Starving Aphelinus asychis negatively affects host feeding and parasitism on Myzus persicae

Sheng-Yin Wang,Yi Feng,Ning-Ning Liang,Rui Tang,Yan-Hong Liu,Da Yu Zhang,Tong-Xian Liu 한국응용곤충학회 2018 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.21 No.2

Aphelinus asychis (Walker) is an effective biological control agent for many species of aphids found on various crops. To provide strategies for releasing these parasitoids into a crop ecosystem, the effects of a short-duration starvation experiment on A. asychis were measured under laboratory conditions using Myzus persicae (Sulzer) as the host on cabbage and chili pepper plants. The survival rate of starved A. asychis female adults decreased sharply as the starving time increased, and the longevity of the starved parasitoids also decreased significantly. The number of aphids killed by the parasitoids decreased gradually with the extended duration of starvation. In addition, the number of aphids on chili peppers and cabbages killed by starved A. asychis females over their lifespan was significantly lower than that in the control group. Our results indicated that a short period of starvation might not cause significantly negative effects on the parasitoids and may be beneficial for the control of M. persicae at low densities after 1 day; however, starvation for>1 day seriously affected the performance of A. asychis females over their entire lifespan. The parasitoids performed similarly when aphids were fed chili pepper or cabbage plants.

Two New Triterpenoid Acids from Kadsura coccinea

Yan Song,Qing-Jie Zhao,Yong-Sheng Jin,Chuan-Wei Feng,Hai-Sheng Chen 대한약학회 2010 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.33 No.12

An investigation of EtOAc extracts of Kadsura coccinea (Lem.) A. C. Smith, has led to the isolation of two new compounds characterized as 3-hydroxy-12-hydroxyl coccinic acid (1) and 3-hydroxy-neokadsuranic acid A (2). Their structures were established by 1D and 2D NMR techniques and mass spectroscopy. Antiproliferative effects of the isolated compounds were evaluated against four human tumor cell lines (A549, HCT116, HL-60 and HepG2), and it was found that compound 1 exhibited antiproliferative effects with IC50 values ranging from 3.01 to 18.08 μg/mL.

Estimating the Flaw Size in Drilled Shafts Using an Impulse Response Method

Sheng-Huoo Ni,Yan-Hong Huang,Kuo-Feng Lo,Jenq-Jy Charng 대한토목학회 2011 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.15 No.7

Flaws could occur in drilled shafts due to improper quality control, poor workmanship, and unexpected construction mistakes,and thus seriously decrease the loading capacity. This paper proposes a flaw size estimation formula for use in the impulse response test of drilled shafts. Numerical models were built to develop the estimation formula. The experimental cases also validate the estimation. The flaw depth ratio and stiffness ratio are two key parameters to accomplish the estimation. With the evaluation results of the formula, one can know the possible minimum flaw size in the drilled shaft and further remedial measures can be taken immediately. Furthermore, the detectable shaft slenderness ratio is shown to vary from 10 to 30, depending on the stiffness ratio.

A novel DNN tracking algorithm for structural system identification

Sheng-Yun Peng,Ling-Feng Yan,Bin He,Ying Zhou 국제구조공학회 2021 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.27 No.5

In the field of structural health monitoring (SHM), cameras record videos and tracking methods can be applied to calculate the structural displacement. Commercial and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cameras are promising non-contact sensors owning to their high availability and easy installation. However, effective tracking methods need to be developed. In this study, we firstly propose an end-to-end vision measuring framework with a novel deep neural network (DNN) tracker, named Siamese Single Decoder Network (SiamSDN). The system requires no target installation and uses cellphone cameras. For SiamSDN, the position and scale of bounding box are formulated through statistical parameter estimation. Unlike generative trackers, SiamSDN does not require manually extracted features or pre-defined motion areas. The tracking object is solely identified in the first frame. A shaking table test of a five-storey structure is carried out to demonstrate the efficiency. Besides, a UAV is used to simulate the field test. To minimize the error caused by the vibrations of UAV, digital video stabilization (DVS) is proposed to eliminate the drifts. Videos taken by both the commercial and UAV cameras are analyzed to calculate the displacements. Comparing our DNN tracker with feature point matching approach, SiamSDN improves the displacement measuring accuracy by 66.16% and 57.54%, respectively, and the frequency characteristics are obtained precisely.

