Displaying publications 21 - 35 of 35 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Wang CT, Huang YS, Sangeetha T, Chen YM, Chong WT, Ong HC, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2018 May;255:83-87.
    PMID: 29414177 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.01.086
    Photosynthetic microbial fuel cells (PMFCs) are novel bioelectrochemical transducers that employ microalgae to generate oxygen, organic metabolites and electrons. Conventional PMFCs employ non-eco-friendly membranes, catalysts and phosphate buffer solution. Eliminating the membrane, buffer and catalyst can make the MFC a practical possibility. Therefore, single chambered (SPMFC) were constructed and operated at different recirculation flow rates (0, 40 and 240 ml/min) under bufferless conditions. Furthermore, maximum power density of 4.06 mW/m2, current density of 46.34 mA/m2 and open circuit potential of 0.43 V and low internal resistance of 611.8 Ω were obtained at 40 ml/min. Based on the results it was decided that SPMFC was better for operation at 40 ml/min. Therefore, these findings provided progressive insights for future pilot and industrial scale studies of PMFCs.
  2. Hayrapetyan A, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2024 Mar 22;132(12):121901.
    PMID: 38579207 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.121901
    The observation of WWγ production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} is presented. The observed (expected) significance is 5.6 (5.1) standard deviations. Events are selected by requiring exactly two leptons (one electron and one muon) of opposite charge, moderate missing transverse momentum, and a photon. The measured fiducial cross section for WWγ is 5.9±0.8(stat)±0.8(syst)±0.7(modeling)  fb, in agreement with the next-to-leading order quantum chromodynamics prediction. The analysis is extended with a search for the associated production of the Higgs boson and a photon, which is generated by a coupling of the Higgs boson to light quarks. The result is used to constrain the Higgs boson couplings to light quarks.
  3. Hayrapetyan A, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2023 Sep 01;131(9):091903.
    PMID: 37721839 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.091903
    A search for the rare η→μ^{+}μ^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-} double-Dalitz decay is performed using a sample of proton-proton collisions, collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC with high-rate muon triggers during 2017 and 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101  fb^{-1}. A signal having a statistical significance well in excess of 5 standard deviations is observed. Using the η→μ^{+}μ^{-} decay as normalization, the branching fraction B(η→μ^{+}μ^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-})=[5.0±0.8(stat)±0.7(syst)±0.7(B_{2μ})]×10^{-9} is measured, where the last term is the uncertainty in the normalization channel branching fraction. This work achieves an improved precision of over 5 orders of magnitude compared to previous results, leading to the first measurement of this branching fraction, which is found to agree with theoretical predictions.
  4. Lim CH, Lin CH, Chen DY, Chen YM, Chao WC, Liao TL, et al.
    PLoS One, 2016;11(11):e0166339.
    PMID: 27832150 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166339
    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of tuberculosis (TB) among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients within 1 year after initiation of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapy from 2008 to 2012.

    METHODS: We used the 2003-2013 Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database to identify RA patients who started any RA-related medical therapy from 2008 to 2012. Those who initiated etanercept or adalimumab therapy during 2008-2012 were selected as the TNFi group and those who never received biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy were identified as the comparison group after excluding the patients who had a history of TB or human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immune deficiency syndrome. We used propensity score matching (1:6) for age, sex, and the year of the drug index date to re-select the TNFi group and the non-TNFi controls. After adjusting for potential confounders, hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to examine the 1-year TB risk in the TNFi group compared with the non-TNFi controls. Subgroup analyses according to the year of treatment initiation and specific TNFi therapy were conducted to assess the trend of 1-year TB risk in TNFi users from 2008 to 2012.

    RESULTS: This study identified 5,349 TNFi-treated RA patients and 32,064 matched non-TNFi-treated controls. The 1-year incidence rates of TB were 1,513 per 105 years among the TNFi group and 235 per 105 years among the non-TNFi controls (incidence rate ratio, 6.44; 95% CI, 4.69-8.33). After adjusting for age, gender, disease duration, comoridities, history of TB, and concomitant medications, TNFi users had an increased 1-year TB risk (HR, 7.19; 95% CI, 4.18-12.34) compared with the non-TNFi-treated controls. The 1-year TB risk in TNFi users increased from 2008 to 2011 and deceased in 2012 when the Food and Drug Administration in Taiwan announced the Risk Management Plan for patients scheduled to receive TNFi therapy.

