c-Cbl-Mediated Neddylation Antagonizes Ubiquitination and Degradation of the TGF-β Type II Receptor

Zuo, W.,Huang, F.,Chiang, Y.,Li, M.,Du, J.,Ding, Y.,Zhang, T.,Lee, H.,Jeong, L.,Chen, Y.,Deng, H.,Feng, X.H.,Luo, S.,Gao, C.,Chen, Y.G. Cell Press 2013 Molecular cell Vol.49 No.3

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is a potent antiproliferative factor in multiple types of cells. Deregulation of TGF-β signaling is associated with the development of many cancers, including leukemia, though the molecular mechanisms are largely unclear. Here, we show that Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl), a known proto-oncogene encoding an ubiquitin E3 ligase, promotes TGF-β signaling by neddylating and stabilizing the type II receptor (TβRII). Knockout of c-Cbl decreases the TβRII protein level and desensitizes hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells to TGF-β stimulation, while c-Cbl overexpression stabilizes TβRII and sensitizes leukemia cells to TGF-β. c-Cbl conjugates neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally downregulated 8 (NEDD8), a ubiquitin-like protein, to TβRII at Lys556 and Lys567. Neddylation of TβRII promotes its endocytosis to EEA1-positive early endosomes while preventing its endocytosis to caveolin-positive compartments, therefore inhibiting TβRII ubiquitination and degradation. We have also identified a neddylation-activity-defective c-Cbl mutation from leukemia patients, implying a link between aberrant TβRII neddylation and leukemia development.

Polarization-dependent Photore Quantum Well Structure

G. J. Jan,C. M. Lai,J. H. Huang 한국물리학회 2003 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.42 No.III

We have measured the polarization-dependent photore ectance spectra of InGaP/GaAs quantum well structure. These quantum well specimens were grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy at the growth temperature 440 C, 480 C and 520 C for C1007, C1008 and C1009, respectively. Each of these samples consists of a 7 nm GaAs well, 0.2 m (top) and 1 m (bottom) InGaP barrier. The properties of InGaP layer were obtained by characterized the InGaP/GaAs epilayer sample using double X-ray diraction and low temperature photoluminescence experiments. The results show that the strains of InGaP for all samples are less than 0.2 % and the ordered parameters are about 0.3. The PR spectra demonstrate the anisotropic optical properties. Besides, the energy dierences between the ground states are almost equal to the dierences between bandgap of the InGaP barrier. And the ground state energy is 4 meV less than GaAs bandgap for sample C1009. These results suggest that the transitions of QW structure strongly involve with the partial ordered InGaP barrier by type II band alignment.??

Nonlinear Characteristics of Fuzzy Scatter Partition-Based Fuzzy Inference System

Park, Keon-Jun,Huang, Wei,Yu, C.,Kim, Yong K. The Institute of Internet 2013 International journal of advanced smart convergenc Vol.2 No.1

This paper introduces the fuzzy scatter partition-based fuzzy inference system to construct the model for nonlinear process to analyze nonlinear characteristics. The fuzzy rules of fuzzy inference systems are generated by partitioning the input space in the scatter form using Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering algorithm. The premise parameters of the rules are determined by membership matrix by means of FCM clustering algorithm. The consequence part of the rules is represented in the form of polynomial functions and the parameters of the consequence part are estimated by least square errors. The proposed model is evaluated with the performance using the data widely used in nonlinear process. Finally, this paper shows that the proposed model has the good result for high-dimension nonlinear process.

