• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1001-1006
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• 2015

Background: With development and application of new and effective anti-cancer drugs, the median survival post-progression (SPP) is often prolonged, and the role of the median SPP on surrogacy performance should be considered. To evaluate the impact of the median SPP on the correlation between progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), we performed simulations for treatment of four types of cancer, advanced gastric cancer (AGC), metastatic colorectal cancer (MCC), glioblastoma (GBM), and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (ANSCLC). Materials and Methods: The effects of the median SPP on the statistical properties of OS and the correlation between PFS and OS were assessed. Further, comparisons were made between the surrogacy performance based on real data from meta-analyses and simulation results with similar scenarios. Results: The probability of a significant gain in OS and HR for OS was decreased by an increase of the SPP/OS ratio or by a decrease of observed treatment benefit for PFS. Similarly, for each of the four types of cancer, the correlation between PFS and OS was reduced as the median SPP increased from 2 to 12 months. Except for ANSCLC, for which the median SPP was equal to the true value, the simulated correlation between PFS and OS was consistent with the values derived from meta-analyses for the other three kinds of cancer. Further, for these three types of cancer, when the median SPP was controlled at a designated level (i.e., < 4 months for AGC, < 12 months for MCC, and <6 months for GBM), the correlation between PFS and OS was strong; and the power of OS reached 34.9% at the minimum. Conclusions: PFS is an acceptable surrogate endpoint for OS under the condition of controlling SPPs for AGC, MCC, and GBM at their limit levels; a similar conclusion cannot be made for ANSCLC.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to predict the degree of taking the complementary & alternative therapy in the home care nursing service and provide basic data for the application of it. To accomplish this, degree of general recognition of the complementary & alternative therapy, experiences, degree of concern, applicability of the therapy, and educational need should be studied. This study is a descriptive research survey on the home care nurses working at 73 medical centers out of 125 nationwide who provide hospital based home nursing care. The data was collected from Sep. 20, to Oct. 20, 2004 by ChoiHeyran's questionaries (2002). The data was analyzed by the frequency and the percentage. The results of this study are as follows ; 1. The degree of pre-cognition on the complementary & alternative therapy is very high. Information about the therapy was mostly obtained through medias. Home care nurses understand that he desirable treatment is to practice medical treatment and complementary & alternative therapy simultaneously. While 50% of them have already practiced complementary & alternative therapy among their patients. The most commonly used therapy is Acupressure. And Home care nurses have open and positive attitudes about the complementary & alternative therapy as to answer they aye ready to recommend it to their patients. 2. Over half of the Home care nurses met patients taking complementary & alternative therapy. 94.5% of them think scientific diagnosis on the effect of the therapy. advice from the doctor. and the special working staff is required to apply it on to the home care nursing. 3. 68.5% of the Home care nurses have taken education on the therapy through general comprehensive instructions and supplementary. Most of them want to have a opportunity education on the therapy because they want to provide comprehensive nursing and diversified nursing service. The preferred educations are Hand acupuncture, Acupressure & Massage and Aromatherapy, in that order. Based on the above results, the followings are recommended. 1. A study that stipulates the types, applications, and efficiency assessment of the complementary & alternative therapy practiced by Home care nurses in the home care nursing care procedure. And systematic and scientific nursing intervention be developed.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.501-514
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• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of Chikusetsusaponin V (CsV) on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vascular endothelial cell functions. Different concentrations of CsV were added to animal models, bovine aorta endothelial cells (BAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in vitro. qPCR, Western blotting (WB), and B ultrasound were performed to explore the effects of CsV on mouse endothelial cell functions, vascular stiffness and cellular eNOS mRNA, protein expression and NO release. Bioinformatics analysis, network pharmacology, molecular docking and protein mass spectrometry analysis were conducted to jointly predict the upstream transcription factors of eNOS. Furthermore, pulldown and ChIP and dual luciferase assays were employed for subsequent verification. At the presence or absence of CsV stimulation, either overexpression or knockdown of purine rich element binding protein A (PURA) was conducted, and PCR assay was employed to detect PURA and eNOS mRNA expressions, Western blot was used to detect PURA and eNOS protein expressions, cell NO release and serum NO levels. Tube formation experiment was conducted to detect the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. The animal vasodilation function test detected the vasodilation functions. Ultrasonic detection was performed to determine the mouse aortic arch pulse wave velocity to identify aortic stiffness. CsV stimulus on bovine aortic cells revealed that CsV could upregulate eNOS protein levels in vascular endothelial cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. The expression levels of eNOS mRNA and phosphorylation sites Ser1177, Ser633 and Thr495 increased significantly after CsV stimulation. Meanwhile, CsV could also enhance the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. Following the mice were gavaged using CsV, the eNOS protein level of mouse aortic endothelial cells was upregulated in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and serum NO release and vasodilation ability were simultaneously elevated whereas arterial stiffness was alleviated. The pulldown, ChIP and dual luciferase assays demonstrated that PURA could bind to the eNOS promoter and facilitate the transcription of eNOS. Under the conditions of presence or absence of CsV stimulation, overexpression or knockdown of PURA indicated that the effect of CsV on vascular endothelial function and eNOS was weakened following PURA gene silence, whereas overexpression of PURA gene could enhance the effect of CsV upregulating eNOS expression. CsV could promote NO release from endothelial cells by upregulating the expression of PURA/eNOS pathway, improve endothelial cell functions, enhance vasodilation capability, and alleviate vessel stiffness. The present study plays a role in offering a theoretical basis for the development and application of CsV in vascular function improvement, and it also provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pharmacodynamics of CsV.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8573-8578
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• 2016

