Effects of habitat fragmentation on the functional diversity of insects in Thousand Island Lake, China

Tian‐Hao Tu,Ji-Rui WANG,Jian-Qiang GU,Tian-Qi LI,Kun LV,Guo-Xin ZHOU,Zhi-Hong XU 한국곤충학회 2019 Entomological Research Vol.49 No.2

Due to habitat fragmentation, the loss of species diversity has been extensively studied. On the contrary, the effects of habitat fragmentation on functional diversity is still poorly understood. In the Thousand Island Lake, we conducted studies of insect functional diversity on a set of 29 isolated islands. We used 10 functional diversity indices from three aspects (functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence) to respectively describe functional diversity of insects on sample islands. We found the following results: (i) The functional indices selected could reflect the functional diversity of sample islands and it is further proved that in general, three components of functional diversity were independent of each other; (ii) Sample islands could be divided into two categories, island JSD and the remaining islands; (iii) Functional richness increased with island area and shape index, but had no significant correlation with isolation. Likewise, both functional evenness and functional divergence had no significant correlation with island attributes. The conclusion to emphasize from our research is that: (i) habitat fragmentation reduced the biological functional diversity to some extent, further demonstrating the importance of habitat continuity in biodiversity protection; and (ii) for functional diversity protection of insects in a fragmented landscape, an island which has high approximate shape index values of at least hundred hectare magnitude order has a critical promoting effect.

Staged Improvement in Awareness of Disease for Elderly Cancer Patients in Southern China

Li, Xing,Dong, Min,Wen, Jing-Yun,Wei, Li,Ma, Xiao-Kun,Xing, Yan-Fang,Deng, Yun,Chen, Zhan-Hong,Chen, Jie,Ruan, Dan-Yun,Lin, Ze-Xiao,Wang, Tian-Tian,Wu, Dong-Hao,Liu, Xu,Hu, Hai-Tao,Lin, Jia-Yu,Li, Zhu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.15

Background: In mainland China, awareness of disease of elderly cancer patients largely relies on the patients' families. We developed a staged procedure to improve their awareness of disease. Materials and Methods: Participants were 224 elderly cancer patients from 9 leading hospitals across Southern China. A questionnaire was given to the oncologists in charge of each patient to evaluate the interaction between family and patients, patient awareness of their disease and participation in medical decision-making. After first cycles of treatment, increased information of disease was given to patients with cooperation of the family. Then patient awareness of their disease and participation in medical decision-making was documented. Results: Among the 224 cancer elderly patients, 26 (11.6%) made decisions by themselves and 125 (55.8%) delegated their rights of decision-making to their family. Subordinate family members tended to play a passive role in decision-making significantly. Patients participating more in medical decision-making tended to know more about their disease. However, in contrast to the awareness of disease, patient awareness of violation of medical recommendations was reversely associated with their participation in medical decision-making. Improvement in awareness of diagnosis, stages and prognosis was achieved in about 20% elderly cancer patients. About 5% participated more actively in medical decision-making. Conclusions: Chinese elderly cancer patient awareness of disease and participation in medical decision-making is limited and relies on their family status. The staged procedure we developed to improve patient awareness of disease proved effective.

Association Between MDM2 SNP309 T>G and Risk of Gastric Cancer: A Meta-analysis

Tian, Xin,Tian, Ye,Ma, Ping,Sui, Cheng-Guang,Meng, Fan-Dong,Li, Yan,Fu, Li-Ye,Jiang, Tao,Wang, Yang,Ji, Fu-Jian,Fang, Xue-Dong,Jiang, You-Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.3

Background: As a negative regulator of P53, MDM2 plays an important role in carcinogenesis; a polymorphism in its promoter region. SNP309 T>G, is known to increase the expression of MDM2, thus being considered related to higher susceptibility to neoplasia. However, no agreement has been achieved regarding its effects on gastric cancer. Methods: The present systematic meta-analysis was performed based on comprehensive literature search from Pubmed, Web of science and CBM databases. Results: It was suggested from 6 independent studies that the GG genotype is associated with a significantly increased risk of gastric cancer (Recessive: OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.08-1.91, P = 0.013), and subgroup analysis also confirmed the relationship (English publications-recessive model: OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.10-1.91, P = 0.009; Studies in China-recessive model: OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.08-2.30, P = 0.017). No publication bias was detected. Conclusion: The meta-analysis indicated a significant inverse association between GG genotype carriage and elevated risk of gastric cancer. However, more studies and detailed information are needed to fully address the topic.

