Facile and controllable synthesis of nitrogen self-doped chitosan-derived carbon for high-performance Li-ion batteries

Xia Wentao,Cheng Miao,Hu Jing,Liu Qianqian,Wei Tao,Wang Ruirui,Li Wanfei,Liu Bo 한국탄소학회 2024 Carbon Letters Vol.34 No.1

N-doping content and configurations have a significant effect on the electrochemical performance of carbon anodes. Herein, we proposed a simple method to synthesize highly N self-doped chitosan-derived carbon with controllable N-doping types by introducing 2ZnCO3·3Zn(OH)2 into the precursor. The as-synthesized NC-CS/2ZnCO3·3Zn(OH)2 electrode exhibited more than twice the reversible capacity (518 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g−1) compared to the NC-CS electrode, superior rate performance and outstanding cycling stability. The remarkable improvement should be mainly attributed to the increase of N-doping content (particularly the pyrrolic-N content), which provided more active sites and favored Li+ diffusion kinetics. This study develops a cost-effective and facile synthesis route to fabricate high-performance N self-doped carbon with tunable doping sites for rechargeable battery applications.

Systemic Family Therapy of Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression with Epilepsy in Adolescents

Jing Li1,Xuefeng Wang,Huaqing Meng,Kebin Zeng,Fengying Quan,Fang Liu 대한신경정신의학회 2016 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.13 No.3

ObjectiveaaThe aim of this study was to find if systemic family therapy (SFT) does work in anxiety and depression with epilepsy in adolescents (ADAE). Methodsaa104 adolescents with epilepsy, aged 13–20 years old, were included from December 2009 to December 2010, the enrolled patients were with anxiety [Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score ≥14 points] or depression [Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) score ≥20 points]. The patients were randomly divided into the control group (n=52) treated with antiepileptic drugs (AED) and the intervention group (n=52) undergone Systemic Family Therapy (SFT) as well as AED. The AED improvements, anxiety and depression scores, Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Family Assessment Device (FAD) and scale of systemic family dynamics (SSFD) were observed after 3-month treatment. ResultsaaThe frequencies of epileptic seizures in intervention group was decreased much more significantly than the control group (4.22±3.54 times/month vs. 6.20±5.86 times/month, p=0.04); and the scores of anxiety (9.52±6.28 points vs. 13.48±8.47 points, p=0.01) and depression (13.86±9.17 points vs. 18.89±8.73 points, p=0.02) were significantly decreased than the control group; meanwhile, the family dynamics and family functions were significantly improved, and the social support was also increased (p<0.05). ConclusionaaSFT combined with AEDs had better efficacies than AEDs alone, not only the frequency of epileptic seizures was decreased, but also the patients’ anxiety and depression were improved, and the family dynamics, family functions and social support were improved.

Catalytic effects of calcium and potassium on a curved char surface in fuel reburning: A first-principles study on the adsorption of nitric oxide on single-wall carbon nanotubes with metal decoration

Liu, Lei,Jin, Jing,Hou, Fengxiao,Li, Shengjuan,Lee, Chang-Ha Pergamon Press 2017 Energy Vol.125 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>To investigate the role of a curved char surface in the nitric oxide (NO)-char reaction, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were proposed as a model for simulating the curved char surface in first-principles calculations. The effect of calcium and potassium decoration on the adsorption of NO was compared for SWCNTs and graphene, the latter of which represented a flat char surface. The contribution of a curved surface to the NO-char reaction was insignificant in the absence of metals, as the binding energy of NO on pure SWCNTs was only 13% of that on pure graphene. In contrast, when calcium or potassium was present, NO adsorption on the curved surface became significant as the binding energies of NO on calcium- or potassium-decorated SWCNTs increased to 72% and 18% of those on the corresponding decorated graphene surfaces, respectively. The catalytic effect of calcium and potassium was attributed to electron transfer and backdonation between the 4s- and 3d-orbitals of the metal atoms and the NO molecule. Thus, the studies into NO adsorption on flat and curved char surfaces render it possible to determine the degree of catalytic effect of these two metals on the char surface during fuel reburning.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> SWCNTs were proposed to simulate the curved char surface in the fuel reburning. </LI> <LI> The catalytic effects of Ca and K were studied by Ca- or K-decorated SWCNTs. </LI> <LI> Without Ca or K, the binding energy of NO on curved char surface was trivial. </LI> <LI> When Ca or K was present, NO adsorption on the curved surface became significant. </LI> <LI> Electrons of Ca and K in 4s- and 3d-orbitals transferred to the NO molecule. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Pharmacological blockade of cholesterol trafficking by cepharanthine in endothelial cells suppresses angiogenesis and tumor growth

Lyu, Junfang,Yang, Eun Ju,Head, Sarah A.,Ai, Nana,Zhang, Baoyuan,Wu, Changjie,Li, Ruo-Jing,Liu, Yifan,Yang, Chen,Dang, Yongjun,Kwon, Ho Jeong,Ge, Wei,Liu, Jun O.,Shim, Joong Sup Elsevier 2017 Cancer letters Vol.409 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Cholesterol is an important modulator of membrane protein function and signaling in endothelial cells, thus making it an emerging target for anti-angiogenic agents. In this study, we employed a phenotypic screen that detects intracellular cholesterol distribution in endothelial cells (HUVEC) and identified 13 existing drugs as cholesterol trafficking inhibitors. Cepharanthine, an approved drug for anti-inflammatory and cancer management use, was amongst the candidates, which was selected for in-depth mechanistic studies to link cholesterol trafficking and angiogenesis. Cepharanthine inhibited the endolysosomal trafficking of free-cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein in HUVEC by binding to Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) protein and increasing the lysosomal pH. The blockade of cholesterol trafficking led to a cholesterol-dependent dissociation of mTOR from the lysosomes and inhibition of its downstream signaling. Cepharanthine inhibited angiogenesis in HUVEC and in zebrafish in a cholesterol-dependent manner. Furthermore, cepharanthine suppressed tumor growth in vivo by inhibiting angiogenesis and it enhanced the antitumor activity of the standard chemotherapy cisplatin in lung and breast cancer xenografts in mice. Altogether, these results strongly support the idea that cholesterol trafficking is a viable drug target for anti-angiogenesis and that the inhibitors identified among existing drugs, such as cepharanthine, could be potential anti-angiogenic and antitumor agents.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> A phenotypic screen identified 13 existing drugs, including cepharanthine, as cholesterol trafficking inhibitors. </LI> <LI> Cepharanthine inhibited lysosomal cholesterol trafficking by binding to NPC1 protein and increasing the lysosomal pH. </LI> <LI> The blockade of cholesterol trafficking led to a cholesterol-dependent dissociation of mTOR from the lysosomes. </LI> <LI> Cepharanthine inhibited angiogenesis in HUVEC and in zebrafish in a cholesterol-dependent manner. </LI> <LI> Cepharanthine treatment enhanced the antitumor activity of cisplatin in lung and breast cancer xenografts in mice. </LI> </UL> </P>

Insulin Resistance Reduces Sensitivity to Cis-Platinum and Promotes Adhesion, Migration and Invasion in HepG2 Cells

Li, Lin-Jing,Li, Guang-Di,Wei, Hu-Lai,Chen, Jing,Liu, Yu-Mei,Li, Fei,Xie, Bei,Wang, Bei,Li, Cai-Li Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.7

The liver is normally the major site of glucose metabolism in intact organisms and the most important target organ for the action of insulin. It has been widely accepted that insulin resistance (IR) is closely associated with postoperative recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the relationship between IR and drug resistance in liver cancer cells is unclear. In the present study, IR was induced in HepG2 cells via incubation with a high concentration of insulin. Once the insulin-resistant cell line was established, the stability of HepG2/IR cells was further tested via incubation in insulin-free medium for another 72h. Afterwards, the biological effects of insulin resistance on adhesion, migration, invasion and sensitivity to cis-platinum (DDP) of cells were determined. The results indicated that glucose consumption was reduced in insulin-resistant cells. In addition, the expression of the insulin receptor and glucose transportor-2 was downregulated. Furthermore, HepG2/IR cells displayed markedly enhanced adhesion, migration, and invasion. Most importantly, these cells exhibited a lower sensitivity to DDP. By contrast, HepG2/IR cells exhibited decreased adhesion and invasion after treatment with the insulin sensitizer pioglitazone hydrochloride. The results suggest that IR is closely related to drug resistance as well as adhesion, migration, and invasion in HepG2 cells. These findings may help explain the clinical observation of limited efficacy for chemotherapy on a background of IR, which promotes the invasion and migration of cancer cells.

