Improving Interpretation Consistency of Serum Capillary Electrophoresis by Development of Quantitative Graphic Indexes.

Capillary zone electrophoresis-immunosubtraction (CZE-IS) is an essential laboratory test in diagnosing plasma cell neoplasms. However, the current interpretation of the test results is subjective. To evaluate CZE-IS in a more precise manner, this study proposed five key indexes, namely sharpness index, light chain index, immunoglobulin G index, immunoglobulin A index, and immunoglobulin M index.

UiO-66/PIM-1 Mixed-Matrix Membrane for Hexane Isomer Separation.

The separation of high-octane dibranched alkanes from naphtha is critical in the refining of gasoline. To date, research on the membrane-based separation of alkane isomers has been limited, with a particular paucity of investigations into mixed-matrix membranes. Herein, the continuous and dense UiO-66/PIM-1 mixed-matrix membrane, which was prepared through precise control of the interfacial structure, was first applied to the differentiation of C alkane isomers.

Stepwise Toward Pure Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes by Synergetically Locking and Shielding Carbonyl/Nitrogen-Based MR-TADF Emitters.

Deep-blue multi-resonance (MR) emitters with stable and narrow full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) are of great importance for widening the color gamut of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, most planar MR emitters are vulnerable to intermolecular interactions from both the host and guest, causing spectral broadening and exciton quenching in thin films. Their emission in the solid state is environmentally sensitive, and the color purity is often inferior to that in solutions.

Prediction of miRNA-disease associations based on strengthened hypergraph convolutional autoencoder.

Most existing graph neural network-based methods for predicting miRNA-disease associations rely on initial association matrices to pass messages, but the sparsity of these matrices greatly limits performance. To address this issue and predict potential associations between miRNAs and diseases, we propose a method called strengthened hypergraph convolutional autoencoder (SHGAE). SHGAE leverages multiple layers of strengthened hypergraph neural networks (SHGNN) to obtain robust node embeddings.

Trend of HPV Molecular Epidemiology in the Post-Vaccine Era: A 10-Year Study.

Cervical cancer, a major health concern among women worldwide, is closely linked to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. This study explores the evolving landscape of HPV molecular epidemiology in Taiwan over a decade (2010-2020), where prophylactic HPV vaccination has been implemented since 2007. Analyzing data from 40,561 vaginal swab samples, with 42.

LUNCRW: Prediction of potential lncRNA-disease associations based on unbalanced neighborhood constraint random walk.

Accumulating evidence suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are associated with various complex human diseases. They can serve as disease biomarkers and hold considerable promise for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. The traditional random walk algorithms generally exclude the effect of non-neighboring nodes on random walking.

Disparities in the level of COVID-19 health literacy and the associated factors among employees in long-term care facilities in Taiwan.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a significant threat to the safety of residents in long-term care facilities, and the staff of long-term care facilities are essential in the care and prevention of major infectious diseases and therefore require good health literacy to ensure the health of residents. The main objective of this study was to examine the health literacy of staff in long-term care facilities and analyze the factors associated with their COVID-19 health literacy in Taiwan to provide a basis for the response mechanism to emerging infectious diseases.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with a structured questionnaire by a convenience sample method and to assess the COVID-19 health literacy of caregivers working in long-term care facilities in this study.

Rapid and Accurate Discrimination of Subspecies Based on Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Spectrum and Machine Learning Algorithms.

complex (MABC) has been reported to cause complicated infections. Subspecies identification of MABC is crucial for adequate treatment due to different antimicrobial resistance properties amid subspecies. However, long incubation days are needed for the traditional antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST).

Predicting lncRNA-disease associations based on combining selective similarity matrix fusion and bidirectional linear neighborhood label propagation.

Recent studies have revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are closely linked to several human diseases, providing new opportunities for their use in detection and therapy. Many graph propagation and similarity fusion approaches can be used for predicting potential lncRNA-disease associations. However, existing similarity fusion approaches suffer from noise and self-similarity loss in the fusion process.

Differences in and Factors Related to Willingness to Provide Care to Patients with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exerted tremendous effects on the residents of and caregivers at long-term care facilities (LTCF). The combination of a vulnerable, aged population, staffing shortages, and inadequate resources in LTCF will cause a great negative impact in these sectors. Addressing the caregiver's lack of interest in providing care for patients with COVID-19 is a great challenge for institutional managers.

Investigating Unfavorable Factors That Impede MALDI-TOF-Based AI in Predicting Antibiotic Resistance.

The combination of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) spectra data and artificial intelligence (AI) has been introduced for rapid prediction on antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) of . Based on the AI predictive probability, cases with probabilities between the low and high cut-offs are defined as being in the "grey zone". We aimed to investigate the underlying reasons of unconfident (grey zone) or wrong predictive AST.

Regulatory T Cells Promote Overexpression of Lgr5 on Gastric Cancer Cells via TGF-beta1 and Confer Poor Prognosis in Gastric Cancer.

The leucine-rich repeat containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) is considered a cancer stem cell marker, and is often overexpressed in tumors. The interaction between Lgr5 and the immune-related tumor microenvironment is not completely understood. The aim of this study was to examine the role of Lgr5 in the microenvironment of gastric cancer (GC), and to explore possible immunological mechanisms influencing Lgr5 expression that are governed by regulatory T cells.

Cyclophilin A is associated with peripheral artery disease and chronic kidney disease in geriatrics: The Tianliao Old People (TOP) study.

Cyclophilin A (CyPA), secreted by vascular smooth muscle cells in response to oxidative stress, is important in the pathogenesis of progressive peripheral arterial occlusion disease (PAOD), which is common among chronic kidney disease. We explored the prevalence of PAOD in Taiwan's elderly (≥ 65 years old) population and its association with CyPA and renal function. Residents of Tianliao District, a rural community in southern Taiwan, were surveyed.

Primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the liver treated with sequential therapy.

A 67-year-old female presented with a primary hepatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor that was detected by computed tomography and diagnosed based on histopathological and genetic analyses. The tumor was microscopically composed of spindle cells and epithelioid cells, and immunohistochemistry results showed positive staining for CD117 and CD34 expression. A genetic analysis revealed a heterozygous point mutation and deletion in exon 11 of c-KIT.

Role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and inducible costimulator-positive regulatory T cells in the immunosuppression microenvironment of gastric cancer.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play important roles in the immune escape of cancer. In this study, we investigated pDCs and pDC-induced inducible costimulator (ICOS)(+) Treg populations in peripheral blood from gastric cancer (GC) patients and healthy donors by flow cytometry. The distribution of these cells in carcinoma tissue, peritumor tissue, and normal gastric mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry.

Anti-tumor effects of Mfn2 in gastric cancer.

Mitofusin-2 (Mfn2) is a mitochondrial outer membrane protein involved in mitochondrial fusion. Its mutation can cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Recent studies of Mfn2 in cancer research have not included gastric cancer.

Robotic thyroidectomy versus endoscopic thyroidectomy: a meta-analysis.

Background: To conduct a meta-analysis to determine the relative merits of robotic thyroidectomy (RT) and endoscopic thyroidectomy (ET).

Methods: A literature search was performed to identify comparative studies reporting peri-operative outcomes for RT and ET. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model.

A prospective randomized trial of transnasal ileus tube vs nasogastric tube for adhesive small bowel obstruction.

Aim: To study the therapeutic efficacy of a new transnasal ileus tube advanced endoscopically for adhesive small bowel obstruction.

Methods: A total of 186 patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction treated from September 2007 to February 2011 were enrolled into this prospective randomized controlled study. The endoscopically advanced new ileus tube was used for gastrointestinal decompression in 96 patients and ordinary nasogastric tube (NGT) was used in 90 patients.

Meta-analysis of robotic and laparoscopic surgery for treatment of rectal cancer.

Aim: To conduct a meta-analysis to determine the relative merits of robotic surgery (RS) and laparoscopic surgery (LS) for rectal cancer.

Methods: A literature search was performed to identify comparative studies reporting perioperative outcomes for RS and LS for rectal cancer. Pooled odds ratios and weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using either the fixed effects model or random effects model.

A novel Cryptosporidium parvum antigen, CP2, preferentially associates with membranous structures.

The present study addresses the cloning and characterization of a Cryptosporidium parvum antigen, CP2. Sequencing of cDNA and genomic clones revealed a novel gene capable of coding a message of 2,136 nucleotides flanked by 28 and 140 nucleotides of the 5'- and 3'-noncoding regions, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence suggests that CP2 is a secreted and/or membrane protein.

Isolation and sequencing of a novel tropomyosin isoform preferentially associated with colon cancer.

Background & Aims: Nonmuscle human tropomyosin (hTM) isoforms have distinct functions and may play important roles in various disease processes.

Methods: In an attempt to identify colon epithelial tropomyosin isoform, a complementary DNA library prepared from a human colon cancer cell line T84 was screened by an oligonucleotide probe complementary to messages of all known hTM isoforms. A novel clone called TC22 was obtained.

A common oocyst surface antigen of Cryptosporidium recognized by monoclonal antibodies.

Two hybridoma clones, CMYL3 and CMYL30, were generated by immunizing Balb/c mice with excysted oocysts of Cryptosporidium muris. Both clones secreted monoclonal antibodies against an oocyst-wall antigen with apparent molecular mass of 250 kDa (called CM250) from C. muris and C.