Comparisons of Curative and Side Effects of Chemoradiotherapy among Xinjiang Han, Uigur and Kazakh Esophageal Carcinoma Patients

Zhang, Li,Ma, Li-Li,Zhang, Jian-Qing,Yang, Mei,Xun, Tu-Er,Li, Ai Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.1

Objective: This study aimed to explore the differences in the curative and side effects of chemoradiotherapy on esophageal cancer (EC) among Xinjiang Han, Uigur and Kazakh patients. Methods: 170 patients with IIA stage-IV of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were analyzed retrospectively. Based on different nationalities, they were divided into the Han, Uigur and Kazakh groups. The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates, incidence of the side effects (including hematological toxicities, radioactive esophagitis and percutaneous reactions) and application of antibiotics and harmonics were compared among the groups. There was no significant difference in the short-term curative effects among the Han, Uigur and Kazakh groups. The 1- 2- and 3-year survival rates of the three groups were 84%, 40%, 26%; 78%, 27%, 18%; and 60%, 21%, 12% ($x^2$=14.497, P<0.05). The incidence rate of hamatological toxicity ${\geq}$Grade 2 in the Kazakh group was significantly lower than that in the Han or Uigur group. Results: The incidence rates of radioactive esophagitis and percutaneous reactions Grade 2 in the Han group were significantly higher than those in the Uigur or Kazakh group. There was no significant difference in the types of applied antibiotics among the groups, but there were significant differences in the days of antibiotic application and proportion of patients receiving harmonics between the Hans and either of other groups. Conclusion: Chemoradiotherapy shows a better effect in the long-term survival rate among Han EC patients compared with Uigur or Kazakh EC patients. Uigur and Kazakh patients show a better tolerance to the side effects of chemoradiotherapy compared with Hans.

Supplementation of guanidinoacetic acid and rumen-protected methionine increased growth performance and meat quality of Tan lambs

Zhang Jian Hao,Li Hai Hai,Zhang Gui Jie,Zhang Ying Hui,Liu Bo,Huang Shuai,Guyader Jessie,Zhong Rong Zhen 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.10

Objective: Tan lambs (n = 36, 3 mo old, 19.1±0.53 kg) were used to assess effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) and rumen-protected methionine (RPM) on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and serum parameters. Methods: Lambs were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, with 6 pens per group and 2 lambs per pen. Dietary treatments were: basal diet alone (I); basal diet supplemented with 0.08% GAA+0.06% RPM (II); and basal diet supplemented with 0.08% GAA+0.08% RPM (III). Diets were provided three times a day for 90 d. Intake per pen was recorded daily and individual lamb body weight (BW) was measured monthly. Carcass traits were measured after slaughter and meat quality at the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken on a subgroup of lambs for analysis of indicators mostly related to protein metabolism. Results: Final BW and average daily gain for the first and second month, and for the entire experiment were greater in Treatment II compared to Treatment I (p<0.05), whereas feed to gain ratio was lower (p<0.05). Treatment II had the optimal dressing percentage and net meat weight proportion, as well as crude protein and intramuscular fat concentrations in muscles. Treatment II improved meat quality, as indicated by the greater water holding capacity, pH after 45 min and 48 h, and lower shear force and cooking loss. Dietary supplementation of GAA and RPM also increased the meat color a* and b* values at 24 h. Finally, Treatment II increased total protein, and serum concentrations of albumin and creatinine, but decreased serum urea nitrogen concentrations, indicating improved protein efficiency. Conclusion: In this study, 0.08% GAA+0.06% RPM supplementation improved growth performance and meat quality of Tan lambs. Objective: Tan lambs (n = 36, 3 mo old, 19.1±0.53 kg) were used to assess effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) and rumen-protected methionine (RPM) on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and serum parameters.Methods: Lambs were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, with 6 pens per group and 2 lambs per pen. Dietary treatments were: basal diet alone (I); basal diet supplemented with 0.08% GAA+0.06% RPM (II); and basal diet supplemented with 0.08% GAA+0.08% RPM (III). Diets were provided three times a day for 90 d. Intake per pen was recorded daily and individual lamb body weight (BW) was measured monthly. Carcass traits were measured after slaughter and meat quality at the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken on a subgroup of lambs for analysis of indicators mostly related to protein metabolism.Results: Final BW and average daily gain for the first and second month, and for the entire experiment were greater in Treatment II compared to Treatment I (p<0.05), whereas feed to gain ratio was lower (p<0.05). Treatment II had the optimal dressing percentage and net meat weight proportion, as well as crude protein and intramuscular fat concentrations in muscles. Treatment II improved meat quality, as indicated by the greater water holding capacity, pH after 45 min and 48 h, and lower shear force and cooking loss. Dietary supplementation of GAA and RPM also increased the meat color a* and b* values at 24 h. Finally, Treatment II increased total protein, and serum concentrations of albumin and creatinine, but decreased serum urea nitrogen concentrations, indicating improved protein efficiency.Conclusion: In this study, 0.08% GAA+0.06% RPM supplementation improved growth performance and meat quality of Tan lambs.

