Haloperidol and Other Antipsychotics Exposure before Endometrial Cancer Diagnosis: A Population-based Case-control Study

Wei-Ling Chen,Srinivasan Nithiyanantham,Yan-Chiao Mao,Chih-Hsin Muo,Chih-Pin Chuu,Shih-Ping Liu,Min-Wei Huang,Kuan-Pin Su 대한정신약물학회 2022 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.20 No.3

Objective: Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract worldwide, and the associated relationship between endometrial cancer formation and various antipsychotics need to be confirmed. Methods: We conducted a case-control study by using data from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to compare individual antipsychotic exposure between females with and without endometrial cancer. Among 14,079,089 females in the 12-year population-based national dataset, 9,502 females with endometrial cancer were identified. Their medical records of exposure to antipsychotics, including quetiapine, haloperidol, risperidone, olanzapine, amisulpride, clozapine, and aripiprazole, for up to 3 years before endometrial cancer diagnosis were reviewed. Daily dosage and cumulative exposure days were analyzed in the risky antipsychotic users. Additionally, the subsequent 5-year mortality rate of endometrial cancer among users of the risky antipsychotic were also analyzed. Results: Among endometrial cancer patients, the proportion of those who have used haloperidol before being diagnosed with endometrial cancer is significantly higher than other antipsychotic users. The significant odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval of 1.75 (1.31−2.34) were noted. Furthermore, haloperidol users were associated with a significantly higher 5-year mortality rate after getting endometrial cancer than non-users. Conclusion: There is a high correlation between the use of haloperidol and endometrial cancer formation. However, the underlying pathological biomechanisms require additional investigations.

Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis and Implications for Honey Bee Health

Chen, Yan Ping,Pettis, Jeffery S.,Corona, Miguel,Chen, Wei Ping,Li, Cong Jun,Spivak, Marla,Visscher, P. Kirk,DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria,Boncristiani, Humberto,Zhao, Yan,vanEngelsdorp, Dennis,Delaplane, Public Library of Science 2014 PLoS pathogens Vol.10 No.7

<▼1><P><I>Israeli acute paralysis virus</I> (IAPV) is a widespread RNA virus of honey bees that has been linked with colony losses. Here we describe the transmission, prevalence, and genetic traits of this virus, along with host transcriptional responses to infections. Further, we present RNAi-based strategies for limiting an important mechanism used by IAPV to subvert host defenses. Our study shows that IAPV is established as a persistent infection in honey bee populations, likely enabled by both horizontal and vertical transmission pathways. The phenotypic differences in pathology among different strains of IAPV found globally may be due to high levels of standing genetic variation. Microarray profiles of host responses to IAPV infection revealed that mitochondrial function is the most significantly affected biological process, suggesting that viral infection causes significant disturbance in energy-related host processes. The expression of genes involved in immune pathways in adult bees indicates that IAPV infection triggers active immune responses. The evidence that silencing an IAPV-encoded putative suppressor of RNAi reduces IAPV replication suggests a functional assignment for a particular genomic region of IAPV and closely related viruses from the Family <I>Dicistroviridae</I>, and indicates a novel therapeutic strategy for limiting multiple honey bee viruses simultaneously and reducing colony losses due to viral diseases. We believe that the knowledge and insights gained from this study will provide a new platform for continuing studies of the IAPV–host interactions and have positive implications for disease management that will lead to mitigation of escalating honey bee colony losses worldwide.</P></▼1><▼2><P><B>Author Summary</B></P><P>The mysterious outbreak of honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in the US in 2006–2007 has attracted massive media attention and created great concerns over the effects of various risk factors on bee health. Understanding the factors that are linked to the honey bee colony declines may provide insights for managing similar incidents in the future. We conducted this study to elucidate traits of a key honey bee virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus. We then developed an innovative strategy to control virus levels. The knowledge and insights gained from this study will have positive implications for bee disease management, helping to mitigate worldwide colony losses.</P></▼2>

Technical Note : The FasT-Fix Repair Technique for Ramp Lesion of the Medial Meniscus

