Search

BackgroundIn the era of fluoroless catheter ablation (CA), achieving a successful transseptal puncture (TSP) presents a significant challenge. We introduce a novel technique for zero-fluoroscopy and cost-effective needle-free TSP.Case summaryWe describe two cases where a GMS-1 guidewire (0.025 inch, pigtail configuration; Toray Medical Co., Ltd., Japan) was utilized for TSP. This technique was performed using either fluoroscopy or intracardiac echocardiography (ICE). The procedure was completed successfully in both cases, with no complications reported.ConclusionThe use of a 0.025 inch GMS-1 guidewire with an electrocautery technique enables effective transseptal puncture without the need for a needle or fluoroscopy. This novel approach offers a safe, efficient, and zero-fluoroscopic alternative for TSP.

In 1933, a Japanese colonial official introduced the giant African snail (Achatina fulica), originally from East Africa, to Taiwan from Singapore to be raised for food. Since 2009, I have given presentations on this snail, including projects involving recipes, embroidery, maps, interviews, collaborations, and multimedia work. My inspiration comes from my Paiwan (an Indigenous group in Taiwan) mother, who would always gather snails after the rain, cook them, and give them to my siblings and me to eat. Snails were the starting point for my research into my maternal bloodline, which is part of the Taiwanese Indigenous bloodline. From there, I considered how the path of the snail’s dispersal is comparable to the route of imperial expansion in the Pacific, and looked at Taiwan’s history and its relationship to the world. This paper considers my evolving project centered around the giant African snail and offers my thoughts on how traditional Indigenous Taiwanese cooking and sewing practices may be reinterpreted as a strategy for resisting colonisation.

Abstract Introduction Healthy aging relies on mitochondrial functioning because this organelle provides energy and diminishes oxidative stress. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TOMM40, a critical gene that produces the outer membrane protein TOM40 of mitochondria, have been associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegenerative processes. Yet it is not clear whether or how the mitochondria may impact human longevity. We conducted this review to ascertain which SNPs have been associated with markers of healthy aging. Methods Using the PRISMA methodology, we conducted a systematic review on PubMed and Embase databases to identify associations between TOMM40 SNPs and measures of longevity and healthy aging. Results Twenty-four articles were selected. The TOMM40 SNPs rs2075650 and rs10524523 were the two most commonly identified and studied SNPs associated with longevity. The outcomes associated with the TOMM40 SNPs were changes in BMI, brain integrity, cognitive functions, altered inflammatory network, vulnerability to vascular risk factors, and longevity. Discussions Our systematic review identified multiple TOMM40 SNPs potentially associated with healthy aging. Additional research can help to understand mechanisms in aging, including resilience, prevention of disease, and adaptation to the environment.

Background/Purpose: Sport-specific adaptations of athlete's hearts are still under investigation. This study sought to 1) identify athlete groups with similar characteristics by clustering echocardiographic data; 2) externally validate the data-driven clusters with sport classifications of various dynamic or static loads to support the conventional hypothesis-driven approach in delineating the athlete's heart. Methods: Anthropometric, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic assessments were collected during the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taiwan. Besides standard echocardiography and strain measurements, ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC) was assessed by the ratio of effective arterial elastance (Ea) to left ventricular end-systolic elastance (Ees) as calculated by a modified single-beat algorithm. Results: We grouped 598 elite athletes (348 male, age 23 ± 2.5 years, across 24 disciplines) using Mitchell's classification. The hypothesis-driven analysis showed dynamic training-related adaptations in heart rate and morphology, including ventricular size, mass, and stroke volume. In comparison, the unsupervised approach found two clusters for each sex. Male athletes participating in high dynamic-load exercises had larger chambers, supranormal diastolic functions, depressed Ees, lower Ea and preserved optimal VAC implicating the resting status of a reservoir-rich pump, which affirmed sport-specific adaptation. The female athletes could be clustered with more noticeable functional alterations, such as depressed biventricular strain. However, the imbalanced number between clusters impeded the validation of load-related remodeling. Conclusion: Hierarchical clustering could analyze complicated multiparametric interactions among numerous echocardiography-derived phenotypes to discern the adaptive propensity of the athlete's heart. The endorsement or generation of hypotheses by a data-driven approach can be applied to various domains.

