Role of high-frequency ultrasound in differentiating benign and malignant skin lesions: potential and limitations

Qiao Wang,Weiwei Ren,Lifan Wang,Xiaolong Li,Anqi Zhu,Dandan Shan,Jing Wang,Yujing Zhao,Danhua Li,Tian Tian Ren,Lehang Guo,Huixiong Xu,Liping Sun 대한초음파의학회 2024 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.43 No.4

Purpose: This study examined the diagnostic value of high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) features in differentiating between benign and malignant skin lesions.Methods: A total of 1,392 patients with 1,422 skin lesions who underwent HFUS examinations were included in an initial dataset (cohort 1) to identify features indicative of malignancy. Qualitative clinical and HFUS characteristics were recorded for all lesions. To determine which HFUS and clinical features were suggestive of malignancy, univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed. The diagnostic performance of HFUS features combined with clinical information was evaluated. This assessment was validated using internal data (cohort 2) and multicenter external data (cohort 3).Results: Features significantly associated with malignancy included age above 60 years; lesion location in the head, face, and neck or genital regions; changes in macroscopic appearance; crawling or irregular growth pattern; convex or irregular base; punctate hyperechogenicity; blood flow signals; and feeding arteries. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity of HFUS features combined with clinical information were 0.946, 92.5%, and 86.9% in cohort 1; 0.870, 93.1%, and 80.8% in cohort 2 (610 lesions); and 0.864, 86.2%, and 86.6% in cohort 3 (170 lesions), respectively. However, HFUS is not suitable for evaluating lesions less than 0.1 mm in thickness or lesions exhibiting surface hyperkeratosis.Conclusion: In a clinical setting, the integration of HFUS with clinical information exhibited good diagnostic performance in differentiating malignant and benign skin lesions. However, its utility was limited in evaluating extremely thin lesions and those exhibiting hyperkeratosis.

Quantitative Analysis of Parotid Gland Secretion Function in Sjögren’s Syndrome Patients with Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Sialography

Simin Liu,Weiwei Chen,Min Wang,Tong Wu,Lingli Dong,Chu Pan,Wenzhen Zhu 대한영상의학회 2019 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.20 No.3

Objective: To evaluate the secretory function of parotid glands by dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) sialography and determine the clinical performance of this technique in diagnosing and evaluating Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) patients. Materials and Methods: This study enrolled 29 healthy volunteers (25 women and 4 men; mean age, 34.8 ± 6.3 years; age range, 26–47 years) and 25 primary SS (pSS) patients (23 women and 2 men; mean age, 37.7 ± 7.9 years; age range, 25–50 years) with decreased secretory function. The volume of the parotid gland ducts was precisely measured for both groups at single pre- and 6 post-gustatory-stimulated phases. Time-dependent volume change ratio curves were generated, four parameters were derived from the curves: the slope of the increase in the first post-stimulation phase (slope1st), the peak value, the time-to-peak, the total saliva secretion post-stimulation. All values were used to quantitatively evaluate the secretory function of the parotid gland. The repeated measurement analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic curve were applied. Results: Time-dependent volume change ratio curves demonstrated that there is a statistically significant difference between the two groups (F = 8.750; p = 0.005). A quickly increasing curve was shown in the volunteer group, whereas a slowly increasing curve was shown in the pSS patient group. The slope1st, peak value and total saliva secretion post-stimulation of the patient group were significantly lower than those of the volunteer group (p = 0.005, p = 0.003, and p = 0.002, respectively). The timeto-peak between the two groups was not significantly different (p = 0.383). The slope1st can be used as a discriminator to diagnose SS patients (p = 0.015; odds ratio = 4.234; area under the curve = 0.726). Conclusion: Dynamic MR sialography is proven to be an effective method in evaluating salivary gland function and has a great potential in diagnosing and evaluating pSS patients.

