T-SPOT.TB for Detection of Tuberculosis Infection among Hematological Malignancy Patients and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients

Qin, Li-Li,Wang, Qin-Rong,Wang, Qian,Yao, Hong,Wen, Li-Jun,Wu, Li-Li,Ping, Na-Na,Xie, Jun-Dan,Chen, Mei-Yu,Chen, Su-Ning Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.12

The diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is recommended in hematological malignancy patients and before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Guidelines for the prevention and management of infectious complications of solid organ transplantation, 2004). Compared to traditional methods such as tuberculin skin test (TST), T-SPOT.TB has been shown to be more specific. In the present study we enrolled 536 patients for whom T-SPOT.TB was performed, among which 295 patients also received the TST test. The agreement (79%) between T-SPOT.TB and TST was poor (x=0.274, P<0.001). The patients with positive T-SPOT.TB results numbered 62 (11.6%), in which only 20 (48.8%) of the 41 receiving the TST test had positive results. A majority of the patients with T-SPOT.TB positive results had some other evidence ofTB, such as TB history, clinical symptoms and an abnormal chest CT scan. Active TB was found in 9 patients, in which 2 had negative TST results. We followed up the patients and no one developed active TB. Our study suggested that the T-SPOT.TB may be more useful for screening LTBI and active TB in hematological malignancy patients and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients than the TST test.

Two New Flavonoids from Dragon’s Blood of Dracaena cambodiana

Wen-Li Mei,Ying Luo,Hai-Yan Shen,Yan-Bo Zeng,Hao Fu Dai,Hui Wang 대한화학회 2013 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.34 No.6

Phytochemical investigation on dragon’s blood of Dracaena cambodiana led to the discovery of two new flavonoid derivatives, cambodianin G (1) and cambodianin H (2). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR techniques and chemical methods. The two compounds were observed to exhibit antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, and compound 1 showed cytotoxicities against K562 and SGC-7901 cell lines.

Two New Flavonoids from Dragon's Blood of Dracaena cambodiana

Mei, Wen-Li,Luo, Ying,Wang, Hui,Shen, Hai-Yan,Zeng, Yan-Bo,Dai, Hao-Fu Korean Chemical Society 2013 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.34 No.6

Phytochemical investigation on dragon's blood of Dracaena cambodiana led to the discovery of two new flavonoid derivatives, cambodianin G (1) and cambodianin H (2). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR techniques and chemical methods. The two compounds were observed to exhibit antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, and compound 1 showed cytotoxicities against K562 and SGC-7901 cell lines.

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.

Open-Ended Questions and Creativity Education in Mathematics

Yu Wen Li,Dong Mei Li 한국수학교육학회 2009 수학교육연구 Vol.13 No.1

TGF-β1 Protein Expression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers is Correlated with Prognosis

Huang, Ai-Li,Liu, Shu-Guang,Qi, Wen-Juan,Zhao, Yun-Fei,Li, Yu-Mei,Lei, Bin,Sheng, Wen-Jie,Shen, Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.19

To investigate the expression intensity and prognostic significance of TGF-${\beta}1$ protein in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), immunohistochemistry was carried out in 194 cases of NSCLC and 24 cases of normal lung tissues by SP methods. The PU (positive unit) value was used to assess the TGF-${\beta}1$ protein expression in systematically selected fields under the microscope with Leica Q500MC image analysis. We found that the TGF-${\beta}1$ PU value was nearly two-fold higher in NSCLC than in normal lung tissues (p=0.000), being associated with TNM stages (p=0.000) and lymph node metastases (p=0.000), but not to patient age, gender, smoking history, tumor differentiation, histological subtype and tumor location (P>0.05). Univariate analysis indicated that patients with high TGF-${\beta}1$ protein expression and lymph node metastases demonstrated a poor prognosis (both p=0.000,). Multivariate analysis showed that TGF-${\beta}1$ protein expression (RR = 2.565, p=0.002) and lymph node metastases (RR=1.874, p=0.030) were also independent prognostic factors. Thus, TGF-${\beta}1$ protein expression may be correlated to oncogenesis and serve as an independent prognostic biomarker for NSCLC.

Two new sesquiterpenoids from endophytic fungus J3 isolated from Mangrove Plant Ceriops tagal

Yan-Bo Zeng,Hai-Gang Gu,Wen-Jian Zuo,Li-Li Zhang,Hong-Jin Bai,Zhi-Kai Guo,Peter Proksch,Wen Li Mei,Hao Fu Dai 대한약학회 2015 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.38 No.5

Two new sesquiterpenoids, named 2a-hydroxyxylaranolB (1) and 4b-hydroxyxylaranol B (2), togetherwith a known diterpenoid 3,4-seco-sonderianol (3) wereisolated from the fermentation of endophytic fungus J3 ofCeriops tagal. Their structures were elucidated based onspectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR(HMQC, 1H-1H COSY and HMBC). All compounds wereevaluated for their cytotoxic activities by MTT method,and compound 3 exhibited cytotoxic activities againstK562, SGC-7901, and BEL-7402 cell lines.

