Mixed respiratory infections in symptomatic outpatients: A study in community health settings.

Background: Mixed respiratory infections in individuals with respiratory symptoms in primary care settings are understudied. This study aims to investigate their epidemiology and determinants.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 244 consecutive adult patients with respiratory symptoms at Nanlian Community Health Center (January-March 2024).

Treatment planning of boron neutron capture therapy for superficial head-and-neck cancer.

This study is a retrospective analysis of the effectiveness of bolus placement for superficial oral cancer treated with boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) using the THORplan treatment planning system. Three treatment plans were performed: one without bolus, one with the bolus placed directly on the skin surface, and one with the bolus positioned at the collimator exit as an alternative to overcome potential challenges in patient setup using bolus. The results indicate that applying a 1 cm-thick bolus directly on the skin surface significantly increases the mean tumor dose by 60 %, owing to the forward shift of the thermal neutron flux peak into the tumor region.

Quality of Care and Outcomes of Inpatients with COPD: A Multi-Center Study in China.

Objective: Hospitalization due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation is linked to worse prognosis and increased healthcare burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of care and outcomes among inpatients with COPD and to identify prognostic factors relate to healthcare quality indicators.

Methods: A multi-center, retrospective longitudinal study was conducted.

SERS-based lateral flow immunoassay for rapid and sensitive sensing of nucleocapsid protein toward SARS-CoV-2 screening in clinical samples.

Early and accurate identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for epidemic prevention and control. Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has become the mainstream method for screening SARS-CoV-2 infection due to its rapid, simple and amenable for point-of-care detection (POCT), but still suffered from the poor sensitivity and accuracy. In this study, Au nanoparticles (NPs) with controllable Ag shell (Au@Ag) were manufactured via a seed-mediated growth method.

Comparing the 7th and 8th Editions of AJCC Staging System for Hypopharyngeal Cancer Undergoing Surgery.

Objective: The prognostic accuracy of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th staging system for hypopharyngeal cancer remains uncertain. We aim to assess its survival prediction accuracy and compare it with the 7th edition.

Study Design: Retrospective investigation of prospective data.

Effect of Carbocysteine on Exacerbations and Lung Function in Patients With Mild-to-Moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Multicentre, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Carbocysteine can reduce the frequency of acute exacerbations and improve respiratory symptoms to a certain extent in severe to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of carbocysteine on the rate of exacerbations and pulmonary function for mild-to-moderate COPD patients.

Methods: In this phase 4, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial, we randomly assigned mild-to-moderate COPD patients in a 2:1 ratio to treatment with carbocysteine (500mg, thrice daily) or matched placebo for 12 months.

Targeting BRD4 ameliorates experimental emphysema by disrupting super-enhancer in polarized alveolar macrophage.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive chronic lung disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation and emphysema. Macrophage polarization plays an important role in COPD pathogenesis by secreting inflammatory mediators. Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4), an epigenetic reader that specifically binds to histones, plays a crucial role in inflammatory diseases by regulating macrophage polarization.

A new pathogen pattern of acute respiratory tract infections in primary care after COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-center study in southern China.

Background: After the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, no studies on bacterial and atypical pathogens were conducted in primary care. We aimed to describe the etiological composition of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) presenting to primary care with limited resources after the pandemic.

Methods: 1958 adult patients with ARTIs from 17 primary care clinics were recruited prospectively from January 2024 to March 2024.

Feasibility and safety of Taipei Veterans General Hospital Heavy Ion Therapy Center: The first carbon-ion irradiation facility in Taiwan.

Background: Unlike conventional photon radiotherapy, particle therapy has the advantage of dose distribution. Carbon-ion radiotherapy is also advantageous in terms of biological effectiveness and other radiobiological aspects. These benefits lead to a higher response probability for previously known radioresistant tumor types.

Baseline characteristics of patients in the Chinese Bronchiectasis Registry (BE-China): a multicentre prospective cohort study.

Background: Bronchiectasis is a disease with a global impact, but most published data come from high-income countries. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with bronchiectasis in China.

Methods: The Chinese Bronchiectasis Registry (BE-China) is a prospective, observational cohort enrolling patients from 111 hospitals in China.

Spin effects in regulating the adsorption characteristics of metal ions.

