Prognostic factors and treatment effect of standard-volume plasma exchange for acute and acute-on-chronic liver failure: A single-center retrospective study.

Patients with acute liver failure (ALF) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) have a high risk of mortality. Few studies have reported prognostic factors for patients receiving plasma exchange (PE) for liver support. We conducted a retrospective analysis using data of 55 patients with severe ACLF (n = 45) and ALF (n = 10) who received standard-volume PE (1-1.

Rheinheimera coerulea sp. nov., isolated from a freshwater creek, and emended description of genus Rheinheimera Brettar et al. 2002.

A bacterial strain designated TAPG2 was isolated from a freshwater creek in Taiwan and characterized using the polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of TAPG2 were Gram-stain negative, aerobic, motile, non-spore forming, short rods surrounded by a thick capsules and forming cream to dark-green colonies. Growth occurred at 15-37 °C (optimum, 25-30 °C), at pH 6.

A Comparative Evaluation of Concentrated Growth Factor and Platelet-rich Fibrin on the Proliferation, Migration, and Differentiation of Human Stem Cells of the Apical Papilla.

Introduction: Concentrated growth factor (CGF) is considered to be a natural biomaterial that is better than platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in bone regeneration, but there is little information acquired in regenerative endodontics. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate their effects on the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of human stem cells of the apical papilla (SCAPs).

Methods: CGF- and PRF-conditioned medium were prepared using the freeze-dried method.

SUMOylation of XRCC1 activated by poly (ADP-ribosyl)ation regulates DNA repair.

XRCC1 is an essential scaffold protein for base excision repair (BER) and helps to maintain genomic stability. XRCC1 has been indicated as a substrate for small ubiquitin-like modifier modification (SUMOylation); however, how XRCC1 SUMOylation is regulated in cells and how SUMOylated XRCC1 regulates BER activity are not well understood. Here, we show that SUMOylation of XRCC1 is regulated in cells under methyl-methanesulfonate (MMS) treatment and facilitates BER.

Hyperforin Suppresses Tumor Growth and NF-κB-mediated Anti-apoptotic and Invasive Potential of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: Previous studies have indicated that hyperforin inhibits tumor growth of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the anticancer effects of hyperforin in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are ambiguous. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer effect of hyperforin in NSCLC.

Overexpression of miR164b-resistant OsNAC2 improves plant architecture and grain yield in rice.

Plant architecture is a major target of rice (Oryza sativa) breeding and selection, but the underlying regulatory networks remain unclear. Here, we overexpressed an OsNAC2 mutant (OErN) that cannot be cleaved by the miRNA miR164b. OErN plants had better plant architecture and longer panicles, and produced more grains.

Durability of Telbivudine-Associated Improvement of Renal Function Following Withdrawal or Switching of Antivirals in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients.

Background: Besides antiviral activities against hepatitis B virus (HBV), telbivudine has an extrahepatic pharmaceutical effect: to improve renal function assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). However, the durability of this effect after withdrawal of telbivudine or switching to other antivirals has never been investigated.

Methods: We conducted a postmarketing, real-world observation study for telbivudine treatment.

Pressure effect on impurity local vibrational mode and phase transitions in n-type iron-doped indium phosphide.

The evolution of iron local vibrational mode (Fe LVM) and phase transitions in n-type iron-doped indium phosphide (InP:Fe) were investigated at ambient temperature. In-situ angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that InP:Fe starts to transform from zinc-blende (ZB) to rock-salt (RS) structure around 8.2(2) GPa and completes around 16.

Observation of a strong-coupling effect on electron-ion collisions in ultracold plasmas.

Ultracold plasmas (UCPs) provide a well-controlled system for studying multiple aspects in plasma physics that include collisions and strong-coupling effects. By applying a short electric field pulse to an UCP, a plasma electron center-of-mass oscillation can be initiated. For accessible parameter ranges, the damping rate of this oscillation is determined by the electron-ion collision rate.

Static magnetic field enhances the anticancer efficacy of capsaicin on HepG2 cells via capsaicin receptor TRPV1.

Static magnetic field (SMF) has shown some possibilities for cancer therapies. In particular, the combinational effect between SMF and anti-cancer drugs has drawn scientists' attentions in recent years. However, the underlying mechanism for the drug-specific synergistic effect is far from being understood.

Fabrication of an artificial nanosucker device with a large area nanotube array of metallic glass.

The concurrent attachment and detachment movements of geckos on virtually any type of surface via their foot pads have inspired us to develop a thermal device with numerous arrangements of a multi-layer thin film together with electrodes that can help modify the temperature of the surface via application of a voltage. A sequential fabrication process was employed on a large-scale integration to generate well-defined contact hole arrays of photoresist for use as templates on the electrode-based device. The photoresist templates were then subjected to sputter deposition of the metallic glass ZrCuAlNi.

CCL4 is the only predictor for non-responder in GT-1 CHC patients with favorable IL28B genotype when treated with PegIFN/RBV.

Background: Chemokines/cytokines play important roles in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). However, their clinical characteristics and implications in treatment responses to pegylated interferon plus ribavirin treatment (PegIFN/RBV) have not been fully illustrated yet. In this study, we intended to investigate the possible predictability of serum chemokines/cytokines on the treatment response in Taiwanese of CHC, genotype-1 (GT-1).

Application of non-invasive low strength pulsed electric field to EGCG treatment synergistically enhanced the inhibition effect on PANC-1 cells.

Traditional therapies for pancreatic cancer are usually expensive and likely to cause side effects, and most patients have the risk of recurrence and suffering pain. Here, we investigated combination treatment of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and non-invasive low strength pulsed electric field (PEF) on the human pancreatic cell line PANC-1. Cells were cultured in various concentrations of EGCG and exposed to trains of PEF.

Incorporating long-term satellite-based aerosol optical depth, localized land use data, and meteorological variables to estimate ground-level PM concentrations in Taiwan from 2005 to 2015.

Satellite-based aerosol optical depth (AOD) is now comprehensively applied to estimate ground-level concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM). This study aimed to construct the AOD-PM estimation models over Taiwan. The AOD-PM modeling in Taiwan island is challenging owing to heterogeneous land use, complex topography, and humid tropical to subtropical climate conditions with frequent cloud cover and prolonged rainy season.

Fabrication of ordered metallic glass nanotube arrays for label-free biosensing with diffractive reflectance.

In this study, a photoresist template with well-defined contact hole array was fabricated, to which radio frequency magnetron sputtering process was then applied to deposit an alloyed ZrCuAlNi target, and finally resulted in ordered metallic glass nanotube (MGNT) arrays after removal of the photoresist template. The thickness of the MGNT walls increased from 98 to 126nm upon increasing the deposition time from 225 to 675s. The wall thickness of the MGNT arrays also increased while the dimensions of MGNT reduced under the same deposition condition.

Juvenile exposure to bisphenol A promotes ovarian differentiation but suppresses its growth - Potential involvement of pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic monomer and plasticizer, is commonly used in plastics industry, and it has been well documented to be an estrogenic endocrine disrupter. In the present study, we investigated the effect of early (juvenile) exposure to BPA on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis in the zebrafish. Estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) were also included as positive and negative controls respectively.

Wide-field fluorescence tomography with composited epi-illumination of multi-frequency sinusoidal patterns.

We present a spatial-frequency domain (SFD) fluorescence tomography (FT) for acquiring three-dimensional fluorophore distribution in turbid media. The approach uses a composited epi-illumination of multi-frequency sinusoidal patterns on a sample of semi-infinite geometry and demodulates the measured data with a generalized phase shifting scheme to calculate the modulation transfer function (MTF) at each frequency. This method results in a significantly reduced number of the optical field measurements, as compared to those with separate illumination of single-frequency sinusoidal patterns, and, thereby, achieves a fast data acquisition that is desired for a dynamic imaging application.

Hymenobacter gummosus sp. nov., isolated from a spring.

Strain ANT-18, isolated from a water sample taken from the Longtoushan Spring in Taiwan, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of strain ANT-18 were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile by gliding rods that were surrounded by a thick capsule and it formed pink colonies. Growth occurred at 20-37 °C (optimum, 25 °C), at pH 6-8 (optimum, pH 7) and with 0-1 % NaCl (w/; optimum, 0 %).

Amentoflavone enhances sorafenib-induced apoptosis through extrinsic and intrinsic pathways in sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma SK-Hep1 cells .

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of amentoflavone on sorafenib-induced apoptosis in sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. The sorafenib-resistant SK-Hep1 (SK-Hep1R) cell line was established for the present study. Initially, the differences in sorafenib-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis between wild-type SK-Hep1 and SK-Hep1R cells were verified using the MTT assay and flow cytometry.

Reference-free determination of tissue absorption coefficient by modulation transfer function characterization in spatial frequency domain.

Background: Spatial frequency domain (SFD) measurement allows rapid and non-contact wide-field imaging of the tissue optical properties, thus has become a potential tool for assessing physiological parameters and therapeutic responses during photodynamic therapy of skin diseases. The conventional SFD measurement requires a reference measurement within the same experimental scenario as that for a test one to calibrate mismatch between the real measurements and the model predictions. Due to the individual physical and geometrical differences among different tissues, organs and patients, an ideal reference measurement might be unavailable in clinical trials.

2016 guideline strategies for the use of antifungal agents in patients with hematological malignancies or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients in Taiwan.

The Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan (IDST), the Hematology Society of Taiwan, the Taiwan Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical Foundation in Memory of Dr. Deh-Lin Cheng, Foundation of Professor Wei-Chuan Hsieh for Infectious Diseases Research and Education, and CY Lee's Research Foundation for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccines cooperatively published this guideline for the use of antifungal agents in hematological patients with invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) in Taiwan. The guideline is the first one endorsed by IDST focusing on selection of antifungal strategies, including prophylaxis, empirical (or symptom-driven) and pre-emptive (or diagnostic-driven) strategy.

2016 guidelines for the use of antifungal agents in patients with invasive fungal diseases in Taiwan.

The Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan, Medical Foundation in Memory of Dr. Deh-Lin Cheng, Foundation of Professor Wei-Chuan Hsieh for Infectious Diseases Research and Education, and CY Lee's Research Foundation for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccines have updated the guidelines for the use of antifungal agents in adult patients with invasive fungal diseases in Taiwan. This guideline replaces the 2009 version.

Inhibition of chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans incorporation affected odontoblast differentiation in cultured embryonic mouse molars.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) is an important component of extracellular matrix (ECM), it is composed of a core protein and one or more chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan side chains (CS-GAGs). To investigate the roles of its CS-GAGs in dentinogenesis, the mouse mandibular first molar tooth germs at early bell stage were cultivated with or without β-xyloside. As expected, the CS-GAGs were inhibited on their incorporation to CSPGs by β-xyloside, accompanied by the change of morphology of the cultured tooth germs.

Association of hemodynamic variables with in-hospital mortality and favorable neurological outcomes in post-cardiac arrest care with targeted temperature management.

Purpose: Although hemodynamic instability is expected during the post-cardiac arrest period, the implications of hemodynamic parameters for outcomes remain unclear. Each phase of targeted temperature management (TTM) affects hemodynamic responses differently. This study aims to investigate the association of hemodynamic parameters with outcomes in patients receiving TTM after cardiac arrest.