Long-term Survivals, Toxicities and the Role of Chemotherapy in Early-Stage Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients Treated with Intensity-modulated Radiation Therapy: A Retrospective Study with 15-year Follow-up

Lin Wang,Jingjing Miao,Huageng Huang,Boyu Chen,Xiao Xiao,Manyi Zhu,Yingshan Liang,Weiwei Xiao,Shaomin Huang,Yinglin Peng,Xiaowu Deng,Xing Lv,Weixiong Xia,Yanqun Xiang,Xiang Guo,Fei Han,Chong Zhao 대한암학회 2022 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.54 No.1

Purpose This study was aimed to investigate long-term survivals and toxicities of early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in endemic area, evaluating the role of chemotherapy in stage II patients. Materials and Methods Totally 187 patients with newly diagnosed NPC and restaged American Joint Committee on Cancer/ International Union Against Cancer 8th T1-2N0-1M0 were retrospectively recruited. All received intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)±chemotherapy (CT) from 2001 to 2010. Results With 15.7-year median follow-up, 10-year locoregional recurrence-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS) were 93.3%, 93.5%, 92.9% and 88.2%, respectively. Multivariable analyses showed cervical lymph nodes positive and pre-treatment prognostic nutritional index ≥ 52.0 could independently predict DMFS (p=0.036 and p=0.011), DSS (p=0.014 and p=0.026), and OS (p=0.002 and p < 0.001); Charlson comorbidity index < 3 points could predict DSS (p=0.011); age > 45 years (p=0.002) and pre-treatment lactate dehydrogenase ≥ 240 U/L (p < 0.001) predicted OS. No grade 4 late toxicity happened; grade 3 late toxicities included subcutaneous fibrosis (4.3%), deafness or otitis (4.8%), skin dystrophy (2.1%), and xerostomia (1.1%). No differences on survivals were shown between IMRT+CT vs. IMRT alone in stage II patients, even in T2N1M0 (p > 0.05). Unsurprising, patients in IMRT+CT had more acute gastrointestinal reaction, myelosuppression, mucositis, late ear toxicity, and cranial nerve injury (all p < 0.05) than IMRT alone group. Conclusion Superior tumor control and satisfying long-term outcomes could be achieved with IMRT in early-stage NPC with mild late toxicities. As CT would bring more toxicities, it should be carefully performed to stage II patients.

Genistein Alleviates β-Amyloid-Induced Inflammatory Damage Through Regulating Toll-Like Receptor 4/Nuclear Factor κB

Weiwei Ma,Bingjie Ding,Huanling Yu,Linhong Yuan,Yuandi Xi,Rong Xiao 한국식품영양과학회 2015 Journal of medicinal food Vol.18 No.3

Genistein (GEN), a major soybean isoflavone (SIF), might possess neuroprotective properties through its antiinflammatory activity. We hypothesized that GEN could prevent the inflammatory damage detected in C6 cells induced by β-amyloid peptides 25-35 (Aβ25-35). Accordingly, we evaluated the inflammatory damage induced by Aβ25-35 and the protective effect of GEN against Aβ25-35 in C6 cells. In our study, the C6 glial cells (rats glioma cell lines) were preincubated with or without GEN for 2 h following incubation with Aβ25-35 for another 24 h. Then, methylthiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to assess the cell viability. Immunofluorescence staining was used to identify the C6 cells. Inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β were analyzed by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blot analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis were performed to assess the expression of Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4), inhibitor of kappaB-alpha (IκB-α). The current results showed that GEN could alleviate Aβ25-35-induced cell apoptosis and prevent Aβ25-35-induced TNF-α and IL-1β release from C6 cells. In addition, GEN prevented Aβ25-35-induced upregulation of the gene and protein expression of TLR4, and GEN significantly upregulated the expression of IκB-α in C6 cells damaged by Aβ25-35. These results suggest that GEN can alleviate the inflammatory stress caused by Aβ25-35 treatment, which might be associated with the neuroprotective effect of GEN regulating the TLR4/NFκB signaling pathway.

Maximum Torque per Ampere Control for IPMSM Traction System Based on Current Angle Signal Injection Method

Weiwei Zhang,Fei Xiao,Jilong Liu,Zhiqin Mai,Chaoran Li 대한전기학회 2020 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.15 No.4

Rail transportation interior permanent magnet synchronous motor traction control system (IPMSM TCS) requires high torque output capability. Traditional algorithms used to fnd the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) operating point in TCS have strong dependence on motor parameters. Because the algorithm is less robust to motor parameters, there will be deviation between the MTPA operating point and the actual value when the parameters change, so that it is difcult to guarantee the torque output capability of the traction system under diferent working conditions. This paper introduces a current angle signal injection control method (CASIM) to solve this problem. The proposed method tracks the MTPA operating point and generates d-axis current command according injecting an angle signal to current and making the partial derivative of torque to current angle equal to zero. At the same time, less motor parameters are needed to calculate the torque in this method. Consequently, in the process of looking for MTPA operating point, the accuracy is less afected by the variation of motor parameters. And also it does not inject any real signal to IPMSM, so that it does not increase copper and iron losses. Moreover, it is robust to speed mutation and torque disturbances. The efectiveness of CASIM proposed in this paper is proved by simulation and experiment results on an IPMSM TCS platform.

