Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus behind the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is a type of RNA virus that is nonsegmented. Cardiovascular diseases ...(CVDs) increase the mortality risk of patients. In this review article, we overview the existing evidence regarding the potential mechanisms of myocardial damage in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Having a comprehensive knowledge of the cardiovascular damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 and its underlying mechanisms is essential for providing prompt and efficient treatment, ultimately leading to a reduction in mortality rates. Severe COVID-19 causes acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock in patients. In addition, awareness regarding COVID-19 cardiovascular manifestations has increased, including the adverse impact on prognosis with cardiovascular involvement. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor may play a role in acute myocardial injury caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. COVID-19 patients experiencing heart failure may have their condition exacerbated by various contributing factors and mechanisms. Increased oxygen demand, myocarditis, stress cardiomyopathy, elevated pulmonary pressures, and venous thrombosis are potential health issues. The combination of these factors may lead to COVID-19-related cardiogenic shock, resulting in acute systolic heart failure. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are treatment options when inotropic support fails for effective circulatory support. To ensure effective COVID-19-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) surveillance, it is crucial to closely monitor the future host adaptation, viral evolution, and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, given the virus's pandemic potential.
Purpose
The aim of this study was to confirm the therapeutic role of eribulin on Taiwanese women with metastatic breast cancer.
Methods
This retrospective study examined 449 females who received ...eribulin between March 2014 and June 2017 at 14 hospitals in Taiwan for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
Results
The survival rate at 24 months was 57.2% (95% CI 51.0–62.9%) and the median time to treatment failure (TTF) was 3.91 months (95% CI 3.45–3.94). A total of 175 patients (40.1%) received eribulin for fewer than 90 days and the others received it for 90 days or more. Eight patients (1.83%) had complete remission, 82 (18.8%) had partial remission, 202 (46.3%) had stable disease, and 144 (33.0%) had progressive disease (PD). Patients’ tumors with the luminal A subtype had a significantly better objective response rate. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that hormone receptor positivity, luminal A subtype, receipt of eribulin as the 1st to 3rd line therapy, and metastasis to fewer than 4 organs were significantly associated with longer TTF. Stepwise multivariate analysis showed that only receipt of eribulin as the 1st to 3rd line therapy was significantly associated with TTF (HR 1.49,
p
< 0.001). All toxicities were manageable and only 18 patients (4.1%) discontinued treatment due to adverse events.
Conclusions
Eribulin appears to have better efficacy and cause fewer adverse events, especially neutropenia, in Taiwanese women than Western women.
Background
Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. Crops with a high nitrogen input usually have high yields. However, outbreaks of brown planthoppers (
Nilaparvata ...lugens
; BPH) frequently occur on rice farms with excessive nitrogen inputs. Rice plants carrying BPH resistance genes are used for integrated pest management. Thus, the impact of nitrogen on the resistance of rice near-isogenic lines (NILs) with BPH resistance genes was investigated.
Results
We tested these NILs using a standard seedbox screening test and a modified bulk seedling test under different nitrogen treatments. The amount of nitrogen applied had an impact on the resistance of some lines with BPH resistance genes. In addition, three NILs (NIL-
BPH9
, NIL-
BPH17
, and NIL-
BPH32
) were further examined for antibiosis and antixenosis under varying nitrogen regimes. The
N. lugens
nymph population growth rate, honeydew excretion, female fecundity, and nymph survival rate on the three NILs were not affected by different nitrogen treatments except the nymph survival rate on NIL-
BPH9
and the nymph population growth rate on NIL-
BPH17
. Furthermore, in the settlement preference test, the preference of
N. lugens
nymphs for IR24 over NIL-
BPH9
or NIL-
BPH17
increased under the high-nitrogen regime, whereas the preference of
N. lugens
nymphs for IR24 over NIL-
BPH32
was not affected by the nitrogen treatments.
Conclusions
Our results indicated that the resistance of three tested NILs did not respond to different nitrogen regimes and that NIL-
BPH17
exerted the most substantial inhibitory effect on
N. lugens
growth and development.
