Delay of Surgery for Spinal Metastasis due to the COVID-19 Outbreak Affected Patient Outcomes

Chia-Jung Hsieh,Chun-Yu Wu,Yen-Heng Lin,Yu-Cheng Huang,Wen-Chi Yang,Tom Wei-Wu Chen,Wei-Li Ma,Wei-Hsin Lin,Feng-Ming Hsu,Furen Xiao,Shih-Hung Yang,Dar-Ming Lai,Chang-Mu Chen,Shin-Yi Chao,Fon-Yih Tsuan 대한척추신경외과학회 2023 Neurospine Vol.20 No.4

Objective: The present study is to analyze the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 2019) outbreak and the subsequent lockdown on the outcomes of spinal metastasis patients. Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of data from a prospective cohort study. All patients underwent surgical intervention for spinal metastases between January 2019 and December 2021 and had at least 3 months of postoperative follow-up. The primary outcome was overall mortality during the 4 different stages (pre-COVID-19 era, COVID-19 pandemic except in Taiwan, national lockdown, lifting of the lockdown). The secondary outcomes were the oncological severity scores, medical/surgical accessibility, and patient functional outcome during the 4 periods as well as survival/mortality. Results: A total of 233 patients were included. The overall mortality rate was 41.20%. During the Taiwan lockdown, more patients received palliative surgery than other surgical methods, and no total en bloc spondylectomy was performed. The time from surgeon visit to operation was approximately doubled after the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan (75.97, 86.63, 168.79, and 166.91 hours in the 4 periods, respectively). The estimated survival probability was highest after the national lockdown was lifted and lowest during the lockdown. In the multivariate analysis, increased risk of mortality was observed with delay of surgery, with emergency surgery having a higher risk with delays above 33 hours, urgent surgery (below 59 and above 111 hours), and elective surgery (above 332 hours). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic and related policies have altered daily clinical practice and negatively impacted the survival of patients with spinal metastases.

Identifying Opinion Leader in the Internet Forum

Chao Wu,Chunlin Li,Wei Yan,Youlong Luo,Xijun Mao,Shumeng Du,Mingming Li 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Hybrid Information Techno Vol.8 No.11

Opinion leader is an authority person who has great influence in BBS. Their linguistic behavior has a huge impact on net citizen’s behavior and thought. In this paper, we propose an algorithm called OLRA (Opinion Leader PageRank Algorithm) based on topic-field to identify opinion leaders in the Internet forum. In the algorithm the closeness degree factor and sentiment analyses are taken into consideration. Meanwhile, these two authority values are defined as the weight of links among users. The data is collected from a number of posts on Tianya forum which is a famous forum in China. In the experiment, the algorithm is compared with Interest-based PageRank algorithm, online time Algorithm, and Experience-based Algorithm, the result shows that the OLRA algorithm can identify opinion leaders than others in the Internet forum effectively.

Memory-based Human Postural Regulation Control: An Asynchronous Semi-Markov Model Approach

Chao Ma,Hang Fu,Wei Wu 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2023 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.21 No.10

This article investigates the human postural regulation problem from the dynamical system perspective, which is also applicable for human-like robotics. More precisely, since the dynamical human posture parameters may change caused by varying load or environment abrupt, the semi-Markov jump process is employed to model the human standing postural dynamics with multiple modes. Furthermore, a novel memorized regulation strategy is developed for guaranteeing the stable standing such that the past memory information can be well utilized. In particular, the asynchronous regulation procedure is considered for better describing the human postural model with mismatched jumping modes. By model transformation and stochastic analysis, mode-dependent regulation criteria with state feedback model are established by convex optimization approach, based on which the mode-dependent regulation gains are designed accordingly. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed regulation strategy is verified via an illustrative example of quiet upright standing posture.

Particle Size Effect on the BaTio3 Powder Quality by the Solid State Reaction

Chao Yi-Wu,Shaio Fu-Thang,He Wei-Ying,Tsai Yeou-Yih 한국분말야금학회 2006 한국분말야금학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2006 No.1

Isolation and Identification of Newly Isolated Antagonistic Streptomyces sp. Strain AP19-2 Producing Chromomycins

Wu, Xue-Chang,Chen, Wei-Feng,Qian, Chao-Dong,Li, Ou,Li, Ping,Wen, Yan-Ping The Microbiological Society of Korea 2007 The journal of microbiology Vol.45 No.6

A new antagonistic strain of actinomycete, designated AP19-2, was isolated from the feces of giant pandas inhabiting the Foping National Nature Reserve in China. Cultural characteristic studies strongly suggested that this strain is a member of the genus Streptomyces. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of strain AP19-2 evidenced profound similarity (97-99 %) with other Streptomyces strains. Two pure active molecules were isolated from a fermentation broth of Streptomyces sp. strain AP19-2 via extraction, concentration, silica gel G column chromatography, and HPLC. The chemical structures of the two related compounds (referred to as chromomycin $A_2$ and chromomycin $A_3$) were established on the basis of their Infrared spectra (IR), High Resolution Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data, and by comparison with published data.

Photocatalytic water splitting using hygroscopic MgO modified TiO2/WO3 dual-layer photocatalysts

Chao-Wei Huang,Chi-Hung Liao,Jeffrey Chi-Sheng Wu 한국화학공학회 2020 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.37 No.8

MgO modified TiO2/WO3 dual-layer photocatalysts (DLP) was synthesized by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS). The influences of MgO on the properties and the performance of the prepared DLP were investigated. MgO modified TiO2 thin films were characterized by instrumental analysis such as XRD, AFM, SEM-EDS, and UV-visible absorption spectrometry. Their photoactivity was assessed by conducting photovoltammetry followed by splitting water in a twin-cell reactor, where hydrogen gas and oxygen gas were produced separately. The yield of H2 and O2 in the twin-cell reactor corresponded to the photovoltammetry results, indicating that MgO can significantly improve the photoactivity of DLP. The improvement is attributed primarily to the hygroscopic Nature of MgO, which can increase the amount of H2O molecules on the surface of TiO2 for carrying out the photoreaction. In addition, the incorporated MgO layer can also act as an insulator to suppress the electron leakage that occurred at the TiO2-water interface.

A False Positive 18F-FDG PET/CT Scan Caused by Breast Silicone Injection

Chao-Jung Chen,Bi-Fang Lee,Wei-Jen Yao,Pei-Shan Wu,Wen-Chung Chen,Shu-Lin Peng,Nan-Tsing Chiu 대한영상의학회 2009 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.10 No.2

We present here the case of a 40-year-old woman with a greater than 10 year prior history of bilateral breast silicone injection and saline bag implantation. Bilateral palpable breast nodules were observed, but the ultrasound scan was suboptimal and the magnetic resonance imaging showed no gadoliniumenhanced tumor. The 18F-FDG PET/CT scan showed a hypermetabolic nodule in the left breast with a 30% increase of 18F-FDG uptake on the delayed imaging, and this mimicked breast cancer. She underwent a left partial mastectomy and the pathology demonstrated a siliconoma.

The 5p15.33 Locus Is Associated with Risk of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Never-Smoking Females in Asia

Hsiung, Chao Agnes,Lan, Qing,Hong, Yun-Chul,Chen, Chien-Jen,Hosgood III, H. Dean,Chang, I-Shou,Chatterjee, Nilanjan,Brennan, Paul,Wu, Chen,Zheng, Wei,Chang, Gee-Chen,Wu, Tangchun,Park, Jae Yong,Hsiao, Public Library of Science 2010 PLoS genetics Vol.6 No.8

<▼1><P>Genome-wide association studies of lung cancer reported in populations of European background have identified three regions on chromosomes 5p15.33, 6p21.33, and 15q25 that have achieved genome-wide significance with p-values of 10<SUP>−7</SUP> or lower. These studies have been performed primarily in cigarette smokers, raising the possibility that the observed associations could be related to tobacco use, lung carcinogenesis, or both. Since most women in Asia do not smoke, we conducted a genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in never-smoking females (584 cases, 585 controls) among Han Chinese in Taiwan and found that the most significant association was for rs2736100 on chromosome 5p15.33 (p = 1.30×10<SUP>−11</SUP>). This finding was independently replicated in seven studies from East Asia totaling 1,164 lung adenocarcinomas and 1,736 controls (p = 5.38×10<SUP>−11</SUP>). A pooled analysis achieved genome-wide significance for rs2736100. This SNP marker localizes to the <I>CLPTM1L</I>-<I>TERT</I> locus on chromosome 5p15.33 (p = 2.60×10<SUP>−20</SUP>, allelic risk = 1.54, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.41–1.68). Risks for heterozygote and homozygote carriers of the minor allele were 1.62 (95% CI; 1.40–1.87), and 2.35 (95% CI: 1.95–2.83), respectively. In summary, our results show that genetic variation in the <I>CLPTM1L-TERT</I> locus of chromosome 5p15.33 is directly associated with the risk of lung cancer, most notably adenocarcinoma.</P></▼1><▼2><P><B>Author Summary</B></P><P>Worldwide, approximately 15% of lung cancer cases occur among nonsmokers. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of lung cancer conducted in populations of European background have identified three regions on chromosomes 5, 6, and 15 that harbor genetic variants that confer risk for lung cancer. Prior studies were conducted primarily in cigarette smokers, raising the possibility that the associations could be related to tobacco use, lung carcinogenesis, or both. A GWAS of lung cancer among never-smokers is an optimal setting to discover effects that are independent of smoking. Since most women in Asia do not smoke, we conducted a GWAS of lung adenocarcinoma among never-smoking females (584 cases, 585 controls) in Taiwan, and observed a region on chromosome 5 significantly associated with risk for lung cancer in never-smoking women. The finding was independently replicated in seven studies from East Asia totaling 1,164 lung adenocarcinomas and 1,736 controls. To our knowledge, this study is the first reported GWAS of lung cancer in East Asian women, and together with the replication studies represents the largest genetic association study in this population. The findings provide insight into the genetic contribution of common variants to lung carcinogenesis.</P></▼2>

