Depletion and Phase Transformation of a Submicron Ni(P) Film in the Early Stage of Soldering Reaction between Sn-Ag-Cu and Au/Pd(P)/Ni(P)/Cu

Cheng-En Ho,Wan-Zhen Hsieh,Tsung-Hsun Yang 대한금속·재료학회 2015 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.11 No.1

The early stage of soldering reaction between Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solderand ultrathin-Ni(P)-type Au/Pd(P)/Ni(P)/Cu pad was investigatedby field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) inconjunction with field-emission electron probe microanalysis (FEEPMA)and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM). FE-SEM, FE-EPMA, and HRTEM investigationsshowed that Ni2SnP and Ni3P were the predominant P-containingintermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the soldering reaction and thattheir growth behaviors strongly depended on the depletion of Ni(P). The growth of Ni3P dominated over that of Ni2SnP in the earlystage of soldering, whereas the Ni3P gradually transformed intoNi2SnP after Ni(P) depletion. This Ni(P)-depletion-induced Ni2SnPgrowth behavior is different from the reaction mechanisms reported in the literature. Detailed analyses of the microstructuralevolution of the IMC during Ni(P) depletion were conducted, and a two-stage reaction mechanism was proposed to rationalizethe unique IMC growth behavior.

Outcomes Based on Risk Assessment of Anastomotic Leakage after Rectal Cancer Surgery

Gong, Jian-Ping,Yang, Liu,Huang, Xin-En,Sun, Bei-Cheng,Zhou, Jian-Nong,Yu, Dong-Sheng,Zhou, Xin,Li, Dong-Zheng,Guan, Xin,Wang, Dong-Feng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.2

Purpose: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, high reoperation rates, and increased hospital length of stay. Here we investigated the risk factors for AL after anterior resection for rectal cancer with a double stapling technique. Patients and Methods: Data for 460 patients who underwent primary anterior resection with a double stapling technique for rectal carcinoma at a single institution from 2003 to 2007 were prospectively collected. All patients experienced a total mesorectal excision (TME) operation. Clinical AL was defined as the presence of leakage signs and confirmed by diagnostic work-up according to ICD-9 codes 997.4, 567.22 (abdominopelvic abscess), and 569.81 (fistula of the intestine). Univariate and logistic regression analyses of 20 variables were undertaken to determine risk factors for AL. Survival was analysed using the Cox regression method. Results: AL was noted in 35 (7.6%) of 460 patients with rectal cancer. :Median age of the patients was 65 (50-74) and 161 (35%) were male. The diagnosis of AL was made between the 6th and 12th postoperative day (POD; mean 8th POD). After univariate and multivariate analysis, age (p=0.004), gender (p=0.007), tumor site (p<0.001), preoperative body mass index (EMI) (p<0.001), the reduction of TSGF on 5th POD less than 10U/ml (p=0.044) and the pH value of pelvic dranage less than or equal to 6.978 on 3rd POD (p<0.001) were selected as 6 independent risk factors for AL. It was shown that significant differences in survival of the patients were AL-related (p<0.001), high ASA score related (p=0.036), high-level EMI related (p=0.007) and advanced TNM stage related <p<0.001). Conclusions: AL after anterior resection for rectal carcinoma is related to advanced age, low tumor site, male sex, high preoperative EMI, low pH value of pelvic drainage on POD 3 and a significant reduction of TSGF on POD 5. In addition to their high risk of immediate postoperative morbidity and mortality, AL, worse physical status, severe obesity and advanced TNM stage have similarly negative impact on survival.

Comparison of Serum Tumor Associated Material (TAM) with Conventional Biomarkers in Cancer Patients

Shu, Jian,Li, Cheng-Guang,Liu, Yang-Chen,Yan, Xiao-Chun,Xu, Xu,Huang, Xin-En,Cao, Jie,Li, Ying,Lu, Yan-Yan,Wu, Xue-Yan,Liu, Jin,Xiang, Jin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Objective: To compare expression level of serum tumor associated materials (TAM) with several conventional serum tumor biomarkers, eg., carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), alpha-fetoprotein(AFP), in selected solid tumors. Methods: Patients diagnosed histologically or cytologically with liver, breast, esophageal, gastric, colorectal or pancreatic cancers were enrolled into this study. After diagnosis, the level of TAM was determined by chemical colorimetry, and levels of conventional tumor markers was measured by chemiluminescence methods. Results: A total of 560 patients were enrolled into this study. No statistically significant difference was detected in TAM and the above mentioned tumor biomarkers in terms of their positivity and negativity ( P>0. 05). Conclusions: Detection of TAM in liver, breast, esophageal, gastric, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer patients demonstrates a good accordance with CEA, CA199, CA153, and AFP, thus suggesting that further study is warranted to verify whether TAM could be a surrogate for these conventional biomarkers.

