Factors Related to Health Status among Nurses in Taiwan

Nurses play an important role in healthcare institutions. Improving the nurses’ health status and increasing nurses’ enthusiasm in clinical nursing can improve the quality of healthcare. The purposes of this study include: (1) to understand the basic characteristics of the participants, and health status; (2) to analyze the differences in health status between different demographic of the participants.The study adopted stratified and cluster sampling, and used a cross-sectional descriptive design. A total of 256 registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses were recruited for the study who have been working in the position for at least one year in a medical center in northern Taiwan. Research tools included basic properties, and the Chinese Health Questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS for Windows 187.0 (Chinese) software for descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA.To summarize, we found the following: (1) Participants’ average age was 29.8 years, and most participants were single, childless women with bachelor’s degrees or above, not living with their in-laws, N1 ranked, working on shift, and not participating in health courses. (3) Participants’ health status were found significant differences among gender, education degree, and whether or not they had children.  The findings of this study provide a reference for management decision making

Terminalia catappa

High mortality and morbidity rates for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Taiwan primarily result from uncontrolled tumor metastasis. Previous studies have identified that Terminalia catappa leaf extracts (TCE) exert hepatoprotective, antioxidative, antiinflammatory, anticancer, and antimetastatic activities. However, the effects of TCE on HCC and the underlying molecular mechanisms of its activities have yet to be fully elucidated. The present study's findings demonstrate that TCE concentration dependently inhibits human HCC migration/invasion. Zymographic and western blot analyses revealed that TCE inhibited the activities and expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). Assessment of mRNA levels, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR, and promoter assays confirmed the inhibitory effects of TCE on MMP-9 expression in HCC cells. The inhibitory effects of TCE on MMP-9 proceeded by upregulating tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), as well as suppressing nuclear translocation and DNA binding activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and activating protein-1 (AP-1) on the MMP-9 promoter in Huh7 cells. In conclusion, TCE inhibits MMP-9 expression and HCC cell metastasis and, thus, has potential use as a chemopreventive agent. Its inhibitory effects are associated with downregulation of the binding activities of the transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1

Autophagy Inhibition Enhances Apoptosis Induced by Dioscin in Huh7 Cells

Extensive research results support the application of herbal medicine or natural food as an augment during therapy for various cancers. However, the effect of dioscin on tumor cells autophagy has not been clearly clarified. In this study, the unique effects of dioscin on autophagy of hepatoma cells were investigated. Results found that dioscin induced caspase-3- and -9-dependent cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation significantly abolished the dioscin-induced apoptosis. In addition, dioscin triggered cell autophagy in early stages. With autophagy inhibitors to hinder the autophagy process, dioscin-induced cell apoptosis was significantly enhanced. An inhibition of caspase activation did not affect the dioscin-induced LC3-II protein expression. Based on the results, we believed that while apoptosis was blocked, dioscin-induced autophagy process also diminished in Huh7 cells. In conclusion, this study indicates that dioscin causes autophagy in Huh7 cells and suggests that dioscin has a cytoprotective effect

Application of Portable CDA for Secure Clinical-document Exchange

Abstract Health Level Seven (HL7) organization published the Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) for exchanging documents among heterogeneous systems and improving medical quality based on the design method in CDA. In practice, although the HL7 organization tried to make medical messages exchangeable, it is still hard to exchange medical messages. There are many issues when two hospitals want to exchange clinical documents, such as patient privacy, network security, budget, and the strategies of the hospital. In this article, we propose a method for the exchange and sharing of clinical documents in an offline model based on the CDA-the Portable CDA. This allows the physician to retrieve the patient's medical record stored in a portal device, but not through the Internet in real time. The security and privacy of CDA data will also be considered

Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Pathogens Causing Nosocomial Infections at a University Hospital in Taiwan, 1981-1999

To determine the distribution and antimicrobial drug resistance in bacterial pathogens causing nosocomial infections, surveillance data on nosocomial infections documented from 1981 to 1999 at National Taiwan University Hospital were analyzed. During this period, 35,580 bacterial pathogens causing nosocomial infections were identified. Candida species increased considerably, ranking first by 1999 in the incidence of pathogens causing all nosocomial infections, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Candida species also increased in importance as bloodstream infection isolates, from 1.0% in 1981-1986 to 16.2% in 1999. The most frequent isolates from urinary tract infections were Candida species (23.6%), followed by Escherichia coli (18.6%) and P. aeruginosa (11.0%). P. aeruginosa remained the most frequent isolates for respiratory tract and surgical site infections in the past 13 years. A remarkable increase in incidence was found in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (from 4.3% in 1981-1986 to 58.9% in 1993-1998), cefotaxime-resistant E. coli (from 0% in 1981-1986 to 6.1% in 1993-1998), and cefotaxime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (from 4.0% in 1981-1986 to 25.8% in 1993-1998). Etiologic shifts in nosocomial infections and an upsurge of antimicrobial resistance among these pathogens, particularly those isolated from intensive care units, are impressive and alarming

Melatonin acts synergistically with pazopanib against renal cell carcinoma cells through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase-mediated mitochondrial and autophagic apoptosis

Background Mounting evidence indicates that melatonin has possible activity against different tumors. Pazopanib is an anticancer drug used to treat renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This study tested the anticancer activity of melatonin combined with pazopanib on RCC cells and explored the underlying mechanistic pathways of its action. Methods The 786-O and A-498 human RCC cell lines were used as cell models. Cell viability and tumorigenesis were detected with the MTT and colony formation assays, respectively. Apoptosis and autophagy were assessed using TUNEL, annexin V/propidium iodide, and acridine orange staining with flow cytometry. The expression of cellular signaling proteins was investigated with western blotting. The in vivo growth of tumors derived from RCC cells was evaluated using a xenograft mouse model. Results Together, melatonin and pazopanib reduced cell viability and colony formation and promoted the apoptosis of RCC cells. Furthermore, the combination of melatonin and pazopanib triggered more mitochondrial, caspase-mediated, and LC3-II-mediated autophagic apoptosis than melatonin or pazopanib alone. The combination also induced higher activation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) in the promotion of autophagy and apoptosis by RCC cells than melatonin or pazopanib alone. Finally, tumor xenograft experiments confirmed that melatonin and pazopanib cooperatively inhibited RCC growth in vivo and predicted a possible interaction between melatonin/pazopanib and LC3-II. Conclusion The combination of melatonin and pazopanib inhibits the growth of RCC cells by inducing p38MAPK-mediated mitochondrial and autophagic apoptosis. Therefore, melatonin might be a potential adjuvant that could act synergistically with pazopanib for RCC treatment

A small molecule agonist of EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibits tumor cell migration in vitro and prostate cancer metastasis in vivo

10.1371/journal.pone.0042120PLoS ONE78