Clinical Efficacy and Prognosis Factors for Advanced Hepatoblastoma in Children: A 6-year Retrospective Study

Zhang, Yi,Zhang, Wei-Ling,Huang, Dong-Sheng,Hong, Liang,Wang, Yi-Zhuo,Zhu, Xia,Hu, Hui-Min,Zhang, Pin-Wei,Yi, You,Han, Tao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.8

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of multimodality treatment of advanced paediatric hepatoblastoma (HB) and the factors affecting prognosis. Methods: A total of 35 children underwent multimodality treatments consisting of chemotherapy, surgery, interventional therapy, and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The patients were followed up every month. Results: Serum AFP levels in 33 out of 35 patients in this study were significantly increased (P = 0.0002). According to the statistical scatter plot, the values of serum AFP on the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentages were 1,210, 1,210 and 28,318 ng/dl, respectively. Of the 35 cases, 21 were stage IV. 18 cases were treated with systemic chemotherapy before surgery, and 3 cases with locally interventional chemotherapy before surgery. Statistical analysis showed that the preferred interventional treatment affected prognosis, and that there was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.024). Some 33 patients completed the follow-up, of which 17 were in complete remission (CR), 5 were in partial remission (PR), 1 became disease progressive (DP), and 10 died. The remission and overall survival rates were 66.7% (22/33) and 69.7% (23/33), respectively. Patients with the mixed HB phenotypes had worse prognoses than the epithelial phenotype (P < 0.001), and patients in stage IV had a lower survival rate than those in stage III (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Multimodality treatment can effectively improve remission rate and prolong the survival of children with advanced HB. In addition, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a tumor marker of liver malignant tumors, HB pathological classification, and staging are highly useful in predicting prognosis.

Nonradiative energy transfer between colloidal quantum dot-phosphors and nanopillar nitride LEDs.

Zhang, Fan,Liu, Jie,You, Guanjun,Zhang, Chunfeng,Mohney, Suzanne E,Park, Min Joo,Kwak, Joon Seop,Wang, Yongqiang,Koleske, Daniel D,Xu, Jian Optical Society of America 2012 Optics express Vol.20 No.2

<P>We present in this communication our study of the nonradiative energy transfer between colloidal quantum dot (QD) phosphors and nitride nanopillar light emitting diodes (LEDs). An epitaxial p-i-n InGaN/GaN multiple quantum-well (QW) heterostructure was patterned and dry-etched to form dense arrays of nanopillars using a novel etch mask consisting of self-assembled In3Sn clusters. Colloidal QD phosphors have been deposited into the gaps between the nanopillars, leading to sidewall coupling between the QDs and InGaN QW emitters. In this approach, close QW-QD contact and a low-resistance design of the LED contact layer were achieved simultaneously. Strong non-radiative energy transfer was observed from the InGaN QW to the colloidal QD phosphors, which led to a 263% enhancement in effective internal quantum efficiency for the QDs incorporated in the nanopillar LEDs, as compared to those deposited over planar LED structures. Time-resolved photoluminescence was used to characterize the energy transfer process between the QW and QDs. The measured rate of non-radiative QD-QW energy-transfer agrees well with the value calculated from the quantum efficiency data for the QDs in the nanopillar LED.</P>

Fatty Acid Binding Protein 5 (FABP5) Promotes Aggressiveness of Gastric Cancer Through Modulation of Tumor Immunity

Shu Zhang,Mei-qing Qiu,Hui-jun Wang,Ya-fei Ju,Zhen Liu,Tao Wang,Shi-feng Kan,Zhen Yang,Ya-yun Cui,You-qiang Ke,Hong-min He,Li Sun 대한위암학회 2023 Journal of gastric cancer Vol.23 No.2

Purpose: Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most lethal cancer globally and is associated with poor prognosis. Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) can regulate biological properties of carcinoma cells. FABP5 is overexpressed in many types of cancers; however, the role and mechanisms of action of FABP5 in GC remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical and biological functions of FABP5 in GC. Materials and Methods: We assessed FABP5 expression using immunohistochemical analysis in 79 patients with GC and evaluated its biological functions following in vitro and in vivo ectopic expression. FABP5 targets relevant to GC progression were determined using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Results: Elevated FABP5 expression was closely associated with poor outcomes, and ectopic expression of FABP5 promoted proliferation, invasion, migration, and carcinogenicity of GC cells, thus suggesting its potential tumor-promoting role in GC. Additionally, RNA-seq analysis indicated that FABP5 activates immune-related pathways, including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways, interleukin-17 signaling, and tumor necrosis factor signaling, suggesting an important rationale for the possible development of therapies that combine FABP5-targeted drugs with immunotherapeutics. Conclusions: These findings highlight the biological mechanisms and clinical implications of FABP5 in GC and suggest its potential as an adverse prognostic factor and/or therapeutic target.

