Tumor-Derived Transforming Growth Factor-β is Critical for Tumor Progression and Evasion from Immune Surveillance

Li, Zheng,Zhang, Li-Juan,Zhang, Hong-Ru,Tian, Gao-Fei,Tian, Jun,Mao, Xiao-Li,Jia, Zheng-Hu,Meng, Zi-Yu,Zhao, Li-Qing,Yin, Zhi-Nan,Wu, Zhen-Zhou Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.13

Tumors have evolved numerous mechanisms by which they can escape from immune surveillance. One of these is to produce immunosuppressive cytokines. Transforming growth factor-${\beta}$(TGF-${\beta}$) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a crucial function in mediating immune suppression, especially in the tumor microenvironment. TGF-${\beta}$ produced by T cells has been demonstrated as an important factor for suppressing antitumor immune responses, but the role of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ in this process is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ using shRNA resulted in dramatically reduced tumor size, slowing tumor formation, prolonging survival rate of tumor-bearing mice and inhibiting metastasis. We revealed possible underlying mechanisms as reducing the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and $CD4^+Foxp3^+$ Treg cells, and consequently enhanced IFN-${\gamma}$ production by CTLs. Knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ also significantly reduced the conversion of na$\ddot{i}$ve $CD4^+$ T cells into Treg cells in vitro. Finally, we found that knockdown of TGF-${\beta}$ suppressed cell migration, but did not change the proliferation and apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro. In summary, our study provided evidence that tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ is a critical factor for tumor progression and evasion of immune surveillance, and blocking tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for cancer.

Study on economic performances of multi-span suspension bridges part 1: simple estimation formulas

Li-wen Zhang,Ru-cheng Xiao,Bin Sun,Yang Jiang,Xue-yi Zhang,Dong-li Zhuang,Yun-gang Zhou,Xue Tu 국제구조공학회 2013 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.47 No.2

A study on economic performances of consecutive multi-span suspension bridges is carried out. In this part of the study, material amount and structural cost estimation formulas of the bridges is derived based on the structural ultimate carrying capacity. The bridge cost includes the part of superstructure and the part of substructure. Three types of bridge foundations, bored piles, concrete caissons and floating foundations, are considered in substructure. These formulas are to be used for the parametric study of the bridge cost in order to define its more economical layout under different conditions in the part two of the study.

Isolation and enzymatic characterization of the first reported hyaluronidase from Yak (Bos grunniens) testis

Ru-ren Li,Qun-li Yu,Ling Han,Liang-yan Rong,Meng-meng Yang,Mai-rui An 한국화학공학회 2014 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.31 No.11

A novel hyaluronidase (BgHya1) from Yak testis was isolated and shown to have compara-tively high activity on sodium hyaluronate. However, surveys on BgHya1 are still limited. The enzyme was purifiedthrough gel filtration on Sephacryl S-100 and cation-exchange on SP Sepharose fast flow; the purity was confirmedby a reverse phase FPLC Shodex C4 column. The specific activity of the purified BgHya1 was 20.4 U/mg assayed bythe colorimetric method against 0.85 U/mg for the crude enzyme, representing a 24-fold purification. It was a monomericprotein of 55 kDa estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and SephacrylS-200. It exhibited maximum activity in the presence of 0.15 M NaCl at 37 oC, pH 3.8, and a specificity to sodiumhyaluronate higher than that of chondroitin-4-sulfate, chondroitin-6-sulfate, and dermatan. The Km value for BgHya1,using sodium hyaluronate as substrate, was 0.106 mg/mL. Activity of BgHya1 was inhibited mildly by Ca2+and Fe2+,and significantly by Fe3+, Mg2+, EDTA, urea, heparin, and 0.5 M NaCl. It was not affected by Cu2+,Zn2+,Co2+, ascorbicacid, PMSF, DTT, glutathione (reduced), or L-cysteine. BgHya1 was shown to be heat unstable in the range of 4-45 oC. In terms of storage stability, 92% of the activity was retained after four weeks at 4 oC, and 58% at room temperature. In addition, adding BSA (1.0 mg/mL) to the enzyme sample prior to freezing resulted in complete retention of enzymeactivity. This work yielded a high purity hyaluronidase, the first one isolated from by-product.

Nutritional Characteristics and Active Components in Liver from Wagyu×Qinchuan Cattle

Ru-Ren Li,Ling Han,Hui Cao 한국축산식품학회 2014 한국축산식품학회지 Vol.34 No.2

We investigated nutritional characteristics and active components in the liver of Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle and Qinchuancattle produced in Shaanxi (China). We observed significant differences (p<0.05) in the proximate composition of protein,fat, carbohydrate, total energy, and glycogen. Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle liver showed higher (p<0.05) sodium, iron, zinc, andselenium concentrations than Qinchuan cattle liver. The amino acid composition of Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle liver was richer(p<0.05) in 13 types of amino acids, with the exception of Asp (10.06%), Val (5.86%), and Met (1.72%). Total essentialamino acids accounted for almost half the composition (39.69%) in Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle liver. Wagyu×Qinchuan cattleliver had lower (p<0.05) levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (18.2%), but higher (p<0.05) levels of polyunsaturated fattyacids (35.11%), compared with Qinchuan cattle liver (23.29% and 28.11%, respectively). The thrombogenic index washigher in Qinchuan cattle liver (0.86) than in Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle liver (0.70), and the glutathione (38.0 mg/100g) andL-carnitine (2.12 µM/g) content was higher (p<0.05) in Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle liver than in Qinchuan cattle liver(29.8 mg/100g and 1.41 µM/g, respectively). According to the results obtained, the liver of Wagyu×Qinchuan cattle, whichis insufficiently used, should be increasingly utilized to improve its commercial value.

Study of Stray-light Analysis and Suppression Methods for the Spectroscopic System of a Solar-radiation Observer Instrument

Ru Zheng,Bo Liu,Lingyun Wang,Yue Gao,Guangxi Li,Changyu Li 한국광학회 2021 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.5 No.3

To improve the measurement accuracy of a solar-radiation observer instrument, aiming at the problem of multiorder-stray-light interference caused by the diffraction of the flat-field concave grating in the spectroscopic system, straylight suppression methods for different forms of optical traps are studied. According to the grating surface-scattering distribution-function model, the bidirectional scattering distribution function (BSDF) of a dust-polluted surface and the flat-field concave grating’s transition area of the spectroscopic system is calculated, and a Lyot stop with blade baffle is designed to suppress this kind of stray light. For diffraction multiorder stray light, based on the theory of light-energy transmission, a design for precise positioning of the trench optical trap is proposed. The superiority of the method is verified through simulation and actual measurement. The simulation results show that in a spectroscopic system approximately 160 mm × 140 mm × 80 mm in size, the energy of the stray light is reduced by one order of magnitude by means of the trench optical trap and Lyot stop, and the number of beams is reduced from 5664 to 1040. The actual measurements show that the stray-light-suppression efficiency is about 69.4%, which is effective reduction of the amount of stray light.

Comparative Study on Anti-interference of Nondestructive Testing System with Annular Array Probes

Ru Bai,Zhiwei Li,Tengda Yang,Boyan Li,Aiyu Dou,Jiakun Tu,Jiaqi Li,Chuanjia Kou,Zhenghong Qian 한국자기학회 2024 Journal of Magnetics Vol.29 No.1

A pulsed eddy current nondestructive testing (PECT) system with annular array probes is designed for inner defect detection of metal pipelines. Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) array probes are applied to detect the magnetic signal generated by the inner surface defect of the metal pipelines. Compared to single probe structure, the annular array probes have advantages of high sensitivity, large scanning area and internal realtime detection. However, since many probes are densely arranged in the array, signal interference may occur between adjacent probes. Therefore, two methods of anti-interference, magnetic shielding and time-sharing excitation, are proposed in this work. By modeling and simulation, the working principles of the two antiinterference modes are analyzed and compared respectively. The experimental results show that both methods can reduce the interference between adjacent TMR probes. Compared with the time-sharing excitation method, the magnetic shielding method exhibits better performance with stronger differential signal peak and smaller error, and proves to be a more effective method for the defect detection of the metal pipelines.

