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Biomedical subjects

J T Wang

Publications and source records attributed to J T Wang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Emergency management of epidural haematoma through burr hole evacuation and drainage. A preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: Blood clot evacuation through an osteoplastic craniotomy, a procedure requiring neurosurgical expertise and modern medical facilities, is the accepted method for treatment of a pure traumatic epidural haematoma following closed head injury. In certain emergency situations and/or in less sophisticated settings, however, use of this procedure may not be feasible. The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether placement of a burr hole and drainage under negative pressure constituted a rapid, effective and safe approach to manage patients with simple epidural haematomas. METHODS: Thirteen patients suffering from a traumatic epidural haematoma were treated from January, 1999 to October, 2002. Twelve patients presented with skull fracture but no fracture was depressed. Placement of flexible tubes through a burr hole, followed by continuous suction under negative pressure, enabled aspiration of the clot and drainage of the cavity. In 8 cases, the procedure was performed under local anaesthesia with 2% Xylocaine and with intravenous sedation with propofol as needed. The operative procedure was accomplished within 30 min, and the drainage tube was left in place for 3-5 days. CT scans were performed daily from days 1 to 5. RESULTS: In 11 of 13 cases, clots were evacuated successfully and patients regained consciousness within 2 hours. Recoveries occurred without significant sequelae. In the remaining 2 cases, the drainage tube was found to be obstructed by a blood clot such that the haematoma was unaffected. A traditional craniotomy was performed within 8-12 hours, and these 2 patients recovered consciousness within the subsequent 6 hours. CONCLUSION: Burr hole evacuation followed by drainage under negative pressure is a safe and effective method for emergency management of a pure traumatic epidural haematoma. To assure safety patients given this procedure should be monitored by daily CT scans. Decompressive craniotomy should be performed if consciousness does not improve within several hours.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Comparative impact of hospital-acquired infections on medical costs, length of hospital stay and outcome between community hospitals and medical centres.

To understand the impact of hospital-acquired infections on mortality and medical costs in modern medical care systems in different healthcare settings, we performed a case-control study at a medical centre and two community hospitals. A total of 144 and 129 adult case-control pairs who received care in a 2000-bed tertiary referral medical centre and two 800-bed community hospitals, respectively, between October 2002 and December 2002 were enrolled. Prolongation of hospital stay, extra costs and complications associated with hospital-acquired infections were analysed. Patients in the medical centre had more severe underlying disease status (P < 0.001), more malignancies (P < 0.001), more multiple episodes of hospital-acquired infection (p = 0.03), and more infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria (P < 0.001) than patients in community hospitals. The additional length of hospital stay and extra costs were similar for patients with hospital-acquired infections in the community hospitals and the medical centre (mean 19.2 days vs. 20.1 days, P = 0.79; mean 5335 US dollars vs. 5058 US dollars, P = 0.83; respectively). The additional length of hospital stay and extra costs in both the medical centre and the community hospitals were not related to the sites of infection or the bacterial pathogens causing hospital-acquired infections, although medical costs attributable to hospital-acquired fungal infections due to Candida spp. were much higher for patients in the medical centre. Prevalence of hospital-acquired-infection-related complications, such as adult respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, organ failure or shock, was similar between the two groups, but patients in the medical centre had a higher mortality rate because of their underlying co-morbidities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Serum interleukin-8 level is a more sensitive marker than serum interleukin-6 level in monitoring the disease activity of oral lichen planus.

BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell-mediated inflammatory disease. Interleukin (IL)-8 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine of host response to injury and inflammation. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether serum IL-8 level was a more sensitive marker than serum IL-6 level in monitoring the disease activity of OLP and to assess whether IL-8 was a useful serum marker in evaluating the therapeutic effects of levamisole on OLP patients. METHODS: In this study, we used a solid phase, two-site sequential chemiluminescent immunometric assay to determine the baseline serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in 158 patients with OLP, nine patients with traumatic ulcers (TU) and 54 normal control subjects. Some OLP patients with the serum IL-6 or IL-8 levels higher than the upper limit of normal serum concentration were treated with levamisole for 0.5-6.0 months and their serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels were measured after treatment. RESULTS: We found that 28% (44 of 158) OLP, 28% (40 of 142) erosive OLP (EOLP), and 25% (four of 16) nonerosive OLP (NEOLP) patients had a serum IL-6 level greater than the upper normal limit of 4.7 pg mL(-1). In contrast, 63% (99 of 158) OLP, 63% (90 of 142) EOLP and 56% (nine of 16) NEOLP patients had a serum IL-8 level greater than the upper normal limit of 8.7 pg mL(-1). In some OLP patients with the serum IL-6 or IL-8 levels higher than the upper limit of normal serum concentration, treatment with levamisole for a period of 0.5-6.0 months could significantly reduce the mean serum IL-6 level from 14.3 +/- 1.9 pg mL(-1) to 3.2 +/- 0.6 pg mL(-1) (P < 0.001) and could significantly reduce the mean serum IL-8 level from 95.8 +/- 17.1 pg mL(-1) to 14.8 +/- 5.8 pg mL(-1) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Because measurement of the serum IL-8 level can detect more OLP patients with an abnormal serum level than measurement of the serum IL-6 level (63% vs. 28%), we conclude that serum IL-8 level is a more sensitive marker than serum IL-6 level in monitoring the disease activity of OLP. Levamisole can modulate both the serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels in OLP patients. IL-8, like IL-6, is also a useful serum marker in evaluating the therapeutic effects of levamisole on OLP patients.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2004

Fatal lactic acidosis associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection in Taiwan.

Lactic acidosis (LA), a rare but life-threatening adverse effect associated with antiretroviral therapy, has been reported with an increasing frequency since the mid-1990s. From June 1994 to June 2002, a total of six patients, four males and two females with a median age of 43 years (range, 30 to 74 years), had been diagnosed with LA. The estimated incidence of LA was 5.1 per 1000 patient-years (PYs) on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 4.5-5.5 per 1000 PYs) and 4.4 per 1000 PY on nucleoside analogues (NAs) (95% CI, 3.9-4.7 per 1000 PYs). Their median body mass index at diagnosis of LA was 17.6 kg/m(2) (range 16.3 to 22.6 kg/m(2)). The median CD4+ lymphocyte count at the initial diagnosis of HIV infection and at the onset of LA was 38 cells/ micro L (range, 4 to 103 cells/ micro L) and 108 cells/ micro L (range, 79 to 224 cells/ micro L), respectively. The most common symptoms were nausea, vomiting, and dyspnoea. All of the patients had findings suggestive of NA-related mitochondrial toxicity, such as myositis, pancreatitis, fatty hepatitis, peripheral neuropathy or lipodystrophy. The prescribed NA related to LA were stavudine in six patients, lamivudine, five, and didanosine, one. Despite treatment, all patients died of persistent circulatory collapse following LA. The median duration from diagnosis to death was eight days (range, 4-17 days). Our report highlights that clinicians caring for patients with AIDS should be alerted to the potentially fatal LA associated with antiretroviral therapy when patients present with low body mass index, lipodystrophy, unexplained abdominal symptoms, dyspnoea, or elevated aminotransferases.

Acid-Base Imbalance↗
PubMed2003

Comparisons of amino acid availability by different methods and metabolizable energy determination of a Chinese variety of high oil corn.

TME, true amino acid availability (TAAA), AME, and apparent amino acid availability (AAAA) were determined in Chinese high oil corn (CHOC) and conventional corn (CC). The CC and CHOC contained 4.58 and 8.44% ether extract (DM basis), respectively. A precision-fed rooster assay was used in which each corn sample was tube-fed (50 g) to 16 roosters and excreta were collected for 48 h. A N-free diet and fasting methods were used to evaluate endogenous amino acid (AA) losses. Endogenous losses of 10 AA were different (P < 0.05) with the N-free and fasting methods; in most cases the mean value for the N-free treatment was greater (P < 0.05) than for the fasting treatment. The TME value for CHOC was greater than for CC (4,193 vs. 3,961 cal/g DM; P < 0.05). The true availability of aspartic acid, threonine, isoleucine, and leucine of CC and CHOC was higher (P < 0.05) for the N-free method than for the fasting method. When compared within the N-free or within the fasting method, the true availabilities of lysine, methionine, and proline were higher (P < 0.05) in CHOC than in CC, but the true availability of phenylalanine was lower (P < 0.05) in CHOC than in CC. The AAAA values, although lower, followed similar patterns as the TAAA values. The results of this study indicated that availability of AA in CHOC is equal or superior to that in CC and that the available energy for poultry is higher in CHOC than in CC.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2002

