Phenological Characteristics of Potted Kumquat under Protected Culture

Yung-Chiung Chang,Yu-Sen Chang,Iou-Zen Chen,Lian-Hsiung Lin 한국원예학회 2020 원예과학기술지 Vol.38 No.2

This study investigated phenological changes, shoot growth, and flowering habits of potted kumquat[Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle] grown in subtropical conditions of I-Lan County, Taiwan. The shoots of the second, third, and fourth flushes of kumquat sprouted in mid-May, early July, andearly September, corresponding to 70-80, 112-122, and 168-178 days after the buds sprouted fromthe first flush, respectively. As the flushing sequence progressed, the number of shoots, the rate offlowering, and the number of flowers decreased. There were four flowering peaks in 2010 and fivein 2011. The shoots of the secondary and tertiary flushes still bloomed in 2010, but they did notflower in 2011. In 2011, the second flowering period of the first flush shoot, which flowered inmid-July, fruit set, and fruit growth showed the best performance, and the whole fruit developmentduration took about 169 days.

Molecular structure and developmental expression of zebrafish atp2a genes

Yen-Yu Lai,Chiung-Wen Pai,I-Ting Tsai,Chi-Yuan Chou,Chia-Ti Tsai,Yau-Hung Chen 한국유전학회 2011 Genes & Genomics Vol.33 No.5

We isolated two atp2a genes, atp2a1 and atp2a2a, from embryonic zebrafish. Amino acid sequences deduced from zebrafish atp2a genes are aligned with orthologue proteins from other species, the results showed that they share high percentage of identities (82%-94%) and acidic pIs (5.03-5.33). Whole mount in situ hybridization experiments showed that atp2a1and atp2a2a are maternal inherited genes which can be detected at 1-cell stage embryos and express in the entire animal pole from 6 hours post-fertilization (hpf) to 12 hpf. At the later stages (48-96 hpf), expression of atp2a1 was restricted in head and trunk muscles as well as in some neurons. In contrast to the strongly expression of atp2a1 in head muscle,expression of atp2a2a was detected in head muscle in a fainter manner. In addition, transcripts of atp2a2a were observed in the developing heart during early cardiogenesis. The present studies not only help us to comparatively analyze atp2a genes across species, but also provide useful information about expressions during early embryogenesis that will help in further investigations of functional studies of Atp2a in the future.

Growth and Union Acclimation Process of Sweet Pepper Grafted by a Tubing-Grafting Robotic System

Yung-Chiung Chang,Suming Chen,Yi-Chich Chiu,Lian-Hsiung Lin,Yu-Sen Chang 한국원예학회 2012 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.53 No.2

Sweet pepper ‘Andalus’ (Capsicum annuum L. ‘Andalus’) was grafted on chili pepper ‘P’ (Capsicum chinense ‘P’) by hand and by using a tubing-grafting robotic system. After grafting, the growth and condition of the seedlings grafted by machine were similar to that of the seedlings grafted by the traditional hand method. Although the cut interfaces on the mechanically grafted seedlings were more irregular, seedlings’ acclimation process was similar to that of those which had been grafted by hand. This indicates that the tubing-grafting robotic system can be applied generally to grafting operations, thus allowing improvements in production efficiency.

Temperature Effects on Shoot Growth and Flowering of Kumquat Trees

Yung-Chiung Chang,Iou-Zen Chen,Lian-Hsiung Lin,Yu-Sen Chang 한국원예학회 2014 원예과학기술지 Vol.32 No.1