( Wei Ping Li ),( Zhong Chen ),( Bin Song ),( Rui Yang ),( Wei Quan Tan ) 대한슬관절학회 2015 대한슬관절학회지 Vol.27 No.1

Introduction: This technical note describes a new arthroscopic technique to repair the peripheral attachment lesion of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus. The operation was performed under arthroscopy using a standard anterior portal. Surgical Technique: A FasT-Fix needle was inserted obliquely close to the tibial plateau and the first implant was inserted into the joint capsule depending on its bending angle underneath the meniscus. The second implant was inserted through 1/3 periphery of the meniscus into the meniscocapsular area. The pre-tied self-sliding knot was tensioned to achieve secure fixation of the posterior meniscal peripheral attachment at the original attachment point. Materials and Methods: From August 2011 to February 2014, 23 knees were diagnosed as ramp lesion, underwent meniscal repair using FasT-Fix technique. Results: All patients were followed up for average 14 months. The Lysholm score improved from preoperative 64.4±4.52 to postoperative 91.2±4.60. Conclusions: We believe that the FasT-Fix technique via the standard anterior portal can be a more convenient and less traumatic alternative for repair of the peripheral attachment lesion of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus in the anterior cruciate ligament deficient knee.

Development of a Small Tea Plucking Machine

( Ping-lang Yen ),( Nai-wen Chang ),( Chen-ya Chen ),( Hong-xuan Wei ),( Shih-fangchen ),( Wei-yang Hwang ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Tea plucking in Taiwan suffers of serious labor shortage due to agricultural population decreasing and aging. The problems become even worse in hot season of tea plucking and cause tremendous economic loses for farmers. Current solutions of introducing tea harvesting machinery to substitute human power were not adequately suitable to Taiwan's geographical specialty. These machines were found difficult to operate efficiently in mountain areas, or in small tea farms, and farms with narrow ridge to ridge. This paper has proposed a tea plucking prototype that is specially designed to operate in mountain areas and for small scale tea farm. The machine contains a carrier, a tea cutter and a motorized mechanism. The carrier of small size was able to be moved by human and its tea plucking module is motorized. At the same time the height of cutter was automatically adjusted by the controller so that tea leaves can be evenly trimmed during the carrier movement. The prototype successfully demonstrated the efficiency of tea plucking can be increased and workload for human could be significantly reduced. In conclusion, the developed small electrical tea plucking machine was proved feasible for the release of labor shortage problem in Taiwan’s tea plucking industry.

Surgical Treatment for Early Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Chen, Shao-Bin,Weng, Hong-Rui,Wang, Geng,Yang, Jie-Sheng,Yang, Wei-Ping,Liu, Di-Tian,Chen, Yu-Ping,Zhang, Hao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.6

More studies are needed to clarify treatments and prognosis of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This retrospective study was designed to review the outcome of surgical treatment for early ESCC, evaluate the results of a left thoracotomy for selected patients with early ESCC, and identify factors affecting lymph node metastases and survival. The clinicopathological data of 228 patients with early ESCC who underwent transthoracic esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy without preoperative adjuvant treatment were reviewed. The ${\chi}^2$ test or Fisher's exact test were used to detect factors related to lymph node metastasis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors. There were 152 males and 76 females with a median age of 55 years. Two hundred and eight patients underwent a left thoracotomy, and the remaining 20 patients with lymph nodes in the upper mediastinum more than 5 mm in short-axis diameter by computed tomography scan underwent a right thoracotomy. No lymph node metastasis was found in the 18 patients with carcinoma in situ, while lymph node metastases were detected in 1.6% (1/62) of patients with mucosal tumours and 18.2% (27/148) of patients with submucosal tumours. Only 7 patients showed upper mediastinal lymph node metastases in the follow-up. The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 81.4% and 70.1%, respectively. Only histologic grade (P<0.001) and pT category (P=0.001) significantly correlated with the presence of lymph node metastases. In multivariate analysis, only histologic grade (P=0.026) and pT category (P=0.008) were independent prognostic factors. A left thoracotomy is acceptable for selected patients with early ESCC. Histologic grade and pT category affected the presence of lymph node metastases and were independent prognostic factors for early ESCC.

