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Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant tumor, the incidence of which has increased worldwide in recent years. Ginsenosides are the main active components of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that ginsenosides have significant anti-cancer activity, including BC. It is reported that ginsenosides can induce BC cells apoptosis, inhibit BC cells proliferation, migration, invasion, as well as autophagy and angiogenesis, thereby suppress the procession of BC. In this review, the therapeutic effects and the molecular mechanisms of ginsenosides on BC will be summarized. And the combination strategy of ginsenosides with other drugs on BC will also be discussed. In addition, epigenetic changes, especially microRNAs (miRNAs) targeted by ginsenosides in the treatment of BC are clarified.

Objective:The aim of this study was to validate a novel pictorial-based Longshi Scale for evaluating a patient’s disability by healthcare professionals and non-professionals.Design:Prospective study.Setting:Rehabilitation departments from a grade A, class 3 public hospital, a grade B, class 2 public hospital, and a private hospital and seven community rehabilitation centers.Subjects:A total of 618 patients and 251 patients with functional disabilities were recruited in a two-phase study, respectively.Main measures:Outcome measure: pictorial scale of activities of daily living (ADLs, Longshi Scale). Reference measure: Barthel Index. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze the validity of Longshi Scale against Barthel Index.Results:In phase 1 study, from March 2016 to August 2016, the results demonstrated that the Longshi Scale was both reliable and valid (intraclass correlation coefficient based on two-way random effect (ICC2,1) = 0.877–0.974 for intra-rater reliability; ICC2,1= 0.928–0.979; κ = 0.679–1.000 for inter-rater reliability; intraclass correlation coefficient based on one-way random effect (ICC1,1) = 0.921–0.984 for test–retest reliability and Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.836–0.899). In the second phase, in March 2018, results further demonstrated that the Longshi Scale had good inter-rater and intra-rater reliability among healthcare professionals and non-professionals including therapists, interns, and personal care aids (ICC1,1= 0.822–0.882 on Day 1; ICC1,1= 0.842–0.899 on Day 7 for inter-rater reliability). In addition, the Longshi Scale decreased assessment time significantly, compared with the Barthel Index assessment ( P < 0.01).Conclusion:The Longshi Scale could potentially provide an efficient way for healthcare professionals and non-professionals who may have minimal training to assess the ADLs of functionally disabled patients.

Heat transfer is actually intimately related to the sound propagation (acoustic transfer) in materials, as in insulators and semi-conductors the main heat carriers are acoustic phonons. The concept of the presence of interfaces has been largely exploited for efficiently manipulating phonons from long-wavelength to nanometric wavelengths, i.e., frequencies in THz regime, responsible for thermal transport at room temperature. In this thesis, the finite element method is used to perform transient analysis of wavepacket propagation in different mediums. I started with a parametric study of attenuation of acoustic wave-packets in a 2D semi-infinite elastic system with periodic circular interfaces. Three key parameters are investigated, including rigidity contrast, interface density and phonon wavelength. Different energy transfer regimes (propagative, diffusive, and localized) are identified allowing to understand the phonon contribution to thermal transport. Besides the circular interfaces, mechanical response and acoustic attenuation for different types of interfaces are also investigated, such as Eshelby’s inclusion, dendritic shape inclusion and porous materials with ordered/disordered holes. In order to extend the study to amorphous materials, I also considered a heterogeneous medium with random rigidities distributed in space according to a Gaussian distribution based on the theory of heterogeneous shear elasticity of glasses. Finally yet importantly, viscoelastic constitutive laws are proposed to take into account the frequency-dependent intrinsic phonon attenuation in glasses, with the aim of reproducing such intrinsic attenuation using a homogeneous viscous medium. Finite element simulation confirms that a continuum model may strictly follow the atomistic attenuation (G) for a well-calibrated macroscopic linear viscoelastic constitutive law. Compared with the experimental data in a-SiO2, our second constitutive law reproduces qualitatively and quantitatively the three regimes of acoustic attenuation versus frequency : successively Γ∝ω^2,ω^4,ω^2., Le transfert de chaleur est intimement lié à la propagation du son (transfert acoustique) dans les matériaux, par exemple dans les isolants et les semi-conducteurs, les principaux vecteurs d’énergie sont des phonons acoustiques. Le concept de présence d’interfaces a été largement exploité pour manipuler efficacement les phonons des longueurs d’onde macroscopiques aux longueurs d’onde nanométriques. Les derniers correspondent aux fréquences en régime THz, qui sont responsables du transport thermique à température ambiante. Dans cette thèse, la méthode des éléments finis est utilisée pour effectuer des analyses transitoires de la propagation des paquets d’ondes dans différents milieux à 2D. Elle est commencée par une étude paramétrique de l’atténuation des paquets d’ondes dans un système élastique semi-infini avec des interfaces circulaires périodiques. Trois paramètres clés sont étudiés, notamment le contraste de rigidité, la densité d’interface et la longueur d’onde des phonons. Différents régimes de transfert (propagatif, diffusif et localisé) sont identifiés, qui permettent d’identifier la contribution des phonons à la conductivité thermique. Outre les interfaces circulaires, la réponse mécanique et l’atténuation acoustique pour différents types d’interfaces sont également étudiées, telles que l’inclusion de forme dendritique, l’inclusion d’Eshelby, et les matériaux poreux avec des pores ordonnés / désordonnés. Afin d’étendre l’étude aux matériaux amorphes, j’ai également considéré un milieu hétérogène avec des rigidités aléatoires réparties dans l’espace selon une distribution gaussienne basée sur la théorie de l’élasticité de cisaillement hétérogène des verres. Enfin et surtout, deux versions de lois de comportement viscoélastiques sont proposées pour prendre en compte l’atténuation intrinsèque des phonons dépendant de la fréquence dans les verres, dans le but qu’un milieu visqueux homogène puisse reproduire cette atténuation intrinsèque. La simulation par éléments finis confirme qu’un modèle continu peut suivre strictement l’atténuation atomistique (G) avec une loi de comportement viscoélastique linéaire macroscopique bien calibrée. Par rapport aux données expérimentales de a-SiO2, notre deuxième loi de comportement reproduit qualitativement et quantitativement les trois régimes d’atténuation acoustique en fonction de la fréquence : successivement Γ ∝ ω^2,ω^4,ω^2.