Taiwanese nurses' experiences of difficulties in providing patient education in hospital settings.

Taiwanese nurses face increasingly demanding working conditions along with a distinctive culture where family members participate in medical decisionmaking. This research explores Taiwanese nurses' perceptions of patient education, with a focus on the difficulties. Data were collected by in-depth focus group discussions with nursing staff (n=53) from the medical and surgical wards of two teaching hospitals.

Marital Status, Lifestyle and Dementia: A Nationwide Survey in Taiwan.

Background: Evidence of an association between lifestyle and marital status and risk of dementia is limited in Asia.

Methods: In this nationwide population-based cross-sectional survey, participants were selected by computerized random sampling from all 19 counties in Taiwan. A total of 10432 residents were assessed by a door-to-door in-person survey, among whom 7035 were normal and 929 were diagnosed with dementia using the criteria recommended by National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association.

Reminiscence Therapy Improves Cognitive Functions and Reduces Depressive Symptoms in Elderly People With Dementia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: Cognitive function impairments and depressive symptoms are common in elderly people with dementia. Previous meta-analyses of outdated and small-scale studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the effects of reminiscence therapy on cognitive functions and depressive symptoms; therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis by including more recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with large sample sizes to investigate the immediate and long-term (6-10 months) effects of reminiscence therapy on cognitive functions and depressive symptoms in elderly people with dementia.

Review Methods: Electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Chinese databases were searched to select eligible articles.

MART-10, the vitamin D analog, is a potent drug to inhibit anaplastic thyroid cancer cell metastatic potential.

The survival rate of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is still very poor due to its fast growth and high metastatic potential. Currently, no effective treatment is available. The active form of vitamin D3, 1α,25(OH)2D3, has been shown to have a anti-metastatic effect in pre-clinical studies, however induction of hypercalcemia hampered its clinical application.

Ethanolic Extracts of Pluchea indica Induce Apoptosis and Antiproliferation Effects in Human Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells.

Pluchea indica is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of lumbago, ulcer, tuberculosis and inflammation. The anti-cancer activities and the underlying molecular mechanisms of the ethanolic extracts of P. indica root (PIRE) were characterized in the present study.

Relationship of lifestyle and body stature growth with the development of myopia and axial length elongation in Taiwanese elementary school children.

Context: The development of myopia and growth of the eye, occur at a time when body stature is increasing.

Aims: To investigate the relationship of lifestyle and body growth with axial elongation and myopia development among schoolchildren aged 7 to 9 years.

Settings And Design: Prospective study.

Current Status and Perspectives in Stem Cell Therapy for Heart.

Unlabelled: For most patients, the prognosis of heart failure remains poor despite therapeutic advancement in recent decades. The option of cardiac transplantation is high risk and limited by a shortage of donors. Traditionally, the heart had been considered a terminally differentiated organ incapable of regeneration.

Regulation of autophagic activation by Rta of Epstein-Barr virus via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway.

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation pathway that provides a host defense mechanism against intracellular pathogens. However, many viruses exploit this mechanism to promote their replication. This study shows that lytic induction of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) increases the membrane-bound form of LC3 (LC3-II) and LC3-containing punctate structures in EBV-positive cells.

Factors affecting health adaptation of Chinese adolescents with type 1 diabetes: A path model testing.

Glycemic control and quality of life (QoL) are both considered indicators of health adaptation among adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The purpose of this study was to construct a path model addressing the influences of individual characteristics, school support, resilience, and self-care behaviors on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and QoL among adolescents with T1D in Taiwan. This was a cross-sectional design study.

Value of enhancement technique in 3D-T2-STIR images of the brachial plexus.

Objective: Imaging the brachial plexus is a challenge because of its complicated structure. The purpose of this study is to improve the diagnostic ability for brachial plexus via 3-dimensional T2-weighted short inversion time inversion recovery (3D-T2-STIR) technique with contrast agent administration.

Methods: Thirty patients with brachial plexopathies were recruited.

The effects of participation in leisure activities on neuropsychiatric symptoms of persons with cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study.

Background: People with cognitive impairment have been shown to engage in few structured activities. During periods of unoccupied time or boredom, these patients most likely manifest neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to (1) describe the leisure-activity indicators (variety in leisure activities, appraisal of each activity's restorative function, and leisure dysfunction, i.

Effect of growth hormone therapy on Taiwanese children with growth hormone deficiency.

Background/purpose: Human growth hormone (GH) has been successfully used in children with GH deficiency (GHD). However, there are few published data on the effect of GH in Taiwanese children with GHD.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study to identify factors influencing the effect of GH therapy on ethnic Chinese children with GHD in Taiwan.

Nager syndrome: a case report.

Nager syndrome (preaxial acrofacial dysostosis) is rare and mostly sporadic. We present a case of Nager syndrome in Taiwan. Craniofacial findings included micrognathia, malar hypoplasia, downslanting palpebral fissures, cleft palate, and ear anomalies.

Long-term outcome of hepatitis B e antigen-negative hepatitis B surface antigen carriers in relation to changes of alanine aminotransferase levels over time.

