During liver injury, early pathological changes may go unnoticed, delaying the diagnosis until the disease has advanced to stages such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic fibrosis is a sign of long-term liver injury that leads toward permanent liver damage. It involves the buildup of too much extracellular matrix (ECM) and is activated by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). The transforming growth factor-β1...

Objective This study investigates the associations of α1-antitrypsin, inter-α-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain (ITIH4), and 8-isoprostane with lung function in shipyard workers exposed to occupational metal fume fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), which is known to be associated with adverse respiratory outcomes. Methods A 3-year follow-up study was conducted on 180 shipyard workers with 262 measurements. Personal exposure to weld...

Scrutinizing the traits of octocorals that could affect their physiological performance becomes increasingly important as several of these species are observed to become dominant on reefs pressured by the Anthropocene. In the present study, we compare the organismal traits of two branching octocorals Litophyton sp. and Stereonephthya sp. commonly populating in sympatry the high-latitude coral communities of northern Taiwan. Us...