Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir plus ribavirin for Child-Pugh B and Child-Pugh C hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis

( Chen-hua Liu ),( Chi-yi Chen ),( Wei-wen Su ),( Chun-jen Liu ),( Ching-chu Lo ),( Ke-jhang Huang ),( Jyh-jou Chen ),( Kuo-chih Tseng ),( Chi-yang Chang ),( Cheng-yuan Peng ),( Yu-lueng Shih ),( Chia 대한간학회 2021 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.27 No.4

Background/Aims: Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) plus ribavirin (RBV) for Child-Pugh B/C hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis are limited. Methods: We included 107 patients with Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis receiving SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks in Taiwan. The sustained virologic response rates at off-treatment week 12 (SVR₁₂) for the evaluable population (EP), modified EP, and per-protocol population (PP) were assessed. The safety profiles were reported. Results: The SVR₁₂ rates in the EP, modified EP and PP were 89.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82.5-94.2%), 94.1% (95% CI, 87.8-97.3%), and 100% (95% CI, 96.2-100%). Number of patients who failed to achieve SVR₁₂ were attributed to virologic failures. The SVR₁₂ rates were comparable regardless of patient characteristics. One patient discontinued treatment because of adverse events (AEs). Twenty-four patients had serious AEs and six died, but none were related to SOF/VEL or RBV. Among the 96 patients achieving SVR₁₂, 84.4% and 64.6% had improved Child-Pugh and model for endstage liver disease (MELD) scores. Multivariate analysis revealed that a baseline MELD score ≥15 was associated with an improved MELD score of ≥3 (odds ratio, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.16-14.71; P=0.02). Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1 had more significant estimated glomerular filtration rate declines than patients with CKD stage 2 (-0.42 mL/min/1.73 ㎡/month; P=0.01) or stage 3 (-0.56 mL/min/1.73 ㎡/month; P<0.001). Conclusions: SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks is efficacious and well-tolerated for Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2021;27:575-588)

Experimental research on the creep buckling of fire-resistant steel columns at elevated temperature

Kuo-Chen Yang,Zong-Han Yu 국제구조공학회 2013 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.15 No.2

The thermal creep is one of the major factors causing the buckle of steel columns in the fireevents. But, few related studies have been reported to evaluate the factors affecting the thermal creep of steelcolumn experimentally or numerically. In this study a series of Fire-resistant steel columns with threedifferent slenderness ratios under a sustained load are tested under a uniform temperature up to six hours inorder to evaluate the creep upon three selected factors, temperature, applied load, and column slenderness. Based on experimental results, a proposed creep strain rate model is established as the function of a singleparameter of the load ratio of temperature LR(T) to determine the buckling time of steel column due to creep. Furthermore it is found that the creep can be neglected when LR(T) is smaller than 0.77.

Effect of End Distance and Bolt Number on Bearing Strength of Bolted Connections at Elevated Temperature

Kuo-Chen Yang,Re-Jia Hsu,Chiung-Fang Hsu 한국강구조학회 2013 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.13 No.4

To avoid the failure at bolted connections and ensure fire resistance at elevated temperature, this study examines the effectof end distance and bolt number on the bearing behavior of bolted connection from experimental results. In addition, numericalanalysis is performed to evaluate the stress distribution at bolt hole with varied end distance at different temperature levels andto investigate the influence of stress concentration in longer joints. Based on the results of this study, it is found that the bearingstrength increases linearly with end distance up to the value of 4d. And both AISC and Eurocode 3 underestimate the bearingstregnht of bolted plates at elevated temperature. A linear function of end distance is proposed for the bearing strength of boltedconnections. The reduction factor for shear lag effect of AISC is recommended to modify the bearing strength for longerconnections. It is also suggested to increase the end distance 3d to prevent tear-out failure at elevated temperature.

Survival Benefit of Tamoxifen in Estrogen Receptor-Negative and Progesterone Receptor-Positive Low Grade Breast Cancer Patients

Li-Heng Yang,Hsin-Shun Tseng,Che Lin,Li-Sheng Chen,Shou-Tung Chen,Shou-Jen Kuo,Dar-Ren Chen 한국유방암학회 2012 Journal of breast cancer Vol.15 No.3

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the efficacy and prognostic significance of adjuvant tamoxifen in breast cancer patients with various hormone receptor statuses. Methods: Typically, 1,260 female breast cancer patients were recruited in this study. The correlation between estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) phenotypes and clinical characteristics was investigated, and the survival rate was assessed after 5-year follow-up. Results: The 5-year overall survival (85%) was better in women under the age of 50 years. Patients with ER+/PR+ tumors had a better 5-year survival rate (94%); those with ER-/PR- tumors experienced the worst outcome (74% survival rate); whereas singlepositive cases were in between. In 97 out of 128 patients with ER-/PR+ tumors, tamoxifen was given as adjuvant hormonal therapy, and it increased the survival benefit in the lower grade group in terms of overall survival and disease-free survival (p=0.01 and p=0.03, respectively). Conclusion: For high-grade tumors with ER-/PR+, adjuvant tamoxifen therapy may have no survival benefit, whereas for the patients with low-grade ER-/PR+ tumors, adjuvant tamoxifen therapy is highly suggestive.

