Publications by authors named "P-H Chang"

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs; ages 15-39 years) are a vulnerable population facing challenges in oncological care, including access to specialized care, transition of care, unique tumor biology, and poor representation in clinical trials. Brain tumors are the second most common tumor type in AYA, with malignant brain tumors being the most common cause of cancer-related death. The 2021 WHO Classification for central nervous system (CNS) Tumors highlights the importance of integrated molecular characterization with histologic diagnosis in several tumors relevant to the AYA population.

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Background: Anterior instability of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) is a rare but potentially devastating pathological condition, particularly when it occurs in young or active patients. SCJ reconstruction using hamstring tendon autograft is a commonly used treatment option, yet to date results are limited to small case series. Studies on baseline, preoperative factors and their association with postoperative outcome are limited.

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  • Researchers are focusing on decoding natural language from noninvasive brain signals (EEG) to improve brain-computer interface (BCI) systems, but current methods struggle with accuracy due to limited EEG datasets.
  • The paper proposes a new EEG encoder called the discrete Conformer encoder (D-Conformer), which transforms EEG signals into discrete representations and incorporates early EEG-language alignment to enhance learning.
  • Experimental results show that the D-Conformer significantly improves decoding performance for word, sentence, and sentiment classification tasks, outperforming existing methods by notable margins.
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  • This study investigates genetic variants linked to outer retinal tubulation (ORT) by analyzing the prevalence and clinical consequences of ORT in patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).
  • A cohort of 565 IRD patients underwent SD-OCT imaging, revealing that 104 exhibited ORT, primarily associated with specific genetic variants, especially in RPE-specific and some non-RPE-specific genes.
  • The findings show a strong correlation between ORT presence and IRDs caused by RPE-specific and non-RPE-specific genes, while no cases of ORT were found in patients with photoreceptor-specific gene variants.
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Recent technological advancements have enabled spatially resolved transcriptomic profiling but at a multicellular resolution that is more cost-effective. The task of cell type deconvolution has been introduced to disentangle discrete cell types from such multicellular spots. However, existing benchmark datasets for cell type deconvolution are either generated from simulation or limited in scale, predominantly encompassing data on mice and are not designed for human immuno-oncology.

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Metastasis to the lungs is a leading cause of death for patients with breast cancer. Therefore, effective therapies are urgently needed to prevent and treat lung metastasis. In this study, we uncovered a mechanism by which NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) orchestrates lung metastasis.

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Care transitions among high-intensity units caring for patients with complex needs are a critical yet undeveloped area of patient safety research. In addition, effective communication and coordination across disciplines remain elusive. This study introduces and tests the Multi-Team Shared Expectations Tool (MT-SET), an exercise that aims to engage health care teams in eliciting needs and establishing agreed-upon expectations teams and individuals within a multi-team system have of one another.

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  • - The study evaluated how various cardiometabolic risk factors, such as metabolic syndrome and individual factors like high fasting glucose and low HDL cholesterol, impact the progression of coronary plaque and the likelihood of major cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease.
  • - In a cohort of 1,200 patients followed over several years, 28% experienced rapid coronary plaque progression, identified primarily through increased atheroma volume, which indicates worsening arterial health.
  • - The findings suggest that a combination of risk factors, particularly high blood sugar and blood pressure, significantly forecast both plaque progression and serious cardiovascular incidents, highlighting the importance of monitoring these factors in at-risk patients.
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Diagnostic cystoscopy in combination with transurethral resection of the bladder tumour are the standard for the diagnosis, surgical treatment and surveillance of bladder cancer. The ability to inspect the bladder in its current form stems from a long chain of advances in imaging science and endoscopy. Despite these advances, bladder cancer recurrence and progression rates remain high after endoscopic resection.

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Background: Fibrosis-4 (FIB4) is a recommended noninvasive test to assess hepatic fibrosis among patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Here, we used FIB4 trajectory over time (ie, "slope" of FIB4) as a surrogate marker of liver fibrosis progression and examined if FIB4 slope is associated with clinical and genetic factors among individuals with clinically defined MASLD within the Million Veteran Program Cohort.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, FIB4 slopes were estimated through linear regression for participants with clinically defined MASLD and FIB4 <2.

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Foundation models pretrained on large-scale datasets via self-supervised learning demonstrate exceptional versatility across various tasks. Due to the heterogeneity and hard-to-collect medical data, this approach is especially beneficial for medical image analysis and neuroscience research, as it streamlines broad downstream tasks without the need for numerous costly annotations. However, there has been limited investigation into brain network foundation models, limiting their adaptability and generalizability for broad neuroscience studies.

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Platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) plays a crucial role in murine haematopoiesis. Baicalein (BAI), a naturally occurring flavonoid, can alleviate disease damage through anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. However, whether BAI attenuates oxidative damage in murine haematopoietic cells by PDGFRβ remains unexplored.

