Protective Effect of Melatonin against Oxidative Stress-Induced Apoptosis and Enhanced Autophagy in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the retinal macula and results in loss of vision, and AMD is the primary cause of blindness and severe visual impairment among elderly people worldwide. AMD is characterized by the accumulation of drusen in the Bruch's membrane and dysfunction of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors. The pathogenesis of AMD remains unclear, and no effective treatment exists.

Mindfulness-based programme on the psychological health of pregnant women.

Problem: Preparation of psychological well-being is an important component of antenatal education for childbirth, but few courses focus on this component.

Background: The psychosocial health of pregnant women is known to affect perinatal outcomes. Psychosocial stress in women has been associated with increased obstetric interventions and has been shown to affect the health of both mother and child.

Association between obstructive sleep apnea and optic neuropathy: a Taiwanese population-based cohort study.

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with many systemic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between OSA and optic neuropathy (ON), and to evaluate the efficacy of treatment for OSA on the risk of ON.

Methods: We used the data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database, which involved one million insurants from Taiwan National Health Insurance program (Taiwan NHI).

Expressions of chemokines and their receptors in the brain after heat stroke-induced cortical damage.

Despite growing evidence that cytokines and chemokines are expressed in humans and rats after heat stress, the cellular mechanisms underlying the effects on the brain after heatstroke (HS) are not fully understood. In this study, we observed time course changes of chemokines in rat brain tissues and elucidated what kinds of cortical cells were affected after HS. Male SD rats were anesthetized and randomly separated into two groups as follows: (a) normothermic sham and (b) HS rats.

Accurate Prognostic Awareness Facilitates, Whereas Better Quality of Life and More Anxiety Symptoms Hinder End-of-Life Care Discussions: A Longitudinal Survey Study in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients' Last Six Months of Life.

Context: Terminally ill cancer patients do not engage in end-of-life (EOL) care discussions or do so only when death is imminent, despite guidelines for EOL care discussions early in their disease trajectory. Most studies on patient-reported EOL care discussions are cross sectional without exploring the evolution of EOL care discussions as death approaches. Cross-sectional studies cannot determine the direction of association between EOL care discussions and patients' prognostic awareness, psychological well-being, and quality of life (QOL).

Validation of Self-reported Smoking with Urinary Cotinine Levels and Influence of Second-hand Smoke among Conscripts.

Accurate identification of smoking behaviour is crucial to monitor the smoking rate. This study used urinary cotinine (UC) as a biomarker to verify the effectiveness of self-reported smoking behaviour among conscripts during recruit training. The influence of second-hand smoke (SHS) on the UC concentration was also analysed.

Effects of home-based long-term care services on caregiver health according to age.

Background: Caregiver health is a crucial public health concern due to the increasing number of elderly people with disabilities. Elderly caregivers are more likely to have poorer health and be a care recipient than younger caregivers. The Taiwan government offers home-based long-term care (LTC) services to provide formal care and decrease the burden of caregivers.

Transitions in Prognostic Awareness Among Terminally Ill Cancer Patients in Their Last 6 Months of Life Examined by Multi-State Markov Modeling.

Background: Developing accurate prognostic awareness, a cornerstone of preference-based end-of-life (EOL) care decision-making, is a dynamic process involving more prognostic-awareness states than knowing or not knowing. Understanding the transition probabilities and time spent in each prognostic-awareness state can help clinicians identify trigger points for facilitating transitions toward accurate prognostic awareness. We examined transition probabilities in distinct prognostic-awareness states between consecutive time points in 247 cancer patients' last 6 months and estimated the time spent in each state.

UVB promotes the initiation of uveitic inflammatory injury in vivo and is attenuated by UV-blocking protection.

Purpose: Uveitic inflammatory injury can cause irreversible visual loss; however, no single animal model recapitulates all the characteristics of human uveitis. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of the risk factors for uveitis, but the role of UVR in the pathogenesis of uveitic injury is unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether UVB promotes the initiation of, and subsequently contributes to, uveitic inflammatory injury.

Randomized comparison of group versus individual educational interventions for pregnant women to reduce their secondhand smoke exposure.

Background: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure is deleterious to pregnant women and their unborn children. The prevalence of SHS exposure among pregnant women is particularly high in many Asian countries where approximately half of the male population smokes. We aim to investigate the efficacy of an intervention based on an expanded Health Belief Model (HBM) incorporating self-efficacy to educate and empower pregnant women to reduce their SHS exposure.

Procainamide Inhibits DNA Methylation and Alleviates Multiple Organ Dysfunction in Rats with Endotoxic Shock.

Excessive inflammatory and oxidative stress lead to circulatory failure, multiple organ dysfunction, and high mortality in patients with sepsis. Microbial infection-induced DNA hypermethylation is associated with the augmentation of inflammation and oxidative stress. In our previous study, the antiarrhythmic drug procainamide inhibits the expression of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and diminishes IL-6 levels in rats with rhabdomyolysis.

