An Improved Method for Rapid Preparation of Oligodendrocytespecific Rabbit Polyclonal Antibody

Tao Wang,Wei Wang,Lintao Jia,Xin Bu,Fang Wang,Libo Yao,Bin Zhang 한국생물공학회 2011 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.16 No.3

Antibodies are important tools in the study of protein function and diagnostic tests. However, traditional antiserum preparation requires a time-consuming immunization protocol and subsequent purification of polyclonal antibodies. In this study, a rapid and efficient method for polyclonal antibody preparation has been developed. Juxtanodin (JN) and silent information regulator-2 (Sirt2),both of which are oligodendrocyte-specific proteins, were used for antibody preparation. The N-terminal 170 amino acids of JN (JN170) and amino acids 231-351 of Sirt2 (Sirt2-121) were expressed as GST-tagged proteins from a pET-41a(+) vector in E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) cells. The fusion proteins were purified and used to immunize rabbits following both a traditional protocol, in which antigen was presented biweekly, and a modified rapid protocol, in which the immunization on day 1 was boosted on days 5and 28. ELISA, Western blot analysis and immunofluorescent staining showed that antibodies produced via the rapid protocol could recognize these two oligodendrocytespecific proteins in vitro and in the rat central nervous system (CNS), respectively, similar to those produced with the traditional protocol. Thus, our study provides a novel rapid method to prepare high specificity antibodies via a modified immunization protocol and subsequent antibody purification.

Extraskeletal Ewing Sarcomas in Late Adolescence and Adults: A Study of 37 Patients

Tao, Hai-Tao,Hu, Yi,Wang, Jin-Liang,Cheng, Yao,Zhang, Xin,Wang, Huan,Zhang, Su-Jie Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.5

Background: Extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma (EES)/primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNET) are rare soft tissue sarcomas. Prognostic factors and optimal therapy are still unconfirmed. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis on patients to explore the clinic characteristics and prognostic factors of this rare disease. A total of 37 patients older than 15 years referred to our institute from Jan., 2002 to Jan., 2012 were reviewed. The characteristics, treatment and outcome were collected and analyzed. Results: The median age was 28 years (range 15-65); the median size of primary tumours was 8.2 cm (range 2-19). Sixteen patients (43%) had metastatic disease at the initial presentation. Wide surgical margins were achieved in 14 cases (38%). Anthracycline or platinum-based chemotherapy was performed on 29 patients (74%). Radiotherapy was delivered in 13 (35%). At a median follow-up visit of 24 months (range 2-81), the media event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 15.8 and 30.2 months, respectively. The 3-year EFS and OS rates were 24% and 43%, respectively. Metastases at presentation and wide surgical margins were significantly associated with OS and EFS. Tumour size was significantly associated with OS but not EFS. There were no significant differences between anthracycline and platinum based chemotherapy regarding EFS and OS. Conclusions: EES/PNET is a malignant tumour with high recurrence and frequent distant metastasis. Multimodality therapy featuring wide surgical margins, aggressive chemotherapy and adjuvant local radiotherapy is necessary for this rare disease. Platinum-based chemotherapy can be used as an adjuvant therapy.

Development and Validation of Nomograms to Provide Individualized Predictions of Sur-vival Benefits from Surgery in Patients with Intermediate/Advanced Hepatocel-lular Carcinoma

( Wen-tao Yan ),( Jia-he Wang ),( Ming-da Wang ),( Zheng Wang ),( Bing Quan ),( Ya-hao Zhou ),( Wei-min Gu ),( Hong Wang ),( Ting-hao Chen ),( Tian Yang ) 대한간학회 2018 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2018 No.1

Aims: According to the BCLC treatment guidelines, surgery does not be recommended for intermediate/advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In real world, however, liver resections are often performed in patients with intermediate/ advanced but resectable HCC, especially in the East. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated multicentric data of 1,325 patients newly diagnosed with intermediate/advanced HCC who underwent curative resection. We randomly divided the subjects into development (n = 875) and validation (n = 450) samples. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were developed and separately validated on the basis of patients’ clinicopathological variables assessed for associations with 1-year recurrence and 3-year mortality. The discriminatory accuracy of these models was compared with conventional tools by analyzing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: He statistical nomograms built based on performance status, Child-Pugh grade, portal hypertension, preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level, tumor rupture, largest tumor diameter, tumor number, macrovascular and microvascular invasion, and satellites had good calibration and discriminatory abilities, with c-indices of 0.70 (1-year recurrence) and 0.68 (3-year survival), respectively. These models showed satisfactory goodness-of-fit and discrimination abilities in the validation cohort (c-index, 0.68 for 1-year recurrence and 0.69 for 3-year survival). The areas under the ROC curve using these nomograms exceeded those of traditional staging systems, indicating superior discriminatory capability (c-indices, 0.60-0.63 and 0.56-0.62, respectively). Conclusions: Our proposed online nomograms, which present graphically postoperative prognostic models for recurrence and survival in patients with intermediate/advanced but resectable HCC, offer valuable guidance to surgeons and hepatologists for individually predicting survival benefits from surgery and planning recurrence surveillance and adjuvant therapy.

