Human Practice
The team theme of Guangxi-U-China is “For Better Life and Better World”. We hope our research, as well as educational program and efforts on human practices are good to the life and the world.
This year we are focusing on the social investigation, educational program and the continuous improvement of the design of our project. Social investigation facilitates the identification of current social status of breast cancer occurrence, medication, disease management and policy. It is found that the treatment of breast cancer shall be very effective if early symptoms and biomarkers can be detected. Metabolic and proteomic analysis of normal and cancerous cells may reveal new biomarkers. Observation of early symptoms needs regular checking with conveniently available portable devices that should be very helpful for individual self-checking, in particular for those living in rural areas very far from cities. Educational programs are aimed to raise public awareness and provide the public with related fundamental knowledges and resources. It has also been realized that the treatment of triple negative breast cancer is very challenging because of the lack of target, low chemotherapy responses and immune escape. We decide to work on the remediation of acidic tumor microenvironments that causes the polarization of tumor associated macrophages to noninflammatory phenotype. All activities of our human practices are integrated as a whole and complemented with each other as shown in Figure 1.
Based on our team theme, our activities of human practice include social/background investigation (epidemiological survey, meeting with medical doctor and professor in public health), public education (training in synthetic biology and safety, brainstorm team meeting, public educational lectures and scientific lab show), science communications (with experts in biology, AI, electronics and pulsed laser), and social services (public WeChat account, and the design of a portable device). We also take suggestions from other people through science communications. The feedback from our activities of human practices helps us to continuously improve our project. Importantly, all activities are assured to be in accordance with national and institutional regulation and guidelines on lab safety, biosafety, ethics and norms.
Figure 1. The integrated human practice designed in the project
We have launched an online epidemiological questionnaire that was open and publicly available (Open the report for epidemiological survey). In total, we have received 712 valid questionnaires between February 18 and July 10, 2022. These valid questionnaires cover 20 provinces or regions of China.
Based on the collected data, we identified two major risk factors in correlation with breast cancer including behavioral factors such as behavioral factors include the habit of staying up late, smoking, unhealthy diet, and alcohol drinking, as well as reproductive factors such as age, number of giving birth, breastfeeding time, and pregnancy termination. We hope make some useful contribution to our community and raise public awareness for early detection and prevention of breast cancer.
Dr. Lin Zhang is the chief medical doctor in Tongji hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology located in Wuhan, China. She gave an online lecture in the Tencent Meeting on Feb. 15, 2022. In Dr. Zhang’s lecture, we have learned about current diagnostic techniques, medication and prognosis of breast cancer and other breast conditions. The story that people have battled with breast cancer has inspired us to explore further in this field. We had interactive discussion from the basic biology of the disease, to ongoing medical innovation, to risk factors and prevention, and survivorship.
Professor Bifeng Yuan is the vice dean of school of public health of Wuhan University, China. He gave online lectures in the Tencent Meeting on Aug. 29, 2022 and another one early in 2021. Professor Yuan focuses on the analysis of the roles of epigenetic modifications, metabolomics, and nucleic acid damage and repair in cancer progression. His research provides us another direction to look into the occurrence of breast cancer. In contrast to genetics, epigenetics refers to the study of mechanisms that alter gene expression without altering the primary DNA sequence. It has been found that various epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation, histone modification, miRNA expression, and higher order chromatin structure affect gene expression. In fact, the progression of breast cancer involves complex and multi-step process that incorporates an accumulation of not only genetic but also epigenetic alterations. External and internal cellular microenvironmental factors influence the occurrence of these alterations that may drives tumorigenesis
Our team members are majored in life science and technology, electric engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science and technology, animal science and technology, economics, journalism and communications of with different education background. On December, 2021, April 23, 2022, and September, 2022, training lectures on synthetic biology, safety, norms and ethics were provided to team member (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Training of synthetic biology, safety, norms and ethics
Team members report their literature studies and experimental progresses almost every week. They discuss any problems met in the project and work together to solve the problem. Literature studies help team members understand the frontiers in synthetic biology, the underlying mechanisms of breast cancer and advanced strategies for treatment. In total, we have had 14 brainstorm meetings and 41 presentations have been given so far (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Brainstorming team meetings
On important holidays including “3.8 Women’s Day” and “Mother’s Day”, we gave public health lectures that provide people with fundamental knowledges of breast cancer. We are aimed to raise public awareness for early detection and prevention. Three and two online lectures in Tencent Meeting were online open to the public on “3.8 Women’s Day” and “Mother’s Day”, respectively (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Online public educational lectures
In August and September of 2022, team members have given public educational lectures in city communities or rural counties located in 6 provinces or regions of China, including Guangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Anhui, Henan and Sichuan. The lectures focus on fundamental knowledges of breast cancer, early symptoms, prevention and personalized medicine (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Public educational lectures in city communities and rural counties
In September of 2022, team members provided two health educational lectures to the freshmen majored in life science and technology. These lectures cover the fundamental biology and the landscape of emerging immune therapy of breast cancer. After the lectures, team members took them to have a tour of the scientific lab. We hope that our activities can inspire the new students in the university (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Public health education and scientific lab show to freshmen
Three online zoom meetings have been scheduled with Dr. Brian S DeDecker of the team CU-Boulder of University of Colorado at Boulder in USA. We had interactive discussions about the adaptative evolution of the metabolic network of E. coli in lactate, golden gate gene cloning, RNA preparation from mice and co-culture of human cancer cells with bacteria.
Large scale metabolomic and proteomic data are collected in this project. We met with Dr. Ye Yuan through online Tencent Meeting who is a distinguished professor in college of artificial intelligence and automation of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. We are very interested in the technique that he and co-workers have developed for the support of decision making and logistical planning in healthcare systems (Nat. Mach. Intell.2020, 2, 283–288).
In the process of the establishment of a portable device, we met with Mr. Guanghua He who is a senior technician in electronics of the college of computer science and technology of Guangxi University, China. He helps us with the detection of ultrasounds.
We need a near infrared pulsed lased for the establishment of the photoacoustic device. We asked help from Dr. Jun Zhou who is an assistant professor in the college of mechanical engineering of Guangxi University, China. We used the laser in his lab for proof-of-principle demonstration.
In order to provide social services for people who need to know fundamental knowledges, emerging advanced therapies, diagnostic techniques and management of breast cancer, we established a public health WeChat account named as The Lanterns (兰子菽) in Mar. 3, 2022 so that the Guangxi-U-China team can be readily available to the public. It is fully designed and operated by the Guangxi-U-China team. So far, 18 articles that were written by the team members are posted on the public health account (Figure 7).
Figure 7. The Lanterns public health WeChat account and posted articles.
We know from activities of human practices that the treatment of breast cancer may be highly effective if it can be detected early. A portable device that is affordable for individuals is essential for daily self-checking. Towards this goal, we have designed a dual mode photoacoustic portable device that is based on the detection of the interaction of the ultrasound generated by the irradiation of a near infrared laser on tissues and the reflected ultrasound waves from a ultrasonic generator (Figure 8). Currently, we are performing some theoretic simulation and preliminary investigation of the principles and setting-up. Related software have been developed (click for software download) and are under testing. The full instrumentation may be completed in 3 years. It may be helpful for individual self-checking and raise awareness for early symptoms
Figure 8. The design and building of a photoacoustic device
Figure 9. Project improvement and social contribution of our human practice
The activities of our human practices continuously enhance our project. We have obtained lots of help from peoples in multiple disciplines. In the processes, we learn new knowledges from experts that broaden our visions and inspire us to explore further. In the meantime, we provide social services and educational programs that may be helpful for a better life and better world (Figure 9).