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Background Previous population-based studies in western countries had revealed increased skin cancer risk among transplant recipients compared to the general population. However, population-based studies in Asia on skin cancer among recipients of different transplanted organs were lacking in the literature. Aims This study aims to estimate skin cancer risk among recipients in Taiwan, examine the association between each specific type of skin cancer and each type of transplanted organ, and compare skin cancer risk between different immunosuppressive regimens. Methods This population-based retrospective cohort study identified 7550 patients with heart, lung, kidney or liver transplantation and 30,200 controls matched for gender, age and comorbidity index from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan between 2000 and 2015. Using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, we estimated the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the correlation of skin cancer with organ transplantation as well as immunosuppressive regimen. Results Organ transplant recipients in Taiwan had an increased risk of skin cancer with adjusted hazard ratios of 4.327 (95% confidence intervals 2.740-6.837, P < 0.001), with the greatest risk, observed among heart recipients (adjusted hazard ratios 6.348, 95% confidence intervals 3.080-13.088, P < 0.001). The risk of non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma was 4.473 (95% confidence intervals 2.568-7.783, P < 0.001) and 3.324 (95% confidence intervals 1.300-8.172, P < 0.001), respectively. When comparing immunosuppressants, those with calcineurin inhibitors carried the highest risk of skin cancer (adjusted hazard ratios 4.789, 95% confidence intervals 3.033-7.569, P < 0.001), followed by those with antimetabolites (adjusted hazard ratios 4.771, 95% confidence intervals 3.025-7.541, P < 0.001). Limitations We could not evaluate confounding behavioural risk factors of skin cancers that were not documented in the database, nor could we recognize patients’ compliance with immunosuppressants. Conclusion Organ recipients have a greater risk of skin cancer. Clinicians should inform recipients of the importance of photoprotection and regular dermatologic follow-up.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are life-threatening adverse reactions to drugs and psychological sequelae are also observed to follow the trauma of widespread epidermal necrolysis. To delineate the association between SJS and TEN, and psychiatric disorders, we conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study by including 212 patients diagnosed with first-time SJS or TEN in Taiwan between 2000 and 2013 and 669 population controls. Adjusted hazard ratios were calculated after adjusting for sex, age, comorbidity in the form of Charlson comorbidity index, and facility level of care. Overall, SJS or TEN was associated with an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, mania, anxiety, and bipolar with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.392 (95% CI, 1.192-1.625; p 0.001). Particularly, the adjusted hazard ratios of psychiatric disorders were 1.290 (95% CI, 1.105-1.506; p 0.001) for SJS and 1.855 (95% CI, 1.587-2.167; p 0.001) for TEN.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, a large number of employees of organizations around the world have been forced to work remotely from home starting in 2020. As a result, leaders and followers face new communication and interaction challenges. If an enterprise is to be successful in the new wave of economic development, it must embrace the role of employee followers. However, there is currently no relevant research. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the interaction between organic leadership and implicit followers from the perspective of followers who are working remotely and further analyze their relationship with trust in their supervisor, organizational citizenship behavior, and active followership. Using the method of questionnaire measurement, multigroup analysis and ANCOVA and PLS-SEM analysis found the following. First, difference in leadership styles (IV) and implicit followers (IV) had significant effects on employees’ trust in supervisor (DV), organizational citizenship behavior (DV), and active followers (DV). Secondly, the influence of the leaders’ styles (IV) on employees’ trust in supervisor (DV), organizational citizenship behavior (DV), and active followership (DV) was significantly affected only when IFTs were anti-prototypical traits. Finally, organizational citizenship behavior (Med) had an indirect effect between trust in supervisor (DV) and active followership (DV). This article not only fills the gaps in the literature related to leaders and followers, but also provides analytical evidence and new thinking which will enable companies to propose management strategies more effectively for employees working remotely in the face of the impact of the epidemic.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and factors affecting the prognosis of myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 24 patients diagnosed with MPE who were surgically treated from January 2010 to January 2020 in the Department of Neurosurgery at Tongji Hospital (Tongji Medical School, Huazhong University of Science and Technology). Results Among the 24 included patients, there were 13 male and 11 female patients. The ages of the included patients ranged from 15 to 59 years old, with an average age of 35.2 years old. The Preoperative McCormick grade included 20 cases (83.3%) that were grade II and 4 cases (16.7%) that were grade III. The follow-up times ranged from 6 months to 10 years, with an average of 50.9 months. The Postoperative McCormick grade included 7 cases (29.2%) that were grade I, 4 cases (16.7%) that were grade II, 12 cases (50%) that were grade III and 1 case (4.2%) that was grade IV. The 1-year, 2-year, and 10-year recurrence rate was 8.3%, 29.2%, 41.7%, respectively. The 1-year, 2-year, and 10-year survival rate was 100%, 100%, 95.8% respectively. χ2 test revealed a significant difference between the degree of surgical resection (P = 0.012 Conclusions Our findings suggest that the degree of surgical resection was a key factor that affected the prognosis and neurologic function of the included patients with MPE.

Members of the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) gene family are crucial regulators of type I interferon signaling, which may play a role in the resistance of glioma to immune checkpoint blockade. However, the expression profiles, potential functions, and clinical significance of IRF family members remain largely unknown. Here, we examined IRF transcript levels and clinicopathological data from glioma patients using several bioinformatic databases, including ONCOMINE, GEPIA, TCGA, and cBioPortal. We found that IRF1, IRF2, IRF5, IRF8 and IRF9 were significantly upregulated in glioma compared to normal brain tissue. Higher IRF1, IRF2, IRF3, IRF4, IRF5, IRF7, IRF8 and IRF9 mRNA levels correlated with more advanced tumor grades and poorer outcomes. Moreover, although IRFs mutation rates were low (ranging from 0.5% to 2.3%) in glioma patients, genetic alterations in IRFs were associated with more favorable patient survival. Functional analysis showed that IRFs participated in glioma pathology mainly through multiple inflammation- and immunity-related pathways. Additionally, correlations were identified between IRFs and infiltration of immune cells within glioma tissues. Collectively, these results indicate that IRF family members, including IRF1, IRF2, IRF5, IRF8 and IRF9, may serve as prognostic biomarkers and indicators of immune status in glioma patients.

BACKGROUND Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease (ULMCAD) is increasing strategy in coronary artery patients. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the impact of sex on outcomes of patients undergoing ULMCAD PCI. METHODS From January 2004 to December 2015, there were 3,960 patients undergoing ULMCAD PCI at our institution, including 3,121 (78.8%) men and 839 (21.2%) women. The clinical outcome included the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) (the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and revascularization), all-cause death, MI, revascularization at three years follow-up. RESULTS Compared with men, women had not significantly different MACE (14.7% vs. 14.6%, P = 0.89, all-cause death (3.5% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.76), MI (5.0% vs. 4.3%, P = 0.38), revascularization (9.1% vs. 8.9%, P = 0.86), respectively. After adjustment, rates of MACE (HR = 1.49; 95% CI: 1.24−1.81;P < 0.0001) and all-cause death (HR = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.09−2.48; P = 0.017) occurred more frequently in male patients, as well as revascularization (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.16−1.85;P = 0.001). CONCLUSION In this analysis, compared to men, women undergoing ULMCAD PCI have better outcomes of MACE, all-cause death, and revascularization.

Rationale: Lithium is the first-line medication for bipolar disorder, given a narrow therapeutic window of 0.8 to 1.2 mEq/L. Change of lithium pharmacokinetics following bariatric surgery may lead to lithium toxicity, which is particularly concerned. Patient concerns: We presented a 39-year-old man with morbid obesity and bipolar affective disorder for 20 years, who was treated with lithium. He developed serious lithium toxicity following sleeve gastrectomy and prolonged neurologic sequelae. Diagnoses: He suffered from persistent watery diarrhea, general weakness, and then drowsy consciousness. Lithium level was checked immediately to be 3.42 mEq/L and lithium toxicity was diagnosed. Interventions: After 3 courses of hemodialysis, his serum lithium level subsequently declined to 0.63 mEq/L, while his consciousness returned normal. Lithium was replaced by lamotrigine. Outcomes: The patient was discharged thirty-five days after admission, while his serum lithium declined to 0.06 mEq/L. Neurologic sequelae were noted by muscle weakness and pain sensation in both feet. The nerve conduction test revealed sensorimotor polyneuropathy with conduction block. He was advised to keep a passive range of motion exercise. Lessons: Although the consensus guideline remains lacking, our report reviewed cases of relevance in the literature and highlighted the awareness of the potential risk of lithium toxicity following bariatric surgery. We suggest close monitoring of the lithium levels and perhaps a dosage adjustment for the postoperative period.

