Objective To investigate the mechanism of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) and X-ray irradiation on liver carcinoma cell lines BEL-7402. Methods Liver carcinoma cell lines BEL-7402 had been incubated with ELF-EMF (100 Hz, 0.7 mT, 30 min, 3 days) after X-ray irradiation at different doses (0, 2, 4, 6, 8,10 Gy). The cells were observed on morphologic changes with scanning electron microscope. Flow cytometry and gene microarray were used to investigate the mechanism of cell apeptosis. Results ELF-EMF plus X-ray induced apoptosis on BEL-7402 was observed under scanning electron microscope.When X-irradiation was 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 Gy, the apoptosis ratios of combined group and only X-irradiation group were 10.0%, 14.5%, 4.3%, 5.1%, 7.1% and 0.1%, 8.1%, 0.1%, 0.4%, 2.2% (P < 0.05) on flow cytometry. The result of microarray indicated that 1465 genes were up-regulated and 1108 down*regulated in the ELF-EMF plus X-ray group in comparison with the control group. The change rates of 110 apoptosis related genes were above 2 times, which including 71 up-regulated and 39 down-regulated. Gene microarray showed that ELF-EMF and X-ray irradiation had a mainly effect on different gene of apoptosis paths (CDC25 and CHKI, ATM, p38, PTEN, p53, G1/S, Fas, G2/M, Cell Cycle, Apoptosis and Caspase). The same genes of ELF-EMF plus X-ray group were showed 13 in ELF-EMF group and 42 in X-ray group. Conclusions Apoptosis paths were significantly different between ELF-EMF and X-irradiation. ELF-EMF cooperates with X-irradiation on inducing BEL-7402 cell apoptosis.

We describe a patient suffering from late stent thrombosis in a paclitaxel-eluting stent which had an underexpanded ring due to the three-hundred-sixty-degree circumferential calcified plaque. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) revealed rotational atherectomy could success-fully ablate both the metallic ring and the calcified ring. The ablated segment was scaffolded with a new paclitaxel-eluting stent, well ex-panded and documented by IVUS. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of stent ablation for an unexpanded paclitaxel-eluting stent. From the Medline index, there were only six case reports of stent ablation. We review and summarize the operation details of stent ablation from these reports.

BACKGROUND: Several factors, including clinical manifestations and laboratory data, have been used to evaluate the disease activity of Sjögren's syndrome (SS). We investigated saliva indicators of disease activity in primary SS patients. METHODS: We enrolled 138 Taiwanese patients with primary SS and 100 Taiwanese normal controls. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17A, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and rheumatoid factor (RF)-IgA levels in saliva samples were measured using ELISA or fluorescent enzyme-linked immunoassay. Serum IgG, IgA, and IgM levels were measured by nephelometry. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was measured with an automatic ESR analyzer. The t-test and Pearson correlation test were used. RESULTS: IL-6 level was higher in primary SS patients than in normal controls (14.23±14.77 vs 9.87±7.32, P=0.012), but there were no significant differences in IL-17A, TNF-α, and RF-IgA levels. In primary SS patients, IL-6 level correlated weakly with ESR and IgG levels (r=0.252, P=0.015, and r=0.248, P=0.017, respectively), and TNF-α level correlated weakly with IgG level (r=0.231, P=0.024). CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 may play a role in SS pathogenesis. Saliva IL-6 might be an indicator of disease activity in primary SS patients.
Blood Sedimentation ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Interleukin-17 ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Rheumatoid Factor ; Saliva ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

"Background: Bronchiectasis is characterized by an irreversible dilatation of the bronchial tree caused by recurrent airway infection and inflammation.The association of atherosclerosis and inflammation is well established. However, studies on the relationship between bronchiectasis and ischemic stroke are scant. Therefore, we conducted a population-based cohort study to investigate the incidence and risk of ischemicstroke in patients with bronchiectasis."

