Background & Aims
This study investigates the long‐term incidences and predictors of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cirrhotic events and mortality in cirrhotic patients receiving ...entecavir (ETV) therapy.
Methods
We enrolled 481 nucleos(t)ide analogue‐naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who had compensated cirrhosis upon entry and had received ETV monotherapy for >12 months.
Results
The 8‐year cumulative incidences of developing HCC, cirrhotic events and liver‐related mortality were 26.5%, 8.62% and 10.03% respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that diabetic mellitus (DM), higher fibrosis‐4 (FIB‐4) and alpha‐foetoprotein (AFP) levels at 12 months of treatment, and FIB‐4 increase from baseline to 12 months were independent factors of HCC. FIB‐4 and AFP levels at 12 months of treatment were also independent factors of cirrhotic events and mortality. FIB‐4 cut‐off values of 3, 3 and 5 as well as AFP cut‐offs of 5, 5, and 9 ng/mL at 12 months of treatment were optimal for predicting HCC, cirrhotic events and mortality during therapy respectively. The FIB‐4 and AFP levels at 12 months of treatment were assessed for the combined risk of developing clinical outcomes. The 8‐year incidences of HCC, cirrhotic events and liver‐related mortality in the subgroups with low FIB‐4 and AFP levels were only 5.95%, 1.03% and 2.43% respectively. DM was an independent predictor of HCC and mortality.
Conclusion
The combination of FIB‐4 and AFP levels at 12 months of treatment is a useful marker for predicting the development of HCC, cirrhotic events and mortality in compensated cirrhotic patients with CHB who are receiving ETV therapy.
Research comparing the clinical efficacy of dexlansoprazole and esomeprazole has been limited. This study aims to compare the clinical efficacy of single doses of dexlansoprazole (modified-release 60 ...mg) and esomeprazole (40 mg) after 24-week follow-up in patients with mild erosive esophagitis.
We enrolled 86 adult GERD subjects, randomized in a 1:1 ratio to two sequence groups defining the order in which they received single doses of dexlansoprazole (n=43) and esomeprazole (n=43) for 8 weeks as initial treatment. Patients displaying complete symptom resolution (CSR) by the end of initial treatment (8 weeks) were switched to on-demand therapy until the end of 24 weeks. Follow-up endoscopy was performed either at the end of 24 weeks or when severe reflux symptoms occurred. Five patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 81 patients (dexlansoprazole, n=41; esomeprazole, n=40) in the per-protocol analysis.
The GERDQ scores at 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, and 24-week posttreatment were less than the baseline score. The CSR, rate of symptom relapse, days to symptom resolution, sustained healing rate of erosive esophagitis, treatment failure rate, and the number of tablets taken in 24 weeks were similar in both groups. The esomeprazole group had more days with reflux symptoms than the dexlansoprazole group (37.3±37.8 vs 53.9±54.2;
=0.008). In the dexlansoprazole group, patients exhibited persistent improvement in the GERDQ score during the on-demand period (week 8 vs week 24;
<0.001) but not in the esomeprazole group (week 8 vs week 24;
=0.846).
This study suggests that the symptom relief effect for GERD after 24 weeks was similar for dexlansoprazole and esomeprazole. Dexlansoprazole exhibited fewer days with reflux symptoms in the 24-week study period, with better persistent improvement in the GERDQ score in the on-demand period. (ClinicalTrials. gov number: NCT03128736).
•Ultrathin and scalable Cu dendritic wicks prepared by electrodeposition.•A high capillary performance (K/Reff) of 1.5 μm for electrodeposited Cu wicks.•A vapor thermal conductivity of 6500 W/m⋅K for ...assembled vapor chamber.
A capillary wick structure is a key component for producing the capillary pressure that drives two-phase circulation in phase-change heat transfer devices such as heat pipes and vapor chambers. This study examines the capillary performance of a porous Cu wick structure fabricated using a new electrodeposition process. This Cu wick exhibits large channels generated by hydrogen bubbles and small pores in the dendritic Cu deposits resulting from high-current electrodeposition. The capillary wick performance can be effectively enhanced by adjusting the morphology of the dendritic Cu deposits. Dendritic Cu wicks with different porous features are prepared using different electrodeposition current densities and Cu sulfate concentrations in the electrolyte. A capillary rate-of-rise method is used to assess the liquid permeability (K), effective pore radius (Reff), and capillary performance (K/Reff) of dendritic Cu wicks with deionized wateras the working fluid. The Cu wick is then thermally treated at 700 °C in ambient N2 for 90 min to improve its structural integrity. Despite partial welding occurring between the fine Cu dendrites, the Cu wick shows a superior K/Reff of 1.5 ± 0.06 μm and excellent structural stability. The high capillary performance can enhance the mass transport rate and effective transport distance of the working liquid in vapor chambers for high-density and large-area heat dissipation applications. A vapor chamber integrated with an electrodeposited Cu wick demonstrates excellent heat-spreading characteristics, with a vapor thermal conductivity of up to 6500 W/m⋅K.
This study examines the effect of future time perspective and risk attitude on leisure activities during the COVID-19 pandemic period, using the data from the 2020 Taiwan Social Change Survey. We ...show that people with high future time perspective tend to reduce the frequency of out-of-home leisure activities, whereas increase at-home online activities. The results indicate that, other than risk consideration, how people sense time plays a crucial role on the choices of leisure activities.
(1) Background: The C-ros oncogene 1 (ROS1) gene translocation is an important biomarker for selecting patients for crizotinib-targeted therapy. The aim of this study was to understand the incidence, ...diagnostic algorithm, clinical course and objective response to crizotinib in ROS1 translocated lung non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) in Taiwan. (2) Methods: First, we retrospectively studied the ROS1 status in 100 NSCLC samples using break-apart fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining to establish a diagnostic algorithm. Then, we performed routine ROS1 IHC tests in 479 NSCLCs, as crizotinib was available from 2018 in Taiwan. We analyzed the objective response rate and the survival impact of crizotinib. (3) Results: Four ROS1 translocations were clustered in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild-type adenocarcinomas but not in cases with EGFR mutations. Strong ROS1 expression was positively correlated with ROS1 translocation (p < 0.001). NSCLCs with ROS1 translocation had a poor prognosis compared to those without ROS1 translocation (p = 0.004) in the pre-crizotinib stage. Twenty NSCLCs were detected with ROS1 translocation in 479 wild-type EGFR specimens from 2018. Therefore, the incidence of ROS1 translocation is approximately 4.18% in EGFR wild-type NSCLCs. In these 20 ROS1 translocation cases, 19 patients received crizotinib treatment, with an objective response rate (ORR) of 78.95% (confidence interval = 69.34% to 88.56%), including 1 complete response, 14 partial responses, 3 stable cases and 1 progressive case. Overall survival and progression-free survival were better in the 19 ROS1-translocated NSCLCs of the prospective group with crizotinib treatment than the four ROS1-translocated NSCLCs of the retrospective group without crizotinib treatment. (4) Conclusions: ROS1-translocated NSCLCs had a poor prognosis and could have a beneficial outcome with crizotinib.
Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the most promising technologies for grid-scale energy storage applications because of its numerous attractive features. In this study, metal-organic ...frameworks (MOF)-derived catalysts (MDC) are fabricated using carbonization techniques at different sintering temperatures. Zirconium-based MOF-derived catalyst annealed at 900 °C exhibits the best electrochemical activity toward VO2+/VO2+ redox couple among all samples. Furthermore, the charge-discharge test confirms that the energy efficiency (EE) of the VRFB assembled with MOF-derived catalyst modified graphite felt (MDC-GF-900) is 3.9% more efficient than the VRFB using the pristine graphite felt at 100 mA cm−2. Moreover, MDC-GF-900 reveals 31% and 107% higher capacity than the pristine GF at 80 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. The excellent performance of MDC-GF-900 results from the existence of oxygen-containing groups active sites, graphite structure with high conductivity embedded with zirconium oxide, and high specific surface area, which are critical points for promoting the vanadium redox reactions. Because of these advantages, MDC-GF-900 also possesses superior stability performance, which shows no decline of EE even after 100 cycles at 100 mA cm−2.
To enhance the electrochemical capability of graphite felt (GF) electrodes in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), we prepare nitrogen-doped tungsten carbide nanowires (N-WC NWs), which are grown ...on the GF surface via a two-step route. In the first step, we use a hydrothermal process using tungstic acid (H2WO4) as a precursor, and the WO3 NWs are deposited on the GF surface. Subsequently, the grown WO3 NWs are simultaneously carbonized and N-doped using melamine as the source of nitrogen and carbon. Compared to pristine GF, the prepared N-WC NWs-GF electrode exhibits an apparent electrocatalytic effect on the VO2+/VO2 + and V3+/V2+ redox reaction. The presence of a negatively charged density on the nitrogen atom encourages the vanadium ions’ absorption. The nanowire structure exposes more active sites for the vanadium ions’ redox reactions. Hence, the prepared N-WC NWs-GF electrode demonstrates the optimal electrochemical activity with energy and voltage efficiencies of 74.8% and 78.9%, respectively, which are much greater than those of the 59.8% and 63.2% attained from pristine GF at 100 mA cm–2. Moreover, the N-WC NWs-GF presented good stability and durability in acidic electrolyte during long-term operations for 100 cycles at a higher current density of 100 mA cm–2.
This study examines tourists' decision-making process of and highlights the decisive factors in accommodation choice, employing the discrete choice (multinomial logit and nested logit) models and ...using the international tourist data of Taiwan. The results of this study may be indicative of the hierarchical nature of tourists' decision-making process of accommodation choice. In addition, we find that price is a significant factor in accommodation choice, whereas income has only limited explanatory power. The results also indicate that tourists with a longer length of stay tend to choose hotels of lower quality, and, in contrast, elder people prefer better accommodations.
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