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Background/purpose Taiwan Drug-Injury Relief System (TDRS) has been implemented since 1999. More than 60% of the approved applications were associated with severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs). Studies assessing SCARs using real-world evidence are very limited. TDRS offers abundant case information as a source of real-world evidence to investigate the characteristics of SCARs in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to understand the trends and characteristics of SCARs in Taiwan. Methods Applications from Drug-Injury Relief Database (TDRD) from 1999 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results A declining trend in SCARs application was noticed after 2012, and 952 applications of SCARs were identified. The most common subtypes of SCARs were SJS/TEN (n = 455/206), DRESS (n = 228), GBFDE (n = 34) and AGEP (n = 18). The most common culprit drugs were allopurinol, carbamazepine, phenytoin, diclofenac and lamotrigine for SJS/TEN; allopurinol, phenytoin, co-trimoxazole, carbamazepine and phenobarbital for DRESS; mefenamic acid for GBFDE; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and beta-lactam antibacterials for AGEP. The proportions of mortality cases were 28.9% for SJS/TEN; 36% for DRESS; 11.8% for GBFDE and 5.6% for AGEP. The mean latent period of SJS/TEN, DRESS, GBFDE and AGEP were 21.8 days, 29.2 days, 3.3 days and 6.7 days, respectively. Conclusions The approved drug-injury relief applications associated with SCARs were mainly SJS, TEN and DRESS. The most common culprit drugs were antiepileptics, antibacterials, antigout agents, and NSAIDs. The latent periods showed some distinct features for different types of SCARs. In light of the high mortality rate, public awareness and vigilance of SCARs are crucial for the patient safety.

This study takes the three dimensions of CSR, namely, economic (G), social (S), and environmental(E) dimensions, and the three indicators of corporate governance performance, stakeholders and environmental information disclosure, to explore the relationship between family business of CSR and brand value and determine whether the CSR performance of companies in electronic and non-electronic industries has significantly positive effect on brand value. According to the empirical results, regardless of industry, a better CSR performance by a family business has stronger effect on brand value than that of non-family business. Regardless of industry, a better CSR in both electronics and non-electronics companies exerts a significantly positive effect on brand value. A strong tie between family business in an non-electronic industry and the stakeholder contributes to a higher brand value of an enterprise; a higher degree of environmental information disclosure of an electronics family business exerts greater influence on brand value than does a non-electronics family business.

Phytochemical investigation on the rhizomes of Paris fargesii var. petiolata (Baker ex C. H. Wright) Wang et Tang led to the isolation of five previously undescribed steroidal saponins, parpetiosides A-E (1-5), and six known analogs (6-11). Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic data analysis and chemical methods. Compound 5 was a rare steroidal saponin with disaccharide moiety linked at C-26 of dehydrokryptogenin that was hardly seen in the genus Paris. The cytotoxicities of the isolated compounds against three human cancer cell lines (U87, HepG2 and SGC-7901) were evaluated, and compound 1 displayed certain inhibitory effect with IC

A microwave-assisted base-free intramolecular cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) of 3-aniline substituted coumarins and quinolinones have been developed. A broad range of indolo[2,3-c]coumarins and indolo[2,3-c]quinolinones can be easily afforded in good to high yields (up to 93%) under palladium catalysis. The method is among the most straightforward and convenient ways to access these fused polyheterocycles.

Background/purpose: Previous studies have reported that the indication and starting dose of allopurinol may be associated with the incidence of hypersensitive reactions. As allopurinol-related severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) constitute a significant proportion of drug injury relief applications in Taiwan, this study sought to examine allopurinol use and related adverse reactions through an analysis of recent drug injury relief applications. Methods: Allopurinol-related drug injury relief applications from 1999 to 2016 were collected, and descriptive statistical methods were used to analyze recent applications dating from 2011 to 2016. Results: A total of 174 allopurinol-related drug injury relief applications were submitted between 2011 and 2016, with the majority involving cases over the age of 65 (75.3%; mean age of all cases was 69.2). Most allopurinol-related drug injuries concerned the skin (173 out of 174 cases, 99.4%). The majority of cases had other co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease/hypertension (86.2%), chronic kidney disease (58.6%), or diabetes (46.6%). Over 70% of cases initiated allopurinol at a dose of 100 mg/day or less. Analysis revealed that the greatest number of cases (44.6%) occurred in those with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 15 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and who initiated allopurinol at a dose of 100 mg/day. Conclusion: Old age and renal dysfunction are key risk factors for allopurinol hypersensitivity. When considering allopurinol for elderly patients with impaired kidney function, a full risk-benefit assessment, dosage adjustments, and careful monitoring may be warranted. Keywords: Allopurinol, Compensation and redress, Drug-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome, Taiwan, Toxic epidermal necrolysis