Expression and Significance of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α and Lysyl Oxidase in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Ping, Wei,Jiang, Wen-Yang,Chen, Wen-Shu,Sun, Wei,Fu, Xiang-Ning Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.6

Object: To detect expression of hypoxia inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ (HIF-$1{\alpha}$) and lysyl oxidase (LOX) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and explore their roles in prognosis. Methods: The mRNA levels of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and LOX were investigated by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in 40 cases of tumour and paired normal tissues. In addition, protein expression of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and LOX was examined by immunohistochemistry in 82 cases of tumour and 45 paired normal tissues. The relationship between HIF-$1{\alpha}$ or LOX and clinicopathologic characteristics, as well as the correlation between HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and LOX, were also examined. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test were used to analyze progression-free survival. Results: HIF-$1{\alpha}$ or LOX mRNA levels in tumor tissues was significantly higher than those in paired normal tissues (p<0.01). Positive HIF-$1{\alpha}$ or LOX protein expression in tumor tissues was noted in 46/82 (56.1%) and 49/82 (59.8%) of the cases, respectively, being significantly higher than those in paired normal tissues (p<0.05). There was significant correlation between the expression of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ or LOX and tumor size, lymph node metastasis and pathological stage (p<0.05). The expression of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and LOX had a significant inverse impact on survival of patients with NSCLC. Conclusion: HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and LOX may play a pivotal role in the development of NSCLC, and may act in synergy to promote the progression of NSCLC.

Anti-metastasis Activity of Black Rice Anthocyanins Against Breast Cancer: Analyses Using an ErbB2 Positive Breast Cancer Cell Line and Tumoral Xenograft Model

Luo, Li-Ping,Han, Bin,Yu, Xiao-Ping,Chen, Xiang-Yan,Zhou, Jie,Chen, Wei,Zhu, Yan-Feng,Peng, Xiao-Li,Zou, Qiang,Li, Sui-Yan Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.15

Background: Increasing evidence from animal, epidemiological and clinical investigations suggest that dietary anthocyanins have potential to prevent chronic diseases, including cancers. It is also noteworthy that human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (ErbB2) protein overexpression or ErbB2 gene amplification has been included as an indicator for metastasis and higher risk of recurrence for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The present experiments investigated the anti-metastasis effects of black rice anthocyanins (BRACs) on ErbB2 positive breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. Results: Oral administration of BRACs (150 mg/kg/day) reduced transplanted tumor growth, inhibited pulmonary metastasis, and decreased lung tumor nodules in BALB/c nude mice bearing ErbB2 positive breast cancer cell MDA-MB-453 xenografts. The capacity for migration, adhesion, motility and invasion was also inhibited by BRACs in MDA-MB-453 cells in a concentration dependent manner, accompanied by decreased activity of a transfer promoting factor, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA). Conclusions: Together, our results indicated that BRACs possess anti-metastasis potential against ErbB2 positive human breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro through inhibition of metastasis promoting molecules.

Comparative global immune-related gene profiling of somatic cells, human pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives: implication for human lymphocyte proliferation

