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Yin Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Yin Zhang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Ultra-processed Foods, Cancer, and Early-onset Cancer: A Comprehensive Review.

The classification of foods according to their degree of processing, and particularly the concept of ultra-processed foods, is relatively new. Consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased markedly worldwide in recent decades. Their growing consumption has coincided with a rising global burden of cancer, including marked increases in several cancers diagnosed before age 50 years. In this comprehensive review, we summarize trends in ultra-processed food consumption and the sociodemographic, psychological, and behavioral characteristics associated with higher intake. We further review the epidemiological evidence linking ultra-processed foods with cancer incidence and mortality, with particular attention to the limited but emerging evidence relevant to early-onset cancer. Potential mechanisms linking ultra-processed foods to cancer include unfavorable nutrient displacement, changes in body composition and fat deposition, and increased exposure to additives, processing by-products, and other chemicals. These influences may converge on a range of biological pathways, including metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, gut microbiome disruption, DNA damage and genomic instability, and epigenetic alterations. Substantial uncertainties remain, including heterogeneous exposure definitions and classification practices, limitations in dietary assessment and temporal exposure capture, residual confounding, and the complexity of putative biological mechanisms. We conclude by highlighting key research challenges and future directions, along with considerations related to policy, regulation, and industry practices.

Ultra-processed foods↗
PubMed2006

Effect of metabolic syndrome on prognosis and clinical characteristics of revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: People with metabolic syndrome are at higher risk for developing coronary artery disease (CAD). The effect of the metabolic syndrome on outcomes in patients with preexisting CAD has not been well studied. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence, characteristics, in hospital and long term prognosis of CAD with metabolic syndrome and to determine the factors influencing the prognosis of the disease. METHODS: The DESIRE registry contains data of 3696 patients with CAD between 2001 and 2004. Mean long term followup was (829 +/- 373) days. Diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was based on modified International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Worldwide Definition of the Metabolic Syndrome, using body mass index (BMI) instead of waist circumference. RESULTS: Of 2596 patients with complete records of height, weight, and so on, 1280 (49.3%) were identified with metabolic syndrome. The patients with metabolic syndrome had higher level of body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose and disordered blood lipid (all P < 0.0001), with higher creatinine [(10.5 +/- 4.3) mg/L vs (9.9 +/- 2.9) mg/L, P < 0.0001] and the number of white blood cells [(7.49 +/- 2.86) x 10(9)/L vs (7.19 +/- 2.62) x 10(9)/L, P = 0.008) compared with those without metabolic syndrome. The patients with metabolic syndrome showed severer coronary angiographic alterations (left main artery and/or > or = 2-vessel) (73.6% vs 69.6%, P = 0.031). There were no significant differences of major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE) or mortality in hospital between the two groups. During followup, the ratio of MACCE in CAD with metabolic syndrome patients increased significantly (11.8% vs 10.0%, P = 0.044). Fasting blood glucose (> or = 1000 mg/L) and triglyceride (TG, > or = 1500 mg/L) were responsible for most of the increased risk associated with the metabolic syndrome (adjusted OR 1.465, 95% CI 1.037 - 1.874, P = 0.032; OR 1.378, 95% CI 1.014 - 1.768, P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was very high in CAD patients. The metabolic syndrome confers a higher risk of long term MACCE in patients with CAD, and dysglycaemia and hypertriglycaemia appear to be responsible for most of the associated risk.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Cloning, expression, and purification of a highly immunogenic recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) chimeric peptide.

To design an anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine capable of eliciting strong immunogenicity, a gene fragment encoding a chimeric peptide was constructed using polymerase chain reaction and ligated into a novel expression vector for recombinant expression in a T7 RNA polymerase-based expression system. The chimeric peptide called GnRH3-hinge-MVP contained three linear repeats of GnRH (GnRH3), a fragment of the human IgG1 hinge region, and a T-cell epitope of measles virus protein (MVP). The expression plasmid contained the GnRH3-hinge-MVP construct ligated to its fusion partner (AnsB-C) via an unique acid labile Asp-Pro linker. The recombinant fusion protein was expressed in an inclusion body in Escherichia coli under IPTG or lactose induction and the target peptide was easily purified using washing of urea and ethanol precipitation. The target chimeric peptide was isolated from the fusion partner following acid hydrolysis and purified using DEAE-Sephacel chromatography. The purified GnRH3-hinge-MVP was determined to be highly homogeneous by IEF analysis and the N-terminal sequencing. Further, immunization of female mice with the recombinant chimeric peptide resulted in generation of high-titer antibodies specific for GnRH. The results showed that GnRH3-hinge-MVP could be considered as a candidate anti-GnRH vaccine.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Stability of plasmid and expression of a recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine in Escherichia coli.

