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The assessment of rice panicle initiation is crucial for the management of nitrogen fertilizer application that affects yield and quality of grain. The occurrence of panicle initiation could be determined via either green ring, internode-elongation, or a 1–2 mm panicle, and was observed through manual dissection. The quadratic polynomial regression model was used to construct the model of the trend of normalized difference vegetation index-based vegetation indexes (NDVI-based VIs) between pre-tillering and panicle differentiation stages. The slope of the quadratic polynomial regression model tended to be alleviated in the period in which the panicle initiation stage should occur. The results indicated that the trend of the NDVI-based VIs was correlated with panicle initiation. NDVI-based VIs could be a useful indicator to remotely assess panicle initiation.

There is quickly growing literature on machine-learned models that predict human driving trajectories in road traffic. These models focus their learning on low-dimensional error metrics, for example average distance between model-generated and observed trajectories. Such metrics permit relative comparison of models, but do not provide clearly interpretable information on how close to human behavior the models actually come, for example in terms of higher-level behavior phenomena that are known to be present in human driving. We study highway driving as an example scenario, and introduce metrics to quantitatively demonstrate the presence, in a naturalistic dataset, of two familiar behavioral phenomena: (1) The kinematics-dependent contest, between on-highway and on-ramp vehicles, of who passes the merging point first. (2) Courtesy lane changes away from the outermost lane, to leave space for a merging vehicle. Applying the exact same metrics to the output of a state-of-the-art machine-learned model, we show that the model is capable of reproducing the former phenomenon, but not the latter. We argue that this type of behavioral analysis provides information that is not available from conventional model-fitting metrics, and that it may be useful to analyze (and possibly fit) models also based on these types of behavioral criteria., This paper has been submitted to 24th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation - ITSC2021, September 19-22, 2021 Indianapolis, IN, United States

Early integration of palliative care for terminally ill cancer and non-cancer patients improves quality of life. However, there are sparse data on results of palliative care consultation services (PCCS) between cancer and non-cancer patients. In this 9-year observational study, data were collected from the Hospice-Palliative Clinical Database (HPCD) of Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH). Terminally ill cancer and non-cancer patients who received PCCS during 2011 to 2019 were enrolled. Trend analysis was performed to evaluate differences in outcomes of PCCS, including duration of PCCS, the awareness of disease of patients and families before and after PCCS, status of PCCS termination, and DNR declaration before and after PCCS among cancer and non-cancer patients throughout study period. In total, 5223 cancer patients and 536 non-cancer patients received PCCS from 2011 to 2019. The number of people who received PCCS increased stably over the decade, both for cancer and non-cancer patients. The average duration of PCCS for cancer and non-cancer patients was 21.4 days and 18.4 days, respectively. Compared with non-cancer patients, cancer patients had longer duration of PCCS, less DNR declaration (82% vs. 98%, respectively), and more transfers to the palliative care unit (17% vs. 11%, respectively), or for palliative home care (12% vs.8%, respectively). Determinants of late referral to PCCS includes age (OR 0.992, 95% CI 0.987–0.996), DNR declaration after PCCS (OR 1.967, 95% CI 1.574–2.458), patients’ awareness after PCCS (OR 0.754, 95% CI 0.635–0.895), and status of PCCS termination. This 9-year observational study showed that the trend of PCCS among cancer and non-cancer patients had changed over the duration of the study, and early integration of PCCS to all patients is essential for both cancer and non-cancer patients.

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a secretory lectin with pro-tumor activities and is associated strongly with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Although Gal-1 is a well-known soluble pro-tumor factor in the tumor microenvironment (TME), the secretion mode of Gal-1 is not clearly defined. On the other hand, in addition to cancer cells, Gal-1 is widely expressed in tumor stromal cells, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs are a significant component of stromal cells in TME; however, their contributions in producing Gal-1 to TME are still not explored. Here we reveal that TAMs can actively secrete Gal-1 in response to stimuli of HCC cells. Gal-1 produced by TAMs leads to an increase of the systemic level of Gal-1 and HCC tumor growth in mice. Mechanistically, TLR2-dependent secretory autophagy is found to be responsible for Gal-1 secretion from TAMs. Gal-1 acts as a cargo of autophagosomes to fuse with multivesicular bodies via Rab11 and VAMP7-mediated vesicle trafficking before being secreted. This autophagy-regulated Gal-1 secretion in TAMs correlates to poor overall survival and progression-free survival rates of HCC patients. Our findings uncover the secretion mode of Gal-1 via secretory autophagy and highlight the pathological role of TAM-produced Gal-1 in HCC progression.

