Independent and Additive Interaction Between Tumor Necrosis Factor β +252 Polymorphisms and Chronic Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection on Risk and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Case-Control Study

Jeng, Jen-Eing,Wu, Hui-Fang,Tsai, Meng-Feng,Tsai, Huey-Ru,Chuang, Lea-Yea,Lin, Zu-Yau,Hsieh, Min-Yuh,Chen, Shinn-Chern,Chuang, Wan-Lung,Wang, Liang-Yen,Yu, Ming-Lung,Dai, Chia-Yen,Tsai, Jung-Fa Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.23

To assess the contribution of tumor necrosis factor $(TNF){\beta}$ +252 polymorphisms to risk and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we enrolled 150 pairs of sex- and age-matched patients with HCC, patients with cirrhosis alone, and unrelated healthy controls. $TNF{\beta}$ +252 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism. Multivariate analysis indicated that $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype [odds ratio (OR), 3.64; 95%CI, 1.49-8.91], hepatitis B surface antigen (OR, 16.38; 95%CI, 8.30-32.33), and antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) (OR, 39.11; 95%CI, 14.83-103.14) were independent risk factors for HCC. There was an additive interaction between $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)/HCV infection (synergy index=1.15). Multivariate analysis indicated that factors associated with $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype included cirrhosis with Child-Pugh C (OR, 4.06; 95%CI, 1.34-12.29), thrombocytopenia (OR, 6.55; 95%CI, 1.46-29.43), and higher serum ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein concentration (OR, 2.53; 95%CI, 1.14-5.62). Patients with $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype had poor cumulative survival (p=0.005). Cox proportional hazard model indicated that $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype was a biomarker for poor HCC survival (hazard ratio, 1.70; 95%CI, 1.07-2.69). In conclusion, there are independent and additive effects between $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype and chronic HBV/HCV infection on risk for HCC. It is a biomarker for poor HCC survival. Carriage of this genotype correlates with disease severity and advanced hepatic fibrosis, which may contribute to a higher risk and poor survival of HCC. Chronic HBV/HCV infected subjects with this genotype should receive more intensive surveillance for early detection of HCC.

The Interaction of Oxytocin and Social Support, Loneliness, and Cortisol Level in Major Depression

Tsung-Yu Tsai,Huai-Hsuan Tseng,Mei Hung Chi,Hui Hua Chang,Cheng-Kuan Wu,Yen Kuang Yang,Po See Chen 대한정신약물학회 2019 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.17 No.4

Objective: Loneliness is a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. The present study examined whether the serum oxytocin level would interact with social support and buffers loneliness and hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA)-axis activity in drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Twenty-six patients with MDD (male:female = 3:23; mean age, 45.54 ± 12.97 years) were recruited. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale and self-reported Measurement of Support Function Questionnaire were administered. Serum oxytocin and cortisol levels were assessed using a commercial immunoassay kits. Results: In MDD patients, a negative association was found between degrees of social support and loneliness ( = −0.39, p = 0.04). The interaction between social support and serum oxytocin level was negatively associated with loneliness ( = −0.50, p = 0.017) and serum cortisol level ( = −0.55, p = 0.020) after adjusting for age. Follow-up analyses showed that the association between higher social support and lower loneliness was observed only in the higher-oxytocin group (r = −0.75, p = 0.003) but not in the lower group (r = −0.19, p = 0.53). The significance remained after further adjusting for sex and depression severity. Conclusion: Low oxytocin level is a vulnerability factor for the buffering effect of social support for loneliness and aberrant HPA-axis activity in MDD patients.