Ontogenetic Expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 Genes and Their Associations with Traits in Two Breeds of Chinese Fat-tailed Sheep

Jiao, Xiao-Li,Jing, Jiong-Jie,Qiao, Li-Ying,Liu, Jian-Hua,Li, Liu-An,Zhang, Jing,Jia, Xia-Li,Liu, Wen-Zhong Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2016 Animal Bioscience Vol.29 No.3

Lipins play dual function in lipid metabolism by serving as phosphatidate phosphatase and transcriptional co-regulators of gene expression. Mammalian lipin proteins consist of lipin1, lipin2, and lipin3 and are encoded by their respective genes Lpin1, Lpin2, and Lpin3. To date, most studies are concerned with Lpin1, only a few have addressed Lpin2 and Lpin3. Ontogenetic expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 and their associations with traits would help to explore their molecular and physiological functions in sheep. In this study, 48 animals with an equal number of males and females each for both breeds of fat-tailed sheep such as Guangling Large Tailed (GLT) and Small Tailed Han (STH) were chosen to evaluate the ontogenetic expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 from eight different tissues and months of age by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Associations between gene expression and slaughter and tail traits were also analyzed. The results showed that Lpin2 mRNA was highly expressed in perirenal and tail fats, and was also substantially expressed in liver, kidney, reproductive organs (testis and ovary), with the lowest levels in small intestine and femoral biceps. Lpin3 mRNA was prominently expressed in liver and small intestine, and was also expressed at high levels in kidney, perirenal and tail fats as well as reproductive organs (testis and ovary), with the lowest level in femoral biceps. Global expression of Lpin2 and Lpin3 in GLT both were significantly higher than those in STH. Spatiotemporal expression showed that the highest levels of Lpin2 expression occurred at 10 months of age in two breeds of sheep, with the lowest expression at 2 months of age in STH and at 8 months of age in GLT. The greatest levels of Lpin3 expression occurred at 4 months of age in STH and at 10 months of age in GLT, with the lowest expression at 12 months of age in STH and at 8 months of age in GLT. Breed and age significantly influenced the tissue expression patterns of Lpin2 and Lpin3, respectively, and sex significantly influenced the spatiotemporal expression patterns of Lpin3. Meanwhile, Lpin2 and Lpin3 mRNA expression both showed significant correlations with slaughter and tail traits, and the associations appear to be related with the ontogenetic expression as well as the potential functions of lipin2 and lipin3 in sheep.

A FEEDBACK-DRIVEN BUBBLE G24.136+00.436: A POSSIBLE SITE OF TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION

Liu, Hong-Li,Wu, Yuefang,Li, JinZeng,Yuan, Jing-Hua,Liu, Tie,Dong, Xiaoyi IOP Publishing 2015 The Astrophysical journal Vol.798 No.1

<P>We present a multi-wavelength study of the IR bubble G24.136+00.436. The J = 1-0 observations of (CO)-C-12, (CO)-C-13, and (CO)-O-18 were carried out with the Purple Mountain Observatory 13.7 m telescope. Molecular gas with a velocity of 94.8 km s(-1) is found prominently in the southeast of the bubble, shaped as a shell with a total mass of similar to 2 x 10(4) M-circle dot. It was likely assembled during the expansion of the bubble. The expanding shell consists of six dense cores, whose dense (a few of 10(3) cm(-3)) and massive (a few of 10(3) M-circle dot) characteristics coupled with the broad linewidths (>2.5 km s(-1)) suggest that they are promising sites for forming high-mass stars or clusters. This could be further consolidated by the detection of compact H II regions in Cores A and E. We tentatively identified and classified 63 candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) based on the Spitzer and UKIDSS data. They are found to be dominantly distributed in regions with strong molecular gas emission, indicative of active star formation, especially in the shell. The H II region inside the bubble is mainly ionized by a similar to O8V star(s), of the dynamical age of similar to 1.6 Myr. The enhanced number of candidate YSOs and secondary star formation in the shell as well as the timescales involved, indicate a possible scenario for triggering star formation, signified by the 'collect and collapse' process.</P>

Matrine Reduces Proliferation of Human Lung Cancer Cells by Inducing Apoptosis and Changing miRNA Expression Profiles

Liu, Yong-Qi,Li, Yi,Qin, Jie,Wang, Qian,She, Ya-Li,Luo, Ya-Li,He, Jian-Xin,Li, Jing-Ya,Xie, Xiao-Dong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.5

