Asparagus Polysaccharide and Gum with Hepatic Artery Embolization Induces Tumor Growth and Inhibits Angiogenesis in an Orthotopic Hepatocellular Carcinoma Model

Weng, Ling-Ling,Xiang, Jian-Feng,Lin, Jin-Bo,Yi, Shang-Hui,Yang, Li-Tao,Li, Yi-Sheng,Zeng, Hao-Tao,Lin, Sheng-Ming,Xin, Dong-Wei,Zhao, Hai-Liang,Qiu, Shu-Qi,Chen, Tao,Zhang, Min-Guang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.24

Liver cancer is one of leading digestive malignancies with high morbidity and mortality. There is an urgent need for the development of novel therapies for this deadly disease. It has been proven that asparagus polysaccharide, one of the most active derivates from the traditional medicine asparagus, possesses notable antitumor properties. However, little is known about the efficacy of asparagus polysaccharide as an adjuvant for liver cancer chemotherapy. Herein, we reported that asparagus polysaccharide and its embolic agent form, asparagus gum, significantly inhibited liver tumor growth with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) therapy in an orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor model, while significantly inhibiting angiogenesis and promoting tumor cell apoptosis. Moreover, asparagine gelatinous possessed immunomodulatory functions and showed little toxicity to the host. These results highlight the chemotherapeutic potential of asparagus polysaccharide and warrant a future focus on development as novel chemotherapeutic agent for liver cancer TACE therapy.

Model Prediction Control Design for Inverse Multiplicative Structure Based Feedforward Hysteresis Compensation of a Piezo Nanopositioning Stage

Min Ming,Jie Ling,Zhao Feng,Xiaohui Xiao 한국정밀공학회 2018 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.19 No.11

The inherent hysteresis nonlinearity of piezoelectric actuators seriously deteriorates the tracking performance of piezo-actuated nanopositioning stage, especially in large stroke applications. Usually, the model of piezo-actuated stage is given by cascading a rateindependent hysteresis submodel with a linear dynamics submodel. This paper develops a composite model predictive control (MPC) with feedforward hysteresis compensation based on the inverse multiplicative structure. The feedforward controller has the merit of non-inverse requirement. The linear MPC is utilized as a feedback controller with the feature of simple solution for the feedforward compensation system. Experimental tracking results of sinusoidal signals at different frequencies as well as complex signals show that the proposed method can improve the tracking performance of the piezo-actuated stage, verifying its effectiveness.

IL-24 Contributes to Neutrophilic Asthma in an IL-17A-Dependent Manner and Is Suppressed by IL-37

Feng Kang-ni,Meng Ping,Zhang Min,Zou Xiao-ling,Li Shuang,Huang Chu-qin,Lai Ke-fang,Li Hong-tao,Zhang Tian-tuo 대한천식알레르기학회 2022 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.14 No.5

Purpose: Neutrophilic asthma is associated with asthma exacerbation, steroid insensitivity, and severe asthma. Interleukin (IL)-24 is overexpressed in asthma and is involved in the pathogenesis of several allergic inflammatory diseases. However, the role and specific mechanism of IL-24 in neutrophilic asthma are unclear. We aimed to elucidate the roles of IL-24 and IL-37 in neutrophilic asthma, the relationships with IL-17A and the mechanisms regulating neutrophilic asthma progression. Methods: Purified human neutrophils were isolated from healthy volunteers, and a cell coculture system was used to evaluate the function of IL-24 in epithelium-derived IL-17A-dependent neutrophil migration. IL-37 or a small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting IL-24 was delivered intranasally to verify the effect in a murine model of house dust mite (HDM)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neutrophilic asthma. Results: IL-24 enhanced IL-17A production in bronchial epithelial cells via the STAT3 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways; this effect was reversed by exogenous IL-37. Anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibodies reduced neutrophil chemotaxis induced by IL-24-treated epithelial cells in vitro. Increased IL-24 and IL-17A expression in the airway epithelium was observed in HDM/LPS-induced neutrophilic asthma. IL-37 administration or IL-24 silencing attenuated neutrophilic asthma, reducing IL-17A levels and decreasing neutrophil airway infiltration, airway hyperresponsiveness, and goblet cell metaplasia. Silencing IL-24 inhibited T-helper 17 (Th17) immune responses, but not Th1 or Th2 immune responses, in the lungs of a neutrophilic asthma model. Conclusions: IL-24 aggravated neutrophilic airway inflammation by increasing epithelium-derived IL-17A production, which could be suppressed by IL-37. Targeting the IL-24/IL-17A signaling axis is a potential strategy, and IL-37 is a potential candidate agent for alleviating neutrophilic airway inflammation in asthma.

