Global Disease Burden and Attributable Risk Factor Analysis of Asthma in 204 Countries and Territories From 1990 to 2019

Liu Hailing,Zhang Jing,Liu Li,Lian Guoli,Shi Ruiming,Xu Man,Yang Juan,Liu Xiaohong 대한천식알레르기학회 2023 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.15 No.4

Purpose: Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory respiratory tract disease with high morbidity and mortality. The global trends in asthma burden remain poorly understood, and asthma incidence has increased during the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive view of the global distribution of asthma burden and its attributable risk factors from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 Database, asthma incidence, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), the corresponding age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized death rate (ASDR), age-standardized DALY rate, and estimated annual percentage change were analyzed according to age, sex, sociodemographic index (SDI) quintiles, and locations. Risk factors contributing to asthma deaths and DALYs were also investigated. Results: Globally, the asthma incidence increased by 15%, but deaths and DALYs decreased. The corresponding ASIR, ASDR, and age-standardized DALY rate also decreased. The high SDI region had the highest ASIR, and the low SDI region had the highest ASDR. The ASDR and age-standardized DALY rate were negatively correlated with the SDI. The low-middle SDI region, particularly South Asia, showed the highest asthma-related deaths and DALYs. The incidence peak was under 9 years old, and more than 70% of all deaths occurred in the population over 60 years old. Smoking, occupational asthmagens, and a high body mass index were the main risk factors for asthma-related mortality and DALYs, and their distributions varied between sexes. Conclusions: Globally, the asthma incidence has increased since 1990. The greatest asthma burden is borne by the low-middle SDI region. The 2 groups that need special attention are those under 9 years old and those over 60 years old. Targeted strategies are needed to reduce the asthma burden based on geographic and sex-age characteristics. Our findings also provide a platform for further investigation into the asthma burden in the era of COVID-19.

Recurrence Season Impacts the Survival of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Patients

Liu, Xiao-Hui,Man, Ya-Nan,Wu, Xiong-Zhi Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.4

Background: Several studies indicated that the diagnosis season affects the prognosis of some cancers, such as examples in the prostate, colon and breast. This retrospective study aimed to investigate whether the diagnosis and recurrent season impacts the prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Methods: From January 2005 to August 2010, 161 epithelial ovarian cancer patients were analyzed and followed up until August 2013. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test were used to make the survival analysis. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify independent prognostic factors. Results: The prognostic factors of overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer patients included age, clinical stage, pathological type, histological grade, residual disease after primary surgery, recurrent season and adjuvant chemotherapy cycles. Moreover, clinical stage, histological grade, residual disease after primary surgery, recurrent season and adjuvant chemotherapy cycles also impacted the progression-free survival of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. The diagnosis season did not have a significantly relationship with the survival of operable epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Median overall survival of patients with recurrent month from April to November was 47 months, which was longer (P < 0.001) than that of patients with recurrence month from December to March (19 months). Median progression-free survival of patients with recurrence month from April to November and December to March was 20 and 8 months, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The recurrence season impacts the survival of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. However, the diagnosed season does not appear to exert a significant influence.

A new non-randomized multi-category response model for surveys with a single sensitive question: Design and analysis

Man-Lai Tang,Guo-Liang Tian,Nian-Sheng Tang,Zhenqiu Liu 한국통계학회 2009 Journal of the Korean Statistical Society Vol.38 No.4

In this article, we develop a non-randomized multi-category response model for a single sensitive survey question with multiple outcomes. Unlike existing randomized response models, our proposed model does not require any randomizing device and the respondents are merely asked to answer a non-sensitive question. It thus reduces cost, ensures reproducibility of respondents' answer (i.e., the same respondent gives the same answer if the survey is re-conducted under the non-randomized multi-category model), enhances respondents' trust on the privacy policy, and motivates respondents' cooperation. We show maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) of cell probabilities can be obtained in closed- form. Bootstrap standard errors and confidence intervals (CIs) of the cell probabilities or their functions are then given. Bayesian estimation via the data augmentation algorithm is developed when prior information on the parameters of interest is available. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the MLEs and CI estimates. A real data set from a questionnaire on sexual activities in Korean adolescents is used to illustrate the proposed design and analysis methods.

Controllable Zn0.76Co0.24S Nanoflower Arrays Grown on Carbon Fiber Papers for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Man Zhang,Yanwei Sui,Xiaofang Yuan,Jiqiu Qi,Fuxiang Wei,Qingkun Meng,Yezeng He,Yaojian Ren,Zhi Sun,Jinlong Liu 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2019 NANO Vol.14 No.3

A nanoflower structure of Zn0.76Co0.24S directly grown on carbon fiber papers (CFP) was successfully designed by a mild two-step hydrothermal method. Benefiting from their fascinating structural features, Zn0.76Co0.24S/CFP electrode exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 300 F g -1 at current density of 1 A g -1 and 84% capacitance retention after 5,000 cycles at current density of 5 Ag -1. Subsequently, Zn0.76Co0.24S/CFP//AC all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device is assembled and able to illuminate the red LEDs. ASC devices deliver a maximum energy density of 9.59 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 750 W kg -1. Therefore, this impressive result demonstrates that the nanoflower Zn0.76Co0.24S have promising applications in the development of high-performance supercapacitors.

