Statistical Optimization of Medium Components for Milk-Clotting Enzyme Production by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens D4 Using Wheat Bran-an Agro-Industry Waste

( Wei Bing Zhang ),( Xiao Ling He ),( Hong Na Liu ),( Hui Yuan Guo ),( Fa Zheng Ren ),( Wei Dong Gao ),( Peng Cheng Wen ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2013 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.23 No.8

In this paper, two statistical methods were applied to optimize medium components to improve the production of the milk-clotting enzyme by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens D4. First, wheat bran juice, skim milk powder, and Na2HPO4 were shown to have significant effects on D4 enzyme production using the Plackett?Burman experimental design. Subsequently, an optimal medium was obtained using the Box?Behnken method, which consisted of 3.31 g/l of skim milk powder, 5.0 g/l of sucrose, 0.1 g/l of FeSO4?7H2O, 0.1 g/l of MgSO4?7H2O, 0.1 g/l of MnSO4?2H2O, 0.1 g/l of ZnSO4?7H2O, 1.52 g/l of Na2HPO4, and 172.45 g/l of wheat bran juice. With this optimal medium, the milk-clotting enzyme production was remarkably enhanced. The milk-clotting enzyme activity reached 3,326.7 SU/ml after incubation of 48 h, which was 1.76-fold higher than that of the basic medium, showing that the Plackett?Burman design and Box?Behnken response surface method are effective to optimize medium components, and B. amyloliquefaciens D4 possessed a high rennet-producing capacity in the optimal medium.

Deep desulfurization of model oil by photocatalytic air oxidation and adsorption using Ti(1−x)MxO2 (M=Zr, Ce)

Wei Zhang,Xin Li,Hong Wang,송영지,Shenghong Zhang,Cuiqing Li 한국화학공학회 2017 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.34 No.12

Deep desulfurization of model oil by photocatalytic air oxidation and adsorption using Ti(1−x)MxO2 (M=Zr, Ce) was investigated. Ti(1−x)MxO2 (M=Zr, Ce) was prepared by urea gelation/co-precipitation method, and characterized by N2 adsorption, XRD and UV-vis spectra. UV irradiation greatly enhanced the adsorptive capacity and selectivity of TiO2-ZrO2 for organosulfur in model oil because organosulfur compounds were first photocatalytically oxidized to sulfoxides and sulfones over TiO2-ZrO2, which were then selectively adsorbed on the bifunctional material due to much higher polarities of generated sulfoxides and sulfones. The Ti/Zr molar ratio and calcination temperature were optimized to 5 : 5 and 500 oC with the sulfur removal of 99.6% after reaction for 2 h under UV irradiation. After adding 25 wt% toluene into model oil, the sulfur removal could still reach 97.2% after reaction for 7 h. TiO2-ZrO2 could be well regenrated by washing with acetonitrile followed by thermal treatment in air.

A preparation and performance study of glass-ceramic glazes derived from blast furnace slag and fly ash

Hong-xia Lu,Man He,Yuan-yuan Liu,Jing-fei Guo,Li-wei Zhang,Deliang Chen,Hai-long Wang,Hong-liang Xu,Rui Zhang 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2011 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.12 No.5

Glass-ceramic glazes have been prepared successfully via crystallization from blast-furnace slag (BFS), fly ash (FA) fluxed with potash feldspar and borax. The crystalline behavior of glass-ceramic glazes was investigated using differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (DTA/TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results revealed that the major crystalline phases are anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) and akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7) and crystalline phases disperse well in glassy phases with a uniform size of 1 μm. Glass-ceramic glazes possess low density, low water absorption,perfect stain resistance, acid resistance and alkali resistance. The thermal expansion coefficient of glass-ceramic glazes is steady up to 800 oC with an average value of 7.2 × 10−6 /K. Final results suggest that BFS and FA have potential to be vitrified into economically and environmentally low-cost glass-ceramic glaze materials.

