Legumain Protein as a Potential Predictive Biomarker for Asian Patients with Breast Carcinoma

Wu, Mei,Shao, Guang-Rui,Zhang, Fei-Xue,Wu, Wen-Xiu,Xu, Ping,Ruan, Zheng-Min Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.24

Background: Treatment for breast cancer is mainly performed by surgical resection of primary tumors and chemotherapy. However, after tumor invasion and metastases, breast cancer is hard to control. Clarification of the pathogenic mechanisms would be helpful to the prognosis or therapy for the breast cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical and prognostic implications of legumain protein Materials and Methods: In this study, we examined mastectomy specimens from 114 breast cancer and matching, 26 adjacent non-cancerous tissues using immunohistochemistry. Results: The results indicated that positive expression of legumain protein in breast cancer was 51.8 % (59/114) and the positive expression of legumain protein in adjacent non-cancerous tissue was 11.5% (3/26). It appeared to be related with lymph node metastasis of breast cancer (p=0.02) and correlation analysis indicated that legumain expression was correlated positively with the estrogen receptor (ER) and mutant-type p53 expression (both p<0.05). Positive legumain expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival time in breast cancer patients (log-rank p<0.01). Multivariate survival analysis suggested that the positive legumain expression was an independent predictor of poorer overall survival in patients with breast cancer (HR=0.24; 95%CI 0.11-0.65, p=0.03). Conclusions: Legumain might be a new potential biomarker for breast cancer, which may reflect the prognosis and overall survival.

Differential Impacts on Bacterial Composition and Abundance in Rhizosphere Compartments between Al-Tolerant and Al-Sensitive Soybean Genotypes in Acidic Soil

Wen Zhong-Ling,Yang Min-Kai,Fazal Aliya,Liao Yong-Hui,Cheng Lin-Run,Hua Xiao-Mei,Hu Dong-Qing,Shi Ji-Sen,Yang Rong-Wu,Lu Gui-Hua,Qi Jin-Liang,Zhi Hong,Qian Qiu-Ping,Yang Yong-Hua 한국미생물·생명공학회 2020 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.30 No.8

In this study, two soybean genotypes, i.e., aluminum-tolerant Baxi 10 (BX10) and aluminumsensitive Bendi 2 (BD2), were used as plant materials and acidic red soil was used as growth medium. The soil layers from the inside to the outside of the root are: rhizospheric soil after washing (WRH), rhizospheric soil after brushing (BRH) and rhizospheric soil at two sides (SRH), respectively. The rhizosphere bacterial communities were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of V4 hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA gene amplicons via Illumina MiSeq. The results of alpha diversity analysis showed that the BRH and SRH of BX10 were significantly lower in community richness than that of BD2, while the WRH exhibited no significant difference between BX10 and BD2. Among the three sampling compartments of the same soybean genotype, WRH had the lowest community richness and diversity while showing the highest coverage. Beta diversity analysis results displayed no significant difference for any compartment between the two genotypes, or among the three different sampling compartments for any same soybean genotype. However, the relative abundance of major bacterial taxa, specifically nitrogen-fixing and/or aluminum-tolerant bacteria, was significantly different in the compartments of the BRH and/or SRH at phylum and genus levels, indicating genotype-dependent variations in rhizosphere bacterial communities. Strikingly, as compared with BRH and SRH, the WRH within the same genotype (BX10 or BD2) always had an enrichment effect on rhizosphere bacteria associated with nitrogen fixation

Investigation of Hperthermia Effect from b-Cyclodextrin Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles

Wen-Teng WU,Shuo-Yan HONG,Mei-Jywan SYU 한국생물공학회 2016 한국생물공학회 학술대회 Vol.2016 No.4

Suture Repair in Endoscopic Surgery for Craniovertebral Junction

Mei-Yin Yeh,Wen-Cheng Huang,Jau-Ching Wu,Chao-Hung Kuo,Hsuan-Kan Chang,Tsung-Hsi Tu,Peng-Yuan Chang,Yu-Shu Yen,Henrich Cheng 대한척추신경외과학회 2019 Neurospine Vol.16 No.2

