Staged Improvement in Awareness of Disease for Elderly Cancer Patients in Southern China

Li, Xing,Dong, Min,Wen, Jing-Yun,Wei, Li,Ma, Xiao-Kun,Xing, Yan-Fang,Deng, Yun,Chen, Zhan-Hong,Chen, Jie,Ruan, Dan-Yun,Lin, Ze-Xiao,Wang, Tian-Tian,Wu, Dong-Hao,Liu, Xu,Hu, Hai-Tao,Lin, Jia-Yu,Li, Zhu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.15

Background: In mainland China, awareness of disease of elderly cancer patients largely relies on the patients' families. We developed a staged procedure to improve their awareness of disease. Materials and Methods: Participants were 224 elderly cancer patients from 9 leading hospitals across Southern China. A questionnaire was given to the oncologists in charge of each patient to evaluate the interaction between family and patients, patient awareness of their disease and participation in medical decision-making. After first cycles of treatment, increased information of disease was given to patients with cooperation of the family. Then patient awareness of their disease and participation in medical decision-making was documented. Results: Among the 224 cancer elderly patients, 26 (11.6%) made decisions by themselves and 125 (55.8%) delegated their rights of decision-making to their family. Subordinate family members tended to play a passive role in decision-making significantly. Patients participating more in medical decision-making tended to know more about their disease. However, in contrast to the awareness of disease, patient awareness of violation of medical recommendations was reversely associated with their participation in medical decision-making. Improvement in awareness of diagnosis, stages and prognosis was achieved in about 20% elderly cancer patients. About 5% participated more actively in medical decision-making. Conclusions: Chinese elderly cancer patient awareness of disease and participation in medical decision-making is limited and relies on their family status. The staged procedure we developed to improve patient awareness of disease proved effective.

Lack of Association between the COMT rs4680 Polymorphism and Ovarian Cancer Risk: Evidence from a Meta-analysis of 3,940 Individuals

Du, Jin-Ze,Dong, Yu-Ling,Wan, Guo-Xing,Tao, Lin,Lu, Li-Xia,Li, Feng,Pang, Li-Juan,Jia, Wei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is involved in estrogen metabolism and is vital to estrogen-induced carcinogenesis, including that of ovarian cancer. Although many recent epidemiologic studies have investigated associations between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk, the results remain inconclusive. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimate of associations. Systematic searches of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedicine databases were undertaken to retrieve eligible studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to assess the strength of the association. In total, 8 case-control studies involving 1,293 cases and 2,647 controls were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the results showed no evidence of significant association between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk in any of the assessed genetic models. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity also did not reveal any significant association in any genetic model (p>0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the COMT rs4680 polymorphism may not contribute to the risk of ovarian cancer.

Radioactive gas diffusion simulation and inhaled effective dose evaluation during nuclear decommissioning

Li-qun Yang,Yong-kuo Liu,Min-jun Peng,Abiodun Ayodeji,Zhi-tao Chen,Ze-yu Long 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.1

During the decommissioning of the nuclear facilities, the radioactive gases in pressure vessels may leakdue to the demolition operations. The decommissioning site has large space, slow air circulation, andmany large nuclear facilities, which increase the difficulty of workers' inhalation exposure assessment. Inorder to dynamically evaluate the activity distribution of radionuclides and the committed effective dosefrom inhalation in nuclear decommissioning environment, an inhalation exposure assessment methodbased on the modified eddy-diffusion model and the inhaled dose conversion factor is proposed in thispaper. The method takes into account the influence of building, facilities, exhaust ducts, etc. on thedistribution of radioactive gases, and can evaluate the influence of radioactive gases diffusion on workersduring the decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Detoxification, antioxidant, and digestive enzyme activities and gene expression analysis of Lymantria dispar larvae under carvacrol

Chen Yun-ze,Zhang Bo-wen,Yang Jing,Zou Chuan-shan,Li Tao,Zhang Guo-cai,Chen Guang-sheng 한국응용곤충학회 2021 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.24 No.1

Carvacrol is a terpene compound with various biological activities. However, few studies have specifically focused on its insecticidal activity and mechanism of carvacrol. The larvae of Lymantria dispar are seriously harmful herbivorous insect. This study measured the antifeedant, growth-inhibitory, and toxic effects of carvacrol on L. dispar larvae. To further clarify the insecticidal mechanism of carvacrol, the effects of carvacrol on detoxifying enzymes, antioxidative enzymes, digestive enzyme activities, and the mRNA expression of the abovementioned enzyme genes were investigated. The results of the study showed that the median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) and the sublethal concentration (LC 20 ) of carvacrol were 1.120 mg/mL and 0.297 mg/mL, respectively, at 72 h. After LC 20 treatment of L. dispar larvae for 72 h, food intake and weight gain were significantly lower compared with the control. Enzyme activity assays showed that carvacrol significantly inhibited the activities of carboxylesterase (CarE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and acetylcholinesterase (AchE), and the inhibition rate of AchE activity was highest (66.51%). Carvacrol also activated the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), while it inhibited the activities of lipase (LIP) and amylase (AMS), and first inhibited and then activated protease. In addition, qRT-PCR tests showed that carvacrol affected the mRNA expression levels of CarE, GST, AchE, SOD, CAT, LIP, AMS, and protease. This study helps to clarify the insecticidal mechanism of carvacrol on L. dispar larvae.

