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  1. Fan YF, Chong VF
    Med J Malaysia, 1995 Mar;50(1):76-81.
    PMID: 7752981
    The failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a difficult diagnostic problem both clinically and radiologically. Forty-three patients were evaluated prospectively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and forty-five scans were obtained. Fifteen patients (33%) showed recurrent disc prolapse; 15 (33%) patients postoperative epidural fibrosis; 8 (18%) both recurrent disc prolapse and epidural scarring; 4 (9%) patients spinal stenosis, 2 whom also had both epidural fibrosis and recurrent disc prolapse; 2 (4%) normal scans; 2 (4%) patients arachnoiditis and 1 (2%) patient postoperative pseudomeningocoele formation. Gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA)-enhanced MRI was particularly helpful in differentiating recurrent disc prolapse and epidural fibrosis. Surgical findings in 11 patients were available. MRI correctly predicted recurrent disc prolapse in 6 patients, epidural fibrosis in 4 patients and spinal stenosis in 1 patient illustrating the value of this modality in the evaluation of FBSS.
  2. Ming CH, Fan YS
    J Immunol Methods, 1988 May 09;109(2):253-5.
    PMID: 3361136
    Addition of the non-ionic detergent Tween 20 to the serum diluent enhances anti-cardiolipin binding reactivity in an ELISA system. Maximal enhancement was obtained using a concentration of 0.05% Tween 20 in the diluent. Non-specific interactions were also considerably reduced.
  3. Wang Z, Fan M, Fan Y
    PLoS One, 2024;19(7):e0305963.
    PMID: 39047026 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305963
    This study delves into the impact of digital inclusive finance on environmental pollution, with a specific focus on air pollution. Utilizing data from 265 Chinese cities, advanced econometric methods such as the bi-directional fixed effects model, threshold model, spatial Durbin model, and multi-period difference-in-differences model are employed, incorporating a variety of control variables. The empirical findings indicate that digital inclusive finance significantly reduces air pollution. This mechanism chiefly operates through enhancing public environmental consciousness and fostering green technological innovation. The study also uncovers the spatial spillover effect and non-linear characteristics of digital inclusive finance on air pollution, along with its interactive effects with specific policies (e.g., smart city pilot policies and the "major protection, no major development" initiative). Moreover, heterogeneity analysis reveals regional variations in the environmental effects of digital inclusive finance. These insights provide a novel perspective on the relationship between financial technology and environmental protection and offer crucial guidance for policymaking.
  4. Jegathesan M, Fan YH, Ong KJ
    PMID: 1241163
    Seroreactivity to syphilis is high among Malaysian blood donors and expectant mothers indicating a high degree of treponemal infection. Further epidemiological studies are required to ascertain what proportion of these could be syphilis and what porportion yaws. Blood donors hava a higher reactivity rate than expectant mothers, the reasons probably being soical. The titres obtained in the VDRL test appear to have a relation to FTA-ABS reactivity although this is not to say treponematosis can be excluded on the basis of low titre VDRL results.
  5. Liu H, Ding Z, Fan Y, Luo Y, Yang Y
    Polymers (Basel), 2023 Sep 26;15(19).
    PMID: 37835940 DOI: 10.3390/polym15193892
    The bonding properties of BFRP composites have been demonstrated in previous studies, satisfying the strength and durability criteria. In this paper, a further in-depth study is carried out to bond Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) to Aluminum Alloy 5052 using two bonding agents, Aralite® 2012 and Aralite® 2015, respectively. The salt sprays under 80 °C, 3.5% NaCl environment; 80 °C, 5% NaCl environment; and pure water environment are also considered for comparison. Experimental results show that joints created with Araldite® 2012 adhesives show higher average breaking strength (10.66 MPa at 720 h) and better ductility in a 5% NaCl environment. While the Araldite® 2015 adhesive joint exhibits a combination of tear failure and interface failure, along with thin-layer cohesion failure. In the SEM images of the two adhesive joints' failure, fiber pullout due to tension and damage at the interface between fiber and resin is apparent. To validate the experimental outcomes, water absorption testing, DSC, TGA-DTG, and FTIR experiments were conducted on dog-bone-shaped adhesive specimens to elucidate the results.
  6. Balakrishnan V, Shi Z, Law CL, Lim R, Teh LL, Fan Y
    J Supercomput, 2021 Nov 05.
    PMID: 34754140 DOI: 10.1007/s11227-021-04169-6
    We present a benchmark comparison of several deep learning models including Convolutional Neural Networks, Recurrent Neural Network and Bi-directional Long Short Term Memory, assessed based on various word embedding approaches, including the Bi-directional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and its variants, FastText and Word2Vec. Data augmentation was administered using the Easy Data Augmentation approach resulting in two datasets (original versus augmented). All the models were assessed in two setups, namely 5-class versus 3-class (i.e., compressed version). Findings show the best prediction models were Neural Network-based using Word2Vec, with CNN-RNN-Bi-LSTM producing the highest accuracy (96%) and F-score (91.1%). Individually, RNN was the best model with an accuracy of 87.5% and F-score of 83.5%, while RoBERTa had the best F-score of 73.1%. The study shows that deep learning is better for analyzing the sentiments within the text compared to supervised machine learning and provides a direction for future work and research.
  7. Xu Y, Li H, Wang B, Gu L, Gao Y, Fan Y, et al.
    Urol J, 2021 Oct 04;18(6):618-622.
    PMID: 34606083 DOI: 10.22037/uj.v18i.6629
    PURPOSE: To compare the treatment outcomes of robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (R-RPLND) versus laparoscopic RPLND (L-RPLND) for clinical stage I non-seminomatous germ cell testicular tumors (NSGCTs).

