Identification of candidate odorant‐degrading enzyme genes in the antennal transcriptome of Aphidius gifuensis

Kang Zhi‐Wei,Liu Fang‐Hua,Xu Yong‐Yu,Cheng Jia‐Hui,Lin Xiao‐Li,Jing Xiang‐Feng,Tian Hong‐Gang,Liu Tong‐Xian 한국곤충학회 2021 Entomological Research Vol.51 No.1

Odorant‐degrading enzymes (ODEs) have been found in insect antennae and play a critical role in signal chemical degradation once the message is conveyed. Significant progress has been made in characterizing ODEs in a variety of pests but very little is known in their natural enemies. We have carried out an antennae‐ and sex‐specific transcriptome of Aphidius gifuensis, a natural enemy of aphid, to identify the candidate ODEs. Based on the antennae‐ and sex‐specific transcriptome, a total of 100 putative ODEs were identified including one aldehyde oxidase (AOX), four alcohol dehydrogenases (ADs), eight UDP‐glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), 45 cytochrome P450 (P450s), nine glutathione S‐transferases (GSTs) and 40 carboxylesterases (CCEs or CXEs). Additionally, we used RT‐qPCR to determine the expression profiles of these genes in tissues of both sexes. Based on the phylogenic analysis and tissue‐expression patterns, AgifEstE4, AgifCXE3, AgifCCE4, AgifCCE7, and AgifCCE18 were suggested as key ODEs in A. gifuensis. In addition, the female or male specifically enriched genes, such as AgifCCE17, AgifEstB1, AgifCYP18a1, AgifUGT2C2, were also considered to involve in the chemosensory processing in A. gifuensis. This study not only identified the candidate ODEs in A. gifuensis but also provided source for further exploration of the molecular mechanisms of chemical signal transductions in A. gifuensis, as well as other hymenopteran species.

Protocols for Privacy-Preserving DBSCAN Clustering

XU Wei-jiang,HUANG Liu-sheng,LUO Yong-long,YAO Yi-fei,JING Wei-wei 보안공학연구지원센터 2007 International Journal of Security and Its Applicat Vol.1 No.1

Cooperative computation is one of the most important fields in computer science. In recent years, the development of networking increases the desirability of cooperative computation. But privacy concerns often prevent different parties from sharing their data. Secure multiparty computation techniques can dispel parties’ doubts about revealing privacy information in this situation. On the other hand, Data mining has been a popular research area for more than a decade. However, in many applications, the data are originally collected at different sites owned by different users. This paper considers the problem of privacy preserving DBSCAN clustering over vertically partitioned data based on some results of SMC. An efficient secure intersection protocol is first proposed. The security and complexity of the protocols are also analyzed. The results show that the protocols preserve the privacy of the data and the time complexity as well as the communication complexity is acceptable.

Concurrent Weekly Docetaxel Chemotherapy in Combination with Radiotherapy for Stage III and IVA-B Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Wei, Wei-Hong,Cai, Xiu-Yu,Xu, Tao,Zhang, Guo-Yi,Wu, Yong-Feng,Feng, Wei-Neng,Lin, Li,Deng, Yan-Ming,Lu, Qiu-Xia,Huang, Zhe-Li Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.3

Background and Purpose: Cisplatin is the most common chemotherapeutic agent for loco-regionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, toxicity is a limiting factor for some patients. We retrospectively compared the efficacy and toxicity of weekly docetaxel-based and cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy in loco-regionally advanced NPC. Methods and Materials: Eighty-four patients with Stage III and IVA-B NPCs, treated between 2007 and 2008, were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty received weekly docetaxel-based concurrent chemotherapy, and 43 were given weekly cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was administered using a conventional technique (seven weeks, 2.0 Gy per fraction, total dose 70-74 Gy) with 6-8 Gy boosts for some patients with locally advanced disease. Results: Median follow-up time was 42.3 months (range, 8.6-50.8 months). There were no significant differences in the 3-year loco-regional failure-free survival (85.6% vs. 92.3%; p=0.264), distant failure-free survival (87.0% vs. 92.5%; p=0.171), progression-free survival (85.7% vs. 88.4%; p=0.411) or overall survival (86.5% vs. 92.5%, p=0.298) of patients treated concurrently with docetaxel or cisplatin. Severe toxicity was not common in either group. Conclusions: Weekly docetaxel-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is potentially effective and has a tolerable toxicity; however, further investigations are required to determine if docetaxel is superior to cisplatin for advanced stage NPC.

