The Characteristics and Survival Outcomes in Patients Aged 70 Years and Older with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in the Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy Era

Ya-Nan Jin,Wang-Jian Zhang,Xiu-Yu Cai,Mei-Su Li,Wayne R. Lawrence,Si-Yang Wang,Dong-Mei Mai,Yu-Yun Du,Dong-Hua Luo,Hao-Yuan Mo 대한암학회 2019 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.51 No.1

Purpose We aim to examine nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) characteristics and survival outcomes in patients aged 70 years and older in the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era. Materials and Methods From 2006 to 2013, 126 non-metastatic NPC patients aged  70 years who were treated with IMRT +/ chemotherapy were included. Adult Comorbidity Evaluation 27 (ACE-27) was used to measure patient comorbidities. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences were compared using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to carry out multivariate analyses. Results For the entire group, only two patients (1.6%) presented stage I disease, and up to 84.1% patients had stage III-IVB disease. All patients had a comorbidity score of 0 in 24 (19.0%), 1 in 45 (35.7%), 2 in 42 (33.3%), and 3 in 15 (11.9%) patients. The main acute grade during radiotherapy was 3-4 adverse events consisting of mucositis (25.4%), bone marrow suppression (16.7%), and dermatitis (8.7%). After treatment, four patients (3.2%) developed temporal lobe injury. Five-year CSS and OS rates were 67.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 58.6% to 77.4%) and 54.0% (95% CI, 45.6% to 63.9%), respectively. Five-year OS was significantly higher for ACE-27 score 0-1 than ACE-27 score 2-3 (72.9% and 39.9%, respectively; p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses showed ACE-27 score 0-1 was significantly associated with superior OS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.02; 95% CI, 1.64 to 5.55; p < 0.001). In addition, the rate of OS was higher for stage I-III than that of stage IV, with borderline significance (HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 0.99 to 2.82; p=0.053). But no significant advantage was observed in OS when chemotherapy was used (p > 0.05). Conclusion Our findings suggest IMRT +/– chemotherapy has a manageable toxicity and provides an acceptable survival in patients aged  70 years with NPC. ACE-27 score was significantly associated with survival outcomes in this group population.

A Study on the Protection of the Cruise Passengers’ Rights and Proposals for Cruise Legislation

Yu, Ya-Nan(유아난),Ji, Sang-Gyu(지상규) 한국법학회 2017 법학연구 Vol.68 No.-

크루즈 선박을 통한 여객운송은 세계적으로 가장 빨리 발전하고, 또한 발전 가능성에 대한 잠재력이 가장 큰 산업 중에 하나이다. 한국과 중국도 아시아의 주요한 크루즈 경유지 및 목적지이며, 크루즈 산업 또한 급속히 발전하고 있다. 그러나 이러한 크루즈 산업의 발전과는 다르게 크루즈 여객운송에 사용되고 있는 운송약관은 일반 화물 운송약관과 다르게 상당히 복잡하며, 이를 규율할 수 있는 법률규정 또한 미비한 수준이다. 따라서 이러한 문제들로 인해 여객운송 중 발생하는 승객들의 손해와 관련하여 분쟁이 끝임 없이 발생하고 있으며, 크루즈 승객의 권리가 보호받기 못하는 상황에 있다. 이러한 크루즈 여객들의 권리보호와 손해의 보전을 위해 법률의 규정이 필요한 것 또한 사실이다. 외국의 사례를 살펴보면, 미국과 유럽연합은 국내법과 협약을 통해 크루즈 여객들의 보호를 위해 실질적인 노력을 다하고 있다. 그러나 반대로 한국과 중국은 크루즈 산업이 급격하게 발전하고 있음에도 불구하고, 위에서 지적한바와 같이 크루즈 여객을 실질적으로 보호할 수 있는 법률 규정이 전무한 상황이다. “동팡츠씽호의 케이스를 통하여 이점에 대해 잘 확인 하였다. 이에 본 논문에서는 현재 일반적으로 사용되고 있는 크루즈 여객운송 약관을 분석하고, 그에 대한 문제점을 제시할 예정이며, 미국과 유럽연합의 크루즈 관련 법률규정을 분석하여 한국과 중국의 크루즈 여객운송 법률규정의 제정을 제안하고자 한다. 이 연구는 상기의 분석을 통해 한중 양국 크루즈 산업의 발전과 협력 추진에 있어 긍정적인 효과가 있을 것으로 기대한다. The cruise tourism is now one of the fastest-growing and the most development potential industries in the world, both Korea and China are with huge potencies in the industry. But due to the complexity of the cruise contract, without the specific legal relations, the cruise passengers are more likely to involved in the dispute, while the cruise passengers’ rights are hard to be protected, the increasing cruise disputes may seriously affect the development of the industry. Therefore, the effective legislation is needed to regulate the industry order and to promote the industry progress. Nowadays, United States is the biggest cruise tourist generating region with a comparatively perfect cruise legal system, similarly, European Union as an inter-governmental organization also has the thorough legislation. By contrast, Korea and China still do not have effective cruise laws or regulations but also with flourishing cruise industry, the current cruise regulations in these two countries could not effectively solve the cruise disputes and protect the passengers’ rights. In China, although the compensation of accident Eastern Star was claimed with the common compensation system, problems also brought out for the lack of specialized cruise legislation. On this basis, the paper analyzed the current cruise contracts and their clauses for rights protection, and introduced the current cruise legislation systems in United States and European Unions. Refer to the advanced experiences and through the analysis of the case “Eastern Star,” the paper hope to find problems and to give legislative proposals to Korea and China, aim to finding ways for the better solution of the cruise disputes and to promote the development of the cruise industry.

Silencing of PDK1 Gene Expression by RNA Interference Suppresses Growth of Esophageal Cancer

Yu, Jing,Chen, Kui-Sheng,Li, Ya-Nan,Yang, Juan,Zhao, Lu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.8

The current study was conducted to explore the inhibitory effects of a small interfering RNA (siRNA) on 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) expression in esophageal cancer 9706 (EC9706) cells and the influence on their biological behavior. After transfection of a synthesized PDK1 siRNA, PDK1 mRNA and protein expression and the phosphorylation level of the downstream Akt protein were assessed using RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Proliferation, apoptosis, cell invasion and in vivo tumor formation capacity were also investigated using MTT, flow cytometry, Transwell invasion trials, and nude mouse tumor transplantion, respectively. PDK1 siRNA effectively suppressed PDK1 mRNA and protein expression, and down-regulated the phosphorylation level of the Akt protein in the EC9706 cells (P < 0.05). It also inhibited cell proliferation and invasion, and promoted apoptosis; such effects were particularly obvious at 48 h and 72 h after transfection (P < 0.05). Growth of transplanted tumors was inhibited in nude mice, with decreased PDK1 expression in tumor tissues. PDK1 may be closely correlated with proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of esophageal cancer cells and thus may serve as an effective target for gene therapy.

A Fault Diagnosis of ZPW-2000A Tuning Area based on the WNN

Dong Yu,Li Ya-lan,Nan Jie-long 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Vol.10 No.3

With the rapid development of china railway, ZPW-2000A track circuit has been widely used. Tuning area, which is an important part of the ZPW-2000A track circuit, is not only the relationship between the signal transmission quality, and determine the effect of electrical insulation between adjacent sections. Therefore, the study of fault diagnosis aspects for tuning area is urgent and significant. In this paper, using the theory of transmission line a model of track circuit is built, the comparison of the actual data and experimental data of the track surface voltage envelope curve shows the correctness of this model. Owning to the good time-frequency characteristics of wavelet and the nonlinear mapping features of neural network, a fault diagnosis of ZPW-2000A tuning area based on the wavelet neural network(WNN) is proposed. Combined with the practical failure situation of railway site, the fault diagnosis method in this paper can accurately identify failure modes of tuning area.

Preparation and Characterization of Inclusion Complex between β-Cyclodextrin and Polylactic Acid

Song Ya Nan,Zhou Yu Fang,Zhen Wei Jun 한국고분자학회 2015 폴리머 Vol.39 No.2

The inclusion complexes (ICs) between polylactic acid (PLA) and β-cyclodextrin (CD) were prepared by coprecipitation method in this work. The orthogonal experiments were designed to investigate the influence of different factors on the formation of inclusion complexes. The results suggested that the optimum scheme of inclusion compounds could be obtained when the feeding ratio of CD to PLA (wt%) was 20:1, stirring speed was 6 kr/min and the stirring time was 30 min. The structures and properties of the inclusion complexes were characterized by <SUP>1</SUP>H NMR, FTIR, DSC, FT-Raman, XRD and TGA. The DSC results demonstrated that the crystallization behavior of the inclusion complexes nearly disappeared. It was found that β-CD-PLA inclusion complex had a better thermal stability compared with the neat PLA. The model of the inclusion complexes was proposed on the basis of XRD, <SUP>1</SUP>H NMR and DSC results.

Characterization and Expression Profile of CMTM3/CKLFSF3

( Ji Zhong ),( Yu Wang ),( Xiao Yan Qiu ),( Xiao Ning Mo ),( Ya Nan Liu ),( Ting Li ),( Quan Sheng Song ),( Da Long Ma ),( Wen Ling Han ) 생화학분자생물학회 2006 BMB Reports Vol.39 No.5

Metabolomic analysis of biochemical changes in the tissue and urine of proteoglycan-induced spondylitis in mice after treatment with moxibustion

Xiao Xu,Ya-Nan Shi,Rong-Yun Wang,Cai-Yan Ding,Xiao Zhou,Yu-Fei Zhang,Zhi-Ling Sun,Zhi-Qin Sun,Qiu-Hua Sun 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.1