Involvement of Nuclear Related Factor 2 Signaling Pathway in the Brain of Obese Rats and Obesity-Resistant Rats Induced by High-Fat Diet

Weiwei Ma,Bingjie Ding,Li-Jing Wang,Yi Shao,Rong Xiao 한국식품영양과학회 2016 Journal of medicinal food Vol.19 No.4

We aimed to investigate the mechanism of brain damage in diet-induced obese (DIO) rats and diet-resistant (DR) rats from the viewpoint of redox state and nuclear related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with a high-fat diet for 10 weeks to obtain the DIO and DR rats. d-Galactose was injected subcutaneously through the back of the neck for 10 weeks to establish oxidative stress model rats. Then, the ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and the level of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum and brain tissue were measured by using enzymatic assay kits. The levels of cholecystokinin and peptide YY in the brain tissue were detected by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. In addition, the protein expression of Nrf2 and its downstream factors such as heme oxygenase 1, manganese superoxide dismutase, and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in the brain tissue were measured by Western blotting. In the brain of DIO rats, the level of GSH and ratio of GSH/GSSG were lower, whereas the GSH-Px concentration was higher compared with DR rats significantly. On the other hand, the GSSG level was higher in the serum of DIO rats compared with the DR rats. The oxidative stress state in the brain of DIO rats, but not in DR rats, were observed. In addition, the protein expressions of Nrf2 and NQO1 were downregulated in the brain of DR rats compared with that in DIO rats. Our data suggest that the Nrf2/NQO1 signaling pathway and redox state were involved in the pathogenesis of the rats prone to obesity, but not the DR rats resistant to obesity.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 increases radioresistance of lung cancer cells by enhancing the DNA damage response

Weiwei Jiang,Guanghui Jin,Fangfang Cai,Xiao Chen,Nini Cao,Xiangyu Zhang,Jia Liu,Fei Chen,Feng Wang,Wei Dong,Hongqin Zhuang,Zichun Hua 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

Radiotherapy is a frequent mode of cancer treatment, although the development of radioresistance limits its effectiveness. Extensive investigations indicate the diversity of the mechanisms underlying radioresistance. Here, we aimed to explore the effects of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) on lung cancer radioresistance and the associated mechanisms. Our data showed that ERK5 is activated during solid lung cancer development, and ectopic expression of ERK5 promoted cell proliferation and G2/M cell cycle transition. In addition, we found that ERK5 is a potential regulator of radiosensitivity in lung cancer cells. Mechanistic investigations revealed that ERK5 could trigger IR-induced activation of Chk1, which has been implicated in DNA repair and cell cycle arrest in response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Subsequently, ERK5 knockdown or pharmacological inhibition selectively inhibited colony formation of lung cancer cells and enhanced IR-induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis. In vivo, ERK5 knockdown strongly radiosensitized A549 and LLC tumor xenografts to inhibition, with a higher apoptotic response and reduced tumor neovascularization. Taken together, our data indicate that ERK5 is a novel potential target for the treatment of lung cancer, and its expression might be used as a biomarker to predict radiosensitivity in NSCLC patients.

Optimization of maximum torque output in the wide speed range of a PMSM traction control system

Zhang, Weiwei,Xiao, Fei,Liu, Jilong,Mai, Zhiqin,Li, Chaoran The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2020 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.20 No.1

This paper introduces a permanent magnet synchronous motor maximum torque control method for the wide speed range of a traction control system. This method tracks the maximum torque per ampere operating point and generates a d-axis current command according to the injection of a high-frequency angle signal to the current. This method is parameter independent when looking for the maximum torque per ampere operating point. By not injecting any real signal to a permanent magnet synchronous motor, this method does not increase the amount of copper and iron losses resulting from real signal injection. To obtain a maximum torque output in a wide speed range, this method considers the maximum amplitude limits of voltage and current when the traction motor runs in a flux weakening control field. This method is also robust to current and voltage harmonics, speed mutations, and torque disturbances. Experiment and analysis are conducted on a permanent magnet synchronous motor traction control system prototype under various operating conditions to verify the effectiveness of this method.

