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BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the short-term effect of cycloplegia on higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in school-age myopic children who received 0.25% atropine for cycloplegic refraction. METHODS We performed a retrospective chart review of 24 myopic children between the ages of 5 and 15 years, who had received one topical drop of 0.25% atropine for three consecutive nights before undergoing cycloplegic refraction. Auto-refraction, visual acuity, and HOAs measured with the iTrace aberrometer were compared before and after atropine use. To account for the effect of cycloplegia, the amount of HOAs under matching scanning sizes was compared. RESULTS There were statistically significant differences in the spherical equivalent, with a hyperopic shift after atropine use (p < 0.001). Corrected visual acuity and spherical aberrations showed no significant change under the respective pupil and scanning sizes before and after atropine use. Under identical scanning sizes, there was a significant change in total spherical aberration (from 0.03 to 0.06 μm, p = 0.044) and internal spherical aberration (from -0.10 to -0.05 μm, p = 0.049) after atropine use. Differences in corneal spherical aberration were insignificant. CONCLUSION The positive shift of spherical aberration induced by the inhibition of accommodation in myopic children may have a possible effect against myopic progression. Future studies can focus on the long-term effect on HOAs and impact on visual quality with lower concentrations of atropine.

Carotenoids are an important source of metabolites with regulatory function, which include the plant hormones abscisic acid (ABA) and strigolactones (SLs), and several recently identified growth regulators and signaling molecules. These carotenoid-derivatives originate from oxidative breakdown of double bonds in the carotenoid polyene, a common metabolic process that gives rise to diverse carbonyl cleavage-products known as apocarotenoids. Apocarotenoids exert biologically important functions in all taxa. In plants, they are a major regulator of plant growth, development and response to biotic and abiotic environmental stimuli, and mediate plant's communication with surrounding organisms. In this article, we provide a general overview on the biology of plant apocarotenoids, focusing on ABA, SLs, and recently identified apocarotenoid growth regulators. Following an introduction on carotenoids, we describe plant apocarotenoid biosynthesis, signal transduction, and evolution and summarize their biological functions. Moreover, we discuss the evolution of these intriguing metabolites, which has not been adequately addressed in the literature.

Previous studies have shown that adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of regulatory T cells (Tregs) mitigate AAA growth in mice, however these studies have used a dissection AAA model and have not thoroughly studied Treg function in mice after ACT. Treg suppression of systemic or local inflammation has not been rigorously studied in our model. We therefore sought to evaluate the effects of Treg ACT in mice with a specific focus on Treg migration, colonization, and inflammatory changes within local tissue. Methods: AAA was induced in B57Bl/6 mice expressing the Thy 1.2 allele using a topical elastase + BAPN model (E-BAPN). Heat inactivated elastase (HiE-BAPN) was used as a control. On postoperative day (POD) 2, animals were treated with PBS (E-BAPN-PBS) injection or ACT of 2 million Tregs (E-BAPN-Tregs). CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ Tregs used for ACT were isolated from B57Bl/6 mice expressing the Thy 1.1 allele. Mice underwent surveillance ultrasounds (US) weekly to track AAA growth for 42 days. At specific time points mice were sacrificed and aortic diameter was recorded. Aortic tissue and regional lymph nodes were harvested for analysis. Results: Maximum aortic diameter (MAD) by both US and video microscopy was significantly higher in the AAA group (E-BAPN vs. HiE-BAPN; pThy1.1+ Tregs were detected in the tissue and regional aortic lymph nodes (LN) until day 42 with only a slight declination in the percent Thy1.1 + cells over time. Thy1.1+ Tregs retained phenotypic markers over time. E-BAPN-Treg mice had significantly altered inflammatory markers compared to E-BAPN-PBS mice including local macrophage and T-cell composition as well as inflammatory cytokines. Conclusion: Treg ACT suppress AAA growth in a topical elastase + BAPN mouse model through tissue and LN colonization and alteration of the local inflammatory milieu.