UV-C LEDs, which offer short-wavelength characteristics and serve as an alternative to traditional UV mercury lamps, represent a new light source for applications in space decontamination and surface disinfection. This paper presents the design and development of a UV-C LED lamp driver circuit configured to operate with a DC-input voltage source for sterilization and germicidal purposes. The primary circuit integrates a modified buck converter with a flyback converter, resulting in an innovative single-stage, single-switch DC-DC power converter. Additionally, the proposed electronic driver recovers energy stored in the transformer's leakage inductors, enhancing overall circuit efficiency. A prototype driver circuit with a 3.3 W power rating (10 V/330 mA) is developed for a UV-C LED lamp intended for sterilization and germicidal applications with a DC-input voltage source. The experimental results from the prototype circuit, tested at an 18 V DC input, confirm the functionality of the proposed electronic driver for UV-C LED sterilization and germicidal lighting. Additionally, the circuit achieves efficiency exceeding 91%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiogenesis plays a critical role in osteosarcoma (OS) growth and metastasis. While nerve growth factor (NGF) is implicated in cancer progression, its role in OS angiogenesis remains unclear. This study explored NGF's effects on angiogenesis and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Analysis of GEO (GSE16088) data identified five angiogenesis markers significantly upregulated in OS tissues. In vitro experiments demonstrated that NGF enhanced HUVEC tube formation by upregulating platelet-derived growth factor C (PDGF-C) expression and suppressing microRNA-29b-3p (miR-29b-3p). The results of tube formation assays confirmed that NGF stimulation significantly increased the angiogenic capacity of MG63/NGF cells compared to MG63 cells. Furthermore, larotrectinib, a TrkA inhibitor, effectively reduced the migration and invasion abilities of MG63/NGF cells in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that the NGF-TrkA axis promotes PDGF-C-mediated angiogenesis by inhibiting miR-29b-3p signaling. Larotrectinib could serve as a potential therapeutic agent targeting NGF-mediated angiogenesis in OS, offering a promising avenue for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a fast and efficient control method is proposed for a pure sine wave inverter used in an electric vehicle system, which can provide better performance under transient and steady-state conditions. The proposed control technique consists of a fast terminal attractor (FTA) and a fractional multivariable grey model (FMGM). The FTA with finite time convergence offers a faster convergence rate of the system state and a singularity-free solution. However, if the uncertain system boundaries are overestimated or underestimated, chatter/steady-state errors can occur during the FTA, which can lead to significant harmonic distortion at the output of the pure sine wave inverter. A computationally efficient FMGM is incorporated into the FTA to solve the chatter/steady-state error problem when an uncertain estimate of the system boundary cannot be satisfied. Simulation results show that the proposed control technique exhibits low total harmonic distortion. Experimental results of a prototype pure sine wave inverter are presented to support the results of the simulation and mathematical analysis. Since the proposed pure sine wave inverter outperforms the classical TA (terminal attractor)-controlled pure sine wave inverter in terms of convergence speed, computational efficiency, and harmonic distortion elimination, this paper will serve as a useful reference for electric vehicle systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Elagolix is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain associated with endometriosis. However, the long-term safety of elagolix in a large sample of real-world patients is unknown. Methods: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) reports were collected and analyzed from January 2019 to June 2023. Disproportionality analyses, including the reporting odds ratio (ROR), the proportional reporting ratio (PRR), the Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN), and the multi-item gamma Poisson shrinker (MGPS) algorithms, were employed in data mining to quantify the signals of elagolix-related adverse events (AEs). Results: After removing the non-drug-related AE signals, we detected several AE signals such as hot flushes, bone pain, suicidal ideation, depression, and increased liver enzymes, which were known during the clinical trial phase. In addition to this, we detected several unexpected important AEs that were not mentioned in the drug insert, including cystitis interstitial, parosmia, and epiploic appendagitis. The median onset time of elagolix-associated AEs was 28.5 days. Conclusion: Our study provides a comprehensive picture of the safety of elagolix in the post-marketing setting, while also identifying potential new AE signals. These findings emphasize the importance of continued monitoring of the potential risks of elagolix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Chamaecyparis formosensis is an endemic species of Taiwan, threatened from intensive use and illegal felling. An individual identification system for C. formosensis is required to provide scientific evidence for court use and deter illegal felling. In this study, 36 polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers were developed. By applying up to 28 non-linked of the developed markers, it is calculated that the cumulative random probability of identity (CP I ) is as low as 1.652 × 10–12, and the identifiable population size is up to 60 million, which is greater than the known C. formosensis population size in Taiwan. Biogeographical analysis data show that C. formosensis from four geographic areas belong to the same genetic population, which can be further divided into three clusters: SY (Eastern Taiwan), HV and GW (Northwestern Taiwan), and MM (Southwestern Taiwan). The developed system was applied to assess the provenance of samples with 88.44% accuracy rate and therefore can serve as a prescreening tool to reduce the range required for comparison. The system developed in this study is a potential crime-fighting tool against illegal felling.

Synthetic hormones in wastewater effluents released into the aquatic environments may interfere with the normal endocrine systems of fish in receiving streams. Norgestrel (NGT) is a synthetic progestin widely used in oral contraceptives and frequently detected in wastewater effluents. In this study, adult female mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) were exposed to three environmentally relevant concentrations of norgestrel (NGT) (i.e., 3.6, 35.8, and 368.0 ng L-1) for 42 d, fin morphology, histology of the ovary, and reproductive behaviors were evaluated. The results showed that NGT at all three concentrations caused an increased frequency of atretic follicular cells in ovaries and impaired mating behaviors exhibited by males toward the NGT-exposed females. In mosquitofish exposed to NGT at 35.8 and 368 ng L-1, the anal fin of females had an increased length ratio of ray4/ray 6, an increased width of ray 3, and increased number of segments in ray 3. The histopathological analysis showed that exposure to NGT increased the incidence of spermatogenesis in ovaries. Mating behavior was impaired 58.4%, 65.7%, and 76.4% (P

IQM, a plant-specific calmodulin-binding protein, plays multiple roles in plant growth and development. Although a comprehensive analysis has been carried out on the IQM family genes in Arabidopsis and rice, the number and functions of IQM genes in other species have not been explored. In this study, we identified 15 members of the soybean (Glycine max) IQM gene family using BLASTP tools. These members were distributed on 12 soybean chromosomes and constitute six pairs caused by fragment duplication events. According to phylogeny, the 15 genes were divided into three subfamilies (I, II, and III), and members of the same subfamily had similar gene and protein structures. Yeast two-hybrid experiments revealed that the IQ motif is critical for the binding of GmIQM proteins to GmCaM, and its function is conserved in soybean, Arabidopsis, and rice. Based on real-time PCR, the soybean IQM genes were strongly induced by PEG and NaCl, suggesting their important biological functions in abiotic stress responses. Overall, this genome-wide analysis of the soybean IQM gene family lays a solid theoretical foundation for further research on the functions of GmIQM genes and could serve as a reference for the improvement and breeding of soybean stress resistance traits.

In recent years, researchers have highly observed that neurological disorders (NSDs) with the aging of the population are a global health burden whose prevalence is increasing every year. Previous evidence suggested that the occurrence of neurological disorders is correlated with predisposing factors such as inflammation, aging, and injury. Particularly, the neuronal cells are susceptible to oxidative stress, leading to lesions caused by high oxygen-consuming properties. Oxidative stress (OS) is a state of peroxidation, which occurs as a result of the disruption of the balance between oxidizing and antioxidizing substances. The oxidative intermediates such as free radicals, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and superoxide anion (O2-) produced by OS promote disease progression. Curcumin, a natural diketone derived from turmeric, is a natural antioxidant with a wide range of neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-aging, and antioxidant effects. Fortunately, curcumin is recognized for its potent antioxidant properties and is considered a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases. Consequently, this review elucidates the mechanisms by which curcumin mitigates oxidative stress and emphasizes the potential in treating nervous system disorders, including depression, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and glioblastoma. We aim to provide a new therapeutic option for the management of neurological diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]