Salivary Pepsin as an Intrinsic Marker for Diagnosis of Sub-types of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease-related Disorders

( Yan-jun Wang ),( Xiu-qiong Lang ),( Dan Wu ),( Yu-qin He ),( Chun-hui Lan ),( Xiao-xiao ),( Bin Wang ),( Duo-wu Zou ),( Ji-min Wu ),( Yong-bin Zhao ),( Peter W Dettmar ),( Dong-feng Chen ),( Min Yan 대한소화기 기능성질환·운동학회 2020 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.26 No.1

Background/Aims To determine the value of salivary pepsin in discriminating sub-types of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and GERD-related disorders. Methods Overall, 322 patients with different sub-types of GERD and 45 healthy controls (HC) were studied. All patients took Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (GerdQ) and underwent endoscopy and 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring and manometry. Salivary pepsin concentration (SPC) was detected by using colloidal gold double-antibody immunological sandwich assay. Oral esomeprazole treatment was administrated in the patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and extra-esophageal symptoms (EES). Results Compared to HC, patients with erosive esophagitis, NERD, EES, EES plus typical GERD symptoms, or Barrett’s esophagus had a higher prevalence of saliva and SPC (all P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the positive rate for pepsin in patients with functional heartburn or GERD with anxiety and depression, compared to HC. After esomeprazole treatment, the positive rate and SPC were significantly reduced in NERD (both P < 0.001) and in EES (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Of the 64 NERD patients, 71.9% (n = 46) were positive for salivary pepsin, which was significantly higher than the rate (43.8%, n = 28) of pathological acid reflux as detected by 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring (P = 0.002). Conclusions Salivary pepsin has an important significance for the diagnosis of GERD and GERD-related disorders. Salivary pepsin and 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring may complement with each other to improve the diagnostic efficiency.

Learning Multiple-Gait Quadrupedal Locomotion via Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning

Lang Wei,Yunxiang Li,Yunfei Ai,Yuze Wu,Hao Xu,Wei Wang,Guoming Hu 한국정밀공학회 2023 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.24 No.9

Over long periods of evolution, legged animals have developed the capability to use a variety of gaits to move efficiently and flexibly at different speeds. To enable quadruped robots to acquire this ability, this study proposes a two-stage training hierarchical framework that can have quadruped robots generate energy-efficient multiple-gait locomotion, consisting of a gait selection policy module and a react controller module. The parameters of both modules are optimized using reinforcement learning. The experimental results in the simulation demonstrate that the proposed method can generate energy-efficient multiple-gait quadrupedal locomotion compared to previous methods. To validate the robustness and effectiveness of the method, we constructed a closed-chain quadruped robot and deployed the controller trained by the method to the robot. The experimental results in the real world suggest that the controller can enable the robot to move stably and efficiently in different gaits. The main contribution of this paper is that the authors propose a novel hierarchical framework, which makes quadruped robots use an optimal gait at a specific speed and smoothly switch to another one after getting a different speed command. These behaviors are automatically produced through simulation training, eliminating the need for the tedious work of designing gaits and modulating controllers. Experimental results showcase that the proposed method has significant advantages compared to previous methods.

Pemetrexed Induces G1 Phase Arrest and Apoptosis through Inhibiting Akt Activation in Human Non Small Lung Cancer Cell Line A549

Wu, Dong-Ming,Zhang, Peng,Xu, Guang-Chao,Tong, Ai-Ping,Zhou, Cong,Lang, Jin-Yi,Wang, Chun-Ting Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.4

Pemetrexed is an antifolate agent which has been used for treating malignant pleural mesothelioma and non small lung cancer in the clinic as a chemotherapeutic agent. In this study, pemetrexed inhibited cell growth and induced G1 phase arrest in the A549 cell line. To explore the molecular mechanisms of pemetrexed involved in cell growth, we used a two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) proteomics approach to analyze proteins changed in A549 cells treated with pemetrexed. As a result, twenty differentially expressed proteins were identified by ESI-Q-TOF MS/MS analysis in A549 cells incubated with pemetrexed compared with non-treated A549 cells. Three key proteins (GAPDH, HSPB1 and EIF4E) changed in pemetrexed treated A549 cells were validated by Western blotting. Accumulation of GAPDH and decrease of HSPB1 and EIF4E which induce apoptosis through inhibiting phosphorylation of Akt were noted. Expression of p-Akt in A549 cells treated with pemetrexed was reduced. Thus, pemetrexed induced apoptosis in A549 cells through inhibiting the Akt pathway.

