[Application of Correspondence Analysis in the Analysis of Accidental Death of Chinese Residents].

ABSTRACT: Objective To study the preference relation between residence, sex, age and causes of accidental death of Chinese residents. Methods In this study, 72 residence-sex-age groups and 8 causes of accidental death were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by correspondence analysis using the official statistical yearbook issued from 2014 to 2018, and the preference values were calculated. Results Among the 576 pairs of correspondences between the residence-sex-age groups and causes of accidental death, 352 pairs （61.11%） showed a preference relation （preference value>0）. In terms of residence and sex, accidental death preference among Chinese residents was higher in rural areas than in urban areas, and males were higher than females. In terms of the causes of accidental death, the overall risk of accidental mechanical asphyxia and motor vehicle accidents was the highest among all age groups of Chinese residents. In terms of age, with the increase of age, the preference value of accidental death of Chinese residents showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The comparative analysis results of the preference values of various causes of accidental death in different age groups showed that motor vehicle traffic accidents, accidental poisoning, death by crush and electric shock were more likely to occur in the working age group between 20 and 59 years old, accidental fall and fire were more likely to occur in the elderly group over 80 years old, and drowning and accidental mechanical asphyxia were more likely to occur in the minor group between 1 and 19 years old. Conclusion There are different preference relations between residence-sex-age groups and causes of accidental death in China. Therefore, effective control strategies and measures should be formulated for Chinese residents with preference for accidental death.

The Survival Benefit From the Addition of Radiation to Chemotherapy in Gastric Cancer Patients Following Surgical Resection.

AIMS: The survival benefit of radiation therapy in gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection remains contentious. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy (CRT) between 2004 and 2014 were identified from the National Cancer Database. Survival analyses were carried out with the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox regression model. RESULTS: In total, 4347 patients were included in this study. Of these patients, 1185 patients received postoperative chemotherapy alone and 3162 patients received postoperative CRT. For all patients included in the analysis, patients who received CRT had significantly better overall survival than those who received chemotherapy alone (5-year overall survival: 54.8% versus 46.8%, P < 0.001). The survival benefit primarily occurred in patients with stage II (5-year overall survival: 58.7% versus 53.8%, P = 0.03), stage III (42.5% versus 30.3%, P < 0.001) and lymph node-positive (5-year overall survival: 52.2% versus 41.9%, P = 0.03) gastric cancer. Multivariable analysis confirmed the improvement in overall survival in patients who received postoperative CRT (hazard ratio = 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.661-0.926; P < 0.001) was independent of all known prognostic factors. For lymph node-positive patients with lymphovascular invasion (LVI), postoperative CRT significantly improved overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone (5-year overall survival: 49.0% versus 39.4%, P = 0.001). However, there was no survival difference between CRT and chemotherapy alone if lymph node-positive patients had no LVI (5-year overall survival: 54.5% versus 52.7%, P = 0.55). CONCLUSION: The current study suggests that postoperative CRT provides a survival benefit in gastric cancer patients with concurrent lymph node-positive and LVI-positive disease. A randomised clinical trial may further evaluate the benefit of adjuvant CRT in this subgroup.

Contact Behavior of Composite CrTiSiN Coated Dies in Compressing of Mg Alloy Sheets under High Pressure.

Hard coatings have been adopted in cutting and forming applications for nearly two decades. The major purpose of using hard coatings is to reduce the friction coefficient between contact surfaces, to increase strength, toughness and anti-wear performance of working tools and molds, and then to obtain a smooth work surface and an increase in service life of tools and molds. In this report, we deposited a composite CrTiSiN hard coating, and a traditional single-layered TiAlN coating as a reference. Then, the coatings were comparatively studied by a series of tests. A field emission SEM was used to characterize the microstructure. Hardness was measured using a nano-indentation tester. Adhesion of coatings was evaluated using a Rockwell C hardness indentation tester. A pin-on-disk wear tester with WC balls as sliding counterparts was used to determine the wear properties. A self-designed compression and friction tester, by combining a Universal Testing Machine and a wear tester, was used to evaluate the contact behavior of composite CrTiSiN coated dies in compressing of Mg alloy sheets under high pressure. The results indicated that the hardness of composite CrTiSiN coating was lower than that of the TiAlN coating. However, the CrTiSiN coating showed better anti-wear performance. The CrTiSiN coated dies achieved smooth surfaces on the Mg alloy sheet in the compressing test and lower friction coefficient in the friction test, as compared with the TiAlN coating.

