Promising targets for anti-fibrotic therapy: targeted delivery of anti-fibrotic agents for liver fibrosis

( Ji Yao Wang ) 대한간학회 2011 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.17 No.3(S)

Development and Validation of Web-Based Nomograms to Precisely Predict Survival Outcomes of Non-metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in an Endemic Area

Ji-Jin Yao,Li Lin,Tian-Sheng Gao,Wang-Jian Zhang,Wayne R. Lawrence,Jun Ma,Ying Sun 대한암학회 2021 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.53 No.3

Purpose This study aimed to develop web-based nomograms to precisely predict survival outcomes in patients with non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in an endemic area. Materials and Methods A total of 10,126 patients who underwent radical intensity-modulated radiotherapy at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) from 2009 to 2015 were analyzed. We assigned patients into a training cohort (SYSUCC-A, n=6,751) and an internal validation cohort (SYSUCC-B, n=3,375) based on computer-generated random numbers. Patients collected from Wuzhou Red Cross Hospital (WZRCH) between 2012 and 2015 were used as the independent external validation cohort (WZRCH, n=450). Concordance index (C-index) was used to determine predictive accuracy and discriminative ability for the nomogram. The web-based clinicopathologic prediction models for predicting survival were based on Cox regression. Results The C-indexes for SYSUCC-A, SYSUCC-B, and WZRCH cohorts for the established nomograms to predict 3-year overall survival (OS) was 0.736, 0.715, and 0.691. Additionally, C-indexes to predict 3-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) was 0.717, 0.706, and 0.686, disease-free survival (DFS) was 0.713, 0.697, and 0.656, local relapse-free survival was 0.695, 0.684, and 0.652, and regional relapse-free survival was 0.672, 0.650, and 0.616. The calibration plots showed great agreement between nomogram-predicted 3-year survival outcomes and actual 3-year survival outcomes. Moreover, C-indexes of the nomograms for OS, DMFS, and DFS were significantly superior than TNM stage (p < 0.001 for all). Conclusion These user-friendly nomograms can precisely predict survival endpoints in patients with non-metastatic NPC. They may serve as a useful tool for providing patient counseling and help physicians to make individual follow-up plans.

Abnormal Seedlings Emerged during Embryo Rescue and Its Remedy for Seedless Grape Breeding

Ji, Wei,Li, Zhiqian,Yao, Wenkong,Gong, Peijie,Wang, Yuejin Korean Society of Horticultural Science 2013 원예과학기술지 Vol.31 No.4

The abnormal seedlings, a common physiological anomalies, emerged during embryo rescue severely restricted grape breeding. To enhance the efficiency of the seedless grape breeding by reducing the production of abnormal seedlings in the course of embryo rescue, we investigated the effects of genotype, media type, embryo style, pre-chilling on the deformity rate of the abnormal seedlings during embryo rescue. The abnormal seedlings were firstly classified into seven categories based on their morphology. Our results indicated that the emergence of abnormal seedlings was highly dependent on the female parent genotype. Polyembryony was advantageous to diminish the number of abnormal plantlets and the germination rate of embryo was 100%. We also found that pre-chilling treatment could reduce the number of abnormal plantlets and promote the embryo germination. The abnormal plantlets were reduced significantly by the addition of $ZnSO_4$ $10{\mu}mol{\cdot}L^{-1}$ or mashed-banana $500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ to either embryo development or germination media. Transferring the abnormal seedlings onto the suitable fresh media in 4 weeks after embryo germination provided an effective way to transform them into normal seedlings.

Combination Doxorubicin and Interferon-α Therapy Stimulates Immunogenicity of Murine Pancreatic Cancer Panc02 Cells via Up-regulation of NKG2D ligands and MHC Class I

Wang, Wen-Jia,Qin, Si-Hao,Zhang, Ji-Wei,Jiang, Yue-Yao,Zhang, Jin-Nan,Zhao, Lei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.22