Objective Liver is uniquely vulnerable during sepsis. MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) is confirmed to play crucial roles in septic liver injury. The present study aims to investigate the mechanisms of miR-155 in septic liver injury. Methods The sepsis model was established by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice. Mice were divided into four groups: Vehicle, miR-155 antagomir, LPS, LPS+ miR-155 antagomir. The survival rate and body weight were monitored. Liver injury was assessed by H&E staining. The levels of serum ALT and inflammatory cytokines were determined by ELISA kits. Oxidative stress was detected by MDA and SOD detection kits. The miR-155, Nrf-2, and markers related to oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, mitochondrial injury and apoptosis were detected by western blotting and qPCR. Apoptosis in liver tissues was detected by TUNELstaining. Results MiR-155 antagomir alleviated liver injury as evidenced by enhancing survival rate and body weight, inhibiting inflammatory cell infiltration, liver cells necrosis and decreasing ALT level. The productions of TNF-α, IL-6 were suppressed, while anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was promoted by miR-155 antagomir. Oxidative stress was inhibited by miR-155 antagomir via enhancing nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 2 (Nrf-2) expression. ER stress and Cytochrome C (Cyto-C) release were restrained by miR-155 antagomir. Sepsis-induced apoptosis was repressed by miR-155 antagomir as manifested by the decreased levels of Bax, cleaved caspase-12, 9 and 3, and increased levels of Bcl-2 and uncleaved PARP. Conclusion MiR-155 antagomir relieved septic liver injury through inhibiting oxidative stress-mediated ER stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis via targeting Nrf-2, suggesting miR-155 as a therapeutic target for septic liver injury.

An efficient base-free palladium-catalyzed intramolecular cross dehydrogenative coupling of 2-aryloxy substituted 4-chromenones to access coumaronochromones has been achieved. A range of diversely substituted coumaronochromones can be facilely synthesized in good to excellent yields (up to 90%).

The new similarity laws for fluid-to-fluid modeling of two-phase flow critical heat flux (CHF) in horizontal helically coiled tubes were derived based on the dimensional analysis and similarity theory considering the effect of the geometrical parameters on CHF. A generalized factor D n was introduced to the new similarity laws, and all the new dimensionless numbers were derived from the classical theorem of Buckingham π for dimensional analysis. The obtained dimensionless parameter sets were a reasonable extension to Ahmad's compensated distortion model, which may be considered as a special case of the new dimensionless parameter sets when the variable n is equal to unity. Based on the experimental data, the specific similarity numbers were determined for CHF phenomena in horizontal helically coiled tubes. A new equivalent characteristic parameter D e-helix was developed, which could reflect the influence of complex flow channels on the occurrence of CHF. The equivalent characteristic parameter consists of the essential geometrical parameters of tubes and the fluid thermophysical properties. The new fluid-to-fluid modeling methods were proposed for CHF of R134a-water in horizontal helically coiled tubes, which could be used readily to derive the CHF data of water through the CHF data of R134a at the corresponding experimental conditions.

Critical heat flux (CHF) experiments were performed to study the R134a CHF characteristics in horizontal helically-coiled tubes. The stainless steel test sections were heated uniformly, with tube inner diameters of 3.8e11 mm, coil diameters of 135e370 mm, helical pitches of 40e105 mm and heated lengths of 0.85e7.54 m. The experimental conditions are pressures of 0.30e1.10 MPa, mass fluxes of 60e480 kg m �2 s �1 , inlet qualities of � 0.32e0.36 and heat fluxes of 6.0 � 10 3 e9.0 � 10 4 Wm �2 . It was found that the wall temperatures jumped abruptly once the CHF occurred. The CHF values decrease with increasing heated lengths, coil diameters and inner diameters, but the DNB (departure from nucleate boiling) CHF seems independent when length-to-diameter L/di>200. The coil-to-diameter ratios are more important than length-to-diameter ratios for CHF in helically-coiled tubes, while the helical pitches have little effect on CHF. The CHF value increases greatly with increasing mass flux and decreases smoothly with increasing pressure. It decreases nearly linearly with increasing inlet and critical qualities, but it varies more acutely at xcr

On November 1, 2009, Taiwan began a nationwide pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 vaccine ("H1N1 vaccine") program to control the influenza pandemic. Timely assessment of immunization safety during this mass vaccination campaign was a public health priority. Therefore, the government developed a national postlicensure safety surveillance strategy to identify and evaluate new, unexpected, or prioritized adverse events in recipients of H1N1 vaccine in near real-time. We describe the design and methodology of this new safety assessment infrastructure, address challenges encountered, and its potential future use for routine vaccine pharmacovigilance in Taiwan.

Various iron-salts (and complexes) and especially iron(III) chloride catalyzed the three-component coupling of aldehyde, alkyne, and amine to generate propargylic amines with high efficiency under neat conditions in air. The iron-catalyzed reaction is particularly effective for reactions involving aliphatic aldehydes. The reaction is not sensitive to and occurs smoothly in water and in air. No additional co-catalyst or activator is required.

