Prediction Models for Solitary Pulmonary Nodules Based on Curvelet Textural Features and Clinical Parameters

Wang, Jing-Jing,Wu, Hai-Feng,Sun, Tao,Li, Xia,Wang, Wei,Tao, Li-Xin,Huo, Da,Lv, Ping-Xin,He, Wen,Guo, Xiu-Hua Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.10

Lung cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths, usually appears as solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) which are hard to diagnose using the naked eye. In this paper, curvelet-based textural features and clinical parameters are used with three prediction models [a multilevel model, a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method, and a support vector machine (SVM)] to improve the diagnosis of benign and malignant SPNs. Dimensionality reduction of the original curvelet-based textural features was achieved using principal component analysis. In addition, non-conditional logistical regression was used to find clinical predictors among demographic parameters and morphological features. The results showed that, combined with 11 clinical predictors, the accuracy rates using 12 principal components were higher than those using the original curvelet-based textural features. To evaluate the models, 10-fold cross validation and back substitution were applied. The results obtained, respectively, were 0.8549 and 0.9221 for the LASSO method, 0.9443 and 0.9831 for SVM, and 0.8722 and 0.9722 for the multilevel model. All in all, it was found that using curvelet-based textural features after dimensionality reduction and using clinical predictors, the highest accuracy rate was achieved with SVM. The method may be used as an auxiliary tool to differentiate between benign and malignant SPNs in CT images.

Effect of seasonal changes on fertility parameters of Holstein dairy cows in subtropical climate of Taiwan

Liu, Wen-Bor,Peh, Huo-Cheng,Wang, Chien-Kai,Mangwe, Mancoba Christopher,Chen, Chih-Feng,Chiang, Hsin-I Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2018 Animal Bioscience Vol.31 No.6

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the relationship between temperature-humidity index (THI), season, and conception rate (CR) of Holstein cows in central Taiwan. Methods: The mean performance and number of observations were statistically evaluated for various parameters, including age at first service, number of days open, gestation length, CR, and calving interval for different parities. Results: The results indicate that the mean age at first service was 493.2 days; the gestation length was similar across all cows of different parities, ranging from 275.1 to 280.7 days. The overall CR of all inseminations was significantly lower in multiparous cows ($47.26%{\pm}0.22%$) than in heifers ($57.14%{\pm}0.11%$) (p<0.05). At THI>72 and during the hot season (from June to November), CRs for multiparous cows were significantly reduced compared to that for heifers, while the ratio remained unchanged among heifers for all seasons. Conclusion: To achieve a high CR, lactating cows should be bred in winter and spring (from December to May) from the start of the seasonal breeding program, whereas the heifer should be allowed to breed in summer and fall under the subtropical climate in Taiwan.

Negative Impact of Adjacent Coordination on Direct Electrochemistry and Enzymatic Catalysis of Laccase Immobilization onto Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized by Perylene Derivative

Han Zeng,Wen Shan Huo,Fang Wang,Ting Mei Ma 한국고분자학회 2019 Macromolecular Research Vol.27 No.10

Influence of interactions between Laccase and carbon nano-tubes modified by perylene derivative on structural parameters and electrochemical behaviors of immobilized redox protein, was investigated systematically by the means of spectrometry, photography and electro-chemistry. Sophisticated interactions including abutting coordination could result in anomalistic agglomeration of nano-composite with Lac incorporation which displayed better hydrophobicity than free Laccase and high resistance of charge shuttle. It would retard the progress of thermal decomposition of nano-composite and would lead to the formation of composite without emission of fluorescence. Strong binding of Laccase with perylenyl derivative (binding constant: 7.5×104 L/mol) would alter the mechanism of electron transferring. T1 Cu2+ of Laccase in the status of complexation played the intra-molecular electron relay with mid-wave potential at -135.6 mV and demonstrated undesirable dynamics in electron transferring (7.7×10-2 s-1). The catalytic function in oxygen reduction was prohibited for the abutting coordination and only weak catalytic effect could be achieved in the presence of electron relay. The whole catalytic cycle was limited by the mass transferring of electron mediator.

