Clinical Significance of Joint Detection of Serum VEGF, SIL-2R and HGF in Patients with Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma before and after Percutaneous Microwave Coagulation Therapy

Chen, Ji-Dong,Xiong, Yan-Qun,Dong, Ke,Luo, Jun,Yue, Lin-Xian,Chen, Qin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.11

Objective: To investigate the changes of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (SIL-2R) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) contents in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before and after percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) and determine their clinical significance. Materials and Methods: Fasting venous blood (3 mL) from 81 patients with primary HCC diagnosed by pathology was collected in the mornings 1 day before PMCT, and 1 day, 7 days and 1 month after PMCT, and then the serum was separated and stored in $-70^{\circ}C$. The contents of VEGF, SIL-2R and HGF were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The serum VEGF, SIL-2R and HGF contents in 81 patients with primary HCC had obviously dynamic changes before and after PMCT. By comparison to 1 day after PMCT with pre-operation, there was no statistical significance regarding VEGF and SIL-2R contents (P>0.05), but HGF content showed significant difference (P<0.01). Compared with pre-operation, VEGF, SIL-2R and HGF contents 7 days and 1 month after PMCT all manifested significant differences (P<0.01). By comparison to 7 days with 1 month after PMCT, there was no statistical significance regarding the VEGF content (P>0.05), whereas SIL-2R and HGF contents showed significant change (P<0.01). Conclusions: The contents of serum VEGF, SIL-2R and HGF have obviously dynamic changes in primary HCC before and after PMCT, and their joint detection is expected to be an effective hematologic evaluation index of PMCT for primary HCC.

pH-dependent release of platycodin mitigates its gastrointestinal mucosa irritation after oral administration in rats

Qin Chen,Wen-Wen Yang,Pan Shen,Qing-Ri Cao,Beom-Jin Lee,Jing-Hao Cui 대한약학회 2016 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.39 No.6

The present study aimed to evaluate the gastrointestinalmucosa irritation of three platycodin formulations. Platycodin-loaded core pellets were prepared viaextrusion–spheronization method and coated withEudragit L100-55 (L100) or Eudragit S100 (S100) forpH-dependent release. The release of platycodin D fromcoated pellets exhibited pH dependent release profiles. Thepharmacokinetic study in rats showed that Tmax of thecoated pellets were prolonged as compared to that of uncoatedpellets. The S100-coated pellets possess a lowerCmax and decreased AUC0–24h as compared to the L100-coated and uncoated pellets. Hematoxylin-eosin stainingand nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-jB) measurement werecarried out to observe the gastrointestinal mucosa irritations. The results revealed that the irritations of platycodinon the upper gastrointestinal mucosa are dose-dependent. However, no obvious irritation effect on the gastrointestinaltissues of rats was detected after oral administration ofthe coated pellets. In addition, the amount of NF-jB in thestomach of rats treated with the uncoated pellets was aboutfivefold higher as compared to that of the coated pellets. Insummary, the L100-coated platycodin pellets exhibitedhigher oral bioavailability and less gastrointestinal mucosairritations as compared to the other two formulations.

The transcription factor PjERF1 enhances the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins in Panax japonicus

Chen Qin,Yu Yilin,Zhang Xiang,Zhao Ren,Zhang Jinyu,Liu Diqiu,Cui Xiuming,Ge Feng 한국식물생명공학회 2021 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.15 No.5

The ERF-type transcription factors (TFs) play vital roles in plant secondary metabolism. ERF TFs simultaneously regulate the expression levels of key enzyme genes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites due to its “multi-point control” function. In this study, one gene of ERF TFs from Panax japonicus (PjERF1) was cloned. The open reading frame of PjERF1 was 801 bp and encoded 266 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis showed that PjERF1 belonged to ERF subfamily with a typical conserved domain. Subcellular localization found that PjERF1 protein might be located in eukaryotic cell nucleus. Yeast one-hybrid assay demonstrated that PjERF1 could bind to the promoters of PjβAS, PjCAS, and PjSE specifically and regulate the expression levels of such key enzyme genes involved in the triterpene saponins biosynthesis. Therefore, in the PjERF1 overexpression cell lines, the expression levels of some key enzyme genes involved in the triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis were significantly increased compared with those in non-transgenic cell line. As a result of it, the biosynthesis of chikusetsusaponin IV and IVa, and other ginsenosides (Rd, Rb1, Re, and R0) were also promoted in the PjERF1 over- expression cell lines. This study indicated that PjERF1 could regulate the biosynthesis of saponins in P. japonicus through controlling the expression levels of key enzyme genes related to the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins.

Chinese-Speaking Undergraduates in Australia : A Lexical Approach to Teaching Academic Writing

Qin Chen,Anne Thwaite,Brian Moon 아시아영어교육학회 2023 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.20 No.2

Chinese-speaking students enroll in Australian tertiary institutions in large numbers. Success for these international students is heavily dependent upon their mastering the conventions of academic writing in English. How best to ensure such mastery among EAL learners has been a matter of debate among tertiary educators and language specialists, with competing theories and methods proposed. This paper reports on an attempt to improve English academic writing through intensive lexical instruction, a method proposed by Ackermann & Chen (2013), Boers et al. (2016), Lewis (1993), Selivan (2018), Wray (2005, 2018) and others. Nine Chinese-speaking tertiary students were offered training in recognising and employing those lexical constructions commonly found in relevant technical and academic genres. The project employed a mixed methods case study approach to describe students’ performance and their perceptions and responses to the teaching they underwent. While gains in performance were evident in some cases, the outcomes of the teaching were inconsistent and equivocal overall. We conclude that this raises questions about the efficacy of purely lexical methods and underscores the challenge involved in teaching complex genres at tertiary level. These findings have implications for those teaching Chinese-speaking students, particularly in EAL contexts.

