Relationship between Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Level and Efficacy of Inhaled Corticosteroid in Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome Patients with Different Disease Severity

Jia-Xi Feng,Yun Lin,Jian Lin,Su-Su He,Mei-Fang Chen,Xiao-Mai Wu,You-Zu Xu 대한의학회 2017 Journal of Korean medical science Vol.32 No.3

This study explored the relationship between the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) level and the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS) patients with different disease severity. A total of 127 ACOS patients with ACOS (case group) and 131 healthy people (control group) were enrolled in this study. Based on the severity of COPD, the ACOS patients were divided into: mild ACOS; moderate ACOS; severe ACOS; and extremely severe ACOS groups. We compared FeNO levels, pulmonary function parameters including percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to predicted value (FEV1%pred), ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), inspiratory capacity to total lung capacity (IC/TLC) and residual volume to total lung capacity (RV/TLC), arterial blood gas parameters, including PH, arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), induced sputum eosinophil (EOS), plasma surfactant protein A (SP-A), plasma soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), sputum myeloperoxidase (MPO), sputum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores, and COPD Assessment Test (CAT) scores. Compared with pre-treatment parameters, the FeNO levels, RV/TLC, PaCO2, total serum IgE, induced sputum EOS, plasma SP-A, sputum MPO, sputum NGAL, and CAT scores were significantly decreased after 6 months of ICS treatment, while FEV1%pred, FEV1/FVC, IC/TLC, PH, PaO2, plasma sRAGE, and ACT scores were significantly increased in ACOS patients with different disease severity after 6 months of ICS treatment. This finding suggests that the FeNO level may accurately predict the efficacy of ICS in the treatment of ACOS patients.

Hydro-mechanical interaction of reinforced concrete lining in hydraulic pressure tunnel

He-Gao Wu,Li Zhou,Kai Su,Ya-Feng Zhou,Xi-Yu Wen 국제구조공학회 2019 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.71 No.6

The reinforced concrete lining of hydraulic pressure tunnels tends to crack under high inner water pressure (IWP), which results in the inner water exosmosis along cracks and involves typical hydro-mechanical interaction. This study aims at the development, validation and application of an indirect-coupled method to simulate the lining cracking process. Based on the concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model, the utility routine GETVRM and the user subroutine USDFLD in the finite element code ABAQUS is employed to calculate and adjust the secondary hydraulic conductivity according to the material damage and the plastic volume strain. The friction-contact method (FCM) is introduced to track the lining-rock interface behavior. Compared with the traditional node-shared method (NSM) model, the FCM model is more feasible to simulate the lining cracking process. The number of cracks and the reinforcement stress can be significantly reduced, which matches well with the observed results in engineering practices. Moreover, the damage evolution of reinforced concrete lining can be effectively slowed down. This numerical method provides an insight into the cracking process of reinforced concrete lining in hydraulic pressure tunnels.

Enhanced electrochemical performance of Ca-doped NdBa_1-xCa_xCoCuO_5+δ as cathode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Pang, Shengli,Su, Yanjing,Yang, Gongmei,Shen, Xiangqian,Zhu, Meng,Wu, Xiao,Li, Songwei,Yang, Xiaofen,Xi, Xiaoming Elsevier 2018 Ceramics international Vol.44 No.17

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Exploring advanced cathode materials that have high electrochemical activity and superior thermal compatibility with other components is of great importance for the application of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. In the present study, influences of Ca doping on electrochemical and physicochemical properties of NdBa<SUB>1-x</SUB>Ca<SUB>x</SUB>CoCuO<SUB>5+δ</SUB> were studied systematically. A relatively low thermal expansion coefficient (16.8 × 10<SUP>−6</SUP> °C<SUP>−1</SUP>) was obtained for the Ca-doped sample over the temperature range of 25–800 °C. Moreover, Ca doping significantly enhanced the electrochemical performance of NdBa<SUB>1-x</SUB>Ca<SUB>x</SUB>CoCuO<SUB>5+δ</SUB>. The highest densities of power for NdBa<SUB>1-x</SUB>Ca<SUB>x</SUB>CoCuO<SUB>5+δ</SUB>-based single cells at the temperatures of 800 °C increased from 1.42 W cm<SUP>−2</SUP> for x = 0.0 to 1.84 W cm<SUP>−2</SUP> for x = 0.3. This increase in electrochemical performance of NdBa<SUB>1-x</SUB>Ca<SUB>x</SUB>CoCuO<SUB>5+δ</SUB> cathode with Ca doping can be ascribed to enhanced concentrations of oxygen vacancies and higher electrical conductivity.</P>

Simultaneous treatment with sorafenib and glucose restriction inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo by impairing SIAH1-mediated mitophagy

Zhou Jing,Feng Ji,Wu Yong,Dai Hui-Qi,Zhu Guang-Zhi,Chen Pan-Hong,Wang Li-Ming,Lu Guang,Liao Xi-Wen,Lu Pei-Zhi,Su Wen-Jing,Hooi Shing Chuan,Ye Xin-Pin,Shen Han-Ming,Peng Tao,Lu Guo-Dong 생화학분자생물학회 2022 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.54 No.-

