J Formos Med Assoc
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Umbilical cord blood is rich in primitive natural killer (NK) cells, which are activated by interleukin (IL)-12. It was previously reported that a novel IL-12 family cytokine, IL-27 comprised of EBI3 and p28, was elevated in maternal serum during normal pregnancy. Thus, we compared the immune regulatory functions of IL-27 and IL-12 on mononuclear cells derived from cord blood and adult peripheral blood. ⋯ From previous results, we summarize our current understanding of the augmentation of distinct regulation of NK cells by IL-27 and IL-12.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of oral health between inpatients with schizophrenia and disabled people or the general population.
There is little comparative research evidence to support the claim that there is disparity in dental care between inpatients with schizophrenia and the disabled people or the general population. This study aimed to investigate whether schizophrenia inpatients had poorer dental care and worse oral health than the disabled people and the general population, respectively. ⋯ In Taiwan, inpatients with schizophrenia have a lower FI than the disabled people and a worse overall oral health status than the general population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The influence of a behavior modification interventional program on body mass index in obese adolescents.
The prevalence of obesity and overweight among children and adolescents is increasing rapidly. The present research was performed to determine the influence of a ''behavior modification'' program on body mass index (BMI) in obese public high school students in Iran. ⋯ The ''behavior modification'' interventional program is effective in reducing BMI in obese students, and therefore, school principals and planners can play an important role in controlling obesity by implementing this program via the students, their parents, and the school staff.
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This article reviews human observations on pioglitazone and bladder cancer risk. The PROspective pioglitAzone Clinical Trial In macroVascular Events trial showed an imbalance in bladder cancer between users of pioglitazone and placebo (14 versus six cases, p = 0.069). However, after excluding bladder cancer probably ascribed to other etiology, a blind assessment concluded that the imbalance might not be related to pioglitazone. ⋯ Well-conducted epidemiologic observational studies are probably other options. Because bladder cancer incidence and their risk factors may differ significantly among different ethnicities, a clarification of such a link in different ethnicities is needed, better by using long-term databases with large and representative sample size and appropriate adjustment for confounders. Furthermore, the interactions with other comorbidities and concomitant medications should be addressed.
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To describe a single center's experience with pediatric patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory failure due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with pneumonia and to investigate the factors associated with mortality. ⋯ Application of ECMO in pediatric patients with severe ARDS seems effective in improving survival, even under the conditions of pneumonia with septic shock.