The prognostic and predictive value of plasma D-dimer in children with neuroblastoma: a 7-year retrospective analysis at a single institution

Zhen-Ni Wang,Yao Zhang,Jian Sun,Zhen-Zhen Zhao,Shan Wang,Chao Yang 대한외과학회 2023 Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research(ASRT) Vol.105 No.3

A ppb-Level Formaldehyde Gas Sensor Based on Rose-Like Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles Prepared Using Electrodeposition Process

Yong Zhang,Long-Zhen Xie,Chao-Xin Yuan,Chun-Lin Zhang,Su Liu,Ying-Quan Peng,Hai-Rong Li,Miao Zhang 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2016 NANO Vol.11 No.1

In this study, rose-like nickel oxide nanoparticles (diameter of 400–500 nm) were prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates by a simple electrodeposition in NiSO4·6H2O solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used for analysis of the NiO nanoparticles. The effects of operating temperature on the sensor response and the response versus gas concentration properties of the NiO nanorose-based sensors were investigated. We determined the operating temperature of the gas sensors to be 230℃, considering the proper sensitivity and a rapid response. In addition, gas-sensing characteristics of rose-like NiO nanoparticles to formaldehyde were investigated. It was shown that the sensors exhibited good response (Rg/Ra = 3.43) properties to formaldehyde gas at 230℃, making them to be promising candidates for practical detectors to formaldehyde gas.

Compatibility of Neural Stem Cells with Functionalized Selfassembling Peptide Scaffold In vitro

Zhen Xing Zhang,Ding Jun Hao,Qi Xin Zheng,Yong Chao Wu 한국생물공학회 2010 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.15 No.4

In this study, we evaluated the behavior of neural stem cells (NSCs) using a new peptide hydrogel scaffold named IKVAVmx, which was made by mixing self-assembling peptide RADA16 and designer peptide RADA16-IKVAV solutions. NSCs derived from rat cerebral cortex were culture-expanded in neuorobasal medium and seeded on the RADA16 and IKVAVmx hydrogels. Cells could penetrate the hydrogels and form a 3D cellular network. Compared to pure RADA16 scaffold, we found that IKVAVmx scaffold significantly promoted cell proliferation and stimulated cell migration into the 3D scaffold. Moreover, Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis indicated that the differentiation ratio of neurons from NSCs in IKVAVmx scaffold was higher than that in pure RADA16 scaffold. These results suggested that this new hydrogel scaffold provided an ideal substrate for NSCs 3D culture and suggested its further application for neural tissue engineering.

Characteristic and role of chromosomal type II toxin-antitoxin systems locus in Enterococcus faecalis ATCC29212

Li Zhen,Shi Chao,Gao Shanjun,Zhang Xiulei,Lu Di,Liu Guangzhi 한국미생물학회 2020 The journal of microbiology Vol.58 No.12

The Gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis is currently one of the major pathogens of nosocomial infections. The lifestyle of E. faecalis relies primarily on its remarkable capacity to face and survive in harsh environmental conditions. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have been linked to the growth control of bacteria in response to adverse environments but have rarely been reported in Enterococcus. Three functional type II TA systems were identified among the 10 putative TA systems encoded by E. faecalis ATCC29212. These toxin genes have conserved domains homologous to MazF (DR75_ 1948) and ImmA/IrrE family metallo-endopeptidases (DR75_ 1673 and DR75_2160). Overexpression of toxin genes could inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli. However, the toxin DR75_1673 could not inhibit bacterial growth, and the bacteriostatic effect occurred only when it was coexpressed with the antitoxin DR75_1672. DR75_1948–DR75_1949 and DR75_ 160–DR75_2161 could maintain the stable inheritance of the unstable plasmid pLMO12102 in E. coli. Moreover, the transcription levels of these TAs showed significant differences when cultivated under normal conditions and with different temperatures, antibiotics, anaerobic agents and H2O2. When DR75_2161 was knocked out, the growth of the mutant strain at high temperature and oxidative stress was limited. The experimental characterization of these TAs loci might be helpful to investigate the key roles of type II TA systems in the physiology and environmental stress responses of Enterococcus.

Aberrant Expression of the Autocrine Motility Factor Receptor Correlates with Poor Prognosis and Promotes Metastasis in Gastric Carcinoma

Huang, Zhen,Zhang, Neng,Zha, Lang,Mao, Hong-Chao,Chen, Xuan,Xiang, Ji-Feng,Zhang, Hua,Wang, Zi-Wei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.2

AMFR, autocrine motility factor receptor, also called gp78, is a cell surface cytokine receptor which has a dual role as an E3 ubiquitin ligase in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation. AMFR expression is associated with tumor malignancy. We here investigated the clinical significance of AMFR and its role in metastasis and prognosis in gastric cancer. Expression of AMFR, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in cancer tissues and matched adjacent normal tissues from 122 gastric cancer (GC) patients undergoing surgical resection was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Levels of these molecules in 17 cases selected randomly were also analysed by Western blotting. AMFR expression was significantly increased in gastric cancer tissues, and associated with invasion depth and lymph node metastasis. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed AMFR expression correlated with poor overall survival and an increased risk of recurrence in the GC cases. Cox regression analysis suggested AMFR to be an independent predictor for overall and recurrence-free survival. E-cadherin expression was decreased in gastric cancer tissues; conversely, N-cadherin was increased. Expression of AMFR negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression, whereas N-cadherin expression showed a significant positive correlation with AMFR expression. AMFR might be involved in the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, with aberrant expression correlating with a poor prognosis and promoting invasion and metastasis in GCs.

