The Possible Mechanism on the Formation and Intensification of the Maximum Wind Core in Tropical Cyclone

Zhong Zhong,Xiao-ting Wang,Jin-shan Zhang 한국기상학회 2007 Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences Vol.43 No.2

Cough Inhibition Activity of Schisandra chinensis in Guinea Pigs

Shan Zhong,Li-Ping Bai,Xiao-Dong Liu,Die-Yi Cai,Lee-Fong Yau,Chu-Qin Huang,Jia-Qi Zhang,Ke-Fang Lai,Nan-Shan Zhong 한국식품영양과학회 2021 Journal of medicinal food Vol.24 No.4

Chronic cough is very common in respiratory clinics, and no effective drugs are available. Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. (S. chinensis), an important traditional Chinese medicine, has been extensively prescribed for patients with a persistent cough. Preliminary research indicated that 95% ethanol extracts (EE) of S. chinensis showed remarkable antitussive activity in guinea pigs exposed to cigarette smoke (CS). To find out the antitussive ingredients of S. chinensis, EE was divided into four fractions according to the polarity: petroleum ether extract (PEE), ethyl acetate extract (ECE), n-butyl alcohol extract, and residue extract. The antitussive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects of the four fractions were evaluated in a guinea pig model of cough hypersensitivity induced by CS exposure. Eighteen main constituents of the two effective fractions, PEE and ECE, were identified using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography electronic spray ion time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The cough inhibition activities of compound 1, 3, 9, 10, 17 were evaluated on citric acid induced acute cough guinea pigs. The results showed that the antitussive activity of EE was almost all contained in PEE and ECE. The 16 major peaks in PEE were identified as 15 lignans (1–12 and 14–16) and 1 triterpene (compound 13), and 3 major peaks (1, 17, and 18) in ECE were also identified as lignans. Three doses of five compounds brought about a significant decrease in number of cough efforts (P < .01), and the cough inhibition rates were between 40.9% and 85.1%. Therefore, lignans are the antitussive ingredients of S. chinensis.

Phase II Study on Voriconazole for Treatment of Chinese Patients with Malignant Hematological Disorders and Invasive Aspergillosis

Zhang, Xue-Zhong,Huang, Xin-En,Xu, Yan-Li,Zhang, Xiu-Qun,Su, Ai-ling,Shen, Zheng-Shan Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of voriconazole in treating Chinese patients with hematological malignancies and invasive aspergillosis. Methods: From March 2007 to April 2012, patients with diagnoses confirmed by CT, GM test and/or PCR assays, were recruited into this study. Aspergillosis of all patients were treated with voriconazole 6 mg/kg intravenous infusion (iv) every 12 h for 1 day, followed by 4 mg/kg IV every 12 h for 10-15 days; Then, switch to oral administration that was 200mg every 12h for 4-12 weeks. Efficacy and safety were evaluated according to Practice Guideline of Infectious Diseases Society of America. Results: The overall response rate of 38 patients after voriconazole treatment was 81.6%. The median time to pyretolysis was 4.5 days. Treatment related side effects were mild and found in only 15.8% of cases. No treatment related deaths occurred. Conclusions: Voriconazole can considered to be a safe and effective front-line therapy to treat patients with hematological malignancies and invasive aspergillosis. Alternatively it could be used as a remedial treatment when other antifungal therapies are ineffective.

Endovascular Repair of Blunt Popliteal Arterial Injuries

Shan Zhong,Xiquan Zhang,Zhong Chen,Peng Dong,Yequan Sun,Wei Zhu,Xiaolin Pan,Deming Qi 대한영상의학회 2016 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.17 No.5

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of endovascular repair for blunt popliteal arterial injuries. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of seven patients with clinical suspicion of popliteal arterial injuries that were confirmed by arteriography was performed from September 2009 to July 2014. Clinical data included demographics, mechanism of injury, type of injury, location of injury, concomitant injuries, time of endovascular procedures, time interval from trauma to blood flow restoration, instrument utilized, and follow-up. All patients were male (mean age of 35.9 ± 10.3 years). The type of lesion involved intimal injury (n = 1), partial transection (n = 2), complete transection (n = 2), arteriovenous fistula (n = 1), and pseudoaneurysm (n = 1). All patients underwent endovascular repair of blunt popliteal arterial injuries. Results: Technical success rate was 100%. Intimal injury was treated with a bare-metal stent. Pseudoaneurysm and popliteal artery transections were treated with bare-metal stents. Arteriovenous fistula was treated with bare-metal stent and coils. No perioperative death and procedure-related complication occurred. The average follow-up was 20.9 ± 2.3 months (range 18–24 months). One patient underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis due to stent thrombosis at 18 months after the procedure. All limbs were salvaged. Stent migration, deformation, or fracture was not found during the follow-up. Conclusion: Endovascular repair seems to be a viable approach for patients with blunt popliteal arterial injuries, especially on an emergency basis. Endovascular repair may be effective in the short-term. Further studies are required to evaluate the long-term efficacy of endovascular repair.

