Pathogenicity and antigenic characterization of a novel highly virulent lineage 3 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus 2.

Background/purpose: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a pathogen with a negative economic impact on the global swine industry. In 2019, a suspected highly pathogenic strain, NPUST-108-929/2019 (108-929), was isolated from a pig farm in Pingtung with an outbreak of high mortality and analyzed. The characteristics of PRRSV 108-929 have barely been studied.

Association of urban green and blue space with accelerated ageing: A cohort Study in the UK Biobank.

Objective: We investigated the associations between urban green and blue spaces and the incidence of accelerated ageing, which have rarely been studied.

Methods: Analyzed UK Biobank data (2006-2010) on 440,785 participants, focusing on urban green and blue space (UGBS). General linear models and logistics models assessed links between UGBS and accelerated ageing (Klemera-Doubal method, telomere length and frailty).

Analyzing sex-specific differences in sleep quality, resilience, and biomarkers among older adults in the Gan-Dau Healthy Longevity Plan.

Background: Limited knowledge exists regarding the interrelations between sleep quality and resilience within the demographic of healthy, community-residing middle-aged and older adults, with a particular dearth of information regarding sex-specific associations. This study aimed to examine the sex-specific associations between sleep quality, resilience, and biomarkers in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the 2022 Gan-Dau Healthy Longevity Plan survey initiated by the locality-based community hospital, Taipei Municipal Gan-Dau Hospital (TMGDH).

Association between temperatures and type 2 diabetes: A prospective study in UK Biobank.

Objective: This study aims to prospectively examine the association between temperatures and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: We used the CPH models to analyze 103,215 non-diabetic participants in the UK Biobank cohort who answered questions about workplace temperature, to evaluate the survival relationship, and the interaction effects of working environmental temperature and T2D-related genetic risk scores (GRS) on the occurrence of T2D. The occurrence of T2D was assessed by hospital inpatient records.

A rare case of an endobronchial mass due to Neurospora intermedia.

The ascomycete filamentous fungus Neurospora intermedia is commonly used in the food industry and considered nonpathogenic to humans. This study characterizes four N. intermedia isolates recovered from three patients.

A systematic review: on the mercaptoacid metabolites of acrylamide, N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)-L-cysteine.

Acrylamide is widely found in a variety of fried foods and cigarettes and is not only neurotoxic and carcinogenic, but also has many potential toxic effects. The current assessment of acrylamide intake through dietary questionnaires is confounded by a variety of factors, which poses limitations to safety assessment. In this review, we focus on the levels of AAMA, the urinary metabolite of acrylamide in humans, and its association with other diseases, and discuss the current research gaps in AAMA and the future needs.

Molecular Characteristics and Pathogenicity of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) 1 in Taiwan during 2019-2020.

Two variants of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), PRRSV 1 and PRRSV 2, have caused abortion in pregnant sows and respiratory distress in nursery pigs worldwide. PRRSV 2 has been thoroughly researched in Taiwan since 1993; however, the first case of PRRSV 1 was not reported until late 2018. To decipher the genetic characteristics of PRRSV 1 in Taiwan, open reading frame 5 (ORF5) genes of PRRSV 1 strains collected from 11 individual pig farms in 2019-2020 were successfully sequenced.

Impact of Weight Gain on Surgical Outcomes and Quality of Life among Women after Sling Surgeries.

Study Objective: To investigate the impact of body weight gain after sling surgeries on outcomes in women with stress urinary incontinence.

Design: A single-center, retrospective study.

Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

A long-term high-fat diet influences brain damage and is linked to the activation of HIF-1α/AMPK/mTOR/p70S6K signalling.

High-fat diets (HFDs) are related to the incidence of obesity and diabetes, but the effect of high-fat diet-induced brain damage remains to be clarified. In our study, we found that 24 weeks of a HFD effectively induced obesity and a change in fur color in mice. In addition, the mice also exhibited deficits in learning and memory.

Stimulating the expression of sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) is beneficial to reduce acrylamide-induced nerve cell damage.

Sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) is an important signaling molecule for cell proliferation and survival. However, the role of SphK1 in acrylamide (ACR)-induced nerve injury remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and potential mechanism of SphK1 in ACR-induced nerve injury.

Improved survival in patients with unresectable stage III EGFR-mutant adenocarcinoma with upfront EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Background: Although epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) have been the standard treatment for advanced EGFR-mutant adenocarcinoma, the effects of upfront EGFR-TKI use in unresectable stage III EGFR-mutant adenocarcinoma remain unexplored. Here, we conducted a retrospective study to compare different treatment strategies in these patients.

