SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, rather than spike protein, triggers a cytokine storm originating from lung epithelial cells in patients with COVID-19.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may initiate cytokine cascades and correlate the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with their serum cytokine profiles.

Methods: Recombinant baculoviruses displaying SARS-CoV-2 spike or nucleocapsid protein were constructed and transfected into A549 cells and THP-1-derived macrophages, to determine which protein initiate cytokine release. SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titers and cytokine profiles of patients with COVID-19 were determined, and the results were associated with their clinical characteristics, such as development of pneumonia or length of hospital stay.

Aluminum exposure induces nephrotoxicity via fibrosis and apoptosis through the TGF-β1/Smads pathway in vivo and in vitro.

Aluminum (Al), the most common element in nature, can enter the body through various routes. Unfortunately, excessive accumulation of Al in the body can cause chronic toxicity. In this study, rats were randomly allocated to 4 groups and intraperitoneally injected with AlCl solution at 0, 5, 10, and 20 mg/(kg·d), respectively, for 4 weeks.

Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients and Application to an Artificial Intelligence System for Disease Surveillance.

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we admitted suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients to our isolation wards between 2 March 2020 and 4 May 2020, following a well-designed and efficient assessment protocol. We included 217 patients suspected of COVID-19, of which 27 had confirmed COVID-19. The clinical characteristics of these patients were used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models such as support vector machine (SVM), decision tree, random forest, and artificial neural network for diagnosing COVID-19.

Identification of a High-Risk Group of New-Onset Cardiovascular Disease in Occupational Drivers by Analyzing Heart Rate Variability.

Purpose: This cohort study evaluated the effectiveness of noninvasive heart rate variability (HRV) analysis to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease over a period of 8 years.

Methods: Personal and working characteristics were collected before biochemistry examinations and 5 min HRV tests from the Taiwan Bus Driver Cohort Study (TBDCS) in 2005. This study eventually identified 161 drivers with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 627 without between 2005 and 2012.

Association between Dietary Patterns and Frailty Prevalence in Shanghai Suburban Elders: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: To investigate the association between dietary patterns with frailty phenotypes in an elderly Chinese population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 780 Shanghai suburban elders aged 65-74 in 2019. Dietary data were collected using a food frequency questionnaire.

Occupation and subcategories of asthma: a population-based incident case-control study.

Background: We hypothesised that occupational exposures differently affect subtypes of adult-onset asthma.

Objective: We investigated potential relations between occupation and three subtypes of adult asthma, namely atopic asthma, non-atopic asthma and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS).

Methods: This is a population-based case-control study of incident asthma among working-age adults living in Pirkanmaa Hospital District in Southern Finland.

Molecular Mechanism of Aluminum-Induced Oxidative Damage and Apoptosis in Rat Cardiomyocytes.

Aluminum exposure can mediate either acute toxicity or chronic toxicity. Aluminum exerts toxic effects on the cardiovascular system, but there are few studies on its related mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of aluminum-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis in rat cardiomyocytes.

The development of a Chinese Healthy Eating Index for School-age Children and its Application in children from China Health and Nutrition Survey.

This study aimed to develop a Chinese Healthy Eating Index for School-age Children (CHEI-SC), apply it in the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) to assess dietary quality, and compared it with our former developed index named CHEI. Data of 3-day 24-hour diet recalls and household food inventory survey from 1600 school-age children in CHNS-2011 were used to develop the CHEI-SC, using the methods of standard portion size, energy-density-based approach, and least restrictive approach. The CHEI-SC included 19 components with a total score (T-score) ranging from 0 to 100.

Risk of Dementia in Patients with Leptospirosis: A Nationwide Cohort Analysis.

Background: Studies have linked some bacterial infections with an increased likelihood for development of dementia. However, there is a paucity of data on the relationship between dementia and leptospirosis. In view of this, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine whether leptospirosis is a risk factor for dementia.

Fat-to-muscle ratio is a useful index for cardiometabolic risks: A population-based observational study.

Metabolic disorders are prevalent worldwide and have recently become public health problems recently. Previous studies have proposed different body composition indices for predicting future cardiovascular risks. We hypothesized an association among fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR), metabolic syndrome (MetS), hypertension (HTN), prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular risk in an adult population.

Scrub typhus and depression: a nationwide cohort analysis.

Background: Studies on the relationship between depression and scrub typhus are limited. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate whether scrub typhus is a risk factor for depression.

Methods: Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, this study investigated the incidence of depression, and its risk factors, in patients diagnosed with scrub typhus between 2000 and 2010.

The impact of occupational psychological hazards and metabolic syndrome on the 8-year risk of cardiovascular diseases-A longitudinal study.

There was little information concerning the combined effect of occupational psychosocial hazards such as long working hours, high job stress, and high fatigue on the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction among occupational psychosocial hazards and the impact of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on the risk of CVD among bus drivers. The Taiwan Bus Driver Cohort Study involving 1014 professional drivers was established in 2005 and comprehensively studied.

Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of the Chinese Healthy Eating Index.

The Chinese Healthy Eating Index (CHEI) is a measuring instrument of diet quality in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese (DGC)-2016. The objective of the study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the CHEI. Data from 12,473 adults from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)-2011, including 3-day-24-h dietary recalls were used in this study.

Exposure to fine particulate matter causes oxidative and methylated DNA damage in young adults: A longitudinal study.

An increased understanding is needed of the physiological effects and plausible biological mechanisms that link PM (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 2.5μm) exposure to mortality and morbidities such as atherosclerosis and respiratory disease. PM causes carcinogenic health effects.

Leptospirosis and Depression: A Nationwide Cohort Analysis.

Objective: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate whether leptospirosis is a risk factor for depression.

Method: From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2010, patients with leptospirosis (ICD-9 code 100) who did not have a history of depression (ICD-9-CM codes 296.2, 296.

Effect of CYP3A4 genetic polymorphisms on the genotoxicity of 4,4'-methylene-bis(2-chloroaniline)-exposed workers.

Objectives: We investigated the relationship between 4,4'-methylene-bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA) exposure and micronucleus (MN) frequency, and how this association was affected by genetic polymorphism of the cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP3A4).

Methods: We divided the study population into an exposed group (n=44 with total urine MBOCA ≥20 μg/g creatinine) and a control group (n=47 with total urine MBOCA <20 μg/g creatinine). Lymphocyte MN frequency (MNF) and micronucleated cell (MNC) frequency were measured by the cytokinesis-block MN assay method.

Influence of ethanol concentration in the phagocytic function of neutrophils against Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in an experimental model.

Background/purpose: Although the prevalence of pneumonia or other extrapulmonary infections is higher in people with alcoholism or acute alcohol intoxication, the possible relationship of acute alcohol intoxication to phagocytic function has not been investigated. Our aim was to determine whether acute alcohol intoxication suppresses phagocytic function in human neutrophils.

Methods: Twenty healthy individuals were enrolled for isolating neutrophils to evaluate the neutrophil phagocytic function at different alcohol concentrations.

Leptospirosis and Peripheral Artery Occlusive Disease: A Nationwide Cohort Analysis.

Data on the association between peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) and leptospirosis are limited. We conducted a retrospective cohort study for determining whether leptospirosis is one of the possible risk factors for PAOD. Patients diagnosed with leptospirosis by using 2000 to 2010 data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

An Elevated Glycemic Gap is Associated With Adverse Outcomes in Diabetic Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Several studies argue against the association between admission hyperglycemia and adverse outcomes in infected diabetic patients. When investigating the association, it is necessary to consider preexisting hyperglycemia. The objective of this study was to assess whether stress-induced hyperglycemia, determined by the glycemic gap between admission glucose levels and A1c-derived average glucose levels adversely affects outcomes in diabetic patients admitted to hospital with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Scrub typhus cases in a teaching hospital in Penghu, Taiwan, 2006-2010.

Scrub typhus is a mite-borne infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (previously called Rickettsia tsutsugamushi). The severity of this disease varies from only mild symptoms to death, and its manifestations are nonspecific. Therefore, clinicians may not correctly diagnose scrub typhus early enough for successful treatment.

Endogenous endophthalmitis caused by Citrobacter koseri.

Endogenous endophthalmitis occurs when organisms are hematogenously disseminated in to the eye from a distant focus of infection. The most common isolated organisms that cause endogenous endophthalmitis are Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Previous reports on endophthalmitis caused by Citrobacter species are limited.