A Discovery of Low Hydraulic Resistance Channel Along Meridians

Wei-Bo Zhang,Yu-Ying Tian,Hong Li,Jia-He Tian,Ming-Fu Luo,Fa-Liang Xu,Guang-Jun Wang,Tao Huang,Yi-Hui Xu,Rui-Hong Wang 사단법인약침학회 2008 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.1 No.1

A hydro-mechanic model was put forward to study the fundamental nature of acupuncture meridians. The basic state of low hydraulic resistance was tested on humans and mini pigs using three methods. The first, a modified Guyton’s method, proved that there was lower hydraulic resistance on meridians compared with nonmeridians. The second scanning method involved a single pressure transducer that can find the lowest resistance point in tissue, and the third method used two transducers and provided a more stable measurement. Using the latter method, low hydraulic resistance points were found very close to low impedance points along meridians. The transmission of artificial interstitial fluid pressure waves was measured to examine their connection to the low resistance points, with the result that a good connection between the points was confirmed. This means the points form channels along the meridians that we refer to as low hydraulic resistance channels. The channel was imaged through isotopic tracing and a migration of isotope 99mTe could be found along the channel. The layer of the channel was detected by injecting Alcian blue and the track was found beneath the skin. All of the above experiments suggest the existence of a new type of channel in living tissues that has not yet been described in modern science, but coincides quite well with the Qi channel theory of traditional Chinese medicine. A hydro-mechanic model was put forward to study the fundamental nature of acupuncture meridians. The basic state of low hydraulic resistance was tested on humans and mini pigs using three methods. The first, a modified Guyton’s method, proved that there was lower hydraulic resistance on meridians compared with nonmeridians. The second scanning method involved a single pressure transducer that can find the lowest resistance point in tissue, and the third method used two transducers and provided a more stable measurement. Using the latter method, low hydraulic resistance points were found very close to low impedance points along meridians. The transmission of artificial interstitial fluid pressure waves was measured to examine their connection to the low resistance points, with the result that a good connection between the points was confirmed. This means the points form channels along the meridians that we refer to as low hydraulic resistance channels. The channel was imaged through isotopic tracing and a migration of isotope 99mTe could be found along the channel. The layer of the channel was detected by injecting Alcian blue and the track was found beneath the skin. All of the above experiments suggest the existence of a new type of channel in living tissues that has not yet been described in modern science, but coincides quite well with the Qi channel theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

Clinical Efficacy and Prognosis Factors for Advanced Hepatoblastoma in Children: A 6-year Retrospective Study

Zhang, Yi,Zhang, Wei-Ling,Huang, Dong-Sheng,Hong, Liang,Wang, Yi-Zhuo,Zhu, Xia,Hu, Hui-Min,Zhang, Pin-Wei,Yi, You,Han, Tao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.8

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of multimodality treatment of advanced paediatric hepatoblastoma (HB) and the factors affecting prognosis. Methods: A total of 35 children underwent multimodality treatments consisting of chemotherapy, surgery, interventional therapy, and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The patients were followed up every month. Results: Serum AFP levels in 33 out of 35 patients in this study were significantly increased (P = 0.0002). According to the statistical scatter plot, the values of serum AFP on the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentages were 1,210, 1,210 and 28,318 ng/dl, respectively. Of the 35 cases, 21 were stage IV. 18 cases were treated with systemic chemotherapy before surgery, and 3 cases with locally interventional chemotherapy before surgery. Statistical analysis showed that the preferred interventional treatment affected prognosis, and that there was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.024). Some 33 patients completed the follow-up, of which 17 were in complete remission (CR), 5 were in partial remission (PR), 1 became disease progressive (DP), and 10 died. The remission and overall survival rates were 66.7% (22/33) and 69.7% (23/33), respectively. Patients with the mixed HB phenotypes had worse prognoses than the epithelial phenotype (P < 0.001), and patients in stage IV had a lower survival rate than those in stage III (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Multimodality treatment can effectively improve remission rate and prolong the survival of children with advanced HB. In addition, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a tumor marker of liver malignant tumors, HB pathological classification, and staging are highly useful in predicting prognosis.