Objective: Endoscopic approaches to the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) have been established as viable and effective surgical treatments in the past decade. One of the major complications is leakage of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of suture closure at the nasopharyngeal mucosa upon durotomy. Methods: A series of consecutive patients who underwent different endoscopic approaches to the CVJ were retrospectively reviewed. The pathologies, surgical corridors, neurological and functional outcomes, radiological evaluations, and complications were analyzed. Different strategies of repair for the intraoperative CSF leakage were described and compared. Results: A total of 22 patients covering 13 years were analyzed. There were 12, 2, and 8 patients who underwent transnasal, transoral, and combined approaches, respectively. There were 8 patients (36.4%) who experienced intraoperative CSF leakage, and were grouped into 2: 4 in the nonsuture (NS) group and 4 in the suture-repaired (SR) group. The NS group had 3 (75%) persistent CSF leakages postoperation that caused 1 mortality, whereas patients of the SR group had only 1 minor CSF rhinorrhea that healed spontaneously within days. Conclusion: In this series of 22 patients who required anterior endoscopic resection of pathologies at the CVJ, there was 1 (4.5%) serious complication related to CSF leakage. For patients who had no durotomy, the mucosal incision at the nasopharynx usually healed rapidly and there were few procedure-related complications. For patients with intraoperative CSF leakage, suture closure was technically challenging but could significantly lower the risks of postoperative complications.

Hydroxyapatite prepared from eggshell and mulberry leaf extract by precipitation method

Wu, Shih-Ching,Hsu, Hsueh-Chuan,Hsu, Shih-Kuang,Liu, Mei-Yi,Ho, Wen-Fu Techno-Press 2019 Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering Vol.4 No.1

Eggshell is a waste material after the usage of egg. In this work, biowaste chicken eggshells were used for preparing carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles of high purity through aqueous precipitation method at room temperature. The eggshell-derived HA will be a cost-effective bioceramics for biomedical applications and an effective material-recycling technology. Additionally, mulberry leaf extract was used as a template to regulate the morphology, size and crystallinity of HA, and the effects of pH value were also examined. Characterization of the samples was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the size, shape and morphology of HA. The results indicate that only one phase of HA were synthesized in the both absence and presence of mulberry leaf extract at pH of 7 and above, while DCPD or DCPA/DCPD phase was observed at pH 4 condition. The crystallite sizes of the HA samples obviously decreased when adding mulberry leaf extract as a template, while they decreased gradually as the solution pH levels increased. With increasing pH level from 7 to 14, the rod-like HA nanoparticles gradually changed to spherical shape at pH 14. Note that, the obtained product is Mg and Sr containing A- and B-type carbonate HA at alkaline pH and it can be a potential material for biomedical applications.

Novel method for equivalent stiffness and Coulomb’s damping ratio analyses of leaf spring

Wu Wen-jun,Zhu Le-mei,Xiang Yu,He Li-jun 대한기계학회 2012 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.26 No.11

The leaf spring is a representative type of laminated structure. Based on the linear theories of curve beams, the first derivatives of the leave’s status-vector of the leaf spring are provided. The first derivatives of the combination status-vector are obtained by properly dealing with the nonlinear interacted forces between adjacent leaves. Moreover, the precise integration technology and the transform matrix method are introduced to solve the equations. The force-displacement curve of a leaf spring is then calculated separately by using the present method and the finite element software ANSYS. From the results, the precision and advantages of the present methods for analyzing the leaf spring are revealed. The Coulomb’s damping ratio of the leaf spring is studied by using the present method.

Processing Errors in an On-Machine Measurement Method Based on the Adaptive Triangular Mesh

Wu Shi,Mei-wen Zhu,Xian-li Liu,Li-jian Bian,Yang Lin 한국정밀공학회 2017 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.18 No.5

A novel, on-machine method applying the adaptive triangular mesh sampling measuring process on automotive parts mold was elaborated in order to obtain the processing errors of free-form surfaces. This process has firstly generated a triangular mesh through the advancing front method. This has allowed us to extract the coordinate data corresponding to the mesh nodes. Subsequently, the processed surfaces were fitted by the mean of NURBS surface reconstruction. The final stage has employed the determination of the normal distance between the reconstructed and theoretical surfaces using the generalized Newtonian method, which has eventually allowed us to obtain the free-form surface machining errors as well as the model surface profile errors corresponding to the experimental process. Therefore, we have effectively determined the free-form surface processing errors by using the processing surface reconstruction methodology based on the adaptive triangular mesh sampling.

