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Tibetan tea changes during microorganism fermentation. Research on microorganisms in Tibetan tea has focused on their identification, while studies on the influence of specific microorganisms on the components and health functions of Tibetan tea are lacking. Bacillus licheniformis was inoculated into Tibetan tea for intensive fermentation, and the components of B. licheniformisfermented tea (BLT) were detected by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-TOF-MS), and then the eects of BLT on intestinal probiotic functions were investigated by experiments on mice. The results revealed the metabolites of BLT include polyphenols, alkaloids, terpenoids, amino acids, and lipids. Intensified fermentation also improved the antioxidant capacity in vivo and the protective eect on the intestinal barrier of Tibetan tea. In addition, the enhanced fermentation of Tibetan tea exerted intestinal probiotic eects by modulating the relative abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria in the intestinal flora. Therefore, intensive fermentation with B. licheniformis can improve the health benefits of Tibetan tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The elderly are disproportionately affected by age-related hearing loss (ARHL). Despite being a well-known tool for ARHL evaluation, the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly Screening version (HHIE-S) has only traditionally been used for direct screening using self-reported outcomes. This work uses a novel integration of machine learning approaches to improve the predicted accuracy of the HHIE-S tool for ARHL in older adults. Methods: We employed a dataset that was gathered between 2016 and 2018 and included 1,526 senior citizens from several Taipei City Hospital branches. 80% of the data were used for training (n = 1220) and 20% were used for testing (n = 356). XGBoost, Gradient Boosting, and LightGBM were among the machine learning models that were only used and assessed on the training set. In order to prevent data leakage and overfitting, the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM) model—which had the greatest AUC of 0.83 (95% CI 0.81–0.85)—was then only used on the holdout testing data. Results: On the testing set, the LGBM model showed a strong AUC of 0.82 (95% CI 0.79–0.86), far outperforming conventional techniques. Notably, several HHIE-S items and age were found to be significant characteristics. In contrast to traditional HHIE research, which concentrates on the psychological effects of hearing loss, this study combines cutting-edge machine learning techniques—specifically, the LGBM classifier—with the HHIE-S tool. The incorporation of SHAP values enhances the interpretability of the model's predictions and provides a more comprehensive comprehension of the significance of various aspects. Conclusions: Our methodology highlights the great potential that arises from combining machine learning with validated hearing evaluation instruments such as the HHIE-S. Healthcare practitioners can anticipate ARHL more accurately thanks to this integration, which makes it easier to intervene quickly and precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the frequency of symptoms meeting Rome IV functional bowel disorder (FBD) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), investigate factors associated with FBD symptoms, and assess whether having FBD symptoms might influence AS disease activity. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 153 AS patients without known colonic ulcers and 56 sex- and age-matched controls to evaluate FBD (or its subtypes) symptoms. Disease characteristics were also evaluated in the AS group. Results: Sixty (39.2%) of 153 AS patients had FBD symptoms, which were more prevalent than controls (23.2%). Besides, symptoms compatible with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic diarrhoea were detected in 18 and 43 AS patients, respectively. For the AS group, multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that symptoms of FBD, IBS, and chronic diarrhoea were negatively associated with using non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs and positively associated with comorbid fibromyalgia, respectively. In exploration about the effects of FBD (or its subtypes) symptoms on AS disease activity by multivariable linear regression analyses, FBD symptoms and chronic diarrhoea had universal positive associations with assessments of AS disease characteristics, respectively. Conclusions: Patients with AS had frequent symptoms compatible with FBD, IBS, and chronic diarrhoea, proportions of which were lower in those with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. The improvement of FBD symptoms and chronic diarrhoea might be conducive to the disease status of AS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the clinical efficacy of avatrombopag, an oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist, versus subcutaneous recombinant human thrombopoietin (rh-TPO) in the treatment of severe thrombocytopenia (TCP) associated with chronic liver disease (CLD). Methods: Clinical data of 250 patients with severe TCP associated with CLD were collected in a single hospital from January 2019 to January 2022. The main parameters measured were the therapeutic response rate, changes in platelets (PLTs), and adverse events. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to avoid possible selection bias. Results: After PSM, a total of 154 patients were enrolled in the study: 77 in the avatrombopag group and 77 in the rh-TPO group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the effect of increasing the PLT count (Waldχ² = 1.659, p = 0.198; Waldχ² = 0.220, p = 0.639). In addition, no interaction between time and different medications was found (Waldχ² = 0.540, p = 0.910; Waldχ² = 1273, p = 0.736). Interestingly, in the subgroup analysis, both before and after PSM, avatrombopag showed better clinical efficacy than rh-TPO in the treatment of TCP associated with CLD in Child-Pugh Class A (88.89% vs. 63.41%, p =0.003; 81.33% vs. 61.76%, p = 0.043). Fewer patients reported dizziness in the avatrombopag group than in the rh-TPO group both before and after PSM (7.8% vs. 25.0%; 7.8% vs. 24.7%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Both before and after PSM, avatrombopag showed better clinical efficacy than rh-TPO in the treatment of TCP associated with CLD in Child-Pugh Class A and showed a lower incidence of dizziness in all patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent immune activation, which occurs during the whole course of HIV infection, plays a pivotal role in CD4+ T cells depletion and AIDS progression. Furthermore, immune activation is a key factor that leads to impaired immune reconstitution after long-term effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), and is even responsible for the increased risk of developing non-AIDS co-morbidities. Therefore, it's imperative to identify an effective intervention targeting HIVassociated immune activation to improve disease management. Double negative T cells (DNT) were reported to provide immunosuppression during HIV infection, but the related mechanisms remained puzzled. Foxp3 endows Tregs with potent suppressive function to maintain immune homeostasis. However, whether DNT cells expressed Foxp3 and the accurate function of these cells urgently needed to be investigated. Here, we found that Foxp3+ DNT cells accumulated in untreated people living with HIV (PLWH) with CD4+ T cell count less than 200 cells/µl. Moreover, the frequency of Foxp3+ DNT cells was negatively correlated with CD4+ T cell count and CD4/CD8 ratio, and positively correlated with immune activation and systemic inflammation in PLWH. Of note, Foxp3+ DNT cells might exert suppressive regulation by increased expression of CD39, CD25, or vigorous proliferation (high levels of GITR and ki67) in ART-naive PLWH. Our study underlined the importance of Foxp3+ DNT cells in the HIV disease progression, and suggest that Foxp3+ DNT may be a potential target for clinical intervention for the control of immune activation during HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/hypothesis: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of peripheral vestibular disorders in an Asian population of predominantly Han Chinese ethnicity.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Methods: Patients with a peripheral vertigo disorder were identified from the Taiwan Health Insurance Research Database, a database of all medical claims of a randomly selected, population-representative sample of 2 million enrollees of Taiwan's National Health Insurance system covering over 99% of Taiwan's citizens. In 2016, 59,986 patients received a diagnosis of peripheral vestibular disorders in Taiwan. We calculated the population-wide prevalence rates of peripheral vestibular disorders in 2016 by sex and age group (20 to 24, 25 to 29, 30 to 34, 35 to 39, 40 to 44, 45 to 49, 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 64, 65 to 69, and ≥ 70 years) stratified into five urbanization levels.Results: The prevalence rate of peripheral vestibular disorders was 2,833.4 per 100,000 population during the year. Prevalence of Meniere's disease was 70.4 per 100,000, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, 446.4, vestibular neuritis 307.2, and other or unspecified peripheral vestibular dizziness, 2,009.5 per 100,000. Prevalence rates steadily increased with age for every type of peripheral vestibular disorder, and were higher among females compared to males. The female-to-male gender ratios were 1.84, 1.89, and 1.93 for Meniere's disease, vestibular neuritis, and other peripheral vestibular dizziness, respectively. Counties with the lowest urbanization level had the highest prevalence rates of all types of peripheral vestibular disorders except vestibular neuritis.Conclusions: Results showed that peripheral vestibular disorders are common in Taiwan, increase with age, are predominantly female, and show higher prevalence in rural areas.Level Of Evidence: 2b Laryngoscope, 131:639-643, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pelteobagrus nitidus is one of the dominant benthic fish species after impoundment in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). To study its population characteristics, we sampled fishes (N=2477) from the lower, middle, and upper sections of the TGR from 2015 to 2016, and analyzed the age, growth, and mortality characteristics of P. nitidus. The average standard length (SL) of P. nitidus was (87.1±0.5) mm, and the SL showed no sexual dimorphism. The averaged SL (93.1±0.7) mm and averaged body weight (12.5±0.3) g of populations in the upper section were significantly higher than those of populations in the lower and middle sections. The otolith radius was significantly positive correlated with the SL. P. nitidus was composed of 1--6 ages in the TGR, and two aged individuals dominated the population (42.04%), and the age structures were different among sections. The SL and body weight (BW) relationship was: BW=5x10--6 SL3.21, which exhibited an allometric growth pattern. The VBGF growth equations for the SL and BW were: Lt=132.2 [1--e--0.67(t+0.27)] and Wt=32.3 [1--e--0.67(t+0.27)] 3.21, respectively. Our results suggested that the growth inflection point of the BW was 1.5 age, and the fishing mortality coefficient was 0.61/a. The current exploitation of P. nitidus was 0.44, indicating that P. nitidus was in a state of mild development. The fullness index, hepato-somatic index, and lipid-somatic index showed similar spatial variation patterns, i.e., that values were the highest in the upper section. The fullness index was significantly positive with the hepato-somatic index or lipid-somatic index, suggesting that the three indexes were suitable for evaluating nutritional status of P. nitidus. Our study provides some scientific implications for the management of P. nitidus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate keyhole status prediction is critical for realizing the closed-loop control of the keyhole plasma arc welding (K-PAW) processes for acquiring full-penetration weld