Case Report : Nutrition Therapy for Mitochondrial Neurogastrointestinal Encephalopathy with Homozygous Mutation of the TYMP Gene

( Jing Wang ),( Wei Chen ),( Fang Wang ),( Dong Wu ),( Jia Ming Qian ),( Jun Ren Kang ),( Hai Long Li ),( En Ling Ma ) 한국임상영양학회 2015 Clinical Nutrition Research Vol.4 No.2

Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy (MNGIE) is characterized by significant gastrointestinal dysmotility. Early and long-term nutritional therapy is highly recommended. We report a case of MNGIE in a patient who was undergoing longterm nutrition therapy. The patient was diagnosed with a serious symptom of fatty liver and hyperlipidemia complications, along with homozygous mutation of the thymidine phosphorylase (TYMP) gene (c.217G > A). To our knowledge, this is the first report of such a case. Herein, we describe preventive measures for the aforementioned complications and mitochondrial disease-specific nutritional therapy.

Unilateral ureteral obstruction causes gut microbial dysbiosis and metabolome disorders contributing to tubulointerstitial fibrosis

Lin Chen,Dan-Qian Chen,Jing-Ru Liu,Jun Zhang,Nosratola D. Vaziri,Shougang Zhuang,Hua Chen,Ya-Long Feng,Yan Guo,Ying-Yong Zhao 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases the risk and prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have revealed marked changes in the composition of the microbiome and the metabolome and their potential influence in renal disease and CVD via the accumulation of microbial-derived uremic toxins. However, the effect of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) on the gut microbiome and circulating metabolites is unknown. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to UUO and sham-operated control groups. Renal histology, colonic microbiota, and plasma metabolites were examined two weeks later. We employed 16S rRNA sequence and untargeted metabolomic analyses to explore the changes in colonic microbiota and plasma metabolites and their relationship with tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF). The UUO rats exhibited tubular atrophy and dilatation, interstitial fibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in the obstructed kidney. UUO rats showed significant colonic enrichment and depletion of genera. Significant differences were identified in 219 plasma metabolites involved in lipid, amino acid, and bile acid metabolism, which were consistent with gut microbiota-related metabolism. Interestingly, tryptophan and its metabolites kynurenine, 5-hydroxytryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels, which were linked with TIF, correlated with nine specific genera. Plasma tryptophan level was positively correlated with Clostridium IV, Turicibacter, Pseudomonas and Lactobacillales, and negatively correlated with Oscillibacter, Blautia, and Intestinimonas, which possess the genes encoding tryptophan synthase (K16187), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (K00463) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (K00453) and their corresponding enzymes (EC:1.13.11.52 and EC:1.13.11.11) that exacerbate TIF. In conclusion, UUO results in profound changes in the gut microbiome and circulating metabolites, events that contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammation and TIF.

Characterization of a novel ribose-5-phosphate isomerase B from Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens ZXL1 for D-allose production

Qian Zheng,Si Long,Zhi Chen,Jiaolong Fu,Xin Ju,Liangzhi Li 한국식품과학회 2024 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.33 No.7

Enzymatic preparation of rare sugars as an alternative to traditional sweeteners is an effective strategy to achieve a low-calorie healthy diet. Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase B (RpiB) is a key enzyme in the non-oxidative branch of the catalytic pentose phosphate pathway. Here, we investigated the potential of Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens ZXL1 (C. flaccumfaciens ZXL1) derived RpiB (CfRpiB) in D-allose preparation. The optimal reaction conditions for recombinant CfRpiB were found experimentally to be pH 7.0, 55 °C, and no metal ions. The kinetic parameters Km, kcat, and catalytic efficiency kcat/Km were 320 mM, 4769 s−1, and 14.9 mM−1 s−1 respectively. The conversion of D-allulose by purified enzyme (1 g L−1 ) to D-allose was 13% within 1 h. In addition, homology modeling and molecular docking were used to predict the active site residues: Asp13, Asp14, Cys72, Gly73, Thr74, Gly77, Asn106, and Lys144.

Infection Control and Management Strategy for COVID-19 in the Radiology Department: Focusing on Experiences from China

Chen Qian,Zu Zi Yue,Jiang Meng Di,Lu Lingquan,Lu Guang Ming,Zhang Long Jiang 대한영상의학회 2020 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.21 No.7

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new infectious disease rapidly spreading around the world, raising global public health concerns. Radiological examinations play a crucial role in the early diagnosis and follow-up of COVID-19. Cross infection among patients and radiographers can occur in radiology departments due to the close and frequent contact of radiographers with confirmed or potentially infected patients in a relatively confined room during radiological workflow. This article outlines our experience in the emergency management procedure and infection control of the radiology department during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Light Load Efficiency Improvement Method for GaN-Based DAB Converter with Hybrid Discontinuous Current Mode

Bo Long,Wei Wang,Xin Lu,YuFei Dai,LiJun Huang,YuCheng Qian,Yong Chen,FuSheng Li 전력전자학회 2019 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.2019 No.5

Conventional phase-shift controlled dual active bridge (DAB) converters which operate in discontinuous current mode (DCM) are hard to realize the zero-voltage switching (ZVS) due to the light load. This paper proposed an efficiency improvement method for the DAB converter with fix-frequency hybrid discontinue current mode (HDCM). By adopting the HDCM control method, synchronous rectification and wide load range ZVS of switching devices are realized simultaneously without changing the components of the conventional DAB power stage in DCM. Besides, to further improve the conversion ratio and efficiency, the voltage-doubled rectification (VDR) is adopted. The HDCM implementation method with a digital signal processor (DSP) is proposed. A 200W laboratory prototype is designed to validate the correctness of HDCM. Compared to the conventional DAB converter which operates in DCM, experimental results demonstrate that the efficiency was increased 1.2% at 10% rated load.

Influence of nozzle exit tip thickness on the performance and flow field of jet pump

Xinping LONG,Ning HAN,Qian CHEN 대한기계학회 2008 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.22 No.10

The influence of exit tip thickness of nozzle δ e on the flow field and performance of a jet pump was studied numerically in this paper. It is found that δ e has influence on the distribution of turbulence kinetic energy k. If δ e is ignored, k takes the highest value but dissipates rapidly than that of nozzle with a certain tip thickness. δ e also affect apparently the development of tip vortex, which will occur near the exit tip of nozzle. The bigger the δ e is, the larger the vortex is. The tip vortex develops with the increase of flow rate ratio q. When q=1 and δ e=0.6~0.8mm, a small vortex will be found downstream the tip vortex. And a concomitant vortex happens down the tip vortex in the case of q=1 and δ e=0.8mm. As q increases to 2, the downstream small vortex disappears and the concomitant vortex becomes bigger. It is also found that the tip vortex might interact with the possible backflow that formed in the throat tube and parts of suction chamber. The center of backflow was affect evidently by δ e. With the increase of δ e, the center of backflow under the same q will go downstream. When δ e=0.4mm, the center of backflow goes farthest. Then, as the further increase of δ e, the center of backflow will go back some distance. Although, δ e has relatively great influence on the flow field within the jet pump, it exerts only a little impact on the performance of jet pump. When δ e=0.2~0.6mm, the jet pump possess better performance. In most case, it is reasonable to ignore the nozzle exit tip thickness in performance prediction for the purpose of simplicity.

Synchronous tele-ultrasonography is helpful for a naive operator to perform high-quality thyroid ultrasound examinations

Xiao-Long Li,Yi-Kang Sun,Qiao Wang,Zi-Tong Chen,Zhe-Bin Qian,Le-Hang Guo,Hui-Xiong Xu 대한초음파의학회 2022 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.41 No.4

Purpose: This study investigated the value of synchronous tele-ultrasonography (TUS) for naive operators in thyroid ultrasonography (US) examinations.Methods: Ninety-seven patients were included in this prospective, parallel-controlled trial. Thyroid scanning and diagnosis were completed by resident A independently, resident B with guidance from a US expert through synchronous TUS, and an on-site US expert. The on-site expert’s findings constituted the reference standard. Two other off-site US experts analyzed all data in a blind manner. Inter-operator consistency between the two residents and the on-site US expert for thyroid size measurements, nodule measurements, nodule features, American College of Radiology (ACR) Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) categories, and image quality was compared. Two questionnaires were completed to evaluate the clinical benefit.Results: Resident B detected more nodules consistent with the on-site expert than resident A did (89.4% vs. 56.5%, P<0.001). Resident B achieved excellent consistency with the on-site expert in terms of ACR TI-RADS categories, nodule composition, shape, echogenic foci, and vascularity (all intra-class correlation coefficients [ICCs] >0.75), while resident A achieved lower consistency in ACR TI-RADS categories, composition, echogenicity, margin, echogenic foci, and vascularity (all ICCs 0.40-0.75). Residents A and B had excellent consistency in target nodule measurements (all ICCs >0.75). Resident B achieved better performance than resident A for gray values, time gain compensation, depth, color Doppler adjustment, and the visibility of key information (all P<0.05). Furthermore, 61.9% (60/97) of patients accepted synchronous TUS, and 59.8% (58/97) patients were willing to pay for it.Conclusion: Synchronous TUS can help inexperienced residents achieve comparable thyroid diagnostic capability to a US expert.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Gene Polymorphisms and Breast Cancer Risk in a Chinese Population

Luo, Ting,Chen, Long,He, Ping,Hu, Qian-Cheng,Zhong, Xiao-Rong,Sun, Yu,Yang, Yuan-Fu,Tian, Ting-Lun,Zheng, Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.4

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent regulator of angiogenesis and thereby involved in the development and progression of solid tumours. Associations between three VEGF gene polymorphisms (-634 G/C, +936 C/T, and +1612 G/A) and breast cancer risk have been extensively studied, but the currently available results are inconclusive. Our aim was to investigate associations between three VEGF gene polymorphisms and breast cancer risk in Chinese Han patients. We performed a hospital-based case-control study including 680 female incident breast cancer patients and 680 female age-matched healthy control subjects. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis was performed to detect the three VEGF gene polymorphisms. We observed that women carriers of +936 TT genotypes [odds ratio (OR) =0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.28, 0.76; P=0.002] or 936 T-allele (OR=0.81, 95% CI= 0.68, 0.98; P=0.03) had a protective effect concerning the disease. Our study suggested that the +1612G/A polymorphism was unlikely to be associated with breast cancer risk. The -634CC genotype was significantly associated with high tumor aggressiveness [large tumor size (OR=2.63, 95% CI=1.15, 6.02; P=0.02) and high histologic grade (OR=1.47, 95% CI= 1.06, 2.03; P=0.02)]. The genotypes were not related with other tumor characteristics such as regional or distant metastasis, stage at diagnosis, or estrogen or progesterone receptor status. Our study revealed that the VEGF -634 G/C and +936 C/T gene polymorphisms may be associated with breast cancer in Chinese Han patients.

454 Pyrosequencing Analysis of Bacterial Diversity Revealed by a Comparative Study of Soils from Mining Subsidence and Reclamation Areas

( Yuan Yuan Li ),( Long Qian Chen ),( Hong Yu Wen ),( Tian Jian Zhou ),( Ting Zhang ),( Xia Li Gao ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.3

Significant alteration in the microbial community can occur across reclamation areas suffering subsidence from mining. A reclamation site undergoing fertilization practices and an adjacent coal-excavated subsidence site (sites A and B, respectively) were examined to characterize the bacterial diversity using 454 high-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing. The dominant taxonomic groups in both the sites were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Betaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes. However, the bacterial communities` abundance, diversity, and composition differed significantly between the sites. Site A presented higher bacterial diversity and more complex community structures than site B. The majority of sequences related to Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae, Firmicutes, Betaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Anaerolineae were from site A; whereas those related to Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Gammaproteobacteria, Nitriliruptoria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Phycisphaerae originated from site B. The distribution of some bacterial groups and subgroups in the two sites correlated with soil properties and vegetation due to reclamation practice. Site A exhibited enriched bacterial community, soil organic matter (SOM), and total nitrogen (TN), suggesting the presence of relatively diverse microorganisms. SOM and TN were important factors shaping the underlying microbial communities. Furthermore, the specific plant functional group (legumes) was also an important factor influencing soil microbial community composition. Thus, the effectiveness of 454 pyrosequencing in analyzing soil bacterial diversity was validated and an association between land ecological system restoration, mostly mediated by microbial communities, and an improvement in soil properties in coalmining reclamation areas was suggested.

Correlation between Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Derived Metrics and Serum Soluble CD40 Ligand Level in an Embolic Canine Stroke Model

Xiao-Quan Xu,Chen-Jiang Wu,Shan-Shan Lu,Qian-Qian Gao,Qing-Quan Zu,Xing-Long Liu,Hai-Bin Shi,Sheng Liu 대한영상의학회 2017 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.18 No.5

Objective: To determine the relationship between intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging derived quantitative metrics and serum soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) level in an embolic canine stroke model. Materials and Methods: A middle cerebral artery occlusion model was established in 24 beagle dogs. Experimental dogs were divided into low- and high-sCD40L group according to serum sCD40L level at 4.5 hours after establishing the model. IVIM imaging was scanned at 4.5 hours after model establishment using 10 b values ranging from 0 to 900 s/mm2. Quantitative metrics diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) of ischemic lesions were calculated. Quantitative metrics of ischemic lesions were normalized by contralateral hemisphere using the following formula: normalized D = Dstroke / Dcontralateral. Differences in IVIM metrics between the low- and high-sCD40L groups were compared using t test. Pearson’s correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between IVIM metrics and serum sCD40L level. Results: The high-sCD40L group showed significantly lower f and normalized f values than the low-sCD40L group (f, p < 0.001; normalized f, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in D*, normalized D*, D, or normalized D value between the two groups (All p > 0.05). Both f and normalized f values were negatively correlated with serum sCD40L level (f, r = -0.789, p < 0.001; normalized f, r = -0.823, p < 0.001). However, serum sCD40L level had no significant correlation with D*, normalized D*, D, or normalized D (All p > 0.05). Conclusion: The f value derived from IVIM imaging was negatively correlated with serum sCD40L level. f value might serve as a potential imaging biomarker to assess the formation of microvascular thrombosis in hyperacute period of ischemic stroke.