프로테제의 내재론적 성향과 공식 멘토링 효과성의 관계에서 멘토링 참여의지의 매개효과 연구

링펑(Ling, Feng),김민정(Kim, Min Jeong) 한국인적자원개발학회 2016 인적자원개발연구 Vol.19 No.3

Damping Controller Design for Triangular Scanning of a Third-Order Nanopositioning Stage

Jie Ling,Tingting Ye,Zhao Feng,Min Ming,Xiaohui Xiao 제어로봇시스템학회 2019 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2019 No.10

In this paper, a design procedure of damping controller for third-order nanopositioning stage is presented for high-speed triangular scanning. Conventionally, damping control schemes of integral resonant control (IRC) and resonance-shifted IRC (RS-IRC) are designed providing that a second-order model can be identified for a nanopositioning stage. For a third-order system, existing control schemes cannot be applied directly. For this, a pole-zero cancellation technique is presented to design IRC scheme. In addition, a state observer based pole placement technique is proposed for RS-IRC design. The effectiveness of the proposed design procedures is demonstrated through both simulations and experiments based on a piezo-actuated nanopositioning stage platform. Results show that a closed-loop bandwidth of 156 Hz and 186 Hz are obtained by designed IRC and RS-IRC for the third-order nanopositioning stage, and the root-mean-square (RMS) errors of 40 Hz triangular tracking are 49 nm and 13 nm under IRC and RS-IRC control, respectively.

Signal Transformed Internal Model Control for Non-raster Scanning of Piezo-actuated Nanopositioning Stages

Jie Ling,Zhao Feng,Min Ming,Zhao Guo,Xiaohui Xiao 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2020 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.18 No.8

This paper proposes a new signal transformed internal model control (STIMC) scheme for non-raster scanning patterns of piezo-actuated nanopositioning stages. To smooth the scanning signals superimposed with a ramp or time-varying amplitudes, a signal transformation operator is calculated to convert the references into standard harmonic waveforms. An inverse transformation operator is then added in the control loop to generate the driving signals. For the contained internal model control (IMC) design, an H∞ mixed-sensitivity method is utilized for the first order internal mode synthesis. A second and a third internal modes are included in the IMC for alleviating residual high-frequency errors resulted from the nonlinearity of hysteresis. To verify the proposed STIMC scheme, comparative experiments with conventional IMC are conducted based on a nanopositioning platform. Results prove that the STIMC is effective on non-raster signals’ tracking. A same tracking precision for Lissajous scanning can be obtained by STIMC compared with IMC. An improvement of larger than 50% and 80% of root-mean-square errors can be obtained for cycloid and spiral scanning patterns, respectively.

Damping Controller Design for Nanopositioners: A Hybrid Reference Model Matching and Virtual Reference Feedback Tuning Approach

Jie Ling,Zhao Feng,Min Ming,Xiaohui Xiao 한국정밀공학회 2018 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.19 No.1

Conventionally, fixed-structure feedback controllers are designed by model-based approaches. However, such controllers are not necessarily ideal and optimal when connecting with the actual plant because of the existence of modeling uncertainty. In this paper, a paralleled damping controller as well as a novel hybrid reference model matching (RMM) and virtual reference feedback tuning (VRFT) approach for parameters’ tuning of the controller is presented. The composite damping controller for piezo-actuated nanopositioners is fixed-structure and low-order that uses a high-gain notch filter and a high-pass resonant controller to damp the first resonant peak. The proposed hybrid tuning approach combines an identified system model and a set of experimental input/output data into the parameters’ optimization of the proposed composite damping controller. The proposed hybrid approach simplifies the tuning process by decreasing the number of the parameters in the initial values’ choosing stage from the whole nine to four. Besides, the application of experimental data improves rejection of model uncertainty. A set of optimal parameters in the controller is obtained using the proposed hybrid design approach. Experimental results with comparisons to built-in PID controller are presented to show the effectiveness of the composite damping controller optimized via the hybrid approach.