joints with high efficiency. Visually captured weld pool images from topside provide sufficient information of the liquid metal as well as keyhole behaviors. Weld pool, plasma arc, and keyhole entrance could be clearly recognized reflecting the different features during different keyholing stages. It was proposed to extract the image features automatically based on a deep learning algorithm rather than manually selecting characteristic parameters. Since directly training the deep CNN (convolutional neural network) model using the acquired data led to convergence failure, a well-trained generalized model was employed and fine-tuned accordingly to more easily extract the K-PAW image features. Model training was conducted using obtained dataset, which took weld pool images as input and penetration/keyhole status (partial penetration with a blind keyhole or full penetration with a through keyhole) as output. Underlying correlations between the penetration/keyhole status and topside weld pool images were established. For further verifying the effectiveness and reliability of the trained model, experiments were designed acquiring typical slow keyholing under constant welding current and rapid keyhole switching under pulse welding current. Based on the given data, the verified 90% accuracy was achieved for correctly predicting the keyhole/penetration status. Finally, the visualization of the convolutional layers was carried out, and displayed the features clearly, which is of great significance for understanding the internal mechanism of the neural network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher rates of poor cognitive performance are known to prevail among persons with tinnitus in all age groups. However, no study has explored the association between tinnitus and early-onset dementia. We hypothesize that tinnitus may precede or occur concurrently with subclinical or early onset dementia in adults younger than 65 years of age. This case–control study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, identifying 1308 patients with early-onset dementia (dementia diagnosed before 65 years of age) and 1308 matched controls. We used multivariable logistic regressions to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for prior tinnitus among patients with dementia versus controls. Among total 2616 sample participants, the prevalence of prior tinnitus was 18%, 21.5% among cases and 14.5% among controls (p < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression showed and adjusted OR for prior tinnitus of 1.6 for cases versus controls (95% CI: 1.3 ~ 2.0). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and medical co-morbidities, patients with early-onset dementia had a 67% higher likelihood of having prior tinnitus (OR = 1.628; 95% CI = 1.321–2.006). Our findings showed that pre-existing tinnitus was associated with a 68% increased risk of developing early-onset dementia among young and middle-aged adults. The results call for greater awareness of tinnitus as a potential harbinger of future dementia in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the leading environmental cause of childhood hearing impairment. However, its significance remains largely undocumented in many regions of the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical features of cCMV infection in East Asia. Neonates born at a municipal hospital in Taipei were prospectively recruited and underwent concurrent hearing and CMV screenings. Those who failed the hearing screening or screened positive for CMV were subjected to a focused audiological and/or virological surveillance. The characteristics of the newborns and their mothers were compared between the CMV-positive and CMV-negative groups. Of the 1,532 newborns who underwent concurrent hearing and CMV screenings, seven (0.46%) were positive for cCMV infection. All seven CMV-positive newborns were asymptomatic at birth, and none of them developed hearing or other symptoms during a follow-up period of 14.4±6.3 months. The mothers of the CMV-positive newborns demonstrated higher gravidity (2.4 ± 1.4 vs. 2.1 ± 1.2) and parity (2.0 ± 1.2 vs. 1.6 ± 0.7) than those in the CMV-negative group; however, the difference did not reach statistical significance. The prevalence of cCMV infection in Taipei newborns was 0.46%, which is slightly lower than that of other populations and that of a previous report in the Taiwanese population. The relatively low prevalence in this study might be attributed to the improved public health system and decreased fertility rate in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This population-based study aimed to study the association between tinnitus and cervical spondylosis. A case–control study. We retrieved data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We identified 2465 patients with tinnitus (cases) and 7395 comparison patients by propensity score matching. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to estimate the odds (OR) of a diagnosis of cervical spondylosis preceding the tinnitus diagnosis relative to controls. We found that 1596 (16.19%) of 9860 sample patients had received a diagnosis of cervical spondylosis before the index date, significantly different between the tinnitus group and control group (17.20% vs. 15.85%, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed an adjusted OR for prior cervical spondylosis of 1.235 for cases vs. controls (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.088–1.402). Further, the adjusted ORs were 1.246 (95% CI: 1.041–1.491) and 1.356 (95% CI: 1.016–1.811), respectively, among patients aged 45 ∼ 64 and >64 groups. No difference in cervical spondylosis likelihood between cases and controls was found among patients aged 18 ∼ 44 groups. In conclusion, the study shows a positive association between cervical spondylosis and tinnitus. The findings call for greater awareness among physicians about a possible somatosensory component of cervical spine function which may contribute to tinnitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite studies reporting a possible association between malignant otitis externa (MOE) and diabetes, there are no large-scale population-based empirical studies. This nationwide, population-based case-control study explored the association of MOE occurrence with previously diagnosed diabetes. Methods: Data were retrieved from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, 753 patients with MOE (cases) and 2 259 propensity score-matched patients without MOE (controls). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to examine the association of MOE with previously diagnosed diabetes. Results: In total, 728 (24.2%) out of 3 012 sample patients had diabetes prior to the index date. Chi-square test revealed a significant difference in diabetes prevalence among cases and controls (54.8% vs 13.9%, p < 0.001). Simple logistic regression showed the odds ratio for prior diabetes among cases versus controls was 7.50 (95% CI, 6.22~9.03). The adjusted odds ratio of prior diabetes for cases versus controls was 10.07 (95% CI, 8.15~12.44) after adjusting for patient demographics and medical co-morbidities. Conclusions: This study found an association between MOE and diabetes. One clinical practice implication of our study is that when a patient with diabetes complains of otalgia or otorrhea, and physical examination shows swelling of the ear canal or granulation growth, physicians should consider the possibility of MOE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tinnitus due to hyperactivity across neuronal ensembles along the auditory pathway is reported. We hypothesized that trigeminal neuralgia patients may subsequently suffer from tinnitus. Using nationwide, population-based data and a retrospective cohort study design, we investigated the risk of tinnitus within 1 year following trigeminal neuralgia. Methods: We used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Dataset, a claims database, to identify all patients diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia from January 2001 to December 2014, 12,587 patients. From the remaining patients, we identified 12,587 comparison patients without trigeminal neuralgia by propensity score matching, using sex, age, monthly income, geographic region, residential urbanization level, and tinnitus-relevant comorbidities (hyperlipidemia, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, cervical spondylosis, temporomandibular joint disorders and injury to head and neck and index year). All study patients (n = 25,174) were tracked for a one-year period to identify those with a subsequent diagnosis of tinnitus over 1-year follow-up. Results: Among total 25,174 sample patients, the incidence of tinnitus was 18.21 per 100 person-years (95% CI = 17.66 ~ 18.77), the rate being 23.57 (95% CI = 22.68 ~ 24.49) among patients with trigeminal neuralgia and 13.17 (95% CI = 12.53 ~ 13.84) among comparison patients. Furthermore, the adjusted Cox proportional hazard ratio for tinnitus in the trigeminal neuralgia group was 1.68 (95% CI = 1.58 ~ 1.80) relative to the comparison cohort. Conclusions: We found a significantly increased risk of tinnitus within 1 year of trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis compared to those without the diagnosis. Further studies in other countries and ethnicities are needed to explore the relationship between trigeminal neuralgia and subsequent tinnitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between pioglitazone use and the occurrence of head and neck cancer. Methods: Data for this case‐control study were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 21 464 diabetic patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancers were identified. We used propensity score matching to select 64 392 comparison patients (3:1 ratio). Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association of head and neck cancer with pioglitazone use in the 5 years preceding the cancer diagnosis. Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant difference in the prevalence of prior using pioglitazone between cases and controls (19.3% vs 18.5%, P <.001) was observed. Multiple regression analysis showed adjusted odds of pioglitazone use of 1.06 (95% CI: 1.02‐1.10) among cases relative to controls. Conclusions: Prior pioglitazone use was associated with oral cavity cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average annual incidence rate of malignant otitis media was 0.221 per 100 000 people. In this population-based study, we describe trends in the incidence of MOE over time and show that the incidence of MOE substantially changed between 2000 and 2015. A population-based study conducted in Spain in 2008-2013 also reported 355 cases of MOE, with an overall incidence of 0.13 per 100 000 cases.[8] However, neither of them was able to show secular trends of MOE over a more extended period. The incidence of MOE was highest in the elderly and higher in male populations, while the incidence substantially decreased irrespective of age and sex over the 15-year study period. [Extracted from the article]

Barrier membrane is an essential component in guided bone regeneration for successful bone augmentation in implant dentistry. The microstructure of barrier membrane can remarkably impact its mechanical properties and biological performances. This study was aimed to investigate the pore structures of a bi-layered porous polyethylene (PPE) barrier membrane by 2D and 3D characterization techniques. Two opposite sides of PPE barrier membrane were imaged with scanning electron microscope and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The 2D and 3D pore characteristics were then analysed with associated software, respectively. Both techniques similarly showed that PPE barrier membrane comprised two different structures including one with low porosity (smooth) and one with high porosity (coarse) as designed. In 2D analysis, both surfaces possessed similar positively skewed distributions in pore area and circle diameter. The smooth side had significantly smaller pore amount, pore density, surface porosity, pore area, circle diameter, Feret diameter and aspect ratio, but larger roundness, circularity and