Quantitative analysis of immunocompetent cells in oral submucous fibrosis in Taiwan.

Previous studies have shown that the local and systemic upregulation of inflammatory and fibrogenic cytokines and downregulation of antifibrotic cytokines are central to the pathogenesis of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). The immunocompetent cells, especially the macrophages and lymphocytes, are likely the main source of cytokine synthesis. Therefore, this study used an immunohistochemical method to quantify the T lymphocyte, B lymphocyte and macrophage densities in the epithelium and subepithelial connective tissue of 50 specimens of moderately advanced and advanced OSF and 10 specimens of normal oral mucosa (NOM). The mean T lymphocyte, B lymphocyte and macrophage densities in OSF specimens were 555.2+/-417.4, 63.4+/-44.3 and 66.9+/-76.4 cells/mm(2) in the subepithelial connective tissue and 308.1+/-261.1, 1.4+/-3.5 and 6.6+/-11.9 cells/mm(2) in the epithelium, respectively. These findings suggest that T lymphocytes were the major immunocompetent cells in both the subepithelial connective tissue and epithelium of OSF specimens. Macrophages and B lymphocytes are the minor immunocompetent cells in the subepithelial connective tissue and are only occasionally found in the epithelium of OSF specimens. Similar distribution of immunocompetent cells was also found in NOM specimens. However, the mean T lymphocyte, B lymphocyte and macrophage densities in the subepithelial connective tissue (271.2+/-107.0, 13.3+/-18.4 and 17.3+/-19.1 cells/mm(2), respectively) and the mean T lymphocyte density in the epithelium (97.7+/-51.4) of NOM specimens were significantly lower than the corresponding mean cell densities in OSF specimens. Using frozen tissue sections, we further quantified the CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte numbers in eight moderately advanced or advanced OSF specimens. It was found that the CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte densities were 213.3+/-140.7 and 101.5+/-72.8 cells/mm(2) in the subepithelial connective tissue of OSF specimens, respectively. The CD4+ to CD8+ lymphocyte ratio was 2.1:1. Our results showed a significant increase in the number of T lymphocytes and macrophages and a predominance of CD4+ lymphocytes over CD8+ lymphocytes in the subepithelial connective tissue of OSF specimens. We conclude that the cellular immune response may play an important role in the pathogenesis of OSF.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

