The High Expressed Serum Soluble Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule, a High Risk Factor Indicating Hepatic Encephalopathy in Hepatocelular Carcinoma Patients

Liu, Tian-Hua,Guo, Kun,Liu, Ri-Qiang,Zhang, Shu,Huang, Zhuo-Hui,Liu, Yin-Kun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Objective: To investigate whether the expression of serum soluble neural cell adhesion molecule (sNCAM) is associated with hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in hepatocelular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Materials and Methods: The Oncomine Cancer Microarray database was used to determine the clinical relevance of NCAM expression in different kinds of human cancers. Sera from 75 HCC cases enrolled in this study were assessed for expression of sNCAM by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Dependent on the Oncomine Cancer Microarray database analysis, NCAM was down regulated in 10 different kinds of cancer, like bladder cancer, brain and central nervous system cancer, while up-regulated in lung cancer, uterine corpus leiomyoma and sarcoma, compared to normal groups. Puzzlingly, NCAM expression demonstrated no significant difference between normal and HCC groups. However, we found by quantitative ELISA that the level of sNCAM in sera from HCC patients with HE ($347.4{\pm}151.9ng/ml$) was significantly more up-regulated than that in HCC patients without HE ($260.3{\pm}104.2ng/ml$), the p-value being 0.008. sNCAM may be an important risk factor of HE in HCC patients, the correlation coefficients was 0.278 (P<0.05) on rank correlation analysis. Conclusions: This study highlights that up-regulated level of serum sNCAM is associated with HE in HCC patients and suggests that the high expression can be used as an indicator.

The Effects of Fu Zi on Changes in the Body Heat of Dogs

Tian-Tian Chen,Chunhua Qi,Huijun Guo,Ziqiang Cheng,Dong Zhou,Haitao Liu,Jianzhu Liu 사단법인약침학회 2009 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.2 No.1

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Fu Zi on changes in the body heat of dogs. Twelve clinically healthy dogs were divided into two groups: the control group (six dogs) and the experimental group (six dogs). The control group was made to ingest normal saline mixed with canned meat, while the experimental group was made to ingest the Fu Zi solution mixed with canned meat. The infrared thermographic system was used to determine the level of body heat generated by these dogs. These areas include the dorsocranial (DCr), dorsocaudal (DCd), ventrocranial (VCr), and ventrocaudal (VCd) regions at pretreatment and were determined at 10, 20, 30, 50, 90, 120, 240, and 360 minutes after treatment for each of these areas. The results showed a tendency toward increased body heat until 30 minutes after ingestion of the Fu Zi powder mixed with canned meat. The significant differences in the changes of body heat were detected at 360 minutes in the DCd regions, 20 minutes in the VCr regions, and 30 minutes in the VCd regions between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05). Based from our results, we find that Fu Zi can increase and maintain the dogs’ body heat for at least 6 hours. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Fu Zi on changes in the body heat of dogs. Twelve clinically healthy dogs were divided into two groups: the control group (six dogs) and the experimental group (six dogs). The control group was made to ingest normal saline mixed with canned meat, while the experimental group was made to ingest the Fu Zi solution mixed with canned meat. The infrared thermographic system was used to determine the level of body heat generated by these dogs. These areas include the dorsocranial (DCr), dorsocaudal (DCd), ventrocranial (VCr), and ventrocaudal (VCd) regions at pretreatment and were determined at 10, 20, 30, 50, 90, 120, 240, and 360 minutes after treatment for each of these areas. The results showed a tendency toward increased body heat until 30 minutes after ingestion of the Fu Zi powder mixed with canned meat. The significant differences in the changes of body heat were detected at 360 minutes in the DCd regions, 20 minutes in the VCr regions, and 30 minutes in the VCd regions between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05). Based from our results, we find that Fu Zi can increase and maintain the dogs’ body heat for at least 6 hours.

