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Lu JFR, Chen YI, Eggleston K, Chen CH, Chen B. Assessing Taiwan's pay-for-performance program for diabetes care: a cost-benefit net value approach. Eur J Health Econ 2023; 24:717-733. [PMID: 35995886 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-022-01504-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Pay-for-Performance (P4P) to better manage chronic conditions has yielded mixed results. A better understanding of the cost and benefit of P4P is needed to improve program assessment. To this end, we assessed the effect of a P4P program using a quasi-experimental intervention and control design. Two different intervention groups were used, one consisting of newly enrolled P4P patients, and another using P4P patients who have been enrolled since the beginning of the study. Patient-level data on clinical indicators, utilization and expenditures, linked with national death registry, were collected for diabetic patients at a large regional hospital in Taiwan between 2007 and 2013. Net value, defined as the value of life years gained minus the cost of care, is calculated and compared for the intervention group of P4P patients with propensity score-matched non-P4P samples. We found that Taiwan's implementation of the P4P program for diabetic care yielded positive net values, ranging from $40,084 USD to $348,717 USD, with higher net values in the continuous enrollment model. Our results suggest that the health benefits from P4P enrollment may require a sufficient time frame to manifest, so a net value approach incorporating future predicted mortality risks may be especially important for studying chronic disease management. Future research on the mechanisms by which the Taiwan P4P program helped improve outcomes could help translate our findings to other clinical contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jui-Fen Rachel Lu
- Graduate Institute of Business and Management and Department of Health Care Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Ying Isabel Chen
- Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Karen Eggleston
- Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, and NBER, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Chih-Hung Chen
- Division of Metabolism, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Brian Chen
- Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
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Abstract
This paper, a reply to the thought-provoking paper The WEIRDest People in the World? (Henrich, Heine & Norenzayan, 2010), makes the fundamental argument that most research paradigms from Western mainstream psychology, including theories, methods, and research procedures, are all very WEIRD once moved to non-Western cultures. We thus face not only biased samples but also a deeply WEIRD psychology. Implanting such a research paradigm into non-Western societies may result in an episteme of self-colonization by formulating a mentality of normative Eurocentrism, which may hinder not only the understanding of a local culture. Through this paper I draw on Kuhn's (1962) Structure of Scientific Revolutions to argue that a crisis is needed to initiate a scientific revolution against WEIRD psychology. I then draw on Hwang's (2019a) epistemological strategy as a path for constructing culture-inclusive theories to compliment Western theories found in mainstream psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwang-Kuo Hwang
- Research Center for Cultural China, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan.
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Iao LS, Shen CW, Wu CC. A Longitudinal Study of Joint Attention, Motor Imitation and Language Development in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Taiwan. J Autism Dev Disord 2023:10.1007/s10803-023-05950-7. [PMID: 37142905 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-05950-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
This longitudinal study examined early predictors of language development in 74 young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Taiwan. Participants were assessed twice (initial age between 17 and 35 months) on responding to joint attention (RJA), initiating joint attention (IJA), motor imitation with objects (object imitation; OI) and without objects (manual imitation; MI), and receptive and expressive language. The two assessments were 18 months apart. Results showed that both RJA and MI concurrently and longitudinally predicted receptive and expressive language across the two assessments. These findings were not entirely consistent with the limited and mixed findings of Western longitudinal studies. However, they have implications for early interventions aiming to facilitate language development in children with ASD internationally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lai-Sang Iao
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ, UK
| | - Ching-Wan Shen
- Department of Psychiatry, Zuoying Branch of Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, No.553, Junxiao Road, Kaohsiung, 81342, Taiwan
| | - Chin-Chin Wu
- Department of Psychology, Kaohsiung Medical University, No.100, Shih-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan.
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, No.100, Tz-You 1st Rd, Kaohsiung, 80756, Taiwan.
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Shieh PL, Cheng LY, Hsu WS, Li RH. Mother-Infant Group Intervention on Maternal Depression and Bonding: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Matern Child Health J 2023; 27:1114-1125. [PMID: 37031319 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-023-03654-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Parent-Infant Psychotherapy (PIP) aims at improving the interaction between parents and their infants. Group intervention has advantages in facilitating universality, support, and social learning. However, the researches on PIP adoption in a group format are limited. This study aims to explore the outcome of a mother-infant group on bonding and maternal depression. METHODS Eighty-two infant mothers with subjective distress on parenting or depressed mood were recruited to participate in the intervention group (IG). Another sample of one hundred and ninety-four postpartum women was recruited as the control group (CG). Instruments for outcome measure were the Mother-Infant Bonding Scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), and Social Network Interaction System Questionnaire. Twelve courses of mother-infant groups were conducted for IG women. Each course consisted of twelve 90-min sessions. IG women joined the intervention with their infants and replied to the instruments at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. CG women replied to the instruments at similar intervals. Primary data analyses were performed by the intent-to-treat analysis, ANOVA, and GEE. RESULTS Relative to CG participants, the IG women experienced significant benefits in most mother-infant bonding scores at both post-intervention and follow-up (ps = .000 - .026). IG women also experienced a greater reduction in follow-up depressive symptoms measured by EPDS (p = .023). However, no significant reduction was noted on BDI-II. CONCLUSIONS Mother-infant group intervention has preliminary effects on improving bonding and reducing depressive symptoms for women with infants. Further studies are warranted to replicate the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pey-Ling Shieh
- Department of Psychology, Chung Shan Medical University, No.110, Sec.1, Jianguo N. Rd., South District, Taichung City, 40201, Taiwan, ROC.
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, No.110, Sec.1, Jianguo N. Rd., South District, Taichung City, 40201, Taiwan, ROC.
| | - Ling-Yee Cheng
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shipai Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City, 11217, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Wen-Shih Hsu
- Mental Health Division, Department of Health, Taipei City Government, No.1, City Hall Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110204, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Ren-Hau Li
- Department of Psychology, Chung Shan Medical University, No.110, Sec.1, Jianguo N. Rd., South District, Taichung City, 40201, Taiwan, ROC
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Yang CH, Liu YY, Chiang CH, Su YW. National IoMT platform strategy portfolio decision model under the COVID-19 environment: based on the financial and non-financial value view. Ann Oper Res 2022; 328:1-29. [PMID: 36267801 PMCID: PMC9568921 DOI: 10.1007/s10479-022-05016-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is an emerging technology in the healthcare revolution which provides real-time healthcare information communication and reasonable medical resource allocation. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on people's lives and has affected healthcare capacities. It is important for integrated IoMT platform development to overcome the global pandemic challenges. This study proposed the national IoMT platform strategy portfolio decision-making model from the non-financial (technology, organization, environment) and financial perspectives. As a solution to the decision problem, initially, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technology were employed to capture the cause-effect relationship based on the perspectives and criteria obtained from the insight of an expert team. The analytic network process (ANP) and pairwise comparisons were then used to determine the weights for the strategy. Simultaneously, this study incorporated IoMT platform resource limitations into the zero-one goal programming (ZOGP) method to obtain an optimal portfolio selection for IoMT platform strategy planning. The results showed that the integrated MCDM method produced reasonable results for selecting the most appropriate IoMT platform strategy portfolio when considering resource constraints such as system installation costs, consultant fees, infrastructure costs, reduction of medical staff demand, and improvement rates for diagnosis efficiency. The decision-making model of the IoMT platform in this study was conclusive and significantly compelling to aid government decision makers in concentrating their efforts on planning IoMT strategies in response to various pandemic and medical resource allocations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Hao Yang
- Department of Accounting, Ming Chuan University, Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Yu Liu
- Department of Accounting, Soochow University, Chungcheng, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Hsin Chiang
- College of Management, Yuan Ze University, Zhong-Li, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Wen Su
- Department of Financial Management, National Defense University, Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan
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Chao YP, Kang CJ, Chuang HH, Hsieh MJ, Chang YC, Kuo TBJ, Yang CCH, Huang CG, Fang TJ, Li HY, Lee LA. Comparison of the effect of 360° versus two-dimensional virtual reality video on history taking and physical examination skills learning among undergraduate medical students: a randomized controlled trial. Virtual Real 2022; 27:637-650. [PMID: 35992202 PMCID: PMC9379871 DOI: 10.1007/s10055-022-00664-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Before caring for patients, video instruction is commonly used for undergraduate medical students, and 360° virtual reality (VR) videos have gained increasing interest in clinical medical education. Therefore, the effect of immersive 360° VR video learning compared with two-dimensional (2D) VR video learning in clinical skills acquisition should be evaluated. This randomized, intervention-controlled clinical trial was aimed to assess whether immersive 360° VR video improves undergraduate medical students' learning effectiveness and reduces the cognitive load in history taking and physical examination (H&P) training. From May 1 2018 to October 30 2018, 64 senior undergraduate medical students in a tertiary academic hospital were randomized to receive a 10-min immersive 360° (360° VR video group; n = 32) or 2D VR instructional video (2D VR video group; n = 32), including essential knowledge and competency of H&P. The demographic characteristics of the two groups were comparable for age, sex, and cognitive style. The total procedure skill score, physical examination score, learner's satisfaction score, and total cognitive load in the 360° VR video group were significantly higher than those in the 2D VR video group (effect sizes [95% confidence interval]: 0.72 [0.21-1.22], 0.63 [0.12-1.13], 0.56 [0.06-1.06], and 0.53 [0.03-1.03], respectively). This study suggested that a10-minute 360° VR video instruction helped undergraduate medical students perform fundamental H&P skills as effectively as 2D VR video. Furthermore, the 360° VR video might result in significantly better procedural metrics of physical examinations with higher learner satisfaction despite the higher cognitive load. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-022-00664-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ping Chao
- Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Main Branch, 33305 Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Jan Kang
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 5, Fu-Hsing Street, Gueishan District, Linkou Main Branch, 33305 Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Hai-Hua Chuang
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Family Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, 33305 Taiwan
- School of Medicine, College of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044 Taiwan
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, 10608 Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Ju Hsieh
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, 33305 Taiwan
| | - Yu-Che Chang
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, 33305 Taiwan
| | - Terry B. J. Kuo
- Institute of Brain Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 11221 Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Cheryl C. H. Yang
- Institute of Brain Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 11221 Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Guei Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Main Branch, 33305 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Tuan-Jen Fang
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 5, Fu-Hsing Street, Gueishan District, Linkou Main Branch, 33305 Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Hsueh-Yu Li
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 5, Fu-Hsing Street, Gueishan District, Linkou Main Branch, 33305 Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Li-Ang Lee
- Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 33302 Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 5, Fu-Hsing Street, Gueishan District, Linkou Main Branch, 33305 Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China
- School of Medicine, College of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044 Taiwan
- Institute of Brain Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 11221 Taipei, Taiwan
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Ashouri M, Phoa FKH. Interactive tool for clustering and forecasting patterns of Taiwan COVID-19 spread. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265477. [PMID: 35771759 PMCID: PMC9246234 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 data analysis is essential for policymakers to analyze the outbreak and manage the containment. Many approaches based on traditional time series clustering and forecasting methods, such as hierarchical clustering and exponential smoothing, have been proposed to cluster and forecast the COVID-19 data. However, most of these methods do not scale up with the high volume of cases. Moreover, the interactive nature of the application demands further critically complex yet compelling clustering and forecasting techniques. In this paper, we propose a web-based interactive tool to cluster and forecast the available data of Taiwan COVID-19 confirmed infection cases. We apply the Model-based (MOB) tree and domain-relevant attributes to cluster the dataset and display forecasting results using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method. In this OLS model, we apply a model produced by the MOB tree to forecast all series in each cluster. Our user-friendly parametric forecasting method is computationally cheap. A web app based on R’s Shiny App makes it easier for practitioners to find clustering and forecasting results while choosing different parameters such as domain-relevant attributes. These results could help in determining the spread pattern and be utilized by medical researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Ashouri
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
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Chen YC, Lan YW, Huang SM, Yen CC, Chen W, Wu WJ, Staniczek T, Chong KY, Chen CM. Human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells attenuate pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model. Stem Cell Res Ther 2022; 13:235. [PMID: 35659367 PMCID: PMC9166578 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-022-02910-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a malignant cancer and chemotherapy ineffectively treats PDAC, leading to the requirement for alternative tumor-targeted treatment. Human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (hAFMSCs) have been revealed to suppress tumor growth in various cancers and they are a strong candidate for treating PDAC. METHODS To evaluate the effects of hAFMSCs on human pancreatic carcinoma cells (PANC1, AsPC1 and BxPC3 cell lines) and the possible mechanism involved, an in vitro cell coculture system was used. A PANC1 orthotopic xenograft mouse model was established and hAFMSCs were injected intravenously at 4 weeks post-xenograft. RESULTS An in vitro coculture assay showed that hAFMSCs inhibited PANC1 cell proliferation by inducing S phase cell cycle arrest and increased cell apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. In PANC1 cells, hAFMSCs caused the downregulation of Cyclin A and Cyclin B1 as well as the upregulation of p21 (CDKN1A) at 24 h post coculture. The upregulation of pro-apoptotic factors Caspase-3/-8 and Bax at 24 h post coculture reduced the migration and invasion ability of PANC1 cells through inhibiting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. In a PANC1 orthotopic xenograft mouse model, a single injection of hAFMSCs showed significant tumor growth inhibition with evidence of the modulation of cell cycle and pro-apoptotic regulatory genes and various genes involved in matrix metallopeptidase 7 (MMP7) signaling-triggered EMT process. Histopathological staining showed lower Ki67 levels in tumors from hAFMSCs-treated mice. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrated that hAFMSCs strongly inhibit PDAC cell proliferation, tumor growth and invasion, possibly by altering cell cycle arrest and MMP7 signaling-triggered EMT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying-Cheng Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, and Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Kuo Kuang Rd, Taichung, 402 Taiwan
| | - Ying-Wei Lan
- Department of Life Sciences, and Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Kuo Kuang Rd, Taichung, 402 Taiwan
| | - Shiaw-Min Huang
- Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu, 300 Taiwan
| | - Chih-Ching Yen
- Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, and College of Health Care, China Medical University, Taichung, 404 Taiwan
| | - Wei Chen
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Ju Wu
- Department of Life Sciences, and Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Kuo Kuang Rd, Taichung, 402 Taiwan
| | - Theresa Staniczek
- Department of Life Sciences, and Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Kuo Kuang Rd, Taichung, 402 Taiwan
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, and Center of Excellence in Dermatology, Heidelberg University, 69117 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Kowit-Yu Chong
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science and Division of Biotechnology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 333 Taiwan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan 333 Taiwan
| | - Chuan-Mu Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, and Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Kuo Kuang Rd, Taichung, 402 Taiwan
- The iEGG and Animal Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402 Taiwan
- Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407 Taiwan
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Lin CH, Hu GH, Chen JS, Yan JJ, Tang KH. Novel design of cryptosystems for video/audio streaming via dynamic synchronized chaos-based random keys. Multimed Syst 2022; 28:1793-1808. [PMID: 35615102 PMCID: PMC9123879 DOI: 10.1007/s00530-022-00950-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, a novel chaos-based cryptosystem is proposed to ensure the communication security of video/audio streaming in the network environment. Firstly, by the proposed synchronization controller for the master and slave chaotic systems, respectively, embedded in the transmitter and receiver, the cryptosystem can generate the synchronized and dynamic chaotic random numbers at the transmitter and receiver simultaneously. Then integrating the chaotic random numbers with SHA3-256 (Secure hash algorithm 3), the design of synchronized dynamic key generators (SDKGs) is completed. Continuously, we can apply the SDKGs to encrypt/decrypt streaming audio/video data. In our design, we introduce the AES CFB (Advanced encryption standard cipher feedback) encryption algorithm with SDKGs to encrypt the video/audio streaming. Then the cipher-text is transmitted to the receiver via the network public channel and it can be fully decrypted with the dynamic random keys synchronously generated at the receiver. A duplex audio/video cryptosystem is realized to illustrate the performance and feasibility of this proposed research. Finally, many tests and comparisons are performed to stress the quality of random sequences generated by proposed SDKGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Hsueh Lin
- Department of Electronic Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, 80778 Taiwan
| | - Guo-Hsin Hu
- Department of Electronic Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, 80778 Taiwan
- Department of Industrial Upgrading Service, Metal Industries Research and Development Centre, Kaohsiung, 81160 Taiwan
| | - Jie-Sheng Chen
- Department of Electronic Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, 41107 Taiwan
| | - Jun-Juh Yan
- Department of Electronic Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, 41107 Taiwan
| | - Kuang-Hui Tang
- Department of Electronic Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, 41107 Taiwan
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Lin PC, Yang YCSH, Lin SC, Lu MC, Tsai YT, Lu SC, Chen SH, Chen SY. Clinical significance and intestinal microbiota composition in immunocompromised children with norovirus gastroenteritis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0266876. [PMID: 35443009 PMCID: PMC9020708 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Norovirus (NoV) infection is common in pediatric patients with immunodeficiency and is more likely to cause severe disease. Objective Our study aims to figure out the clinical differences and distribution of intestinal microbiota in immunocompromised children with NoV gastroenteritis. Methods Pediatric patients admitted to Shang-Ho Hospital with diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis including different immune status were enrolled and their medical records were reviewed. NoV gastroenteritis was validated using RT-PCR molecular methods. Viral shedding period was determined by real-time RT-PCR assays. Intestinal microbiota enrichment analysis was carried out by next generation sequencing after fecal DNA extraction and subsequent Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Effect Size (LEfSe) method. Results Significantly higher frequency of diarrhea [mean, (IQR), 3.8 (3–5) /day] and longer viral shedding time [mean, IQR, 8.5 (5–13) days] was found in immunocompromised NoV infections than in immunocompetent patients without NoV infections (p = 0.013*) and immunocompetent patients with NoV infections (p = 0.030**). The fever prevalence was significantly lower in immunocompromised NoV infections than in different immune or infection status. Intestinal microbiota metagenomics analysis showed no significant community richness difference while the LEfSe analysis showed a significant difference in commensal richness at the phylum level, the family level, and the genus level in patients under different immune status. Conclusion We evaluated the clinical significances and microbiota composition in immunocompromised children with norovirus gastroenteritis. This will further facilitate studies of the interaction between the intestinal microbiota in such patients with precise determination of their bacterial infection control and probiotic supplements strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Chun Lin
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chen S. H. Yang
- Joint Biobank, Office of Human Research, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Chieh Lin
- Division of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Meng-Che Lu
- Division of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yin-Tai Tsai
- Department of Medicine Laboratory, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Shou-Cheng Lu
- Department of Medicine Laboratory, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Huey Chen
- Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (S-HC); , (S-YC)
| | - Shih-Yen Chen
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (S-HC); , (S-YC)
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Chiang IT, Liu YC, Liu HS, Ali AAA, Chou SY, Hsu TI, Hsu FT. Regorafenib Reverses Temozolomide-Induced CXCL12/CXCR4 Signaling and Triggers Apoptosis Mechanism in Glioblastoma. Neurotherapeutics 2022; 19:616-634. [PMID: 35267171 PMCID: PMC9226247 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-022-01194-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Temozolomide (TMZ) monotherapy is known to be insufficient for resistant/relapsed glioblastoma (GBM), thus seeking a sensitization agent for TMZ is necessary. It was found that regorafenib may improve the overall survival of relapsed GBM patients. We aimed to discover whether regorafenib can enhance the anti-GBM effects of TMZ, and elucidate underlying mechanism. Our analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed that the increased expression of CXCR4 is linked to poor survival of GBM patients. Additionally, TMZ treatment may trigger CXCR4/CXCL12 axis of GBM. We used two GBM cell lines, two primary GBM cells, and animal model to identify underlying mechanism and treatment efficacy of regorafenib combined with TMZ by cytotoxicity, apoptosis, reporter gene and invasion/migration assays, chemokine array, Western blotting, MRI, microarray, and immunohistochemistry. We observed that the chemokine CXCL-12 and its receptor CXCR4 regulate the resistance to TMZ, whereas the inhibition of CXCL-12/CXCR4 signaling sensitizes GBM cells to TMZ. The TMZ-induced CXCL-12/CXCR4 signaling, phosphor-extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), and NF-κB-related proteins can effectively diminish when combining with regorafenib. Regorafenib significantly enhanced the TMZ-induced extrinsic/intrinsic apoptotic pathways, and facilitated the suppression of invasion and migration potential in GBM. Orthotopic tumor experiments demonstrated tumor size reduction and prolonged survival in combination group even with half-dose of TMZ. Our findings provide promising evidence that regorafenib may sensitize GBM to TMZ treatment through inhibition of the CXCL12/CXCR4/ERK/NF-κB signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- I-Tsang Chiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, 505, Taiwan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, 406, Taiwan
- Medical administrative center, Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chang Liu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, 505, Taiwan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, 406, Taiwan
| | - Hua-Shan Liu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- International Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering & Graduate Institute of Biomedical Optomechatronics, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Ahmed Atef Ahmed Ali
- TMU Neuroscience Research Center - NeuroImage, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Szu-Yi Chou
- Graduate Institute of Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Institute, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-I Hsu
- Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Institute, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program in Medical Neuroscience, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Institute, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Fei-Ting Hsu
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan.