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of patients with stage I NSGCTs who underwent robotic or laparoscopic RPLND between 2008 and 2017. Perioperative data and oncologic outcomes were reviewed and compared between the two groups. Progression-free survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and compared between two groups.

    RESULTS: A total of 31 and 28 patients underwent R-RPLND and L-RPLND respectively. The preoperative characteristics of the patients were comparable in the two groups. Patients in R-RPLND group had significantly shorter median operative time (140 vs. 175 minutes, P < .001), a shorter median duration to surgical drain removal (2 vs. 4 days, P = .002) and a shorter median postoperative hospital stay (5 vs. 6 days, P = .001). There were no statistical differences in intra- and post-operative complication rate between the groups and the oncologic outcomes were similar in the two groups.

    CONCLUSION: In expert hands, R-RPLND and L-RPLND were comparable in oncological parameter and morbidity rate; R-RPLND showed superiority in operation duration, median days to surgical drain removal and postoperative hospital stay for stage I NSGCTs. Multicenter and randomized studies with good power of study and sufficient follow-up duration are required to validate our result.

  8. Hoy ZX, Woon KS, Chin WC, Van Fan Y, Yoo SJ
    Science, 2023 Nov 17;382(6672):797-800.
    PMID: 37972189 DOI: 10.1126/science.adg3177
    No global analysis has considered the warming that could be averted through improved solid waste management and how much that could contribute to meeting the Paris Agreement's 1.5° and 2°C pathway goals or the terms of the Global Methane Pledge. With our estimated global solid waste generation of 2.56 to 3.33 billion tonnes by 2050, implementing abrupt technical and behavioral changes could result in a net-zero warming solid waste system relative to 2020, leading to 11 to 27 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide warming-equivalent emissions under the temperature limits. These changes, however, require accelerated adoption within 9 to 17 years (by 2033 to 2041) to align with the Global Methane Pledge. Rapidly reducing methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide emissions is necessary to maximize the short-term climate benefits and stop the ongoing temperature rise.
  9. Dong Z, Fan Y, Meng X, Jin Y, Song J, Wang X, et al.
    Chem Commun (Camb), 2024 May 09;60(39):5177-5180.
    PMID: 38647014 DOI: 10.1039/d4cc00481g
    A vertically-stacked MXene/rGO composite membrane with ultrashort transport channels is reported here, which demonstrated outstanding molecular sieving, i.e., H2/CO2 selectivity of up to 83 together with high H2 permeance of 2.7 × 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 at 120 °C, highlighting its applicability for H2/CO2 separation in CO2 capture and sequestration.
  10. Lv D, Fan Y, Zhong W, Lonan P, Liu K, Wu M, et al.
    Front Genet, 2021;12:632232.
    PMID: 33763113 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.632232
    Edible bird's nest (EBN) is a popular delicacy in the Asian Pacific region originating from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which consist of various potential medicine value in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Thailand is one of the main exporters of EBN. However, the genetic information of EBN, a key part of molecular biology, has yet to be reported in Thailand. It is necessary to explore the genetic information of EBN in Thailand based on a quick and simple method to help protect the rights and interests of consumers. This research aimed to systematically evaluate different methods of extracting EBN DNA to improve the efficiency of the analysis of cytochrome b (Cytb) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) gene sequences, the establishment of phylogenetic trees, and the genetic information of EBN in Thailand. Additionally, we aimed to develop a quick and simple method for identifying EBN from different species based on the genetic information and amplification-refractory mutation system PCR (ARMS-PCR). By comparing the four methods [cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), kit and guanidinium isothiocyanate methods] for EBN extraction, we found that the guanidinium isothiocyanate method was the optimal extraction method. Phylogenetic trees generated on the basis of Cytb and ND2 gene analyses showed that 26 samples of house EBN and 4 samples of cave EBN came from Aerodramus fuciphagus and Aerodramus maximus, respectively. In addition, to distinguish different samples from different species of Apodiformes, we designed 4 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification primers based on the ND2 gene sequences of A. fuciphagus and A. maximus. The ARMS-PCR results showed band lengths for A. fuciphagus EBN of 533, 402, and 201 bp, while those for A. maximus EBN were 463, 317, and 201 bp. Collectively, the results showed that ARMS-PCR is a fast and simple method for the genetic identification of EBN based on designing specific original identification primers.
  11. Wu J, Cai G, Fan Y, Arima K, Lin Y, Wong L, et al.
    Vaccines (Basel), 2023 Jan 11;11(1).
    PMID: 36680002 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11010157
    Background: This study aimed to survey the attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines and their acceptability among the Japanese public as soon as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized vaccines and their rollouts started around the world. Methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted in Japan between 4 January and 5 March 2021. A questionnaire was administered to evaluate attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines according to demographic characteristics, vaccine characteristics, and vaccine production. Results: A total of 1037 completed responses were received. More than half (63.5%) of the participants responded positively (extremely likely/likely) toward COVID-19 vaccines. The highest acceptance to be vaccinated was discovered among the youngest age group. As expected, participants who had never delayed acceptance or refused the vaccine in their history of vaccination had a significantly higher willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Females (OR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.99−3.58) and participants who had ever delayed acceptance or refuse the vaccine (OR = 3.49, 95% CI: 2.42−5.05) had higher odds of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Participants with a postgraduate degree (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.40−1.00) presented the highest willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. More than two-thirds (72.9%, 95% CI: 70.4%−75.8%) of the participants did not mind a booster dose required following primary vaccination. A total of 63.2% (95% CI: 60.0%−66.0%) of the participants only accepted a nearly 90% effective or above vaccine at preventing COVID-19. At the same, 86.4% (95% CI: 84.4%−88.4%) of the participants reported only accepting a vaccine with minor side effects. Conclusions: The moderate levels of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance found in the early phase of the pandemic demonstrate that it is important to improve the implementation of effective management for vaccine promotion and the acceptability of the vaccine to slow or delay transmission.
  12. Huang Q, Gu L, Zhu J, Peng C, Du S, Liu Q, et al.
    Cancer, 2020 May 01;126 Suppl 9:2062-2072.
    PMID: 32293724 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.32748
    BACKGROUND: A quantitative nephrometry scoring system specifically for renal sinus tumors will assist in classifying surgical complexity and treatment planning.

