Effect of oxidizing treatment on electrocatalytic activity of boron‑doped amorphous carbon thin films

Chen‑Song Wang,Ni Suo,Hao Huang,Ai‑min Wu,Guo‑Zhong Cao,Gui‑Feng Zhang 한국탄소학회 2019 Carbon Letters Vol.29 No.5

Boron-doped amorphous carbon (BDAC) thin films with a regular oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity were synthesized in a hot filament chemical vapor deposition device using a mixture of CH4 and H2 as a gas source and B2O3 as a boron source and then oxidized in air at 380–470 °C for 15–75 min. Scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical tests were used to characterize the physical and electrochemical properties of the BDAC catalysts. It was concluded that the BDAC catalyst oxidized at 450 °C for 45 min showed the best ORR catalytic activity in alkaline medium. The oxygen reduction potential and the transfer electron number n, respectively, are − 0.286 V versus Ag/AgCl and 3.24 from the rotating disk electrode experiments. The treated carbon film has better methanol resistance and stability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Integration of somatic mutation, expression and functional data reveals potential driver genes predictive of breast cancer survival

Suo, Chen,Hrydziuszko, Olga,Lee, Donghwan,Pramana, Setia,Saputra, Dhany,Joshi, Himanshu,Calza, Stefano,Pawitan, Yudi Oxford University Press 2015 Bioinformatics Vol.31 No.16

<P><B>Motivation:</B> Genome and transcriptome analyses can be used to explore cancers comprehensively, and it is increasingly common to have multiple omics data measured from each individual. Furthermore, there are rich functional data such as predicted impact of mutations on protein coding and gene/protein networks. However, integration of the complex information across the different omics and functional data is still challenging. Clinical validation, particularly based on patient outcomes such as survival, is important for assessing the relevance of the integrated information and for comparing different procedures.</P><P><B>Results:</B> An analysis pipeline is built for integrating genomic and transcriptomic alterations from whole-exome and RNA sequence data and functional data from protein function prediction and gene interaction networks. The method accumulates evidence for the functional implications of mutated potential driver genes found within and across patients. A driver-gene score (DGscore) is developed to capture the cumulative effect of such genes. To contribute to the score, a gene has to be frequently mutated, with high or moderate mutational impact at protein level, exhibiting an extreme expression and functionally linked to many differentially expressed neighbors in the functional gene network. The pipeline is applied to 60 matched tumor and normal samples of the same patient from The Cancer Genome Atlas breast-cancer project. In clinical validation, patients with high DGscores have worse survival than those with low scores (<I>P</I> = 0.001). Furthermore, the DGscore outperforms the established expression-based signatures MammaPrint and PAM50 in predicting patient survival. In conclusion, integration of mutation, expression and functional data allows identification of clinically relevant potential driver genes in cancer.</P><P><B>Availability and implementation:</B> The documented pipeline including annotated sample scripts can be found in http://fafner.meb.ki.se/biostatwiki/driver-genes/.</P><P><B>Contact:</B> yudi.pawitan@ki.se</P><P><B>Supplementary information:</B> Supplementary data are available at <I>Bioinformatics</I> online.</P>

A facile macroporous resin-based method for separation of yellow and orange Monascus pigments

Suo Chen,Dong-Xiao Su,Meng-Xiang Gao,Jia-Lan Zhang,Ying-Bao Liu,Qing-Hua Wu,Hua-Lin Yang,Li Li 한국식품과학회 2021 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.30 No.4

The yellow Monascus pigments (YMPs) namedmonascin and ankaflavin and the orange Monascus pigments(OMPs) named rubropunctatin and monascorubrinare two groups of bioactive components in a mixture statein the Monascus fermented products. In order to separatethese two groups of bioactive pigments, a facile macroporousresin-based method was developed. The weak-polarresin CAD-40 was selected from the seven tested macroporousresins as it revealed better properties for theadsorption and desorption of the YMPs and OMPs. Then,CAD-40 resin was used for column-chromatographicseparation. After eluted by 4 bed volumes of ethanol, theyellow group (monascin and ankaflavin) and the orangegroup (rubropunctatin and monascorubrin) were successfullyseparated and purified, with an increased content from49.3% and 44.2% in the crude pigment extract to 85.2%and 83.0% in the final products, respectively. This methodwould be helpful for the large-scale separation and purificationof Monascus pigment products with specificbioactivity.

