A Novel Objective Quality Assessment for Super-Resolution Images

Lei Shu,Yuming Fang,Zhijun Fang,Yong Yang,Fengchang Fei,Naixue Xiong 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.9 No.5

A novel objective quality assessment method is proposed for super-resolution images in this manuscript. We not only estimate the preserved information of each spatial location in the super-resolution image by structural similarity, but also compute the local phase coherence (LPC) with which we can detect the image blur in the super-resolution image. After the preserved structural information and blur information is obtained, an overall evaluation of visual quality of the super-resolution image can be computed. Experimental results show that the proposed objective quality assessment method can be used in the real applications with the original high-resolution images unavailable.

Melatonin Attenuates Noise Stress-induced Gastrointestinal Motility Disorder and Gastric Stress Ulcer: Role of Gastrointestinal Hormones and Oxidative Stress in Rats

( Lei Zhang ),( Ji T Gong ),( Hu Q Zhang ),( Quan H Song ),( Guang H Xu ),( Lei Cai ),( Xiao D Tang ),( Hai F Zhang ),( Fang E Liu ),( Zhan S Jia ),( Hong W Zhang ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회 2015 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.21 No.2

Background/Aims There are increasing evidences for gastrointestinal motility disorder (GIMD) and gastric stress ulcer induced by noise stress. The present study was to investigate the reversed effect of melatonin on GIMD and gastric stress ulcer induced by noise stress and potential mechanism. Methods Noise stress was induced on rats, and melatonin (15 mg/kg) was administered to rats by intraperitoneal injection. Differences were assessed in gastric residual rate (GRR), small intestine propulsion rate (SPR), Guth injury score, cortisol, gastrointestinal hormones (calcitonin-gene-related peptide and motilin) and oxidative stress markers (superoxide dismutase and malondialde hyde) in blood plasma as well as gastric mucosa homogenate with or without melatonin. The pathological examination of gastric mucosa was also performed. Results The GRR and SPR were improved by noise stress compared with control (P < 0.05). The pathological examination and Guth injury score revealed gastric stress ulcer. Moreover, the levels of cortisol, motilin and malondialdehyde in blood plasma and malondialdehyde in gastric mucosa homogenate were increased by noise stress (P < 0.05). CGRP and superoxide dismutase activity in both of blood plasma and gastric mucosa homogenate were significantly decreased (P< 0.05). Furthermore, melatonin reversed changes in GRR, SPR, pathological examination, Guth injury score, cortisol, motilin, CGRP, superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde (P < 0.05). Conclusions Melatonin is effective in reversing the GIMD and gastric stress ulcer induced by noise stress. The underlying mechanism may be involved in oxidative stress and gastrointestinal hormones. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2015;21:189-199)

Sustained ocular delivery of desmopressin acetate via thermoreversible in situ gel formulation: preparation and in vitro/in vivo evaluation

Lei Fang,Zhang Huimin,Luo Rui,Fei Qingsong,Bai Luyu,He Ning 한국약제학회 2022 Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation Vol.52 No.5

Purpose The present study was designed to formulate a thermoreversible in situ gel system for sustained ocular delivery of desmopressin acetate (DDAVP) for the treatment of polyuria. Methods The cold method was employed for the preparation of in situ gel formulations using different levels of poloxamer 407 (F-127) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCTS). The optimal formulation was selected based on gelation temperature, rheological behavior, and in vitro drug release, and further evaluated by thermal, ocular irritation, residence time, in vivo pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamic analyses. Results The optimal formulation, composed of F-127 (20%) and CMCTS (1.5%), showed appropriate fluidity at room temperature (25 °C) and transitioned to semisolid gels at physiological temperature (34 °C). The optimal gels showed pseudoplastic fluid properties and favorable thixotropy characteristics in rheological tests. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed even dispersal of DDAVP in the matrix of gels. Results from in vivo studies demonstrated that the newly prepared gel successfully prolonged the residence time of DDAVP, improved ocular bioavailability, and exerted the same antidiuretic effect as ophthalmic drops. Conclusion The developed thermoreversible ophthalmic in situ gel of DDAVP presents a promising formulation for the treatment of polyuria.

