Longitudinal non-cystic fibrosis trends of pulmonary disease from 2010 to 2017: spread of the "globally successful clone" in Asia.

Background: (MAB) has emerged as the predominant pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial pathogen in parts of Asia, including Taiwan. The reasons for the significant increase in MAB infections in the non-cystic fibrosis (CF) populations are poorly understood. The study aimed to elucidate whether this increase is related to the spread of the globally successful clone of MAB.

Therapeutic drug monitoring study on the switch from coformulated 600-mg efavirenz, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and emtricitabine to coformulated 400-mg efavirenz, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and lamivudine among HIV-positive patients with viral suppression.

Objectives: This study evaluated the efavirenz (EFV) mid-dose plasma concentration (C12), clinical efficacy, and safety after the switch to a single-tablet regimen containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), lamivudine (3TC), and 400-mg EFV in virally suppressed HIV-positive Taiwanese who were receiving co-formulated TDF, emtricitabine (FTC), and 600-mg EFV.

Methods: In this single-arm, open-label study, HIV-positive adults who had undetectable plasma HIV RNA load (<50 copies/ml) for 6 months or longer while receiving co-formulated TDF, FTC, and 600-mg EFV with EFV C12 of ≥1 mg/L were enrolled. The participants were switched to co-formulated TDF, 3TC, and 400-mg EFV and followed for 24 weeks.

Comparing the Utilities of Different Multilocus Sequence Typing Schemes for Identifying Outbreak Strains of subsp. .

Outbreaks of infections by , particularly subspecies , are increasingly reported worldwide. Several multilocus sequence typing (MLST) protocols for grouping international outbreak strains have been developed but not yet directly compared. Using the three-gene (, , and ), seven-gene (, , , , , , and ) and thirteen-gene (all of the preceding genes plus , , and ) MLST schemes, we identified 22, 38, and 40 unique sequence types (STs), respectively, among a total of 139 nonduplicated isolates.

Synergism of Rifabutin with Clarithromycin, Imipenem, and Tigecycline against the Complex.

Infections caused by the difficult-to-treat bacterium are increasing in frequency. Rifabutin, in contrast to rifampin, appears to be active against , especially against clarithromycin-resistant strains. However, explorations for potential synergy between rifabutin and available antimicrobials are currently limited.

Digynic triploidy in a fetus presenting with semilobar holoprosencephaly.

Objective: We present digynic triploidy in a fetus with semilobar holoprosencephaly (HPE).

Case Report: A 32-year-old, gravid 1, para 0, woman underwent prenatal ultrasound examination at 12 weeks of gestation, and the ultrasound showed relative macrocephaly, a small non-cystic placenta, and a fetus with absent nasal bone and semilobar HPE. The pregnancy was terminated subsequently, and a 50-g fetus was delivered with a relatively enlarged head and premaxillary agenesis.

Prenatal diagnosis of a familial 5p14.3-p14.1 deletion encompassing CDH18, CDH12, PMCHL1, PRDM9 and CDH10 in a fetus with congenital heart disease on prenatal ultrasound.

Objective: We present prenatal diagnosis of a familial 5p14.3-p14.1 deletion in a fetus with congenital heart disease on prenatal ultrasound.

Prenatal diagnosis of a familial 15q11.2 (BP1-BP2) microdeletion encompassing TUBGCP5, CYFIP1, NIPA2 and NIPA1 in a fetus with ventriculomegaly, microcephaly and intrauterine growth restriction on prenatal ultrasound.

Objective: We present prenatal diagnosis of a 15q11.2 (BP1-BP2) microdeletion encompassing TUBGCP5, CYFIP1, NIPA2 and NIPA1 in a fetus with ventriculomegaly, microcephaly and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) on prenatal ultrasound.

Case Report: A 30-year-old, gravida 3, para 2, woman was referred to the hospital for amniocentesis because of fetal ventriculomegaly on prenatal ultrasound.

Prenatal diagnosis and molecular cytogenetic characterization of chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome associated with congenital heart defects.

Objective: To report prenatal diagnosis of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in a pregnancy with congenital heart defects in the fetus.

Case Report: A 26-year-old, primigravid woman was referred for counseling at 24 weeks of gestation because of abnormal ultrasound findings of fetal congenital heart defects.

Lack of resistance-associated mutations in UL54 and UL97 genes of circulating cytomegalovirus strains isolated in a medical center in Taiwan.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a large DNA virus and a member of the betaherpesvirus family. HCMV infection is extremely common in human populations and can cause severe diseases in immunocompromised hosts. Ganciclovir is the most widely used antiviral drug for cytomegalovirus infection and works by blocking the amplification of HCMV.

Argonaute-2 enhances suppression of human cytomegalovirus replication by polycistronic short hairpin RNAs targeting UL46, UL70 and UL122.

Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a common human pathogen that causes significant morbidity and mortality. The efficacy of anti-HCMV drugs such as ganciclovir, foscarnet and cidofovir is limited because of drug toxicities and frequent development of resistance. Here, we report an alternative anti-HCMV method using RNA silencing.

Polymorphisms in metabolic GSTP1 and DNA-repair XRCC1 genes with an increased risk of DNA damage in pesticide-exposed fruit growers.

Pesticide exposure is associated with various neoplastic diseases and congenital malformations. Previous studies have indicated that pesticides may be metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A5 or glutathione S-transferases. DNA-repair genes, including X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) and xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD), may also be implicated in the process of pesticide-related carcinogenesis.