Reablement services are approaches for maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults. Previous reablement studies were conducted in a home environment. Due to the limited evidence on the effects of multicomponent interventions and reablement in a community-based context, this study aimed to develop and evaluate the effect of community-based physical–cognitive training, health education, and reablement (PCHER) among rural community-dwelling older adults with mobility deficits. The trial was conducted in rural areas of New Taipei City, Taiwan. Older adults with mild to moderate mobility deficits were recruited from six adult daycare centers, and a cluster assignment was applied in a counterbalanced order. The experimental group (n = 16) received a PCHER intervention, comprising 1.5 h of group courses and 1 h of individualized reablement training, while the control group (n = 12) underwent PCHE intervention, comprising 1.5 h of group courses and 1 h of placebo treatment. A 2.5-h training session was completed weekly for 10 weeks. The outcome measures contained the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI), the Saint Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) Examination, the Barthel Index (BI), the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The PCHER significantly improved the DEMMI, SLUMS, BI, SPPB, and COPM (all p &lt, 0.05), with medium-to-large effect sizes. PCHER also showed an advantage over PCHE in terms of the SPPB (p = 0.02). This study verified that combining individualized reablement with group-based multicomponent training was superior to group courses alone in enhancing the functional abilities of community-dwelling older adults with mobility deficits.

Sericin, a textile waste, can be used for antioxidant and skin-whitening purposes. The hydrothermal method of extracting sericin is more eco-friendly than are chemical and enzymatic methods. In this study, silk cocoons were cut into pieces and then subjected to hydrothermal extraction at three temperatures (160, 200, and 220 °C) to obtain sericin extracts (Sericin160, Sericin200, and Sericin220, respectively). Antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibition were measured to determine the extracts’ effectiveness. Sericin220 was the strongest antioxidant, with total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and ferric reducing power of 62.19 ± 0.04 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight, 0.07 ± 0.01 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight, and 181.49 ± 0.024 mg vitamin C equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations for DPPH and ABTS free-radical scavenging ability were 6.41 ± 0.05 and 0.79 ± 0.37 mg/mL, respectively. Sericin220 also exhibited the highest tyrosinase inhibition activity (70.82 ± 4.1 mg vitamin C equivalent/g), indicating its whitening potential.

In daily life, most people engage in money-related behavior. Adequate financial knowledge is required to successfully manage tasks, such as daily expenditure and the transformation of assets or debts, small, or large. However, the extent of financial knowledge may vary between individuals. With inadequate financial knowledge, people may easily fall into financial difficulties without having sufficient knowledge to redress them. A total of 217 students from departments of finance in universities in Fujian completed an 18-week educational course delivered via the Internet on integrated financial education (5h per week for a total of 90h). The conclusions were as follows: (1) The Internet can be used to provide education on making ends meet, cutting costs, and increasing profits. It is suitable for beginner students and new graduates who are rapidly accumulating money management experience. (2) Knowledge provided in the course includes the causes of investment, comprehensive changes in the market, unexpected risks, and wrong decision-making. As such, education provided through the Internet can assist in the teaching of money management and investment. (3) Providing teaching on integrated financial education through the Internet avoids the pitfalls of getting lost in the real-world investment market. We expected to cultivate students’ finance-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes through internalization of the financial literacy of money management.

Human WWOX gene resides in the chromosomal common fragile site FRA16D and encodes a tumor suppressor WW domain-containing oxidoreductase. Loss-of-function mutations in both alleles of WWOX gene lead to autosomal recessive abnormalities in pediatric patients from consanguineous families, including microcephaly, cerebellar ataxia with epilepsy, mental retardation, retinal degeneration, developmental delay and early death. Here, we report that targeted disruption of Wwox gene in mice causes neurodevelopmental disorders, encompassing abnormal neuronal differentiation and migration in the brain. Cerebral malformations, such as microcephaly and incomplete separation of the hemispheres by a partial interhemispheric fissure, neuronal disorganization and heterotopia, and defective cerebellar midline fusion are observed in Wwox−/− mice. Degenerative alterations including severe hypomyelination in the central nervous system, optic nerve atrophy, Purkinje cell loss and granular cell apoptosis in the cerebellum, and peripheral nerve demyelination due to Schwann cell apoptosis correspond to reduced amplitudes and a latency prolongation of transcranial motor evoked potentials, motor deficits and gait ataxia in Wwox−/− mice. Wwox gene ablation leads to the occurrence of spontaneous epilepsy and increased susceptibility to pilocarpine- and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in preweaning mice. We determined that a significantly increased activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) occurs in Wwox−/− mouse cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. Inhibition of GSK3β by lithium ion significantly abolishes the onset of PTZ-induced seizure in Wwox−/− mice. Together, our findings reveal that the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative deficits in Wwox knockout mice strikingly recapitulate the key features of human neuropathies, and that targeting GSK3β with lithium ion ameliorates epilepsy.

In this paper, a general transformation of binary linear block codes (BLBCs) to (possibly, multi-kernel) polar codes with dynamic frozen bits is proposed. Through a simple matrix permutation operation, a one-to-one connection between the codewords of a BLBC and its transformed polar code can be established. This transformation allows the usage of any decoding algorithm of polar codes for efficient soft decoding of BLBCs, including the powerful successive cancellation list (SCL) decoding algorithm. Simulations show that the soft SCL polar decoding of BLBCs can achieve a comparative performance to the order statistic decoding (OSD), as well as the maximum-likelihood decoding (MLD) in certain cases, with a much lower computational complexity.