Cabozantinib in hepatocellular carcinoma: results of a phase 2 placebo-controlled randomized discontinuation study.

Background: Cabozantinib, an orally bioavailable inhibitor of tyrosine kinases including MET, AXL, and VEGF receptors, was assessed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as part of a phase 2 randomized discontinuation trial with nine tumor-type cohorts. Patients and methods: Eligible patients had Child-Pugh A liver function and ≤1 prior systemic anticancer regimen, completed ≥4 weeks before study entry. The cabozantinib starting dose was 100 mg daily. After an initial 12-week cabozantinib treatment period, patients with stable disease (SD) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.0 were randomized to cabozantinib or placebo. The primary endpoint of the lead-in stage was objective response rate (ORR) at week 12, and the primary endpoint of the randomized stage was progression-free survival (PFS). Results: Among the 41 HCC patients enrolled, the week 12 ORR was 5%, with 2 patients achieving a confirmed partial response (PR). The week 12 disease control rate (PR or SD) was 66% (Asian subgroup: 73%). Of patients with ≥1 post-baseline scan, 78% had tumor regression, with no apparent relationship to prior sorafenib therapy. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) response (>50% reduction from baseline) occurred in 9 of the 26 (35%) patients with elevated baseline AFP and ≥1 post-baseline measurement. Twenty-two patients with SD at week 12 were randomized. Median PFS after randomization was 2.5 months with cabozantinib and 1.4 months with placebo, although this difference was not statistically significant. Median PFS and overall survival from Day 1 in all patients were 5.2 and 11.5 months, respectively. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events, regardless of attribution, were diarrhea (20%), hand-foot syndrome (15%), and thrombocytopenia (15%). Dose reductions were utilized in 59% of patients. Conclusions: Cabozantinib has clinical activity in HCC patients, including objective tumor responses, disease stabilization, and reductions in AFP. Adverse events were managed with dose reductions. Trial registration number: NCT00940225.

Aspergillus awamori-fermented mung bean seed coats enhance the antioxidant and immune responses of weaned pigs.

The potential benefits of Aspergillus-fermented mung bean seed coats (FMSC) for weaned pigs remain unexplored. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments were employed to evaluate the potential of FMSC supplement on the growth, antioxidant and immune responses of weaned pigs. The total polyphenols and DPPH scavenging capability of ethanol extract of FMSC exhibited a greater (p < 0.01) increase than those of pre-fermentation. With the addition of the polyphenol of FMSC extract, an increase in phagocytosis by neutrophils and proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were found. However, these observations were significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) in those activated cells. Next, 96 weaned pigs were allotted with a randomized complete block design into four dietary treatments, including 0 (control), 600, 1200 or 1800 mg/kg FMSC in a corn-soya bean meal basal diet for a 35-day trial. The pigs were injected with swine enzootic pneumonia (SEP) vaccines at day 3 and day 21 respectively. The results showed that dietary treatment failed to affect growth performance or serum SEP titre. The diet supplemented with 600-1800 mg/kg FMSC decreased faecal lactoferrin on day 21 and increased plasma trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and erythrocytes catalase activity, as well as decreased (p < 0.01) plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration on day 35. Diet supplementation of 1800 mg/kg FMSC increased phagocytosis by neutrophils and PBMC proliferation induced by pokeweed mitogen (PWM). However, the polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN)-positive respiratory burst cells were decreased in the supplementation of 1200 or 1800 mg/kg FMSC respectively. In addition, the serum haptoglobin concentration was decreased in the supplementation with 1200 mg/kg FMSC. Taken together, FMSC enriches polyphenols with antioxidative and immune modulated properties. After feeding FMSC, an improvement in antioxidative capability and immunocompetence was found, implying that FMSC could provide as a feed additive at optimal level 1200 mg/kg for weaned pigs.

