Browsing by Author "Wang C.-S."

Background/Aims: The long term outcomes in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B are distinct from those in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis. However, the molecular virological factors that contribute to the progression of liver disease in this special clinical setting remain largely unknown. We thus investigated the association of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes as well as precore/basal core-promoter mutations with the clinical and virological characteristics of patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B in Taiwan. Methods: HBV genotypes and sequences of precore and basal core-promoter regions of the HBV genome were determined in 174 HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection patients including 62 inactive carriers and 112 with different stages of liver disease. Results: HBV carriers with older age (>50 years) (odds ratio, 9.09; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.22-25, P<0.001) and basal core-promoter mutant of HBV (odds ratio, 4.12; 95% CI, 1.41-12.03, P = 0.01) were associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The gender-related risk factors associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and HCC were further analyzed, and basal core-promoter mutant was only associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and HCC in male carriers (odds ratio, 4.35; 95% CI, 1.30-14.52, P = 0.02). Conclusions: The risk of development of liver cirrhosis and HCC is significantly increased in patients with advanced age as well as with basal core-promoter mutant of HBV. In addition, basal core-promoter mutant might contribute to the gender difference of the progression of liver disease in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B in Taiwan. ? Blackwell Munksgaard 2005.

Nowadays advertising is widely used to promote various products. Counting-based advertising system is a promising solution for operators to enhance system resource utilization with potential profit, which is the focus of this paper. On the system, each advertisement order comprises the display length, the contract period, and the expected play count. The objective is to fulfill the expected play count within the contract period for each advertisement. However, operators face the challenge of deciding whether they should admit new orders or not without the knowledge of total amount of available time. Therefore, we propose an efficient method based on support vector machine (SVM) to predict the available time of the system in the future. In addition, a scheduling mechanism is established in consideration of fairness among advertisements. We then conduct a series of simulations by using the real data provided by Taiwan Taxi Company to evaluate the performance of our proposed advertising system. The experiment results show that our proposed scheme can highly satisfy the needs for accepted advertisements in both prediction and scheduling phases. ? 2014 IEEE.

Objectives: This study is designed to investigate the effects of anti-hypertensive monotherapy [either calcium channel blocker (CCB) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)] on pulsatile hemodynamic parameters in patients with uncomplicated hypertension. Methods: This is a longitudinal observational study. For simplicity, we included patients with uncomplicated hypertension who receivedmono anti-hypertensive therapy with ARB or CCB. Hemodynamic parameters including central arterial pressure (CAP), aortic characteristic impedance (Zc), augmentation index (AI), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), heart-ankle pulse wave velocity (haPWV), cardiac ultrasonographic parameters and ventriculo-arterial (VA) coupling were measured before, 1 month and 3 months after treatment. Results: A total of 74 subjects were included in our study for analysis from 2007-2008. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and central systolic arterial pressure (CSAP) were significantly reduced 1 and 3 months after initiation of therapy. Among the pulsatile hemodynamic parameters, only the baPWV was significantly reduced (from1537.78±200.63 cm/s to 1460.06±186.09 cm/s to 1456.53±196.03 cm/s, p for trend = 0.016). The haPWV only decreased with borderline significance (from 1015.38±124.26 cm/s to 978.88±126.55 cm/s to 967.99±103.37 cm/s, p for trend = 0.041). The other pulsatile hemodynamic parameters remained unchanged before and after therapy. Subgroup analysis (age above or below52 years) showed that the baPWVwas significantly reduced only in the younger group. Conclusions: Among the pulsatile hemodynamic parameters, only the baPWV was effectively reduced by either CCB or ARB. The improvement of PWV was more evident in younger subjects.

In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm, called ICMiner (Inter-transaction Closed patterns Miner), for mining closed inter-transaction itemsets. Our proposed algorithm consists of two phases. First, we scan the database once to find the frequent items. For each frequent item found, the ICMiner converts the original transaction database into a set of domain attributes, called a dataset. Then, it enumerates closed inter-transaction itemsets using an itemset-dataset tree, called an ID-tree. By using the ID-tree and datasets to mine closed inter-transaction itemsets, the ICMiner can embed effective pruning strategies to avoid costly candidate generation and repeated support counting. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the EH-Apriori, FITI, ClosedPROWL, and ITP-Miner algorithms in most cases. ? 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In this paper, we propose an efficient method for mining all frequent inter-transaction patterns. The method consists of two phases. First, we devise two data structures: a dat-list, which stores the item information used to find frequent inter-transaction patterns; and an ITP-tree, which stores the discovered frequent inter-transaction patterns. In the second phase, we apply an algorithm, called ITP-Miner (Inter-Transaction Patterns Miner), to mine all frequent inter-transaction patterns. By using the ITP-tree, the algorithm requires only one database scan and can localize joining, pruning, and support counting to a small number of dat-lists. The experiment results show that the ITP-Miner algorithm outperforms the FITI (First Intra Then Inter) algorithm by one order of magnitude. ? 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aim: Lamivudine is effective in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B, but the relapse rate after cessation of treatment is high. The evolution of viral genome may contribute to the viral replication under antiviral pressure of lamivudine. We therefore determined the evolution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) precore/basal core promoter and polymerase genes in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patient during lamivudine therapy. Method: Thirteen patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis who had received short-term lamivudine therapy (mean, 30 weeks) during 1999-2001 were enrolled. The precore/basal core promoter region and polymerase gene were amplified and directly sequenced before, during and post lamivudine treatment. Result: HBeAg loss or seroconversion occurred in 11, but eight relapsed after stopping therapy and five had reversion of HBeAg. Before treatment, basal core promoter mutation was found in 1. In the first 3 months of therapy, a rapid decline of serum HBV DNA level accompanied with basal core promoter mutation appeared in 11 of 13 patients (vs. before therapy; P = 0.003). However, this mutant was replaced by wild-type virus in four of eight patients who relapsed after treatment. There was no significant change of precore sequences before and during therapy. Conclusions: Lamivudine therapy may result in the rapid development of basal core promoter mutation of HBV, but this mutation may revert to wild type gradually after cessation of therapy. Copyright ? Blackwell Munksgaard, 2004.

In this study, the inhibitory effect of Ganoderma formosanum mycelium extracts on tyrosinase, the central regulatory enzyme being responsible for cutaneous pigmentation, was investigated in both cell-free and cellular enzymatic systems, as well as in phenotype-based zebrafish model. Bioassay-guided purification indicated that the ethyl acetate fraction of G. fromosanum mycelium ethanolic extract (GFE-EA) demonstrated the highest inhibition toward cell-free tyrosinase (IC 50 = 118.26 ¡Ó 13.34 ppm). The secreted and intracellular melanin of B16-F10 cells were reduced by GFE-EA through suppression of tyrosinase activity (IC 50 = 102.27 ¡Ó 9.49 ppm) and its protein expression. Moreover, GFE-EA decreased surface pigmentation level of zebrafish via down-regulation of tyrosinase activity. Most of all, there is no significant difference in morphology and mortality between control and GFE-EA treated groups. Not only does GFE-EA exhibit similar depigmenting efficacy to kojic acid with lower dosage (approximately one-seventh of dose), but show less toxicity to zebrafish. It is worth noting that GFE-EA is extracted from mycelium, which subverts the general concept that mycelium lacks certain bioactivities possessed by fruit bodies. Altogether, it would appear that GFE-EA has great potential for application in the cosmetics industry. ? 2016 The Author(s).

Objectives: This study sought to report technical details and clinical results of the first series of endovascular recanalization for cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion. Background: Cervical ICA occlusion is associated with impaired cerebral perfusion, which may lead to ischemic cerebral symptoms and hemodynamic infarcts. Neither surgical nor endovascular revascularization has been shown to benefit this population. Methods: Endovascular recanalization was attempted in 30 patients with ICA occlusions (27 men; age 72.1 ± 8.0 years, range 48 to 85 years). Recurrent neurologic deficit or cerebral ischemia by perfusion study, after known ICA occlusion, was noted in all patients. Strategies and devices for coronary occlusion intervention were applied, including microcatheter-supported tapered-tip stiff coronary guidewires. Contralateral ICA stenosis was found in 9 patients (30%). All patients underwent independent neurologic and duplex ultrasound follow-up. Results: The overall technical success rate was 73% (22 of 30). No neck hematoma, intracranial hemorrhage, or hyperperfusion was noted. One (3.3%) fatal brainstem infarction occurred 1 day after a successful ICA procedure, with angiographically proven acute basilar artery occlusion and patent ICA stent. Baseline ophthalmic artery flow was reversed in 15 of the 22 successfully recanalized patients, and was normalized in 12 after the procedure. There was no new cerebral ischemic event or neurologic death for a mean follow-up of 16.1 ± 18.5 months. Conclusions: Endovascular recanalization for cervical ICA occlusion is feasible with acceptable midterm clinical results. ? 2007 American College of Cardiology Foundation.

To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of mining tasks, constraint-based mining enables users to concentrate on mining their interested association rules instead of the complete set of association rules. Previously proposed methods are mainly contributed to handling a single constraint and only consider the constraints which are characterized by a single attribute value. In this paper, we propose an approach to mine association rules with multiple constraints constructed by multi-dimensional attribute values. Our proposed approach basically consists of three phases. First, we collect the frequent items and prune infrequent items according to the Apriori property. Second, we exploit the properties of the given constraints to prune search space or save constraint checking in the conditional databases. Third, for each itemset possible to satisfy the constraint, we generate its conditional database and perform the three phases in the conditional database recursively. Our proposed algorithms can exploit the properties of constraints to prune search space or save constraint checking. Therefore, our proposed algorithm is more efficient than the revised FP-growth and FIC algorithms. ? 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sequential pattern and inter-transaction pattern mining have long been important issues in data mining research. The former finds sequential patterns without considering the relationships between transactions in databases, while the latter finds inter-transaction patterns without considering the ordered relationships of items within each transaction. However, if we want to find patterns that cross transactions in a sequence database, called inter-sequence patterns, neither of the above models can perform the task. In this paper, we propose a new data mining model for mining frequent inter-sequence patterns. We design two algorithms, M-Apriori and EISP-Miner, to find such patterns. The former is an Apriori-like algorithm that can mine inter-sequence patterns, but it is not efficient. The latter, a new method that we propose, employs several mechanisms for mining inter-sequence patterns efficiently. Experiments show that EISP-Miner is very efficient and outperforms M-Apriori by several orders of magnitude. ? 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consumer reviews are valuable resources for companies since consumers usually share their using experiences on products or provide useful opinions from various aspects such as different product features. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method called MPM (mining perceptual map) to automatically build perceptual maps and radar charts from consumer reviews. Perceptual maps and radar charts are business tools widely used in marketing and business analysis. The proposed method may reduce subjective personal bias since perceptual maps and radar charts are mined from a large number of consumer reviews. The analysis results obtained from consumer reviews of smartphones show that the proposed method may provide some practical insights for smartphone companies. Our method can help companies position new products, and formulate effective marketing and competitive strategies. ? 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tumours of smooth muscle origin, either solitary or multiple, are occasionally found in immunocompromised patients, particularly in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Most of the reported AIDS-associated leiomyomatous neoplasms have been found in the visceral organs, and the tumour cells all possessed the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome. Here we present a 32-year-old-man with AIDS who developed three skin nodules on his lower left extremity. No other tumorous lesions were found using computed tomography scans. Two of the three nodules were resected for pathological examination. Histologically, both tumours were well circumscribed and located in the subcutis. The tumours were composed of interlacing fascicles of spindle-shaped cells with prominent vasculature and lymphocytic infiltration. No pleomorphism, mitosis or necrosis was seen. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells were reactive to smooth muscle actin and desmin. Angioleiomyoma was diagnosed. EBV-encoded small RNAs were also demonstrated in the nucleus of the tumour cells by in situ hybridization but no EBV receptor (CD21) or latent membrane protein (LMP)-1 was found in the tumour cells. No human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 genome was detected in the lesion using polymerase chain reaction analysis. The results of this study indicated that EBV containing subcutaneous angioleiomyoma was another neoplasm that must be considered in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection who develop skin nodules. The role of EBV in the pathogenesis of this unique neoplasm is still unknown.