The trend of domestic and international central governments promoting public services reveal that the governmental reform is developing towards the establishment of entrepreneurial government and privatization, the applications of civil resources, and the utilization of Knowledge Outsourcing as the promotion direction and strategy. Aiming at the directors and administrators of bureaus and departments in Tainan City Government, total 260 copies of questionnaires are distributed, and 146 copies are effectively responded, with the effective response rate 56%. The research results conclude that: Knowledge Outsourcing presents significantly positive correlations with Organizational Culture; Organizational Culture shows remarkably positive correlations with Organizational Performance; Knowledge Outsourcing reveals notably positive correlations with Organizational Performance, and Organizational Culture appears mediating effects on the correlations between Knowledge Outsourcing and Organizational Performance.

We report 3 patients with acute femoral occlusion after adjunctive Angio-Seal use during transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement. All occlusions were recanalized by applying elaborative strategies for chronic total occlusion recanalization. Our experience reminds operators to cautiously use the Angio-Seal as a bailout treatment, especially in patients with high-risk clinical features. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.), Graphical abstract, We report 3 patients with acute femoral occlusion after adjunctive Angio-Seal use during transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement…

Strokes remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with ventricular assist devices (VADs). Varying study populations, event definitions, and reporting methods make direct comparison of neurologic event risk across clinical trials and registries challenging. We aim to highlight important differences among major VAD studies and standardize rates of neurologic events to facilitate a comprehensive and objective comparison. We systematically identified and analyzed key clinical trials and registries evaluating the HeartMate II (HMII), HeartMate 3 (HM3), and HVAD devices. Reported neurologic events were nonexclusively categorized into ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, disabling stroke, fatal stroke, and other neurologic events per the studies' definitions. Event rates were standardized to events per patient-year (EPPY) and freedom from event formats. Seven key clinical trials and registries were included in our analysis. There is significant variation and overlap in neurologic event rates for the three VAD platforms across clinical trials (all neurologic events [EPPY]: HM3 0.17-0.21; HMII 0.19-0.26; HVAD 0.16-0.28). None performs consistently better for all types of neurologic events. Furthermore, stroke rates among VAD trials correlated with baseline stroke risk factors including ischemic etiology, history of atrial fibrillation, and history of prior stroke.

Dengue virus (DENV) causes a range of illness, including dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and dengue shock syndrome. DENV nonstructural protein (NS) 1 has been considered to be a desirable vaccine candidate for its ability to induce Ab and complement-dependent cytolysis of DENV-infected cells as well as to block the pathogenic effects of NS1. However a potential drawback of NS1 as a vaccine is that anti-DENV NS1 Abs can lead to endothelial cell damage and platelet dysfunction by antigenic cross-reactivity. Therefore, we modified the DENV NS1 by replacing the C-terminal cross-reactive epitopes with the corresponding region of Japanese encephalitis virus NS1 to generate a chimeric DJ NS1 protein. Active immunization with DJ NS1 induced a strong Ab response. To enhance cellular immunity, we further combined DJ NS1 with DENV NS3 to immunize mice and showed activation of Ag-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in addition to Ab responses. We further detected NS3-specific CTL activities as well as CD107a expression of effector cells. Importantly, the protective effects attributed by DJ NS1 and NS3 immunization were demonstrated in a DENV-infected mouse model by reduced viral titers, soluble NS1 levels, mouse tail bleeding time, and vascular leakage at skin injection sites. Collectively, the results from this study reveal the humoral and cellular immune responses and the protective effects conferred by DJ NS1 and NS3 immunization in the mouse model of DENV infection and provide a potential strategy for dengue vaccine design.

Transformative technologies are enabling the construction of three-dimensional maps of tissues with unprecedented spatial and molecular resolution. Over the next seven years, the NIH Common Fund Human Biomolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) intends to develop a widely accessible framework for comprehensively mapping the human body at single-cell resolution by supporting technology development, data acquisition, and detailed spatial mapping. HuBMAP will integrate its efforts with other funding agencies, programs, consortia, and the biomedical research community at large towards the shared vision of a comprehensive, accessible three-dimensional molecular and cellular atlas of the human body, in health and under various disease conditions., HuBMAP supports technology development, data acquisition, and spatial analyses to generate comprehensive molecular and cellular three-dimensional tissue maps.

