Evidence for the medicinal value of Squama Manitis (pangolin scale): A systematic review

Xinyao Jin,Hui Zi Chua,Keyi Wang,Nan Li,Wenke Zheng,Wentai Pang,Fengwen Yang,Bo Pang,Mingyan Zhang,Junhua Zhang 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.1

Background: Squama Manitis (pangolin scale) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. However, its efficacy has not been systematically reviewed. This review aims to fill the gap. Methods: We searched six electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), WanFang Database and SinoMed from inception to May 1, 2020. Search terms included “pangolin”, “Squama Manitis”, “Manis crassicaudata”, “Manis javanica”, “Malayan pangolins”, “Manis pentadactyla”, “Ling Li”, “Chuan Shan Jia”, “Shan Jia”, “Pao Jia Zhu”, “Jia Pian” and “Pao Shan Jia”. The Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment tool and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) were used to evaluate the risk of bias of the included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and case control studies (CCSs). Results: After screening, 15 articles that met the inclusion criteria were finally included. There were 4 randomized controlled trials, 1 case control study, 3 case series and 7 case reports. A total of 15 different diseases were reported in these studies, thus the data could not be merged to generate powerful results. Two RCTs suggested that Squama Manitis combined with herbal decoction or antibiotics could bring additional benifit for treating postpartum hypogalactia and mesenteric lymphadenitis. However, this result was not reliable due to low methodological quality and irrational outcomes. The other two RCTs generated negative results. All the non-RCTs did not add any valuable evidence to the efficacy of Squama Manitis beacause of small samples, incomplete records, non-standardized outcome detection. In general, currently available evidence cannot support the clinical use of Squama Manitis. Conclusion: There is no reliable evidence that Squama Manitis has special medicinal value. The removal of Squama Manitis from Pharmacopoeia is rational.

Phthalocyanines as medicinal photosensitizers: Developments in the last five years

Li, Xingshu,Zheng, Bing-De,Peng, Xiao-Hui,Li, Song-Zi,Ying, Jia-Wen,Zhao, Yuanyuan,Huang, Jian-Dong,Yoon, Juyoung Elsevier 2019 Coordination Chemistry Reviews Vol.379 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Owing to their high extinction coefficients, long absorption wavelengths, and modification tunable photophysical and photochemical properties, phthalocyanines (Pcs) have been widely used as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Advances made in the past five years on the development of Pcs as medicinal photosensitizers are reviewed and the main design considerations for medicinal applications of these substances are discussed.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Recent progresses made in the development of phthalocyanines for photodynamic therapy are outlined. </LI> <LI> Representative water-soluble phthalocyanines are presented. </LI> <LI> Main targeting strategies are discussed. </LI> <LI> Future challenges are also presented. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Tumor-Derived Transforming Growth Factor-β is Critical for Tumor Progression and Evasion from Immune Surveillance

Li, Zheng,Zhang, Li-Juan,Zhang, Hong-Ru,Tian, Gao-Fei,Tian, Jun,Mao, Xiao-Li,Jia, Zheng-Hu,Meng, Zi-Yu,Zhao, Li-Qing,Yin, Zhi-Nan,Wu, Zhen-Zhou Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.13

Tumors have evolved numerous mechanisms by which they can escape from immune surveillance. One of these is to produce immunosuppressive cytokines. Transforming growth factor-${\beta}$(TGF-${\beta}$) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a crucial function in mediating immune suppression, especially in the tumor microenvironment. TGF-${\beta}$ produced by T cells has been demonstrated as an important factor for suppressing antitumor immune responses, but the role of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ in this process is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ using shRNA resulted in dramatically reduced tumor size, slowing tumor formation, prolonging survival rate of tumor-bearing mice and inhibiting metastasis. We revealed possible underlying mechanisms as reducing the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and $CD4^+Foxp3^+$ Treg cells, and consequently enhanced IFN-${\gamma}$ production by CTLs. Knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ also significantly reduced the conversion of na$\ddot{i}$ve $CD4^+$ T cells into Treg cells in vitro. Finally, we found that knockdown of TGF-${\beta}$ suppressed cell migration, but did not change the proliferation and apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro. In summary, our study provided evidence that tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ is a critical factor for tumor progression and evasion of immune surveillance, and blocking tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for cancer.

