The association between the incidence of mumps and meteorological parameters in Taiwan.

Mumps is caused by a paramyxovirus. It is an acute, but mild infectious disease. However, approximately 10% of patients with mumps can develop severe meningoencephalitis, disability, and death. Seasonal patterns in mumps vary across countries, but the reasons for this phenomenon remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the role of meteorological factors on mumps infection. We investigated the relationships between weather variability and the incidence of mumps in Taiwan using a Poisson regression analysis and case-crossover methodology. Between 2006 and 2011, 6,612 cases of mumps were reported to the Centers for Disease Control, Taiwan (Taiwan CDC). The incidence of mumps showed a significant seasonality in summertime (for oscillation, P < 0.001). The number of mumps started to increase at temperatures of 20°C (r(2) = 0.73, P < 0.001), and the case count of mumps began to decline when the temperatures were higher than approximately 25°C (r(2) = 0.24, p = 0.04), producing an inverted V-shaped relationship. Similarly, the number of mumps began to increase at a vapor pressure of 5-9 hPa (r(2) = 0.87, P < 0.005) and decreased at a vapor pressure higher than 25-29 hPa (r(2) = 0.21, p = 0.05). The number of mumps cases was positively associated with temperature and vapor pressure in the preceding period of the infection. In conclusion, this study showed that the occurrence of mumps is significantly associated with increasing temperature and vapor pressure in Taiwan. Therefore, these factors could be regarded as warning signals indicating the need to implement preventive measures.

The economic burden of childhood invasive pneumococcal diseases and pneumonia in Taiwan: Implications for a pneumococcal vaccination program.

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and pneumonia are the major causes of morbidity and deaths in children in the world. The management of IPD and pneumonia is an important economic burden on healthcare systems and families. The aim of this study was to assess the economic burden of IPD and pneumonia among younger children in Taiwan. We used a cost-illness approach to identify the cost categories for analysis in this study according to various perspectives. We obtained data of admission, outpatient, and emergency department visit data from the National Health Insurance Research (NHIR) database for children <5 y of age between January 2008 and December 2008. A prospective survey was administered to the families of patients to obtain detailed personal costs. All costs are presented in US dollars and were estimated by extrapolating 2008 cost data to 2013 price levels. We estimated the number of pneumococcal disease cases that were averted if the PCV-13 vaccine had been available in 2008. The total annual social and hospital costs for IPD were US $4.3 million and US $926,000, respectively. The total annual social and hospital costs for pneumonia were US $150 million and US $17 million, respectively. On average, families spent US $653 or US $218 when their child was diagnosed with IPD or pneumonia, respectively. This cost is approximately 27%-81% of the monthly salary of an unskilled worker. In conclusion, a safe and effective pediatric pneumococcal vaccine is needed to reduce the economic burden caused by pneumococcal infection.

Inhibitory effects of xanthohumol from hops (Humulus lupulus L.) on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.

Xanthohumol is one of the main flavonoids in hop extracts and in beer. Very few investigations of xanthohumol have studied hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, the inhibitory effects of xanthohumol on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines were investigated. The IC(50) values of xanthohumol for two hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and one normal hepatocyte cell line were 108, 166 and 211 microm, respectively. Normal murine hepatocyte cell line had more resistance to xanthohumol than hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Besides, the inhibitory effects of xanthohumol on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines were attributed to apoptosis as indicated in the results of flow cytometry, fluorescent nuclear staining and electrophoresis of oligonucleosomal DNA fragments. Hop xanthohumol was more efficient in the growth inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines than the flavonoids silibinin and naringin from thistle and citrus. It was shown for the first time that xanthohumol from hops effectively inhibits proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro.