Publications by authors named "Meiju Chen"

Background: The effects of physical activity on the development of different types of cancers have not been comprehensively studied. This nationwide, population-based cohort study investigated the effects of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) on the development of different types of cancer in Taiwanese adults. A total of 67,890 adult participants (≥ 18 y old) from five rounds (2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017) of the Taiwan National Health Interview Survey were included.

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Objectives: This cohort study aimed to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among health care workers at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Taiwan.

Methods: This study recruited 397 health care workers who completed health checkups before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The differences of MetS and its components prevalence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were compared using the paired samples t tests for normally distributed variables, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for nonnormally distributed variables.

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  • - The study examines factors influencing the causes and timing of deaths in COVID-19 patients at Taipei City Hospital between January and July 2022, identifying predictors using statistical analysis methods.
  • - Among the 195 hospitalized patients who died, a significant majority had COVID-19-specific deaths, with older patients (≥65 years) showing a heightened risk for various death types and timings, while fully vaccinated patients had a reduced risk of COVID-related deaths.
  • - The researchers conclude that enhancing COVID-19 vaccination efforts and closely monitoring patients with existing health conditions can help lower the rates of both COVID-19-specific and non-COVID-19-related deaths.
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Introduction: Existing evidence evaluating the impact of change in body mass index (BMI) on the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality in older people is limited and inconsistent. This population-based cohort study evaluated the association of changes in BMI over time with all-cause and CVD-related mortality in older adults.

Methods: We recruited 55,351 adults aged over 65 years between 2006 and 2011 from Taipei Elderly Health Examination Program who underwent repeated annual health examinations at 3.

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  • The study assessed the effectiveness of measuring macula retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL) thickness in diagnosing preperimetric glaucoma (PPG), a stage with optic nerve changes but normal vision tests.
  • It included 83 patients with PPG and 83 age-matched control individuals, using advanced OCT imaging to analyze various retinal parameters.
  • Results showed that mRNFL thickness was similarly effective at diagnosing PPG as the best measures of macular ganglion cell layers, indicating it’s a valuable tool for early glaucoma detection.
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  • ARID1A is a protein that is often changed in different types of cancer and helps fix DNA when it gets damaged.
  • When ARID1A is missing, it can cause problems with repairing DNA and lead to more issues in cells, like extra tiny nuclei.
  • ARID1A also affects how cells respond to treatments like radiation therapy, making it an important marker for doctors to understand how well a patient's cancer might respond to treatment.
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Aim: To report a case of new-onset glaucoma following administration of the Moderna (mRNA-1273) vaccine.

Background: Previous studies have reported a low incidence of ocular adverse events induced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. The literature on open-angle glaucoma associated with COVID-19 vaccination is limited.

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Starch (SR)/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) based antimicrobial films have been widely applied in packaging field. As a high-effect antimicrobial agent, the surface charge of imidazolium salt plays an important effect on antimicrobial performances of starch/carboxymethyl cellulose. Here in, the surface charge of dodecyl imidazolium bromide salt was regulated via thiol-ene reaction.

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Aim: Repeated occupational exposure and increased stress and fatigue levels contribute to a high risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection among frontline nurses. This study aimed to explore the relationships among teamwork, work environment and resources, work-life balance, stress perception and burnout among nurses working at a dedicated infectious disease control hospital.

Methods: The participants were 389 nurses at a dedicated infectious disease control hospital in Taipei City, Taiwan.

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Biomass-carbon materials have excellent electromagnetic wave attenuation properties, which is one of the essential factors for developing ultra-thin matched-thickness, and high-performance microwave absorption materials. This study reports a two-step procedure consisting of carbonization and subsequent in-situ growth for preparing a wrinkle-like multilayer biomass-derived composites with magnetic Co particles and ZnO particles (CoZnO/C-X). The synergistic effect of a wrinkle-like multilayer structure and Co and ZnO particles, as well as the existence of many heterogeneous interfaces in the composites structure, and efficiently creates multiple scattering and reflections, which gives the composites the strong microwave absorption properties.