The phenomenon of unusual heterochiral crystallization tendency of several 3-arylphthalide compounds in non-racemic solution was observed. With this finding, a range of highly enantiomerically enriched 3-arylphthalides were easily accessed through heterochiral crystallization. In addition, the previously reported nickel-catalyzed tandem reaction to asymmetric synthesis of chiral phthalides was reinvestigated and partial data were corrected.

To analyze the findings and impact on the management of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) before planned abdominal exploration in patients with suspected advanced ovarian cancer and moderate to large pleural effusions.We reviewed the charts of all patients with suspected advanced ovarian cancer and moderate to large pleural effusions who underwent VATS from 10/01 to 7/03. VATS was performed under double lumen endotracheal anesthesia. A 2-cm chest wall incision was made in the fifth intercostal space on the side of the effusion. The thoracoscope was introduced and biopsies of suspicious lesions were performed through the single incision. After VATS, all patients had a chest tube placed through the incision, and those with malignant effusions underwent talc pleurodesis either intraoperatively or postoperatively.Twelve patients underwent VATS during the study period. Median operative time for VATS was 31 min (range: 20-49 min) with no complications attributable to the procedure. The median amount of pleural fluid drained was 1000 ml (range: 500-2000 ml). Solid, pleural-based tumor was found in six cases (50%), with nodules1 cm noted in four patients (33%) and nodules1 cm noted in two patients (17%). Of the six cases with no grossly visible pleural tumor, the pleural fluid was positive for malignant cells in two patients (17%) and negative in four patients (33%). Further initial patient management included the following: laparotomy with optimal cytoreduction, 6 (50%); diagnostic laparoscopy, 3 (25%); and no abdominal exploration, 3 (25%). Final diagnosis of primary disease site was as follows: ovary, 9 (75%); fallopian tube, 1 (8%); endometrium, 1 (8%); and lymphoma, 1 (8%). Based on the findings during VATS, laparotomy and attempted cytoreduction were avoided in four patients (33%), and the cytoreductive procedure was modified in one patient (8%).Fifty percent of patients with suspected advanced ovarian cancer and moderate to large pleural effusions who underwent VATS had solid pleural-based tumor identified, and in 33% of cases the tumor nodules were1 cm in diameter. VATS should be considered in these cases to delineate the extent of disease, treat the effusion, and to potentially select patients for either intrathoracic cytoreduction or a neoadjuvant chemotherapy approach.

Submicron-sized SrTiO 3 crystallites were prepared by a low temperature solid state method. The proposed preparation method involved two simple steps: firstly, SrO 2 nanoparticles of 35–90 nm were precipitated from the reaction of Sr(NO 3 ) 2 and H 2 O 2 in an alkalescent aqueous solution (pH = 8) under the ambient condition; secondly, perovskite phase SrTiO 3 with a minor amount of SrCO 3 impurity were produced by heating the mixture of excessive SrO 2 nanoparticles and commercial TiO 2 powders in air at 700 °C for 10 h, which could be easily washed with 1 mol/l HNO 3 aqueous solution and distilled water to yield pure SrTiO 3 crystallites with the size of about 125–320 nm. The phase, purity and size of the as-obtained product were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM).

To investigate the potential protective effect of C-phycocyanin (PC) on paraquat (PQ)-induced acute lung injury, rats were divided into control, PQ-treated and PQ + PC-treated groups. Rats in PQ-treated group were orally administered with 50 mg/kg PQ and rats in PQ + PC-treated group were intraperitoneally injected with 50 mg/kg PC after administration of PQ. At 8, 24, 48 and 72 h after treatments, GSH-Px and SOD activities, MDA levels in plasma and BALF, HYP, NF-kappa B, I kappa B-alpha and TNF-alpha contents in lung tissues were measured. The pathological changes in lung were observed. After treatment with PC, the levels of MDA and the relative contents of NF-kappa B and TNF-alpha were significantly decreased, the activities of GSH-Px and SOD and the relative contents of I kappa B-alpha were significantly increased. The degree of rat lung damage was obviously reduced in PQ + PC-treated group. The results suggested that PC treatment significantly attenuated PQ-induced acute lung injury. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Isolation of human cytochrome oxidase by a one-step affinity chromatography procedure on a Sepharose 4B-ferrocytochrome c matrix following solubilization with the nonionic detergent laurylmaltoside yields an enzyme isolate of adequate purity for producing polyclonal antisera. Such an antiserum produced a distinctive immunoreactive profile in Western immunoblot studies to that reported using the enzyme isolated with ionic detergents. A sensitive and highly reproducible Western immunoblotting method is described for probing mitochondrial fractions prepared from small frozen skeletal muscle biopsies with an antiserum against the human placenta cytochrome oxidase. Application of this method to mitochondrial cytopathy patients with partial cytochrome oxidase deficiency shows that the detected subunits are synthesized in these patients.