The Immunotyping Distribution of Serum Monoclonal Paraprotein and Environmental Impact on Multiple Myeloma (MM) and Monoclonal Gammopathy of Uncertain Significance (MGUS) in Taiwan: A Medical Center-Based Experience

Chang, Chih-Chun,Su, Ming-Jang,Lee, Shu-Jene,Tsai, Yu-Hui,Kuo, Lin-Yin,Lin, I-Hsin,Huang, Hui-Ling,Yen, Tzung-Hai,Chu, Fang-Yeh Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.1

Background: Whether ambient exposure to environmental pollutants leads to hematopoietic malignancies such as multiple myeloma (MM) remains to be ascertained. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the immunotyping distribution of serum monoclonal paraprotein and the environmental influence on MM and monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS) in the Taiwanese population. Materials and Methods: Serum protein electrophoresis with immunosubtraction by the capillary zone electrophoresis method was performed as primary screening for MM and MGUS. Clinical, pathological, and residence data of patients were also obtained. Results: From August, 2013 to June, 2015, a total of 327 patients underwent serum protein electrophoresis with immunosubtraction. Among these, 281 demonstrated no remarkable findings or non-malignant oligoclonal gammopathy, 23 were detected to have MGUS, 18 were identified as MM, and a further 5 were found as other malignancies. The most frequent immunotyping distribution of serum monoclonal paraprotein was IgG kappa (54.3%, n=25), followed by IgA lambda (15.2%, n=7) and IgG lambda (10.9%, n=5) in subjects with gammopathy. Additionally, it was shown that the elderly (OR: 4.61, 95% CI: 1.88-11.30, P<0.01) and males (OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.04-4.02, P=0.04) had significantly higher risk of developing MM and MGUS. There was no obvious impact of environmental factors on the health risk of MM and MGUS evolution (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.40-1.50, P=0.49). Conclusions: The most frequent immunotyping distribution of serum monoclonal paraprotein included IgG kappa, IgA lambda and IgG lambda in MM and MGUS in the Taiwanese population. The elderly and male subjects are at significantly higher risk of MM and MGUS development, but there was no obvious impact of environmental factors on risk.

Positive Symptoms in Antipsychotic-naïve Schizophrenia are Associated with Increased Body Mass Index after Treatment

Shih-Hsien Lin,Huai-Hsuan Tseng,Hsin Chun Tsai,Mei Hung Chi,I Hui Lee,Po See Chen,Kao Chin Chen,Yen Kuang Yang 대한정신약물학회 2021 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.19 No.1

Objective: Weight gain is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality among patients with schizophrenia. We speculated that positive symptoms, related to dopaminergic hyperactivity and altered mesolimbic function, are associated with weight gain. Methods: Twenty-two antipsychotic-naïve, first-episode patients with schizophrenia were enrolled. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was completed at enrollment and follow-up. Body mass index (BMI) was also measured. Results: The increase in BMI, after 6.04 ± 2.16 years of follow-up, was associated with positive symptoms, but not negative symptoms, before treatment with antipsychotics in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion: This finding implied that dopaminergic hyperactivity could be an important factor to predict the treatment outcome. Body weight control is important for the health management of patients with schizophrenia with more severe positive symptoms.

Catalytic green energy production based on engineered active water innovatively prepared using sunlight-illuminated gold nanoparticles

Shih-Hao Yu,Fu-Der Mai,Wei-Yu Kao,Hui-Yen Tsai,Yu-Chuan Liu 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.127 No.-

Water is the most common solvent in our daily lives. This solvent has advantages of green environmentalprotection and low cost. Water is conventionally considered to be an inert solvent, yet it is relatively polarand can form a large number of hydrogen bonds (HBs). But this property also inhibits the dissolution ofmany non-polar gases, causing many important electrocatalytic reactions performed in it to have lowefficiencies. In this work, we propose an innovative application of solar energy-generated active purewater (APW) with reduced HBs to enhance chemical reactions and physical procedures. Compared toconventional deionized water (DIW), the generated APW possessed a lower specific heat of ca. 0.96. The swelling degree of artificial skin in APW significantly increased by ca. 29%. Moreover, the densityof an ethanol/APW solution significantly increased by 0.21% due to more free water molecules beingavailable in APW to form stronger HBs with ethanol. Encouragingly, efficiencies of hydrogen evolutionreactions performed in an APW-based acidic solution and oxygen evolution reactions performed in anAPW-based basic solution significantly increased by 42% and 17%, respectively, compared to DIWbasedsolutions. The developed APW based on utilizing solar energy can create a more-effective greenprocess.