Culture, Isolation of Marine Bacteria and Screening the Biological Activities of their Extracts

Chao Zhang,Min-Cheol Kang,Eun-A Kim,You-Jin Jeon 한국식품영양과학회 2012 한국식품영양과학회 학술대회발표집 Vol.2012 No.10

A Resilience Model for Engineered Slopes Subject to Anchor Corrosion

Xue-You Li,Zeng-Bin Fan,Tao Lu,Te Xiao,Li-Min Zhang 대한토목학회 2018 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.22 No.3

Many high engineered slopes are stabilized using anchors, which may corrode over time. Proper maintenance is essential to recover the system performance and upkeep slope functions. This paper presents a resilience model for maintenance decision by analysing the degradation of an anchor-stabilized slope due to corrosion and evaluating the recovery of slope performance after maintenance. Failure probability is used as an indicator to characterize the evolution of slope performance within its service life. The timing for maintenance is determined when the failure probability reaches an intolerable value. Information obtained from regular inspections is used to reduce the uncertainty in the determined maintenance time. The effectiveness of possible repair schemes is measured by a resilience index for the slope attained after maintenance, which considers the reduction in the failure probability and the duration over which the failure probability remains acceptable. A benefit index, which incorporates both the effectiveness and cost of a repair measure, is defined and used to quantitatively evaluate possible maintenance schemes. The proposed model is illustrated using an anchor-stabilized rock slope example, which provides a means to quantitatively assess different repair measures and enables engineers to select an effective and economic measure for slope maintenance.

The Effect of Disintegrin–Metalloproteinase ADAM9 in Gastric Cancer Progression

Kim, Jeong Min,Jeung, Hei-Cheul,Rha, Sun Young,Yu, Eun Jeong,Kim, Tae Soo,Shin, You Keun,Zhang, Xianglan,Park, Kyu Hyun,Park, Seung Woo,Chung, Hyun Cheol,Powis, Garth American Association for Cancer Research 2014 Molecular Cancer Therapeutics Vol.13 No.12

<P>Advanced gastric cancer is one of the most aggressive gastrointestinal malignancies, and ADAM (A disintegrin and metalloproteinase)-9 is a cell-surface membrane glycoprotein with oncogenic properties that is overexpressed in several cancers. Herein, we investigated the biologic mechanism of ADAM9 in the progression, proliferation, and invasion of gastric cancer. First, we detected ADAM's expression, processing, and protease activity in gastric cancer cells. Protease activity was moderately correlated with ADAM9 protein expression, but was better related to a processed smaller molecular weight (84 kDa) form of ADAM9. Knockdown of ADAM9 or specifically targeted monoclonal antibody (RAV-18) suppressed cancer cell proliferation and invasion in high ADAM9-expressing cells, not in low ADAM9-expressing cells. RAV-18 showed <I>in vivo</I> antitumor activity in a gastric cancer xenograft model. Hypoxia (1% oxygen) induced ADAM9 expression and functional activity in low ADAM9-expressing gastric cancer cells that was inhibited by siRNA knockdown or RAV-18 antibody to levels in normoxic cells. Overall, our studies show that ADAM9 plays an important role in gastric cancer proliferation and invasion, and that while expressed in some gastric cancer cells at high levels that are responsive to functional inhibition and antitumor activity of a catalytic site–directed antibody, other gastric cancer cells have low levels of expression and only when exposed to hypoxia do ADAM9 levels increase and the cells become responsive to ADAM9 antibody inhibition. Therefore, our findings suggest that ADAM9 could be an effective therapeutic target for advanced gastric cancer. <I>Mol Cancer Ther; 13(12); 3074–85. ©2014 AACR</I>.</P>

A Meta-Analysis of the Accuracy of Prostate Cancer Studies Which Use Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy as a Diagnostic Tool

Peng Wang,You-min Guo,Min Liu,Yong-qian Qiang,Xiao-juan Guo,Yi-li Zhang,Xiao-Yi Duan,Qiu-Juan Zhang,Weifeng Liang 대한영상의학회 2008 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.9 No.5