World Health Organization survey on the level of integration of traditional Chinese medicine in Chinese health system rehabilitation services

Lei Fang,Ran-ran Zhu,Zhen Sang,Xiao-ting Xu,Lin-yun Zheng,Yanwei Xiang,Chaoyang Guo,Zhenrui Li,Stephane Alexandre Espinosa,Qi Zhang,Chunlei Shan 한국한의학연구원 2023 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.12 No.2

Background: To meet the growing global demand for rehabilitation services, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched Rehabilitation 2030. This study was commissioned by the WHO to investigate the integration degree of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Chinese health system rehabilitation services and the demand for TCM rehabilitation in China. Methods: Twenty TCM rehabilitation experts and relevant government administrators were invited to complete the questionnaire between September 2019 and January 2022. The development of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCI) rehabilitation in China was assessed primarily based on six different health system components. Results: 26 policies, regulations, and national strategic plans related to TCI rehabilitation were issued by relevant government departments since 2002; notably, 14 policies related to TCI rehabilitation development were intensively introduced from 2016 to 2021. These policies cover the three main areas of financing, infrastructure development, and service delivery. The National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine's investment in TCM clinical capacity infrastructure and scientific research in 2019–2021 increased by 66% compared to 2010–2012, and the average number of TCM hospitals with rehabilitation departments in 2020 increased by 6.5% compared to 2018. The proportion of community health service centers providing TCM services in primary medical and health institutions has increased by 30.8% over the past 10 years. Conclusion: Long-term continuous policies, substantial financial investment, and expansion of the scope of TCI rehabilitation services in primary care institutions have effectively contributed to the rapid development of TCI rehabilitation. However, human resources and financing mechanisms for TCI rehabilitation need further improvement.

Paper-based Cell Culture Microfluidic System

Fang Fang Tao,Xia Xiao,Kin Fong Lei,I-Chi Lee 한국바이오칩학회 2015 BioChip Journal Vol.9 No.2

In the past decades, glass/PDMS-basedmicrofluidic systems have been rapidly developed to provide homogenous and stable microenvironment for culturing cells. Although these excellent demonstrations involve much simplified operations than traditional cell culture protocol, but they are still not readily accessible to untrained personnel and not appropriate to operate in conventional biological laboratories. In this work, cellulose filter papers were used for the substrates of the cell culture microfluidic system, which provides a convenient tool for cell-based assay. A paper was patterned with culture areas and channels by wax printing technique. Medium or tested substance can be passively perfused to the culture areas. Analyses of cyto-compatibility, cell proliferation, cell morphology, and cell chemosensitivity were performed to confirm the possibility of the paper-based system. Theculture system could provide a platform for a wide range of cell-based assays with applications in drug screening and quantitative cell biology. This work demonstrated a paper-based cell culture microfluidic system and the system is inexpensive, disposable, and compatible to the existing culture facility. In the past decades, glass/PDMS-based microfluidic systems have been rapidly developed to provide homogenous and stable microenvironment for culturing cells. Although these excellent demonstrations involve much simplified operations than traditional cell culture protocol, but they are still not readily accessible to untrained personnel and not appropriate to operate in conventional biological laboratories. In this work, cellulose filter papers were used for the substrates of the cell culture microfluidic system, which provides a convenient tool for cell-based assay. A paper was patterned with culture areas and channels by wax printing technique. Medium or tested substance can be passively perfused to the culture areas. Analyses of cyto-compatibility, cell proliferation, cell morphology,and cell chemosensitivity were performed to confirm the possibility of the paper-based system. The culture system could provide a platform for a wide range of cell-based assays with applications in drug screening and quantitative cell biology. This work demonstrateda paper-based cell culture microfluidic system and the system is inexpensive, disposable, and compatible to the existing culture facility.

Abnormal Event Detection Based on Saliency Information

Zhijun Fang,Fengchang Fei,Yuming Fang,Lei Shu,Wanggen Wan 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Vol.10 No.9

Abnormal event detection is a challenging task in video analysis. In this paper, we propose a new abnormal event detection algorithm for surveillance videos. It is well accepted that human eyes are extremely sensitive to abnormal events and they can quickly pay attention to the locations of these abnormal events in visual scenes. Thus, the characteristics of the Human Visual System (HVS) can be used for abnormal event detection. By exploiting the characteristics of the HVS, we propose an abnormal event detection algorithm based on saliency information. Firstly, the saliency information is extracted from video frames based on the feature contrast. The motion information of video frames is calculated by the multi-scale histogram optical flow (MHOF). Based on the features of saliency information and MHOF, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to train and predict the abnormal events in visual scenes. Experimental results show that the proposed abnormal event detection method can obtain much better performance than the existing ones over the public video database.