The impacts of Harmonia axyridis cues on foraging behavior of Aphidius gifuensis to Myzus persicae

Xia Peng-Liang,Yu Xing-Lin,Li Ze-Tao,Feng Yi 한국응용곤충학회 2021 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.24 No.1

This study investigated the effect of adult associated cues of the multicolored Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on the foraging behavior of the aphid parasitoid, Aphidius gifuensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Aphididae) with three assays: 1) whole aphid leaf-disc with H. axyridis tracks; 2) aphid leaf-disc with only half contaminated with H. axyridis tracks; 3) aphid leaf-discs without H. axyridis tracks. Foraging behavior of A. gifuensis was recorded using the Observer® XT 11 and EthoVsion® XT 12. In addition, functional responses of A. gifuensis in patches with or without H. axyridis cues were also tested. Aphidius gifuensis females preferred oviposition in arenas where no adult tracks of H. axyridis were present. However, no significant dif ference between functional responses of A. gifuensis foraging in plants with and without H. axyridis cues was detected. Our study suggests that H. axyridis associated cues could influence the foraging behavior and activity of A. gifuensis under laboratory conditions. On the other hand, the foraging efficiency of A. gifuensis was not significantly affected by H. axyridis walking tracks in a single plant system. Aphidius gifuensis might exhibit flexible behavioral responses to predator associated cues. The risk of intraguild interactions and the possibility of mitigating such risks for parasitoids are important components for ultimately determining the compatibility of biological control agents.

Mitochondrial NDUFA4L2 attenuates the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells induced by oxidative stress via the inhibition of mitophagy

Wen-Ning Xu,Huo-Liang Zheng,Run-Ze Yang,Tao Liu,Wei Yu,Xin-Feng Zheng,Bo Li,Sheng-Dan Jiang,Lei-Sheng Jiang 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

The main pathological mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is the programmed apoptosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Oxidative stress is a significant cause of IVDD. Whether mitophagy is induced by strong oxidative stress in IVDD remains to be determined. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and mitophagy and to better understand the mechanism of IVDD in vivo and in vitro. To this end, we obtained primary NP cells from the human NP and subsequently exposed them to TBHP. We observed that oxidative stress induced mitophagy to cause apoptosis in NP cells, and we suppressed mitophagy and found that NP cells were protected against apoptosis. Interestingly, TBHP resulted in mitophagy through the inhibition of the HIF-1α/NDUFA4L2 pathway. Therefore, the upregulation of mitochondrial NDUFA4L2 restricted mitophagy induced by oxidative stress. Furthermore, the expression levels of HIF-1α and NDUFA4L2 were decreased in human IVDD. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that the upregulation of NDUFA4L2 ameliorated the apoptosis of NP cells by repressing excessive mitophagy, which ultimately alleviated IVDD. These findings show for the first time that NDUFA4L2 and mitophagy may be potential therapeutic targets for IVDD.

Selective extraction of thorium to directly form self-assembly solid from HNO3 solution

Fang Zhang,Qiang Wu,Lei-Tao Sha,Yang Li,Xu-Xin Li,Ze-Yang Wang,Xuan Fu,Qing-Gang Huang,Bin Liu,Ze-Yi Yan 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.123 No.-

Based on ions exchange between [DMDSA]+[Cl]- (Dimethyl distearyl ammonium chloride) and N,Ndialkyl-succinamide acid (SCA), three novel bifunctional [DMDSA]+[SCA]- ionic liquids (ILs) were firstlysynthesized for extraction of thorium (IV) by self-assembly strategy. The simultaneous extraction andsolidification of Th(IV) were unexpectedly realized in one-step operation using the present ILs in HNO3solution, and more than 99% thorium (IV) was enriched and immediately aggregated into selfassemblysolid at the biphasic interface. The self-assembly solid was further identified by FT-IR, SEM withelement mapping EDS and XPS analysis, and revealing that the self-assembly extraction (SAE) was triggeredby the amphiphilic [DMDSA]+ cations. A three-step extraction mechanism dominated by [SCATh(NO3)4]- was proposed based on the slope analysis method and HRMS analysis. The self-assembly extractionof Th(IV) exhibited the extremely excellent selectivity in the presence of U(VI) and typical lanthanideelements including La(III), Eu(III) and Lu(III), and the separation factors reached 2516 for Th/U, 1885 forTh/La, 1512 for Th/Eu and 558 for Th/Lu, respectively. The proposed SAE strategy was proved to be anefficient method for one-step separation and solidification of thorium ions from U(VI) and/or lanthanides.

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans Lour.)

Hong Na Mu,Liang Gui Wang,Huo Gen Li,Xiu Lian Yang,Tao Ze Sun,Chen Xu 한국유전학회 2014 Genes & Genomics Vol.36 No.6

Osmanthus fragrans is a woody, evergreenspecies of shrubs and small trees that is extensively plantedin sub-tropical and temperate climates as an ornamentalplant in gardens and for its health benefits. The flower colorranges from ivory to orange to pink among different varietiesand even color difference during the whole blossom inthe sweet osmanthus. Sweet osmanthus is widely cultivatedthroughout China and other countries due to its prominentfragrance, colorful flowers, and medicinal properties. However, the scanty genomic resources in the Olea familyhave greatly hindered further exploration of its geneticmechanism on these economically important traits. In thisstudy, transcriptome sequencing of O. fragrans was performedusing the Illumina HighSeqTM2000 sequencingplatform. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of the transcriptomeof O. fragrans produced 31.7G of clean bases(211,266,818 clean reads) that were assembled into256,774 transcripts and 117,595 unigenes. Of them, 197and 237 candidate genes involved in fragrance and pigmentbiosynthesis respectively were identified based on functionannotation. Meanwhile, 1 unnamed protein and 468 functionalunknown genes were also identified. Furthermore,mRNA sequencing expression profiling of O. fragranswere compared to previous genes’. In summary, thiscomprehensive transcriptome dataset allows the identificationof genes associated with several major metabolicpathways and provides a useful public information platformfor further functional genomic studiesin O. fragransLour.