    CONCLUSION: This study showed that the 1-year TB risk in RA patients starting TNFi therapy was significantly higher than that in non-TNFi controls in Taiwan from 2008 to 2012.

  5. Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, Damanakis K, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2023 Dec 29;131(26):262301.
    PMID: 38215362 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.262301
    Quasireal photons exchanged in relativistic heavy ion interactions are powerful probes of the gluonic structure of nuclei. The coherent J/ψ photoproduction cross section in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions is measured as a function of photon-nucleus center-of-mass energies per nucleon (W_{γN}^{Pb}) over a wide range of 40
  6. Prabhash K, Tan DSW, Soo RA, Sitthideatphaiboon P, Chen YM, Voon PJ, et al.
    Front Oncol, 2023;13:1117348.
    PMID: 37051534 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1117348
    INTRODUCTION: Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a heterogeneous disease requiring multimodal treatment approaches. KINDLE-Asia, as part of a real world global study, evaluated treatment patterns and associated survival outcomes in stage III NSCLC in Asia.

    METHODS: Retrospective data from 57 centers in patients with stage III NSCLC diagnosed between January 2013 and December 2017 were analyzed. Median progression free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) estimates with two sided 95% confidence interval (CI) were determined by applying the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

    RESULTS: Of the total 1874 patients (median age: 63.0 years [24 to 92]) enrolled in the Asia subset, 74.8% were men, 54.7% had stage IIIA disease, 55.7% had adenocarcinoma, 34.3% had epidermal growth factor receptor mutations (EGFRm) and 50.3% had programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression (i.e. PD-L1 ≥1%). Of the 31 treatment approaches as initial therapy, concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) was the most frequent (29.3%), followed by chemotherapy (14.8%), sequential CRT (9.5%), and radiotherapy (8.5%). Targeted therapy alone was used in 81 patients of the overall population. For the Asia cohort, the mPFS and mOS were 12.8 months (95% CI, 12.2-13.7) and 42.3 months (95% CI, 38.1-46.8), respectively. Stage IIIA disease, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ≤1, age ≤65 years, adenocarcinoma histology and surgery/concurrent CRT as initial therapy correlated with better mOS (p < 0.05).

    CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate diverse treatment patterns and survival outcomes in the Asian region. The high prevalence of EGFRm and PD-L1 expression in stage III NSCLC in Asia suggests the need for expanding access to molecular testing for guiding treatment strategies with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immunotherapies in this region.

