Serum vascular endothelial growth factor/soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 ratio is an independent prognostic marker in pancreatic cancer.

Objectives: Tumor angiogenesis is the consequence of an imbalance between positive and negative angiogenic regulatory factors. We sought to determine the role of pretreated serum angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PlGF), and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (sVEGFR-1), in predicting clinical outcome in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Methods: We assessed pretreated serum VEGF, PlGF, and sVEGFR-1 levels in 92 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and 60 healthy control subjects using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Transcriptome alteration in the diabetic heart by rosiglitazone: implications for cardiovascular mortality.

Background: Recently, the type 2 diabetes medication, rosiglitazone, has come under scrutiny for possibly increasing the risk of cardiac disease and death. To investigate the effects of rosiglitazone on the diabetic heart, we performed cardiac transcriptional profiling and imaging studies of a murine model of type 2 diabetes, the C57BL/KLS-lepr(db)/lepr(db) (db/db) mouse.

Methods And Findings: We compared cardiac gene expression profiles from three groups: untreated db/db mice, db/db mice after rosiglitazone treatment, and non-diabetic db/+ mice.

Novel PKC signaling is required for LPS-induced soluble Flt-1 expression in macrophages.

In vitro activation of macrophages by LPS induces rapid release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 receptor (sFlt-1), which are thought to be the effectors to cause sepsis. However, the signal pathway that controls the VEGF and sFlt-1 expressions in LPS-activated macrophages remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that phosphorylation of protein kinase C (PKC)delta played a key role in the VEGF and sFlt-1 signaling pathway of LPS-activated macrophages.

Establishment of a young mouse model and identification of an allelic variation of zmpB in complicated pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Objective: Complicated pneumonia, including necrotizing pneumonia, lung abscess, and empyema, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children has been increasing. We thus determined to investigate its virulence in an animal model and to identify virulence factors of S. pneumoniae.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia predicts adverse developmental and clinical outcomes in very-low-birthweight infants.

This study examined the developmental and clinical outcomes in very-low-birthweight (VLBW; < or =1500g) infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) throughout infancy, and assessed if BPD predicted poor developmental outcome beyond the effects of other risk factors. One hundred and three VLBW infants (53 males, 50 females; mean gestational age 28wks [SD 2] birthweight 1041g [SD 261]) were graded for severity of BPD according to the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus definition. Neuro-development was assessed using the Neonatal Neurobehavioral Examination-Chinese version, at 36 and 39 weeks' postmenstrual age, and the 2nd edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 6 and 12 months' corrected age.

Characterization of the mid-foregut transcriptome identifies genes regulated during lung bud induction.

To identify genes expressed during initiation of lung organogenesis, we generated transcriptional profiles of the prospective lung region of the mouse foregut (mid-foregut) microdissected from embryos at three developmental stages between embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5) and E9.

Asymmetrical dimethylarginine in renal disease: limits of variation or variation limits? A systematic review.

Asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, is increasingly recognized as a putative biomarker in cardiovascular and renal disease. Elevated plasma levels of ADMA are the consequence of increased synthesis, reduced renal clearance or reduced enzymatic degradation. Based upon the metabolic fate the highest plasma concentrations of ADMA have been reported in patients with renal failure in whom this molecule accumulates.

In vivo genetic profiling and cellular localization of apelin reveals a hypoxia-sensitive, endothelial-centered pathway activated in ischemic heart failure.

Signaling by the peptide ligand apelin and its cognate G protein-coupled receptor APJ has a potent inotropic effect on cardiac contractility and modulates systemic vascular resistance through nitric oxide-dependent signaling. In addition, there is evidence for counterregulation of the angiotensin and vasopressin pathways. Regulatory stimuli of the apelin-APJ pathway are of obvious importance but remain to be elucidated.

HIF-1 regulates hypoxia- and insulin-induced expression of apelin in adipocytes.

Apelin, a novel peptide with significant cardioactive properties, is upregulated by insulin in adipocytes. However, the mechanism by which insulin promotes apelin production is unknown. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a heterodimeric transcription factor involved in the angiogenic and metabolic responses to tissue hypoxia, has been shown to be activated by insulin in various settings.

Circulating chemokines accurately identify individuals with clinically significant atherosclerotic heart disease.

Serum inflammatory markers correlate with outcome and response to therapy in subjects with cardiovascular disease. However, current individual markers lack specificity for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). We hypothesize that a multimarker proteomic approach measuring serum levels of vascular derived inflammatory biomarkers could reveal a "signature of disease" that can serve as a highly accurate method to assess for the presence of coronary atherosclerosis.

Outcome and hospital cost for infants weighing less than 500 grams: a tertiary centre experience in Taiwan.

