Zearalenone exposure affects epigenetic modifications of mouse eggs

Zhu, Cheng-Cheng,Hou, Yan-Jun,Han, Jun,Cui, Xiang-Shun,Kim, Nam-Hyung,Sun, Shao-Chen Oxford University Press 2014 Mutagenesis Vol.29 No.6

<P>Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin produced by various <I>Fusarium</I> fungi, which has been shown to cause several cases of mycotoxicosis in farm animals and humans. However, there is no evidence regarding the effect of ZEA on mouse egg developmental competence. In this study, we found that the activation rate of maturated oocytes was affected in mice by ZEA treatment, indicating that ZEA affects egg developmental competence. And we explored possible mechanisms of low mouse maturated oocyte developmental competence after ZEA treatment from an epigenetic modification perspective. The fluorescence intensity analysis showed that 5-methyl cytosine level increased after ZEA treatment, indicating that the general DNA methylation level increased in the treated eggs. Moreover, histone methylations were also altered: H3K4me2 as well as H3K9me3 and H4K20me1, me2, me3 levels decreased in eggs that were cultured in high-dose ZEA medium. Thus, our results indicated that ZEA decreased egg developmental competence by affecting the epigenetic modifications.</P>

miR-200a Overexpression in Advanced Ovarian Carcinomas as a Prognostic Indicator

Zhu, Cheng-Liang,Gao, Guo-Sheng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.20

Background: miR-200a expression is frequently altered in numerous cancers. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of microRNA-200a in advanced ovarian carcinomas. Materials and Methods: We measured miR-200a expression in 72 matched normal ovarian tissues and advanced ovarian carcinomas, and also two ovarian carcinoma cell lines (SKOV3 and SKOV3.ip1 - the latter being more invasive and metastatic than the parental SKOV3) by stem-loop real-time RT-PCR based on TaqMan microRNA assay using U6 as a reference. Levels of miR-200a expression were compared by disease stage, tumor grade, histology, and lymph node involvement. To evaluate the role of microRNA-200a, cell proliferation and invasion of SKOV-3 and SKOV-3.ip1 were analyzed with miR-200a inhibitor/mimic transfected cells. Results: Of 72 paired samples, 65 cancer tissues overexpressed microRNA-200a greater than two fold in comparison with matched normal epithelium. Specifically, patients with lymph node metastasis showed significant elevation. The level correlated with clinicopathological features, including high tumor grade, late disease stage, most notably with lymph node metastasis, but not with tumor histology. In addition, SKOV-3.ip1 cells also overexpressed miR-200a compared with SKOV-3, and miR-200a inhibitor transfected SKOV-3.ip1 cells showed significant reduction in cellular proliferation and invasion, while a miR-200a mimic stimulated the opposite behavior. Conclusions: We provide definitive evidence that miR-200a is up-regulated in a significant proportion of advanced ovarian carcinomas, and that elevated miR-200a expression facilitates tumor progression. Our findings support the notion that miR-200a is an onco-microRNA for ovarian cancer, and elevation is a useful potential diagnostic indicator. This study also provides a solid basis for further functional analysis of miR-200a in advanced ovarian cancer.

6-Alkylsalicylic Acid Analogues Inhibit In Vitro ATPase Activity of Heat Shock Protein 90

Cheng-Zhu Wu,An Na Moon,Oksik Choi,Sun-Young Kang,Jung Joon Lee,황방연,김영호,Hong-Sub Lee,홍영수,이동호 대한약학회 2010 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.33 No.12

The molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is responsible for maintaining the correct folding and stability of many signaling proteins. It is a promising target of cancer therapeutics and several other diseases, including neurodegenerative disease, nerve injuries, inflammation, and infection. In an effort to identify new Hsp90 inhibitors from natural sources using an in vitro ATPase inhibition assay, two 6-alkylsalicylic acid analogues, salaceyin A and B were identified from the culture extract of Streptomyces. Salaceyin A and B exhibited moderate ATPase inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 68.3 and 65.2 μM, respectively. Binding of salaceyins to human Hsp90α was examined by competition binding experiments with ATPSepharose beads. However, the compounds exhibited no degradation activity of Hsp90 client proteins, Her2, c-Raf, or Akt.

Performance evaluation of soil-embedded plastic optical fiber sensors for geotechnical monitoring

Cheng-Cheng Zhang,Hong-Hu Zhu,Bin Shi,Jun-Kuan She,Dan Zhang 국제구조공학회 2016 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.17 No.2

Based on the distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) technique, plastic optical fibers (POFs) are attractive candidates to measure deformations of geotechnical structures because they can withstand large strains before rupture. Understanding the mechanical interaction between an embedded POF and the surrounding soil or rock is a necessary step towards establishing an effective POF-based sensing system for geotechnical monitoring. This paper describes a first attempt to evaluate the feasibility of POF-based soil deformation monitoring considering the POF–soil interfacial properties. A series of pullout tests were performed under various confining pressures (CPs) on a jacketed polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) POF embedded in soil specimens. The test results were interpreted using a fiber–soil interaction model, and were compared with previous test data of silica optical fibers (SOFs). The results showed that the range of CP in this study did not induce plastic deformation of the POF; therefore, the POF–soil and the SOF–soil interfaces had similar behavior. CP was found to play an important role in controlling the fiber–soil interfacial bond and the fiber measurement range. Moreover, an expression was formulated to determine whether a POF would undergo plastic deformation when measuring soil deformation. The plasticity of POF may influence the reliability of measurements, especially for monitored geo-structures whose deformation would alternately increase and decrease. Taken together, these results indicate that in terms of the interfacial parameters studied here the POF is feasible for monitoring soil deformation as long as the plastic deformation issue is carefully addressed.