Finite-time and Fixed-time Bipartite Consensus Tracking for Second-order Multi-agent Systems via an Integral Sliding-mode Approach

Xiao-Feng Zhao,Tao Han,Bo Xiao,Xi-Sheng Zhan,Huaicheng Yan 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2023 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.21 No.12

This paper investigates the finite-time and fixed-time bipartite consensus tracking (Fin- and Fix-TBCT) problems for second-order multi-agent systems (MASs) under a signed directed communication network, in which both cooperative and competition exist. To achieve bipartite consensus tracking (BCT) within finite time and fixed time, two novel distributed control protocols utilizing integral sliding-mode control concept are presented and discussed, respectively. By virtue of Lyapunov stability and homogeneity with dilation, several sufficient conditions for achieving Fin- and Fix-TBCT for second-order MASs are obtained. Eventually, numerical simulation results are provided to verify the validity of the obtained theoretical results.

A phase II trial of cytoreductive surgery combined with niraparib maintenance in platinum-sensitive, secondary recurrent ovarian cancer: SGOG SOC-3 study

Ting-Yan Shi,Sheng Yin,Jianqing Zhu,Ping Zhang,Jihong Liu,Libing Xiang,Yaping Zhu,Sufang Wu,Xiaojun Chen,Xipeng Wang,Yin-Cheng Teng,Tao Zhu,Aijun Yu,Yingli Zhang,Yanling Feng,He Huang,Wei Bao,Yanli Li 대한부인종양학회 2020 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.31 No.3

Background: In China, secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCR) has been widely used in ovarian cancer (OC) over the past two decades. Although Gynecologic Oncology Group-0213 trial did not show its overall survival benefit in first relapsed patients, the questions on patient selection and effect of subsequent targeting therapy are still open. The preliminary data from our pre-SOC1 phase II study showed that selected patients with second relapse who never received SCR at recurrence may still benefit from surgery. Moreover, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) maintenance now has been a standard care for platinum sensitive relapsed OC. To our knowledge, no published or ongoing trial is trying to answer the question if patient can benefit from a potentially complete resection combined with PARPi maintenance in OC patients with secondary recurrence. Methods: SOC-3 is a multi-center, open, randomized, controlled, phase II trial of SCR followed by chemotherapy and niraparib maintenance vs chemotherapy and niraparib maintenance in patients with platinum-sensitive second relapsed OC who never received SCR at recurrence. To guarantee surgical quality, if the sites had no experience of participating in any OC-related surgical trials, the number of recurrent lesions evaluated by central-reviewed positron emission tomography–computed tomography image shouldn't be more than 3. Eligible patients are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either SCR followed by 6 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy and niraparib maintenance or 6 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy and niraparib maintenance alone. Patients who undergo at least 4 cycles of chemotherapy and must be, in the opinion of the investigator, without disease progression, will be assigned niraparib maintenance. Major inclusion criteria are secondary relapsed OC with a platinum-free interval of no less than 6 months and a possibly complete resection. Major exclusion criteria are borderline tumors and non-epithelial ovarian malignancies, received debulking surgery at recurrence and impossible to complete resection. The sample size is 96 patients. Primary endpoint is 12-month non-progression rate. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03983226

miR-19b enhances osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and promotes fracture healing through the WWP1/Smurf2-mediated KLF5/β-catenin signaling pathway

Huang Yan,Xu Yongqiang,Feng Siyin,He Pan,Sheng Bing,Ni Jiangdong 생화학분자생물학회 2021 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.53 No.-

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-derived exosomes have been found to enhance fracture healing. In addition, microRNAs contributing to the healing of various bone fractures have attracted widespread attention in recent years, but knowledge of the mechanisms by which they act is still very limited. In this study, we clarified the function of altered microRNA-19b (miR-19b) expression in BMSCs in fracture healing. We modulated miR-19b expression via mimics/inhibitors in BMSCs and via agomirs in mice to explore the effects of these changes on osteogenic factors, bone cell mineralization and the healing status of modeled fractures. Through gain- and loss-of function assays, the binding affinity between miR-19b and WWP1/Smurf2 was identified and characterized to explain the underlying mechanism involving the KLF5/β-catenin signaling pathway. miR-19b promoted the differentiation of human BMSCs into osteoblasts by targeting WWP1 and Smurf2. Overexpression of WWP1 or Smurf2 degraded the target protein KLF5 in BMSCs through ubiquitination to inhibit fracture healing. KLF5 knockdown delayed fracture healing by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, miR-19b enhanced fracture healing via the KLF5/β-catenin signaling pathway by targeting WWP1 or Smurf2. Moreover, miR-19b was found to be enriched in BMSC-derived exosomes, and treatment with exosomes promoted fracture healing in vivo. Collectively, these results indicate that mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomal miR-19b represses the expression of WWP1 or Smurf2 and elevates KLF5 expression through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, thereby facilitating fracture healing.

