Publications by authors named "S-C Weng"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluated the combined prognostic value of calf circumference (CC) and serum albumin to predict mortality in cancer cachexia patients aged 65 and older, utilizing a new index called the calf circumference-albumin (CCA) index.
  • - Involving 5322 older patients, results showed that the CCA index was more effective at predicting mortality compared to using CC or albumin alone, with better differentiating power indicated by a C index of 0.639.
  • - The CCA index, especially in patients with higher scores, significantly correlated with lower mortality rates, suggesting its potential for improved clinical management of older cancer patients experiencing cachexia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Chronic motor impairments are a significant disability after stroke, traditionally linked to damage in specific motor system structures like the corticospinal tract.
  • This study employs a data-driven approach to analyze chronic motor outcomes in 789 stroke patients, comparing the effectiveness of theory-based biomarkers against new data-driven biomarkers derived from clinical imaging data.
  • Results indicate that data-driven biomarkers, especially regional structural disconnection measures, show a stronger correlation with motor outcomes than traditional theory-based measures, while combining demographic factors further enhanced predictive accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Inhibiting the coagulation factor XI (FXI) is a novel strategy for prevention and treatment of thromboembolism without affecting extrinsic coagulation pathways. SHR-2004 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to FXI and factor XIa (FXIa).

Research Design & Methods: This randomized, double-blind, dose-escalation, placebo-controlled study evaluated SHR-2004 administered either intravenously (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is a crucial enzyme involved in the oxidation of glucose. It is regulated by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDHK) and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. Studies have demonstrated that PDHK1, a key enzyme in glucose metabolism, behaves like oncogenes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: As the incidence of heart failure (HF) increases, the need for practical tools to evaluate the long-term prognosis in these patients remains critical. Our study aimed to develop a 48 month prediction model for all-cause mortality in decompensated HF patients using available clinical indicators.

Methods: HF patients (n = 503), 60 years or older, were divided into a training cohort (n = 402) and a validation cohort (n = 101).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study aimed to create a morphology grading system, solely based on 2D images from computed tomography angiography, to predict negative aortic remodelling (NAR) for patients with high risk uncomplicated type B aortic dissection (TBAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).

Methods: This single centre retrospective cohort study extracted and analysed consecutive patients diagnosed with high risk uncomplicated TBAD. Negative aortic remodelling was defined as an increase in the false lumen or total aortic diameter, or decrease in the true lumen diameter.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are responsible for a large proportion of premature deaths in low- and middle-income countries. Early CVD detection and intervention is critical in these populations, yet many existing CVD risk scores require a physical examination or lab measurements, which can be challenging in such health systems due to limited accessibility. We investigated the potential to use photoplethysmography (PPG), a sensing technology available on most smartphones that can potentially enable large-scale screening at low cost, for CVD risk prediction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To evaluate the effect of low-dose recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) therapy on immunocyte subsets and its side effects in children with solid tumor.

Methods: A total of 22 children (11 males and 11 females) with solid tumor in our department from December 2012 to November 2017 were selected, with a median age of 9 (3-16) years old when starting IL-2 therapy. ALL surgeries and chemotherapy of children had been completed before low-dose rIL-2 therapy, and 17 cases achieved complete remission (CR) and 5 cases achieved partial remission (PR).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Body weight and its changes have been associated with cancer outcomes. However, the associations of short-term peridiagnosis weight dynamics in standardized, clinically operational time frames with cancer survival remain largely unknown. This study aimed to screen for and evaluate the optimal indicator of short-term peridiagnosis weight dynamics to predict overall survival (OS) in patients with cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the effectiveness and safety of brolucizumab for treating difficult cases of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in Taiwan, focusing on a real-world patient group.
  • Patients were monitored for three months after starting brolucizumab, with key outcomes including changes in visual acuity and retinal thickness, along with tracking any side effects like intraocular inflammation.
  • Results showed significant improvements in retinal thickness and fluid resolution, and about half of the patients experienced noticeable visual gains, indicating that brolucizumab can be a promising treatment option for this condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Systemic inflammation and skeletal muscle strength play crucial roles in the development and progression of cancer cachexia. In this study we aimed to evaluate the combined prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and handgrip strength (HGS) for survival in patients with cancer cachexia.

