Determination of Survival of Gastric Cancer Patients With Distant Lymph Node Metastasis Using Prealbumin Level and Prothrombin Time: Contour Plots Based on Random Survival Forest Algorithm on High-Dimensionality Clinical and Laboratory Datasets

Zhang, Cheng,Xie, Minmin,Zhang, Yi,Zhang, Xiaopeng,Feng, Chong,Wu, Zhijun,Feng, Ying,Yang, Yahui,Xu, Hui,Ma, Tai The Korean Gastric Cancer Association 2022 Journal of gastric cancer Vol.22 No.2

Purpose: This study aimed to identify prognostic factors for patients with distant lymph node-involved gastric cancer (GC) using a machine learning algorithm, a method that offers considerable advantages and new prospects for high-dimensional biomedical data exploration. Materials and Methods: This study employed 79 features of clinical pathology, laboratory tests, and therapeutic details from 289 GC patients whose distant lymphadenopathy was presented as the first episode of recurrence or metastasis. Outcomes were measured as any-cause death events and survival months after distant lymph node metastasis. A prediction model was built based on possible outcome predictors using a random survival forest algorithm and confirmed by 5×5 nested cross-validation. The effects of single variables were interpreted using partial dependence plots. A contour plot was used to visually represent survival prediction based on 2 predictive features. Results: The median survival time of patients with GC with distant nodal metastasis was 9.2 months. The optimal model incorporated the prealbumin level and the prothrombin time (PT), and yielded a prediction error of 0.353. The inclusion of other variables resulted in poorer model performance. Patients with higher serum prealbumin levels or shorter PTs had a significantly better prognosis. The predicted one-year survival rate was stratified and illustrated as a contour plot based on the combined effect the prealbumin level and the PT. Conclusions: Machine learning is useful for identifying the important determinants of cancer survival using high-dimensional datasets. The prealbumin level and the PT on distant lymph node metastasis are the 2 most crucial factors in predicting the subsequent survival time of advanced GC.

PIV measurement and numerical investigation on flow characteristics of simulated fast reactor fuel subassembly

Zhang, Cheng,Ju, Haoran,Zhang, Dalin,Wu, Shuijin,Xu, Yijun,Wu, Yingwei,Qiu, Suizheng,Su, G.H. Korean Nuclear Society 2020 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.52 No.5

The flow characteristics of reactor fuel assembly always intrigue the designers and the experimentalists among the myriad phenomena that occur simultaneously in a nuclear core. In this work, the visual experimental method has been developed on the basis of refraction index matching (RIM) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques to investigate the detailed flow characteristics in China fast reactor fuel subassembly. A 7-rod bundle of simulated fuel subassembly was fabricated for fine examination of flow characteristics in different subchannels. The experiments were performed at condition of Re=6500 (axial bulk velocity 1.6 m/s) and the fluid medium was maintained at 30℃ and 1.0 bar during operation. As for results, axial and lateral flow features were observed. It is shown that the spiral wire has an inhibitory effect on axial flow and significant intensity of lateral flow mixing effect is induced by the wire. The root mean square (RMS) of lateral velocity fluctuation was acquired after data processing, which indicates the strong turbulence characteristics in different flow subchannels.

Population-Stratified Analysis of Bone Mineral Density Distribution in Cervical and Lumbar Vertebrae of Chinese from Quantitative Computed Tomography

Yong Zhang,Zhuang Zhou,Cheng’ai Wu,Danhui Zhao,Chao Wang,Xiaoguang Cheng,Wei Cai,Ling Wang,Yangyang Duanmu,Chenxin Zhang,Wei Tian 대한영상의학회 2016 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.17 No.5