Hepatitis B Virus DNA Negativity Acts as a Favorable Prognostic Factor in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Li, Xing,Zhong, Xiang,Chen, Zhan-Hong,Xing, Yan-Fang,Wu, Dong-Hao,Chen, Jie,Ma, Xiao-Kun,Lin, Qu,Wen, Jing-Yun,Wei, Li,Wang, Tian-Tian,Ruan, Dan-Yun,Lin, Ze-Xiao,Wu, Xiang-Yuan,Dong, Min Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.22

Background: This retrospective study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of prophylactic agents in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving TACE and compare the difference between lamivudine and entecavir. Materials and Methods: A consecutive series of 203 HBV-related HCC patients receiving TACE were analyzed including 91 patients given prophylactic agents. Virologic events, defined as an increase in serum HBV DNA level to more than 1 log10 IU/ml higher than the nadir level, hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation and progression free survival (PFS) were the main endpoints. Results: Some 48 (69.6%) reached virologic response. Prophylaxis significantly reduced virologic events (8.8% vs 58.0%, p=0.000) and hepatitis flares (1.1% vs 13.4%, p=0.001). Patients presenting undetectable HBV DNA levels displayed a significantly improved PFS as compared to those who never achieved undetectable HBV DNA. Prophylaxis and e-antigen positivity were the only significant variables associated with virologic events. In addition, prophylaxis was the only independent protective factor for hepatitis flares. Liver cirrhosis, more cycles of TACE, HBV DNA negativity, a lower Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score, non-metastasis and no hepatitis flares were protective factors for PFS. Prophylactic lamivudine demonstrated similar efficacy as entecavir. Conclusions: Prophylactic agents are efficacious for prevention of HBV reactivation in HCC patients receiving TACE. Achievement of undetectable HBV DNA levels displayed a significant capability in improving PFS. Moreover, persistent tumor residual lesions, positive HBV DNA and hepatitis B flares might be causes of tumor progression in these patients.

Efficacy of Prophylactic Entecavir for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization

Li, Xing,Zhong, Xiang,Chen, Zhan-Hong,Wang, Tian-Tian,Ma, Xiao-Kun,Xing, Yan-Fang,Wu, Dong-Hao,Dong, Min,Chen, Jie,Ruan, Dan-Yun,Lin, Ze-Xiao,Wen, Jing-Yun,Wei, Li,Wu, Xiang-Yuan,Lin, Qu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.18

Background and Aims: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation was reported to be induced by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinonma (HCC) patients with a high incidence. The effective strategy to reduce hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation in this specific group of patients was limited to lamivudine. This retrospective study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of prophylactic entecavir in HCC patients receiving TACE. Methods: A consecutive series of 191 HBV-related HCC patients receiving TACE were analyzed including 44 patients received prophylactic entecavir. Virologic events, defined as an increase in serum HBV DNA level to more than 1 log10 copies/ml higher than nadir the level, and hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation were the main endpoints. Results: Patients with or without prophylactic were similar in host factors and the majorities of characteristics regarding to tumor factors, HBV status, liver function and LMR. Notably, cycles of TACE were parallel between the groups. Ten (22.7%) patients receiving prophylactic entecavir reached virologic response. The patients receiving prophylactic entecavir presented significantly reduced virologic events (6.8% vs 54.4%, p=0.000) and hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation (0.0% vs 11.6%, p=0.039) compared with patients without prophylaxis. Kaplan-Meier analysis illustrated that the patients in the entecavir group presented significantly improved virologic events free survival (p=0.000) and hepatitis flare free survival (p=0.017). Female and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2 was the only significant predictors for virological events in patients without prophylactic antiviral. Rescue antiviral therapy did not reduce the incidence of hepatitis flares due to HBV reactivation. Conclusion: Prophylactic entecavir presented promising efficacy in HBV-related cancer patients receiving TACE. Lower performance status and female gender might be the predictors for HBV reactivation in these patients.