Comparison and Analysis of Meteorological Variables Observed from the Glacier Area over the Tianshan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and China

Honglin Pan,Wen Huo,Kanike Raghavendra Kumar,Ali Mamtimin,Minzhong Wang,Junjian Liu,Chenglong Zhou,Fan Yang,Xinghua Yang 한국기상학회 2021 Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences Vol.57 No.2

Due to the special natural environment over the glacier area in the Tianshan Mountains, the observation of meteorological data became difficult and is strictly scarce. Using the available data observed from the automatic meteorological station (AMS) installed on theWestern Tianshan Mountain Station (WTMS) in Kyrgyzstan, the daily and seasonal variations of meteorological variables including air temperature (AT, °C), air pressure (AP, hPa), relative humidity (RH, %), and wind direction and speed (WD and WS, deg and m/s, respectively), as well as total radiation (TR, W/m2) were primarily analyzed during the period from September 2016 to May 2017. These are compared with the meteorological data obtained from the AMS in the Eastern Tianshan Mountain Station (Daxigou Station, hereafter named as ETMS) in China. Further, the comparison study between the observed data from the WTMS and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data was performed to test the feasibility of reanalysis data in the vicinity of the Western Tianshan Mountains. The results revealed are as follows: (1) the observed data between the WTMS and ETMS presented high correlations, and the meteorological parameters detected from the ETMS were certainly representative of the variations in theWTMS. (2) The RH in the two regions showed comparatively high values ranging from 40%to 70%indicate the abundant amount of atmospheric water vapor content near the ground in the Tianshan Mountain area. (3) The predominant WD both in the WTMS and ETMS near the ground was along the south-east direction, with the values of WS between 0 and 2 m/s were accounted the largest proportion in two stations. (4) The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data can reflect the changes in the synoptic weather scale of AT, RH, and AP to some extent. (5) The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of AT and RH were underestimated by 7.2% and 45.2% in the WTMS, respectively. Whereas, the values of AP, WD, and WS were overestimated by 83.8%, 28.8%, and 74.3%, respectively over the WTMS.

Heavy concrete shielding properties for carbon therapy

Jin-Long Wang,Jiade J Lu,Da-Jun Ding,Wen-Hua Jiang,Ya-Dong Li,Rui Qiu,Hui Zhang,Xiao-Zhong Wang,Huo-Sheng Ruan,Yan-Bing Teng,Xiao-Guang Wu,Yun Zheng,Zi-Hao Zhao,Kai-Zhong Liao,Huan-Cheng Mai,Xiao-Dong Korean Nuclear Society 2023 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.55 No.6

As medical facilities are usually built at urban areas, special concrete aggregates and evaluation methods are needed to optimize the design of concrete walls by balancing density, thickness, material composition, cost, and other factors. Carbon treatment rooms require a high radiation shielding requirement, as the neutron yield from carbon therapy is much higher than the neutron yield of protons. In this case study, the maximum carbon energy is 430 MeV/u and the maximum current is 0.27 nA from a hybrid particle therapy system. Hospital or facility construction should consider this requirement to design a special heavy concrete. In this work, magnetite is adopted as the major aggregate. Density is determined mainly by the major aggregate content of magnetite, and a heavy concrete test block was constructed for structural tests. The compressive strength is 35.7 MPa. The density ranges from 3.65 g/cm³ to 4.14 g/cm³, and the iron mass content ranges from 53.78% to 60.38% from the 12 cored sample measurements. It was found that there is a linear relationship between density and iron content, and mixing impurities should be the major reason leading to the nonuniform element and density distribution. The effect of this nonuniformity on radiation shielding properties for a carbon treatment room is investigated by three groups of Monte Carlo simulations. Higher density dominates to reduce shielding thickness. However, a higher content of high-Z elements will weaken the shielding strength, especially at a lower dose rate threshold and vice versa. The weakened side effect of a high iron content on the shielding property is obvious at 2.5 µSv=h. Therefore, we should not blindly pursue high Z content in engineering. If the thickness is constrained to 2 m, then the density can be reduced to 3.3 g/cm³, which will save cost by reducing the magnetite composition with 50.44% iron content. If a higher density of 3.9 g/cm³ with 57.65% iron content is selected for construction, then the thickness of the wall can be reduced to 174.2 cm, which will save space for equipment installation.

