[Impact of capsular tension ring implantation in cataract patients with high myopia].

The capsular tension ring (CTR) can stabilize the capsule, support the lax zonules, and inhibit the proliferation and migration of lens epithelial cells. Clinically, CTR is mostly used in patients with zonular weakness, which can improve the stability of intraocular lens (IOL) and reduce the incidence of posterior capsular opacity (PCO). The relatively large capsular bag volume, zonular weakness in cataract patients with high myopia may increase the instability of IOL and PCO. Therefore, many clinicians have implanted CTR in cataract patients with high myopia. In this review, we summarized the application of CTR in cataract patients with high myopia.

First Monte Carlo Global Analysis of Nucleon Transversity with Lattice QCD Constraints.

We report on the first global QCD analysis of the quark transversity distributions in the nucleon from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS), using a new Monte Carlo method based on nested sampling and constraints on the isovector tensor charge g_{T} from lattice QCD. A simultaneous fit to the available SIDIS Collins asymmetry data is compatible with g_{T} values extracted from a comprehensive reanalysis of existing lattice simulations, in contrast to previous analyses, which found significantly smaller g_{T} values. The contributions to the nucleon tensor charge from u and d quarks are found to be δu=0.3(2) and δd=-0.7(2) at a scale Q^{2}=2 GeV^{2}.

New Molecular Design Concurrently Providing Superior Pure Blue, Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence and Optical Out-Coupling Efficiencies.

Simultaneous enhancement of out-coupling efficiency, internal quantum efficiency, and color purity in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters is highly desired for the practical application of these materials. We designed and synthesized two isomeric TADF emitters, 2DPyM-mDTC and 3DPyM-pDTC, based on di(pyridinyl)methanone (DPyM) cores as the new electron-accepting units and di(tert-butyl)carbazole (DTC) as the electron-donating units. 3DPyM-pDTC, which is structurally nearly planar with a very small ΔEST, shows higher color purity, horizontal ratio, and quantum yield than 2DPyM-mDTC, which has a more flexible structure. An electroluminescence device based on 3DPyM-pDTC as the dopant emitter can reach an extremely high external quantum efficiency of 31.9% with a pure blue emission. This work also demonstrates a way to design materials with a high portion of horizontal molecular orientation to realize a highly efficient pure-blue device based on TADF emitters.

Magnetic moments of light nuclei from lattice quantum chromodynamics.

We present the results of lattice QCD calculations of the magnetic moments of the lightest nuclei, the deuteron, the triton, and ^{3}He, along with those of the neutron and proton. These calculations, performed at quark masses corresponding to m_{π}∼800 MeV, reveal that the structure of these nuclei at unphysically heavy quark masses closely resembles that at the physical quark masses. In particular, we find that the magnetic moment of ^{3}He differs only slightly from that of a free neutron, as is the case in nature, indicating that the shell-model configuration of two spin-paired protons and a valence neutron captures its dominant structure. Similarly a shell-model-like moment is found for the triton, µ_{^{3}H}∼µ_{p}. The deuteron magnetic moment is found to be equal to the nucleon isoscalar moment within the uncertainties of the calculations. Furthermore, deviations from the Schmidt limits are also found to be similar to those in nature for these nuclei. These findings suggest that at least some nuclei at these unphysical quark masses are describable by a phenomenological nuclear shell model.