Objective: We aimed to do a meta-analysis of the existing literature to assess the accuracy of prostate cancer studies which use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as a diagnostic tool. Materials and Methods: Prospectively, independent, blind studies were selected from the Cochrane library, Pubmed, and other network databases. The criteria for inclusion and exclusion in this study referenced the criteria of diagnostic research published by the Cochrane center. The statistical analysis was adopted by using Meta-Test version 6.0. Using the homogeneity test, a statistical effect model was chosen to calculate different pooled weighted values of sensitivity, specificity, and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves method was used to assess the results. Results: We chose two cut-off values (0.75 and 0.86) as the diagnostic criteria for discriminating between benign and malignant. In the first diagnostic criterion, the pooled weighted sensitivity, specificity, and corresponding 95% CI (expressed as area under curve [AUC]) were 0.82 (0.73, 0.89), 0.68 (0.58, 0.76), and 83.4% (74.97, 91.83). In the second criterion, the pooled weighted sensitivity, specificity, and corresponding 95% CI were 0.64 (0.55, 0.72), 0.86 (0.79, 0.91) and 82.7% (68.73, 96.68). Conclusion: As a new method in the diagnostic of prostate cancer, MRS has a better applied value compared to other common modalities. Ultimately, large scale RCT randomized controlled trial studies are necessary to assess its clinical value. Objective: We aimed to do a meta-analysis of the existing literature to assess the accuracy of prostate cancer studies which use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as a diagnostic tool. Materials and Methods: Prospectively, independent, blind studies were selected from the Cochrane library, Pubmed, and other network databases. The criteria for inclusion and exclusion in this study referenced the criteria of diagnostic research published by the Cochrane center. The statistical analysis was adopted by using Meta-Test version 6.0. Using the homogeneity test, a statistical effect model was chosen to calculate different pooled weighted values of sensitivity, specificity, and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves method was used to assess the results. Results: We chose two cut-off values (0.75 and 0.86) as the diagnostic criteria for discriminating between benign and malignant. In the first diagnostic criterion, the pooled weighted sensitivity, specificity, and corresponding 95% CI (expressed as area under curve [AUC]) were 0.82 (0.73, 0.89), 0.68 (0.58, 0.76), and 83.4% (74.97, 91.83). In the second criterion, the pooled weighted sensitivity, specificity, and corresponding 95% CI were 0.64 (0.55, 0.72), 0.86 (0.79, 0.91) and 82.7% (68.73, 96.68). Conclusion: As a new method in the diagnostic of prostate cancer, MRS has a better applied value compared to other common modalities. Ultimately, large scale RCT randomized controlled trial studies are necessary to assess its clinical value.

Significance of Human Telomerase RNA Gene Amplification Detection for Cervical Cancer Screening

Chen, Shao-Min,Lin, Wei,Liu, Xin,Zhang, You-Zhong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Aim: Liquid-based cytology is the most often used method for cervical cancer screening, but it is relatively insensitive and frequently gives equivocal results. Used as a complementary procedure, the high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test is highly sensitive but not very specific. The human telomerase RNA gene (TERC) is the most often amplified oncogene that is observed in cervical precancerous lesions. We assessed genomic amplification of TERC in liquid-based cytological specimens to explore the optimal strategy of using this for cervical cancer screening. Methods: Six hundred and seventy-one residual cytological specimens were obtained from outpatients aged 25 to 64 years. The specimens were evaluated by the Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) HPV DNA test and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a chromosome probe to TERC (3q26). Colposcopic examination and histological evaluation were performed where indicated. Results: The TERC positive rate was higher in the CIN2+ (CIN2, CIN3 and SCC) group than in the normal and CIN 1 groups (90.0% vs. 10.4%, p < 0.01). In comparison with the HC2 HPV DNA test, the TERC amplification test had lower sensitivity but higher specificity (90.0% vs. 100.0%, 89.6% vs. 44.0%, respectively). TERC amplification test used in conjunction with the HC2 HPV DNA test showed a combination of 90.0% sensitivity and 92.2% specificity. Conclusion: The TERC amplification test can be used to diagnose cervical precancerous lesions. TERC and HPV DNA co-testing shows an optimal combination of sensitivity and specificity for cervical cancer screening.

Four new species of the Genus Ciubiona (Arenea: Clubionidae) from China

Yong-Jing Zhang(장용진),Chang-Min Yin(윤장민),You-Hui Bao,Joo-Pil Kim(김주필) 한국동물분류학회 1997 Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity Vol.13 No.4

Giant Cavernous Aneurysm Associated with a Persistent Trigeminal Artery and Persistent Otic Artery

Chang-wei Zhang,Xiao-dong Xie,Zhi-gang Yang,Chao-hua Wang,Chao You,Bo-yong Mao,Min He,Hong Sun 대한영상의학회 2009 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.10 No.5

Primitive trigeminal artery (PTA) and primitive otic artery (POA) is a very rare entity in adult life. We present a case of PTA and POA associated with a giant unruptured cavernous aneurysm in a 54-year-old woman. The PTA and the POA arose from the sac of the aneurysm directly, which greatly complicated endovascular therapy management.