Triaxial Mechanical Characteristics and Microscopic Mechanism of Graphene-Modified Cement Stabilized Expansive Soil

Chen Zhang,Wei Wang,Zhi-Duo Zhu,Na Li,Shao-Yun Pu,Yu Wan,Wang-Wen Huo 대한토목학회 2022 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.26 No.1

To investigate the effect of graphene (G) on the triaxial mechanical characteristics of cement stabilized soil, a triaxial unconsolidated and undrained (UU) test was conducted on cement stabilized expansive soil (CES) and graphene-modified cement stabilized expansive soil (GCES) with 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%, and 0.2%G content, respectively. The experimental results showedthat compared with CES, the deviatoric stress-strain curve of GCES showed a more obvious softening characteristic. The addition of G had a good modification effect on the triaxial mechanical characteristics of CES, and with the increase of the content of G, the compressive strength and shear strength of CES increased first and then decreased, and reached the best value when the G content was 0.1%. The failure angle predicted by the Mohr-Coulomb failure angle formula had a good correlation with the measured failure angle of soil specimens, so it could provide help for the prediction of soil failure surface in practical engineering. Besides, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis indicated that the internal structure of CES was improved due to G addition.

FSCB phosphorylation in mouse spermatozoa capacitation

( Shun Li Liu ),( Bing Ni ),( Xiang Wei Wang ),( Wen Qian Huo ),( Jun Zhang ),( Zhi Qiang Tian ),( Ze Min Huang ),( Yi Tian ),( Jun Tang ),( Yan Hua Zheng ),( Feng Shuo Jin ),( Yan Feng Li ) 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2011 BMB Reports Vol.44 No.8

It is generally accepted that spermatozoa capacitation is associated with protein kinase A-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation. In our previous study, we identified the fibrous sheath CABYR binding protein (FSCB), which was phosphorylated by PKA. However, the phosphorylation status of FSCB protein during spermatozoa capacitation should be further investigated. To this aim, in this study, we found that phosphorylation of this 270-kDa protein occurred as early as 1 min after mouse spermatozoa capacitation, which increased over time and remained stable after 60 min. Immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that the tyrosine and Ser/Thr phosphorylation of FSCB occurred during spermatozoa capacitation. The extent of phosphorylation and was closely associated with the PKA activity and spermatozoa motility characteristics. FSCB phosphorylation could be induced by PKA agonist DB-cAMP, but was blocked by PKA antagonist H-89.Therefore, FSCB contributes to spermatozoa capacitation in a tyrosine-phosphorylated format, which may help in further elucidating the molecular mechanism of spermatozoa capacitation. [BMB reports 2011; 44(8): 541-546]

Liposomal honokiol, a potent anti-angiogenesis agent, in combination with radiotherapy produces a synergistic antitumor efficacy without increasing toxicity

Jia Hu,Li Liu,Xiang Chen,Ping Chen,Guang-li Yang,Wen-li Hou,Ming-hai Tang,Fan Zhang,Xian-huo Wang,Xia Zhao,Yu-quan Wei,Li-juan Chen 생화학분자생물학회 2008 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.40 No.6