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Wei KC, Sy CL, Wang WH, Wu CL, Chang SH, Huang YT. Major acute cardiovascular events after dengue infection-A population-based observational study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010134. [PMID: 35130277 PMCID: PMC8853534 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Dengue virus (DENV) infection may be associated with increased risks of major adverse cardiovascular effect (MACE), but a large-scale study evaluating the association between DENV infection and MACEs is still lacking. Methods and findings All laboratory confirmed dengue cases in Taiwan during 2009 and 2015 were included by CDC notifiable database. The self-controlled case-series design was used to evaluate the association between DENV infection and MACE (including acute myocardial infarction [AMI], heart failure and stroke). The "risk interval" was defined as the first 7 days after the diagnosis of DENV infection and the "control interval" as 1 year before and 1 year after the risk interval. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for MACE were estimated by conditional Poisson regression. Finally, the primary outcome of the incidence of MACEs within one year of dengue was observed in 1,247 patients. The IRR of MACEs was 17.9 (95% CI 15.80–20.37) during the first week after the onset of DENV infection observed from 1,244 eligible patients. IRR were significantly higher for hemorrhagic stroke (10.9, 95% CI 6.80–17.49), ischemic stroke (15.56, 95% CI 12.44–19.47), AMI (13.53, 95% CI 10.13–18.06), and heart failure (27.24, 95% CI 22.67–32.73). No increased IRR was observed after day 14. Conclusions The risks for MACEs are significantly higher in the immediate time period after dengue infection. Since dengue infection is potentially preventable by early recognition and vaccination, the dengue-associated MACE should be taken into consideration when making public health management policies. Dengue infection is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral illness worldwide and becomes a vivid threat to non-tropical countries. Previous research has documented that viral infection can increase risks of adverse cardiovascular events. There were sporadic reports about the association of cardiovascular events and dengue infection in the endemic tropical countries. Our study analyzed the risks for major adverse cardiovascular events, and found that acute myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure were significantly higher in the immediate time period (within one week) after dengue infection, especially in patients with ≥60 years of age, female gender and severe admission dengue cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Che Wei
- Department of Dermatology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Len Sy
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Hwa Wang
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Health Management Center, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- College of Management, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Ling Wu
- Department of Medical Research and Development, Center for Big Data Analytics and Statistics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Shang-Hung Chang
- Department of Medical Research and Development, Center for Big Data Analytics and Statistics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (SH-C); (YT-H)
| | - Yu-Tung Huang
- Department of Medical Research and Development, Center for Big Data Analytics and Statistics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (SH-C); (YT-H)
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Lo KL, Chen YN, Chiang MY, Chen MC, Panibe JP, Chiu CC, Liu LW, Chen LJ, Chen CW, Li WH, Wang CS. Two genomic regions of a sodium azide induced rice mutant confer broad-spectrum and durable resistance to blast disease. Rice (N Y) 2022; 15:2. [PMID: 35006368 PMCID: PMC8748607 DOI: 10.1186/s12284-021-00547-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Rice blast, one of the most destructive epidemic diseases, annually causes severe losses in grain yield worldwide. To manage blast disease, breeding resistant varieties is considered a more economic and environment-friendly strategy than chemical control. For breeding new resistant varieties, natural germplasms with broad-spectrum resistance are valuable resistant donors, but the number is limited. Therefore, artificially induced mutants are an important resource for identifying new broad-spectrum resistant (R) genes/loci. To pursue this approach, we focused on a broad-spectrum blast resistant rice mutant line SA0169, which was previously selected from a sodium azide induced mutation pool of TNG67, an elite japonica variety. We found that SA0169 was completely resistant against the 187 recently collected blast isolates and displayed durable resistance for almost 20 years. Linkage mapping and QTL-seq analysis indicated that a 1.16-Mb region on chromosome 6 (Pi169-6(t)) and a 2.37-Mb region on chromosome 11 (Pi169-11(t)) conferred the blast resistance in SA0169. Sequence analysis and genomic editing study revealed 2 and 7 candidate R genes in Pi169-6(t) and Pi169-11(t), respectively. With the assistance of mapping results, six blast and bacterial blight double resistant lines, which carried Pi169-6(t) and/or Pi169-11(t), were established. The complementation of Pi169-6(t) and Pi169-11(t), like SA0169, showed complete resistance to all tested isolates, suggesting that the combined effects of these two genomic regions largely confer the broad-spectrum resistance of SA0169. The sodium azide induced mutant SA0169 showed broad-spectrum and durable blast resistance. The broad resistance spectrum of SA0169 is contributed by the combined effects of two R regions, Pi169-6(t) and Pi169-11(t). Our study increases the understanding of the genetic basis of the broad-spectrum blast resistance induced by sodium azide mutagenesis, and lays a foundation for breeding new rice varieties with durable resistance against the blast pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuan-Lin Lo
- Department of Agronomy, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Nian Chen
- Division of Plant Pathology, Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Min-Yu Chiang
- Department of Agronomy, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Mei-Chun Chen
- Division of Plant Pathology, Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Jerome P Panibe
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Bioinformatics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Chun Chiu
- Department of Agronomy, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Lu-Wei Liu
- Department of Agronomy, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Liang-Jwu Chen
- Institute of Molecular Biology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Advanced Plant Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Wei Chen
- Division of Plant Pathology, Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Hsiung Li
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Chang-Sheng Wang
- Department of Agronomy, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
- Advanced Plant Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
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Hwang YC, Lu RM, Su SC, Chiang PY, Ko SH, Ke FY, Liang KH, Hsieh TY, Wu HC. Monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19 therapy and SARS-CoV-2 detection. J Biomed Sci 2022; 29:1. [PMID: 34983527 PMCID: PMC8724751 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-021-00784-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an exceptional public health crisis that demands the timely creation of new therapeutics and viral detection. Owing to their high specificity and reliability, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as powerful tools to treat and detect numerous diseases. Hence, many researchers have begun to urgently develop Ab-based kits for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Ab drugs for use as COVID-19 therapeutic agents. The detailed structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is known, and since this protein is key for viral infection, its receptor-binding domain (RBD) has become a major target for therapeutic Ab development. Because SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus with a high mutation rate, especially under the selective pressure of aggressively deployed prophylactic vaccines and neutralizing Abs, the use of Ab cocktails is expected to be an important strategy for effective COVID-19 treatment. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 infection may stimulate an overactive immune response, resulting in a cytokine storm that drives severe disease progression. Abs to combat cytokine storms have also been under intense development as treatments for COVID-19. In addition to their use as drugs, Abs are currently being utilized in SARS-CoV-2 detection tests, including antigen and immunoglobulin tests. Such Ab-based detection tests are crucial surveillance tools that can be used to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Herein, we highlight some key points regarding mAb-based detection tests and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chyi Hwang
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Ruei-Min Lu
- Biomedical Translation Research Center (BioTReC), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Chieh Su
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Pao-Yin Chiang
- Biomedical Translation Research Center (BioTReC), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Han Ko
- Biomedical Translation Research Center (BioTReC), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Feng-Yi Ke
- Biomedical Translation Research Center (BioTReC), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Kang-Hao Liang
- Biomedical Translation Research Center (BioTReC), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Tzung-Yang Hsieh
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Han-Chung Wu
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.
- Biomedical Translation Research Center (BioTReC), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.
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15
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Li CT, Lee KL, Wang SF, Chen LC. Effect of a Rubidium Chloride Carrier Confinement Layer on the Characteristics of CsPbBr 3 Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes. Nanoscale Res Lett 2022; 17:2. [PMID: 34978612 PMCID: PMC8724480 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-021-03641-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This work describes the effect of a rubidium chloride (RbCl) interlayer in CsPbBr3 perovskite light-emitting diode (LED) structures. RbCl crystallites exhibited polyhedral structures and lattice parameters similar to those of CsPbBr3 perovskite crystallites. The lattice mismatch between the RbCl interlayer and CsPbBr3 active layer was only approximately 2%. The devices exhibited the best quality and performance when RbCl was used as the nucleation and carrier confinement layer. The crystallite sizes of CsPbBr3 with 0.2-, 0.5-, and 1-nm-thick RbCl bottom layers were 55.1, 65.4, and 55.1 nm, respectively. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the photoluminescence (PL) emission peak for CsPbBr3 with the RbCl bottom layer was 0.096 eV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Ta Li
- Department of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei, 106 Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Lin Lee
- Department of Electro-optical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei, 106 Taiwan
| | - Sea-Fue Wang
- Department of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei, 106 Taiwan
| | - Lung-Chien Chen
- Department of Electro-optical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei, 106 Taiwan
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16
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Deji-Abiodun O, Ferrandiz-Mont D, Mishra V, Chiao C. A multilevel analysis of the social determinants associated with symptoms of acute respiratory infection among preschool age children in Pakistan: A population-based survey. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260658. [PMID: 34914709 PMCID: PMC8675759 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As advocated by WHO in "Closing the Health Gap in a Generation", dramatic differences in child health are closely linked to degrees of social disadvantage, both within and between communities. Nevertheless, research has not examined whether child health inequalities include, but are not confined to, worse acute respiratory infection (ARI) symptoms among the socioeconomic disadvantaged in Pakistan. In addition to such disadvantages as the child's gender, maternal education, and household poverty, the present study also examined the linkages between the community environment and ARI symptoms among Pakistan children under five. Furthermore, we have assessed gender contingencies related to the aforementioned associations. METHODS Using data from the nationally representative 2017-2018 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, a total of 11,908 surviving preschool age children (0-59 months old) living in 561 communities were analyzed. We employed two-level multilevel logistic regressions to model the relationship between ARI symptoms and individual-level and community-level social factors. RESULTS The social factors at individual and community levels were found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of the child suffering from ARI symptoms. A particularly higher risk was observed among girls who resided in urban areas (AOR = 1.42; p<0.01) and who had a birth order of three or greater. DISCUSSIONS Our results underscore the need for socioeconomic interventions in Pakistan that are targeted at densely populated households and communities within urban areas, with a particular emphasis on out-migration, in order to improve unequal economic underdevelopment. This could be done by targeting improvements in socio-economic structures, including maternal education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oluwafunmilade Deji-Abiodun
- Department of Medicine and Center for Global Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - David Ferrandiz-Mont
- Public Health Surveillance and Emergency Response Department of Vallès Occidental and Vallès Oriental, Public Health Agency of Catalonia, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vinod Mishra
- United Nations Population Division, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Chi Chiao
- Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
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17
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Tham WW, Sojli E, Bryant R, McAleer M. Common Mental Disorders and Economic Uncertainty: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic in the U.S. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260726. [PMID: 34855850 PMCID: PMC8638947 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental health disorders represent an enormous cost to society, are related to economic outcomes, and have increased markedly since the COVID-19 outbreak. Economic activity contracted dramatically on a global scale in 2020, representing the worst crisis since the Great Depression. This study used the COVID Impact Survey to provide insights on the interactions of mental illness and economic uncertainty during COVID-19. We used a probability-based panel survey, COVID Impact Survey, conducted in the U.S. over three waves in the period April-June 2020. The survey covered individual information on employment, economic and financial uncertainty, mental and physical health, as well as other demographic information. The prevalence of moderate mental distress was measured using a Psychological Distress Scale, a 5-item scale that is scored on a 4-point scale (total range: 0-15). The mental distress effect of employment, economic, and financial uncertainty, was assessed in a logit regression analysis conditioning for demographic and health information. It is found that employment, health coverage, social security, and food provision uncertainty are additional stressors for mental health. These economic factors work in addition to demographic effects, where groups who display increased risk for psychological distress include: women, Hispanics, and those in poor physical health. A decrease in employment and increases in economic uncertainty are associated with a doubling of common mental disorders. The population-representative survey evidence presented strongly suggests that economic policies which support employment (e.g., job keeping, job search support, stimulus spending) provide not only economic security but also constitute a major health intervention. Moving forward, the economic uncertainty effect ought to be reflected in community level intervention and prevention efforts, which should include strengthening economic support to reduce financial and economic strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wing Wah Tham
- UNSW Business School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Elvira Sojli
- UNSW Business School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard Bryant
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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18
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Liu YY, Chen CC. A machine learning-based typing scheme refinement for Listeria monocytogenes core genome multilocus sequence typing with high discriminatory power for common source outbreak tracking. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260293. [PMID: 34797875 PMCID: PMC8604304 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background As whole-genome sequencing for pathogen genomes becomes increasingly popular, the typing methods of gene-by-gene comparison, such as core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) and whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST), are being routinely implemented in molecular epidemiology. However, some intrinsic problems remain. For example, genomic sequences with varying read depths, read lengths, and assemblers influence the genome assemblies, introducing error or missing alleles into the generated allelic profiles. These errors and missing alleles might create “specious discrepancy” among closely related isolates, thus making accurate epidemiological interpretation challenging. In addition, the rapid growth of the cgMLST allelic profile database can cause problems related to storage and maintenance as well as long query search times. Methods We attempted to resolve these issues by decreasing the scheme size to reduce the occurrence of error and missing alleles, alleviate the storage burden, and improve the query search time. The challenge in this approach is maintaining the typing resolution when using fewer loci. We achieved this by using a popular artificial intelligence technique, XGBoost, coupled with Shapley additive explanations for feature selection. Finally, 370 loci from the original 1701 cgMLST loci of Listeria monocytogenes were selected. Results Although the size of the final scheme (LmScheme_370) was approximately 80% lower than that of the original cgMLST scheme, its discriminatory power, tested for 35 outbreaks, was concordant with that of the original cgMLST scheme. Although we used L. monocytogenes as a demonstration in this study, the approach can be applied to other schemes and pathogens. Our findings might help elucidate gene-by-gene–based epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yen-Yi Liu
- Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Chieh Chen
