Prediction Models for Solitary Pulmonary Nodules Based on Curvelet Textural Features and Clinical Parameters

Wang, Jing-Jing,Wu, Hai-Feng,Sun, Tao,Li, Xia,Wang, Wei,Tao, Li-Xin,Huo, Da,Lv, Ping-Xin,He, Wen,Guo, Xiu-Hua Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.10

Lung cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths, usually appears as solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) which are hard to diagnose using the naked eye. In this paper, curvelet-based textural features and clinical parameters are used with three prediction models [a multilevel model, a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method, and a support vector machine (SVM)] to improve the diagnosis of benign and malignant SPNs. Dimensionality reduction of the original curvelet-based textural features was achieved using principal component analysis. In addition, non-conditional logistical regression was used to find clinical predictors among demographic parameters and morphological features. The results showed that, combined with 11 clinical predictors, the accuracy rates using 12 principal components were higher than those using the original curvelet-based textural features. To evaluate the models, 10-fold cross validation and back substitution were applied. The results obtained, respectively, were 0.8549 and 0.9221 for the LASSO method, 0.9443 and 0.9831 for SVM, and 0.8722 and 0.9722 for the multilevel model. All in all, it was found that using curvelet-based textural features after dimensionality reduction and using clinical predictors, the highest accuracy rate was achieved with SVM. The method may be used as an auxiliary tool to differentiate between benign and malignant SPNs in CT images.

Antifungal Activity and Mechanism of Fengycin in the Presence and Absence of Commercial Surfactin Against Rhizopus stolonifer

Yang Tao,Xiao-mei Bie,Feng-xia Lv,Hai-zhen Zhao,Zhao-xin Lu 한국미생물학회 2011 The journal of microbiology Vol.49 No.1

The antifungal activity and mechanism of fengycin in the presence and absence of commercial surfactin against Rhizopus stolonifer were investigated. The MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) of fengycin without commercial surfactin added was 0.4 mg/ml while the MIC of fengycin with commercial surfactin added was 2.0 mg/ml. Fengycin acted on cell membrane and cellular organs and inhibited DNA synthesis. The antifungal effect of fengycin was reduced after commercial surfactin was added. All these results suggest that the fungal cell membrane may be the primary target of fengycin action and commercial surfactin may reduce the antifungal activity of fengycin.

Effect of Trichostatin A on Anti HepG2 Liver Carcinoma Cells: Inhibition of HDAC Activity and Activation of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Shi, Qing-Qiang,Zuo, Guo-Wei,Feng, Zi-Qiang,Zhao, Lv-Cui,Luo, Lian,You, Zhi-Mei,Li, Dang-Yang,Xia, Jing,Li, Jing,Chen, Di-Long Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

Purpose: To investigate the effect of deacetylase inhibitory trichostatin A (TSA) on anti HepG2 liver carcinoma cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. Materials and Methods: HepG2 cells exposed to different concentrations of TSA for 24, 48, or 72h were examined for cell growth inhibition using CCK8, changes in cell cycle distribution with flow cytometry, cell apoptosis with annexin V-FTIC/PI double staining, and cell morphology changes under an inverted microscope. Expression of ${\beta}$-catenin, HDAC1, HDAC3, H3K9, CyclinD1 and Bax proteins was tested by Western blotting. Gene expression for ${\beta}$-catenin, HDAC1and HDAC3 was tested by q-PCR. ${\beta}$-catenin and H3K9 proteins were also tested by immunofluorescence. Activity of Renilla luciferase (pTCF/LEF-luc) was assessed using the Luciferase Reporter Assay system reagent. The activity of total HDACs was detected with a HDACs colorimetric kit. Results: Exposure to TSA caused significant dose-and time-dependent inhibition of HepG2 cell proliferation (p<0.05) and resulted in increased cell percentages in G0/G1 and G2/M phases and decrease in the S phase. The apoptotic index in the control group was $6.22{\pm}0.25%$, which increased to $7.17{\pm}0.20%$ and $18.1{\pm}0.42%$ in the treatment group. Exposure to 250 and 500nmol/L TSA also caused cell morphology changes with numerous floating cells. Expression of ${\beta}$-catenin, H3K9and Bax proteins was significantly increased, expression levels of CyclinD1, HDAC1, HDAC3 were decreased. Expression of ${\beta}$-catenin at the genetic level was significantly increased, with no significant difference in HDAC1and HDAC3 genes. In the cytoplasm, expression of ${\beta}$-catenin fluorescence protein was not obvious changed and in the nucleus, small amounts of green fluorescence were observed. H3K9 fluorescence protein were increased. Expression levels of the transcription factor TCF werealso increased in HepG2 cells following induction by TSA, whikle the activity of total HDACs was decreased. Conclusions: TSA inhibits HDAC activity, promotes histone acetylation, and activates Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin signaling to inhibit proliferation of HepG2 cell, arrest cell cycling and induce apoptosis.