The 14-3-3 Gene Function of Cryptococcus neoformans Is Required for its Growth and Virulence

( Jingbo Li ),( Yun C. Chang ),( Chun Hua Wu ),( Jennifer Liu ),( Kyung J. Kwon Chung ),( Sheng He Huang ),( Hiro Shimada ),( Rob Fante ),( Xiaowei Fu ),( Ambrose Jong ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.5

Cryptococcus neoformans is a life-threatening pathogenic yeast that causes devastating meningoencephalitis. The mechanism of cryptococcal brain invasion is largely unknown, and recent studies suggest that its extracellular microvesicles may be involved in the invasion process. The 14-3-3 protein is abundant in the extracellular microvesicles of C. neoformans, and the 14-3-3-GFP fusion has been used as the microvesicle’s marker. However, the physiological role of 14-3-3 has not been explored. In this report, we have found that C. neoformans contains a single 14-3-3 gene that apparently is an essential gene. To explore the functions of 14-3-3, we substituted the promoter region of the 14-3-3 with the copper-controllable promoter CTR4. The CTR4 regulatory strain showed an enlarged cell size, drastic changes in morphology, and a decrease in the thickness of the capsule under copper-enriched conditions. Furthermore, the mutant cells produced a lower amount of total proteins in their extracellular microvesicles and reduced adhesion to human brain microvascular endothelial cells in vitro. Proteomic analyses of the protein components under 14-3-3-overexpressed and -suppressed conditions revealed that the 14-3-3 function(s) might be associated with the microvesicle biogenesis. Our results support that 14-3-3 has diverse pertinent roles in both physiology and pathogenesis in C. neoformans. Its gene functions are closely relevant to the pathogenesis of this fungus.

An Innate Bactericidal Oleic Acid Effective Against Skin Infection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A Therapy Concordant with Evolutionary Medicine

( Chao Hsuan Chen ),( Yan Han Wang ),( Teruaki Nakatsuji ),( Yu Tsueng Liu ),( Christos C. Zouboulis ),( Richard L. Gallo ),( Liangfang Zhang ),( Ming Fa Hsieh ),( Chun Ming Huang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2011 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.21 No.4

Free fatty acids (FFAs) are known to have bacteriocidal activity and are important components of the innateimmune system. Many FFAs are naturally present in human and animal skin, breast milk, and in the bloodstream. Here, the therapeutic potential of FFAs against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is demonstrated in cultures and in mice. Among a series of FFAs, only oleic acid (OA) (C18:1, cis-9) can effectively eliminate Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) through cell wall disruption. Lauric acid (LA, C12:0) and palmitic acid (PA, C16:0) do not have this ability. OA can inhibit growth of a number of Gram-positive bacteria, including hospital and community-associated MRSA at a dose that did not show any toxicity to human sebocytes. The bacteriocidal activities of FFAs were also demonstrated in vivo through injection of OA into mouse skin lesions previously infected with a strain of MRSA. In conclusion, our results suggest a promising therapeutic approach against MRSA through boosting the bacteriocidal activities of native FFAs, which may have been co-evolved during the interactions between microbes and their hosts.

Integrated cladding-pumped multicore few-mode erbium-doped fibre amplifier for space-division-multiplexed communications

Chen, H.,Jin, C.,Huang, B.,Fontaine, N. K.,Ryf, R.,Shang, K.,Gré,goire, N.,Morency, S.,Essiambre, R.-J.,Li, G.,Messaddeq, Y.,LaRochelle, S. Nature Publishing Group 2016 Nature photonics Vol.10 No.8

Space-division multiplexing (SDM), whereby multiple spatial channels in multimode and multicore optical fibres are used to increase the total transmission capacity per fibre, is being investigated to avert a data capacity crunch and reduce the cost per transmitted bit. With the number of channels employed in SDM transmission experiments continuing to rise, there is a requirement for integrated SDM components that are scalable. Here, we demonstrate a cladding-pumped SDM erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) that consists of six uncoupled multimode erbium-doped cores. Each core supports three spatial modes, which enables the EDFA to amplify a total of 18 spatial channels (six cores × three modes) simultaneously with a single pump diode and a complexity similar to a single-mode EDFA. The amplifier delivers >20 dBm total output power per core and <7 dB noise figure over the C-band. This cladding-pumped EDFA enables combined space-division and wavelength-division multiplexed transmission over multiple multimode fibre spans.