- Institute of Medical Science and Technology, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Rapid Screening Research Center for Toxicology and Biomedicine, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
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19
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Kuo MC, Liu SCH, Hsu YF, Wu RM. The role of noncoding RNAs in Parkinson's disease: biomarkers and associations with pathogenic pathways. J Biomed Sci 2021; 28:78. [PMID: 34794432 PMCID: PMC8603508 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-021-00775-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of various noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and their biological implications is a growing area in cell biology. Increasing evidence has revealed canonical and noncanonical functions of long and small ncRNAs, including microRNAs, long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs, and tRNA-derived fragments. These ncRNAs have the ability to regulate gene expression and modify metabolic pathways. Thus, they may have important roles as diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets in various diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, especially Parkinson's disease. Recently, through diverse sequencing technologies and a wide variety of bioinformatic analytical tools, such as reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR, microarrays, next-generation sequencing and long-read sequencing, numerous ncRNAs have been shown to be associated with neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease. In this review article, we will first introduce the biogenesis of different ncRNAs, including microRNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs, circular RNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and tRNA-derived fragments. The pros and cons of the detection platforms of ncRNAs and the reproducibility of bioinformatic analytical tools will be discussed in the second part. Finally, the recent discovery of numerous PD-associated ncRNAs and their association with the diagnosis and pathophysiology of PD are reviewed, and microRNAs and long ncRNAs that are transported by exosomes in biofluids are particularly emphasized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Che Kuo
- Department of Medicine, Section of Neurology, Cancer Center, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Sam Chi-Hao Liu
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Fang Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ruey-Meei Wu
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Jiang PH, Hou CY, Teng SC. An HSP90 cochaperone Ids2 maintains the stability of mitochondrial DNA and ATP synthase. BMC Biol 2021; 19:242. [PMID: 34763695 PMCID: PMC8582188 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01179-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Proteostasis unbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction are two hallmarks of aging. While the chaperone folds and activates its clients, it is the cochaperone that determines the specificity of the clients. Ids2 is an HSP90's cochaperone controlling mitochondrial functions, but no in vivo clients of Ids2 have been reported yet. RESULTS We performed a screen of the databases of HSP90 physical interactors, mitochondrial components, and mutants with respiratory defect, and identified Atp3, a subunit of the complex V ATP synthase, as a client of Ids2. Deletion of IDS2 destabilizes Atp3, and an α-helix at the middle region of Ids2 recruits Atp3 to the folding system. Shortage of Ids2 or Atp3 leads to the loss of mitochondrial DNA. The intermembrane space protease Yme1 is critical to maintaining the Atp3 protein level. Moreover, Ids2 is highly induced when cells carry out oxidative respiration. CONCLUSIONS These findings discover a cochaperone essentially for maintaining the stability of mitochondrial DNA and the proteostasis of the electron transport chain-crosstalk between two hallmarks of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Heng Jiang
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 1, Jen-Ai Road, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Yan Hou
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 1, Jen-Ai Road, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Chun Teng
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 1, Jen-Ai Road, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan.
- Center of Precision Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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21
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Spivakov AA, Lin CR, Lin ES, Chen YZ, Tseng YT. Preparation and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt-Doped FeMn 2O 4 Spinel Nanoparticles. Nanoscale Res Lett 2021; 16:162. [PMID: 34735640 PMCID: PMC8568747 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-021-03619-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mixed-metal oxide nanoparticles have attracted great scientific interest since they find applications in many fields. However, the synthesis of size-controlled and composition-tuned mixed-metal oxide nanoparticles is a great challenge that complicates their study for practical application. In this study, Co-doped FeMn2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by the solvothermal method in which the crystallization was carried out under autogenous pressure at temperatures of 190 °C for 24 h. The influence of Co doping on the evolution of the structural and magnetic properties was investigated by various methods. It was found from XRD data that crystallite size decreases from 9.1 to 4.4 nm with the increase in Co content, which is in good agreement with the results of TEM. Based on the results of magnetic measurements, it was found that the saturation magnetization first increases with an increase in the cobalt content and reaches its maximum value at x = 0.4, and a further increase in x leads to a decrease in the saturation magnetization. The influence of cation redistribution on the observed changes has been discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandr A Spivakov
- Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University, No. 1 Linsen Rd., Pingtung City, 900393, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Rong Lin
- Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University, No. 1 Linsen Rd., Pingtung City, 900393, Taiwan.
| | - En-Szu Lin
- Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University, No. 1 Linsen Rd., Pingtung City, 900393, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Zhen Chen
- Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University, No. 1 Linsen Rd., Pingtung City, 900393, Taiwan
| | - Yaw-Teng Tseng
- Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University, No. 1 Linsen Rd., Pingtung City, 900393, Taiwan
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22
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Chan MH, Lu CN, Chung YL, Chang YC, Li CH, Chen CL, Wei DH, Hsiao M. Magnetically guided theranostics: montmorillonite-based iron/platinum nanoparticles for enhancing in situ MRI contrast and hepatocellular carcinoma treatment. J Nanobiotechnology 2021; 19:308. [PMID: 34627267 PMCID: PMC8501633 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-021-01052-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In Asia, including Taiwan, malignant tumors such as Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) one of the liver cancer is the most diagnosed subtype. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been a typical diagnostic method for accurately diagnosing HCC. When it is difficult to demonstrate non-enhanced MRI of tumors, radiologists can use contrast agents (such as Gd3+, Fe3O4, or FePt) for T1-weighted and T2-weighted imaging remain in the liver for a long time to facilitate diagnosis via MRI. However, it is sometimes difficult for T2-weighted imaging to detect small tumor lesions because the liver tissue may absorb iron ions. This makes early cancer detection a challenging goal. This challenge has prompted current research to create novel nanocomposites for enhancing the noise-to-signal ratio of MRI. To develop a method that can more efficiently diagnose and simultaneously treat HCC during MRI examination, we designed a functionalized montmorillonite (MMT) material with a porous structure to benefit related drugs, such as mitoxantrone (MIT) delivery or as a carrier for the FePt nanoparticles (FePt NPs) to introduce cancer therapy. Multifunctional FePt@MMT can simultaneously visualize HCC by enhancing MRI signals, treating various diseases, and being used as an inducer of magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH). After loading the drug MIT, FePt@MMT-MIT provides both MFH treatment and chemotherapy in one nanosystem. These results ultimately prove that functionalized FePt@MMT-MIT could be integrated as a versatile drugs delivery system by combining with MRI, chemotheraeutic drugs, and magnetic guide targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Hsien Chan
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Ning Lu
- Department of Chemistry, Saint Michael's College, Colchester, VT, 05439, USA
| | - Yi-Lung Chung
- Graduate Institute of Manufacturing Technology and Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 106, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chan Chang
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, 112, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Hsiu Li
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Long Chen
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, 110, Taiwan.
