Thyroid-Associated Orbitopathy: Evaluating Microstructural Changes of Extraocular Muscles and Optic Nerves Using Readout-Segmented Echo-Planar Imaging-Based Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Huan-Huan Chen,Hao Hu,Wen Chen,Dai Cui,Xiao-Quan Xu,Fei-Yun Wu,Tao Yang 대한영상의학회 2020 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.21 No.3

Objective: We aimed to investigate the ability of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging (rs-EPI)-based diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in assessing the microstructural change of extraocular muscles (EOMs) and optic nerves in patients with thyroidassociated orbitopathy (TAO) as well as in evaluating disease activity. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 35 TAO patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs) who underwent pre-treatment rs-EPIbased DTI. Mean, axial, and radial diffusivity (MD, AD, and RD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the medial and lateral EOMs and optic nerve for each orbit were calculated and compared between TAO and HC groups and between active and inactive TAO groups. Factors such as age, sex, disease duration, mediation, and smoking history between groups were also compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of significant variables for disease activity. Results: Disease duration was significantly shorter in active TAOs than in inactive ones (p < 0.001). TAO patients showed significantly lower FA and higher MD, AD, and RD than HCs for both medial and lateral EOMs (p < 0.001), but not the AD value of lateral EOMs (p = 0.619). Active patients had significantly higher FA, MD, and AD than inactive patients for medial EOMs (p < 0.005), whereas only FA differed significantly in the lateral EOMs (p = 0.018). The MD, AD, and RD of optic nerves were significantly lower in TAO patients than HCs (p < 0.05), except for FA (p = 0.129). Multivariate analysis showed that the MD of medial EOMs and disease duration were significant predictors for disease activity. The combination of these two parameters showed optimal diagnostic efficiency for disease activity (area under the curve, 0.855; sensitivity, 68.4%; specificity, 96.9%). Conclusion: rs-EPI-based DTI is promising in assessing microstructural changes of EOMs and optic nerves and can help to indicate the disease activity of TAO, especially through the MD of medial EOMs.

Development and Validation of an Integrated Healthy Workplace Management Model in Taiwan

Chen Fu-Li,Chen Peter Y.,Chen Chi-Chen,Tung Tao-Hsin 한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원 2022 Safety and health at work Vol.13 No.4

Background: Impacts of exposure are generally monitored and recorded after injuries or illness occur. Yet, absence of conventional after-the-effect impacts (i.e., lagging indicators), tend to focus on physical health and injuries, and fail to inform if workers are not exposed to safety and health hazards. In contrast to lagging indicators, leading indicators are proactive, preventive, and predictive indexes that offer insights how effective safety and health. The present study is to validate an extended Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) that consists of six leading indicators. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 13 organizations (response rate ¼ 93.1%, 1,439 responses) in Taiwan. Cronbach a, multiple linear regression and canonical correlation were used to test the reliability of the extended Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) which consists of six leading indicators (safe climate, transformational leadership, organizational justice, organizational support, hazard prevention and control, and training). Criteria-related validation strategy was applied to examine relationships of six leading indicators with six criteria (perceived health, burnout, depression, job satisfaction, job performance, and life satisfaction). Results: The results showed that the Cronbach’s a of six leading indicators ranged from 0.87 to 0.92. The canonical correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between the six leading indicators and criteria (1st canonical function: correlation ¼ 0.647, square correlation ¼ 0.419, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The present study validates the extended VPP framework that focuses on promoting safety and physical and mental health. Results further provides applications of the extended VPP framework to promote workers’ safety and health.

Identification and Characterization of EDT1 Conferring Drought Tolerance in Rice

Tao Wu,Mingxing Zhang,Hongjia Zhang,Kai Huang,Mojun Chen,Chen Chen,Xue Yang,Zhao Li,Haoyuan Chen,Zhiming Ma,Xunming Zhang,Wenzhu Jiang,Xinglin Du 한국식물학회 2019 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.62 No.1

Basic Leucine Zipper (bZIP) transcription factors(TFs) play important roles in many processes, especially inabiotic stress response in plants. In this study, we characterizeda new gene EHANCED DROUGHT TOLERANCE 1 (EDT1),member of group E of bZIP transcription factor family inrice. The EDT1 protein contains one bZIP domain, oneputative nuclear localization signal (NLS) and six conservedphosphorylation sites. The expression of EDT1 is suppressedby several abiotic stresses, such as cold, droutht, and salt. Corresponding with expression patterns, several stress-associatedcis-acting elements were found in the EDT1 promoter. Theresults of subcellular localization and transactivation abilityanalyses indicated that EDT1 was localized in the nucleusand functioned as a nuclear protein, with its transactivationactivity primarily located in N-terminal. Transgenic riceoverexpressing EDT1 showed drought tolerance that hasbeen significantly improved. Real-time PCR analysis revealedthat some stress-related genes, such as OsbZIP12, SNAC1,OsLEA3, OsbZIP16, OsbZIP10 and OsABI2 were up-regulatedin EDT1 overexpression lines. These results indicate thatEDT1 plays a positive role in drought tolerance and providesvaluable targets for breeding drought-tolerant rice cultivars.

Multi-source data fusion based small sample prediction of gear random reliability

Tao Chen 대한기계학회 2012 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.26 No.8

In order to predict gear random reliability under the condition of small samples, a model of multi-source data fusion is presented. The gear source data is divided into homologous gear data (HGD) and different source gear data (DSGD) according to their characters. The corresponding algorithms are separately deduced: when in the case of HGD, the grey relational analysis is used to establish the transformation model of gear stress and the model error is considered; when in the case of DSGD, differences in parameters/structure/working conditions are took into account for the purpose of stress transformation. Based on these works, a number of effective stress samples are obtained and distribution parameters of gear stress are estimated by maximum likelihood method. In addition, gear strength reliability is deduced by stress - strength interference model and Monte Carlo sampling. The example shows that gear random reliability can be predicted by work of this study under the condition of small samples; also, accuracy of this method is proved by comparing the result of this work and those of other three methods.

China Consensus Document on Allergy Diagnostics

Chen Hao,Li Jing,Cheng Lei,Gao Zhongshan,Lin Xiaoping,Zhu Rongfei,Yang Lin,Tao Ailin,Hong Haiyu,Tang Wei,Guo Yinshi,Huang Huaiqiu,Sun Jinlyu,Lai He,Lei Cheng,Liu Guanghui,Xiang Li,Chen Zhuanggui,Ma Ha 대한천식알레르기학회 2021 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.13 No.2

The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased dramatically in recent years in China, affecting the quality of life in 40% of the population. The identification of allergens is the key to the diagnosis of allergic diseases. Presently, several methods of allergy diagnostics are available in China, but they have not been standardized. Additionally, cross-sensitization and co-sensitization make allergy diagnostics even more complicated. Based on 4 aspects of allergic disease (mechanism, diagnosis procedures, allergen detection in vivo and in vitro as well as the distribution map of the most important airborne allergens in China) and by referring to the consensus of the European Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the World Allergy Organization, and the important literature on allergy diagnostics in China in recent years, we drafted this consensus of allergy diagnostics with Chinese characteristics. It aims to standardize the diagnostic methods of allergens and provides a reference for health care givers. The current document was prepared by a panel of experts from the main stream of professional allergy associations in China.

A Novel Selective Ensemble Classification of Microarray Data Based on Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization

Tao Chen,Zenglin Hong,Fang-an Deng,Xiao Yang,Jun Wei,Man Cui 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Vol.10 No.6

Aiming at the characteristics of high dimension and small samples in microarray data, this paper proposes a selective ensemble method to classify microarray data. Firstly, kruskal-wallis test is used to filter irrelevant genes with classification task and to obtain a set of genes, and then a reduced training set is produced from original training set according to gene subset obtained. Secondly, multiple gene subsets are generated by using neighborhood rough set model with different radius and used to construct training subsets on above reduced training set. Thirdly, every constructed training subset is used to train a classifier by using SVM algorithm, and then multiple classifiers are produced as base classifiers. Finally, a set of base classifiers are selected by using teaching-learning-based optimization and build an ensemble classifier by weighted voting. Five benchmarks tumor microarray datasets are applied to evaluate performance of our proposed method. Experimental results indicate our proposed method is very effective and efficient for classifying microarray data, and it improves not only classification accuracy, but also decrease memory costs and computation times.

The Emergence of the Yangtze River Delta and the Responses of Busan and Kaohsiung

Chen Tao Jungseok Research Institute of International Logis 2005 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS AND TRADE Vol.3 No.2

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) has become the world's most important container-export area in the world because of the huge growth of container volume from China. Shanghai, the gateway of the YRD, handles most of the cargoes. But the nature of river port has restricted its development, which forced China to built the Yangshan deepwater port to act as the mega hub in the region. In response to the emergence of the YRD and Yangshan, two traditionally transshipment centers in the region, Busan and Kaohsiung, have implemented strategies to in response to the emergence of YRD and Yangshan. This paper analyzes Busan's and Kaohsiung's strategies and tries to forecast the development of these ports. Research result shows Busan is aggressive and ambitious but that Kaohsiung has little chance of becoming the mega-hub in the region.

Characterization of proteolysis in muscle tissues of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus

Chen-Chen Zhao,Yang Yang,Hai-tao Wu,Zhi-Mo Zhu,Yue Tang,Cui-Ping Yu,Na Sun,Qiang Lv,Jia-Run Han,Ao-Ting Li,Jia-Nan Yan,Yue Cha 한국식품과학회 2016 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.25 No.6

The proteolysis in muscle tissues of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus (sjMTs) was characterized. The proteins from sjMTs were primarily myosin heavy chains (MHCs), paramyosin (Pm), and actin (Ac) having a molecular mass of approximately 200, 98, and 42 kDa, respectively. Based on SDS-PAGE analysis and quantification of trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-soluble peptides released, degradation of muscle proteins from sjMTs was favorable at pH 5 and 50°C. Proteolysis of MHCs was mostly inhibited by cysteine protease inhibitors, including trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucyl-amido (4- guanidino) butane (E-64) and antipain (AP). E-64 and AP completely inhibited the degradation of Pm and Ac, while iodoacetic acid showed a partially inhibitory effect. These results indicated that the proteolysis of sjMTs was mainly attributed to cysteine proteases. Avoidance of setting the tissues at 40–50oC and slightly acidic condition and inhibition of cysteine proteases are helpful for decreasing sea cucumber autolysis.

Early IL-17A Prevention Rather Than Late IL-17A Neutralization Attenuates Toluene Diisocyanate-Induced Mixed Granulocytic Asthma

Chen Shuyu,Yu Li,Deng Yao,Liu Yuanyuan,Wang Lingwei,Li Difei,Yang Kai,Liu Shengming,Tao Ailin,Chen Rongchang 대한천식알레르기학회 2022 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.14 No.5

Purpose: Interleukin (IL)-17A plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. Yet, the exact roles of IL-17A in asthma are still controversial. Thus, the aim of this study was to dissect the roles of IL-17A in toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced mixed granulocytic asthma and to assess the effects of neutralizing antibody in different effector phases on TDI-induced asthma. Methods: IL-17A functions in allergic airway inflammation were evaluated using mice deficient in IL-17A (Il17a−/−) or IL-17A monoclonal antibody (IL-17A mab, intraperitoneally, 50 μg per mouse, 100 μg per mouse). Moreover, the effects of exogenous recombinant IL (rIL)-17A in vivo (murine rIL-17A, intranasally, 1 μg per mouse) and in vitro (human rIL-17A, 100 ng/mL) were investigated. Results: TDI-induced mixed granulocytic airway inflammation was IL-17A-dependent because airway hyperreactivity, neutrophil and eosinophil infiltration, airway smooth muscle thickness, epithelium injury, dysfunctional T helper (Th) 2 and Th17 responses, granulocytic chemokine production and mucus overproduction were more markedly reduced in the Il17a−/− mice or by IL-17A neutralization during the sensitization phase of wild-type (WT) mice. By contrast, IL-17A neutralization during the antigen-challenge phase aggravated TDI-induced eosinophils recruitment, with markedly elevated Th2 response. In line with this, instillation of rIL-17 during antigen sensitization exacerbated airway inflammation by promoting neutrophils aggregation, while rIL-17A during the antigen-challenge phase protected the mice from TDI-induced airway eosinophilia. Moreover, rIL-17A exerted distinct effects on eosinophil- or neutrophil-related signatures in vitro. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that IL-17A was required for the initiation of TDI-induced asthma, but functioned as a negative regulator of established allergic inflammation, suggesting that early abrogation of IL-17A signaling, but not late IL-17A neutralization, may prevent the progression of TDI-induced asthma and could be used as a therapeutic strategy for severe asthmatics in clinical settings.

Determination of ginsenosides in Asian and American ginsengs by liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS: assessing variations based on morphological characteristics

Chen, Yujie,Zhao, Zhongzhen,Chen, Hubiao,Brand, Eric,Yi, Tao,Qin, Minjian,Liang, Zhitao The Korean Society of Ginseng 2017 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.41 No.1

Background: Asian ginseng and American ginseng are functional foods that share a close genetic relationship and are well-known worldwide. This article aims to investigate the correlation between morphological characteristics and the inherent quality of Asian and American ginsengs. Methods: In this study, an ultra-HPLC-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS (UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS) method was established for the quantitative analysis of 45 ginseng samples. The method developed for determination was precise and accurate. Results: The results showed that Asian ginseng samples with the same growing time (with the same or similar number of stem scars) that had a thinner main root, a longer rhizome and more branch roots contained greater amounts of ginsenosides. For American ginseng, two tendencies were observed in the relationship between the diameter of the main root and contents of ginsenosides. One tendency was that samples with thinner main roots tended to contain higher levels of ginsenosides, which was observed in the samples sold under the commercial name pao-shen. Another tendency was that samples with thicker main roots contained higher contents of ginsenosides, which was observed in the samples sold under the commercial name pao-mian, as well as in samples of American ginseng cultivated in Jilin, China. Conclusion: An approach using ultra-HPLC-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS was successfully established to link morphology and active components for evaluating the quality of Asian and American ginsengs. Clear correlation between visible morphological features and quality of Asian and American ginsengs was found. People can see the difference; this means consumers and vendors can evaluate ginseng by themselves.