The MTHFR C677T Polymorphism and Prostate Cancer Risk: New Findings from a Meta-analysis of 7306 Cases and 8062 Controls

Zhang, Wei-Bing,Zhang, Jun-Hong,Pan, Zheng-Qi,Yang, Qi-Sheng,Liu, Bo Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.6

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an essential enzyme involved in folate metabolism; a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) C677T has been reported to be linked with altered incidences of several diseases. We here conducted a meta-analysis of 15 published epidemiological studies with a total of 7306 cases and 8062 controls to evaluate its association with prostate cancer risk with overall and subgroup analyses. No statistical relationship was found overall with any genetic model (TT vs. CC: OR = 0.80, 95%CI = [0.62, 1.04], P = 0.094; CT vs. CC: OR = 0.97, 95%CI = [0.84; 1.12], P = 0.667; Dominant: OR = 0.94, 95%CI = [0.82; 1.07], P = 0.343; Recessive: OR = 0.81, 95%CI = [0.64; 1.04], P = 0.104), but after the exclusion of several studies, we could observe the homozygote TT to confer less susceptibility to prostate cancer in carriers; moreover, different effects of the polymorphism on prostate cancer risk was detected from subgroup analysis stratified by participants' residential region: significant reduced prostate cancer risk was found to be associated with the polymorphism from Asian studies (TT vs. CC: OR = 0.47, 95%CI = [0.33; 0.67], P < 0.001; CT vs. CC: OR = 0.73, 95%CI = [0.60; 0.90], P = 0.002; Dominant: OR = 0.67, 95%CI = [0.56; 0.82], P < 0.001; Recessive: OR = 0.55, 95%CI = [0.40; 0.76], P < 0.001) while studies from Europe indicated a slight increased risk under dominant model with marginal significance (OR = 1.14, 95%CI = [0.99; 1.30], P = 0.064). Moreover, the protective effect of the polymorphism against prostate cancer was also shown by studies performed in yellow Asians (TT vs. CC: OR = 0.48, 95%CI = [0.31; 0.75], P = 0.001; CT vs. CC: OR = 0.68, 95%CI = [0.51; 0.90], P = 0.006; Dominant: OR = 0.63, 95%CI = [0.48; 0.82], P < 0.001; Recessive: OR = 0.57, 95%CI = [0.39; 0.84], P = 0.004). We propose that these phenomena should be viewed with the consideration of folate metabolism profile and different gene background as well as living habits of different populations, and more relevant studies should be conducted to confirm our hypothesis and provide a comprehensive and clear picture concerning this topic.

Guaranteeing Deadlines for Inter-Data Center Transfers

Zhang, Hong,Chen, Kai,Bai, Wei,Han, Dongsu,Tian, Chen,Wang, Hao,Guan, Haibing,Zhang, Ming Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2017 IEEE/ACM transactions on networking Vol.25 No.1

<P>Inter-data center wide area networks (inter-DC WANs) carry a significant amount of data transfers that require to be completed within certain time periods, or deadlines. However, very little work has been done to guarantee such deadlines. The crux is that the current inter-DC WAN lacks an interface for users to specify their transfer deadlines and a mechanism for provider to ensure the completion while maintaining high WAN utilization. In this paper, we address the problem by introducing a deadline-based network abstraction (DNA) for inter-DC WANs. DNA allows users to explicitly specify the amount of data to be delivered and the deadline by which it has to be completed. The malleability of DNA provides flexibility in resource allocation. Based on this, we develop a system called Amoeba that implements DNA. Our simulations and test bed experiments show that Amoeba, by harnessing DNA's malleability, accommodates 15% more user requests with deadlines, while achieving 60% higher WAN utilization than prior solutions.</P>

Concurrent Weekly Docetaxel Chemotherapy in Combination with Radiotherapy for Stage III and IVA-B Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Wei, Wei-Hong,Cai, Xiu-Yu,Xu, Tao,Zhang, Guo-Yi,Wu, Yong-Feng,Feng, Wei-Neng,Lin, Li,Deng, Yan-Ming,Lu, Qiu-Xia,Huang, Zhe-Li Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.3

