Patterns of Failure and Survival Trends in 3,808 Patients with Stage II Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosed from 1990 to 2012: A Large-Scale Retrospective Cohort Study

Xue-Song Sun,Di-Han Liu,Sai-Lan Liu,Qiu-Yan Chen,Shan-Shan Guo,Yue-Feng Wen,Li-Ting Liu,Hao-Jun Xie,Qing-Nan Tang,Yu-Jing Liang,Xiao-Yun Li,Jin-Jie Yan,Ming-Huang Hong,Jun Ma,Lin-Quan Tang,Hai-Qiang M 대한암학회 2019 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.51 No.4

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the survival trends and patterns of failure in patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy over the last 20 years. Materials and Methods Thirty-eight hundred and eight patients diagnosed with stage II NPC between January 1990 and December 2012 were involved in this retrospective cohort study. All patients were treated with RT. According to the main imaging techniques and RT technology, we categorized these patients into four calendar periods: 1990-1996, 1997-2002, 2003-2007, and 2008-2012. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRFS), and distant metastasis–free survival (DMFS) were served as the clinical outcome. Results After a median follow-up period of 84.7 months, we observed increasing trends in survival and disease control. The 3- and 5-year OS rates increased from 87.1% and 78.7% in the first calendar period to 97.4% and 94.5% in the last calendar period, respectively (p < 0.001). Additionally, significant increasing trends could be seen in the PFS and LRFS during the four calendar periods. In the subgroup analysis, the LRFS in patients older than 50 years at diagnosis showed greater improvement than younger patients. However, the rate of distant metastasis was stable and relatively low, as the 5-year DMFS ranged from 90.5% to 94.7% among the four calendar periods. Conclusion The survival rates in patients with stage II NPC showed increasing trends from 1990 to 2012. The advance of RT provided excellent locoregional control and enhanced OS.

Traditional Chinese medicine for COVID-19 pandemic and emerging challenges: An online cross-sectional survey in China

Chun-Li Lu,Ruo-Xiang Zheng,Xue Xue,Xiao-Wen Zhang,Xue-Han Liu,Xin-Yan Jin,Feng-Lan Pu,Hui-Di Lan,Min Fang,Ling-Yao Kong,Merlin Willcox,Bertrand Graz,Joelle Houriet,Xiao-Yang Hu,Jian-ping Liu 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.-

Background We aimed to investigate use of infection control behaviours, preventative and therapeutic interventions, and outcomes among respondents to an online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods The survey was designed by an international team, translated and adapted to simplified Chinese, including 132 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation recommended by guidelines. It was distributed and collected from February to May 2021, with data analysed by WPS spreadsheet and wjx.cn. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographics and clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatments, preventative behaviours and interventions, and their associated outcomes. Results The survey was accessed 503 times with 341 (67.8%) completions covering 23 provinces and four municipalities in China. Most (282/341, 82.7%) respondents reported no symptoms during the pandemic and the majority (290/341, 85.0%) reported having a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test at some point. Forty-five (13.2%) reported having a respiratory infection, among which 19 (42.2%) took one or more categories of modern medicine, e.g. painkillers, antibiotics; 16 (35.6%) used TCM interventions(s); while seven respondents combined TCM with modern medicine. All respondents reported using at least one behavioural or medical approach to prevention, with 22.3% taking TCM and 5.3% taking modern medicines. No respondents reported having a critical condition related to COVID-19. Conclusion We found evidence of widespread use of infection control behaviours, modern medicines and TCM for treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory symptoms. Larger scale studies are warranted, including a more representative sample exploring TCM preparations recommended in clinical guidelines. Background We aimed to investigate use of infection control behaviours, preventative and therapeutic interventions, and outcomes among respondents to an online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods The survey was designed by an international team, translated and adapted to simplified Chinese, including 132 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation recommended by guidelines. It was distributed and collected from February to May 2021, with data analysed by WPS spreadsheet and wjx.cn. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographics and clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatments, preventative behaviours and interventions, and their associated outcomes. Results The survey was accessed 503 times with 341 (67.8%) completions covering 23 provinces and four municipalities in China. Most (282/341, 82.7%) respondents reported no symptoms during the pandemic and the majority (290/341, 85.0%) reported having a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test at some point. Forty-five (13.2%) reported having a respiratory infection, among which 19 (42.2%) took one or more categories of modern medicine, e.g. painkillers, antibiotics; 16 (35.6%) used TCM interventions(s); while seven respondents combined TCM with modern medicine. All respondents reported using at least one behavioural or medical approach to prevention, with 22.3% taking TCM and 5.3% taking modern medicines. No respondents reported having a critical condition related to COVID-19. Conclusion We found evidence of widespread use of infection control behaviours, modern medicines and TCM for treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory symptoms. Larger scale studies are warranted, including a more representative sample exploring TCM preparations recommended in clinical guidelines.