Effect of high glucose, Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide and advanced glycation end-products on production of interleukin-6/-8 by gingival fibroblasts.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is known that chronic periodontal infection can magnify the cytokine responses in patients with diabetes. Hyperglycemia increases the proinflammatory status, including the levels of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), in patients with periodontitis. However, whether AGEs have additional effects on the production of those proinflammatory cytokines in diabetic patients with periodontitis is still unknown. To examine in vitro the effect of hyperglycemia and AGEs on the amounts of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 produced in periodontally infected gingiva, human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) were stimulated with glucose, AGE-modified bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA) and Porphyromonas gingivalis LPS in the present study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Primary culture of HGFs was incubated with various concentrations of AGE-BSA (0, 50, 100 and 200 µg/mL) and LPS (0, 10, 100 or 1000 ng/mL) at two different glucose concentrations - normal glucose (5 mm) and high glucose (25 mm). The amounts of IL-6 and IL-8 produced by HGFs were evaluated using ELISA. Expression of the AGE receptor on HGFs was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: High glucose stimulated a significant increase in the production of IL-6 and IL-8 by HGFs compared with normal glucose. This enhanced production of IL-6 and IL-8 could also be observed in the presence of LPS and/or AGE-BSA. When both LPS and AGE-BSA were present, especially at high concentrations (≥ 500 µg/mL of LPS and ≥ 25 µg/mL of AGE-BSA), a synergistic effect on IL-8 production was found in the high-glucose condition. CONCLUSIONS: A synergistic effect of the production of IL-8 could be induced in HGFs with the combination of high glucose, LPS and AGEs.

Influence of surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) for hematogenous dissemination of HCC cells and its effect on recurrence and metastasis: 3 years prospective study.

Aims was to study whether hepatal surgery leads to hematogenous dissemination of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and determine period of its persistence by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Peripheral vein blood (5ml) samples were obtained from 54 HCC patients of T1N0M0 and 6 HCC patients of T2N0M0 stage and 20 patients with liver cavernous hemangioma(LCH) before operation and 48h,72h and 1 week after surgical resection of hepatoma between Janurary 1st, 2007 and December 31th, 2010. We detected alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) messenger RNA(mRNA) by nested RT-PCR perioperatively.FPmRNA of all 60 cases of HCC patients and 20 cases of LCH were negative before hepatal surgery, 28 of 60 HCC cases became positve at 48h after surgery (46.7%), 16 of 60 HCC cases remained positive at 72h postoperatively(26.7%), none of 60 HCC patients AFPmRNA was detected at 1 week after hepatal surgery(0.0%). None of LCH patients were detected AFPmRNA after hepatal surgery(0.0%). For 28 HCC patients with AFPmRNA positive after hepatal surgery, 4 HCC patients developed intrahepatic tumor recurrences in 1st year (4/28, 14.3%),6 HCC patients relapsed in the second year(6/28,21.4%),10 HCC patients relapsed in the third year(10/28,35.7%). For 32 HCC patients with AFPmRNA negative group postoperation, 5 cases relapsed in 1st year (5/32, 15.6%),7 cases developed intrahepatic tumor recurrences in the second year (7/32, 21.9%),11 cases relasped in the third year (11/32, 34.4%,P>0.05),none of HCC patients occured distal metastasis after surgical resection of hepatoma. None of LCH patients relapsed postoperation within three years.Hepatal surgery may cause HCC cells spreading into peripheral blood shortly, but it may be not concerning with recurrence or metastasis of HCC.

Genetic polymorphisms, growth performance, hematological parameters, serum enzymes, and reproductive characteristics in phenotypically normal Landrace boars produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Understanding the performances of cloned pigs and their offspring is critical to evaluate the practical applications of somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this study, genetic polymorphism, growth performance, hematological parameters, and reproduction characteristics of cloned Landrace boars were compared with those of controls. In addition, the growth performance of clone offspring was also evaluated. A total of 479 reconstructed embryos were transferred to five recipient pigs and resulted in the delivery of 14 piglets (overall cloning of 2.9%) from two litters. Analyses of microsatellite markers and polymorphisms of the specific genes confirmed that the 14 clones were genetically identical to the nuclear donor and maintained the desirable genotypes. Growth performance of five healthy, phenotypically normal cloned boars from one litter and eight of their male offspring did not differ from age, breed, and management-matched controls. Although some significant differences were observed between cloned and control boars in hematological and serum enzymes, most of these parameters were within the normal range. Cloned boars had less (P < 0.05) normal sperm in the ejaculated boars than in control boars (71.4% vs. 77.9%, respectively), but sperm production (ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, and total sperm) did not differ between these groups. In addition, use of frozen-thawed semen from cloned boars for insemination produced results that seemed comparable to a control. In conclusion, the present study reported that somatic cell nuclear transfer is effective in reproducing preferred genetic traits and has potential applications to conserve elite bloodlines in a routine pig breeding program.

The association between low-dose aspirin use and the incidence of colorectal cancer: a nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Considerable evidence suggests that aspirin has a chemopreventive effect on colorectal cancer (CRC). However, optimal dose and treatment duration have not been defined, and data on the effects of low-dose aspirin are contradictory. AIM: To determine if the incidence of CRC in patients with low-dose aspirin use was lower than in those without aspirin use. METHOD: From Taiwan's National Health Insurance research database, aspirin users (n = 1985) were defined as adults (age ≥20 years) with at least 3.5 years of regular low-dose aspirin use (50-150 mg per day) between 1998 and 2002. Non-users (n = 7940) were those who did not use aspirin and were matched 4:1 with the user group by age, gender, date of ambulatory care (index date), and presence of known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (including hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidaemia). Follow-up of the two study groups was made until the end of 2010, and incidences and hazard ratios of colorectal cancer were determined. RESULTS: During a median follow-up period of 8.9 years, 129 non-users and 14 users developed CRC, corresponding to incidence rates of 180.43 and 79.42 per 100,000 person-years respectively. Duration of aspirin use among users ranged from 3.5 to 12.6 years (mean 8.7 years). The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio for CRC was 0.5 (95% confidence interval 0.28-0.87) among users as compared with non-users. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term use of low-dose aspirin appears to be associated with a lower incidence of CRC in patients with high cardiovascular risk. Further randomised clinical trials are necessary to confirm these findings.

Higher rate of colorectal cancer among patients with pyogenic liver abscess with Klebsiella pneumoniae than those without: an 11-year follow-up study.

AIM: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) has been reported as an early manifestation of colorectal cancer (CRC) in adults, but few studies have investigated this relationship. It is unclear if patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae PLA are at increased risk of subsequent CRC. Our aims were to estimate the incidence of CRC among patients with PLA and to compare the incidence of CRC between K. pneumoniae PLA and non-K. pneumoniae PLA groups. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective study of patients with PLA diagnosed between 2000 and 2009 at a medical centre in northern Taiwan. CRC status and survival status were determined until December 2010. Incidence data from the general population were retrieved from the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Outcome measures were defined as standardized incidence ratio and the incidence rate per 100,000 person-years. RESULTS: This study included 2294 patients, of whom 1194 (52%) had K. pneumoniae infection. During the follow-up period, 54 (2.3%) patients were diagnosed with CRC, corresponding to an overall incidence rate of 669.1 (95% CI, 490.7-847.6) per 100,000 person-years. The adjusted hazard ratio of CRC was 2.68 times greater for patients with K. pneumoniae PLA than for those with non-K. pneumoniae PLA (95% CI, 1.40-5.11). CONCLUSION: Patients with K. pneumoniae PLA had a significantly higher rate of subsequent CRC than did patients with non-K. pneumoniae PLA. Colonoscopy is recommended to detect occult colonic malignancy in patients with PLA, particularly for patients over 60 years of age and with K. pneumoniae.

Age- and gender-related long-term renal outcome in patients with lupus nephritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate age- and gender-related long-term renal outcome in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). METHODS: This is a retrospective, chart review study of patients with LN at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, between January 1986 and June 2004. All had undergone a renal biopsy that showed LN. The end point of outcome was chronic renal insufficiency (CRI), which was defined as 'doubling of baseline serum creatinine lasting for at least 6 months with a value at least 2 mg/dl.' The patients were categorized by age tertiles and gender. A 5-year survival curve was constructed to study the effect of age and gender on the outcome. RESULTS: In total, 121 sets of patient data were evaluated. The study group included 104 women and 17 men. Of the study patients, 26 (21%) developed CRI after 5 years of follow-up. There was no significant difference among age groups in developing CRI (p = 0.23). In terms of gender, men had worse long-term renal outcome (p = 0.004) than women. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term renal outcome of the LN patients did not differ among age groups, but was worse in men.

A randomised phase II study of pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20) in Asian advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells are largely deficient of argininosuccinate synthetase and thus auxotrophic for arginine. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and pharmacodynamics of pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20), a systemic arginine deprivation agent, in Asian HCC patients. METHODS: Patients with advanced HCC who were not candidates for local therapy were eligible and randomly assigned to receive weekly intramuscular injections of ADI-PEG 20 at doses of 160 or 320 IU m(-2). The primary end point was disease-control rate (DCR). RESULTS: Of the 71 accruals, 43.6% had failed previous systemic treatment. There were no objective responders. The DCR and the median overall survival (OS) of the intent-to-treat population were 31.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 20.5-43.1) and 7.3 (95% CI: 4.7-9.9) months respectively. Both efficacy parameters were comparable between the two study arms. The median OS of patients with undetectable circulating arginine for more than or equal to and <4 weeks was 10.0 (95% CI: 2.1-17.9) and 5.8 (95% CI: 1.4-10.1) months respectively (P=0.251, log-rank test). The major treatment-related adverse events were grades 1-2 local and/or allergic reactions. CONCLUSIONS: ADI-PEG 20 is safe and efficacious in stabilising the progression of heavily pretreated advanced HCC in an Asian population, and deserves further exploration.

The in vitro protection of human decay accelerating factor and hDAF/heme oxygenase-1 transgenes in porcine aortic endothelial cells against sera of Formosan macaques.

To mitigate hyperacute rejection, pigs have been generated with alpha-Gal transferase gene knockout and transgenic expression of human decay accelerating factor (hDAF), MCP, and CD59. Additionally, heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been suggested to defend endothelial cells. Sera (MS) (0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) from Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis, MC), an Old World monkey wildly populated in Taiwan, was used to test the protective in vitro, effects of hDAF or hDAF/hHO-1 on porcine aortic endothelial cells (pAEC) derived from hDAF(+), hDAF(+)/hHO-1(+), and hDAF(+)/hHO-1(-) and 1 nontransgenic pAEC. Ten percent human serum (HS) served as a positive control. When MS addition increased to 10% or 15%, all transgenic pAEC exhibited a greater survival than nontransgenic pAEC. Noticeably, 15% MS reduced survived to <10% versus >40% in nontransgenic and transgenic pAEC, respectively. These results revealed that hDAF exerted protective effects against MC complement activation. However, comparing with 10% MS and HS in pAEC of nontransgenic pigs, the survivability was higher in HS, suggesting that complement activation by MS was more toxic than that by HS. Furthermore, hDAF(+)/hHO-1(+) showed no further protection against effects of MS on transgenic pAEC.

