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Background Theta burst stimulation (TBS), a patterned repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol with shorter simulation duration and lower stimulus intensity, could be a better protocol for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our study aimed to explore the impacts of intermittent TBS (iTBS) over the bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) on intellectually able adults with ASD. Material and methods In this randomized, single-blinded, sham-controlled crossover trial, 13 adults with ASD completed iTBS for 5 consecutive days over the bilateral pSTS and inion (as a sham control) in a 16-weeks interval and in a randomly assigned order. The neuropsychological function was measured with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) for cognitive flexibility while the clinical outcomes were measured with both self-rate and parents-rate Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) before and after 5-day iTBS interventions. Results The results revealed significantly immediate effects of multi-session iTBS over the bilateral pSTS on parent-rate autistic symptoms in adults with ASD. The post-hoc analysis revealed the impacts of multi-session iTBS on cognitive flexibility were affected by baseline social-communicative impairment and baseline cognitive performance. Besides, the impacts of multi-session iTBS on clinical symptoms was affected by the concurrent psychotropic medication use and baseline autistic symptoms. Conclusions Given the caveat of the small sample size and discrepancy of multiple informants, this pilot study suggests the therapeutic potential of 5-day multi-session iTBS over the pSTS in adults with ASD. Individual factors modulating the response to rTMS should be explicitly considered in the future trial.

IntroductionREM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) has been highlighted to identify a patient with prodromal Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although many studies focus on biomarkers to predict an RBD patient’s evolution from prodromal PD to clinical PD, the neurophysiological perturbation of cortical excitability has not yet been well elucidated. Moreover, no study describes the difference between RBD with and without abnormal TRODAT-1 SPECT.MethodsBy measuring the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEP), the cortical excitability changes after transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were evaluated in 14 patients with RBD and eight healthy controls (HC). Seven of the 14 patients with RBD showed abnormal TRODAT-1 (TRA-RBD), and seven were normal (TRN-RBD). The tested parameters of cortical excitability include resting motor threshold (RMT), active motor threshold (AMT), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF), contralateral silence period (CSP), and input–output recruitment curve.ResultsThe RMT and AMT showed no difference among the three studied groups. There was only SICI at inter-stimuli-interval 3 ms revealing group differences. The TRA-RBD demonstrated significant differences to HC in these aspects: decreased SICI, increased ICF, shortening of CSP, and augmented MEP amplitude at 100% RMT. Moreover, the TRA-RBD had a smaller MEP facilitation ratio at 50% and 100% of maximal voluntary contraction when compared to TRN-RBD. The TRN-RBD did not present any difference to HC.ConclusionWe showed that TRA-RBD shared similar cortical excitability changes with clinical PD. These findings would provide further insight into the concept that RBD is the highly prevalent entity in prodromal PD.

Background: Non-invasive techniques such as central intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) and repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) have shown promise to improve motor function for stroke patients. However, the combined efficacy of rPMS and central iTBS has not been extensively studied. This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of rPMS on central iTBS in patients with stroke. Method: In this study, 28 stroke patients were randomly allocated to receive either 1200 pulses of real or sham rPMS on the radial nerve of the affected limb, followed by 1200 pulses of central iTBS on the ipsilesional hemisphere. The patients received the intervention for 10 sessions over two weeks. The primary outcome measures were the Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Secondary outcomes for activities and participation included the Functional Independence Measure-Self care (FIM-Self care) and the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS). The outcome measures were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: Both groups showed significant improvement in FMA-UE and FIM-Self care after the intervention, (ppConclusions: Overall, the study's findings support that rPMS may have synergistic effects on central iTBS to improve grasp function and participation. In conclusion, these findings highlight the potential of rPMS as an adjuvant therapy for central iTBS in stroke rehabilitation. Further long-term studies are needed to fully investigate the synergistic effects of rPMS on central iTBS. Trial registration: This trial was registered under ClinicalTrials.gov ID No. NCT04265365, retrospectively registered, on February 11, 2020.