Objective: To investigate the bone mineral density (BMD) of cervical vertebrae in a population-stratified manner and correlate with that of the lumbar vertebrae. Materials and Methods: Five hundred and ninety-eight healthy volunteers (254 males, 344 females), ranging from 20 to 64 years of age, were recruited for volumetric BMD (vBMD) measurements by quantitative computed tomography. Basic information (age, height, weight, waistline, and hipline), and vBMD of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae (C2–7 and L2–4) were recorded. Comparisons among sex, age groups and different levels of vertebrae were analyzed using analysis of variance. Linear regression was performed for relevance of different vertebral levels. Results: The vBMD of cervical and lumbar vertebrae was higher in females than males in each age group. The vBMD of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae in males and the vBMD of lumbar vertebrae in females decreased with aging. In each age group, the vBMD of the cervical vertebrae was higher than that of the lumbar vertebrae with gradual decreases from C2 to C7 except for C3; moreover, the vBMD of C6 and C7 was significantly different from that of C2–5. Correlations of vBMD among different cervical vertebrae (females: r = 0.62–0.94; males: r = 0.63–0.94) and lumbar vertebrae (males: r = 0.93–0.98; females: r = 0.82–0.97) were statistically significant at each age group. Conclusion: The present study provided normative data of cervical vertebrae in an age- and sex-stratified manner. Sex differences in vBMD prominently vary with age, which can be helpful to design a more comprehensive pre-operative surgical plan.

Attenuation of Peripheral Regulatory T-Cell Suppression of Skin-Homing CD8+T Cells in Atopic Dermatitis

Bao-Xiang Zhang,Gang Ding,Jun-Cheng Lyu,Hai-Bo Liu,Dian-Cai Zhang,Dian-Cai Zhang,Xing-Jie Bi,Zhi-Wu Duan 연세대학교의과대학 2015 Yonsei medical journal Vol.56 No.1

Purpose: Cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA)-expressing CD8+T cells have been known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis(AD). However, the mechanisms underlying the loss of self-tolerance remainunclear. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a key role in the development of homeostasisin the immune system. We, therefore, hypothesized that a reduced ability of Tregs to inhibit autologous CD8+CLA+T cells might be underlying mechanism in AD. Materials and Methods: CD8+CLA+T cells and Tregs were obtained from the peripheral blood of AD patients and control volunteers. The frequenciesof CD8+CLA+T cells were evaluated. The proliferative responses of CD8+CLA+T cells were assessed by flow cytometry, and the levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in culture supernatants were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Our results revealed higher frequency and increased expression of perforin and granzyme-B in peripheralCD8+CLA+T cells in AD, and lower inhibitory ability of Tregs on proliferation of CD8+CLA+T cells in AD. Meanwhile, the levels of TGF-β1 produced by Tregs were significantly lower in AD, and anti-TGF-β1 abolished such suppression. Conclusion: The attenuated inhibitory ability of Tregs on hyper-activated autologousCD8+CLA+T cells, mediated by TGF-β1, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD.

Effect of Trichostatin A on CNE2 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells - Genome-wide DNA Methylation Alteration

Yang, Xiao-Li,Zhang, Cheng-Dong,Wu, Hua-Yu,Wu, Yong-Hu,Zhang, Yue-Ning,Qin, Meng-Bin,Wu, Hua,Liu, Xiao-Chun,Lina, Xing,Lu, Shao-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.11

Trichostatin A (TSA) is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. We here investigated its effects on proliferation and apoptosis of the CNE2 carcinoma cell line, and attempted to establish genome-wide DNA methylation alteration due to differentially histone acetylation status. After cells were treated by TSA, the inhibitory rate of cell proliferation was examined with a CCK8 kit, and cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. Compared to control, TSA inhibited CNE2 cell growth and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, TSA was found to induce genome-wide methylation alteration as assessed by genome-wide methylation array. Overall DNA methylation level of cells treated with TSA was higher than in controls. Function and pathway analysis revealed that many genes with methylation alteration were involved in key biological roles, such as apoptosis and cell proliferation. Three genes (DAP3, HSPB1 and CLDN) were independently confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Finally, we conclude that TSA inhibits CNE2 cell growth and induces apoptosis in vitro involving genome-wide DNA methylation alteration, so that it has promising application prospects in treatment of NPC in vivo. Although many unreported hypermethylated/hypomethylated genes should be further analyzed and validated, the pointers to new biomarkers and therapeutic strategies in the treatment of NPC should be stressed.

