Perception and Mental Health Status Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination Among Taiwanese Adolescents and Their Caregivers.

Background: Vaccinating adolescents is a vital strategy to enhance population protection without imposing overly restrictive measures on our daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. As teenagers gain more independence, their willingness to get vaccinated may depend on their own understanding of the pandemic, vaccines, and mental well-being, as well as that of their caregivers. Our study aimed to examine how Taiwanese adolescents and their caregivers perceive COVID-19 vaccination and assess their mental health status.

Salivary Biomarkers to Differentiate between and Influenza A Virus-Related Pneumonia in Children.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is common among children and can be fatal in certain conditions. In children, CAP can be caused by viral or bacterial infections. Identification of pathogens can help select appropriate therapeutic strategies.

Melatonin and Kidney Health: From Fetal Stage to Later Life.

Melatonin, an endogenous hormone mainly released at night by the pineal gland, has multifaceted biofunctions. Emerging evidence points to melatonin having a crucial role in kidney health and disease. As the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is still rising, a superior strategy to advance global kidney health is needed to not just treat CKD, but prevent it early on.

Parental Attitudes, Intentions, Decisions, and Psychological Wellbeing Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination: Preschool, School-Age, and Adolescent Caregivers.

The vaccination of all children may be one of the most important public health measures for preventing a wider spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the community. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude, intention, decision making, and psychological well-being among the caregivers of children who received SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in Taiwan. The caregivers of children (98 preschool children, 191 school-age children, and 154 adolescents) who received COVID-19 vaccination were invited to fill in the following questionnaires: Adopting Self-Protective Behavior Scale, Drivers of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale, Impact of Event Scale, Chinese Health Questionnaire, and Parental Bonding Instrument.

Butyrate ameliorates maternal high-fat diet-induced fetal liver cellular apoptosis.

A maternal high-fat diet (HFD) can impact the offspring's development of liver steatosis, with fetal development in utero being a crucial period. Therefore, this study investigated the mechanism and whether butyrate can rescue liver injury caused by maternal HFD in the fetus. Pregnant female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups, prenatal HFD (58% fat) exposure or normal control diet (4.

A study on how using an interactive multimedia e-book improves teachers' ability to teach evidence-based medicine depending on their seniority.

Background: Teaching evidence-based medicine (EBM) is not an easy task. The role of the electronic book (e-book) is a useful supplement to traditional methods for improving skills. Our aim is to use an interactive e-book or PowerPoint to evaluate instructors' teaching effects on EBM.

Metformin ameliorates maternal high-fat diet-induced maternal dysbiosis and fetal liver apoptosis.

Background: The deleterious effect of maternal high-fat diet (HFD) on the fetal rat liver may cause later development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of maternal HFD-induced maternal hepatic steatosis and dysbiosis on the fetal liver and intestines, and the effect of prenatal metformin in a rat model.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to three groups (N = 6 in each group).

Public Health Interventions for the COVID-19 Pandemic Reduce Respiratory Tract Infection-Related Visits at Pediatric Emergency Departments in Taiwan.

Public health interventions such as social distancing, wearing surgical or N95 masks, and handwashing are effective in significantly reducing the risk of infection. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effect of public health interventions on respiratory tract infection-related visits to pediatric emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Pediatric emergency department visits between January 1 2020 and April 30 2020 were included for trend analysis and compared to the same period during the past 3 years.

C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio for Predicting Coronary Artery Lesions and Intravenous Immunoglobulin Resistance in Kawasaki Disease.

C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CRP/Alb) has emerged as a novel marker of inflammation, but few studies have evaluated the role of CRP/Alb ratio in Kawasaki disease (KD). Coronary artery lesions (CAL) in children with KD is a major acquired heart disease. We aimed to assess the association between CRP/Alb ratio and CAL formation in children with KD.

Use of saliva sample to detect C-reactive protein in children with pneumonia.

Background: Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive biomarker for inflammation and is broadly used to clinically diagnose infectious diseases, including pneumonia. However, blood sampling is fraught with technical difficulties in children. The salivary analysis may be a potential diagnostic tool, as it is noninvasive, patient-friendly, and easy to perform in children.

Postnatal High-Fat Diet Increases Liver Steatosis and Apoptosis Threatened by Prenatal Dexamethasone through the Oxidative Effect.

The objective of this study was to investigate cellular apoptosis in prenatal glucocorticoid overexposure and a postnatal high fat diet in rats. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats at gestational days 14 to 21 were administered saline (vehicle) or dexamethasone and weaned onto either a normal fat diet or a high fat diet for 180 days; in total four experimental groups were designated, i.e.

