Environmental Microbiology/Microbial Diversity : Investigation of the Properties of Sand Tubules, a Biomineralization Product, and their Microbial Community

( Wei Lian Hu ),( Dehui Dai ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.2

Sand tubules, made up of sand grains cemented by microbe-induced calcium carbonate precipitation, have been found in China``s Ningxia Province. Sand tubules grow like a tree``s roots about 40-60 cm below the surface. The properties of sand tubules and their bacterial community were examined. X-Ray diffraction analysis revealed that the sand tubules were associated with crystalline calcite. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the crystalline solid had a lamellar structure and lacked the presence of cells, suggesting that no bacteria acted as nucleation sites, nor that the crystalline solid was formed by the aggregation of bacteria. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis showed 11 of the 12 detectable bands were uncultured bacteria by BLAST analysis in the GenBank database, and the rest were closely related to Paenibacillus sp. (100% identity). By cultivation techniques, the only strain isolated from the sand tubule was suggested to be related to Paenibacillus sp.; no archaea were found. Furthermore, Paenibacillus sp. was demonstrated to induce calcium carbonate precipitation in vitro.

MicroRNA-122 Promotes Proliferation, Invasion and Migration of Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells Through the PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

Lian, Ji-Hu,Wang, Wei-Hua,Wang, Jia-Qiang,Zhang, Yu-Hong,Li, Yi Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.9

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a small class of non-coding, single-stranded RNAs with a critical role in genesis and maintenance of renal cancer mainly through binding to 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) of target mRNAs, which causes a block of translation and/or mRNA degradation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential effects of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinomas. Methods: The expression level of miR-122 was quantified by qRT-PCR. MTT, colony formation, invasion and migration assays were used to explore the potential functions of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinoma cells. Results: Cellular growth, invasion and migration in two A498 and 786-O cells were significantly increased after miR-122 transfection. Further experiments demonstrated that overexpression of miR-122 resulted in the increase of phospho-Akt (Ser473) and phospho-mTOR (Ser2448), then activation of mTOR targets, p70S6K and 4E-BP1. Conclusions: The up-regulation of miR-122 may play an important role in the progress of renal cancer through activating PI3K/Akt signal pathway and could be a potential molecular target for anti-cancer therapeutics.

Determination of a Monitoring Scheme for Controlling Construction Errors of a Cable-strut Tensile Structure

Lian-meng Chen,Wei-feng Gao,Dong Hu,Yi-yi Zhou,Fu-bo Zhang,Shi-lin Dong 대한토목학회 2018 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.22 No.10

Construction errors are inevitable in real cable-strut tensile structures. Nevertheless, the relevant work, especially the monitoring scheme design work, to control the construction errors is lacking. At present, the monitoring schemes always lay out the monitored members in the places with great internal force or great deformation, do not consider the method to control the construction errors and do not explain the method to lay out the monitored members in fundamental theory. To address this situation, the element length error, which is an important construction error affecting the bearing performance, is considered as the factor variable and the fundamental equation of pre-stress deviation and element length error is derived firstly. Next the methods to express the pre-stress deviation, which are only derived from the active cable length errors or from both the active cable and passive cable length errors, are discussed. After that, based on the condition that the errors can be solved and compensated, the least number of monitored members is determined. Moreover, those members sensitive to cable length deviation of active cables are selected as monitored members. In order to evaluate the effect level caused by passive cable length deviation, two evaluation parameters Δ and ρ are further discussed. Finally, one cable-strut tensile structure example is employed to verify the proposed method and the results of the example studies indicate that the least necessary number of monitored members can be achieved for the accurate solution and compensation of active cable length deviations. Different members have different sensitivities to the change of the length in active cables and those members with great sensitivities can be chosen in prior as monitored members. The evaluation parameters Δ and ρ can be used to analyze the source of errors and to evaluate the error effect level caused by the passive cable length deviation.

Case-control study on the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene Polymorphisms associated with breast cancer in in Chinese Han women

Chun-Lian Liu,Xiao-Ping Hu,Wei-Dong Guo,Li Yang,Jie Dang,Hai-Yan Jiao 한국유방암학회 2013 Journal of breast cancer Vol.16 No.4

Purpose: Genetic variation in fibroblast growth factor receptor 2(FGFR2) is a newly described risk factor for breast cancer. Thisstudy aimed to evaluate the association of four single nucleotidepolymorphisms (SNPs) in FGFR2 with breast cancer in Han Chinesewomen. Methods: Two hundred three women with breastcancer and 200 breast cancer-free age-matched controls wereselected. Four SNPs (rs2981579, rs1219648, rs2420946, andrs2981582) and their haplotypes were analyzed to test for theirassociation with breast cancer susceptibility. The presence ofthe four FGFR2 SNPs was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results:A statistically significant difference was observed in thefrequency of rs2981582 in the FGFR2 gene (p<0.05) betweencase and control groups. In subjects stratified by menopausalstatus, rs2981582 TT, rs2420946 AA, and rs1219648 CC weresignificantly associated with the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausalsubjects, but no significant associations betweenthese four SNPs and the risk of breast cancer were identified inpremenopausal subjects. Further, there was no significant associationbetween hormone receptor status (estrogen receptor andprogesterone receptor) and breast cancer risk. Six common (>3%) haplotypes were identified. Three of these haplotypes,CGTC (odds ratio [OR], 0.613; 95% confidence interval [CI],0.457-0.82; p=0.001), TGTC (OR, 6.561; 95% CI, 2.064-20.854;p<0.001), and CATC (OR, 12.645; 95% CI, 1.742-91.799; p=0.001) were significantly associated with breast cancer risk. Conclusion:Our findings indicated that the SNP rs2981582 and haplotypesCGTC, TGTC, and CATC in FGFR2 may be associatedwith an increased risk of breast cancer in Han Chinese women.

Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers, Especially Fibrinogen to Albumin Ratio, Predict Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Lin Fang,Fei-Hu Yan,Chao Liu,Jing Chen,Dan Wang,Chun-Hui Zhang,Chang-Jie Lou,Jie Lian,Yang Yao,Bo-Jun Wang,Rui-Yang Li,Shu-Ling Han,Yi-Bing Bai,Jia-Ni Yang,Zhi-Wei Li,Yan-Qiao Zhang 대한암학회 2021 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.53 No.1

Purpose Systemic inflammatory response is a critical factor that promotes the initiation and metastasis of malignancies including pancreatic cancer (PC). This study was designed to determine and compare the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC. Materials and Methods Three hundred fifty-three patients with resectable PC and 807 patients with locally advan-ced or metastatic PC were recruited in this study. These patients were classified into a training set (n=758) and a validation set (n=402). Kaplan-Meier survival plots and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze prognosis. Results Overall survival (OS) was significantly better for patients with resectable PC with low preoperative PLR (p=0.048) and MLR (p=0.027). Low FAR, MLR, NLR (p < 0.001), and PLR (p=0.003) were significantly associated with decreased risk of death for locally advanced or metastatic PC patients. FAR (hazard ratio [HR], 1.522; 95% confidential interval [CI], 1.261 to 1.837; p < 0.001) and MLR (HR, 1.248; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.532; p=0.034) were independent prognostic factors for locally advanced or metastatic PC. Conclusion The prognostic roles of FAR, MLR, NLR, and PLR in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC were different. FAR showed the most prognostic power in locally advanced or metastatic PC. Low FAR was positively correlated with OS in locally advanced or metastatic PC, which could be used to predict the prognosis.

Regulatory effect of peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1) on doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in triple negative breast cancer cells

Han Ying-Hao,Lian Xu-Dong,Lee Seung-Jae,Li Wei-Long,Sun Hu-Nan,Jin Mei-Hua,Kwon Taeho 한국응용생명화학회 2022 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.65 No.5

Patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) lack the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; thus, conventional hormone and targeted therapies have minimal effect on them. Therefore, clinical treatment of TNBC is still based on chemotherapy and supplemented by other methods. Doxorubicin (DOX), a common drug used in TNBC chemotherapy, has high affinity for cardiolipin, and the nematosomes are rich in cardiolipin; therefore, DOX has high mitochondria-targeting ability. DOX accumulates and plunders the electrons of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and cytochrome C in mitochondria to produce semiquinone DOX. Under the action of oxygen molecules, semiquinone DOX is reduced to DOX and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated. The accumulation of ROS can cause mitochondrial dysfunction and lead to mitochondrial dependent apoptosis. Bioinformatic analysis of samples from TNBC patients revealed that peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1) was highly expressed in TNBC tissues, and the poor prognosis of patients with high PRDX1 expression was considerably increased. Previous studies determined that DOX can upregulate the expression of the PRDX1 protein in the human TNBC cell line (MDA-MB-231). Thus, we speculate that PRDX1 plays an important role in the process of DOX-induced TNBC cell apoptosis. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of PRDX1 in the process of DOX-induced TNBC cell apoptosis. We found that PRDX1 deletion increased the sensitivity of MDA-MB-231 cells to DOX, which was mainly due to mitochondrial oxidative stress caused by intracellular ROS accumulation, leading to mitochondriadependent apoptosis. Deletion of PRDX1 promotes the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to mediate the expression of GSK3β. Gsk3β is an upstream signal of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, and is also an important target of ROS. PRDX1 participates in adriamycin-induced apoptosis of TNBC cells by regulating the expression level of GSK3β. Our findings present new insights to treat breast cancer and TNBC, outlines the clinical use of DOX, and provides a basic theory to develop PRDX1 gene function.