Background and Purpose: Cisplatin is the most common chemotherapeutic agent for loco-regionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, toxicity is a limiting factor for some patients. We retrospectively compared the efficacy and toxicity of weekly docetaxel-based and cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy in loco-regionally advanced NPC. Methods and Materials: Eighty-four patients with Stage III and IVA-B NPCs, treated between 2007 and 2008, were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty received weekly docetaxel-based concurrent chemotherapy, and 43 were given weekly cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was administered using a conventional technique (seven weeks, 2.0 Gy per fraction, total dose 70-74 Gy) with 6-8 Gy boosts for some patients with locally advanced disease. Results: Median follow-up time was 42.3 months (range, 8.6-50.8 months). There were no significant differences in the 3-year loco-regional failure-free survival (85.6% vs. 92.3%; p=0.264), distant failure-free survival (87.0% vs. 92.5%; p=0.171), progression-free survival (85.7% vs. 88.4%; p=0.411) or overall survival (86.5% vs. 92.5%, p=0.298) of patients treated concurrently with docetaxel or cisplatin. Severe toxicity was not common in either group. Conclusions: Weekly docetaxel-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is potentially effective and has a tolerable toxicity; however, further investigations are required to determine if docetaxel is superior to cisplatin for advanced stage NPC.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Theanine with Escherichia coli γ-glutamyltranspeptidase from a Series of γ-glutamyl Anilide Substrate Analogues

Hong-juan Zhang,Wei-guo Zhang,Zhi-yuan Wang,Yue-ping Zhan,Li-sheng Xu,Jun-zhong Liu,Qian Liu,Qing-cai Jiao 한국생물공학회 2013 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.18 No.2

In order to investigate the catalytic mechanism of Escherichia coli γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, ten para- and meta- substituted γ-glutamyl anilides were chemically prepared and employed as substrates to synthesize L-theanine to assay the activity of γ-glutamyltranspeptidase. The reaction was optimized for γ-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide. Key factors such as substrate specificity, pH, temperature, and the substrate mole ratio were all investigated. Kinetic studies of the acyl transfer reaction were described and the Hammett plot was constructed. This study indicated that the ratelimiting acylation reaction of γ-glutamyltranspeptidase can apparently be accelerated by either the electron-withdrawing or electron-donating substituents of γ-glutamyl anilides. The reaction could be catalyzed by the general acid and carboxy of Asp-433 or phenolic hydroxyl Tyr-444 may be the acid by autodock simulation for all prepared γ-glutamyl anilides.

Clinical Character of Pediatric Head and Neck Rhabdomysarcomas: A 7-Year Retrospective Study

Zhang, Wei-Ling,Zhang, Yi,Huang, Dong-Sheng,Guo, Fang,Han, Tao,Hong, Liang,Hu, Hui-Min,Zhi, Tian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.7

Objective: The rhabdomysarcoma (RMS) is most common soft tissue carcinoma in children, mostly found in the head and neck with high degree of malignancy. The current study aimed to summarize clinical data and evaluate treatment outcome of cases in a single hospital. Methods: Forty-one (24 male, 17 female) children with newly diagnosed RMS in Beijing Tong Ren Hospital were enrolled between November, 2004 and May, 2011. The. Students' t and Chi tests were then performed on retrospectively reviewed clinical data, followed by survival analysis based on the Kaplan Meier method using SPSS 17.0 software. Results: Of all cases, 32 were treated by common chemotherapy, and 3 cases with stage III RMS received high-dose chemotherapy and auto-peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT). Side-effects in the former were: I grade for 62.5% (20/32), II grade for 28.1% (9/32), III grade account for 9.275% (3/32). Side-effects of 3 cases with APBSCT: 2 were I grade, 1 was III grade. The median follow-up time of 41 RMS cases was 41 months. Four cases were lost to follow-up, 7 cases recurred, and 5 cases died of cerebral metastasis, witha total survival rate was 86.5% (32/37). CR rate was 67.6% (25/37), PR was 18.9% (7/37). Conclusion: Multidiscipline treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and auto-PBSCT is highly recommended for pediatric patients with head and neck RMS.