Enhance the performance and stability of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells with guanidinium thiocyanate additive

Nian Cheng,Weiwei Li,Menghan Zhang,Hangjuan Wu,Shujie Sun,Zhiqiang Zhao,Zhenyu Xiao,Zhuzhu Sun,Wei Zi,Liang Fang 한국물리학회 2019 Current Applied Physics Vol.19 No.1

Employing additive to regulate the morphology of perovskite film is an effective method to enhance both the power conversion efficiency and long term stability of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells. Here, we demonstrate that guanidinium thiocyanate (GuSCN) is a suitable additive for methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite materials. Addition of GuSCN into MAPbI3 can simultaneously enhance the crystallinity, enlarge the crystal size, and reduce the trap density of the perovskite films. As a result, the MAPbI3 perovskite with 10% GuSCN exhibits superior power conversion efficiency of 16.70% compared to the pristine MAPbI3 perovskite solar cell (15.57%). At the same time, the MAPbI3 perovskite solar cell with GuSCN additive shows better stability, power conversion efficiency retains ∼90% of its initial value compared to only ∼60% for pristine MAPbI3 perovskite solar cells after being stored for 15 days without encapsulation

Asocial: Adaptive Task Re-Allocation in Distributed Computing Systems with Node Failures

Yanli Shen,Taoshun Xiao,Weiwei Zheng 한국통신학회 2020 한국통신학회 APNOMS Vol.2020 No.09

Task allocation-the problem of efficiently allocating a set of M tasks to a set of N nodes-is a fundamental issue in distributed computing systems (DCSs). The problem is particularly challenging in the presence of fail-prone nodes. In this work, we design an adaptive task (re-)allocation mechanism, named Asocial. The Asocial allows us to optimize the utilization of system resources (including computing resources and network resources) while increasing service-level fault tolerance as well as failure resilience. In addition, we propose a cooperative game model based task (re-)allocation approach for cooperation among Physical Nodes (PNs). We consider both the performance states and reliability levels of candidate PNs when deploying tasks. Specifically, we exploit failure prediction techniques to evaluate PNs’ reliability levels. As a result, we can utilize the resources efficiently and thus improve the service reliability (i.e., the probability of serving all the tasks before their delivery time). We show by means of numerical evaluations that the proposed Asocial can significantly improve service reliability, system availability as well as resource utilization. In particular, by using failure prediction result (F-measure is around 0.8), the application completion rate (ACR), the task completion rate (TCR) and the computing resource utilization (CRU) reach 85.20%, 85.67% and 78.34%, respectively. Compared with 67.30%, 70.07% and 65.79% of the initial allocation scheme, the performance achieves a significant improvement (26.60%, 22.26% and 19.08%, respectively).

Experiment and Modelling on Effective Width of single and twin I-beam Composite Girders

Zongyi Wen,Xing Wei,Weiwei Lin,Junmin Zhao,Lin Xiao 대한토목학회 2023 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.27 No.6

Effective width (beff) has been widely used by designers, and several specifications can be selected. However, insufficient research has been conducted on the beff of single and twin I-beam composite girders. Thus, finite element (FE) models, calibrated by the experiment, were used to study the effects of slab thickness, web position, interaction degree (ID) of shear studs, width-to-span ratio, and their coupling effects on beff. Different loading types and two definitions of beff were elaborated. The FE results were compared with specifications in Eurocode 4 (EC4) and AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications (AASHTO). The following results were obtained. The modeling agrees with the experiment. The critical steel height-to-slab thickness ratio is around 4. When the ratio deviates from the critical value, beff is reduced with the increase of slab thickness. ID has a slight influence on beff. beff changes within 10% when ID changes within 10%. The maximum beff can be obtained when the web spacing-to-physical width ratio is 1/2. The decrease of web spacing brings a maximum reduction of 14% on beff, whereas increasing web spacing results in a maximum reduction of 70% for twin I-beam. The coupled effect of web position and slab thickness is limited. The maximum difference is 25%. Recommended equations were proposed to evaluate beff for single I-beam and twin I-beam composite girders based on the specifications in EC4 and AASHTO, which can ensure that the negative error is within 10%.

A Fast Intra Mode Decision Algorithm for HEVC Using Sobel Operator in Edge Detection

Qiuwen Zhang,Xinpeng Huang,Xiao Wang,Weiwei Zhang 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Vol.10 No.9

As a successor to H.264/AVC, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard has an outstanding performance than before. To make the coding efficiency higher, one introduced new coding feature in HEVC is adding intra prediction modes up to 35 instead of 9 in H.264, but it increases calculation complexity. To save the coding time, this paper proposes a fast intra mode decision algorithm based on edge detection technology using sobel operator. Because of the principle that sobel operator can find the texture edge directly, the proposed algorithm can save large numbers of coding time with only a little BD-rate rising. Experimental results show that the proposed fast intra mode decision algorithm can save 38.8% computational complexity on average with a 1.6% BD-rate rise.