The potential immunotherapy effect of Ginkgolide B thwarts oral squamous cell carcinoma progression by targeting the SREBP1/KLK8/CCL22 axis.

Background: Oral cancer is a malignant tumor of the oral cavity, with regulatory T cell (Treg) infiltration associated with poor prognosis. Ginkgolide B (GB) has demonstrated effects on lipid metabolism; however, its potential immunotherapeutic effects on oral cancer have not been elaborated.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the immunotherapeutic effects of Ginkgolide B (GB) in oral cancer.

Attenuation of in vitro and in vivo melanin synthesis using a Chinese herbal medicine through the inhibition of tyrosinase activity.

Background: In traditional Chinese medicine, the skin reflects the health of body organs. A skin whitening agent, named seven whitening creams (also called Chi-Bai-San), has been used since ancient times in China. Chi-Bai-San reduces melanin and helps to reduce wrinkles.

Acupuncture for smoking cessation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: We evaluate the effectiveness and safety of transdermal acupuncture by needles for smoking cessation.

Methods: A literature search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed in seven electronic databases from inception to February 2017. Meta-analysis was conducted using Revman 5.

A bibliometric analysis of clinical study literature of traditional Chinese medicine therapies for smoking cessation.

Introduction: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly used for smoking cessation in China. The aim of this study is to perform a comprehensive literature search to identify clinical studies on TCM therapies for smoking cessation.

Methods: Publications of randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, case series and case reports, reviews and cross-sectional studies on smoking cessation using TCM therapies were retrieved from seven databases from their inception to February 2017.

Usefulness of natriuretic peptide for the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic value of serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in acute Kawasaki disease (KD).

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: A systematic literature search strategy was designed and carried out using MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from inception to December 2013.

Unfavorable attitudes toward receiving methadone maintenance therapy and associated factors among the inmates using intravenous heroin.

The aims of this study were to examine unfavorable attitudes toward receiving methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) and associated factors among inmates using intravenous heroin in Taiwan. A total of 315 inmates using intravenous heroin were recruited. Their unfavorable attitudes toward receiving MMT after discharge from prison were evaluated using the Client Attitudes Toward Methadone Programs Scale.

Body weight statuses and their sociodemographic correlates among adolescents in southern Taiwan: results using two sets of cutoff references.

Purpose: To examine the differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity based on the cutoff references established by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC), the prevalence of underweight on the IOTF reference, and the sociodemographic correlates of body weight statuses in Taiwanese adolescents.

Methods: Overweight and obesity in 10,371 Taiwanese adolescents were determined by the IOTF and WGOC cutoff references for body mass index (BMI). Underweight was determined by the IOTF.

The relationships between body mass index and television viewing, internet use and cellular phone use: the moderating effects of socio-demographic characteristics and exercise.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and television viewing, Internet use and cellular phone use and the moderators for these relationships in adolescents.

Method: The relationship between BMI and the time spent on three kinds of sedentary activities and the moderators for these relationships were analyzed among 9,278 Taiwanese adolescents. The different relationships between BMI and various Internet and cellular phone-related activities were analyzed.

The associations between aggressive behaviors and internet addiction and online activities in adolescents.

Purpose: To evaluate (a) the association between Internet addiction and aggressive behaviors, as well as the moderating effects of gender, school, and depression on this association; and (b) to evaluate the association between Internet activities and aggressive behaviors.

Methods: A total of 9405 adolescents were recruited into this study and completed the questionnaires. Their aggressive behaviors, with or without Internet addiction, Internet activities, demographic data, with or without depression, self-esteem, family function, and the watching of violent TV were assessed.

Concern over weight and dieting in Taiwanese adolescents: correlations of gender, age, weight, and multidimensional characteristics.

The aims of this study were to compare the levels of concern over weight and dieting (COWD) among adolescents with different body weight status, gender, and age, and to examine the associations of COWD with multidimensional characteristics. Nine thousand eighty-seven adolescents completed the questionnaires. The levels of COWD were compared among the groups with different body weight status, gender, and age.

Symptoms of problematic cellular phone use, functional impairment and its association with depression among adolescents in Southern Taiwan.