Inhibition of the NEDD8 Conjugation Pathway by shRNA to UBA3, the Subunit of the NEDD8-Activating Enzyme, Suppresses the Growth of Melanoma Cells

Cheng, Fang,Chen, Hao,Zhang, Lei,Ruo-Hong, Li,Liu, Yi,Sun, Jian-Fang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.1

Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 8 (NEDD8), a ubiquitin-like protein, mainly functions through covalent ligation to cullin proteins. Conjugation of NEDD8 with cullins can promote ubiquitination, which plays a critical role in the degradation of many proteins. UBA3 is the subunit of NEDD8-activating enzyme which is one of the keys for NEDD8 linkage to cullin proteins. Previous research showed NEDD8 conjugation to be up-regulated in highly proliferative cell lines. In the present study, up-regulated NEDD8 conjugation was observed in melanoma cell lines by Western blot analysis. After down-regulation with a RNAi to UBA3, proliferation of M14 was suppressed in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, up-regulated NEDD8 conjugation may be involved in the development of melanoma. Interference in this pathway might offera promising method for melanoma therapy.

Removal of Cs+, Sr2+, and Co2+ Ions from the Mixture of Organics and Suspended Solids Aqueous Solutions by Zeolites

Xiang-Hong Fang,Fang Fang,Chun-Hai Lu,Lei Zheng 한국원자력학회 2017 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.49 No.3

Serving as an excellent adsorbent and inorganic ion exchanger in the water purification field, zeolite 4A has in this work presented a strong capability for purifying radioactive waste, such as Sr2+, Csþ, and Co2+ in water. During the processes of decontamination and decommissioning of suspended solids and organics in low-level radioactive wastewater, the purification performance of zeolite 4A has been studied. Under ambient temperature and neutral condition, zeolite 4A absorbed simulated radionuclides such as Sr2+, Csþ, and Co2+ with an absorption rate of almost 90%. Additionally, in alkaline condition, the adsorption percentage even approached 98.7%. After conducting research on suspended solids and organics of zeolite 4A for the treatment of radionuclides, it was found that the suspended clay was conducive to absorption, whereas the absorption of organics in solution was determined by the species of radionuclides and organics. Therefore, zeolite 4A has considerable potential in the treatment of radioactive wastewater.

Rapid Detection of Trace 1,4-Dichlorobenzene Using Laser Mass Spectrometry

Lei Ding,Jing Ma,Haiyang Zheng,Li Fang*,Weijun Zhang,Dukhyeon Kim,Hyungki Cha* 대한화학회 2006 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.27 No.9

The 1+1 two-photon Resonant Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization (REMPI) spectra of 1,4-dichlorobenzene was obtained from 240 nm through to 250 nm on a laser mass spectrometer. Special care was taken to build up a heatable sample inlet system suitable for detecting a trace semi-volatile organic compound and reducing the memory effort on the inner wall of the inlet system. The detection limits of 1,4-dichlorobenzene in ppbV/V concentration range at certain wavelengths are presented.

Transformations of phenol into fuel over TiO2–CeO2/ZSM-5 aided by ultrasound and ultraviolet

Lei Wang,Fang yuan,Luoxin Liu,Nchare Mominou,Shuzhen Li,Cheng Li,Wenjiu Wang 한국공업화학회 2015 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.21 No.1

A novel technology, named transformations of phenol into fuel over TiO2–CeO2/ZSM-5 aided byultrasound and ultraviolet (TPFU), was developed. ZSM-5 zeolite was adjusted by TiO2 and CeO2 bymeans of impregnation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysisindicated the ZSM-5 remained intact after modification, and the titanium and cerium partly entered thecatalyst channel. The effect of temperature, pressure, space speed, and phenol to the catalyst ratio on theproduction yield was studied. The model compounds were transformed into fuel on the conditions oftemperature 300 8C; pressure 0.11 MPa, space velocity 1.0 h 1, and the ratio 1.5. Gasoline and diesel oilyield, and phenol compound conversion rate reached the maximum values of 50.1%, 44.1% and 98.5%,respectively. Meanwhile, biomass oil was transformed into fuel under the best conditions. The content ofaromatic compounds and alkane compounds in refined oil was higher than that in biomass crude oil, andphenol content has a significant decrease.