Properties of an AlGaN/AlN Distributed-Bragg-reflector Structure

Li-Li Zhang,Zhan-Hui Liu,Xiao-Gu Huang,Qing-Fang Li,Rong Zhang,Zi-Li Xie,Xiang-Qian Xiu 한국물리학회 2014 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.65 No.7

An AlGaN/AlN distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) structure with a high Al content was grown byusing plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). The properties of the sample were characterizedby using the transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction, atomicforce microscopy, and reflectivity spectrum measurements. The reciprocal space mapping analysisindicated that the strain in the AlGaN layers was partially relaxed. The morphology of the DBRexhibited a surface covered by grains (average size of about 130 nm), and the surface roughness wasabout 2 nm. The spectral measurements showed that the DBR structure presented a peak reflectivityof 68.8% at the center wavelength of 247 nm, which indicated that this DBR structure couldwork in the deep solar-blind UV region with acceptable reflectivity. However, the optical propertiesof the DBR structure were deteriorated by the fluctuation of the Al composition, non-uniformity ofthe layer thickness, the blurry, rough interface in the DBR structure, and so on.

Cloning and Molecular Characterization of a Novel Rolling-Circle Replicating Plasmid, pK1S-1, from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki K1

Ming Shun Li,Jong Yul Roh,Xueying Tao,Zi Niu Yu,Zi Duo Liu,Qin Liu,Hong Guang Xu,Hee Jin Shim,Yang-Su Kim,Yong Wang,Jae Young Choi,Yeon Ho Je 한국응용곤충학회 2009 한국응용곤충학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2009 No.05

Bacillus thuringiensis, an entomopathogenic bacterium belonging to the B. cereus group, harbors numerous extra-chromosomal DNA molecules whose sizes range from 2 to 250 kb. In this study, we used a plasmid capture system (PCS) to clone three small plasmids from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki K1 using PCS which were not found in B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1, and determined the complete nucleotide sequence of plasmid pK1S-1 (5.5 kb). Of the six putative open reading frames (ORF2-ORF7) in pK1S-1, ORF2 (MobK1) showed approximately 90% aa identity with the Mob-proteins of pGI2 and pTX14-2, which are rolling circle replicating group VII (RCR group VII) plasmids from B. thuringiensis. In addition, a putative origin of transfer (oriT) showed 95.8% identity with those of pGI2 and pTX14-2. ORF3 (RepK1) showed relatively low aa identity (17.8-25.2%) with the Rep protein coded by RCR plasmids, however. The putative double-strand origin of replication (dso) and single-strand origin of replication (sso) of pK1S-1 exhibited approximately 70% and 64% identities with those of pGI2 and pTX14-2. ORF6 and 7 showed greater than 50% similarities with alkaline serine protease, which belongs to the subtilase family. The other 2 ORFs were identified as hypothetical proteins. To determine the replicon of pK1S-1, seven subclones were contructed in the B. t huringiensis ori-negative pHT1K vector and were electroporated into a plasmid cured B. thuringiensis strain. The 1.6 kb region that included the putative ORF3 (Rep1K), dso and ORF4, exhibited replication ability. These findings identified pK1S-1 as a new RCR group VII plasmid, and determined its replication region.

Morphological Factors and Cardiac Doses in Whole Breast Radiation for Left-sided Breast Cancer

Guan, Hui,Dong, Yuan-Li,Ding, Li-Jie,Zhang, Zi-Cheng,Huang, Wei,Liu, Cheng-Xin,Fu, Cheng-Rui,Zhu, Jian,Li, Hong-Sheng,Li, Miao-Miao,Li, Bao-Sheng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.7

Background: To investigate the impact of the breast size, shape, maximum heart depth (MDH), and chest wall hypotenuse (the distance connecting middle point of the sternum and the length of lung draw on the selected transverse CT slice) on the volumetric dose to heart with whole breast irradiation (WBI) of left-sided breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Fifty-three patients with left-sided breast cancer undergoing adjuvant intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) were enrolled in the study. The primary breast size and shape, MHD and DCWH (chest wall hypotenuse) were contoured on radiotherapy (RT) planning CT slices. The dose data of hearts were obtained from the dose-volume histograms (DVHs). Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Student's t-test and linear regression analysis. Results: Breast size was independent of heart dose, whereas breast shape, MHD and DCWH were correlated with heart dose. The shapes of breasts were divided into four types, as the flap type, hemisphere type, cone type and pendulous type with heart mean dose being $491.8{\pm}234.6cGy$, $752.7{\pm}219.0cGy$, $620.2{\pm}275.7cGy$, and $666.1{\pm}238.0cGy$, respectively. The flap type of breasts shows a strong statistically reduction in heart dose, compared to others (p=0.008 for V30 of heart). DCWH and MHD were found to be the most important parameters correlating with heart dose in WBI. Conclusions: More attention should be paid to the heart dose of non-flap type patients. The MHD was found to be the most important parameter to correlate with heart dose in tangential WBI, closely followed by the DCWH, which could help radiation oncologists and physicsts evaluate heart dose and design RT plan in advance.