A Joint Control Strategy for Automobile Active Grille Shutter and Cooling Fan

Liu Chuanbo,Wang Zhengju,Fan Chaojie,Zhang Ruonan,Man Xingjia 한국자동차공학회 2021 International journal of automotive technology Vol.22 No.6

As an emerging technology improving fuel consumption, active grille shutter (AGS) has been applied in engine cooling system. For the reason of unreasonable matching method of grille opening and cooling fan, the problem of engine overcooling is widespread. As components with similar function of adjusting cooling air flow, the AGS and the cooling fan are separated from each other in parameter matching and operation which reduce cooling efficiency and fuel economy. To achieve precise cooling and improve fuel economy, a joint control strategy for AGS and cooling fan was proposed by using computational fluid dynamics. In order to verify the feasibility of the strategy, the fuel economy tests were carried out at 0 km/h, 90 km/h and 120 km/h, respectively. The results showed that the fuel consumption under the three working conditions was reduced by 0.01 L/ 100 km, 0.07 L/ 100 km and 0.13 L/ 100 km, respectively, indicating that the proposed strategy can significantly reduce fuel consumption.

Deep learning-based recovery method for missing structural temperature data using LSTM network

Liu, Hao,Ding, You-Liang,Zhao, Han-Wei,Wang, Man-Ya,Geng, Fang-Fang Techno-Press 2020 Structural monitoring and maintenance Vol.7 No.2

Benefiting from the massive monitoring data collected by the Structural health monitoring (SHM) system, scholars can grasp the complex environmental effects and structural state during structure operation. However, the monitoring data is often missing due to sensor faults and other reasons. It is necessary to study the recovery method of missing monitoring data. Taking the structural temperature monitoring data of Nanjing Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge as an example, the long short-term memory (LSTM) network-based recovery method for missing structural temperature data is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the prediction results of temperature data using LSTM network, support vector machine (SVM), and wavelet neural network (WNN) are compared to verify the accuracy advantage of LSTM network in predicting time series data (such as structural temperature). Secondly, the application of LSTM network in the recovery of missing structural temperature data is discussed in detail. The results show that: the LSTM network can effectively recover the missing structural temperature data; incorporating more intact sensor data as input will further improve the recovery effect of missing data; selecting the sensor data which has a higher correlation coefficient with the data we want to recover as the input can achieve higher accuracy.

把虛의的感情融入到時尙品牌的識別中: 在相互依賴的亞洲情境中理解品牌識別關系

( Man Lok Lam ),( Wing Sun Liu ),( Chester Kin Man To ) 한국마케팅과학회 2011 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.2 No.3

Over the past decade, consumer researchers have been interested in understanding symbolic relationship between consumers and brands, especially on identity construction (Elliott & Wattanasuwan, 1998; Escalas & Bettman, 2005; Kirmani, 2009) and its implications on brand management (Arvidsson, 2005; Holt, 2002; 2004). Following a cultural-psychological view to study how culture shapes brand-identity relationship, Eckhardt (2000) addresses that little attention have been paid to understand consumer behavior within interdependent cultures when compare with the prolific account of western literatures that reported the consumption behavior with an independent self- construal. This paper strives to address this absence through researching how a group of Chinese youngsters internalize their cultural values with a sense of assumed emotion and developed local specific brand literacy towards fashion brands` perception and consumption. Following Bengtsson and Firat (2006)`s concept of brand literacy, this interpretative research aims to extend our current understanding of symbolic brand consumption and brand-identity relationship in particular to the interdependent Asian context. The literature review discusses previous studies on brand symbolism in formulating brand-identity relationship and how social psychological understanding of interdependent construal of self can be applied to consumer researches. The cultural characteristics of Chinese consumers are also discussed with reference to previous indigenous consumer researches on symbolic brand consumption. As part of a greater project on fashion and brand consumption experience among young Chinese in Guangzhou, 18 Chinese volunteers aged around 20 are recruited from local universities and colleges and become the main research informants. The fieldwork is conducted in Guangzhou. In-depth interviews and participant observations are the main data collection method. Triangulation analysis technique has been adopted to review and cross-check data collected. Our findings and discussions demonstrate different dimensions of assumed emotion (Hu, 1949) among the Chinese youngsters in structuring their brand literacy. We discuss how cultural concern towards their social identities, including as students, sons/daughters, friends, and changing identities expected in the future, may significantly impact the youngsters` fashion and brand value, perception and consumption. Through symbolic consumption, the Chinese youngsters depict a sense of culturally specific fashion and brand knowledge as demonstrated in their fashion choice, taste and consumption, in a way that is culturally appropriate in fitting themselves in a complex social network. Guided by this sense of assumed emotion, Chinese youngsters adopt the signs and meanings embedded in brand names and its associated symbols to engage in the different social situations within their cultural setting. This has resulted in a different construct of brand literacy within the interdependent cultural context. An emergent theme is also found as there is a major difference in fashion brands perceptions and choices between the urbanities (i.e. Guangzhou localities) and peripheries (i.e. outsiders) because of a cultural difference in constructing their cosmopolitan identities (Thompson & Tambyah, 1999). To conclude, this study has contributed to our understanding of brand-identity relationship in the interdependent Asian context. Consumers in the eastern cultures tend to be subjected to integrate a larger socio-cultural context than maintaining individualistic pleasures as in western cultures. A greater concern of understanding the assumed emotion and how consumers asserted their social identities with symbolic fashion and brand consumption would be a key to understand the consumption cultures with interdependent self-construal.