Since its opening to traffic, the Southern Cross-Island Highway has been playing an important role in linking Southern and Eastern cities in Taiwan. Nevertheless, Southern Cross-Island Highway was firstly struck by the 1999 Ji-ji Earthquake, which resulted in collapses along the route, and then Typhoon Morakot, which caused damages of 22 bridges and a number of deep-seated landslides between Meishan of Kaohsiung and Siangyang on the East. A long-term road reconstruction and improvement project of Southern Cross-Island Highway was therefore initiated in 2009. In August 2021, the torrential rain triggered a deep-seated landslide located in the upstream of Yusui Stream and an enormous amount of debris was brought to the downstream and crashed Minbaklu Bridge between Meishan and Siangyang. Although the Directorate General of Highways cleared the route and built a temporary steel bridge for people to pass through, this incident has highlighted the fact that the road breaks when plum rain or torrential rain occurs. This project has adopted optical satellite imagery, aerial LiDAR and UAV, technologies that complement each other with their respective benefits and drawbacks. Aerial LiDAR can remove vegetation and present the real ground surface, enabling researchers to calculate the volume of landslide materials of Yusui Stream and Putanpunas Stream using LiDAR derived DTM (digital terrain model) constructed based on the images collected between 2016 and 2022. The three-dimensional terrain interpretation and landslide volume calculation results reveal that the landslide surface area had been continuously increased over the last six years due to abundant rainfall brought by typhoons and torrential rain, causing an enormous volume of debris falling into the main river channel and piled up at its confluence with Laonong River. Nevertheless, the interpretation can be hard in areas with small-scale shallow landslide due to smaller changes to the surface elevation. Optical satellite imagery before and after the sliding is therefore required to quantify the change of landslide volume, helping to determine potential landslide and accumulation areas even more effectively.

In the past, when assessing the stability of roadside slopes in mountainous areas of Taiwan, road maintenance and inspection personnel were often limited by steep terrain and vegetation cover. They could only observe damages on the road surface and sides instead of grasping the key points of landslides and disasters. Among them, Sandimen and Wutai located on Highway 24 in Pingtung repeatedly suffer from natural disasters, such as falling rocks, debris avalanche or subsidence of roadbed, after the strike of Typhoon Morakot whenever a typhoon, torrential rain or earthquake event occurs. The government therefore spent a lot of money on road maintenance works. In this area, we have combined topographic features identified from LiDAR-derived 1-m resolution DEM and large-scale ground surface deformation observed using the multitemporal InSAR technique (MT-InSAR) developed based on ALOS-2 / PALSAR-2 images collected between 2015 and 2022. Then Sections 29.5K and 34.5K are selected as the key study area of this investigation. The cumulative deformation results of these key slopes are: -80 mm at 29.5K from ALOS-2 imagery and -103 mm at 34.5K from ALOS-2. As for the section of 29.5K, from May 8, 2016 to December 4, 2016, the overall slope of the road was affected by several heavy rains and typhoons, among which the maximum rainfall on that day reached 303 mm; and the amount of deformation decreased by 16.7 mm; the average deformation of subarea block A decreased by 33.6 mm, and the average deformation of subarea block B decreased by 14.8 mm. As for the section of 34.5K, the overall roadside slopes were affected by several heavy rains and typhoons, among which the maximum accumulation of rainfall on that day reached 303 mm, from May 8, 2016 to December 4, 2016. The amount of deformation decreased by 13.7 mm. Our primary results demonstrate that the cumulative deformation and rainfall of these two key slopes show a positive correlation.

Dietary emulsifiers have been linked to various diseases. The recent discovery of the role of gut microbiota-host interactions on health and disease warrants the safety reassessment of dietary emulsifiers through the lens of gut microbiota. Hydrophilic (lecithin (LEC), sucrose esters (SUC), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)) and lipophilic (mono- and diglycerides (MDG)) emulsifiers are common dietary emulsifiers with high exposure levels in the population. This study proved that SUC and CMC induced hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. MDG impaired circulating lipid and glucose metabolism. Both hydrophilic and lipophilic emulsifiers changed the intestinal microbiota diversity and induced gut microbiota dysbiosis. Hydrophilic emulsifiers have no impact on mucus–bacterial interactions, whereas MDG tended to cause bacterial encroachment into the inner mucus layer and enhance inflammation potential by raising circulating lipopolysaccharide. Our findings demonstrated the safety concerns associated with using dietary emulsifiers, suggesting that they could lead to metabolic syndromes.