Selection signature reveals genes associated with susceptibility loci affecting respiratory disease due to pleiotropic and hitchhiking effect in Chinese indigenous pigs

Xu, Zhong,Sun, Hao,Zhang, Zhe,Zhang, Cheng-Yue,Zhao, Qing-bo,Xiao, Qian,Olasege, Babatunde Shittu,Ma, Pei-Pei,Zhang, Xiang-Zhe,Wang, Qi-Shan,Pan, Yu-Chun Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2020 Animal Bioscience Vol.33 No.2

Objective: Porcine respiratory disease is one of the most important health problems causing significant economic losses. To understand the genetic basis for susceptibility to swine enzootic pneumonia (EP) in pigs, we detected 102,809 single nucleotide polymorphisms in a total of 249 individuals based on genome-wide sequencing data. Methods: Genome comparison of susceptibility to swine EP in three pig breeds (Jinhua, Erhualian, and Meishan) with two western lines that are considered more resistant (Duroc and Landrace) using cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity and F-statistic (F_ST) statistical approaches identified 691 positively selected genes. Based on quantitative trait loci, gene ontology terms and literature search, we selected 14 candidate genes that have convincible biological functions associated with swine EP or human asthma. Results: Most of these genes were tested by several methods including transcription analysis and candidate genes association study. Among these genes: cytochrome P450 1A1 and catenin beta 1 (CTNNB1) are involved in fertility; transforming growth factor beta receptor 3 plays a role in meat quality traits; Wnt family member 2, CTNNB1 and transcription factor 7 take part in adipogenesis and fat deposition simultaneously; plasminogen activator, urokinase receptor (completely linked to AXL receptor tyrosine kinase, r² = 1) plays an essential role in the successful ovulation of matured oocytes in pigs; colipase like 2 (strongly linked to SAM pointed domain containing ETS transcription factor, r² = 0.848) is involved in male fertility. Conclusion: These adverse genes susceptible to swine EP may be selected while selecting for economic traits (especially reproduction traits) due to pleiotropic and hitchhiking effect of linked genes. Our study provided a completely new point of view to understand the genetic basis for susceptibility or resistance to swine EP in pigs thereby, provides insight for designing sustainable breed selection programs. Finally, the candidate genes are crucial due to their potential roles in respiratory diseases in a large number of species, including human.

Hot-Stamping Die-Cooling System for Vehicle Door Beams

Zhong-de Shan,Yong-sheng Ye,Mi-lan Zhang,Bao-yu Wang 한국정밀공학회 2013 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

The need for lightweight automobiles has promoted the rapid development of hot stamping. The cooling system of the hotstamping die determines the performance of hot-stamped workpieces. By establishing a simplified hot-stamping model, we determined that the temperature–time curve of a workpiece is an exponential function. Our research results showed that the depth from the die surface to the cooling pipes has the biggest impact on the cooling rate and uniformity of the workpiece; the correct depth must be ensured to obtain a uniform quenching rate. By studying the cooling buffer flumes, we discovered that the water flow in the pipes becomes more uniform with increasing flume width. With an increase in the flume height, the water flow uniformity in the pipes first increased, and then decreased. In addition, augmenting the pipe diameter near the inlet improved the water flow uniformity in the pipes.

C1420T Polymorphism of Cytosolic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase and Risk of Cancer: a Meta-analysis

Zhong, Shan-Liang,Zhang, Jun,Hu, Qing,Chen, Wei-Xian,Ma, Teng-Fei,Zhao, Jian-Hua Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.5

A series of studies have explored the role of cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT1) C1420T polymorphism in cancer risk, but their results were conflicting rather than conclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the association between C1420T and cancer risk, the present meta-analysis of 28 available studies with 15,121 cases and 18,023 controls was conducted. The results revealed that there was no significant association between the polymorphism and cancer risk overall. In stratified analysis by cancer type (breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and others), the results showed that 1420T allele was associated with decreased risk in leukemia (CT vs. CC: OR= 0.825, 95% CI =0.704-0.966; and CT+TT vs. CC: OR= 0.838, 95% CI = 0.722-0.973), but the same results were not present for other cancer types. When subgroup analysis was performed by source of control (population-based [PB] and hospital-based [HB]), a borderline inverse association was observed for the HB subgroup (CT vs. CC: OR= 0.917, 95% CI = 0.857-0.982) but not for the PB subgroup. Stratifying by geographic area (America, Asia and Europe), significant inverse association was only found in Asia subgroup (CT vs. CC: OR= 0.674, 95% CI = 0.522-0.870). In summary, the findings suggest that SHMT1 C1420T polymorphism is not associated with overall cancer development, but might decrease cancer susceptibility of Asians as well as reduce leukemia risk. Large well-designed epidemiological studies will be necessary to validate the risk identified in the current meta-analysis.