A New Method of Gelatin Modified Collagen and Viscoelastic Study of Gelatin-Collagen Composite Hydrogel

Lang He,Sheng Li,Chengzhi Xu,Benmei Wei,Juntao Zhang,Yuling Xu,Beirong Zhu,Yang Cao,Xilin Wu,Zhijin Xiong,Rongrui Huang,Jian Yang,Haibo Wang 한국고분자학회 2020 Macromolecular Research Vol.28 No.9

Pure collagen materials are expensive with poor mechanical properties, which need modifications in most cases. As the degradation product of collagen, gelatin is cheap, degradable and biocompatible, but few literatures have reported the research about gelatin-collagen composite materials. This is because gelatin and collagen have different soluble temperatures—gelatin is soluble in hot water (≥30 oC) and swells in cold water. However, a low temperature (2-10 oC) is required to prepare and store collagen solution, and neutral collagen solution denatures quickly above the room temperature. In this study, gelatin was ground into powders and swelled in neutral bovine tendon pepsin-soluble collagen solution (BPSC) to form a homogeneous gelatin-collagen mixture, in light of the swelling characteristics of gelatin in cold water. The assembly properties and gel properties of this composite material were further studied. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) test results showed that the bovine tendon collagen had typical type-I collagen structural characterizations with two α chains of about 100 kDa and one β chain of about 200 kDa; while the SDS-PAGE pattern of gelatin displayed bands continuously distributed from 30 to 200 kDa. Amino acid composition analysis test indicated that the content of polar amino acids and the sum of acidic and base amino acids for gelatin were higher than that of BPSC. Studies on gel properties demonstrated that gelatin-collagen mixed solution had collagenlike assembly characteristics and assembly kinetics. The moduli of the assembled gel at 35 oC were equivalent to that of pure bovine tendon collagen system; moreover, the system moduli didn’t change with time with elastic moduli (G') of about 40 Pa. However, at 25 oC, the moduli of gelatin-collagen composite hydrogel increased with the extension of time, its G' increased about 18 times within 8 h, and the ratio of elastic modulus to viscous modulus (G'') increased 4.6 times, showing a significant aging effect of structural strength. Meanwhile, the mechanical strength of the composite hydrogel was also regulated by temperature—the gel was highly elastic (G'≈3,000 Pa, G'>>G'') at a low temperature (5 oC); as the temperature rose, the system moduli gradually decreased and the elastic gel transformed into waterlike fluid at 50 oC little by little. What’s more, gelatin-collagen composite hydrogel also had reversible sol-gel performances and self-healing capability similar to the gelatin hydrogel. This novel preparation method for preparing composite materials and the resultant composite hydrogel are expected to be used in the fields of natural food gels, injectable hydrogels, cell scaffolds, drug sustained-release materials and so on, and improve and promote the processing performances, price and large-scale production of collagen-based materials.

Convolutional Neural Network with Expert Knowledge for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Imagery Classification

( Chunming Wu ),( Meng Wang ),( Lang Gao ),( Weijing Song ),( Tian Tian ),( Kim-kwang Raymond Choo ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2019 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.13 No.8

The recent interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning has partly contributed to an interest in the use of such approaches for hyperspectral remote sensing (HRS) imagery classification, as evidenced by the increasing number of deep framework with deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) structures proposed in the literature. In these approaches, the assumption of obtaining high quality deep features by using CNN is not always easy and efficient because of the complex data distribution and the limited sample size. In this paper, conventional handcrafted learning-based multi features based on expert knowledge are introduced as the input of a special designed CNN to improve the pixel description and classification performance of HRS imagery. The introduction of these handcrafted features can reduce the complexity of the original HRS data and reduce the sample requirements by eliminating redundant information and improving the starting point of deep feature training. It also provides some concise and effective features that are not readily available from direct training with CNN. Evaluations using three public HRS datasets demonstrate the utility of our proposed method in HRS classification.

