The EGF/hnRNP Q1 axis is involved in tumorigenesis via the regulation of cell cycle-related genes

Yu-Chu Wang,Kung-Chao Chang,Bo-Wen Lin,Jenq-Chang Lee,Chien-Hsien Lai,Li-Jyuan Lin,Yun Yen,Chang-Shen Lin,Shiang-Jie Yang,Peng-Chan Lin,Chung-Ta Lee,Liang-Yi Hung 생화학분자생물학회 2018 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.50 No.-

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) Q1, an RNA-binding protein, has been implicated in many posttranscriptional processes, including RNA metabolism and mRNA splicing and translation. However, the role of hnRNP Q1 in tumorigenesis remains unclear. We previously performed RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP)-seq analysis to identify hnRNP Q1-interacting mRNAs and found that hnRNP Q1 targets a group of genes that are involved in mitotic regulation, including Aurora-A. Here, we demonstrate that altering the hnRNP Q1 level influences the expression of the Aurora-A protein, but not its mRNA. Stimulation with epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances both binding between hnRNP Q1 and Aurora-A mRNA as well as the efficacy of the hnRNP Q1-induced translation of Aurora-A mRNA. The EGF/hnRNP Q1-induced translation of Aurora-A mRNA is mediated by the mTOR and ERK pathways. In addition, we show that hnRNP Q1 up-regulates the translation of a group of spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) genes. hnRNP Q1 overexpression is positively correlated with the levels of Aurora-A and the SAC genes in human colorectal cancer tissues. In summary, our data suggest that hnRNP Q1 plays an important role in regulating the expression of a group of cell cycle-related genes. Therefore, it may contribute to tumorigenesis by up-regulating the translation of these genes in colorectal cancer.

Medical students’ self-assessed efficacy and satisfaction with training on endotracheal intubation and central venous catheterization with smart glasses in Taiwan: a non-equivalent control-group pre- and post-test study

Yu-Fan Lin,Chien-Ying Wang,Yen-Hsun Huang,Sheng-Min Lin,Ying-Ying Yang 한국보건의료인국가시험원 2022 보건의료교육평가 Vol.19 No.-

Purpose Endotracheal intubation and central venous catheterization are essential procedures in clinical practice. Simulation-based technology such as smart glasses has been used to facilitate medical students’ training on these procedures. We investigated medical students’ self-assessed efficacy and satisfaction regarding the practice and training of these procedures with smart glasses in Taiwan. Methods This observational study enrolled 145 medical students in the 5th and 6th years participating in clerkships at Taipei Veterans General Hospital between October 2020 and December 2021. Students were divided into the smart glasses or the control group and received training at a workshop. The primary outcomes included students’ pre- and post-intervention scores for self-assessed efficacy and satisfaction with the training tool, instructor’s teaching, and the workshop. Results The pre-intervention scores for self-assessed efficacy of 5th- and 6th-year medical students in endotracheal intubation and central venous catheterization procedures showed no significant difference. The post-intervention score of self-assessed efficacy in the smart glasses group was better than that of the control group. Moreover, 6th-year medical students in the smart glasses group showed higher satisfaction with the training tool, instructor’s teaching, and workshop than those in the control group. Conclusion Smart glasses served as a suitable simulation tool for endotracheal intubation and central venous catheterization procedures training in medical students. Medical students practicing with smart glasses showed improved self-assessed efficacy and higher satisfaction with training, especially for procedural steps in a space-limited field. Simulation training on procedural skills with smart glasses in 5th-year medical students may be adjusted to improve their satisfaction.

Photocatalytic study of Zinc Oxide with bismuth doping prepared by spray pyrolysis

Lin, Tzu-Yang,Hsu, Yu-Ting,Lan, Wen-How,Huang, Chien-Jung,Chen, Lung-Chien,Huang, Yu-Hsuan,Lin, Jia-Ching,Chang, Kuo-Jen,Lin, Wen-Jen,Huang, Kai-Feng Techno-Press 2015 Advances in nano research Vol.3 No.3

The unintentionally doped and bismuth (Bi) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) films were prepared by spray pyrolysis at $450^{\circ}C$ with zinc acetate and bismuth nitrate precursor. The n-type conduction with concentration $6.13{\times}10^{16}cm^{-3}$ can be observed for the unintentionally doped ZnO. With the increasing of bismuth nitrate concentration in precursor, the p-type conduction can be observed. The p-type concentration $4.44{\times}10^{17}cm^{-3}$ can be achieved for the film with the Bi/Zn atomic ratio 5% in the precursor. The photoluminescence spectroscopy with HeCd laser light source was studied for films with different Bi doping. The photocatalytic activity for the unintentionally doped and Bi-doped ZnO films was studied through the photodegradation of Congo red under UV light illumination. The effects of different Bi contents on photocatalytic activity are studied and discussed. Results show that appropriate Bi doping in ZnO can increase photocatalytic activity.