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a malignant gastrointestinal cancer with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite severe side effects of chemotherapy, the use of immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has emerged as a common clinical treatment. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of the combined doxorubicin and interferon-${\alpha}$ (IFN-${\alpha}$) therapy on murine pancreatic cancer Panc02 cells in vitro and in vivo and underlying mechanisms. Materials and Methods: A Panc02-bearing mouse model was established to determine whether doxorubicin and interferon-${\alpha}$ (IFN-${\alpha}$) could effectively inhibit tumor growth in vivo. Cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) was evaluated using a standard LDH release assay. To evaluate the relevance of NK cells and CD8 T cells to the combination therapy-mediated anti-tumor effects, they were depleted in tumor-bearing mice by injecting anti-asialo-GM-1 antibodies or anti-CD8 antibodies, respectively. Finally, the influence of doxorubicin+interferon-${\alpha}$ (IFN-${\alpha}$) on the ligands of NK and T cells was assessed by flow cytometry. Results: The combination therapy group demonstrated a significant inhibition of growth of Panc02 in vivo, resulting from activated cytotoxicity of NK cells and CTLs. Depleting CD8 T cells or NK cells reduced the anticancer effects mediated by immunochemotherapy. Furthermore, the doxorubicin+IFN-a treatment increased the expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) and NKG2D ligands on Panc02 cells, suggesting that the combined therapy may be a potential strategy for enhancing immunogenicity of tumors. All these data indicate that the combination therapy using doxorubicin and interferon-${\alpha}$ (IFN-${\alpha}$) may be a potential strategy for treating pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Effective Notch Stress Approach-Based Fatigue Evaluation of Rib-to-Deck Welds Including Pavement Surfacing Effects

Qiudong Wang,Bohai Ji,Zhongqiu Fu,Yue Yao 한국강구조학회 2020 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.20 No.1

The eff ective notch stress-based fatigue evaluation approach considering the eff ect of pavement surfacing is developed and verifi ed in this research. Firstly, the sensitivity of stresses at fatigable welds to pavement surfacing was investigated. It turns out that rib-to-deck weld is most sensitive to pavement surfacing. Secondly, the infl uence of pavement surfacing on initial cracking position of rib-to-deck weld was analysed. Subsequently, the relationship between notch stress and temperature was developed based on the numerical results, so is the relationship between initial cracking position and temperature. Finally, the fatigue damages evaluated by eff ective notch stress approach and traditional approach were compared and analysed. The results show that the stress dispersal behaviour through pavement surfacing further improves the fatigue durability of rib-to-deck welds. The initial cracking position is related to the pavement temperature, rather than the transverse loading positions of vehicle loads. The eff ective notch stress concentration position varies with the pavement temperature. Such variation should be reasonably considered in fatigue damage evaluation process where eff ective notch stress approach is applied.

Abnormal Seedlings Emerged during Embryo Rescue and Its Remedy for Seedless Grape Breeding

Wei Ji,Zhiqian Li,Wenkong Yao,Peijie Gong,Yuejin Wang 한국원예학회 2013 원예과학기술지 Vol.31 No.4

The abnormal seedlings, a common physiological anomalies, emerged during embryo rescue severely restricted grape breeding. To enhance the efficiency of the seedless grape breeding by reducing the production of abnormal seedlings in the course of embryo rescue, we investigated the effects of genotype, media type, embryo style, pre-chilling on the deformity rate of the abnormal seedlings during embryo rescue. The abnormal seedlings were firstly classified into seven categories based on their morphology. Our results indicated that the emergence of abnormal seedlings was highly dependent on the female parent genotype. Polyembryony was advantageous to diminish the number of abnormal plantlets and the germination rate of embryo was 100%. We also found that pre-chilling treatment could reduce the number of abnormal plantlets and promote the embryo germination. The abnormal plantlets were reduced significantly by the addition of ZnSO₄ 10 μmol・L<SUP>-1</SUP> or mashed-banana 500 mg・L<SUP>-1</SUP> to either embryo development or germination media. Transferring the abnormal seedlings onto the suitable fresh media in 4 weeks after embryo germination provided an effective way to transform them into normal seedlings.

The Effects of ALA-PDT on Leukemia Cells and Hepatoma Cells

Chen, Ji-Yao,Ren, Qing-Guang,Wu, Su-Min,Wang, Pei-Nan Korean Society of Photoscience 2002 Journal of Photosciences Vol.9 No.2

S-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a new kind drug used in photodynamic therapy. ALA-PDT have successfully used in superficial malignancies and some skin diseases. Here the effects of ALA-PDT were studied on leukemia cells and hepatoma cells to explore the application on different kind cancers. It was found from the fluorescence emission spectra, that after ALA incubation the sensitizer - protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) was endogenously produced in both leukemia and hepatoma cells. The fluorescence images showed that the PpIX distribute in cytoplasm. However the efficiency of ALA photodynamic inactivation to two cell lines was different. The leukemia cells were more sensitive for ALA-PDT than hepatoma cells, revealing that the ALA-PDT effect is cell line dependent. However by using ALA-Hexyl ester (He-ALA) instead of ALA, the cell photo-inactivation was improved. The PDT efficiency of He-ALA was 10 times high than that of ALA, showing He-ALA is a very promising drug in ALA-PDT.

Bayesian Hybrid State Estimation for Unequal-length Batch Processes with Incomplete Observations

Guoli Ji,Yaozong Wang,Shunyi Zhao,Yunlong Liu,Kangkang Zhang,Bin Yao,Sun Zhou 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2017 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.15 No.6

This paper investigates state estimation problem for batch processes with unequal-length batches as wellas incomplete observations. A Bayesian hybrid state estimation method is proposed based on two dimensional (2D)correlations of states. The states of equal-length segment of time are estimated according to both within-a-batchand batch-to-batch correlations, and the states of unequal-length segment are obtained according to the correlationswithin the batch. In this way, the batch process states can be achieved in both equal-length and unequal-lengthsituations, of which the latter one is a more general case. In order to approximate state distribution of nonlinearsystem and to deal with the problem of incomplete observations, particle filter (PF) is employed. The proposedmethod shows its superiority with a nonlinear system and a gas-phase reaction process. Compared to a typicalexisting method, the proposed method provides better estimation accuracy in the situation of equal-length batches,also it shows less sensitivity to incomplete observations.

An Effective SVM Ensemble Algorithm Based on Different Thresholds of PCA

Yukai Yao,Bo Wang,Qingjun Yang,Dongsheng Ji,Tao Ma,Xiaoyun Chen 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Database Theory and Appli Vol.9 No.2

This paper proposes an effective ensemble classifier, named PCAenSVM, which consists of ten weak Support Vector Machine classifiers based on different Principal Component Analysis thresholds. Those ten base Support Vector Machine classifiers are made up to fulfill classification tasks using Majority Voting strategy. Experiments are made on four UCI data sets and a data set from the Uppsala University to evaluate the performances of PCAenSVM. The results of PCAenSVM are compared with that of LibSVM and EnsembleSVM. Experimental results show that PCAenSVM has better classification accuracy than other two algorithms. Moreover, PCAenSVM has the same confidence level with the LibSVM, and its confidences of accuracy and sensitivity on those five data sets outperform that of the EnsembleSVM.

Growth, Feed Utilization and Blood Metabolic Responses to Different Amylose-amylopectin Ratio Fed Diets in Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Chen, Meng-Yao,Ye, Ji-Dan,Yang, Wei,Wang, Kun Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.8

A feeding trial was conducted in tilapia to determine the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, digestive enzymes, and postprandial blood metabolites in response to different dietary amylose-amylopectin ratios. Five isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets containing an equal starch level with different amylose-amylopectin ratios of 0.11 (diet 1), 0.24 (diet 2), 0.47 (diet 3), 0.76 (diet 4) and 0.98 (diet 5) were formulated using high-amylose corn starch (as the amylose source) and waxy rice (as the amylopectin source). Each diet was hand-fed to six tanks of 15 fish each, three times a day over a 6-wk period. After the growth trial, a postprandial blood metabolic test was carried out. Fish fed diet 2 exhibited the highest percent weight gain and feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio, whereas fish fed with diet 5 showed the lowest growth and feed utilization among treatments. The digestibility for starch in fish fed diet 1 and 2 was higher than those in fish fed with other diets (p<0.05). The highest activities for protease, lipase and amylase were found in fish fed the diet 2, diet 1, and diet 1 respectively among dietary treatments, while the lowest values for these indexes were observed in fish fed the diet 3, diet 5 and diet 4, respectively. The liver glycogen concentrations in fish fed diets 4 and 5 were found higher than in fish fed other diets (p<0.05). The feeding rate, hepatosomatic index, condition factor, and plasma parmeters (glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) did not differ across treatments. In terms of postprandial blood responses, peak blood glucose and triglycerides were lower after 3 or 6 h in the fish fed with diets 3-5 than in the fish fed diet 1, but delayed peak blood total amino acid time was observed in fish fed with the diets 1 or 2. The lowest peak values for each of the three blood metabolites were observed in fish fed diet 5. The results indicate that high-dietary amylose-amylopectin ratio could compromise growth, but help in reducing the blood glucose stress on fish caused by postprandial starch load.