Effects of intubation and hypoxemia on intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants during the first week: An observational study.

Background: Preterm infants with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are at a risk of developing neurodevelopmental disabilities. Few studies have examined the effects of oxygen saturation (SpO) changes and intubation procedures on the risk of IVH.

Objectives: We examined the effects of intubation and the rates of three thresholds of hypoxemia on the occurrence of IVH in preterm infants during their first week in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Vitexin Suppresses High-Glucose-upregulated Adhesion Molecule Expression in Endothelial Cells through Inhibiting NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Vascular damage is one of the significant complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). Central to this damage is endothelial damage, especially under high-glucose conditions, which promotes inflammation via the NF-κB signaling pathway. Inflammatory processes in endothelial cells directly contribute to endothelial dysfunction, such as promoting inflammatory cytokine release and activation of adhesion molecules.

Assessing the Suitability of CHADS-VASc for Predicting Adverse Limb Events and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Peripheral Artery Disease Patients with Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are at high risk of major adverse limb events (MALEs) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). CHADS-VASc is a prognostic score for atrial fibrillation stroke risk; however, no study has evaluated its predictive ability for MALEs and MACEs in PAD patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients from Taiwan with PAD.

Effect of osmotic pressure and simultaneous heat-moisture phosphorylation treatments on the physicochemical properties of mung bean, water caltrop, and corn starches.

This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical properties of modified starch prepared through the simultaneous heat-moisture and phosphorylation treatment (HMPT) and osmotic pressure treatment (OPT) for water caltrop starch (WCS), mung bean starch (MBS), and amylose-rich corn starch (CS) for different time periods. Furthermore, variations in starch content [amylose and resistant starch (RS)], swelling powder (SP), water solubility index (WSI), crystallinity, thermal properties, gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH), and glycemic index (GI) were examined. This study demonstrates that neither HMPT nor OPT resulted in a significant increase in the resistant starch (RS) content, whereas all samples succeeded in heat-treating at 105 °C for another 10 min exhibited a significant increase in RS content compared to their native counterparts.

Efficacy of HMJ-38, a new quinazolinone analogue, against the gemcitabine-resistant MIA-PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells.

Gemcitabine is frequently utilized to treat pancreatic cancer. The purpose of our study was to create a gemcitabine-resistant MIA-PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cell line (MIA-GR100) and to evaluate the anti-pancreatic cancer efficacy of HMJ-38, a new quinazolinone analogue. Compared to their parental counterparts, MIA-PaCa-2, established MIA-GR100 cells were less sensitive to gemcitabine.

Effects of bradycardia, hypoxemia and early intubation on bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm infants: An observational study.

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common pulmonary complication in preterm infants.

Objectives: The study aimed to explore the effects of bradycardia, hypoxemia, and early intubation on BPD in very preterm infants.

Methods: This is a prospective observational cohort study.

Impact of Region-of-Interest Size on the Diagnostic Performance of Shear Wave Elastography in Differentiating Thyroid Nodules.

This study investigated the impact of different region-of-interest (ROI) sizes (Max, 1 mm, and 2 mm) on shear wave elastography (SWE) in differentiating between malignant and benign thyroid nodules. The study cohort comprised 129 thyroid nodules (50 malignant, 79 benign) and 78 normal subjects. Diagnostic efficacy was assessed through pairwise comparisons of area under the curve (AUC) values in receiver operating characteristic analysis by using DeLong's test.

New perspectives on different Sacha inchi seed oil extractions and its applications in the food and cosmetic industries.

Sacha inchi oil is growing in demand worldwide owing to its high fatty acid content of linolenic acid (44.30%-51.62%) and linoleic acid (34.

Metformin induces autophagy of cisplatin-resistant human gastric cancer cells in addition to apoptosis.

Metformin has been used to treat cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and mounting studies have shown that metformin can act alone or in synergy with other anticancer agents to achieve anti-cancer efficacies on various types of tumors. However, the role of metformin in either inducing autophagy and cisplatin-resistance of human gastric cancer (GC) cells has never been examined. The study has established a cisplatin-resistant GC cell line and investigated the effects of metformin on inducing autophagy on it.

Ultrasound-guided nerve hydrodissection of cervical nerve roots for cervical radicular pain in patients with mild and moderate to severe stenosis: a retrospective cohort study.

Because fascial entrapment neuropathy can occur in multiple locations, ultrasound-guided nerve hydrodissection has become a key component of the treatment of cervical radicular pain. In this paper, we propose a combination of injectates used for nerve hydrodissection of the cervical nerve roots and compare the clinical outcomes of this treatment among patients with different severities of stenosis. This is a retrospective cohort study designed to compare outcomes between patients with mild stenosis and moderate to severe stenosis.