Purification and Characterization of Chitinase from a New Species Strain, Pseudomonas sp. TKU008

( San Lang Wang ),( Bo Shyun Lin ),( Tzu Wen Liang ),( Chuan Lu Wang ),( Pei Chen Wu ),( Je Ruei Liu ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2010 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.20 No.6

The efficacy and safety of high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of benign thyroid nodules

Brian H. Lang,Arnold L. H. Wu 대한초음파의학회 2018 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.37 No.2

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a promising form of thermal ablation of benign thyroid nodules, but evidence supporting its use is scarce. The present review evaluated the efficacy and safety of single-session HIFU treatment of benign thyroid nodules. As reported in the literature, the extent of nodule shrinkage following treatment ranged from 48.8% to 68.8%. Like other forms of ablation, the shrinkage rate was greatest in the first 3-6 months, and the best responders were patients with small (≤10 mL) nodules. Complications were uncommon, but temporary vocal cord palsy occurred in 3%-4% of patients, and was related to the distance between the HIFU beam and the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Despite being safe and efficacious, a larger-scale prospective trial is required.

Dehydrogenation of 9,10-Dialkyl-9,10-dihydroanthracene with 2,3-Dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone

전무진,Lim, Wu-Lang,Jun, Moo-Jin 대한화학회 1975 대한화학회지 Vol.19 No.6

A series of 9,10-dialkyl-9,10-dihydroanthracene has been dehydrogenated by 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) in good yields. The yield decreased with the larger alkyl groups in this 9,10-dialkyl-9,10-DHA series(DHA=dihydroanthracene). It is conceivable that trans-9,10-diisopropyl-9,10-DHA was dehydrogenated more rapidly than the cis-isomer, and, bassed on this observation, a concerted mechanism was ruled out and an ionic mechanism is proposed. 2,3-Dichoro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone을 이용하여 9,10-dialkyl-9,10-dihydroanthracene계열 화학물의 수소이탈 반응이 진행되었다. Alkyl기의 크기가 클 수록 수소이탈 반응의 수득률이 적어지며 트란스화합물이 시스화합물 보다 반응이 빨리 진행됨이 확인되었다ㅏ. 이들의 수소이탈 반응은 이온 메카니즘으로 설명되어진다.

Passivity, Global Stabilization and Disturbance Attenuation of Weakly Minimum-Phase Nonlinear Uncertain Systems with Applications to Mechatronic Systems

Ching-Chih Tsai,Hsiao-Lang Wu 제어로봇시스템학회 2008 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2008 No.10

Passivity and its applications to mechatronic systems have been widely investigated and continuously improved for many years. This paper presents methodologies for adaptive global stabilization and disturbance attenuation of a class of weekly minimum-phase nonlinear uncertain systems, which can be either of nonlinear affine or of relative degree 1. Adaptive passivity-based control (PBC) methods are developed to achieve adaptive stabilization and disturbance attenuation for the systems with some unknown but constant parameters. Sufficient conditions and state regulations are established for showing the closed-loop system to be globally stable. The merit and performance of the proposed methods are exemplified by conducting several simulations on a 2-linked manipulator. The developed techniques may be of interest to professionals working in the field of nonlinear passive control and its applications.

CircFam190a: a critical positive regulator of osteoclast differentiation via enhancement of the AKT1/HSP90β complex

Chen Kun,Chen Xi,Lang Chuandong,Yuan Xingshi,Huang Junming,Li Zhi,Xu Mingyou,Wu Kerong,Zhou Chenhe,Li Qidong,Zhu Chen,Liu Lianxin,Shang Xifu 생화학분자생물학회 2023 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.55 No.-

The identification of key regulatory factors that control osteoclastogenesis is important. Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are discrete functional entities. However, the complexities of circRNA expression as well as the extent of their regulatory functions during osteoclastogenesis have yet to be revealed. Here, based on circular RNA sequencing data, we identified a circular RNA, circFam190a, as a critical regulator of osteoclast differentiation and function. During osteoclastogenesis, circFam190a is significantly upregulated. In vitro, circFam190a enhanced osteoclast formation and function. In vivo, overexpression of circFam190a induced significant bone loss, while knockdown of circFam190a prevented pathological bone loss in an ovariectomized (OVX) mouse osteoporosis model. Mechanistically, our data suggest that circFam90a enhances the binding of AKT1 and HSP90β, promoting AKT1 stability. Altogether, our findings highlight the critical role of circFam190a as a positive regulator of osteoclastogenesis, and targeting circFam190a might be a promising therapeutic strategy for treating pathological bone loss.