Factors that Influence the Presciption of Antipsychotics for Patients with Schizophrenia in China

Tian-Mei Si,Liang Shu,Ke-Qing Li,Xie-He Liu,Qi-Yi Mei,Gao-Hua Wang,Pei-Shen Bai,Li-Ping Ji,Xian-Sheng Chen,Cui Ma,Jian-Guo Shi,Hong-Yan Zhang,Hong Ma,Xin Yu 대한정신약물학회 2011 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.9 No.3

Objective: To investigate the patterns of antipsychotic use in China and to analyze the factors that influence antipsychotic prescriptions. Methods: A standardized survey was conducted from May 20 to 24 2002 in five different regions of China with varying economic levels. The patterns of antipsychotic medication use were analyzed in a sample of 4,779 patients with schizophrenia. The survey gathered information on demographic characteristics, clinical profiles, and antipsychotic medications prescribed. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze factors related to patterns of antipsychotic medication use. Results: A plurality of patients with schizophrenia was treated with clozapine (39%); this was followed by risperidone, sulpride,chlorpromazine, perphenazine, and haloperidol. More than 56.3% of patients were treated with only one atypical antipsychotic. The mean daily dose of chlorpromazine was 365±253 mg (mean±standard deviation), and 6.5% of patients were treated with depot injections of typical antipsychotic medications. A total of 73.7% (n=3,523) of patients with schizophrenia received monotherapy,24.8% (n=1,183) received two antipsychotics, 1.1% (n=52) received three antipsychotics, and one received four different antipsychotics. Patients often simultaneously received other classes of medications including anticholinergic agents, benzodiazepines,β-blockers, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers. Economic status and clinical symptoms were the main factors that contributed to the patterns of antipsychotic prescription. Conclusion: The present study suggests that atypical antipsychotic medications, especially clozapine, are the primary psychiatric treatments of choice in the management of schizophrenia in China. Moreover, the economic status and clinical profile of the patient are the major factors affecting the prescription of antipsychotic medication.

Tumor-Derived Transforming Growth Factor-β is Critical for Tumor Progression and Evasion from Immune Surveillance

Li, Zheng,Zhang, Li-Juan,Zhang, Hong-Ru,Tian, Gao-Fei,Tian, Jun,Mao, Xiao-Li,Jia, Zheng-Hu,Meng, Zi-Yu,Zhao, Li-Qing,Yin, Zhi-Nan,Wu, Zhen-Zhou Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.13

Tumors have evolved numerous mechanisms by which they can escape from immune surveillance. One of these is to produce immunosuppressive cytokines. Transforming growth factor-${\beta}$(TGF-${\beta}$) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a crucial function in mediating immune suppression, especially in the tumor microenvironment. TGF-${\beta}$ produced by T cells has been demonstrated as an important factor for suppressing antitumor immune responses, but the role of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ in this process is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ using shRNA resulted in dramatically reduced tumor size, slowing tumor formation, prolonging survival rate of tumor-bearing mice and inhibiting metastasis. We revealed possible underlying mechanisms as reducing the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and $CD4^+Foxp3^+$ Treg cells, and consequently enhanced IFN-${\gamma}$ production by CTLs. Knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ also significantly reduced the conversion of na$\ddot{i}$ve $CD4^+$ T cells into Treg cells in vitro. Finally, we found that knockdown of TGF-${\beta}$ suppressed cell migration, but did not change the proliferation and apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro. In summary, our study provided evidence that tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ is a critical factor for tumor progression and evasion of immune surveillance, and blocking tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for cancer.

Antiviral activity of Herba Patrinea (a Chinese medicinal herb) against respiratory syncytial virus in vitro

Li, Hong-Yuan,Li, Shan-Shan,Liu, Dian-Li,Dong, Yan-Mei,Tian, Wen-Jing Kyung Hee Oriental Medicine Research Center 2003 Oriental pharmacy and experimental medicine Vol.3 No.2

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has long been considered an important cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children throughout the world. Unfortunately, no effective treatment of RSV exists. Therefore, New agents are needed to reduce the impact of RSV. We have studied the anti-viral effect of traditional Chinese midicinal herbs for over ten years and find Herba Patrinea (a Chinese medicinal herb) has the anti-RSV effect in vitro. In this study, the Herba Patrinea was extracted with hot water, condensed and sterilized. The cytotoxicity of the aqueous extract was tested by adding the diluted extract directly to HeLa cells and its effect on anti-RSV was estimated by the CPEI assay. As a result, the median cytotoxic concentration $(CC_{50})$ of Herba Patrinea was 32 mg/ ml by morphological observation, the median effective concentration (50% effective concentration, $EC_{50}$) of the Herba Patrinea against replication of the Long strain of RSV in HeLa cells were 1.25 mg/ml. The selectivity index $(SI=CC_{50}/EC{50})$ is 25.6. Moreover, Herba Patrinea gave a dose-dependent response in inhibiting RSV. In time of addition experiment, Herba Patrinea inhibited replication of RSV in HeLa cells when it was added at 0h, 2h, and 4h after virus infection. In summary, the results of this study suggest Herba Patrinea may be a novel anti-RSV drug and it is worthy of further studying.

Overview of Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews about Gastric Cancer Risk and Protective Factors

Li, Lun,Ying, Xiang-Ji,Sun, Tian-Tian,Yi, Kang,Tian, Hong-Liang,Sun, Rao,Tian, Jin-Hui,Yang, Ke-Hu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Background and Objective: A comprehensive overall review of gastric cancer (GC) risk and protective factors is a high priority, so we conducted the present study. Methods: Systematic searches in common medical electronic databases along with reference tracking were conducted to include all kinds of systematic reviews (SRs) about GC risk and protective factors. Two authors independently selected studies, extracted data, and evaluated the methodological qualities and the quality of evidence using R-AMSTAR and GRADE approaches. Results: Beta-carotene below 20 mg/day, fruit, vegetables, non-fermented soy-foods, whole-grain, and dairy product were GC protective factors, while beta-carotene 20 mg/day or above, pickled vegetables, fermented soy-foods, processed meat 30g/d or above, or salty foods, exposure to alcohol or smoking, occupational exposure to Pb, overweight and obesity, helicobacter pylori infection were GC risk factors. So we suggested screening and treating H. pylori infection, limiting the amount of food containing risk factors (processed meat consumption, beta-carotene, pickled vegetables, fermented soy-foods, salty foods, alcohol), stopping smoking, avoiding excessive weight gain, avoidance of Pb, and increasing the quantity of food containing protective components (fresh fruit and vegetables, non-fermented soy-foods, whole-grain, dairy products). Conclusions: The conclusions and recommendations of our study were limited by including SRs with poor methodological bases and low quality of evidence, so that more research applying checklists about assessing the methodological qualities and reporting are needed for the future.

Use of Clozapine for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: Findings of the 2006 Research on the China Psychotropic Prescription Studies

Tian-Mei Si,Yun-shu Zhang,Liang Shu,Ke-Qing Li,Xie-He Liu,Qi-Yi Mei,Gao-Hua Wang,Pei-Shen Bai,Li-Ping Ji,Xian-Sheng Cheng,Cui Ma,Jian-Guo Shi,Hong-Yan Zhang,Hong Ma,Xin Yu 대한정신약물학회 2012 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.10 No.2

Objective: Clozapine is one of the most commonly used antipsychotic drugs in China. To date, few studies have investigated the patterns the prescription of clozapine nationwide. The present study examined these patterns in China in 2006 and identified the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with the use of clozapine. Methods: Using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure, we surveyed 5,898 patients with schizophrenia in 10provinces with differing levels of economic development. Results: Overall, clozapine had been prescribed for 31.9% (n=1,883) of the patients; however we found considerable variation among the 10 provinces. The frequency of clozapine use was highest in Sichuan (39.3%) and lowest in Beijing (17.3%). The mean daily dose of clozapine was 210.36±128.72 mg/day, and 25.1% of the patients were treated with clozapine in combination with other antipsychotics. Compared with the group not receiving clozapine, clozapine-user had been treated for longer durations and had experienced a greater number of relapses and hospitalizations. Furthermore, those in the clozapine-user had lower family incomes, were less able to seek psychiatric services, and more likely to be male and have a positive family history of schizophrenia. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that age, sex, professional help-seeking behaviors, duration of illness, economic status, educational level, and clinical manifestations were associated with the use of clozapine. Conclusion: Clozapine use is common in China. However, use of the antipsychotic varies among provinces, and demographic and clinical factors play important roles in the prescription of clozapine.