J Formos Med Assoc
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In vitro neural cell-based models have been widely used to mimic the in vivo neural tissue environments and quantitatively understand the effects of pharmaceutical molecules on neural diseases. Recently, several biomimetic neural tissue models have been widely developed by using biomaterials or surface modification. However, the complex protocols of material synthesis or surface modification lack an easy execution to fabricate the neuron favorite environment. ⋯ This study shows that the PEMs provided an easily alternative approach to modify the surface properties; and might be a method to obtain a neuron-rich model for the biological/pharmaceutical applications.
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Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA) is a rare primary liver cancer. Preoperative diagnosis of cHCC-CCA is difficult, and outcome of cHCC-CCA is obscured. Our study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological and radiological features of cHCC-CCA and compare their outcomes with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). ⋯ cHCC-CCA is associated with high risk of recurrence following surgical resection as compared with HCC. Closely post-operative monitoring is highly recommended.
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A three-generation Chinese family with autosomal dominant congenital nuclear cataract was recruited. This study aimed to identify the disease-causing gene for nuclear cataract with functional dissections of the identified mutant. ⋯ This study identified a novel cataract phenotype caused by the p.R76H mutation in Cx50, providing evidence of further phenotypic heterogeneity associated with this mutation. Functional analysis showed that the mutation affected the formation of gap junction channels and led to opacity in the lens.
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Our previous study found that 127 of 1064 atrophic glossitis (AG) patients have hyperhomocysteinemia. This study assessed whether the AG patients with hyperhomocysteinemia had significantly higher frequencies of anemia, hematinic deficiencies, and serum gastric parietal cell antibody (GPCA) positivity than AG patients without hyperhomocysteinemia or healthy control subjects. ⋯ AG patients with hyperhomocysteinemia had significantly higher frequencies of anemia, serum iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid deficiencies, and serum GPCA positivity than healthy control subjects and significantly higher frequencies of anemia, serum vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiencies, and serum GPCA positivity than AG patients without hyperhomocysteinemia.
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To determine the association between amiodarone or lidocaine and outcomes in adult in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) with shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT). ⋯ For patients with IHCA and shock-refractory VF/pVT, the adoption of an amiodarone-first strategy seemed to be associated with the termination of VF/pVT using fewer shocks. Nonetheless, because of the small sample size, additional large-scale studies should be conducted to investigate whether this advantage could be translated into a long-term benefit in survival or neurological outcomes.