Effect of a Novel Intracycle Motion Correction Algorithm on Dual-Energy Spectral Coronary CT Angiography: A Study with Pulsating Coronary Artery Phantom at High Heart Rates

Yan Xing,Yuan Zhao,Ning Guo,Cun-Xue Pan,Gulina Azati,Yan-Wei Wang,Wen-Ya Liu 대한영상의학회 2017 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.18 No.6

Objective: Using a pulsating coronary artery phantom at high heart rate settings, we investigated the efficacy of a motion correction algorithm (MCA) to improve the image quality in dual-energy spectral coronary CT angiography (CCTA). Materials and Methods: Coronary flow phantoms were scanned at heart rates of 60−100 beats/min at 10-beats/min increments, using dual-energy spectral CT mode. Virtual monochromatic images were reconstructed from 50 to 90 keV at 10-keV increments. Two blinded observers assessed image quality using a 4-point Likert Scale (1 = non-diagnostic, 4 = excellent) and the fraction of interpretable segments using MCA versus conventional algorithm (CA). Comparison of variables was performed with the Wilcoxon rank sum test and McNemar test. Results: At heart rates of 70, 80, 90, and 100 beats/min, images with MCA were rated as higher image scores compared to those with CA on monochromatic levels of 50, 60, and 70 keV (each p < 0.05). Meanwhile, at a heart rate of 90 beats/min, image interpretability was improved by MCA at a monochromatic level of 60 keV (p < 0.05) and 70 keV (p < 0.05). At a heart rate of 100 beats/min, image interpretability was improved by MCA at monochromatic levels of 50 keV (from 69.4% to 86.1%, p < 0.05), 60 keV (from 55.6% to 83.3%, p < 0.05) and 70 keV (from 33.3% to 69.3%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Low-keV monochromatic images combined with MCA improves image quality and image interpretability in CCTAs at high heart rates.

Expression profiles of microRNAs in skeletal muscle of sheep by deep sequencing

Zhi-Jin Liu,Cun-Yuan Li,Xiao-Yue Li,Yang Yao,Wei Ni,Xiang-Yu Zhang,Yang Cao,Wureli Hazi,Dawei Wang,Renzhe Quan,Shuting Yu,Yuyu Wu,Songmin Niu,Yulong Cui,Yaseen Khan,Shengwei Hu 아세아·태평양축산학회 2019 Animal Bioscience Vol.32 No.6

Objective: MicroRNAs are a class of endogenous small regulatory RNAs that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Recent studies on miRNAs are mainly focused on mice, human and pig. However, the studies on miRNAs in skeletal muscle of sheep are not comprehensive. Methods: RNA-seq technology was used to perform genomic analysis of miRNAs in prenatal and postnatal skeletal muscle of sheep. Targeted genes were predicted using miRanda software and miRNA-mRNA interactions were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. To further investigate the function of miRNAs, candidate targeted genes were enriched for analysis using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment. Results: The results showed total of 1,086 known miRNAs and 40 new candidate miRNAs were detected in prenatal and postnatal skeletal muscle of sheep. In addition, 345 miRNAs (151 up-regulated, 94 down-regulated) were differentially expressed. Moreover, miRanda software was performed to predict targeted genes of miRNAs, resulting in a total of 2,833 predicted targets, especially miR-381 which targeted multiple muscle-related mRNAs. Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway analysis confirmed that targeted genes of miRNAs were involved in development of skeletal muscles. Conclusion: This study supplements the miRNA database of sheep, which provides valuable information for further study of the biological function of miRNAs in sheep skeletal muscle.

Fermented cottonseed meal improves production performance and reduces fat deposition in broiler chickens

Niu Jun Li,Wei Lian Qing,Luo Yuan Qing,Yang Wen Ting,Lu Qi Cheng,Zheng Xin Xia,Niu Yu Jie,Sheng Wen,Cheng Hong,Zhang Wen Ju,Nie Cun Xi 아세아·태평양축산학회 2021 Animal Bioscience Vol.34 No.4