TGF-β1 suppresses CCL3/4 expression through the ERK signaling pathway and inhibits intervertebral disc degeneration and inflammation-related pain in a rat model

Jian Zhang,Zemin Li,Fan Chen,Hui Liu,Hua Wang,Xiang Li,Xianguo Liu,Jianru Wang,Zhaomin Zheng 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

The objective of this study was to investigate the regulatory effects of TGF-β1 on CCL3/4 expression and inflammation-related pain during intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). TGF-β1 and CCL3/4 expression patterns in different degenerative human nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues were measured by qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the effects of TGF-β1 on CCL3/4 expression were measured by qPCR, ELISA and immunofluorescence. The roles of NF-κB and MAPK in TGF-β1-mediated CCL3/4 promoter activity were studied using siRNAs, western blotting and qPCR. After establishing an IVDD rat model in vivo, we administered intradiscal injections of TGF-β1. The effects of TGF-β1 on IVDD were determined by MRI and histological analyses, and the effects of TGF-β1 on dorsal root ganglion (DRG) inflammation and pain development were determined by IHC staining and pain-behavior testing, respectively. TGF-β1 and CCL3/4 expression was elevated in degenerative NP tissue. CCL4 expression was significantly inhibited by TGF-β1 treatment. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA knockdown of the ERK1/2 signaling attenuated TGF-β1-mediated suppression of CCL4 expression. In vivo, TGF-β1 injection inhibited the development of degenerative features in the IVDD model. Moreover, TGF-β1 prevented the inflammatory response and pain development. The results of this study show that TGF-β1 downregulates CCL4 expression through ERK1/2 signaling activation in NP cells. Furthermore, TGF-β1 can prevent degenerative processes, inhibit inflammatory responses in the DRG and prevent pain development in the IVDD rat model. The results of this study indicate that TGF-β1 may represent a therapeutic target for the control of inflammation-related pain associated with IVDD.

Effects of Differential Distribution of Microvessel Density, Possibly Regulated by miR-374a, on Breast Cancer Prognosis

Li, Jian-Yi,Zhang, Yang,Zhang, Wen-Hai,Jia, Shi,Kang, Ye,Tian, Rui Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.3

Background: The discovery that microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate proliferation, invasion and metastasis provides a principal molecular basis of tumor heterogeneity. Microvessel distribution is an important characteristic of solid tumors, with significant hypoxia occurring in the center of tumors with low blood flow. The distribution of miR-374a in breast tumors was examined as a factor likely to be important in breast cancer progression. Methods: Breast tissue samples from 40 patients with breast cancer were classified into two groups: a highly invasive and metastatic group (HIMG) and a low-invasive and metastatic Group (LIMG). Samples were collected from the center and edge of each tumor. In each group, six specimens were examined by microRNA array, and the remaining 14 specimens were used for real-time RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses. Correlation analysis was performed for the miRNAs and target proteins. Follow-up was carried out during 28 months to 68 months after surgery, and survival data were analyzed. Results: In the LIMG, the relative content of miR-374a was lower in the center of the tumor than at its edge; in the HIMG, it was lower at the edge of the tumor, and miR-374a levels were lower in breast cancer tissues than in normal tissues. There was no difference between VEGF-A and VCAM-1 mRNA levels at the edge and center of the tumor; however, we observed a significant difference between VEGF-A and VCAM-1 protein expression levels in these two regions. There was a negative correlation between miR-374a and target protein levels. The microvessel density (MVD) was lower in the center of the tumor than at its edge in HIMG, but the LIMG vessels were uniformly distributed. There was a significant positive correlation between MVD and the number of lymph node metastases (Pearson correlation, r=0.912, P<0.01). The median follow-up time was 48.5 months. LIMG had higher rate of disease-free survival (100%, P=0.013) and longer median survival time (66 months) than HIMG, which had a lower rate of 75% and shorter median survival time (54 months). Conclusions: Our data demonstrated miR-374a to be differentially distributed in breast cancer; VEGF-A and VCAM-1 mRNA had coincident distribution, and the distribution of teh respective proteins was uneven and opposite to that for the miR-374a. These data might explain the differences in the distribution of MVD in breast cancer and variation in breast cancer prognosis.

Differential Distribution of miR-20a and miR-20b may Underly Metastatic Heterogeneity of Breast Cancers

Li, Jian-Yi,Zhang, Yang,Zhang, Wen-Hai,Jia, Shi,Kang, Ye,Zhu, Xiao-Yu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Background: The discovery that microRNA (miRNA) regulates metastasis provide a principal molecular basis for tumor heterogeneity. A characteristic of solid tumors is their heterogenous distribution of blood vessels, with significant hypoxia occurring in regions (centers of tumor) of low blood flow. It is necessary to discover the mechanism of breast cancer metastasis in relation to the fact that there is a differential distribution of crucial microRNA in tumors from centers to edges. Methods: Breast tissues from 48 patients (32 patients with breast cancer) were classified into the high invasive and metastatic group (HIMG), low invasive and metastatic group (LIMG), and normal group. Samples were collected from both the centers and edges of all tumors. The first six specimens were detected by microRNA array, and the second ten specimens were detected by real-time qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses. Correlation analysis was performed between the miRNAs and target proteins. Results: The relative content of miR-20a and miR-20b was lower in the center of the tumor than at the edge in the LIMG, lower at the edge of the tumor than in the center in the HIMG, and lower in breast cancer tissues than in normal tissues. VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha mRNA levels were higher in the HIMG than in the LIMG, and levels were higher in both groups than in the normal group; there was no difference in mRNA levels between the edge and center of the tumor. VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha protein levels were higher in the HIMG than in the LIMG, and protein levels in both groups were higher than in the normal group; there was a significant difference in protein expression between the edge and center of the tumor. Correlation analysis showed that the key miRNAs (miR-20a and miR-20b) negatively correlated with the target proteins (VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha). Conclusions: Our data suggest that miR-20a and miR-20b are differentially distributed in breast cancer, while VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha mRNA had coincident distributions, and VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha proteins had uneven and opposing distributions to the miRNAs. It appears that one of the most important facets underlying metastatic heterogeneity is the differential distribution of miR-20a and miR-20b and their regulation of target proteins.

Performance investigation of nanoscale thermal cloak by the perforated silicon film

Zhang Jian,Zhang Haochun,Zhang Dong,Sun Wenbo,Li Yiyi 한국물리학회 2022 Current Applied Physics Vol.35 No.-

In recent years, nanoscale thermal cloak, as a representative of nanoscale heat flux regulation devices, has attracted a lot of attention from researchers. However, the existing design methods are relatively complicated and all adopt constant temperature boundaries, the temperature changes constantly in the real environment, which greatly hinders its engineering applications. In this paper, inspired by phonon localization theory, we construct a nanoscale thermal cloak by a perforated silicon membrane and evaluate its cloaking performance and dynamic response. Results show that when the perforated area is fixed, the more the number of holes, the better the cloaking performance. In addition, the nanoscale thermal cloak still exhibits good cloaking performance in the dynamic environment. Finally, the cloaking mechanism is analyzed by calculating the phonon density of states (PDOS) and mode participation rate (MPR), and the reduction of thermal conductivity in the functional region is attributed to phonon localization.

Carbon dispersed iron-manganese catalyst for light olefin synthesis from CO hydrogenation

Jianli Zhang,Kegong Fang,Kan Zhang,Wenhuai Li,Yuhan Sun 한국화학공학회 2009 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.26 No.3

High performance iron-manganese catalysts dispersed with carbon to produce light olefins from CO hydrogenation were prepared by sol-gel method using citric acid as precursor. The effects of carbon content on the bulk structure, the water gas shift reaction, the chain propagation ability and the activity and selectivity of the catalysts were investigated. The results showed that the catalysts were gradually reduced during the decomposition of the precursor when calcined under pure N2. The formation of iron-manganese mixed crystallites was favored and stabilized because of the enhanced interaction of iron and manganese with increasing carbon content. During the subsequent CO hydrogenation reaction, all the catalysts showed high activity and olefin selectivity. With increasing carbon content, the water gas shift (WGS) reaction was restrained and the chain propagation ability was inhibited. Catalysts with higher carbon content showed much lighter hydrocarbon products; however, the selectivity of CH4 was almost unchanged.

