Expressing a Modified Cowpea Trypsin Inhibitor Gene to Increase Insect Tolerance Against Pieris rapae in Chinese Cabbage

Xiaoli Ma,Zhen Zhu,Yane Li,Guangdong Yang,Yanxi Pei 한국원예학회 2017 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.58 No.2

To increase the tolerance of Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. pekinensis) to Pieris rapae, weintroduced a modified cowpea trypsin inhibitor (CpTI) gene, SCK, into various cultivars. SCK was derived fromCpTI, an insect-resistance gene. The protein accumulating capacity of CpTI can be improved by adding a signalpeptide sequence at the 5' end and an endoplasmic reticulum-detained signal sequence at the 3' end. Using an optimizedAgrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system in Chinese cabbage, we obtained a maximum transformationefficiency of ~6.83%. Insect resistance tests and CpTI enzymatic assays showed that most of the transgenic plantshad significant resistance to cabbage worm (Pieris rapae) larvae and that the plants with the highest levels of insectresistance had the greatest CpTI-related capacity, indicating a high correlation between SCK expression and insectresistance. An evaluation of segregation patterns in the independent transgenic line with the highest insect resistance,‘ZB-08-04’, showed that kanamycin resistant versus sensitive plants segregated in a 3:1 Mendelian fashion. This studyprovides a potential germplasm resource for Chinese cabbage breeding in the future.

Anatomical Observations of Adventitious Bud Regeneration from Leaf Explants of Ziziphus jujube Mill. ‘Huizao’

Chunhua Ma,Xia Ye,Yanhui Chen,Jiancan Feng,Xiaoli Shang,Jidong Li,Yingxia Wu,Jianbin Hu 한국원예학회 2012 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.53 No.4

The histological process of adventitious shoot regeneration from the leaf explants of Zizyphus jujuba ‘Huizao’was reported in this study. This is the first report on the detailed histological process of direct shoot regeneration from leaf explants in Z. jujube. Shoot regeneration was obtained from woody plant medium (WPM) supplemented with 2.27 μM thidiazuron (TDZ), 1.07 μM α-naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA) and 2.94 μM silver nitrate (AgNO3) for 10days in the dark followed by 3 weeks at a 14 hours photoperiod. The adventitious buds mostly formed from leaf veins and petioles, and the further histological studies revealed that there were multiple vascular bundles around leaf veins and the adaxial side of explants, and the adventitious buds directly originated from the parenchymatous cells around the vascular bundles without the intervening callus phase. After 3 days of culture, the parenchymatous cells started dividing and meristemoids formed thereafter. The meristematic cells continued division and subsequently gave rise to bud primordia. Well-developed shoot buds through direct organogenesis was achieved after 20 days of culture.

Increased Store-Operated Ca²⁺ Entry in Skeletal Muscle with Reduced Calsequestrin-1 Expression

Zhao, Xiaoli,Min, Choon Kee,Ko, Jae-Kyun,Parness, Jerome,Kim, Do Han,Weisleder, Noah,Ma, Jianjie Elsevier 2010 Biophysical journal Vol.99 No.5

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Store-operated Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> entry (SOCE) contributes to Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> handling in normal skeletal muscle function, as well as the progression of muscular dystrophy and sarcopenia, yet the mechanisms underlying the change in SOCE in these states remain unclear. Previously we showed that calsequestrin-1 (CSQ1) participated in retrograde regulation of SOCE in cultured skeletal myotubes. In this study, we used small-hairpin RNA to determine whether knockdown of CSQ1 in adult mouse skeletal muscle can influence SOCE activity and muscle function. Small-hairpin RNA against CSQ1 was introduced into <I>flexor digitorum brevis</I> muscles using electroporation. Transfected fibers were isolated for SOCE measurements using the Mn<SUP>2+</SUP> fluorescence-quenching method. At room temperature, the SOCE induced by submaximal depletion of the SR Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> store was significantly enhanced in CSQ1-knockdown muscle fibers. When temperature of the bathing solution was increased to 39°C, CSQ1-knockdown muscle fibers displayed a significant increase in Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> permeability across the surface membrane likely via the SOCE pathway, and a corresponding elevation in cytosolic Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> as compared to control fibers. Preincubation with azumolene, an analog of dantrolene used for the treatment of malignant hyperthermia (MH), suppressed the elevated SOCE in CSQ1-knockdown fibers. Because the CSQ1-knockout mice develop similar MH phenotypes, this inhibitory effect of azumolene on SOCE suggests that elevated extracellular Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> entry in skeletal muscle may be a key factor for the pathophysiological changes in intracellular Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> signaling in MH.</P>

Experimental Investigation of a Photocatalytic Mop Fan for Air Cleaning

Michael Birnie,Xiaoli Ma,S.B.Riffat,Mark Gillott 한국에너지기후변화학회 2006 에너지기후변화학회지 Vol.1 No.2

Stabilization of Nonlinear Switched Systems with Distributed Time-delay: The Discrete-time Case

Chaochen Wang,Xiaoli Fang,Lifeng Ma,Jie Zhang,Yuming Bo 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2021 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.19 No.12

This paper investigates the stabilization problem of nonlinear switched systems subject to the distributed time-delay. The considered nonlinear switched systems are quite general whose dynamics are affected by bothexogenous noises and distributed time-delay. The purpose of the addressed problem is to propose a state feedback control law such that, the closed-loop system is exponentially stable in the mean square sense and meanwhile, therequired weighted L2 gain is achieved. By resorting to the Lyapunov functional method in combination with the average dwell time approach, sufficient conditions are provided for the existence of the desired control schemein terms of the feasibility of certain Hamilton-Jacobi inequalities (HJIs). Within the established framework, the required feedback controller gains can be obtained by solving the series of HJIs. Finally, an illustrative numericalexample is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed control algorithm.

Preclinical investigation of artesunate as a therapeutic agent for hepatocellular carcinoma via impairment of glucosylceramidase-mediated autophagic degradation

Chen Wenjia,Ma Zhaochen,Yu Lingxiang,MAO Xia,Ma Nan,Guo Xiaodong,Yin Xiaoli,Jiang Funeng,Wang Qian,Wang Jigang,Fang Mingliang,Lin Na,Zhang Yanqiong 생화학분자생물학회 2022 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.54 No.-

Artesunate (ART) has been indicated as a candidate drug for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Glucosylceramidase (GBA) is required for autophagic degradation. Whether ART regulates autophagic flux by targeting GBA in HCC remains to be defined. Herein, our data demonstrated that the dramatic overexpression of GBA was significantly associated with aggressive progression and short overall survival times in HCC. Subsequent experiments revealed an association between autophagic activity and GBA expression in clinical HCC samples, tumor tissues from a rat model of inflammation-induced HCC and an orthotopic mouse model, and human HCC cell lines. Interestingly, probe labeling identified GBA as an ART target, which was further verified by both a glutathione-S-transferase pulldown assay and surface plasmon resonance analysis. The elevated protein expression of LC3B, the increased numbers of GFP-LC3B puncta and double-membrane vacuoles, and the enhanced expression of SQSTM1/p62 indicated that the degradation of autophagosomes in HCC cells was inhibited by ART treatment. Both the in vitro and in vivo data revealed that autophagosome accumulation through targeting of GBA was responsible for the anti-HCC effects of ART. In summary, this preclinical study identified GBA as one of the direct targets of ART, which may have promising potential to inhibit lysosomal autophagy for HCC therapy.

Tiny Basic Nickel Carbonate Arrays/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composite for High-Efficiency Supercapacitor Application

Zhengmin Yu,Xiaoli Su,Denghu Wei,Shu-Juan Yao,Huiyan Ma,Hui Zhao,Xipeng Pu,Wenzhi Li,Jie Wang 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2019 NANO Vol.14 No.4

3D structure composite made of tiny basic nickel carbonate arrays on the surface of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (G-NiCH) are prepared by the hydrothermal method. The specific surface area of the G-NiCH composites is twice that of single basic nickel carbonate, which is due to the tiny basic nickel carbonate arrays structure wherein each individual nanoneedle is about 20 nm in length and 2 nm in width. The G-NiCH electrodes display high-efficiency electrochemical performance with good specific capacitance (1230 F g -1) and excellent stability (100% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles). This is attributed to the synergistic effect that reduced graphene oxide offer fast electron transmission path and basic nickel carbonate act as high effective active material.