Micro thermophotovoltaic is a potential power generation for human. Despite the low conversion of TPV system, combined heat and power system could be used to increase the overall efficiency by reusing the waste energy exhausted from TPV system. A micro combustor was designed to investigate the flame behavior through a platinum tube. Fuel, which premixed with CO, H2, CH4 and air were delivered to the micro combustor. By adjusting the ratio of H2 to CO, several flame behavior appears. Irradiance and wall temperature were measured to find out the best operation condition for PV cell to produce electricity. At last, the TPV system could assemble with a Stirling engine to capture the waste heat from TPV system. Water is the working fluid for the cooling system of Stirling engine. By absorbing the waste exhaust heat to heat up the Stirling engine, power and hot water could generated by Stirling engine simultaneously. Eventually, the overall efficiency are able to increase by assembling the Stirling engine.

Helicobacter pylori infects approximately half of the human population and is the main cause of various gastric diseases. This pathogen is auxotrophic for cholesterol, which it converts upon uptake to various cholesteryl α-glucoside derivatives, including cholesteryl 6'-acyl and 6'-phosphatidyl α-glucosides (CAGs and CPGs). Owing to a lack of sensitive analytical methods, it is not known if CAGs and CPGs play distinct physiological roles or how the acyl chain component affects function. Herein we established a metabolite-labelling method for characterising these derivatives qualitatively and quantitatively with a femtomolar detection limit. The development generated an MS/MS database of CGds, allowing for profiling of all the cholesterol-derived metabolites. The subsequent analysis led to the unprecedented information that these bacteria acquire phospholipids from the membrane of epithelial cells for CAG biosynthesis. The resulting increase in longer or/and unsaturated CAG acyl chains helps to promote lipid raft formation and thus delivery of the virulence factor CagA into the host cell, supporting the idea that the host/pathogen interplay enhances bacterial virulence. These findings demonstrate an important connection between the chain length of CAGs and the bacterial pathogenicity.

The Web2.0 model has aroused vast attention as it alters the traditional role of consumers’ purchase behavior. This paper examines the problems of E-Channel coordination; the focus of this paper is that completely measures the utility function and the “maximally” separating equilibrium diverse choice alternatives. The impact of complexity on consumer choice combines to affect the consistency of consumers’ choices is not well understood. The low quality products distribute through retailers with no reputation Channel of distribution consists of different channel members’ decision. Therefore, the authors found that even if low quality manufacturers have no reputation of their products, they can signal quality by posting the reputation of high reputation of retailers.

a Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan b Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan c Center for Research, Diagnostics and Vaccine Development, Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan d Center for Drug Abuse and Addiction, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan e Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan f Department of Psychiatry, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center Health System, Glen Oaks, NY, USA g The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University, Manhasset, NY, USA h Division of Clinical Trial Statistics, Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan i Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan j Graduate Institute of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

Heroin dependent patients have a high incidence of HIV infection. In contrast to the gene expression method, we developed a systemic correlation analysis method built upon the results of pharmacogenomics study in a methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) cohort consisting of 344 Taiwanese heroin dependent patients. We identified genetic variants and their encoding proteins that may be involved with HIV infection and MMT treatment outcome. Cadherin 2 (CDH2) genetic determinants were identified through the genome-wide pharmacogenomic study. We found significant correlations among HIV infection status, plasma levels of CDH2, cytokine IL-7, ADAM10, and the treatment responses to methadone. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms located within CDH2 gene showed associations with blood pressure and plasma CDH2 concentration. Plasma concentration of CDH2 showed correlations with the level of cytokine IL-7, status of HIV infection, and urine morphine test result. Plasma level of IL-7 was correlated with corrected QT interval (QTc) and gooseflesh skin withdrawal symptom score, while level of ADAM10 was correlated with plasma concentrations of vitamin D metabolite, nicotine metabolite, and R-methadone. The results suggest a novel network involving HIV infection and methadone treatment outcome.