Early Diagnosis and Management of Cerebral Venous Flow Obstruction Secondary to Transsinus Fracture after Traumatic Brain Injury

Wen-hao Wang,Jun-ming Lin,Fei Luo,Lian-shui Hu,Jun Li,Wei Huang 대한신경과학회 2013 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.9 No.4

Background and Purpose Cerebral venous flow obstruction (CVFO) is a fatal complication of traumatic brain injury. To compare the outcomes of patients with CVFO secondary to traumatic-brain-injury-induced transsinus fracture who were diagnosed early versus those diagnosed late in the therapeutic course. Methods In total, 403 patients with transsinus fracture were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were divided into an early-diagnosis group (n=338) and a delayed-diagnosis group (n=65).The patients submitted to 2D time-of-flight magnetic resonance venography (2D-TOF MRV) and/or CT venography (CTV), depending upon the findings of intracranial pressure monitoring, in order to identify potentially complicated CVFO. These examinations took place within 3 days of the onset of malignant intracranial hypertension symptoms in the early-diagnosis group, and after an average of 7 days in the delayed-diagnosis group. Once diagnosed, patients received intravenous thrombolytic therapy with low-dose urokinase. Patients with massive transsinus epidural hematoma, depressed fracture, or cerebral hernia were treated surgically to relieve the compression and repair any damage to the venous sinuses. Results Cerebral venous flow obstruction was much more severe in the delayed-diagnosis group than in the early-diagnosis group (p<0.001), and hence patients in the former group were given a higher dose of urokinase (p<0.001) for thrombolytic therapy. They were also significantly more likely to need surgery (48.1% vs. 20.6%, p=0.003) and had a higher mortality rate (37.0%vs. 4.1%, p<0.001). However, patients in both groups experienced a similarly favorable prognosis, not only with regard to functional outcome but also with respect to neuroradiological improvement, as evaluated by 2D-TOF MRV/CTV at the final follow-up (p=0.218). Conclusions Delayed diagnosis can result in increased risk of surgery and death in the acute phase. Thrombolytic therapy with low-dose urokinase resulted in promising improvements in both functional and neuroradiological outcomes in all of the patients in this study, regardless of the time to diagnosis. J Clin Neurol 2013;9:259-268

Immunogenicity of recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum NC8 expressing goose parvovirus VP2 gene in BALB/c mice

Yu-Ying Liu,Wentao Yang,Shaohua Shi,Ya-Jie Li,Liang Zhao,Chunwei Shi,Fangyu Zhou,Yanlong Jiang,Jingtao Hu,Wei Gu,Gui-Lian Yang,Chun-feng Wang 대한수의학회 2017 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.18 No.2

Goose parvovirus (GPV) continues to be a threat to goose farms and has significant economic effects on the production of geese. Current commercially available vaccines only rarely prevent GPV infection. In our study, Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum NC8 was selected as a vector to express the VP2 gene of GPV, and recombinant L. plantarum pSIP409-VP2/NC8 was successfully constructed. The molecular weight of the expressed recombinant protein was approximately 70 kDa. Mice were immunized with a 2 × 109 colony-forming unit/200 mL dose of the recombinant L. plantarum strain, and the ratios and numbers of CD11c+, CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+, and interferon gamma- and tumor necrosis factor alpha-expressing spleen lymphocytes in the pSIP409-VP2/NC8 group were higher than those in the control groups. In addition, we assessed the capacity of L. plantarum SIP409-VP2/NC8 to induce secretory IgA production. We conclude that administered pSIP409-VP2/NC8 leads to relatively extensive cellular responses. This study provides information on GPV infection and offers a clear framework of options available for GPV control strategies.