In-situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of micromechanical behavior of multiple phases in Ni₄₇Ti₄₄Nb₉ shape memory alloy

Sun, G.A.,Wang, X.L.,Wang, Y.D.,Woo, W.C.,Wang, H.,Liu, X.P.,Chen, B.,Fu, Y.Q.,Sheng, L.S.,Ren, Y. Elsevier Sequoia 2013 Materials science & engineering. properties, micro Vol.560 No.-

High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique was used to in-situ characterize microstructure, lattice strain, and phase transition behavior of a Ni<SUB>47</SUB>Ti<SUB>44</SUB>Nb<SUB>9</SUB> shape memory alloy. Phase transformation kinetics and deformation mechanisms were studied under a uniaxial tension at three testing temperatures, i.e., -70<SUP>o</SUP>C, 25<SUP>o</SUP>C, and 150<SUP>o</SUP>C. At a testing temperature of -70<SUP>o</SUP>C, a complicated phase transformation with four stages of micromechanical deformation was identified which is associated with changes of martensite substructures. At room temperature of 25<SUP>o</SUP>C, there was no stress-induced selection process of variants of B19' phases observed. Whereas at a testing temperature of 150<SUP>o</SUP>C, there was no any phase transformation observed. It is verified that β-Nb phase, an effective stabilizer for the austenite, delays the process of martensitic transformation and relaxes the strain energy without strengthening the matrix. This new finding is important to understand the relationship between the micromechanical deformation behavior and phase transformations in the Ni<SUB>47</SUB>Ti<SUB>44</SUB>Nb<SUB>9</SUB> SMA.

The associations of obesity phenotypes with the risk of hypertension and its transitions among middle-aged and older Chinese adults

Ziyue Sheng,Shang Lou,Jin Cao,Weidi Sun,Yaojia Shen,Yunhan Xu,Ziyang Ren,Wen Liu,Qian Yi,Peige Song 한국역학회 2023 Epidemiology and Health Vol.45 No.-

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the associations of obesity phenotypes with hypertension stages, phenotypes, and transitions among middle-aged and older Chinese. METHODS: Using the 2011-2015 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis included 9,015 subjects and a longitudinal analysis included 4,961 subjects, with 4,872 having full data on the hypertension stage and 4,784 having full data on the hypertension phenotype. Based on body mass index and waist circumstance, subjects were categorized into 4 mutually exclusive obesity phenotypes: normal weight with no central obesity (NWNCO), abnormal weight with no central obesity (AWNCO), normal weight with central obesity (NWCO), and abnormal weight with central obesity (AWCO). Hypertension stages were classified into normotension, pre-hypertension, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension. Hypertension phenotypes were categorized as normotension, pre-hypertension, isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), and systolic-diastolic hypertension (SDH). The association between obesity phenotypes and hypertension was estimated by logistic regression. A comparison between different sexes was conducted by testing the interaction effect of sex. RESULTS: NWCO was associated with normal→stage 2 (odds ratio [OR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 3.42), maintained stage 1 (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.29), and normal→ISH (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.85). AWCO was associated with normal→stage 1 (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.40 to 2.19), maintained stage 1 (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 2.06 to 3.72), maintained stage 2 (OR, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.50 to 5.25), normal→ISH (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.20 to 2.02), and normal→SDH (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.72 to 3.75). An interaction effect of sex existed in the association between obesity phenotypes and hypertension stages. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of various obesity phenotypes and sex differences in hypertension progression. Tailored interventions for different obesity phenotypes may be warranted in hypertension management, taking into account sex-specific differences to improve outcomes.

Presence of Diverse Sugarcane Bacilliform Viruses Infecting Sugarcane in China Revealed by Pairwise Sequence Comparisons and Phylogenetic Analysis

Kashif Ahmad,Sheng-Ren Sun,Jun-Lü,Chen,Mei-Ting Huang,Hua-Ying Fu,and San-Ji Gao 한국식물병리학회 2019 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.35 No.1