Role of folP1 and folP2 Genes in the Action of Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim Against Mycobacteria

( Tian Zhou Liu ),( Bang Xing Wang ),( Jin Tao Guo ),( Yang Zhou ),( Mugweru Julius ),( Moses Njire ),( Yuan Yuan Cao ),( Tian Wu ),( Zhi Yong Liu ),( Chang Wei Wang ),( Yong Xu ),( Tian Yu Zhang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.9

The combination of trimethoprim (TMP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has been shown to be active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in clinical tuberculosis (TB) treatment. However, the mechanism of action of TMP-SMX against Mtb is still unknown. To unravel this, we have studied the effect of TMP and SMX by deleting the folP2 gene in Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msm), and overexpressing the Mtb and Msm folP1/2 genes in Msm. Knocking out of the folP2 gene in Msm reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of SMX 8-fold compared with wild type. Overexpression of the folP1 genes from Mtb and Msm increased the MICs by 4- and 2-fold in Msm for SMX and TMP, respectively. We show a strong correlation between the expression of folP1 and folP2 genes and TMP-SMX resistance in mycobacteria. This suggests that a combination of FolP2 inhibitor and SMX could be used for TB treatment with a better outcome.

Distributed cooperative communication nodes control and optimization reliability for resource-constrained WSNs

Liu, Xiao,Liu, Anfeng,Li, Zhetao,Tian, Shujuan,Choi, Young-june,Sekiya, Hiroo,Li, Jie Elsevier 2017 Neurocomputing Vol.270 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>The utilization of distributed control and optimization is still a challenge issue to achieve reliable communication for resource-constrained networked systems. In this paper, a distributed cooperative communication nodes control (DCCNC) approach is proposed to achieve higher reliability communication and longer network lifetime for resource-constrained wireless sensor network (WSNs). A DCCNC scheme adopts feedback control approach to determine the appropriate number of node which participates in cooperative communication according to the application reliability requirements. A residue energy notification mechanism is used to notice the minimum residual energy of nodes in a network, then the number of cooperative communication nodes is adjusted according to the difference between the residual energy of nodes and the minimum residual energy of network. In a DCCNC scheme, larger number of participate cooperative communication nodes are adopted in non-hotspots area to achieve high reliability, while less number of participate cooperative communication nodes are adopted in hotspots area to achieve high network lifetime. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that comparing with previous communications schemes, DCCNC scheme can reduce end to end Data Fail delivering Ratio (DFR) by 57.16–93.29% while retaining network lifetime, and DCCNC approach can also improves lifetime by 3.89–18.75% while retaining weighted end to end (DFR).</P>

Microwave Absorbance of Polymer Composites Containing SiC Fibers Coated with Ni-Fe Thin Films

Liu, Tian,Kim, Sung-Soo,Choi, Woo-cheal,Yoon, Byungil The Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute 2018 한국분말재료학회지 (KPMI) Vol.25 No.5

Conductive and dielectric SiC are fabricated using electroless plating of Ni-Fe films on SiC chopped fibers to obtain lightweight and high-strength microwave absorbers. The electroless plating of Ni-Fe films is achieved using a two-step process of surface sensitizing and metal plating. The complex permeability and permittivity are measured for the composite specimens with the metalized SiC chopped fibers dispersed in a silicone rubber matrix. The original non-coated SiC fibers exhibit considerable dielectric losses. The complex permeability spectrum does not change significantly with the Ni-Fe coating. Moreover, dielectric constant is sensitively increased with Ni-Fe coating, owing to the increase of the space charge polarization. The improvements in absorption capability (lower reflection loss and small matching thickness) are evident with Ni-Fe coating on SiC fibers. For the composite SiC fibers coated with Ni-Fe thin films, a -35 dB reflection loss is predicted at 7.6 GHz with a matching thickness of 4 mm.

Using Stochastic Petri Nets for Reliability Evaluation of Subsea Annular BOP

Liu Zengkai,Liu Yonghong,Cai Baoping,Li Ju,Tian Xiaojie 보안공학연구지원센터 2013 International Journal of Smart Home Vol.7 No.5

Retrospective Evaluation of Discrepancies between Radiological and Pathological Size of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Masses

Tian, Fei,Wu, Jian-Xiong,Rong, Wei-Qi,Wang, Li-Ming,Wu, Fan,Yu, Wei-Bo,An, Song-Lin,Liu, Fa-Qiang,Feng, Li,Liu, Yun-He Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.21