Identification of ssDNA Aptamers Specific for Anti-neuroexcitation Peptide III and Molecular Modeling Studies: Insights into Structural Interactions

Zhu, Jon,Wang, Jian,Su, Zhen-Cheng,Li, Qin,Cheng, Mao-Sheng,Zhang, Jing-Hai 대한약학회 2008 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.31 No.9

Twelve ssDNA aptamers specific for a novel recombinant anti-neuroexcitation peptide (ANEPIII) were identified using the SELEX method from a 79-nucleotide ssDNA pool to purify ANEPIII in a more efficient way. To further understand the binding modes between ssDNA and ANEPIII, fully flexible dinucleotides were docked onto the homology-modeled ANEPIII structure. AutoDocking identified favorable binding sites on ANEPIII for nucleotides, which was valuable for designing more potent ligands.

Bending of a rectangular plate resting on a fractionalized Zener foundation

Cheng-Cheng Zhang,Hong-Hu Zhu,Bin Shi,Guo-Xiong Mei 국제구조공학회 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.52 No.6

The long-term performance of plates resting on viscoelastic foundations is a major concern in the analysis of soil-structure interaction. As a powerful mathematical tool, fractional calculus may address these plate-on-foundation problems. In this paper, a fractionalized Zener model is proposed to study the time-dependent behavior of a uniformly loaded rectangular thin foundation plate. By use of the viscoelasticelastic correspondence principle and the Laplace transforms, the analytical solutions were obtained in termsof the Mittag-Leffler function. Through the analysis of a numerical example, the calculated plate deflection, bending moment and foundation reaction were compared to those from ideal elastic and standard viscoelastic models. It is found that the upper and lower bound solutions of the plate response estimated by the proposed model can be determined using the elastic model. Based on a parametric study, the impacts of model parameters on the long-term performance of a foundation plate were systematically investigated. The results show that the two spring stiffnesses govern the upper and lower bound solutions of the plate response. By varying the values of the fractional differential order and the coefficient of viscosity, the timedependent behavior of a foundation plate can be accurately captured. The fractional differential order seems to be dependent on the mechanical properties of the ground soil. A sandy foundation will have a small fractional differential order while in order to simulate the creeping of clay foundation, a larger fractional differential order value is needed. The fractionalized Zener model is capable of accounting for the primary and secondary consolidation processes of the foundation soil and can be used to predict the plateperformance over many decades of time.

Cationic methacrylate copolymers containing primary and tertiary amino side groups: Controlled synthesis via RAFT polymerization, DNA condensation, and in vitro gene transfection

Zhu, Caihong,Jung, Sooyeon,Si, Guoying,Cheng, Ru,Meng, Fenghua,Zhu, Xiulin,Park, Tae Gwan,Zhong, Zhiyuan Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 2010 Journal of polymer science Part A, Polymer chemist Vol.48 No.13

<P>A versatile family of cationic methacrylate copolymers containing varying amounts of primary and tertiary amino side groups were synthesized and investigated for in vitro gene transfection. Two different types of methacrylate copolymers, poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)/aminoethyl methacrylate [P(DMAEMA/AEMA)] and poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)/aminohexyl methacrylate [P(DMAEMA/AHMA)], were obtained by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) with N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)aminoethyl methacrylate (Boc-AEMA) or N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)aminohexyl methacrylate (Boc-AHMA) followed by acid deprotection. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements revealed that Boc-protected methacrylate copolymers had M<SUB>n</SUB> in the range of 16.1–23.0 kDa and low polydispersities of 1.12–1.26. The copolymer compositions were well controlled by monomer feed ratios. Dynamic light scattering and agarose gel electrophoresis measurements demonstrated that these PDMAEMA copolymers had better DNA condensation than PDMAEMA homopolymer. The polyplexes of these copolymers revealed low cytotoxicity at an N/P ratio of 3/1. The in vitro transfection in COS-7 cells in serum free medium demonstrated significantly enhanced (up to 24-fold) transfection efficiencies of PDMAEMA copolymer polyplexes as compared with PDMAEMA control. In the presence of 10% serum, P(DMAEMA/AEMA) and P(DMAEMA/AHMA) displayed a high transfection activity comparable with or better than 25 kDa PEI. These results suggest that cationic methacrylate copolymers are highly promising for development of safe and efficient nonviral gene transfer agents. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2869–2877, 2010</P> <B>Graphic Abstract</B> <P>A versatile family of cationic PDMAEMA copolymers containing varying amounts of primary and tertiary amine groups were designed and synthesized by controlled RAFT copolymerization. These novel copolymers showed improved DNA condensation and dramatically enhanced gene transfection as compared with the PDMAEMA homopolymer. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at www.interscience.wiley.com.] <img src='wiley_img_2010/0887624X-2010-48-13-POLA24064-gra001.gif' alt='wiley_img_2010/0887624X-2010-48-13-POLA24064-gra001'> </P>

