Nonclassicality of photon-added squeezed vacuum and its decoherence in thermal environment

We study the nonclassicality of photon-added squeezed vacuum (PASV) and its decoherence in thermal environment in terms of the sub-Poissonian statistics and the negativity of Wigner function (WF). By converting the PASV to a squeezed Hermite polynomial excitation state, we derive a compact expression for the normalization factor of m-PASV, which is an m-order Legendre polynomial of squeezing parameter r. We also derive the explicit expression of WF of m-PASV and find the negative region of WF in phase space. We show that there is an upper bound value of r for this state to exhibit sub-Poissonian statistics increasing as m increases. Then we derive the explicit analytical expression of time evolution of WF of m-PASV in the thermal channel and discuss the loss of nonclassicality using the negativity of WF. The threshold value of decay time is presented for the single PASV.Comment: 14 pages and 7 figure

Fault detection of redundant systems based on B-spline neural network

The fault detection and isolation of redundant sensor systems based on B-spline neural networks is presented in this paper. The network is trained using an algorithm with an adaptive learning rate. To further save computation time, the residual vector is transformed from a multivariate B-spline function to an univariate B-spline function. The detection of abrupt and drifting faults using the proposed method is discusses. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated by an example involving a redundant system consisting of six sensors.published_or_final_versio

Current Status of Herbal Medicines in Chronic Liver Disease Therapy: The Biological Effects, Molecular Targets and Future Prospects

Chronic liver dysfunction or injury is a serious health problem worldwide. Chronic liver disease involves a wide range of liver pathologies that include fatty liver, hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The efficiency of current synthetic agents in treating chronic liver disease is not satisfactory and they have undesirable side effects. Thereby, numerous medicinal herbs and phytochemicals have been investigated as complementary and alternative treatments for chronic liver diseases. Since some herbal products have already been used for the management of liver diseases in some countries or regions, a systematic review on these herbal medicines for chronic liver disease is urgently needed. Herein, we conducted a review describing the potential role, pharmacological studies and molecular mechanisms of several commonly used medicinal herbs and phytochemicals for chronic liver diseases treatment. Their potential toxicity and side effects were also discussed. Several herbal formulae and their biological effects in chronic liver disease treatment as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms are also summarized in this paper. This review article is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of our current knowledge of the conventional medicinal herbs and phytochemicals in treating chronic liver diseases and on the potential pitfalls which need to be addressed in future study. © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.published_or_final_versio

MicroRNAs and Chinese Medicinal Herbs: New Possibilities in Cancer Therapy

In recent decades Chinese medicine has been used worldwide as a complementary and alternative medicine to treat cancer. Plenty of studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play fundamental roles in many pathological processes, including cancer, while the anti-cancer mechanisms of Chinese medicinal herbs targeting miRNAs also have been extensively explored. Our previous studies and those of others on Chinese medicinal herbs and miRNAs in various cancer models have provided a possibility of new cancer therapies, for example, up-regulating the expression of miR-23a may activate the positive regulatory network of p53 and miR-23a involved in the mechanism underlying the anti-tumor effect of berberine in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this review, we survey the role of Chinese medicinal herbal products in regulating miRNAs in cancer and the use of mediating miRNAs for cancer treatment. In addition, the controversial roles of herb-derived exogenous miRNAs in cancer treatment are also discussed. It is expected that targeting miRNAs would provide a novel therapeutic approach in cancer therapy by improving overall response and survival outcomes in cancer treatment, especially when combined with conventional therapeutics and Chinese medicinal herbal products. © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.published_or_final_versio

A Network-Based Pharmacology Study of the Herb-Induced Liver Injury Potential of Traditional Hepatoprotective Chinese Herbal Medicines

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Substitutes for Bear Bile for the Treatment of Liver Diseases: Research Progress and Future Perspective

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A Biomedical Investigation of the Hepatoprotective Effect of Radix salviae miltiorrhizae and Network Pharmacology-Based Prediction of the Active Compounds and Molecular Targets

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Inhibition of eukaryotic elongation factor-2 confers to tumor suppression by a herbal formulation Huanglian-Jiedu decoction in human hepatocellular carcinoma

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: An oriental medicinal formulation, Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HLJDD), has been well documented in few Traditional Chinese Medicine Classics 1300 years ago for treatment of heat and dampness-related diseases. Its effect is well accepted in Asian community, including China, Japan and Korea. Recent studies have postulated HLJDD as a regimen for cancer treatment, especially liver cancer, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the suppressive effect of HLJDD on the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its possible underlying mechanism. METHODS: Chemical composition of HLJDD was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The tumor suppressive effect of HLJDD was determined on both HCC cells and xenograft model. Nascent protein synthesis was detected with Click-IT protein labeling technology; protein expression was determined by immunoblotting and imunnohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: Quality analysis revealed that HLJDD of different batches is consistent in both chemical composition and bioactivities. HLJDD inhibited HCC cell proliferation at its non-toxic doses, and suppressed growth and angiogenesis in xenografted murine model. HLJDD suppressed the synthesis of nascent protein via inactivation of eEF2 without deregulating the translation initiation factors. The major components in HLJDD, geniposide, berberine and baicalin, additively act on eEF2, and contributed to the responsible activity. HLJDD-activated eEF2 kinase (eEF2K) led to eEF2 inactivation, and activation of AMPK signaling may be responsible for the eEF2K induction. Blocked AMPK activity in HLJDD-treated HCC cells attenuated eEF2K activation as well as the inhibitory effect of the formula. In nutrient deprived HCC cells with inactivated eEF2, the inhibitory effect of HLJDD in tumor cell expansion was interfered. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that HLJDD has potential in blocking HCC progression with involvement of eEF2 inhibition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.postprin

Berberine Inhibition of Fibrogenesis in a Rat Model of Liver Fibrosis and in Hepatic Stellate Cells

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The effect of cigarette price increase on the cigarette consumption in Taiwan: evidence from the National Health Interview Surveys on cigarette consumption

BACKGROUND: This study uses cigarette price elasticity to evaluate the effect of a new excise tax increase on cigarette consumption and to investigate responses from various types of smokers. METHODS: Our sample consisted of current smokers between 17 and 69 years old interviewed during an annual face-to-face survey conducted by Taiwan National Health Research Institutes between 2000 to 2003. We used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) procedure to estimate double logarithmic function of cigarette demand and cigarette price elasticity. RESULTS: In 2002, after Taiwan had enacted the new tax scheme, cigarette price elasticity in Taiwan was found to be -0.5274. The new tax scheme brought about an average annual 13.27 packs/person (10.5%) reduction in cigarette consumption. Using the cigarette price elasticity estimate from -0.309 in 2003, we calculated that if the Health and Welfare Tax were increased by another NT$ 3 per pack and cigarette producers shifted this increase to the consumers, cigarette consumption would be reduced by 2.47 packs/person (2.2%). The value of the estimated cigarette price elasticity is smaller than one, meaning that the tax will not only reduce cigarette consumption but it will also generate additional tax revenues. Male smokers who had no income or who smoked light cigarettes were found to be more responsive to changes in cigarette price. CONCLUSIONS: An additional tax added to the cost of cigarettes would bring about a reduction in cigarette consumption and increased tax revenues. It would also help reduce incidents smoking-related illnesses. The additional tax revenues generated by the tax increase could be used to offset the current financial deficiency of Taiwan's National Health Insurance program and provide better public services