Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) of the uterine cervix is a rare malignancy of the female genital tract with a poorer clinical outcome than SCC of the uterine cervix. We report a case of BSCC of the uterine cervix developing rapidly in a young adult Taiwanese. A 35-year-old woman, Para 2, visited the emergency room with severe dizziness, palpitations and sudden excessive vaginal bleeding with hemoglobin of 3.6 g/dl. She had been well and healthy but intermittent vaginal spotting developed for around 6 months previously and was treated as abnormal uterine bleeding by ob-gyn practitioners. She had a repeat cesarean operation 16 months prior to this episode and the last Pap smear showed reactive change 12 months ago at our hospital. On examination, she had an ulcerated, necrotic, and punched-out lesion of 5 cm of the cervix. A cervical biopsy revealed poorly differentiated typical BSCC. Abdominal/pelvic computerized tomography and whole body positron emission tomography confirmed FIGO staging IB2. She responded well to concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Follow-up for the patient is ongoing. This is a rapid developing BSCC of the uterine cervix, although we cannot actually ascertain when it started and how rapidly it progressed.

OBJECTIVES: A lack of understanding in menopausal and postmenopausal women's (PMW) risk perception towards osteoporosis and breast cancer still exists, which is explored in this study. This information might allow health professionals to conduct interventions to improve health behaviors before menopause-related diseases are imminent. METHODS: Between 10 December 2015 and 31 January 2016, 573 menopausal or PMW were successfully interviewed on 17 questions, comprising separate sections for osteoporosis and breast cancer. The target respondents were menopausal or PMW aged 45 to 60 years, with no previous diagnosis of osteoporosis or breast cancer, who attended private clinics across Hong Kong for annual physical examination. RESULTS: Regarding menopausal issues, the top three concerns were osteoporosis and fracture (72%), breast cancer (44%), and sleep disorder/insomnia/headache (40%). Among 314 respondents (55%) who tried to prevent osteoporosis, 74% of them began to do it after they were 40 years old. On the other hand, 65% of respondents never had a bone density test. For respondents who said “I'm too young, so I don't need to check”, their mean age was 52 years old. Ninety percent of respondents mistakenly believed that regular breast examination, regular breast massage, drink soy milk, or vaccine can prevent breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This survey revealed osteoporosis and breast cancer as the top concerns among menopausal and PMW in Hong Kong. Inadequate health behaviors and misconceptions still exist despite widespread health education in the recent years.
Bone Density ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Hand ; Health Behavior ; Health Education ; Health Occupations ; Hong Kong* ; Humans ; Massage ; Osteoporosis* ; Physical Examination ; Soy Milk ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection causes the most severe form of viral hepatitis with rapid progression to cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although discovered > 40 years ago, little attention has been paid to this pathogen from both scientific and public communities. However, effectively combating hepatitis D requires advanced scientific knowledge and joint efforts from multi-stakeholders. In this review, we emphasized the recent advances in HDV virology, epidemiology, clinical feature, treatment, and prevention. We not only highlighted the remaining challenges but also the opportunities that can move the field forward.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications* ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis D/epidemiology* ; Hepatitis Delta Virus/genetics* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/etiology* ; Liver Neoplasms/complications*

ObjectiveDetection and quantification of RNA synthesis in cells is a widely used technique for monitoring cell viability, health, and metabolic rate.After exposure to environmental stimuli, both the internal reference gene and target gene would be degraded. As a result, it is imperative to consider the accurate capture of nascent RNA and the detection of transcriptional levels of RNA following environmental stimulation. This study aims to create a Click Chemistry method that utilizes its property to capture nascent RNA from total RNA that was stimulated by the environment. MethodsThe new RNA was labeled with 5-ethyluridine (5-EU) instead of uracil, and the azido-biotin medium ligand was connected to the magnetic sphere using a combination of “Click Chemistry” and magnetic bead screening. Then the new RNA was captured and the transcription rate of 16S rRNA was detected by fluorescence molecular beacon (M.B.) and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). ResultsThe bacterial nascent RNA captured by “Click Chemistry” screening can be used as a reverse transcription template to form cDNA. Combined with the fluorescent molecular beacon M.B.1, the synthesis rate of rRNA at 37℃ is 1.2 times higher than that at 15℃. The 16S rRNA gene and cspI gene can be detected by fluorescent quantitative PCR,it was found that the measured relative gene expression changes were significantly enhanced at 25℃ and 16℃ when analyzed with nascent RNA rather than total RNA, enabling accurate detection of RNA transcription rates. ConclusionCompared to other article reported experimental methods that utilize screening magnetic columns, the technical scheme employed in this study is more suitable for bacteria, and the operation steps are simple and easy to implement, making it an effective RNA capture method for researchers.