Abdominal Tuberculosis in Adult: 10-Year Experience in a Teaching Hospital in Central Taiwan

Background/PurposeTuberculosis (TB) is an important communicable disease worldwide. The clinical presentation of abdominal TB often mimics various gastrointestinal disorders and may delay accurate diagnosis. In this study, we conducted a 10-year retrospective study to investigate the clinical manifestations, treatment responses and outcomes of abdominal TB.MethodsThis retrospective study recruited patients presenting between January 1998 and December 2007; all patients ≥ 18 years of age with a diagnosis of abdominal TB were enrolled. Patient charts were thoroughly reviewed and clinical specimens were processed in the laboratory using the BBL MycoPrep System and BACTEC MGIT 960 Mycobacterial Detection System. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was confirmed by acid fast stain and the BD ProbeTec ET System.ResultsDuring the study period, 34 patients were diagnosed with abdominal TB. The mean age was 55+18 years. Fourteen patients (41%) had no risk factors; however, 20 patients (59%) had at least one risk factor. Abdominal pain (94.1%), abdominal fullness (91.2%), anorexia (88.2%) and ascites (76.5%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The peritoneum (88%) was the most commonly involved site. Patients with risk factors such as liver cirrhosis, end-stage renal disease and diabetes mellitus had a higher positive rate of acid-fast stain and mycobacterial culture from abdominal specimens (p = 0.02 and 0.05, respectively). The crude mortality rate was 9% and the attributed mortality rate was 3%.ConclusionIn an endemic area like Taiwan, regardless of whether a patient has risk factors for TB, abdominal TB should be seriously considered as a differential diagnosis when a patient presents with gastrointestinal symptoms and unexplained ascites

Sensor Fabrication Method for in Situ Temperature and Humidity Monitoring of Light Emitting Diodes

In this work micro temperature and humidity sensors are fabricated to measure the junction temperature and humidity of light emitting diodes (LED). The junction temperature is frequently measured using thermal resistance measurement technology. The weakness of this method is that the timing of data capture is not regulated by any standard. This investigation develops a device that can stably and continually measure temperature and humidity. The device is light-weight and can monitor junction temperature and humidity in real time. Using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), this study minimizes the size of the micro temperature and humidity sensors, which are constructed on a stainless steel foil substrate (40 μm-thick SS-304). The micro temperature and humidity sensors can be fixed between the LED chip and frame. The sensitivities of the micro temperature and humidity sensors are 0.06 ± 0.005 (Ω/°C) and 0.033 pF/%RH, respectively

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Band-1 Receiver

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array(ALMA) Band 1 receiver covers the 35-50 GHz frequency band. Development of prototype receivers, including the key components and subsystems has been completed and two sets of prototype receivers were fully tested. We will provide an overview of the ALMA Band 1 science goals, and its requirements and design for use on the ALMA. The receiver development status will also be discussed and the infrastructure, integration, evaluation of fully-assembled band 1 receiver system will be covered. Finally, a discussion of the technical and management challenges encountered will be presented

Plastidial Starch Phosphorylase in Sweet Potato Roots Is Proteolytically Modified by Protein-Protein Interaction with the 20S Proteasome

Post-translational regulation plays an important role in cellular metabolism. Earlier studies showed that the activity of plastidial starch phosphorylase (Pho1) may be regulated by proteolytic modification. During the purification of Pho1 from sweet potato roots, we observed an unknown high molecular weight complex (HX) showing Pho1 activity. The two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and reverse immunoprecipitation analyses showed that HX is composed of Pho1 and the 20S proteasome. Incubating sweet potato roots at 45°C triggers a stepwise degradation of Pho1; however, the degradation process can be partially inhibited by specific proteasome inhibitor MG132. The proteolytically modified Pho1 displays a lower binding affinity toward glucose 1-phosphate and a reduced starch-synthesizing activity. This study suggests that the 20S proteasome interacts with Pho1 and is involved in the regulation of the catalytic activity of Pho1 in sweet potato roots under heat stress conditions

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

The survey of junior high school PE teachers as mentor teachers in Taipei city

[[abstract]]This study aimed to (1) understand the current situation of middle school PE teachers in Taipei City as mentor teachers, (2) analyze the factors that affect PE teachers to be willing to become mentor teachers, (3) explore whether PE teachers’ background influences their willingness to become mentor teachers. The study used questionnaire as method. Furthermore, it used stratified sampling from 209 Junior high school PE teachers in 31 schools, and in 12 administration were as in Taipei City. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The current situation (1) In general, PE mentor teachers promote student teachers’ professional abilities through sharing and discussing their past experiences. Therefore, they have above average confidence in their student teachers. However, more research should be done about whether the mentor teachers’ self-consciousness matches with their abilities of supervising. (2) There were no real rewarding methods to award mentor teachers nowadays, only by oral praises or certificates of appreciation. Nevertheless, PE mentor teachers would anticipate to be awarded by “reducing classes”, which can also compensate the time they spend on interacting with student teachers. 2. Factors (1) In the process of supervising, it not only promoted professional development but also increased the sense of achievement. In addition, mentor teachers recognize the importance of student teaching. These are invisible rewards to mentor teachers. (2) The reasons that PE teachers didnot like to be mentor teachers were: (1) no real rewards as incentives (2) playing many roles at school. They had their hands full with work, so they did not have time and energy to be mentor teachers. Furthermore, student teachers’ motivations to learn are not high, which affects PE teachers’ willingness to become mentor teachers. 3. PE teachers who had experiences of being mentor teachers could apply the past supervising experiences to new student teachers. Therefore, there was a low correlation between experiences of being mentor teacher and the willingness to be mentor teachers.

An Amperometric Acetone Sensor by Using an Electro-Deposited Pb-Modified Electrode

An amperometric acetone sensor was developed by using an electrodeposited Pb electrode in a sodium tartrate electrolyte. The major factors determining the electrode and sensing characteristics such as the applied potential, electrodeposition current density, electrodeposition temperature, agitation rate, and sensing temperature were explored. The best conditions for preparation of the electrodeposited Pb electrode were obtained at a 30 mA cm −2 electrodeposition current density and a 30 • C electrodeposition temperature. Additionally, the optimal sensing conditions are a 155 rpm agitation rate and 50 • C sensing temperature with the applied potential in the range from −2.25 ∼ −2.35 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The results also revealed that the electrodeposited Pb electrode has a good linearity between the response current and the acetone concentration. This type of acetone sensor has excellent selectivity and shows the highest sensitivity at 8 µAppm −1 cm −2

Cellular Neurothekeoma of the Upper Lip in an Infant

Cellular neurothekeoma is an uncommon benign skin neoplasm and also a variant of neurothekeoma. Cellular neurothekeomas usually occur in the skin of the upper trunk, head, or neck of children and young adults; however, they rarely occur in infants or involve the lip. A 6-month-old male infant was incidentally found to have a tumor in the upper lip. The tumor was elastic, nontender, and movable, and the overlying mucosa and skin were normal without discoloration. The tumor was excised from the mucosal side of the upper lip, and a pathological examination revealed cellular neurothekeoma. Cellular neurothekeoma in the lip of an infant without overlying skin discoloration might delay the diagnosis and lead to wrong preoperative diagnosis. No similar case has been reported in the literature

Congenital Membrane Causing Duodenal Obstruction and Malpositioning of the Descending Colon

A congenital membrane without intestinal malrotation is a rare cause of duodenal obstruction. Here we present an 11-year-old girl who had suffered from intermittent abdominal cramping pain and vomiting for more than 5 years. The image studies, including a plain abdomen roentgenogram and sonogram, showed no definite diagnosis. The upper gastrointestinal series and small bowel series showed the contrast was static over the third portion of the duodenum and the descending colon pulled up toward the epigastric area. Laparoscopic exploration revealed a congenital membrane extending from the right-side paraduodenal peritoneum through the third portion of the duodenum to the descending colon, which had caused obstruction of the third portion of the duodenum and malpositioning of the descending colon. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report in the literature where a congenital membrane caused both duodenal obstruction and malpositioning of the descending colon

Molecular mechanism inhibiting human hepatocarcinoma cell invasion by 6-shogaol and 6-gingerol

Scope: We previously demonstrated that 6-shogaol and 6-gingerol, two active compounds in ginger (Zingiber officinale), possess antiinvasive activity against highlymetastatic hepatoma cells. The aims of this study were to evaluate the inhibitory effect andmolecular mechanism underlying the transcription and translation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) in Hep3B cells as well as the antiangiogenic activity of 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol. Methods and results: By gelatin zymography and luciferase reporter gene assays, we found that 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol regulate MMP-2/-9 transcription. Moreover, 6-gingerol directly decreased expression of uPA, but the 6-shogaol-mediated decrease in uPA was accompanied by up-regulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1. 6-Gingerol and 6-shogaol concentrations of ≥10 M and ≥2.5 M, respectively, significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and PI3K/Akt signaling, the activation of NF- B, and the translocation of NF- B and STAT3. Incubation of 6-gingerol or 6-shogaol with human umbilical vein endothelial cells or rat aortas significantly attenuated tube formation. Conclusion: 6-Shogaol and 6-gingerol effectively inhibit invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma through diverse molecular mechanisms, including inhibition of the MAPK and PI3k/Akt pathways and NF- B and STAT3 activities to suppress expression of MMP-2/-9 and uPA and block angiogenesis