Fu Jen Catholic University

About: Fu Jen Catholic University is a education organization based out in Taipei, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 6842 authors who have published 9512 publications receiving 171005 citations. The organization is also known as: FJU & Fu Jen.

Increased Risk of Cirrhosis and Its Decompensation in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With Newly Diagnosed Diabetes: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Abstract: BACKGROUND The impact of diabetes on cirrhosis, its decompensation, and their time relationship in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remain unclear. METHODS We conducted a nationwide cohort study by using the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database, which was comprised of data from >99% of the entire population. Among 1 million randomly sampled enrollees, 14 523 adult CHB patients were identified from 1997 to 2009. Diabetes was defined as newly diagnosed in CHB patients who were given the diagnosis in the years 1998-2001 but not in 1996-1997 and with physician visits of at least twice per year. The cohorts of CHB with newly diagnosed diabetes (n = 351) and without diabetes (n = 7886) were followed up from the diagnosis of diabetes and from 2000 in the patients without diabetes until development of cirrhosis or its decompensation, withdrawal from insurance, or December 2009. RESULTS Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a significantly higher cumulative incidence of cirrhosis (relative risk [RR] = 3.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.62-4.49; P < .001, log-rank test) and decompensated cirrhosis (RR = 4.11; 95% CI, 2.95-5.70; P < .001, log-rank test) among patients with newly developed diabetes compared with those without diabetes. After adjustment for age, sex, CHB treatment, hepatocellular carcinoma, and comorbidity index by Cox proportional hazards model, diabetes was still an independent predictor for cirrhosis (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.015; 95% CI, 1.393-2.915; P < .001) and its decompensation (HR = 1.792; 95% CI, 1.192-2.695; P = .005). CONCLUSIONS Patients with CHB who develop diabetes are at an increased risk of liver cirrhosis and its decompensation over time.

[Ag20{S2P(OR)2}12]: A Superatom Complex with a Chiral Metallic Core and High Potential for Isomerism

Abstract: The synthesis and structural determination of a silver nanocluster [Ag20 {S2 P(OiPr)2 }12 ] (2), which contains an intrinsic chiral metallic core, is produced by reduction of one silver ion from the eight-electron superatom complex [Ag21 {S2 P(OiPr)2 }12 ](PF6 ) (1) by borohydrides. Single-crystal X-ray analysis displays an Ag20 core of pseudo C3 symmetry comprising a silver-centered Ag13 icosahedron capped by seven silver atoms. Its n-propyl derivative, [Ag20 {S2 P(OnPr)2 }12 ] (3), can also be prepared by the treatment of silver(I) salts and dithiophosphates in a stoichiometric ratio in the presence of excess amount of [BH4 ](-) . Crystal structure analyses reveal that the capping silver-atom positions relative to their icosahedral core are distinctly different in 2 and 3 and generate isomeric, chiral Ag20 cores. Both Ag20 clusters display an emission maximum in the near IR region. DFT calculations are consistent with a description within the superatom model of an 8-electron [Ag13 ](5+) core protected by a [Ag7 {S2 P(OR)2 }12 ](5-) external shell. Two additional structural variations are predicted by DFT, showing the potential for isomerism in such [Ag20 {S2 P(OR)2 }12 ] species.

SCUBE3 is an endogenous TGF-β receptor ligand and regulates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer

Abstract: Signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like domain-containing protein 3 (SCUBE3) is a secreted glycoprotein that is overexpressed in lung cancer tumor tissues and is correlated with the invasive ability in a lung cancer cell line model. These observations suggest that SCUBE3 may have a role in lung cancer progression. By exogenous SCUBE3 treatment or knockdown of SCUBE3 expression, we found that SCUBE3 could promote lung cancer cell mobility and invasiveness. Knockdown of SCUBE3 expression also suppressed tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis in vivo. The secreted SCUBE3 proteins were cleaved by gelatinases (matrix metalloprotease-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9) in media to release two major fragments: the N-terminal epidermal growth factor-like repeats and the C-terminal complement proteins C1r/C1s, Uegf and Bmp1 (CUB) domain. Both the purified SCUBE3 protein and the C-terminal CUB domain fragment, bound to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) type II receptor through the C-terminal CUB domain, activated TGF-β signaling and triggered the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This process includes the induction of Smad2/3 phosphorylation, the increase of Smad2/3 transcriptional activity and the upregulation of the expression of target genes involved in EMT and cancer progression (such as TGF-β1, MMP-2, MMP-9, plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1, vascular endothelial growth factor, Snail and Slug), thus promoting cancer cell mobility and invasion. In conclusion, in lung cancer cells, SCUBE3 could serve as an endogenous autocrine and paracrine ligand of TGF-β type II receptor, which could regulate TGF-β receptor signaling and modulate EMT and cancer progression.

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

Abstract: From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions.