A Study of the Content Validity of Reading Comprehension Tests in NMET II

Zhen-Jie Liu,Ming-Hao Jin 대한언어학회 2018 언어학 Vol.26 No.4

Liu, Zhen-Jie & Jin, Ming-Hao. (2018). A study of the content validity of reading comprehension tests in NMET II. The Linguistic Association of Korea Journal, 26(4), 103-124. Based on Bachman and Palmer’s (1996) framework of task characteristics, this paper aims to compare the reading comprehension tests of the 2013-2017 National Matriculation English Test II (NMET II) with the requirements of the New Curriculum Standards and Testing Syllabus, in particular, concerning the content validity of the tests in terms of the characteristics of input and expected responses. The implications of this study are discussed for test designers, teachers, and students. The results show that reading comprehension tests from 2013 to 2017 basically meet the requirements of the New Curriculum Standard and Testing Syllabus and have a high content validity. In terms of the characteristics of input, the length, reading speed, and readability of comprehension passages are appropriate for students; however, the distribution of topics and genres in each year is uneven. In terms of the characteristics of expected responses, the wordings of questions and the design of question items are reasonable. However, the response type is mainly restricted to selected response questions (multiple-choice), and the measure of reading skills coverage is unbalanced.

뇌졸중환자의 인지기능에 관한 연구

류명인,소희영 충남대학교 간호과학연구소 2006 충남대 간호학술지 Vol.9 No.1

Purpose: This study was to explore the cognitive function of stroke patients. Method: The study sample were 88 who were possible to communicate and agreed to participate. The data was collected at OPD and wards from 2 Veteran's hospital located at Daejeon and Seoul and one C University hospital by trained nursing students at 2004 February. this research design is survey research. The measurement tool was MMSE-K. The data were analysed by SPSS 10.0 using frequency, t-test ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and Regression. Result: The mean score of MMSE-K was 26.74, being from minimum 13 to maximum 30. There was significant difference in attention/calculation subtype of MMSE-K according to length of education. There were statistically significant correlation among Time orientation, Place orientation, Registration, Attention & Calculation, Recall and Language. Conclusion: The cognitive function score of stroke patients was within normal limit. The length of education was a significant demographic characteristic affecting cognitive function. For rehabilitative care of stroke patient, the nurse has to collect data about cognition as well as demographic characteristics like income and perceived health status in order tar understand better and improve patients cognitive function.

Low Expression of the FoxO4 Gene may Contribute to the Phenomenon of EMT in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Xu, Ming-Ming,Mao, Guo-Xin,Liu, Jian,Li, Jian-Chao,Huang, Hua,Liu, Yi-Fei,Liu, Jun-Hua Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.9

Because of its importance in tumor invasion and metastasis, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has become a research focus in the field of cancer. Recently, evidence has been presented that FoxO4 might be involved in EMT. Our study aimed to detect the expression of FoxO4, E-cadherin and vimentin in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). We also investigated clinical features and their correlations with the markers. In our study, FoxO4, E-cadherin and vimentin were assessed by immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray (TMA) containing 150 cases of NSCLC. In addition, the expression level of FoxO4 protein was determined by Western blotting. The percentages of FoxO4, E-cadherin and vimentin positive expression in NSCLCs were 42.7%, 38.7% and 55.3%, respectively. Immunoreactivity of FoxO4 was low in NSCLC when compared with paired normal lung tissues. There were significant correlations between FoxO4 and TNM stage (P<0.001), histological differentiation (P=0.004) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), but no significant links with age (P=0.323), gender (P=0.410), tumor size (P=0.084), smoking status (P=0.721) and histological type (P=0.281). Our study showed that low expression of FoxO4 correlated with decreased expression of E-cadherin and elevated expression of vimentin. Cox regression analysis indicated FoxO4 to be an independent prognostic factor in NSCLC (P=0.046). These data suggested that FoxO4 might inhibit the process of EMT in NSCLC, and might therefore be a target for therapy.

