Tuberculosis in Children and Adolescents, Taiwan, 1996–2003

Analysis of data from Taiwan’s National Tuberculosis (TB) Registry showed that incidence of TB in persons <20 years of age was 9.61/100,000 person-years, biphasic, and age-relevant, with a major peak in persons slightly >12 years. Aboriginal children were 8.1–17.4× more likely to have TB than non-Aboriginal children

Significance of Coronary Calcification for Prediction of Coronary Artery Disease and Cardiac Events Based on 64-Slice Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography

This work aims to validate the clinical significance of coronary artery calcium score (CACS) in predicting coronary artery disease(CAD) and cardiac events in 100 symptomatic patients (aged 37–87 years, mean 62.5, 81 males) that were followed up for a mean of 5 years. Our results showed that patients with CAD and cardiac events had significantly higher CACS than those without CAD and cardiac events, respectively. The corresponding data were 1450.42 ± 3471.24 versus 130 ± 188.29 (P 1000. Increased CACS (>100)was also associated with an increased frequency of multi-vessel disease. Nonetheless, 3 (20%) out of 15 patients with zero CACS had single-vessel disease. Significant correlation (P < 0.001) was observed between CACS and CAD on a vessel-based analysis for coronary arteries. It is concluded that CACS is significantly correlated with CAD and cardiac events

Seroprevalence of enterovirus 71 and no evidence of crossprotection of enterovirus 71 antibody against the other enteroviruses in kindergarten children in Taipei city

Background/PurposeEnterovirus 71 (EV71) infection may cause severe neurological and cardiopulmonary complications, especially in preschool children. This study is to investigate the seroprevalence and seroconversion of EV71, and the crossprotection of EV71 antibody against other enteroviruses among kindergarteners.MethodsOverall 228 children in a public kindergarten were enrolled during two academic years, 2006 and 2007, in Taipei, Taiwan and we measured their EV71 neutralizing antibody. When the participants had herpangina; hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD); febrile illness or respiratory symptoms, throat swabs were sampled and processed for viral culture and enterovirus real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Questionnaires, completed by the participants’ guardians, surveyed the history of allergy and annual incidence of symptoms related to enterovirus infection.ResultsSeropositive rates of EV71 were 20% (32/163) in 2006 and 6% (4/65) in 2007. The rate of EV71 seropositivity increased with age (p < 0.01) in 2006 but it did not differ between genders (p = 0.14). No seroconversion was observed from 2006 to 2007. Herpangina occurred in 64% of children with EV71 seropositivity and 48% of those without EV71 antibodies (p = 0.12). Non-71 enterovirus infection, confirmed by viral study, occurred in 53% (19/36) of the EV71-seropositive children and in 53% (102/192) of EV71-seronegative children (p = 0.89). No participants had EV71 infection during the study period.ConclusionEV71 did not frequently circulate in Taipei City from September 2006 to June 2008. Presence of EV71 neutralizing antibody was not associated with lower incidence of enterovirus infection caused by non-71 serotypes

Temporal and Spatial Regulation of miR-320 in the Uterus during Embryo Implantation in the Rat

The implantation process is complex, requiring reciprocal interactions between implantation-competent blastocysts and the receptive uterus. There were reports to show that some microRNAs (miRNAs) may play a key role during embryo implantation in mouse. However, the miR-320 expression profiles in the rat uterus during peri-implantation are unknown. In the present study, we found that the expression level of miR-320 was lower on day 5 of gestation (g.d. 5) in rats than g.d.3 and g.d.4 and restored gradually from g.d.6. MiR-320 was specifically localized in glandular and luminal epithelia and decidua. The expression of miR-320 was not significantly different in the pseudopregnant uterus and decreased in the uteri of rats subjected to activation of delayed implantation. Artificial decidualization and treatment with progesterone increased the miR-320 expression. Thus, miR-320 was differentially expressed in the rat uterus during implantation. The expression level was affected by active blastocysts and decidualization during the window of implantation. Steroid hormones, progesterone stimulated miR-320 expression

Structural insights into the electron/proton transfer pathways in the quinol : fumarate reductase from Desulfovibrio gigas

Guan, H., Hsieh, Y., Lin, P. et al. Structural insights into the electron/proton transfer pathways in the quinol : fumarate reductase from Desulfovibrio gigas. Sci Rep 8, 14935 (2018) doi:10.1038/s41598-018-33193-

Structural insights into the electron/proton transfer pathways in the quinol:fumarate reductase from Desulfovibrio gigas

The membrane-embedded quinol:fumarate reductase (QFR) in anaerobic bacteria catalyzes the reduction of fumarate to succinate by quinol in the anaerobic respiratory chain. The electron/proton-transfer pathways in QFRs remain controversial. Here we report the crystal structure of QFR from the anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio gigas (D. gigas) at 3.6 Å resolution. The structure of the D. gigas QFR is a homo-dimer, each protomer comprising two hydrophilic subunits, A and B, and one transmembrane subunit C, together with six redox cofactors including two b-hemes. One menaquinone molecule is bound near heme b_L in the hydrophobic subunit C. This location of the menaquinone-binding site differs from the menaquinol-binding cavity proposed previously for QFR from Wolinella succinogenes. The observed bound menaquinone might serve as an additional redox cofactor to mediate the proton-coupled electron transport across the membrane. Armed with these structural insights, we propose electron/proton-transfer pathways in the quinol reduction of fumarate to succinate in the D. gigas QFR

Infection Control and SARS Transmission among Healthcare Workers, Taiwan

This study found infrequent transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus to healthcare workers involved in the care of the first five case-patients in Taiwan, despite a substantial number of unprotected exposures. Nonetheless, given that SARS has been highly transmissible on some occasions, we still recommend strict precautions

Structural insights into the electron/proton transfer pathways in the quinol : fumarate reductase from Desulfovibrio gigas

The membrane-embedded quinol: fumarate reductase (QFR) in anaerobic bacteria catalyzes the reduction of fumarate to succinate by quinol in the anaerobic respiratory chain. The electron/protontransfer pathways in QFRs remain controversial. Here we report the crystal structure of QFR from the anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio gigas (D. gigas) at 3.6 Å resolution. The structure of the D. gigas QFR is a homo-dimer, each protomer comprising two hydrophilic subunits, A and B, and one transmembrane subunit C, together with six redox cofactors including two b-hemes. One menaquinone molecule is bound near heme bL in the hydrophobic subunit C. This location of the menaquinone-binding site differs from the menaquinol-binding cavity proposed previously for QFR from Wolinella succinogenes. The observed bound menaquinone might serve as an additional redox cofactor to mediate the proton-coupled electron transport across the membrane. Armed with these structuralinsights, we propose electron/proton-transfer pathways in the quinol reduction of fumarate to succinate in the D. gigas QFR.Guan, H., Hsieh, Y., Lin, P. et al. Structural insights into the electron/proton transfer pathways in the quinol : fumarate reductase from Desulfovibrio gigas. Sci Rep 8, 14935 (2018) doi:10.1038/s41598-018-33193-