Detection of EBV Infection and Gene Expression in Oral Cancer from Patients in Taiwan by Microarray Analysis

Epstein-Barr virus is known to cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Although oral cavity is located close to the nasal pharynx, the pathogenetic role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in oral cancers is unclear. This molecular epidemiology study uses EBV genomic microarray (EBV-chip) to simultaneously detect the prevalent rate and viral gene expression patterns in 57 oral squamous cell carcinoma biopsies (OSCC) collected from patients in Taiwan. The majority of the specimens (82.5%) were EBV-positive that probably expressed coincidently the genes for EBNAs, LMP2A and 2B, and certain structural proteins. Importantly, the genes fabricated at the spots 61 (BBRF1, BBRF2, and BBRF3) and 68 (BDLF4 and BDRF1) on EBV-chip were actively expressed in a significantly greater number of OSCC exhibiting exophytic morphology or ulceration than those tissues with deep invasive lesions (P = .0265 and .0141, resp.). The results may thus provide the lead information for understanding the role of EBV in oral cancer pathogenesis

Recent work on sprite spectrum in Taiwan

campaigns in Taiwan. We first introduce two types of spectroimagers, the slit and slitless types, and discuss their advantages and shortcomings. Next we explore the instrument development and procedures undertaken for this study. In 2006, a slit spectroimager was installed for a sprite campaign and on 15 August of that year, two sprite spectra were recorded using the slit spectroimager along with seven sprites, one halo, one ELVES emission and two jets. By the end of 2015, a slitless spectroimager had been successfully constructed and was ready to conduct additional investigations. On 7 May 2016, a sprite spectrum was recorded using the slitless spectroimager. Following an examination of the calibrations (comprising detection region field of view, wavelength calibration, and response curve), data analysis, and additional calibrations (comprising elevation and azimuthal angles, atmospheric transmittance, and theoretical wavelength calculations) performed in this study, we present the results from our observed sprite spectra using the slit and slitless spectroimagers

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Clinical assessment of resting full-cycle ratio and fractional flow reserve for coronary artery disease in a real-world cohort

Background: There are few reports published on the comparison of the resting full-cycle ratio (RFR) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) on the assessment of the severity of coronary stenosis. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of RFR for detection of functionally significant coronary lesions. Methods: This was an observational, retrospective, single-center study. We evaluated both RFR and FFR for 277 coronary lesions of 235 patients who underwent coronary angiography. Patients presenting with chronic coronary syndrome, unstable angina, or non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction were included. Results: The mean FFR and RFR values were 0.84 ± 0.08 and 0.90 ± 0.08, respectively. RFR significantly correlated with FFR (r = 0.727, P 0.93 or < 0.86; AUC: 0.94 (95% CI:0.88–0.99)]. Conclusion: RFR was significantly correlated with FFR in the assessment of intermediate coronary stenosis. An RFR-FFR hybrid approach increases the diagnostic accuracy of RFR in the detection of functionally significant lesions

Vessel fractional flow reserve in assessment of non-culprit lesions in ST elevation myocardial infarction

Objectives We sought to evaluate the physiology of non-culprit lesions by using vessel fractional flow reserve (vFFR) among patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease (MVD). Methods From January 2017 to December 2019, 354 patients with STEMI in the Taipei Veterans General Hospital Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry were screened. Patients who underwent successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for culprit lesions, with at least one non-culprit lesion with stenosis of ≥50%, were eligible. vFFR was computed retrospectively. Results A total of 156 patients with 217 non-culprit lesions were eligible for this study. Aortic root pressure and two good angiograms were available for 139 non-culprit lesions for vFFR analysis. Based on the vFFR analysis, 59 non-culprit lesions (43.2%) had a vFFR value &gt;0.80, and PCI was deferred in 45 lesions (76.3%). Meanwhile, 80 non-culprit lesions (56.8%) had a vFFR value ≤0.80; however, PCI was only performed in 31 lesions (38.7%) (p=0.142). The incidence of vessel-oriented composite endpoint was numerically higher in non-culprit lesions with vFFR ≤0.80 than those with vFFR &gt;0.80 (6.3% vs 1.7%, HR: 3.59, 95% CI: 0.42 to 30.8, p=0.243). Conclusion Functional incomplete revascularisation is common among patients with STEMI and MVD. The adoption of vFFR to assess non-culprit lesions may reclassify the coronary revascularisation strategy that is usually guided by angiography only in this acute setting. </p

Two Chinese Herbal Regimens Safe for the Elderly on Inhibiting Liver and Bladder Tumor Cell Growth and Regulating Gene Expression