Position Sensorless Control of BLDC Motors Based on Global Fast Terminal Sliding Mode Observer

Wang, Xiaoyuan,Fu, Tao,Wang, Xiaoguang The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2015 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.15 No.6

The brushless DC motor (BLDCM) has many advantages. As a result, it is widely used in electric vehicle (EV) drive systems. To improve the reliability of the motor control system, a position sensorless control strategy based on a sliding mode observer (SMO) is proposed. The global fast terminal sliding mode observer (GFTSMO) is proposed to enhance the control performance of the SMO control system. The advantages of the linear sliding mode and the nonsingular terminal sliding mode (NTSM) are combined in the control strategy. The convergence speed of the system state is enhanced. The motor commutation point is obtained with the observation of the back EMF, and the instantaneous torque value of the motor is calculated. Therefore, the position sensorless control of the BLDCM is realized. Experimental results show that the proposed control strategy can improve the convergence speed, dynamic characteristics and robustness of the system.

Understanding the Determinants of Behavioral Intentions towards Adoption of Web 2.0 Tools in Workplaces : An Empirical Study

Wang, Tao,Jung, Chul-Ho,Chung, Young-Soo Korea Data Strategy Society 2011 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.18 No.3

More and more employees are implementing the use of emerging Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, social networks, etc in workplaces. However, their attitudes towards adoption of Web 2.0 tools in workplaces still lack theoretical support. The purpose of this study aims to provide a conceptual examination of the determinants that influence the intention to use Web 2.0 applications in workplaces in Korea. To achieve this objective, this study selected the theory of reasoned action (TRA) as a theoretical basis to explain variation in behavioral intentions. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze data collected from 269 workers distributed in 5 companies in Korea. In addition, we classified respondents into extroverts and introverts and delineated the different factors for these two types of respondents that affect their intentions to use Web 2.0 tools in workplaces. The findings of this research could provide a theoretical foundation for academics on the validation of technology adoption. This research will also serve as a guideline for service providers in designing the Web 2.0 services.

Path following of a surface ship sailing in restricted waters under wind effect using robust H_∞ guaranteed cost control

Wang, Jian-qin,Zou, Zao-jian,Wang, Tao The Society of Naval Architects of Korea 2019 International Journal of Naval Architecture and Oc Vol.11 No.1

The path following problem of a ship sailing in restricted waters under wind effect is investigated based on Robust $H_{\infty}$ Guaranteed Cost Control (RHGCC). To design the controller, the ship maneuvering motion is modeled as a linear uncertain system with norm-bounded time-varying parametric uncertainty. To counteract the bank and wind effects, the integral of path error is augmented to the original system. Based on the extended linear uncertain system, sufficient conditions for existence of the RHGCC are given. To obtain an optimal robust $H_{\infty}$ guaranteed cost control law, a convex optimization problem with Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) constraints is formulated, which minimizes the guaranteed cost of the close-loop system and mitigates the effect of external disturbance on the performance output. Numerical simulations have confirmed the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control strategy for the path following goal of a ship sailing in restricted waters under wind effect.

Experimental study on U-shape flat thermosyphon for thermal management of power battery

Tao Wang,Sicong Tan,Cong Guo,Hongchao Su,Chaohong Guo,Yuyan Jiang 대한기계학회 2021 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.35 No.9