Background: Moxibustion is widely used in East Asian countries to manage the symptom of rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to identify potential metabolic profiles of moxibustion on relieving ankylosing spondylitis (AS) mice through UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS metabolomic study. Methods: Thirty-two female Balb/c mice were randomized into healthy control (HC), AS model, moxibustion at acupuncture points (MA) in AS model, and moxibustion at non-acupuncture points (MNA) AS model groups. Moxibustion was administered daily at GV4, bilateral BL23 and bilateral ST36 acupuncture points for four weeks in the MA group. The overall health status, the thickness of hind paws and the tissue concentrations of IL-1β, PGE2, IL-6 and TNF-α were assessed. The UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS was used to explore the perturbations of endogenous metabolites in tissue and urine of AS model mice intervened by moxibustion. Results: Compared with the AS group, the overall health status was significantly improved after 4-week moxibustion intervention (p < 0.05). The results also showed that MA significantly reduced the levels of paw thickness and decreased the levels of four cytokines in the tissue (p < 0.01). Thirty-seven endogenous metabolites identified by the OPLS-DA were considered to be contributing to therapeutic effects of moxibustion. Moreover, metabolic pathway analysis further revealed that the identified metabolites were mainly involved in TCA cycle, Lipid metabolism, Amino Acid metabolism, Intestinal flora metabolism and Purine metabolism. Conclusions: UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS based metabolomics approach, as a novel and powerful tool, can help us to gain the insights into potential mechanisms of action of moxibustion for AS.

Mechanical Behavior of CCA Wall Infilled Steel Frames with Preset Vertical Slits

You-Sheng Yu,Ya-Nan Guo,Can Mei 대한토목학회 2021 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.25 No.10

In view of the unfavorable interaction between the steel frame and cellulose fiber cement sheets autoclaved (CCA) wall, preset vertical slits are adopted on the wallboard. Four 1:2-scale, single-bay, and single-storey steel frames, one bare steel frame, one CCA wall infilled steel frame without any measures, and two CCA wall infilled steel frames with different patterns of a slit, were tested under low cyclic load. The failure mode and additional stiffness of the CCA wall were obtained from the test. Besides, the effects of the vertical slits on hysteretic performance, bearing capacity, and the stiffness degradation of specimens were also studied. It was found that the preset vertical slits were effective in delaying the cracking of the CCA wall, and in reducing the additional stiffness of the CCA wall for the steel frame structures. To further study the failure characteristics of CCA wall, the finite element models of the CCA wall infilled steel frames were established and verified against the test results. The findings in this paper will have a certain reference value for the future research and engineering applications of similar steel frames with infill walls.

Gene-metabolite network analysis in different nonalcoholic fatty liver disease phenotypes

Xiao-Lin Liu,Ya-Nan Ming,Jing-Yi Zhang,Xiao-Yu Chen,Min-De Zeng,Yi-Min Mao 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

We sought to identify common key regulators and build a gene-metabolite network in different nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) phenotypes. We used a high-fat diet (HFD), a methionine-choline-deficient diet (MCDD) and streptozocin (STZ) to establish nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NAFL+type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in rat models, respectively. Transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses were performed in rat livers and serum. A functional network-based regulation model was constructed using Cytoscape with information derived from transcriptomics and metabolomics. The results revealed that 96 genes, 17 liver metabolites and 4 serum metabolites consistently changed in different NAFLD phenotypes (42-fold, Po0.05). Gene-metabolite network analysis identified ccl2 and jun as hubs with the largest connections to other genes, which were mainly involved in tumor necrosis factor, P53, nuclear factor-kappa B, chemokine, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways. The specifically regulated genes and metabolites in different NAFLD phenotypes constructed their own networks, which were mainly involved in the lipid and fatty acid metabolism in HFD models, the inflammatory and immune response in MCDD models, and the AMPK signaling pathway and response to insulin in HFD+STZ models. Our study identified networks showing the general and specific characteristics in different NAFLD phenotypes, complementing the genetic and metabolic features in NAFLD with hepatic and extra-hepatic manifestations.

Identification and Characterization of the Antifungal Substances of a Novel Streptomyces cavourensis NA4s

( Hua Qi Pan ),( Su Ya Yu ),( Chun Feng Song ),( Nan Wang ),( Hui Ming Hua ),( Jiang Chun Hu ),( Shu Jin Wang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.3

A new actinomycete strain NA4 was isolated from a deep-sea sediment collected from the South China Sea and showed promising antifungal activities against soilborne fungal pathogens. It was identified as Streptomyces cavourensis by morphological, physiological, and phylogenetic analyses based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence. The main antifungal components were isolated and identified from the fermentation culture as bafilomycins B1 and C1. These compounds exhibited significant antifungal activities and a broad antifungal spectrum. The results suggest that the Streptomyces cavourensis NA4 and bafilomycins B1 and C1 could be used as potential biocontrol agents for soilborne fungal diseases of plants.