High Levels of Malic Acid Production by the Bioconversion of Corn Straw Hydrolyte Using an Isolated Rhizopus Delemar Strain

Xingjiang Li,Ya Liu,Ying Yang,Hua Zhang,Hualin Wang,Yue Wu,Min Zhang,Ting Sun,Jieshun Cheng,Xuefeng Wu,Lijun Pan,Shaotong Jiang,Hongwei Wu 한국생물공학회 2014 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.19 No.3

The microbial fermentation of malic acid,which is one of the most important organic acid platformsused widely in food and chemical engineering, hasattracted considerable interest. A malate production strainwas isolated, a mutation was induced, and regulation of themetabolic network was then conducted. The identificationresults showed that the malic acid production strain, HF-119, belonged to Rhizopus delemar. An analysis of themetabolic pathway showed that the malic acid flux of thisstrain occurred through three main pathways, and manybyproducts, such as succinic acid, fumaric acid andethanol, were produced. Although corn straw hydrolytewas used, the metabolism of xylose was not as rapid as thatof glucose. Subsequently, breeding of the strains andregulation of the metabolic network resulted in an increasein malate yield, and the strain HF-121 produced more than120 g/L malic acid within 60 h. The ability to producemalic acid from biomass hydrolyte highlights the industrialdevelopment potential of this strain.

Edaphovirga cremea gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Codonopsis clematidea

Jin-Yan Xue,Meng-Yue Zhang,Yu Zhang,Juan Cheng,Li-Cheng Liu,Ying-Ying Wu,Tian-Yuan Zhang,Yi-xuan Zhang 한국미생물학회 2019 The journal of microbiology Vol.57 No.5

A Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile, nonspore- forming, coccoid or rod-shaped and creamy-pigmented bacterium, designated SYP-B2100T, was isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Codonopsis clematidea in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The optimal growth occurred at 28°C, pH 5.0, in the absence of NaCl. The cells tested positive in catalase and methyl red tests but negative in oxidase, urease, gelatinase, milk coagulation, and peptonisation, H2S production, nitrate reduction, and Voges-Proskauer tests. The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-8 (Q-8). The major cellular fatty acids were C16:0 and summed feature 8. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylglycerol. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain SYP-B2100T was the most similar to that of Rahnella inusitata DSM 30078T (96.9%) within the family Enterobacteriaceae. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain SYP-B2100T was 50.3 mol%. The combined data from the phylogenetic, morphological, physiological, biochemical, and chemotaxonomic analyses presented in this study support the conclusion that strain SYP-B2100T represents a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Edaphovirga cremea gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is SYPB2100T (= CGMCC 1.5857T = DSM 105170T = KCTC 62024T).

Efficiently targeted therapy of glioblastoma xenograft via multifunctional biomimetic nanodrugs

Zhipeng Yao,Xiaochun Jiang,Hong Yao,Yafeng Wu,Fan Zhang,Cheng Wang,Chenxue Qi,Chenhui Zhao,Zeyu Wu,Min Qi,Jia Zhang,Xiaoxiang Cao,Zhichun Wang,Fei Wu,Chengyun Yao,Songqin Liu,Shizhang Ling,Hongping Xi 한국생체재료학회 2022 생체재료학회지 Vol.26 No.4

