Albumin-to-Fibrinogen Ratio as an Independent Prognostic Parameter in Untreated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Retrospective Study of 191 Cases

Yi-Xin Zou,Jia Qiao,Hua-Yuan Zhu,Rui-Nan Lu,Yi Xia,Lei Cao,Wei Wu,Hui Jin,Wen-Jie Liu,Jin-Hua Liang,Jia-Zhu Wu,Li Wang,Lei Fan,Wei Xu,Jian-Yong Li 대한암학회 2019 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.51 No.2

Purpose Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the most frequent type of B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders and chronic inflammation takes part in the development of CLL. However, there has been no valid immune biomarker to predict the prognosis of untreated CLL patients. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical correlations and prognostic value of albumin-to-fibrinogen ratio (AFR) detected at diagnosis in 191 CLL patients. Results The cut-off value of AFR was 9.7 calculated by X-tile. Patients who were more than 65 years old were often accompanied by low level of AFR (p < 0.001). Survival analysis showed that patients with low level of AFR had shorter overall survival (OS) than patients with high level of AFR (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis illustrated that AFR had a negative impact on OS (p=0.003) and was independent of parameters involved in CLL international prognostic index and other prognostic markers such as CD38 and ZAP-70. Conclusion These data provide a comprehensive view of AFR and shows that AFR at diagnosis is an adverse prognostic factor in untreated CLL patients.

A novel computer vision-based vibration measurement and coarse-to-fine damage assessment method for truss bridges

Yi-Qing Ni,Wen-Qiang Liu,En-Ze Rui,Lei Yuan,Si-Yi Chen,You-Liang Zheng 국제구조공학회 2023 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.31 No.4

To assess structural condition in a non-destructive manner, computer vision-based structural health monitoring (SHM) has become a focus. Compared to traditional contact-type sensors, the advantages of computer vision-based measurement systems include lower installation costs and broader measurement areas. In this study, we propose a novel computer vision-based vibration measurement and coarse-to-fine damage assessment method for truss bridges. First, a deep learning model FairMOT is introduced to track the regions of interest (ROIs) that include joints to enhance the automation performance compared with traditional target tracking algorithms. To calculate the displacement of the tracked ROIs accurately, a normalized cross-correlation method is adopted to fine-tune the offset, while the Harris corner matching is utilized to correct the vibration displacement errors caused by the non-parallel between the truss plane and the image plane. Then, based on the advantages of the stochastic damage locating vector (SDLV) and Bayesian inference-based stochastic model updating (BISMU), they are combined to achieve the coarse-to-fine localization of the truss bridge's damaged elements. Finally, the severity quantification of the damaged components is performed by the BI-SMU. The experiment results show that the proposed method can accurately recognize the vibration displacement and evaluate the structural damage.

Naringin and Naringenin Relax Rat Tracheal Smooth by Regulating BKCa Activation

Rui Shi,Jia-Wen Xu,Zi-Ting Xiao,Ruo-Fei Chen,Yi-Lin Zhang,Jia-Bi Lin,Ke-Ling Cheng,Gu-Yi Wei,Pei-Bo Li,Wen-Liang Zhou,Wei-Wei Su 한국식품영양과학회 2019 Journal of medicinal food Vol.22 No.9

Naringin and its aglycone, naringenin, occur naturally in our regular diet and traditional Chinese medicines. This study aimed to detect an effective therapeutic approach for cough variant asthma (CVA) through evaluating the relaxant effect of these two bioactive herbal monomers as antitussive and antiasthmatic on rat tracheal smooth muscle. The relaxant effect was determined by measuring muscular tension with a mechanical recording system in rat tracheal rings. Cytosolic Ca2+ concentration was measured using a confocal imaging system in primary cultured tracheal smooth muscle cells. In rat tracheal rings, addition of both naringin and naringenin could concentration dependently relax carbachol (CCh)-evoked tonic contraction. This epithelium-independent relaxation could be suppressed by BaCl2, tetraethylammonium, and iberiotoxin (IbTX), but not by glibenclamide. After stimulating primary cultured tracheal smooth muscle cells by CCh or high KCl, the intracellular Ca2+ increase could be inhibited by both naringin and naringenin, respectively. This reaction was also suppressed by IbTX. These results demonstrate that both naringin and naringenin can relax tracheal smooth muscle through opening big conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel, which mediates plasma membrane hyperpolarization and reduces Ca2+ influx. Our data indicate a potentially effective therapeutic approach of naringin and naringenin for CVA.