Understanding the adsorption behavior of intermediates at interfaces is crucial for various heterogeneous systems, but less attention has been paid to metal species. This study investigates the manipulation of Co spin states in ZnCoO spinel oxides and establishes their impact on metal ion adsorption. Using electrochemical sensing as a metric, we reveal a quasi-linear relationship between the adsorption affinity of metal ions and the high-spin state fraction of Co sites.

Outcomes of Postchemoradiotherapy Watch-and-Wait Strategy in Patients With Rectal Cancer: A 20-Year, Single-Center Study.

Background And Objectives: The watch-and-wait (WW) strategy is a nonsurgical alternative for patients with rectal cancer exhibiting an excellent response to chemoradiotherapy. Studies on the WW strategy have primarily investigated 5-year oncological outcomes; few have focused on longer-term outcomes or the optimal patient selection approach for this therapeutic strategy.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma who had achieved complete response after chemoradiotherapy.

Malignant pleural effusion facilitates the establishment and maintenance of tumor organoid biobank with multiple patient-derived lung tumor cell sources.

The Patient-Derived Organoids (PDOs) has demonstrated significant potential in personalized medicine. However, the initial establishment of lung cancer organoids (LCOs), and timely therapeutic recommendations face several challenges. Particularly, the current culture systems have not yet achieved the capability to long-term cultivation of all lung tumor sample sources, including malignant pleural effusion (MPE), which poses significant barriers to the rapid clinical translation of PDOs.

A machine learning based radiomics approach for predicting No. 14v station lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the potential of radiomics approach for predicting No. 14v station lymph node metastasis (14vM) in gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: The contrast enhanced CT (CECT) images with corresponding clinical information of 288 GC patients were retrospectively collected.

"Multi-layer" encryption of medical data in DNA for highly-secure storage.

The exponential increasement and the attributes of medical data drive the requirement for secure medical data archiving. DNA data storage shows promise for storing sensitive and important data like medical records due to its high density and endurance. Nevertheless, current DNA data storage working scheme generally does not fully consider the data encryption, posing a risk of data corruption by routine DNA sequencing.

Circulating M-MDSC Levels as an Assessment Marker for Post-Treatment Tumor Progression in Recurrent HNC Patients Following Radiation Therapy: A Case Series.

: In advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, 50-60% experience loco-regional relapse and distant metastasis. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has shown remarkable therapeutic response in recurrent HNC, but there is still a 70% chance of local recurrence. This study aimed to identify a suitable liquid biomarker to assess patient response following BNCT.

Chemical Composition of Five Lamiaceae Essential Oils and Their Insecticidal and Phytotoxic Activity.

The Lamiaceae family is widely distributed worldwide. In this study, we investigated the insecticidal activity of five Lamiaceae essential oils against Schrank and the phytotoxic activity against (L.) Merr.

Induction chemotherapy followed by transoral laser microsurgery with or without adjuvant therapy for advanced hypopharyngeal cancer patients: A preliminary result.

Background: Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) has the poorest prognosis among head and neck cancers. Its treatment may significantly affect breathing, speaking, and swallowing. Induction chemotherapy (ICT) followed by transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) could reduce these adverse effects and achieve good outcomes.

The impact of ZTE-based MR attenuation correction compared to CT-AC in F-FBPA PET before boron neutron capture therapy.

Tumor-to-normal ratio (T/N) measurement of F-FBPA is crucial for patient eligibility to receive boron neutron capture therapy. This study aims to compare the difference in standard uptake value ratios on brain tumors and normal brains using PET/MR ZTE and atlas-based attenuation correction with the current standard PET/CT attenuation correction. Regarding the normal brain uptake, the difference was not significant between PET/CT and PET/MR attenuation correction methods.

Prognostic assessment of F-boronophenylalanine positron emission tomography (BPA-PET) in salvage boron neutron capture therapy for malignant brain tumors.

Background: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) stands out as a propitious anti-cancer modality. F-boronophenylalanine positron emission tomography (BPA-PET) holds the potential to ascertain the concentration of BPA within the tumor, enabling meticulous treatment planning and outcome evaluation. However, no studies have been conducted on comparing the outcomes of those treated with BNCT to those who did not undergo this therapy.