Characterizing the strain transfer on the sensing cable-soil interface based on triaxial testing

Dan Zhang,Guan-Zhong Wu,Tai-Song Shan,Bin Shi,Yuan-Jiang Fang,Kang Ren 국제구조공학회 2022 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.30 No.1

The deformation coordination between a rock/soil mass and an optical sensing cable is an important issue for accurate deformation monitoring. A stress-controlled triaxial apparatus was retrofitted by introducing an optical fiber into the soil specimen. High spatial resolution optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) was used for monitoring the strain distribution along the axial direction of the specimen. The results were compared with those measured by a displacement meter. The strain measured by the optical sensing cable has a good linear relationship with the strain calculated by the displacement meter for different confining pressures, which indicates that distributed optical fiber sensing technology is feasible for soil deformation monitoring. The performance of deformation coordination between the sensing cable and the soil during unloading is higher than that during loading based on the strain transfer coefficients. Three hypothetical strain distributions of the triaxial specimen are proposed, based on which theoretical models of the strain transfer coefficients are established. It appears that the parabolic distribution of specimen strain should be more reasonable by comparison. Nevertheless, the strain transfer coefficients obtained by the theoretical models are higher than the measured coefficients. On this basis, a strain transfer model considering slippage at the interface of the sensing cable and the soil is discussed.

Purification and characterization of a novel immunomodulatory hexapeptide from alcalase hydrolysate of ultramicro-pretreated silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa protein

Zhiyong Li,Shan Zhao,Xiang-Dong XIN,Bei Zhang,Attaribo Thomas,Asakiya Charles,Kwang Sik Lee,진병래,Zhong-Zheng Gui 한국응용곤충학회 2019 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.22 No.3

Silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa protein is one potential source of insect protein for use in food. Immunomodulatory peptides are specific protein fragments that can positively influence human health. Here, we purified a novel immunomodulatory hexapeptide from the alcalase hydrolysate of ultramicro-pretreated silkworm pupa proteinusing Sephadex gel filtration chromatography and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The peptide sequence was determined by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization– tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The results showed that the molecular mass of the purified peptide was 656.17 Da, and the amino acid sequence was Pro-Asn-Pro-Asn-Thr-Asn (PNPNTN). Splenocyte proliferation was 87.35% in the presence of 100 μg/ml of purified peptide. The splenocyte proliferation could be promoted upto 248.4% at 100 μg/ml of PNPNTN after induction by Concanavalin A (Con A). PNPNTN was stable in the presence of the gastrointestinal proteases pepsin and trypsin and at temperatures up to120°C. Taken together, these results show that this novel immunomodulatory hexapeptide from silkworm pupae has potential therapeutic value as an immunomodulatory component of functional food.

Fatty Acid Synthesis Pathway Genetic Variants and Clinical Outcome of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients after Surgery

Jin, Xin,Zhang, Ke-Jin,Guo, Xu,Myers, Ronald,Ye, Zhong,Zhang, Zhi-Pei,Li, Xiao-Fei,Yang, Hu-Shan,Xing, Jin-Liang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.17

Over-expression of de novo lipogenesis (DNL) genes is associated with the prognosis of various types of cancers. However, the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes on recurrence and survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients after surgery are still unknown. In this study, a total of 500 NSCLC patients who underwent surgery treatment were included. Eight SNPs in 3 genes (ACACA, FASN and ACLY) of the DNL pathway were examined using the Sequenom iPLEX genotyping system. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyze the association of SNPs with patient survival and tumour recurrence. We found that two SNPs in the FASN gene were significantly associated with the recurrence of NSCLC. SNP rs4246444 had a significant association with lung cancer recurrence under additive model (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [95%CI], 0.67-1.00; p=0.05). Under the dominant model, rs4485435 exhibited a significant association with recurrence (HR, 0.75; 95%CI, 0.56-1.01; p=0.05). Additionally, SNP rs9912300 in ACLY gene was significantly associated with overall survival in lung cancer patients (HR, 1.41; 95%CI, 1.02-1.94, p=0.04) under the dominant model. Further cumulative effect analysis showed moderate dose-dependent effects of unfavorable SNPs on both survival and recurrence. Our data suggest that the SNPs in DNL genes may serve as independent prognostic markers for NSCLC patients after surgery.