아이트래킹(Eye Tracking)을 활용한 재무제표 응시 결과 분석

Rui Yi Zhang,나형종,Ya Lei Liu,Jun Song,Yue Yan Liu 세명대학교 인문사회과학연구소 2024 人文 社會科學硏究 Vol.32 No.1

· Research topics: This paper presents research results on people's understanding of financial statements and information delivery power of financial statements using eye tracking technology. · Research background: In the field of social science, research that introduces eye-tracking experiments is also being conducted, but in the field of accounting, eye-tracking research through eye-tracking is insufficient. In this paper, research is conducted by introducing eye-tracking techniques to determine whether the disclosure form of financial statements in accordance with the current international accounting standards adopted in Korea has high information transmission power. · Differences from prior research: This study is a fusion and convergence study that innovatively used eye tracking techniques to study topics in the field of accounting. Through this, meaningful information is provided to understand the understanding and information delivery power of the current major financial statements adopted in Korea. · Research method: This paper presented the results of empirical analysis by conducting an experiment to gaze at financial statements using eye tracking technology. In addition, this study conducted a survey on financial statement information delivery power to verify the information delivery power of financial statements in accordance with the current international accounting standards adopted in Korea. · Research Results: As a result of i-Tracking research, it was found that in the statement of absence, most eyes were on current assets, non-current assets, current liabilities, non-current liabilities, and capital. In the statement of comprehensive income, it was found that most eyes were on the order of sales, cost of sales, net income and other comprehensive income, operating profit, and total comprehensive income. And it was found that relatively few eyes were on gross profit, sales and management expenses, and non-operating expenses. In the table of capital fluctuations, it was found that many people applied in the order of capital, excess issuance of stocks, and total capital. And it was found that relatively few people stared at retained earnings and other capital items. Lastly, in the cash flow table, it was found that people's eyes were on the order of operating cash flow, net increase and decrease of cash and cashable assets, investment cash flow, and financial activity cash flow. · Contributions and expected effects: First, the research methodology used in this study is a unique research methodology that is rarely used in the field of accounting, and is expected to provide good guidelines for research in the field of accounting by introducing various methods. Second, the research results of this paper provide meaningful information to understand the comprehension and information delivery power of the current major financial statements adopted in Korea, and further improvements are made to the form of financial statement disclosure to improve the usefulness of financial statement information. · 연구 주제: 본 논문은 아이트래킹 기술을 활용하여 사람들의 재무제표의 이해도 및 재무제표의 정보전달력에 관한 연구결과를 제시한다. · 연구 배경: 사회과학 분야에서도 아이트래킹 실험을 도입한 연구가 진행되고 있지만, 회계학 분야에서는 아이트래킹을 통한 시선 추적 연구가 미흡한 실정이다. 본 논문에서는 현행 한국 채택 국제회계기준에 의한 재무제표의 공시형태가 과연 높은 정보 전달력이 있는지를 규명하기 위해 아이트래킹 기법을 도입하여 연구를 수행한다. · 선행연구와의 차이점: 본 연구는 회계학 분야의 주제를 연구하는데 있어서 혁신적으로 아이트래킹 기법을 사용하여 실험을 수행한 융·복합 연구이다. 이를 통하여 한국 채택 현행 주요 재무제표의 이해가능성 및 정보전달력을 파악하는데 의미 있는 정보를 제공한다. · 연구방법: 본 논문은 아이트래킹 기술을 활용하여 재무제표를 응시하는 실험을 수행하여 실증분석 결과를 제시하였다. 또한 본 연구에서는 현행 한국 채택 국제회계기준에 의한 재무제표의 정보전달력을 검증하기 위하여 재무제표 정보전달력에 관한 설문조사를 수행하였다. · 연구결과: 아이트래킹 연구결과, 제무상태표에서는 유동자산, 비유동자산, 유동부채, 비유동부채, 자본 순으로 시선이 많이 가는 것으로 파악되었다. 포괄손익계산서에서는 매출액, 매출원가, 당기순이익·기타포괄손익, 영업이익, 총포괄손익 순으로 시선이 많이 가는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 상대적으로 매출총이익, 판매비와 관리비, 영업외비용에는 시선이 적게 가는 것으로 나타났다. 자본변동표에서는 자본금, 주식발행초과금, 자본합계 순으로 사람들이 많이 응시하는 것으로 파악되었다. 그리고 상대적으로 이익잉여금과 기타자본항목은 사람들이 적게 응시하는 것으로 파악되었다. 마지막으로 현금흐름표에서는 영업활동 현금흐름, 현금및현금성자산의 순증감, 투자활동 현금흐름, 재무활동 현금흐름 순으로 사람들의 시선이 많이 가는 것으로 나타났다. · 공헌점 및 기대효과: 첫째, 본 연구에서 사용한 연구방법론은 회계학 분야에서 거의 사용되지 않는 독특한 연구방법론으로써 회계학 분야의 연구가 다양한 방법을 도입하여 발전하는데 있어서 좋은 가이드라인을 제시할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다. 둘째. 본 논문의 연구결과는 한국 채택 현행 주요 재무제표의 이해가능성 및 정보전달력을 파악하는데 의미 있는 정보를 제공하고, 더 나아가 재무제표 정보의 유용성을 향상시키기 위한 재무제표 공시형태에 대해서 개선점을 제시한다.