Synthesis and characterization of novel Ti-containing mesoporous silicas support

Peihong Yao,Weiwei Hu,Yan Bao,Cuiling Zhang,Bochao Zhu,Wenxia Liu,Yongxiao Bai 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2011 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.12 No.3

Titanium-containing novel mesoporous silicas have been synthesized at ambient temperature by a sol-gel method using amines with alkyl chains of 10-16 carbon atoms as a templating surfactant. An identical synthesis procedure was followed together with the addition of different amounts of titanium (IV) source in the synthesis gels to obtain its titanium-containing silicate gels. Following this synthesis route, it was possible to prepare materials without forming extrawall TiO2. The transparent gel formed as a precursor resulted in a relatively high titanium incorporation in the silicate framework of up to 0.4% Ti. The characterization results show that most Ti4+ are isolated and tetrahedrally incorporated into the framework of the silicate gel. Raman spectra and UV-vis spectra indicated that most Ti atoms were incorporated as isolated Ti sites into the silicate framework, and materials with a higher wt% Ti using relatively more coordination agent to prevent TiO2 forming anatase.

Improvement of Fumigaclavine C Production in a Two-stage Culture of Aspergillus fumigatus with Molasses as a Cost-effective Ingredient

Yi-Xiang Zhu,WEIWEI HUAN,Ling-yun Yao,Wan-Guo Yu,Ruihua Jiao,Yan-Hua Lu,Renxiang Tan 한국생물공학회 2015 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.20 No.6

Fumigaclavine C (FC), which is produced by Aspergillus fumigatus, is a conidiation-associated ergot alkaloid with significant medical benefits. However, its application is restricted by low yields from submerged cultures. In this study, the technical feasibility of using molasses as a cost-effective ingredient for FC production in a two-stage culture of A. fumigatus was evaluated. The results indicated that molasses supplementation significantly enhanced FC accumulation by promoting conidiation and up-regulating hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity. Via the optimization of the two-stage process in the presence of molasses, FC production in shake flasks reached 226.9 mg/L, which was approximately three times that in the original medium (75.9 mg/L). The use of molasses as a cost-effective ingredient for FC fermentation was also successfully reproduced in a lab-scale bioreactor system in which the maximum FC production reached 215.0 mg/L. The FC production obtained in this study is the highest ever reported. This increased efficiency will enable large-scale production of FC and extend the application of molasses as a low-cost substrate for producing other conidiation-related secondary metabolites.

Ultra-Precision Diamond Turning Error Compensation via Iterative Learning from On-machine Measured Data

ZaoZao Chen,WeiWei Huang,ZhiWei Zhu,XinQuan Zhang,LiMin Zhu,XiangQian Jiang 한국정밀공학회 2023 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.24 No.12

In ultra-precision diamond turning, the reduction of machining form errors can generally be achieved through on-machine measurement and compensation. However, the efficiency of conventional compensation methods is often insufficient, particularly when high form accuracy is required or when intricate surface topography and microstructures need to be machined. Consequently, this research proposes a novel machining error compensation method based on iterative learning from on-machine measured data to enhance the machining accuracy and compensation efficiency. The on-machine measurement system and cutting path generation algorithm are introduced first. Then, the compensation method via iterative learning is presented theoretically, demonstrating a higher convergence order compared to the conventional method. Finally, machining experiments involving the cutting of cosine surfaces are conducted, followed by measurements of the processed workpieces. The experimental results indicate that after four rounds of compensation using the conventional method, the peak-to-valley (PV) value of the form error is reduced to 0.1134 μm. In contrast, employing the proposed method, a similar value of 0.1156 μmis achieved after only two rounds of compensation. This highlights the significant reduction in compensation time facilitated by the proposed method. Furthermore, the measurement results verify that the proposed compensation method maintains excellent surface quality.