Introduction: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress inflammation in atherosclerosis, and therefore have the therapeutic potential to reduce the risk of MI and stroke. However, there is currently no method to generate antigen specific Tregs that target atherosclerosis. We therefore engineered Tregs that express a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) targeting malonaldehyde-modified LDL (MDA-LDL), the most common form of oxidized LDL and a key molecular component of atherosclerosis. Methods: Novel single chain variable fragments (scFv) were synthesized using sequences from antibodies targeting human MDA-LDL. Oxidized-LDL specific CARs (ox-CARs) were subsequently engineered by fusing each scFv to an IgG4 hinge, CD28 transmembrane and CD28/CD3z cytoplasmic domains. CD4 + CD25 + CD127 low/- Tregs were purified from human blood via FACS and lentivirally transduced to express the novel ox-CARs (ox-CAR-Tregs). Human atherosclerotic plaques were obtained from patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Autologous ox-CAR-Tregs were analyzed for activation after ex-vivo co-culture with CEA samples. Results: A rationally designed panel of 42 ox-CARs were engineered using scFv derived from 12 antibodies targeting MDA-LDL. We first assessed CAR expression and activation in Jurkat T cells to identify promising ox-CAR variants for further evaluation in human Tregs. After culture in the presence of MDA-LDL, six ox-CAR-Treg variants consistently showed significant activation, compared to controls, based on CD71 expression, cytokine expression and proliferation in the absence of CD3/28 stimulation. Human atherosclerotic samples were identified to have substantial amounts of MDA-LDL epitopes using IHC. Autologous ox-CAR-Tregs showed a dose-dependent increase in CD71 expression after ex-vivo co-culture with atherosclerotic plaque. Conclusion: An optimized CAR targeting MDA-LDL activates Tregs when cultured with human atherosclerotic plaque ex-vivo.

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a vision-threatening disease, usually associated with contact lens (CL) wear. As overnight orthokeratology (OOK) is increasingly used to control myopia, we have found incidence of OOK-associated AK is increasing. This study aimed to investigate the clinical presentation and visual outcomes of OOK-associated AK.Demographic characteristics, clinical features, and treatment outcomes were collected by reviewing the medical charts of CL-associated AK patients (n = 35) diagnosed at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from 2001 to 2016. Cases were OOK-associated AK patients (n = 13), and controls were all other CL-associated AK patients (n = 22). Student t tests and chi-square tests were used to compare cases and controls. Linear regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with the final visual outcome in CL-associated AK.OOK-associated AK accounted for half of all CL-associated AK after 2010. OOK-associated AK patients and other CL-associated patients had similar best-corrected logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity (BCLVA) before treatment (1.10 ± 0.75 vs 1.13 ± 0.76, p = 0.893), but OOK-associated AK patients were younger (17.15 ± 3.21 vs 26.36 ± 12.81 years, p = 0.004), had less severe disease (ring infiltration, 0% vs 31.82%, p = 0.023), and had better post-treatment BCLVA (0.06 ± 0.15 vs 0.51 ± 0.95, p = 0.041). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that better BCLVA after treatment in CL-associated AK was associated with initial presentation without ring infiltration (p = 0.002) but not with OOK use itself (p = 0.793). Twenty-six of 35 CL-associated AK patients had final BCLVA equal to or better than 0.10 (Snellen visual acuity of 6/7.5). All 13 OOK-associated AK cases were treated with chlorhexidine 0.02% ± voriconazole 1% ± oral voriconazole, and 12 of these patients had final BCLVA equal to or better than 0.10.Most CL-associated AK patients had satisfactory visual outcomes. Half of AK at our hospital is OOK-associated since 2010. Early diagnosis and correct treatment may be the reason why OOK-associated AK patients had better vision prognosis.

Pseudophakic bullous keratopathy and Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy are the two most common causes of corneal edema after cataract surgery. We report a 61-year-old alcoholic male with bilateral corneal edema that improved after his alcohol abstinence. He had uneventful bilateral cataract surgery 3 years ago and blurred vision in both eyes developed for weeks. As he had no history of endothelial dystrophy, the treatment for viral endotheliitis was used initially yet in vain. We asked him to stop alcohol and adjusted his psychiatric drugs, but he lied about stopping drinking. The corneal edema progressed, and finally, he underwent penetrating keratoplasty in his left eye 1 year later. During hospitalization for surgery, alcohol withdrawal syndrome was noted because he could not drink alcohol in our hospital. After he quit drinking for months, corneal edema in the right eye disappeared. Our case highlights that alcoholism can result in corneal edema, and stopping drinking is necessary in these patients.

Production management of perishable goods is highly complex and requires well-informed decisions in corresponding stages. In such production environments, scheduling problems with time constraints are of high relevance to ensure the timely flow of the work-in-process material and goods. This study introduces the no-wait flowshop scheduling problem with release times (NWFSP-RT) to help advance decision support systems in the food production industry. For this purpose, an original mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation is proposed for minimizing makespan. A BS algorithm, and an improved variant, the local search-based Beam Search (BSLS) algorithms are developed to solve the NWFSP-RT problem. Extensive numerical analysis is conducted to analyze the performance of the algorithms in solving this highly intractable extension of the scheduling problems. We showed that BSLS effectively avoids early convergence and local optimality while dismissing non-promising search directions within a partial enumeration solution approach. The statistical analysis confirmed that the improved BS algorithm performs better in terms of solution quality. Applications of the developed heuristic are worthwhile research topics to pursue in solving other complex optimization problems.