Inhomogeneous Level Splitting inPr2−xBixRu2O7

van Duijn, J.,Kim, K. H.,Hur, N.,Adroja, D.,Adams, M. A.,Huang, Q. Z.,Jaime, M.,Cheong, S.-W.,Broholm, C.,Perring, T. G. American Physical Society 2005 Physical review letters Vol.94 No.17

<P>We report that Bi doping drives Pr 2-x BixRu2O7 from an antiferromagnetic insulator (x = 0) to a metallic paramagnet (x approximately 1) with a broad low T maximum in C/T. Neutron scattering reveals local low energy spin excitations (variant Planck's omega approximately 1 meV) with a spectrum that is unaffected by heating to k(B)T >> variant Planck's omega. We show that a continuous distribution of splittings of the non-Kramers Pr3+ ground-state doublet such as might result from various types of lattice strain can account for all the data.</P>

The Corrosion Behavior of Cold-Rolled 304 Stainless Steel In Salt Spray Environments

Chiang, M.F.,Young, M.C.,Huang, J.Y. Korean Radioactive Waste Society 2011 방사성폐기물학회지 Vol.9 No.2

염분분위기에서의 부식은 사용후핵연료의 중간저장 기간동안 304 스테인레스 강재 건식저장용기의 주 열화기구들 중 하나다. 본 연구에서는 감소정도가 서로 다른 냉연 304 스테인레스 강 시편들에 0.5wt.%의 염화나트륨 연무를 분사시키면서 느린 변형속도시험(SSRT)과 중성염 분사시험(NSS)을 $85^{\circ}C$와 $200^{\circ}C$ 에서 수행하였다. $85^{\circ}C$에서 2000 시간 동안 시험한 NSS시편의 무게 변화는 $200^{\circ}C$에서 시험한 시편의 무게 변화와 크게 달랐다. NSS 시편의 $85^{\circ}C$에서 무게 감량은 미미하였지만, 냉연 감소율이 증가함에 따라서 무게 변화는 점진적으로 감소하였다. $85^{\circ}C$와 $200^{\circ}C$에서 그리고 염분분사 환경에서 가볍게 냉연 가공된 시편의 SSRT 시험으로부터 얻은 항복강도와 극한 인장응력의 값은 공기 중의 값보다 약간 낮았다. 그러나 염분 분위기에서 부식으로 인한 20% 감소 냉연시편의 강도는 더 이상 변화하지 않았다. 예비결과는 냉연 304 스테인레스 강의 질과 성능이 건식저장용기의 제작을 위한 조건에 맞는다는 것을 증명하였다. 그러나 냉연 스테인레스 강의 장기적인 성능을 더 잘 이해하기 위해서는 염분분위기에서 이 재질의 부식거동에 관한 더 많은 연구가 필요하다. Saline corrosion is one of the major degradation mechanisms for stainless steel type 304 (SS304) dry storage cask during the spent fuel interim storage period. Slow strain rate test (SSRT) and neutral salt spray test (NSS) were performed at $85^{\circ}C$ and $200^{\circ}C$ with 0.5 wt% sodium chloride mist sprayed on the cold-rolled SS304 specimens of different degrees of reduction in this study. The weight changes of the NSS specimens tested at $85^{\circ}C$ for 2000 hours differed greatly from those at $200^{\circ}C$. The weight loss of NSS specimens was not significant at $85^{\circ}C$ but the weight gain decreased gradually with increasing the cold-rolled reduction. The yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile stress (UTS) values obtained from the SSRT tests for lightly cold-rolled specimens in the salt spray environment at $85^{\circ}C$ and $200^{\circ}C$ are slightly lower than in air. But for those with 20% reductions, the specimen strengths were no longer changed by the saline corrosion. The preliminary results demonstrated that the quality and performance of cold-rolled SS304 is acceptable for fabrication of dry storage casks. However, more work on the corrosion behavior of cold-rolled stainless steel in the saline atmosphere is needed to better understand its long-term performance.

Bone Drilling System for Quantifying Hand Feeling in Orthopedic Surgery

( C. -y. Wu ),( J. -y. Su ),( C. -s. Hsu ),( Y. -h. Chen ),( K. -f. Chang ),( C. -c. Huang ),( H. -m. Wu ),( Y. -c. Tsai ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

In this work, a bone drilling system was designed to quantify “hand feeling”, which can benefit surgeons to be more acquainted with bone hardness. A bi-axial force/torque sensor is mounted on the bone drilling system in order to measure the thrust force and the torque caused by drilling in bones. The system is assembled with a motorized stage, which is directly integrated with a surgical handpiece by an adjustable holder, to drill into various bones (porcine mandible, porcine femur, porcine rib) at different feed speeds and spindle speeds. The results reveal that the feed speed is positively corresponded with force and torque. However, the effect of spindle speed on force and torque is negligible. In addition, drilling bones without spraying water can cause the drilling temperature to increase to 73.3°C. According to the data from the experiments, the exact force and torque during bone drilling can be predicted with the given parameters. Thus, surgeons are capable of preventing the use of excessive force during bone drilling.

Selection for Duration of Fertility and Mule Duck White Plumage Colour in a Synthetic Strain of Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

H.C. Liu,J.F. Huang,S.R. Lee,H.L. Liu,C.H. Hsieh,C.W. Huang,M.C. Huang,C. Tai,J.P. Poivey,R. Rouvier,Y.S. Cheng 아세아·태평양축산학회 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.5

A synthetic strain of ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) was developed by introducing genes for long duration of fertility to be used as mother of mule ducklings and a seven-generation selection experiment was conducted to increase the number of fertile eggs after a single artificial insemination (AI) with pooled Muscovy semen. Reciprocal crossbreeding between Brown Tsaiya LRI-2 (with long duration of fertility) and Pekin L-201 (with white plumage mule ducklings) ducks produced the G0. Then G1 were intercrossed to produce G2 and so on for the following generations. Each female duck was inseminated 3 times, at 26, 29, and 32 weeks of age. The eggs were collected for 14 days from day 2 after AI. Individual data regarding the number of incubated eggs (Ie), the number of fertile eggs at candling at day 7 of incubation (F), the total number of dead embryos (M), the maximum duration of fertility (Dm) and the number of hatched mule ducklings (H) with plumage colour were recorded. The selection criterion was the breeding values of the best linear unbiased prediction animal model for F. The results show high percentage of exhibited heterosis in G2 for traits to improve (19.1% for F and 12.9% for H); F with a value of 5.92 (vs 3.74 in the Pekin L-201) was improved in the G2. Heritabilities were found to be low for Ie (h2 = 0.07±0.03) and M (h2 = 0.07±0.01), moderately low for Dm (h2 = 0.13±0.02), of medium values for H (h2 = 0.20±0.03) and F (h2 = 0.23±0.03). High and favourable genetic correlations existed between F and Dm (rg = 0.93), between F and H (rg = 0.97) and between Dm and H (rg = 0.90). The selection experiment showed a positive trend for phenotypic values of F (6.38 fertile eggs in G10 of synthetic strain vs 5.59 eggs in G4, and 3.74 eggs in Pekin L-201), with correlated response for increasing H (5.73 ducklings in G10 vs 4.86 in G4, and 3.09 ducklings in Pekin L-201) and maximum duration of the fertile period without increasing the embryo mortality rate. The average predicted genetic response for F was 40% of genetic standard deviation per generation of selection. The mule ducklings’ feather colour also was improved. It was concluded that this study provided results for a better understanding of the genetics of the duration of fertility traits in the common female duck bred for mule and that the selection of a synthetic strain was effective method of improvement.