Non-endoscopic tools for the diagnostic evaluation of patients should be promoted in the field of biomedical assay and the need for highly sensitive, efficient, low-cost, and user-friendly sensors must be considered. Optical fibers are widely used in sensors because their properties meet the physical requirements for biomedical detection. The spectrum responses of the sensor create changes in refractive index, wavelength shifts, and transmission loss. This study presents a double helix DNA-shaped optical fiber sensor for biosensors. The sensing principle of the DNA-shaped sensor is based on the whispering gallery mode (WGM) formed by the interference in the fiber's bending region. The refractive index interference changes corresponding to the core and cladding layers, which create shifts in the spectrum affected by the radius of the bend. A self-assembled sensor layer formed with nanoparticles was coated onto the DNA-shaped sensor in a sandwich structure. The wavelength shifts in spectral response are traced by the concentrations of gastrin-17 at 0.1, 1, 10, and 50 μg ml

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) have been increasingly recognized in Taiwan during the field investigations that followed the 2009 Typhoon Morakot, when over 2700 mm of rainfall in five days were recorded causing the widespread occurrence of rainfall-induced, deep-seated landslides. Nevertheless, the characteristics of DSGSD and their possible relationships with catastrophic landslides in the Taiwanese context, characterized by a tectonically-conditioned fluvial topography and a subtropical climate, have never been clarified so far also because of the dense vegetation and limited slope exposure. In this perspective we focused on the Tienchi rock slope (Lalong River valley, Kaohsiung County), carved in folded Miocene to Eocene meta-sandstone and slate successions which is characterized by high-energy relief and a complex structural setting with cross cutting relationship between the bedding and an axial plane cleavage. The slope is highly susceptible to deep-seated landslide collapse and regression caused by heavy precipitations and, especially since 2009, was affected by diffuse landslide events that caused severe damage and the closure of the South Cross-Island Highway 20, i.e. the most important roadway connecting the western and eastern sides of southern Taiwan. We carried out a detailed geomorphological investigation over an area of 3.7 km2, exploiting field surveys and remotely sensed data (i.e. 1m multitemporal LiDAR DEMs and 3D point clouds) to map the surface evidence of slope deformation and to identify the factors interplaying in its evolution. First, we recognized and mapped morpho-structural evidence (scarps, counterscarps, trenches, landslide scarps etc.) typical of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD), partly active at rates up to cm/year and characterized by total accumulated displacements up to tens of meters, suggesting that long-term slope deformations occurred well before catastrophic slope destabilization. Integrating surface evidence and morphostructures geometry, we could thus reconstructed the slope kinematic by means of serial cross sections. Then, we computed descriptive parameters (stream power index, amount of precipitation, density of structures) to relate the occurrence of instabilities to external predisposing and triggering factors. Finally, we combined the morphometric analysis results to set up multistage 2D Finite-Element models to analyze the progressive development of a deep shear zone in response to gravitational stress and water infiltration and to investigate the possible control of DSGSD on the susceptibility of different slope sectors to large-scale rainfall-induced catastrophic failures. The integration of combined morphometric variables, remote sensing products and 2D FEM results, suggests that the long-term progressive failure of the slopes was constrained by inherited ductile structures and favored by a subcritical stress state on the slope, promoted by the tectonically-forced steep fluvial topography. The evolution of a deep shear zone also caused the progressive damage of the uppermost and mid slope sector, preconditioning the location, size and mechanisms of a perched water table and the onset of landslides more prone to catastrophic failure due to intense typhoon precipitations.

