Oxaliplatin-associated shock in stage III colorectal cancer patients: real-world evidence in Taiwan.

Background: Oxaliplatin-associated shock (referred to as shock) is a rare but life-threatening adverse event.

Objectives: This pioneering cohort study aimed to quantitatively investigate the association between oxaliplatin use and shock in patients with stage III colorectal cancer (CRC), identify potential independent risk factors for shock, and assess the cycle-to-shock during oxaliplatin treatment.

Design: The study utilized a nested case-control (NCC) design to assess the association between oxaliplatin and shock and employed a case-crossover approach to address unmeasured confounders.

Porous Chitosan/Hydroxyapatite Composite Microspheres for Vancomycin Loading and Releasing.

Porous chitosan/hydroxyapatite (Chi-HAp) composite microspheres were prepared in an aqueous solution containing chitosan, calcium nitrate, and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate by using a hydrothermal method at various temperatures. The investigation indicated that temperature significantly impacted the final product's appearance. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) coupled with dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) flakes were obviously found at 65 and 70 °C, while the latter gradually disappeared at higher temperatures.

Evaluating shared decision making for dialysis initiation: A qualitative study on patient refusal of long-term dialysis in Taiwan.

Rationale: Previous studies have explored shared decision making (SDM) implementation to determine the renal replacement therapy modality; however, the SDM approach for dialysis initiation, especially when patients refuse physician suggestions for long-term dialysis, remains unclear.

Aims And Objectives: This study aimed to explore physicians' responses towards patients' refusal of long-term dialysis during the SDM process and the thinking processes of both physicians and patients regarding dialysis refusal.

Method: We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 patients diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, each of whom refused long-term dialysis after physicians employed the SDM framework, and nine nephrologists at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, from March to May 2020.

Combined Effects of Tanshinone IIA and an Autophagy Inhibitor on the Apoptosis of Leukemia Cells via p53, Apoptosis-Related Proteins and Oxidative Stress Pathways.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a kind of hematopoietic malignancy with limited response and acquired resistance to therapy. Inducing apoptosis and inhibiting autophagy in tumor cells is a combinational strategy for the development of anticancer therapeutics. Tanshinone IIA (TAIIA) is one of the major ingredients in , which is the most prescribed herb for the treatment of AML in Taiwan.

Development and validation of the dialysis dementia risk score: A retrospective, population-based, nested case-control study.

Background: Dementia is prevalent and underdiagnosed in the dialysis population. We aimed to develop and validate a simple dialysis dementia scoring system to facilitate identification of individuals who are at high risk for dementia.

Methods: We applied a retrospective, nested case-control study design using a national dialysis cohort derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.

Molecular insights into substrate recognition and discrimination by the N-terminal domain of Lon AAA+ protease.

The Lon AAA+ protease (LonA) is a ubiquitous ATP-dependent proteolytic machine, which selectively degrades damaged proteins or native proteins carrying exposed motifs (degrons). Here we characterize the structural basis for substrate recognition and discrimination by the N-terminal domain (NTD) of LonA. The results reveal that the six NTDs are attached to the hexameric LonA chamber by flexible linkers such that the formers tumble independently of the latter.

A comparison of the risk of acute myocardial infarction in patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis: A population-based, propensity score-matched cohort study.

Background And Aims: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the dialysis population. Traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors are unable to fully account for the high incidence of AMI in the dialysis population. In this study, we investigated whether dialysis modalities could be one of the uremia-specific risk factors for AMI.

A comparison of the risk of congestive heart failure-related hospitalizations in patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis - A retrospective propensity score-matched study.

Introduction: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with high mortality and a heavy financial and healthcare burden in the dialysis population. Determining which dialysis modality is associated with a higher risk of developing CHF might facilitate clinical decision making and surveillance programs in the dialysis population.

Methods: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database, we recruited all incident dialysis patients during the period from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2010.

Risk of dementia in patients with end-stage renal disease under maintenance dialysis-a nationwide population-based study with consideration of competing risk of mortality.

Background: Dementia is prevalent in the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population. However, it is still not clarified whether ESRD is one of the etiology of dementia or its attributable effect on the cumulative risk of dementia. Meanwhile, the effect of competing risk of mortality should be taken into consideration when performing epidemiologic analyses among populations with high risk of mortality.

Age and sex differences in the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and chronic kidney disease among an adult population in Taiwan.

Background: This study investigated the association between systemic inflammation and chronic kidney disease (CKD), and whether this association changes with aging in adults, by using neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an inflammation marker.

Materials And Methods: A total of 2954 adults (1815 men and 1139 women) who attended a health examination at a medical center in central Taiwan were included for the final cross-sectional analysis.

Results: Compared with participants aged <60 years, participants aged ≥60 years had a markedly higher prevalence rate of CKD in both men (7.

Structural basis of adaptor-mediated protein degradation by the tail-specific PDZ-protease Prc.

Peptidoglycan (PG) is a highly cross-linked, protective mesh-like sacculus that surrounds the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. Expansion of PG is tightly coupled to growth of a bacterial cell and requires hydrolases to cleave the cross-links for insertion of nascent PG material. In Escherichia coli, a proteolytic system comprising the periplasmic PDZ-protease Prc and the lipoprotein adaptor NlpI contributes to PG enlargement by regulating cellular levels of MepS, a cross-link-specific hydrolase.

Complementary Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy Improves Survival of Patients With Pancreatic Cancer in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a difficult-to-treat cancer with a late presentation and poor prognosis. Some patients seek traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) consultation. We aimed to investigate the benefits of complementary Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) among patients with pancreatic cancer in Taiwan.

Use of Complementary Traditional Chinese Medicines by Adult Cancer Patients in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Background: Many patients with cancer seek complementary and alternative medicine treatments. We investigated the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by adult cancer patients in Taiwan.

Methods: We reviewed the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patients Database of Taiwan, and included all adult patients diagnosed cancer, based on the International Classification of Diseases (ninth revision), from 2001 to 2009 and followed until 2011.

Complementary Chinese herbal medicine therapy improves survival of patients with gastric cancer in Taiwan: A nationwide retrospective matched-cohort study.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Many patients with gastric cancer seek traditional medicine consultations in Asian countries. This study aimed to investigate the prescription of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and its benefits for the patients with gastric cancer in Taiwan.

Methods: From the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patients Database, we included all patients with gastric cancer whose age at diagnosis was ≥18 from 1997 to 2010 in Taiwan.

The CRISPR/Cas9 System Facilitates Clearance of the Intrahepatic HBV Templates In Vivo.

Persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) under current antiviral therapy is a major barrier to eradication of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Curing CHB will require novel strategies for specific disruption of cccDNA. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system is a newly developed tool for site-specific cleavage of DNA targets directed by a synthetic guide RNA (gRNA) base-paired to the target DNA sequence.

Color Doppler evaluation of blood flow changes in leiomyomas after uterine artery ligation.

Objective: To detect possible changes in main blood vessels within leiomyomas after uterine artery ligation using color Doppler sonography.

Method: Blood flow in main leiomyoma blood vessels was measured before and after the procedure in 14 women who also had abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain or pressure, and/or anemia.

Results: Of the 14 patients, 13 reported complete disappearance of preoperative pain or pressure and 1 reported significant relief.