To describe and evaluate the intentional combination of Angio-Seal (AS) and Perclose ProGlide (PP) in achieving haemostasis in patients undergoing transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).This study cohort was divided into two groups: dual PP versus one AS with one PP (AS + PP) used for common femoral artery haemostasis. The baseline, procedural characteristics and all outcomes (defined according toVARC-2 criteria) were prospectively collected and retrospectively compared.Overall, a total of 151 consecutive patients (68 men; 80.9 ± 7.3 years old) were evaluated. Of these, 51 patients (33.8%) underwent TAVR using the dual PP, and 100 (66.2%) using one AS with one PP. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics of both patient groups, except higher incidence of chronic pulmonary disease in dual PP group (21.6% vs 7%, P = 0.009). Patients in AS + PP group had lower rate of arterial stricture (21.6% vs 8%, P = 0.017), arterial dissection (13.7% vs 4.0%), requiring endovascular intervention for puncture site issues (21.6% vs 9.0%, P = 0.031). Less procedural time (139.8 ± 36.9vs97.9 ± 31.4 min, P 0.001)contrast medium consumption (223.9 ± 88.3vs174.1 ± 49.7 ml, P 0.001) were also observed in AS+PP group. There were no statistically significant differences between 2 groups in regards of closure device failure, major and minor vascular complications, nor major and minor bleeding.Intentional combination of one PP and one AS for femoral access haemostasis in patients undergoing TAVR is feasible and safe, with low risk of vascular and bleeding complications.

Background Kawasaki disease (KD) severely threatens young children's health worldwide. The pathogenic mechanism of KD has not yet been solved, so there is still debate over whether KD is an infectious disease or an autoimmune disease.Methods and Results:To solve this problem, an immune repertoire analysis of KD was conducted. We collected blood cell RNA samples and prepared them into amplicons with iRepertoire kits. The amplicons were sequenced and analyzed with the iRepertoire pipeline. We first identified KD-specific VJ and VDJ forms that had the potential to serve as biomarkers of KD. In addition, the KD-specific VDJ forms were contributed mostly by immunoglobulin G. The D50 value analysis showed that B-cell diversity in KD is decreased, suggesting unique immunoglobulins are produced in KD. Moreover, V, D and J segment usage in IgA, IgG and IgM was consistent with previous KD studies. Further comparison showed no difference in CDR3 peptide length between KD and fever controls (subjects with fever but not diagnosed as KD), indicting KD had B-cell selection phenomenon that has a non-autoimmune pattern. The comparison of amino acid usage of the CDR3 region demonstrated a preference for hydrophilic amino acids in KD. Conclusions The results of D50 value, VDJ usage and CDR3 peptide length analyses suggested the characteristics of infectious disease for KD.

BackgroundEndosperm is a triploid tissue in seed resulting from a sperm nucleus fused with the binucleate central cell after double fertilization. Endosperm may be involved in metabolite production, solute transport, nutrient storage, and germination. In the legume family (Fabaceae), with the greatest number of domesticated crops, approximately 60% of genera contain well-differentiated endosperm in mature seeds. Soybean seeds, the most important legume crop in the worlds, have endosperm surrounding embryos during all stages of seed development. However, the function of soybean endosperm is still unknown.ResultsFlow cytometry assay confirmed that soybean endosperm was triploid. Cytobiological observation showed that soybean endosperm cells were alive with zigzag-shape cell wall. Soybean endosperm cells allowed fusion proteins (42 kDa) to move from bombarded cells to adjacent unbombarded-cells. Such movement is not simple diffusion because the fusion proteins failed to move into dead cells. We used symplastic tracers to test the transport potential of soybean endosperm. Small organic dye and low-molecular-weight symplastic tracers revealed fast symplastic transport. After a treatment of an inhibitor of ATPase,N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD), symplastic transport was blocked, but all tracers still showed fast apolopastic transport. The transport speed of 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid in endosperm was 1.5 to 3 times faster than in cotyledon cells or Arabidopsis embryos.ConclusionsSoybean endosperm is a membrane-like, semi-transparent, and fully active tissue located between the seed coat and cotyledon. Soybean endosperm cells allowed macromolecules to move fast via plasmodesmata transport. The size exclusion limit is larger for soybean endosperm cells than its cotyledon or even Arabidopsis embryo cells. Soybean endosperm may be involved in fast and horizontal transport during the mid-developmental stage of seeds.

Aims Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement in continuous‐flow ventricular assist device (CF‐VAD) patients is imperative to reduce stroke risk. This study assesses the accuracy of the Doppler opening pressure method compared with the gold standard arterial line method in CF‐VAD patients. Methods and results In a longitudinal cohort of HeartMate II and HVAD patients, arterial line BP and simultaneously measured Doppler opening pressure were obtained. Overall correlation, agreement between Doppler opening pressure and arterial line mean vs. systolic pressure, and the effect of arterial pulsatility on the accuracy of Doppler opening pressure were analysed. A total of 1933 pairs of Doppler opening pressure and arterial line pressure readings within 1 min of each other were identified in 154 patients (20% women, mean age 55 ± 15, 50% HeartMate II and 50% HVAD). Doppler opening pressure had good correlation with invasive mean arterial pressure (r = 0.742, P

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is now considered fundamental when managing patients with chronic respiratory disease. The individual variation in functional exercise capacity (FEC) response to PR within the cohort is unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify FEC patterns in response to PR in patients with chronic respiratory disease using the trajectory modeling method. Methods: The data of 67 patients with the chronic respiratory disease were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed in this study. All patients received once-weekly supervised training for 8 weeks. Six-minute walk distance (6MWD) was used to measure FEC. Muscle strength and 6MWD were assessed at baseline, Week 4, Week 8 and monthly for two months after PR completion. Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was used to identify patterns in 6MWD in response to PR. The generalized estimating equation method was then used to detect the differences within and between the trajectories of identified groups across time. Results: Patients were grouped into low- (n=13), moderate- (n=34) and high- (n=20) FEC group based on GBTM analysis. All groups demonstrated significant improvements in 6MWD and leg muscle strength after 8-week PR. Compared to the high-FEC group, a greater proportion of the patients in the low-FEC group required oxygen supplementation during training and had worse baseline leg muscle strength. Conclusions: Patients showed distinct patterns of 6MWD changes in response to 8-week PR. Distinct characteristics for the low-FEC group included poor lower extremity strength and a greater proportion of required oxygen use at home and during training.

There is a growing consensus that implementing personal-centered therapeutic activities at adult day services (ADS) leads to functional improvement in care recipients and reduces the burden on caregivers. Taiwan has introduced reablement-focused integrated care (RFIC) model for ADS users, the effects of this new model merit investigation. This study aimed to examine whether the RFIC model promotes physical and mental function in care recipients and improves caregiver satisfaction. We recruited ADS-care recipients and their family caregivers (N = 14 dyads) through purposive sampling for a quasiexperimental study. Six dyads were assigned to the RFIC intervention group and eight dyads to the control group. The RFIC intervention consisted of ten one-hour sessions over two months. The functional abilities of care recipients and the care satisfaction of caregivers were assessed at baseline and after the intervention. The RFIC group, compared to the control group, showed an improvement in care satisfaction score, and the group difference was significant (RFIC group: mean (SD) change score = 1.17 (2.64); control group: mean (SD) change score = −3.38 (2.20); p < 0.01). There were no differences in physical and mental function between the RFIC and control groups. These preliminary results suggest that when reablement is used as a means of personal-centered therapeutic training for ADS users, it can help caregivers cope with care problems and improve how they appraise their mastery and satisfaction as regards care. However, the effects of RFIC on the physical and mental function of care recipients require further investigation.

Methods for acquiring spatially resolved omics data from complex tissues use barcoded DNA arrays of low- to sub-micrometer features to achieve single-cell resolution. However, fabricating such arrays (randomly assembled beads, DNA nanoballs, or clusters) requires sequencing barcodes in each array, limiting cost-effectiveness and throughput. Here, we describe a vastly scalable stamping method to fabricate polony gels, arrays of ∼1-micrometer clonal DNA clusters bearing unique barcodes. By enabling repeatable enzymatic replication of barcode-patterned gels, this method, compared with the sequencing-dependent array fabrication, reduced cost by at least 35-fold and time to approximately 7 h. The gel stamping was implemented with a simple robotic arm and off-the-shelf reagents. We leveraged the resolution and RNA capture efficiency of polony gels to develop Pixel-seq, a single-cell spatial transcriptomic assay, and applied it to map the mouse parabrachial nucleus and analyze changes in neuropathic pain-regulated transcriptomes and cell-cell communication after nerve ligation.

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is an important human pathogen which can cause fatal diseases after invasion into the bloodstream. Although antibiotics and immune surveillance are the main defenses against GAS infection, GAS utilizes internalization into cells as a major immune evasion strategy. Our previous findings revealed that light chain 3 (LC3)-associated single membrane GAS-containing vacuoles in endothelial cells are compromised for bacterial clearance due to insufficient acidification after fusion with lysosomes. However, the characteristics and the activation mechanisms of these LC3-positive compartments are still largely unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated that the LC3-positive GAS is surrounded by single membrane and colocalizes with NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) complex but without ULK1, which are characteristics of LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP). Inhibition of NOX2 or reactive oxygen species (ROS) significantly reduces GAS multiplication and enhances autolysosome acidification in endothelial cells through converting LAP to conventional xenophagy, which is revealed by enhancement of ULK1 recruitment, attenuation of p70s6k phosphorylation, and formation of the isolation membrane. We also clarify that the inactivation of mTORC1, which is the initiation signal of autophagy, is inhibited by NOX2- and ROS-activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT and MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. In addition, streptolysin O (SLO) of GAS is identified as a crucial inducer of ROS for β1 integrin-mediated LAP induction. After downregulation of β1 integrin, GAS multiplication is reduced, accompanied with LAP inhibition and xenophagy induction. These results demonstrate that GAS infection preferentially induces ineffective LAP to evade xenophagic killing in endothelial cells through the SLO/β1 integrin/NOX2/ROS pathway.

Although the global financial crisis has adversely affected finances, governments continue to prepare substantial budgets annually to promote major economic development projects. However, the projects that are actually implemented by the current system often encounter delays, low public usage after completion, or failure to achieve the original objectives or expected benefits. This issue demands that the government immediately establish the countermeasures needed for effective improvement. The objective of this study is to provide a mechanism for promptly terminating ineffective projects and for minimizing the risks of ineffective project execution and unused budgets. To achieve the goal of the efficient use of financial resources, this study applied a qualitative research method and the process of reengineering concepts to provide government agencies with standard operating procedures and to review checklists for project assessment. The analysis results can be applied to public infrastructure projects before or during execution and provide an exemplary urban policy evaluation model for a three-tier administration system. The contributions of this study aim to reduce the misuse and waste of national resources and to maximize the efficiency of resource use by developing a standard review procedure, effective assessment procedures, a checklist, and a review checklist that can serve as a reference for government agencies.