Risk Factors for Anxiety in Major Depressive Disorder Patients

Li-Min Xin,Lin Chen,Zhen-Peng Ji,Suo-Yuan Zhang,Jun Wang,Yan-Hong Liu,Da-Fang Chen,Fu-De Yang,Gang Wang,Yi-Ru Fang,Zheng Lu,Hai-Chen Yang,Jian Hu,Zhi-Yu Chen,Yi Huang,Jing Sun,Xiao-Ping Wang,Hui-Chun 대한정신약물학회 2015 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.13 No.3

Objective: To analyze the sociodemographic and clinical factors related to anxiety in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of data obtained from the Diagnostic Assessment Service for People with Bipolar Disorders in China (DASP), which was initiated by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry (CSP) and conducted from September 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. Based on the presence or absence of anxiety-related characteristics, 1,178 MDD patients were classified as suffering from anxious depression (n=915) or non-anxious depression (n=263), respectively. Results: Compared with the non-anxious group, the anxious-depression group had an older age at onset (t=−4.39, p<0.001), were older (t=−4.69, p<0.001), reported more lifetime depressive episodes (z=−3.24, p=0.001), were more likely to experience seasonal depressive episodes (χ2=6.896, p=0.009) and depressive episodes following stressful life events (χ2=59.350, p <0.001), and were more likely to have a family history of psychiatric disorders (χ2=6.091, p=0.014). Their positive and total scores on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and the 32-item Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) (p<0.05) were also lower. The logistic regression analysis indicated that age (odds ratio [OR]=1.03, p<0.001), a lower total MDQ score (OR=0.94, p=0.011), depressive episodes following stressful life events (OR=3.04, p<0.001), and seasonal depressive episodes (OR=1.75, p=0.039) were significantly associated with anxious depression. Conclusion: These findings indicate that older age, fewer subclinical bipolar features, an increased number of depressive episodes following stressful life events, and seasonal depressive episodes may be risk factors for anxiety-related characteristics in patients with MDD.

Positive enhancement of Lactobacillus fermentum HY01 on intestinal movements of mice having constipation

Chen, Xiaoyong,Song, Jia-Le,Hu, Qiang,Wang, Hongwei,Zhao, Xin,Suo, Huayi The Korean Society for Applied Biological Chemistr 2018 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.61 No.1

Lactobacilli have been used to treat many gastrointestinal disorders. But the outcome of Lactobacilli are strain specific. The strain Lactobacillus Fermentum, HY01, (LF-HY01) has a good performance in the environment of gastrointestinal tract. In this study, the aim is to investigate the preventive effects of LF-HY01 against activated-carbon-induced constipation in mice. Mice are randomized into four groups. Normal group was fed a normal diet, model group also has the same with activated carbon treatment, and low and high concentration groups are treated with LF-HY01. We have determined many indexes such as body weight, water content in faeces, defecation conditions, the level of small intestinal villi damages and levels of various neurotransmitters in serum, including motilin (MTL), gastrin (GT), endothelin (ET), somatostatin (SST), acetylcholinesterase (AchE), substance P (SP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). LF-HY01 has no significant difference in each group, but it can significantly improve water content of faeces, defecation time of first black stool and activated carbon propelling rate in small intestine as compared of model group. Furthermore, LF-HY01 can effectively prevent small intestinal villi damages, which is less than that of model group. Moreover, LF-HY01 has the consistency to increase the levels of MTL, GT, ET, AchE, SP and VIP, and LF-HY01 can also have the ability to reduce the level of SST. These results suggest that Lactobacillus Fermentum, HY01, has a great impact in enhancing intestinal peristalsis ability and has the ability to prevent from activated-carbon-induced constipation in mice.

