Self-Report Scale, the Measurement of Support Functions, the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale-Revision, Quality of Life assessment, the Brief Symptoms Rating Scale, and the 10-item Social Desirability Scale.

Perception of premenstrual syndrome and attitude of evaluations of work performance among incoming university female students.

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common condition, and for 5% of women, the influence is so severe as to interfere with their mental health, interpersonal relationships, or studies. Severe PMS may result in decreased occupational productivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perception of PMS on evaluation of work performance.

Tea-drinking habit among new university students: associated factors.

The habit of drinking tea is highly prevalent in Asian countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tea drinking and to explore the correlated factors on tea drinking among young new students in the university, using a validated self-reported questionnaire. This study was carried out with 5936 new students in a university in Taiwan.

Social relationship and health among students with low social desirability.

Introduction: This survey aimed to probe the associations between altruism, social support and subjective health among incoming students with low level of social desirability.

Methods: Totally, 5,634 incoming university students were assessed and 2,472 students with a low tendency toward social desirability were recruited for analysis.

Results: The results indicated that altruism and perceived social support were correlated and both could predict subjective health simultaneously.

Relative contraindications for percutaneous tracheostomy: from the surgeons' perspective.

Purpose: Percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) has gained worldwide acceptance as a bedside procedure by intensivists, but its popularity has declined based on reports of some relative contraindications. The aim of this study was to ascertain the perioperative comorbidities of PT when it is performed by surgeons with experience performing standard tracheostomy.

Methods: Prospective data were collected and analyzed for consecutive PTs performed in intensive care units.

Factors associated with premenstrual syndrome - a survey of new female university students.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can impact an individual's interpersonal relationships, social interactions, productivity, lifestyle, school performance and emotional well-being. This study was designed to explore the factors associated with PMS in new female university students in Taiwan. The test battery included a self-administered structured questionnaire, the five-item brief symptoms rating scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Chinese Premenstrual Symptom Questionnaire.

Engineered autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: alternative to cleft alveolar bone graft surgery.

Human recombinant bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) accelerates bone regeneration but is associated with limited cementum and periodontal ligament regeneration, local root resorption, and ankylosis. This study assessed a new approach to the regeneration of the alveolar bone and periodontal attachment apparatus using a combination of ex vivo autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) engineered by replication defective adenovirus to express the BMP-2 gene and pluronic F127 (PF127) in a large mammalian animal model. Bilateral maxillary periodontal defects were created over the premolar area in 9 mature male miniature swine.

Daily life events influence the results of the Dexamethasone Suppression Test in healthy women.

Although the Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) plays an important role in psychosomatic research, confounding factors limit the sensitivity and specificity of the DST. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the intensity of daily life stressors and DST results in healthy participants after controlling the confounding factors. The subjects of this study consisted of 75 healthy volunteers.

A study on the sleep quality of incoming university students.

This study was designed to examine the prevalence and the risk factors of poor sleep quality in 4318 incoming university students in Taiwan. The test battery comprised a self-administered structured questionnaire, including items related to personal medical history and lifestyle habits, the Measurement of Support Functions (MSF), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Chinese Internet Addiction Scale-Revision (CIAS-R), neuroticism subscale of the Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), and the 12-item Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ-12). Of the total study population, 2360 students (54.

Social support and striatal dopaminergic activities: is there a connection?

Objectives: Although patients' social support is a critical factor for the prognosis of mental disorder treatments, biological mechanisms responsible for the impact of social support remain scarcely explored. We speculated that there may be an association between social support and central dopaminergic activities in humans.

Methods: A total of 65 medicated patients with schizophrenia and their primary first-degree caregivers and 54 healthy volunteers were recruited for Studies 1 and 2, respectively.

The risk factors of Internet addiction--a survey of university freshmen.

This study was designed to explore the risk factors of Internet addiction in 1360 freshmen of the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan in 2003. The test battery included a self-administrated structured questionnaire, the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale-Revision (CIAS-R), the 12-item Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ-12), the Measurement of Support Functions (MSF), and the neuroticism subscale of the Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI). Of the total study population, there were 680 college freshmen (17.

Number concentration and size distributions of submicron particles in jinan urban area: characteristics in summer and winter.

The aerosol number concentration and size distribution were measured with the newly developed Wide-range Particle Spectrometer in summer and winter of 2006 at the urban site of Jinan City. Here reported the characteristics of fine particles of the different observation seasons. Relative high number concentrations for the particles in the diameter range of 10-500 nm were observed in both seasons.

The functionality and economic costs of outpatients with schizophrenia in Taiwan.

The aims of this study were to investigate the economic costs of outpatients with schizophrenia in Taiwan, and to survey factors that influence the costs. The direct costs were defined as the costs associated with psychiatric services and other medical treatment. The indirect costs were estimated using the Human Capital Method.

Influence of meteorological conditions and particulate matter on visual range impairment in Jinan, China.

To understand the influence of aerosol particles and meteorological conditions on visual range in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, China, PM(2.5) and PM(10) samples were collected from November 2004 to September 2005. The mass concentrations of PM(2.

Different dimensions of social support for the caregivers of patients with schizophrenia: main effect and stress-buffering models.

The aims of this study were: (i) to assess the impact of caring for patients with schizophrenia on the mental health status of the caregivers; and (ii) to examine the direct and buffer effects of social support on the mental health status of these caregivers. A total of 61 key caregivers of patients with schizophrenia were administered the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ) and the Measure of Support Function (MSF) self-report questionnaire to assess their mental health and social support status. The MSF questionnaire constitutes four subscales, including: (i) the perceived crisis support (PCS); (ii) the perceived routine support (PRS); (iii) the received crisis support (RCS); and (iv) the received routine support (RRS) subscale.