Publications by authors named "Chen K"

Background: Obesity has been identified as a significant risk factor for various diseases, including certain cancers; however, its association with melanoma remains a subject of debate. Despite the increasing incidence of cutaneous melanoma in Taiwan, there has been limited research on its correlation with obesity. This study aims to investigate the relationship between obesity and the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma in Taiwan.

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  • The study aimed to develop a macrophage signature to predict clinical outcomes and the effectiveness of immunotherapy in cholangiocarcinoma patients.
  • Researchers utilized machine learning methods to create the macrophage-related signature (MRS) using multiple datasets, including TCGA and immunotherapy response data.
  • The MRS was found to be a reliable predictor of patient outcomes, with high scores linked to worse prognosis and specific tumor characteristics, demonstrating its potential as a prognostic tool in cholangiocarcinoma.
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  • Eye discomfort is a significant issue for patients after refractive eye surgeries, and a systematic review evaluated the pain relief effectiveness of pregabalin and gabapentin for this purpose.
  • Six studies involving 391 patients highlighted that pregabalin was more effective than a placebo on the first two postoperative days, while gabapentin had notable effectiveness by the second day only.
  • Both medications were found to safely reduce pain without increasing adverse events, suggesting the need for more research for improved long-term pain management strategies in ophthalmic care.
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Aligning public demand with government supply of clean air aids in efficient air pollution control and enhancement of public happiness. However, comparative empirical analyses of public and government attention to air quality changes are still sparse due to data and methodological constraints. Here, we adopt multi-source data fusion approaches to assess the impacts of air pollution exposure on public and government attention.

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  • * Among 704 yeast isolates, the most common pathogenic species from farmers were Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis, while C. tropicalis was prevalent in environmental samples, with a notable fluconazole resistance rate.
  • * The resistance of C. tropicalis to fluconazole was linked to resistance to certain agricultural azole fungicides, and gene mutations were identified as a contributing factor; reducing agricultural azole use could help mitigate this issue in human infections.
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Tardigrades are captivating organisms known for their resilience in extreme environments, including ultra-high-dose radiation, but the underlying mechanisms of this resilience remain largely unknown. Using genome, transcriptome, and proteome analysis of , we explored the molecular basis contributing to radiotolerance in this organism. A putatively horizontally transferred gene, DOPA dioxygenase 1 (), responds to radiation and confers radiotolerance by synthesizing betalains-a type of plant pigment with free radical-scavenging properties.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate changes in knee stability after ACL reconstruction by measuring graft angles and positioning through MRI.
  • Researchers reviewed 50 cases, analyzing clinical outcomes and various angles related to tibial translation and rotation on both the operated and unoperated knees.
  • Results showed that while graft angles couldn't fully return to normal post-surgery, significant medial/lateral movement was observed on the surgical side, indicating that certain measured angles might serve as useful indicators for assessing knee stability.
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The goal of therapeutic cancer vaccines and immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) is to promote T cells with anti-tumor capabilities. Here, we compared mutant neoantigen (neoAg) peptide-based vaccines with ICT in preclinical models. NeoAg vaccines induce the most robust expansion of proliferating and stem-like PD-1TCF-1 neoAg-specific CD8 T cells in tumors.

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Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the causes of hepatocellular carcinoma, accompanied by intestinal leakage and microbial changes. Pueraria has protective effects on liver injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of pueraria in the treatment of ALD.

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One of the most prevalent pathological types of Primary Liver Cancer (PLC) is the Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) poses a global health issue. The high recurrence and metastasis rate of HCC, coupled with a low 5-year survival rate, result in a bleak prognosis. Exosomes, small extracellular vesicles released by various cells, contain diverse non-coding RNA molecules, including circular RNAs (circRNAs), which play a significant role in intercellular communication and can impact HCC progression.

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  • The study compares the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) using the O-arm navigation system versus traditional C-arm guidance in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) with spinal deformities. !* -
  • Conducted from February 2019 to February 2022, the study included 28 patients treated with the O-arm and 30 with C-arm, measuring factors like operation time, cement leakage rates, and recovery outcomes through various assessments. !* -
  • Results showed that the O-arm navigation group had less adjustment time, shorter operation times, fewer malpositions, and lower cement leakage rates, with significant improvements in pain and disability scores post-operation. !*
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Oral corticosteroids represents the most prevalent treatment for idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. Ductal lavage with triamcinolone acetonide and antibiotics followed by observation (DL-OBS) has emerged as a novel strategy, but a comparison of them remains lacking. Here in this multicenter, open-label, non-inferiority, randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.

