Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) significantly increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays, and costs, particularly among ICU patients. Despite standard interventions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) remain major HAI contributors. This study evaluated the efficacy of daily 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing in reducing HAI incidence, specifically CAUTI, CLABSI, and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), in a 20-bed ICU at a regional hospital.

AI-Driven Innovations for Early Sepsis Detection by Combining Predictive Accuracy With Blood Count Analysis in an Emergency Setting: Retrospective Study.

Background: Sepsis, a critical global health challenge, accounted for approximately 20% of worldwide deaths in 2017. Although the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score standardizes the diagnosis of organ dysfunction, early sepsis detection remains challenging due to its insidious symptoms. Current diagnostic methods, including clinical assessments and laboratory tests, frequently lack the speed and specificity needed for timely intervention, particularly in vulnerable populations such as older adults, intensive care unit (ICU) patients, and those with compromised immune systems.

and hybrid approach to unveil triterpenoids from leaves as potential compounds for inhibiting Nrf2.

Cancer is a leading global health concern, with over 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths reported in 2022. Chemotherapy remains a widely used treatment, but drug resistance, which affects up to 90% of treatment outcomes, significantly hampers its effectiveness.

Low-Frequency Cyclic Stretch Upregulates the Expression of Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 in Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells to Inhibit the Resistin-Induced Interleukin-20 Expression.

Background: Resistin may connect obesity and intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IDD) and is linked with chronic inflammation. Furthermore, human IDD is characterized by high expression of interleukin-20 (IL-20). The response of human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells to tensile forces depends on both the duration and magnitude of the force applied.

Functioning performance trajectory and its associated factors for people with disability-A 4-year national study.

Background: Humans experience functioning difficulties in daily life, which are dependent on the interaction between health conditions and barriers in life. In general, functioning is an umbrella term and a dynamic concept. Thus, identifying the factors associated with long-term functioning would be beneficial to the development of specific health policies and quality of life for people with disabilities.

Interfacial Elemental Analysis of Slanted Edge-Contacted Monolayer MoS Transistors via Directionally Angled Etching.

Edge contacts offer a significant advantage for enhancing the performance of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) devices by interfacing with the metallic contacts on the lateral side, which allows the encapsulation of all of the channel material. However, despite intense research, the fabrication of feasible electrical edge contacts to TMDCs to improve device performance remains a great challenge, as interfacial chemical characterization via conventional methods is lacking. A major bottleneck in explicitly understanding the chemical and electronic properties of the edge contact at the metal-two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor interface is the small cross section when characterizing nominally one-dimensional edge contacts.

The efficacy of abdominal binder in women undergoing cesarean delivery: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Abdominal binders are a prominent non-pharmacological intervention aimed at mitigating adverse outcomes following Cesarean delivery (CD), including pain and distress.

Aim: We conducted a meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the effects of abdominal binders on women undergoing CD.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using terms such as "abdominal binder," "clinical trials," and variations of "cesarean" across multiple electronic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.

Identification of diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric condition among children and adolescents, often associated with a high risk of psychiatric comorbidities. Currently, ADHD diagnosis relies exclusively on clinical presentation and patient history, underscoring the need for clinically relevant, reliable, and objective biomarkers. Such biomarkers may enable earlier diagnosis and lead to improved treatment outcomes.

Use of Supplemental Rod Constructs in Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery: A Review.

Adult spinal deformity comprises a heterogeneous group of disorders that primarily affects older patients and can have a significant negative affect on health-related quality of life. Operative treatment for adult spinal deformity typically entails posterior instrumented fusions that have demonstrated the potential to significantly improve health-related quality of life outcomes. However, until fusion is achieved, the instrumentation providing structural support is subject to repetitive cyclical loading that disproportionately fatigues high-stress areas and can result in instrumentation failure.

The modulation of immune cell death in connection to microRNAs and natural products.

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) spatiotemporally regulates damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) derived from dying cancer cells to signal the immune response. Intriguingly, these DAMPs and cytokines also induce cellular responses in non-immune cells, particularly cancer cells. Several ICD-modulating natural products and miRNAs have been reported to regulate the DAMP, cytokine, and cell death responses, but they lack systemic organization and connection.

Lactoferrin targeting INTL1 receptor inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression via apoptosis and cell cycle signaling pathways.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) constitutes 90% of liver cancer cases and ranks as the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality, necessitating urgent development of alternative therapies. Lactoferrin (LF), a natural iron-binding glycoprotein with reported anticancer effects, is investigated for its potential in liver cancer treatment, an area with limited existing studies. This study focuses on evaluating LF's anti-liver cancer effects on HCC cells and assessing the preventive efficacy of oral LF administration in a murine model.

Hybridisation of in silico and in vitro bioassays for studying the activation of Nrf2 by natural compounds.