Characterization of nanosized hydroxyapatite prepared by an aqueous precipitation method using eggshells and mulberry leaf extract

Wu Shih-Ching,Hsu Hsueh-Chuan,Liu Mei-Yi,Ho Wen-Fu 한국세라믹학회 2021 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.58 No.1

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been vigorously studied for orthopedic and dental applications due to its excellent bioactivity, osteoconductivity, and osteoinductivity. This study aims to present a simple room-temperature aqueous precipitation method for obtaining carbonated HA nanoparticles of high purity from biowaste chicken eggshells. Biowaste chicken eggshells were used for preparing HA through aqueous precipitation method. Moreover, mulberry leaf extract was used as a template to regulate the morphology, size, and crystallinity of HA. All produced nanocrystalline HA powders exhibited rod-like particle agglomerates of a size below 100 nm. The HA particles synthesized with the mulberry leaf extract showed higher crystallinity and slightly decreased crystallite sizes compared to the samples prepared without adding the extract. Carbonate peaks observed for the specimens closely matched those of A- and B-type carbonates, which can contribute to the low crystallinity. Notably, the HA synthesized from the eggshell powders contains several important trace elements such as Mg and Sr, which are benefi cial to the overall biological performance as biomaterials. The morphology, size, structure, and composition of the obtained HA products are similar to those of natural bones, and consequently, the products show potential as a material for biomedical applications.

Novel Two-dimensional Network Based on Amino-acid-octamolybdate Bridged by Second Metals: {M(H₂O)₃(pro)Mo₄O₁₃}₂·2H₂O (pro = proline, M = Co, Ni, Cu, Zn)

Wu, Xiao-Yuan,Lu, Can-Zhong,Xia, Chang-Kun,Chen, Shu-Mei,Liu, Jiu-Hui,Chen, Li-Juan,Yang, Wen-Bin Korean Chemical Society 2006 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.27 No.8

Four isostructural amino-acid-based polyoxomolybdates, {$M(H_2O)_3(pro)Mo_4O_{13}$}$_2{\cdot}2H_2O$ (pro = proline, M = Co (1), Ni (2), Cu (3), Zn (4)), have been synthesized and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, IR spectrum, TG analysis. The structures of 1-4 are layered networks built up from {$Mo_8O_{26}(pro)_2$}$^{4-}$ units and {$M(H_2O)_3O_3$} octahedra, the uncoordinated water molecules occupying the interlayer regions.

Pretherapy 18F-FDG PET/CT in Predicting Disease Relapse in Patients With Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease: A Prospective Study

Cheng Mei-Fang,Guo Yue Leon,Yen Ruoh-Fang,Wu Yen-Wen,Wang Hsiu-Po 대한영상의학회 2023 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.24 No.6

Objective: To investigate whether the levels of inflammation detected by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) can predict disease relapse in immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) patients receiving standard induction steroid therapy. Materials and Methods: This prospective study analyzed pretherapy FDG PET/CT images from 48 patients (mean age, 63 ± 12.9 years; 45 males and 3 females) diagnosed with IgG4-RD between September 2008 and February 2018, who subsequently received standard induction steroid therapy as the first-line treatment. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify the potential prognostic factors associated with relapse-free survival (RFS). Results: The median follow-up time for the entire cohort was 1913 days (interquartile range [IQR], 803–2929 days). Relapse occurred in 81.3% (39/48) patients during the follow-up period. The median time to relapse was 210 days (IQR, 140–308 days) after completion of standardized induction steroid therapy. Among the 17 parameters analyzed, Cox proportional hazard analysis identified whole-body total lesion glycolysis (WTLG) > 600 on FDG-PET as an independent risk factor for disease relapse (median RFS, 175 vs. 308 days; adjusted hazard ratio, 2.196 [95% confidence interval: 1.080–4.374]; P = 0.030). Conclusion: WTLG on pretherapy FDG PET/CT was the only significant factor associated with RFS in IgG-RD patients receiving standard steroid induction therapy.