Autophagy in Tumorigenesis and Cancer Treatment

Xu, Dong-Wei,Zhang, Guan-Qing,Wang, Zong-Wei,Xu, Xiao-Yin,Liu, Tong-Xiang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.6

Autophagy is a self-digestion process, wrapping cytoplasmic proteins or organelles to form vesicles for degradation in lysosomes. The process plays an important role in the maintenance of intracellular homostasis. Here we overview articles on autophagy and cancer/tumors in Pubmed and found 327 articles. Autophagy exists in many tumors and is involved in cell malignant transformation and tumor cell growth. In early phases of tumorigenesis, autophagy clears the abnormally folded proteins and dysfunctional organelles such as mitochondria. Autophagy can also inhibit cell stress responses and prevent genetic damage. When a tumor develops, autophagy helps tumor cells survive nutritional deficiencies and hypoxic conditions. Studies of autophagy in the occurrence and progression of tumors should provide new therapeutic strategies for tumors.

Refolding Behavior of Urea-Induced Denaturation Collagen

Xu Wei,Yanqiu Zhao,Jingjing Zheng,Qin Cao,Sheng Li,Lang He,Benmei Wei,Juntao Zhang,Chengzhi Xu,Haibo Wang 한국고분자학회 2021 Macromolecular Research Vol.29 No.6

Exploration of the denaturation and refolding of natural collagen is important for the application of collagen and its denatured products. In this study, using urea as a denaturant, we prepared a denatured natural collagen product and analyzed its structural changes. The denaturation treatment severely destroyed the triple helix conformation of collagen, but had no significant effect on the primary structure of its α chains or the covalent cross-linking between α chains. Next, we observed the refolding behavior of the denatured collagen by removing urea through dialysis. We found that the denatured collagen products from different sources (grass carp skin, bovine tendon) all showed a reconstruction of the triple helix conformation up to 60-75% of the value of natural collagen during the refolding process. The telopeptide did not significantly promote triple helix reconstruction. In conclusion, the reconstruction of the α chains did not perfectly occur in a “head-to-head, tail-to-tail” manner in refolded collagen, as each α chain was participating in the reconstruction of multiple triple helix domains. The refolded collagen still had weak self-assembly ability and formed a unique network-like structure containing small interlaced and closely combined fibers, which shows favorable cell compatibility and potential applications.

Signal processing method based on energy ratio for detecting leakage of SG using EVFM

Xu Wei,Xu Ke-Jun,Yan Xiao-Xue,Yu Xin-Long,Wu Jian-Ping,Xiong Wei 한국원자력학회 2020 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.52 No.8

In the sodium-cooled fast reactor, the steam generator is a heat exchange device between sodium and water, which may cause leakage, resulting in a sodium-water reaction accident, which in turn affects the safe operation of the entire nuclear reactor. To this end, the electromagnetic vortex flowmeter is used to detect leakage of the steam generator and its signal processing method is studied in this paper. The hydraulic experiment was carried out by using water instead of liquid sodium, and the sensor output signal of the electromagnetic vortex flowmeter under different gas injection volumes was collected. The bubble noise signal is reflected by the base line of the sensor output signal. According to the relationship between the proportion of the bubble noise signal in the sensor output signal and the gas injection volume, a signal processing method based on the energy ratio calculation is proposed to detect whether the water contains bubbles. The gas injection experiment of liquid sodium was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the signal processing method in the detection of bubbles in sodium, and the minimum detectable leak rate of water in the steam generator was detected to be 0.2 g/s.

Synergistic Effect of Ethaselen and Selenite Treatment against A549 Human Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Xu, Wei,Ma, Wei-Wei,Zeng, Hui-Hui Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.17

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the growth inhibitory effect of the combination of ethaselen (BBSKE) and low fixed dose of selenite against A549 human non-small cell lung cancer cells in vitro. Materials and Methods: Growth inhibitory effects against A549 cells were determined by SRB assay. Combination index (CI) values were calculated based on Chou-Talalay median-effect analyses. Dose reduction index (DRI) values were applied to calculate dose reduction of selenite. Contents of free thiols and GSH were determined by DTNB assay and intracellular ROS levels by DCFH-DA fluorescence labeling. Results: Compared with BBSKE or selenite single treatment, the combined application of ethaselen and a low fixed dose of selenite shortened the onset time of sodium selenite, reduced $IC_{50}$ values, and increased the maximum inhibition rates, suggesting a possible molecular mechanism of the synergism. Obvious synergistic effects were observed after different times of combination treatment, especially after 24 h. Compared with selenite single treatment, dosage of selenite could be remarkably reduced in combination therapy to gain the same inhibitory effect on cell proliferation. Compared with BBSKE single treatment, the content of free thiols and GSH were significantly reduced and ROS levels greatly elevated in the combination group. For the combination treatment, cell viability increased as greater concentrations of GSH were added. Conclusions: All these results indicate that the combination treatment of BBSKE and selenite showed synergism to inhibit A549 cell proliferation in vitro, and also reduced the selenite dosage to mitigate its toxicity which is very meaningful for combination chemotherapy of lung cancer. The synergism was probably caused by the accelerated exhaustion of intracellular reductive substances, such as free thiols and GSH, which ultimately leads to enhanced oxidative stress and apoptosis.