The aims of this study were: (1) to examine the prevalence of symptoms of problematic cellular phone use (CPU); (2) to examine the associations between the symptoms of problematic CPU, functional impairment caused by CPU and the characteristics of CPU; (3) to establish the optimal cut-off point of the number of symptoms for functional impairment caused by CPU; and (4) to examine the association between problematic CPU and depression in adolescents. A total of 10,191 adolescent students in Southern Taiwan were recruited into this study. Participants' self-reported symptoms of problematic CPU and functional impairments caused by CPU were collected.

Depression and its association with self-esteem, family, peer and school factors in a population of 9586 adolescents in southern Taiwan.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the prevalence of depression and its association with self-esteem, family, peer and school factors in a large-scale representative Taiwanese adolescent population.

Methods: A total of 12,210 adolescent students were recruited into the present study. Subjects with a score >28 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies' Depression Scale were defined as having significant depression; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Adolescent Family and Social Life Questionnaire and Family C-APGAR Index were applied to assess subjects' self-esteem, family, peer and school factors.

Insight into alcohol-related problems and its associations with severity of alcohol consumption, mental health status, race, and level of acculturation in southern Taiwanese indigenous people with alcoholism.

Objective: While not well known in the West, Taiwan has a substantial indigenous population, and this population has rapidly developed alcohol problems. This study examined the level of insight into alcohol-related problems and its associations with the severity of alcohol consumption, mental health status, race, and the level of acculturation among indigenous populations with alcohol problems in southern Taiwan.

Methods: A total of 332 indigenes, whose total Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score was equal to 8 or higher, were interviewed.

Factors related to abstinence from drug use and seeking help from medical services in Taiwanese heroin and methamphetamine users.

The aim of this study was to examine the factors related to abstinence from heroin and methamphetamine (MAMP) use and to seeking help from medical services in Taiwanese drug users. A total of 196 heroin users and 226 MAMP users were recruited in this study. Their experience of previous abstinence from drug use and the routes taken to seek help for abstinence were determined at interview.

Psychopathology of aboriginal and non-aboriginal adolescents living in the mountainous region of southern Taiwan.

The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents feature more severe psychopathology than non-aboriginal adolescents who live in the same mountainous region of southern Taiwan, and to test the hypothesis by controlling other individual and environ-mental factors. In this study, a total of 251 aboriginal and 79 non-aboriginal Taiwanese adolescents were enrolled. Their psychopathology was measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised Scale; demographic and family characteristics, and their affinity with their peer group and with their school were also assessed.

Relationships among mental health status, social context, and demographic characteristics in Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents: a structural equation model.

The purposes of this study were to examine the relationships among mental health status, demographic characteristics, and social contexts, including family conflict and support, connectedness to school, and affiliation with peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who use substances, among Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents. A total of 251 aboriginal junior high school students in an isolated mountainous area of southern Taiwan were recruited, and the relationships among mental health status, demographic characteristics, and social contexts among them were examined using a structural equation model (SEM). The SEM revealed that family conflict and support had direct influences on mental health status and connectedness to school.

Comparisons of substance use disorders and correlates between aboriginal and non-aboriginal adolescents living in a mountain region in southern Taiwan.

The purposes of this study were to examine the differences in prevalence of lifetime substance use disorders (SUDs), age at initial substance use, and knowledge and attitudes toward substance use between aboriginal and non-aboriginal adolescents living in a mountain region of southern Taiwan, and to separately examine the correlates of SUDs among the two groups. A total of 251 aboriginal and 79 non-aboriginal adolescents were recruited into this study. The results revealed that although the prevalence of SUDs was high in both aboriginal and non-aboriginal adolescents, no difference in the prevalence of SUDs between the two groups was found.

[Changes of cycle and apoptosis of spermatogenic cells and antioxidant capacity in male rats with diabetes mellitus].

Objective: To explore the changes of cycle and apoptosis of spermatogenic cells and antioxidant capacity of the serum and testis in male rats with diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Thirty male rats were divided into two groups, 10 for normal control and 20 for the diabetes group. The rats were injected intraperitoneally with streptozocin (TZ) to develop diabetes, and 12 weeks later, their survival rate and testis weight were recorded.