Sugarcane bacilliform viruses (SCBV), which belong to the genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae, are an important DNA virus complex that infects sugarcane. To explore the genetic diversity of the sugarcane-infecting badnavirus complex in China, we tested 392 sugarcane leaf samples collected from Fujian, Yunnan, and Hainan provinces for the occurrence of SCBV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays using published primers SCBV-F and SCBV-R that target the reverse transcriptase/ribonuclease H (RT/RNase H) regions of the viral genome. A total of 111 PCR-amplified fragments (726 bp) from 63 SCBV-positive samples were cloned and sequenced. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the SCBV sequences from this study and 34 published sequences representing 18 different phylogroups or genotypes (SCBV-A to -R). All SCBV-tested isolates could be classified into 20 SCBV phylogenetic groups from SCBVA to -T. Of nine SCBV phylogroups reported in this study, two novel phylogroups, SCBV-S and SCBVT, that share 90.0-93.2% sequence identity and show 0.07-0.11 genetic distance with each other in the RT/ RNase H region, are proposed. SCBV-S had 57.6- 92.2% sequence identity and 0.09-0.66 genetic distance, while SCBV-T had 58.4-90.0% sequence identity and 0.11-0.63 genetic distance compared with the published SCBV phylogroups. Additionally, two other Badnavirus species, Sugarcane bacilliform MO virus (SCBMOV) and Sugarcane bacilliform IM virus (SCBIMV), which originally clustered in phylogenetic groups SCBV-E and SCBV-F, respectively, are first reported in China. Our findings will help to understand the level of genetic heterogeneity present in the complex of Badnavirus species that infect sugarcane.

Presence of Diverse Sugarcane Bacilliform Viruses Infecting Sugarcane in China Revealed by Pairwise Sequence Comparisons and Phylogenetic Analysis

Ahmad, Kashif,Sun, Sheng-Ren,Chen, Jun-Lu,Huang, Mei-Ting,Fu, Hua-Ying,Gao, San-Ji The Korean Society of Plant Pathology 2019 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.35 No.1

Sugarcane bacilliform viruses (SCBV), which belong to the genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae, are an important DNA virus complex that infects sugarcane. To explore the genetic diversity of the sugarcane-infecting badnavirus complex in China, we tested 392 sugarcane leaf samples collected from Fujian, Yunnan, and Hainan provinces for the occurrence of SCBV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays using published primers SCBV-F and SCBV-R that target the reverse transcriptase/ribonuclease H (RT/RNase H) regions of the viral genome. A total of 111 PCR-amplified fragments (726 bp) from 63 SCBV-positive samples were cloned and sequenced. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the SCBV sequences from this study and 34 published sequences representing 18 different phylogroups or genotypes (SCBV-A to -R). All SCBV-tested isolates could be classified into 20 SCBV phylogenetic groups from SCBV-A to -T. Of nine SCBV phylogroups reported in this study, two novel phylogroups, SCBV-S and SCBV-T, that share 90.0-93.2% sequence identity and show 0.07-0.11 genetic distance with each other in the RT/RNase H region, are proposed. SCBV-S had 57.6-92.2% sequence identity and 0.09-0.66 genetic distance, while SCBV-T had 58.4-90.0% sequence identity and 0.11-0.63 genetic distance compared with the published SCBV phylogroups. Additionally, two other Badnavirus species, Sugarcane bacilliform MO virus (SCBMOV) and Sugarcane bacilliform IM virus (SCBIMV), which originally clustered in phylogenetic groups SCBV-E and SCBV-F, respectively, are first reported in China. Our findings will help to understand the level of genetic heterogeneity present in the complex of Badnavirus species that infect sugarcane.

Prognostic Significance of Hes-1, a Downstream Target of Notch Signaling in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Zou, Jing-Huai,Xue, Tong-Chun,Sun, Chun,Li, Yan,Liu, Bin-Bin,Sun, Rui-Xia,Chen, Jie,Ren, Zheng-Gang,Ye, Sheng-Long Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Background: Hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Hes-1) protein is a downstream target of Notch signaling and is a basic helix-loop-helix transcriptional repressor. However, definitive evidence for a role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells has not been reported. Here, Hes-1 was revealed to an important component of the Notch signaling cascade in HCC cell lines possessing different potential for lung metastasis. Materials and Methods: RNAi mediated by plasmid constructs was used to analyze the role of Hes-1 in MHCC-97L HCC cells by assessing proliferation, apoptosis, cell migration and matrigel invasion following transfection. Hes-1 protein expression analysis in HCC tissue was also conducted by immunohistochemistry. Results: Our studies revealed that Hes-1 was decreased in HCC cell lines with higher lung metastasis potential at both the mRNA and protein levels. Down-regulation of the Hes-1 gene in MHCC-97L cells resulted in increased cell proliferation, reduced apoptosis and increased migration and invasion. Conclusions: Hes-1 has potential prognostic value in post-surgical HCC patients and may be an independent prognostic indicator for overall survival and tumor recurrence. These findings have important implications for understanding the mechanisms by which Hes-1 participates in tumor proliferation and invasion.