Polyphenolic Hispolon Derived from Medicinal Mushrooms of the and Genera Promotes Wound Healing in Hyperglycemia-Induced Impairments.

: This study investigated the wound-healing potential of hispolon, a polyphenolic pigment derived from medicinal mushrooms, under diabetic conditions using both in vitro and in vivo models. : In the in vitro assays, L929 fibroblast cells exposed to high glucose (33 mmol/L) were treated with hispolon at concentrations of 2.5, 5, 7.

Syringaldehyde Alleviates Cardiac Hypertrophy Induced by Hyperglycemia in H9c2 Cells Through GLP-1 Receptor Signals.

Cardiac hypertrophy is a significant complication of diabetes, often triggered by hyperglycemia. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists alleviate cardiac hypertrophy, but their efficacy diminishes under GLP-1 resistance. Syringaldehyde (SA), a natural phenolic compound, may activate GLP-1 receptors and mitigate hypertrophy.

Role of Metformin in Preventing New-Onset Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

: Recent evidence supports the protective role of metformin on kidney function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, its potential to prevent new-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with normal renal function remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether metformin could prevent the development of new-onset CKD in such patients.

MR T2* Map to Predict Worsening Hypertension Control: A Preliminary Study.

Blood pressure measurement is important in monitoring hypertension. However, blood pressure does not provide much information about renal condition in treated hypertension. This study aimed to evaluate renal oxygenation in hypertensive patients using T2* mapping.

Evaluating Cetuximab Regimens in Head and Neck Cancer: Insights from a Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background/objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of cetuximab combination therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer treated at a hospital in Southern Taiwan.

Methods: This study analyzed a retrospective cohort of 67 patients who were treated between January 2020 and May 2024 with two cetuximab regimens, cetuximab combined with cisplatin and 5-Fu, which were administered every four weeks during hospitalization (CPF4) and every two weeks as outpatient treatment (CPF2), respectively. The clinical outcomes, including overall survival and progression-free survival (PFS), were compared across the treatment regimens and age groups using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard models.

Unveiling as a Novel Prognostic Biomarker for Prostate Cancer Recurrence: From Gene to Prognosis.

Prostate cancer is a major global health burden, with biochemical recurrence (BCR) following radical prostatectomy affecting 20-40% of patients and posing significant challenges to prognosis and treatment. Emerging evidence suggests a critical role for differentially expressed in normal and neoplastic cell () domain-containing genes in oncogenesis; however, their implications in prostate cancer and BCR risk remain underexplored. This study systematically evaluated 151 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in domain-containing genes in 458 patients with prostate cancer and BCR, followed by validation in an independent cohort of 185 patients.

Application of a ImageJ-Based Method to Measure Blood Flow in Adult Zebrafish and Its Applications for Toxicological and Pharmacological Assessments.

Blood flow is an important physiological endpoint to measure cardiovascular performance in animals. Because of their innate transparent bodies, zebrafish is an excellent animal model for assessing in vivo cardiovascular performance. Previously, various helpful methods for measuring blood flow in zebrafish larvae were discovered and developed.

Importance and fitness of family medicine milestone project from America to Taiwan.

Background: The six core competencies of ACGME - patient care (PC), medical knowledge (MK), systems-based practice (SBP), practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI), professionalism (PROF), and interpersonal and communication skills (ICS) - represent domains in which physicians must ultimately demonstrate competence. Although the ACGME's six core competencies have been applied in Taiwan with the milestone project, the application of the six core competences in the Family Medicine milestones for residency training have not yet been established.

Methods: We recruited 61 family medicine physicians from 25 hospitals from four major geographic areas for a Delphi round one survey and 72 physicians from 27 hospitals for a Delphi round two survey.

Mediating roles of weight stigma and physical activity avoidance in the associations between severity of gaming disorder and levels of physical activity among young adults.

Background And Aims: There are limited data regarding associations between gaming disorder and physical activity (PA). The present study investigated the direct association between these two variables and assessed the potentially mediating roles of PA avoidance and two types of weight stigma (i.e.

Face Boundary Formulation for Harmonic Models: Face Image Resembling.

This paper is devoted to numerical algorithms based on harmonic transformations with two goals: (1) face boundary formulation by blending techniques based on the known characteristic nodes and (2) some challenging examples of face resembling. The formulation of the face boundary is imperative for face recognition, transformation, and combination. Mapping between the source and target face boundaries with constituent pixels is explored by two approaches: cubic spline interpolation and ordinary differential equation (ODE) using Hermite interpolation.

Rebiopsy Enhances Survival with Afatinib vs. Osimertinib in EGFR Exon 19 Deletion Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Multicenter Study in Taiwan.

Background: Afatinib and Osimertinib are first-line treatments for EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but their comparative efficacies and the patient groups that benefit the most remain unclear. This multicenter retrospective study evaluated the efficacy of first-line Afatinib and Osimertinib in NSCLC patients with EGFR 19del and no brain metastases at diagnosis.

Methods: The primary endpoints were time on treatment (ToT) and overall survival (OS).

A novel mutation, T96I, is associated with sperm head and annulus defects.