Association of mir-499 and mir-149 Polymorphisms with Cancer Risk in the Chinese Population: Evidence from Published Studies

Zhang, You-Gai,Shi, Jian-Xiang,Song, Chun-Hua,Wang, Peng,Dai, Li-Ping,Zhang, Jian-Ying,Shi, Jia-Chen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.4

Meta-analyses have shown that microRNA polymorphisms have variable effects in different population. Yet, no meta-analysis investigated the association of two common polymorphisms of miRNA, mir-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and mir-149 rs2292832 polymorphism, with cancer risk in the Chinese population. We searched the PubMed, Web of Knowledge, MEDLINE, CNKI databases, as well as Cochrane library, updated on December 31, 2012 for assays regarding cancer risk association with these two common polymorphisms in the present meta-analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to explore the strength of associations. The results showed that rs3746444 polymorphism was associated with increased cancer risk (dominant model: GG/AG vs. AA: OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.14-1.80; recessive model: GG vs. AG/AA: OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.04-2.30; homozygote model: GG vs. AA: OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.10-2.60; heterozygote model: AG vs. AA: OR = 1. 35, 95% CI: 1.09-1.67), and rs3746444 was associated with liver cancer in the subgroup of cancer types. For the rs2292832 polymorphism, the results showed no significant risk association in both overall pooled analysis and subgroup of cancer types, smoking status, gender and tea drinking status in the Chinese population. This meta-analysis suggested that the rs3746444 GG genotype is associated with increased cancer risk, especially liver cancer, while the rs2292832 polymorphism showed no association with cancer risk in Chinese.

Reference gene selection for transcriptional profiling by RT-qPCR in the 28-spotted larger potato ladybird

Zhang Yu-Xing,Tan Qiao,Shen Chen-Hui,Wu Jian-Jian,Wu Yi-Kuan,Li Wen-Ze,Jin Lin,Li Guo-Qing 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.2

Henosepilachna vigintioctomaculata is one of the most serious defoliates attacking potatoes. However, studies on functional genes have greatly been limited due to the insufficiency of effective and stable endogenous references to normalize RT-qPCR data. In this report, nine housekeeping genes (RPL4, RPL6, RPL13, RPL32, RPS18, ACT, EF1α, GAPDH and α-TUB) involved in different biological processes were selected. Their expression levels under diverse experimental conditions including developmental stages, tissues, temperatures and host plants were determined using RT-qPCR technology. The tested candidate genes were comprehensively ranked based on five alternative stability analysis methods (Ct value, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and ReFinder). The results revealed that the optimal internal reference genes varied under different experimental conditions. Any gene pair among the five candidates (RPL4, RPL13, RPL32, RPS18 and EF1α) was a suitable reference gene set under different temperatures and on different host plants. A combination of RPL6 and RPL13 was recommended as the best reference gene set across different developmental stages. A pair of RPS18 and EF1α was ranked as the optimal reference gene combination within different tissues. The most suitable reference genes were RPS18 and RPL13 under four different experimental conditions. Our findings not only establish an accurate and reliable normalization of RT-qPCR data, but also lay a solid foundation for further functional gene researches in H. vigintioctomaculata

Evaluation of the Geometric Accuracy of Anatomic Landmarks as Surrogates for Intrapulmonary Tumors in Image-guided Radiotherapy

Li, Hong-Sheng,Kong, Ling-Ling,Zhang, Jian,Li, Bao-Sheng,Chen, Jin-Hu,Zhu, Jian,Liu, Tong-Hai,Yin, Yong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the geometric accuracy of thoracic anatomic landmarks as target surrogates of intrapulmonary tumors for manual rigid registration during image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Methods: Kilovolt cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images acquired during IGRT for 29 lung cancer patients with 33 tumors, including 16 central and 17 peripheral lesions, were analyzed. We selected the "vertebrae", "carina", and "large bronchi" as the candidate surrogates for central targets, and the "vertebrae", "carina", and "ribs" as the candidate surrogates for peripheral lesions. Three to six pairs of small identifiable markers were noted in the tumors for the planning CT and Day 1 CBCT. The accuracy of the candidate surrogates was evaluated by comparing the distances of the corresponding markers after manual rigid matching based on the "tumor" and a particular surrogate. Differences between the surrogates were assessed using 1-way analysis of variance and post hoc least-significant-difference tests. Results: For central targets, the residual errors increased in the following ascending order: "tumor", "bronchi", "carina", and "vertebrae"; there was a significant difference between "tumor" and "vertebrae" (p = 0.010). For peripheral diseases, the residual errors increased in the following ascending order: "tumor", "rib", "vertebrae", and "carina"; There was a significant difference between "tumor" and "carina" (p = 0.005). Conclusions: The "bronchi" and "carina" are the optimal surrogates for central lung targets, while "rib" and "vertebrae" are the optimal surrogates for peripheral lung targets for manual matching of online and planned tumors.