Risk of colorectal cancer in women with pelvic inflammatory disease: a matched cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Inflammation is an important risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) comprises a spectrum of upper genital tract infections and inflammatory diseases. We aimed to evaluate the association between CRC and PID. DESIGN: Matched cohort study using the National Health Insurance Research Database. SETTING: Women with PID in Taiwan. POPULATION AND SAMPLE: From the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 (LHID2005) in Taiwan, we obtained data on women from 13 to 45 years of age who were diagnosed with PID. The women with PID were matched 1:4 to selected members of the population without PID based on age and year of first entry into the LHID2005. METHODS: A Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the hazard ratio for CRC during the 5-year follow-up period, after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and selected comorbid medical disorders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Colorectal cancer. RESULTS: Of the 19,029 women with PID, 30 were diagnosed with CRC during the 78,965 person-year follow-up period. Of the 76,116 control women, 66 were diagnosed with CRC. The CRC hazard ratio during the 5-year follow-up period was 2.00 (95% CI 1.30-3.08) for women with PID relative to control women. Similarly, after adjusting for age, Charlson comorbidity index score, urbanisation level and monthly income, the adjusted CRC hazard ratio was 1.71 (95% CI 1.10-2.65) for the women with PID relative to the women in the comparison cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Here we show a weak association between PID and CRC. Additional studies are needed to further evaluate this association and examine plausible mechanisms, including the influence of specific microorganisms.

Hyperon-nucleon interactions from quantum chromodynamics and the composition of dense nuclear matter.

The low-energy nΣ(-) interactions determine, in part, the role of the strange quark in dense matter, such as that found in astrophysical environments. The scattering phase shifts for this system are obtained from a numerical evaluation of the QCD path integral using the technique of lattice QCD. Our calculations, performed at a pion mass of m(π)~389 MeV in two large lattice volumes and at one lattice spacing, are extrapolated to the physical pion mass using effective field theory. The interactions determined from lattice QCD are consistent with those extracted from hyperon-nucleon experimental data within uncertainties and strengthen model-dependent theoretical arguments that the strange quark is a crucial component of dense nuclear matter.

Evaluation of documented drug interactions and contraindications associated with herbs and dietary supplements: a systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The use of herbs and dietary supplements (HDS) alone or concomitantly with medications can potentially increase the risk of adverse events experienced by the patients. This review aims to evaluate the documented HDS-drug interactions and contraindications. METHODS: A structured literature review was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, tertiary literature and Internet. RESULTS: While 85 primary literatures, six books and two web sites were reviewed for a total of 1,491 unique pairs of HDS-drug interactions, 213 HDS entities and 509 medications were involved. HDS products containing St. John's Wort, magnesium, calcium, iron, ginkgo had the greatest number of documented interactions with medications. Warfarin, insulin, aspirin, digoxin, and ticlopidine had the greatest number of reported interactions with HDS. Medications affecting the central nervous system or cardiovascular system had more documented interactions with HDS. Of the 882 HDS-drug interactions being described its mechanism and severity, 42.3% were due to altered pharmacokinetics and 240 were described as major interactions. Of the 152 identified HDS contraindications, the most frequent involved gastrointestinal (16.4%), neurological (14.5%), and renal/genitourinary diseases (12.5%). Flaxseed, echinacea, and yohimbe had the largest number of documented contraindications. CONCLUSIONS: Although HDS-drug interactions and contraindications primarily concerned a relatively small subset of commonly used medications and HDS entities, this review provides the summary to identify patients, HDS products, and medications that are more susceptible to HDS-drug interactions and contraindications. The findings would facilitate the health-care professionals to communicate these documented interactions and contraindications to their patients and/or caregivers thereby preventing serious adverse events and improving desired therapeutic outcomes.

Association between psoriasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population-based study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is regarded as a systemic inflammatory disease, having been linked in recent studies, to a wide range of systemic disorders. Previous studies have reported a positive correlation between psoriasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, no studies have been conducted on an ethnic Chinese population. METHODS: We conducted a population-based study, using a representative cohort from the National Health Insurance database in Taiwan, between 2004 and 2006. The risk of COPD was compared between patients with psoriasis and a matched reference cohort. This study included 2096 psoriasis patients and 8384 randomly selected controls. RESULTS: After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and selected chronic diseases, the hazard ratio (HR) for COPD in psoriasis patients was 2.35 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42-3.89) compared with the control group in 18 months of follow-4 up. Men (HR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.36-4.18) and patients with psoriasis over 50 years of age (HR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.27-3.77) were more likely to contract COPD. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that psoriasis patients were at a greater risk of developing COPD with significantly lower COPD-free survival rates than the comparison cohort (P < 0.001). Physicians should be aware of this potential risk to reduce comorbidity and mortality.