This paper focuses on a simple intercarrier interference (ICI) suppression scheme that linearly combines the intersymbol interference (ISI)-free part of a cyclic prefix (CP) and its corresponding part in an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to soothe the ICI effect caused by a time-varying channel. In contrast with existing heuristic combining weights in the literature for ICI suppression, we derived three sets of optimum combining weights in different aspects. Through simulations, we show that the proposed combining weights outperform other existing heuristic combining weights. In addition, a simplified implementation is introduced to reduce the computational complexity of combining. Furthermore, the proposed methods can be incorporated with other ICI mitigation methods to further improve the system performance.

The quasi-periodic magnetic domains in metallic Fe-silicide nanowires self-assembled on the Si(110)-16 &times, 2 surface have been observed at room temperature by direct imaging of both the topographic and magnetic structures using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy. The spin-polarized differential conductance (dI/dV) map of the rectangular-sectional Fe-silicide nanowire with a width and height larger than 36 and 4 nm, respectively, clearly shows an array of almost parallel streak domains that alternate an enhanced (reduced) density of states over in-plane (out-of-plane) magnetized domains with a magnetic period of 5.0 &plusmn, 1.0 nm. This heterostructure of magnetic Fe-silicide nanowires epitaxially integrated with the Si(110)-16 &times, 2 surface will have a significant impact on the development of Si-based spintronic nanodevices.

Objective To investigate the outcomes of overlapping drug-eluting stenting (DES) in small and diffuse lesions. Background Clinical outcomes of overlapping heterogeneous versus homogeneous DES of diffuse lesions (requiring ≥30 mm of length) in small coronary arteries (requiring ≤2.75 mm of diameter) are unknown. Methods From January 2005 to December 2009, there were 99 patients with diffuse lesions in small coronary arteries receiving overlapping heterogeneous DES, and 558 patients receiving overlapping homogeneous DES at our institution. The clinical end-point of the study included in-hospital and 12-month major adverse cardiac events (death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization (TVR). Results There were no statistically significant differences between overlapping heterogeneous and homogeneous DES groups in-hospital (2.0% vs. 1.4%, respectively; P = 0.66) and 12-month (9.1% vs. 9.3%, respectively; P = 0.94) major adverse cardiac events. After adjustment, no significant differences for major adverse cardiac events were noted, but the rate of nonfatal myocardial infarction was lower in overlapping homogeneous DES group (odds ratio: 4.20, P = 0.03). Conclusion In this analysis, there were no significant differences in major adverse cardiac events between the 2 types of overlapping DES for diffuse lesions in small coronary arteries, except for higher nonfatal myocardial infarction in overlapping heterogeneous DES. (J Interven Cardiol 2013;26:264–270)