  7. Oyomopito RA, Chen YJ, Sungkanuparph S, Kantor R, Merati T, Yam WC, et al.
    Kaohsiung J. Med. Sci., 2015 Sep;31(9):445-53.
    PMID: 26362956 DOI: 10.1016/j.kjms.2015.07.002
    Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 epidemics in Asian countries are driven by varying exposures. The epidemiology of the regional pandemic has been changing with the spread of HIV-1 to lower-risk populations through sexual transmission. Common HIV-1 genotypes include subtype B and circulating recombinant form (CRF) 01_AE. Our objective was to use HIV-1 genotypic data to better quantify local epidemics. TASER-M is a multicenter prospective cohort of HIV-infected patients. Associations between HIV exposure, patient sex, country of sample origin and HIV-1 genotype were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression. Phylogenetic methods were used on genotypic data to investigate transmission relationships. A total of 1086 patients from Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines were included in analyses. Proportions of male patients within countries varied (Thailand: 55.6%, Hong Kong: 86.1%, Malaysia: 81.4%, Philippines: 93.8%; p 
  8. Hayrapetyan A, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2024 Jan 26;132(4):041802.
    PMID: 38335361 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.041802
    A search for dark matter in events with a displaced nonresonant muon pair and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} of proton-proton (pp) collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV produced by the LHC in 2016-2018. No significant excess over the predicted backgrounds is observed. Upper limits are set on the product of the inelastic dark matter production cross section σ(pp→A^{'}→χ_{1}χ_{2}) and the decay branching fraction B(χ_{2}→χ_{1}μ^{+}μ^{-}), where A^{'} is a dark photon and χ_{1} and χ_{2} are states in the dark sector with near mass degeneracy. This is the first dedicated collider search for inelastic dark matter.
  9. Hayrapetyan A, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2024 Feb 09;132(6):061801.
    PMID: 38394587 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.061801
    The first search for scalar leptoquarks produced in τ-lepton-quark collisions is presented. It is based on a set of proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1}. The reconstructed final state consists of a jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and a τ lepton reconstructed through its hadronic or leptonic decays. Limits are set on the product of the leptoquark production cross section and branching fraction and interpreted as exclusions in the plane of the leptoquark mass and the leptoquark-τ-quark coupling strength.
  10. Lai EL, Huang WN, Chen HH, Hsu CY, Chen DY, Hsieh TY, et al.
    Lupus, 2019 Jul;28(8):945-953.
    PMID: 31177913 DOI: 10.1177/0961203319855122
    The Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) has been used universally for the purpose of fracture risk assessment. However, the predictive capacity of FRAX for autoimmune diseases remains inconclusive. This study aimed to compare the applicability of FRAX for autoimmune disease patients. This retrospective study recruited rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) patients with bone mineral density (BMD) tests. Patients with any osteoporotic fractures were identified. Taiwan-specific FRAX with and without BMD were then calculated. In total, 802 patients (451 RA, 233 SLE and 118 pSS) were enrolled in this study. The cumulative incidences of osteoporotic fractures in the RA, SLE and pSS patients were 43.0%, 29.2% and 33.1%, respectively. For those with a previous osteoporotic fracture, T-scores were classified as low bone mass. Overall, the patients' 10-year probability of major fracture risk by FRAX without BMD was 15.8%, which then increased to 20.3% after incorporation of BMD measurement. When analyzed by disease group, the fracture risk in RA patients was accurately predicted by FRAX. In contrast, current FRAX, either with or without BMD measurement, underestimated the fracture risk both in SLE and pSS patients, even after stratification by age and glucocorticoid treatment. For pSS patients with major osteoporotic fractures, FRAX risks imputed by RA were comparable to major osteoporotic fracture risks of RA patients. Current FRAX accurately predicted fracture probability in RA patients, but not in SLE and pSS patients. RA-imputed FRAX risk scores could be used as a temporary substitute for SLE and pSS patients.
  11. Lim CH, Tseng CW, Lin CT, Huang WN, Chen YH, Chen YM, et al.
    SAGE Open Med, 2018;6:2050312118781895.
    PMID: 29977547 DOI: 10.1177/2050312118781895
    Objective: To examine the clinical utility of tumor markers in dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients in Taiwan.

    Method: Data were collected retrospectively from the database of Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan from 1998 to 2014. Patients who fulfilled Bohan and Peter criteria of dermatomyositis/polymyositis were recruited. Serum level of tumor markers including carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, carbohydrate antigen 125, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and carbohydrate antigen 15-3 were measured. The occurrence of malignancies and interstitial lung disease was identified. The association of tumor markers with malignancies and interstitial lung disease was examined using Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test.

    Results: Among the enrolled 151 patients, 98 (64.9%) dermatomyositis and 53 (35.1%) polymyositis, a total of 15 malignancies were detected: breast ductal carcinoma (n = 4), bladder transitional cell carcinoma (n = 2), lung adenocarcinoma (n = 2), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 and papillary squamous cell carcinoma (n = 2), colorectal (colon and rectal adenocarcinoma) (n = 2), uterine adenocarcinoma (n = 1), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (n = 1) and hematological malignancy (myelodysplastic with excess blast cells) (n = 1). Among the patients with malignancies, 13 (86.7%) had dermatomyositis, 2 (13.3%) polymyositis and 3 (20%) interstitial lung disease. The mean duration from dermatomyositis/polymyositis diagnosis to the occurrence of malignancies was 6.05 ± 5.69 years. There was no significant association of raised tumor markers with the occurrence of malignancies (p > 0.085), while a significant association was observed between the elevated levels of carbohydrate antigen 15-3 and the presence of interstitial lung disease (p = 0.006).