Chia-Eng Wu,Chen-Wei Yu,Kai-Wei Chang,Wen-Hsi Chou,Chen-Yu Lu,Elisa Ghelfi,Fang-Chun Wu,Pey-Shynan Jan,Mei-Chi Huang,Patrick Allard,Shau-Ping Lin,Hong-Nerng Ho,Hsin-Fu Chen 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced PSCs (iPSCs), represent potentially unlimited cell sources for clinical applications. Previous studies have suggested that hPSCs may benefit from immune privilege and limited immunogenicity, as reflected by the reduced expression of major histocompatibility complex class-related molecules. Here we investigated the global immune-related gene expression profiles of human ESCs, hiPSCs and somatic cells and identified candidate immune-related genes that may alter their immunogenicity. The expression levels of global immune-related genes were determined by comparing undifferentiated and differentiated stem cells and three types of human somatic cells: dermal papilla cells, ovarian granulosa cells and foreskin fibroblast cells. We identified the differentially expressed genes CD24, GATA3, PROM1, THBS2, LY96, IFIT3, CXCR4, IL1R1, FGFR3, IDO1 and KDR, which overlapped with selected immune-related gene lists. In further analyses, mammalian target of rapamycin complex (mTOR) signaling was investigated in the differentiated stem cells following treatment with rapamycin and lentiviral transduction with specific short-hairpin RNAs. We found that the inhibition of mTOR signal pathways significantly downregulated the immunogenicity of differentiated stem cells. We also tested the immune responses induced in differentiated stem cells by mixed lymphocyte reactions. We found that CD24- and GATA3-deficient differentiated stem cells including neural lineage cells had limited abilities to activate human lymphocytes. By analyzing the transcriptome signature of immune-related genes, we observed a tendency of the hPSCs to differentiate toward an immune cell phenotype. Taken together, these data identify candidate immune-related genes that might constitute valuable targets for clinical applications.

The evolution of permeability and gas composition during remote protective longwall mining and stress-relief gas drainage: a case study of the underground Haishiwan Coal Mine

Wei Li,Yuan-ping Cheng,Pin-kun Guo,Feng-hua An,Ming-yi Chen 한국지질과학협의회 2014 Geosciences Journal Vol.18 No.4

The mining of protective coal seams can cause changesin geostress, leading to changes in the permeability of coal rock and creatingfavorable conditions for gas extraction from coal seams. Atthe Haishiwan Coal Mine, field tests using remote protective coalseam mining were performed in the protected layer, which is richin CO2 gas. In remote protective longwall mining, the permeabilityand composition of extracted stress-relief gas can vary. Under theconditions of remote protective longwall mining, the permeabilityof a protected coal seam can be generally described by the Liumodel. During protective layer mining, the permeability of theprotective layer increases rapidly with the release of stress, thendecreases gradually with the recovery of the geostress. However,matrix shrinkage and decreased pore pressure caused by CO2 desorptionfrom coal seams also cannot be ignored when considering thefactors that affect the permeability. Thus, it is necessary to appropriatelyconfigure the cross-measure boreholes in advance to drainthe stress-relief gas during remote protective layer mining. StressreliefCO2 gas extraction presents multiple consecutive peaks. TheNo. 2 coal seam has different trap pressure systems as CO2 migratesinto the coal seam. The protected seam experiences different effectivestresses during protective layer mining, and the permeabilitiesappear to periodically increase due to differences in the originalpermeability. The various permeability and diffusion coefficientsfor CO2 and CH4 in coal induce CO2 and CH4 fractionation in theroof and floor of the No. 2 coal seam.

Primo Vascular System: An Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Potential Transitional Tissue Involved in Gastric Cancer Metastasis

Ping, An,Zhendong, Su,Rongmei, Qu,Jingxing, Dai,Wei, Chen,Zhongyin, Zhou,Hesheng, Luo,Soh, Kwang-Sup Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2015 Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medic Vol.2015 No.-

<P>Gastric cancer is the fourth commonest cancer in the world and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Investigation of gastric cancer metastasis is one of the hottest and major focuses in cancer research. Growing evidence manifested that primo vascular system (PVS) is a new kind of circulatory system beyond vascular and lymphatic system. Previous researches revealed that PVS is a specific tissue between endothelium and mesenchyme and is involved in cancer, especially in tumor metastasis and regeneration. In current study, we investigated the role of primo vessels in gastric cancer metastasis and its possible relationship to vascular vessels formation. Our results indicated that primo vessels were involved in gastric cancer metastasis. We observed blood vessel-mediated metastasis, primo vessel-mediated metastasis, and an intermediate state between them. We deduced that primo vessels may be precursors of blood vessels. These results possibly provided a thoroughly new theoretic development in cancer metastasis.</P>