Understanding and alleviating informal caregiver burden through the development and validation of a caregiver strain index-based model in Taiwan.

Background: Quantifying the informal caregiver burden is important for understanding the risk factors associated with caregiver overload and for evaluating the effectiveness of services provided in Long-term Care (LTC).

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)-based score for quantifying the informal caregiver burden, while the original dataset did not fully cover evaluation items commonly included in international assessments. Subsequently, we utilized the CSI-based score to pinpoint key caregiver burden risk factors, examine the initial timing of LTC services adoption, and assess the impact of LTC services on reducing caregiver burden.

Predicting Long-Term Care Service Demands for Cancer Patients: A Machine Learning Approach.

Background: Long-term care (LTC) service demands among cancer patients are significantly understudied, leading to gaps in healthcare resource allocation and policymaking.

Objective: This study aimed to predict LTC service demands for cancer patients and identify the crucial factors.

Methods: 3333 cases of cancers were included.

Derivation of copper water quality criteria in Bohai Bay for the protection of local aquatic life and the ecological risk assessment.

Developing effective marine water quality criteria (WQC) is crucial for controlling marine contamination and protecting marine life. The WQC for copper is urgently needed due to the toxicity and widespread of copper contamination. In this work, both short-term water quality criteria (SWQC) and long-term water quality criteria (LWQC) under 10 % effect endpoints were derived by using the model averaging of species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method for Bohai Bay.

Structure based design of selective SHP2 inhibitors by De novo design, synthesis and biological evaluation.

SHP2 phosphatase, encoded by the PTPN11 gene, is a non-receptor PTP, which plays an important role in growth factor, cytokine, integrin, hormone signaling pathways, and regulates cellular responses, such as proliferation, differentiation, adhesion migration and apoptosis. Many studies have reported that upregulation of SHP2 expression is closely related to human cancer, such as breast cancer, liver cancer and gastric cancer. Hence, SHP2 has become a promising target for cancer immunotherapy.

Magnifying narrow-band imaging endoscopy is superior in diagnosis of early gastric cancer.

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of white light endoscopy, magnifying endoscopy (ME), and magnifying narrow-band imaging endoscopy (ME-NBI) in detecting early gastric cancer (EGC).

Methods: From March 2010 to June 2012, a total of 3616 patients received screening for gastric cancer by magnifying endoscopy. There were 3675 focal gastric lesions detected using conventional high definition white light endoscopy (HD-WLE) in four different referential hospitals that were recruited for further investigation using ME and ME-NBI.

Whole genome expression profiling of gastric high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia with or without cancer.

Objective: To investigate the whole genome expression profiles between gastric high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) tissues with cancer and HGIN tissues without cancer.

Methods: Gastric specimens from an upper magnifying chromoendoscopic targeted biopsy were collected at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March 2010 to May 2013. Each of the forceps biopsies from the 21 patients was HGIN,but there were 10 HGIN and 11 HGIN with cancer after the endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Differential gene expression profiling of gastric intraepithelial neoplasia and early-stage adenocarcinoma.

Aim: To investigate the differentiated whole genome expression profiling of gastric high- and low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia and early-stage adenocarcinoma.

Methods: Gastric specimens from an upper magnifying chromoendoscopic targeted biopsy were collected from March 2010 to May 2013. Whole genome expression profiling was performed on 19 low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), 20 high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN), 19 early-stage adenocarcinoma (EGC), and 19 chronic gastritis tissue samples using Agilent 4 × 44K Whole Human Genome microarrays.

Genetic variant in SWI/SNF complexes influences hepatocellular carcinoma risk: a new clue for the contribution of chromatin remodeling in carcinogenesis.

Chromatin remodeling has been newly established as an important cancer genome characterization and recent exome and whole-genome sequencing studies of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) showed that recurrent inactivating mutations in SWI/SNF subunits involved in the molecular basis of hepatocarcinogenesis. To test the hypothesis that genetic variants in the key subunits of SWI/SNF complexes may contribute to HCC susceptibility, we systematically assessed associations of genetic variants in SWI/SNF complexes with HCC risk using a two-staged case-control study in Chinese population. A set of 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SWI/SNF complexes were examined in stage 1 with 502 HCC patients and 487 controls and three promising SNPs (SMARCA4 rs11879293, rs2072382 and SMARCB1 rs2267032) were further genotyped in stage 2 comprising 501 cases and 545 controls for validation.

Enhanced magnifying endoscopy for differential diagnosis of superficial gastric lesions identified with white-light endoscopy.

Background: Various techniques using magnifying endoscopy (ME) and chromoendoscopy are being developed to enhance images of gastrointestinal tumor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ME enhanced by acetic acid-indigo carmine mixture (ME-AIM) and ME enhanced with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI) for differential diagnosis of superficial gastric lesions identified with conventional white-light endoscopy (WLE).

Methods: Patients with superficial gastric lesions picked up with WLE were enrolled in the study.

Endoscopic ultrasound in restaging and predicting pathological response for advanced gastric cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Aim: To evaluate the role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in restaging and predicting response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Methods: In all, 48 advanced gastric cancer patients were recruited from June 2007 to December 2010 after providing their written, informed consent. All patients underwent an EUS before and after three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (FOLFOX 6), and then a radical resection was performed 3-4 weeks after chemotherapy.

