Association of obesity with orbital fat expansion in thyroid eye disease.

Background: To investigate the association between obesity and orbital fat expansion in proptosis of thyroid eye disease.

Methods: This observational study retrospectively enrolled 87 participants who received orbital fat decompression surgery for thyroid eye disease. Primary outcome measures included average body mass index (BMI) and the proportion of the study sample with overweight and obesity, compared with the general Taiwanese population.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Improved Neovascularisation Following Limb Ischaemia-The Role of ROS Mitigation.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy has emerged as a potential treatment, shown to enhance blood flow and angiogenesis. However, specific effects and mechanisms of HBO on limb ischaemia responding to a hypoxic environment remain largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of HBO in the treatment of limb ischaemia.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Reduced-Dose Prasugrel After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Taiwanese Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes.

: The efficacy and safety of reduced-dose prasugrel (loading dose/maintenance dose: 20/3.75 mg) in preventing major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been well-estab-lished. However, long-term real-world data for this population remains limited in Taiwan.

Nurses' Knowledge and Skills After Use of an Augmented Reality App for Advanced Cardiac Life Support Training: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) skills are essential for nurses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented reality (AR) technologies were incorporated into medical education to increase learning motivation and accessibility.

Objective: This study aims to determine whether AR for educational applications can significantly improve crash cart learning, learning motivation, cognitive load, and system usability.

Low CXCL11 expression is indicative of poor prognosis in rectal cancer patients undergoing preoperative chemoradiotherapy: a retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is routinely used before surgery in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer to reduce tumor size and decrease the risk of local recurrence. However, the disease-specific survival has not improved in most cases due to distant metastases. In selected individuals exhibiting a clinical complete response, non-operative management may be allowed; however, those who presented no or little response tend to have an inferior prognosis.

Survival benefit of surgery in elderly patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Neoadjuvant therapy followed by radical surgery is standard for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). However, compared to younger patients, elderly patients often had multiple commodities and may refuse surgery due to being medically unfit or the high risk of operative mortality. This study aims to explore the effects of surgery on short- and long-term mortality in elderly LARC patients using a nationwide cancer registry.

Stroke Risk Following Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy.

Importance: The association between nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and an increased risk of stroke has been a subject of debate. However, multinational studies on this topic are scarce.

Objective: To evaluate the short-term and long-term stroke risk after NAION compared with a matched control group.

Analysis of the Abasic Sites in Breast Cancer Patients With 5 Year Postoperative Treatment Without Recurrence in Taiwan.

Purpose: This prospective study aimed to investigate estrogen-induced carcinogenesis by assessing the background levels of abasic sites (apurinic/apyrimidinic sites, AP sites) in Taiwanese breast cancer patients following 5 years of postoperative treatment without recurrence (5-year survivors) (n = 70). The study also sought to compare the extent of these DNA lesions with those found in healthy controls and in breast cancer patients prior to treatment.

Methods: Abasic sites were measured using an aldehyde reactive probe and quantified as the total number of abasic sites per total nucleotides.

Efficacy and safety of second‑generation FLT3 inhibitors in acute myeloid leukemia: A systematic review and meta‑analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most frequent forms of acute leukemia and the second most common leukemia subtype in adults. In 2020, the incidence of AML in the United States was estimated to be ~4 cases per 100,000 adults. The FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 () internal tandem duplication (ITD) and tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) mutation are major prognostic indicators of AML.

Melatonin Improves Vasogenic Edema via Inhibition to Water Channel Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) Following Permanent Focal Cerebral Ischemia.

The efficacy of melatonin in reducing vasogenic and cytotoxic edema was investigated using a model of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Rats underwent pMCAO, followed by intravenous administration of either melatonin (5 mg/kg) or a vehicle 10 min post-insult. Brain infarction and edema were assessed, and Western blot analyses were conducted to examine the expression levels of aquaporin-4 (AQP4), metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and the neurovascular tight-junction protein ZO-1 upon sacrifice.

Association of Atopic Dermatitis and Risk of Glaucoma Surgery: A Global Population-Based Study.

Prcis: Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in patients with glaucoma heightens the risk of requiring surgical intervention, necessitating prompt specialist care and strict surveillance.

Objective: The impact of AD on the prognosis of patients with glaucoma is rarely studied. This study aims to assess the risk of requiring glaucoma surgery among patients with glaucoma with and without AD.

The clinicopathological significance and prognostic impact of 14-3-3σ/stratifin expression on patients with surgically resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Introduction: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is the second most common primary liver cancer after hepatocellular carcinoma. Through data mining of publicly available iCCA transcriptomic datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus, we identified SFN as the most significantly up-regulated gene in iCCA compared to normal tissue, focusing on the Gene Ontology term "cell proliferation" (GO:0008283). SFN encodes the 14-3-3σ protein, also known as stratifin, which plays crucial roles in various cellular processes.

Effect of hydrocortisone-fludrocortisone combination on mortality in septic shock: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This study assessed the effect of hydrocortisone-fludrocortisone combination therapy on the mortality of patients with septic shock.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and other databases for articles published until October 1, 2023.

PEITC Induces DNA Damage and Inhibits DNA Repair-Associated Proteins in Human Retinoblastoma Cells In Vitro.

Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a natural product, exists in biological activities, including anticancer activity in many human cancer cells. No information shows that PEITC affects DNA damage in human retinoblastoma (RB) cells in vitro. In this study, the aim of experiments was to determine whether PEITC decreased total viable cell number or not by inducing protein expressions involved in DNA damage and repair in Y79 RB cells in vitro.

Improvement of the Diagnostic Method for the Detection of Parasite Eggs Using the Formalin Ethyl Acetate Concentration Technique.

Purpose: The formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) concentration method is commonly used in routine clinical practice to detect parasite eggs in feces. This procedure involves extraction of oil with the organic solvent ethyl acetate (EA), which reduces fecal sediment and provides a cleaner background for microscopic analysis. However, clinically, some sediment failed to float after EA treatment.

The novel thromboxane prostanoid receptor mediates CTGF production to drive human nasal fibroblast self-migration through NF-κB and PKCδ-CREB signaling pathways.

Chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyp (CRSsNP) is characterized by tissue repair/remodeling and the subepithelial stroma region in whose nasal mucosa has been reported by us to have thromboxane A (TXA) prostanoid (TP) receptor and overexpress connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between TP receptor activation and CTGF production/function in human CRSsNP nasal mucosa stromal fibroblasts. We found that TP agonists including U46619 and IBOP ([1S-[1α,2α(Z),3β(1E,3 S*),4α]]-7-[3-[3-hydroxy-4-(4-iodophenoxy)-1-butenyl]-7-oxabicyclo[2.