Occupational Cooking and Risk of Uveal Melanoma: a Meta-analysis

Ge, Yi-Rui,Tian, Nong,Lu, Yan,Wu, Yong,Hu, Qin-Rui,Huang, Zheng-Ping Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.10

Background: Many observational studies have assessed the possible association between occupational cooking and uveal melanoma risk, but reported results are controversial. Our goal was to evaluate the association between occupational cooking and uveal melanoma risk by conducting a meta-analysis of observational studies. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched through June 2012 to identify all eligible studies. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was used to evaluate this association. Either a fixed- or a random-effects model were used to calculate pooled ORs. Results: Five case-control studies involving a total of 1,199 cases and 6,927 controls were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, occupational cooking was associated with an increased risk of uveal melanoma (OR: 1.81, 95%CI 1.33-2.46, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis by gender suggested occupational cooking was associated with increased risk of uveal melanoma in both men (OR: 2.16, 95%CI 1.06-4.40, P = 0.034) and women (OR: 1.92, 95%CI 1.19-3.10, P = 0.008). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that occupational cooking is associated with an increased risk of uveal melanoma in both men and women.

MiR-449a attenuates autophagy of T-cell lymphoma cells by downregulating ATG4B expression

Nan Zhang,Ling Qiu,Tao Li,Xiao Wang,Rui Deng,Hai Yi,Yi Su,Fang-yi Fan 생화학분자생물학회 2020 BMB Reports Vol.53 No.5

Increasing evidence suggests the role of miR-449a in the regulation of tumorigenesis and autophagy. Autophagy plays an important role in the malignancy of T-cell lymphoma. However, it is still unknown whether miR-449a is associated with autophagy to regulate the malignancy of T-cell lymp homa. In this study, we for the first time demonstrated that miR-449a enhanced apoptosis of T-cell lymphoma cells by decreasing the degree of autophagy. Further, miR-449a downregulated autophagy- associated 4B (ATG4B) expression, which subsequently reduced the autophagy of T-cell lymphoma cells. Mechanistically, miR-449a decreased ATG4B protein level by binding to its mRNA 3’UTR, thus reducing the mRNA stability. In addition, studies with nude mice showed that miR-449a significantly inhibited lymphoma characteristics in vivo. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the “miR-449a/ATG4B/autophagy” pathway played a vital role in the malignancy of T-cell lymphoma, suggesting a novel therapeutic target.

Ordinal Optimization Theory Based Planning for Clustered Wind Farms Considering the Capacity Credit

Yi Wang,Ning Zhang,Chongqing Kang,Qianyao Xu,Hui Li,Jinyu Xiao,Zhidong Wang,Rui Shi,Shuai Wang 대한전기학회 2015 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.10 No.5

Wind power planning aims to locate and size wind farms optimally. Traditionally, wind power planners tend to choose the wind farms with the richest wind resources to maximize the energy benefit. However, the capacity benefit of wind power should also be considered in large-scale clustered wind farm planning because the correlation among the wind farms exerts an obvious influence on the capacity benefit brought about by the combined wind power. This paper proposes a planning model considering both the energy and the capacity benefit of the wind farms. The capacity benefit is evaluated by the wind power capacity credit. The Ordinal Optimization (OO) Theory, capable of handling problems with non-analytical forms, is applied to address the model. To verify the feasibility and advantages of the model, the proposed model is compared with a widely used genetic algorithm (GA) via a modified IEEE RTS-79 system and the real world case of Ningxia, China. The results show that the diversity of the wind farm enhances the capacity credit of wind power.