[The diagnosis of Crohn's disease of the small bowel: comparing CT enterography, capsule endoscopy, small-bowel follow through and ileocolonoscopy].

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of capsule endoscopy (CE), CT enterography (CTE), ileocolonoscopy and small bowel follow through (SBFT) for small bowel Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: Fifty-seven consecutive patients with CD underwent ileocolonoscopy, CTE, CE, and SBFT. It included the presence of the following symptoms and signs: abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea, fever and positive fecal occult blood test.

[Diagnostic value of CT enterography in patients with Crohn's disease].

Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of CT enterography in patients with Crohn's disease.

Methods: Multi-detector CT enterography and small bowel follow-through were performed in 30 patients with Crohn's disease. The locations and characteristics of the intestinal and extra-intestinal lesions detected by both two techniques were compared.

[Diagnostic and therapeutic values of capsule endoscopy in Crohn's disease].

Objective: To explore the diagnostic and therapeutic values of the capsule endoscopy (CE) in Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: The clinical data of 14 patients diagnosed by CE were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical features, CE findings, and medical management were evaluated.

Comparative proteomic analysis of human pancreatic juice: methodological study.

Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal of all the common malignancies. Markers for early detection of this disease are urgently needed. Here, we optimized and applied a proteome analysis of human pancreatic juice to identify biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.

[Polymorphisms of the DNA repair genes XRCC1 and XPC: relationship to pancreatic cancer risk].

Objective: To determine whether genetic polymorphisms in XRCC1 and XPC are associated with risk of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 101 incident cases with pancreatic cancer and 337 controls (matched for age, sex and ethnicity) to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes XRCC1 (Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln) and XPC (an intronic biallelic poly (AT) insertion/deletion polymorphism, XPC-PAT) were associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. The odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by unconditional logistic regression models and adjusted for potential confounding factors.

[The phenotype and clinical patterns of Crohn's disease in the Chinese].

Objective: To investigate the possibility to classified Chinese patients with Crohn's disease by the Vienna criteria and clinical features between subtypes. To investigate the clinical significance of anti-saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCAs) in Crohn's disease.

Methods: We identified 71 cases of Crohn's disease in our hospital during the past five years by searching the electronic medical recording system of the hospital.

Evaluation of the diagnostic value of serum tumor markers, and fecal k-ras and p53 gene mutations for pancreatic cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value for pancreatic cancer of four serum tumor markers, carbohydrate antigen (CA) 199, CA242, CA50 and carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), and fecal k-ras and p53 gene mutations.

Methods: From February 2002 to March 2004, 136 patients were consecutively diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the three participating medical centers. The diagnosis was confirmed by pathology in 53 patients, of whom five were excluded because they did not have measurement of serum tumor marker.

[Study on the relations between genetic polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, methionine synthase and the risk of pancreatic cancer].

Objective: To determine whether genetic polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677T and A1298C), methionine synthase (MS A2756G) were associated with the risks of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A hospital-based, case-control study consisting of 101 incident pancreatic cancer cases and 337 controls matched on age, sex and race was conducted to investigate the association between polymorphism in MTHFR and MS, and susceptibility to pancreatic cancer. Genotypes of MTHFR C677T, A1298C and MS A2756G were analyzed by polymerase chain reasction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods.

Evaluating the role of serum elastase 1 in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Objective: To determine the normal value of serum elastase 1 in Chinese adults and evaluate its diagnostic value for pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Serum elastase 1 and CA19-9 were measured in 132 samples, including 39 patients with pancreatic cancer, 48 with other gastrointestinal malignancy, 24 with gastrointestinal benign disease and 21 healthy adults as normal control. Multiple statistical methods including receiver operating characteristics curve and discriminant analysis were employed.

Establishment of risk model for pancreatic cancer in Chinese Han population.

Aim: To investigate risk factors for pancreatic cancer and establish a risk model for Han population.

Methods: This population-based case-control study was carried out from January 2002 to April 2004. One hundred and nineteen pancreatic cancer patients and 238 healthy people completed the questionnaire which was used for risk factor analysis.

[The clinical and pathological characteristics and prognosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei].

Objective: To investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics, treatment measures and prognosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP).

Methods: The clinical records and follow-up data of the patients with PMP were retrospectively analyzed. Survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression) was used to investigate the prognosis.

[Developing a hospital-based high risk scoring model and screening strategy for pancreatic cancer].

Objective: To develop a high risk scoring model and screening strategy to improve the diagnosis of symptomatic pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was undertaken among a cohort comprising 136 pancreatic cancer patients and 191 patients with benign gastrointestinal diseases who were hospitalized between Feb, 2002 and Mar, 2004. All patients were consulted with an epidemiological questionnaire.

[The diagnostic value of serum carcinoma markers, fecal K-ras and p53 gene mutation in pancreatic cancers].

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of serum carcinoma markers CA19-9, CA242, CA50 and carcinoembryonic antigens (CEA), fecal K-ras and p53 gene mutation in pancreatic cancer.

Methods: We collected 136 new cases of pancreatic cancer and 240 patients with benign digestive diseases including 49 patients with benign pancreatic diseases diagnosed in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Tumor Hospital and Shenyang PLA General Hospital from February 2002 to March 2004. Blood samples were collected and serum carcinoma markers CA19-9, CA242, CA50 and CEA were measured.