Expression profiles of circular RNAs in sheep skeletal muscle

Cao, Yang,You, Shuang,Yao, Yang,Liu, Zhi-Jin,Hazi, Wureli,Li, Cun-Yuan,Zhang, Xiang-Yu,Hou, Xiao-Xu,Wei, Jun-Chang,Li, Xiao-Yue,Wang, Da-Wei,Chen, Chuang-Fu,Zhang, Yun-Feng,Ni, Wei,Hu, Sheng-Wei Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2018 Animal Bioscience Vol.31 No.10

Objective: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newfound class of non-coding RNA in animals and plants. Recent studies have revealed that circRNAs play important roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, autophagy and apoptosis during development. However, there are few reports about muscle development-related circRNAs in livestock. Methods: RNA sequencing analysis was employed to identify and annotate circRNAs from longissimus dorsi of sheep. Reverse transcription followed by real-time quantitative (q) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis verified the presence of these circRNAs. Targetscan7.0 and miRanda were used to analyse the interaction of circRNA-microRNA (miRNA). To investigate the function of circRNAs, an experiment was conducted to perform enrichment analysis hosting genes of circRNAs using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways. Results: About 75.5 million sequences were obtained from RNA libraries of sheep skeletal muscle. These sequences were mapped to 729 genes in the sheep reference genome. We identified 886 circRNAs, including numerous circular intronic RNAs and exonic circRNAs. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and DNA sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of several circRNAs. Real-Time RT-PCR analysis exhibited resistance of sheep circRNAs to RNase R digestion. We found that many circRNAs interacted with muscle-specific miRNAs involved in growth and development of muscle, especially circ776. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that hosting genes of circRNAs was involved in muscle cell development and signaling pathway. Conclusion: The study provides comprehensive expression profiles of circRNAs in sheep skeletal muscle. Our study offers a large number of circRNAs to facilitate a better understanding of their roles in muscle growth. Meanwhile, we suggested that circ776 could be analyzed in future study.

Stereo-digital image correlation in the behavior investigation of CFRP-steel composite members

Xiao-Yuan He,Yun-Tong Dai,Hai-Tao Wang,Tian-Yuan Ge,Gang Wu,Jian-Xiao Wan,Shuang-Yin Cao,Fu-Jun Yang 국제구조공학회 2017 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.23 No.6

The application of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) in steel structures primarily includes two categories, i.e., the bond-critical application and the contact-critical application. Debonding failure and buckling failure are the main failure modes for these two applications. Conventional electrometric techniques may not provide precise results because of the limitations associated with single-point contact measurements. A nondestructive full-field measurement technique is a valuable alternative to conventional methods. In this study, the digital image correlation (DIC) technique was adopted to investigate the bond behavior and buckling behavior of CFRP-steel composite members. The CFRP-to-steel bonded joint and the CFRPstrengthened square hollow section (SHS) steel column were tested to verify the suitability of the DIC technique. The stereo- DIC technique was utilized to measure continuous deformation. The bond-slip relationship of the CFRP-to-steel interface was derived using the DIC data. Additionally, a multi-camera DIC system consisting of four stereo-DIC subsystems was proposed and applied to the compressive test of CFRP-strengthened SHS steel column. The precise buckling location and CFRP delamination of the CFRP-strengthened SHS steel column were identified. The experimental results confirm that the stereo-DIC technique can provide effective measurements for investigating the behaviors of CFRP-steel composite members.

Crack Resistance and Strength Properties of Red Clay Modified with Lignocellulose and Guar gum

Hong-Yuan Fu,Guang-Tao Yu,Qian-Feng Gao,Ling Zeng,Shuo-Peng Cao 대한토목학회 2023 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.27 No.10

Desiccation cracking is a common problem of red clay under wet and dry conditions. The presence of cracks could reduce soil strength properties, which is the major reason for shallow failure of red clay slopes. This study aims to propose some additives to improve the crack resistance as well as the strength of red clay. To this end, three natural fibers and three natural gels were primarily selected to modify red clay. Desiccation crack tests were conducted to identify the best fiber and gel in terms of crack resistance. Then, direct shear tests and uniaxial tensile tests were performed on the soil specimens modified by the best fiber and gel to determine the optimal dosages regarding strength improvements. The results demonstrated that natural gels reduced the crack resistance of red clay, while natural fibers could enhance the crack resistance. Lignocellulose was the best additive in improving the crack resistance of red clay, and the modified effect was positively correlated with the fiber dosage. Adding 1.5% lignocellulose into red clay could reduce the crack rate from 2.19% to 0.30%, with a reduction of 0.86 times. The tensile strength, shear strength and its parameters of lignocellulose-modified red clay showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing with increasing lignocellulose dosage. At the optimal lignocellulose dosage of 0.75%, the shear strength and tensile strength were increased by 44.63% and 18.21%, respectively. The strength of red clay modified by both lignocellulose and guar gum was positively correlated with the dosage of guar gum, and the desirable dosage of guar gum was 1.0%. In engineering practice, the wet red clay mixed with 0.75% lignocellulose and grass seeds can be employed as planting soil and is sprayed uniformly onto the slope surface after excavation using a spraying planting machine. To further improve the strength of the planting soil, 1.0% guar gum solution can be sprayed on the soil surface. The findings could provide useful guidance for the protection of red clay slopes.