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults, when not effectively treated. The aim of this study was to discover new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of MN. A reliable mouse model of MN was used by the administration of cationic bovine serum albumin (cBSA). Mice with MN exhibited proteinuria, histopathological changes, and accumulation of immune complexes in the glomerular basement membrane. Label-free proteomics analysis was performed to identify changes in protein expression, and the overexpressed proteins were evaluated. There were 273 proteins that showed significantly different expression in mice with MN, as compared to the controls. String analysis showed that functions related to cellular catabolic processes were downregulated in MN. Among the differentially expressed proteins, prohibitin 1 (PHB1) and prohibitin 2 (PHB2) were upregulated in the kidneys of mice with MN, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and this upregulation was observed in both the tubular cells and glomeruli. Both shRNA-mediated knockdown of PHB1 or PHB2 inhibited tumor suppressor p53 expression and significantly promoted podocyte proliferation. In addition, both PHB1 and PHB2 were responsible for cBSA-induced cytotoxicity. Microarray analysis further revealed that the upregulation of PHB1 and PHB2 may be due to a blockage of proteasome activity. These data demonstrate that the upregulation of PHB2 is involved in cBSA-mediated podocyte cytotoxicity, which may lead to MN development. Keywords: Membranous nephropathy, Prohibitin 1, Prohibitin 2

Objective To analyze the relationship between dry eye symptoms and modern dry eye tests, including the Schirmer I test, lipid layer thickness (LLT), and blinking pattern by LipiView interferometer. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants 115 dry eye outpatients. Methods Dry eye symptoms were quantified by questionnaire scores, such as Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED). LLT, complete, and incomplete blinking rate were recorded by the LipiView interferometer. Results 115 patients (229 eyes, mean age = 60.5 ± 13.6 years) were enrolled in this study. The mean value of the SPEED and OSDI scores was 9.5 and 10.2, respectively. A total of 44.3% of all subjects had severe dry eye syndrome (SPEED, OSDI ≥ 10). LLT (mean = 71.2 nm) was inversely correlated with both the SPEED and OSDI (p = 0.003 and 0.004, respectively). The incomplete-to-complete ratio of blinking rate (i/c ratio) was correlated with both the SPEED and OSDI (p = 0.0048 and 0.0234, respectively). Patients with LLT less than 69 nm were more likely to have severe dry eye syndrome. There was no significant relationship between the Schirmer I test and the SPEED or OSDI. However, LLT was inversely related to the Schirmer I test (linear regression, p = 0.0002, r = −0.1857). Conclusions LLT and the i/c ratio were significantly correlated to dry eye symptoms. Eyes with thinner LLT are more likely to have better aqueous tear production. The role of the reciprocal influence between each tear component in the maintenance of tear function warrants further investigation.

Transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (Trans-PRK), laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) are three mainstay refractive surgeries worldwide. The applicability, efficacy, safety, and predictability of these different techniques are quite similar. Trans-PRK has the strongest biostability, earliest return to normal corneal sensitivity but the longest recovery time, most uncomfortable postoperative experience, and possibility of corneal haze. LASIK possesses the fastest visual rehabilitation but the slowest corneal nerve reinnervation, and flap displacement is possibly lifelong. SMILE incurs no flap-related complications and has intermediate vision recovery time and biomechanics compared with Trans-PRK and LASIK. However, it lacks the cyclotorsion compensation system, eye tracking system, and customized treatment profile for high astigmatism or irregular corneal surface. This review aims to introduce the mechanisms, pros, and cons of these three types of refractive surgery. With full understanding, practitioners could advise patients on the most suitable treatment of choice.

Chronic exposure to aristolochic acid (AA) leads to renal interstitial fibrosis and nephropathy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the renoprotective effects of Panax ginseng extract (GE) and ginsenoside saponin (GS) on AA-induced nephropathy (AAN) in mice. Eighty female C3H/He mice were randomly divided into eight groups, including normal, AA (3 μg/mL for 56 days), AA with GE (125, 250, or 500 mg/kg/d for 14 days), and AA with important GE ingredients, Rg1, Rb1, or Rd (5 mg/kg/d for 14 days). Compared with the AA group, renal injuries were significantly decreased in the GE (250 mg/kg/d), Rb1, and Rg1 treatment groups. Rg1 exhibited the best renoprotection among all GS-treated groups. There were 24 peaks significantly altered among normal, AA, and AA + Rg1 groups, and four mitochondrial proteins were identified, including acyl-CoA synthetase medium-chain family member 2, upregulated during skeletal muscle growth 5 (Usmg5), mitochondrial aconitase 2 (ACO2), and cytochrome c oxidase subunit Va preprotein (COX5a). We demonstrated for the first time that the AAN mechanism and renoprotective effects of Rg1 are associated with expression of mitochondrial proteins, especially ACO2, Usmg5, and COX5a.