Colorectal Cancer Screening in High-risk Populations: a Survey of Cognition among Medical Professionals in Jiangsu, China

Chen, Yao-Sheng,Xu, Song-Xin,Ding, Yan-Bing,Huang, Xin-En,Deng, Bin,Gao, Xue-Feng,Wu, Da-Cheng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

To investigate the cognition of medical professionals when following screening guidelines for colorectal cancer (CRC) and barriers to CRC screening. Between February 2012 and December 2012, an anonymous survey with 19-questions based on several CRC screening guidelines was randomly administered to gastroenterologists, oncologists, general surgeons, and general practitioners in Jiangsu, a developed area in China where the incidence of CRC is relatively high. The average cognitive score was 26.4% among 924 respondents. Gastroenterologists and oncologists had higher scores compared with others (p<0.01 and p<0.01, respectively); doctor of medicine (M.D.) with or without doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) or holders with bachelor of medical science (BMS) achieved higher scores than other lower degree holders (P<0.05). More importantly, doctors who finished CRC related education in the past year achieved higher scores than the others (p<0.001). The most commonly listed barriers to referring high-risk patients for CRC screening were "anxiety about colonoscopy without anesthesia", "lack of awareness of the current guidelines" and "lack of insurance reimbursement". Lack of cognition was detected among doctors when following CRC screening guidelines for high-risk populations. Educational programs should be recommended to improve their cognition and reduce barriers to CRC screening.

Improving Clinician-Patient Communication Alleviates Stigma in Patients With Functional Dyspepsia Receiving Antidepressant Treatment

( Xiu-juan Yan ),( Hong-yi Qiu ),( Qing-qing Luo ),( Bo Wang ),( Ping Xu ),( Chen-feng Ji ),( Sheng-liang Chen ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회 2022 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.28 No.1

Background/Aims Antidepressants are effective in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). However, stigma associated with FD and antidepressants may affect treatment adherence. This study aims to explore possible communication strategies to alleviate stigma and improve adherence in patients with FD. Methods In this randomized, single-center, and single-blind trial, 160 patients with FD initiating antidepressant treatment were recruited. Different communication strategies were performed when prescribing antidepressants. Participants in Group 1 were told that brain is the “headquarters” of gut, and that antidepressants could act as neuromodulators to relieve symptoms of FD through regulating the functions of gut and brain. Participants in Group 2 were told that antidepressants were empirically effective for FD. Stigma scores, medication-related stigma, treatment compliance, and efficacy were analyzed. Results After 8-week antidepressant treatment, the proportion of patients with FD with decreased stigma scores in Group 1 was significantly higher than in Group 2 (internalized stigma: 64.10% vs 12.00%; perceived stigma: 55.13% vs 13.33%; P < 0.01). Medication-related stigma was lower in Group 1 than in Group 2 (P < 0.05 for 3 of 4 questions). Concurrently, patients in Group 1 had better treatment compliance (0.71 ± 0.25 vs 0.60 ± 0.25, P < 0.01) and efficacy. In Group 1, participants with decreased post-treatment stigma scores showed better treatment compliance and efficacy than those with non-decreased scores. Decrease in stigma scores positively correlated with treatment compliance. Conclusion Improving knowledge of patients with FD of the disease and antidepressants via proper communication may be an effective way to alleviate stigma and promote adherence. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2022;28:95-103)

Preparation of lithium-doped NaV6O15 thin film cathodes with high cycling performance in SIBs

Xu Hai-Yan,Ruan Jun Hai,Liu Fang Lin,Li Dong-Cai,Zhang Feng-Jun,Wang Ai-Guo,Sun Dao-Sheng,오원춘 한국세라믹학회 2022 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.59 No.3

Lithium ions-doped NaV6O15 thin films have been prepared using a simple low temperature liquid phase deposition method and subsequent annealing process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning elec- tron microscopy (SEM), and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been used to study the structural and physicochemical characteristics of the NaV6O15 film. The films were grown on the FTO conductive glass and used directly as an electrode of sodium ion batteries. The prepared lithium ions-doped NaV6O15 thin film electrodes showed an excellent cycling stability and discharge capacity, which may be attributed to the stability of the Li+ embedded into the gap between the V–O layers to maintain the structure and its stable β-phase structure transformed after the first cycle. The cycling stability greatly improved with increasing annealing temperature, while the discharge capacity decreased. The capacities of the film electrodes annealed at 400 °C and 450 °C maintained above 97% after 100 cycles. The lithium-doped NaV6O15 underwent a phase transition dur- ing the first charge/discharge cycle. The new transformed phase has perfect crystal structure stability undergoing insertion and deinsertion of Na+. Therefore, the lithium-doped NaV6O15 thin film possesses good cycling stability and is expected to be a promising thin film cathode for sodium-ion batteries.