Plasma metabolites associated with physiological and biochemical indexes indicate the effect of caging stress on mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Zheng Chao,Wu Yan,Liang Zhen Hua,Pi Jin Song,Cheng Shi Bin,Wei Wen Zhuo,Liu Jing Bo,Lu Li Zhi,Zhang Hao 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.2

Objective: Cage rearing has critical implications for the laying duck industry because it is convenient for feeding and management. However, caging stress is a type of chronic stress that induces maladaptation. Environmental stress responses have been extensively studied, but no detailed information is available about the comprehensive changes in plasma metabolites at different stages of caging stress in ducks. We designed this experiment to analyze the effects of caging stress on performance parameters and oxidative stress indexes in ducks. Methods: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) was used to determine the changes in metabolites in duck plasma at 5 (CR5), 10 (CR10), and 15 (CR15) days after cage rearing and traditional breeding (TB). The associated pathways of differentially altered metabolites were analyzed using Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database. Results: The results of this study indicate that caging stress decreased performance parameters, and the plasma total superoxide dismutase levels were increased in the CR10 group compared with the other groups. In addition, 1,431 metabolites were detected. Compared with the TB group, 134, 381, and 190 differentially produced metabolites were identified in the CR5, CR10, and CR15 groups, respectively. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) show that the selected components sufficiently distinguish the TB group and CR10 group. KEGG analysis results revealed that the differentially altered metabolites in duck plasma from the CR5 and TB groups were mainly associated with ovarian steroidogenesis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and phenylalanine metabolism. Conclusion: In this study, the production performance, blood indexes, number of metabolites and PCA were compared to determine effect of the caging stress stage on ducks. We inferred from the experimental results that caging-stressed ducks were in the sensitive phase in the first 5 days after caging, caging for approximately 10 days was an important transition phase, and then the duck continually adapted. Objective: Cage rearing has critical implications for the laying duck industry because it is convenient for feeding and management. However, caging stress is a type of chronic stress that induces maladaptation. Environmental stress responses have been extensively studied, but no detailed information is available about the comprehensive changes in plasma metabolites at different stages of caging stress in ducks. We designed this experiment to analyze the effects of caging stress on performance parameters and oxidative stress indexes in ducks.Methods: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) was used to determine the changes in metabolites in duck plasma at 5 (CR5), 10 (CR10), and 15 (CR15) days after cage rearing and traditional breeding (TB). The associated pathways of differentially altered metabolites were analyzed using Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database.Results: The results of this study indicate that caging stress decreased performance parameters, and the plasma total superoxide dismutase levels were increased in the CR10 group compared with the other groups. In addition, 1,431 metabolites were detected. Compared with the TB group, 134, 381, and 190 differentially produced metabolites were identified in the CR5, CR10, and CR15 groups, respectively. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) show that the selected components sufficiently distinguish the TB group and CR10 group. KEGG analysis results revealed that the differentially altered metabolites in duck plasma from the CR5 and TB groups were mainly associated with ovarian steroidogenesis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and phenylalanine metabolism.Conclusion: In this study, the production performance, blood indexes, number of metabolites and PCA were compared to determine effect of the caging stress stage on ducks. We inferred from the experimental results that caging-stressed ducks were in the sensitive phase in the first 5 days after caging, caging for approximately 10 days was an important transition phase, and then the duck continually adapted.

Radiation shielding optimization design research based on bare-bones particle swarm optimization algorithm

Jichong Lei,Chao Yang,Huajian Zhang,Chengwei Liu,Dapeng Yan,Guanfei Xiao,Zhen He,Zhenping Chen,Tao Yu Korean Nuclear Society 2023 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.55 No.6

In order to further meet the requirements of weight, volume, and dose minimization for new nuclear energy devices, the bare-bones multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to automatically and iteratively optimize the design parameters of radiation shielding system material, thickness, and structure. The radiation shielding optimization program based on the bare-bones particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed and coupled into the reactor radiation shielding multi-objective intelligent optimization platform, and the code is verified by using the Savannah benchmark model. The material type and thickness of Savannah model were optimized by using the BBMOPSO algorithm to call the dose calculation code, the integrated optimized data showed that the weight decreased by 78.77%, the volume decreased by 23.10% and the dose rate decreased by 72.41% compared with the initial solution. The results show that the method can get the best radiation shielding solution that meets a lot of different goals. This shows that the method is both effective and feasible, and it makes up for the lack of manual optimization.