Honokiol is an active compound purified from magnolia that has been shown to induce cell differentiation, apoptosis, and anti-angiogenesis effects, as well as an enhancement in tumor growth delay in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in several mouse xenograft models. Our goal was to investigate the radiosensitization effect of honokiol on lung carcinoma. The radiosensitization effect of liposomal honokiol in Lewis lung carcinoma cells (LL/2) was analyzed using an in vitro clonogenic survival assay. For an in vivo study, Lewis lung carcinoma-bearing C57BL/6 mice were treated with either liposomal honokiol at 25 mg/kg or 5 Gy of single tumor radiation, or a combination of both over 12 days of treatment. The tumor growth delay and the survival time were evaluated. In addition, histological analysis of tumor sections was performed to examine changes by detecting the microvessel density and apoptosis in tumor tissues. In the clonogenic survival assay, LL/2 cells treated with IC50 Lipo-HNK for 24 h showed a radiation enhancement ratio of 1.9. After 12 days of combination treatment, the tumor volume decreased 78% and produced an anti-tumor activity 1.3-fold greater than a predicted additive effect of honokiol and radiation alone. This combination treatment also caused an 8.7 day delay in tumor growth. The cell cycle distribution and histological analysis demonstrated that liposomal honokiol has an anti-tumor effect via inducing apoptosis and inhibiting angiogenesis. Liposomal honokiol can enhance tumor cell radiosensitivity in vitro and in vivo, indicating that radiotherapy combined with liposomal honokiol can lead to greater anti-tumor efficacy. Honokiol is an active compound purified from magnolia that has been shown to induce cell differentiation, apoptosis, and anti-angiogenesis effects, as well as an enhancement in tumor growth delay in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in several mouse xenograft models. Our goal was to investigate the radiosensitization effect of honokiol on lung carcinoma. The radiosensitization effect of liposomal honokiol in Lewis lung carcinoma cells (LL/2) was analyzed using an in vitro clonogenic survival assay. For an in vivo study, Lewis lung carcinoma-bearing C57BL/6 mice were treated with either liposomal honokiol at 25 mg/kg or 5 Gy of single tumor radiation, or a combination of both over 12 days of treatment. The tumor growth delay and the survival time were evaluated. In addition, histological analysis of tumor sections was performed to examine changes by detecting the microvessel density and apoptosis in tumor tissues. In the clonogenic survival assay, LL/2 cells treated with IC50 Lipo-HNK for 24 h showed a radiation enhancement ratio of 1.9. After 12 days of combination treatment, the tumor volume decreased 78% and produced an anti-tumor activity 1.3-fold greater than a predicted additive effect of honokiol and radiation alone. This combination treatment also caused an 8.7 day delay in tumor growth. The cell cycle distribution and histological analysis demonstrated that liposomal honokiol has an anti-tumor effect via inducing apoptosis and inhibiting angiogenesis. Liposomal honokiol can enhance tumor cell radiosensitivity in vitro and in vivo, indicating that radiotherapy combined with liposomal honokiol can lead to greater anti-tumor efficacy.

Synergistic Effects of Needle Punching and Shear-Thickening Fluid on Sandwich-Structured Composites Made of Nonwoven and Woven Fabrics

Xiayun Zhang,Ting-Ting Li,Hao-Kai Peng,Zhike Wang,Junli Huo,Ching-Wen Lou,Jia-Horng Lin 한국섬유공학회 2020 Fibers and polymers Vol.21 No.7

This study explores the influences of needle punching and a shear-thickening fluid (STF) on the stab resistancesandwich-structured composites made of nylon nonwoven and aramid fabrics. Needle punching and different treatments ofaramid fabric are conducted to obtain the composites. The effects of needle punching and different treatments of aramidfabrics on the sandwich-structured composites were examined using quasi-static puncture resistance, quasi-static stabresistance, dynamic puncture resistance, and bursting property tests. Results show that needle punching and incorporation ofSTF positively influence the stab resistance of the composites. This study provides an innovative method to reduce thenumber of lamination layers and decrease the weight.