Serum BMP-2 Up-regulation as an Indicator of Poor Survival in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Fei, Zheng-Hua,Yao, Cheng-Yun,Yang, Xiao-Lei,Huang, Xin-En,Ma, Sheng-Lin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.9

Purpose: High levels of bone morphogenetic protein (BMPs) have been reported in patients with lung cancer. This study was conducted to assess correlations between serum BMP-2 levels and prognostic outcome in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Blood samples from 84 patients with advanced NSCLC and 42 healthy controls were analyzed and quantitated for serum BMP-2 levels before and after two cycles of chemotherapy using a commercially available ELISA kit. Results: The median level of BMP-2 was 146.9 pg/ml in patients with NSCLC vs. 87.7 pg/ml in healthy controls (P<0.01). A significant correlation was observed between pretreatment serum BMP-2 level and ECOG PS, disease stage and number of organs with metastases (P<0.05). Serum BMP-2 level decreased significantly in patients who achieved objective response after two cycles of chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis showed that increased BMP-2 level and advanced clinical stage were significantly correlated with poor prognosis. Conclusion: Thes erum BMP-2 level is positively correlated with clinical stage, ECOG PS and metastatic burden and may serve as an independent negative predictor for prognosis. Decreased BMP-2 after chemotherapy could be a reliable marker for efficacy of treatment.

Circ_0001686 Promotes Prostate Cancer Progression by Up-Regulating SMAD3/TGFBR2 via miR-411-5p

Pan Jiancheng,Liu Zihao,Yang Zhizhao,Liang Enli,Fang Cheng,Zhang Dingrong,Zhou Xiaodong,Niu Yuanjie,Xin Zhongcheng,Chen Yegang,Cai Qiliang 대한남성과학회 2022 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.40 No.1

Purpose: As the mechanism of interaction between circular RNAs (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating the development of prostate cancer (PCa) is not clear, this study focuses on investigating these effects. Materials and Methods: Sample tissues were collected from the PCa of patients, and microarray analysis of human circRNAs was conducted. The expression of circ_0001686, hsa_miR-411-5p (miR-411-5p) were also detected by qRT-PCR. Circ_0001686 and miR-411-5p mimics were transfected into the PCa cell lines (CWR22RV1and LNCaP) and MTT, colony formation, Transwell, and scratch wound assays were used to analyze the biological behaviors of PCa cells. Si-circ_0001686 and ASO-miR-411-5p were used as negative controls, and dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to verify the interactions among circ_0001686, miR-411-5p, and SMAD3/TGFBR2. The levels of SMAD3 and TGFBR2 in different treated PCa cells were measured by western blot, and in vivo experiments in a nude mouse model were carried out to strengthen the in vitro findings of miR-411-5p. Results: The expression of circ_0001686 was up-regulated, while the expression of miR-411-5p was down-regulated in PCa cells. Moreover, circ_0001686 promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Molecular mechanism exploration revealed that circ_0001686 could reduce miR-411-5p, affecting the downstream target genes of SMAD3 and TGFBR2. In vitro and in vivo studies verified that miR-411-5p inhibits PCa progression. Conclusions: Circ_0001686 can reduce miR-411-5p to increase the expression of SMAD3/TGFBR2, which consequently promotes the proliferation, invasion, and migration of PCa cells.

A bioassay for natural insect repellents

Eddie Hang Chio,En-Cheng Yang 한국응용곤충학회 2008 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.11 No.4

A practical bioassay for natural product insect repellents was developed and validated. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) was used in this study. Djulis (Chenopodium spp.), an indigenous plant from Taiwan, provided better insect repellency than neem tree (Azadirachta indica) oil, a well-known insect repellent. The % repellency of each test material was converted to 50% effective dosage (ED50) by probit analysis for better comparison between test materials. The ED50 for insect repellency in descending order was djulis leave extract (0.532%), neem oil (0.579%); djulis seed extract (0.930%) and sea lily (Crinoid spp.) (1.022%). A practical bioassay for natural product insect repellents was developed and validated. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) was used in this study. Djulis (Chenopodium spp.), an indigenous plant from Taiwan, provided better insect repellency than neem tree (Azadirachta indica) oil, a well-known insect repellent. The % repellency of each test material was converted to 50% effective dosage (ED50) by probit analysis for better comparison between test materials. The ED50 for insect repellency in descending order was djulis leave extract (0.532%), neem oil (0.579%); djulis seed extract (0.930%) and sea lily (Crinoid spp.) (1.022%).

Global incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Margaret LP Teng,Cheng Han Ng,Daniel Q. Huang,Kai En Chan,Darren JH Tan,Wen Hui Lim,Ju Dong Yang,Eunice Tan,Mark D. Muthiah 대한간학회 2023 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.29 No.-

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide. The estimated global incidence of NAFLD is 47 cases per 1,000 population and is higher among males than females. The estimated global prevalence of NAFLD among adults is 32% and is higher among males (40%) compared to females (26%). The global prevalence of NAFLD has increased over time, from 26% in studies from 2005 or earlier to 38% in studies from 2016 or beyond. The prevalence of NAFLD varies substantially by world region, contributed by differing rates of obesity, and genetic and socioeconomic factors. The prevalence of NAFLD exceeds 40% in the Americas and South-East Asia. The prevalence of NAFLD is projected to increase significantly in multiple world regions by 2030 if current trends are left unchecked. In this review, we discuss trends in the global incidence and prevalence of NAFLD and discuss future projections.

An IoT based Temperature Control System for Honey Bee Colony Winter Loss Prevention

( Sheng-hao Chen ),( Hung-jen Lin ),( Yu-cheng Yang ),( En-cheng Yang ),( Joe-air Jiang ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Honey bees are the most important plant pollinators in nature. Currently, about one-third of human food comes from flowering plants. About 80% of the plants need honey bees for pollination. However, extreme weather increases the possibility of honey bees being exposed to the threat of winter losses, as global climate change intensifies. To protect honey bee colonies, in this study, a heating system is proposed to maintain the temperature of a beehive during the winter. The heating system contains a beecounter, a monitoring system built for beehives, to automatically record the data of temperature and relative humidity both inside and outside the beehives and monitor honey bees’ behavior of coming in and going out of the beehives. When the beecounter detects that the temperature inside the beehive is below a certain threshold, the heating system will be activated to increase the temperature of the beehive. And, all environmental parameters and data are transmitted through a Wi-Fi module and sent to a cloud. With the IoT technology, the temperature inside the beehive will be precisely controlled to increase the survival rate of colonies during the winter. Finally, image processing techniques are used to calculate the honey bee eclosion rates to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system, and the results show that the proposed system can successfully maintain the temperature of the beehive and increase the numbers of the bees entering and leaving the beehive.

The impact of pyriproxyfen on the development of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony in field

Yue-Wen Chen,Pei-ShanWu,En-Cheng Yang,Yu-Shin Nai,Zachary Y. Huang 한국응용곤충학회 2016 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.19 No.3

Pyriproxyfen (PPN) is an insect growth regulator (IGR) that interferes with insect metamorphosis. Although the side effects of PPN on honey bee larval/adult stages have been studied, the risk to honey bee larvae from PPN residue in the environment is still unclear. In this study, we evaluated the impact of PPN on larval honey bees in field colonies by using an in vivo feeding assay. Oral toxicity to adult honey bees were determined. Finally, influence on royal jelly production was also examined. For in vivo feeding assay, the highest observed PPN treatment caused 67% mortality during pupal stage and in the remaining bees, 62.3% showed abnormal eclosion. Reductions in hatching rate, capping rate and adult emergence rate and increased abnormal eclosion rate were found in the colonies fed with 10 ppm PPN syrup. Oral toxicity test revealed that adult honey bees were less susceptible to PPN. Moreover, PPN reduced not only queen cell acceptance rate but also yield of royal jelly in queen cells. These results indicate that PPN has negative impacts on both larval and adult honey bees and royal jelly production, especially under high PPN concentrations. Since PPN is harmful to the development of honey bee larvae and pupae in the natural environment, the issue of honey bee colony contamination by PPN should be addressed.

Assessment of Pesticide Effect on Honey Bees Behavior using a Real-time Imaging System

( Thi Nha Ngo ),( Kung-chin Wu ),( En-cheng Yang ),( Ta-te Lin ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are ecologically and economically important insects. However, massive deaths of honey bees have been reported all around the world. There is much evidence linking the decline of their population to pesticides. However, the impact of lethal doses of pesticide on honey bees is still under debate. Monitoring honey bees passing frequencies at hive entrance is an efficient method to verify the health condition of a beehive. In this study, a real-time imaging system based on a GPU processor for automatic tracking of in-and-out frequencies is presented. The imaging system includes: (1) a dark acrylic box with a transparent pathway. This restricts bees to pass into the image capturing area, (2) an LED light source, (3) a webcam, and (4) an embedded system with GPUs (NVIDIA Jetson TX2) for real-time image acquisition and processing. Background subtraction is applied to remove unnecessary objects from the video. In order to track the in-and-out frequencies of multiple honey bees, and integrated Kalman Filter (KF) and Hungarian algorithm is implemented. KF is used to estimate the object position on each frame. Meanwhile, the Hungarian algorithm is used for the detection of multiple honey bees. Based on the honey bees’ trajectories, a counting algorithm is used to determine their in-and-out activities. The detection algorithms and real-time automatic tracking accuracy rates were evaluated and the system performance was tested with field experiments. The imaging system was further applied to assess the effect of pesticides on honey bee colonies. Five healthy honey bee colonies were treated with different levels of pesticide concentration in contaminated food. The experimental results, which demonstrate the feasibility of our monitoring and tracking system to determine honey bee frequencies, are useful for assessing the pesticide effect on honey bee colonies.