The Association of Acquired T790M Mutation with Clinical Characteristics after Resistance to First-Line Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Yen-Hsiang Huang,Kuo-Hsuan Hsu,Jeng-Sen Tseng,Kun-Chieh Chen,Chia-Hung Hsu,Kang-Yi Su,Jeremy J. W. Chen,Huei-Wen Chen,Sung-Liang Yu,Tsung-Ying Yang,Gee-Chen Chang 대한암학회 2018 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.50 No.4

Purpose The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship among the clinical characteristics and the frequency of T790M mutation in advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)mutant lung adenocarcinoma patients with acquired resistance after firstline EGFRtyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. Materials and Methods We enrolled EGFR-mutant stage IIIB-IV lung adenocarcinoma patients, who had progressed to prior EGFR-TKI therapy, and evaluated their rebiopsy EGFRmutation status. Results A total of 205 patients were enrolled for analysis. The overall T790M mutation rate of rebiopsy was 46.3%. The T790M mutation rates among patients with exon 19 deletion mutation, exon 21 L858R point mutation, and other mutations were 55.0%, 37.3%, and 27.3%, respectively. Baseline exon 19 deletion was associated with a significantly higher frequency of T790M mutation (adjusted odds ratio, 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20 to 3.83; p=0.010). In the exon 19 deletion subgroup, there was a greater prevalence of T790M mutation than other exon 19 deletion subtypes in patients with the Del E746-A750 mutation (61.6% vs. 40.6%; odds ratio, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.01 to 5.49; p=0.049). The progression- free survival (PFS) of first-line TKI treatment > 11 months was also associated with a higher T790M mutation rate (54.1% vs. 39.3%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.25; p=0.044). Patients who underwent rebiopsy at metastatic sites had more chance to harbor T790M mutation (52.6% vs. 33.8%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.06 to 3.67; p=0.032). Conclusion PFS of first-line EGFR-TKI, rebiopsy site, EGFR exon 19 deletion and its subtype Del E746- A750 mutation are associated with the frequency of T790M mutation.

rs10505474 and rs7837328 at 8q24 Cumulatively Confer Risk of Prostate Cancer in Northern Han Chinese

Zhang, Lin-Lin,Sun, Liang,Zhu, Xiao-Quan,Xu, Yong,Yang, Kuo,Yang, Fan,Yang, Yi-Ge,Chen, Guo-Qiang,Fu, Ji-Cheng,Zheng, Chen-Guang,Li, Ying,Mu, Xiao-Qiu,Shi, Xiao-Hong,Zhao, Fan,Wang, Fei,Yang, Ze,Wang, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.7

Aims: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several risk variants for prostate cancer (pCa) mainly in Europeans, which need to be further verified in other racial groups. We selected six previously identified variants as candidates and to define the association with PCa in Northern Han Chinese. Methods: 749 subjects from Beijing and Tianjin in Northern China were included. Six variants (rs10505474, rs7837328, rs4242384, rs7813, rs486907 and rs1058205) were genotyped by high resolution melting (HRM) assays. The individual and cumulative contribution for of the risk of PCa and clinical covariates were analyzed. Results: Among the six candidate variants, onlyrs10505474, and rs7837328, both locating at 8q24 region, were associated with PCa in our population.rs10505474 (A) was associated with PCa ($OR_{recessive}=1.56$, p=0.006); and rs7837328 (A) was associated with PCa ($OR_{dominant}=1.38$, p=0.042/$OR_{recessive}=1.99$, p=0.003). Moreover, we observed a cumulative effects between them ($p_{trend}=2.58{\times}10^{-5}$). The joint population attributable risk showed the two variants might account for 71.85% of PCa risk. In addition, we found the homozygotes of rs10505474 (A) and rs7837328 (A) were associated with PCa clinical covariants (age at onset, tumor stage, respectively) ($p_{age}=0.046$, $P_{tumorstage}=0.048$). Conclusion: rs10505474 (A) and rs7387328 (A) at 8q24 are associated with PCa and cumulatively confer risk, suggesting the two variations could determine susceptibility to PCa in the Northern Chinese Han population.

Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Dehydrated Food Waste Products on Taiwan Native Chicken (Taishi No. 13)

Chen, Kuo-Lung,Chang, Hwang-Jen,Yang, Ching-Ke,You, Shanq-Huei,Jenq, Horng-Der,Yu, Bi Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.5

The effect of dehydrated food waste product (DFWP) inclusion in diets of Taiwan native chickens on the growth performance, carcass traits, clinical blood chemistry and nutrient digestibility was investigated with 320 male Taishi Native Chickens (Taishi No. 13). They were randomly allocated into four levels of DFWP inclusion (0, 5, 10, or 20%) treatment. Each treatment had 80 chickens with four replicates. At 15 weeks of age, 8 chickens were selected from each group for the nutrient digestibility trial. The results showed that body weight gain during the 0 to 4 week period decreased as the feed intake and feed conversion rate (FCR) increased linearly with increasing level of DFWP inclusion. During the 4 to 8 week period, greater body weight gains were recorded for the birds on the 5% DFWP inclusion level than for the control (p<0.05). During 8 to16 weeks, the feed intake and FCR increased linearly (p<0.05). Interestingly too, results of the carcass analysis showed that DFWP inclusion up to 20% in the diet significantly decreased the relative abdominal fat weight but increased the relative proventriculus and gizzard weights of the birds. However, other carcass parameters, meat quality and sensory scores were not significantly influenced by the dietary DFWP inclusion levels (p>0.05). Higher serum aspartate aminotransferase, ${\gamma}$-glutamyltransferase activity and crude protein digestibility, and lower gross energy digestibility were observed in the 20% DFWP group compared to the control (p<0.05). Dietary DFWP inclusion was inappropriate during the 0 to 4 week period. During 4 to 8 weeks, there was no adverse effect on chicken performance in the 20% group. There was no disadvantage on carcass properties and in the meat panel test. This result would not affect consumer determination.

Adaptive Trajectory Compensation of Large Inertia Robot

Kuo Yang,Xin-hui Liu,Bing-wei Cao,Wei Chen,Peng Tan 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2024 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.22 No.3

The electro-hydraulic controlled bionic robots suffer from path contour deviation, which is affected byinertia, system lag, and control system accuracy. The focus of this paper is on the study of a data-driven systemfor the compensation of errors in the robot’s internal arithmetic model and its own motion. A deviation predictionmodel of the robot motion process is constructed using a machine learning approach, while the spatial error, generated in the transfer process between the input trajectory and the actual output, is de-parameterized and regardedas an attribute value of the robot’s motion process. Furthermore, a data-based adaptive compensation method isproposed. The simulation model and a hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform of the proposed control strategyare constructed, in order to verify the proposed control approach. Simulation and experimental results show that theproposed compensation strategy can significantly reduce system deviation.

Comparison of Equivalent Oxide Thickness and Electrical Properties of Atomic Layer Deposited Hafnium Zirconate Dielectrics with Thermal or Decoupled Plasma Nitridation Process

Chen-Kuo Chiang,Chien-Hung Wu,Chin-Chien Liu,Jin-Fu Lin,Chien-Lun Yang,Jiun-Yuan Wu,Shui-Jinn Wang 대한금속·재료학회 2012 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.8 No.5

The NH3 thermal annealing and decoupled plasma nitridation (DPN) processes are compared for the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) scaling of atomic-layer-deposited hafnium zirconate (HfZrO2) gate dielectric. Detailed physical, optical, and electrical characteristics of nitrided HfZrO2 (HfZrON) film are reported. It is found that DPN can yield a thinner SiOx interfacial layer (IL) (about 0.12 nm more in terms of EOT scaling)and a more densified HfZrO2 layer compared to those obtained using NH3 thermal annealing at a 16% nitrogen dose. NH3 thermal nitridation causes a large nitrogen distribution tail at the SiOx IL/Si substrate interface and increases leakage current, which suppresses EOT scalability.

Comparison of Residual Stress in Relaxed and Non-relaxed Weldments of Steel Plates

Chen-Ming Kuo,Chiung-Hung Yang 한국강구조학회 2016 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.16 No.1

In this study, two methods, X-ray diffraction (nondestructive) and hole-drilling (destructive) are applied to measure the residual stress of gas metal arc welded steel plate. Both non-relaxed and relaxed (local heating, furnace annealing and bead blasting) weldments are examined to understand the residual stress distributions before and after elimination of residual stresses. Results show that the heat affected zone of gas metal arc welding method is about 10 mm from the weld centerline. The local heating method is very effective in reducing the residual stress caused by the cold work of the original steel plate. The furnace annealing method reduces the residual stress to compressive but not uniformly distributed. The detrimental fluctuation of residual stress is successfully reduced and uniformly relaxed to be beneficially compressive in the bead blasting. Most importantly, X-ray diffraction shows more precise and better handling than hole-drilling method in terms of data error.