The development of Taiwan Fracture Liaison Service network

Lo-Yu Chang,Keh-Sung Tsai,Jen-Kuei Peng,Chung-Hwan Chen,Gau-Tyan Lin,Chin-Hsueh Lin,Shih-Te Tu,I-Chieh Mao,Yih-Lan Gau,Hsusan-Chih Liu,Chi-Chien Niu,Min-Hong Hsieh,Jui-Teng Chien,Wei-Chieh Hung,Rong-S 대한골다공증학회 2018 Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia Vol.4 No.2

Osteoporosis and its associated fragility fractures are becoming a severe burden in the healthcare system globally. In the Asian-Pacific (AP) region, the rapidly increasing in aging population is the main reason accounting for the burden. Moreover, the paucity of quality care for osteoporosis continues to be an ongoing challenge. The Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) is a program promoted by International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) with a goal to improve quality of postfracture care and prevention of secondary fractures. In this review article, we would like to introduce the Taiwan FLS network. The first 2 programs were initiated in 2014 at the National Taiwan University Hospital and its affiliated Bei-Hu branch. Since then, the Taiwan FLS program has continued to grow exponentially. Through FLS workshops promoted by the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association (TOA), program mentors have been able to share their valuable knowledge and clinical experience in order to promote establishments of additional programs. With 22 FLS sites including 11 successfully accredited on the best practice map, Taiwan remains as one of the highest FLS coverage countries in the AP region, and was also granted the IOF Best Secondary Fracture Prevention Promotion award in 2017. Despite challenges faced by the TOA, we strive to promote more FLS sites in Taiwan with a main goal of ameliorating further health burden in managing osteoporotic patients.

User Identification Design by Fusion of Face Recognition and Speaker Recognition

Chao-Yu Lin,Kai-Tai Song,Yi-Wen Chen,Shuo-Cheng Chien,Sin-Horng Chen,Chen-Yu Chiang,Jyh-Her Yang,Yi-Chiao Wu,Tzu-Jui Liu 제어로봇시스템학회 2012 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2012 No.10

Intelligent human-robot interface helps a mobile robot to extract external information and interact with a user. User identification information allows a robot to generate appropriate behaviors and make personalized human-robot interaction (PHRI) more natural and safe. Most of service robots move around in various application settings, and biometric features always change during relative movements. In this work, a fusion recognition system based on face and speaker classifiers is designed to achieve the user recognition in various environments. We propose a method to fuse face and speech recognition results based on the concept of confidence indices. Through the derived confidence indices, the system combines the two classifiers and gives improved recognition results. Experiments on a laboratory home service robot show that person recognition rates in 15 environmental situations all outperform those of using single modality.

New Strategy of Using Atosiban for Tocolysis: NTUH Experience (초)

( Tzu Hung Lin ),( Shin Yu Lin ),( Chia Hui Lin ),( Chien Nan Lee ) 대한산부인과학회 2010 서울심포지움 Vol.15 No.-

Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor-α Subunit Targeting Suppresses Metastasis in Advanced Thyroid Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo

( Ching-ling Lin ),( Ming-lin Tsai ),( Yu-hsin Chen ),( Wei-ni Liu ),( Chun-yu Lin ),( Kai-wen Hsu ),( Chien-yu Huang ),( Yu-jia Chang ),( Po-li Wei ),( Shu-huey Chen ),( Li-chi Huang ),( Chia-hwa Lee 한국응용약물학회 2021 Biomolecules & Therapeutics(구 응용약물학회지) Vol.29 No.5

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancers, such as papillary and follicular cancers, have a favorable prognosis. However, poorly differentiated thyroid cancers, such as medullary, squamous and anaplastic advanced thyroid cancers, are very aggressive and insensitive to radioiodine treatment. Thus, novel therapies that attenuate metastasis are urgently needed. We found that both PDGFC and PDGFRA are predominantly expressed in thyroid cancers and that the survival rate is significantly lower in patients with high PDGFRA expression. This finding indicates the important role of PDGF/PDGFR signaling in thyroid cancer development. Next, we established a SW579 squamous thyroid cancer cell line with 95.6% PDGFRA gene insertion and deletions (indels) through CRISPR/Cas9. Protein and invasion analysis showed a dramatic loss in EMT marker expression and metastatic ability. Furthermore, xenograft tumors derived from PDGFRA geneedited SW579 cells exhibited a minor decrease in tumor growth. However, distant lung metastasis was completely abolished upon PDGFRA gene editing, implying that PDGFRA could be an effective target to inhibit distant metastasis in advanced thyroid cancers. To translate this finding to the clinic, we used the most relevant multikinase inhibitor, imatinib, to inhibit PDGFRA signaling. The results showed that imatinib significantly suppressed cell growth, induced cell cycle arrest and cell death in SW579 cells. Our developed noninvasive apoptosis detection sensor (NIADS) indicated that imatinib induced cell apoptosis through caspase-3 activation. In conclusion, we believe that developing a specific and selective targeted therapy for PDGFRA would effectively suppress PDGFRA-mediated cancer aggressiveness in advanced thyroid cancers.