Identification and differential expression of two isogenes encoding 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase in Glycine max

Man Zhang,Deyue Yu,Kai Li,Jianyu Liu 한국식물생명공학회 2012 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.6 No.4

Plant 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR) were considered to be encoded by single copy. In this study, we successfully isolated two DXR isogenes, designated GmDXR1 and GmDXR2, from soybean. The multicopy nature of DXRs in soybean was supported by Southern blot. Alignment of the two GmDXRs showed the presence of the N-terminal transit peptide for plastids, the conserved cleavage site, prolinerich region, and the NADPH-binding motif. Phylogenetic analysis revealed GmDXR1 and GmDXR2 belonged to different branches of angiosperm DXRs clusters. Expression pattern analysis indicated that GmDXR1 was expressed in all analyzed organs except the pod walls, with the highest level in seeds, whereas no message was detected for GmDXR2. In response to heat stress, GmDXR1 showed declined transcript levels in the experiments; in contrast,GmDXR2 was highly responsive, with mRNA accumulation peaking at 6 h after treatment. We also demonstrated that both GmDXRs were localized in chloroplasts. Overexpression of GmDXRs induced increased contents of various isoprenoids (chlorophyll, carotenoids, and gibberellins),but with reduced level of ABA, indicating that GmDXRs participate in the control of differential isoprenoid biosynthesis of the MEP pathway. This work provides a new insight into the wide presence of multicopies of DXR enzyme in plants.

HtrA2 interacts with A beta peptide but does not directly alter its production or degradation.

Liu, Meng-Lu,Liu, Ming-Jie,Kim, Jin-Man,Kim, Hyeon-Jin,Kim, Jeong-Hak,Hong, Seong-Tshool Korean Society for Molecular Biology 2005 Molecules and cells Vol.20 No.1

<P>HtrA2/Omi is a mammalian mitochondrial serine protease homologous to the E. coli HtrA/DegP gene products. Recently, HtrA2/Omi was found to have a dual role in mammalian cells, acting as an apoptosis-inducing protein and being involved in maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis. By screening a human brain cDNA library with A beta peptide as bait in a yeast two-hybrid system, we identified HtrA2/Omi as a binding partner of A beta peptide. The interaction between A beta peptide and HtrA2/Omi was confirmed by an immunoblot binding assay. The possible involvement of HtrA2/Omi in A beta peptide metabolism was investigated. In vitro peptide cleavage assays showed that HtrA2/Omi did not directly promote the production of A beta peptide at the beta/gamma-secretase level, or the degradation of A beta peptide. However, overexpression of HtrA2/Omi in K269 cells decreased the production of A beta40 and A beta42 by up to 30%. These results rule out the involvement of HtrA2/Omi in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. However, the fact that overexpression of HtrA2/Omi reduces the generation of A beta40 and A beta42 suggests that it may play some positive role in mammalian cells.</P>

LAMB3 is associated with disease progression and cisplatin cytotoxic sensitivity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Liu, Lihua,Jung, Seung-Nam,Oh, Chan,Lee, Kyungmin,Won, Ho-Ryun,Chang, Jae Won,Kim, Jin Man,Koo, Bon Seok Elsevier 2019 European journal of surgical oncology Vol.45 No.3

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P><B>Objectives</B></P> <P>Laminin subunit beta-3 (LAMB3) is a major component of the basement membrane zone. In our study, we investigated the role of LAMB3 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) progression and its clinical implication as a prognostic biomarker.</P> <P><B>Materials and methods</B></P> <P>A retrospective analysis of 100 patients with HNSCC who had undergone curative surgery from 1999 to 2011 was performed. We evaluated LAMB3 expression by immunohistochemistry and its associations with clinicopathological characteristics and survival. For functional <I>in vitro</I> analyses, cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and western blot assays were performed following LAMB3 suppression. In addition, the role of LAMB3 in cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity was clarified by measuring cell proliferation.</P> <P><B>Results</B></P> <P>LAMB3 expression was up-regulated in HNSCC cell lines and patient tissues. High LAMB3 expression was significantly associated with positive lymph node metastasis (odds ratio: 6.316; <I>P</I> < 0.001) and poor prognosis in patients with HNSCC. LAMB3 suppression reduced cell migration/invasion via down-regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-associated proteins (Vimentin and Slug). Moreover, LAMB3 suppression increased cisplatin cytotoxicity in HNSCC cells.</P> <P><B>Conclusion</B></P> <P>Our findings indicate that LAMB3 may be used as a prognostic biomarker in HNSCC and support that LAMB3 silencing could induce the sensitivity of anti-cancer drugs such as cisplatin.</P>