Chenopodium formosanum (CF), rich in nutrients and antioxidants, is a native plant in Taiwan. During the harvest, the seeds are collected, while the roots, stems, and leaves remain on the field as agricultural waste. In this study, di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH) radical scavenging ability and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging ability experiments of seeds, leaves, stems, and roots were designed using the Taguchi method (TM) under three conditions: Ethanol concentration (0–100%), temperature (25–65 °C), and extraction time (30–150 min). The result demonstrates that seeds and leaves have higher radical scavenging ability than stems and roots. Many studies focused on CF seeds. Therefore, this study selected CF leaves and optimized DPPH, ABTS, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and reducing power (RP) through TM, showing that the predicted value of the leaf is close to the actual value. The optimized results of CF leaves were DPPH 85.22%, ABTS 46.51%, TPC 116.54 µg GAE/mL, TFC 143.46 µg QE/mL, and RP 23.29 µg VCE (vitamin C equivalent)/mL. The DPPH and ABTS of CF leaves were second only to the results of CF seeds. It can be seen that CF leaves have the potential as a source of antioxidants and help in waste reduction.

Background Trans-femoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TF-TAVR) performed under conscious sedation (LACS) is not yet become routine practice in Taiwan. We aimed to compared the results between patients received general anesthesia (GA) versus LACS. Methods Our cohort was divided into 3 groups: initial 48 patients received TF-TAVR under routine GA (GA group), subsequent 50 patients under routine LACS (LACS group 1), and recent 125 patients under LACS (LACS group 2). The baseline, procedural characteristics and all outcomes were prospectively collected and retrospectively compared. Results From Sep 2010 to July 2019, a total of 223 patients were included for The procedure time (157.6 ± 39.4 mins vs 131.6 ± 30.3 vs 95.2 ± 40.0

Our study aimed to compare the difference of LV mass regression and remodeling in regard of conduction disturbances (CD) following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). A prospective analysis of 152 consecutive TAVR patients was performed. 53 patients (34.9%) had CD following TAVR, including 30 (19.7%) permanent pacemaker implantation and 23 (15.2%) new left bundle branch block. In 123 patients with 1-year follow-up, significant improvement of LV ejection fraction (LVEF) (baseline vs 12-month: 65.1 ± 13.2 vs 68.7 ± 9.1, P = 0.017) and reduced LV end-systolic volume (LVESV) (39.8 ± 25.8 vs 34.3 ± 17.1, P = 0.011) was found in non-CD group (N = 85), but not in CD group (N = 38). Both groups had significant decrease in LV mass index (baseline vs 12-month: 148.6 ± 36.9 vs. 136.4 ± 34.7 in CD group, p = 0.023; 153.0 ± 50.5 vs. 125.6 ± 35.1 in non-CD group, p

Chenopodium formosanum (CF), rich in nutrients and antioxidants, is a native plant in Taiwan. During the harvest, the seeds are collected, while the roots, stems, and leaves remain on the field as agricultural waste. In this study, di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH) radical scavenging ability and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging ability experiments of seeds, leaves, stems, and roots were designed using the Taguchi method (TM) under three conditions: Ethanol concentration (0–100%), temperature (25–65 °C), and extraction time (30–150 min). The result demonstrates that seeds and leaves have higher radical scavenging ability than stems and roots. Many studies focused on CF seeds. Therefore, this study selected CF leaves and optimized DPPH, ABTS, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and reducing power (RP) through TM, showing that the predicted value of the leaf is close to the actual value. The optimized results of CF leaves were DPPH 85.22%, ABTS 46.51%, TPC 116.54 µg GAE/mL, TFC 143.46 µg QE/mL, and RP 23.29 µg VCE (vitamin C equivalent)/mL. The DPPH and ABTS of CF leaves were second only to the results of CF seeds. It can be seen that CF leaves have the potential as a source of antioxidants and help in waste reduction.

The purpose of this retrospective interventional case series is to compare the functional and anatomical outcomes in eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) treated intravitreally with aflibercept or ranibizumab under the Taiwan National Insurance Bureau reimbursement policy. 84 eyes were collected and all eyes were imaged with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), color fundus photographs (CFPs), and fluorescein angiography (FA). At 24 months after therapy initiation, the logMAR BCVA improved from 0.58 ± 0.33 to 0.47 ± 0.38 (p p p p = 0.96), CRT (p = 0.69), or injection count (p = 0.81). However, the mean number of microaneurysms was marginally reduced (p = 0.06) in eyes treated with aflibercept at the end of the follow-up, and the incidence rates of supplementary panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) (p = 0.04) and subthreshold micropulse laser (SMPL) therapy sessions (p = 0.01) were also reduced. Multivariate analysis revealed that only initial logMAR BCVA influenced the final VA improvements (odds ratio (OR) 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21 ~ 0.93, p p p