Male Infertility Increases the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

Chen Peng-Ciao,Chen Yu-Ju,Yang Chia-Chen,Lin Ting-Ti,Huang Chien-Chu,Chung Chi-Hsiang,Sun Chien-An,Chien Wu-Chien 대한남성과학회 2022 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.40 No.3

Purpose: Some evidence suggests that male infertility increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the evidence in Asian populations is relatively scarce. The aim of this study is to determine whether male infertility increases the risk of CVDs. Materials and Methods: We used inpatient and outpatient data for the years 2000 to 2015 from the Taiwanese Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We enrolled 7,016 males over 18 years old and diagnosed with male infertility. Of these, 2,326 matched our inclusion criteria and were assigned to the study group. For each infertility patient, four comparison patients were frequency-matched by age and index date to form a control cohort comprising 9,304 patients. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to estimate the association between male infertility and CVDs. Results: After a 15-year follow-up, the incidence rate of CVDs was higher in the infertility group than the control group (1,460.23 and 1,073.70 per 100,000 person-years, respectively). The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that the adjusted HR for CVDs was 1.472 for the infertility group (95% CI, 1.288–1.683; p<0.001) relative to the control group. The Kaplan–Meier analysis of the cumulative incidence of CVDs in the two groups showed that the cumulative risk curve for CVDs was significantly higher for the infertility group than the control group. Conclusions: This study shows that men with infertility have a higher risk of developing incident CVDs. In the future, healthcare providers should pay attention to these patients because of their higher health risks.

An Aligned Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) Scaffold Fixed with Fibronectin to Enhance the Attachment and Growth of Human Endothelial Progenitor Cells

Chien-Ning Hsu,Ya-Ting Lin,Yu-Hsu Chen,Tsung-Yu Tseng,Hsing-Fen Tsai,Shinn-Gwo Hong,Chao-Ling Yao 한국생물공학회 2023 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.28 No.3

Repair and regeneration of vascular tissue is a crucial current research focus in the fields of biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. Numerous studies revealed that cells are required to grow on an appropriate extracellular matrix to maintain or enhance functionality. In the present study, various surface modification methods were evaluated to fix fibronectin on the surface of a bio-based and aligned poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) film for vascular tissue engineering. After chemical modification, the properties of the fibronectin-fixed PHBV films were examined and compared with the original films, including -NH2 group expression, contact angle, mechanical properties, and fibronectin binding amount. Then, cytotoxicity and biocompatibility were measured by culture with L929 cells and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) of the fibronectinfixed PHBV films. In addition, cell morphology, cell growth kinetics, acetylated low-density lipoprotein uptake ability, lectin binding ability and specific gene expressions of cultured EPCs on fibronectin-fixed PHBV films were also analyzed. Taken together, our data demonstrated that the surface of the aligned PHBV films could be successfully modified to immobilize fibronectin. Importantly, EPCs cultured on the fibronectin-fixed PHBV films showed excellent cell biocompatibility, a rapid proliferation rate, an aligned growth direction and correct cell functions. We believed that fibronectin-fixed PHBV films can serve as a potential scaffold for vascular tissue engineering.

Protective Effect of Millettia reticulata Benth Against CCl4-Induced Hepatic Damage and Inflammatory Action in Rats

Chien-Chen Hsu,Chin-Lin Hsu,Shao-En Tsai,Timothy Yu-Chi Fu,Gow-Chin Yen 한국식품영양과학회 2009 Journal of medicinal food Vol.12 No.4

The effects of the water extracts of Millettia reticulata Benth (WEMRB) and its active compound (protocatechuic acid [PCA]) on acute hepatic injury and inflammation in CCl4-induced Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated. Sprague-Dawley rats were orally treated with WEMRB or PCA for 28 consecutive days, and then the rats were given an intraperitoneal injection with CCl4. Pretreatment with WEMRB or PCA significantly lowered the CCl4-induced serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers (aspartate and alanine aminotransferases). Liver histopathology showed that WEMRB reduced the incidence of cytoplasmic vacuolization and necrosis induced by CCl4 in rats. Pretreatment with WEMRB also showed anti-inflammation on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and myeloperoxidase, as well as nitrite and nitrate levels in the CCl4-induced Sprague-Dawley rats. The results suggest that oral administration of WEMRB decreases the hepatotoxic effects by increasing glutathione-dependent antioxidant enzyme activity, thereby reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in CCl4-induced Sprague-Dawley rats.