Evidence for a bound H dibaryon from lattice QCD.

We present evidence for the existence of a bound H dibaryon, an I=0, J=0, s=-2 state with valence quark structure uuddss, at a pion mass of m(π)∼389 MeV. Using the results of lattice QCD calculations performed on four ensembles of anisotropic clover gauge-field configurations, with spatial extents of L∼2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.9 fm at a spatial lattice spacing of b(s)∼0.123 fm, we find an H dibaryon bound by B(∞)(H)=16.6±2.1±4.6 MeV at a pion mass of m(π)∼389 MeV.

Risk of herpes zoster among patients with psychiatric diseases: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders have been shown to be associated with impaired immune response, including decreased cellular immunity to varicella-zoster virus. However, the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in psychiatric patients is, to date, unknown. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in psychiatric patients compared with the general population. METHODS: We used data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database from 2004 to 2006. Our study cohort consisted of patients aged 18 years and older diagnosed with psychiatric disorders in 2004 (N=42 340). The comparison cohort (N=169 360) consisted of four age- and gender-matched controls randomly selected for every patient in the study cohort. All subjects were followed from the date of cohort entry until they developed HZ or the end of 2006, whichever was earliest. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed to compute the 2-year HZ-free survival rates. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, we found patients with psychiatric disorders were more likely to have an episode of HZ than the control population [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.18-1.38]. When stratified by age and psychiatric diagnostic categories, in patients aged ≤60 years, the adjusted HRs for HZ were 1.34 (P=0.026) for patients with affective psychoses, 1.42 (P<0.001) for those with neurotic illness or personality disorders and 1.53 (P<0.001) for patients with other mental disorders. However, in patients aged >60years, only neurotic illness or personality disorders were significantly associated with an increased risk of HZ (adjusted HR, 1.26; P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis suggests that patients with psychiatric disorders are at increased risk of HZ, especially those aged ≤60 years. Further study is required to elucidate the nature of this association.

A systemic review of human papillomavirus studies: global publication comparison and research trend analyses from 1993 to 2008.

The term "human papillomavirus" has been used as the keyword during searching titles, abstracts, and keywords based on the online version of Science Citation Index (SCI), Web of Science from 1993 to 2008. Twelve document types were found among the 14,943 papers published in 1,072 journals that were listed in 99 SCI subject categories. All the articles referring to human papillomavirus were assessed by using the following aspects: characteristics of publication output, distribution of output in journals, publication output of source country, source institute, and analysis of word clusters in title, author keywords, and keywords plus. The results have shown that the USA ranked first using five publication indicators including total, single country, international, first author, and corresponding author publications. China has had the sharpest rise of publications since 2004. The top four European countries in 2008 were France, Germany, the UK, and Italy, respectively. Trend studies with word cluster analysis were performed with regards to the areas of immunology, screening methodology, behavioral sciences, economics, and meta-analysis. All those areas have shown a sharp upward rise since 2004. In addition, hypermethylation-induced inactivation of the p16 gene in the early stages of oncogenesis has been getting more interest in recent years.