To safely walk in a community environment requires dual cognitive–walking ambulation ability for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). A past study showed inconsistent results on cognitive–walking performance for PD patients, possibly due to the various cognitive tasks used and task priority assignment. This study designed cognitive–walking tests that used executive-related cognitive tasks to evaluate patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease who did not have obvious cognitive deficits. The effect of assigning task prioritization was also evaluated. Sixteen individuals with PD (PD group) and 16 individuals without PD (control group) underwent single cognitive tests, single walking tests, dual walking tests, and prioritizing task tests. Three types of cognitive, spatial memory, Stroops, and calculation tasks were employed. The cognitive performance was evaluated by response time, accuracy, and speed–accuracy trade off composite score. The walking performance was evaluated by the temporal spatial gait characteristics and variation in gait. The results showed that the walking performance of the PD group was significantly worse than the control group in both single and dual walking conditions. The group difference in cognitive performance was shown in composite score under the dual calculation walking task but not under the single task. While assigning priority to walking, no group difference in walking was observed but the response accuracy rate of PD groups declined. This study concluded that the dual task walking test could sharpen the cognitive deficits for early-stage PD patients. The task priority assignment might not be recommended while testing gait deficits since it decreased the ability to discriminate group differences.

Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is a novel neuromodulating technique. It has been demonstrated that the neuromodulatory effects can be induced by weak ultrasound exposure levels (spatial-peak temporal average intensity, ISPTA < 10 mW/cm2) in vitro. However, fewer studies have examined the use of weak tFUS to potentially induce long-lasting neuromodulatory responses in vivo. The purpose of this study was to determine the lower-bound threshold of tFUS stimulation for inducing neuromodulation in the motor cortex of rats. A total of 94 Sprague–Dawley rats were used. The sonication region aimed at the motor cortex under weak tFUS exposure (ISPTA of 0.338–12.15 mW/cm2). The neuromodulatory effects of tFUS on the motor cortex were evaluated by the changes in motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). In addition to histology analysis, the in vitro cell culture was used to confirm the neuromodulatory mechanisms following tFUS stimulation. In the results, the dose-dependent inhibitory effects of tFUS were found, showing increased intensities of tFUS suppressed MEPs and lasted for 30 min. Weak tFUS significantly decreased the expression of excitatory neurons and increased the expression of inhibitory GABAergic neurons. The PIEZO-1 proteins of GABAergic neurons were found to involve in the inhibitory neuromodulation. In conclusion, we show the use of weak ultrasound to induce long-lasting neuromodulatory effects and explore the potential use of weak ultrasound for future clinical neuromodulatory applications.

The Tatun Volcanic Group (TVG) is an active volcanic system that poses potential volcanic hazards to northern Taiwan. Groundwater migration can be sensitive to volcanic activities and can induce temporal gravity changes. Here we conducted four gravity measurement campaigns in 2012 with two CG5 relative gravimeters at a total of 31 gravity monitoring sites to probe the spatiotemporal groundwater variability in the TVG area. With careful adjustments to the gravity measurements, the standard point gravity error was approximately 8 μGal on average. The observed gravity changes were compared with the groundwater-induced gravity variations derived from two hydrological models: the continuous flow model that consisted of one permeable layer (Model A) and a dynamic groundwater flow model that used the hydrological solver MODFLOW (Model B). The results show that only gravity observations in the central TVG match the simulated gravity pattern, i.e., the hydrology in the central TVG follows free groundwater flows within the interconnected and porous strata. On the other hand, inconsistencies between simulated and observed gravity changes range from + 40 to – 80 μGal. The discrepancies were located at the eastern and western areas in the TVG and showed opposite variations over time. This pattern of temporal variability cannot be attributed to the use of shallow aquifer models that merely reflect the surface recharges and discharges. We infer that the pattern stems from deep flows, such as hydrothermal fluids alternately replenishing aquifers to the east and west of the TVG, i.e., deep fluid conduits may have developed to the east and west of the TVG and bypassed the central area.

Fall detection and physical activity (PA) classification are important health maintenance issues for the elderly and people with mobility dysfunctions. The literature review showed that most studies concerning fall detection and PA classification addressed these issues individually, and many were based on inertial sensing from the trunk and upper extremities. While shoes are common footwear in daily off-bed activities, most of the aforementioned studies did not focus much on shoe-based measurements. In this paper, we propose a novel footwear approach to detect falls and classify various types of PAs based on a convolutional neural network and recurrent neural network hybrid. The footwear-based detections using deep-learning technology were demonstrated to be efficient based on the data collected from 32 participants, each performing simulated falls and various types of PAs: fall detection with inertial measures had a higher F1-score than detection using foot pressures; the detections of dynamic PAs (jump, jog, walks) had higher F1-scores while using inertial measures, whereas the detections of static PAs (sit, stand) had higher F1-scores while using foot pressures; the combination of foot pressures and inertial measures was most efficient in detecting fall, static, and dynamic PAs.

Our previous study suggests that upregulated RAB35 is implicated in etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). We hypothesized that upregulated RAB35 results from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in RAB35 gene promoter. We identified SNPs within RAB35 gene promoter by analyzing DNA samples of discovery cohort and validation cohort. SNP rs17525453 within RAB35 gene promoter (T>C at position of -66) was significantly associated with idiopathic PD patients. Compared to normal controls, sporadic PD patients had higher C allele frequency. CC and CT genotype significantly increased risk of PD compared with TT genotype. SNP rs17525453 within RAB35 gene promoter leads to formation of transcription factor TFII-I binding site. Results of EMSA and supershift assay indicated that TFII-I binds to rs17525453 sequence of RAB35 gene promoter. Luciferase reporter assays showed that rs17525453 variant of RAB35 gene promoter possesses an augmented transcriptional activity. Our results suggest that functional variant rs17525453 within RAB35 gene promoter is likely to enhance transcriptional activity and upregulate RAB35 protein, which could lead to increased risk of PD in Taiwanese population.

Gut microbiota and its metabolites, along with host metabolism of ʟ-carnitine, play a crucial role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) development, forming Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), an atherosclerosis risk factor. TMAO promotes the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and platelet aggregation potential, causing thrombosis. A high-fat diet and carnitine administration can accelerate CVD progression. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil (GEO) and its bioactive compound citral have lipid lowering and anti-inflammatory effects, which may prevent CVD; however, their ability to prevent atherosclerosis through gut microbiota modulation remains to be elucidated. Furthermore, the Gubra Amylin NASH (GAN) diet is a palm oil-containing high-fat diet for inducing steatohepatitis; however, the study of the GAN diet in combination with ʟ-carnitine for inducing atherosclerosis in mouse model has not been investigated yet. We examined the CVD-protecting effect of GEO and citral against the formation of aortic atherosclerosis and linked them with changes in the gut microbiota and its metabolites in the ʟ-carnitine/GAN diet-treated apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mouse model. GEO and citral demonstrated CVD protective function by alleviating aortic atherosclerotic lesions. They reduced blood sugar, improved insulin resistance, decreased plasma TMAO levels, and inhibited serum inflammatory cytokines, especially interleukin-1β. Moreover, they demonstrated their ability to modulate gut microbiota diversity and composition into a favourable direction. Collectively, GEO and citral may serve as potential prebiotics for CVD prevention by improving dysbiosis.

This article builds on the theoretical debate over age, period, and cohort effects (APC) and explores how these factors might affect Taiwan's partisan stability. We conducted a two-level multinomial logit random effects model using survey data from 1991 to 2020 to disentangle the APC effects. Our findings challenge Converse's core assumption that partisanship strengthens with age. As a new democracy, Taiwan's party affiliations remain fluid, and we do find evidence of period effects, particularly associated with cross-Strait crises that favor the DPP. However, generational replacement is the most significant factor driving party identity changes in Taiwan. With generational replacement, the Kuomintang is burdened by the image of a century-old party. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had previously fared better among young cohorts but has recently lost its support from millennials. The youngest generation increasingly refuses to associate with the traditional political parties. It seems reasonable to expect that the new generational forces will restructure the Blue–Green cleavage and expand the ideological diversity of Taiwan's party system.