Efficacy and tolerability of bevacizumab plus capecitabine as first-line therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Molecularly targeted agents with anti-angiogenic activity, including bevacizumab, have demonstrated clinical activity in patients with advanced/metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This multicentre phase II study involving patients from several Asian countries sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bevacizumab plus capecitabine in this population. METHODS: Histologically proven/clinically diagnosed advanced HCC patients received bevacizumab 7.5 mg kg(-1) on day 1 and capecitabine 800 mg m(-2) twice daily on days 1-14 every 3 weeks as first-line therapy. RESULTS: A total of 45 patients were enrolled; 44 (96%) had extrahepatic metastasis and/or major vessel invasion and 30 (67%) had hepatitis B. No grade 3/4 haematological toxicity occurred. Treatment-related grade 3/4 non-haematological toxicities included diarrhoea (n=2, 4%), nausea/vomiting (n=1, 2%), gastrointestinal bleeding (n=4, 9%) and hand-foot syndrome (n=4, 9%). The overall response rate (RECIST) was 9% and the disease control rate was 52%. Overall, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.7 and 5.9 months, respectively. Median PFS and OS were 3.6 and 8.2 months, respectively, for Cancer of the Liver Italian Programme (CLIP) score < or =3 patients, and 1.4 and 3.3 months, respectively, for CLIP score 4 patients. CONCLUSION: The bevacizumab-capecitabine combination shows good tolerability and modest anti-tumour activity in patients with advanced HCC.

The effects of strontium ranelate in Asian women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of strontium ranelate in the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Taiwan. In this 12-month multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 125 women with osteoporosis were randomly given either strontium ranelate 2 g daily or placebo. Lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total-hip bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical markers of bone turnover were measured; adverse events and tolerability were recorded and assessed. Subjects treated with strontium ranelate showed significant increases in BMD of 5.9% at the lumbar spine, 2.6% at the femoral neck, and 2.7% at the total hip, while the placebo group exhibited no significant change at 12 months. Serum level of a formation marker (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase) was also significantly increased at 6 and 12 months. Thus, although the sample size and the treatment duration of this study could not show its effect of reducing osteoprotic fractures, strontium ranelate showed bone protection effects by increasing BMD and concentrations of a bone formation marker. Safety assessment revealed adverse events were mild and not significantly different from placebo.

Effects of water-soluble natural antioxidants on photosensitized oxidation of conjugated linoleic acid in an oil-in-water emulsion system.

The effect of photosensitized oxidation of conjugated linoleic acid in an oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion system was studied. Water-soluble natural antioxidants, including apple polyphenols from apple extract, green tea extract, 4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-ethyl-5(or2)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone(HEMF), 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (HDMF), and ascorbic acid, were tested for antioxidant activity in this system. The green tea extract showed the highest antioxidant activity followed by ascorbic acid. Apple polyphenols did not give significant antioxidant activity. HEMF and HDMF exhibited a prooxidant effect. The antioxidant activity of tea catechins was also investigated. Of them, EGCG and ECG exhibited antioxidant activity at 50 ppm, but the antioxidant activity between them was not significantly different (P < 0.05). Comparatively, EC, EGC, and GCG showed no significant antioxidative effect at 50 ppm. When the concentration increased to 100 ppm, the antioxidant activity of ECG and EGCG significantly increased compared with that at 50 ppm, and EGCG had higher antioxidant activity than ECG. GCG also showed significant antioxidant activity at 100 ppm. EGCG exhibited the highest antioxidant activity among the tea catechins in the emulsion system at 100 ppm.

Long-term survival of HLA-DR15+ pig skin in SCID mice after reconstitution with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and under short-term immunosuppression.

