Advancements in Chondrocyte 3-Dimensional Embedded Culture: Implications for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.

Cartilage repair necessitates regenerative medicine because of the unreliable healing mechanism of cartilage. To yield a sufficient number of cells for transplantation, chondrocytes must be expanded in culture. However, in 2D culture, chondrocytes tend to lose their distinctive phenotypes and functionalities after serial passage, thereby limiting their efficacy for tissue engineering purposes.

The Role of Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in Predicting Complicated Appendicitis in Children.

Background: Acute appendicitis is a common abdominal emergency observed in emergency departments (ED). Distinguishing between uncomplicated and complicated appendicitis is important in determining a treatment strategy. Serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is an inflammatory biomarker.

Changes in Levels of Serum Cytokines and Chemokines in Perforated Appendicitis in Children.

Appendicitis is primarily diagnosed based on intraoperative or histopathological findings, and few studies have explored pre-operative markers of a perforated appendix. This study aimed to identify systemic biomarkers to predict pediatric appendicitis at various time points. The study group comprised pediatric patients with clinically suspected appendicitis between 2016 and 2019.

Redefining aberrant P53 expression of gastric cancer and its distinct clinical significance among molecular-histologic subtypes.

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between p53 overexpression and diminished survival in gastric cancer patients. However, conflicting findings exist, and we hypothesize that these discrepancies arise from the cancer's complexity and heterogeneity, coupled with a lack of consensus on aberrant p53 expression.

Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 187 patients with surgically resected gastric cancer.

Diastolic/systolic blood pressure ratio for predicting febrile children with sepsis and progress to septic shock in the emergency department.

Objective: Given the scarcity of studies analyzing the clinical predictors of pediatric septic cases that would progress to septic shock, this study aimed to determine strong predictors for pediatric emergency department (PED) patients with sepsis at risk for septic shock and mortality.

Methods: We conducted chart reviews of patients with ≥ 2 age-adjusted quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (qSOFA) criteria to recognize patients with an infectious disease in two tertiary PEDs between January 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022. The age range of included patients was 1 month to 18 years.

Ferritin as an Effective Predictor of Neurological Outcomes in Children With Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy.

Background: Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) is a fulminant disease with poor prognosis. Cytokine storm is the important phenomenon of ANE that affects the brain and multiple organs. The study aimed to identify whether hyperferritinemia was associated with poor prognosis in patients with ANE.

Diastolic blood pressure impact on pediatric refractory septic shock outcomes.

Background: Septic shock is the progression of sepsis, defined as cardiovascular dysfunction during systemic infection, and it has a mortality rate of 40 %-80 %. Loss of vascular tone is an important pathophysiological feature of septic shock. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was reported to be associated with vascular tone.

Electroencephalogram pattern predicting neurological outcomes of children with seizures secondary to abusive head trauma.

Background: The clinical presentations of abusive head trauma can abruptly worsen, so the occurrence of seizures and changes of EEG can be variable according to patients' conditions. Since the changes of EEG background waves reflect the cortical function of children, we aimed to find out whether the timing of EEG background, epileptiform discharges and seizure patterns were associated with the outcomes of patients with AHT.

Material And Methods: Using seizure type and acute stage electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristics to assess adverse neurological outcomes in children with seizures secondary to abusive head trauma (AHT).

In-hospital care of children with COVID-19.

Children have been reported to be less affected and to have milder severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection than adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, children, and particularly those with underlying disorders, are still likely to develop critical illnesses. In the case of SARS-CoV-2 infection, most previous studies have focused on adult patients.

Aspartate and Acetate Fuel Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Beyond the Warburg Effect.

Unlabelled: Metabolic reprogramming is closely linked to the tumorigenesis and drug resistance of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Mapping the metabolic orbit of GISTs is a prerequisite if intervention against the metabolic vulnerability of refractory GISTs is desirable.

Methods: A total of 43 patients with treatment-naïve GISTs who had undergone surgical resections were enrolled, on whom a metabolomics profile detected from surgical specimens was constructed based on the H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) platform.

Predictors of disease severity and outcomes in pediatric patients with croup and COVID-19 in the pediatric emergency department.

Background: Croup caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging disease, and data on the risk factors associated with disease severity are still limited. The Westley croup score (WS) is widely used to assess croup severity. The current study aimed to analyze biomarkers associated with the WS and clinical outcomes in patients with croup and coronavirus disease 2019 in the pediatric emergency department (PED).

BNT162b2 immunization-related myocarditis in adolescents and consequent hospitalization: Report from a medical center.

Background: To investigate Pfizer-BioNTech 162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) immunization-related myocarditis and describe the risk factors for consequent hospitalization in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in children between 12 and 18 years.

Methods: Children and adolescents 12 years of age and older who presented with discomfort after BNT162b2 immunization (BNTI) and visited pediatric emergency room (PER) at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from September 22, 2021 to March 21, 2022, were included for analysis.

Results: 681 children presented with discomfort after BNTI and visited our PER.

The relationship of nutritional status with anticancer immunity and its prognostic value for head and neck cancer.

Malnutrition has been reported to be associated with reduced survival and deficient anticancer immunity, and undernourishment is a frequent comorbidity in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between nutritional status and immunologic factors, and its prognostic value for HNC. We retrospectively reviewed 212 HNC patients who had undergone a nutrition evaluation based on the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and curative radiotherapy (RT).

What Do Patients Want in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder? Taiwan's TAILOR Survey.

In Taiwan, the number of patients being treated for depression has been increasing over recent decades, but there remain some key unmet needs for these patients. One issue is the low rate of help-seeking, which may be at least partially attributable to the stigma of depression in Asian societies. Stigma also contributes to underdiagnosis, because stigmatised patients may emphasise somatic symptoms (e.

Hyaluronic Acid-Modified Cisplatin-Encapsulated Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid) Magnetic Nanoparticles for Dual-Targeted NIR-Responsive Chemo-Photothermal Combination Cancer Therapy.

Combination chemo-photothermal therapy with nanomaterials can reduce the dose of chemotherapeutic drugs required for effective cancer treatment by minimizing toxic side effects while improving survival times. Toward this end, we prepare hyaluronic acid (HA)-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for the CD44 receptor-mediated and magnetic field-guided dual-targeted delivery of cisplatin (CDDP). By co-encapsulating the CDDP and oleic acid-coated iron oxide MNP (IOMNP) in PLGA, the PMNPc was first prepared in a single emulsification/solvent evaporation step and successively surface modified with chitosan and HA to prepare the HA/PMNPc.

Effect of Proton Therapy on Tumor Cell Killing and Immune Microenvironment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Radiotherapy with proton therapy (PT) has dosimetric advantages over photon therapy, which helps to enlarge the therapeutic window of radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We evaluated the response of HCC to PT and examined the underlying mechanisms. The human liver cancer cell lines HepG2 and HuH7 and the murine liver cancer cell line Hepa1-6 were selected for cell and animal experiments to examine the response induced by PT irradiation.

Influence of the domestic COVID-19 pandemic on the pediatric emergency department.

Objectives: After the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged, there has been a substantial decline in emergency department (ED) visits. However, the impact of the pandemic on pediatric ED (PED) visits has not been well discussed. This study aimed to compare the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of PED visits before and after the time of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Development of a photothermal bead-based nucleic acid amplification test (pbbNAAT) technique for a high-performance loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)-based point-of-care test (POCT).

We have developed a novel molecular diagnostic platform (photothermal bead-based nucleic acid amplification test; pbbNAAT) that greatly improves the low sensitivity of direct loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and allows for specific detection of LAMP amplicons in complex samples. The pbbNAAT integrates specific ligand-functionalized polypyrrole-coated iron oxide particles (PPy@IOs) capable of photothermal conversion and single-molecule magnetic capture of target analytes, the released nucleic acid, and LAMP-amplified products under external light energy control and magnetic manipulations. This allows for sample pretreatment, pbbLAMP amplification, and subsequent amplicon detection with bead-based ELISA in a one-stop microreactor without loss.

Time-serial expression of toll-like receptor 4 signaling during polymicrobial sepsis in rats.

Sepsis caused by aggressive infection is a severe clinical problem with an increasing incidence worldwide. Toll-like receptors and their common adapter myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) can activate immune responses by recognizing a foreign microbe's product. This study aimed to identify the different time expression of TLR four signaling pathway in an experimental rodent model of polymicrobial sepsis.

Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in the Emergency Department.

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in children is a critical condition with a poor prognosis. After the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic developed, the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of the pediatric emergency department (PED) visits have changed. This study aimed to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric OHCA in the PED.

Risk Factors and Neurologic Outcomes Associated With Resuscitation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

In the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), cardiac arrest (CA) is rare but results in high rates of morbidity and mortality. A retrospective chart review of 223 patients who suffered from in-PICU CA was analyzed from January 2017 to December 2020. Outcomes at discharge were evaluated using pediatric cerebral performance category (PCPC).

Cutoff Values of Hemodynamic Parameters in Pediatric Refractory Septic Shock.

Background: Refractory septic shock can cause severe morbidities and mortalities in children. Resuscitation based on hemodynamics is important in children with critical illness. Thus, this study aimed to identify the hemodynamics of refractory septic shock associated with poor prognosis at an early stage to allow for timely interventions.

Severe bacterial infection in young infants with pyrexia admitted to the emergency department.

The objectives of this study were to understand the clinical presentations of febrile young infants with severe bacterial infection (SBI), and to investigate the pathogen variations throughout the vaccine era and after antenatal group B Streptococcus (GBS) screening.All infants < 90 days old with a body temperature of ≥38.0°C and admitted to the emergency department were retrospectively enrolled in our study.