Oxidative stress, characterized by the damaging accumulation of free radicals, is associated with various diseases, including cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and metabolic disorders. The transcription factor Nrf2 is pivotal in cellular defense against oxidative stress by regulating genes that detoxify free radicals, thus maintaining redox homeostasis and preventing cellular aging. Keap1 plays a regulatory role through its interaction with Nrf2, ensuring Nrf2 degradation under homeostatic conditions and facilitating its stabilization and nuclear translocation during oxidative stress.

Accelerated risk of renal disease progression in pre-ESRD patients with proton pump inhibitors use: a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Although Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were mostly prescribed for gastrointestinal (GI) disease widely, there were numerous studies about PPIs and adverse renal outcome. Most evidence was to evaluate the risk of PPIs in patients with normal renal function and in the absence of the moderate to advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study focuses on the accelerated progression of renal function following proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) use, and the increased risks of acute kidney injury (AKI) among moderate to advanced CKD (pre-ESRD) patients.

Dysregulation of Brain Cholesterol Biosynthetic Pathway following Hypoxia Ischemia in Neonatal Mice.

Introduction: Brain cholesterol relies on de novo biosynthesis and is crucial for brain development. Cholesterol synthesis is a complex series of reactions that involves more than twenty enzymes to reach the final product and generates a large number of intermediate sterols along two alternate pathways. This is a highly regulated and oxygen-dependent process and thus sensitive to hypoxia.

Comparison on functional and esthetic outcomes between single and combined surgery to crooked nose deformities.

Background: Nose deviation deformities pose a complex cosmetic and functional problem. The most common surgical intervention to manage such deformities is septorhinoplasty, typically performed by a plastic surgeon or a rhinologist. This study investigated the effect of a combined operation by a plastic surgeon and rhinologist, comparing them with those operations performed singlehandedly by a plastic surgeon.

Photochemical oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) in the presence of Fe(III): Influence of Fe(III) concentration and UV wavelength.

The reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) is key to lowering environmental toxicity and mobility, but the reverse process remains less understood. We investigated Cr(III) oxidation mechanisms across various pH levels and light wavelengths (185, 254, and 358 nm) in the presence of Fe(III). At pH 3.

Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and neutralisation activities of the anti-HIV-1 monoclonal antibody PGT121.414.LS administered alone and in combination with VRC07-523LS in adults without HIV in the USA (HVTN 136/HPTN 092): a first-in-human, open-label, randomised controlled phase 1 trial.

Background: Multiple broadly neutralising monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are in development for HIV-1 prevention. The aim of this trial was to test the PGT121.414.

Non-recovery acute kidney injury and additional risk factors for short-term and long-term hypoglycemia: A multi-institutional cohort study.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with increased in-hospital and short-term hypoglycemia risk. However, the impact of non-recovery of renal function before discharge on hypoglycemia risk in AKI survivors after discharge have not been well studied. We aim to analyze the association between non-recovery of AKI and hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia crisis risk, to identify additional risk factors for hypoglycemia, and to examine the impact of AKI non-recovery on HbA1c variability.

Consensus on COVID-19 vaccine recommendations: Challenges and strategies for high-risk populations in Taiwan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact globally, particularly in high-risk populations such as those with underlying health conditions. In response to the evolving pandemic landscape and the recent surge in confirmed cases in Taiwan, the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine (TAFM) established a consensus on COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for vulnerable groups through a comprehensive literature review, expert panel discussions, and a practice-oriented formulation procedure to develop evidence-based guidance. Its key findings highlight the increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes among individuals with disorders such as diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illness.

Profiling Social Detachment in Older People in Taiwan: A Cluster Analysis.

Objectives: The Social Detachment Questionnaire for the Older Population (SDQO) is a validated tool that assesses various dimensions of social relationships. This study aimed to profile social detachment among older people in Taiwan using the SDQO and explore its use in distinguishing groups with varying levels of social engagement.

Methods: A telephone-based survey was conducted, collecting demographic data and responses to the SDQO and Brief Symptom Rating Scale-5 (BSRS-5).

Delayed diagnosis of pediatric bladder rupture with atypical presentation after a minor fall.

Background: Pediatric bladder injuries, though uncommon, typically result from blunt trauma, often associated with motor vehicle collisions. While most bladder injuries are linked to pelvic fractures, this association may be less common in children due to anatomical differences. Bladder injuries are classified as extraperitoneal, intraperitoneal, or combined, with intraperitoneal injuries being rarer but more prevalent in children due to their higher abdominal bladder position.

Lightweight convolutional neural network for chest X-ray images classification.

In this study, we developed a lightweight and rapid convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture for chest X-ray images; it primarily consists of a redesigned feature extraction (FE) module and multiscale feature (MF) module and validated using publicly available COVID-19 datasets. Experiments were conducted on multiple updated versions of the COVID-19 Radiography Database, a publicly accessible dataset on Kaggle. The database contained images categorized into three classes: COVID-19 coronavirus, viral or bacterial pneumonia, and normal.