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a fatal malignant primary brain tumor in adults. The therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs is limited due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB), poor drug targeting, and short biological half-lives. Multifunctional biomimetic nanodrugs have great potential to overcome these limitations of chemotherapeutic drugs. Methods: We synthesized and characterized a biomimetic nanodrug CMS/PEG-DOX-M. The CMS/PEG-DOX-M effectively and rapidly released DOX in U87 MG cells. Cell proliferation and apoptosis assays were examined by the MTT and TUNEL assays. The penetration of nanodrugs through the BBB and anti-tumor efficacy were investigated in the orthotopic glioblastoma xenograft models. Results: We showed that CMS/PEG-DOX-M inhibited cell proliferation of U87 MG cells and effectively induced cell apoptosis of U87 MG cells. Intracranial antitumor experiments showed that free DOX hardly penetrated the BBB, but CMS/PEG-DOX-M effectively reached the orthotopic ntracranial tumor through the BBB and significantly inhibited tumor growth. Immunofluorescence staining of orthotopic tumor tissue sections confirmed that nanodrugs promoted apoptosis of tumor cells. This study developed a multimodal nanodrug treatment system with the enhanced abilities of tumor-targeting, BBB penetration, and cancer-specific accumulation of chemotherapeutic drugs by combining chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. It can be used as a flexible and effective GBM treatment system and it may also be used for the treatment of other central nervous systems (CNS) tumors and extracranial tumors.

MCPH1 Protein Expression in Normal and Neoplastic Lung Tissues

Zhang, Ji,Wu, Xiao-Bin,Fan, Jian-Jun,Mai, Li,Cai, Wei,Li, Dan,Yuan, Cheng-Fu,Bu, You-Quan,Song, Fang-Zhou Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.12

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. The main types are small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), the latter including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma. NSCLCs account for about 80% of all lung cancer cases. Microcephalin (MCPH1), also called BRIT1 (BRCT-repeat inhibitor of hTERT expression), plays an important role in the maintenance of genomic stability. Recently, several studies have provided evidence that the expression of MCPH1 gene is decreased in several different types of human cancers. We evaluated the expression of protein MCPH1 in 188 lung cancer and 20 normal lung tissues by immunohistochemistry. Positive MCPH1 staining was found in all normal lung samples and only some cancerous tissues. MCPH1-positive cells were significantly lower in lung carcinoma compared with normal tissues. Furthermore, we firstly found that MCPH1 expression in lung adenocarcinoma is higher than its expression in squamous cell carcinoma. Change in MCPH1 protein expression may be associated with lung tumorigenesis and may be a useful biomarker for identification of pathological types of lung cancer.

Dynamics of Microbial Community Structure, Function and Assembly Mechanism with Increasing Stand Age of Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) Plantations in Houtian Sandy Area, South China

Zhang Xiaoyang,Xiong Si-Yi,Wu Xiukun,Zeng Bei-Bei,Mo Yang-Mei,Deng Zhi-Cheng,Wei Qi,Gao Yang,Cui Licao,Liu Jianping,Long Haozhi 한국미생물학회 2023 The journal of microbiology Vol.61 No.11

Establishing slash pine plantations is the primary method for restoring sandification land in the Houtian area of South China. However, the microbial variation pattern with increasing stand age remains unclear. In this study, we investigated microbial community structure and function in bare sandy land and four stand age gradients, exploring ecological processes that determine their assembly. We did not observe a significant increase in the absolute abundance of bacteria or fungi with stand age. Bacterial communities were dominated by Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteria; the relative abundance of Chloroflexi significantly declined while Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria significantly increased with stand age. Fungal communities showed succession at the genus level, with Pisolithus most abundant in soils of younger stands (1- and 6-year-old). Turnover of fungal communities was primarily driven by stochastic processes; both deterministic and stochastic processes influenced the assembly of bacterial communities, with the relative importance of stochastic processes gradually increasing with stand age. Bacterial and fungal communities showed the strongest correlation with the diameter at breast height, followed by soil available phosphorus and water content. Notably, there was a significant increase in the relative abundance of functional groups involved in nitrogen fixation and uptake as stand age increased. Overall, this study highlights the important effects of slash pine stand age on microbial communities in sandy lands and suggests attention to the nitrogen and phosphorus requirements of slash pine plantations in the later stages of sandy management.