Improving Interpretation Consistency of Serum Capillary Electrophoresis by Development of Quantitative Graphic Indexes.

Capillary zone electrophoresis-immunosubtraction (CZE-IS) is an essential laboratory test in diagnosing plasma cell neoplasms. However, the current interpretation of the test results is subjective. To evaluate CZE-IS in a more precise manner, this study proposed five key indexes, namely sharpness index, light chain index, immunoglobulin G index, immunoglobulin A index, and immunoglobulin M index.

Retrospective Analysis to Optimize the Detection of Exon 14 Skipping Mutations in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Our study optimized ex14 skipping mutation detection by analyzing 223 Oncomine Focus Assay-positive cases using Pan Lung Cancer PCR Panel and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Among the 11 ex14 skipping mutation-positive cases (average read counts: 1390), 2 with Oncomine Focus Assay read counts of 2540 and 10,177 were positive on all platforms. Those with Oncomine Focus Assay read counts ranging from 179 to 612 tested negative elsewhere.

Objective indexes for comparing platelet usage among peer hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Besides hospital size, clinical diagnosis and severity of patient cases determine the total platelet usage. Therefore, the appropriateness of platelet usage could not be compared simply with the total units of platelet usage in each hospital. This study aimed to objectively monitor and analyze platelet usage after implementing a single-unit issuing policy for each platelet transfusion in our hospital in October 2020.

Evaluation of Platelet Alloimmunization by Filtration Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay.

The current methods for detecting antiplatelet antibodies are mostly manual and labor-intensive. A convenient and rapid detection method is required for effectively detecting alloimmunization during platelet transfusion. In our study, to detect antiplatelet antibodies, positive and negative sera of random-donor antiplatelet antibodies were collected after completing a routine solid-phase red cell adherence test (SPRCA).

Preservation of red blood cell antigenicity in a new storage solution .

Introduction: Red blood cell (RBC) storage solution is used for suspending and preserving RBCs for later use in immunohematology testing. Proper RBC preservation is crucial for obtaining accurate results in RBC phenotyping and pretransfusion antibody screening tests. Haemolysis or RBC antigen degradation during storage can result in inaccurate RBC phenotyping, thereby decreasing the sensitivity of pretransfusion antibody screening and identification assays.

Bacteremia detection from complete blood count and differential leukocyte count with machine learning: complementary and competitive with C-reactive protein and procalcitonin tests.

Background: Biomarkers, such as leukocyte count, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT), have been commonly used to predict the occurrence of life-threatening bacteremia and provide prognostic information, given the need for prompt intervention. However, such diagnosis methods require much time and money. Therefore, we propose a method with a high prediction capability using machine learning (ML) models based on complete blood count (CBC) and differential leukocyte count (DC) and compare its performance with traditional CRP or PCT biomarker methods and those of models incorporating CRP or PCT biomarkers.

Predicting 2-Day Mortality of Thrombocytopenic Patients Based on Clinical Laboratory Data Using Machine Learning.

Background: Clinical laboratories have traditionally used a single critical value for thrombocytopenic events. This system, however, could lead to inaccuracies and inefficiencies, causing alarm fatigue and compromised patient safety.

Objectives: This study shows how machine learning (ML) models can provide auxiliary information for more accurate identification of critical thrombocytopenic patients when compared with the traditional notification system.

The Influence of Gene Polymorphism in Transfusion Reaction after Transfusing Leukoreduced Blood Components.

CTLA-4 and CD28 belong to co-stimulation molecules, the abnormal expression of which can regulate the T cell activation and then affect the degree of immune response. Moreover, blood transfusion reaction (TR) is a kind of immune reaction. Consequently, the hypothesis of this study was that the TR still occurred after transfusing leukoreduced blood components as a result of the sensitivity of immune system, and a small number of immune stimulations were enough to induce an immune response in patients.

Association of Gene Polymorphism with Transfusion Reaction after Infusion of Leukoreduced Blood Component.

Leukocytes and cytokines in blood units have been known to be involved in febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reaction (FNHTR), and these adverse reactions still occur while using pre-storage leukoreduced blood products. Blood transfusion is similar to transplantation because both implant allogeneic cells or organs into the recipient. CTLA4 gene polymorphism was found to be associated with graft-versus-host disease in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Identification of a novel A allele through nt543 substitution.

Background: ABO blood system has many subgroups. In A group, A phenotype and A phenotype are more common, and A is caused by deletion or substitution in A allele (ABO*A1.01).

Infection with Trichomonas vaginalis increases the risk of psychiatric disorders in women: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan parasite that causes trichomoniasis and annually infects approximately 276 million people worldwide. We observed an ambiguously higher probability of trichomoniasis in patients from the psychiatric department of Tri-Service General Hospital. Herein, we aimed to investigate the association between trichomoniasis and the risk of developing psychiatric disorders.

Sustained or higher levels of growth factors in platelet-rich plasma during 7-day storage.

Background: The effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for treating soft tissue injuries is still controversial. Most of PRPs were prepared simply by concentrating in volume and were injected right after preparation in physician offices. Neither platelet count nor growth factors were quantitated in advance.

Evaluation of Bruker Biotyper and Vitek MS for the identification of Candida tropicalis on different solid culture media.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of the Bruker Biotyper matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and Vitek MS systems for identification of genetically-confirmed blood isolates of Candida tropicalis that had been grown on several types of culture media commonly used for primary fungal isolation.

Methods: Isolates included 105 from the National China Hospital Invasive Fungal Surveillance Net program (CHIF-NET) and 120 from National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). Culture media tested for CHIF-NET isolates included trypticase soy agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood (BAP), Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA-C), CHROMagar, China blue agar (CBA), chocolate agar supplemented with vancomycin (CAP-VA), and MacConkey agar (MAC).