Backgrounds Early integration of palliative care for terminally ill non-cancer patients improves quality of life. However, there are scanty data on Palliative Care Consultation Service (PCCS) among non-cancer patients. Methods In this 9-year observational study Data were collected from the Hospice-Palliative Clinical Database (HPCD) of Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH). Terminally ill non-cancer patients with 9 categories of diagnoses who received PCCS during 2011 to 2019 were enrolled. Trend analysis was performed to evaluate differences in categories of diagnosis throughout study period, duration of PCCS, patient outcomes, DNR declaration, awareness of disease by patients and families before and after PCCS. Results In total, 536 non-cancer patients received PCCS from 2011 to 2019 with an average age of 70.7 years. The average duration of PCCS was 18.4 days. The distributions of age, gender, patient outcomes, family’s awareness of disease before PCCS, and patient’s awareness of disease after PCCS were significantly different among the diagnoses. Organic brain disease and Chronic kidney disease (CKD) were the most prevalent diagnoses in patients receiving PCCS in 2019. For DNR declaration, the percentage of patients signing DNR before PCCS remained high throughout the study period (92.8% in 2019). Patient outcomes varied according to the disease diagnoses. Conclusion This 9-year observational study showed that the trend of PCCS among non-cancer patients had changed over the duration of the study. An increasing number of terminally ill non-cancer patients received PCCS during late life, thereby increasing the awareness of disease for both patients and families, which would tend to better prepare terminally ill patients for end-of-life as they may consider DNR consent. Early integration of PCCS into ordinary care for terminally non-cancer patients is essential for better quality of life.

This study aimed to establish a water-saving irrigation technique-based Smart Field Cultivation Server (SFCS) for paddy field irrigation by employing information and communication technologies. The development of SFCS considered the requirement on rice growth, pest development, and fieldwork management. The proposed SFCS is equipped with a solar power supply system and consisted of sensors including illumination, air temperature, air humidity, water level, soil moisture content, soil electronic conductivity, and soil temperature. Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is used for data transmission due to the data size and transmitting frequency. A smartphone-based application (APP) has been developed for users to monitor field environment by tabular, dashboard panel, and whisker chart box, provides multiple data display ways for different purposes. Moreover, a proposal for a water-saving irrigation technique named system of probiotics rice intensification (SPRI) has been integrated into the APP. With the developed APP, farmers will receive fieldwork reminders by calendar day that water-saving irrigation may be possibly implemented. The SFCS is not only shown ability on the field monitoring but also links the gap between the fieldwork application and modern technology.

ObjectivesTranscatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is increasingly performed. Physically small Asians have smaller aortic root and peripheral vessel anatomy. The influence of gender of Asian patients undergoing TAVR is unknown and may affect outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess sex differences in Asian patients undergoing TAVR.MethodsPatients undergoing TAVR from eight countries were enrolled. In this retrospective analysis, we examined differences in characteristics, 30-day clinical outcomes and 1-year survival between female and male Asian patients.ResultsEight hundred and seventy-three patients (54.4% women) were included. Women were older, smaller and had less coronary artery and lung disease but tended to have higher logistic EuroSCOREs. Smaller prostheses were used more often in women. Major vascular complications occurred more frequently in women (5.5% vs 1.8%, pConclusionsAsian women had significantly smaller stature and anatomy with some differences in clinical profiles. Despite more frequent major vascular complications, women had similar 30-day stroke or mortality rates. Functional status improvement was significant and comparable between the sexes. Conduction disturbance and permanent pacemaker requirements were similar as was 1-year survival.

This study explicated the functional activities of microorganisms and their interrelationships under four previously reported iron reducing conditions to identify critical factors that governed the performance of these novel iron-dosed anaerobic biological wastewater treatment processes. Various iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB) and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) were identified as the predominant species that concurrently facilitated organics oxidation and the main contributors to removal of organics. The high organic contents of wastewater provided sufficient electron donors for active growth of both FeRB and SRB. In addition to the organic content, Fe (III) and sulfate concentrations (expressed by Fe/S ratio) were found to play a significant role in regulating the microbial abundance and functional activities. Various fermentative bacteria contributed to this FeRB-SRB synergy by fermenting larger organic compounds to smaller compounds, which were subsequently used by FeRB and SRB. Feammox (ferric reduction coupled to ammonium oxidation) bacterium was identified in the bioreactor fed with wastewater containing ammonium. Organic substrate level was a critical factor that regulated the competitive relationship between heterotrophic FeRB and Feammox bacteria. There were evidences that suggested a synergistic relationship between FeRB and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB), where ferric iron and organics concentrations both promoted microbial activities of FeRB and NFB. A concept model was developed to illustrate the identified functional interrelationships and their governing factors for further development of the iron-based wastewater treatment systems.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a treatment alternative for patients with severe aortic stenosis. As broadened indications and increasing clinical demand, the population referred for TAVR will become much more heterogeneous and anatomically challenging. Herein, we report an 88-year-old man with severe aortic stenosis and huge aortic annulus (annular area 831.8 mm2) successfully treated with overexpansion of a 29 mm Edwards SAPIEN 3 transcatheter heart valve.

