Sex Differences in the Mortality Risk of Elderly Patients with Systolic Heart Failure in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Sex differences in heart failure mortality might be affected by age, race, and treatment response. Many large studies in Western countries have shown conflicting results, however few studies have been conducted in Asian patients. OBJECTIVES: We prospectively investigated the mortality risk in a multicenter cohort of 1,093 male and 416 female heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) hospitalized for worsening symptoms in Taiwan between 2013 and 2015. METHODS: Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox proportional regression analyses were used to determine the one-year mortality risk by sex. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in major adverse cardiovascular events, re-admission rate, and mortality between sexes in the overall cohort and the young subgroup during one-year of follow-up. In the elderly subgroup, the overall and cardiac mortality rate of the male patients were higher than those of the female patients (p = 0.035, p = 0.049, respectively). We found that the prognostic effect of old age on overall mortality rate appeared to be stronger in the male patients (p < 0.0001) than in the female patients (p = 0.69) in Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Male sex was a risk factor for all-cause mortality in the elderly (hazard ratio: 1.50, 95% confidence interval 1.02-2.25) independently of systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, hemoglobin concentration, kidney function, and medications. CONCLUSIONS: In the Taiwan HFrEF registry, the highest mortality risk was observed in male patients aged 65 years or more. Clinicians need to pay more attention to these patients.

Casticin inhibits human prostate cancer DU 145 cell migration and invasion via Ras/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathways.

Casticin, a polymethoxyflavone derived from natural plants, has biological activities including induction of cell apoptosis. In this study, we showed the beneficial effects of casticin on the inhibition of prostate cancer cell metastasis. Casticin reduced total viable cell number, thus, we selected low doses of casticin for following experiments. Casticin decreased cell mobility, suppressed cell migration and invasion, and reduced cell gelatinolytic activities of MMP-2/-9. Furthermore, casticin inhibited the protein levels of AKT, GSK3 αß, Snail, and MMPs (MMP-2, -9, -13, and -7) at 24 and 48 hr treatment. Casticin diminished the expressions of NF-κB p65, GRB2, SOS-1, MEK, p-ERK1/2, and p-JNK1/2 at 48 hr treatment only. However, casticin reduced the level of E-cadherin at 24 hr treatment but elevated at 48 hr. The novel findings suggest that casticin may represent a new and promising therapeutic agent for the metastatic prostate cancer. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Casticin derived from natural plants had been used for Chinese medicine in Chinese population for thousands of years. In the present study, casticin attenuated metastatic effects, including decreasing viable cell number, inhibiting the migration, invasion, and adhesion, and reducing matrix metalloproteinases activity on human prostate DU 145 cancer cells. In addition, the results also provided possible pathways involved in casticin anti-metastasis mechanism. We conclude that casticin may be an aptitude anticancer agent or adjuvant for the metastatic prostate cancer in the future.

A novel synthetic-genetic-array-based yeast one-hybrid system for high discovery rate and short processing time.

Eukaryotic gene expression is often tightly regulated by interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and their DNA cis targets. Yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) is one of the most extensively used methods to discover these interactions. We developed a high-throughput meiosis-directed yeast one-hybrid system using the Magic Markers of the synthetic genetic array analysis. The system has a transcription factor-DNA interaction discovery rate twice as high as the conventional diploid-mating approach and a processing time nearly one-tenth of the haploid-transformation method. The system also offers the highest accuracy in identifying TF-DNA interactions that can be authenticated in vivo by chromatin immunoprecipitation. With these unique features, this meiosis-directed Y1H system is particularly suited for constructing novel and comprehensive genome-scale gene regulatory networks for various organisms.

The association of variables of fibular reconstructed mandible and bite force in oral cancer patients with dental implant rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate how the physical variables of fibular reconstructed mandibles with dental implants affects the relative bite force in oral cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Over 7 years of follow-up, 13 oral cancer patients were enrolled who included 51 successful implants in the fibular flap. The tactile sensor analyzer evaluated the bite force. The crown-implant ratio, fibular, and rehabilitated dental length were measured using radiographic images. Linear regression was used to analyze the bite force related to the variables of the implants in the fibular reconstructed mandible. RESULTS: Even when the results showed no statistical significance (P > 0.05), increasing the crown-implant ratio, length of the fibular flap, and implant prosthetic reconstructed dentition had a tendency to decrease the bite force (estimate from -0.08% to -4.27%); there was a positive trend of occlusal force and the length of rehabilitative dentition compared with the dental antagonist (estimate = 6.95). CONCLUSION: In this study, the crown-implant ratio, implant dentition, and fibular flap length revealed no significant impact on the bite force or implant success in oral cancer patients; however, a trend to weaken the bite force was suggested once the numerical values of these variables increased.