Long-term administration of ketamine induces erectile dysfunction by decreasing neuronal nitric oxide synthase on cavernous nerve and increasing corporal smooth muscle cell apoptosis in rats.

We investigated and evaluated the mechanisms of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a rat model of long-term ketamine administration. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 32) were divided into four groups: namely the control group receiving intraperitoneal injection of saline, 1-month, 2-month and 3-month groups receiving daily intraperitoneal injection of ketamine (100 mg/kg/day) for 1, 2, and 3 month respectively. After treatment, animals underwent an erectile response protocol to assess intracavernosal pressure (ICP).

Single amino acid substitution Gly186Val in AdeS restores tigecycline susceptibility of Acinetobacter baumannii.

Objectives: Amino acid substitutions within the AdeRS two-component system are believed to result in overexpression of the AdeABC efflux pump and extensive resistance to antibiotics in clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. However, the exact amino acid substitutions in AdeRS that cause overexpression of the AdeABC efflux pump remain unclear. We elucidated the role of amino acid substitutions in AdeRS by a complementation assay in an adeRS knockout strain of A.

AdeR protein regulates adeABC expression by binding to a direct-repeat motif in the intercistronic spacer.

Overexpression of the efflux pump AdeABC is associated with tigecycline resistance of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB). A two-component regulatory system, sensor AdeS and regulator AdeR proteins regulate the pump. However, the detailed mechanism of the AdeR protein to enhance the expression of adeABC operon is not well defined.

Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Kaohsiung City located at southern Taiwan, 2000-2008.

Background: We present the first comprehensive analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates circulating in southern Taiwan. In this 9-year population-based study, the TB situation in the Kaohsiung region was characterized by genotypic analysis of 421 MTB isolates.

Methods: All 421 isolates of MTB were analyzed by spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR typing.

Histopathological assessment of inflammation and expression of inflammatory markers in patients with ketamine-induced cystitis.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the histopathological features of inflammation and the expression levels of inflammatory markers in tissue samples from patients with ketamine‑induced cystitis. Bladder biopsy samples for histological analysis were obtained from 23 patients (18 men and 5 women) with a self‑reported history of ketamine use and who were treated for cystitis at the Tri‑Service General Hospital of Taipei, Taiwan. Immunohistochemical staining for cyclooxygenase‑2 (COX‑2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), matrix metallopeptidase‑9 (MMP‑9), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and phosphorylated 40S ribosomal protein S6 (Phos‑S6) was performed.

Distinct modes of transmission of tuberculosis in aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations in Taiwan.

Tuberculosis incidence among aborigines is significantly higher than for Han Chinese in Taiwan, but the extent to which Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strain characteristics contribute to this difference is not well understood. MTB isolates from aborigines and Han Chinese living in eastern and southern Taiwan, the major regions of aborigines, were analyzed by spoligotyping and 24-loci MIRU-VNTR. In eastern Taiwan, 60% of aboriginal patients were ≤20 years old, significantly younger than the non-aboriginal patients there; aborigines were more likely to have clustered MTB isolates than Han Chinese (odds ratio (OR) = 5.

Ultraviolet light enhances the bovine serum albumin fixation for acid fast bacilli stain.

The use of a liquid culture system such as MGIT broth has greatly improved the sensitivity of isolating mycobacteria in clinical laboratories. Microscopic visualization of acid fast bacilli (AFB) in the culture positive MGIT broth remains the first routine step for rapidly indicating the presence of mycobacteria. We modified an ultraviolet (UV) light fixation process to increase AFB cells adherence to the slide.

Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in aboriginal peoples of Taiwan, 2006-2011.

Previous research revealed a 6-fold higher incidence of tuberculosis (TB) amongst aborigines compared to Han Chinese in Taiwan. To investigate the reasons for this disparity, we genotyped Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains obtained from members of different aboriginal tribes in different geographical regions of Taiwan by using molecular methods. In total, 177 isolates of MTB collected from patients at four hospitals in Taiwan from January 2006 to December 2011 were analysed by spoligotyping, mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing.

A 10-year analysis of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis in 135 patients: focus on symptomatology and precipitants.

Background: A comprehensive analysis has not been performed on patients with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) characterized by acute hypokalemia and paralysis in the setting of thyrotoxicosis.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the detailed symptomatology of thyrotoxicosis and precipitating factors for the attack in a large cohort of TPP patients.

Patients And Methods: A prospective observational study enrolled patients with TPP consecutively over 10 years at an academic medical center.

Predominance of Enterobacteriaceae isolates in early positive anaerobic blood culture bottles in BacT/Alert system.

We collected and analyzed the time to detection (TTD) of blood cultures in the BacT/Alert automated system from 2002 to 2007. Among the 10,893 monomicrobial isolates from a total of 133,735 blood culture sets, the recoveries of aerobic bottles were compared with those of anaerobic bottles in this study. Significantly more Gram-positive cocci (except Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci), glucose nonfermentative Gram-negative bacteria, and yeast were recovered from aerobic bottles than from anaerobic bottles.

A truncated AdeS kinase protein generated by ISAba1 insertion correlates with tigecycline resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Over-expression of AdeABC efflux pump stimulated continuously by the mutated AdeRS two component system has been found to result in antimicrobial resistance, even tigecycline (TGC) resistance, in multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB). Although the insertion sequence, ISAba1, contributes to one of the AdeRS mutations, the detail mechanism remains unclear. In the present study we collected 130 TGC-resistant isolates from 317 carbapenem resistant MRAB (MRAB-C) isolates, and 38 of them were characterized with ISAba1 insertion in the adeS gene.