Needed

Liu Ming 동아시아재단 2017 Global Asia Vol.12 No.3

MTHFR C677T Polymorphism and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: a Meta-analysis

Liu, Xiang-Ming,Liu, Feng-Hua,Tang, Yong,Li, Qiang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.8

Background: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme in the metabolism of folate, and the role of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism in pancreatic carcinogenesis is still controversial. Methods: A literature search was performed using Pubmed and CNKI databases for published studies through May 2012. We performed a meta-analysis of all relevant case-control studies that examined the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and pancreatic cancer risk. Results: Finally, 9 individual case-control studies with a total of 1,299 pancreatic cancer cases and 2,473 controls were included into this meta-analysis. Results: This metaanalysis showed there was an obvious association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and pancreatic cancer risk in East Asians (for allele model, OR = 1.67, 95%CI 1.11-2.51; For homozygote model, OR = 2.77, 95%CI 1.40-5.48; for recessive model, OR = 1.96, 95%CI 1.54-2.50; for dominant model, OR = 2.11, 95%CI 1.01-4.41). However, no significant association was found in Caucasians. Conclusions: The MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with pancreatic cancer risk, and a race-specific effect may exist in this association. More studies with a larger sample size are needed to further clarify this association.

Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Prognostic Factors in Patients with Operable HER-2 Overexpressing Breast Cancer

Liu, Ai-Na,Sun, Ping,Liu, Jian-Nan,Ma, Jin-Bo,Qu, Hua-Jun,Zhu, Hua,Yu, Cai-Yan,Zhang, Liang-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.4

Objective: To study the relationship between clinical pathologic characteristics, treatment modalities and prognostic factors in HER-2 (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor-2) overexpressed breast carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Major clinico-pathological factors including therapeutic modalities and survival status of 371 breast cancer patients with HER2 over-expression, teated at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital from March of 2002 to December of 2010 were retrospectively studied, with special attention focused on survival-related factors. Results: The median age of the total 371 patients in this study was 48 years at time of diagnosis, among which, the leading pathological type was infiltrating ductal carcinoma (92.5%); 62.8% presented with a primary tomor larger than 2 cm in diameter at diagnosis, 51.0% had axillary lymph node (ALN) metastases; ER (Estrogen receptor)/PR (Progesterone receptor) double negative occured in 52.8% of cases, and PCNA (proliferation cell nuclear antigen) (+++) was found in 55.1%. HER-2 overexpressed patients were usually in advanced stage when the diagnosis was made (72.8% at stages IIA~IIIC). The prognosis and survival were assessed in 259 patients with complete follow-up data. 5-year DFS (disease-free survival) and OS (overall survival) rate was 68.0% and 78.0% respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that age, tumor size, ALN metastases, LVSI (lymph-vascular space involvement), PCNA status, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy cycles, and HER-2 overexpression, correlated closely with the prognosis. ALN metastases, LVSI, PCNA status and chemotherapy cycles were independent predictors of survival. Conclusions: HER-2 overexpressed breast cancer has special clinical and pathological characteristics, with advanced clinical stages and high rate of ER/PR double negative. Lymph node metastases, LVSI, PCNA and chemotherapy cycles are independent predictors of prognosis.

Diagnostic Value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in Comparison to Bone Scintigraphy, CT and ¹⁸F-FDG PET for the Detection of Bone Metastasis

Liu, Ning-Bo,Zhu, Lei,Li, Ming-Huan,Sun, Xiao-Rong,Hu, Man,Huo, Zong-Wei,Xu, Wen-Gui,Yu, Jin-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.6

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic value of $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT for detection of bone metastasis in comparison with the efficacies of $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT, CT, $^{18}F$-FDG PET and conventional planar bone scintigraphy in a series of cancer patients. Methods: Five hundred and thirty patients who underwent both $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT and bone scintigraphy within 1 month were retrospectively analyzed. The skeletal system was classified into 10 anatomic segments and interpreted blindly and separately. For each modality, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV were calculated and the results were statistically analyzed. Results: Bone metastases were confirmed in 117 patients with 459 positive segments. On patient-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV of $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT were significantly higher than bone scintigraphy, CT and $^{18}F$-FDG PET (P<0.05). On segment-based analysis, the sensitivity of CT, bone scintigraphy, $^{18}F$-FDG PET and $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT were 70.4%, 89.5%, 89.1% and 97.8%, respectively (P<0.05, compared with $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT). The overall specificity and accuracy of the four modalities were 89.1%, 91.8%, 90.3%, 98.2% and 90.3%, 90.9%, 89.8%, 98.0%, respectively (P<0.05, compared with $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT). The PPV and NPV were 89.8%, 87.6%, 85.6%, 97.2% and 85.6%, 93.2%, 92.8%, 98.6%, respectively. Three hundred and twelve lesions or segments were presented as lytic or sclerotic changes on CT images at the corresponding sites of increased $^{18}F$-FDG uptake. In lytic or mixed lesions, the sensitivity of $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT and $^{18}F$-FDG PET were better than bone scintigraphy, while in osteoblastic lesions bone scintigraphy had a similar performance with $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT but better than $^{18}F$-FDG PET alone. Conclusion: Our data allow the conclusion that $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT is superior to planar bone scintigraphy, CT or $^{18}F$-FDG PET in detecting bone metastasis. $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT may enhance our diagnosis of tumor bone metastasis and provide more information for cancer treatment.

