Dual-mode ultrasensitive detection of acute leukemia gene Pax-5a based on smart DNA programmed dendrimer.

Accurate and sensitive detection of Pax-5a gene is the basis of early diagnosis and prediction of acute leukemia. This research aims to develop a universal dual-mode sensing method enables ultrasensitive gene detection based on smart control of DNA amplification by nucleic acid beacons e to form programmed dendrimer. The Pax-5a target gene triggers the opening of smart gate hairpin probe (Hp), exposing the stem sequence as the primer to bind with padlock probe for rolling circle amplification (RCA).

Epigenetic Regulation in Insect-Microbe Interactions.

Insects have evolved diverse interactions with a variety of microbes, such as pathogenic fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The immune responses of insect hosts, along with the dynamic infection process of microbes in response to the changing host environment and defenses, require rapid and fine-tuned regulation of gene expression programs. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNA regulation, play important roles in regulating the expression of genes involved in insect immunity and microbial pathogenicity.

Long-Term Survival and Regeneration Following Transplantation of 3D-Printed Biodegradable PCL Tracheal Grafts in Large-Scale Porcine Models.

Polycaprolactone (PCL) implants in large animals show great promise for tracheal transplantation. However, the longest survival time achieved to date is only about three weeks. To meet clinical application standards, it is essential to extend the survival time and ensure the complete integration and functionality of the implant.

On the Association Between Demographic Structural Change and the Effectiveness of Nurse Staffing Policy for Inpatient Care: Evidence from Taiwan.

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of demographic changes on the effectiveness of hospital nurse staffing policy, measured by the cumulative response of inpatient care quality to adjustments in hospital nurse staffing levels in Taiwan.

Methods: The research design utilized in this study aligns with the observational time-series methodology, and a total of 99 monthly time-series observations were collected from multiple databases administered by the Taiwan government over the period from January 2015 to March 2023. Specifically, the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive and autoregressive distributed lag models were employed to investigate the association between age distribution and nurse staffing policy effectiveness.

Dachshund Homolog 1: Unveiling Its Potential Role in Megakaryopoiesis and Lethal Toxin-Induced Thrombocytopenia.

Lethal toxin (LT) is the critical virulence factor of , the causative agent of anthrax. One common symptom observed in patients with anthrax is thrombocytopenia, which has also been observed in mice injected with LT. Our previous study demonstrated that LT induces thrombocytopenia by suppressing megakaryopoiesis, but the precise molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain unknown.

False Liver Metastasis by Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Scan after Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer-Potential Overstaged Pitfalls of Treatment.

In patients with esophageal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), subsequent restaging with F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) can reveal the presence of interval metastases, such as liver metastases, in approximately 10% of cases. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon in clinical practice to observe focal FDG uptake in the liver that is not associated with liver metastases but rather with radiation-induced liver injury (RILI), which can result in the overstaging of the disease. Liver radiation damage is also a concern during distal esophageal cancer radiotherapy due to its proximity to the left liver lobe, typically included in the radiation field.

A modified procedure of T-tube maneuver to treat tracheal total obstruction involving ablative bronchoscopy sparing open surgical intervention.

Objectives: The study objectives were to test an innovative T-tube procedure involving ablative bronchoscopy for the treatment of total airway occlusion and to orchestrate a safe and nontraumatic maneuver to treat intricate subglottic stenosis amenable for substituting the conventional surgical intervention.

Methods: This was an uncontrolled single-center cohort study on 1254 patients from January 2001 to June 2021. Patients underwent the modified T-tube procedure treatment for tracheal stenosis.

The association between smoking cessation and lifestyle/genetic variant rs6265 among the adult population in Taiwan.

Recent studies showed significant associations between socio-demographic, lifestyle factors, polymorphic variant rs6265, and smoking cessation behaviours. We examined rs6265 TT, TC and CC genotypes and their association with socio-demographic and other variables, including mental health status, drinking, exercise, and smoking behaviour among Taiwanese adults. Data on rs6265 were retrieved from the Taiwan Biobank, which contained genetic data collected between 2008 to 2019 from 20,584 participants (aged 30-70 years).

The ASH1-PEX16 regulatory pathway controls peroxisome biogenesis for appressorium-mediated insect infection by a fungal pathogen.

Entomopathogenic fungi infect insects by penetrating through the cuticle into the host body. To breach the host cuticle, some fungal pathogens produce specialized infection cells called appressoria, which develop enormous turgor pressure to allow cuticle penetration. However, regulatory mechanisms underlying appressorium turgor generation are poorly understood.

The Effect of a Tele-Health Intervention Program on Home-Dwelling Persons with Dementia or MCI and on Their Primary Caregivers during the Stay-at-Home-Order Period in the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: Evidence from Taiwan.

Background: The Taiwanese government implemented a stay-at-home order that restricted all community-based health promotion activities for the elderly by shutting down all community care centers from May 2021 to August 2021 to control the spread of COVID-19. Community-based dementia care centers were barely able to provide dementia care services during that period.

Methods: The data used in this study were collected from a community-based dementia care center that was able to continue their dementia care services through a Tele-Health intervention program.

Regulatory Roles of Histone Modifications in Filamentous Fungal Pathogens.

Filamentous fungal pathogens have evolved diverse strategies to infect a variety of hosts including plants and insects. The dynamic infection process requires rapid and fine-tuning regulation of fungal gene expression programs in response to the changing host environment and defenses. Therefore, transcriptional reprogramming of fungal pathogens is critical for fungal development and pathogenicity.

Feasibility of chondrogenesis for the entire umbilical cord in preliminary preparation for tracheal graft.

Background: There remains a scarcity of both autografts and allografts for tracheal transplantation after long-segmental resection. Subsequently, tissue engineering has become a promising alternative for tracheal transplantation, which requires successful chondrogenesis.

Methods: To optimize the protocol for chondrogenesis using the pig-derived whole Umbilical Cord (UC) as the starting material, it must be performed without using the UC-multipotent stromal cell (MSCs) isolation procedure.

Robotic or transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) approach for rectal cancer, how about both? Feasibility and outcomes from a single institution.

Laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer is technically challenging. Robotic and transanal TME (TaTME) are both novel approaches developed to provide better visualization and dissection. We aim to combine both approaches in a hybrid procedure and evaluate the feasibility as well as patient and oncological outcomes in this study.

Empyema thoracis complicated by anaemia as caused by occult bonelet aspiration.

A 62-year-old man was referred to our medical centre with productive cough and high fever over the span of one week, as well as the affiliated symptoms of chronic cough and dizziness for more than six months. Computed tomography (CT) of the thorax was performed and analysed revealing lobulated empyema with thick pleura and two foreign body (FB) retentions in the right lower lobe bronchus. The patient proceeded to thoracoscopic decortications and finalized through retrieval of two dark black stained bonelets with ignored aspiration.

De novo cartilage growth after implantation of a 3-D-printed tracheal graft in a porcine model.

Background: Experiments were conducted on the assumption that vivid chondrogenesis would be boosted in vivo following previously preliminary chondrogenesis in a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-rich entire umbilical cord (UC) in vitro.

Methods: Virtual 3-D tracheal grafts were generated by using a profile obtained by scanning the native trachea of the listed porcine. Although the ultimate goal was the acquisition of a living specimen beyond a 3-week survival period, the empirical results did not meet our criteria until the 10 experiment, ending with the sacrifice of the animal.