A New Ambiguity Elimination Method for BSS Block Signals in Time Domain

Wei Zhao,Fengshan Wang,Yuehong Shen,Yuanyuan Wu,Zhigang Yuan,Pengcheng Xu,Pengcheng Xu,Yimin Wei,Wei Jian 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.8 No.11

This paper deals with the ambiguity problem of blind source separation (BSS) in the case where continuously received mixture signals are split in time and processed block by block. Due to the inherent permutation and scaling ambiguities of BSS, tying the separated components at each adjacent time blocks doesn’t recover the original source signals correctly in general. Inspired by the Permutation Method of reconstructing source signal blocks in time domain, a new ambiguity elimination approach is proposed in this paper. This method aims to concatenate the separated components in adjacent blocks by artificially setting contrast blocks for each adjacent time blocks. The core idea of this method is to utilize the associativity between components recovered from contrast blocks and corresponding adjacent blocks. Compared with Permutation Method, the main advantage of this new method consists in the fact that it is much more efficient in terms of separation quality and computational speed. Besides, a tradeoff can be adjusted between separation quality and computational speed by choosing different length of contrast blocks. Real-life experiments are performed to validate the performance of this method on the wireless communication system with two transmitting and receiving antennas.

A metal oxide TFT gate driver with a single negative power source employing a boosting module

Yangang Xu,Jun-Wei Chen,Wen-Xing Xu,Lei Zhou,Wei-Jing Wu,Jianhua Zou,Miao Xu,Lei Wang,Junbiao Peng 한국정보디스플레이학회 2020 Journal of information display Vol.21 No.1

This paper presents a new gate driver integrated by In-Zn-O thin-film transistors (IZO TFTs) with the etch stop layer (ESL) structure, in which only a single negative power source is used on account of a new boosting module. The boosting module is controlled only by the VIN signal for generating a lower level than VSS. The proposed gate driver with 15 stages is fabricated through the IZO TFT process on a glass substrate to verify its function. The experiment results showed that the proposed gate driver can successfully output full-swing waveforms with resistive load RL=2 kΩ and capacitive load CL=30 pF at the 16.7 and 66.7 kHz clock frequencies, and can also output as small as 3.2 μs pulse width with little distortion, revealing good stability.

Impact of Co-transfection with Livin and Survivin shRNA Expression Vectors on Biological Behavior of HepG2 Cells

Xu, Wei,Chang, Hong,Qin, Cheng-Kun,Zhai, Yun-Peng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.9

Objective: To construct short hairpin RNA (shRNA) eukaryotic expression vectors targeting Livin and Survivin genes, and to explore the impact of co-transfection of Livin and Survivin shRNA expression vectors on the biological behavior of HepG2 cells. Methods: shRNA eukaryotic expression vectors pSD11-Livin and pSD11-Survivin were designed and constructed then transfected into HepG2 cells separately or in combination. mRNA and protein expression in transfected cells was assessed by quantitative fluorescence PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay and cell apoptosis by TUNEL assay. Results: The Livin and Survivin shRNA eukaryotic expression vectors were successfully constructed and transfected into HepG2 cells. The relative mRNA expression levels of Livin and Survivin in HepG2 cells co-transfected with pSD11-Livin and pSD11-Survivin were $0.12{\pm}0.02$ and $0.33{\pm}0.13$, respectively, which was significantly lower than levels in cells transfected with either pSD11-Livin or pSD11-Survivin (P<0.05). The relative protein expression levels of Livin and Survivin in the co-transfected cells were also significantly decreased compared to single-transfection (P<0.05). The inhibition rate of cell growth in the co-transfection group was higher than that in the single-transfection groups at 48 h, 60 h, or 72 h after transfection (P<0.01). The apoptotic rate increased to the greatest extent in the co-transfection group relative to any other group (P<0.05). Conclusions: Co-transfection with pSD11-Livin and pSD11-Survivin was more efficient than transfection with either vector alone in reducing the mRNA and protein expression of Livin and Survivin genes in HepG2 cells. Co-transfection also inhibited the proliferation of transfected cells more than the other groups, and induced cellular apoptosis more effectively.