Aim: To determine the outcome and hospital cost for infants weighing < or =500 g at a tertiary centre in Taiwan.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of infants who were born alive with birthweight < or =500 g at the National Taiwan University Hospital from 1997 to 2004. Their outcome and hospital cost were analysed.

Soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 protects mice in sepsis.

Objective: To determine the putative role in the modulation of inflammation of a soluble form of Flt-1 (sFlt), a potent vascular endothelial growth factor antagonist, in experimental endotoxemia and sepsis.

Design: Randomized prospective experimental study.

Setting: University medical laboratory.

Asymmetric dimethyl L-arginine (ADMA) is a critical regulator of myocardial reperfusion injury.

Objective: Endothelial dysfunction by the loss of nitric oxide (NO) is a critical event during reperfusion of ischemic myocardium. Reduced NO availability signals important pathophysiological changes leading to myocardial reperfusion injury. We have recently shown that NO biosynthesis can be disturbed by the endogenous NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor ADMA and that these changes are mediated by an impairment of its metabolism by dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH).

Enhanced proportion of small adipose cells in insulin-resistant vs insulin-sensitive obese individuals implicates impaired adipogenesis.

Aims/hypothesis: The biological mechanism by which obesity predisposes to insulin resistance is unclear. One hypothesis is that larger adipose cells disturb metabolism via increased lipolysis. While studies have demonstrated that cell size increases in proportion to BMI, it has not been clearly shown that adipose cell size, independent of BMI, is associated with insulin resistance.

Neonatal listeriosis.

In Western developed countries, Listeria monocytogenesis not an uncommon pathogen in neonates. However, neonatal listeriosis has rarely been reported in Taiwan. We describe two cases collected from a single medical institute between 1990 and 2005.

Unequal crossover recombination - population screening for PHOX2B gene polyalanine polymorphism using CE.

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by abnormal autonomic central nervous system control of breathing during sleep. Mutations in the paired-like homeobox 2B (PHOX2B) gene, including point mutation, frameshift, and polyalanine expansion, are associated with the pathogenesis of CCHS. In this study, PHOX2B mutations were analyzed in seven CCHS patients, their family members, and 1520 healthy individuals from the general population using CE to provide high sensitivity and resolution screening for the PHOX2B polyalanine polymorphism.

Embryonic biliary atresia in a very-low-birth-weight premature infant.

Two major forms of biliary atresia, the embryonic and perinatal type, are considered to have different pathogeneses and distinct prognoses. Embryonic biliary atresia is associated with worse prognosis. We report a case of embryonic biliary atresia in a preterm male infant of 31 weeks of gestation and weighing 1375 g, with the initial manifestation of intermittent acholic stool 5 days after birth.

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome with PHOX2B gene mutation in a Taiwanese infant.

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a rare disease that is characterized by failure in the autonomic control of breathing. Recent reports have identified mutation of the paired mesoderm homeobox protein 2b (PHOX2B) gene as playing a major role in CCHS. Increasing polyalanine repeat number is associated with a more severe clinical phenotype.

Characterization and application of single fluorescent nanodiamonds as cellular biomarkers.

Type Ib diamonds emit bright fluorescence at 550-800 nm from nitrogen-vacancy point defects, (N-V)(0) and (N-V)(-), produced by high-energy ion beam irradiation and subsequent thermal annealing. The emission, together with noncytotoxicity and easiness of surface functionalization, makes nano-sized diamonds a promising fluorescent probe for single-particle tracking in heterogeneous environments. We present the result of our characterization and application of single fluorescent nanodiamonds as cellular biomarkers.

Sub-100 nm photolithography using TE-polarized waves in transparent nanostructures.

The optical near field and its polarization anisotropy in transparent nanostructures were studied by polarization near-field optical microscopy. From experimental results and finite-difference time-domain calculations, we conclude that localized optical near fields exist at topographically higher regions of nanostructures under the TE-polarization condition. Optical near fields with a feature size smaller than 100 nm are applied for contact photomask lithography.

Magnetic resonance imaging of progressive cardiomyopathic changes in the db/db mouse.

The db/db mouse is a well-established model of diabetes. Previous reports have documented contractile dysfunction (i.e.

Adiponectin and insulin resistance in young and healthy smokers.

Smoking is closely associated with insulin resistance, though the mechanism is not clear. Adiponectin, a novel anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory adipose tissue product, which is closely associated with insulin resistance, was reported to be low in smokers with cofactors for atherosclerosis. However, the effects of smoking on circulating adiponectin levels in otherwise healthy people are unknown.

Esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula: ten years of experience in an institute.

Background: Esophageal atresia (EA), tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), or both is a complicated problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and postoperative complications in patients with EA/TEF who were admitted to our hospital.

Methods: In total, 15 patients were enrolled from 1994 to 2003, including 8 males and 7 females.