This study investigated the effects of temperature on the shoot growth and flowering of potted kumquat [Fortunella margarita ( Lour.) Swingle] trees grown in subtropical conditions of I-Lan County in Taiwan. Temperature treatments included T 25-32, T 17-25, T 22, and T 18. The T 25-32 treatment trees were to the day/night temperatures of 25/18°C for 2 weeks, followed by 28 weeks at 32/25°C. T 17-25 was exposed for 4 weeks to 17/10°C followed by 26 weeks at 25/18°C. T 22 and T 18 were exposed at 22/18°C and 18/13°C, respectively, for the entire duration of the experiment. Control trees were placed in a plastic greenhouse under conditions similar to the natural environment. The kumquat trees exposed to high-temperature environment of 32/25°C showed more frequent and speedy sprouting of new buds, but induced the earlier termination of shoot elongation growth, resulting in decreased vegetative growth. The temperature treatments lower than 22°C suppressed the new shoot production but increased the shoot growth period, resulting in increased shoot length and diameter. Temperatures higher than 25/18°C readily induced flowering, with flowering being advanced under the higher temperature conditions such as 32/25°C. However, flowering was substantially inhibited under temperature conditions lower than 22/18°C, indicating the negative role of relatively lower temperatures on flowering of kumquat trees.

Mechanical Stretch Promotes Invasion of Lung Cancer Cells via Activation of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Liang-Kun Chen,Ching-Chi Hsieh,Yi-Chao Huang,Yuan-Jung Huang,Chun-Fan Lung,Wei-En Hsu,Chao-Ling Yao,Tsung-Yu Tseng,Chi-Chung Wang,Yi-Chiung Hsu 한국생물공학회 2023 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.28 No.3

Most of the gas exchange in the human body is carried out by the lungs, and the physiological activities of the lungs are uninterrupted. Due to the deterioration of the external environment, pulmonary cell lesions are common clinical lung diseases. Mechanical cyclic stretching is one kind of bionic technology to observe lung cancer cells. The A549 cell line is the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line derived from a primary lung tumor. This study investigated the effects of mechanical cyclic stretching on A549 cell activity and gene expression profile. Whereas mechanical cyclic stretching had no significant difference in colony formation and cell migration of A549 cells, the cell invasion increased significantly in A549 cells after stretching. In addition, the microarray data showed that mechanical cyclic stretching altered gene expression, induced inflammation of cells, and activation of Wnt/β- catenin and tumor necrosis factor pathways. More importantly, mechanical cyclic stretching activated the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) protein. Therefore, the increase of cell invasion induced by mechanical cyclic stretching might be associated with the activation of TNF-α in human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

A Neuroprotective Action of Quercetin and Apigenin through Inhibiting Aggregation of Aβ and Activation of TRKB Signaling in a Cellular Experiment

Chiu Ya-Jen,Teng Yu-Shan,Chen Chiung-Mei,Sun Ying-Chieh,Hsieh-Li Hsiu Mei,Chang Kuo-Hsuan,Lee-Chen Guey-Jen 한국응용약물학회 2023 Biomolecules & Therapeutics(구 응용약물학회지) Vol.31 No.3

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with progressive memory loss and the cognitive decline. AD is mainly caused by abnormal accumulation of misfolded amyloid β (Aβ), which leads to neurodegeneration via a number of possible mechanisms such as down-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor-tropomyosin-related kinase B (BDNF-TRKB) signaling pathway. 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF), a TRKB agonist, has demonstrated potential to enhance BDNF-TRKB pathway in various neurodegenerative diseases. To expand the capacity of flavones as TRKB agonists, two natural flavones quercetin and apigenin, were evaluated. With tryptophan fluorescence quenching assay, we illustrated the direct interaction between quercetin/ apigenin and TRKB extracellular domain. Employing Aβ folding reporter SH-SY5Y cells, we showed that quercetin and apigenin reduced Aβ-aggregation, oxidative stress, caspase-1 and acetylcholinesterase activities, as well as improved the neurite outgrowth. Treatments with quercetin and apigenin increased TRKB Tyr516 and Tyr817 and downstream cAMP-response-element binding protein (CREB) Ser133 to activate transcription of BDNF and BCL2 apoptosis regulator (BCL2), as well as reduced the expression of pro-apoptotic BCL2 associated X protein (BAX). Knockdown of TRKB counteracted the improvement of neurite outgrowth by quercetin and apigenin. Our results demonstrate that quercetin and apigenin are to work likely as a direct agonist on TRKB for their neuroprotective action, strengthening the therapeutic potential of quercetin and apigenin in treating AD.

Treatment of Hemodialysis Vascular Access Rupture Irresponsive to Prolonged Balloon Tamponade: Retrospective Evaluation of the Effectiveness of N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate Seal-Off Technique

Mei-Jui Weng,Matt Chiung-Yu Chen,Huei-Lung Liang,Huay-Ben Pan 대한영상의학회 2013 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.14 No.1

Objective: The current study retrospectively evaluated whether the percutaneous N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) seal-off technique is an effective treatment for controlling the angioplasty-related ruptures, which are irresponsive to prolonged balloon tamponade, during interventions for failed or failing hemodialysis vascular accesses. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 1588 interventions performed during a 2-year period for dysfunction and/or failed hemodialysis vascular access sites in 1569 patients. For the angioplasty-related ruptures, which could not be controlled with repeated prolonged balloon tamponade, the rupture sites were sealed off with an injection of a glue mixture (NBCA and lipiodol), via a needle/needle sheath to the rupture site, under a sonographic guidance. Technical success rate,complications and clinical success rate were reported. The post-seal-off primary and secondary functional patency rates were calculated by a survival analysis with the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Twenty ruptures irresponsive to prolonged balloon tamponade occurred in 1588 interventions (1.3%). Two technical failures were noted; one was salvaged with a bailout stent-graft insertion and the other was lost after access embolization. Eighteen accesses (90.0%) were salvaged with the seal-off technique; of them, 16 ruptures were completely sealed off, and two lesions were controlled as acute pseudoaneurysms. Acute pseudoaneurysms were corrected with stentgraft insertion in one patient, and access ligation in the other. The most significant complication during the follow-up was delayed pseudoaneurysm, which occurred in 43.8% (7 of 16) of the completely sealed off accesses. Delayed pseudoaneurysms were treated with surgical revision (n = 2), access ligation (n = 2) and observation (n = 3). During the follow-up, despite the presence of pseudoaneurysms (acute = 1, delayed = 7), a high clinical success rate of 94.4% (17 of 18) was achieved, and they were utilized for hemodialysis at the mean of 411.0 days. The post-seal-off primary patency vs. secondary patency at 90, 180 and 360 days were 66.7 ± 11.1% vs. 94.4 ± 5.4%; 33.3 ± 11.1% vs. 83.3 ± 8.8%; and 13.3 ± 8.5% vs. 63.3 ± 12.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the NBCA seal-off technique is effective for immediate control of a venous rupture irresponsive to prolonged balloon tamponade, during interventions for hemodialysis accesses. Both high technical and clinical success rates can be achieved. However, the treatment is not durable, and about 40% of the completely sealed off accesses are associated with developed delayed pseudoaneurysms in a 2-month of follow-up. Further repair of the vascular tear site, with surgery or stent-graft insertion, is often necessary.

The Usefulness of Fast-Spin-Echo T2-Weighted MR Imaging in Nutcracker Syndrome: a Case Report

Heong-Leng Wong,Matt Chiung-Yu Chen,Cgek-Siung Wu,Kuo-An Fu,Cheng-Hao Lin,Mei-Jui Weng,Huei-Lung Liang,Huay-Ben Pan 대한영상의학회 2010 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.11 No.3

Nutcracker syndrome occurs when the left renal vein (LRV) is compressed between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta, and this syndrome is often characterized by venous hypertension and related pathologies. However, invasive studies such as phlebography and measuring the reno-caval pressure gradient should be performed to identify venous hypertension. Here we present a case of Nutcracker syndrome where the LRV and intra-renal varicosities appeared homogeneously hyperintense on magnetic resonance (MR) fast-spin-echo T2- weighted imaging, which suggested markedly stagnant intravenous blood flow and the presence of venous hypertension. The patient was diagnosed and treated without obtaining the reno-caval pressure gradient. The discomfort of the patient lessened after treatment. Furthermore, on follow-up evaluation, the LRV displayed a signal void, and this was suggestive of a restoration of the normal LRV flow and a decrease in LRV pressure.