In our previous studies, the recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) peptide was constructed into a T7 RNA polymerase-based expression system. The recombinant gene encoding GnRH3-hinge-MVP, which contained three repeated GnRH units, a fragment of hinge region (225-232/225'-232'), and a T cell epitope of measles virus protein, was cloned into Escherichia coli BL21 harboring pED-GnRH3. The high activity of T7 RNA polymerase could make the expression system very powerful for high-level expression of the recombinant protein. However, during the large-scale production of recombinant protein, the productivity of the fermentation process was directly affected by many factors, such as plasmid stability, protein production, and culture conditions. In this study, we studied the effects of various culture conditions on the plasmid stability and the target protein yield including selective pressure, the time of induction by lactose, and the number of successive cultures. The results indicate that the plasmid instability may be caused by a loss of plasmid rather than structural change. However, to go down to future generations, engineered bacteria have the stability of plasmid and protein yield to a large extent. The amount of the fusion protein was also up to 40% of the total cell protein after the 50th generation. These data would be useful for the industrial production of the recombinant GnRH vaccine.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Dynamic ventilation imaging from four-dimensional computed tomography.

A novel method for dynamic ventilation imaging of the full respiratory cycle from four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) acquired without added contrast is presented. Three cases with 4D CT images obtained with respiratory gated acquisition for radiotherapy treatment planning were selected. Each of the 4D CT data sets was acquired during resting tidal breathing. A deformable image registration algorithm mapped each (voxel) corresponding tissue element across the 4D CT data set. From local average CT values, the change in fraction of air per voxel (i.e. local ventilation) was calculated. A 4D ventilation image set was calculated using pairs formed with the maximum expiration image volume, first the exhalation then the inhalation phases representing a complete breath cycle. A preliminary validation using manually determined lung volumes was performed. The calculated total ventilation was compared to the change in contoured lung volumes between the CT pairs (measured volume). A linear regression resulted in a slope of 1.01 and a correlation coefficient of 0.984 for the ventilation images. The spatial distribution of ventilation was found to be case specific and a 30% difference in mass-specific ventilation between the lower and upper lung halves was found. These images may be useful in radiotherapy planning.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

[Influence of initial admission department for coronary arteriography on choice of mode of coronary revascularization].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of initial admission department for coronary arteriography on the choice of mode of coronary revascularization. METHODS: From October 2003 to June 2004 2156 patients with coronary heart disease were admitted into the department of internal medicine (1667 cases) or department of surgery (489 cases) to undergo coronary arteriography (CAG) and coronary revascularization. The influence of the initial admission departments on the choice of mode of coronary revascularization for the patients with different clinical manifestations and angiographic characteristics, including one-vessel disease, two-vessel disease, three-vessel disease, and multi-vessel disease of different types was analyzed. RESULTS: 1336 (80.1), 326 (19.6%), and 5 (0.3%) of the 1667 patients initially admitted to the department of internal medicine, received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and CABG + PCI respectively with a complete revascularization rate of 63.3%. 52 (10.6%) and 437 (89.4%) of the 489 patients initially admitted to the department of surgery received PCI and CABG respectively with a complete revascularization rate of 75.5%. The CABG rates for the patients different types of lesion were all significantly higher in the patients initially admitted to the department of surgery than in the patients initially admitted in the department of internal medicine (all P < 0.05). The in-hospital death rate, new-onset myocardial infarction rate, and main adverse cardio-cerebral event rate of the patients admitted into the department of surgery were 3.9%, 1.8%, and 5.7% respectively, all significantly higher than those of the patients initially admitted in the department of internal medicine (1.2%, 0.5%, and 1.5% respectively, all P < 0.01). Logistic regression showed that initial admission into department of surgery, number of diseased vessels, left main trunk disease, proximal descending anterior branch disease, and chronic total occlusion rate were independent predictor for choice of CABG (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Cardiologists are more likely to choose PCI and cardiac surgeons are more likely to choose CABG. It is imperative to collect more evidence-based data so as to develop guidelines for the choice of reasonable mode of revascularization.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Quantification of regional ventilation from treatment planning CT.