    METHODS: By using preoperative computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and 3-dimensional image reconstruction, 5 critical components were assessed: the ratio of the sinus area occupied by the tumor in relation to the whole sinus area (R), the compression of the renal segmental vessels or collection system by the tumor (O), the anteroposterior relation of the tumor relative to the segmental vessels or collection system (A), the tumor diameter (D), and whether the tumor affects a solitary kidney (S) ("ROADS"). The ROADS score, indicating low, moderate, or high surgical complexity, was then used to guide surgical strategy planning, including cooling techniques, surgical approaches, and parenchyma incision techniques. A cohort of 134 patients with renal sinus tumors was treated based on their ROADS score and was retrospectively analyzed.

    RESULTS: The authors successfully performed 113 nephron-sparing surgeries and 21 radical nephrectomies with a complication rate of 7.9%. During follow-up, 3 cases were classified according to surgical margin status because they lacked an intact tumor capsule. There was only 1 case of local recurrence, and there were no cases of metastasis. A high ROADS score was correlated with greater operative complexity, such as longer operation and ischemia times and higher estimated blood loss and complication rates. However, renal function and short-term oncologic outcomes were not related to the score.

    CONCLUSIONS: The ROADS scoring system provides a standardized, quantitative, 3-dimensional anatomic classification to guide surgical strategy in renal sinus tumors.

  13. Zhang XC, Wang J, Shao GG, Wang Q, Qu X, Wang B, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2019 04 16;10(1):1772.
    PMID: 30992440 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09762-1
    Deep understanding of the genomic and immunological differences between Chinese and Western lung cancer patients is of great importance for target therapy selection and development for Chinese patients. Here we report an extensive molecular and immune profiling study of 245 Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte estimated using immune cell signatures is found to be significantly higher in adenocarcinoma (ADC, 72.5%) compared with squamous cell carcinoma (SQCC, 54.4%). The correlation of genomic alterations with immune signatures reveals that low immune infiltration was associated with EGFR mutations in ADC samples, PI3K and/or WNT pathway activation in SQCC. While KRAS mutations are found to be significantly associated with T cell infiltration in ADC samples. The SQCC patients with high antigen presentation machinery and cytotoxic T cell signature scores are found to have a prolonged overall survival time.
  14. Raja Shariff RE, Soesanto AM, Scalia GM, Ewe SH, Izumo M, Liu L, et al.
    JACC Asia, 2023 Aug;3(4):556-579.
    PMID: 37614546 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacasi.2023.05.012
    Transcatheter structural heart intervention (TSHI) has gained popularity over the past decade as a means of cardiac intervention in patients with prohibitive surgical risks. Following the exponential rise in cases and devices developed over the period, there has been increased focus on developing the role of "structural imagers" amongst cardiologists. This review, as part of a growing initiative to develop the field of interventional echocardiography, aims to highlight the role of echocardiography in myriad TSHIs available within Asia. We first discuss the various echocardiography-based imaging modalities, including 3-dimensional echocardiography, fusion imaging, and intracardiac echocardiography. We then highlight a selected list of structural interventions available in the region-a combination of established interventions alongside novel approaches-describing key anatomic and pathologic characteristics related to the relevant structural heart diseases, before delving into various aspects of echocardiography imaging for each TSHI.
  15. Tay MZ, Tang W, Lee WC, Ong ASM, Novera W, Malleret B, et al.
    J Infect Dis, 2024 Mar 05.
    PMID: 38441336 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiae111
    We previously described a novel Plasmodium vivax invasion mechanism into human reticulocytes via the PvRBP2a-CD98 receptor-ligand pair. We assessed the PvRBP2a epitopes involved in CD98 binding and recognised by antibodies from infected patients using linear epitope mapping. We identified two epitope clusters mediating PvRBP2a-CD98 interaction. One cluster named cluster B (PvRBP2a431-448, TAALKEKGKLLANLYNKL) was the target of antibody responses in P. vivax-infected humans. Peptides from each cluster were able to prevent live parasite invasion of human reticulocytes. These results provide new insights for development of a malaria blood stage vaccine against P. vivax.
  16. Shi T, Huang Q, Liu K, Du S, Fan Y, Yang L, et al.
    Eur Urol, 2020 10;78(4):592-602.
    PMID: 32305170 DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2020.03.020
    BACKGROUND: Robot-assisted thrombectomy (RAT) for inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombus (RAT-IVCT) is being increasingly reported. However, the techniques and indications for robot-assisted cavectomy (RAC) for IVC thrombus are not well described.

