1,613 research outputs found
Major interventions are associated with survival of out of hospital cardiac arrest patients - a population based survey
Background. The overall survival rate of
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)
in Taiwan or even in the whole of Asia
is relatively low. Major interventions,
such as target temperature management
(TTM), coronary artery angiography, and
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
(ECMO), have been associated with better
patient outcome. However, studies in Taiwan
revealing evidence of the benefits of
these interventions are limited.
Methods. A population-based study used
an 8-year database to analyze overall survival
and risk factors ˝among OHCA patients.
All adult non-trauma OHCA patients
were identified through diagnostic
and procedure codes. Hospital survival
and return of spontaneous circulation
(ROSC) were primary and secondary outcomes.
Logistic regression and Cox regression
analyses were conducted.
Results. There was a relationship between
major interventions (including TTM,
coronary artery angiography, and ECMO)
and better hospital survival. Age, income,
major interventions, and acute myocardial
infarction history were associated with
hospital survival. The adjusted hazard
ratios (HRs) were 0.406 (95% CI, 0.295
to 0.558), 1.109 (95% CI, 1.027 to 1.197),
1.075 (95% CI, 1.002 to 1.154), 1.097 (95%
CI, 1.02 to 1.181) and 0.799(95% CI, 0.677
to 0.942) for patients with major interventions,
age≥50, medium low and low income,
middle income, and acute myocardial
infarction history, respectively.
Conclusion. This population-based study
in Taiwan revealed that older age (≥50),
medium low and low income were associated
with a lower rate of survival. Major
interventions, including TTM, coronary
angiography, and ECMO, were related to
better survival
AMiBA Wideband Analog Correlator
A wideband analog correlator has been constructed for the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array
for Microwave Background Anisotropy. Lag correlators using analog multipliers
provide large bandwidth and moderate frequency resolution. Broadband IF
distribution, backend signal processing and control are described. Operating
conditions for optimum sensitivity and linearity are discussed. From
observations, a large effective bandwidth of around 10 GHz has been shown to
provide sufficient sensitivity for detecting cosmic microwave background
variations.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figures, ApJ in press
Using the computer-based feedback (CBF) system to investigate the juniorphysicians’s and clinical-instructors perceptions for the benefits of general medicine clinical-instructors training program
Background: The purpose of this study is to examine the clinical-instructors and junior-physicians (residents and interns) perceptions for the general-medicine training program by using bi-directional interactive and self-assessments computer-based feedback (CBF) and paper-based multisource feedback assessment (PBMFA) systems for the efficiency and benefit evaluation.Methods: Between 2011 January to 2013 December, junior-physicians and their clinical-instructors in the same medical team were enrolled consecutively for monitoring the CBF scores gave by each other after each clinical course. A total of 321 residents, 298 interns and 110 clinical-instructors who participated in the core competency general-medicine training program in 6-months period were included in the study. The CBF and PBMFA evaluations are undergone paralleled to gather the suggested information in different levels of Kirkpatrick evolutional theory.Results: The results showed that lecturers, being 5-10 years as attending physicians, internal medicine sub-specialty clinical-instructors are most benefit from the general medicine training program. Accordingly, the CBF scores of junior-physicians was positively correlated with the times (> 3-times) of exposure to the medical teams that leaded by qualified clinical-instructors. Both clinical-instructors and junior-physicians have positive attitude to the value of the general-medicine training program. Interestingly, a good consistency was existed between residents CBF scores and PBMFA grades for their core-competency performance. Comparatively, the overall perception of clinical-instructors and junior-physicians for the general-medicine training was very positive.Conclusions: Clinical-instructors and junior-physicians had positive perception of CBF and PBMFA systems which could give us different information to improve and strength the further core-competency general-medicine training program by appropriate utilization
Proteomic profiling reveals α1-antitrypsin, α1-microglobulin, and clusterin as preeclampsia-related serum proteins in pregnant women
AbstractObjectivePreeclampsia is a major cause of mortality in pregnant women but the underlying mechanism remains unclear to date. In this study, we attempted to identify candidate proteins that might be associated with preeclampsia in pregnant women by means of proteomics tools.Materials and methodsDifferentially expressed proteins in serum samples obtained from pregnant women with severe preeclampsia (n = 8) and control participants (n = 8) were identified using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) followed by peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS). Additional serum samples from 50 normal and 41 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia were analyzed by immunoassay for validation.ResultsTen protein spots were found to be upregulated significantly in women with severe preeclampsia. These protein spots had the peptide mass fingerprints matched to α1-antitrypsin, α1-microglobulin, clusterin, and haptoglobin. Immunoassays in an independent series of serum samples showed that serum α1-antitrypsin, α1-microglobulin, and clusterin levels of severe preeclampsia patients (n = 41) were significantly higher than those in the normal participants (n = 50; α1-antitrypsin 295.95 ± 50.94 mg/dL vs. 259.31 ± 33.90 mg/dL, p = 0.02; α1-microglobulin 0.029 ± 0.004 mg/mL vs. 0.020 ± 0.004 mg/mL, p < 0.0001; clusterin 77.6 ± 16.15 μg/dL vs. 67.6 ± 15.87 μg/dL, p < 0.05).ConclusionIdentification of these proteins by proteomics analysis enables further understanding of the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. Further studies are warranted to investigate the role of these biomarkers in prediction of this disease