The paper presents a new type of U-shape flat thermosyphon. The thermosyphon has several unique properties relative to general heat pipe such as compact and simple structure (no wick structure), easily to filling the coolant and flexible plate structure and so on. These properties make it an ideal heat transfer device for battery pack thermal management. In this paper, we experimentally study the thermal management performance of the U-shape flat thermosyphon for a battery module. The temperature of the battery module can be controlled below 50 °C under 1.5 C charge rate (300 W), and below 37 °C under 1 C charge rate (120 W), and the corresponding maximum temperature difference is 3 °C and 7 °C, respectively. And higher power generation is helpful to start-up the U-shape flat thermosyphonand maintain a small temperature difference between different battery cells. The performance of the U-shape flat thermosyphonis evaluated using a thermal resistance network model, which showed that there is uneven distribution of heat transfer in the two side of the heat pipe.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Clinical Outcomes and Toxicity of Lobaplatin- Versus Cisplatin-Based Concurrent Chemotherapy Plus Radiotherapy and High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy for FIGO Stage II and III Cervical Cancer

Wang, Ji-Quan,Wang, Tao,Shi, Fan,Yang, Yun-Yi,Su, Jin,Chai, Yan-Lan,Liu, Zi Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.14

Background: We designed this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess whether lobaplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy might be superior to cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer in terms of efficacy and safety. Materials and Methods: This prospective, open-label RCT aims to enroll 180 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer, randomly allocated to one of the three treatment groups (cisplatin $15mg/m^2$, cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$), with 60 patients in each group. All patients will receive external beam irradiation (EBRT) and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT). Patients in cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ and $20mg/m^2$ groups will be administered four cycles of $15mg/m^2$ or $20mg/m^2$ cisplatin intravenously once weekly from the second week to the fifth week during EBRT, while patients inthe lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group will be administered two cycles of $35mg/m^2$ lobaplatin intravenously in the second and fifth week respectively during pelvic EBRT. All participants will be followed up for at least 12 months. Complete remission rate and progression-free survival (PFS) will be the primary endpoints. Overall survival (OS), incidence of adverse events (AEs), and quality of life will be the secondary endpoints. Results: Between March 2013 and March 2014, a total of 61 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer were randomly assigned to cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ group (n=21), cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ group (n=21) and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group (n=19). We conducted a preliminary analysis of the results. Similar rates of complete remission and grades 3-4 gastrointestinal reactions were observed for the three treatment groups (P=0.801 and 0.793, respectively). Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity was more frequent in the lobaplatin group than the cisplatin group. Conclusions: This proposed study will be the first RCT to evaluate whether lobaplatin-based chemoraiotherapy will have beneficial effects, compared with cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, on complete remission rate, PFS, OS, AEs and quality of life for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer.

Cell Type-Specific and Inducible PTEN Gene Silencing by a Tetracycline Transcriptional Activator-Regulated Short Hairpin RNA

Wang, Shan,Wang, Ting,Wang, Tao,Jia, Lintao Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2015 Molecules and cells Vol.38 No.11

Inducible and reversible gene silencing in desired types of cells is instrumental for deciphering gene functions using cultured cells or in vivo models. However, efficient conditional gene knockdown systems remain to be established. Here, we report the generation of an inducible expression system for short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeted to PTEN, a well-documented dual-specificity phosphatase involved in tumor suppression and ontogenesis. Upon induction by doxycycline (DOX), the reverse tetracycline transcriptional activator (rtTA) switched on the concomitant expression of GFP and a miR-30 precursor, the subsequent processing of which released the embedded PTEN-targeted shRNA. The efficacy and reversibility of PTEN knockdown by this construct was validated in normal and neoplastic cells, in which PTEN deficiency resulted in accelerated cell proliferation, suppressed apoptosis, and increased invasiveness. Transgenic mice harboring the conditional shRNA-expression cassette were obtained; GFP expression and concurrent PTEN silencing were observed upon ectopic expression of rtTA and induction with Dox. Therefore, this study provides novel tools for the precise dissection of PTEN functions and the generation of PTEN loss of function models in specific subsets of cells during carcinogenesis and ontogenesis.

A technique for capturing structural crack geometry in numerical simulation based on the invariant level set method

Tao Wang,Shangtao Hu,Menggang Yang,Shujun Fang 국제구조공학회 2023 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.87 No.3

Engineering structures usually suffer from cracks. The crack geometry has an influence on the structural mechanical properties and subsequent crack propagations. However, as an extensively utilized method in fracture analysis, the extended finite element method provided by Abaqus fails to output the specific location and dimensions of fractures. In this study, a technique to capture the crack geometry is proposed. The technique is based on the invariant level set method (I-LSM), which can avoid updating the level set function during crack development. The solution is achieved by an open-source plug-in programmed by Python. Three examples were performed to verify the effectiveness and robustness of the program. The result shows that the developed program can accurately output the crack geometry in both the 2D and 3D models. The open-source plug-in codes are included as supplementary material.