Coprescription of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Western Medications among Prostate Cancer Patients: A Population-Based Study in Taiwan

Use of herbal medicine is popular among cancer patients. This study aimed to explore the coprescription of CHM and WM among prostate cancer patients in Taiwan. This cross-sectional retrospective study used a population-based database containing one million beneficiaries of National Health Insurance. Claims and prescriptions were analyzed. In 2007, 218 (22.4%) prostate cancer patients were CHM users. Among CHM users, 200 (91.7%) patients with 5618 (79.5%) CHM prescriptions were on coprescription of CHM and WM. A total of 484 types of CHM and 930 types of WM were used. The most commonly used CHMs on coprescription were Shu Jing Huo Xue Tang, Ma Zi Ren Wan, and Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang. The most commonly used WMs on coprescription were magnesium oxide, amlodipine, and aspirin. The average number of prescriptions per user per year was 261.2 versus 151.7 in all (P < 0.001), 123.6 versus 76.9 in WM (P = 0.033), and 34.8 versus 5.1 in CHM (P < 0.001) for patients with and without coprescription, respectively. In conclusion, use of CHM among prostate cancer patients was popular in Taiwan. Most CHMs were used with WM concurrently. The potential drug-herb interactions should be investigated, especially for patients with more prescriptions

A study on Impressiveness Management of Internet Celebrities

The issue of social media has attracted much attention in the fields of information management and marketing. Recently, the live webcast service newly introduced on social media has renewed the issues. With the increasing popularity of social media, the live webcast service provides more opportunities of higher interactivity to Internet celebrities to communicate with Internet users. With frequent interaction with Internet users, the Internet celebrities construct their self-images and build a long-term personal reputation. Therefore, how Internet celebrities enhance their self-image and personal reputation is an interesting research issue. Specifically, this study intends to investigate how Internet celebrities employ personal impressiveness management to improve their personal image and branding. The corporate reputation formation framework was employed as the theoretical perspective to investigate Internet celebrities’ personal impressiveness management through social media

Data Mining to Capture User-Experience: A Case Study in Notebook Product Appearance Design

In the era of rapidly increasing notebook market, consumer electronics manufacturers are facing a highly dynamic and competitive environment. In particular, the product appearance is the first part for user to distinguish the product from the product of other brands. Notebook product should differ in its appearance to engage users and contribute to the user experience (UX). The UX evaluates various product concepts to find the design for user needs; in addition, help the designer to further understand the product appearance preference of different market segment. However, few studies have been done for exploring the relationship between consumer background and the reaction of product appearance. This study aims to propose a data mining framework to capture the user's information and the important relation between product appearance factors. The proposed framework consists of problem definition and structuring, data preparation, rules generation, and results evaluation and interpretation. An empirical study has been done in Taiwan that recruited 168 subjects from different background to experience the appearance performance of 11 different portable computers. The results assist the designers to develop product strategies based on the characteristics of consumers and the product concept that related to the UX, which help to launch the products to the right customers and increase the market shares. The results have shown the practical feasibility of the proposed framework

Key Factors to Increasing Free Cash Flow for Manufacturers Utilizing Lean Production: An AHP-DEMATEL Approach

This paper aims to apply AHP and DEMATEL to analyze the key factors and interrelationships of lean production to increase free cash flow for manufacturers. The AHP hierarchy was determined through literature and interviews with leading management experts. The assessment criteria were categorized into five major criteria and 15 sub-criteria, including production, sales, human resources, R&amp;D, and finance. According to the AHP results, the first eight key factors were identified as the key factors to increasing cash flow for manufacturers who utilized lean production. DEMATEL was used to identify the interactions among the eight key factors and further identify the four more important ones. The four key factors are strategic planning, strategic deployment, leadership, and goal orientation. This paper proposes management implications and improvement suggestions for the four key factors and their interactions

Effects of natto extract on endothelial injury in a rat model

Vascular endothelial damage has been found to be associated with thrombus formation, which is considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A diet of natto leads to a low prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of natto extract on vascular endothelia damage with exposure to laser irradiation. Endothelial damage both in vitro and in vivo was induced by irradiation of rose bengal using a DPSS green laser. Cell viability was determined by MTS assay, and the intimal thickening was verified by a histological approach. The antioxidant content of natto extract was determined for the free radical scavenging activity. Endothelial cells were injured in the presence of rose bengal irradiated in a dose-dependent manner. Natto extract exhibits high levels of antioxidant activity compared with purified natto kinase. Apoptosis of laser-injured endothelial cells was significantly reduced in the presence of natto extract. Both the natto extract and natto kinase suppressed intimal thickening in rats with endothelial injury. The present findings suggest that natto extract suppresses vessel thickening as a synergic effect attributed to its antioxidant and anti-apoptosis properties

Laparoscopic management of a giant adrenal cyst

AbstractAdrenal cysts, a rare entity, are usually nonfunctional and asymptomatic. Here, we report a 32-year-old woman who presented with mild breathlessness and vague abdominal fullness and discomfort that had lasted 6 months. Chest radiography showed elevation of the left side of the diaphragm. Abdominal sonography showed an anechoic lesion of >15cm, without a septum, that was situated over the left abdominal area. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a 20cm suprarenal cyst located between the pancreas, spleen, and left kidney, causing anterior displacement of the pancreas and inferior displacement of the left kidney. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the CT and sonographic findings, and revealed that the cystic mass was originating from the left adrenal gland. Fluid analysis of the cystic lesion showed no evidence of infection or malignancy. A laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed. Histopathologically, the adrenal tissue showed no evidence of adenoma or malignancy, and the cystic component showed a flattened endothelial lining with fibrotic tissue, consistent with an endothelial cyst. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient had no evidence of recurrence during a 6-year follow-up. We discuss the diagnosis and management of adrenal cysts