High case volume of radiation oncologists is associated with better survival of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy: a multifactorial cohort analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between physician case volume and patient outcome in patients with head and neck cancers such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated by radiotherapy is unknown. This study was designed to investigate the association between the case volume of radiation oncologists and the survival of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Based on nationwide claims data (National Health Research Insurance Database) in the years 2002-2008. PARTICIPANTS: Newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma receiving curative radiotherapy in the year 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall survival until 2008. We used the running log-rank test to decide the optimal threshold for categorising the case volume of radiation oncologists. The characteristics of patients, their treatments and contact with health service providers were considered as co-explanatory variables. The log-rank test and Cox regression were performed. Sensitivity analyses were carried out regarding major study assumptions. RESULTS: Five hundred and sixty-two patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma newly diagnosed in 2003 were identified as the study cohort. The 5-year overall survival was better among patients treated by high-volume (≥6 patients in year 2002) radiation oncologists than by low-volume (<6 patients in year 2002) radiation oncologists (77%versus 64%, P = 0.0007). The adjusted hazard ratio of death was 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.48-0.91) upon multivariate analysis. Patients aged at least 65 years also had a lower survival rate than those younger than 65 years old (adjusted hazard ratio of death: 2.81, 95% confidence interval: 1.94-4.08).The physician case volume and patient outcome effect remained the same after sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated by high-volume radiation oncologists have better survival compared with those treated by low-volume radiation oncologists. Further studies are needed to verify our findings with similar cancer cohorts treated by modern radiotherapy techniques or other types of radiotherapy.

Incidence and clinical course of lercanidipine-associated cloudy effluent in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Lercanidipine, a novel dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist, has been reported to cause sterile cloudy effluent in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the incidence and clinical course of cloudy effluent associated with lercanidipine in uremic patients on CAPD. METHODS: We designed a consecutive observation study in 40 non-diabetic uremic patients on CAPD treated with lercanidipine 5 mg daily. Lercanidipine-induced cloudy effluent was defined as acellular and culture-negative effluent associated with the use of this drug and exclusion of other causative factors. Time to develop cloudy effluent, dwell effluent amount and the associated symptoms were recorded. Baseline peritoneal membrane characteristics, net ultrafiltration per session and routine biochemistry in serum and dialysate were compared between patients with and without the development of cloudy effluent. RESULTS: 9 patients (22.5%) developed cloudy effluent within 2 days of lercanidipine initiation. The triglyceride concentration in cloudy effluent was greater than 10 mg/dl (19.3 ± 6.3 mg/dl). There was a significant increase in dwell effluent amount (93.3 ± 64 ml/exchange, p < 0.05). Clinical symptoms as abdominal cramping or fullness were observed in 3 patients. All cloudy effluent disappeared after ceasing lercanidipine but recurred after resumption of lercanidipine. Baseline dialysate to plasma (D/P) creatinine ratio (0.7 ± 0.1 vs. 0.51 ± 0.1; p = 0.07) tended to be higher and dialysate total protein (93.4 ± 33 vs. 61.5 ± 24 mg/dl; p < 0.05) were significantly higher in patients with than without the development of cloudy effluent. CONCLUSION: The incidence of lercanidipine-associated cloudy effluent is relatively higher with transient benign clinical symptoms. Patients with lercanidipine associated cloudy effluent tend to have a higher membrane transport with an increased effluent amount.

High-risk sexual behaviours and genital chlamydial infections in high school students in Southern Taiwan.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviours and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and associated risk factors in Taiwanese high school students. Students in grades 10 and 11 (mean age: 15.9 +/- 0.9; range: 13-20 years) at two schools were recruited. An anonymous online real-time computer-assisted self-interviewing questionnaire was designed to assess demographic factors and sexual behaviours. Urine specimens were tested for genital chlamydial and gonococcal infections. The same survey and screening was conducted one year later on the same group of students. Overall, 670 individual students (993 visits) were enrolled with 323 students in both surveys. Twenty-seven percent had had sexual intercourse, and more than three quarters (79%) of them had engaged in high-risk sexual behaviours. Having friends using drugs increased the odds of practicing high-risk sexual behaviours (odds ratio [OR] 1.99, 95% CI: 1.13 to 3.50). Among 182 sexually active students, 8.8% had chlamydial (female: 12.5%; male: 5.3%) and 1.1% had gonococcal infections. Having sex with someone met on the Internet was the most significant risk factor for acquiring chlamydia (OR 8.14, 95% CI: 2.82 to 23.51). In conclusion, this adolescent population reported high prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviours and had a high prevalence of chlamydia supportive of a potential epidemic of STIs and HIV.