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of fermented cottonseed meal (FCSM) on growth performance, carcass traits, and fat deposition in white-feather broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 480 male one-day-old white-feather broiler chickens were selected randomly and divided into four groups with six replicates of 20 chickens in each. The experimental chickens were fed diets including 3%, 6%, or 9% FCSM fermented by Candida tropicalis until 42 days old. In the experiment, the chickens of the control group were fed soybean meal. Results: FCSM supplementation linearly decreased the feed conversion ratio from d 15 to 21 and d 36 to 42, respectively (p<0.05). The percentage of carcass and semi-eviscerate increased in response to dietary FCSM supplementation at d 21 (p<0.05). The percentage of eviscerated and semi-eviscerate of 3FCSM was higher than that in other groups at d 35 (p<0.05). At the age of 42 d, the percentage of carcass increased in a quadratic way among increasing FCSM in diets (p<0.05). The subcutaneous fat thickness linearly decreased with the increasing levels of FCSM at d 21 (p<0.05). Gompertz and Logistic functions provided a better fit on abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat, respectively. The best fitted equation predicted that the maximum growth rate of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness occurred at d 28. FCSM had no significant effects on the shape of growth curve of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness, but reduced the height of the curve. Birds receiving the 6FCSM diet for 21 d had smaller adipocyte surface and lower serum glucose as well as triglyceride concentration. Conclusion: FCSM is beneficial for broiler chickens as it positively affects their growth and carcass in addition to altering their fat deposition. Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of fermented cottonseed meal (FCSM) on growth performance, carcass traits, and fat deposition in white-feather broiler chickens.Methods: A total of 480 male one-day-old white-feather broiler chickens were selected randomly and divided into four groups with six replicates of 20 chickens in each. The experimental chickens were fed diets including 3%, 6%, or 9% FCSM fermented by <i>Candida tropicalis</i> until 42 days old. In the experiment, the chickens of the control group were fed soybean meal.Results: FCSM supplementation linearly decreased the feed conversion ratio from d 15 to 21 and d 36 to 42, respectively (p<0.05). The percentage of carcass and semi-eviscerate increased in response to dietary FCSM supplementation at d 21 (p<0.05). The percentage of eviscerated and semi-eviscerate of 3FCSM was higher than that in other groups at d 35 (p<0.05). At the age of 42 d, the percentage of carcass increased in a quadratic way among increasing FCSM in diets (p<0.05). The subcutaneous fat thickness linearly decreased with the increasing levels of FCSM at d 21 (p<0.05). Gompertz and Logistic functions provided a better fit on abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat, respectively. The best fitted equation predicted that the maximum growth rate of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness occurred at d 28. FCSM had no significant effects on the shape of growth curve of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness, but reduced the height of the curve. Birds receiving the 6FCSM diet for 21 d had smaller adipocyte surface and lower serum glucose as well as triglyceride concentration.Conclusion: FCSM is beneficial for broiler chickens as it positively affects their growth and carcass in addition to altering their fat deposition.

Controlled Folding of Single Crystal Graphene

Wang, Bin,Huang, Ming,Kim, Na Yeon,Cunning, Benjamin V.,Huang, Yuan,Qu, Deshun,Chen, Xianjue,Jin, Sunghwan,Biswal, Mandakini,Zhang, Xu,Lee, Sun Hwa,Lim, Hyunseob,Yoo, Won Jong,Lee, Zonghoon,Ruoff, Rod American Chemical Society 2017 Nano letters Vol.17 No.3

<P>Folded graphene in which two layers are stacked with a twist angle between them has been predicted to exhibit unique electronic, thermal, and magnetic properties. We report the folding of a single crystal monolayer graphene film grown on a Cu(111) substrate by using a tailored substrate having a hydrophobic region and a hydrophilic region. Controlled film delamination from the hydrophilic region was used to prepare macroscopic folded graphene with good uniformity on the millimeter scale. This process was used to create many folded sheets each with a defined twist angle between the two sheets. By identifying the original lattice orientation of the monolayer graphene on Cu foil, or establishing the relation between the fold angle and twist angle, this folding technique allows for the preparation of twisted bilayer graphene films with defined stacking orientations and may also be extended to create folded structures of other two-dimensional nanomaterials.</P>

Determination of Thermal Equilibrium in a Sealed Cell Based on Optical Depth

Sheng Zou,Hong Zhang,Xi-Yuan Chen,Guang-cun Shan,Wei Quan 한국물리학회 2017 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.70 No.2

