Calpain-10 SNP43 and SNP19 Polymorphisms and Colorectal Cancer: a Matched Case-control Study

Hu, Xiao-Qin,Yuan, Ping,Luan, Rong-Sheng,Li, Xiao-Ling,Liu, Wen-Hui,Feng, Fei,Yan, Jin,Yang, Yan-Fang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Objective: Insulin resistance (IR) is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). Given that CRC and IR physiologically overlap and the calpain-10 gene (CAPN10) is a candidate for IR, we explored the association between CAPN10 and CRC risk. Methods: Blood samples of 400 case-control pairs were genotyped, and the lifestyle and dietary habits of these pairs were recorded and collected. Unconditional logistic regression (LR) was used to assess the effects of CAPN10 SNP43 and SNP19, and environmental factors. Both generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) and the classification and regression tree (CART) were used to test gene-environment interactions for CRC risk. Results: The GA+AA genotype of SNP43 and the Del/Ins+Ins/Ins genotype of SNP19 were marginally related to CRC risk (GA+AA: OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.92-1.99; Del/Ins+Ins/Ins: OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 0.84-2.04). Notably, a high-order interaction was consistently identified by GMDR and CART analyses. In GMDR, the four-factor interaction model of SNP43, SNP19, red meat consumption, and smoked meat consumption was the best model, with a maximum cross-validation consistency of 10/10 and testing balance accuracy of 0.61 (P < 0.01). In LR, subjects with high red and smoked meat consumption and two risk genotypes had a 6.17-fold CRC risk (95% CI = 2.44-15.6) relative to that of subjects with low red and smoked meat consumption and null risk genotypes. In CART, individuals with high smoked and red meat consumption, SNP19 Del/Ins+Ins/Ins, and SNP43 GA+AA had higher CRC risk (OR = 4.56, 95%CI = 1.94-10.75) than those with low smoked and red meat consumption. Conclusions: Though the single loci of CAPN10 SNP43 and SNP19 are not enough to significantly increase the CRC susceptibility, the combination of SNP43, SNP19, red meat consumption, and smoked meat consumption is associated with elevated risk.

Robotic versus Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Carcinoma: a Meta-Analysis of Efficacy and Safety

Hu, Li-Dong,Li, Xiao-Fei,Wang, Xiu-Yue,Guo, Tian-Kang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.9

Purpose: To systematically review efficacyand safety of robotic gastrectomy (RG) compared with conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for gastric carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed, Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, WanFang, VIP and other sources like relevant references to obtain comparative studies assessing the effectiveness and safety between RG and LG published between 2013 and 2016. Then the literature was screened and the data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers. The quality of the literature was assessed, and the data analyzed using Stata/SE 14 software. Fixed effects or random effects models wereapplied according to heterogeneity. Results: A total of 12 non-randomized observational clinical studies involving 3,580 patients were included, of which 1,096 had undergone RG and 2,484 had received LG. The results of the meta-analysis showed in terms of effectiveness, RG was associated with less blood loss, less time to first flatus and greater number of harvested lymph nodes, but there were no significant differences in proximal and distal resection margins, compared with LG. In terms of efficiency, RG was associated with shorter hospital stay, but longer operative time. In terms of safety, there were no statistically significant differences in complications, mortality and conversions between RG and LG. Conclusions: RG can achieve comparable or better short-term and radical effects than LG, with respect to effectiveness, efficiency and safety in treatment of gastric carcinoma. Future studies involving RG should focus on decreasing operative time and reducing cost. Moreover, there is a need for randomized controlled trials comparing the two techniques with long-term follow-up.