The aim of this study was to analyze the host responses to ionizing radiation by nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) bioluminescence imaging-guided transcriptomic tool. Transgenic mice carrying the ...NF-κB-driven luciferase gene were exposed to a single dose of 8.5 Gy total-body irradiation. In vivo imaging showed that a maximal NF-κB-dependent bioluminescent intensity was observed at 3 h after irradiation and ex vivo imaging showed that liver, intestine, and brain displayed strong NF-κB activations. Microarray analysis of these organs showed that irradiation altered gene expression signatures in an organ-specific manner and several pathways associated with metabolism and immune system were significantly altered. Additionally, the upregulation of fatty acid binding protein 4, serum amyloid A2, and serum amyloid A3 genes, which participate in both inflammation and lipid metabolism, suggested that irradiation might affect the cross pathways of metabolism and inflammation. Moreover, the alteration of chemokine (CC-motif) ligand 5, chemokine (CC-motif) ligand 20, and Jagged 1 genes, which are involved in the inflammation and enterocyte proliferation, suggested that these genes might be involved in the radiation enteropathy. In conclusion, this report describes the comprehensive evaluation of host responses to ionizing radiation. Our findings provide the fundamental information about the in vivo NF-κB activity and transcriptomic pattern after irradiation. Moreover, novel targets involved in radiation injury are also suggested.
Abstract
Background
Cancer subtype switching, which involves unclear cancer cell origin, cell fate decision, and transdifferentiation of cells within a confined tumor microenvironment, remains a ...major problem in pancreatic cancer (PDA).
Results
By analyzing PDA subtypes in The Cancer Genome Atlas, we identified that epigenetic silencing of apoptosis-associated tyrosine kinase (
AATK
) inversely was correlated with mRNA expression and was enriched in the quasi-mesenchymal cancer subtype. By comparing early mouse pancreatic lesions, the non-invasive regions showed AATK co-expression in cells with acinar-to-ductal metaplasia, nuclear VAV1 localization, and cell cycle suppression; but the invasive lesions conversely revealed diminished AATK expression in those with poorly differentiated histology, cytosolic VAV1 localization, and co-expression of p63 and HNF1α. Transiently activated AATK initiates acinar differentiation into a ductal cell fate to establish apical-basal polarization in acinar-to-ductal metaplasia. Silenced AATK and ectopically expressed p63 and HNF1α allow the proliferation of ductal PanINs in mice.
Conclusion
Epigenetic silencing of
AATK
regulates the cellular transdifferentiation, proliferation, and cell cycle progression in converting PDA-subtypes.
The incidence of brain metastasis is increasing in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Treatments to extend the control of brain metastasis are urgently required.
To investigate whether the ...addition of an induction treatment of bevacizumab, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEEP) improves brain-specific progression-free survival (PFS) after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT).
This open-label, randomized, multicenter clinical trial assessed patients with brain metastases from breast cancer (BMBC) in Taiwan from September 9, 2014, to December 24, 2018, with survival follow-up until December 31, 2021. Key inclusion criteria included metastatic brain tumors not suitable for focal treatment, WBRT naivety, age 20 to 75 years, and at least 1 measurable brain metastatic lesion. The primary end point was brain-specific PFS, with an expected hazard ratio of 0.60, a 2-sided α ≤ .20, and power of 0.8.
Eligible patients were randomly assigned at a ratio of 2:1 to the experimental arm, which involved 3 cycles of BEEP followed by WBRT, or the control arm, which involved WBRT alone.
The primary end point was the determination of brain-specific PFS by local investigators according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1, the initiation of other brain-directed treatment after WBRT, or death. Other key end points included brain-specific objective response rate after 8 weeks of BEEP treatment or WBRT and 8-month brain-specific PFS rate, PFS, and overall survival.
A total of 118 patients with BMBC were randomized, with the intention-to-treat cohort comprising 112 patients. The median age was 56 years (range, 34-71 years), and 61 patients (54.5%) had ERBB2 (formerly HER2 or HER2/neu)-positive disease. The median (range) brain-specific PFS was 8.1 (0.3-29.5) vs 6.5 (0.9-25.5) months in the experimental and control arms, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.44-1.13; P = .15; significant at predefined α ≤ .20). The brain-specific objective response rate at 2 months was not significantly different (BEEP treatment vs WBRT, 41.9% vs 52.6%), but the 8-month brain-specific PFS rate was significantly higher in the experimental group (48.7% vs 26.3%; P = .03). Adverse events were generally manageable with prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor treatment.
The findings show that induction BEEP before WBRT may improve the control of BMBC compared with using upfront WBRT, which could address an unmet need for an effective systemic treatment for intractable brain and extracranial metastases from metastatic breast cancer.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02185352.
A serious side effect of atypical antipsychotics is increased body weight, which leads to further morbidity and nonadherence to medication. It has been suggested that both genetic and nongenetic ...variables may influence antipsychotics-related weight gain. This study aimed to simultaneously explore the effects of multiple candidate genes and environment factors on body weight of schizophrenia patients who received risperidone, a commonly used atypical antipsychotic agent.