Plasma metabolites associated with physiological and biochemical indexes indicate the effect of caging stress on mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Zheng Chao,Wu Yan,Liang Zhen Hua,Pi Jin Song,Cheng Shi Bin,Wei Wen Zhuo,Liu Jing Bo,Lu Li Zhi,Zhang Hao 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.2

Objective: Cage rearing has critical implications for the laying duck industry because it is convenient for feeding and management. However, caging stress is a type of chronic stress that induces maladaptation. Environmental stress responses have been extensively studied, but no detailed information is available about the comprehensive changes in plasma metabolites at different stages of caging stress in ducks. We designed this experiment to analyze the effects of caging stress on performance parameters and oxidative stress indexes in ducks. Methods: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) was used to determine the changes in metabolites in duck plasma at 5 (CR5), 10 (CR10), and 15 (CR15) days after cage rearing and traditional breeding (TB). The associated pathways of differentially altered metabolites were analyzed using Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database. Results: The results of this study indicate that caging stress decreased performance parameters, and the plasma total superoxide dismutase levels were increased in the CR10 group compared with the other groups. In addition, 1,431 metabolites were detected. Compared with the TB group, 134, 381, and 190 differentially produced metabolites were identified in the CR5, CR10, and CR15 groups, respectively. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) show that the selected components sufficiently distinguish the TB group and CR10 group. KEGG analysis results revealed that the differentially altered metabolites in duck plasma from the CR5 and TB groups were mainly associated with ovarian steroidogenesis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and phenylalanine metabolism. Conclusion: In this study, the production performance, blood indexes, number of metabolites and PCA were compared to determine effect of the caging stress stage on ducks. We inferred from the experimental results that caging-stressed ducks were in the sensitive phase in the first 5 days after caging, caging for approximately 10 days was an important transition phase, and then the duck continually adapted. Objective: Cage rearing has critical implications for the laying duck industry because it is convenient for feeding and management. However, caging stress is a type of chronic stress that induces maladaptation. Environmental stress responses have been extensively studied, but no detailed information is available about the comprehensive changes in plasma metabolites at different stages of caging stress in ducks. We designed this experiment to analyze the effects of caging stress on performance parameters and oxidative stress indexes in ducks.Methods: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) was used to determine the changes in metabolites in duck plasma at 5 (CR5), 10 (CR10), and 15 (CR15) days after cage rearing and traditional breeding (TB). The associated pathways of differentially altered metabolites were analyzed using Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database.Results: The results of this study indicate that caging stress decreased performance parameters, and the plasma total superoxide dismutase levels were increased in the CR10 group compared with the other groups. In addition, 1,431 metabolites were detected. Compared with the TB group, 134, 381, and 190 differentially produced metabolites were identified in the CR5, CR10, and CR15 groups, respectively. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) show that the selected components sufficiently distinguish the TB group and CR10 group. KEGG analysis results revealed that the differentially altered metabolites in duck plasma from the CR5 and TB groups were mainly associated with ovarian steroidogenesis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and phenylalanine metabolism.Conclusion: In this study, the production performance, blood indexes, number of metabolites and PCA were compared to determine effect of the caging stress stage on ducks. We inferred from the experimental results that caging-stressed ducks were in the sensitive phase in the first 5 days after caging, caging for approximately 10 days was an important transition phase, and then the duck continually adapted.

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Intestinal Trichomonads in Pet Dogs in East China

Wen-Chao Li,Kai Wang,Wei Zhang,Jingjing Wu,You-Fang Gu,Xi-Chen Zhang 대한기생충학열대의학회 2016 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.54 No.6