Diet and gut microbiota contribute to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progression. High-fat diets (HFDs) change gut microbiota compositions and induce gut dysbiosis and intestinal barrier leakage, which facilitates portal influx of pathogen-associated molecular patterns [e.g., lipopolysaccharides (LPS)] to the liver and triggers inflammation in NASH. The current therapeutic drugs for NASH have adverse side effects; however, several foods and herbs have exhibited hepatoprotection. We investigated ginger essential oil (GEO) against palm oil-containing HFDs in LPS-injected murine NASH model. GEO prevented NASH development by increasing plasma alanine aminotransferase levels; increasing antioxidant catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione levels; and reducing hepatic pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. GEO alleviated hepatic inflammation through mediated NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 inflammasome and LPS/Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathways. GEO further increased beneficial bacterial abundance and reduced NASH-associated bacterial abundance. GEO may, therefore, prevent NASH by inhibiting hepatic inflammation and modulating the gut microbiota and its metabolite-related pathway.

A high-fat diet (HFD) animal model has an indispensable role in the research of gut-liver axis by generating an imbalance of gut microbiota and intestinal leakage, resulting in translocation of harmful bacterial metabolites and lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) to the liver, triggering immune responses, and stimulating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Replacing trans-fat with palm oil in HFDs is an emerging animal model with human translatability in terms of liver biopsy phenotype and transcriptome changes. We developed the NASH and fibrosis mouse model using a palm oil-containing high-fat diet (P-HFD) combined with LPS to simulate gut dysbiosis and endotoxemia and examined the role of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the gut-liver axis. The mice were fed P-HFD with or without intraperitoneal LPS/CCl4 injections. NASH/fibrosis progression and gut microbiota shift were examined at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks (n = 192). The P-HFD animal model showed obesogenic and metabolic changes, hepatomegaly, NASH phenotype, increased gut dysbiosis, changes in gut microbiota and its function, reduced beneficial bacteria, increased pathogenic related microbiome, intestinal leakage, and endotoxemia. P-HFD with LPS supplementation resulted in comparable NASH phenotypes compared with the P-HFD group, but worsened the degree of intestinal microbiota dysbiosis by increasing the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria and reducing beneficial microbiota. P-HFD with CCl4 resulted in a liver fibrosis phenotype and produced a more severe gut microbiota shift. These mouse models could be informative for a researcher focused on the gut-liver axis and could be used as valuable tool for preclinical drug testing.

This study simulated the effects of diving activities on the physiology, enzymatic, and transcriptional responses of Acropora microphthalma. Touching had less impact on Fv/Fm, but a few zooxanthellae were decreased and minor MDA was elevated. Caspase 3 was activated to remove damaged cells, and SOD was increased to alleviate oxidative damage. Under double or triple diving stress, we observed mass loss of zooxanthellae and Fv/Fm, a significant increase in MDA, and SOD, CAT was activated in response to oxidative stress. Transcriptome analyses showed that corals activated immune signaling pathways, anti-oxidation pathways, lysosomal, phagosomal, and cellular autophagy pathways to manage oxidation stress. Moreover, it up-regulated carbohydrate metabolisms, as well as lipopolysaccharide metabolism, glycosphingolipid biosynthesis, photorespiration, amino acid metabolism, and fatty acid beta-oxidation, but down-regulated fatty acid biosynthesis to answer energy insufficiency. This research supported that even in a short time, improper diving activities could have a serious impact on coral health.

Animal models of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver fibrosis are essential for preclinical research of novel drugs. A high-fat diet (HFD) animal model has an indispensable role in the research of gut-liver axis by generating an imbalance of gut microbiota and intestinal leakage, resulting in translocation of harmful bacterial metabolites and lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) to the liver, triggering hepatic immune responses, and stimulating NASH and liver fibrosis. Replacing trans-fat with palm oil in HFDs is an emerging animal model with human translatability in terms of liver biopsy phenotype and transcriptome changes. We developed the NASH and fibrosis C57BL/6J mouse model using a palm oil-containing high-fat diet (P-HFD) combined with LPS to simulate gut dysbiosis and endotoxemia and examined the role of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the gut-liver axis. We developed the mouse models, and the mice were fed P-HFD with or without intraperitoneal LPS/CCl4 injections. NASH/fibrosis progression and gut microbiota shift were examined at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks (n=192). The animal model showed obesogenic and metabolic changes, hepatomegaly, increased hepatic lipid levels, NASH phenotype, increased gut dysbiosis, changes in gut microbiota and its function, reduced beneficial bacteria, increased pathogenic related microbiome, intestinal leakage, and endotoxemia. P-HFD with LPS supplementation resulted in comparable NASH, intestinal leakage, and endotoxemia phenotypes compared with the P-HFD group, but worsened the degree of intestinal microbiota dysbiosis by increasing the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria and reducing beneficial microbiota. P-HFD with CCl4 resulted in a liver fibrosis phenotype and produced a more severe gut microbiota shift. These mouse models could be informative for a researcher focused on the gut-liver axis and could be used as valuable tool for preclinical drug testing.

The Tatun Volcano Group (TVG) is located at the northern coast of Taiwan Island with only 15 km to the Taipei metropolis. Recent geothermal and geochemical studies suggest that the TVG is dormant-active rather than extinct, implying the eruption potential to devastate the nearby area of 7 million inhabitants. Although some geodetic tools (e.g., global positioning system and precise leveling) have been utilized to analyze the activity associated with volcanism, it is still challenging for conventional interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique to obtain clear ground surface movement at the TVG due to decorrelation and complex atmospheric delay. In this study, we present an improved multi-temporal InSAR (MTInSAR) approach to explore the temporal evolution and spatial extent of displacement at the TVG from 19 L-band ALOS/PALSAR images acquired between 2007 and 2011. Stratified atmospheric delays and orbit error are corrected with a patch-based joint model as different phase components can be separated according to their distinct spatiotemporal characteristics. The spatial deformation patterns indicate an uplift of 10 mm/year at the SW-NE ridge and subsidence with a rate of 10 mm/year at the E-W ridge. The temporal deformation variations at Mt. Chihshin and Huangzuei have high similarity with correlation coefficients of 0.9 above. This indicates that the subsidence at Mts. Chihshin and Huangzuei might be caused by released hydrothermal fluids related to tectono-magmatic activity within the hydrothermal system beneath the TVG.

Gastrodia elata Blume (GE) is a traditional Chinese dietary therapy used to treat neurological disorders. Gastrodia elata Blume water extract (WGE) has been shown to ameliorate inflammation and improve social frustration in mice in a chronic social defeat model. However, studies on the anti-depressive-like effects and cognitive impairment alleviation related to the impact of WGE on the gut microbiome of ApoEThe present study aimed to investigate the anti-depressive-like effect and cognitive impairment alleviation and mechanisms of WGE in ApoESixty ApoEWGE restored sucrose preference, exploratory behavior, recognition ability, and decreased the levels of serum corticosterone and Aβ-42 in ApoEWGE demonstrates anti-depressive-like effects, cognitive impairment alleviation, and gut microbiome and metabolite regulation in ApoE

The strength of lower extremity is important for individuals to maintain balance and ambulation functions. The previous studies showed that individuals with Parkinson’s disease suffered from fatigue and strength loss of central origin. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lower extremities’ cycling training on different components of force and fatigue in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Twenty-four individuals (13 males, 11 females, mean age: 60.58 ± 8.21 years) diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease were randomized into training and control groups. The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force, voluntary activation level (VA), and twitch force of knee extensors were measured using a custom-made system with surface electrical stimulation. The general, central, and peripheral fatigue indexes (GFI, CFI, and PFI) were calculated after a fatiguing cycling protocol. Subjects received 8 weeks of low resistance cycling training (training group) or self-stretching (control group) programs. Results showed that MVC, VA, and twitch force improved (p < 0.05) only in the training group. Compared to the baseline, central fatigue significantly improved in the training group, whereas peripheral fatigue showed no significant difference in two groups. The cycling training was beneficial for individuals with Parkinson’s disease not only in muscle strengthening but also in central fatigue alleviation. Further in-depth investigation is required to confirm the effect of training and its mechanism on central fatigue.