solidity than the coarse side (p < 0.05). In 3D analysis, the smooth side possessed significantly smaller pore diameter and volume porosity than the coarse one (p < 0.05). No significant differences in strut thickness, specific surface area, connectivity density (Conn.D), and degree of anisotropy (DA) were found between two layers (p > 0.05). The combination of 2D and 3D techniques could be effectively employed to characterize the pore microstructure and morphology of PPE barrier membrane. The limitations of each technique were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and MVP using a population-based dataset. Data for this case-control study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. In total, 3399 cases of newly diagnosed SSNHL were identified. We used propensity score matching to select 3399 comparison patients (one for every case) from the same dataset. The selected matching variables included age, sex, monthly income, geographical location, urbanization level of the patient’s residence, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Chi-squared tests were used to compare differences in sociodemographic characteristics, while conditional logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of SSNHL with previously diagnosed MVP. Of the 6798 sampled subjects, 131 (1.93%) patients had received a diagnosis of MVP prior to the index date. A significant difference in the prevalence of prior MVP between cases and controls (2.41% vs. 1.44%, p = 0.004) was observed. The conditional logistic regression analysis conditioned on gender, age, monthly income, urbanization level, geographic region, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension suggested that the odds ratio of prior MVP for cases was 1.69 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18~2.42) compared to controls. Our study found that patients with MVP had a 1.69-fold higher risk of getting SSNHL compared to patients without MVP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pincer palladium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition of diarylphosphines to α,β-unsaturated sulfonamides was realized for the synthesis of chiral sulfonamide phosphines with up to 98% ee under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of solidification rate on crack tip plastic zone size at various crack lengths was calculated analytically and numerically by simplified Sih’s and Irwin’s models, respectively. Influence of plastic zone size is explained in terms of COD and elastic stress intensity factor within valid range of small scale yielding approximation. Up to plastic zone size range of 4-5 mm, a good agreement between numerical and analytical plastic zone size and elastic stress intensity factor for all weldments was observed. For high loads and greater crack lengths, experimentally obtained COD values were found 15-19 % more than simulation ones due to rapidly induced plasticity at high crack dimensions. Solidification rate showed a significant influence on FCPR, for solidification rates 13.75 °C/s, 6.97 °C/s and 4.32 °C/s the obtained fatigue strength was 35.29 MPa, 36.26 MPa and 41.32 MPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion: Palatoplasty can significantly decrease their middle ear re-intubation rate with a relatively lower hazard ratio compared to children who underwent VTI only.Objectives: In children with cleft palate, questions remain about the overall effect of ventilation tube insertion (VTI) and palatoplasty for their OME. A large-scale study might offer more evidence for the roles of palatal surgery.Subjects and methods: This was a retrospective birth cohort study based upon a national database. We analyzed children born between 1999–2004 and diagnosed as cleft palate and/or lips. These children, according to their surgeries, were separated into two groups: (1) VTI only, and (2) VTI and palatoplasty. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test were used to calculate their cumulative tube re-insertion rates. Their hazard ratios of tube re-insertion were also analyzed.Results: In total, 1205 cleft children were collected, with 151 in the VTI only group and 1054 in the VTI + palatoplasty group. Ventilation tube re-insertion rates were significantly lower in the VTI + palatoplasty group (p = 0.002). The cumulative re-insertion rates also showed a significant difference (p = 0.001). When compared to the VTI only group, the adjusted hazard ratio was 0.528 in the VTI + palatoplasty group (p = 0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives/hypothesis: Whereas the impression that poor oral hygiene is linked to the development of sialolithiasis may be widely accepted, very few studies provide evidence to support this. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the association between chronic periodontitis (CP) and the subsequent development of salivary gland stone based on a nationwide coverage database.Study Design: A case-control study.Methods: A total of 987 subjects with sialolithiasis were included as cases. In a ratio of five controls per case, 4,935 controls matched in terms of sex and age group were selected. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the possible association of sialolithiasis with previously diagnosed CP.Results: The prevalence of prior CP between cases and controls demonstrated that 1,831 (30.9%) out of the 5,922 sampled subjects had prior CP. By Chi-square test, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of prior CP between the cases and controls (36.8% vs. 29.7%, P < 0.001). By conditional logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio (OR) of prior CP for cases was 1.37 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-1.56) compared to the controls after adjusting for geographic location and tobacco use. Further analyzing the relationship between sialolithiasis and prior CP according to sex, sialolithiasis was associated with prior CP regardless of sex. The adjusted OR of prior CP for the cases was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.10-1.64) and 1.41 (95% CI, 1.15-1.73) for males and females, respectively, when