With the tremendous growth of self-service technologies (SSTs) in many industries, SSTs in the context of service provision are recognized as more effective and important technologies to minimize investment costs and maximizes service quality. By means of reviewing and integrating literature in several fields, the present paper attempted to provide an understanding of this relationship in terms of the links between SST characteristics (perceived risk, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness), consumer technology readiness, social pressures (coercive, normative, and mimetic), and SST adoption. Eight hypotheses from a conceptual model developed to predict and explain consumer intentions towards SST usage were tested through data collection from senior undergraduate and graduate students majoring business as respondents. Through structural equation modeling (SEM), findings indicated that SST characteristics, consumer technology readiness, social pressures were crucial determinants of SST adoption. Besides the empirical confirmation of the hypotheses given, finally, there were several practical implications for service marketers and future research directions for scholars. Key words: Self-service technologies (SSTs), self-service technologies characteristics, technology readiness, social pressures, self-service technologies adoption.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is commonly used for controlling opioid dependence, preventing withdrawal symptoms, and improving the quality of life of heroin-dependent patients. A steady-state plasma concentration of methadone enantiomers, a measure of methadone metabolism, is an index of treatment response and efficacy of MMT. Although the methadone metabolism pathway has been partially revealed, no genome-wide pharmacogenomic study has been performed to identify genetic determinants and characterize genetic mechanisms for the plasma concentrations of methadone R- and S-enantiomers. This study was the first genome-wide pharmacogenomic study to identify genes associated with the plasma concentrations of methadone R- and S-enantiomers and their respective metabolites in a methadone maintenance cohort. After data quality control was ensured, a dataset of 344 heroin-dependent patients in the Han Chinese population of Taiwan who underwent MMT was analyzed. Genome-wide single-locus and haplotype-based association tests were performed to analyze four quantitative traits: the plasma concentrations of methadone R- and S-enantiomers and their respective metabolites. A significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs17180299 (raw p = 2.24 × 10−8), was identified, accounting for 9.541% of the variation in the plasma concentration of the methadone R-enantiomer. In addition, 17 haplotypes were identified on SPON1, GSG1L, and CYP450 genes associated with the plasma concentration of methadone S-enantiomer. These haplotypes accounted for approximately one-fourth of the variation of the overall S-methadone plasma concentration. The association between the S-methadone plasma concentration and CYP2B6, SPON1, and GSG1L were replicated in another independent study. A gene expression experiment revealed that CYP2B6, SPON1, and GSG1L can be activated concomitantly through a constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) activation pathway. In conclusion, this study revealed new genes associated with the plasma concentration of methadone, providing insight into the genetic foundation of methadone metabolism. The results can be applied to predict treatment responses and methadone-related deaths for individualized MMTs., Author Summary Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), among the most effective therapies for heroin-dependent patients, reduces craving and withdrawal symptoms, increases treatment compliance, and improves the quality of life of patients. The plasma concentration of methadone is a primary index for quantifying and determining therapy responses to MMT. This study was the first whole-genome pharmacogenomic study on MMT to locate genomic regions associated with the plasma concentration of methadone. The analysis identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker (rs17180299) and 17 haplotypes on the SPON1, GSG1L, and CYP450 genes, including CYP2B6 significantly associated with the plasma concentrations of methadone enantiomers. The identified genetic variations accounted for approximately 10% and 25% of the variations in plasma concentrations of methadone R- and S-enantiomers, respectively. The identified genetic variations have afforded insight into the genetic mechanism of the metabolism of MMT, and have potential to pave the way towards individualized MMTs for heroin-dependent patients.

Helicobacter pylori infects approximately half of the human population and is the main cause of various gastric diseases., Helicobacter pylori infects approximately half of the human population and is the main cause of various gastric diseases. This pathogen is auxotrophic for cholesterol, which it converts upon uptake to various cholesteryl α-glucoside derivatives, including cholesteryl 6′-acyl and 6′-phosphatidyl α-glucosides (CAGs and CPGs). Owing to a lack of sensitive analytical methods, it is not known if CAGs and CPGs play distinct physiological roles or how the acyl chain component affects function. Herein we established a metabolite-labelling method for characterising these derivatives qualitatively and quantitatively with a femtomolar detection limit. The development generated an MS/MS database of CGds, allowing for profiling of all the cholesterol-derived metabolites. The subsequent analysis led to the unprecedented information that these bacteria acquire phospholipids from the membrane of epithelial cells for CAG biosynthesis. The resulting increase in longer or/and unsaturated CAG acyl chains helps to promote lipid raft formation and thus delivery of the virulence factor CagA into the host cell, supporting the idea that the host/pathogen interplay enhances bacterial virulence. These findings demonstrate an important connection between the chain length of CAGs and the bacterial pathogenicity.

