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  • MDPI AG  (13)
  • 2020-2024  (13)
  • 1
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Production of Lactic Acid from Seaweed Hydrolysates via Lactic Acid Bacteria Fermentation
    MDPI AG ; 2020
    In:  Fermentation Vol. 6, No. 1 ( 2020-03-24), p. 37-
    Details
    In: Fermentation, MDPI AG, Vol. 6, No. 1 ( 2020-03-24), p. 37-
    Abstract: Biodegradable polylactic acid material is manufactured from lactic acid, mainly produced by microbial fermentation. The high production cost of lactic acid still remains the major limitation for its application, indicating that the cost of carbon sources for the production of lactic acid has to be minimized. In addition, a lack of source availability of food crop and lignocellulosic biomass has encouraged researchers and industries to explore new feedstocks for microbial lactic acid fermentation. Seaweeds have attracted considerable attention as a carbon source for microbial fermentation owing to their non-terrestrial origin, fast growth, and photoautotrophic nature. The proximate compositions study of red, brown, and green seaweeds indicated that Gracilaria sp. has the highest carbohydrate content. The conditions were optimized for the saccharification of the seaweeds, and the results indicated that Gracilaria sp. yielded the highest reducing sugar content. Optimal lactic acid fermentation parameters, such as cell inoculum, agitation, and temperature, were determined to be 6% (v/v), 0 rpm, and 30 °C, respectively. Gracilaria sp. hydrolysates fermented by lactic acid bacteria at optimal conditions yielded a final lactic acid concentration of 19.32 g/L.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2311-5637
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/fermentation6010037
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2020
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2813985-9
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  • 2
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    Factors Associated with Significant Platelet Count Improvement in Thrombocytopenic Chronic Hepatitis C Patients Receiving Direct-Acting Antivirals
    MDPI AG ; 2022
    In:  Viruses Vol. 14, No. 2 ( 2022-02-07), p. 333-
    Details
    In: Viruses, MDPI AG, Vol. 14, No. 2 ( 2022-02-07), p. 333-
    Abstract: To clarify the predictive factors of significant platelet count improvement in thrombocytopenic chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. CHC patients with baseline platelet counts of 〈 150 × 103/μL receiving direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy with at least 12-weeks post-treatment follow-up (PTW12) were enrolled. Significant platelet count improvement was defined as a ≥10% increase in platelet counts at PTW12 from baseline. Platelet count evolution at treatment week 4, end-of-treatment, PTW12, and PTW48 was evaluated. This study included 4922 patients. Sustained virologic response after 12 weeks post-treatment was achieved in 98.7% of patients. Platelet counts from baseline, treatment week 4, and end-of-treatment to PTW12 were 108.8 ± 30.2, 121.9 ± 41.1, 123.1 ± 43.0, and 121.1 ± 40.8 × 103/μL, respectively. Overall, 2230 patients (45.3%) showed significant platelet count improvement. Multivariable analysis revealed that age (odds ratio (OR) = 0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99–1.00, p = 0.01), diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.06–1.38, p = 0.007), cirrhosis (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.58–0.75, p 〈 0.0001), baseline platelet counts (OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98–0.99, p 〈 0.0001), and baseline total bilirubin level (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.71–0.91, p = 0.0003) were independent predictive factors of significant platelet count improvement. Subgroup analyses showed that patients with significant platelet count improvement and sustained virologic responses, regardless of advanced fibrosis, had a significant increase in platelet counts from baseline to treatment week 4, end-of-treatment, PTW12, and PTW48. Young age, presence of DM, absence of cirrhosis, reduced baseline platelet counts, and reduced baseline total bilirubin levels were associated with significant platelet count improvement after DAA therapy in thrombocytopenic CHC patients.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 1999-4915
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/v14020333
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2022
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2516098-9
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  • 3
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    Automatic Segmentation of Retinal Fluid and Photoreceptor Layer from Optical Coherence Tomography Images of Diabetic Macular Edema Patients Using Deep Learning and Associations with Visual Acuity
    MDPI AG ; 2022
    In:  Biomedicines Vol. 10, No. 6 ( 2022-05-29), p. 1269-
    Details
    In: Biomedicines, MDPI AG, Vol. 10, No. 6 ( 2022-05-29), p. 1269-