Efficacy and safety of herbal medicine (Lianhuaqingwen) for treating COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ming Liu,Ya Gao,Yuan Yuan,Kelu Yang,Shuzhen Shi,Jinhui Tian,Junhua Zhang 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.1

Background: Lianhuaqingwen (LH) has been proven effective for influenza. However, the promotion of LH for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 remains controversial. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of Lianhuaqingwen (LH) in treating patients with COVID-19 by a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We conducted the literature search using six electronic databases from December 1, 2019, to June 2, 2020. Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the quality of randomized controlled trials. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of case control studies. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality checklist was used to assess the quality of case series. All analyses were conducted by RevMan 5.3. For outcomes that could not be meta-analyzed were performed a descriptive analysis. Results: Eight studies with 924 patients were included. Three studies were RCTs, three were case control studies, and two were case series. The quality of the included studies was poor. Compared with patients treated by conventional treatment, patients treated by LH combined with conventional treatment have a higher overall effective rate (RR = 1.16, 95%CIs: 1.04∼1.30, P = 0.01) and CT recovery rate (RR=1.21, 95%CIs: 1.02∼1.43, P = 0.03). Patients of LH groups have a lower incidence of diarrhea (5.6% vs.13.4%), and have statistically significant (P = 0.026). But the rate of abnormal liver function in the combined medication group is higher than that in the single LH group. Conclusion: LH combined with conventional treatment seems to be more effective for patients with mild or ordinary COVID-19.

MicroRNA Expression Profile Analysis Reveals Diagnostic Biomarker for Human Prostate Cancer

Liu, Dong-Fu,Wu, Ji-Tao,Wang, Jian-Ming,Liu, Qing-Zuo,Gao, Zhen-Li,Liu, Yun-Xiang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.7

Prostate cancer is a highly prevalent disease in older men of the western world. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression via posttranscriptional inhibition of protein synthesis. To identify the diagnostic potential of miRNAs in prostate cancer, we downloaded the miRNA expression profile of prostate cancer from the GEO database and analysed the differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) in prostate cancerous tissue compared to non-cancerous tissue. Then, the targets of these DE-miRNAs were extracted from the database and mapped to the STRING and KEGG databases for network construction and pathway enrichment analysis. We identified a total of 16 miRNAs that showed a significant differential expression in cancer samples. A total of 9 target genes corresponding to 3 DE-miRNAs were obtained. After network and pathway enrichment analysis, we finally demonstrated that miR-20 appears to play an important role in the regulation of prostate cancer onset. MiR-20 as single biomarker or in combination could be useful in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. We anticipate our study could provide the groundwork for further experiments.

Screening of Differentially Expressed Genes among Various TNM Stages of Lung Adenocarcinoma by Genomewide Gene Expression Profile Analysis

Liu, Ming,Pan, Hong,Zhang, Feng,Zhang, Yong-Biao,Zhang, Yang,Xia, Han,Zhu, Jing,Fu, Wei-Ling,Zhang, Xiao-Li Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Background: To further investigate the molecular basis of lung cancer development, we utilize a microarray to identify differentially expressed genes associated with various TNM stages of adenocarcinoma, a subtype with increasing incidence in recent years in China. Methods: A 35K oligo gene array, covering about 25,100 genes, was used to screen differentially expressed genes among 90 tumor samples of lung adenocarcinoma in various TNM stages. To verify the gene array data, three genes (Zimp7, GINS2 and NAG-1) were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR in a different set of samples from the gene array. Results: First, we obtained 640 differentially expressed genes in lung adenocarcinomas compared to the surrounding normal lung tissues. Then, from the 640 candidates we identified 10 differentially expressed genes among different TNM stages (Stage I, II and IIIA), of which Zimp7, GINS2 and NAG-1 genes were first reported to be present at a high level in lung adenocarcinoma. The results of qRT-PCR for the three genes were consistent with those from the gene array. Conclusions: We identified 10 candidate genes associated with different TNM stages in lung adenocarcinoma in the Chinese population, which should provide new insights into the molecular basis underlying the development of lung adenocarcinoma and may offer new targets for the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis prediction.