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  • - The study investigates the use of small-sized magnetically controlled capsule gastroscopy (MCCG) for screening asymptomatic individuals for upper gastrointestinal diseases.
  • - An analysis of 2,163 individuals revealed that submucosal tumors, polyps, and ulcers were detected in a small percentage, with higher incidences found in specific demographics (e.g., females more likely to have polyps).
  • - The results indicate that MCCG is a comfortable and safe method for identifying focal lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract, proving to be efficient for routine examinations.
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Objective To explore the impact of M2 macrophages on the malignant biological behavior of esophageal cancer by inhibiting the anti-tumor ability of CD8 T cells. Methods Using phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) combined with interleukin 4 (IL-4)/IL-13, we induced human monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) to become M2 macrophages and the detected related inflammatory factors by real-time quantitative PCR. We used magnetic bead sorting to isolate CD8 T cells from healthy volunteers' peripheral blood, and verified the purity of the sorted cells by flow cytometry.

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  • Diabetic wounds (DWs) are complex issues primarily due to infections and poor blood vessel formation, making healing difficult.
  • Researchers created a new hydrogel using ionic liquids and gelatin that releases resveratrol to improve healing by fighting bacteria and promoting blood vessel growth.
  • Testing showed that this hydrogel not only reduced bacterial growth but also sped up healing in diabetic mice, presenting a promising treatment option for patients with chronic wounds.
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Selenium regulates the differentiation and function of immune cells mainly through selenoproteins. Selenoprotein W (SelW) has been shown to mitigate inflammatory bowel disease in mice by modulating the differentiation of helper T (CD4 T) cell. Previous studies by our team have underscored SelW's critical role in safeguarding chicken spleens and splenic lymphocytes against inflammatory injury.

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Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a primary kidney cancer with high aggressive phenotype and extremely poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play pivotal roles in the occurrence and development of various human cancers. However, the expression, clinical significance and regulatory role of circRNAs in ccRCC remain largely unclear.

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Multiple van der Waals (vdW) gaps invoke abundant opportunities for contriving artificial architectures and tailoring desired properties via the intercalation route beyond the reach of conventional concepts. Intriguingly, the electrochemical intercalation strategy can precisely and reversibly tune the intercalation stage of charged functional species. This study presents a valid structural editing protocol facilitated by electrochemical intercalation to engineer MXene interlayers, ultimately incorporating in situ constructed carbon nanotube (CNT) electric bridges for enhanced ion storage and transport pathways.

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This research examined the correlation between miR-559 rs58450758 and the clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis of CRC. RT-qPCR was utilized to assess the miR-559 expression levels. Chi-square test was used to investigate the relationship between miR-559 and clinical features.

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Directly solving sophisticated partial differential equation constrained optimization problems is not only extremely time-consuming, but also very hard to find unique optimal solutions. Here, we propose stable and efficient surrogate models for seawater reverse osmosis desalination processes that enable thorough quantitative description of hydrodynamics and local transport characteristics in narrow flow channels. Without iteratively solving complex multi-physics simulation problem taking several hours, the proposed multi-scale design optimization framework significantly reduces the problem complexity by computing the surrogate models in seconds.

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Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses affecting children. Long-term asthma control medications (LTACMs) are an important aspect of asthma management, with under-prescription associated with poor asthma control and increased asthma deaths. This study aimed to document temporal trends in the prescribing of LTACMs for paediatric patients for asthma-related presentations to Australian general practice registrars (trainees).

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Radiotherapy (RT) plays a key role in the tumour microenvironment (TME), impacting the immune response via cellular and humoral immunity. RT can induce local immunity to modify the TME. It can stimulate dendritic cell maturation and T-cell infiltration.

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Objective: Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a serious complication of radiotherapy, and the role of IL-17A in this process is not well understood. While IL-17A has been shown to modulate autophagy, conflicting reports exist regarding its activation or inhibition of autophagy. This study investigates the role of IL-17A in RILI and its effects on autophagy via the PP2A-mTOR pathway, with a focus on the PP2A B56α subunit.

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A series of 2,4-disubstituted-oxazole derivatives have been designed and synthesized based on compound 3a, a promising lead compound developed in our lab. Among these derivatives, the optimized compound 5k exhibited potent hypoglycemic activity, increasing glucose consumption by 60 % in HepG2 cells compared to the solvent control, and its activity was higher than that of metformin. Further investigation indicated that compound 5k exhibited negligible cytotoxic effects at a concentration of 25 μM in HepG2 and 3T3-L1 cells and showed moderate inhibitory activity against various subtypes of human cytochrome P450 subtypes.

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