One hundred twenty-three ethnically Han Chinese inpatients with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia were given risperidone monotherapy for up to 42 days. Body weight and clinical manifestations were assessed biweekly. Drug efficacy was measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and safety was evaluated by the Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale (ESRS) and the UKU Side Effect Rating Scale. We collected body weight as the response value. Potential prognostic factors were baseline body weight, age, sex, diagnosis subtypes, risperidone dosage, PANSS total scores, treatment duration (weeks 0-6), and 15 genetic variants across 10 candidate genes: 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, 5-HT6, D1, D2, D3, and alpha1-adrenergic receptors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6). Because there were repeated assessments, multiple linear regression with the generalized estimating equation (GEE) method was used to adjust the within-subject dependence.
Of 15 genetic polymorphisms examined, 5-HT2A 102-T/C, 5-HT2C -759-C/T, 5-HT6 267-C/T, BDNF 66-Val/Met, and CYP2D6 188-C/T significantly influenced body weight, and so did baseline body weight, age, gender, schizophrenia subtype, and treatment duration and efficacy.
These results suggest that numerous genetic and nongenetic factors affect antipsychotics-related weight gain.
The emerging edge computing is poised to move computing and intelligence to the network's edge so as to be close to the data sources for fast responses and reduced network traffic. In edge computing, ...edge devices need to encompass a wide variety of applications or services, from data preprocessing, intelligence inference, to multimedia human interface. Many such applications are well suited for special-purpose hardware accelerators. With the increasing number of accelerators on the edge devices, a promising architecture for edge devices is an asymmetric heterogeneous multicore that incorporates one or more microcontrollers to offload accelerator scheduling and interrupt handling from the main CPU, as exemplified in the NVIDIA Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA). To develop such computing systems, virtual platforms such as QEMU are often used. Unfortunately, QEMU only supports symmetric homogeneous multicore systems. In this paper, we tackle the challenging problem of supporting asymmetric heterogeneous multicore systems on QEMU by considering two possible implementation strategies: one-process and multi-process. The challenges are discussed and our implementations are presented. The two approaches are then compared qualitatively and quantitatively.
Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic agent with efficacy for both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, what makes an antipsychotic ‘atypical’ remains unclear. We recently ...found that the T102C polymorphism in the 5-HT2A receptor gene could affect risperidone's efficacy for negative symptoms. The present study investigated the effect of the Ser311Cys polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene on risperidone treatment response. A total of 123 Han Chinese patients with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia were given risperidone for up to 42 days. Clinical manifestations were measured bi-weekly with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatients Evaluation (NOSIE, for assessment of social function). For adjusting the within-subject dependence over repeated assessments, multiple linear regression with generalized estimating equation methods was utilized to analyse the effects of Ser311Cys polymorphism and other covariates on clinical performance. Compared with patients who had the Ser311Ser genotype, patients with the Ser311Cys genotype had lower scores on PANSS Positive, Negative, General Psychopathology and Cognitive subscales and NOSIE, after adjustment for 5-HT2A T102C polymorphisms and other confounders. The 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism had marginal influences on PANSS Total and Negative subscale scores. Male gender, fewer previous hospitalizations, and higher risperidone dose predicted better treatment response after control for other variables. The preliminary results suggest that variations in the DRD2 gene influence risperidone treatment response for positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms, general psychopathology, and social functioning. Several clinical factors may also contribute to inter-individual differences in risperidone treatment response.
Carcinoma of unknown primary site (CUP) has a poor prognosis and the prognostic factors in these patients are not well established. Furthermore, there are no selection criteria for patients who ...should benefit from chemotherapy.
The medical records of 179 CUP patients who were treated at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from 2000 to 2009 were reviewed. Factors associated with survival were determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Differences between the groups with and without palliative chemotherapy were analyzed.
Univariate analysis revealed multiple prognostic factors, including performance status, lung metastasis, number of metastatic organs, serum albumin, corrected serum calcium, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), sodium, and cholesterol levels, palliative chemotherapy, and white blood cell and lymphocyte counts. Multivariate analysis showed that performance status < 2, serum albumin level ≥ 3.5 g/dl, corrected serum calcium level < 10.7 mg/dl, single metastatic organ, and palliative chemotherapy were independent factors of better prognosis. Patients with better performance status, higher serum albumin, and lower serum LDH levels had significantly greater benefit from palliative chemotherapy.
Certain patients with unfavorable CUP will have better survival. Identification of patients with unfavorable CUP who could benefit from palliative chemotherapy warrants future prospective studies.
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