Protocol for recording physiological signals from the human cerebellum using electroencephalography.

As Purkinje cells of the cerebellum have a very fast firing rate, techniques with high temporal resolution are required to capture cerebellar physiology. Here, we present a protocol to record physiological signals in humans using cerebellar electroencephalography (cEEG). We describe steps for electrode placement and recording.

Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Caused by Zoetis PR-VAC PLUS in Pseudorabies Virus-Free Danish Purebred Pigs.

This case report highlights a potential vaccine safety concern associated with the Pseudorabies virus (PRV) live vaccine, which warrants further investigation for comprehensive understanding. Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), a novel syndrome of adverse events following adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccines, was observed after vaccination with Zoetis PR-VAC PLUS. This led to a 100% morbidity and high mortality among PRV-free Danish purebred pigs from Danish Genetics Co.

Effects of early palliative care intervention on medical resource use among end-of-life patients.

Background: In Taiwan, as the population ages, palliative care services (PCS) have expanded significantly to include comprehensive benefit plans for critically ill individuals, supported by reimbursements from the National Health Insurance program. However, incorporating palliative care into the medical management of these patients presents several challenges. We aim to evaluate the effects of palliative care interventions on medical resources in end-of-life scenarios, to promote earlier palliative care access and provide high-quality healthcare services for patients.

Deep learning for kidney trauma detection: CT image algorithm performance and external validation: experimental study.

Background: Detecting kidney trauma on CT scans can be challenging and is sometimes overlooked. While deep learning (DL) has shown promise in medical imaging, its application to kidney injuries remains underexplored. This study aims to develop and validate a DL algorithm for detecting kidney trauma, using institutional trauma data and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) dataset for external validation.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy rescued mouse critical limb ischemia via upregulating GPR120 against inflammation and promoting angiogenesis for restoring the blood flow in ischemic zone-experimental study.

Background: This study tested the hypothesis that extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ECSWT) effectively rescues critical limb ischemia (CLI) in mice through the upregulation of GPR120, which protects against inflammation and angiogenesis to restore blood flow in the ischemic area.

Methods And Results: Compared with the control, ECSWT-induced GPR120-mediated anti-inflammatory effects significantly suppressed the expression of inflammatory signaling biomarkers (TAK1/MAPK family/NF-κB/IL-1β/IL-6/TNF-α/MCP-1) in HUVECs, and these effects were abolished by silencing GPR120 or by the GPR120 antagonist AH7614 (all P < 0.001).

Enhanced Delta Band Neural Tracking of Degraded Fundamental Frequency Speech in Noisy Environments.

Pitch variation of the fundamental frequency (F0) is critical to speech understanding, especially in noisy environments. Degrading the F0 contour reduces behaviorally measured speech intelligibility, posing greater challenges for tonal languages like Mandarin Chinese where the F0 pattern determines semantic meaning. However, neural tracking of Mandarin speech with degraded F0 information in noisy environments remains unclear.

Effect of internal pancreatic duct stent on reducing long-term pancreaticojejunostomy stenosis following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Background: As survival following PD improved, long-term complications have emerged as an issue in current era. Pancreaticojejunostomy stenosis is the common long-term sequel after PD but rarely addressed. This study aimed to investigate the benefit of pancreatic duct stent in reducing PJ stenosis after PD.

Abbreviated Duration of Vasoactive Agents Has Similar Outcomes as Standard Duration of Therapy in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Variceal Bleeding: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.

Background: This two-stage individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) compared the efficacy of a shorter duration (≤ 2 days) of vasoactive (VA) drug therapy to standard duration (3-5 days) after acute variceal bleeding (AVB) in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Patients And Methods: Randomized clinical trials on patients with cirrhosis and AVB undergoing endoscopic band ligation which compared a short duration versus the standard duration of VA therapy were included. The primary outcome was 5-day rebleeding rate.

Exploring the Interplay Between Cervicovaginal Microbiome, HPV Infection, and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia in Taiwanese Women.

This study examined the relationship between the vaginal microbiome, HPV infection, and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in 173 women. Subjects were grouped by HPV status and cervical lesion severity, ranging from HPV-negative to CIN Grade 2 or higher. Using VALENCIA classification, the study identified different community state types (CSTs) of vaginal microbiota, with CST IV subtypes (Staphylococcus dominated) showing high diversity and increased pathogenic bacteria.

Clinical Outcomes and Safety Profiles of Generic Versus Brand-Name Clopidogrel in Patients Following Coronary Artery Stent Placement.

Coronary artery disease remains a significant global health issue and is a leading cause of mortality. Dual antiplatelet therapy, including clopidogrel, is essential for preventing stent thrombosis after coronary artery stenting. This study assessed the comparative efficacy and safety of generic versus brand-name clopidogrel in a large Taiwanese cohort.

A linearly polarized AC-driven perovskite light emitting device with nanoscale metal contact.

Electroluminescent (EL) devices consisting of a single metal-semiconductor contact and a gate effect structure have garnered significant attention in the field of perovskite light-emitting devices. This interest is largely due to the thermal stability of the active layer and the simplicity of the device structure. However, the application of these devices in large-area light-emitting applications is hindered by the inherently low carrier mobility in perovskite materials.

Early Detection and One-Year Follow-Up of Subclavian Steal Syndrome Treated With Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Case Report.

Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS) often goes undiagnosed because of its variable and subtle symptoms, highlighting the need for innovative diagnostic approaches. This case report explores the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in both diagnosing and managing SSS, marking a pioneering contribution to the field. An 80-year-old woman with persistent dizziness, unresponsive to conventional treatments, underwent TCM pulse diagnosis, which revealed significant inter-arm pulse discrepancies.

Bioabsorbable magnesium-based bulk metallic glass composite (BMGC) for improved medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy in knee osteoarthritis.

Background And Objective: Osteoarthritis is a widespread and debilitating condition, particularly affecting the medial compartment of knee joint due to varus knee deformities. Medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO) has emerged as an effective treatment, but it comes with challenges like fractures, correction loss, and nonunion, leading to unsatisfactory results in up to 26 % of patients. In response, our study explores the potential of a bioabsorbable magnesium-based bulk metallic glass composite (MgZnCa BMGC) enriched with molybdenum particles as an innovative solution for MOWHTO.

Quaternary Radiation of Spring Ephemerals.

The emergence of East Asian spring ephemerals and the unique ecosystem can be attributed primarily to vicariance, brought about by the Quaternary rifting of the Okinawa Trough, the formation of the East China Sea, and the isolation of the island chains of Ryukyu, Japan, and Taiwan from the Asian continent. The northern forests of Japan, dominated by and the associated , present a captivating display of spring-flowering ephemerals, including , , , and . Among these, is also considered part of the spring ephemerals.

Spatial-Temporal Variation of Grain Magnesium, Calcium and Their Response to Phosphorus Nutrition in Sweet Corn.

Sweet corn ( L. ) is gaining global popularity as a staple crop and a vegetable due to its high nutritional value. However, information on grain magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) status and their response to phosphorus (P) fertilization in sweet corn is still insufficient.

Improving postoperative outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer: Inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers.

This editorial assesses the prognostic value of preoperative inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers in patients undergoing surgical resection for pancreatic cancer. Lu evaluated the ability of seven biomarkers to predict postoperative recovery and long-term outcomes. These biomarkers were albumin-to-globulin ratio, prognostic nutritional index (PNI), systemic immune-inflammation index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, nutritional risk index, and geriatric nutritional risk index.

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions May Attenuate Acute Exacerbations of Asthma: Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan.

Background: Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were widely used during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, however their impact on acute asthma exacerbations (AEs) is not well studied.

Methods: We had retrospectively collected patients with asthma AEs between 2019 and 2020 and retrieved data from the Chang Gung Research Database, including clinical manifestations, medications, pulmonary function, clinic and emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Results: A total of 39,108 adult patients with asthma were enrolled, of whom 1502 were eligible for analysis.

Redox-Gated Optical Modulation of Coumarin-Triphenyliminophosphorane Fluorophores.

Novel coumarin-triphenyliminophosphorane (TPIPP) fluorophores, synthesized via a nonhydrolytic Staudinger reaction, exhibit remarkable redox-responsive optical properties. Upon chemical and electrochemical oxidation, these compounds display a hypsochromic shift in absorption from 430 to 350 nm, accompanied by up to 11-fold fluorescence enhancement under 405 nm excitation. The fluorescence switching occurs at an electrochemical oxidation potential of approximately +2.

Conglomerated Imiquimod and Metronidazole Incorporated Biodegradable Nanofibrous Mats for Potential Therapy of Cervical Cancer.

Background: In clinical practice, imiquimod is used to treat Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-related lesions, such as condyloma and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN). Metronidazole is the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for bacterial vaginosis. The study developed biodegradable imiquimod- and metronidazole-loaded nanofibrous mats and assessed their effectiveness for the topical treatment of cervical cancer, a type of HPV-related lesion.

A simple and rapid evaluation of boar sperm quality using the resazurin colorimetric assay.

Ensuring boar sperm quality before insemination is crucial for maximizing field fertility and efficient pig production. The computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and fluorescence probes combined with flow cytometry (FC) are commonly used techniques for evaluating sperm kinematics and functions, closely related to animal fertility. However, their high cost and complex operations make it challenging to apply them in laboratories or pig breeding farms with limited resources.

In silico approaches for developing sesquiterpene derivatives as antagonists of human nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) for nicotine addiction treatment.

Cinnamomum, a genus within the Lauraceae family, has gained global recognition due to its wide-ranging utility. Extensive research has been dedicated to exploring its phytochemical composition and pharmacological effects. Notably, the uniqueness of Cinnamomum lies in its terpenoid content, characterized by distinctive structures and significant biological implications.

Zinner syndrome incidentally diagnosed in a man with ureteropelvic junction stone and hydronephrosis: A case report.

Zinner syndrome is a congenital anomaly characterized by seminal vesicle cysts, ipsilateral renal agenesis, and ejaculatory duct obstruction possibly associated with infertility. Only 200 cases of Zinner syndrome have been reported since its discovery in 1914. We present the case of a 63-year-old man seeking treatment for a ureteropelvic junction stone causing severe hydronephrosis.

Microplastic and nanoplastic exposure and risk of diabetes mellitus.

The issue of plastic pollutants has become a growing concern. Both microplastics (MPs) (particle size < 5 mm) and nanoplastics (NPs) (particle size < 1 µm) can cause DNA damage, cytotoxicity, and oxidative stress in various organisms. The primary known impacts of microplastic/nanoplastic are observed in the liver and respiratory system, leading to hepatotoxicity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.