Background: This study was guided by principles of the theoretical system of evidence-based medicine. In particular, when searching for evidence of breast cancer, a measuring scale is an instrument for evaluating curative effects in accordance with the laws and characteristics of medicine and exploring the establishment of a system for medically assessing curative effects. At present, there exist few tools for evaluating curative effects. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) refer to outcomes directly reported by patients (without input or explanations from doctors or other intermediaries) with respect to all aspects of their health. Data obtained from PROs provide evidence of treatment effects. Materials and Methods: In accordance with the tenets of theoretical medicine and ancient medical theory regarding breast cancer, principles for developing a PRO scale were established, and a theoretical model was developed and a literature review was performed, items from this pool were combined and split, and an initial scale was constructed. After a pilot survey and additional modifications, a pre-questionnaire scale was formed and used in a field investigation. After the application of statistical methods, the item pool was used to create a formal scale. The reliability, validity and feasibility of this formal scale were then assessed. Results: In a clinical investigation, 479 responses were recovered, with an acceptance rate of 95%. a combination of various methods was employed, and the items that were selected by all methods or more than half of the methods were employed in the questionnaire. In these cases, the screening methods were combined with certain features of the item, A total of four domains and 38 items were reserved. The reliability analysis indicated that the PRO scale was relatively reliable. Conclusions: Scientific assessment proved that the proposed scale exhibited good reliability and validity. This scale was readily accepted and could be used to assess the curative effects of medical therapy. However, given the limited scope of this investigation, the capacity for adapting this scale to incorporate other theories could not be determined.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2014

Objectives : He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), a doctor from Qing Dynasty, wrote Yi Bian(醫碥, Fundamentals of Medicine), in which he described many things related to Medical Medicine of divination (醫易). As the content includes a lot of teachings for the posterity, I have studied it. Methods : I have taken from Yi Bian(醫碥) the selections related to Medicine of divination(醫易) and explained them. Results : While accepting the principle of upholding yang and suppressing yin based on the understanding of the Book of Changes(周易) that takes a superior man for yang and a small man for yin, He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), who thought of both yin and yang as Qi (energy), criticized the contemporary malpractice of uniformly applying the principle. In matching the five viscera to the Eight Trigrams(八卦), he put Qian and Dui Trigram(乾兌) to lung, Kan Trigram(坎卦) to kidney, Zhen and Xun Trigram(震巽) to liver, Li Trigram(離卦) to heart, and Kun and Gen Trigram(坤艮) to spleen, which is reasonable. He didn't fix the position of the vital gate and called it Fire in water(水中之火), and set great store by the role of Fire from Vital Gate(命門火) by calling it Water begetting tree(水生木) when the fire of the vital gate steams the kidney water and turns it into Qi to send it up to liver. He emphasized Water-ascending and Fire-descending(水升火降), which he said involves all five viscera. He also argued that mind runs on the principle of water-ascending and fire-descending. He thought that Qi and blood both originate from kidney, which I think is a significant suggestion. Conclusions : The criticism on the uniform application of upholding yang and suppressing yin, the combination of the five viscera and the Eight Trigrams(八卦), the belief that the Vital gate(命門) is Fire in water(水中之火), the excellent opinion on water-ascending and fire-descending, and the suggestion that Qi and blood both originate from kidney, as presented by He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), are all theories that should be reasonably appreciated and further developed by the posterity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.2180-2189
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• 2017