Background Real-world impact of extended-release formulations of oral drugs should ideally be evaluated in population-based health data. Objective To evaluate changes in utilization of the dopamine agonist pramipexole for Parkinson’s disease after the introduction of extended-release (ER) pramipexole in Taiwan. Patients and Methods Source data were derived from National Health Insurance claims. Patients with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and pramipexole prescriptions were identified. Drug use patterns from 2009 through 2011 (only the immediate-release [IR] formulation was available) and from 2012 through 2017 (both the IR and ER formulations were available) were assessed. Outcomes of interest were levodopa equivalent dose per day (LEDD) and 1-year adherence, as measured by the medication possession ratio (MPR). Results LEDDs associated with pramipexole ER prescriptions were more than twice as large as that associated with pramipexole IR, both in pramipexole used in monotherapy and that used in combination therapy. One-year MPRs for pramipexole ER initiators were all larger than 73% from 2012 through 2016 and 1-year MPRs for pramipexole IR initiators were less than 65% in 2010 and 2011. Conclusion Introduction of pramipexole ER to Taiwan resulted in higher LEDD in prescriptions with pramipexole. Patients with Parkinson’s disease who were initiated on pramipexole ER had better adherence to the medication than those who were prescribed pramipexole IR. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40801-020-00215-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Two novel Gram-stain-positive bacteria, designated as SCSIO 52909T and SCSIO 52915T, were isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected at about 3448 m water depth of the South China Sea. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genomic characteristics were investigated. These strains were aerobic and tested positive for catalase activity, oxidase activity and nitrate reduction. Optimal growth occurred at 28 °C, pH 7 and 3% salinity over 14 days cultivation. Its peptidoglycan structure was type A3α (l-Lys–l-Ala) and the only menaquinone was MK-8. Both strains possessed diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified phosphoglycolipid, an unidentified glycolipid and an unidentified phospholipid. Their major fatty acids differed, but both contained iso-branched components of C16 : 0 12-methyl. Genome sequencing revealed two large genomes of 4.58 Mbp with G+C content of 67.0 mol% in SCSIO 52909T and of 4.42 Mbp with G+C content of 69.1 % in SCSIO 52915T. The two novel strains encoded genes for metabolism that are absent in most other Rubrobacter species, and possessed many more gene copy numbers of alkaline phosphatase and thioredoxin reductase. Results of gANI and 16S rRNA gene analyses suggested that the two strains represent two new species, with 74.9, 95.0 % pairwise similarity between each other, and less than 74.3 and 93.5 % to other recognized Rubrobacter species, respectively. In the phylogenetic analysis, strains SCSIO 52909T and SCSIO 52915T were separately clustered together and formed a well-separated phylogenetic branch distinct from the other known species in the genus Rubrobacter . Based on the data presented here, these two strains should be recognized as two new species in the genus Rubrobacter , for which the names Rubrobacter tropicus sp. nov., with the type strain SCSIO 52909T (=KCTC 49412T=CGMCC 1.13853T), and Rubrobacter marinus sp. nov., with the type strain SCSIO 52915T (=KCTC 49411T=CGMCC 1.13852T), are proposed.

A novel marine actinobacterium, strain SCSIO 58843T, was isolated from the sediment sample collected from the South China Sea. Strain SCSIO 58843T was Gram-stain-positive, aerobic and rod shaped. The whole-cell hydrolysis of amino acids contained dd-DAP, alanine, glutamic acid, glycine and aspartic acid. The main menaquinone was MK-9(H8). The major fatty acids were C17 : 1 ω8c and C17 : 0. The major phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phospatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositolmannoside (PIM). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 72.5 %. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SCSIO 58843T formed a new lineage in the family Iamiaceae and had the highest similarity of 93.8 % with Iamia majanohamensis DSM 19957T. Strain SCSIO 58843T can be distinguished from these known genera in the family Iamiaceae by polyphasic data analyses, and represents a novel genus and novel species, for which Actinomarinicola tropica gen. nov., sp. nov is proposed with the type strain SCSIO 58843T(=KCTC 49408T=CGMCC 1.17503T).