Visible light photocatalytic removal performance and mechanism of diclofenac degradation by Ag3PO4 sub-microcrystals through response surface methodology

Jianfeng Gou,Qiuling Ma,Yuqi Cui,Xiaoyong Deng,Huixuan Zhang,Xiuwen Cheng,Xiaoli Li,Mingzheng Xie,Qingfeng Cheng,Huiling Liu 한국공업화학회 2017 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.49 No.-

In this study, high visible light response and charge separation efficiency of body-centered cubic Ag3PO4sub-microcrystals were fabricated through ultrasound-precipitation process. Additionally, the parameterswere optimized by photocatalytic (PC) removal degradation of diclofenac based on response surfacemethodology. Results indicated that the PC removal efficiency of diclofenac was significantly affected byAg3PO4 content and pH value. Under the optimized conditions, 99.9% of diclofenac could be degradedwithin 16 min Xenon illumination. Furthermore, three PC removal degradation pathways of diclofenacwere proposed, including OH-adduct to aromatic ring, direct oxidation by photoinduced holes anddecarboxylation of side chain from the parent compound.

Cooperative Synchronization and Channel Estimation in Wireless Sensor Networks

Oh Mi-Kyung,Ma Xiaoli,Giannakis Georgios B,Park Dong-Jo The Korea Institute of Information and Commucation 2005 Journal of communications and networks Vol.7 No.3

A critical issue in applications involving networks of wireless sensors is their ability to synchronize, and mitigate the fading propagation channel effects. Especially when distributed 'slave' sensors (nodes) reach-back to communicate with the 'master' sensor (gateway), low power cooperative schemes are well motivated. Viewing each node as an antenna element in a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) multi-antenna system, we design pilot patterns to estimate the multiple carrier frequency offsets (CFO), and the multiple channels corresponding to each node-gateway link. Our novel pilot scheme consists of non-zero pilot symbols along with zeros, which separate nodes in a time division multiple access (TDMA) fashion, and lead to low complexity schemes because CFO and channel estimators per node are decoupled. The resulting training algorithm is not only suitable for wireless sensor networks, but also for synchronization and channel estimation of single- and multi-carrier MIMO systems. We investigate the performance of our estimators analytically, and with simulations.

125I Seed Permanent Implantation as a Palliative Treatment for Stage III and IV Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma

Lei Li,Jie Yang,Xiaojiang Li,Xiaoli Wang,Yanxin Ren,Jimin Fei,Yan Xi,Ruimei Sun,Jing Ma 대한이비인후과학회 2016 Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol.9 No.3

Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and safety of percutaneous 125I seed permanent implantation for advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma from toxicity, tumor response, and short-term outcome. Methods. 125I seeds implant procedures were performed under computed tomography for 34 patients with advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma. We observed the local control rate, overall survival, and acute or late toxicity rate. Results. In the 34 patients (stage III, n=6; stage IV, n=28), the sites of origin were pyriform sinus (n=29) and postcricoid area (n=5). All patients also received one to four cycles of chemotherapy after seed implantation. The post-plan showed that the actuarial D90 of 125I seeds ranged from 90 to 158 Gy (median, 127 Gy). The mean follow-up was 12.3 months (range, 3.4 to 43.2 months). The local control was 2.1–31.0 months with a median of 17.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.4 to 22.0 months). The 1-, 2-, and 3-year local controls were 65.3%, 28.6%, and 9.5% respectively. Twelve patients (35%) died of local recurrence, fourteen patients (41%) died of distant metastases, and three patients (9%) died of recurrence and metastases at the same time. Five patients (15%) still survived to follow-up. At the time of analysis, the median survival time was 12.5 months (95% CI, 9.5 to 15.4 months). The 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 55.2%, 20.3%, and 10.9%, respectively. Five patients (15%) experienced grade 3 toxic events and nine patients (26%) have experienced grade 2 toxic events. Conclusion. This review shows relatively low toxicity for interstitial 125I seed implantation in the patients with advanced stage hypopharyngeal cancer. The high local control results suggest that 125I seed brachytherapy implant as a salvage or palliative treatment for advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma merit further investigation.