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  • Conductive biomaterials can help heart cells called cardiomyocytes grow and develop better in labs.
  • A special membrane made of polyurethane and graphene oxide allowed these heart cells to beat more like real heart cells while keeping them strong and stretchy.
  • The best results were seen with a membrane that had 10% graphene oxide, which helped the heart cells grow and work more efficiently, showing potential for treating heart diseases.
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New global diabatic potential energy surfaces (DPESs) for the ground (1') and first excited (2') states for the Li + H system were developed, with more than 30,000 energy points at the IC-MRCI+Q level of theory, utilizing the aug-cc-pV5Z basis set for the H atoms and the cc-pCV5Z basis set for the Li atom, fitted by a single neural network (NN) with symmetry. Product state-resolved quantum dynamics calculations of the nonadiabatic reaction Li () + H ( ∑, = 0, = 0) → LiH ( ∑) + H() were carried out using these new DPESs and also the previous HYLC-DPESs. The numerical results suggested that our newly constructed DPESs provided an accurate description of the LiH system.

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Importance: Acetaminophen (paracetamol) has many pharmacological effects that might be beneficial in sepsis, including inhibition of cell-free hemoglobin-induced oxidation of lipids and other substrates.

Objective: To determine whether acetaminophen increases days alive and free of organ dysfunction in sepsis compared with placebo.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Phase 2b randomized, double-blind, clinical trial conducted from October 2021 to April 2023 with 90-day follow-up.

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Understanding the characteristics of shoulder joint stiffness can offer insights into how the shoulder joint contributes to arm stability and assists in various arm postures and movements. This study aims to characterize posture-dependent shoulder stiffness in a three-dimensional (3D) space and investigate its potential sex differences. A multi-degree-of-freedom, parallel-actuated shoulder exoskeleton robot was used' to perturb the participant's shoulder joint and measure the resulting torque responses while participants relaxed their shoulder muscles.

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Viruses pose major global challenges to crop production as infections reduce the yield and quality of harvested products, hinder germplasm exchange, increase financial inputs, and threaten food security. Small island or archipelago habitat conditions such as those in the Caribbean are particularly susceptible as the region is characterized by high rainfall and uniform, warm temperatures throughout the year. Moreover, Caribbean islands are continuously exposed to disease risks because of their location at the intersection of transcontinental trade between North and South America and their role as central hubs for regional and global agricultural commodity trade.

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The insights into interactions between host genetics and gut microbiome (GM) in colorectal tumor susceptibility (CTS) remains lacking. We used Collaborative Cross mouse population model to identify genetic and microbial determinants of Azoxymethane-induced CTS. We identified 4417 CTS-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) containing 334 genes that were transcriptionally altered in human colorectal cancers (CRCs) and consistently clustered independent human CRC cohorts into two subgroups with different prognosis.

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Importance: On June 21, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for adults aged 60 years and older using shared clinical decision-making. Understanding the severity of RSV disease in adults can help guide this clinical decision-making.

Objective: To describe disease severity among adults hospitalized with RSV and compare it with the severity of COVID-19 and influenza disease by vaccination status.

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Importance: Infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, length of hospitalization, and health care costs. Regional interventions may be advantageous in mitigating MDROs and associated infections.

Objective: To evaluate whether implementation of a decolonization collaborative is associated with reduced regional MDRO prevalence, incident clinical cultures, infection-related hospitalizations, costs, and deaths.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of a second tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) versus a non-TNFi biologic in children with polyarticular-course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) after discontinuing the first TNFi due to ineffectiveness.
  • 216 patients were analyzed, with 85% starting a second TNFi, and the most common biologic switches being adalimumab for TNFi and tocilizumab for non-TNFi.
  • Results showed no significant differences in disease activity after six months, suggesting that both treatment options may be equally effective for managing pJIA.
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L-368,899 is a selective small-molecule oxytocin receptor (OXTR) antagonist originally developed in the 1990s to prevent preterm labor. Although its utility for that purpose was limited, L-368,899 is now one of the most commonly used drugs in animal research for the selective blockade of neural OXTR after peripheral delivery. A growing number of rodent and primate studies have used L-368,899 to evaluate whether certain behaviors are oxytocin dependent.

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Formaldehyde is commonly thought of as an environmental toxin or laboratory fixation reagent, but there is a growing appreciation for its broader physiological contributions as a naturally generated one-carbon metabolite across all kingdoms of life. In this In Focus article, we summarize emerging advances in the field that show how formaldehyde plays diverse roles as a one-carbon signal in DNA damage, one-carbon metabolism, and epigenetic regulation.

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Amino acids (AAs) are modular building blocks which nature uses to synthesize both macromolecules, such as proteins, and small molecule natural products, such as alkaloids and non-ribosomal peptides. While the 20 main proteinogenic AAs display relatively limited side chain diversity, a wide range of non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) exist that are not used by the ribosome for protein synthesis, but contain a broad array of structural features and functional groups. In this communication, we report the discovery of the biosynthetic pathway for a new ncAA, pazamine, which contains a cyclopropane ring formed in two steps.

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