An effective method based on optical depth (OD) is presented to measure thermal equilibrium in a cell. First, the principle of determining the temperature distribution in the cell by using the OD is demonstrated. Subsequently, relevant experiments are carried out. Original experimental results showed that some gradients of OD distributions in the cell at different wavelengths and variations of the OD increased slowly along the direction of motion of the beam at a fixed wavelength. At a wavelength of 766.6839 nm, which is about 7 GHz blue shifted with respect to the potassium resonance, the average value of the OD was about 0.764 and the maximal and the minimum inhomogeneity biases among all location points were about 6.07% and 0.56%, respectively. As for the corresponding wavelengths of 766.67785 nm and 766.73004 nm, some deviations from previous results, which were caused by different absorptions of the alkali-metal atoms at different frequencies of the laser beam, were observed. The nonuniform OD values along the direction of motion of the beam reflected an inhomogeneous distribution of the temperature in the cell, which may have been caused by layout of the oven. When the layout of the oven was modified, comparative experiments comparable to these with the previous layout of the oven demonstrated that the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the cell was improved and that thermal equilibrium time was shorter by about 10 minutes. This method played an important role in determining the thermal equilibrium time in the cell.

Role of Alkaline Serine Protease, Asp, in Vibrio alginolyticus Virulence and Regulation of Its Expression by LuxO-LuxR Regulatory System

Hao Peng Rui,Qin Liu,Qi Yao Wang,Yue Ma,Huan Liu,Cun Bin Shi,Yuan Xing Zhang 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2009 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.19 No.5

Lentivirus-mediated microRNA-124 gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation promotes the repair of spinal cord injury in rats

Jia-Lin Song,Wei Zheng,Wei Chen,Yun Qian,Yuan-Ming Ouyang,Cun-Yi Fan 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

Our study aims to explore the effects of lentivirus-mediated microRNA-124 (miR-124) gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation on the repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. BMSCs were isolated from the bone marrow of rats. The target gene miR-124 was identified using a luciferase-reporter gene assay. Seventy-two rats were selected for construction of the SCI model, and the rats were randomly divided into the blank group, sham group, SCI group, negative control (NC) group, overexpressed miR-124 group and si-PDXK group. The mRNA expression of miR-124 and the mRNA and protein expression of pyridoxal kinase (PDXK) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. The locomotor capacity of the rats was evaluated using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale. Brdu, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neurofilament (NF) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) were detected using immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), prostacyclin (PGI2) and gangliosides (GM) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. PDXK was identified as the target gene of miR-124. The overexpressed miR-124 group exhibited higher miR-124 expression than the SCI, NC and si-PDXK groups. Compared with the SCI and NC groups, the PDXK expression was downregulated in the overexpressed miR-124 and si-PDXK groups, and the BBB scores were significantly increased 7, 21 and 35 days after transplantation. The double-labeled positive cell densities (Brdu+NSE/NF/MAP2) and the expression levels of TRH, PGI2 and GM in the overexpressed miR-124 group were significantly higher than those in the NC and SCI groups. These results indicated that miR-124 targeted PDXK to accelerate the differentiation of BMSCs into neurocytes and promote SCI repair.

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.

Bioconversion of conjugated linoleic acid by Lactobacillus plantarum CGMCC8198 supplemented with Acer truncatum bunge seeds oil

Dong-Ju Chen,Li-Hua Yan,Qian Li,Cai-jiao Zhang,Chuan-Ling Si,Zhong-Yuan Li,Ya-Jian Song,Hao Zhou,Tong-Cun Zhang,Xuegang Luo 한국식품과학회 2017 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.26 No.6

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers, c9, t11- CLA and t10, c12-CLA, have been proved to exhibit excellent biomedical properties for potential use in anticancer applications and in reducing obesity. Acer truncatum Bunge (ATB), which is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, and nervonic acid, is a new resource for edible oil. In the present study, we developed a new method for producing two CLA isomers from ATB-seed oil by fermentation using Lactobacillus plantarum CGMCC8198 (LP8198), a novel probiotics strain. Polymerase chain reaction results showed that there was a conserved linoleate isomerase (LIase) gene in LP8198, and its transcription could be induced by ATBseed oil. Analyses by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry showed that the concentration of c9, t11-CLA and t10, c12-CLA in ATB-seed oil could be increased by about 9- and 2.25-fold, respectively, after being fermented by LP8198.