This study aimed to establish a machine learning (ML)-based rice blast predicting model to decrease the appreciable losses based on short-term environment data. The average, highest and lowest air temperature, average relative humidity, soil temperature and solar energy were selected for model development. The developed multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector machine (SVM), Elman recurrent neural network (Elman RNN) and probabilistic neural network (PNN) were evaluated by F-measures. Finally, a sensitivity analysis (SA) was conducted for the factor importance assessment. The study result shows that the PNN performed best with the F-measure (β = 2) of 96.8%. The SA was conducted in the PNN model resulting in the main effect period is 10 days before the rice blast happened. The key factors found are minimum air temperature, followed by solar energy and equaled sensitivity of average relative humidity, maximum air temperature and soil temperature. The temperature phase lag in air and soil may cause a lower dew point and suitable for rice blast pathogens growth. Through this study’s results, rice blast warnings can be issued 10 days in advance, increasing the response time for farmers preparing related preventive measures, further reducing the losses caused by rice blast.

Bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) had been implanted to several kinds of complex coronary lesions in real-world practice. We tested if long-term outcomes of BVS for complex lesions would be worse than that for relatively simple lesions.We analyzed 457 patients (59 ± 12 years, 87% male) with 714 BVS implanted for their 529 lesions and median follow-up of 32.7 (26.8-39.3) months. Complex group (N = 284) was defined as those with BVS for acute coronary syndrome, chronic total occlusion, bifurcation/ostial lesions, instent restenosis/hybrid with metallic stents, diffuse lesions (overlapped by 2 BVS with each ≧ 18 mm), venous graft/left main lesions, or lesions after rotablation. We compared their outcomes with the remaining 173 patients as non-complex group.The complex group had more chronic kidney disease (7% vs. 2%), multivessel disease (78% vs. 65%), use of intravascular imaging (40% vs. 23%), and more BVS (1.8 ± 0.9 vs. 1.1 ± 0.3) with longer total lengths (47 ± 22 vs. 29 ± 8 mm) implanted than non-complex group (all p 0.05). However, the long-term target lesion revascularization (TLR) or target lesion failure (TLF) was similar (log rank p 0.05) between the two groups. Multivariate Cox regression analyses showed BVS for ACC/AHA type C lesions was independently associated with higher risks of TLR (hazard ratio: 2.7, 95% CI = 1.1-6.6) and TLF (hazard ratio: 2.6, 95% CI = 1.1-6.3).Comparable outcomes were found between BVS for complex and non-complex lesion category. However, higher risks of TLR and TLF for type C lesions still suggested the prognostic impact of lesion complexity on long-term outcomes of BVS.

Walking is an effective, well accepted, inexpensive, and functional intervention. This study compared the outcomes and changes in walking behavior of self-monitored (SM) and supervised (SU) walking interventions for older adults. Participants were assigned to SM (n = 21) and SU (n = 21) walking groups according to their place of residence. Both groups exercised and wore a pedometer for 3 months. The outcome measures were step count, body mass index (BMI), and physical function. Two-way repeated-measure ANOVA and independent t tests were used to compare the intervention effects. We also plotted the trends and analyzed the walking steps weekly. Only BMI exhibited a group × time interaction. The pre-posttest differences showed knee extension muscle strength (KEMS) and Timed Up and Go test were significantly improved in the SM group, whereas BMI, KEMS, 30-s sit-to-stand, functional reach were significantly improved, but 5-m gait speed significantly slower in the SU group. For participants attending ≥50% of the sessions, those in the SM and SU groups had similar results for all variables, except for 2-min step (2MS) and daily walking step counts. Both self-monitored and supervised walking benefit older adults in most physical functions, especially lower-extremity performance, such as muscle strength, balance, and mobility. The effects of both programs do not differ significantly, except for BMI and 2MS (ie cardiopulmonary endurance). We recommend pedometer-assisted self-monitored walking for older adults because of its ability to cultivate exercise habits over the long term, whereas supervised walking to establish effective exercise intensity.

Current technologies for acquiring spatial transcript information from tissue sections rely on either RNA probes or spatial barcodes. The former methods require a priori knowledge for probeset formulation; the latter have yet to achieve single cell resolution and/or transcript capture efficiencies approaching dissociative, single-cell methods. Here, we describe a novel spatial transcriptome assay called polony (or DNA cluster)-indexed library-sequencing (PIXEL-seq). It improves upon other spatial barcoding methods by employing “continuous” polony oligos arrayed across a customized gel surface. In terms of assay performance, PIXEL-seq attains ≤ 1 µm resolution and captures >1,000 unique molecular identifiers/10×10 µm2. In other words, this global, naive platform achieves subcellular spatial transcriptome mapping while maintaining high transcript capture efficiencies.