Psychrophilic phytases suitable for aquaculture are rare. In this study, a phytase of the histidine acid phosphatase (HAP) family was identified in Morchella importuna, a psychrophilic mushroom. The phytase showed 38% identity with Aspergillus niger PhyB, which was the closest hit. The M. importuna phytase was overexpressed in Pichia pastoris, purified, and characterized. The phytase had an optimum temperature at $25^{\circ}C$, which is the lowest among all the known phytases to our best knowledge. The optimum pH (6.5) is higher than most of the known HAP phytases, which is fit for the weak acidic condition in fish gut. At the optimum pH and temperature, MiPhyA showed the maximum activity level ($2,384.6{\pm}90.4{\mu}mol{\cdot}min^{-1}{\cdot}mg^{-1}$, suggesting that the enzyme possesses a higher activity level over many known phytases at low temperatures. The phytate-degrading efficacy was tested on three common feed materials (soybean meal/rapeseed meal/corn meal) and was compared with the well-known phytases of Escherichia coli and A. niger. When using the same amount of activity units, MiPhyA could yield at least $3{\times}$ more inorganic phosphate than the two reference phytases. When using the same weight of protein, MiPhyA could yield at least $5{\times}$ more inorganic phosphate than the other two. Since it could degrade phytate in feed materials efficiently under low temperature and weak acidic conditions, which are common for aquacultural application, MiPhyA might be a promising candidate as a feed additive enzyme.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7749-7754
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• 2015

Background: Currently, cationic liposome has become the commonly used vehicles for gene transfection. Furthermore, one of the most significant steps in microRNAs expression studies is transferring microRNAs into cell cultures successfully. In this study we aim to approach the feasibility of transfection of cervical cancer cell lines mediated by liposome and to obtain the optimized transfection condition for cervical cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: $Lipofectamine^{TM}2000$ as the carrier, miR-101 mimic was transfected into Hela cells and Siha cells. Using green fluorescent protein as reporter gene, to set different groups according to cell seeding density, the amount of miRNA, miRNA and the proportion of Liposomes, Whether to add serum into medium to study their impact on the liposomal transfection efficiency. Finally, MTT assay was used to analyze the relative minimal cell toxicity of liposome reagents. Results: The seeding density of Hela cell line and Siha are $1.5{\times}10^4$ (per well of 24 well plates), miRNA amount is 1ul of both, the ratio of miRNA and liposome is 1:0.5 of Hela cell line; 1:0.7 of Siha cell line respectively, after 24 hours we can get the highest transfection efficiency. Compared with serum medium, only Siha cells cultured with serum-free medium obtained higher transfection efficiency before transfection (P<0.01). MTT assay showed that according to the above conditions which has the lowest cytotoxicity. Conclusions: The method of Liposome to transfected is a suitable way and it can be an efficient reagent for miRNA delivery for Hela cells and Siha cells in vitro. It may serve as a reference for the further research or application.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.811-820
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• 2022

Objective: To develop a model incorporating radiomic features and clinical factors to accurately predict acute ischemic stroke (AIS) outcomes. Materials and Methods: Data from 522 AIS patients (382 male [73.2%]; mean age ± standard deviation, 58.9 ± 11.5 years) were randomly divided into the training (n = 311) and validation cohorts (n = 211). According to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 6 months after hospital discharge, prognosis was dichotomized into good (mRS ≤ 2) and poor (mRS > 2); 1310 radiomics features were extracted from diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient maps. The minimum redundancy maximum relevance algorithm and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression method were implemented to select the features and establish a radiomics model. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the clinical factors and construct a clinical model. Ultimately, a multivariable logistic regression analysis incorporating independent clinical factors and radiomics score was implemented to establish the final combined prediction model using a backward step-down selection procedure, and a clinical-radiomics nomogram was developed. The models were evaluated using calibration, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and decision curve analyses. Results: Age, sex, stroke history, diabetes, baseline mRS, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, and radiomics score were independent predictors of AIS outcomes. The area under the ROC curve of the clinical-radiomics model was 0.868 (95% confidence interval, 0.825-0.910) in the training cohort and 0.890 (0.844-0.936) in the validation cohort, which was significantly larger than that of the clinical or radiomics models. The clinical radiomics nomogram was well calibrated (p > 0.05). The decision curve analysis indicated its clinical usefulness. Conclusion: The clinical-radiomics model outperformed individual clinical or radiomics models and achieved satisfactory performance in predicting AIS outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.31-47
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• 2008

Objectives : The objective of this study is to apply the contents of "WaHyul(訛穴 : The errors of acupoint locations"of "ChimGuKyungHumBang" to modern acupoint locations. Methods : The text of "WaHyul" was closely examined and analyzed. "WHO standard acupuncture point locations in the western pacific region" was reviewed based on its contents. Results : According to the analysis, the correct 少商(LU11) was mentioned as a spot appropriately distanced from the corner of the nail root under the skin. This is the most accurate and reasonable synthesis of other related texts. Furthermore, the necessity of defining the locations of all the well points was also emphasized and their locations were mentioned that could be located by the same method. There is no further discussion of other acupoints apart from descriptions of their locations from other texts. Some parts that were pointed out as common errors included not only commonly made mistakes, but errors made in acupuncture texts as were true for 神門(HT7) and 肩井(GB21). The standards of 少商(LU11), 合谷(LI4) and 足三里(ST36) presented in the WHO Standardization are not only similar to what 「WaHyul」 indicated as errors in acupoint locations, but also deviate other acupuncture texts; appropriate corrections must be made. The standard of 肩井(GB21) presents a new acupoint locating method never mentioned before in received classic acupuncture texts and so a rediscussion is in need. Other standards, such as the 絶骨(GB39), had some points of controversy, yet somewhat incomplete while HT7 did not go beyond the bounds of "WaHyul". Conclusions : "WaHyul" can be used to revise WHO standards, and has practical value in modern acupoint locating.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.146-151
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• 2011

1-Nitropyrene (1-NP), 2-NP and 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NFR) are useful markers for studying the atmospheric behaviors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs). However, present methods for measuring trace levels of these compounds are lesssensitive and laborious. Here we describe several improvements to a previously reported high-performance liquid chromatography-chemiluminescence detection system that allows it to determine trace levels of 1-, 2-NPs and 2-NFR. The proposed system was equipped with a reducer column packed with Pt/Rh instead of zinc whose life-time was limited. The combination of Cosmosil MS-II (monomeric ODS) and AR-II (polymeric ODS) columns was used instead of polymeric ODS columns as the separator column to improve the separation. An ethanol mixture with acetate buffer (pH 5.5) was used in place of an acetonitrile mixture with the same buffer to activate the reducer column. The same ethanol mixture was used as the mobile phase for the clean-up column. The switching time of the column switching valve was optimized to concentrate the amino-derivatives of above NPAHs quantitatively on the concentrator column. The concentrations of bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenly) oxalate and hydrogen peroxide in the chemiluminescence reagent solution were optimized to 0.4 mM and 30 mM, respectively, to increase the sensitivity. Under the above conditions, the detection limits (S/N=3) of 1-, 2-NPs and 2-NFR were 1 fmol (0.25 pg), 10 fmol (2.5 pg) and 4 fmol (1 pg), respectively. The proposed system was effectively used to determine trace levels of 1-, 2-NPs and 2-NFR in airborne particulates collected at Noto Peninsula. The atmospheric concentrations of 1-, 2-NPs and 2-NFR were not more than sub pg $m^{-3}$ levels. They were higher in winter (January) than in summer (July). In both seasons, the concentrations were in decreasing order, [2-NFR]>[1-NP]>[2-NP].