Background: Cancers have become one of the most lethal diseases in elders. In traditional Chinese medicine, Tan-Chih-Hsiao-Yao-San (TCHYS) and Long-Daan-Shiah-Gan-Tang (LDSGT) are used to treat cancers. However, the growth-inhibitory effects and gene expression profiles of these drugs on cancer cells are still unclear. Methods: This study assessed the effects of TCHYS and LDSGT on viability of liver and bladder tumor cells, and bladder TCCSUP cells were further subjected to profile gene expression patterns with microarray technology for identifying gene candidates that may be involved in the tumorigenesis. Results: The results revealed that both drugs significantly eliminated the growth of Chang liver and three hepatoma cells. On the contrary, the embryonic liver WRL68 cells showed less response to the treatments, whereas the control agent genistein had much higher inhibitory effect in WRL68 cells than in the other hepatoma cells. Both TCHYS and LDSGT, as well as cisplatin and paclitaxel, exhibited dose-dependent suppression on the viability of all bladder cancer cells. To characterize the possible regulation for such effects, the profiling of gene expression was performed with complementary DNA chips. When bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) TCCSUP cells were treated with TCHYS, 29 upregulated and 28 downregulated genes were detected; whereas 54 genes were upregulated in the same cells treated with LDSGT. Moreover, the detected gene expression patterns were also confirmed by using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. Conclusion: This study initiates the evaluations of drug efficacies and gene expression profiles of traditional Chinese medicines, which may provide important information and identify useful biomarkers for treating cancers

Premature aging with impaired oxidative stress defense in mice lacking TR4

Early studies suggest that TR4 nuclear receptor is a key transcriptional factor regulating various biological activities, including reproduction, cerebella development, and metabolism. Here we report that mice lacking TR4 (TR4−/−) exhibited increasing genome instability and defective oxidative stress defense, which are associated with premature aging phenotypes. At the cellular level, we observed rapid cellular growth arrest and less resistance to oxidative stress and DNA damage in TR4−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) in vitro. Restoring TR4 or supplying the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) to TR4−/− MEFs reduced the DNA damage and slowed down cellular growth arrest. Focused qPCR array revealed alteration of gene profiles in the DNA damage response (DDR) and anti-reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways in TR4−/− MEFs, which further supports the hypothesis that the premature aging in TR4−/− mice might stem from oxidative DNA damage caused by increased oxidative stress or compromised genome integrity. Together, our finding identifies a novel role of TR4 in mediating the interplay between oxidative stress defense and aging

MicroRNA-140-5p inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma by directly targeting the unique isomerase Pin1 to block multiple cancer-driving pathways

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer related-death. As a major common regulator of numerous cancer-driving pathways and a unique therapeutic target, the prolyl isomerase Pin1 is overexpressed in a majority of HCCs, whereas the mechanism underlying Pin1 overexpression remains elusive. Here we find that miR-140-5p inhibits HCC by directly targeting Pin1 to block multiple cancer-driving pathways. Bioinformatics analysis, miRNA binding and functional assays identify that miR-140-5p directly interacts with the 3′UTR of Pin1 and inhibits Pin1 translation. Furthermore, like stable Pin1 knockdown, moderate overexpression of miR-140-5p not only eliminates Pin1, but also inhibits cells growth and metastasis. Importantly, these effects of miR-140-5p are largely rescued by reconstitution of Pin1. Moreover, miR-140-5p inhibits multiple Pin1-dependent cancer pathways and suppresses tumor growth in mice. The clinical significance of these findings has been substantiated by the demonstrations that miR-140-5p is frequently down-regulated and inversely correlated with Pin1 overexpression in HCC tissues and cell lines. Given prevalent miR-140-5p downregulation in other cancers and major impact of Pin1 overexpression on activating numerous cancer-driving pathways including global miRNA downregulation, the miR-140-5p/Pin1 axis may play a major role in tumorigenesis and offer promising therapeutic targets for HCC and other cancers

Entropy-Based Time Window Features Extraction for Machine Learning to Predict Acute Kidney Injury in ICU

Acute kidney injury (AKI) refers to rapid decline of kidney function and is manifested by decreasing urine output or abnormal blood test (elevated serum creatinine). Electronic health records (EHRs) is fundamental for clinicians and machine learning algorithms to predict the clinical outcome of patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Early prediction of AKI could automatically warn the clinicians to review the possible risk factors and act in advance to prevent it. However, the enormous amount of patient data usually consists of a relatively incomplete data set and is very challenging for supervised machine learning process. In this paper, we propose an entropy-based feature engineering framework for vital signs based on their frequency of records. In particular, we address the missing at random (MAR) and missing not at random (MNAR) types of missing data according to different clinical scenarios. Regarding its applicability, we applied it to establish a prediction model for future AKI in ICU patients using 4278 ICU admissions from a tertiary hospital. Our result shows that the proposed entropy-based features are feasible to be used in the AKI prediction model and its performance improves as the data availability increases. In addition, we study the performance of AKI prediction model by comparing different time gaps and feature windows with the proposed vital sign entropy features. This work could be used as a guidance for feature windows selection and missing data processing during the development of a prediction model in ICU