Chlorophyll α fluorescence as an indicator of establishment of Zostera marina transplants on the southern coast of Korea

Li, Wen-Tao,Park, Jung-Im,Park, Sang-Rul,Zhang, Xiu-Mei,Lee, Kun-Seop The Korean Society of Phycology 2010 ALGAE Vol.25 No.2

To test the feasibility of using chlorophyll ${\alpha}$ fluorescence to assess the establishment success of seagrass transplants, photosynthetic characteristics of eelgrass Zostera marina transplants were measured using a Diving-pulsed amplitude modulation fluorometer in Jindong Bay on the southern coast of Korea. Maximum quantum yield ($F_v/F_m$), photosynthetic efficiency ($\alpha$), saturating irradiance ($E_k$) and maximum electron transport rate ($ETR_{max}$) of transplants and reference plants in a nearby transplant site were measured using the fluorometer for 5 months. Additionally, shoot morphology, individual shoot weight and productivity of transplants and reference plants were also monitored. Shoot height, leaf weight and productivity of transplants were significantly reduced during the first two or three months after transplantation compared to those of reference plants, and then increased to the levels of reference plants Characteristics of chlorophyll a fluorescence, including $F_v/F_m$, $\alpha$, $E_k$ and $ETR_{max}$ of transplants were also significantly reduced in the initial period, but recovered slightly sooner than shoot morphology or leaf productivity. These results indicated that after transplantation, Z. marina transplant photosynthesis recovered faster than shoot morphology, biomass or productivity. Thus, chlorophyll a fluorescence can be used as an indicator for early assessment of the status of eelgrass transplants without destructive sampling.

Selection and optimization of nutritional risk screening tools for esophageal cancer patients in China

Wen Dong,Xiguang Liu,Shunfang Zhu,Di Lu,Kaican Cai,Ruijun Cai,Qing Li,Jingjing Zeng,Mei Li 한국영양학회 2020 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.14 No.1

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition has multiple impacts on surgical success, postoperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and costs, particularly for cancer patients. There are various nutrition risk screening tools available for clinical use. Herein, we aim to determine the most appropriate nutritional risk screening system for esophageal cancer (EC) patients in China. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In total, 138 EC patients were enrolled in this study and evaluated by experienced nurses using three different nutritional screening tools, the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 tool (NRS2002), the Patient-generated Subjective Globe Assessment (PG-SGA), and the Nutrition Risk Index (NRI).We compared sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and Youden index generated by each of the three screening tools. Finally, cut-off points for all three tools were re-defined to optimize and validate the best nutritional risk screening tool for assessing EC patients. RESULTS: Our data suggested that all three screening tools were 100% sensitive for EC patients, while the specificities were 44.4%, 2.96%, and 59.26% for NRS 2002, PG-SGA, and NRI, respectively. NRI had a higher positive likelihood ratio as well as a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve compared to those of NRS 2002 and PG-SGA; although, all three tools had null negative likelihood ratios. After adjusting the cut-off points, the specificity and accuracy for all tools were significantly improved, however, the NRI remained the most appropriate nutritional risk screening system for EC patients. CONCLUSIONS: The NRI is the most suitable (highest sensitivity and accuracy) nutritional risk screening tool for EC patients. The performance of the NRI can be significantly improved if the cut-off point is modified according to the results obtained using MedCalc software.

Chlorophyll a fluorescence as an indicator of establishment of Zostera marina transplants on the southern coast of Korea

Wen-Tao Li,박정임,박상률,Xiu-mei Zhang,이근섭 한국조류학회I 2010 ALGAE Vol.25 No.2

To test the feasibility of using chlorophyll a fluorescence to assess the establishment success of seagrass transplants,photosynthetic characteristics of eelgrass Zostera marina transplants were measured using a Diving-pulsed amplitude modulation fluorometer in Jindong Bay on the southern coast of Korea. Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm),photosynthetic efficiency (α), saturating irradiance (Ek) and maximum electron transport rate (ETRmax) of transplants and reference plants in a nearby transplant site were measured using the fluorometer for 5 months. Additionally, shoot morphology, individual shoot weight and productivity of transplants and reference plants were also monitored. Shoot height, leaf weight and productivity of transplants were significantly reduced during the first two or three months after transplantation compared to those of reference plants, and then increased to the levels of reference plants. Characteristics of chlorophyll a fluorescence, including Fv/Fm, α, Ek and ETRmax of transplants were also significantly reduced in the initial period, but recovered slightly sooner than shoot morphology or leaf productivity. These results indicated that after transplantation, Z. marina transplant photosynthesis recovered faster than shoot morphology, biomass or productivity. Thus, chlorophyll a fluorescence can be used as an indicator for early assessment of the status of eelgrass transplants without destructive sampling.