A predicted protein, KIAA0247, is a cell cycle modulator in colorectal cancer cells under 5-FU treatment
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the predominant gastrointestinal malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death. The identification of genes related to CRC is important for the development of successful therapies and earlier diagnosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Molecular analysis of feces was evaluated as a potential method for CRC detection. Expression of a predicted protein with unknown function, KIAA0247, was found in feces evaluated using specific quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Its cellular function was then analyzed using immunofluorescent staining and the changes in the cell cycle in response to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Gastrointestinal tissues and peripheral blood lymphocytes ubiquitously expressed KIAA0247. 56 CRC patients fell into two group categories according to fecal KIAA0247 mRNA expression levels. The group with higher fecal KIAA0247 (<it>n </it>= 22; ≥ 0.4897) had a significantly greater five-year overall survival rate than the group with lower fecal KIAA0247 (<it>n </it>= 30; < 0.4897) (66.0 ± 11.6%; <it>p </it>= 0.035, log-rank test). Fecal expression of KIAA0247 inversely related to CRC tumor size (Kendall's tau-b = -0.202; <it>p </it>= 0.047). Immunofluorescent staining revealed that the cytoplasm of CRC cells evenly expresses KIAA0247 without 5-FU treatment, and KIAA0247 accumulates in the nucleus after 40 μM 5-FU treatment. In HCT116 p53<sup>-/- </sup>cells, which lack p53 cell cycle control, the proportion of cells in the G2/M phase was larger (13%) in KIAA0247-silent cells than in the respective shLuc control (10%) and KIAA0247-overexpressing cells (7%) after the addition of low dose (40 μM) 5-FU. Expression of three cyclin genes (cyclin A2, cyclin B1, and cyclin B2) also downregulated in the cells overexpressing KIAA0247.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first description of a linkage between KIAA0247 and CRC. The study's data demonstrate overexpression of KIAA0247 associates with 5-FU therapeutic benefits, and also identify the clinical significance of fecal KIAA0247 in CRC.</p
Intra- and Inter-Individual Variance of Gene Expression in Clinical Studies
BACKGROUND: Variance in microarray studies has been widely discussed as a critical topic on the identification of differentially expressed genes; however, few studies have addressed the influence of estimating variance. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To break intra- and inter-individual variance in clinical studies down to three levels--technical, anatomic, and individual--we designed experiments and algorithms to investigate three forms of variances. As a case study, a group of "inter-individual variable genes" were identified to exemplify the influence of underestimated variance on the statistical and biological aspects in identification of differentially expressed genes. Our results showed that inadequate estimation of variance inevitably led to the inclusion of non-statistically significant genes into those listed as significant, thereby interfering with the correct prediction of biological functions. Applying a higher cutoff value of fold changes in the selection of significant genes reduces/eliminates the effects of underestimated variance. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data demonstrated that correct variance evaluation is critical in selecting significant genes. If the degree of variance is underestimated, "noisy" genes are falsely identified as differentially expressed genes. These genes are the noise associated with biological interpretation, reducing the biological significance of the gene set. Our results also indicate that applying a higher number of fold change as the selection criteria reduces/eliminates the differences between distinct estimations of variance
AMiBA: scaling relations between the integrated Compton-y and X-ray derived temperature, mass, and luminosity
We investigate the scaling relations between the X-ray and the thermal
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) properties of clusters of galaxies, using data
taken during 2007 by the Y.T. Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy
(AMiBA) at 94 GHz for the six clusters A1689, A1995, A2142, A2163, A2261, and
A2390. The scaling relations relate the integrated Compton-y parameter Y_{2500}
to the X-ray derived gas temperature T_{e}, total mass M_{2500}, and bolometric
luminosity L_X within r_{2500}. Our results for the power-law index and
normalization are both consistent with the self-similar model and other studies
in the literature except for the Y_{2500}-L_X relation, for which a physical
explanation is given though further investigation may be still needed. Our
results not only provide confidence for the AMiBA project but also support our
understanding of galaxy clusters.Comment: Accepted by ApJ; 8 pages, 3 figures, 5 table
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