Chronic exposure to aristolochic acid (AA) leads to renal interstitial fibrosis and nephropathy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the renoprotective effects of Panax ginseng extract (GE) and ginsenoside saponin (GS) on AA-induced nephropathy (AAN) in mice. Eighty female C3H/He mice were randomly divided into eight groups, including normal; AA (3 μg/mL for 56 days); AA with GE (125, 250, or 500 mg/kg/d for 14 days); and AA with important GE ingredients, Rg1, Rb1, or Rd (5 mg/kg/d for 14 days). Compared with the AA group, renal injuries were significantly decreased in the GE (250 mg/kg/d), Rb1, and Rg1 treatment groups. Rg1 exhibited the best renoprotection among all GS-treated groups. There were 24 peaks significantly altered among normal, AA, and AA + Rg1 groups, and four mitochondrial proteins were identified, including acyl-CoA synthetase medium-chain family member 2, upregulated during skeletal muscle growth 5 (Usmg5), mitochondrial aconitase 2 (ACO2), and cytochrome c oxidase subunit Va preprotein (COX5a). We demonstrated for the first time that the AAN mechanism and renoprotective effects of Rg1 are associated with expression of mitochondrial proteins, especially ACO2, Usmg5, and COX5a.

Background: Whether the weaning outcome of solid cancer patients receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is comparable to that in non-cancer patients is unknown. The aim of this study was to compare the weaning outcomes between non-cancer patients and patients with different types of cancer. Methods: We studied patients requiring MV during ICU stay for medical reasons between 2012 and 2014. Cancer patients were grouped into those with lung cancer (LC), head and neck cancer (HNC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and other cancers (OC). The primary endpoint was successful weaning at day 90 after the initiation of MV, and the main secondary endpoints were 28-day and 90-day mortality after ICU admission. Results: Five hundred and eighteen patients with solid cancers and 1362 non-cancer patients were recruited. The rate of successful weaning at day 90 was 57.9% in cancer patients, which was lower than 68.9% in non-cancer patients (p

Witchweeds (Striga spp.) and broomrapes (Orobanchaceae and Phelipanche spp.) are root parasitic plants that infest many crops in warm and temperate zones, causing enormous yield losses and endangering global food security. Seeds of these obligate parasites require rhizospheric, host-released stimulants to germinate, which opens up possibilities for controlling them by applying specific germination inhibitors or synthetic stimulants that induce lethal germination in the host’s absence. To determine their effect on germination, root exudates or synthetic stimulants/inhibitors are usually applied to parasitic seeds in in vitro bioassays, followed by assessment of germination ratios. Although these protocols are very sensitive, the germination recording process is laborious, representing a challenge for researchers and impeding high-throughput screens. Here, we developed an automatic seed census tool to count and discriminate germinated seeds (GS) from non-GS. We combined deep learning, a powerful data-driven framework that can accelerate the procedure and increase its accuracy, for object detection with computer vision latest development based on the Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network algorithm. Our method showed an accuracy of 94% in counting seeds of Striga hermonthica and reduced the required time from approximately 5 min to 5 s per image. Our proposed software, SeedQuant, will be of great help for seed germination bioassays and enable high-throughput screening for germination stimulants/inhibitors. SeedQuant is an open-source software that can be further trained to count different types of seeds for research purposes.

Introduction: There are currently no specific biomarkers to screen and monitor disease progression in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), which are the 15 th leading cause of death in the United States. Circulating exosomes contain microRNAs (miRNA) that are potential biomarkers of disease. This study aimed to characterize the exosomal miRNA expression profile of patients with AAA in order to identify novel markers of disease. Methods: A total of 109 patients scheduled to undergo a duplex ultrasound (US) for screening or surveillance of AAA were screened to participate in the study. Eleven patients with AAA (max aortic diameter >3cm) and 15 non-aneurysmal controls (max aortic diameter Results: Aortic diameter, as measured by US, was significantly larger in the AAA group (mean maximum diameter 5.2 vs 2.3 cm, p =2.84x10 -6 ). Aneurysm patients were more likely to suffer from CAD (5/11 vs 1/15, p = 0.05) but had similar levels of PAD (4/11 vs 2/15, p =0.35) and COPD (4/11 vs 4/15, p =0.68) compared to controls. A total of 40 miRNAs were differentially expressed ( p p = 1.8x10 -5 ; FDR p =0.02). Conclusions: Plasma exosomes from AAA patients have significantly reduced levels of miRNA-122-5p compared to controls.