High incidence of autoantibodies in Taiwanese patients with oral submucous fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Previous study has shown a high incidence of autoantibodies including antinuclear (ANA), antismooth muscle (SMA), antigastric parietal cell (GPCA), antithyroid microsomal (TMA), and antireticulin antibodies in a small group of 26 patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). The reasons why some of the OSF patients have high titers of autoantibodies in serum have not been completely explained and no further study on autoantibodies in OSF patients has been done in a large group of patients. METHODS: In this study, we determined the serum levels of ANA, SMA, GPCA, and TMA in a large group of 109 male Taiwanese patients with OSF by an indirect immunofluorescence technique (for ANA, SMA, and GPCA), and by a semiquantitative microtiter particle agglutination test (for TMA). The presence of serum autoantibodies in OSF patients was further correlated with patients' oral habits and the severity of OSF measured by maximum mouth opening (MMO) and sites of involvement. RESULTS: We found that the frequencies of presence of serum ANA (23.9%), SMA (23.9%), and GPCA (14.7%) in OSF patients were significantly higher than those (9.2, 7.3, and 5.5%, respectively) in healthy control subjects (P < 0.01, P < 0.005, and P < 0.05, respectively). Although the frequency of presence of TMA (5.5%) in OSF patients was also greater than that (2.8%) in healthy control subjects, the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). The presence of serum GPCA in OSF patients was significantly associated with daily areca quid (AQ) consumption (P < 0.05). The presence of serum ANA in OSF patients associated with daily AQ consumption was of borderline statistical significance (P = 0.066). However, no significant correlations were demonstrated between the presence of serum autoantibodies in OSF patients and other variables of oral habits, MMO, and sites of involvement. CONCLUSION: In this study, all the 109 OSF patients had AQ chewing habit and 73.4% of the OSF patients swallowed the 'juice' of AQ during the chewing process. The presence of serum GPCA and ANA in OSF patients was associated with daily consumption of AQs. AQ chewing caused mucosal microtrauma, and ulcerations facilitated the diffusion of genotoxic and cytotoxic AQ ingredients into the oral and gastric tissues. Altered autoantigens released from AQ ingredients-damaged cells may induce autoantibody production. Higher frequencies of specific HLA-DR antigens in OSF patients may also help autoantibody production. Therefore, we conclude that the high incidence of autoantibodies in OSF patients may be due to AQ chewing habit, toxic AQ ingredients, and genetic susceptibility of the OSF patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Identification of genes associated with natural competence in Helicobacter pylori by transposon shuttle random mutagenesis.

To identify genes involved in DNA transformation, we generated 1500 insertion mutants of a Helicobacter pylori strain by transposon shuttle mutagenesis. All mutant strains were screened for their frequency of natural transformation. A total of 20 mutant strains were found to exhibit a significantly decreased transformation frequency. DNA sequencing revealed seven genetic loci, including the reported comB locus, HP0017 (a putative virB4 homologue) and five loci without database match (HP0015, HP1089, HP1326, HP1424, and HP1473) from the 20 mutants. Reknockout of HP1326 revealed no impairment in natural transformation, while the other 5 mutants showed the same defective in natural transformation. Mutation of HP0017 severely impaired natural transformation both chromosome and plasmid DNA. Slot blot analysis revealed that some noncompetent strains had decreased virB4 RNA expression levels compared with competent strains. Nineteen ORFs had decreased expression levels in virB4 knockout mutant by microarray. Therefore, our data indicate that HP0017 is a virB4 homologue and is essential in the natural competence of H. pylori. HP0015, HP1089, HP1424, and HP1473 genes could be also involved in natural transformation.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed2001

Some specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR/DQ haplotypes are more important than individual HLA-DR and -DQ phenotypes for the development of mucocutaneous type of Behçet's disease and for disease shift from recurrent aphthous stomatitis to mucocutaneous type of Behçet's disease.