Molecular Cloning and Expression of cDNA Encoding the Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitor from Upland Cotton

Ming-feng Jiang,Sheng-wei Li,Min Chen,Ying-fan Cai,Yong-fang Xie,Biao Li,Quan Sun,Huai-zhong Jiang,Zheng Pan,Yun-ling Gao,You-Lu Yuan,Yu-zheng Shi 한국식물학회 2009 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.52 No.5

A cDNA encoding a novel cysteine proteinase inhibitor (CPI) was isolated from a gland mutant Xiangmian-18 of upland cotton during the pigments gland forming stage. The cDNA comprises 378 bp and encodes 125 amino acid residues with molecular mass of 13.8 kDa. It contains the conserved motif of cysteine protease inhibitors and belongs to the cystatin superfamily (Gln- Val-Val-Ala-Gly). The deduced amino acid sequences of the domains are highly similar to the normal upland cotton (96.8%). SDS-PAGE and western hybridization analysis showed that the expressed recombinant protein was recombinant CPI. The inhibitory activity of recombinant CPI was 46 u/μg which was measured by inhibiting the protease activity of papain. RT-PCR results indicated that the expression level of developing gland stage was higher than that of undeveloped gland stage.

Profiling Gene Expression During Gland Morphogenesis of a Glanded and a Glandless Upland Cotton

Ying-Fan Cai,Min Chen,Quan Sun,Yong-Fang Xie,Sheng-Wei Li,Jian-Chuan Mo,Ming-Feng Jiang,You-Lu Yuan,Yu-Zhen Shi,Huai-Zhong Jiang,Zheng Pan,Yun-Ling Gao,Peng-Sheng Ye,Hua-Lan Zeng 한국식물학회 2009 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.52 No.6

The pigment gland is an important character of the Gossypium plant. With the aim of identifying genes involved in pigment gland morphogenesis in cotton, gene expression during pigment gland morphogenesis in Chuan 2802, which is glanded both in seed and plant, and a glandless line N5 was profiled using Affymetrix Cotton microarray. The results showed that there were 564 differentially expressed genes greater than twofold during gland morphogenesis. About 60.2% of these genes shares similarity with known genes on GenBank and about 39.8% with no functional description in the database. These described genes may play roles in defense response, response to oxidative stress, peroxidase activity, and the other metabolic pathways. The KEGG Orthology-Based Annotation System indicated that these above twofold expressed genes involved seven biochemical pathways on KEGG. These findings suggest that a complicated regulation is associated with pigment gland morphogenesis and the associated defense response including gossypol biosynthesis in cotton.

Computer-aided prediction model for axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer using tumor morphological and textural features on ultrasound

Moon, Woo Kyung,Chen, I-Ling,Yi, Ann,Bae, Min Sun,Shin, Sung Ui,Chang, Ruey-Feng Elsevier 2018 COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE Vol.162 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P><B>Background and objectives</B></P> <P>Axillary lymph node (ALN) status is a key indicator in assessing and determining the treatment strategy for patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Previous studies suggest that sonographic features of a primary tumor have the potential to predict ALN status in the preoperative staging of breast cancer. In this study, a computer-aided prediction (CAP) model as well as the tumor features for ALN metastasis in breast cancers were developed using breast ultrasound (US) images.</P> <P><B>Methods</B></P> <P>A total of 249 malignant tumors were acquired from 247 female patients (ages 20–84 years; mean 55 ± 11 years) to test the differences between the non-metastatic (130) and metastatic (119) groups based on various features. After applying semi-automatic tumor segmentation, 69 quantitative features were extracted. The features included morphology and texture of tumors inside a ROI of breast US image. By the backward feature selection and linear logistic regression, the prediction model was constructed and established to estimate the likelihood of ALN metastasis for each sample collected.</P> <P><B>Results</B></P> <P>In the experiments, the texture features showed higher performance for predicting ALN metastasis compared to morphology (<I>Az</I>, 0.730 vs 0.667). The difference, however, was not statistically significant (<I>p</I>-values > 0.05). Combining the textural and morphological features, the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and <I>Az</I> value achieved 75.1% (187/249), 79.0% (94/119), 71.5% (93/130), and 0.757, respectively.</P> <P><B>Conclusions</B></P> <P>The proposed CAP model, which combines textural and morphological features of primary tumor, may be a useful method to determine the ALN status in patients with breast cancer.</P> <P><B>Highlights </B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> A computer-aided prediction (CAP) system contained automatic tumor segmentation and feature quantification on breast ultrasound was developed to evaluate the axillary lymph node (ALN) status in the preoperative staging with breast cancer. </LI> <LI> The proposed CAP model based on morphological and textural features of primary tumor would provide a promising diagnostic suggestion for recognizing the breast cancers as a case of ALN metastasis. </LI> <LI> In view of there has been a decrease in the patients presented with palpable ALN at diagnosis of breast cancer, a non-invasive examination like our CAP model may help physicians in the choice of the optimal axillary approach. </LI> </UL> </P>