As diagnostic techniques have advanced, primary aldosteronism (PA) has emerged as the most common cause of secondary hypertension. The excess of aldosterone caused by PA resulted in not only cardiovascular complications, including coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, and heart failure, but also cerebrovascular complications, such as stroke and transient ischemic attack. Moreover, PA is associated more closely with these conditions than is essential hypertension. In this review, we present up-to-date findings on the association between PA and cerebrovascular diseases.
Aldosterone ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Cerebrovascular Disorders* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Heart Failure ; Hyperaldosteronism* ; Hypertension ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; Myocardial Infarction ; Stroke

Background/Aims: Fatty liver disease is defined as a cluster of diseases with heterogeneous etiologies, and its definition continues to evolve. The novel conceptional criteria for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) were proposed in 2020 to avoid the exclusion of a certain subpopulation, but their evaluations have been limited. We aimed to examine and compare the clinical as well as histologic features of MAFLD versus nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with biopsy-proven hepatic steatosis. Methods: From January 2009 to December 2019, 175 patients with histology-proven hepatic steatosis and 10 with cryptogenic cirrhosis who were treated at National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, were enrolled. Patients were classified into different groups according to the diagnostic criteria of MAFLD and NAFLD. The clinical and histologic features were then analyzed and compared. Results: In total, 76 patients (41.1%) were diagnosed with both MAFLD and NAFLD, 81 patients (43.8%) were diagnosed with MAFLD alone, nine patients (4.9%) were diagnosed with NAFLD alone, and 19 patients (10.3%) were diagnosed with neither. Those with MAFLD alone exhibited a higher degree of disease severity regarding histology and laboratory data than those with NAFLD alone. Advanced fibrosis was associated with the presences of hepatitis B virus infection and metabolic diseases. Conclusions The novel diagnostic criteria for MAFLD include an additional 38.9% of patients with hepatic steatosis and can better help identify those with a high degree of disease severity for early intervention than can the previous NAFLD criteria.

Background/Aims: Fatty liver disease is defined as a cluster of diseases with heterogeneous etiologies, and its definition continues to evolve. The novel conceptional criteria for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) were proposed in 2020 to avoid the exclusion of a certain subpopulation, but their evaluations have been limited. We aimed to examine and compare the clinical as well as histologic features of MAFLD versus nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with biopsy-proven hepatic steatosis. Methods: From January 2009 to December 2019, 175 patients with histology-proven hepatic steatosis and 10 with cryptogenic cirrhosis who were treated at National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, were enrolled. Patients were classified into different groups according to the diagnostic criteria of MAFLD and NAFLD. The clinical and histologic features were then analyzed and compared. Results: In total, 76 patients (41.1%) were diagnosed with both MAFLD and NAFLD, 81 patients (43.8%) were diagnosed with MAFLD alone, nine patients (4.9%) were diagnosed with NAFLD alone, and 19 patients (10.3%) were diagnosed with neither. Those with MAFLD alone exhibited a higher degree of disease severity regarding histology and laboratory data than those with NAFLD alone. Advanced fibrosis was associated with the presences of hepatitis B virus infection and metabolic diseases. Conclusions The novel diagnostic criteria for MAFLD include an additional 38.9% of patients with hepatic steatosis and can better help identify those with a high degree of disease severity for early intervention than can the previous NAFLD criteria.

The aim of this study is to analyze the evolutional and molecular characteristics of Hemagglutinin (HA),Neuraminidase(NA)and non-structural (NS) genes of H5N1 avian influenza virus (AIV) from sewage in live bird markets (LBMs) in Changsha,2014.Five hundred and one specimens were collected from environment in LBMs in Changsha,2014,and real-time RT-PCR was used for influenza A typing and subtyping (H5,H7 and H9) detection.Sequencing were used for the positive of single H5.The sequence homology of HA,NA and NS genes of the viruses were analyzed with the online Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST).The phylogenetic trees for HA,NA and NS genes and the ClustalW Multiple alignments of amino acids were constructed using MEGA 5 and BioEdit software,respectively.Results showed that of 501 environmental samples,177 (35.33 ％) samples were positive for influenza A viruses and H5 subtype.Eight H5N1 subtype AIV were confirmed by sequencing from the samples of the positive of single H5.Phylogenetic analysis indicated that most of HA genes of the H5N1 subtype AIV strains isolated in Changsha city were located in 2.3.2 and clustered into new subclade,and the most of NA and NS genes in this study were clustered into subclade 2.3.2.1b.QSG of the HA protein of the receptor binding site were found in these H5N1 viruses,and the characteristics was shown to be associated with increased affinity of HA to the glycan-receptors of AIV.In strains from this study,we did not found amino acid substitutions of the NA protein at H275Y and N295S,and sensitive to neuraminidases,and the high pathogenicity molecular characteristics of HA,NA and NS genes were showed in these viruses.In conclusion,molecular characteristics of the HA,NA and NS of these H5N1 subtype viruses in this study showed high pathogenicity,but that may not facilitate human infection.So,the prevalence and genetic evolution of this virus should be closely monitored.