Dynamic disruptions in nuclear envelope architecture and integrity induced by HIV-1 Vpr.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) Vpr expression halts the proliferation of human cells at or near the G2 cell-cycle checkpoint. The transition from G2 to mitosis is normally controlled by changes in the state of phosphorylation and subcellular compartmentalization of key cell-cycle regulatory proteins. In studies of the intracellular trafficking of these regulators, we unexpectedly found that wild-type Vpr, but not Vpr mutants impaired for G2 arrest, induced transient, localized herniations in the nuclear envelope (NE). These herniations were associated with defects in the nuclear lamina. Intermittently, these herniations ruptured, resulting in the mixing of nuclear and cytoplasmic components. These Vpr-induced NE changes probably contribute to the observed cell-cycle arrest.

Abundantly expressed hepatic genes and their differential expression in liver of prelaying and laying geese.

Geese have a short egg-laying period and a low egg production rate. To induce and maintain egg laying, genes related to generating hepatic lipid for yolk deposition should be adequately expressed. Liver mRNA from 6 laying geese was extracted and used for construction of a full-length enriched cDNA library. About 2,400 clones containing gene sequences were determined and National Center for Biotechnology Information Gallus gallus Gene Index databases were used to compare and analyze these sequences. Ten highly expressed genes were selected to determine the differential expression between laying and prelay goose liver. Tissue distribution data showed that very low density apolipoprotein II, liver type fatty acid binding protein, vitellogenin I, and vitellogenin II transcripts were specifically expressed in the liver of laying geese. Ovoinhibitor, preproalbumin, alpha-2-hs-glycoprotein, and vitamin D binding protein mRNA were highly expressed in the liver and to a lesser extent in other tissues. Ovotransferrin mRNA was expressed in liver, ovary, oviduct, shell gland, brain, and adipose tissues. The concentration of transthyretin mRNA was high in the liver and brain. The mRNA concentrations of liver type fatty acid binding protein, alpha-2-hs-glycoprotein, and transthyretin in the livers of laying and prelay geese were not different. The concentrations of hepatic ovotransferrin, ovoinhibitor, preproalbumin, very low density apolipoprotein II, vitellogenin I, vitellogenin II, and vitamin D binding protein mRNA were higher in the liver of laying geese than in prelay geese, suggesting that these genes may be involved in laying function or lipid metabolism related to egg formation.

[Particulate matter pollution and allergic rhinitis].

Summary Outdoor air pollution has become a major environmental health problem throughout the world. In particular, exposure to particulate matter(PM) has been associated with the development and exacerbation of allergic rhinitis（AR）. Although the adverse health effects of PM have been demonstrated for many years, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully identified. In this review, we refer to recently published literature to describe the composition of PM, the epidemiological evidence of PM-induced AR, and the possible immune mechanisms of PM-induced AR.

Connective tissue growth factor linked to the E7 tumor antigen generates potent antitumor immune responses mediated by an antiapoptotic mechanism.

A novel method for generating an antigen-specific cancer vaccine and immunotherapy has emerged using a DNA vaccine. However, antigen-presenting cells (APCs) have a limited life span, which hinders their long-term ability to prime antigen-specific T cells. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has a role in cell survival. This study explored the intradermal administration of DNA encoding CTGF with a model tumor antigen, human papilloma virus type 16 E7. Mice vaccinated with CTGF/E7 DNA exhibited a dramatic increase in E7-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell precursors. They also showed an impressive antitumor effect against E7-expressing tumors compared with mice vaccinated with the wild-type E7 DNA. The delivery of DNA encoding CTGF and E7 or CTGF alone could prolong the survival of transduced dendritic cells (DCs) in vivo. In addition, CTGF/E7-transduced DCs could enhance a higher number of E7-specific CD8(+) T cells than E7-transduced DCs. By prolonging the survival of APCs, DNA vaccine encoding CTGF linked to a tumor antigen represents an innovative approach to enhance DNA vaccine potency and holds promise for cancer prophylaxis and immunotherapy.