The Characteristics of Antioxidant Activity after Liver Transplantation in Biliary Atresia Patients.

Purpose: Cholestatic liver injury is associated with a high production of free radicals. The pathogenesis of liver injury in biliary atresia (BA) patients is largely undefined. The goal of the present study was to clarify the oxidative damage and the changes in antioxidant enzyme activities that occur during the development of BA and after liver transplantation (LT).

Avoidance of antibiotic administration to Campylobacter enterocolitis mimicking severe salmonellosis by clinical and laboratory features.

Background: To compare the clinical and laboratory features of non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) and Campylobacter jejuni enterocolitis in children and formulate a risk scoring system (with receiver-operating characteristic curve) to facilitate early decision making and avoid antibiotic overuse in C. jejuni enterocolitis.

Methods: Between January 2008 and December 2011, children (age <18 years) diagnosed as having C.

Melatonin in the regulation of liver steatosis following prenatal glucocorticoid exposure.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients are characterized by hepatic steatosis. Prenatal glucocorticoid overexposure can result in steatosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the mechanism and cellular apoptosis of prenatal glucocorticoid overexposure in rats and whether melatonin can rescue the prenatal glucocorticoid-induced steatosis and apoptosis in neonatal rats.

Clinical diagnosis of pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 influenza in children with negative rapid influenza diagnostic test by lymphopenia and lower C-reactive protein levels.

Background: The sensitivity of rapid influenza diagnostic test (RIDT) of children with influenza-like illness (ILI) remains low.

Objective: We compare the parameters between pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 influenza with negative RIDT and ILI not H1N1 for improving the low sensitivity of RIDT for children with ILI.

Methods: In a cohort of consecutive laboratory-confirmed H1N1 influenza, we identified 150 H1N1 children with positive RIDT, 152 H1N1 children with negative RIDT, and 75 children with ILI not H1N1.

Multisource feedback analysis of pediatric outpatient teaching.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the outpatient communication skills of medical students via multisource feedback, which may be useful to map future directions in improving physician-patient communication.

Methods: Family respondents of patients, a nurse, a clinical teacher, and a research assistant evaluated video-recorded medical students' interactions with outpatients by using multisource feedback questionnaires; students also assessed their own skills. The questionnaire was answered based on the video-recorded interactions between outpatients and the medical students.

The effect of the red wine polyphenol resveratrol on a rat model of biliary obstructed cholestasis: involvement of anti-apoptotic signalling, mitochondrial biogenesis and the induction of autophagy.

Mitochondria are known to be involved in cholestatic liver injury. The potential protective effect of resveratrol in cholestatic liver injury and the possible roles of autophagy and apoptosis induction in this process are not yet clear. The aim of this study is to determine whether resveratrol administration after bile duct ligation can reduce cholestasis-induced liver injury through modulating apoptosis, mitochondrial biogenesis and autophagy.

Factors contributing to prolonged hospitalization of patients with infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

Background: To study the influence of clinical audit on diagnosis, complications, and factors contributing to hospitalization of patients with infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Method: There were 214 patients from 1991 to 2004 from three medical centers in Kaohsiung.

Clinical significance of erythromycin-resistant Campylobacter jejuni in children.

Campylobacter has been recognized as the common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in many countries. Increasing erythromycin resistance in Campylobacter jejuni infection is noted recently, but severe case was rarely reported. In this study, we aimed to clarify the clinical significance of the resistant strain of C jejuni in children.

Correlation of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 viral load with disease severity and prolonged viral shedding in children.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus causes severe illness, including pneumonia, which leads to hospitalization and even death. To characterize the kinetic changes in viral load and identify factors of influence, we analyzed variables that could potentially influence the viral shedding time in a hospital-based cohort of 1,052 patients. Viral load was inversely correlated with number of days after the onset of fever and was maintained at a high level over the first 3 days.

Comparison of clinical characteristics and neutrophil values in omental infarction and acute appendicitis in children.

Background: Omental infarction is a rare occurrence in children. It is often diagnosed during surgery for suspected appendicitis. This study investigated the use of clinical and laboratory data for distinguishing between omental infarction and acute appendicitis.

Gamma-glutamyl transferase in the diagnosis of biliary atresia.

Background: Early diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) is important because the prognosis is closely related to timing of Kasai operation. The aim of this study was to test the clinical application of serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) concentration and the ratio of serum GGT to aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in differentiating BA from neonatal hepatitis (NH).

Methods: Ninety-three (46 male and 47 female) cases of BA and 65 (45 male and 20 female) NH were included in this study.