Emergence and Persistent Dominance of Omicron BA.2.3.7 Variant in Community Outbreaks in Taiwan

Using high-throughput sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, we have analyzed 2405 PCR-positive swab samples from 2339 individuals and identified the Omicron BA.2.3.7 variant as a major lineage of the recent community outbreak in Taiwan. Since April 2022, a series of new waves of Omicron cases have surfaced in Taiwan and spread throughout the island. We conducted genomic surveillance with a high success rate and have submitted 1966 full-length Omicron sequences to GISAID. This has permitted identification of signature amino acid changes (ORF1a:L631F, S:K97E, N:M322I) in 1584 (80.6%) of the translated SARS-CoV-2 sequences. The newly established BA.2.3.7 lineage, which is relatively common in Asian countries, is now persistently present in Taiwan. By June 2022 this dominant strain had established a substantial existence in the sequence pool, resulting in additional mutations. The rapid spread and expansion of the Omicron BA.2.3.7 lineage in Asia has had an important socioeconomic impact on health policy.

The Impact of Health Promotion Activities on the Physiological, Psychological, and Social Functions of Inpatients With Chronic Mental Illness

Objective@#To explore the impact of the participation of patients with chronic mental illness in health promotion activities on their physical, psychological, and social functions. @*Methods@#This study included inpatient with chronic mental illness from a hospital in Eastern Taiwan. According to the experimental research design, the selected subjects were randomly divided into a health promotion group and a control group, with 60 people in each group. The health promotion team conducts health promotion activities twice a week, each for approximately 50 minutes, over the course of eight weeks (16 times in total). The measurement instrument adopts the Adult Mental Health Scale (AMHS) scale. Five experts and scholars in related fields are invited to conduct expert validity. @*Results@#Using independent sample t-tests to analyze the changes in the two groups after 8 weeks, the physical, psychological and social problems of the health promotion group were significantly improved compared with the control group. @*Conclusion@#Health promotion activities can alleviate the physical illness, anxiety, irritability, depression, and social distress of chronic hospitalized mental patients, and can also increase their positive and optimistic mood. It can provide chronic mental health care institutions to plan patients’ physical activities or exercises.

Annual report of Chinese Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision Registry Collaborative in 2018: A nationwide registry study / 中国实用外科杂志

OBJECTIVE: to introduce the study method of Chinese Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision(TaTME) registry Collaborative(CTRC),and report the short-term clinical-oncological outcomes from CTRC. METHODS: Based upon the concept of real world evidence,Data of 601 cases were retrospectively and prospectively analyzed from a nationwide multi-center registry system of CTRC.The safety and effectiveness of these cases were evaluated. RESULTS: The results of the CTRC database showed that:(1) 68.7% of 601 patients were male,the average age of all patients was(59.5±11.4)years,the average BMI was 23.9±3.6. There were 558 cases of rectal cancer among the total enrolled cases. The average distance between the distal edge of rectal cancer and the anal verge was(48.1±14.8)mm,and the ratio of neoadjuvant therapy was 31.7%.(2) 24.6% of the surgical cases were completed under the supervision of TaTME experts. The mean volume of intraoperative blood loss was(115.2 ± 366.5)mL,and the mean operating time was(247.1±87.5)min. Circle stapler was used to make the anastomosis among 74.8% of rectal cancer cases. The protective stoma was performed among 49.6% of the cases of rectal cancer. Maintaining a stable pneumopelvis and excessive smoke obscuring the pelvic view,were the main intraoperative difficulties encountered during transanal procedure. According to the grading of quality and completeness of the mesorectum in the total mesorectal excision specimen,the incidence rates of TaTME specimen graded as "complete", "nearly complete" and "incomplete" were79.6%,16.8% and 0.2% respectively by the evaluation of surgeons.(3)The incidence of postoperative complications was20.2%,and the anastomotic leakage rate was 7.0%.(4) There were 8 cases of specimen perforation. The average number of lymph node harvest was 15.4±7.9. CONCLUSION: TaTME procedure seems be safe and effective regarding to the shortterm clinical-pathological outcomes. The completeness of distal mesorectal dissection,circumferential resection margin and distal resection margin can be promised by the procedure of TaTME. However,the data quality in the database of CTRC needs to be improved,and structured training for TaTME surgery is indispensable. Further national multicenter prospective clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy of TaTME versus TME.

Erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus mycelium ameliorates Alzheimer's disease-related pathologies in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice.

BACKGROUND: The fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus has been demonstrated to possess anti-dementia activity in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease and people with mild cognitive impairment. However, the therapeutic potential of Hericium erinaceus mycelia on Alzheimer's disease remains unclear. In this study, the effects of erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus mycelia (HE-My) on the pathological changes in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease are studied. RESULTS: After a 30 day oral administration to 5 month-old female APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice, we found that HE-My and its ethanol extracts (HE-Et) attenuated cerebral Aß plaque burden. It's worth noting that the attenuated portion of a plaque is the non-compact structure. The level of insulin-degrading enzyme was elevated by both HE-My and HE-Et in cerebral cortex. On the other hand, the number of plaque-activated microglia and astrocytes in cerebral cortex and hippocampus were diminished, the ratio of nerve growth factor (NGF) to NGF precursor (proNGF) was increased and hippocampal neurogenesis was promoted after these administrations. All the mentioned benefits of these administrations may therefore improve the declined activity of daily living skill in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the therapeutic potential of HE-My and HE-Et on Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the effective components of HE-My and HE-Et are worth to be developed to become a therapeutic drug for Alzheimer's disease.

Are new resuscitation guidelines better? Experience of an Asian metropolitan hospital

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines were revised in 2005 based on new evidence and expert consensus. However, the benefits of the new guidelines remain undetermined and their influence has not been published in Asia. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of implementing the new resuscitation guidelines and identify factors that influence the discharge survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in an Asian metropolitan city.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>This was an observational cohort study of all OHCA patients seen by the emergency medical service during the period before (Nov 2003 to Oct 2005) and after (May 2006 to Oct 2008) implementing the new resuscitation guidelines. Detailed clinical information was recorded using the Ustein style template. Statistical analysis was done using X2 test or t-test for univariate analysis and the logistic regression model for multivariate analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 463 patients before and 430 patients after the new guidelines who received resuscitation. The rate of recovery of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival-to-intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and survival-to-hospital discharge all showed no benefits regarding the new resuscitation guidelines (ROSC: 42% vs 39%, P = 0.32; Survival-to-ICU admission: 33% vs 30%, P = 0.27; survival-to-hospital discharge: 10% vs 7%, P = 0.09). The rate of ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/pulseless VT), rate of witnessed arrest, and rate of bystander CPR were much lower than in Western studies. After multivariate logistic regression, factors related to discharge survival were witnessed arrest and initial rhythm with VF/pulseless VT. The new resuscitation guidelines did not significantly influence the discharge survival.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>We did not observe any improvement in survival after implementing the new guidelines. Independent factors of survival-to-hospital discharge are witnessed arrest and initial rhythm with VF/pulseless VT. Because the rates of VF/pulseless VT and bystander CPR in Asia are low, popularising CPR training programmes and increasing the rate of bystander CPR may be more important for improving OHCA survival rates than frequent guideline changes.</p>

A study of the formulation design of acoustically active lipospheres as carriers for drug delivery.

Acoustically active lipospheres (AALs) were prepared using perfluorocarbons and coconut oil as the cores of inner phase. These AALs were stabilized using coconut oil and phospholipid coatings. A lipophilic antioxidant, resveratrol, was the model drug loaded into the AALs. AALs with various percentages of perfluorocarbons and oil were prepared to examine their physicochemical and drug release properties. Co-emulsifiers such as Brij 98 and Pluronic F68 (PF68) were also incorporated into AALs for evaluation. AALs with high resveratrol encapsulation rates ( approximately 90%) were prepared, with a mean droplet size of 250-350nm. The AALs produced with perfluorohexane as the core material had larger particle sizes than those with perfluoropentane. Resveratrol in these systems exhibited retarded drug release in both the presence and absence of plasma in vitro; the formulations with high oil and perfluorocarbon percentages showed the lowest drug release rates. The addition of PF68 slightly but significantly reduced resveratrol delivery from the AALs. Ultrasound treatment of 1MHz produced an increase in the drug release from the systems, illustrating the drug-targeting effect of the combination of AALs and ultrasound.