Effect of oxidizing treatment on electrocatalytic activity of boron-doped amorphous carbon thin films

Wang Chen-Song,Suo Ni,Huang Hao,Wu Ai-min,Cao Guo-Zhong,Zhang Gui-Feng 한국탄소학회 2019 Carbon Letters Vol.29 No.5

Boron-doped amorphous carbon (BDAC) thin films with a regular oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity were synthesized in a hot filament chemical vapor deposition device using a mixture of CH4 and H2 as a gas source and B2O3 as a boron source and then oxidized in air at 380–470 °C for 15–75 min. Scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical tests were used to characterize the physical and electrochemical properties of the BDAC catalysts. It was concluded that the BDAC catalyst oxidized at 450 °C for 45 min showed the best ORR catalytic activity in alkaline medium. The oxygen reduction potential and the transfer electron number n, respectively, are − 0.286 V versus Ag/AgCl and 3.24 from the rotating disk electrode experiments. The treated carbon film has better methanol resistance and stability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Positive enhancement of Lactobacillus fermentum HY01 on intestinal movements of mice having constipation

Xiaoyong Chen,Jia-Le Song,Qiang Hu,Hongwei Wang,Xin Zhao,Huayi Suo 한국응용생명화학회 2018 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.61 No.1

Lactobacilli have been used to treat many gastrointestinal disorders. But the outcome of Lactobacilli are strain specific. The strain Lactobacillus Fermentum, HY01, (LF-HY01) has a good performance in the environment of gastrointestinal tract. In this study, the aim is to investigate the preventive effects of LF-HY01 against activated-carbon- induced constipation in mice. Mice are randomized into four groups. Normal group was fed a normal diet, model group also has the same with activated carbon treatment, and low and high concentration groups are treated with LF-HY01. We have determined many indexes such as body weight, water content in faeces, defecation conditions, the level of small intestinal villi damages and levels of various neurotransmitters in serum, including motilin (MTL), gastrin (GT), endothelin (ET), somatostatin (SST), acetylcholinesterase (AchE), substance P (SP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). LF-HY01 has no significant difference in each group, but it can significantly improve water content of faeces, defecation time of first black stool and activated carbon propelling rate in small intestine as compared of model group. Furthermore, LFHY01 can effectively prevent small intestinal villi damages, which is less than that of model group. Moreover, LFHY01 has the consistency to increase the levels of MTL, GT, ET, AchE, SP and VIP, and LF-HY01 can also have the ability to reduce the level of SST. These results suggest that Lactobacillus Fermentum, HY01, has a great impact in enhancing intestinal peristalsis ability and has the ability to prevent from activated-carbon-induced constipation in mice.

DISCRETE OPTIMIZATION DESIGN OF TAILOR-WELDED BLANKS (TWBs) THIN-WALLED STRUCTURES UNDER DYNAMIC CRASHING

Yisong Chen,Fengxiang Xu,Suo Zhang,Kunying Wu,Zhinan Dong 한국자동차공학회 2019 International journal of automotive technology Vol.20 No.2

Tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) thin-walled structures have been widely applied in field of automotive and construction due to their significant advantages in saving weight and improving crashworthiness. To further understand and improve crashing performance of TWB structures, this paper conducts parametric analysis and optimization design on TWB thin-walled tubes. Firstly, the numerical model of dynamic crashing event of different TWB tubes is derived from physical experiments. The parametric analysis results show that the material and thickness combinations have significant effects on the crashing performance. The energy-absorbed characteristics and deformed modes of TWBs are superior to those of tubes with uniform thickness. Then, two optimization cases of TWB tubes are presented through analysis of mean (ANOM) and updating orthogonal array, in which the thickness property and material types are considered as design variables. The results demonstrated that the performances of the optimized structure are much better than those of the initial counterpart.