A Statistical Analysis of JERS L-band SAR Backscatter and Coherence Data for Forest Type Discrimination

Cheng Zhu,Soo Jeong Myeong 大韓遠隔探査學會 2006 大韓遠隔探査學會誌 Vol.22 No.1

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) from satellites provides the opportunity to regularly incorporate microwave information into forest classification. Radar backscatter can improve classification accuracy, and SAR interferometry could provide improved thematic information through the use of coherence. This research examined the potential of using multi-temporal JERS-1 SAR (L band) backscatter information and interferometry in distinguishing forest classes of mountainous areas in the Northeastern U.S. for future forest mapping and monitoring. Raw image data from a pair of images were processed to produce coherence and backscatter data. To improve the geometric characteristics of both the coherence and the backscatter images, this study used the interferometric techniques. It was necessary to radiometrically correct radar backscatter to account for the effect of topography. This study developed a simplified method of radiometric correction for SAR imagery over the hilly terrain, and compared the forest-type discriminatory powers of the radar backscatter, the multi-temporal backscatter, the coherence, and the backscatter combined with the coherence. Statistical analysis showed that the method of radiometric correction has a substantial potential in separating forest types, and the coherence produced from an interferometric pair of images also showed a potential for distinguishing forest classes even though heavily forested conditions and long time separation of the images had limitations in the ability to get a high quality coherence. The method of combining the backscatter images from two different dates and the coherence in a multivariate approach in identifying forest types showed some potential. However, multi-temporal analysis of the backscatter was inconclusive because leaves were not the primary scatterers of a forest canopy at the L-band wavelengths. Further research in forest classification is suggested using diverse band width SAR imagery and fusing with other imagery source.

A Statistical Analysis of JERS L-band SAR Backscatter and Coherence Data for Forest Type Discrimination

Zhu Cheng,Myeong Soo-Jeong The Korean Society of Remote Sensing 2006 大韓遠隔探査學會誌 Vol.22 No.1

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) from satellites provides the opportunity to regularly incorporate microwave information into forest classification. Radar backscatter can improve classification accuracy, and SAR interferometry could provide improved thematic information through the use of coherence. This research examined the potential of using multi-temporal JERS-l SAR (L band) backscatter information and interferometry in distinguishing forest classes of mountainous areas in the Northeastern U.S. for future forest mapping and monitoring. Raw image data from a pair of images were processed to produce coherence and backscatter data. To improve the geometric characteristics of both the coherence and the backscatter images, this study used the interferometric techniques. It was necessary to radiometrically correct radar backscatter to account for the effect of topography. This study developed a simplified method of radiometric correction for SAR imagery over the hilly terrain, and compared the forest-type discriminatory powers of the radar backscatter, the multi-temporal backscatter, the coherence, and the backscatter combined with the coherence. Statistical analysis showed that the method of radiometric correction has a substantial potential in separating forest types, and the coherence produced from an interferometric pair of images also showed a potential for distinguishing forest classes even though heavily forested conditions and long time separation of the images had limitations in the ability to get a high quality coherence. The method of combining the backscatter images from two different dates and the coherence in a multivariate approach in identifying forest types showed some potential. However, multi-temporal analysis of the backscatter was inconclusive because leaves were not the primary scatterers of a forest canopy at the L-band wavelengths. Further research in forest classification is suggested using diverse band width SAR imagery and fusing with other imagery source.

Demographic potential of the pupal parasitoid Trichopria drosophilae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) reared on Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Cheng-Jie Zhu,Jing Li,Huan Wang,Min Zhang,Hao-Yuan Hu 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.3

Parasitoids represent a potential tool to control the invasive spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, which has invaded Europe and America, recently. A good example is the pupal parasitoid, Trichopria drosophilae, would be an effective biocontrol agent. Populations of D. suzukii, and T. drosophilae were collected from a blueberry orchard in East China and reared in the laboratory at 25 °C. Life table and population growth data for T. drosophilae were obtained using D. suzukii pupae as a host. Mean adult longevity was 22.40 d and 26.45 d, for females and males respectively. The mean oviposition period was 18.20 d. The daily mean parasitization rate was 9.47% per female when 30 hosts were daily provided. The total number of T. drosophilae offspring throughout a lifetime was 63.45 per female, and the female offspring proportion was 65.06%. The intrinsic rate of natural increase and the finite rate of increase were 0.18 and 1.19, respectively. The generation time and the population doubling time were 21.29 d and 3.91 d, respectively. Our results suggest that T. drosophilae population differed among populations in population growth parameters, and those from China also has the parasitism potential to control D. suzukii.