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Introduction Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tears are commonly due to motor vehicle accidents or sports-related trauma but can differ geographically. We report the various causes, types, and associated injuries of PCL tears in Taiwan. Methods One hundred forty patients with arthroscopically treated PCL tears were reviewed. Results Scooter-related trauma was the most common cause of PCL tear in our series and is typically an isolated ligamentous injury. High-velocity motor vehicle accidents accounted for a small percentage of PCL tears. Conclusion Scooter-related PCL tears are common in Taiwanese patients and are often isolated ligamentous injuries similar to low-velocity sports-related PCL injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Posttransplant new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) is an important complication among patients receiving immunosuppressants. It has a considerable impact on chronic allograft dysfunction. Calcineurin inhibitors have been implicated in the development of posttransplant NODM. Since high-risk candidates also undergo transplantation, prevention and control of posttransplant NODM is important. A 3-year postmarketing surveillance study is currently underway in Taiwan to evaluate the incidence and risk factors leading to development of NODM among de novo and maintenance solid-organ transplant patients receiving cyclosporine (CsA)-based immunosuppressive therapy. Concomitant therapy consisted of basiliximab, mycophenolate mofetil or enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium, and corticosteroids. Diabetes was diagnosed according to the American Diabetes Association criteria. This 6-month protocol-defined interim analysis included 101 patients (84 de novo, 17 maintenance) who received renal (n = 77), liver (n = 13), or heart (n = 11) transplantation. At the end of 6 months, 8/101 (7.92%) patients experienced NODM. The mean time to NODM was 3.05 months. No significant difference was observed between NODM and non-NODM patients for risk factors: age, body mass index, blood pressure, gender, high-density lipoproteins/triglycerides hdl/tg, and anti-hepatitis C virus. The composite endpoint of biopsy-proven acute rejection, graft loss, or death was reached in four patients, with a mean time to event of 3.81 months. Infections were noted in 34 subjects but, no malignancies. Among 389 adverse events reported in 91 patients (90.1%), the majority were of mild to moderate severity. Two deaths were reported: heart transplant recipients with acute rejection and cytomegalovirus meningitis with respiratory failure. Long-term enrollment with follow-up evaluation of these NODM patients up to 3 years will help evaluate the NODM incidence rates and exact graft survival and overall survival rates of CsA-treated transplant patients in Taiwan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study was aimed at identifying the locations of the submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) on the shelf of Southwestern Taiwan by means of oceanographic measurements, quantifying its influence on the hydrographic conditions in the area, and estimating the volume rates of the discharge. Two high resolution hydrographic surveys of the region, including water and bottom sediment sampling campaigns, were completed in February and October of 2009. Water samples were also collected from the neighboring on-land groundwater wells. At some locations in the study regions, the vertical profiles exhibited a slight but detectable (0.009 to 0.105psu) decrease of salinity manifested in the near-bottom portion of the water column. Although convectively unstable, this feature appeared robust and persisted for the eight months between the surveys. The salinity anomalies in the near-bottom layer were often accompanied by the maxima of fluorescence, chlorophyll, silica, nitrate, and iron concentrations, as well as the minima of turbidity. In February, 2009, the n-alkane composition of organic matter in the water collected from an on-land groundwater well exhibited high content of C24 alkane. A similar anomalously high concentration of C24 alkane was encountered in the bottom sediment samples from the suspected SGD sites. In October, 2009, the dominant marker of SGD signature was the C16 alkane. Based on these data, we specified the likely locations of the SGD sources in the study area, all of which were restricted to the inner shelf at the depths less than 8m. We argue that the influence of the SGD on oceanographic regime in the region is small but observable. Its signature is confined to the lowermost 0.1–2.1m layer of the water column. The groundwater seepage rates roughly estimated under the assumption of the advection–diffusion balance based on the eddy diffusivity values typical for the bottom layer, are of the order of 0.1 to 1gm−2 s−1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Clin Microbiol Infect 2011; 17: 1570-1573 Abstract Genotype P[25] rotaviruses are rare and to date have been reported to occur only in a few countries of mainland Asia. Here we report the molecular characterization of a novel human rotavirus genotype combination, G3P[25], detected in a 17-month-old child hospitalized due to severe gastroenteritis during 2009 in central Taiwan. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the VP4 gene demonstrated a distinct origin from other strains bearing the P[25] VP4 gene, whereas the VP7, VP6 and NSP4 gene phylogenies identified common origins with cognate genes of other, presumed human-porcine reassortment Taiwanese strains. These results suggest that interactions between human and animal strains appear to contribute to the generation of genetic and antigenic diversity of rotavirus strains, with potential public health importance in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A matched case-control study was used to determine pathogens and risk factors associated with gastroenteritis in a Taipei Emergency Department. Viruses (40.0%) were the leading cause of gastroenteritis, with noroviruses the most prevalent (33.2%). Bacteria were found in 26.0% of all cases, mostly suspected diarrheagenic E. coli (22.2%), followed by Salmonella spp. (5.4%) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (4.2%). Giardia lamblia was identified in 16.4% of all cases. Statistical significance was noted for seven risk factors: taking antacids before gastroenteritis (OR = 3.91; 95% CI, 2.13, 7.15), other household members with gastroenteritis (OR = 5.18; 95% CI, 2.09, 12.85), attending a banquet (OR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.25, 2.98), eating out (OR = 2.35; 95% CI, 1.30, 4.23), drinking bottled water (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.07, 2.75), eating honey peaches (OR = 3.26; 95% CI, 1.24, 8.58), and eating raw oysters (OR = 3.24; 95% CI, 1.02, 10.28). Eating out was identified as the highest risk behavior, as measured by population attributable risk fraction (PAR) (50.9%). Respective PAR values for drinking bottled water, attending a banquet and taking antacids before illness were 19.7%, 19.6% and 17.6%. Of these, additional research on bottled water appears to be the highest priority, because this is the first time it has been identified as a risk factor for gastroenteritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The severity of an influenza epidemic season may be influenced not only by variability in the surface glycoproteins, but also by differences in the internal proteins of circulating influenza viruses. To better understand viral antigenic evolution, all eight gene segments from 44 human H3N2 epidemic strains isolated during 2004-2008 in Taiwan were analyzed to provide a profile of protein variability. Comparison of the evolutionary profiles of the HA, NA and PB2 genes of influenza A (H3N2) viruses indicated that they were derived from a group of H3N2 isolates first seen in 2004. However, the PA, M and PB1 genes were derived from a different group of H3N2 isolates from 2004. Tree topology revealed the NP and NS genes could each be segregated into two groups similar to those for the polymerase genes. In addition, new genetic variants occurred during the non-epidemic period and become the dominant strain after one or two seasons. Comparison of evolutionary patterns in consecutive years is necessary to correlate viral genetic changes with antigenic changes as multiple lineages co-circulate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]