Unlabelled: The baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level was reported to have prognostic value in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, during which ALT may change over time. Instead of baseline ALT, this study aimed to study the prognostic value of the height of ALT during the course of chronic HBV infection. A total of 4376 asymptomatic hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative, surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers with baseline ALT less than 2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) were monitored with ALT measurement and ultrasonography every 3 to 12 month for over 3 years.

Measurement of nuchal volume in the first trimester Down screening using three-dimensional ultrasound.

Objectives: Screening of fetuses at 11 to 14 weeks of gestation for Down syndrome using stored volumes acquired by a three-dimensional (3D) scanner.

Method: Thirty-four healthy singleton fetuses were recruited consecutively and prospectively during routine first trimester scans in our unit. Two-dimensional (2D) images of nuchal translucency (NT), crown-rump length (CRL), and biparietal diameter (BPD) were obtained by following a standard protocol.

Noonan syndrome caused by germline KRAS mutation in Taiwan: report of two patients and a review of the literature.

Noonan syndrome is a highly variable disorder that has significant phenotypic overlap with Costello syndrome and cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome. KRAS mutation was the second reported gene for Noonan syndrome. This study screened for mutation of the KRAS gene in 57 unrelated ethnic Chinese children suffering from Noonan syndrome without PTPN11 gene mutation in Taiwan.

Hodgkin's lymphoma in a patient with Noonan syndrome with germ-line PTPN11 mutations.

We describe the previously unreported condition of Hodgkin's lymphoma in a patient with Noonan syndrome caused by germ-line mutations (1507G > C, Gly503Arg) in exon 13 of the PTPN11 gene. PTPN11, encoding SHP-2, is the first identified gene for Noonan syndrome and also the first identified proto-oncogene that encodes a tyrosine phosphatase. This somatic mutation has ever been reported in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML).

Patient awareness of prognosis, patient-family caregiver congruence on the preferred place of death, and caregiving burden of families contribute to the quality of life for terminally ill cancer patients in Taiwan.

Objectives: The main goal of end-of-life care is to achieve the best quality of life (QOL) for patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of (1) the patients' awareness of their prognosis, (2) the extent of patient-family caregiver congruence on the preferences for end-of-life care options, and (3) the perceived caregiving burden of family caregivers when they provide end-of-life care to their dying relative, on the QOL for terminally ill cancer patients in Taiwan.

Methods: A total of 1108 dyads of patient-family caregiver from 24 hospitals throughout Taiwan were one-time surveyed.

DNA vaccines encoding IL-2 linked to HPV-16 E7 antigen generate enhanced E7-specific CTL responses and antitumor activity.

DNA vaccination has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. However, since DNA vaccines have low immunogenicity, various strategies have been developed to enhance the potency of DNA vaccines. In the current study, we aim to determine whether the potency of the DNA vaccine encoding human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) E7 antigen can be enhanced by IL-2.

Cardioplegia-induced cardiac arrest under cardiopulmonary bypass decreased nitric oxide production which induced cardiomyocytic apoptosis via nuclear factor kappa B activation.

Nitric oxide (NO) prevents the myocardial apoptosis and dysfunction resulting from cardioplegia-induced cardiac arrest (CCA) under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Inasmuch as CCA-induced myocardial dysfunction is associated with acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and inflammatory response, which activates nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) translocation, we assessed the hypothesis that the detrimental effects of CCA under CPB result from NO imbalance inducing NF-kappaB activation. New Zealand white rabbits (10 in each group, each 2.

Isolated Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the thyroid in a female infant.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) involving the thyroid is very rare. It can be easily confused with far more common benign goiters or thyroid neoplasms. We report on a 5-month-old female patient presenting with progressive enlargement of an anterior neck mass.

A DNA vaccine encoding a codon-optimized human papillomavirus type 16 E6 gene enhances CTL response and anti-tumor activity.

The HPV oncoproteins E6 and E7 are consistently expressed in HPV-associated cancer cells and are responsible for their malignant transformation. Therefore, HPV E6 and E7 are ideal target antigens for developing vaccines and immunotherapeutic strategies against HPV-associated neoplasms. Recently, it has been demonstrated that codon optimization of the HPV-16 E7 gene resulted in highly efficient translation of E7 and increased the immunogenicity of E7-specific DNA vaccines.

[Nurses' roles and functions in early intervention].

Early intervention is a group cooperative medical service. This article aims to illustrate the knowledge required by nurses who intend to practice in areas of early intervention. The contents consist of definitions, laws, and current practices in early intervention in Taiwan and the United States.

Resection of peritoneal implantation of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatic resection: risk factors and prognostic analysis.

Peritoneal implantation from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatic resection is infrequent, and information on risk factors and long-term survival of such patients is lacking. The clinicopathologic features and risk factors of 16 HCC patients after hepatic resection who developed peritoneal implantation from an HCC and the prognosis after surgical resection of these HCC implants were assessed. The clinical features of 16 HCC patients after hepatic resection undergoing resection of peritoneal HCC implants (P-HCC) from 1986 and 2000 were reviewed.