Analysis of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> cell viability, sublethal injury and death induced by synergistic combination of ultrasound and mild heat

Li, Jiao,Suo, Yuanjie,Liao, Xinyu,Ahn, Juhee,Liu, Donghong,Chen, Shiguo,Ye, Xingqian,Ding, Tian Elsevier 2017 Ultrasonics sonochemistry Vol.39 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>This study was designed to investigate the combined effects of ultrasound and mild heat on the viability of <I>S. aureus</I> in association with the cell membrane integrity and intracellular enzyme activity. Cells were treated by ultrasound under 55°C for 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15min. The dynamic changes of <I>S. aureus</I> cell viability, sublethal injury and death were evaluated using flow cytometric assay. Microscopies were applied to identify the morphological appearance, ultrastructure and topography of <I>S. aureus</I>. The results showed the membrane damage was synchronous with esterase inhibition during the exposure to sonication, leading to the immediate lethal effect. On the other hand, bacteria under the mild heat at 55°C were inactivated via a sublethal injury process. The different lethal modes were observed between sonication and mild heat treatments, which could synergistically inactivate <I>S. aureus</I>. The antibacterial value of thermo-sonication was greater than the sum of the individual treatments. The thermo-sonication combination synergistically reduced the number of sublethal cells and also resulted in severe cell damage.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> The lethal modes induced by ultrasound and mild heat were different. </LI> <LI> Two sterilization techniques were synergistic in cell inactivation. </LI> <LI> Cell viability, sublethal injury and death were distinguished by flow cytometry. </LI> <LI> Thermo-sonication treatment reduced the number of sublethal cells. </LI> <LI> Microscopies revealed <I>S. aureus</I> morphological changes and bactericidal effect. </LI> </UL> </P>

Association of Chemotherapy-induced Leucopenia with Treatment Outcomes in Advanced Non-small-cell lung Cancer Cases Receiving the NP Regimen

Huang, Cheng-Suo,Liu, Lin,Liu, Jie,Chen, Zhen,Guo, Jun,Li, Chang-Zheng,Zhou, Deng-Guang,Wang, Zhe-Hai Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.9

Background: Chemotherapy induced leutropenia has been shown to be associated with improved treatment outcomes in selected solid tumors. We studied the association of chemotherapy induced leutropenia with treatment related outcomes in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Methods: This is a prospective analysis of patients receiving chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC at the Shandong Cancer Hospital from 2005-07.The chemotherapy included cisplatin $35mg/m^2$, IV on $d_{1,2}$ and vinorelbine $25mg/m^2$ IV on $d_{1,8}$ every 21 days. Patients were stratified into three groups (A) those experiencing grades 0 leucopenia, group (B) grades 1-2 and group (C) grades 3-4. The outcomes studied were response rate (RR), disease control rate (DCR), and time to progression (TTP). Results: 128 patients were studied. The RRs in groups A, B and C were 30.8%, 56.8% and 71.4%, respectively, p=0.010. The DCRs were 61.5%, 83.8% and 92.9%, respectively, p=0.009 and the median TTPs were 150 days (95%CI: 91-209), 189 days (95%CI: 181-197) and 207 days (95%CI: 172-242), p=0.009. The differences in RR and TTP were significant. In patients whose CIL kept on 10 days at least, the TTP was significantly prolonged, p=0.0213, and the same was the case for those experiencing grades 1-2 leucopenia and ECOG 0, p=0.0412. Conclusions: Occurrence of CIL correlated with RR and TTP in patients with advanced NSCLC receiving cisplatin and vinorelbine chemotherapy, especially in patients experiencing grades 1-2 leucopenia and ECOG 0, and the same for those with CIL persisting for 10 days at least. CIL could be a biological measure of drug activity and a marker of efficacy.