| | - Da-Hua Wei
- Graduate Institute of Manufacturing Technology and Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 106, Taiwan.
| | - Michael Hsiao
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan.
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23
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Chen YL, Chen WL, Cheng YC, Lin MC, Yang SC, Tsai HW, Lin C, Su WC, Chow NH, Ho CL. Development of a novel ALK rearrangement screening test for non-small cell lung cancers. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257152. [PMID: 34559836 PMCID: PMC8462717 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Approximately 5–7% of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases harbor an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion gene and may benefit from ALK inhibitor therapy. To detect ALK fusion genes, we developed a novel test using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the ALK kinase domain (KD). Since ALK expression is mostly silenced in the adult with the exception of neuronal tissue, the normal lung tissue, mesothelial lining, and inflammatory cells are devoid of ALK transcript, making ALK KD RT-PCR an ideal surrogate test for ALK fusion transcripts in lung or pleural effusion. The test was designed with a short PCR product (197 bp) to work for both malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) NSCLC samples. Using ALK IHC as a reference, the sensitivity of the test was 100% for both MPE and FFPE. The specificity was 97.6% for MPE and 97.4% for FFPE. Two false positive cases were found. One was a metastatic brain lesion which should be avoided in the future due to intrinsic ALK expression in the neuronal tissue. The other one resulted from ALK gene amplification. Due to potential false positivity, subsequent confirmation tests such as fluorescence in situ hybridization or multiplex PCR would be preferable. Nevertheless, the test is simple and inexpensive with no false negativity, making it a desirable screening test. It also offers an advantage over multiplex RT-PCR with the capability to detect novel ALK fusions. Indeed through the screening test, we found a novel ALK fusion partner (sperm antigen with calponin homology and coiled-coil domains 1 like gene, SPECC1L) with increased sensitivity to crizotinib in vitro. In summary, a novel RNA-based ALK KD analysis was developed for ALK rearrangement screening in MPE and FFPE specimens of NSCLC. This simple inexpensive test can be implemented as routine diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Lin Chen
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Molecular Medicine Core Laboratory, Research center of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Associations of Medical Technologists, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Li Chen
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Molecular Medicine Core Laboratory, Research center of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chia Cheng
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Ching Lin
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Molecular Medicine Core Laboratory, Research center of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Ching Yang
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Molecular Medicine Core Laboratory, Research center of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Wen Tsai
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chien‐Chung Lin
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Wu-Chou Su
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Nan-Haw Chow
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Molecular Medicine Core Laboratory, Research center of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- The Institute of Molecular Medical, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Liang Ho
- Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Molecular Medicine Core Laboratory, Research center of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- The Institute of Molecular Medical, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
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24
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Chen CC, Lin HT, Chang SP, Kuo HC, Hung HW, Chien KH, Chang YC, Shih MH. Multicolor Emission from Ultraviolet GaN-Based Photonic Quasicrystal Nanopyramid Structure with Semipolar In xGa 1-xN/GaN Multiple Quantum Wells. Nanoscale Res Lett 2021; 16:145. [PMID: 34529162 PMCID: PMC8446151 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-021-03576-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we demonstrated large-area high-quality multi-color emission from the 12-fold symmetric GaN photonic quasicrystal nanorod device which was fabricated using the nanoimprint lithography technology and multiple quantum wells regrowth procedure. High-efficiency blue and green color emission wavelengths of 460 and 520 nm from the regrown InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells were observed under optical pumping conditions. To confirm the strong coupling between the quantum well emissions and the photonic crystal band-edge resonant modes, the finite-element method was applied to perform a simulation of the 12-fold symmetry photonic quasicrystal lattices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Chang Chen
- Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, 31040, Taiwan.
| | - Hsiang-Ting Lin
- Research Center for Applied Sciences (RCAS), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Photonics and Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Pang Chang
- Department of Photonics and Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan
| | - Hao-Chung Kuo
- Department of Photonics and Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan
| | - Hsiao-Wen Hung
- Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, 31040, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Hsiang Chien
- Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, 31040, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Choung Chang
- Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, 31040, Taiwan
| | - M H Shih
- Research Center for Applied Sciences (RCAS), Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.
- Department of Photonics and Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan.