Identification of qRT-PCR reference genes for Chilo suppressalis (Walker) during parasitism by Cotesia chilonis (Matsumura)

Zi-Lan Li,Dan-Dan Pan,Ming-Xing Lu,Yu-zhou Dua 한국응용곤충학회 2020 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.23 No.1

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR is highly sensitive approach for identifying and studying genes that function in various biochemical and cellular processes. Choosing the proper reference genes is a necessary step in ensuring the accuracy of results obtained with qRT-PCR. Herein, we evaluate the expression stability of nine potential reference genes in Chilo suppressalis parasitized by Cotesia chilonis. Stability was analyzed using the ΔCt method, geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper, and our results show that the combination of TUB, EF1 and NADHD was optimal for normalizing expression. The transcription of target genes Hsp60 and CAT in C. suppressalis during parasitism was used to evaluate reference genes, and the results varied depending on the gene selected for normalization. Therefore, it is imperative to choose the proper reference genes to estimate target gene expression accurately in a given experiment. This study provides insights on gene expression in C. suppressalis and is especially relevant to further experiments that explore the effectiveness of C. chilonis in biological control.

Performance Comparison of Machine-learning Models for Analyzing Weather and Traffic Accident Correlations

Li Zi Xuan,양현호 한국정보통신학회 2023 Journal of information and communication convergen Vol.21 No.3

Owing to advancements in intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and artificial-intelligence technologies, various machinelearningmodels can be employed to simulate and predict the number of traffic accidents under different weather conditions.Furthermore, we can analyze the relationship between weather and traffic accidents, allowing us to assess whether the currentweather conditions are suitable for travel, which can significantly reduce the risk of traffic accidents. In this study, we analyzed30000 traffic flow data points collected by traffic cameras at nearby intersections in Washington, D.C., USA from October 2012to May 2017, using Pearson’s heat map. We then predicted, analyzed, and compared the performance of the correlation betweencontinuous features by applying several machine-learning algorithms commonly used in ITS, including random forest, decisiontree, gradient-boosting regression, and support vector regression. The experimental results indicated that the gradient-boostingregression machine-learning model had the best performance.

Current situation and future prospects for beef production in China - A review

Li, Xiang Zi,Yan, Chang Guo,Zan, Lin Sen Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2018 Animal Bioscience Vol.31 No.7

The beef industry is an important part of livestock and meat production in China. China ranks third in the world for beef production. With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, beef consumption has grown rapidly, and beef consumption has been increasing with rising per capita gross domestic production. However, the domestic beef industry in China has not been able to keep pace with growth in consumption, making China a net importer of beef from other countries. Moreover, the volume of production has increased little despite rising demand. The slowing of growth in beef production in recent years has led to a sharp rise in beef prices. Domestic beef production and consumption is restricted by a shortage of beef cattle inventory. The Chinese beef industry is facing many technical problems including transformation of traditional practices, feeding and management systems, and genetic improvement of cattle breeds. The long-term, sustainable development of the Chinese beef industry is an important issue for China.

Occurrence and Source Effect of Novel Brominated Flame Retardants (NBFRs) in Soils from Five Asian Countries and Their Relationship with PBDEs

Li, Wen-Long,Ma, Wan-Li,Zhang, Zi-Feng,Liu, Li-Yan,Song, Wei-Wei,Jia, Hong-Liang,Ding, Yong-Sheng,Nakata, Haruhiko,Minh, Nguyen Hung,Sinha, Ravindra Kumar,Moon, Hyo-Bang,Kannan, Kurunthachalam,Sverko, American Chemical Society 2017 Environmental science & technology Vol.51 No.19

<P>This paper presents the first comprehensive survey of 19 novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in soil samples collected among five Asian countries. High variability in concentrations of all NBFRs was found in soils with the geometric mean (GM) values ranging from 0.50 ng/g dry weight (dw) in Vietnam to 540 ng/g dw in the vicinity of a BFR manufacturer in China. In urban, rural, and background locations, the GM concentrations of Sigma(19)NBFRs decreased in the order of Japan > South Korea > China > India > Vietnam. Correlations among different NBFR compounds were positive and statistically significant (p < 0.05), suggesting that they originate from similar sources. Evidence for simultaneous application between polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and NBFRs were also noted. Principal component analysis of NBFR concentrations revealed specific pollution sources for different NBFRs coming from urban, BFR-related industrial, and e-waste sites. For the first time, this study demonstrates a 'point source fractionation effect' for NBFRs and PBDEs. The concentrations of all NBFRs and PBDEs were negatively and significantly correlated with the distance from BFR-related industrial and e-waste regions. Positive and significant correlation between population density and NBFR concentrations in soils was identified. Our study revealed that the primary sources effects were stronger than the secondary sources effects in controlling the levels and distribution of NBFRs and PBDEs in soils in these five Asian countries.</P>