Clinical Effectiveness of Preoperative Embolization for Cerebellar Hemangioblastoma

Liu, Ai-Hua,Peng, Tang-Ming,Wu, Zhen,Xiao, Xin-Ru,Jiang, Chu-Han,Wu, Zhong-Xue,Li, You-Xiang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.9

The cerebellar hemangioblastoma (CHB) has an abundant blood supply and deep anatomical location. Complete surgical resection is generally very difficult. This study investigated the safety and effectiveness of preoperative embolization followed by surgical resection of CHB in a large cohort of patients. A database of 125 CHB patients with surgical resection in Beijing Tiantan Hospital between July 2006 and July 2012 was reviewed. Of those, 46 cases (experimental group) received preoperative embolization, 79 cases (control group) underwent surgery without embolization. Patient demographics, tumor size, duration of surgery, blood loss, blood transfusion, complications and follow-up results were collected and analyzed retrospectively. In the experimental group, the Kamofsky score (KS) was 80-100 in 40 cases (86.9%), 40-70 in 4 cases (8.7%), and below 40 in 2 cases (4.3%). Among 31 cases with follow-up, KS was 80-100 in 27 cases (87.1%), 40-70 in 2 cases (6.5%), and 0 in 2 cases (6.5%). In control group, KS was 80 -100 in 65 cases (82.2%), 40-70 in 6 cases (7.6%), 10-30 in 3 cases (3.8%), and 0 in 3 cases (3.8%). Among 53 cases with follow-up, KS was 80-100 in 44 cases (83.0%), 40-70 in 4 cases (7.5%), 10-30 in 1 case (1.9%), and 0 in 4 cases (7.5%). There were statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in tumor size, duration of surgery, amount of intraoperative blood loss and transfusion (p<0.01). However, complications (p=0.31) and follow-up results (p=0.76) showed no significant differences between groups. Selective preoperative embolization of those CHB patients with richer blood supply, higher hemorrhage risk, is safe and effective, and is a reliable adjuvant therapy for complete surgical resection of CHB.

Analytical procedure to simultaneously measure trace amounts of trenbolone acetate and β-trenbolone residues in porcine muscle using HPLC-UVD and MS

Liu, Xue,Abd El-Aty, A. M.,Choi, Jeong-Heui,Khay, Sathya,Mamun, M. I. R.,Jeon, Hyang-Rang,Lee, Soon-Ho,Chang, Byung-Joon,Lee, Chi-Ho,Shin, Ho-Chul,Shim, Jae-Han WILEY-VCH Verlag 2008 Journal of Separation Science Vol.31 No.22

<P>The current study was undertaken to validate the performance for the determination of both TBA and β-trenbolone (β-TB) residues in porcine muscle at concentrations required to monitor compliance with the maximum residue limit (MRL). The method involves a one phase liquid–liquid extraction, cleanup with low-temperature fat precipitation, separation of the respective compounds by HPLC on a Capcell pak C<SUB>18</SUB> column, use of a methanol–water isocratic system as an eluent, and measurement by UV absorbance detection at 340 nm. Both compounds were confirmed using LC-MS/MS with electrospray interface (ESI) and a triple quadrupole (QqQ) analyzer. The method was found to be precise and accurate, with a linearity range of 1–10 μg/kg (r<SUP>2</SUP> >0.973). The intra- and interday precision showed good reproducibility with RSDs ⪇13.25%. The LODs were 0.12 and 0.22 μg/kg, and the LOQs were 0.37 and 0.66 μg/kg, for TBA and β-TB, respectively. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by analyzing real samples collected from major cities in the Republic of Korea. No residues of the selected compounds were detected in any of the samples. The advantages of our method are that it is: selective, sensitive, requires a short time for analysis (13 min), and performs simple sample extraction and clean-up procedure with low-temperature fat precipitation as compared to the previously published methods.</P>