The opioid receptor, mu 1 (OPRM1) is a gene that encodes for the mu opioid receptor (MOR). The role of the MOR has been well characterized in both physiological and pharmacological animal studies. Its role in heroin-dependent patients under treatment with the synthetic opioid methadone, however, is unclear. Using a Taiwan methadone maintenance treatment cohort, we have discovered that the genetic polymorphisms on the OPRM1 genetic regions were significantly associated with the severity of smoking. We did this by using the plasma nicotine metabolite cotinine concentrations as indicator, self-reports of methadone-induced insomnia, and change-in-libido side effects, as rated by the treatment emergent symptom scale and the plasma concentrations of macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC). Our results suggest that the OPRM1 genetic variants may be indicators for the severity of smoking, the severity of methadone-induced insomnia and change-in-libido side effects, and the plasma levels of MDC-related immune responses.

With the tremendous growth of self-service technologies (SSTs) in many industries, SSTs in service provision are recognized as more effective and important technologies to minimize investment costs and maximize service quality. By means of reviewing and integrating literature in several fields, the present paper attempts to provide an understanding of links between SST characteristics, consumer propensity towards SST usage, social pressures, and SST adoption. This paper also advances 14 tentative propositions for additional research and develops a conceptual model to predict and explain consumer attitudes and intentions towards SST usage. Besides the need for empirical confirmation of the propositions given, finally, there are several practical implications for service marketers and future research directions for scholars.

Background The introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) dramatically changed the practice of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the 2000s. Little is known about trends in in-hospital outcome after PCI in the DES era. Hypothesis The in-hospital outcomes after PCI might be continuously improved over time. Methods We analyzed in-hospital outcomes of 21 667 patients who underwent PCI at Fu Wai Hospital in the past 5 years. The patients were divided into 5 groups according to the time of their intervention: group 1 (June 2004 to May 2005), group 2 (June 2005 to May 2006), group 3 (June 2006 to May 2007), group 4 (June 2007 to May 2008), and group 5 (June 2008 to May 2009). Results Procedural success rates for the 5 groups were 93.6%, 95%, 94.4%, 94.2%, and 94.3%, respectively (P = 0.39). Significant reduction in in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (3.1%, 3.4%, 2.8%, 1.6%, and 1.0%, P < 0.001) and need for target-vessel revascularization (2.0%, 2.2%, 1.5%, 0.4%, and 0.2%, P < 0.001) was noted over time, which was associated with a significant increase in use of DES (from 56.6% to 97.0%, P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, use of DES, dissection during procedure, left main lesion, prior myocardial infarction, and age ≥ 65 years were independent predictors of major adverse cardiovascular events. Conclusions There were substantial reductions in in-hospital major adverse cardiac events and target-vessel revascularization over the past 5 years. This reduction was associated with the concurrent increased use of DES. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This work was performed at the Cardiovascular Institute and Fu Wai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of perceived hidden inflation on the relationships between service quality, brand trust, attitude, and brand loyalty. All data collected from the target population were analysed through two-step structural equation modelling (SEM) and moderated multiple regression (MMR) to examine the hypotheses. 1050 questionnaires were randomly distributed at 21 telecommunication service stores in Taiwan. As a result, findings indicated that service quality has no direct impact on behavioural loyalty but it has a significant indirect impact on behavioural loyalty through a brand trust or attitudinal loyalty. Moreover, findings identify perceived hidden inflation as the moderating role in the service quality–brand trust–brand loyalty chain.

α-L-Fucosidases (EC 3.2.1.51) are exo-glycosidases. On the basis of the multi-alignment of amino acid sequence, α-L-fucosidases were classified into two families of glycoside hydrolases, GH-29 and GH-95. They are responsible for the removal of L-fucosyl residues from the non-reducing end of glyco-conjugates. Deficiency of α-L-fucosidase results in Fucosidosis due to the accumulation of fucose-containing glycolipids, glycoproteins and oligosaccharides in various tissues. Recent studies discovered that the fucosylation levels are increased on the membrane surfaces of many carcinomas, indicating the biological function of α-L-fucosidases may relate to this abnormal cell physiology. Although the gene of human α-L-fucosidase (h-fuc) was cloned, the recombinant enzyme has rarely been overexpressed as a soluble and active from. We report herein that, with carefully control on the growing condition, an active human α-L-fucosidases (h-Fuc) was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli for the first time. After a series steps of ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatographic purification, the recombinant h-Fuc with 95% homogeneity was obtained. The molecular weight of the enzyme was analyzed by SDS-PAGE (∼50 kDa) and confirmed by ESI mass (50895 Da). The recombinant h-Fuc was stable up to 55 °C with incubation at pH 6.8 for 2 h; the optimum temperature for h-Fuc is approximately 55 °C. The enzyme was stable at pH 2.5-7.0 for 2 h; the enzyme activity decreased greatly for pH greater than 8.0 or less than 2.0. The K m and k cat values of the recombinant h-Fuc (at pH 6.8) were determined to be 0.28 mM and 17.1 s -1 , respectively. The study of pH-dependent activity showed that the recombinant enzyme exhibited optimum activity at two regions near at pH 4.5 and pH 6.5. These features of the recombinant h-Fuc are comparable to the native enzyme purified directly from human liver. Studies on the transfucosylation and common intermediate of the enzymatic reaction by NMR support that h-Fuc functions as a retaining enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of substrate via a two-step, double displacement mechanism.

Objectives Visfatin is a new cytokine that act as an insulin analogue on the insulin receptor and may link obesity and insulin resistance. It was recently shown that visfatin plays a role in plaque destabilization. However, the role of visfatin in atherosclerosis remains to be elucidated. We sought to assess whether plasma visfatin level is independently associated with inflammation, atherosclerosis and acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Design and patients Two hundred and fifty-three patients undergoing coronary angiography were divided into three subgroups: chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) (n = 102), ACS (n = 100) and control patients (n = 51). The plasma samples were thawed and analysed for circulating visfatin, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). The association of visfatin with risk factors, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and ACS was determined. Results Plasma visfatin levels were significantly higher in chronic CAD and ACS compared with control patients. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that plasma visfatin levels correlated with inflammatory factors and were associated with chronic CAD (odds ratio [OR][95% confidence interval], for second, third and fourth quartiles were 1.74 [0.96-2.69], 1.54 [0.85-2.28] and 1.84 [0.98-2.87], respectively) and ACS (ORs for second, third and fourth quartiles were 2.56 [1.57-3.34], 4.61 [1.94-10.96] and 6.52 [2.34-18.12], respectively) following adjustment for established risk factors and other inflammatory factors. Conclusions Plasma visfatin levels are significantly associated with CAD, particularly ACS, independent of well-known CAD risk factors.

Fucosylated glycoconjugates have critical roles in biological processes, but a limited availability of alpha-l-fucosidase has hampered research on this human enzyme (h-Fuc) at a molecular level. After overexpressing h-Fuc in Escherichia coli as an active form, we investigated the catalytic function of this recombinant enzyme. Based on sequence alignment and structural analysis of close homologues of h-Fuc, nine residues of glutamate and aspartate in h-Fuc were selected for mutagenic tests to determine the essential residues. Among the mutants, D225N, E289Q, and E289G lost catalytic activity significantly; their k(cat) values are 1/5700, 1/430, and 1/340, respectively, of that of the wild-type enzyme. The Brønsted plot for k(cat)/K(m) for the E289G mutant is linear with beta(lg) = -0.93, but that for k(cat) is biphasic, with beta(lg) for poor substrates being -0.88 and for activated substrates being -0.11. The small magnitude of beta(lg) for the activated substrates may indicate that the rate-limiting step of the reaction is defucosylation, whereas the large magnitude of the latter beta(lg) value for the poor substrates indicates that the rate-limiting step of the reaction becomes fucosylation. The kinetic outcomes support an argument that Asp(225) functions as a nucleophile and Glu(289) as a general acid/base catalyst. As further evidence, azide significantly reactivated D225G and E289G, and (1)H NMR spectral analysis confirmed the formation of beta-fucosyl azide and alpha-fucosyl azide in the azide rescues of D225G and E289G catalyses, respectively. As direct evidence to prove the function of Glu(289), an accumulation of fucosyl-enzyme intermediate was detected directly through ESI/MS analysis.