Liquid biopsy genotyping in lung cancer: ready for clinical utility?

Liquid biopsy is a blood test that detects evidence of cancer cells or tumor DNA in the circulation. Despite complicated collection methods and the requirement for technique-dependent platforms, it has generated substantial interest due, in part, to its potential to detect driver oncogenes such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutants in lung cancer. This technology is advancing rapidly and is being incorporated into numerous EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) development programs. It appears ready for integration into clinical care. Recent studies have demonstrated that biological fluids such as saliva and urine can also be used for detecting EGFR mutant DNA through application other user-friendly techniques. This review focuses on the clinical application of liquid biopsies to lung cancer genotyping, including EGFR and other targets of genotype-directed therapy and compares multiple platforms used for liquid biopsy

Quantum metastability in time-periodic potentials

In this paper we investigate quantum metastability of a particle trapped in between an infinite wall and a square barrier, with either a time-periodically oscillating barrier (Model A) or bottom of the well (Model B). Based on the Floquet theory, we derive in each case an equation which determines the stability of the metastable system. We study the influence on the stability of two Floquet states when their Floquet energies (real part) encounter a direct or an avoided crossing at resonance. The effect of the amplitude of oscillation on the nature of crossing of Floquet energies is also discussed. It is found that by adiabatically changing the frequency and amplitude of the oscillation field, one can manipulate the stability of states in the well. By means of a discrete transform, the two models are shown to have exactly the same Floquet energy spectrum at the same oscillating amplitude and frequency. The equivalence of the models is also demonstrated by means of the principle of gauge invariance.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Comparison between the recovery time of alfentanil and fentanyl in balanced propofol sedation for gastrointestinal and colonoscopy: a prospective, randomized study

BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in balanced propofol sedation (BPS) titrated to moderate sedation (conscious sedation) for endoscopic procedures. However, few controlled studies on BPS targeted to deep sedation for diagnostic endoscopy were found. Alfentanil, a rapid and short-acting synthetic analog of fentanyl, appears to offer clinically significant advantages over fentanyl during outpatient anesthesia. It is reasonable to hypothesize that low dose of alfentanil used in BPS might also result in more rapid recovery as compared with fentanyl. METHODS: A prospective, randomized and double-blinded clinical trial of alfentanil, midazolam and propofol versus fentanyl, midazolam and propofol in 272 outpatients undergoing diagnostic esophagogastroduodenal endoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy for health examination were enrolled. Randomization was achieved by using the computer-generated random sequence. Each combination regimen was titrated to deep sedation. The recovery time, patient satisfaction, safety and the efficacy and cost benefit between groups were compared. RESULTS: 260 participants were analyzed, 129 in alfentanil group and 131 in fentanyl group. There is no significant difference in sex, age, body weight, BMI and ASA distribution between two groups. Also, there is no significant difference in recovery time, satisfaction score from patients, propofol consumption, awake time from sedation, and sedation-related cardiopulmonary complications between two groups. Though deep sedation was targeted, all cardiopulmonary complications were minor and transient (10.8%, 28/260). No serious adverse events including the use of flumazenil, assisted ventilation, permanent injury or death, and temporary or permanent interruption of procedure were found in both groups. However, fentanyl is New Taiwan Dollar (NT$) 103 (approximate US$ 4) cheaper than alfentanil, leading to a significant difference in total cost between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: This randomized, double-blinded clinical trial showed that there is no significant difference in the recovery time, satisfaction score from patients, propofol consumption, awake time from sedation, and sedation-related cardiopulmonary complications between the two most common sedation regimens for EGD and colonoscopy in our hospital. However, fentanyl is NT$103 (US$ 4) cheaper than alfentanil in each case. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Institutional Review Board of Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital (IRB097-18) and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC-12002575

The Association between Traditional Chinese Dietary and Herbal Therapies and Uterine Involution in Postpartum Women

Background. Traditional Chinese postpartum care is believed to help in the recovery of women after delivery. Objective. This study investigated the association of elements in dietary and herbal therapy with uterine involution. Methods. Indices of uterine involution were measured ultrasonographically in 127 postpartum women between 4-6 weeks after delivery. A self-reported retrospective questionnaire was used to query women about their frequencies of taking herbal medicines and consuming special diets during the first month after delivery. Correlation coefficients were calculated to identify the associations, then the regression models were used to identify the predictors. Result. Among the herbal medicines and diet, consumption of Eucommia ulmoides (E. ulmoides) negatively correlated with the AP diameter of the uterus and the cavity. E. ulmoides was also the only predictor of maximum AP diameter of the uterus, AP diameter of the uterus 5 cm from the fundus, and the maximum AP diameter of the cavity. Moreover, consumption of Sheng-hau-tang was significantly correlated with anteverted uterus and was a predictor of anteverted uterus. Conclusion. E. ulmoides and Sheng-hau-tang positively correlated with the degree of uterine involution after delivery, implying that both therapies might possess the pharmacological efficacy of uterine contraction in postpartum women

