The caffeic acid in aqueous extract of Tournefortia sarmentosa enhances neutrophil phagocytosis of Escherichia coli.

Tournefortia sarmentosa, a Chinese herbal medicine, is considered an antioxidant or a detoxicating agent. Recently T. sarmentosa has received attention for its effects on the immune response.

Comparison of cardiovascular co-morbidities and CPAP use in patients with positional and non-positional mild obstructive sleep apnea.

Background: This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine if there are differences in cardiovascular co-morbidities, blood pressure (BP) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use between patients with positional-dependent and nonpositional-dependent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: Patients who were referred for overnight polysomnography for suspected OSA between 2007 and 2011 were screened. A total of 371 patients with OSA were included for analysis and divided into six groups according to positional-dependency and severity of OSA: positional mild (n = 52), positional moderate (n = 29), positional severe (n = 24), non-positional mild (n = 18), non-positional moderate (n = 70) and non-positional severe group (n = 178).

Optimal duration of anti-TB treatment in patients with diabetes: nine or six months?

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of TB recurrence. This study investigated whether 9-month anti-TB treatment is associated with a lower risk of TB recurrence within 2 years after complete treatment than 6-month treatment in patients with DM with an emphasis on the impact of directly observed therapy, short course (DOTs).

Methods: Patients with pulmonary but not extrapulmonary TB receiving treatment of 173 to 277 days between 2002 and 2010 were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.

Phospholipase A/Acyltransferase enzyme activity of H-rev107 inhibits the H-RAS signaling pathway.

Background: H-rev107, also called HRASLS3 or PLA2G16, is a member of the HREV107 type II tumor suppressor gene family. Previous studies showed that H-rev107 exhibits phospholipase A/acyltransferase (PLA/AT) activity and downregulates H-RAS expression. However, the mode of action and the site of inhibition of H-RAS by H-rev107 are still unknown.

Positive end-expiratory pressure attenuates positional effect after thoracotomy.

Context: Thoracotomy is a common procedure. However, thoracotomy leads to lung atelectasis and deteriorates pulmonary gas exchange in operated side. Therefore, different positions with operated side lowermost or uppermost may lead to different gas exchange after thoracotomy.

Higher proportion of viral basal core promoter mutant increases the risk of liver cirrhosis in hepatitis B carriers.

Background And Objective: Precore (PC) variant (G1896A) and basal core promoter (BCP) variant (A1762T/G1764A) of HBV are associated with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in HBV carriers. However, little is known about their impact on the adverse outcomes of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative hepatitis and liver cirrhosis.

Methods: 251 spontaneous HBeAg seroconverters who had genotype B or C infection and received a long-term follow-up were enrolled.

Length polymorphism in heme oxygenase-1 and risk of CKD among patients with coronary artery disease.

The length polymorphism of guanosine thymidine dinucleotide repeats in the heme oxygenase-1 gene promoter is associated with cardiovascular events and mortality in high-risk populations. Experimental data suggest that heme oxygenase-1 protects against kidney disease. However, the association between this polymorphism and long-term risk of CKD in high-risk patients is unknown.

Peginterferon α in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health problem. Peginterferon α (PEG-IFN), which includes PEG-IFN α-2a (Pegasys) and PEG-IFN α-2b (Peg-Intron), can be used to treat patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. A finite duration of PEG-IFN therapy may lead to long-term viral suppression.

Iron sucrose accelerates early atherogenesis by increasing superoxide production and upregulating adhesion molecules in CKD.

High-dose intravenous iron supplementation is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CKD, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Our study investigated the causative role of iron sucrose in leukocyte-endothelium interactions, an index of early atherogenesis, and subsequent atherosclerosis in the mouse remnant kidney model. We found that expression levels of intracellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and adhesion of U937 cells increased in iron-treated human aortic endothelial cells through upregulated NADPH oxidase (NOx) and NF-κB signaling.

Hepatitis B surface antigen level complements viral load in predicting viral reactivation in spontaneous HBeAg seroconverters.

Background And Aims: The level of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) has been shown to complement hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA level in predicting disease progression in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients, especially those with low viral loads. Whether this finding could be seen in spontaneous HBeAg seroconverters remains unclear.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 390 Taiwanese spontaneous HBeAg seroconverters with a mean follow-up period of 7.

Osteoprotegerin, inflammation and dyslipidemia are associated with abdominal aortic calcification in non-diabetic patients on peritoneal dialysis.

Background And Aims: Abdominal aortic calcification (AC) has been reported to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in hemodialysis patients but is rarely discussed in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We examined the independent predictors and predictive power for survival of AC in prevalent PD patients.

Methods And Results: AC was detected by computed tomography (CT) and represented as the percentage of the total aortic cross-section area affected by AC (%AC).

The Correlation Between Restoration of Lumbar Lordosis and Surgical Outcome in the Treatment of Low-grade Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis With Spinal Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective clinical study.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the restoration of the lumbar lordosis (LL) and the surgical outcome of patients undergoing spinal fusion for low-grade lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Summary Of Background Data: Correlation between low back pain and the loss of LL in the treatment of low-grade lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis has seldom been reported.

Effect of aqueous extract of Tournefortia sarmentosa on the regulation of macrophage immune response.

Tournefortia sarmentosa, a Chinese herbal medicine, is considered an antioxidant or a detoxicant agent. Recent studies have shown that T. sarmentosa plays an important role in inhibiting low-density-lipoprotein oxidation and attenuating acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity.

Are prophylactic antibiotics necessary in patients with preoperative sterile urine undergoing ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy?

Objective: To compare the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics in reducing post-surgical infections in patients undergoing ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy (URSL).

Patients And Methods: The study was a double-blind, prospective, randomized controlled trial. Between 2009 and 2012, 212 patients with preoperative sterile urine undergoing URSL were randomly allocated, in a ratio of 1:1:1:1, to receive prophylactic antibiotics with single-dose i.

The Tzu Chi nomograms for maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax ) in children: comparison with Miskolc nomogram.

Objective: To report the first ranking method-based age- and gender-specific nomograms for maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax ) in children.

Patients And Methods: Healthy children aged 4-12 years were enrolled for two sets of uroflowmetry tests. The first and the higher value of the two consecutive Qmax of each child with a voided volume (VV) of ≥50 mL were included for establishing single- and dual-Qmax nomograms.

Regulation of macrophage immune responses by antipsychotic drugs.

Antipsychotic drugs (APDs) have been used to ease clinical psychotic symptoms. APDs have also been recently discovered to induce immune regulation. Our previous studies found that atypical APDs risperidone and clozapine could inhibit INF-γ production of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and could inhibit Th1 differentiation.