Diagnostic Value of Superoxide Dismutase in Tuberculous and Malignant Pleural Effusions

Wang, Xin-Feng,Wu, Yan-Hua,Jiao, Jin,Guan, Cui-Ping,Yang, Xiao-Guang,Wang, Mao-Shui Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.2

The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in tuberculous pleural effusions (TPEs) and malignant pleural effusions (MPEs). Pleural effusion (PE) samples from 100 patients were classified on the basis of diagnosis as TPE (n=57) and MPE (n=43). The activity of SOD was determined by pyrolgallol assay. A significant difference was observed in SOD activity (P<0.01) between TPE and MPE, levels of being significantly higher in TPE compared to MPE. With a threshold value of 41 U/L, the area under the ROC curve was 0.653, SOD had a sensitivity of 61.4% and a specificity of 61.0% for differential diagnosis. Thus, SOD activity in PE was not a good biomarker in differentiating TPE and MPE. To the best of our knowledge, five SOD isoforms may be present in PE. Identification of which SOD contributes to the difference of SOD level between TPE and MPE is very important for illustrating mechanisms and improving the differential diagnostic value.

Shorter Telomere Length Is Associated with Increased Breast Cancer Risk in a Chinese Han Population: A Case-Control Analysis

Zhaoxia Wang,Zhenxing Zhang,Yanling Guo,Huifeng Shui,Guoqi Liu,Tianbo Jin,Huijie Wang 한국유방암학회 2018 Journal of breast cancer Vol.21 No.4

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of telomere length with breast cancer risk. We simultaneously explored the association between telomerase reverse transcriptase gene polymorphisms and telomere length. Methods: We used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to measure relative telomere length (RTL) in genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood from 183 breast cancer cases and 191 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed using the Sequenom MassARRAY platform. Results: Our results show that breast cancer patients had significantly shorter RTLs than control subjects (p< 0.05). When the RTLs were categorized into tertiles, we found that the lowest RTL was significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk compared with the highest RTL (odds ratio [OR], 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40–3.90; p=0.001). Subgroup analyses indicated that risk of breast cancer was also significantly increased in the lowest RTL compared with the highest RTL in age >40 years (OR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.31–4.43; p=0.005), body mass index ≤24 kg/m2 (OR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.55–5.10; p=0.001), and postmenopausal women (OR, 3.94; 95% CI, 1.63–9.51; p=0.002), respectively. In addition, individuals with the AA genotype of rs2853677 have longer telomeres than those of breast cancer patients with the AG genotype (p= 0.011). Conclusion: Our results suggest that shorter RTL was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. An association was found between the AA genotype of rs2853677 and longer RTLs in the case group. Functional studies are warranted to validate this association and further investigate our findings.

Comparative study on dynamic properties of argillaceous siltstone and its grouting-reinforced body

Huang, Ming,Xu, Chao-Shui,Zhan, Jin-Wu,Wang, Jun-Bao Techno-Press 2017 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.13 No.2

A comparison study is made between the dynamic properties of an argillaceous siltstone and its grouting-reinforced body. The purpose is to investigate how grout injection can help repair broken soft rocks. A slightly weathered argillaceous siltstone is selected, and part of the siltstone is mechanically crushed and cemented with Portland cement to simulate the grouting-reinforced body. Core specimens with the size of $50mm{\times}38mm$ are prepared from the original rock and the grouting-reinforced body. Impact tests on these samples are then carried out using a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) apparatus. Failure patterns are analyzed and geotechnical parameters of the specimens are estimated. Based on the experimental results, for the grouting-reinforced body, its shock resistance is poorer than that of the original rock, and most cracks happen in the cementation boundaries between the cement mortar and the original rock particles. It was observed that the grouting-reinforced body ends up with more fragmented residues, most of them have larger fractal dimensions, and its dynamic strength is generally lower. The mass ratio of broken rocks to cement has a significant effect on its dynamic properties and there is an optimal ratio that the maximum dynamic peak strength can be achieved. The dynamic strain-softening behavior of the grouting-reinforced body is more significant compared with that of the original rock. Both the time dependent damage model and the modified overstress damage model are equally applicable to the original rock, but the former performs much better compared with the latter for the grouting-reinforced body. In addition, it was also shown that water content and impact velocity both have significant effect on dynamic properties of the original rock and its grouting-reinforced body. Higher water content leads to more small broken rock pieces, larger fractal dimensions, lower dynamic peak strength and smaller elastic modulus. However, the water content plays a minor role in fractal dimensions when the impact velocity is beyond a certain value. Higher impact loading rate leads to higher degree of fragmentation and larger fractal dimensions both in argillaceous siltstone and its grouting-reinforced body. These results provide a sound basis for the quantitative evaluation on how cement grouting can contribute to the repair of broken soft rocks.

