ΔFosB is part of a homeostatic mechanism that protects the epileptic brain from further deterioration.

Activity induced transcription factor ΔFosB plays a key role in different CNS disorders including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and addiction. Recent findings suggest that ΔFosB drives cognitive deficits in epilepsy and together with the emergence of small molecule inhibitors of ΔFosB activity makes it an interesting therapeutic target. However, whether ΔFosB contributes to pathophysiology or provides protection in drug-resistant epilepsy is still unclear.

TGFβ signaling pathways in human health and disease.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) is named for the function it was originally discovered to perform-transformation of normal cells into aggressively growing malignant cells. It became apparent after more than 30 years of research, however, that TGFβ is a multifaceted molecule with a myriad of different activities. TGFβs are widely expressed with almost every cell in the human body producing one or another TGFβ family member and expressing its receptors.

Efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of an inactivated, adjuvanted enterovirus 71 vaccine in infants and children: a multiregion, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

Background: Children are susceptible to severe or fatal enterovirus 71 (EV71) infections. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of EV71vac, an aluminium phosphate-adjuvanted inactivated EV71 vaccine in children aged 2-71 months.

Methods: We did a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial at five hospitals in Taiwan and two in Vietnam.

Inadequate Bioavailability of Intramuscular Epinephrine in a Neonatal Asphyxia Model.

Background: Over half a million newborn deaths are attributed to intrapartum related events annually, the majority of which occur in low resource settings. While progress has been made in reducing the burden of asphyxia, novel approaches may need to be considered to further decrease rates of newborn mortality. Administration of intravenous, intraosseous or endotracheal epinephrine is recommended by the Newborn Resuscitation Program (NRP) with sustained bradycardia at birth.

Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients Receiving Tumor Treating Fields for Glioblastoma.

Background: To date, there has been no large-scale, real-world study of the health-related quality of life outcomes for patients using tumor treating fields (TTFields) therapy for glioblastoma (GBM) treatment.

Methods: A survey was mailed to 2,815 patients actively using TTFields for treatment of GBM in the USA ( = 2,182) and Europe ( = 633). The survey included patient-reported demographic and clinical information, as well as EuroQol's EQ-5D-5L and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) overall health score.

Polyethyleneimine-complexed charge-reversed yeast cell walls for the enhanced oral delivery of pseudovirus-based antigens.

Oral vaccination has wide applicability in poor areas, particularly during the epidemic periods of infectious diseases. However, successful oral antigen delivery and immune activation remain highly challenging due to the instability of vaccines in gastric acid and the low capture of antigens in the intestine. Here, we present a facile approach for the preparation of a robust oral delivery system encapsulating antigen-carrying pseudoviruses inside positively charged polyethyleneimine-modified yeast capsules (P-YC).

Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir with or without low-dose ribavirin for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and severe renal impairment.

Objective: Data regarding the real-world effectiveness and safety of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) with or without low-dose ribavirin (RBV) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and severe renal impairment (RI) are limited. We evaluated the performance of SOF/VEL with or without low-dose RBV in HCV-infected patients with chronic kidney disease stage 4 or 5.

Design: 191 patients with compensated (n=181) and decompensated (n=10) liver diseases receiving SOF/VEL (400/100 mg/day) alone and SOF/VEL with low-dose RBV (200 mg/day) for 12 weeks were retrospectively recruited at 15 academic centres in Taiwan.

Weekend-Based Parent-Group Intervention to Reduce Stress in Parents of Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes: A Pilot Study.

Diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a child is often associated with anger, denial, fear, and depression from the parents. The aim of the study was to improve parents' adaptation to the diagnosis of diabetes of their child. Sixty-two parents (29 mothers, 33 fathers) of 36 children with type 1 diabetes (mean age = 11.

"Like-like" tetrel bonding interactions between Sn centres: a combined ab initio and CSD study.

In this manuscript, we combine a search in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and ab initio calculations (RI-MP2/def2-TZVP level of theory) to analyse the ability of Sn to establish 'like-like' tetrel bonding interactions. The CSD inspection revealed that noncovalent SnSn contacts are common in X-ray structures and that two predominant structural patterns exist. Moreover, the nature of like-like tetrel bonding interactions was investigated in a total of 81 dimers by wave function and ab initio (MP2)-based methods.

Periodontal Treatment Reduces Risk of Adverse Respiratory Events in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Propensity-Matched Cohort Study.

Treatment of periodontal diseases has been associated with benefit outcomes for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, no population-based cohort study has been conducted. We evaluated this relationship by retrospective cohort study using a large population data.

Teriparatide Improves Fracture Healing and Early Functional Recovery in Treatment of Osteoporotic Intertrochanteric Fractures.

Osteoporotic intertrochanteric fractures result in serious health problems and decrease health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Faster time-to-union is important for early return to daily activities and reduction of complications. Teriparatide has been shown to accelerate fracture healing, but the literature is sparse on this topic.

Nonadherence of Oral Antihyperglycemic Medication Will Increase Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease.

Poor glycemic control is related to an increased risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study investigated the association between medication adherence and the risk of ESRD in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus.In this population-based cohort study, we used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to identify 559,864 patients with newly diagnosed or treated diabetes mellitus who were ages from 20 to 85 years between 2001 and 2008.

Risk of Periodontal Diseases in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Nationwide Population-based Cohort Study.

Several studies have reported an association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and periodontal diseases. However, a large-scale population-based cohort study was previously absent from the literature. Therefore, we evaluated the risk of periodontal diseases in patients with COPD in a nationwide population.

Risk of Acute Kidney Injury and Long-Term Outcome in Patients With Acetaminophen Intoxication: A Nationwide Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Acetaminophen (APAP) intoxication is a common cause of hepatic toxicity and life-threatening hepatic failure. However, few studies have investigated the possible association between APAP intoxication and acute kidney injury (AKI). We constructed a retrospective cohort study to clarify the relationship between APAP intoxication and the risk of AKI.

Diagnostic Performance of Serum IgG4 Levels in Patients With IgG4-Related Disease.

The aim of this study is to study the clinical features and diagnostic performance of IgG4 in Chinese populations with IgG4-related diseases (IgG4-RDs).The medical records of 2901 adult subjects who underwent serum IgG4 level tests conducted between December 2007 and May 2014 were reviewed.Serum concentrations of IgG4 were measured in 2901 cases, including 161 (5.

Impact of Comorbidity and Age on Determinants Therapeutic Strategies in Advanced Pancreatic Head Cancer Patients With Obstructive Jaundices.

The current retrospective study aimed to investigate the relationship between prognostic factors and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced pancreatic head cancers who initially presented with obstructive jaundice. Furthermore, the impact of age and comorbidities on therapeutic strategies in such patients was evaluated.A total of 79 advanced pancreatic head cancer patients who were treated at our institution between January 2006 and November 2013 were reviewed.

Multiple Hemolymphangioma of the Visceral Organs: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Hemolymphangioma is a rare disease with malformation of both lymphatic and vascular vessels. Few cases of hemolymphangioma occurring in the rectum, small intestine, pancreas, esophagus, and other organs have been reported. Nevertheless, multiple hemolymphangioma of the visceral organs are extremely rare.

Glycemic Change After Pancreaticoduodenectomy: A Population-Based Study.

The purpose of this population-based study was to determine the change of glucose metabolism in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).We conducted a nationwide cohort study using data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database collected between 2000 and 2010. Our sample included 861 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and 3914 subjects without DM.

Propranolol Reduces Cancer Risk: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

β-Blockers have been reported to exhibit potential anticancer effects in cancer cell lines and animal models. However, clinical studies have yielded inconsistent results regarding cancer outcomes and cancer risk when β-blockers were used. This study investigated the association between propranolol and cancer risk.

Risk factors associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis: a nationwide population-based analysis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS). Information about the study participants was extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan for the years 1999 through 2011. We conducted this retrospective cohort study of patients with ARAS to identify the potential risk factors associated with long-term renal outcomes.

Safe contrast volumes for preventing contrast-induced nephropathy in elderly patients with relatively normal renal function during percutaneous coronary intervention.

The aim of this study was to evaluate contrast media volume to creatinine clearance (V/CrCl) ratio for predicting contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and to determine a safe V/CrCl cut off value to avoid CIN in elderly patients with relatively normal renal function during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We prospectively enrolled 1020 consecutive elderly patients (age ≥65 years) with relative normal renal function (baseline serum creatinine <1.5 mg/dL) undergoing PCI.

Impact of prior healthcare-associated exposure on clinical and molecular characterization of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: results from a retrospective cohort study.

By virtue of medical advances and an aging society, people have increased opportunities for healthcare exposure. Little is known about the impact of healthcare exposure on the clinical features and molecular typing of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia. We classified the onset of MSSA bacteremia into 3 mutually exclusive categories according to the Centers for Disease Control definition, and conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the differences among patients with community-associated (CA), healthcare-associated community onset (HACO), and hospital onset (HO) MSSA bacteremia at a medical center from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2011.

Role of p(Z)-π(Ar/Nap) conjugation in structures of 1-(arylchalcogena)naphthalenes for Z = Te versus Se, S and O: experimental and theoretical investigations.

Magnitudes of the p(Z)-π(Ar/Nap) conjugation were evaluated for 1-(arylchalcogena)naphthalenes (1-(ArZ)Nap, 1-(p-YC(6)H(4)Z)C(10)H(7); 1 (Z = Te), 2 (Se), 3 (S) and 4 (O)). Structures of 1 were determined by X-ray analysis for Y = NMe(2) (b), OMe (c) and CN (i). For 1b and 1c that have electron donating Y, the Z-C(Ar) bond is located on the naphthyl plane with Z-C(Nap) being perpendicular to the aryl plane, which we define as (B: pd).