Although current studies suggested that conjunctivitis is not a common presentation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), several studies have reported the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in ocular secretions. Coronavirus had not yet been successfully cultured from tears or conjunctival swabs in humans, neither SARS-CoV-2 nor SARS-CoV. However, live feline coronavirus has been isolated from conjunctival swabs. In addition, infection of COVID-19 through unprotected eye exposure had been suspected in several articles. Reports of ophthalmologists and otolaryngologists died of COVID-19 also raised concern on ocular transmission. As a result, we strongly suggest that personal protective equipment (PPE) should cover the mouth, nose, and eyes of ophthalmologists, especially when conjunctivitis caused by SARS-CoV-2 is clinically indistinguishable from other viral follicular conjunctivitis.

Zaxinone is an apocarotenoid regulatory metabolite required for normal rice growth and development. In addition, zaxinone has a large application potential in agriculture, due to its growth-promoting activity and capability to alleviate infestation by the root parasitic plant Striga through decreasing strigolactone (SL) production. However, zaxinone is poorly accessible to the scientific community because of its laborious organic synthesis that impedes its further investigation and utilization. In this study, we developed easy-to-synthesize and highly efficient mimics of zaxinone (MiZax). We performed a structure–activity relationship study using a series of apocarotenoids distinguished from zaxinone by different structural features. Using the obtained results, we designed several phenyl-based compounds synthesized with a high-yield through a simple method. Activity tests showed that MiZax3 and MiZax5 exert zaxinone activity in rescuing root growth of a zaxinone-deficient rice mutant, promoting growth, and reducing SL content in roots and root exudates of wild-type plants. Moreover, these compounds were at least as efficient as zaxinone in suppressing transcript level of SL biosynthesis genes and in alleviating Striga infestation under greenhouse conditions, and did not negatively impact mycorrhization. Taken together, MiZax are a promising tool for elucidating zaxinone biology and investigating rice development, and suitable candidates for combating Striga and increasing crop growth., Zaxinone is an apocarotenoid growth regulator and plant hormone candidate that promotes rice growth and acts as a negative regulator of strigolactone biosynthesis. Wang et al. performed a structure–activity relationship study and used obtained results to generate a series of easy-to-synthesize mimics of zaxinone (MiZax) that were as efficient as zaxinone in promoting rice growth, repressing strigolactone biosynthesis, and alleviating infestation by the parasitic weed Striga. The developed MiZax will significantly support zaxinone research and are promising candidates for agricultural applications.

The commercial software along with the inverse method and the experimental data is used to obtain the mixed convection heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of the single-tube vertical annular finned tube heat exchanger with different tube diameters. Various flow models along with near-wall treatments are introduced to investigate their effects on the obtained numerical results. The inverse method of the finite difference method along with the experimental data is first applied to determine the fin temperature and the heat transfer coefficient for a smaller tube. Afterwards, the air temperature and velocity profiles, the fin temperature distribution and the heat transfer coefficient on the fins are determined by the commercial software along with various flow models. More accurate results are obtained if the resulting heat transfer coefficient and the fin temperature at the measurement locations are respectively close to the inverse results and the experimental data. In addition, the comparison between the obtained air velocity pattern and the existing experimental pattern is desirable. An important finding is that the choice of appropriate flow models, near-wall treatments, friction factor, y+ value and the number of grid points varies with air velocity and tube diameter to obtain more accurate results. The heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing air velocity and fin spacing. However, the friction factor increases as the fin spacing increases and the air velocity decreases. The two vortices are symmetrical in the wake region behind the tube and rotate in the opposite direction. Increasing the number of grid points may not necessarily obtain more accurate results. The proposed correlation of the heat transfer coefficient is closer to the obtained inverse and numerical results than the existing correlation. To our knowledge, few researchers have used the similar method to investigate this problem in the open literature.

TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTs) were fabricated by anodization under various operational conditions. Dimensions of fabricated TNTs were significantly influenced by the temperature and water content of ...

Objective To analyze the causes and the clinical features of infertile men with nonobstructive azoospermia and hypospermatogenesis (HS). Materials and Methods This retrospective cohort study included 100 patients with nonobstructive azoospermia and HS and 8 patients with obstructive azoospermia and normal spermatogenesis. The severity of HS was subdivided into 3 groups (mild, moderate, and severe) based on spermatogenic score. Data of history, physical findings, serum hormone profiles, genetic studies, and sperm retrieval rate were collected. Whole genome DNA methylation analysis and microarray mRNA expression analysis were used to identify the candidate genes of methylation dysregulation in HS. Results Thirty-two (32%) patients had at least 1 prior/current testicular insults and 13 (13%) patients had genetic anomalies. Fifty-five (55%) patients were categorized as idiopathic HS. Patients with mild HS had a higher frequency of testicular insults, and patients with severe HS had a significantly higher frequency of genetic anomalies. Sperm retrieval rate was 100%, 100%, and 88.4% for patients with mild, moderate, and severe HS, respectively. Four sterility-related genes, including BOLL , DDX4 , HORMAD1 , and MAEL , were found to have increased methylation at CpGs of the promoter regions and decreased mRNA expressions in HS testis. Conclusion The causes of HS are complex and multifactorial. The main causes of HS were prior or current testicular insults and chromosomal or genetic anomalies. More than half of the patients were categorized as idiopathic HS. With high throughput analysis, methylation dysregulations of BOLL , DDX4 , HORMAD1 , and MAEL are believed to be associated with HS.

// Chi-Che Hsieh 1, 2 , Yi-Ming Shyr 4, 10 , Wen-Ying Liao 2 , Tien-Hua Chen 4, 5 , Shin-E Wang 4, 10 , Peir-Chuen Lu 6 , Pei-Yu Lin 7 , Yan-Bo Chen 2 , Wan-Yu Mao 2 , Hsin-Ying Han 2 , Michael Hsiao 2 , Wen-Bin Yang 2 , Wen-Shan Li 3 , Yuh-Pyng Sher 1, 8 , Chia-Ning Shen 2, 6, 9 1 The Ph.D. Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, China Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taiwan 2 Genomics Research Center and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 3 Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 4 Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan 5 Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology and National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan 6 Department of Biotechnology and Laboratory Science in Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan 7 Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan 8 Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan 9 Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan 10 Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan Correspondence to: Chia-Ning Shen, email: cnshen@gate.sinica.edu.tw Keywords: fructose, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, metastasis, β-galactoside α2, 6-sialyltransferase 1 Received: May 24, 2016 Accepted: November 30, 2016 Published: December 09, 2016 ABSTRACT Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive type of pancreatic cancer with clinical characteristics of local invasion and early metastasis. Recent cohort studies indicate high fructose intake is associated with an increase in pancreatic cancer risk. However, the mechanisms by which fructose promotes pancreatic tumorigenesis remain unclear. Herein, Kras +/LSLG12D mice were crossed with Elas-CreER transgenic mice to determine whether fructose intake directly contributes to tumor formation. Orthotopic tumor-xenograft experiments were performed to determine whether fructose substitution enhances the metastatic potential of PDAC cells. The mechanisms underlying the effects of fructose were explored by RNAseq analysis in combination with high-performance anion exchange chromatography. Dietary fructose was initially found to promote the development of aggressive pancreatic cancer in mice conditionally expressing Kras G12D in the adult pancreas. We further revealed that fructose substitution enhanced the metastatic potential of human PDAC cell via selective outgrowth of aggressive ABCG2-positive subpopulations and elevating N-acetylmannosamine levels that upregulated β-galactoside α2,6-sialyltransferase 1 (ST6Gal1), thereby promoting distant metastasis. Finally, we observed that PDAC patients expressing higher levels of ST6Gal1 and GLUT5 presented poorer prognosis compared to other groups. In conclusion, our findings have elucidated a crucial role of ST6Gal1 in regulating the invasiveness of PDACs in a fructose-responsive manner.

Checkpoint inhibitors have recently achieved many promising outcomes in cancer treatment.2018 These are monoclonal antibodies targeting cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte antigen‐4 (CTLA‐4), programmed death p...

The management of roadside parking has been a big issue for metropolitan areas. Many city governments still rely on manual issuing of parking tickets or use parking meters to collect the parking fee. Either way, it is not economical in terms of the expenses on human labor and the efficiency of parking space management. To solve the problem, some researchers have proposed roadside parking systems based on wireless sensor networks. However, the existing approaches focus only on detecting the occupancy of parking spaces. This is not enough for a comprehensive roadside parking system because the identification of vehicles using specific roadside parking spaces is yet unknown. In this work-in-progress research, we propose a roadside parking system based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon technology to achieve the two goals simultaneously. Specifically, vehicles are attached with a BLE beacon device which broadcasts the identification of the registered vehicle to be scanned by the roadside units. By monitoring the estimated distances between the beacon device and a number of roadside units, our backend system is expected to determine the occupancy of the roadside parking spaces along with the identification of vehicles using the parking spaces.

Background: High myopia is associated with multiple ocular morbidities that may lead to irreversible blindness. Because high myopia in an adult is thought to be related to onset of myopia in very early childhood, detecting myopia early and working to improve modifiable risk factors may help reduce the development of high myopia. In this study, we tried to evaluate the prevalence of myopia and associated risk factors in second-grade primary school children in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to the participants’ parents, and their written informed consent was obtained before performing eye examinations that included visual acuity testing and cycloplegic autorefraction. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to assess possible risk factors associated with myopia. Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent of −0.50 D or less in either eye. Results: The prevalence of myopia in the second graders was 36.4%. After adjustment for other characteristics, the following variables were significantly associated with a higher risk of myopia: male sex [odds ratio (OR)=1.24, p

Pericytes and glial cells are accessory cells of neurovascular networks, which have been reported to participate in scar formation after tissue injury. However, it remains unclear whether similar reactive cellular responses occur in pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). In this study we developed three-dimensional (3D) duct lesion histology to investigate PanIN and the associated pericyte, glial, and islet remodeling. Transparent mouse pancreata with a KrasG12D mutation were used to develop 3D duct lesion histology. Deep-tissue, tile-scanning microscopy was performed to generate panoramic views of the diseased pancreas for global examination of early stage and advanced duct lesion formation. Fluorescence signals of ductal and neurovascular networks were simultaneously detected to reveal associated remodeling. Significantly, in KrasG12D-mutant mice, when the low-grade PanINs emerge, duct lesions appear as epithelial buds with perilesional pericyte and glial activation. When PanINs occur in large scale (induced by cerulein injections to the mutant mice), the 3D image data identifies 1) aggregation of PanINs in clusters in space; 2) overexpression of the pericyte marker NG2 in the PanIN microenvironment; and 3) epithelial in-growth to islets, forming the PanIN-islet complexes. Particularly, the PanIN-islet complexes associate with proliferating epithelial and stromal cells and receive substantial neurovascular supplies, making them landmarks in the atrophic lobe. Overall, perilesional pericyte and glial activation and formation of the PanIN-islet complex underline cellular heterogeneity in the duct lesion microenvironment. The results also illustrate the advantage of using 3D histology to reveal previously unknown details of neurovascular and endocrine links to the disease.

TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTs) were modified with copper indium sulfide (Cu/In/S) by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis demonstrated the presence of copper indium sulfide nanoparticles on the surface of the modified TNTs. The Cu/In/S-modified TNTs exhibited higher photocurrent density and photocatalytic activity than plain TNTs. The concentration of sulfur precursor was found to be an important factor on the composition of modified Cu/In/S films by SILAR. Some composition deviations were observed on the stoichiometry of the Cu/In/S-modified TNTs, which evidently affected the electrochemical characteristics of the modified TNTs. Experiments using the modified TNTs of composition close to the stoichiometric ratio of CuInS2 usually delivered higher photocatalytic decomposition of gaseous isopropyl alcohol in air streams and exhibited better stability during operation.

In recent years, traditional transactions have been replaced by electronic transactions. To protect the security of the electronic transactions, various electronic payment (e-payment) mechanisms have been proposed. However, we find the previous e-payment mechanisms do not provide the non-repudiation requirement in the client side. Thus, a malicious client can easily deny the transaction and the merchant may not get the payment. In addition, these mechanisms have large computation and communication costs so they cannot be applied to the mobile payment for cloud computing. To solve the above problems, we propose a new mobile payment mechanism with anonymity for cloud computing in this paper. The proposed mechanism not only reduces the computation cost but also provides the non-repudiation requirement in the client side. Compared with the related works, the proposed mechanism is securer, fairer, and more efficient. Therefore, the proposed mobile payment mechanism is more suitable and practical for the cloud computing. The client can transact anonymously to protect the payment privacy.The client's bank generates the digital signature as the payment proof.The new payment scheme can eliminate the redundant symmetric keys between the client and the merchant.

QR barcodes are used extensively due to their beneficial properties, including small tag, large data capacity, reliability, and high-speed scanning. However, the private data of the QR barcode lacks adequate security protection. In this article, we design a secret QR sharing approach to protect the private QR data with a secure and reliable distributed system. The proposed approach differs from related QR code schemes in which it uses the QR characteristics to achieve secret sharing and can resist the print-and-scan operation. The secret can be split and conveyed with QR tags in the distribution application, and the system can retrieve the lossless secret when authorized participants cooperate. General browsers can read the original data from the marked QR tag via a barcode reader, and this helps reduce the security risk of the secret. Based on our experiments, the new approach is feasible and provides content readability, cheater detectability, and an adjustable secret payload of the QR barcode.