    Abstract: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a highly common cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is crucial in classifying DME and tracking the results of DME treatment. The presence of intraretinal cystoid fluid (IRC) and subretinal fluid (SRF) and the disruption of the ellipsoid zone (EZ), which is part of the photoreceptor layer, are three crucial factors affecting the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). However, the manual segmentation of retinal fluid and the EZ from retinal OCT images is laborious and time-consuming. Current methods focus only on the segmentation of retinal features, lacking a correlation with visual acuity. Therefore, we proposed a modified U-net, a deep learning algorithm, to segment these features from OCT images of patients with DME. We also correlated these features with visual acuity. The IRC, SRF, and EZ of the OCT retinal images were manually labeled and checked by doctors. We trained the modified U-net model on these labeled images. Our model achieved Sørensen–Dice coefficients of 0.80 and 0.89 for IRC and SRF, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for EZ disruption was 0.88. Linear regression indicated that EZ disruption was the factor most strongly correlated with BCVA. This finding agrees with that of previous studies on OCT images. Thus, we demonstrate that our segmentation network can be feasibly applied to OCT image segmentation and assist physicians in assessing the severity of the disease.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2227-9059
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10061269
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2022
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2720867-9
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  • 4
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    Coffeeberry Activates the CaMKII/CREB/BDNF Pathway, Normalizes Autophagy and Apoptosis Signaling in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Rodent Model
    MDPI AG ; 2021
    In:  Nutrients Vol. 13, No. 10 ( 2021-10-19), p. 3652-
    Details
    In: Nutrients, MDPI AG, Vol. 13, No. 10 ( 2021-10-19), p. 3652-
    Abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) shows extensive liver cell destruction with lipid accumulation, which is frequently accompanied by metabolic comorbidities and increases mortality. This study aimed to investigate the effects of coffeeberry (CB) on regulating the redox status, the CaMKII/CREB/BDNF pathway, autophagy, and apoptosis signaling by a NAFLD rodent model senescence-accelerated mice prone 8 (SAMP8). Three-month-old male SAMP8 mice were divided into a control group and three CB groups (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg BW), and fed for 12 weeks. The results show that CB reduced hepatic malondialdehyde and carbonyl protein levels. CB significantly enhanced Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and reduced the phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein (p-CREB)/CREB ratio. In addition, CB increased the silent information regulator T1 level, promoted Beclin 1 and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 II expressions, and reduced phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin and its downstream p-p70s6k levels. CB also inhibited the expressions of apoptosis-related factors poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 and the apoptosis-inducing factor. In conclusion, CB might protect the liver by reducing oxidative stress, activating the CaMKII/CREB/BDNF pathway, and improving autophagic and apoptotic expressions in a dose-dependent manner.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2072-6643
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/nu13103652
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2518386-2
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  • 5
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    Direct-Acting Antivirals Reduce the De Novo Development of Esophageal Varices in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Related Liver Cirrhosis
    MDPI AG ; 2023
    In:  Viruses Vol. 15, No. 1 ( 2023-01-16), p. 252-
    Details
    In: Viruses, MDPI AG, Vol. 15, No. 1 ( 2023-01-16), p. 252-
    Abstract: The real-world benefits of direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-induced sustained virologic response (SVR) on the de novo occurrence and progression of esophageal varices (EV) remain unclear in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver cirrhosis (LC). This is a retrospective cohort study evaluating all patients with Child-Pugh class A HCV-related LC during 2013 to 2020 in the Chang Gung Medical System. A total of 215 patients fit the inclusion criteria and were enrolled. Of them, 132 (61.4%) patients achieved DAA induced-SVR and 83 (38.6%) did not receive anti-viral treatment. During a median follow-up of 18.4 (interquartile range, 10.1–30.9) months, the 2-year incidence of de novo EV occurrence was 8 (7.0%) in the SVR group and 7 (12.7%) in the treatment-naïve group. Compared to the treatment-naïve group, the SVR group was associated with a significantly lower incidence of EV occurrence (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.47, p = 0.030) and a significantly lower incidence of EV progression (aHR: 0.55, p = 0.033). The risk of EV progression was strongly correlated with the presence of baseline EV (p 〈 0.001). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that DAA-induced SVR is associated with decreased risk of de novo EV occurrence and progression in the real world.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 1999-4915
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/v15010252
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2023
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2516098-9
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  • 6
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    Factors Associated with Large Renal Function Decline in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Successfully Treated with Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy
    MDPI AG ; 2023
    In:  Diagnostics Vol. 13, No. 3 ( 2023-01-27), p. 473-
    Details
    In: Diagnostics, MDPI AG, Vol. 13, No. 3 ( 2023-01-27), p. 473-
    Abstract: The findings regarding changes in renal function in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are controversial. This study attempted to identify the factors associated with the large decline in renal function following DAA treatment. This retrospective cohort study included patients treated with DAAs at Chiayi and Yunlin Chang Gung Hospitals, Taiwan, from 1 January 2017 to 31 October 2020. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) data were collected within 90 days prior to DAA therapy and 2 years after the confirmation of a sustained virologic response (SVR). We performed multiple logistic regression to evaluate the clinical or laboratory parameters associated with a large eGFR decline (≥10%). Among the enrolled 606 patients, the mean eGFR at the baseline and endpoint were 84.11 ± 24.38 and 78.88 ± 26.30 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively (p 〈 0.001). The factors associated with a large eGFR decline 2 years after the SVR included hypertension (OR: 1.481; 95% CI: 1.010–2.173, p = 0.044) and a higher baseline eGFR (OR: 1.016; 95% CI: 1.007–1.024, p 〈 0.001). A higher albumin level reduced the risk of a large eGFR decline (OR: 0.546; 95% CI: 0.342–0.872, p = 0.011). In the patients with HCV treated with DAAs, a larger renal function decline was more commonly observed in those with hypertension, a lower (but within normal range) albumin level, and a higher baseline eGFR, while DAA treatment had no effect. The clinical significance of these findings has to be further defined. Although some risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease may be alleviated after DAA treatment, the regular control and follow-up of risk factors and renal function are still recommended in at-risk patients after HCV eradication.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2075-4418
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13030473
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2023
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2662336-5
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  • 7
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    Investigations of In2O3 Added SiC Semiconductive Thin Films and Manufacture of a Heterojunction Diode
    MDPI AG ; 2024
    In:  Nanomaterials Vol. 14, No. 10 ( 2024-05-19), p. 881-
    Details
    In: Nanomaterials, MDPI AG, Vol. 14, No. 10 ( 2024-05-19), p. 881-
    Abstract: This study involved direct doping of In2O3 into silicon carbide (SiC) powder, resulting in 8.0 at% In-doped SiC powder. Subsequently, heating at 500 °C was performed to form a target, followed by the utilization of electron beam (e-beam) technology to deposit the In-doped SiC thin films with the thickness of approximately 189.8 nm. The first breakthrough of this research was the successful deposition of using e-beam technology. The second breakthrough involved utilizing various tools to analyze the physical and electrical properties of In-doped SiC thin films. Hall effect measurement was used to measure the resistivity, mobility, and carrier concentration and confirm its n-type semiconductor nature. The uniform dispersion of In ions in SiC was as confirmed by electron microscopy energy-dispersive spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses. The Tauc Plot method was employed to determine the Eg values of pure SiC and In-doped SiC thin films. Semiconductor parameter analyzer was used to measure the conductivity and the I-V characteristics of devices in In-doped SiC thin films. Furthermore, the third finding demonstrated that In2O3-doped SiC thin films exhibited remarkable current density. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Gaussian-resolved spectra further confirmed a significant relationship between conductivity and oxygen vacancy concentration. Lastly, depositing these In-doped SiC thin films onto p-type silicon substrates etched with buffered oxide etchant resulted in the formation of heterojunction p-n junction. This junction exhibited the rectifying characteristics of a diode, with sample current values in the vicinity of 102 mA, breakdown voltage at approximately −5.23 V, and open-circuit voltage around 1.56 V. This underscores the potential of In-doped SiC thin films for various semiconductor devices.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2079-4991
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/nano14100881
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2024
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2662255-5
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  • 8
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    Prediction of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Response in Rectal Cancer with Metric Learning Using Pretreatment 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography
    MDPI AG ; 2021
    In:  Cancers Vol. 13, No. 24 ( 2021-12-17), p. 6350-
    Details
    In: Cancers, MDPI AG, Vol. 13, No. 24 ( 2021-12-17), p. 6350-
    Abstract: Objectives: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) followed by surgery is the mainstay of treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Based on baseline 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]-FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), a new artificial intelligence model using metric learning (ML) was introduced to predict responses to NCRT. Patients and Methods: This study used the data of 236 patients with newly diagnosed rectal cancer; the data of 202 and 34 patients were for training and validation, respectively. All patients received pretreatment [18F] FDG-PET/CT, NCRT, and surgery. The treatment response was scored by Dworak tumor regression grade (TRG); TRG3 and TRG4 indicated favorable responses. The model employed ML combined with the Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection for dimensionality reduction. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the model’s predictive performance. Results: In the training cohort, 115 patients (57%) achieved TRG3 or TRG4 responses. The area under the ROC curve was 0.96 for the prediction of a favorable response. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 98.3%, 96.5%, and 97.5%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the validation cohort were 95.0%, 100%, and 98.8%, respectively. Conclusions: The new ML model presented herein was used to determined that baseline 18F[FDG]-PET/CT images could predict a favorable response to NCRT in patients with rectal cancer. External validation is required to verify the model’s predictive value.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2072-6694
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/cancers13246350
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2527080-1
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  • 9
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    Impact on Mental Well-Being and Resilience of Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions in Different Periods during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in Taiwan
    MDPI AG ; 2021
    In:  Healthcare Vol. 9, No. 11 ( 2021-10-27), p. 1457-
    Details
    In: Healthcare, MDPI AG, Vol. 9, No. 11 ( 2021-10-27), p. 1457-
    Abstract: Concerns over the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and control measures have affected the routine outpatient visits of individuals with comorbidities and their mental well-being. From October 2019 to August 2020, this cross-sectional study enrolled 135 patients who sought medical attention at a medical center in Taiwan. This period covered the early (October to December 2019), peak (January to April 2020), and late (May to August 2020) periods of the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. The demographic data, social support data, activities of daily living (ADL), resilience scale scores, and mental well-being scale scores of the participants were compared. There were no statistically significant differences in the participation rate, demographic data, and social support data between the three periods. The correlation analysis confirmed significant negative relationships between the number of COVID-19 cases and outpatient department visits per month (r = −0.764, p 〈 0.001), emergency department visits per month (r = −0.023, p 〈 0.001), ADL (r = −0.257, p = 0.03), resilience scale (r = −0.390, p 〈 0.001), and mental well-being scale (r = −0.475, p 〈 0.001). In conclusion, the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan was associated with declines in the ADL, mental well-being, and resilience of patients who sought medical attention.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2227-9032
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9111457
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2721009-1
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  • 10
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    Prediction of All-Cause Mortality Based on Stress/Rest Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI) Using Deep Learning: A Comparison between Image and Frequency Spectra as Input
    MDPI AG ; 2022
    In:  Journal of Personalized Medicine Vol. 12, No. 7 ( 2022-07-05), p. 1105-
    Details
    In: Journal of Personalized Medicine, MDPI AG, Vol. 12, No. 7 ( 2022-07-05), p. 1105-
    Abstract: Background: Cardiovascular management and risk stratification of patients is an important issue in clinics. Patients who have experienced an adverse cardiac event are concerned for their future and want to know the survival probability. Methods: We trained eight state-of-the-art CNN models using polar maps of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), gender, lung/heart ratio, and patient age for 5-year survival prediction after an adverse cardiac event based on a cohort of 862 patients who had experienced adverse cardiac events and stress/rest MPIs. The CNN model outcome is to predict a patient’s survival 5 years after a cardiac event, i.e., two classes, either yes or no. Results: The best accuracy of all the CNN prediction models was 0.70 (median value), which resulted from ResNet-50V2, using image as the input in the baseline experiment. All the CNN models had better performance after using frequency spectra as the input. The accuracy increment was about 7~9%. Conclusions: This is the first trial to use pure rest/stress MPI polar maps and limited clinical data to predict patients’ 5-year survival based on CNN models and deep learning. The study shows the feasibility of using frequency spectra rather than images, which might increase the performance of CNNs.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2075-4426
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.3390/jpm12071105
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2022
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2662248-8
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