In allotransplantation, donor-recipient human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matches improve graft survival. For studies of the role of donor-recipient HLA II matching on xenotransplantation, we successfully generated HLA-DR15+ transgenic pigs the the skins of which were transplanted to SCID mice, which were thereafter reconstituted with HLA-DR15+ or -DR15(-) hPBMC. Cyclosporine was given intraperitoneally to SCID mice for 12 days. Human T cells were observed in SCID mice after reconstitution. Mixed lymphocytes responses showed greater responses by HLA-DR15(-) human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC) against HLA-DR15+ porcine PBMC. HLA-DR15+ porcine skins survived more than 100 days in all SCID mice. HLA-DR15+ porcine skins were rejected in all non-SCID (Balb/c) mice. The histologic pictures of transplanted HLA-DR15+ porcine skins showed surviving porcine epithelium in remodeling murine dermis and little lymphocyte infiltration into the murine dermis. The long-term survival of HLA-DR15+ pig skin in all hPBMC-SCID mice might be due to poor engraftment or function of reconstituted T cells. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of donor-recipient matching of HLA-DR15.

Human leukocyte antigen-DR matching improved skin graft survival from transgenic pigs to accommodate SCID mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The shortage of human organs has encouraged scientists to develop genetically modified pigs for xenotransplantation, such as CD55 or CD46, and CD59 transgenesis as well as alpha-galactosyl transferase gene knockouts. In allotransplantation, the match of human leukocyte antigen class II (HLA-II) may improve graft survival although the role of HLA-II in xenotransplantation is unknown. HLA-II transgenic pigs, including DP, DQ, and DR, have been successfully generated and HLA-DR15+ transgenic pig skin pieces grafted onto severe congenital immunodeficiency (SCID) mice reconstituted intraperitoneally with HLA-DR15+ or HLA-DR15(-) human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs). This study sought to develop an animal model to evaluate the effects of HLA-DR matching on xenograft survival. Human CD4+ and CD8+ were detected from days 7 to 29 after hPBMC reconstitution in SCID mice. Both CD4+ and CD8+ cells of HLA-DR15(-) reconstituted SCID mice were significantly higher at day 29 postgrafting compared with HLA-DR15+ reconstituted SCID mice. An HLA-DR15+ transgenic pig dermal graft survived and integrated into SCID mice reconstituted with hPBMCs/HLA-DR15+ as proven by the histopathological finding that the collagen layer remained intact with little lymphocytic response. In contrast, the transgenic pig dermal graft showed more collagen disruption as well as mild to moderate lymphocytic infiltration when reconstituted in an hPBMC/HLA-DR15(-) SCID mouse. The results suggested that HLA-DR matching eased xenograft rejection; however, it was not yet clear that the response was mediated by T cells.

Symptoms and signs of port-related infections in oncology patients related to the offending pathogens.

AIM: There is limited information about symptoms and signs of port-related infections linking to their offending pathogens. METHODS: Oncology patients proven to have port-related infections were retrospectively analysed. We divided them into two subgroups according to their symptoms and signs. Onset of fever and chills with or without hypotension following the port flush was classified as 'port flush form infection'. Presence of local inflammatory signs, including erythema, warmth, tenderness and pus formation and systemic infection signs, including fever, chills with or without hypotension was classified as 'local inflammatory form infection'. RESULTS: There were 29 episodes of port-related infection among 28 patients, with port flush form 22 episodes and local inflammatory form seven episodes. Of 22 episodes of port flush form infections, 20 (91%) were nosocomial glucose non-fermenting gram-negative bacilli, with Acinetobacter baumannii (11 episodes, 50%) and Enterobacter cloacae (four episodes, 18%) the most common. Polymicrobial infections occurred in four episodes (18%). Candida infection occurred in two episodes (9%). Of seven episodes of local inflammatory form infections, six (86%) were gram-positive cocci, with Staphylococcus aureus (five episodes, 71%) the most common. The time from port implantation to its infection was 272 +/- 255 days (30-993 days) for the port flush form infections and 82 +/- 87 days (22-265 days) for the local inflammatory form infections. This difference was not significant difference (p = 0.068). CONCLUSIONS: The differences between infection of patients with port flush form and local inflammatory form in incidence and offending microorganism suggest that the aetiology of infection were different.