Background: The size of a hepatic neoplasm is critical for staging, prognosis and selection of appropriate treatment. Our study aimed to compare the radiological size of solid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) masses on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the pathological size in a Chinese population, and to elucidate discrepancies. Materials and Methods: A total of 178 consecutive patients diagnosed with HCC who underwent curative hepatic resection after enhanced MRI between July 2010 and October 2013 were retrospectively identified and analyzed. Pathological data of the whole removed tumors wereassessed and differences between radiological and pathological tumor size were identified. All patients were restaged using a modified Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) staging system postoperatively according to the maximum diameter alteration. The lesions were classified as hypo-staged, iso-staged or hyper-staged for qualitative assessment. In the quantitative analysis, the relative pre and postoperative tumor size contrast ratio ($%{\Delta}size$) was also computed according to size intervals. In addition, the relationship between radiological and pathological tumor diameter variation and histologic grade was analyzed. Results: Pathological examination showed 85 (47.8%) patients were overestimated, 82 (46.1%) patients underestimated, while accurate measurement by MRI was found in 11 (6.2%) patients. Among the total subjects, 14 (7.9%) patients were hypo-staged and 15 (8.4%) were hyper-staged post-operatively. Accuracy of MRI for calculation and characterized staging was related to the lesion size, ranging from 83.1% to 87.4% (<2cm to ${\geq}5cm$, p=0.328) and from 62.5% to 89.1% (cT1 to cT4, p=0.006), respectively. Overall, MRI misjudged pathological size by 6.0 mm (p=0.588 ), and the greatest difference was observed in tumors <2cm (3.6 mm, $%{\Delta}size=16.9%$, p=0.028). No statistically significant difference was observed for moderately differentiated HCC (5.5mm, p=0.781). However, for well differentiated and poorly differentiated cases, radiographic tumor maximum diameter was significantly larger than the pathological maximum diameter by 3.15 mm and underestimated by 4.51 mm, respectively (p=0.034 and 0.020). Conclusions: A preoperative HCC tumor size measurement using MRI can provide relatively acceptable accuracy but may give rise to discrepancy in tumors in a certain size range or histologic grade. In pathological well differentiated subjects, the pathological tumor size was significantly overestimated, but underestimated in poorly differentiated HCC. The difference between radiological and pathological tumor size was greatest for tumors <2 cm. For some HCC patients, the size difference may have implications for the decision of resection, transplantation, ablation, or arterially directed therapy, and should be considered in staging or selecting the appropriate treatment tactics.

Effect of defect types in monolayer MoS2 on SO2 adsorption

Liu Ge,Liu Jianfei,Yan Jun,Chen Yunlin,Zhu Yabin,Tian Yahui 한국물리학회 2022 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.81 No.5

As a two-dimensional semiconductor material, molybdenum disulfde (MoS2) is extensively applied to sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas sensor. However, point defects will inevitably be produced in the preparation of MoS2, which signifcantly afect the adsorption properties of MoS2. Thus, understanding the properties of diferent point defects is essential for the successful application of MoS2. In this work, four types of point defects (VS-MoS2, VS2-MoS2, VMoS3-MoS2 and VMoS6-MoS2) of monolayers MoS2 were proposed, and the adsorption characteristics of SO2 on four typical defective MoS2 monolayers were investigated based on frst principles. The adsorption models were established to calculate the electronic properties and adsorption parameters of the adsorption systems. The results show that VMoS6-MoS2 defect has excellent adsorption properties for SO2 due to its largest adsorption energy, charge transfer and electrical response. The obtained results will contribute to the understanding of the efects on the MoS2 monolayers with diferent defects for SO2 sensing application.

Population genetics reveals new introgression in the nucleus herd of min pigs

Liu Tianxin,Ji Dongqing,Li Xinyuan,Liu Jiadong,Xu Fei,Miao Zhiying,Chang Yang,Tian Ming,Xu Chunzhu 한국유전학회 2024 Genes & Genomics Vol.46 No.4