Migraine Susceptibility Genes in Han Chinese of Fujian Province

Qi-fang Lin,Zi-chun Chen,Xian-guo Fu,Jing Yang,Luo-yuan Cao,Long-teng Yao,Yong-tong Xin,Gen-bin Huang 대한신경과학회 2017 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.13 No.1

Background and Purpose Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs4379368, rs10504861, rs10915437, rs12134493 and rs13208321) were recently identified in a Western population with migraine. These migraine-associated SNPs have not been evaluated in a Han Chinese population. This study investigated the associations of specific SNPs with migraine in a Han population. Methods This was a case-control study of Han Chinese residing in Fujian Province. Polymerase chain reaction—restriction-fragment-length polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing were used to characterize the relationships of SNPs in a control group of 200 subjects and in a migraine group of 201 patients. Results The frequencies of the five SNPs did not differ between patients with migraine and healthy non migraine controls. However, subgroup analysis indicated certain SNPs were more strongly associated with migraine with aura or migraine without aura than with controls. The CT genotype of rs4379368 was more common in migraine patients with aura (75%) than in migraine patients without aura (47.9%) and controls (48.5%) (p<0.05), and the TT genotype of rs10504861 was more common in migraine patients with aura than in controls (8.3% vs. 0.5%) (p<0.05). Meanwhile, the CC genotype of rs12134493 was less common in migraine patients without aura than in controls (80.6% vs. 88%) (p<0.05). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the rs4379368 and rs10504861 SNPs are markers for susceptibility to migraine with aura and that rs12134493 is a marker for the risk of migraine without aura in this Han population. Future studies should further explore if these associations vary by ethnicity.

Keratin/PEO/hydroxyapatite Nanofiber Membrane with Improved Mechanical Property for Potential Burn Dressing Application

Jie Fan,Tong-da Lei,Meng-Yan Yu,Yong-Heng Wang,Fu-Yuan Cao,Qingqi Yang,Faming Tian,Yong Liu 한국섬유공학회 2020 Fibers and polymers Vol.21 No.2

Keratin, as a promising substitute for tissue engineering due to its excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity, is used to combine one or more other polymers together. However, compound nanofibers with high keratin content (normally>90 wt.%) may result in the poor elongation of nanofiber membranes such as wound dressing. In this work, different ratios of hydroxyapatites (HA) modified by sodium hexametaphosphate were blended with keratin/polyethylene oxide (PEO) spinning solution to produce reinforced keratin blend nanofiber nonwoven membranes as a potential candidate wound dressing. The tensile strength of keratin blend nanofiber membrane with 15 % modified HA addition was two times higher than that without HA. The morphologies and chemical structure of keratin/PEO/HA nanofiber membranes were investigated using SEM, FTIR, and TG. The biocompatibility and the burn repairing performance of keratin/PEO/HA nanofiber mat were also investigated by cell culture and animal burn model. The results showed that the Keratin/PEO/HA nanofiber membranewas beneficial to enhance the proliferation of L929 cell, exhibiting an advantages in reducing inflammatory response in the infective stage and enhancing skin repairing process in the following recover stages. Our data suggested that keratin/PEO/HA nanofiber membrane could serve as a promising burn dressing for treatment of the skin burn.

In Vivo Biocompatibility and Improved Compression Strength of Reinforced Keratin/Hydroxyapatite Scaffold

Jie Fan,Meng-Yan Yu,Tong-da Lei,Yong-Heng Wang,Fu-Yuan Cao,Xiao Qin,Yong Liu 한국조직공학과 재생의학회 2018 조직공학과 재생의학 Vol.15 No.2

A rapid freezing/lyophilizing/reinforcing process is suggested to fabricate reinforced keratin/hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffold with improved mechanical property and biocompatibility for tissue engineering. The keratin, extracted from human hair, and HA mixture were rapidly frozen with liquid nitrogen and then lyophilized to prepare keratin/HA laminar scaffold. The scaffold was then immersed in PBS for reinforcement treatment, and followed by a second lyophilization to prepare the reinforced keratin/HA scaffold. The morphology, mechanical, chemical, crystal and thermal property of the keratin/HA scaffold were investigated by SEM, FTIR, XRD, DSC, respectively. The results showed that the keratin/HA scaffold had a high porosity of 76.17 ± 3%. The maximum compressive strength and compressive modulus of the reinforced scaffold is 0.778 and 3.3 MPa respectively. Subcutaneous implantation studies in mice showed that in vivo the scaffold was biocompatible since the foreign body reaction seen around the implanted scaffold samples was moderate and became minimal upon increasing implantation time. These results demonstrate that the keratin/HA reinforced scaffold prepared here is promising for biomedical utilization.