This is a survey study that dialysis patients were randomly sampled from a medical center in northern Taiwan, and those who gave their consent to participate were included in this study. The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between depression, hope, and quality of life of dialysis patients. All subjects agreed to take "Beck’s Depression Inventory", " The Chinese version of Herth Hope Index" and " The Chinese version of Kidney Disease Quality of Life" (KDQOL-SFTM). Data were processed using SPSS for descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that patients were 12.45±SD 9.03, which was mild depression, the mean score of hope was 34.25, which was equivalent to 72.60%, and was at the middle level. In KDQOL-SFTM, the score in mental composite (M=42.65, SD=8.81) was higher than in physical composite (M=37.38, SD=9.28), and the score was at the intermediate quality of life, and hope and depression were significantly and negatively correlated. This study suggests that dialysis case managers provide nursing guidance to help dialysis patients learn comfortable care methods and support the resilience they need.

In order to sustain the marine environment relationship between the environmental factors and marine biota must be investigated. This study aims to study such a correlation in the adjacent waters of Nan Wan Bay, Kenting, Taiwan, and to explore the covariance of environmental factors on marine life (whether they enhance or diminish it). To achieve these objectives, factor analysis was used to identify potential latent variables that could affect the water quality of the adjacent waters, including phytoplankton (quantity), zooplankton (quantity), and fish (quantity and species). These potential variables were named based on the results of past studies and related literature. Finally, a structural equation model (SEM) was constructed to establish a marine ecological model among the potential variables. The factor analysis results revealed that nutrients, upwelling, and primary productivity are the primary factors affecting the environmental changes in the adjacent waters of Nan Wan Bay. The comprehensive SEM showed that nutrients and primary productivity significantly impact plankton. Path analysis indicated that primary productivity has the highest direct effect on the phytoplankton cluster. However, the upwelling has a low significance in its effect on phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish clusters. Compared to the results of past related studies, the SEM proposed in this study can reflect a considerable degree of change in the waters.

In a single-center, retrospective study, 22 cases were enrolled and divided into two groups: those who underwent surgical wide excision (group A) and those who did not (group B). The study included 13 cases in group A and 9 cases in group B. In group A, 6 cases solely underwent surgical wide excision, while 7 cases received additional treatments like radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Conversely, in group B, 4 cases received chemotherapy, 4 cases received radiotherapy, and 1 case was managed through observation alone. The mean follow-up time was 60.15 months in group A and 43.44 months in group B, with no significant difference observed. In group A, 9 cases resulted in mortality, whereas 6 cases died within the follow-up period in group B. Lesion-free intervals post-operation were observed predominantly in group A, while 7 cases in group B never experienced freedom from skin lesions. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis demonstrated a significant difference between the survival curves of the two groups (P = 0.046). Among non-HIV Kaposi’s sarcoma patients, surgical wide excision appears to have a role in treatment. Patients in group A exhibit a more favorable outcome in the survival curve analysis.

Keywords: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, baculovirus surface display vectors, neutralizing antibody, IFN-γ, IL-4.

Our results demonstrated that SWT stimulates osteoblastogenesis and increase the cell number of osteoblasts, suggesting positive regulatory effects on osteoblast differentiation. However, the effect of SWT on bone formation need further examination, since the expression of alp gene is downregulated. On the other hand, SWT appears to negatively regulate osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption, as number of osteoclasts and the expression of critical bone resorptive genes are all downregulated. Collectively, SWT might change the equilibrium of bone remodeling and increase the bone mass. Our data provided supportive evidences that this medicine formulation can be applied to treat osteoporosis or bone destructive diseases.