compared to controls.Conclusion: This study demonstrates an association between CP and sialolithiasis.Level Of Evidence: 3b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion: Patients with risk factors including younger age, mastoiditis, external ear disease, treatment by older surgeons, and concomitant mastoidectomy should receive detailed management to minimize the probability of re-operation for chronic otitis media (COM). Objectives: Although COM remains a common ear disease requiring surgical intervention, its re-operation risks are less well-documented. This study aimed to compare patients with COM who underwent re-operation and those patients with no re-operation, and identify the risks of re-operation. Method: This retrospective cohort study analyzed the trend of COM surgery from 1999–2009, and identified the re-operation risks of 18 895 patients with COM who underwent surgery from 2002–2006 using the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. Results: Among the study population, 129 patients underwent revision surgery during a 5.5 ± 1.5 year follow-up period. A univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the re-operation rate was significantly higher in patients under 18 years of age, those with mastoiditis, disorders of external ear, treatment by surgeons of 50–64 years of age, use of a very high volume surgeon, and combined surgery with mastoidectomy. A multivariate analysis further limited the re-operation risk factors to younger patients, those with mastoiditis, external ear disorders, treatment by older surgeons, and concomitant mastoidectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor inhibitors has been reported to be associated with cross-resistance to radiation. Paris Saponins (PSs) exert a wide range of pharmacological activities, including cell apoptosis induction, multidrug resistance inhibition, angiogenesis inhibition and tumor cell migration by modulating various signaling pathways. The present study aimed to investigate the radiosensitization effects of PSII, PSVI and PSVII in a gefitinib-resistant PC-9-ZD lung adenocarcinoma cell line, and the possible mechanism underlying their function. A clonogenic assay was performed to determine the effects of PS radiosensitization on the PC-9-ZD cell line. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and cell apoptosis was analyzed with Annexin V/propidium iodide and Hoechst staining. Protein expression levels were detected by western blotting. The results of the present study revealed a significant increase in PC-9-ZD cell line radiosensitivity following treatment with PSs. PSs induced G2/M cell cycle phase arrest and apoptosis of the irradiated PC-9-ZD cells. Notably, the expression levels of B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) were downregulated, and those of caspase-3, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and p21/Waf1/Cip1 were upregulated following treatment with PSs. The present results demonstrated that PSs induced radiosensitivity in gefitinib-resistant cells by inducing G2/M phase arrest and by enhancing the apoptotic response via the modulation of caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2 and p21/Waf1/Cip1 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: Although it is known that inflammatory processes can elevate the risk of cancer, to date the association between allergic rhinitis (AR) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between NPC and AR based on a population-based database in Taiwan. Study Design: A case-control study. Methods: In total, 1,799 NPC cases and 5,397 randomly selected controls without NPC were included. We evaluated the prevalence and risk of prior AR between cases and controls. We also performed a conditional logistic regression analysis to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for having been previously diagnosed with AR between cases and controls. Results: In total, 2,453 of the 7,196 study subjects (34.1%) had previously received an AR diagnosis; 875 (48.6%) were cases and 1,578 (29.2%) were controls (P < 0.001). The conditional logistic regression suggested that the OR of prior AR for cases was 2.29 (95% CI = 2.05-2.56) compared to controls. Even after adjusting for geographic region, monthly income, urbanization level, diabetes, tobacco use disorder, and alcohol abuse, the OR of having previously received an AR diagnosis among cases was 2.25 (95% CI = 2.02-2.59) that of controls. Furthermore, after excluding subjects diagnosed with AR within 1, 2, or 3 years prior to the index date, the respective adjusted ORs were 1.91, 1.61, and 1.35. Conclusions: This study demonstrated an association between NPC and prior AR. We recommend that physicians and patients with AR keep in mind this potential risk of subsequent NPC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was reported that O glycosylation is associated with hepatic stellate cell activation and regulates collagen expression. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of O glycosylation on the activation of human hepatic stellate cells. We found that the inhibitor of O glycosylation, benzyl-α-GalNAc (2 and 4 mM), could significantly inhibit cells proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, benzyl-α-GalNAc decreased the expressions of α-smooth muscle actin, collagen I, and collagen III. The results indicate that O glycosylation is involved in the activation of hepatic stellate cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis Although chronic periodontitis (CP) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) both share immunological disturbances as pathological factors, no prior study has investigated the risk for CP among patients with CRS. This study set out to provide an estimation of risk by utilizing a cohort study design to leverage the statistical power of a population-based dataset in Taiwan. Study Design A retrospective cohort study. Methods In total, 13,782 CRS subjects were included in the study cohort and 41,346 subjects were randomly extracted for the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject in this study (N = 55,128) for a 5-year period following their index date to identify those subjects who received a subsequent diagnosis of CP. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted to calculate the 5-year risk of subsequent CP following a diagnosis of CRS among the sampled subjects. Results The incidence rate of CP during the 5-year follow-up period was 5.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.95-5.30) per 100 person-years and 3.24 (95% CI, 3.17-3.30) per 100 person-years for the study and comparison cohort, respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that the hazard ratio for CP during the 5-year follow-up period for subjects with CRS was 1.59 times (95% CI, 1.52-1.67) that of comparison subjects after adjusting for monthly income, geographic region, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hyperlipidemia, and censoring for cases who died during the 5-year follow-up period. Conclusions This study detected an increased risk for CP among patients suffering from CRS. CRS patients should be alerted to pay particular attention to their oral hygiene practices to prevent both CP and its downstream sequelae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: It has been recognized that chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) involves intracranial vessels and may be associated with stroke occurrence. However, the detailed epidemiological profile of stroke risk among patients with CRS is still not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the frequency and risk for stroke among patients with CRS by conducting a large scale population-based cohort study in Taiwan. Methods: All study cohorts were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. This study included 15,846 CRS subjects in the study cohort and 47,538 randomly selected subjects in the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject in this study for a 5 year period following their index dates to identify each subject that received a subsequent diagnosis of stroke. Stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions were analyzed to compare the 5 year risk of subsequent stroke following a diagnosis of CRS. Results: The incidence rate of stroke during the 5-year follow-up period was 10.65 (95% CI: 9.93-11.41) per 100 person years and 7.53 (95% CI: 7.18-7.89) per 100 person years for the study and comparison cohort, respectively. The covariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for stroke revealed that that subjects with CRS were more likely than comparison subjects to have a diagnosis of ischemic stroke during the 5-year follow-up period (HR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.18-1.53). However, there was no significant difference in the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (HR = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.94-2.47) or intracerebral hemorrhage (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.71-1.31). Conclusions: Patients with CRS were at higher risk for stroke occurrence during the 5 year follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This study set out to explore the association between obstructive sleep apnoea ( OSA) and prior chronic periodontitis ( CP) by utilizing a population-based data set with a case-control design in Taiwan. Materials and Methods We included 7673 subjects with OSA as cases, and randomly selected 21,963 subjects without a history of OSA as controls. We performed conditional logistic regression analyses to explore the association between OSA and having been previously diagnosed with CP. Results There was a significant difference in the prevalence of prior CP between cases and controls (33.8% versus 22.6%, p < 0.001). Conditional logistic regression analysis suggested that the odds ratio of prior CP for cases was 1.75 (95% CI = 1.68-1.88) times greater than that of controls after adjusting for monthly income and geographical location, as well as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidaemia, obesity, tobacco use disorder, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and alcohol abuse. Conclusion Our study detected an association between OSA and a prior diagnosis of CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although the etiology of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) remains unknown, there is increasing evidence suggesting an underlying cardiovascular pathomechanism. This study set out to explore a possible association between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and having previously been diagnosed with SSNHL by using a population-based dataset with a case-control design. Methods: In this study, we utilized administrative claims data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance program to identify 48,674 cases with AMI and to randomly select 243,370 controls. Conditional logistic regression was used to explore the association between AMI and having previously been diagnosed with SSNHL. Results: Of the sampled patients, 1,313 (0.4%) had been diagnosed with SSNHL within 5 years before the index date; 340 (0.75% of the cases) were from the cases and 974 (0.4% of controls) were from the controls. After adjusting for patient geographic region, monthly income, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and coronary heart disease, conditional logistic regression analysis (conditioned on sex, age group, urbanization level, and index date) revealed that the odds ratio for prior SSNHL in patients with AMI was 1.50 (95% CI 1.30-1.70; p < 0.001) that of controls. We found that the adjusted odds ratio of prior hospitalization for the treatment of SSNHL for cases was 2.11 (95% CI 1.65-2.69; p < 0.001) times that of controls. Conclusions: This study identified a novel association between AMI and prior SSNHL. The results of this study highlight a need for clinicians dealing with SSNHL patients to be alert to their risk of subsequent AMI. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion: There is no increased risk for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) among people who have experienced a recent herpes zoster attack, compared with a matching population. Objective: The pathogenesis of SSNHL remains unknown, but viral infection is considered to be one of the main causes. The objective of this case-cohort study was to investigate the frequency and risk for SSNHL following a recent herpes zoster attack in the general population. Methods: We extracted 313 612 patients with herpes zoster from a nationwide health registry in Taiwan, and also randomly selected 313 612 matched control subjects. Each participant was individually tracked for 2 months from their index ambulatory care visit to identify those who developed SSNHL. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regressions were conducted to analyze the risk of SSNHL for the sampled patients. Results: Of the sample of 627 224 patients, 121 (0.02%) had SSNHL during the 2-month follow-up period, 59 from the study group (0.02% of the herpes zoster patients) and 62 from the comparison group (0.02% of patients without herpes zoster). Regression analysis revealed no increased adjusted hazard of SSNHL during the 2-month follow-up period for patients with herpes zoster as compared to those without (hazard ratio = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.63-1.28, p = 0.540) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the putative association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) using a nationwide population- based data set. Obstructive sleep apnea has been associated with generalized inflammation and nervousendocrine, cardiovascular, and other systemic biophysiologic phenomena. However, to our knowledge, no investigations have been conducted using large data sets to examine the association between OSA and auditory disorders. Design: Case-control study. Participants:Weidentified 3192 patients diagnosed with SSNHL from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database as the study group and randomly extracted the data of 15 960 subjects matched by sex, age and year of first SSNHL diagnosis as controls. Main Outcome Measures: Cases of OSA were identified by having been diagnosed as OSA prior to the index date of SSNHL diagnosis. Conditional logistic regression matched on age group and sex was used to assess the possible association between SSNHL and OSA among the sampled patients. Results: Of 19 152 patients, 1.2% had OSA diagnoses prior to the index date; OSA was diagnosed in 1.7% of the SSNHL group and 1.2% of the controls. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbid medical disorders, we found that male patients with SSNHL were more likely to have prior OSA than controls (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.02-2.16) (P=.04). No such association was found among female patients. Conclusions: Male patients with SSNHL had a higher proportion of priorOSA than non-SSNHL-diagnosed controls; no such association was found among female patients. Further study will be needed to confirm our findings, explore the underlying pathomechanisms, and investigate the difference between sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnMgO thin films have been deposited on Si(111) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique at growth temperature from 300 to 700°C in nitrogen ambient of 1.0 Pa. The effects of growth temperature on structural and optical properties of deposited ZnMgO thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared absorption (IR) spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The results of XRD and SEM analyses show that the film fabricated at 400°C possesses good crystallinity with hexagonal wurtzite structure and surface morphology. The Mg has been incorporated into ZnO in the form of substitutional Zn. The IR spectra reveal the typical absorption peaks of ZnMgO. The band-gap values have been obtained from 2.96 to 4.23 eV with increasing growth temperature. The PL spectra show that the highest UV emission is obtained at growth temperature of 600°C, and the obvious blue-shift is observed. This may be assigned as the change of the band-gap due to the increasing incorporation of Mg ions with the increasing growth temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-hydrogen production from sweet sorghum stalk using mixed anaerobic sludge was reported in this paper. Batch tests were carried out to analyze influences of several environmental factors on yield of H2 from sweet sorghum stalk under constant mesophillic temperature (36±1°C). The experimental results showed that, for the raw stalk, the cumulative hydrogen yield was 52.1 ml g-1·TVS with utilization percentages of sugars, hemi-cellulose and cellulose in the stalk being 89.12, 15.23 and 13.89% respectively; whereas for the stalk pretreated by 0.4% NaOH solution at room temperature for 24 h, the cumulative hydrogen yield was 127.26 ml g-1·TVS with utilization percentages of sugars, hemi-cellulose and cellulose being 99.17, 53.64, 41.56%, respectively. The hydrogen content in the biogas was about 53% while the methane content was less than 4% throughout the study. Besides hydrogen and methane, the main metabolic products detected were ethanol, propionate and butyrate. The experimental results suggested that the alkalization pretreatment of the substrate plays a crucial role in the conversion of the sweet sorghum stalk wastes into bio-hydrogen by the mixed anaerobic sludge. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel polarization-insensitive metasurface with angular stability for ultra-broadband (from 7 to 12 GHz) backscatter radar cross section (RCS) reduction is investigated. The proposed metasurface is composed of carefully arranged unit cells with spatially varied dimension, which can diffuse reflection uniformly and avoid the reflection in the specular direction. A proposed metasurface sample is fabricated and tested to validate RCS reduction behavior predicted by full-wave simulation software ANSYS HFSS. A more than 10 dB RCS reduction within the entire X-band is observed, indicating our metasurface may be potentially applied to future stealth technology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]