Matrine, a main active component extracted from dry roots of Sophora flavecens, has been reported to exert antitumor effects on A549 human non-small lung cancer cells, but its mechanisms of action remain unclear. To determine effects of matrine on proliferation of A549 cells and assess possible mechanisms, MTT assays were employed to detect cytotoxicity, along with o flow cytometric analysis of DNA content of nuclei of cells following staining with propidium iodide to analyze cell cycle distribution. Western blotting was performed to determined expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, VEGF and HDAC1, while a microarray was used to assessed changes of miRNA profiles. In the MTT assay, matrine suppressed growth of human lung cancer cell A549 in a dose- and timedependent manner at doses of 0.25-2.5 mg/ml for 24h, 48h or 72h. Matrine induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase and decreased the G2/M phase, while down-regulating the expression of Bcl2 protein, leading to a reduction in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. In addition, matrine down regulated the expression level of VEGF and HDAC1 of A549 cells. Microarray analysis demonstrated that matrine altered the expression level of miRNAs compared with untreated control A549 cells. In conclusion, matrine could inhibit proliferation of A549 cells, providing useful information for understanding anticancer mechanisms.

Antiviral activity of Herba Patrinea (a Chinese medicinal herb) against respiratory syncytial virus in vitro

Li, Hong-Yuan,Li, Shan-Shan,Liu, Dian-Li,Dong, Yan-Mei,Tian, Wen-Jing Kyung Hee Oriental Medicine Research Center 2003 Oriental pharmacy and experimental medicine Vol.3 No.2

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has long been considered an important cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children throughout the world. Unfortunately, no effective treatment of RSV exists. Therefore, New agents are needed to reduce the impact of RSV. We have studied the anti-viral effect of traditional Chinese midicinal herbs for over ten years and find Herba Patrinea (a Chinese medicinal herb) has the anti-RSV effect in vitro. In this study, the Herba Patrinea was extracted with hot water, condensed and sterilized. The cytotoxicity of the aqueous extract was tested by adding the diluted extract directly to HeLa cells and its effect on anti-RSV was estimated by the CPEI assay. As a result, the median cytotoxic concentration $(CC_{50})$ of Herba Patrinea was 32 mg/ ml by morphological observation, the median effective concentration (50% effective concentration, $EC_{50}$) of the Herba Patrinea against replication of the Long strain of RSV in HeLa cells were 1.25 mg/ml. The selectivity index $(SI=CC_{50}/EC{50})$ is 25.6. Moreover, Herba Patrinea gave a dose-dependent response in inhibiting RSV. In time of addition experiment, Herba Patrinea inhibited replication of RSV in HeLa cells when it was added at 0h, 2h, and 4h after virus infection. In summary, the results of this study suggest Herba Patrinea may be a novel anti-RSV drug and it is worthy of further studying.

A Chaperone Function of NO CATALASE ACTIVITY1 Is Required to Maintain Catalase Activity and for Multiple Stress Responses in Arabidopsis

Li, Jing,Liu, Juntao,Wang, Guoqiang,Cha, Joon-Yung,Li, Guannan,Chen, She,Li, Zhen,Guo, Jinghua,Zhang, Caiguo,Yang, Yongqing,Kim, Woe-Yeon,Yun, Dae-Jin,Schumaker, Karen S.,Chen, Zhongzhou,Guo, Yan American Society of Plant Biologists 2015 The Plant cell Vol.27 No.3

<P>Arabidopsis protein NCA1 interacts with catalases in the cytosol and increases catalase activity through maintaining catalase folding state, which is required for stress responses.</P><P>Catalases are key regulators of reactive oxygen species homeostasis in plant cells. However, the regulation of catalase activity is not well understood. In this study, we isolated an <I>Arabidopsis thaliana</I> mutant, <I>no catalase activity1-3</I> (<I>nca1-3</I>) that is hypersensitive to many abiotic stress treatments. The mutated gene was identified by map-based cloning as NCA1, which encodes a protein containing an N-terminal RING-finger domain and a C-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat-like helical domain. NCA1 interacts with and increases catalase activity maximally in a 240-kD complex in planta. In vitro, NCA1 interacts with CATALASE2 (CAT2) in a 1:1 molar ratio, and the NCA1 C terminus is essential for this interaction. CAT2 activity increased 10-fold in the presence of NCA1, and zinc ion binding of the NCA1 N terminus is required for this increase. NCA1 has chaperone protein activity that may maintain the folding of catalase in a functional state. NCA1 is a cytosol-located protein. Expression of <I>NCA1</I> in the mitochondrion of the <I>nca1-3</I> mutant does not rescue the abiotic stress phenotypes of the mutant, while expression in the cytosol or peroxisome does. Our results suggest that NCA1 is essential for catalase activity.</P>