Dihydroaustrasulfone alcohol induces apoptosis in nasopharyngeal cancer cells by inducing reactive oxygen species-dependent inactivation of the PI3K/AKT pathway

Kok-Tong Tan,Yu-Hung Shih,Jiny Yin Gong,Xiang Zhang,Chiung-Yao Huang,Jui-Hsin Su,Jyh-Horng Sheu,Chi-Chen Lin The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2023 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.27 No.4

Dihydroaustrasulfone alcohol (DA), the synthetic precursor of a natural compound (austrasulfone) isolated from the coral species Cladiella australis, has shown cytotoxic effects against cancer cells. However, it is unknown whether DA has antitumor effects on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this study, we determined the antitumor effects of DA and investigated its mechanism of action on human NPC cells. The MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxic effect of DA. Subsequently, apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) analyses were performed by using flow cytometry. Apoptotic and PI3K/AKT pathway-related protein expression was determined using Western blotting. We found that DA significantly reduced the viability of NPC-39 cells and determined that apoptosis was involved in DA-induced cell death. The activity of caspase-9, caspase-8, caspase-3, and PARP induced by DA suggested caspase-mediated apoptosis in DA-treated NPC-39 cells. Apoptosis-associated proteins (DR4, DR5, FAS) in extrinsic pathways were also elevated by DA. The enhanced expression of proapoptotic Bax and decreased expression of antiapoptotic BCL-2 suggested that DA mediated mitochondrial apoptosis. DA reduced the expression of pPI3K and p-AKT in NPC-39 cells. DA also reduced apoptosis after introducing an active AKT cDNA, indicating that DA could block the PI3K/AKT pathway from being activated. DA increased intracellular ROS, but N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger, reduced DA-induced cytotoxicity. NAC also reversed the chances in pPI3K/AKT expression and reduced DA-induced apoptosis. These findings suggest that ROS-mediates DA-induced apoptosis and PI3K/AKT signaling inactivation in human NPC cells.

The Efficacy and Long-Term Outcome of Microcoil Embolotherapy for Acute Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Hui-Chung Teng,Huei-Lung Liang,Yih-Huie Lin,Jer-Shyung Huang,Chiung-Yu Chen,Shang-Chieh Lee,Huay-Ben Pan 대한영상의학회 2013 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.14 No.2

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy as well as long-term clinical outcomes of superselective microcoil embolization for lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). Materials and Methods: Between 1997 and 2009, 26 patients with intended transcatheter embolotherapy for LGIB were retrospectively reviewed. Embolization was performed only when the catheter could be advanced to or distal to the mesenteric border of the bowel. The main purpose of our study was to assess technical success, recurrent bleeding rate and complications. We also evaluated the long-term clinical outcome, including late recurrent LGIB, bowel ischemia and the survival rate. Results: Twenty-two bleeding sources were in the territory of superior mesenteric artery and four in the inferior mesenteric artery. Technical success was achieved in 22 patients (84.6%). The target vessel of embolization was vasa recta in seventeen patients and marginal artery in the remaining five patients. Early rebleeding occurred in two patients (7.7%) and bowel ischemia in two patients, of whom the embolized points were both at the marginal artery. Delayed recurrent bleeding (> 30 days) occurred in two angiodysplasia patients. Five patients (19.2%) died within the first 30 days of intervention. Long-term follow-up depicted estimated survival rates of 58.2 and 43.1% after one, and five years, respectively. Conclusion: Transcatheter embolotherapy to treat LGIB is effective with low rebleeding and ischemic complications. Considering the advanced age and complex medical problems of these patients, the minimal invasive embolotherapy may be used as both a primary and potentially definitive treatment of LGIB.