Objective Min pigs are a unique genetic resource among local pig breeds in China. They have more excellent characteristics in cold and stress resistance, good meat quality, and a high reproductive rate. However, the genetic structure and driving factors remain unclear in the nucleus herd. In this study, the genetic diversity of Min pigs was studied to reveal the formation mechanism of its unique genetic structure. We hope to protect and develop the genetic resources of Min pigs. Methods We analyzed different types of genes to identify the genetic structure and gene introgression pattern of Min pigs. The nuclear DNA dataset includes information on 21 microsatellite loci and 6 Y-chromosome genes, and the mitochondrial D-loop gene is selected to represent maternal lineages. The above genes are all from the nucleus herd of Min pigs. Results The results of genetic structure identification and analysis of potential exogenous gene introgression patterns indicate that the nucleus herd of Min pigs maintains a high level of genetic diversity (polymorphism information content = 0.713, expected heterozygosity = 0.662, observed heterozygosity = 0.612). Compared with other Asian pig breeds, the formation of Min pig breeds is more special. Gene introgression from European pig breeds to Min pigs has occurred, which is characterized by complete introgression of paternal genes and incomplete introgression of maternal genes. Conclusion Gene introgression caused by cross-breeding is not the main factor leading to the formation of the current genetic structure of Min pigs, but this process has increased the level of genetic diversity in the nucleus herd. Compared with the influence of gene introgression, our research suggest that artificial selection and environmental adaptive evolution make Min pigs form unique genetic characteristics. Objective Min pigs are a unique genetic resource among local pig breeds in China. They have more excellent characteristics in cold and stress resistance, good meat quality, and a high reproductive rate. However, the genetic structure and driving factors remain unclear in the nucleus herd. In this study, the genetic diversity of Min pigs was studied to reveal the formation mechanism of its unique genetic structure. We hope to protect and develop the genetic resources of Min pigs. Methods We analyzed different types of genes to identify the genetic structure and gene introgression pattern of Min pigs. The nuclear DNA dataset includes information on 21 microsatellite loci and 6 Y-chromosome genes, and the mitochondrial D-loop gene is selected to represent maternal lineages. The above genes are all from the nucleus herd of Min pigs. Results The results of genetic structure identification and analysis of potential exogenous gene introgression patterns indicate that the nucleus herd of Min pigs maintains a high level of genetic diversity (polymorphism information content = 0.713, expected heterozygosity = 0.662, observed heterozygosity = 0.612). Compared with other Asian pig breeds, the formation of Min pig breeds is more special. Gene introgression from European pig breeds to Min pigs has occurred, which is characterized by complete introgression of paternal genes and incomplete introgression of maternal genes. Conclusion Gene introgression caused by cross-breeding is not the main factor leading to the formation of the current genetic structure of Min pigs, but this process has increased the level of genetic diversity in the nucleus herd. Compared with the influence of gene introgression, our research suggest that artificial selection and environmental adaptive evolution make Min pigs form unique genetic characteristics.

Virtual Non-Contrast Computer Tomography (CT) with Spectral CT as an Alternative to Conventional Unenhanced CT in the Assessment of Gastric Cancer

Tian, Shi-Feng,Liu, Ai-Lian,Wang, He-Qing,Liu, Jing-Hong,Sun, Mei-Yu,Liu, Yi-Jun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.6

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate computed tomography (CT) virtual non-contrast (VNC) spectral imaging for gastric carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Fifty-two patients with histologically proven gastric carcinomas underwent gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) including non-contrast and contrast-enhanced hepatic arterial, portal venous, and equilibrium phase acquisitions prior to surgery. VNC arterial phase (VNCa), VNC venous phase (VNCv), and VNC equilibrium phase (VNCe) images were obtained by subtracting iodine from iodine/water images. Images were analyzed with respect to image quality, gastric carcinoma-intragastric water contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), gastric carcinoma-perigastric fat CNR, serosal invasion, and enlarged lymph nodes around the lesions. Results: Carcinoma-water CNR values were significantly higher in VNCa, VNCv, and VNCe images than in normal CT images (2.72, 2.60, 2.61, respectively, vs 2.35, $p{\leq}0.008$). Carcinoma-perigastric fat CNR values were significantly lower in VNCa, VNCv, and VNCe images than in normal CT images (7.63, 7.49, 7.32, respectively, vs 8.48, p< 0.001). There were no significant differences of carcinoma-water CNR and carcinoma-perigastric fat CNR among VNCa, VNCv, and VNCe images. There was no difference in the determination of invasion or enlarged lymph nodes between normal CT and VNCa images. Conclusions: VNC arterial phase images may be a surrogate for conventional non-contrast CT images in gastric carcinoma evaluation.