Myosin18B predicts favorable prognosis of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma

Can Cao,Chao Zhang,Ying Sun,Zhen Mu,Qin Shen 한국유전학회 2021 Genes & Genomics Vol.43 No.4

Background Myosin18 family, including Myosin18A (MYO18A) and Myosin18B (MYO18B), are newly-identifed Myosins in Myosin superfamily. The expression and function of Myosin18 family in cancer progression is still controversial, and in cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (cSCC) is totally unknown. Objective To investigate the expression and prognostic signifcance of Myosin18 family in cSCC. Methods In this study, the expressions of MYO18 family, including MYO18A and MYO18B were detected in six pairs of cSCCs and corresponding normal tissues with qRT-PCR. MYO18A and MYO18B expressions and intracellular locations in 80 cSCCs were detected with immunohistochemistry. The clinical signifcance was evaluated by analyzing the correlation between MYO18 family and clinicopathological factors. The prognostic signifcance of MYO18 family was estimated by univariate analysis with log-rank test, and by multivariate analysis by Cox-regression model. Results The percentages of high MYO18A and MYO18B in cSCC were 43.75% and 36.25%, respectively. High expression of MYO18A (P=0.035) and MYO18B (P=0.032) were both associated with less tumor size. MYO18A had no signifcant infuence on sSCC prognosis (P=0.686), but low expression of MYO18B was proved to be signifcantly associated with poor outcome of cSCC (P=0.014). MYO18B was confrmed as an independent prognostic biomarker of cSCC (P=0.002), indicating the favorable outcome. Conclusion The expression of MYO18B was an independent prognostic biomarker of cSCC, predicting the favorable prognosis independently. Investigating the expression of MYO18B can help stratify the subset of high-risk cSCC patients for more potent treatment and post-operational surveillance.

Analysis of dynamic behavior for truss cable structures

Wen-Fu Zhang,Ying-Chun Liu,Jing Ji,Zhen-Chao Teng 국제구조공학회 2014 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.16 No.2

Natural vibration of truss cable structures is analyzed based upon the general structural analysis software ANSYS, energy variational method and Rayleigh method, the calculated results of three methods are compared, from which the characteristics of free-vibration are obtained. Moreover, vertical seismic response analysis of truss cable structures is carried out via time-history method. Introducing three natural earthquake waves calculated the results including time-history curve of vertical maximal displacement, time-history curve of maximal internal force. Variation curve of maximal displacement of node along span, and variation curve of maximal internal force of member along span are presented. The results show the formulas of frequencies for truss cable structures obtained by energy variational method are of high accuracy. Furthermore, the maximal displacement and the maximal internal force occur near the 1/5 span point. These provide convenient and simple design method for practical engineering.

Taxol Produced from Endophytic Fungi Induces Apoptosis in Human Breast, Cervical and Ovarian Cancer Cells

Wang, Xin,Wang, Chao,Sun, Yu-Ting,Sun, Chuan-Zhen,Zhang, Yue,Wang, Xiao-Hua,Zhao, Kai Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.1

Currently, taxol is mainly extracted from the bark of yews; however, this method can not meet its increasing demand on the market because yews grow very slowly and are a rare and endangered species belonging to first-level conservation plants. Recently, increasing efforts have been made to develop alternative means of taxol production; microbe fermentation would be a very promising method to increase the production scale of taxol. To determine the activities of the taxol extracted from endophytic fungus N. sylviforme HDFS4-26 in inhibiting the growth and causing the apoptosis of cancer cells, on comparison with the taxol extracted from the bark of yew, we used cellular morphology, cell counting kit (CCK-8) assay, staining (HO33258/PI and Giemsa), DNA agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry (FCM) analyses to determine the apoptosis status of breast cancer MCF-7 cells, cervical cancer HeLa cells and ovarian cancer HO8910 cells. Our results showed that the fungal taxol inhibited the growth of MCF-7, HeLa and HO8910 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. IC50 values of fungal taxol for HeLa, MCF-7 and HO8910 cells were $0.1-1.0{\mu}g/ml$, $0.001-0.01{\mu}g/ml$ and $0.01-0.1{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The fungal taxol induced these tumor cells to undergo apoptosis with typical apoptotic characteristics, including morphological changes for chromatin condensation, chromatin crescent formation, nucleus fragmentation, apoptotic body formation and G2/M cell cycle arrest. The fungal taxol at the $0.01-1.0{\mu}g/ml$ had significant effects of inducing apoptosis between 24-48 h, which was the same as that of taxol extracted from yews. This study offers important information and a new resource for the production of an important anticancer drug by endofungus fermentation.