Methods: This multicenter cohort study involved 1826 patients with cancer cachexia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Emergency cervical cerclage is a recognized method for preventing mid-trimester pregnancy loss and premature birth; however, its benefits remain controversial. This study aimed to establish preoperative models predicting preterm birth and gestational latency following emergency cervical cerclage in singleton pregnant patients with a high risk of preterm birth.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from patients who received emergency cerclage between 2015 and 2023 in three institutions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A carbon matrix-supported Ni catalyst with surface/subsurface S species is prepared using a sacrificial metal-organic framework synthesis strategy. The resulting highly dispersed Ni-S/C catalyst contains surface discontinuous and electron-deficient Ni sites modified by p-block S elements. This catalyst proved to be extremely active and selective for alkyne hydrogenation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chronic motor impairments are a leading cause of disability after stroke. Previous studies have predicted motor outcomes based on the degree of damage to predefined structures in the motor system, such as the corticospinal tract. However, such theory-based approaches may not take full advantage of the information contained in clinical imaging data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated the prevalence and clinical course of perianal Crohn's disease (pCD) in Taiwanese patients, finding that 14.8% of those with Crohn's disease (CD) had pCD, primarily affecting younger men.
  • - It reported that many pCD patients were diagnosed with their perianal issues before their CD diagnosis and experienced high rates of complications, including recurrent fistulas.
  • - Despite requiring more hospital visits and intensive care, patients with pCD had a lower mortality rate (6.1%) compared to those without pCD (17.3%) over a 15-year period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bismuth (Bi) has emerged as a promising candidate for sodium-ion battery anodes because of its unique layered crystal structure, superior volumetric capacity, and high theoretical gravimetric capacity. However, the large volume expansion and severe aggregation of Bi during the alloying/dealloying reactions are extremely detrimental to cycling stability, which seriously hinders its practical application. To overcome these issues, we propose an effective synthesis of composite materials, encapsulating Bi nanoparticles in N,S co-doped carbon nanoribbons and composites with carbon nanotubes (N,S-C@Bi/CNT), using BiS nanobelts as templates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A low-frequency broadband multilayer metamaterial absorber (MMA) is presented, utilizing resistive frequency selective surfaces (RFSSs) and consists of a three-layer RFSS, three-layer polymethacrylimide foam substrates, and a copper film.
  • The MMA achieves over 90% absorption across a wide frequency range from 1.91 to 20.78 GHz, covering S, C, X, and Ku bands, while maintaining a thin profile of 0.102 λ (where λ is the wavelength of the lowest frequency).
  • Experimental results of the fabricated prototype show excellent performance consistency with numerical simulations, demonstrating stability in absorption for various angles and both TE and TM modes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Carbonyl reductase (CR)-catalyzed bioreduction in the organic phase and the neat substrate reaction system is a lasting challenge, placing higher requirements on the performance of enzymes. Protein engineering is an effective method to enhance the properties of enzymes for industrial applications. In the present work, a single point mutation E145A on our previously constructed CR mutant LsCR , coevolved thermostability, and activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The fat mass and nutritional status play important roles in the onset and progression of cancer cachexia. The present study evaluated the joint prognostic value of the fat mass, as indicated by the triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), and the serum albumin level, for mortality in patients with cancer cachexia.

Methods: We performed a multicentre cohort study including 5134 patients with cancer cachexia from January 2013 to April 2019.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: To identify metabolites associated with a healthy lifestyle and explore the possible mechanisms of lifestyle in coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods And Results: The nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics platform was applied to perform metabolomic profiling of baseline plasma samples from a randomly selected subset of 121 733 UK Biobank participants. Cox proportional hazards models with covariate adjustments were used to investigate the associations between validated lifestyle-associated metabolites and incident CAD and to estimate the accuracy of the inclusion of metabolites to predict CAD compared with traditional prediction models.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Malnutrition is highly prevalent and is related to multiple impaired clinical outcomes in cancer patients. This study aimed to create an objective, nutrition-related index specially for prognostic purposes in oncology populations.

Methods: We performed a multicenter cohort study including 14,134 cancer patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A design method of five-band polarization-insensitive metamaterial absorber (MMA) based on the slotted structures and the magnetic rubber is proposed for L-, S-, C-, X-, and Ku-band applications. The slotted structures of the top layer, which evolved from two square rings, are used to excite multi-resonance. The range of the electromagnetic (EM) parameters of a magnetic rubber substrate, which is used to adjust the equivalent impedance of the absorber to match the free space impedance in different bands, is estimated using the impedance matching principle.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The development of thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is closely related to extracellular matrix degradation and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) transformation from contractile to synthetic type. LGMN (legumain) degrades extracellular matrix components directly or by activating downstream signals. The role of LGMN in VSMC differentiation and the occurrence of TAD remains elusive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Genetic testing in individuals without symptoms can reveal carriers of harmful arrhythmia gene variants, but the clinical implications of these findings are still not fully understood.
  • In a study of nearly 22,000 participants, 0.6% were found to carry pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants linked to arrhythmias, with many displaying significant arrhythmia-related health records.
  • Follow-up investigations showed that variant results led to new diagnoses in some individuals, highlighting the potential for genome sequencing to uncover important health information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine cost-effectiveness parameters for EEG monitoring in cardiac arrest prognostication.

Methods: We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis to estimate the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained by adding continuous EEG monitoring to standard cardiac arrest prognostication using the American Academy of Neurology Practice Parameter (AANPP) decision algorithm: neurologic examination, somatosensory evoked potentials, and neuron-specific enolase. We explored lifetime cost-effectiveness in a closed system that incorporates revenue back into the medical system (return) from payers who survive a cardiac arrest with good outcome and contribute to the health system during the remaining years of life.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF