The Physiological Occlusion of the Central Canal May Be a Prerequisite for Syringomyelia Formation

Chuan Jiang,Xinyu Wang,Chunli Lu,Qian Li,Longbing Ma,Wei Li,Shengyu Cui,Kang Li,Xiang Wang,Yuxin Feng,Fengzeng Jian 대한척추신경외과학회 2023 Neurospine Vol.20 No.4

Objective: Syringomyelia is a common central nervous system disease characterized by the dilation of the central canal (CC). Regarding the pathogenesis of syringomyelia, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation obstruction in the subarachnoid space (SAS) of the spinal cord has been widely accepted. However, clinical and animal studies on obstructing the CSF in SAS failed to form syringomyelia, challenging the theory of SAS obstruction. The precise pathogenesis remains unknown. Methods: We utilized an extradural compression rat model to investigate the pathogenesis underlying syringomyelia. Magnetic resonance imaging enabled detection of syringomyelia formation. To assess CSF flow within the SAS, Evans blue was infused into the cisterna magna. Histological analysis allowed morphological examination of the CC. Furthermore, CSF flow through the CC was traced using Ovalbumin Alexa-Flour 647 conjugate (OAF-647). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) enabled visualization of ependymal cilia. Results: The findings showed that the dura mater below the compression segment exhibited lighter coloration relative to the region above the compression, indicative of partial obstruction within the SAS. However, the degree of SAS occlusion did not significantly differ between syringomyelia (SM-Y group) and those without (SM-N group). Intriguingly, hematoxylin and eosin staining and CSF tracing revealed occlusion of the CC accompanied by reduced CSF flow in the SM-Y group compared to SM-N and control groups. SEM images uncovered impairment of ependymal cilia inside the syringomyelia. Conclusion: CC occlusion may represent a physiological prerequisite for syringomyelia formation, while SAS obstruction serves to initiate disease onset. The impairment of ependymal cilia appears to facilitate progression of syringomyelia.

Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes 4 is a Predictor of Survival and a Novel Therapeutic Target in Colorectal Cancer

Feng, Xiao-Dong,Song, Qi,Li, Chuan-Wei,Chen, Jian,Tang, Hua-Mei,Peng, Zhi-Hai,Wang, Xue-Chun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.21

Background: Structural maintenance of chromosomes 4 (SMC-4) is a chromosomal ATPase which plays an important role in regulate chromosome assembly and segregation. However, the role of SMC-4 in the incidence of malignancies, especially colorectal cancer is still poorly understood. Materials and Methods: We here used quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis to examine SMC-4 mRNA and protein levels in primary colorectal cancer and paired normal colonic mucosa. SMC-4 clinicopathological significance was assessed by immunohistochemical staining in a tissue microarray (TMA) in which 118 cases of primary colorectal cancer were paired with noncancerous tissue. The biological function of SMC-4 knockdown was measured by CCK8 and plate colony formation assays. Fluorescence detection has been used to detect cell cycling and apoptosis. Results: SMC-4 expression was significantly higher in colorectal cancer and associated with T stage, N stage, AJCC stage and differentiation. Knockdown of SMC-4 expression significantly suppressed the proliferation of cancer cells and degraded its malignant degree. Conclusions: Our clinical and experimental data suggest that SMC-4 may contribute to the progression of colorectal carcinogenesis. Our study provides a new therapeutic target for colorectal cancer treatment.

Study on mechanical behaviors of large diameter shield tunnel during assembling

Feng, Kun,Peng, Zuzhao,Wang, Chuang,He, Chuan,Wang, Qianshen,Wang, Wei,Cao, Songyu,Wang, Shimin,Zhang, Haihua Techno-Press 2018 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.21 No.5

In order to study the mechanical behavior of shield tunnel segments during assembly stage, the in-situ tests and FDM numerical simulation were conducted based on the Foguan Shiziyang Tunnel with large cross-section. Analysis for the load state of the assembling segments in different assembly steps as well as the investigation for the changing of inner forces and longitudinal stress of segments with assembling steps were carried out in this paper. By comparing the tested results with the simulated results, the conclusions and suggestions could be drawn as follows: (1) It is the most significant for the effects on axial force and bending moment caused by the assembly of adjacent segment, followed by the insertion of key segment while the effects in the other assembly steps are relative smaller. With the increasing value of axial force, the negative bending moment turns into positive and remains increasing in most monitored sections, while the bending moment of segment B1and B6 are negative and keeping increasing; (2) The closer the monitored section to the adjacent segments or the key segment, the more significant the internal forces response, and the monitored effects of key segment insertion are more obvious than that of calculation; (3) The axial forces are all in compression during assembling and the monitored values are about 1.5~1.75 times larger than the calculated values, and the monitored values of bending moment are about 2 times the numerical calculation. The bending moment is more sensitive to the segments assembly process compared with axial force, and it will result in the large bending moment of segments during assembling when the construction parameters are not suitable or the assembly error is too large. However, the internal forces in assembly stage are less than those in normal service stage; (4) The distribution of longitudinal stress has strong influence on the changing of the internal forces. The segment side surface and intrados in the middle of two adjacent jacks are the crack-sensitive positions in the early assembly stage, and subsequently segment corners far away from the jacks become the crack-sensitive parts either.

Impact of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Elderly Breast Patients in Taiwan, A Hospital-Based Study

Lee, Hsiu Chuan,Chen, Wei Yu,Huang, Wen Tsung,Cheng, Kuo Chen,Tian, Yu Feng,Ho, Chung Han,Tsao, Chao Jung,Feng, Yin Hsun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.10

Purpose: Decisions as to whether to provide adjuvant treatment in older breast cancer patients remains challenging. Side effects of chemotherapy have to be weighed against life expectancy, comorbidities, functional status, and frailty. To aid decision-making, we retrospectively analyzed 110 women with breast cancer treated with a curative intention from 2006 to 2012. Survival data with clinical and pathological parameters were evaluated to address the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in this study population. Method: A total of 110 elderly (>70 years) patients that received mastectomy at two hospitals in Taiwan were observed retrospectively for a medium of 51 months. After mastectomy, patients received conservative treatment or adjuvant chemotherapy, or hormone therapy following clinical guidelines or physician's preference. Data were collected from the cancer registry system. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 75.7 years. Thirty-five percent of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, these having a significantly younger age ($mean=74.0{\pm}5.3$ vs $77.5{\pm}5.3$, p<0.001) and higher tumor staging (p=0.003) compared with their non-chemotherapy counterparts.Five-year overall survival was non-significantly higher in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy (with chemotherapy 64.2% vs without chemotherapy 62.6%, p=0.635), while five-year recurrence free survival was non-significantly lower (with chemotherapy 64.1% vs without chemotherapy 90.5%, p=0.80). Conclusions: In this analysis, adjuvant chemotherapy tended to be given to patients with a younger age and higher tumor staging at our institute. It was not associated with any statistically significant improvement in survival and recurrence rate. Until age specific recommendations are available, physicians must use their clinical judgment and assess the tumor biology with the patient's comorbidities to make the best choice. Clinical trials focusing on this critical issue are warranted.

Effective adsorption of phenols using nitrogen-containing porous activated carbon prepared from sunflower plates

Zhengguo Zhang,Xiaoqin Feng,Xiao-Xia Yue,Fu-Qiang An,Wen-Xia Zhou,Jian-Feng Gao,Tuo-Ping Hu,Chin-Chuan Wei 한국화학공학회 2015 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.32 No.8

Nitrogen-containing porous carbons, the 800SP-NH3, were synthesized using sunflower plates as the major carbon source carbonized at 800 oC and activated with concentrated aqueous ammonia at the same temperature. The porous carbons were characterized by nitrogen physical adsorption-desorption, surface area analyzer, FT-IR, and SEM. The adsorption properties of the porous carbons towards phenols were also investigated by batch methods. The test results show that the average pore diameter of porous carbon is smaller than 2 nm, and nitrogen-containing chemical groups are formed on its surface. The adsorption capacity for phenol, 4-chlorophenol, and p-nitrophenol is 316.5mg/g, 330.24mg/g and 387.62mg/g due to its developed pore structure and nitrogen-containing chemical groups. The adsorption isotherm data greatly obey the Langmuir model.

Proton Pump Inhibitor-unresponsive Laryngeal Symptoms Are Associated With Psychological Comorbidities and Sleep Disturbance: A Manometry and Impedance-pH Monitoring Study

Wen-Hsuan Tseng,Wei-Chung Hsu,Tsung-Lin Yang,Tzu-Yu Hsiao,Jia-Feng Wu,Hui-Chuan Lee,Hsiu-Po Wang,Ming-Shiang Wu,Ming-Shiang Wu,Ping-Huei Tseng 대한소화기 기능성질환∙운동학회 2023 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.29 No.3

Background/AimsLaryngeal symptoms are largely treated with empiric proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy if no apparent pathology shown on ear, nose, and throat evaluation and reflux-related etiologies are suspected. However, treatment response remains unsatisfactory. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and physiological characteristics of patients with PPI-refractory laryngeal symptoms. MethodsPatients with persistent laryngeal symptoms despite PPI treatment for ≥ 8 weeks were recruited. A multidisciplinary evaluation comprising validated questionnaires for laryngeal symptoms (reflux symptom index [RSI]), gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms, psychological comorbidity (5-item brief symptom rating scale [BSRS-5]) and sleep disturbance (Pittsburgh sleep quality index [PSQI]), esophagogastroduodenoscopy, ambulatory impedance-pH monitoring, and high-resolution impedance manometry were performed. Healthy asymptomatic individuals were also recruited for comparison of psychological morbidity and sleep disturbances. ResultsNinety-seven adult patients and 48 healthy volunteers were analyzed. The patients had markedly higher prevalence of psychological distress (52.6% vs 2.1%, P < 0.001) and sleep disturbance (82.5% vs 37.5%, P < 0.001) than the healthy volunteers. There were significant correlations between RSI and BSRS-5 scores, and between RSI and PSQI scores (r = 0.26, P = 0.010, and r = 0.29, P = 0.004, respectively). Fifty-eight patients had concurrent gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms. They had more prominent sleep disturbances (89.7% vs 71.8%, P < 0.001) than those with laryngeal symptoms alone but similar reflux profiles and esophageal motility. ConclusionsPPI-refractory laryngeal symptoms are mostly associated with psychological comorbidities and sleep disturbances. Recognition of these psychosocial comorbidities may help optimize management in these patients.

Study of topology in pure Bi by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of Bi thin films on Ge substrate

Suguru ITO,Bao-Jie FENG,Masashi ARITA,Akari TAKAYAMA,Takashi SOMEYA,Wei-Chuan CHEN,Cheng-Maw CHENG,Chung-Huang LIN,Susumu YAMAMOTO,Takushi IIMORI,Hirofumi NAMATAME,Masaki TANIGUCHI,Shu-Jung TANG,Fumio 한국진공학회 2016 한국진공학회 학술발표회초록집 Vol.2016 No.8

The accuracy and clinical applicability of a sensor based electromagnetic nonfluoroscopic catheter tracking system

Shinya Yamada,Li-Wei Lo,Yenn-Jiang Lin,Shih-Lin Chang,Fa-Po Chung,Yu-Feng Hu,Ta-Chuan Tuan,Tze-Fan Chao,Jo-Nan Liao,Chin-Yu Lin,Shih-Ann Chen 대한심장학회 2019 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.49 No.1

Background and Objectives: The differences between electromagnetic-based mapping (EM) and impedance-based mapping (IM) in 3D anatomical reconstruction have not been fully clarified. We aimed to investigate the anatomical accuracy between EM (MediGuide™) and IM (EnSite Velocity™) systems. Methods: We investigated 15 consecutive patients (10 males, mean age 58±9 years) who underwent pulmonary veins (PVs) isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) image of the left atrium (LA) was acquired before ablation and the 3D geometry of the LA was constructed using EM during ablation procedure. We measured the 4 PV angles between the main trunk of each PV and the posterior LA after field scaling. Additionally, the posterior LA surface area was measured. The variables were compared to those of CT-based geometry. A control group of 40 patients who underwent conventional PVs isolation using IM were also evaluated. Results: The actual and relative changes of EM and CT-based geometry in all PV angles and posterior LA were significantly smaller compared to those of IM and CT-based geometry. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between EM and CT-based geometry were 0.871 (right superior pulmonary vein [RSPV]), 0.887 (right inferior pulmonary vein [RIPV]), 0.853 (left superior pulmonary vein [LSPV]), 0.911 (left inferior pulmonary vein [LIPV]), and 0.833 (posterior LA). On the other hand, ICC between IM and CT-based geometry were 0.548 (RSPV), 0.639 (RIPV), 0.691 (LSPV), 0.706 (LIPV), and 0.568 (posterior LA). Conclusions: Image integration with EM enables high accurate visualization of cardiac anatomy compared to IM in PAF ablation.

Optical Characters Measurement and Simulation of 2D Cross Grating Microstructures of Butterfly Wings

Wang Zhang,Di Zhang,Wei-Xin Chen,Jia-Jun Gu,Qin-Lei Liu,Shen-Ming Zhu,Hui-Lan Su,Chuan-Liang Feng,문원진 한국정밀공학회 2012 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

In this paper, the reflectance of the butterfly wings are measured by using the microspectrophotometer as the optical character with the reflectance on several scales on the wings. Reflectance spectra from different wing scale zones with the same color are dramatically different. And it suggests that the tiny structural difference has the great influence on the reflectance property. In addition, the microstructures of the butterfly wings can be simplified to a 2D crossing grating. By simulating a two-dimensional model using rigorous coupled-wave analysis technique, the optical properties of the butterfly wings were investigated. The simulation results depend strongly on the structural parameters and refractive index. The research will reveal the mechanisms of the structural color of 2D crossing grating butterfly wings.

Fabrication of graphene‑assisted voltammetry platform for the detection of nitrate ions in PM2.5

Huadong Li,Yang Zhang,Kaiwen Feng,Chuan Wei 한국탄소학회 2023 Carbon Letters Vol.33 No.7

This study presents the fabrication and application of a graphene-assisted voltammetry platform for the sensitive detection of nitrate ions in PM2.5 (atmospheric aerosols with a maximum diameter of 2.5 μm). The MoS2/ reduced graphene oxide/ glassy carbon electrode ( MoS2/rGO/GCE) was prepared using a simple and efficient electrochemical deposition method. The rationale behind selecting MoS2/ rGO stems from their individual properties that, when combined, can enhance the electrode’s performance. MoS2 offers excellent electro-catalytic activity and selectivity for nitrate ion detection, while rGO provides high conductivity and a large surface area for enhanced sensitivity. The electrochemical performance of MoS2/ rGO/GCE was investigated and compared with MoS2/ GCE and bare GCE using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that MoS2/ rGO/GCE exhibited enhanced electro-catalytic activity, high conductivity, and improved selectivity for nitrate ion detection. The optimal pH value for detecting nitrate ions was determined to be 8.0. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was employed to investigate the linear range and detection limit of nitrate ions on MoS2/ rGO/GCE, resulting in a linear range from 1 to 300 μM and a detection limit of 0.35 μM. The reproducibility and the stability of MoS2/ rGO/GCE were assessed, showing satisfactory performance. Real sample analysis from Chengdu City showed a strong correlation between the results obtained using MoS2/ rGO/GCE and ion chromatography, highlighting its potential application in monitoring nitrate ions in PM2.5. The findings of this study contribute to the development of a graphene-assisted voltammetry platform for sensitive nitrate ion detection in PM2.5, offering potential benefits for real-time air pollution monitoring and environmental health assessments.