This study uses a hybrid method of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and inverse heat conduction analysis (IHCA) combined with experimental temperatures to investigate the natural convection of plate finned tube heat exchangers with two horizontal tubes located in a chimney. The influence of the position of the two heated tubes on the results obtained is considered. IHCA combined with experimental temperatures is used to estimate h ¯ and h ¯ b . Subsequently, the CFD commercial software combined with the obtained inverse results and experimental temperatures is employed to get the present results. The results reveal that the zero-equation turbulence model can be applied to determine more accurate results than the other two flow models. Therefore, the appropriate flow model for this study is the zero-equation turbulence model. The fringe pattern for each heated tube is mainly aligned in the vertical direction and the two plumes are slightly inclined toward the inward direction. The obtained velocity pattern and air temperature contour are consistent with existing interferometric images or isotherms. The proposed correlation between Ra and Nu agrees with the obtained inverse and CFD results.

Recently, Odelu et al. proposed a dynamic group password-based authenticated key agreement scheme for the integrated EPR information system. They claimed that their scheme could ensure user anonymity, perfect forward security and known-key security. After analyzing their scheme, we find that it suffers from some flaws. First, their scheme cannot work. Second, their scheme cannot ensure privacy as claimed. In this paper, we will show how these flaws threaten Odelu et al.'s scheme.

Currently, most commercial pet feeders are stationary machines. Owner can control the feeder to throw food at their pet in a remote mode through a smartphone. Some feeders also have a camera function that allows the owner to observe the pet at home through the camera. However, these machines are stationary and can hardly move. The pictures are also in a fixed shooting angle, yet pets may move around the house. Therefore, this paper will design a remote control system on a toy car that is equipped with an IP camera, feeding stuffs and water. It allows the owner not only to receive the image captured by the remote camera through a mobile device, but also to control its movement through MQTT protocol to achieve the purpose of pet feed and water supplement.

Introduction: Corticosteroid treatment for uveitis can lead to delayed-onset pressure-induced interlamellar stromal keratitis (PISK), even years after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). A 35-year-old man presented to our clinic after experiencing blurred vision in his left eye for 1 month. For the past month, he had been prescribed topical steroid and anti-glaucomatous medication. He had undergone LASIK for both eyes 5 years earlier, and had suffered uveitis attacks in his left eye over the last 2 years. Slit-lamp examination revealed stromal haziness with interface fluid accumulation in the left eye. The left eye showed an intraocular pressure (IOP) of 35 mm Hg and visual acuity of 6/20. Anterior segment ocular coherence tomography (OCT) confirmed the diagnosis of PISK. Steroid treatment was tapered, and latanoprost treatment was started. One month later, the patient's symptoms resolved, with IOP reduced to 10 mm Hg and visual acuity increased to 6/6 in the left eye. Latanoprost treatment was discontinued to avoid potential uveitis reactivation, and the patient's visual field defect progressed and IOP rebounded. Due to evident glaucomatous damage, trabeculectomy was suggested but was refused. Conclusion: Patients with PISK plus uveitis should be treated with a tailored regimen involving corticosteroid and antiglaucomatous medication or surgical intervention based on the individual condition. Early recognition and appropriate treatment may aid in preventing severe visual sequela in such patients.

Catheter-related blood stream infection (CRBSI) is a major complication in hemodialysis patients. We assessed the efficacy of systemic daptomycin (DPT) plus DPT antibiotic lock therapy (DPT-ALT) for catheter salvage in patients with Gram-positive CRBSIs. This is a retrospective study of hemodialysis patients with tunneled and cuffed hemodialysis catheters. All patients were from a single institution in Taipei and received systemic DPT plus DPT-ALT for the treatment of Gram-positive CRBSI. Successful resolution of CRBSI was implemented. Resolution of fever within 48 hours, negative result of repeated blood cultures after resolution of fever, no clinical evidence of CRBSI relapse and no need for catheter removal were measured. Fifteen hemodialysis patients received DPT-ALT for CRBSI, nine with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CONS), two with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), three with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and one with polymicrobial infections. Systemic DPT plus DPT-ALT cured 11 patients (73.3%). Treatment failed in all three MRSA cases (two with MRSA and one with MRSA + Enterococcus faecalis). Retrospective design and small sample size were the limitations of this study. Systemic DPT plus DPT-ALT appears to be a promising treatment for CRBSI from CONS and MSSA, but not for MRSA CRBSI. Systemic DPT plus DPT-ALT should be considered for patients with CRBSIs caused by certain species.