Investigating the Current Status of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Hospital Staff.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 had reported over 676 million cases by March 2023. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether the levels of anti-S and anti-N antibodies could precisely indicate the degree of protection against SARS-CoV-2 and affect the probability or time of contracting COVID-19. In this study, a serosurveillance study was conducted in healthcare workers (HCWs) at a regional hospital in Taiwan to evaluate their antibody levels based on infection and vaccination status.

Antidepressive mechanisms of rhynchophylline in mice with chronic unpredictable stress-induced depression.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Uncaria rhynchophylla ([Mi] Jack) (gouteng) exerts antidepressive effects. Rhynchophylline (RH), a major component of U. rhynchophylla, exerts similar pharmacological effects to those of gouteng.

Aging-Associated Thyroid Dysfunction Contributes to Oxidative Stress and Worsened Functional Outcomes Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

The incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases dramatically with advanced age and accumulating evidence indicates that age is one of the important predictors of an unfavorable prognosis after brain trauma. Unfortunately, thus far, evidence-based effective therapeutics for geriatric TBI is limited. By using middle-aged animals, we first confirm that there is an age-related change in TBI susceptibility manifested by increased inflammatory events, neuronal death and impaired functional outcomes in motor and cognitive behaviors.

Micro-elimination of hepatitis C virus infection in the rural and remote areas of Taiwan - A multi-center collaborative care model.

Introduction: Taiwan has several hepatitis C virus (HCV) hyper-endemic areas. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a collaborative HCV care system with an outreach decentralized strategy among the resource-constrained rural/remote areas of Taiwan.

Methods: The pilot study was conducted in four high HCV-endemic townships in the rural/remote areas of Taoyuan, Alishan, Zhuoxi and Xiulin.

A Case of Delayed Tension Pneumocephalus in a Patient Undergoing Facial Cosmetic Surgery.

There has been a recognizable surge in cosmetic surgery in recent years, partly influenced by social media, and the easy accessibility to such medical procedures. As with all types of surgery, the risks of complications are real, and in this specific setting, they tend to occur in a younger age group. Here, we discuss a rare complication and subsequent presentation of tension pneumocephalus, following an episode of cardiac arrest in a 58 year old female, during elective cosmetic-facial surgery.

Preoperative overweight and obesity do not cause inferior outcomes following open-wedge high tibial osteotomy: A retrospective cohort study of 123 patients.

Open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) is effective in treating medial compartment osteoarthritis. The association between body mass index (BMI) and outcomes following OWHTO is being debated. This study compared radiographic and clinical outcomes between patients with preoperative overweight, obesity, and normal BMI following OWHTO for medial compartment osteoarthritis.

Hysterectomy and risk of osteoarthritis in women: a nationwide nested case-control study.

Objective: Hysterectomy is the most common gynaecological surgery, performed mainly for benign uterine pathologies in women. Studies have suggested that hysterectomy is associated with osteoarthritis (OA); however, the association remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association between hysterectomy and the risk of OA.

Mechanism and inhibitory effects of cactus (Opuntia dillenii) extract on melanocytes and its potential application for whitening cosmetics.

Penghu cactus (Opuntia dillenii [Ker.] Haw) is a cactus plant that commonly grows in Penghu Island, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). However, still lack of scientific study on the Opuntia dillenii [Ker.

On the removal efficiency of copper ions in wastewater using calcined waste eggshells as natural adsorbents.

Eggshells offer many advantages as adsorbents, such as affordability without special preparations other than pulverization and calcination. However, the manufacturing industry generally has a severe problem with high concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater. The purpose of this study was to use eggshell byproducts and calcined eggshell treatment for the adsorption of copper in an aqueous solution.

Trends in the prevalence of intellectual disability among children in Taiwan.

Background: Intellectual disability (ID) is a major developmental disability. However, data on changes in the prevalence over time at the national level are limited.

Method: Using data from the national disability registry, we conducted an ecological study to evaluate the time trends of ID among children in Taiwan.

An In Vivo Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Blue Shark () Cartilage Collagen as a Cosmetic.

The "blue shark", (class: Chondrichthyes), is a pelagic shark species commonly found in tropical and temperate oceans. This shark is mainly sold in Asian countries as food and as traditional Chinese medicine. According to the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is classified as low-risk to near endangered.

Optimization of Concentration-Time, Agar, and Sugar Concentration for Sweet Gelatinized Adzuki-Bean Jelly Cake (Yokan) by Response Surface Methodology.

Samples of sweet gelatinized adzuki-bean jelly cake were successfully prepared and systematically analyzed to investigate the factors that affect the production, quality, and gelatin properties of yokan (gelatinized adzuki bean cake). The purpose of this study was to investigate the properties of gelatinized adzuki-bean cake gelatin and identify the optimal production conditions using response surface methodology with three factors: agar concentration, sugar concentration, and concentration time. Findings show that the optimum processing conditions are 1.