Publications by authors named "Wen-cheng Lu"

Unlabelled: Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a stress-responsive transcription factor that promotes cancer cell malignancy. To provide a better understanding of the biological processes regulated by HSF1, here we developed an HSF1 activity signature (HAS) and found that it was negatively associated with antitumor immune cells in breast tumors. Knockdown of HSF1 decreased breast tumor size and caused an influx of several antitumor immune cells, most notably CD8+ T cells.

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The heat stress response activates the transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), which subsequently upregulates heat shock proteins to maintain the integrity of the proteome. HSF1 activation requires nuclear localization, trimerization, DNA binding, phosphorylation and gene transactivation. Phosphorylation at S326 is an important regulator of HSF1 transcriptional activity.

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This article investigates the effects of real income, trade openness, and energy consumption on the ecological footprint using a panel data of 13 Asian countries over the 1973-2014 period. The empirical findings suggest that the panel variance-ratio test confirms the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship among ecological footprint real income, trade openness, and energy consumption. Results from panel pooled mean group estimates confirm that the long-run elasticity of real income, trade openness, and energy consumption is 0.

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This paper investigated the relationships between industrial water use, income, trade, and employment for 17 Taiwanese industries from 1998 to 2015. We explored cross-sectional dependent unit root, panel cointegration, and causality tests to estimate their long-term relationships and causal nexus. There existed long-term equilibrium relationships among the variables.

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In adult mammals, axon regeneration after central nervous system injury is very poor, resulting in persistent functional loss. Enhancing the ability of axonal outgrowth may be a potential treatment strategy because mature neurons of the adult central nervous system may retain the intrinsic ability to regrow axons after injury. The protocadherin (Pcdh) clusters are thought to function in neuronal morphogenesis and in the assembly of neural circuitry in the brain.

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This research investigates the co-movement and causality relationships between greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and economic growth for 16 Asian countries over the period 1990-2012. The empirical findings suggest that in the long run, bidirectional Granger causality between energy consumption, GDP and greenhouse gas emissions and between GDP, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption is established. A non-linear, quadratic relationship is revealed between greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and economic growth, consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve for these 16 Asian countries and a subsample of the Asian new industrial economy.

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This article aims to investigate the relationship among renewable energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO) emissions, and GDP using panel data for 24 Asian countries between 1990 and 2012. Panel cross-sectional dependence tests and unit root test, which considers cross-sectional dependence across countries, are used to ensure that the empirical results are correct. Using the panel cointegration model, the vector error correction model, and the Granger causality test, this paper finds that a long-run equilibrium exists among renewable energy consumption, carbon emission, and GDP.

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miR-31 is oncogenic for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Proteins containing the AT-rich interacting domain (ARID) modulate the accessibility of chromatin to the transcription machinery needed for gene expression. In this study, we showed that miR-31 was able to target ARID1A in HNSCC.

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Pod shattering is a natural property of wild soybean (Glycine soja) for propagation and also a major cause of yield loss in cultivated soybean (Glycine max L. Merr). Thus, studies on occurrence characteristics and molecular genetic basis of pod shattering in soybean can provide insights into both molecular mechanisms and potential application in legume crop improvement.

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Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most prevalent carcinomas worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression and modulate physiological or pathological processes including OSCC carcinogenesis. miR-31 has been found to be up-regulated in OSCC and to act as an oncogenic miRNA.

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Horseshoe kidney and retrocaval ureter are uncommon congenital anomalies of the genitourinary system that are easily diagnosed by typical imaging features. Both anomalies presenting in one patient is a rare disease characterized by isthmus of horseshoe kidney between the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava. The clinical diagnosis and treatment of horseshoe kidney with retrocaval ureter remain a challenge.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study aimed to assess how the disruption of the internal iliac artery impacts blood flow and erectile function in patients who underwent renal transplantation.
  • The research involved 33 chronic renal failure patients, measuring erectile function and penile blood flow before and after their transplant.
  • Findings indicated that while blood flow decreased post-surgery, it did not significantly affect erectile function, with many patients reporting unchanged or improved sexual desire following their transplant.
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  • Docetaxel (DOC) is an effective treatment for hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), and this study investigates if rapamycin (RPM) can enhance the effects of DOC on prostate cancer cells.
  • In laboratory tests, RPM and DOC both inhibited prostate cancer cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, with their combination leading to greater anti-tumor effects and increased cell death (apoptosis) compared to either treatment alone.
  • The study also demonstrated that RPM increased the activation of specific caspases associated with apoptosis, further supporting the idea of a synergistic relationship between RPM and DOC in fighting prostate cancer.
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Objective: To compare the oncologic efficacy of transurethral incision of the ureteral orifice and open excision of bladder cuff in retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (LNU) for patients with upper tract urothelium carcinoma.

Methods: The hospital records of 86 patients with upper tract urothelium carcinoma who underwent laparoscopic nephroureterectomy were reviewed retrospectively. 53 of the 86 patients, 22 males and 31 females, aged (68.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study of 824 male renal transplant recipients found that a high prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) exists, with 75.5% reporting some level of ED, categorized into mild, moderate, and severe cases.
  • The prevalence of ED increases with age, with rates reaching 92.2% in patients over 60 years, alongside a corresponding rise in the severity of ED in older groups.
  • Factors such as occupation and education level also influenced ED rates, revealing that those without employment and with lower educational attainment experienced higher instances of erectile dysfunction.
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Objective: To evaluate the degree of sexual dysfunction in an unselected population of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) accompanied by lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and to assess the correlation between sexual dysfunction and urinary symptoms and age.

Methods: A total of 88 men with symptomatic BPH were investigated using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), Brief Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI), and the measurement of urinary flow rate, the total prostatic volume and serum testosterone. Regression analysis was used to determine the correlation among the variables.

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