Application of Energy Dissipation Technology in High-Rise Buildings

Hu, Da-Zhu,Zhang, Xiao-Xuan,Li, Guo-Qiang,Sun, Fei-Fei,Jin, Hua-Jian Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat Korea 2021 International journal of high-rise buildings Vol.10 No.2

The principle of energy dissipation technology is to dissipate or absorb the seismic energy input through the deformation or velocity change of dampers installed in the main structure of high-rise buildings, so as to reduce the seismic response of the buildings. With the development of energy dissipation technology, recognized as an effective and new measurement for reducing seismic effects, its application in high-rise buildings has become more and more popular. The appropriate energy dissipation devices suitable for high-rise buildings are introduced in this paper. The effectiveness of energy-dissipation technology for reducing the seismic response of high-rise buildings with various structural forms is demonstrated with a number of actual examples of high-rise buildings equipped with various energy dissipation devices.

Diffusion Weighted Imaging for Differentiating Benign from Malignant Orbital Tumors: Diagnostic Performance of the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Based on Region of Interest Selection Method

Xiao-Quan Xu,Hao Hu,Guo-Yi Su,Hu Liu,Hai-Bin Shi,Fei-Yun Wu 대한영상의학회 2016 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.17 No.5

Objective: To evaluate the differences in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements based on three different region of interest (ROI) selection methods, and compare their diagnostic performance in differentiating benign from malignant orbital tumors. Materials and Methods: Diffusion-weighted imaging data of sixty-four patients with orbital tumors (33 benign and 31 malignant) were retrospectively analyzed. Two readers independently measured the ADC values using three different ROIs selection methods including whole-tumor (WT), single-slice (SS), and reader-defined small sample (RDSS). The differences of ADC values (ADC-ROIWT, ADC-ROISS, and ADC-ROIRDSS) between benign and malignant group were compared using unpaired t test. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine and compare their diagnostic ability. The ADC measurement time was compared using ANOVA analysis and the measurement reproducibility was assessed using Bland-Altman method and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Malignant group showed significantly lower ADC-ROIWT, ADC-ROISS, and ADC-ROIRDSS than benign group (all p < 0.05). The areas under the curve showed no significant difference when using ADC-ROIWT, ADC-ROISS, and ADC-ROIRDSS as differentiating index, respectively (all p > 0.05). The ROISS and ROIRDSS required comparable measurement time (p > 0.05), while significantly shorter than ROIWT (p < 0.05). The ROISS showed the best reproducibility (mean difference ± limits of agreement between two readers were 0.022 [-0.080–0.123] x 10-3 mm2/s; ICC, 0.997) among three ROI methods. Conclusion: Apparent diffusion coefficient values based on the three different ROI selection methods can help to differentiate benign from malignant orbital tumors. The results of measurement time, reproducibility and diagnostic ability suggest that the ROISS method are potentially useful for clinical practice.

Use of antibiotics and other treatments in Chinese adults with acute cough: An online survey

Xiao-yang Hu,Ru-yu Xia,Michael Moore,Beth Stuart,Wen Ling-Zi,Bertrand Graz,Lai Lily,Liu Jian-Ping,Yu-tong Fei,Merlin Willcox 한국한의학연구원 2023 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.12 No.1

Background: Acute respiratory tract infections are common worldwide and there has been a rapid in- crease in antibiotic consumption. This study aimed to identify use of various treatments and their as- sociation with the use of antibiotics and patient reported clinical recovery in Chinese adults with acute cough. Methods: An online survey recruiting people who had recently experienced cough was conducted. Their sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, treatments received and their perceived changes in symptoms were collected. Factors influencing avoidance of antibiotics and improvement in symptoms were explored. Results: A total of 22,787 adults with recent acute cough completed the questionnaire, covering all 34 province-level administrative units in China. Most respondents were male (68.0%), young (89.4%, aged 18–45), educated to university/degree or postgraduate level (44.6%), with a median cough severity of 6/10 on a numerical rating scale. Nearly half of the participants (46.4%) reported using antibiotics, among which 93.1% were for presumed upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Pharmacies (48.8%) were the most common source of antibiotics. Fewer patients took antibiotics after taking CHM (14.9%), compared to those who started with home remedies (18.0%), or allopathic non-antibiotic medication (25.0%). An- tibiotics, allopathic non-antibiotic medications, CHM and home remedies were all perceived beneficial in relieving cough. Conclusions: Chinese adult responders report use of a considerable variety of treatments alone or in combination for acute cough. Patient-reported clinical recovery was similar regardless of treatment. There is likely a high proportion of inappropriate use of antibiotics for treatment of simple acute cough. As the majority of respondents did not use antibiotics as a first-line, and use of CHM was associated with relief of cough symptoms and reduction in the use of antibiotics, this presents an important opportunity for prudent antibiotic stewardship in China.

Identification and expression analysis of four heat shock protein genes associated with thermal stress in rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae

Fei Hu,Kan Ye,Xiao-Fang Tu,Yu-Jie Lu,Kiran Thakur,Zhao-Jun Wei 한국응용곤충학회 2018 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.21 No.3

In order to explore the function of heat shock proteins during thermal stress in rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae, four heat shock protein genes were cloned and characterized. These heat shock protein genes (hsps) were named as Sohsp70–1, Sohsp70–2, Sohsc70, and Sohsp90, respectively. These hsps showed high sequence conservation with the maximum identity with hsps of Tribolium castaneum and other insects. All the four genes showed the highest mRNA expression in pupal stage and the lowest levels in larval stage. The induced expression of the two Sohsp70s (Sohsp70–1 and Sohsp70–2) were reached to the highest levels (15.59-fold and 12.66-fold) after 2 h of incubation at 37 °C, respectively. Expression of Sohsp90 not only was significantly elevated by heat stress but also by cold stress. Whereas, expression level of Sohsc70 was not induced either by heat or cold stress. Furthermore, for rapid heat hardening, the expression levels of Sohsp70–1, Sohsp70–2, Sohsc70 and Sohsp90 were observed as 2.57, 2.53, 3.33 and 2.33-fold higher than control, respectively; for rapid cold hardening, the expression levels of Sohsp70–1, Sohsp70–2, Sohsc70 and Sohsp90 were reported as 2.27, 3.02, 3.37 and 2.23-fold higher than control, respectively. Hence, our results revealed that the four Sohsps were associated with temperature adaption under rapid heat or cold hardening.

An Overview of Compressive Trackers

Zhongyi Hu,Lei Xiao,Fei Teng 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.9 No.9

Compressive tracking is considerably popular in the visual tracking community in recent years. The very strong theoretic support from compressive sensing motivates many researchers to follow and there are a wide range of compressive trackers with attractive performances. The goal of this paper is to overview some of the most recent state-of-the-art compressive trackers in the literature. First, a variety of compressive trackers are thoroughly introduced and summarized. Second, extensive analyses from different perspectives, including random measurement matrix, compressive features, feature selection strategy and so forth, aim to provide readers a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different trackers. Finally, several possible future trends for compressive trackers are outlined to hopefully bring some insights to interesting researchers.

Improvement of energy storage performance in PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/PbZrO3 multilayer thin films via regulating PbZrO3 thickness

Yang Fei,Shi Yu Jia,Lin Lin,Chen Jing Yao,Hou Meng Zhe,Yu Ke Xin,Zhang Yi Han,Yuan Zheng,Li Xiao Fang,Hu Yan Chun,Shang Jun,Yin Shao Qian,Wang Xian Wei 한국물리학회 2023 Current Applied Physics Vol.50 No.-

In this work, to prepare the PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3(PZT)/PbZrO3(PZ) multilayer films, PZ films and PZT films were spin-coated on LaNiO3/SiO2/Si substrates in sequence by the sol-gel method, and the PZ films were prepared using PZ precursor solution with different concentrations. After each spin-coating, PZ layer and PZT layer were annealed with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) technique at 650 ◦C and 550 ◦C, respectively. The crystal structures, microstructures and electrical properties of the films with different PZ film thickness were comprehensively investigated. The PZ films with different thickness showed perovskite phase. The PZT films on crystallized PZ films exhibited the coexistence of pyrochlore phase and perovskite phase at the annealing temperature of 550 ◦C. The PZT/PZ multilayer films with 0.2 M PZ precursor solution exhibit typical anti-ferroelectricity with double hysteresis loops, while other multilayer films exhibit nearly linear loops. In addition, the recoverable energy storage density increases with the increase of the film thickness and reaches the maximum value 32.4 J/ cm3 in the PZT/PZ multilayer films with 0.4 M PZ precursor solution. Therefore, the ferroelectric properties of the PZT/PZ multilayer films could be regulated by different PZ film thickness, which effectively further enhances the energy storage performance.

Morphology control of mesoporous Cu₂O by reductants and its photocatalytic activity

Chu, Xiao-Zhong,Cheng, Zhi-Peng,Zhao, Yi-Jiang,Xu, Ji-Ming,Li, Mei-Sheng,Hu, Lei,Zhou, Shou-Yong,Wu, Fei-Yue,Lee, Chang-Ha Elsevier 2017 CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL Vol.43 No.11

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Mesoporous Cu<SUB>2</SUB>O particles with different morphologies were synthesized via simple one-pot reactions. Effects of reducing agents, dispersant, template, and temperature on the <B>structure</B> of the prepared materials were investigated. Mesoporous flower-shaped Cu<SUB>2</SUB>O materials were obtained at 70℃ using glucose <B>as a reductant</B>. Different hollow microsphere shapes of Cu<SUB>2</SUB>O could be prepared at 40℃ using <B>another type of reductant, ascorbic acid</B>. The results indicated that the uniform morphology of synthesized Cu<SUB>2</SUB>O with mesopores presented a maximum specific surface area of 45.3m<SUP>2</SUP>/g. Furthermore, the as-prepared Cu<SUB>2</SUB>O particles showed good photodegradation efficiencies of methyl orange in the range of 86.0–93.7%, depending on their morphologies.</P>

Utility of Readout-Segmented Echo-Planar Imaging-Based Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging for Differentiating Malignant from Benign Masses in Head and Neck Region

Gao Ma,Xiao-Quan Xu,Hao Hu,Guo-Yi Su,Jie Shen,Hai-Bin Shi,Fei-Yun Wu 대한영상의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.19 No.3

Objective: To compare the diagnostic performance of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging (RS-EPI)-based diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and that of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for differentiating malignant from benign masses in head and neck region. Materials and Methods: Between December 2014 and April 2016, we retrospectively enrolled 72 consecutive patients with head and neck masses who had undergone RS-EPI-based DKI scan (b value of 0, 500, 1000, and 1500 s/mm2) for pretreatment evaluation. Imaging data were post-processed by using monoexponential and diffusion kurtosis (DK) model for quantitation of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), apparent diffusion for Gaussian distribution (Dapp), and apparent kurtosis coefficient (Kapp). Unpaired t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare differences of quantitative parameters between malignant and benign groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to determine and compare the diagnostic ability of quantitative parameters in predicting malignancy. Results: Malignant group demonstrated significantly lower ADC (0.754 ± 0.167 vs. 1.222 ± 0.420, p < 0.001) and Dapp (1.029 ± 0.226 vs. 1.640 ± 0.445, p < 0.001) while higher Kapp (1.344 ± 0.309 vs. 0.715 ± 0.249, p < 0.001) than benign group. Using a combination of Dapp and Kapp as diagnostic index, significantly better differentiating performance was achieved than using ADC alone (area under curve: 0.956 vs. 0.876, p = 0.042). Conclusion: Compared to DWI, DKI could provide additional data related to tumor heterogeneity with significantly better differentiating performance. Its derived quantitative metrics could serve as a promising imaging biomarker for differentiating malignant from benign masses in head and neck region.