    OBJECTIVE: To develop a decision-making program and analyze multi-institutional outcomes of RAC-IVCT versus RAT-IVCT.

    DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Ninety patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with level II IVCT were included from eight Chinese urological centers, and underwent RAC-IVCT (30 patients) or RAT-IVCT (60 patients) from June 2013 to January 2019.

    SURGICAL PROCEDURE: The surgical strategy was based on IVCT imaging characteristics. RAT-IVCT was performed with standardized cavotomy, thrombectomy, and IVC reconstruction. RAC-IVCT was mainly performed in patients with extensive IVC wall invasion when the collateral blood vessels were well-established. For right-sided RCC, the IVC from the infrarenal vein to the infrahepatic veins was stapled. For left-sided RCC, the IVC from the suprarenal vein to the infrahepatic veins was removed and caudal IVC reconstruction was performed to ensure the right renal vein returned through the IVC collaterals.

    MEASUREMENTS: Clinicopathological, operative, and survival outcomes were collected and analyzed.

    RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: All procedures were successfully performed without open conversion. The median operation time (268 vs 190 min) and estimated blood loss (1500 vs 400 ml) were significantly greater for RAC-IVCT versus RAT-IVCT (both p < 0.001). IVC invasion was a risk factor for progression-free and overall survival at midterm follow-up. Large-volume and long-term follow-up studies are needed.

    CONCLUSIONS: RAC-IVCT or RAT-IVCT represents an alternative minimally invasive approach for selected RCC patients with level II IVCT. Selection of RAC-IVCT or RAT-IVCT is mainly based on preoperative IVCT imaging characteristics, including the presence of IVC wall invasion, the affected kidney, and establishment of the collateral circulation.

    PATIENT SUMMARY: In this study we found that robotic surgeries for level II inferior vena cava thrombus were feasible and safe. Preoperative imaging played an important role in establishing an appropriate surgical plan.

  17. Aad G, Abbott B, Abeling K, Abicht NJ, Abidi SH, Aboulhorma A, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2024 Jan 12;132(2):021803.
    PMID: 38277607 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.021803
    The first evidence for the Higgs boson decay to a Z boson and a photon is presented, with a statistical significance of 3.4 standard deviations. The result is derived from a combined analysis of the searches performed by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations with proton-proton collision datasets collected at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from 2015 to 2018. These correspond to integrated luminosities of around 140  fb^{-1} for each experiment, at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The measured signal yield is 2.2±0.7 times the standard model prediction, and agrees with the theoretical expectation within 1.9 standard deviations.
  18. Hayrapetyan A, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2024 Jun 28;132(26):261902.
    PMID: 38996325 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.261902
    A combination of fifteen top quark mass measurements performed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC is presented. The datasets used correspond to an integrated luminosity of up to 5 and 20  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, respectively. The combination includes measurements in top quark pair events that exploit both the semileptonic and hadronic decays of the top quark, and a measurement using events enriched in single top quark production via the electroweak t channel. The combination accounts for the correlations between measurements and achieves an improvement in the total uncertainty of 31% relative to the most precise input measurement. The result is m_{t}=172.52±0.14(stat)±0.30(syst)  GeV, with a total uncertainty of 0.33 GeV.
  19. Klionsky DJ, Abdel-Aziz AK, Abdelfatah S, Abdellatif M, Abdoli A, Abel S, et al.
    Autophagy, 2021 Jan;17(1):1-382.
    PMID: 33634751 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1797280
    In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field.
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