    Conclusion: Tumor markers were not useful in malignancy screening or dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients in this tertiary center. The evaluation of the occurrence of malignancy in dermatomyositis/polymyositis patient should include a multidimensional approach. A raised level of carbohydrate antigen 15-3 may be a potential indicator of the presence of interstitial lung disease in dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients.
  12. Lim CH, Chen HH, Chen YH, Chen DY, Huang WN, Tsai JJ, et al.
    PLoS One, 2017;12(6):e0178035.
    PMID: 28570568 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178035
    The objective of this study is to determine the risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease in biologics users among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in Taiwan from 2000 to 2015. This retrospective cohort study enrolled adult RA patients initiated on first biologics at Taichung Veterans General Hospital. TB risks were determined as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) using cox regression. A total of 951 patients were recruited; etanercept (n = 443), adalimumab (n = 332), abatacept (n = 74), golimumab (n = 60), tocilizumab (n = 31) and tofacitinib (n = 11). Twenty-four TB cases were identified; 13 in etanercept and 11 in adalimumab group with the TB incidence rate of 889.3/ 100,000 and 1055.6/ 100,000 patient-years respectively. There was no significant difference in TB risk between adalimumab and etanercept users with an incidence rate ratio of 1.27 (p = 0.556 by Poisson model). Significant 2-year TB risk factors included elderly patient >65 year-old (HR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.06-6.99, p = 0.037), history of TB (HR: 6.24, 95% CI: 1.77-22.00, p = 0.004) and daily glucocorticoid use ≥5mg (HR:5.01, 95% CI: 1.46-17.21, p = 0.010). Sulfasalazine treatment appeared to be protective (HR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.11-0.97, p = 0.043). Risk management plan (RMP) for TB before initiation of biologics commenced in 2012. The 2-year TB risks after RMP was compared with that before 2012 (HR:0.67, 95% CI: 0.30-1.49, p = 0.323). Elderly RA patients with a history of previous TB infection and concomitant moderate dose glucocorticoid were at higher risk of TB disease. Concurrent sulfasalazine treatment appeared to be a protective factor against TB disease.
  13. Sen P, R N, Houshmand N, Moghadam Kia S, Joshi M, Saha S, et al.
    Rheumatology (Oxford), 2023 Oct 03;62(10):3291-3301.
    PMID: 36734536 DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead057
    OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 vaccines have a favorable safety profile in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) such as idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs); however, hesitancy continues to persist among these patients. Therefore, we studied the prevalence, predictors and reasons for hesitancy in patients with IIMs, other AIRDs, non-rheumatic autoimmune diseases (nrAIDs) and healthy controls (HCs), using data from the two international COVID-19 Vaccination in Autoimmune Diseases (COVAD) e-surveys.

    METHODS: The first and second COVAD patient self-reported e-surveys were circulated from March to December 2021, and February to June 2022 (ongoing). We collected data on demographics, comorbidities, COVID-19 infection and vaccination history, reasons for hesitancy, and patient reported outcomes. Predictors of hesitancy were analysed using regression models in different groups.

    RESULTS: We analysed data from 18 882 (COVAD-1) and 7666 (COVAD-2) respondents. Reassuringly, hesitancy decreased from 2021 (16.5%) to 2022 (5.1%) (OR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.30, P 

  14. Lee YM, Wang SF, Lee CM, Chen KH, Chan YJ, Liu WT, et al.
    BMC Res Notes, 2009;2:86.
    PMID: 19426542 DOI: 10.1186/1756-0500-2-86
    From October 2006 to February 2007, clinical specimens from 452 patients with symptoms related to respiratory tract infection in the northern region of Taiwan were collected. Real-time PCR and direct immunofluorescent antibody tests showed that 145 (32%) patients had influenza B virus infections. Subsequently, nucleotide sequence analyses of both hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of 39 isolates were performed. Isolated viruses were antigenically characterized using hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) test.
  15. Chen YM, Chen LH, Li MP, Li HF, Higuchi A, Kumar SS, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2017 03 23;7:45146.
    PMID: 28332572 DOI: 10.1038/srep45146
    Establishing cultures of human embryonic (ES) and induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells in xeno-free conditions is essential for producing clinical-grade cells. Development of cell culture biomaterials for human ES and iPS cells is critical for this purpose. We designed several structures of oligopeptide-grafted poly (vinyl alcohol-co-itaconic acid) hydrogels with optimal elasticity, and prepared them in formations of single chain, single chain with joint segment, dual chain with joint segment, and branched-type chain. Oligopeptide sequences were selected from integrin- and glycosaminoglycan-binding domains of the extracellular matrix. The hydrogels grafted with vitronectin-derived oligopeptides having a joint segment or a dual chain, which has a storage modulus of 25 kPa, supported the long-term culture of human ES and iPS cells for over 10 passages. The dual chain and/or joint segment with cell adhesion molecules on the hydrogels facilitated the proliferation and pluripotency of human ES and iPS cells.
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links