Separation of valuable metals from mixed cathode materials of spent lithium-ion batteries by single-stage extraction

Yongjie Li,Qiang Fu,Hongyun Qin,Kun Yang,Junnan Lv,Qicheng Zhang,Zhang Hui,Feng Liu,Xia Chen,Ming Wang 한국화학공학회 2021 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.38 No.10

With the intensity of resource scarcities and environmental problems, the disposal and recovery of spent lithium-ion batteries, especially recovery of valuable metals, becomes vital. In this work, a method of co-extracting nickel, cobalt, manganese and being separated from lithium by single-stage solvent extraction is proposed. The extraction and separation process of D2EHPA was studied. The effects of extractant concentration, saponification percentage, extraction time and O:A on the extraction efficiency of D2EHPA were systematically studied. Nearly 100% manganese, 94% cobalt and about 90% nickel were co-extracted and separated from lithium using D2EHPA in kerosene by single-stage extraction. The maximum value of separation factors (Ni/Li, Co/Li and Mn/Li) was 13.03, 23.42 and 1904.24. The mathematical model of extraction of four ions was developed by combination of Levenberg-Marquardt method and Universal Global Optimization method. The proposed extraction model accurately fits the experimental data and helps to predict the extraction efficiency of each metal under the corresponding conditions.

Rapid and Visual Detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Aquatic Foods Using blaC_ARB-17 Gene-Based Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification with Lateral Flow Dipstick (LAMP-LFD)

( Yuan-qing Hu ),( Xian-hui Huang ),( Li-qing Guo ),( Zi-chen Shen ),( Lin-xue Lv ),( Feng-xia Li ),( Zan-hu Zhou ),( Dan-feng Zhang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2021 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.31 No.12

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is recognized as one of the most important foodborne pathogens responsible for gastroenteritis in humans. The bla_CARB-17 gene is an intrinsic β-lactamase gene and a novel species-specific genetic marker of V. parahaemolyticus. In this study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay combined with a lateral flow dipstick (LFD) was developed targeting this bla_CARB-17 gene. The specificity of LAMP-LFD was ascertained by detecting V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802 and seven other non-V. parahaemolyticus strains. Finally, the practicability of LAMP-LFD was confirmed by detection with V. parahaemolyticus-contaminated samples and natural food samples. The results showed that the optimized reaction parameters of LAMP are as follows: 2.4 mmol/l Mg²⁺, 0.96 mmol/l dNTPs, 4.8 U Bst DNA polymerase, and an 8:1 ratio of inner primer to outer primer, at 63℃ for 40 min. The optimized reaction time of the LFD assay is 60 min. Cross-reactivity analysis with the seven non-V. parahaemolyticus strains showed that LAMP-LFD was exclusively specific for V. parahaemolyticus. The detection limit of LAMP-LFD for V. parahaemolyticus genomic DNA was 2.1 × 10^-4 ng/μl, corresponding to 630 fg/reaction and displaying a sensitivity that is 100-fold higher than that of conventional PCR. LAMP-LFD in a spiking study revealed a detection limit of approximately 6 CFU/ml, which was similar with conventional PCR. The developed LAMP-LFD specifically identified the 10 V. parahaemolyticus isolates from 30 seafood samples, suggesting that this LAMP-LFD may be a suitable diagnostic method for detecting V. parahaemolyticus in aquatic foods.