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  • * A study analyzing data from the Taiwan Cancer Registry from 1997-2016 revealed that urban women had higher breast cancer rates than rural women, though rural rates increased more rapidly over time.
  • * The research indicates that women born in 1992 faced significantly higher breast cancer risks compared to earlier cohorts, suggesting that urbanization and westernization may be contributing factors to changing incidence rates in Taiwan.
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Checkpoint inhibition immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but many patients show resistance. Here we perform integrative transcriptomic and proteomic analyses on emerging immuno-oncology targets across multiple clinical cohorts of melanoma under anti-PD-1 treatment, on both bulk and single-cell levels. We reveal a surprising role of tumor-intrinsic SIRPA in enhancing antitumor immunity, in contrast to its well-established role as a major inhibitory immune modulator in macrophages.

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  • Primary liver cancer shows significant variation in causes, tissue structure, and treatment responses; understanding this can aid personalized treatments.
  • The study analyzed 259 liver cancer samples from Japanese patients, focusing on protein profiling, genetic mutations, and gene expression to uncover molecular differences.
  • Researchers identified three proteomic subclasses of tumors (R1, R2, R3) with distinct characteristics and prognoses, proposing 22 proteins as potential markers for better treatment decisions.
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Background: To investigate the incidence of and risk factors for bleb-related infection (BRI) in patients who underwent mitomycin C-augmented primary trabeculectomy.

Methods: We reviewed the medical charts of consecutive patients who had received primary trabeculectomy in Taipei Veterans General Hospital. We recorded the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients before, during and after surgery.

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As a green solvent, alkylimidazolium salt has attracted much attention due to high antibacterial activity and excellent biocompatibility. In this work, 1-allyl-3-alkylimidazolium bromide ionic liquids (AIMB) were synthesized in a closed system. Using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and starch (SR) as carriers, 1-allyl-3-dodecylimidazolium bromide ionic liquid (AIMC12)/CMC/SR (AIMCS) films were prepared via solution casting method.

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Background: To report the incidence and risk factors associated with ocular neovascularization (NV) in patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO).

Methods: This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with acute CRAO in a single tertiary center. Medical charts were reviewed for ocular NV occurrences.

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The growing knowledge of ferroptosis has suggested the role and therapeutic potential of ferroptosis in cancer, but has not been translated into effective therapy. Liver cancer, primarily hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is highly lethal with limited treatment options. LIFR is frequently downregulated in HCC.

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  • - The study investigates genetic factors linked to glaucoma, a progressive disease leading to blindness, focusing on a large cohort from the Taiwan Biobank to address gaps in previous European-centric research.
  • - Researchers identified 138 genetic variations (SNPs) associated with glaucoma and used 134 of them to create a Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) that significantly predicts glaucoma risk.
  • - The PRS model demonstrated strong predictive power, with those in the highest risk quantile showing a 45.48-fold increased likelihood of developing glaucoma; validation in an independent group confirmed its effectiveness in the Han Chinese population.
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  • The biting midge, Forcipomyia taiwana, is a major pest in Taiwan that often evades effective control since current methods primarily target adult stages, neglecting earlier developmental forms like eggs and larvae.
  • This study aims to explore the differences between wild-type black eggs and salt-treated pink eggs of F. taiwana through RNA profiling, revealing key genetic and developmental variations.
  • Results showed significant differential gene expression, with many genes down-regulated in pink eggs, despite some pigmentation-associated genes being up-regulated; these insights may help develop new pest control strategies targeting the egg stage.
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Cutaneous melanoma is the most malignant skin cancer. Biomarkers for stratifying patients at initial diagnosis and informing clinical decisions are highly sought after. Here we classified melanoma patients into three immune subtypes by single-sample gene-set enrichment analysis.

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  • This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different tonometers (iCare, Tono-Pen, NCT) versus the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) in measuring intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with corneal edema after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP).
  • A total of 32 eyes with corneal edema and 43 normal control eyes were assessed, with findings showing that the NCT and Tono-Pen often recorded higher IOP than the GAT, particularly in both study groups.
  • The results indicated that while the iCare device generally had acceptable agreement with GAT readings, the NCT demonstrated poor agreement, and the relationship between IOP measurements and corneal thickness/cur
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Normal tension glaucoma (NTG) has similar optic neuropathy as primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), but intraocular pressure (IOP) is within the normal range. Compared with high-pressure POAG, the development of NTG is possibly a consequence of a complex interaction of several ocular and systemic factors. Recent data have shown higher translaminar pressure gradient due to impaired cerebrospinal fluid dynamics may account for the pathogenic mechanism.

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