Binary VOCs absorption in a rotating packed bed with blade packings.

This investigation addressed the mass transfer of rotating packed beds with blade packings in removing methanol and 1-butanol from binary mixtures by absorption using water as the absorbent. The dependences of the overall volumetric gas-phase mass transfer coefficient (K(G)a) on the inlet methanol concentration, the inlet 1-butanol concentration, the rotational speed, the gas flow rate, and the liquid flow rate, were explored. The results demonstrated that the inlet methanol and 1-butanol concentrations had a negligible effect on the K(G)a values of methanol and 1-butanol. The K(G)a values of methanol and 1-butanol increased with the rotational speed, the gas flow rate, and the liquid flow rate. The dependence of K(G)a on the gas flow rate was higher than that on the liquid flow rate, revealing that the mass transfer in binary VOCs absorption may be controlled considerably by the mass transfer in gas phase.

Fabrication of compound nonwoven materials for soft body armor.

The primary objective of body armor research is the development of low-cost, lightweight, wearable garments that effectively resist ballistic impact. This study introduces a material intended to reduce nonpenetration trauma by absorbing energy from ballistic impacts. Layers of web were made by low-melting point polyester (LMPET) on unaligned fibers of high-strength polyamide 6 (HSPA6). A compound nonwoven fabric was made by laying high-strength Vectran filaments between two layers of HSPA6-LMPET web. The new fabric underwent needle punching and thermal bonding to form a composite sandwich structure. The new fabric was subjected to a falling weight impact test and a ballistic impact test. The results indicated that the material with the new design reduced maximum indentation depth by 8%. Furthermore, soft body armor made from the material with the new design would cost less to produce and would weigh 22.5% less than conventional soft body armor.

Evaluation of alkanolamine solutions for carbon dioxide removal in cross-flow rotating packed beds.

The removal of CO(2) from a 10 vol% CO(2) gas by chemical absorption with 30 wt% alkanolamine solutions containing monoethanolamine (MEA), piperazine (PZ), and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) in the cross-flow rotating packed bed (RPB) was investigated. The CO(2) removal efficiency increased with rotor speed, liquid flow rate and inlet liquid temperature. However, the CO(2) removal efficiency decreased with gas flow rate. Also, the CO(2) removal efficiency was independent of inlet gas temperature. The 30 wt% alkanolamine solutions containing PZ with MEA were the appropriate absorbents compared with the single alkanolamine (MEA, AMP) and the mixed alkanolamine solutions containing AMP with MEA. A higher portion of PZ in alkanolamine solutions was more favorable to CO(2) removal. Owing to less contact time in the cross-flow RPB, alkanolamines having high reaction rates with CO(2) are suggested to be used. For the mixed alkanolamine solution containing 12 wt% PZ and 18 wt% MEA, the highest gas flow rate allowed to achieve the CO(2) removal efficiency more than 90% at a liquid flow rate of 0.54 L/min was of 29 L/min. The corresponding height of a transfer unit (HTU) was found to be less than 5.0 cm, lower than that in the conventional packed bed.

Feasibility of ozone absorption by H2O2 solution in rotating packed beds.

This work examined the feasibility of ozone (O(3)) absorption by H(2)O(2) solution in a rotating packed bed (RPB). The O(3) removal efficiency was determined at various operating variables including RPB speed, gas flow rate, and liquid flow rate in three RPBs. For each RPB, the results demonstrated that the RPB speed positively affected the O(3) removal efficiency. Also, the O(3) removal efficiency increased with the liquid flow rate but decreased with the gas flow rate. Moreover, the obtained results indicated that the O(3) removal efficiency increased as the inner radius of the bed was increased and the outer radius of the bed was decreased. Furthermore, the developed method for O(3) absorption using H(2)O(2) solution could provide the removal efficiency of more than 95%. Consequently, the novel method would have a great potential in the removal of O(3) from the exhausted gases.

Volatile organic compounds absorption in a cross-flow rotating packed bed.

A cross-flow rotating packed bed (RPB) process was evaluated for its absorption of some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into water, including isopropyl alcohol, acetone, and ethyl acetate. The experimental results showed that the mass transfer coefficient (KGa) increased with increasing rotational speed, liquid rate, and gas rate, and thus an empirical correlation of KGa was proposed for the cross-flow RPB for the first time. It was found thatthis correlation could reasonably estimate our experimental KGa data as well as those reported in literatures. Although the mass transfer coefficient was lower than that in a countercurrent-flow RPB, a cross-flow RPB is believed to be capable of handling a higher gas rate because of its flow pattern.