Protective effect of liensinine on periodontitis through its antioxidant effect in mice

Pang, Liang,Zhu, Kai,Feng, Xia,Liu, Weiwei,Peng, Deguang,Qiu, Lihua,Gao, Xiang,Deng, Jiang,Li, Ying,Zhao, Xin 한국응용생명화학회 2015 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.58 No.6

Liensinine is the most important functional compound in lotus seeds; its protective effect on periodontitis was determined and the mechanism of its antioxidant effect was also explained. During the experiment, we could observe that liensinine could reduce the gingival index in periodontitis-induced mice, and these effects were similar to that during the treatment of periodontitis with the metronidazole drug. After the treatment with liensinine, the serum Immunoglobulin G1 ($IgG_1$) level was found to increase and $IgG_{2a}$ level was found to decrease compared to the periodontitis control mice. Liensinine and metronidazole could increase the superoxide dismutase (SOD) serum levels in the periodontitis-induced mice, and both the drugs at the same concentration (200 mg/kg) showed similar SOD activities, which was found to increase. Liensinine also increased the oxidation-related factor of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase, and decreased nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, and endothelin in the serum of mice, compared to the periodontitis control mice. The serum cytokine levels of Interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and Interferon-${\gamma}$ in liensinine-treated mice were lower than the control mice, but higher than the normal mice. The serum IL-4 cytokine level of liensinine-treated mice was reversed, i.e., higher than the control mice. In the periodontal tissue, the mRNA and protein expressions of inhibitor of kappa B-${\alpha}$, trans-forming growth factor beta 1, Interleukin-10, Mn-SOD, Gu/Zn-SOD, and CAT were increased by the treatment with liensinine compared to the control group mice, and nuclear factor kappa B expressions showed the opposite trend. Liensinine is a good functional compound in the treatment of periodontitis, similar to metronidazole drug. Higher concentration of liensinine had better effects.

Identification and Validation of Novel Biomarkers and Potential Targeted Drugs in Cholangiocarcinoma: Bioinformatics, Virtual Screening, and Biological Evaluation

( Jiena Wang ),( Weiwei Zhu ),( Junxue Tu ),( Yihui Zheng ) 한국미생물생명공학회 2022 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.32 No.10

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a complex and refractor type of cancer with global prevalence. Several barriers remain in CCA diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Therefore, exploring more biomarkers and therapeutic drugs for CCA management is necessary. CCA gene expression data was downloaded from the TCGA and GEO databases. KEGG enrichment, GO analysis, and protein-protein interaction network were used for hub gene identification. miRNA were predicted using Targetscan and validated according to several GEO databases. The relative RNA and miRNA expression levels and prognostic information were obtained from the GEPIA. The candidate drug was screened using pharmacophore-based virtual screening and validated by molecular modeling and through several in vitro studies. 301 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out. Complement and coagulation cascades-related genes (including AHSG, F2, TTR, and KNG1), and cell cycle-related genes (including CDK1, CCNB1, and KIAA0101) were considered as the hub genes in CCA progression. AHSG, F2, TTR, and KNG1 were found to be significantly decreased and the eight predicted miRNA targeting AHSG, F2, and TTR were increased in CCA patients. CDK1, CCNB1, and KIAA0101 were found to be significantly abundant in CCA patients. In addition, Molport-003-703-800, which is a compound that is derived from pharmacophores-based virtual screening, could directly bind to CDK1 and exhibited anti-tumor activity in cholangiocarcinoma cells. AHSG, F2, TTR, and KNG1 could be novel biomarkers for CCA. Molport-003-703-800 targets CDK1 and work as potential cell cycle inhibitors, thereby having potential for consideration for new chemotherapeutics for CCA.

AN IMPROVED METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING GRAPHENE GROWN BY CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION

YUJIE REN,CHAOFU ZHU,WEIWEI CAI,HUIFENG LI,YUFENG HAO,YAPING WU,SHANSHAN CHEN,QINGZHI WU,RICHARD D. PINER,RODNEY S. RUOFF 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2012 NANO Vol.7 No.1

In this paper, we report an improved transfer of graphene by directly picking up the graphene with target substrates and the comparison of such transferred graphene samples with other graphene samples transferred by the commonly used "PMMA-based transfer" method. Raman spectroscopy studies show that this "direct transfer method" does not degrade the graphene structure and field effect transistor measurements show that it does not introduce any extra doping in graphene; in contrast, PMMA-based transfer samples have strong n-type doping. We also find that graphene samples achieved by this direct transfer method show higher mobility than graphene obtained from the PMMA-based transfer method.