The phenotype and haplotype frequencies of human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-DR and -DQ in 32 Chinese patients with the mucocutaneous (MC) type of Behçet's disease (BD) were calculated and compared with those in 310 healthy control Chinese and with those in 80 Chinese patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). We found that the phenotype frequency of HLA-DRw8 [corrected P (Pc)<0.005] and the haplotype frequencies of HLA-DRw8/DQw1 (Pc<0.005), -DRw8/DQw5(w1) (Pc<0.0005), -DRw12(5)/DQw1 (Pc<0.005), -DRw12(5)/DQw6(w1) (Pc< 0.0005), and -DRw52/DQw1 (Pc<0.005) in patients with the MC type of BD were significantly greater than those in healthy control subjects. This finding suggests that individual Chinese with HLA-DRw8 antigen and HLA-DRw8/DQw1, -DRw8/DQw5(w1), -DRw12(5)/DQw1, -DRw12(5)/DQw6(w1) and -DRw52/DQw1 haplotypes are more likely to have the MC type of BD. Furthermore, the relative risks (RRs) of HLA-DRw8/DQw1 (5.6), -DRw8/ DQw5 (w1) (10.0), and -DRw12(5)/DQw6(w1) (14.4) haplotypes in patients with the MC type of BD were equal to or higher than the RR of HLA-DRw8 phenotype (5.6), suggesting that some of the HLA-DR/DQ haplotypes may play more important roles than the individual HLA-DR and -DQ phenotypes for the development of the MC type of BD. The phenotype frequencies of HLA-DR5 (Pc<0.01), -DRw8 (Pc<0.005) and -DQw1 (Pc<0.05) as well as the haplotype frequencies of HLA-DR5/DQw1 (P<0.005) and -DRw8/DQw1 (Pc<0.00005) in patients with the MC type of BD were significantly higher than those in patients with RAS. Moreover, the RRs of HLA-DR5/DQw1 (29.1) and -DRw8/DQw1 (47.4) haplotypes were greater than the RRs of HLA-DR5 (10.4), -DRw8 (23.4) and -DQw1 (4.0) antigens. These results suggest that some specific HLA-DR/DQ haplotypes may be more important than the individual HLA-DR and -DQ phenotypes in the disease shift from RAS to the MC type of BD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Oral administration of milk from cows immunized with human intestinal bacteria leads to significant improvements of symptoms and signs in patients with oral submucous fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that the local and systemic upregulation of fibrogenic cytokines and downregulation of antifibrotic cytokine are central to the pathogenesis of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). The milk from cows immunized with human intestinal bacteria (immune milk) contains an anti-inflammatory component that may suppress the inflammatory reaction and modulate cytokine production. Therefore, it was decided to test whether immune milk may have some beneficial effects on controlling the symptoms and signs in OSF patients. METHODS: In this preliminary study, 26 OSF patients who received immune milk treatment (45 g of immune milk powder twice a day) for 3 months and oral habit intervention were included in the experimental group. Another 20 OSF patients who received only oral habit intervention served as the control group. RESULTS: We found that the interincisor distance was significantly improved (> or =3 mm of the baseline measurement) in 18 of the 26 (69.2%) OSF patients in the experimental group at exit. However, in the control group none of the OSF patients had an increase in interincisor distance greater than 2 mm. In addition, disappearance or significant improvement of symptoms at exit was observed in 80% (16/20) of the patients with intolerance to spicy foods (P < 0.001) and 72.2% (13/18) of the patients with xerostomia (P < 0.005) in the experimental group, compared with 17.6% (3/17) of the patients with improvement of intolerance to spicy foods and 15.4% (2/13) of the patients with improvement of xerostomia in the control group. Partial regression of concomitant oral leukoplakia or erythroplakia (judged from the size reduction of the lesions) at exit was noted in 71.4% (5/7) of the patients in the experimental group (P < 0.05), compared with none (0/5) of the patients with improvement in the control group. CONCLUSION: We conclude that oral administration of immune milk leads to significant improvements of symptoms and signs in OSF patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A hospital-acquired outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection initiated by a surgeon carrier.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become an important hospital-acquired pathogen, infection with which often leads to major morbidity and mortality. The principal mode of transmission for MRSA is transfer of the organism from a carrier or infected patient to uninfected patients by the hands or clothing of staff. From January 16 1997 to April 2 1997, five patients who had undergone open-heart surgery in a hospital located in northern Taiwan, developed surgical wound infections and mediastinitis caused by MRSA. All patients were hospitalized in two adjacent surgical intensive care units (ICUs) following their respective operations. Consequently, the hospital's infection control team commenced investigation of the outbreak. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) has been shown to be a good technique for epidemiological typing. By analysing cultures taken from staff by PFGE, it was demonstrated that this outbreak was most likely to be initiated by a surgeon with MRSA carriage. After elimination of the carrier state using topical mupirocin treatment, the outbreak was controlled without further incident.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Acid-induced gene expression in Helicobacter pylori: study in genomic scale by microarray.

To understand the RNA expression in response to acid stress of Helicobacter pylori in genomic scale, a microarray membrane containing 1,534 open reading frames (ORFs) from strain 26695 was used. Total RNAs of H. pylori under growth conditions of pH 7.2 and 5.5 were extracted, reverse transcribed into cDNA, and labeled with biotin. Each microarray membrane was hybridized with cDNA probe from the same strain under two different pH conditions and developed by a catalyzed reporter deposition method. Gene expression of all ORFs was measured by densitometry. Among the 1,534 ORFs, 53 ORFs were highly expressed (> or = 30% of rRNA control in densitometry ratios). There were 445 ORFs which were stably expressed (<30% of rRNA in densitometry) under both pH conditions without significant variation. A total of 80 ORFs had significantly increased expression levels at low pH, while expressions of 4 ORFs were suppressed under acidic condition. The remaining 952 ORFs were not detectable under either pH condition. These data were highly reproducible and comparable to those obtained by the RNA slot blot method. Our results suggest that microarray can be used in monitoring prokaryotic gene expression in genomic scale.

Acids↗
PubMed2001

Expression of transforming growth factor-alpha in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary gland.

BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) is expressed in both normal and malignant epithelial cells. Although the expression of TGF-alpha has been extensively studied in some human epithelial neoplasms, its expression in adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs) of the salivary gland has not been reported. METHODS: This study used an immunohistochemical technique to assess the expression of TGF-alpha in 40 ACC specimens from the salivary glands, seven specimens from labial minor salivary glands adjacent to mucoceles, and five specimens from normal submandibular glands. RESULTS: In the normal submandibular gland specimens, positive TGF-alpha staining was found in all ductal segments as well as in serous and some mucous acinar cells. In labial minor salivary glands adjacent to mucoceles, positive TGF-alpha staining was found in ductal, serous acinar, serous demilune, and a few mucous acinar cells. Positive TGF-alpha immunostaining was observed in all five salivary gland ACC specimens with a solid histologic pattern, and 31 of the 35 salivary gland ACC specimens with a tubulo-cribriform histologic pattern. Overall, 36 of 40 ACCs of the salivary gland expressed TGF-alpha. Positive TGF-alpha staining was found in the salivary gland ACC specimens with solid, tubular, duct-like, and pseudocystic structures. No significant correlation was found between TGF-alpha expression in ACCs of the salivary gland and age, sex, primary cancer location, TNM status, clinical stage, prognosis, histologic type, perivascular or perineural invasion, focal necrosis of the tumor, or cellular atypia. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that ductal and acinar cells of the normal submandibular gland and of labial minor salivary glands adjacent to mucoceles are the major sites of TGF-alpha synthesis and secretion. Furthermore, TGF-alpha is biosynthesized in salivary gland ACC tumor cells, forming solid, tubular, duct-like, and pseudocystic structures. Our data suggest that TGF-alpha may play an important biologic role as a mitogen in the growth of salivary gland ACC.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

In vitro activity of moxifloxacin against common clinical bacterial isolates in Taiwan.

The in vitro antimicrobial activities of moxifloxacin were compared with 7 other antimicrobial agents. A total of 707 isolates of 11 common pathogenic bacteria were collected from the National Taiwan University Hospital; antimicrobial activities against these isolates were evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration using an agar-dilution method. Most common pathogenic bacteria were susceptible to moxifloxacin, including methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. For many of these bacterial species, moxifloxacin was the most active antimicrobial agent compared with the third- and fourth- generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactam, and other quinolones. Some strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis demonstrated very low levels of minimum inhibitory concentration for moxifloxacin, suggesting the potential application of the drug to treat some drug-resistant gram-positive bacterial infections. Moxifloxacin was less active against P. aeruginosa, but was more active against S. maltophilia when compared with other fluoroquinolones. In conclusion, moxifloxacin exhibits an increased potency against gram-positive bacteria as compared with other tested antimicrobial agents, while preserving excellent activity against gram-negative bacteria. The drug appears to be a promising agent expressing activity against a wide variety of bacteria in Taiwan.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2001

[Studies on the chemical constituents from Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Chrysanthemum morifolium. METHOD: Separated the constituents by means of chromatography and identified their structures by chemical and spectroscopic analysis. RESULT: Three compounds of flavonoid were identified as acacetin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside, apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside and luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside. CONCLUSION: These compounds were obtained from C. morifolium for the first time.

Apigenin↗