AMiBA Wideband Analog Correlator

A wideband analog correlator has been constructed for the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy. Lag correlators using analog multipliers provide large bandwidth and moderate frequency resolution. Broadband IF distribution, backend signal processing and control are described. Operating conditions for optimum sensitivity and linearity are discussed. From observations, a large effective bandwidth of around 10 GHz has been shown to provide sufficient sensitivity for detecting cosmic microwave background variations.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figures, ApJ in press

South Korea’s Response to the Myanmar Military Coup in 2021

On 1 February, 2021, on the grounds that the 2020 election was fraudulent in nature, Myanmar's military launched a coup and declared martial law, arresting major government leaders. Myanmar citizens have protested the coup through a movement of civil disobedience. The military, in turn, mobilized soldiers and police to curb the protests with force. The U.S. and South Korea immediately demanded that the military release the arrested government personnel, including Aung San Suu Kyi, whose reputation as a peacemaker and Nobel Prize winner had been tarred by her handling of the Rohingya refugee crisis in 2017. Among East Asian countries, South Korea is the only one wherein thousands of people, including President Moon Jae-in, have demonstrated their support for Myanmar's democratic movement. This study aims to understand why South Korea is alone among East Asian countries in their support of Myanmar's democratic movement. Additionally, we will investigate some crucial, socio-political implications underlying this support

Exploring the Mechanism Responsible for Cellulase Thermostability by Structure-Guided Recombination

Cellulases from Bacillus and Geobacillus bacteria are potentially useful in the biofuel and animal feed industries. One of the unique characteristics of these enzymes is that they are usually quite thermostable. We previously identified a cellulase, GsCelA, from thermophilic Geobacillus sp. 70PC53, which is much more thermostable than its Bacillus homolog, BsCel5A. Thus, these two cellulases provide a pair of structures ideal for investigating the mechanism regarding how these cellulases can retain activity at high temperature. In the present study, we applied the SCHEMA non-contiguous recombination algorithm as a novel tool, which assigns protein sequences into blocks for domain swapping in a way that lessens structural disruption, to generate a set of chimeric proteins derived from the recombination of GsCelA and BsCel5A. Analyzing the activity and thermostability of this designed library set, which requires only a limited number of chimeras by SCHEMA calculations, revealed that one of the blocks may contribute to the higher thermostability of GsCelA. When tested against swollen Avicel, the highly thermostable chimeric cellulase C10 containing this block showed significantly higher activity (22%-43%) and higher thermostability compared to the parental enzymes. With further structural determinations and mutagenesis analyses, a 3_(10) helix was identified as being responsible for the improved thermostability of this block. Furthermore, in the presence of ionic calcium and crown ether (CR), the chimeric C10 was found to retain 40% residual activity even after heat treatment at 90°C. Combining crystal structure determinations and structure-guided SCHEMA recombination, we have determined the mechanism responsible for the high thermostability of GsCelA, and generated a novel recombinant enzyme with significantly higher activity

Preparation, characterization, and application of titanium nano-tube array in dye-sensitized solar cells

The vertically orientated TiO2 nanotube array (TNA) decorated with TiO2 nano-particles was successfully fabricated by electrochemically anodizing titanium (Ti) foils followed by Ti-precursor post-treatment and annealing process. The TNA morphology characterized by SEM and TEM was found to be filled with TiO2 nano-particles interior and exterior of the TiO2 nano-tubes after titanium (IV) n-butoxide (TnB) treatment, whereas TiO2 nano-particles were only found inside of TiO2 nano-tubes upon titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) treatment. The efficiency in TNA-based DSSCs was improved by both TnB and TiCl4 treatment presumably due to the increase of dye adsorption

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) is the first interferometer dedicated to studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation at 3mm wavelength. The choice of 3mm was made to minimize the contributions from foreground synchrotron radiation and Galactic dust emission. The initial configuration of seven 0.6m telescopes mounted on a 6-m hexapod platform was dedicated in October 2006 on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Scientific operations began with the detection of a number of clusters of galaxies via the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. We compare our data with Subaru weak lensing data in order to study the structure of dark matter. We also compare our data with X-ray data in order to derive the Hubble constant.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ (13 pages, 7 figures); a version with high resolution figures available at http://www.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/~keiichi/upfiles/AMiBA7/pho_highreso.pd

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts