Browsing by Author "Wang, Chien-Kuo"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Magnetic Resonance Elastography in the Assessment of Acute Effects of Kinesio Taping on Lumbar Paraspinal Muscles
(2019-04-01)
Wang, Chien-Kuo
;
Fang, Yu-Hua Dean
;
Lin, Liang-Ching
;
Lin, Cheng-Feng
;
Kuo, Li-Chieh
Background Kinesio tape (KT) is an elastic therapeutic tape used for treating sports-related injuries and a number of other disorders. To date, the objective evidence to link pathophysiological effects and actual reactions triggered by KT is limited. Purpose To explore the effect of KT on the lumbar paraspinal muscles by magnetic resonance (MR) elastography. Study Type Prospective observational study. Population Sixty-six asymptomatic volunteers with 31 women and 35 men. Field Strength/Sequence 3.0T MRI and elastography with vibration frequency of 120 Hz. Assessment The 5-cm-width KT with full tension was placed on a single side of the lumbar paraspinal muscle. The taping side and adhering direction were randomly decided. Two rectangular regions of interest (ROIs) of 5- and 2.5-cm-width were positioned at the bilateral paraspinal regions from the L2 to L4 level on the confidence map of MR elastography before and after KT taping. The mean shear stiffness values of the ROIs at the superficial, middle, and deep depths were recorded; then the differences between the taping and reference sides were calculated. Statistical Tests Paired t-test and Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the stiffness changes after KT application and intraoperator errors of the stiffness measures on the reference side, respectively. Results A significant decrease in the muscle stiffness value between taping and reference sides (-0.71 kPa +/- 0.60 with KT and -0.25 kPa +/- 0.78 without KT, P < 0.0001 for 5-cm ROI; -0.67 kPa +/- 1.12 with KT and -0.16 kPa +/- 1.17 without KT, P = 0.0004 for 2.5-cm ROI) was found in the superficial depth, but no significant differences in the middle and deep depths (P = 0.25 and P = 0.79 for 5-cm ROI; P = 0.09 and P = 0.67 for 2.5-cm ROI, respectively). There were no significant differences of muscle stiffness differences between gender (P = 0.11 for superficial, P = 0.37 for middle, P = 0.78 for deep) and taping direction (P = 0.18 for superficial, P = 0.13 for middle, P = 0.15 for deep). Data Conclusion Our results demonstrate that KT can reduce the MR elastography-derived shear stiffness in the superficial depth of paraspinal muscles.
Role of the small RNA RyhB in the Fur regulon in mediating the capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis and iron acquisition systems in Klebsiella pneumoniae
(1970-01-01)
Huang, Su-Hua
;
Wang, Chien-Kuo
;
Peng, Hwei-Ling
;
Wu, Chien-Chen
;
Chen, Ying-Tsong
"Background: The capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and iron acquisition systems are important determinants of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections, and we have previously reported that the ferric uptake repressor (Fur) can play dual role in iron acquisition and CPS biosynthesis. In many bacteria, Fur negatively controls the transcription of the small non-coding RNA RyhB to modulate cellular functions and virulence. However, in K. pneumoniae, the role played by RyhB in the Fur regulon has not been characterised. This study investigated Fur regulation of ryhB transcription and the functional role of RyhB in K. pneumoniae. Results: Deletion of fur from K. pneumoniae increased the transcription of ryhB; the electric mobility shift assay and the Fur-titration assay revealed that Fur could bind to the promoter region of ryhB, suggesting that Fur directly represses ryhB transcription. Additionally, in a Delta fur strain with elevated CPS production, deletion of ryhB obviously reduced CPS production. The following promoter-reporter assay and quantitative real-time PCR of cps genes verified that RyhB activated orf1 and orf16 transcription to elevate CPS production. However, deletion of ryhB did not affect the mRNA levels of rcsA, rmpA, or rmpA2. These results imply that Fur represses the transcription of ryhB to mediate the biosynthesis of CPS, which is independent of RcsA, RmpA, and RmpA2. In addition, the Delta fur strain's high level of serum resistance was attenuated by the deletion of ryhB, indicating that RyhB plays a positive role in protecting the bacterium from serum killing. Finally, deletion of ryhB in Delta fur reduced the expression of several genes corresponding to 3 iron acquisition systems in K. pneumoniae, and resulted in reduced siderophore production. Conclusions: The regulation and functional role of RyhB in K. pneumoniae is characterized in this study. RyhB participates in Fur regulon to modulate the bacterial CPS biosynthesis and iron acquisition systems in K. pneumoniae."