Impact of clinical audits on cesarean section rate.

Objective: Many countries have noted a substantial increase in the cesarean section rate (CSR). Several methods for lowering the CSR have been described. Understanding the impact of clinical audits on the CSR may aid in lowering CSR.

[Application of the 6-Minute Walking Test and Shuttle Walking Test in the Exercise Tests of Patients With COPD].

Exercise training improves the management of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD patients benefit from exercise training programs in terms of improved VO2 peak values and decreased dyspnea, fatigue, hospital admissions, and rates of mortality, increasing exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). COPD is often associated with impairment in exercise tolerance.

Current status of accurate prognostic awareness in advanced/terminally ill cancer patients: Systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Background: No systematic meta-analysis is available on the prevalence of cancer patients' accurate prognostic awareness and differences in accurate prognostic awareness by publication year, region, assessment method, and service received.

Aim: To examine the prevalence of advanced/terminal cancer patients' accurate prognostic awareness and differences in accurate prognostic awareness by publication year, region, assessment method, and service received.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Applications of a Rapid and Sensitive Dengue DUO Rapid Immunochromatographic Test Kit as a Diagnostic Strategy during a Dengue Type 2 Epidemic in an Urban City.

Dengue infection is a major health problem in tropical and subtropical countries. A prospective observational study in a university-affiliated hospital was conducted between August 2015 and September 2015. Patients who visited the emergency department (ED) with a presentation of any symptoms of dengue were eligible for the dengue non-structural protein 1 (NS1), IgM/IgG rapid immunochromatographic tests and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to evaluate the performance of the rapid tests.

Patterns of perspectives on fall-prevention beliefs by community-dwelling older adults: a Q method investigation.

Background: Falling has high incidence and reoccurrence rates and is an essential factor contributing to accidental injury or death for older adults. Enhancing the participation of community-dwelling older adults in fall-prevention programs is crucial. Understanding fall-prevention beliefs will be beneficial for developing a community-based fall-prevention program.

Problems and health needs of adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients following hospital discharge: A qualitative study.

Objectives: To explore problems and health needs of adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients during a one-year period following hospital discharge.

Background: ECMO functions as life support during treatment of advanced cardiac and respiratory failure. Knowledge regarding the problems and health needs of discharged adult patients who have undergone ECMO is lacking.

Traumatic brain injury and affective disorder: A nationwide cohort study in Taiwan, 2000-2010.

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between head injury and the subsequent onset of affective disorders often show conflicting results.

Aims: To investigate the risk of affective disorders following traumatic brain injury in a large Taiwanese cohort.

Method: This retrospective cohort study makes use of the National Health Insurance Research Database.

The Usage Behavior and Intention Stability of Nurses: An Empirical Study of a Nursing Information System.

Background: Many prior studies of technology adoption treat user intention as the single predictor of actual usage behavior. However, as many researchers of behavioral science have pointed out, multiple factors mediate the relationship between user intention and usage behavior.

Purpose: The present article explores the factors that mediate the relationship between intention and actual behavior.

Termite Assemblage Pattern and Niche Partitioning in a Tropical Forest Ecosystem.

Termites are major plant decomposers in tropical forest ecosystems, but their cryptic nature poses an obstacle for studying their ecological roles in depth. In the current study, we quantified climatic and geographic information of 137 termite collection sites in the Kenting National Park, Taiwan, and described the ecological niches and assemblage patterns of 13 termite species of three families. Three major assemblage patterns are reported.

Association between Arsenic Exposure and Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis.

Studies on the association between arsenic exposure and diabetes mellitus (DM) yielded inconsistent results. Epidemiologic data on the associations between arsenic exposures via inhalation and DM are limited. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the risk of DM associated with arsenic exposure.

Trajectories of disability and their relationship with health status and social service use.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: This longitudinal study was conducted between 1994 and 2004 in a cohort of southern Taiwan community-living older residents. The study aims to explore the trajectories of disability and how these patterns differed between respondents who survived and those who died during data collection phases; this study also investigated how health status change and social service use predicted the different trajectories of disability.

Methods: Disability, chronic disease, depression, and social service usage data were collected over six waves.

Association between arsenic exposure and diabetes mellitus in Cambodia.

Whereas studies in Taiwan found associations between arsenic exposure from drinking water and diabetes mellitus (DM), studies in other countries yielded inconsistent results, and diet might be a confounder. We conducted a study in Cambodia, where people have non-Western style diet, to evaluate the association. We measured well water and urine samples and examined skin signs of arsenicosis to assess arsenic exposure and used questionnaires to collect data on potential risk factors.

Polysaccharide Isolated from Zizyphus jujuba ( Hóng Zǎo) Inhibits Interleukin-2 Production in Jurkat T Cells.

Zizyphus jujuba ( Hóng Zǎo), a traditional Chinese herb widely used in many Asian countries, has been shown to possess vital biological activities such as anti-cancer activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of deproteinated polysaccharide (DP) isolated from Z. jujuba.