Publications by authors named "Miao N"

This study explores depression changes and influencing factors in middle-aged and older individuals, focusing on different cognitive function states. This cohort study uses panel data from seven waves of the nationally representative Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (1996-2015) with 2344 participants aged 50 or above. Data analysis was conducted from 25 January 2023 to 4 May 2023.

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  • Behcet's syndrome causes oral ulcers and involves complex inflammatory processes; this study investigates the relationship between inflammatory cytokines, metabolites, and the disease's development using Mendelian randomization.
  • The research analyzed associations between 91 cytokines and 553 metabolites through genetic variants (SNPs) and employed various statistical tests to ensure reliability.
  • Five substances, including specific interleukins and a metabolite, were found to be causally related to the syndrome, providing potential markers for diagnosis and treatment, but more research is needed to confirm their efficacy as targets for therapy.
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The development of multi-omics has increased the likelihood of further improving genomic prediction (GP) of complex traits. Gene expression data can directly reflect the genotype effect, and thus, they are widely used for GP. Generally, the gene expression data are integrated into multiple random effect models as independent data layers or used to replace genotype data for genomic prediction.

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This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a media literacy education intervention on adolescents' responses to digital marketing of weight-control products, focusing on media literacy, persuasion resistance efficacy, and purchase intention. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study involved 326 11th-grade students from a municipal high school in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, with 189 students in the intervention group and 137 in the comparison group. Conducted in 2023, the intervention group participated in baseline and follow-up assessments and attended four 50 min media literacy sessions, while the comparison group completed only baseline and follow-up assessments with standard instruction.

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Background: Prophylactic total gastrectomy (PTG) is performed in carriers of CDH1 pathogenic and likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants and is becoming more frequent with broader use of germline genetic testing. There is an unmet need to standardize care and enhance outcomes among patients undergoing surgery for the prevention of gastric cancer.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 150 individuals with germline CDH1 P/LP variants who underwent PTG as part of a prospective natural history study from October 2017 to May 2023.

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Plastic films are extensively utilized in agriculture, construction, and manufacturing, with their annual production reaching staggering figures. Addressing the global plastic pollution crisis is imperative. One promising approach is the augmentation of plastic films degradation through microbial agents.

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  • Wound healing involves four stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling, but traditional dressings often fall short in supporting these needs; cryogels, known for their unique properties, may provide a better solution.
  • In this study, researchers created a multifunctional cryogel dressing (CKGA) using polysaccharides and incorporated antibacterial silver nanoparticles to enhance its ability to promote healing in chronic infected wounds.
  • Characterization revealed that CKGA features a highly porous structure, excellent mechanical strength, good biocompatibility, and effective absorption of wound exudates, significantly supporting the healing process in tested models.
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Understanding the pig immune function is crucial for disease-resistant breeding and potentially for human health research due to shared immune system features. Immune cell ratios, like monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), offer a more comprehensive view of immune status compared to individual cell counts. However, research on pig immune cell ratios remains limited.

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This study examined the relationships between marketing exposure, in-game purchase, problem gaming, online simulated gambling game playing, and psychological distress. Data were obtained from a sample of 2,595 seventh-grade students from 30 middle schools in Taiwan. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 2020.

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Changes in mechanosensitive ion channels following radiation have seldom been linked to therapeutic sensitivity or specific factors involved in antitumor immunity. Here, in this study, we found that the mechanical force sensor, Piezo2, was significantly upregulated in tumor cells after radiation, and Piezo2 knockout in tumor cells enhanced tumor growth suppression by radiotherapy. Specifically, loss of Piezo2 in tumor cells induced their IL-15 expression via unleashing JAK2/STAT1/IRF-1 axis after radiation.

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Introduction: This study analyzed long-term trends in the incidence of acute hepatitis B (AHB) in China, focusing on age, period, and cohort effects on incidence.

Methods: Data on AHB from 2005 to 2021 were extracted from the National Notifiable Disease Reporting System (NNDRS) of China for analysis. Incidences of AHB were calculated by gender and age group using population denominators from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 censuses.

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Objectives: This study aimed to explore the care needs, challenges, and experiences of cancer care among sexual and gender minority (SGM) cancer survivors in Taiwan.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face or telephonically with 30 SGM cancer survivors in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using the socio-ecological model and the constant comparative technique.

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Heterosis has been extensively used for pig genetic breeding and production, but the genetic basis of heterosis remains largely elusive. Crossbreeding between commercial and native breeds provides a good model to parse the genetic basis of heterosis. This study uses Duhua hybrid pigs, a crossbreed of Duroc and Liangguang small spotted pigs, as materials to explore the genetic basis underlying heterosis related to growth traits at the genomic level.

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Aim: To explore factors associated with Taiwanese nurse educators' behaviour or intention to teach lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health content.

Background: Nurse educators were found to have limited experiences and readiness to teach LGBT health content. However, limited evidence exists to comprehensively understand factors associated with nurse educators' behaviour and intentions to teach LGBT health content.

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MAX phase is a family of ceramic compounds, typically known for their metallic properties. However, we show here that some of them may be narrow bandgap semiconductors. Using a series of first-principles calculations, we have investigated the electronic structures of 861 dynamically stable MAX phases.

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PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) with 24-32 nucleotides (nt), were initially identified in the reproductive system. Unlike microRNAs (miRNAs) or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), piRNAs normally guide P-element-induced wimpy testis protein (PIWI) families to slice extensively complementary transposon transcripts without the seed pairing. Numerous studies have shown that piRNAs are abundantly expressed in the brain, and many of them are aberrantly regulated in central neural system (CNS) disorders.

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Over the past decade, conventional MAX phases and MXenes have garnered significant interest, primarily limited to carbides and/or nitrides. However, in 2019, the hexagonal ternary boride TiInB was successfully synthesized, sparking extensive research into hexagonal MAB (h-MAB) phases and their derived MBenes (h-MBenes). In recent years, h-MAB and h-MBenes have become focal points in the fields of physics, chemistry, and materials science.

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Tissue stiffening is a predominant feature of fibrotic disorders, but the response of macrophages to changes in tissue stiffness and cellular context in fibrotic diseases remains unclear. Here, we found that the mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 was up-regulated in hepatic fibrosis. Macrophages lacking Piezo1 showed sustained inflammation and impaired spontaneous resolution of early liver fibrosis.

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Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is one of the most promising approaches to achieving green and efficient NH production. However, the designs of efficient NRR catalysts with high activity and selectivity still are severely hampered by inherent linear scaling relations among the adsorption energies of NRR intermediates. Herein, the properties of ten MB type MBenes have been initially investigated for efficient N activation and reduction to NHvia first-principles calculations.

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Cow milk allergy is one of the common food allergies. Our previous study showed that the allergenicity of fermented milk is lower than that of unfermented skimmed milk in vitro, and the antigenicity of β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin in fermented milk was decreased by 67.54% and 80.

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Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is the most aggressive molecular subtype of breast cancer with worse prognosis and fewer treatment options. The underlying mechanisms upon BLBC transcriptional dysregulation and its upstream transcription factors (TFs) remain unclear. Here, among the hyperactive candidate TFs of BLBC identified by bioinformatic analysis, POU4F1 is uniquely upregulated in BLBC and is associated with poor prognosis.

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Recently, a new class of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal transition-metal borides (-MBenes) was discovered through a combination of ab initio predictions and experimental studies. These -MBenes are derived from ternary hexagonal MAB (-MAB) phases and have demonstrated promising potential for practical applications. In this study, we conducted first-principles calculations on 15 -MBenes and identified four antiferromagnetic metals and 11 electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

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The development of N reduction reaction (NRR) electrocatalysts with excellent activity and selectivity is of great significance, but adsorption-energy linear scaling relations between reaction intermediates severely hamper the realization of this aspiration. Here, we propose an elegant strain engineering strategy to break the linear relations in NRR to promote catalytic activity and selectivity. Our results show that the N-N bond lengths of adsorbed N with side-on and end-on configurations exhibit opposite variations under strains, which is illuminated by establishing two different N activation mechanisms of "P-P" (Pull-Pull) and "E-E" (Electron-Electron).

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