Effects of spray axis incident angle on heat transfer performance of rhombus-pitch shell-and-tube interior spray evaporator

Ru-Li Lin,Tong-Bou Chang,Chih-Chang Liang 대한기계학회 2012 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.26 No.3

An interior spray method is proposed for enhancing the heat transfer performance of a compact rhombus-pitch shell-and-tube spray evaporator. The experimental results show that the shell-side heat transfer coefficient obtained using the proposed spray method is significantly higher than that achieved in a conventional flooded-type evaporator. Four different spray axis incident angles (0°, 45°, 60° and 75°) are tested in order to investigate the effect of the spray inclination angle on the heat transfer performance of the spray evaporator system. It is shown that the optimal heat transfer performance is obtained using a spray axis incident angle of 60°.

In Vitro Activity of Taurine-5-Bromosalicylaldehyde Schiff Base Against Planktonic and Biofilm Cultures of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

( Ru Qiang Yuan ),( Yun Peng Diao ),( Wen Li Zhang ),( Yuan Lin ),( Shan Shan Huang ),( Houli Zhang ),( Li Ma ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.8

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen, implicated in both community and hospital acquired infections. The therapy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections is becoming more difficult because of multidrug resistance and strong biofilmforming properties. Schiff bases have attracted attention as promising antibacterial agents. In this study, we investigated the in vitro activity of taurine-5-bromosalicylaldehyde Schiff base (TBSSB) against MRSA. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined using a microtiter broth dilution method. TBSSB effectively inhibited planktonic MRSA, with an MIC of 32 μg/ml. The time-kill curve confirmed that TBSSB exhibited bactericidal activity against MRSA. TBSSB was also found to significantly inhibit MRSA biofilm formation at 24 h, especially at 1×MIC and sub-MIC levels. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed remarkable morphological and ultrastructural changes on the MRSA cell surface, due to exposure to TBSSB. This study indicated that TBSSB may be an effective bactericidal agent against MRSA.

Study on economic performances of multi-span suspension bridges part 2: parametric study

Li-wen Zhang,Ru-cheng Xiao,Bin Sun,Yang Jiang,Xue-yi Zhang,Dong-li Zhuang,Yun-gang Zhou,Xue Tu 국제구조공학회 2013 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.47 No.2

Economic performances of consecutive multi-span suspension bridges are studied. The material amount and cost estimation formulas of the bridges have been derived in the part 1 of the study. A parametric study is carried out based on the formulas for investigating the different factors’ effect on the bridge cost. The factors include the bridge sag, the bridge span, the bridge foundation and the environment condition, etc. Then, an economical layout of the bridges is proposed for different conditions. Lastly, a selection of suspension bridge types is discussed based on the economy of bridges.

Dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides from the leaves and stems of Panax notoginseng and their antiinflammatory activities

Li, Juan,Wang, Ru-Feng,Zhou, Yue,Hu, Hai-Jun,Yang, Ying-Bo,Yang, Li,Wang, Zheng-Tao The Korean Society of Ginseng 2019 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.43 No.3

Background: Inflammation is widespread in the clinical pathology and closely associated to the progress of many diseases. Triterpenoid saponins as a key group of active ingredients in Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen were demonstrated to show antiinflammatory effects. However, the chemical structures of saponins in the leaves and stems of Panax notoginseng (PNLS) are still not fully clear. Herein, the isolation, purification and further evaluation of the antiinflammatory activity of dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins from PNLS were conducted. Methods: Silica gel and reversed-phase C8 column chromatography were used. Furthermore, preparative HPLC was used as a final purification technique to obtain minor saponins with high purities. MS, NMR experiments, and chemical methods were used in the structural identifications. The antiinflammatory activities of the isolated saponins were assessed by measuring the nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the gene expressions of inflammation-related gene. Results: Eight new minor dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, namely notoginsenosides LK1-LK8 (1-8) were obtained from PNLS, along with seven known ones. Among the isolated saponins, gypenoside IX significantly suppressed the nitric oxide production and inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, interleukin 10, interferon-inducible protein 10 and $interleukin-1{\beta}$. Conclusion: The eight saponins may enrich and expand the chemical library of saponins in Panax genus. Moreover, it is reported for the first time that gypenoside IX showed moderate antiinflammatory activity.