Protective effect of liensinine on periodontitis through its antioxidant effect in mice

Liang Pang,Kai Zhu,Xia Feng,Weiwei Liu,Deguang Peng,Lihua Qiu,Xiang Gao,Jiang Deng,Ying Li,Xin Zhao 한국응용생명화학회 2015 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.58 No.6

Liensinine is the most important functional compound in lotus seeds; its protective effect on periodontitis was determined and the mechanism of its antioxidant effect was also explained. During the experiment, we could observe that liensinine could reduce the gingival index in periodontitis-induced mice, and these effects were similar to that during the treatment of periodontitis with the metronidazole drug. After the treatment with liensinine, the serum Immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) level was found to increase and IgG2a level was found to decrease compared to the periodontitis control mice. Liensinine and metronidazole could increase the superoxide dismutase (SOD) serum levels in the periodontitis-induced mice, and both the drugs at the same concentration (200 mg/kg) showed similar SOD activities, which was found to increase. Liensinine also increased the oxidationrelated factor of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase, and decreased nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, and endothelin in the serum of mice, compared to the periodontitis control mice. The serum cytokine levels of Interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, and Interferon-c in liensinine-treated mice were lower than the control mice, but higher than the normal mice. The serum IL-4 cytokine level of liensinine-treated mice was reversed, i.e., higher than the control mice. In the periodontal tissue, the mRNA and protein expressions of inhibitor of kappa B-a, transforming growth factor beta 1, Interleukin-10, Mn-SOD, Gu/Zn-SOD, and CAT were increased by the treatment with liensinine compared to the control group mice, and nuclear factor kappa B expressions showed the opposite trend. Liensinine is a good functional compound in the treatment of periodontitis, similar to metronidazole drug. Higher concentration of liensinine had better effects.

fects of Dietary Soy Intake on Maternal Thyroid Functions and Serum Anti-Thyroperoxidase Antibody Level During Early Pregnancy

Jing Li,Xiaochun Teng,Weiwei Wang,Yanyan Chen,Xiaohui Yu,Shen Wang,Jianxin Li,Lin Zhu,Chenyan Li,Chenling Fan,Hong Wang,Hongmei Zhang,Weiping Teng,Zhongyan Shan 한국식품영양과학회 2011 Journal of medicinal food Vol.14 No.5

Soy and its isoflavones have been suggested to suppress thyroperoxidase (TPO), induce goiter, inhibit deiodinase, and modulate immune functions. This study initially investigated the effects of dietary soy consumption on maternal thyroid functions and anti-TPO antibody (TPOAb) production during early pregnancy. Data were collected through questionnaire from 505 women enrolled during early pregnancy by random sampling in Shenyang, China. Based on soy intake frequency, the subjects were divided into three groups (frequent [three or more times per week], conventional [more than twice per month but less than three times per week], and occasional [two or fewer times per month]). Serum thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT_4), and TPOAb were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay. Additionally, the concentrations of two primary isoflavones (daidzein and genistein) and creatinine were assessed in the spot urine samples from representative subjects (about 20%) randomly selected from the three groups. The percentages of frequent, conventional, and occasional consumers were 18.6%, 62.6%, and 18.8%, respectively. No difference was found in age, medical records, family history of thyroid diseases, serum FT_4, TSH, and TPOAb levels, TPOAb-positive percentages, or prevalence of thyroid dysfunctions among the groups. Both urinary daidzein and genistein levels were significantly higher in the frequent consumers compared with the other two groups. No correlations were found between urinary isoflavone levels and serum FT_4 or TSH. Urinary isoflavone levels were not significantly different between TPOAb-positive and -negative women among the randomly selected representative subjects. On the whole, our findings suggest dietary soy consumption during early pregnancy is not associated with the development of thyroid dysfunction or autoimmunity.