Infertility affects around 8%-12% of reproductive-aged couples and is a major health concern. Both genetic and environmental factors influence male infertility. is a crucial testis-specific gene essential for the final differentiation of male germ cells and is strongly linked to male infertility due to numerous detected mutations.

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks on Multiclass Classification of Three-Dimensional Brain Images for Parkinson's Disease Stage Prediction.

Parkinson's disease (PD), a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, is commonly diagnosed using functional medical imaging techniques such as single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In this study, we utilized two SPECT data sets (n = 634 and n = 202) from different hospitals to develop a model capable of accurately predicting PD stages, a multiclass classification task. We used the entire three-dimensional (3D) brain images as input and experimented with various model architectures.

Effectiveness of a scenario-based simulation course on improving the clinical communication skills of dietetic students.

Background: Effective clinical communication skills are essential for dietitians as it impacts patient outcomes and satisfaction across diverse clinical and public healthcare settings. Despite its importance as a core competency, many dietetics programs, including those in Taiwan, need to provide sufficient training in this area. This study aimed to develop and assess a scenario-based simulation course to improve communication skills in dietetic students.

Long-term outcomes and lymph node metastasis following endoscopic resection with additional surgery or primary surgery for T1 colorectal cancer.

Optimal management of T1 colorectal cancer (CRC) remains controversial. This study compared the long-term outcomes of endoscopic resection with additional surgical resection (ER + ASR) versus primary surgical resection (PS) in patients with T1 CRC and identified risk factors for lymph node metastasis (LNM). This retrospective cohort study included 373 patients with T1 CRC who underwent ER + ASR or PS between January 2010 and December 2020 at a tertiary center in Taiwan.

Assessment of psychological health effects of nurses during 2022-2023 of the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study in Southern Taiwan.

Background: Nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic have increased workloads, burnout, and virus exposure, leading to mental health challenges and a lack of resources for patient care. Mental health support for nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak has become a priority. This study evaluated psychological health outcomes of among nurses during the 2022-2023 COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, focusing on personal and work-related fatigue as key contributors to emotional distress.

Real-world efficacy and safety of universal 8-week glecaprevir/pibrentasvir in patients with chronic hepatitis C with early chronic kidney disease or pre-end-stage renal disease: Insights from a nationwide hepatisis C virus registry in Taiwan.

An 8-week regimen of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir is recommended for treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). In alignment with the Taiwanese government's objective to eliminate hepatitis C by 2025, this study aimed to provide real-world evidence on the use of this regimen in treatment-naïve patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) by using data from the Taiwan Association for the Study of the Liver HCV Registry (TACR). CKD was defined by an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <60 mL/min/1.

A real-world study to evaluate effectiveness of mepolizumab in treating severe asthma in Taiwan (REMIT).

Background: REMIT is the first real-world study of mepolizumab effectiveness in patients with severe asthma (SA) in Taiwan.

Objectives: The primary objective evaluated changes in clinically significant exacerbations (CSEs; defined as use of oral corticosteroids (OCS) or emergency department (ED) visits and/or hospitalizations) in the 12 months pre- and post-mepolizumab treatment. Secondary objectives assessed changes in the number of CSEs requiring ED visits/hospitalizations and daily maintenance OCS (mOCS) dosage 12 months pre- and post-mepolizumab treatment.

The Optimal Dosage and Duration of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation in Heart Failure Management: Evidence from a Network Meta-Analysis.

Heart failure is a progressive condition associated with a high mortality rate. Despite advancements in treatment, many patients continue to experience less-than-ideal outcomes. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been studied as a potential supplementary therapy for heart failure, but the optimal dosage and duration of supplementation remain unclear.

Outcomes of upfront primary tumor resection in patients with synchronous wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

This multicenter study explored the survival benefits of upfront primary tumor resection (PTR) followed by first-line cetuximab plus chemotherapy in real-world patients with wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Treatment options for mCRC include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and surgery. The efficacy of upfront PTR in managing mCRC remains unclear.

Secretome of the Olfactory Ensheathing Cells Influences the Behavior of Neural Stem Cells.

Olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation demonstrates promising therapeutic results in neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injury. The emerging cell-free secretome therapy compensates for the limitations of cell transplantation, such as low cell survival rates. However, the therapeutic benefits of the human OEC secretome remain unclear.

Heteronemin suppresses EGF‑induced proliferation through the PI3K/PD‑L1 signaling pathways in cholangiocarcinoma.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) binds with its surface receptor to stimulate gene expression and cancer cell proliferation. EGF stimulates cancer cell growth via phosphoinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD‑L1) pathways. As an integrin αvβ3 antagonist, heteronemin exhibits potent cytotoxic effects against cancer cells.

Chlorophyllides repress gain-of-function p53 mutated HNSCC cell proliferation via activation of p73 and repression of p53 aggregation in vitro and in vivo.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells have a high p53 mutation rate, but there were rare reported about the p53 gain of function through the prion-like aggregated form in p53 mutated HNSCC cells. Thioflavin T (ThT) is used to stain prion-like proteins in cells. Previously, we found that ThT and p53 staining were co-localized in HNSCC cells (Detroit 562 cells) with homozygous p53 R175H mutation.