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the first-line treatment for unresectable intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is of high clinical significance to explore the synergistic effect of TACE with antiangiogenic inhibitors and the molecular mechanisms involved. This study determined that glucose, but not other analyzed nutrients, offered significant protection against cell death induced by sorafenib, as indicated by glucose deprivation sensitizing cells to sorafenib-induced cell death. Next, this synergistic effect was found to be specific to sorafenib, not to lenvatinib or the chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin. Mechanistically, sorafenib-induced mitophagy, as indicated by PINK1 accumulation, increased the phospho-poly-ubiquitination modification, accelerated mitochondrial membrane protein and mitochondrial DNA degradation, and increased the amount of mitochondrion-localized mKeima-Red engulfed by lysosomes. Among several E3 ubiquitin ligases tested, SIAH1 was found to be essential for inducing mitophagy; that is, SIAH1 silencing markedly repressed mitophagy and sensitized cells to sorafenib-induced death. Notably, the combined treatment of glucose restriction and sorafenib abolished ATP generation and mitophagy, which led to a high cell death rate. Oligomycin and antimycin, inhibitors of electron transport chain complexes, mimicked the synergistic effect of sorafenib with glucose restriction to promote cell death mediated via mitophagy inhibition. Finally, inhibition of the glucose transporter by canagliflozin (a clinically available drug used for type-II diabetes) effectively synergized with sorafenib to induce HCC cell death in vitro and to inhibit xenograft tumor growth in vivo. This study demonstrates that simultaneous treatment with sorafenib and glucose restriction is an effective approach to treat HCC, suggesting a promising combination strategy such as transarterial sorafenib-embolization (TASE) for the treatment of unresectable HCC.

Antioxidant effect of peony seed oil on aging mice

Xiao-Miao Han,Su-Xi Wu,Mei-Fang Wu,Xue-Feng Yang 한국식품과학회 2017 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.26 No.6

D-galactose was injected into mice of ages 4–5 months, and peony seed oil was administered using an oral gavage to assess its possible anti-aging functions. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of monoamine oxidase (MAO), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the brain and liver of these mice were determined using biochemical kits. The significance of the differences in the content of the components associated with aging and anti-aging among each group was analyzed statistically. The MDA content and activities of MAO in the brain and liver of mice in the peony seed oil group were significantly lower than those in the aging group. The activities of GSH-Px, Cu/Zn-SOD, and Mn-SOD in the brain and liver of mice in the peony seed oil group were very significantly higher than those in the aging group. Peony seed oil was determined to have an obvious anti-aging function.

Transcriptional Analysis of 10 Selected Genes in a Model of Penicillin G Induced Persistence of Chlamydophila psittaci in HeLa Cells

( Yan Qun Hu ),( Li Li Chen ),( Chuan Wang ),( Ya Feng Xie ),( Zhi Xi Chen ),( Liang Zhuan Liu ),( Ze Hong Su ),( Yi Mou Wu ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.8

Chlamydophila psittaci is an important intracellular pathogen. Persistent infection is an important state of the host-parasite interaction in this chlamydial infection, which plays a significant role in spreading the organism within animal populations and in causing chronic chlamydiosis and serious sequelae. In this study, a C. psittaci persistent infection cell model was induced by penicillin G, and real-time quantitative PCR was used to study the transcriptional levels of 10 C. psittaci genes (dnaA, dnaK, ftsW, ftsY, grpE, rpsD, incC, omcB, CPSIT_0846, and CPSIT_0042) in acute and penicillin-G-induced persistent infection cultures. Compared with the acute cultures, the penicillin-G-treated cultures showed a reduced chlamydial inclusion size and a significantly decreased number of elementary body particles. Additionally, some enlarged aberrant reticulate body particles were present in the penicillin- G-treated cultures but not the acute ones. The expression levels of genes encoding products for cell division (FtsW, FtsY) and outer membrane protein E encoding gene (CPSIT_0042) were downregulated (p < 0.05) from 6 h post-infection onward in the persistent infection cultures. Also from 6 h post-infection, the expression levels of DnaA, DnaK, IncC, RpsD, GrpE, and CPSIT_0846 were upregulated (p < 0.05); however, the expression level of OmcB in the persistent infection was almost the same as that in the acute infection (p > 0.05). These results provide new insight regarding molecular activities that accompany persistence of C. psittaci, which may play important roles in the pathogenesis of C. psittaci infection.

Risk of venous thromboembolism in Chinese pregnant women: Hong Kong venous thromboembolism study

Duo Huang,Emmanuel Wong,Ming-Liang Zuo,Pak-Hei Chan,Wen-Sheng Yue,Hou-Xiang Hu,Ling Chen,Li-Xue Yin,Xin-Wu Cui,Ming-Xiang Wu,Xi Su,Chung-Wah Siu,Jo-Jo Hai 대한혈액학회 2019 Blood Research Vol.54 No.3

BackgroundPrevious Caucasian studies have described venous thromboembolism in pregnancy; however, little is known about its incidence during pregnancy and early postpartum peri-od in the Chinese population. We investigated the risk of venous thromboembolism in a “real-world” cohort of pregnant Chinese women with no prior history of venous thromboembolism.MethodsIn this observational study, 15,325 pregnancies were identified in 14,162 Chinese women at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong between January 2004 and September 2016. Demographic data, obstetric information, and laboratory and imaging data were retrieved and reviewed.ResultsThe mean age at pregnancy was 32.4±5.3 years, and the median age was 33 years (interquartile range, 29‒36 yr). Pre-existing or newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus was present in 627 women (4.1%); 359 (0.7%) women had pre-existing or newly detected hypertension. There was a small number of women with pre-existing heart disease and/or rheumatic conditions. Most deliveries (86.0%) were normal vaginal; the remaining were Cesarean section 2,146 (14.0%). The incidence of venous thromboembolism was 0.4 per 1,000 pregnancies, of which 83.3% were deep vein thrombosis and 16.7% were pul-monary embolism. In contrast to previous studies, 66.7% of venous thrombosis occurred in the first trimester.ConclusionChinese women had a substantially lower risk of venous thromboembolism during preg-nancy and the postpartum period compared to that of Caucasians. The occurrence of pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism was largely confined to the early preg-nancy period, probably related to the adoption of thromboprophylaxis, a lower rate of Cesarean section, and early mobilization.