THE LOCAL TIME OF THE LINEAR SELF-ATTRACTING DIFFUSION DRIVEN BY WEIGHTED FRACTIONAL BROWNIAN MOTION

Chen, Qin,Shen, Guangjun,Wang, Qingbo Korean Mathematical Society 2020 대한수학회보 Vol.57 No.3

In this paper, we introduce the linear self-attracting diffusion driven by a weighted fractional Brownian motion with weighting exponent a > -1 and Hurst index |b| < a + 1, 0 < b < 1, which is analogous to the linear fractional self-attracting diffusion. For the 1-dimensional process we study its convergence and the corresponding weighted local time. As a related problem, we also obtain the renormalized intersection local time exists in L² if max{a₁ + b₁, a₂ + b₂} < 0.

Enhanced mechanical properties and interface structure characterization of W-La₂O₃ alloy designed by an innovative combustion-based approach

Chen, Pengqi,Xu, Xian,Wei, Bangzheng,Chen, Jiayu,Qin, Yongqiang,Cheng, Jigui Korean Nuclear Society 2021 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.53 No.5

Oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) tungsten alloys are highly desirable in irradiation applications. However, how to improve the properties of ODS-tungsten alloys efficiently has been worth studying for a long time. Here we report a nanostructuring approach that achieves W-La₂O₃ alloy with a high level of flexural strength and Vickers hardness at room temperature, which have the maximum value of 581 MPa and 703 Hv, respectively. This method named solution combustion synthesis (SCS) can generate 30 nm coating structures W-La₂O₃ composite powders by using Keggin-type structural polyoxometalates as raw materials in a fast and low-cost process. The composite powder can be fabricated to W-La₂O₃ alloy with an optimal microstructure of submicrometric W grains coexisting with nanometric oxide particles in the grain interior, and a stability interface structure of grain boundaries (GBs) by forming transition zones. The method can be used to prepare new ODS alloys with excellent properties in the future.

The local time of the linear self-attracting diffusion driven by weighted fractional Brownian motion

Qin Chen,Guangjun Shen,Qingbo Wang 대한수학회 2020 대한수학회보 Vol.57 No.3

In this paper, we introduce the linear self-attracting diffusion driven by a weighted fractional Brownian motion with weighting exponent $a>-1$ and Hurst index $|b|<a+1,0<b<1$, which is analogous to the linear fractional self-attracting diffusion. For the 1-dimensional process we study its convergence and the corresponding weighted local time. As a related problem, we also obtain the renormalized intersection local time exists in $L^2$ if $\text{max}\{a_1+b_1,a_2+b_2\}<0$.

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.

Effects of adenovirus-mediated bFGF, IL-1Ra and IGF-1 gene transfer on human osteoarthritic chondrocytes and osteoarthritis in rabbits

Chen, Biao,Qin, Jun,Wang, Hui,Magdalou, Jacques,Chen, Liaobin Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Bion 2010 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.42 No.10

The study investigated the effects of adenovirus-mediated gene transfection of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), bFGF combined with interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-Ra) and/or insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) both in human osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes and rabbits OA model. Human OA chondrocytes were delivered by adenovirus-mediated bFGF, IL-Ra and IGF-1 vectors, respectively. Chondrocyte proliferation, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content, expression of type II collagen, ADAMTS-5, MMP-13, MMP-3 and TIMP-1 were determined. Rabbit OA model was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transaction (ACLT) in knees. Adenoviral vectors encoding human bFGF, IL-Ra and IGF-1 were injected intraarticularly into the knee joints after ACLT. The effects of adenovirus-mediated gene transfection on rabbit OA were evaluated. In vitro, the transfected genes were expressed in cell supernatant of human OA chondrocytes. AdbFGF group significantly promoted chondrocyte proliferation, and increased GAG and type II collagen synthesis than in the OA group. As two or three genes were transfected in different combinations, there was significant enhancement on the GAG content, type II collagen synthesis, and TIMP-1 levels, while ADAMTS-5, MMP-13, and MMP-3 levels were reduced. In vivo, the transfected genes were expressed in synovial fluid of rabbits. Intraarticular delivery of bFGF enhanced the expression of type II collagen in cartilage and decreased cartilage Mankin score compared with the OA control group (P = 0.047; P < 0.01, respectively). Multiple-gene transfection in different combinations showed better results than bFGF transfection alone. This study suggests that bFGF gene transfection is effective in treating experimental OA. Multiple gene transfection has better biologic effects on OA.

Absence of EZH2 Gene Mutation in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients in Blast Crisis

Chen, Hao-Yue,Yao, Hong,Wu, Ling-Yu,Liu, Can-Jun,Zhu, Jian-Qin,Liu, Chun-Hua,Wang, Wei,Dong, Sha-Sha,Ping, Na-Na,Chen, Su-Ning,Sun, Miao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.5