PURPOSE: We describe a method of quantifying regional ventilation from the radiotherapy treatment planning computed tomography (CT) images, with the goal of developing functional images for treatment planning and optimization. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A series of exhalation breath-hold (eBH-CT) and inhalation breath-hold (iBH-CT) CT images obtained using a feedback-guided breath-hold technique for radiotherapy treatment planning was selected. The eBH-CT was mapped on a voxel-by-voxel basis to the iBH-CT using a deformable image registration algorithm. By using the average CT number over a 3 mm(3) region surrounding each pair of mapped voxels, the change in fraction of air per voxel (i.e., regional ventilation) was calculated. This methodology was applied to a series of 22 patients. The calculated total ventilation was compared to the change in contoured lung volumes between the exhalation and inhalation CTs (measured tidal volume). RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between the calculated and measured tidal volumes for the left (R = 0.982) and right (R = 0.985), and for both lungs combined (R = 0.985). In the resulting images, the regional ventilation was highly variable and corresponded with the spatial distribution of differences in the CT values (Hounsfield units) between the eBH-CT and the iBH-CT images. CONCLUSIONS: A method of quantifying regional ventilation from radiotherapy treatment planning CT data sets was demonstrated. The ventilation images can be used in plan optimization to minimize injury to functioning lung.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

[Evaluation of early invasive or initially conservative strategies in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome at intermediate or high risk].

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the effect of early strategies and revascularization patterns on in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) at intermediate or high risk. METHODS: 910 Patients with non-ST-segment elevation ACS at intermediate or high risk were divided into either early invasive (n = 237) or initially conservative (n = 673) group according to whether or when coronary angiography (CAG) was performed after admission ( 48 h) in order to demonstrate the impact of early strategies and revascularization patterns on in-hospital MACE events (death, new-onset myocardial infarction or repeat revascularization). RESULTS: Compared with those of the initially conservative group, patients in the early invasive group had a shorter hospital stay and increased rate of MACE (6.3% vs 2.5%, OR 0.384, 95% CI 0.188 - 0.781, P = 0.006) or new-onset myocardial infarction (4.6% vs 0.9%, OR 0.185, 95% CI 0.068 - 0.505, P = 0.001), which was partly due to increased procedures of revascularization (86.9% vs 67.5%, P < 0.001). No differences were found among in-hospital mortality or rate of repeat revascularization between the two groups. During subgroup analysis, patients receiving PCI in the early invasive or initially conservative group had comparable rates of new-onset myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization or MACE events, whereas patients receiving CABG in the early invasive group had a higher rate of new-onset myocardial infarctions than those in the initially conservative group (7.5% vs 1.8%, P = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: An early invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation ACS had comparable in-hospital mortality and higher rate of in-hospital myocardial infarction compared with an initially conservative strategy, an early invasive strategy with PCI seems safe and feasible without increased risk of adverse clinical events. The impact of early CABG on in-hospital adverse events warrants further investigation.

Acute Coronary Syndrome↗
PubMed2004

On the equivalence between a commonly used correlation coefficient and a least-squares function.

Many objective functions have been proposed in X-ray crystallography to solve the molecular replacement (MR) problem and other optimization problems. This paper establishes the equivalence of optimizing two of these target functions, a commonly used correlation coefficient and a least-squares function. This equivalence may exist only in the neighborhoods about the global optima or the entire MR variable space depending on whether the mean values of the observed and calculated data are subtracted from the data. In addition, an argument is presented that the correlation coefficient between structure-factor magnitudes is likely to perform better than the correlation coefficient between intensities, especially when low-resolution data are used. This prediction was tested during coarse grid searches at low resolution using the MR program SOMoRe.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Enhancement of radiation sensitivity of human squamous carcinoma cells by histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are emerging therapeutic agents with potential for disruption of critical cellular processes in cancer cells. Transcriptional regulation, differentiation, cell cycle arrest, radiation sensitization, and apoptosis have been observed in response to exposure to HDAC inhibitors. In the present study, we observed that several potent HDAC inhibitors, including trichostatin A, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, M344 (an analogue of hydroxamic acid), and the cyclic tetrapeptide, depsipeptide (FR90228), modulate cellular responses to ionizing radiation in cells of two human squamous carcinoma lines (SQ-20B and SCC-35), previously characterized as intrinsically resistant to radiation. Also exposure to IC(50) concentrations of these inhibitors, radiation sensitivities were enhanced in both cell lines. Depsipeptide exhibited the greatest effect on SQ-20B cells, decreasing D(0) values from 2.62 Gy to 1.64 Gy. M344 was the most active drug in sensitizing SCC-35 cells, decreasing D(0) values from 1.91 Gy to 1.21 Gy. The mechanisms underlying HDAC inhibitor-induced radiosensitization were further investigated by extending trichostatin A studies to assess cell cycle distributions and levels of apoptosis. Treatment of SQ-20B cells with radiosensitizing concentrations of trichostatin A resulted in cell cycle arrest in G(1) phase (>70%) and inhibition of DNA synthesis. Contrary to previous reports, induction of apoptosis was very low and caspase 3 and 9 were not activated. Taken together, these results implicate G(1) arrest and inhibition of DNA synthesis in the mechanisms underlying radiation sensitization by trichostatin A and support the use of HDAC inhibitors for targeting radioresistant cancers.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2004