The Influence of Vegetation Variation on Northeast Asian Dust Activity

Rui Mao,허창회,Song Feng,Dao-Yi Gong,Yaping Shao 한국기상학회 2013 Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences Vol.49 No.1

In this study, we investigate the influence of vegetation variations on dust activity (dust load, dust transport in the troposphere,and dust weather frequency) over Northeast Asia during springtime. By using the Integrated Wind Erosion Modeling System,two model experiments are run over four-month periods, from February 1 to May 31, for each year from 1982 to 2006; one experiment uses the observed atmospheric conditions and vegetation (OBS), and the other uses the specified atmospheric conditions in 2006 and the observed vegetation (CTRL). Comparison of the two model experiments reveals that there are sensitive regions in southeastern Mongolia and central northern China, in which vegetation has a large potential to influence dust activity due to both the high dust emission rate and large variations in vegetation coverage. Over these sensitive regions,vegetation effectively lessens dust loads on interannual and interdecadal timescales; dust load is decreased by 2864 μg m−2 for an increment of 0.1 in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Vegetation increase in the sensitive areas also reduces two major branches of dust transports in the low troposphere; one stretches from eastern Mongolia to regions northeastward, and the other flows across the south of northeastern China to Korea. In addition to dust loads and transports, vegetation increase in the sensitive areas evidently decreases dust storm frequency and blowing dust frequency, but it exerts a weak influence on the floating dust frequency. In the sensitive regions, as NDVI increases by 0.1, dust storms, blowing dust,and floating dust decrease by 4.0 days/spring, 1.5 days/spring, and 0.2 days/spring, respectively. In summary, vegetation variations in southeastern Mongolia and central northern China have considerable impact on northeast Asian dust during springtime.

Isolation and Identification of Lipopeptide Antibiotics from Paenibacillus elgii B69 with Inhibitory Activity Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Rui Ding,Chao-Dong Qian,Yi Teng,Ou Li,Zha-Jun Zhan,Yu-Hua Zhao,Xue-Chang Wu 한국미생물학회 2011 The journal of microbiology Vol.49 No.6

Two lipopeptide antibiotics, pelgipeptins C and D, were isolated from Paenibacillus elgii B69 strain. The molecular masses of the two compounds were both determined to be 1,086 Da. Mass-spectrometry, amino acid analysis and NMR spectroscopy indicated that pelgipeptin C was the same compound as BMY-28160, while pelgipeptin D was identified as a new antibiotic of the polypeptin family. These two peptides were active against all the tested microorganisms, including antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacterial strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Time-kill assays demonstrated that pelgipeptin D exhibited rapid and effective bactericidal action against MRSA at 4×MIC. Based on acute toxicity test, the intraperitoneal LD50 value of pelgipeptin D was slightly higher than that of the structurally related antimicrobial agent polymyxin B. Pelgipeptins are highly potent antibacterial and antifungal agents, particularly against MRSA, and warrant further investigation as possible therapeutic agents for bacteria infections resistant to currently available antibiotics.

A New Method for Elimination of Zero-Sequence Voltage in Dual Three-Level Inverter Fed Open-End Winding Induction Motors

Yi-Wen Geng,Chen-Xi Wei,Rui-Cheng Chen,Liang Wang,Jia-Bin Xu,Shuang-Cheng Hao 전력전자학회 2017 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.17 No.1

Due to the excessive zero-sequence voltage in dual three-level inverter fed open-end winding induction motor systems, zero-sequence circumfluence which is harmful to switching devices and insulation is then formed when operating in a single DC voltage source supplying mode. Traditionally, it is the mean value instead of instantaneous value of the zero-sequence voltage that is eliminated, through adjusting the durations of the operating vectors. A new strategy is proposed for zero-sequence voltage elimination, which utilizes unified voltage modulation and a decoupled SVPWM strategy to achieve two same-sized equivalent vectors for an angle of 120°, generated by two inverters independently. Both simulation and experimental results have verified its efficiency in the instantaneous value elimination of zero-sequence voltage.