Methods: From October 2010 to June 2019, patients with unresectable stage III adenocarcinoma who received treatment at a tertiary referral center were enrolled.

Systematic evaluation of COVID-19 related Internet health rumors during the breaking out period of COVID-19 in China.

To adapt the scientific evaluation tool for the confusion evaluation of health rumors and to test this tool to the confusion evaluation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related health rumors on Chinese online platforms during the outbreak period of COVID-19in China. The design of our study was systematic evaluation of COVID-19-related health rumors. Retrieved from 7 rumor-repellent platforms, rumors about COVID-19 were collected during the publication from December 1, 2019, to February 6, 2020, and their origins were traced.

The Keap1/Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway is involved in atrazine induced dopaminergic neurons degeneration via microglia activation.

Objective: To investigate the mechanisms of ATR-induced dopaminergic toxicity by microglia activation and the response of the Keap1/ Nrf2- ARE signaling pathway.

Methods: Wistar rats were treated with 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg ATR and BV-2 microglia cells were treated with 50, 100 μM ATR or 100 ng/mL LPS, respectively. Rats behavioral responses and histopathological changes were monitored.

Spontaneous uterine rupture at a non-cesarean section scar site caused by placenta percreta in the early second trimester of gestation: A case report.

Objectives: Risk factors for placenta percreta are placenta previa and prior cesarean delivery. Placenta percreta-induced ruptures at non-cesarean sites are very rare, particularly in the early second trimester.

Case Report: A 30-year-old woman with a prior cesarean delivery was brought to our emergency department at 17 weeks' gestation for sudden-onset consciousness loss and generalized convulsions.

Indium recovery from spent liquid crystal displays by using hydrometallurgical methods and microwave pyrolysis.

Indium recovery from spent liquid crystal displays (LCDs) of monitors was studied by using microwave pyrolysis as a pretreatment step prior to hydrometallurgical processes including acid leaching, solvent extraction, and stripping. After microwave pyrolysis at 150 W for a processing time of 50 min, the hydrometallurgical processes were carried out to sequentially solubilize and increase the purity of indium ions in the product solution. The leaching efficiency of indium was approximately 98% when using 0.

Acute flaccid paralysis and neurogenic respiratory failure associated with enterovirus D68 infection in children: Report of two cases.

Background: Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and neurogenic respiratory failure rarely occur in children. At the end of 2018, some children with such symptoms were admitted to our hospital. In this study, we aimed to assess two children with AFP and neurogenic respiratory failure associated with enterovirus D68 (EV-D68).

Correlation of Neutralizing Antibodies (NAbs) between Sows and Piglets and Evaluation of Protectability Associated with Maternally Derived NAbs in Pigs against Circulating Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) under Field Conditions.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), which is caused by a highly transmissible pathogen called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), has caused severe problems, including reproductive disorders in sows and respiratory symptoms in nursery pigs worldwide, since the early 1990s. However, currently available PRRSV vaccines do not supply complete immunity to confront the viral infection. Elicitation of PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) during the preinfectious period has been deemed to be a feasible strategy to modulate this virus, especially in farms where nursery pigs are seized with PRRSVs.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is associated with cytomegalovirus viremia in critically ill patients - A retrospective cohort study.

Background/purpose: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia is associated with a higher mortality rate and prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay for critically ill patients. CMV infection causes transient but substantial immunosuppression for transplant recipients, increasing risk of fungal infection. The association between CMV viremia and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) for critically ill patients is still unknown.

Role of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α in Alzheimer's Disease.

Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides and hyperphosphorylated tau protein are the most important pathological markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress are also involved in the development and pathological mechanism of AD. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a transcriptional factor responsible for cellular and tissue adaption to low oxygen tension.

The Warburg effect promoted the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome induced by Ni-refining fumes in BEAS-2B cells.

Nickel (Ni) is a known human carcinogen that has an adverse effect on various human organs in occupational workers during Ni refinement and smelting. In the present study, we used real-time polymerase chain reactions, Western blot analysis, and a lactate production assay to investigate whether an increase in the NLRP3 inflammasome induced by Ni-refining fumes was associated with the Warburg effect in BEAS-2B cells, a nonmalignant pulmonary epithelial line. Exposure to Ni-refining fumes suppressed cell proliferation and increased lactate production compared with those in an untreated control group in a dose- and time-dependent manner.