[Analysis of acute respiratory dysfunction as a risk factor of multiple injuries].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between multiple injuries and acute respiratory dysfunction (ARD). METHODS: One hundred and ten patients with multiple injuries admitted during the last 6 years were retrospectively analyzed. With ARD as the dependent variable and other 11 factors as independent variables, all analysis was done statistically on computer to identify the complication of ARD as a risk factor. RESULTS: Multivariable and single argument analysis showed systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), pulmonary contusion, co-existing lung disease as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia, moderate hemothorax and pneumothorax, duration of shock over 12 hours, age over 55 years, injury severity score(ISS)>24 were high risk factors. CONCLUSION: Patients with multiple injuries with high risk factors should be kept under closer observation in order to prevent ARD and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Interstitial gene delivery in human xenograft prostate tumors using titanium metal seeds.

Gene therapy is a promising approach for the treatment of cancers. Strategies for gene vector delivery include systemic and local-regional approaches. Intratumoral delivery of vectors has generally employed direct injections into single or multiple locations throughout the tumor volume. However, this approach leads to nonuniform distributions of reagents within tumors and becomes cumbersome as the required number of injections is increased. We have investigated the effectiveness of an interstitial plasmid gene delivery based on using tiny metallic seeds (GeneSeeds) analogous to technology used for brachytherapy. Feasibility for interstitial use of GeneSeeds was demonstrated expressing reporter plasmids (green fluorescence protein or beta-galactosidase) in human xenograft prostate tumors. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed effective interstitial delivery, vector expression, and distributions of reporter genes within tumors. Applicability of GeneSeeds for delivery of radiosensitizing cytokines was examined by generating a cytokine [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)] expressing vector under the cytomegaloviral promoter and interstitially implanting GeneSeeds with this vector into prostate cancer tumors. TNF-alpha protein expression was observed around the ends of seeds and decreasing in an exponential gradient as a function of distance. The expression of TNF-alpha resulted in tumor growth delay of a human prostate cancer xenograft. These results demonstrate the feasibility of applying interstitial delivery of gene expressing vectors for the treatment of human cancers.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The p65 subunit of nuclear factor-kappaB is a molecular target for radiation sensitization of human squamous carcinoma cells.

The transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is activated in response to various stimuli including ionizing radiation. Disruption of NF-kappaB activation by mutant forms of the NF-kappaB inhibitor IkappaB-alpha or by proteasome inhibitors enhances both sensitivity to radiation and radiation-induced apoptosis. Human squamous carcinoma SCC-35 cells stably expressing a fragment (residues 1 to 84) of human p65 have been shown to exhibit down-regulation of both endogenous p65 mRNA and its protein. The mutant protein also inhibited radiation-induced NF-kappaB activation by preventing the proteolysis of IkappaB-alpha. This resulted in enhancement of cellular radiosensitivity and radiation-induced apoptosis. The NH(2)-terminal region of p65 is thus a potential molecular target for disruption of NF-kappaB activation and sensitization of tumors to radiotherapy.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2004

[Long-term outcome after injection sclerotherapy for esophageal variceal bleeding in children with portal hypertension].