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25
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Cahyadi EF, Hwang MS. An improved efficient anonymous authentication with conditional privacy-preserving scheme for VANETs. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257044. [PMID: 34506565 PMCID: PMC8432652 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of security and privacy in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) has become a hot topic that is wide open to discussion. As the quintessence of this aspect, authentication schemes deployed in VANETs play a substantial role in providing secure communication among vehicles and the surrounding infrastructures. Many researchers have proposed a variety of schemes related to information verification and computation efficiency in VANETs. In 2018, Kazemi et al. proposed an evaluation and improvement work towards Azees et al.’s efficient anonymous authentication with conditional privacy-preserving (EAAP) scheme for VANETs. They claimed that the EAAP suffered from replaying attacks, impersonation attacks, modification attacks, and cannot provide unlinkability. However, we also found out if Kazemi et al.’s scheme suffered from the unlinkability issue that leads to a forgery attack. An adversary can link two or more messages sent by the same user by applying Euclid’s algorithm and derives the user’s authentication key. To remedy the issue, in this paper, we proposed an improvement by encrypting the message using a shared secret key between sender and receiver and apply a Nonce in the final message to guarantee the unlinkability between disseminated messages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eko Fajar Cahyadi
- Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Faculty of Telecommunication and Electrical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Telkom Purwokerto, Purwokerto, Indonesia
| | - Min-Shiang Hwang
- Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- * E-mail:
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26
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Shen CY, Tsai YH, Chen VCH, Chou MC, McIntyre RS, Weng JC. Comparison of functional dorsal attention network alterations in breast cancer survivors before and after chemotherapy. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e27018. [PMID: 34414995 PMCID: PMC8376308 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000027018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer among women worldwide, and a high number of breast cancer patients are suffering from psychological and cognitive disorders. This cross-sectional study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and clinical neuropsychological tests to evaluate the possible underlying mechanisms.We enrolled 32 breast cancer patients without chemotherapy (BC), 32 breast cancer patients within 6 to 12 months after the completion of chemotherapy (BC_CTx) and 46 healthy controls. Participants underwent neuropsychological tests and rs-fMRI with mean fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and mean regional homogeneity analyses. Between groups whole-brain voxel-wise rs-fMRI comparisons were calculated using two-sample t test. rs-fMRI and neuropsychological tests correlation analyses were calculated using multiple regression. Age and years of education were used as covariates. A false discovery rate-corrected P-value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant.We found significantly alteration of mean fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and mean regional homogeneity in the frontoparietal lobe and occipital lobe in the BC group compared with the other 2 groups, indicating alteration of functional dorsal attention network (DAN). Furthermore, we found the DAN alteration was correlated with neuropsychological impairment.The majority of potential underlying mechanisms of DAN alteration in BC patients may due to insufficient frontoparietal lobe neural activity to drive DAN and may be related to the effects of neuropsychological distress. Further longitudinal studies with comprehensive images and neuropsychological tests correlations are recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao-Yu Shen
- Institute of Medicine and School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Yuan-Hsiung Tsai
- School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
| | - Vincent Chin-Hung Chen
- School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Chih Chou
- Institute of Medicine and School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Roger S. McIntyre
- Mood Disorder Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jun-Cheng Weng
- Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Bachelor Program in Artificial Intelligence, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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27
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Liu PL, Chang CC, Lin JH, Kobayashi Y. Simple benchmarking method for determining the accuracy of depth cameras in body landmark location estimation: Static upright posture as a measurement example. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254814. [PMID: 34288917 PMCID: PMC8294549 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
To evaluate the postures in ergonomics applications, studies have proposed the use of low-cost, marker-less, and portable depth camera-based motion tracking systems (DCMTSs) as a potential alternative to conventional marker-based motion tracking systems (MMTSs). However, a simple but systematic method for examining the estimation errors of various DCMTSs is lacking. This paper proposes a benchmarking method for assessing the estimation accuracy of depth cameras for full-body landmark location estimation. A novel alignment board was fabricated to align the coordinate systems of the DCMTSs and MMTSs. The data from an MMTS were used as a reference to quantify the error of using a DCMTS to identify target locations in a 3-D space. To demonstrate the proposed method, the full-body landmark location tracking errors were evaluated for a static upright posture using two different DCMTSs. For each landmark, we compared each DCMTS (Kinect system and RealSense system) with an MMTS by calculating the Euclidean distances between symmetrical landmarks. The evaluation trials were performed twice. The agreement between the tracking errors of the two evaluation trials was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The results indicate that the proposed method can effectively assess the tracking performance of DCMTSs. The average errors (standard deviation) for the Kinect system and RealSense system were 2.80 (1.03) cm and 5.14 (1.49) cm, respectively. The highest average error values were observed in the depth orientation for both DCMTSs. The proposed method achieved high reliability with ICCs of 0.97 and 0.92 for the Kinect system and RealSense system, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pin-Ling Liu
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Chi Chang
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
| | - Jia-Hua Lin
- Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Olympia, Washington, United States of America
| | - Yoshiyuki Kobayashi
- Human Augmentation Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
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28
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Chen PY, Ko CH, Wang CJ, Chen CW, Chiu WH, Hong C, Cheng HM, Wang IJ. The early detection of immunoglobulins via optical-based lateral flow immunoassay platform in COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254486. [PMID: 34283860 PMCID: PMC8291656 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the global public health challenge currently persisting at a grand scale. A method that meets the rapid quantitative detection of antibodies to assess the body's immune response from natural COVID-19 illness or vaccines' effects is urgently needed. In the present study, an attempt was made to integrate a newly designed spectrometer to the COVID-19 test strip procedure; this augmentation provides the quantitative capacity to a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA). Optical interpretation of results by quantitative α index, rather than visual qualification, can be done quickly, in 5-10 minutes. The developed product was compared with several other serological IgM/IgG antibody reagents on the market by recruiting 111 participants suspected of having COVID-19 infection from March to May 2020 in a hospital. Taking RT-PCR as the diagnostic gold standard, the quantitative spectral LIFA platform could correctly detect all 12 COVID-19 patients. Concerning RT-PCR negative patients, all three antibody testing methods found positive cases. The optical-based platform exhibited the ability of early detection of immunoglobulins of RT-PCR negative patients. There was an apparent trend that elevation of IgM levels in the acute phase of infection; then IgG levels rose later. It exhibited the risk of a false-negative diagnosis of RT-PCR in COVID-19 testing. The significant detection ability of this new optical-based platform demonstrated clinical potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pang-Yen Chen
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Public Health, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hao Ko
- SpectroChip Inc., Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - C. Jason Wang
- Department of Pediatrics and Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Chien-Wei Chen
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Chiayi Branch, Chiayi, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Huai Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Hao-Min Cheng
- Institute of Public Health, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Center for Evidence-based Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - I-Jen Wang
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan
- College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
- National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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29
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Chien TJ, Liu CY, Fang CJ, Kuo CY. The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Integr Cancer Ther 2019; 18:1534735419886662. [PMID: 31833790 PMCID: PMC7242803 DOI: 10.1177/1534735419886662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) has no cure, but acupuncture may provide relief through its known neuromodulation or neuroendocrine adjustment. This review aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in treating CIPN. Method: A literature review following the PRISMA Statement was performed, searching 7 databases from inception through August 2019. All studies were clinical trials of the effect of acupuncture on CIPN. The methodological quality of these trials was assessed using Cochrane criteria; meta-analysis software (RevMan 5.2) was used to analyze the data. Data Sources: The databases searched were the following: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), and Wanfang Med Online. Results: We examined 386 cancer patients from 6 randomized control trials, which had high quality, based on the modified Jadad scale. Meta-analysis showed that acupuncture led to significant improvements in pain scores (-1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.61 to -0.82, P < .00001) and nervous system symptoms based on Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Neurotoxicity questionnaire scores (-2.02, 95% CI = -2.21 to -1.84, P < .00001). No significant change was noted in nerve conduction velocity (1.58, 95% CI = -2.67 to 5.83, P = .47). Conclusion: Acupuncture can effectively relieve CIPN pain and functional limitation. The limited number of subjects warrants a larger scale study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsai-Ju Chien
- Taipei City Hospital, Taipei
- National Yang-Ming University,
Taipei
| | - Chia-Yu Liu
- National Yang-Ming University,
Taipei
- Chang Gung University, Taoyuan
- China Medical University, Taichung
- Flourish Traditional Chinese Medicine
Clinic, Taipei
| | - Ching-Ju Fang
- National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan
- National Cheng Kung University Hospital,
Tainan
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