Spin conductance in three-terminal rings subject to Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling

Han-Zhao Tang,Li-Xue Zhai,Jian-Jun Liu 한국물리학회 2018 Current Applied Physics Vol.18 No.1

Based on the Green's function formalism, we investigated spin transport properties in one-dimensional three-terminal rings in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (DSOC). The conductance as a function of the Fermi energy shows typical resonance and antiresonance (conductance zero) characteristics in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). When one type of SOC (RSOC or DSOC) is introduced, the original conductance zeros are lifted, but new conductance zeros emerge. It is found that all the conductance zeros depend sensitively on the disorder, and the fluctuate weakens and smoothens the oscillations of the conductance. In the presence of both types of SOCs, the interplay between the RSOC and the DSOC opens a gap in the energy spectrum and breaks the cylindrical symmetry of the ring. Consequently, symmetrically coupled three-terminal rings show anisotropic conductances, which are robust against weak disorders.

Food Microbiology and Biotechnology : Gene Cloning and Characterization of an α-Amylase from Alteromonas macleodii B7 for Enteromorpha Polysaccharide Degradation

( Xue Feng Han ),( Bo Kun Lin ),( Gan Ji Ru ),( Zhi Biao Zhang ),( Yan Liu ),( Zhong Hu ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.2

Enteromorpha polysaccharides (EP) extracted from green algae have displayed a wide variety of biological activities. However, their high molecular weight leads to a high viscosity and low solubility, and therefore, greatly restrains their application. To solve this problem, bacteria from the surface of Enteromorpha were screened, and an Alteromonas macleodii strain B7 was found to be able to decrease the molecular weight of EP in culture media. Proteins harvested from the supernatant of the A. macleodii B7 culture were subjected to native gel electrophoresis, and a band corresponding to the Enteromorpha polysaccharide lyase (EPL) was detected by activity staining. The enzyme identity was subsequently confirmed by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry as the putative α-amylase reported in A. macleodii ATCC 27126. The amylase gene (amySTU) from A. macleodii B7 was cloned into Escherichia coli, resulting in highlevel expression of the recombinant enzyme with EP-degrading activity. AmySTU was found to be cold-adapted; however, its optimal enzyme activity was detected at 40oC. The α-amylase was highly stable over a broad pH range (5.5-10) with the optimal pH at 7.5-8.0. The highest enzyme activity was detected when NaCl concentration was 2%, which dropped by 50% when the NaCl concentration was increased to 16%, showing an excellent nature of halotolerance. Furthermore, the amylase activity was not significantly affected by tested surfactants or the presence of some organic solvents. Therefore, the A. macleodii strain B7 and its α-amylase can be useful in lowering EP molecular weight and in starch processing.

Black Hole Mass and Accretion Rate of Active Galactic Nuclei

Xue-Bing Wu,F.K. Liu,J.L. Han,M.Z. Kong,R. Wang 한국물리학회 2006 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.49 No.4

The determination of the central black hole mass is crucial to the understanding of active galactic nuclei physics. In this paper, we brie°y review some methods that are currently used to estimate the black hole mass of AGNs. Particularly, we demonstrate the importance of two correlations: one between the black hole mass and the stellar velocity dispersion and the other one between the broad line region (BLR) size and the optical continuum luminosity. Besides applying these relations in deriving the black hole masses of various types of AGNs, we also employ the fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies to estimate the central velocity dispersions of AGN host galaxies, and then the black hole masses of AGNs, including BL Lac objects. In addition, we derive another empirical relation between the BLR size and the H. emission line luminosity from AGNs with the BLR size measured by reverberation mapping studies, and we argue that more accurate black hole masses of extremely radio-loud AGNs can be obtained with it than by using the usual R ¡ L 5100ºA relation because of the jet contribution to the optical continuum. Finally, we point out that black hole mass estimation is very much helpful in determining the accretion rate and in understanding the accretion process in AGNs.

Photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline with Fe3O4/g-C3N4/TiO2 catalyst under visible light

Liu Rui,Zhang Xin,Han Xue,Sun Yuan,Jin Shuang,Liu Ri-jia 한국탄소학회 2024 Carbon Letters Vol.34 No.1

Fe3O4/g-C3N4/TiO2 catalyst has been fabricated using a simple ultrasonic method with high photocatalytic activity. The morphology, structure and optical properties of Fe3O4/g-C3N4/TiO2 were systematically investigated by a variety of characterization techniques. The optimum degradation conditions were investigated by degrading tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the degradation efficiency was the highest when the initial TC concentration was 5.0 mg/L, the pH value was 11 and the catalyst dosage was 1.0 g/L. After 100 min of visible light irradiation, the degradation efficiency of TC achieved at 73.61%, which was 1.64 and 1.19 times that of g-C3N4 and Fe3O4/g-C3N4, respectively. Moreover, Fe3O4/g-C3N4/TiO2 had good stability and recyclability. The results of capture experiments showed that ‧O2− and ‧OH were the main active species during the photocatalytic process, and a possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism of Fe3O4/g-C3N4/TiO2 catalyst was proposed. This study provides a new way to improve the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4, which has great potential in degrading pollutants such as antibiotics in wastewater.

Improving thermal shock and ablation resistance of high thermal conductivity carbon/carbon composites by introducing carbon nanotubes

Liu Xue-Song,Fu Qian-Gang,Wang Han-Hui,Tong Ming-De,Zhang Jia-Ping,Song Qiang 한국탄소학회 2020 Carbon Letters Vol.30 No.6

In order to improve the thermal shock and ablation resistance of high thermal conductivity carbon/carbon composites, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were introduced by electrophoretic deposition. After modifcation, the fexural strength of the composites increases by 53.0% due to the greatly strengthened interfaces. During thermal shock between 1100 °C and room temperature for 30 times, the strength continues to increase, attributed to the weakened interfaces in favor of fber and CNT pull-out. By introducing CNTs at interfaces, thermal conductivity of the composites along the fber axial direction decreases and that along the fber radial direction increases. As the thermal shock process prolongs, since the carbon structure integrity of CNT and matrix in the modifed composites is improved, the conductivity increases whatever the orientation is, until the thermal stress causes too many defects. As for the anti-ablation performance, the mass ablation rates of the CNT-modifed composites with fbers parallel to and vertical to the fame decrease by 69.6% and 43.9% respectively, and the diference in the mass ablation rate related with fber orientations becomes much less. Such performance improvement could be ascribed to the reduced oxidative damage and the enhanced interfaces.

MnO2/graphene supported on Ni foam: an advanced electrode for electrochemical detection of Pb(II)

Liu Rui,Zhang Chao-Jun,Han Xue,Wu Tian-Heng,Liu Ri-Jia,Sun Yuan,Jin Shuang 한국탄소학회 2023 Carbon Letters Vol.33 No.3

Graphene-derived materials are an excellent electrode for electrochemical detection of heavy metals. In this study, a MnO2/graphene supported on Ni foam electrode was prepared via ultrasonic impregnation and electrochemical deposition. The resulting electrode was used to detect Pb(II) in the aquatic environment. The graphene and MnO2 deposited on the Ni foam not only improved active surface area, but also promoted the electron transfer. The electrochemical performance towards Pb(II) was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The prepared electrode exhibited lower limit of detection (LOD, 0.2 μM (S/N = 3)) and good sensitivity (59.9 μAμM−1) for Pb(II) detection. Moreover, the prepared electrodes showed good stability and reproducibility. This excellent performance can be attributed to the strong adhesion force between graphene and MnO2, which provides compact structures for the enhancement of the mechanical stability. Thus, these combined results provide some technical considerations and scientific insights for the detection of heavy metal ions using composite electrodes.