OBJECTIVE: Endoscopic sclerotherapy has emerged as an effective treatment for bleeding esophageal varices in adults and children but the long-term outcome is poorly defined in children. The present study aimed to study the long-term effect of endoscopic sclerotherapy in children with portal hypertension. METHODS: Fifteen patients (age 3 to 14 years) with esophageal variceal bleeding underwent endoscopic injection treatments with 1% Aethoxy-sclerol since 1996. All subjects continued to receive the therapy by repeated intra and extravariceal endoscopic sclerotherapy at intervals of 3 - 4 weeks until the varices disappeared, and received regular endoscopic follow-up. RESULTS: Fifteen patients had totally 43 injections, and were followed up from 40 to 86 months (mean 66 months) by endoscopy. Two patients received 2 injections and 5 received 3 before eradication of varices. The mean time needed for varices eradication was 3 to 6 months. Recurrence of varices and bleeding was seen in 3 patients who had duodenal ulcer. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic sclerotherapy is a safe and effective treatment for pediatric esophageal varices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

SOMoRe: a multi-dimensional search and optimization approach to molecular replacement.

Commonly used traditional molecular-replacement (MR) methods, though often successful, have difficulty solving certain classes of MR problems. In addition, MR problems are generally very difficult global optimization problems because of the enormous number of local minima in traditionally computed target functions. As a result, a new MR program called SOMoRe is introduced that implements a new global optimization strategy that has two major components: (i) a six-dimensional global search of a target function computed from low-resolution data and (ii) multi-start local optimization. Because the target function computed from low-resolution data is relatively smooth, the global search can coarsely sample the MR variable space to identify good starting points for extensive multi-start local optimization. Consequently, SOMoRe was able to straightforwardly solve four realistic test problems, including two that could not be directly solved by traditional MR programs, and SOMoRe solved a problem using a less complete model than those required by two traditional programs and a stochastic six-dimensional program. Based on these results, this new strategy promises to extend the applicability and robustness of MR.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2003

[Dynamic changes of platelet number in early multiple injury and it is effect on prognosis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the dynamic changes of platelet number in early multiple injured patients and its clinical significance. METHODS: Ninety patients with multiple injury less than 48 hours were selected. Blood analysis was dynamicly investigated at 1, 24, 72, 120 and 168 hours after in Hospital, and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation III (APACHE III) and injury seriousness scale (ISS) scores were recorded. RESULTS: The platelet number declined after injury, reached the lowest point at 72 hours after in hospital, then restored to the normal level at 120 hours. In the platelet decrease group, the trauma was more critically[ISS (29.60+/-9.80) scores vs. (22.30+/-12.00) scores, (P<0.05)] and the incidence of multiple organs dysfunction syndrome (MODS) was higher than normal group (83.9% vs. 62.7%, P<0.05). In the death group, the number of platelet was declined[ (30.1+/-10.3) hours vs. (51.3+/-14.8) hours, (P<0.05) and the lasting tine was longer[ (63.7+/-11.0) hours vs. (54.2+/-13.4) hours, (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The platelet number declines after multiple injury. The decrease and continuously lower level of platelet suggest poor prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immediate and follow-up results of percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation (PTSMA) in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). METHODS: Fifteen symptomatic, drug-refractory patients with HOCM underwent PTSMA procedures with application of a myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) intra-procedure. Before and after the procedure, clinical evaluations were obtained in all patients, who were followed up for a mean period of 8.6 +/- 3.8 (6-20) months. RESULTS: Immediate left ventricular outflow tract gradient (LVOTG) reduction was achieved (77.93 +/- 22 mm Hg vs 14.8 +/- 15 mm Hg, P < 0.0001) after the procedure with a mean decrease of 5.75 +/- 2.87 mm Hg of left ventricular end diastolic pressure (P < 0.001). Follow up results revealed that ventricular remodelling occurred mainly 1-3 months after the procedure, but without evidence of ventricular dilation and contract dysfunction. Heart function (NYHA) was greatly improved (3.4 +/- 0.5 vs 1.1 +/- 0.4, P < 0.001) and exercise endurance increased. A renewed increase of LVOTG was found in 2 patients during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: LVOTG was greatly decreased in HOCM patients undergoing a PTSMA procedure, and their symptoms were greatly improved without cardiac complications during follow-up. Sub-selection and reopening of target vessels were the causes of renewed increase of LVOTG, and this can be avoided with the accumulation of experience. This is a promising method for the treatment of symptomatic patients with HOCM.

Adolescent↗