Efficient delivery of nuclease proteins for genome editing in human stem cells and primary cells

Liu, Jia,Gaj, Thomas,Yang, Yifeng,Wang, Nan,Shui, Sailan,Kim, Sojung,Kanchiswamy, Chidananda Nagamangala,Kim, Jin-Soo,Barbas III, Carlos F Nature Publishing Group 2015 NATURE PROTOCOLS -ELECTRONIC EDITION- Vol.10 No.11

Targeted nucleases, including zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like (TAL) effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9), have provided researchers with the ability to manipulate nearly any genomic sequence in human cells and model organisms. However, realizing the full potential of these genome-modifying technologies requires their safe and efficient delivery into relevant cell types. Unlike methods that rely on expression from nucleic acids, the direct delivery of nuclease proteins to cells provides rapid action and fast turnover, leading to fewer off-target effects while maintaining high rates of targeted modification. These features make nuclease protein delivery particularly well suited for precision genome engineering. Here we describe procedures for implementing protein-based genome editing in human embryonic stem cells and primary cells. Protocols for the expression, purification and delivery of ZFN proteins, which are intrinsically cell-permeable; TALEN proteins, which can be internalized via conjugation with cell-penetrating peptide moieties; and Cas9 ribonucleoprotein, whose nucleofection into cells facilitates rapid induction of multiplexed modifications, are described, along with procedures for evaluating nuclease protein activity. Once they are constructed, nuclease proteins can be expressed and purified within 6 d, and they can be used to induce genomic modifications in human cells within 2 d.

Physicochemical and Sensory Characterization of Ginger-juice Yogurt during Fermentation

Guo-Hao Yang,Jun-Jun Guan,Jin-Shui Wang,Haicheng Yin,Fa-Dong Qiao,Feng Jia 한국식품과학회 2012 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.21 No.6

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a ginger (Zingiber ofcinale) juice addition to milk on the physicochemical and sensory properties and consumer acceptability of yogurt during fermentation. Under the presence of ginger juice at 2.0 to 10.0%(v/v), there was a significant influence (p<0.05) on the viability of characteristic microorganisms in yogurt,the pH, titratable acidity (ºSH), viscosity, and hardness of the products. The descriptive data showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the samples for all attributes. The consumer results from external preference mapping indicated that samples with the lower ginger juice (≤4%)were liked over the higher samples (≥6%), with a negative impact on the acceptance by the consumers. Therefore,these findings suggest that 4%(v/v) may be the more appropriate content of ginger juice in the preparation of ginger-juice yogurt.

A Proteomic Analysis of Leaf Responses to Enhanced Ultraviolet-B Radiation in Two Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars Differing in UV Sensitivity

Xing-Chun Wu,Chang-Xun Fang,Jin-Yang Chen,Qing-Shui Wang,Ting Chen,Wen-Xiong Lin,Zhong-Liang Huang 한국식물학회 2011 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.54 No.4

To determine the proteomic response to UV irradiation, two cultivars, i.e., Lemont (UV tolerant) and Dular (UV sensitive), were exposed to natural and enhanced ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiation for 1, 7, and 14 days, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis in combination with mass spectrometry (MS) and bioinformatics were used to compare the different proteomic responses in the leaves of the two cultivars. Thirty-nine proteins were up- or downregulated following the UV-B treatments. Among them, 30 increased or decreased more than 1.5-fold in abundance. They were further tested by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight MS and performed a database search. Twentyfour proteins were thus identified. These identified proteins were mostly upregulated in Lemont, whereas only 14 of them upregulated in Dular. Nine proteins involved in glycometabolism and fatty acid metabolisms, signal transduction, and protein synthesis and folding in Dular were not changed. These results suggest that there was a complex regulative mechanism on the proteomes in rice leaves upon UV-B exposure.

Comparison of Equivalent Oxide Thickness and Electrical Properties of Atomic Layer Deposited Hafnium Zirconate Dielectrics with Thermal or Decoupled Plasma Nitridation Process

Chen-Kuo Chiang,Chien-Hung Wu,Chin-Chien Liu,Jin-Fu Lin,Chien-Lun Yang,Jiun-Yuan Wu,Shui-Jinn Wang 대한금속·재료학회 2012 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.8 No.5

The NH3 thermal annealing and decoupled plasma nitridation (DPN) processes are compared for the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) scaling of atomic-layer-deposited hafnium zirconate (HfZrO2) gate dielectric. Detailed physical, optical, and electrical characteristics of nitrided HfZrO2 (HfZrON) film are reported. It is found that DPN can yield a thinner SiOx interfacial layer (IL) (about 0.12 nm more in terms of EOT scaling)and a more densified HfZrO2 layer compared to those obtained using NH3 thermal annealing at a 16% nitrogen dose. NH3 thermal nitridation causes a large nitrogen distribution tail at the SiOx IL/Si substrate interface and increases leakage current, which suppresses EOT scalability.