C-Reactive Protein Gene Variants in Depressive Symptoms & Antidepressants Efficacy

Xinxin Li,Ning Sun,Chunxia Yang,Zhifen Liu,Xinrong Li,Kerang Zhang 대한신경정신의학회 2019 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.16 No.12

Objective Although the pathogenesis of depression remains unclear, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are commonly elevated in depressed patients. Thus, CRP single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence CRP levels may be associated with depression. In the present study, we explored whether CRP SNPs are related to depressive symptoms and antidepressants efficacy in Han Chinese patients. Methods We analyzed data from 440 patients with first-episode depression. We obtained genome CRP SNPs, scores of the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression 17 (HAMD17) and its four-factor at baseline and after 6 weeks. Quantitative trait analysis was performed using UNPHASED software and curative effects were analyzed using SPSS software. Results Male patients with SNP rs1800947G exhibited lower insomnia scores and rs2794521CC exhibited lower scores of anxiety/ physical symptoms, total HAMD17 score. Female patients with rs2794521TT exhibited higher scores of insomnia and lower antidepressants efficacy. Conclusion CRP SNPs rs1800947 and rs2794521 may be associated with depressive symptoms in patients with depression in a sex-specific fashion. Furthermore, rs2794521 may be a predictor of the efficacy of antidepressants in female patients.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant maize reveals potential mechanisms to enhance salt resistance

Mingquan Wang,Yufeng Wang,Yifei Zhang,Chunxia Li,Shichen Gong,Shuqin Yan,Guoliang Li,Guanghui Hu,Honglei Ren,Jianfei Yang,Tao Yu,Kejun Yang 한국유전학회 2019 Genes & Genomics Vol.41 No.7

Background Salt stress is a devastating environmental stress that causes plant growth inhibition and yield reduction. Objective The identification of salt-tolerant genes brings hope for the generation of salinity-tolerant crop plants through molecular breeding. Methods In this study, one salt-sensitive and one salt-tolerant maize inbred line were screened from 242 maize inbred lines. Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related enzyme activities were detected and salt-responsive comparative transcriptome analysis was performed for control and 220 mM NaCl treated maize leaves. Results Salt-tolerant maize inbred line (L87) showed higher ROS-related enzyme (SOD, POD, APX and CAT) activities and accumulated relatively lower levels of ROS under salt stress. Of the total DEGs, 1856 upregulated DEGs were specific to L87, including stress tolerance-related members of the 70kDa family of heat shock proteins (Hsp70s) and aquaporins. The DEGs involved in the abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) signal transduction pathways may determine the difference in salt tolerance between the two varieties, especially one central component SnRK2, that positively regulates ABA signaling and was only upregulated in L87. Analysis of DEGs related to ROS scavenging showed that some peroxidase (POD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) genes specific to L87 probably enhanced its salt tolerance. The analysis of differentially expressed transcription factors (TFs) suggested that WRKY TFs could contribute to the difference in salt tolerance between the two maize lines. Conclusion Compared with Salt-sensitive maize inbred line (L29), L87 exhibits specific regulatory mechanisms related to salt tolerance, including plant hormone interactions, ROS scavenging and the regulation of TFs. Our study identifies new candidate genes that may regulate maize tolerance to salt stress and provides useful information for breeding maize with high salt resistance.

Purification process and reduction of heavy metals from industrial wastewater via synthesized nanoparticle for water supply in swimming/water sport

Leiming Fu,Junlong Li,Jianming Yang,Yutao Liu,Chunxia He,Yifei Chen Techno-Press 2023 Advances in nano research Vol.15 No.5

Heavy metals, widely present in the environment, have become significant pollutants due to their excessive use in industries and technology. Their non-degradable nature poses a persistent environmental problem, leading to potential acute or chronic poisoning from prolonged exposure. Recent research has focused on separating heavy metals, particularly from industrial and mining sources. Industries such as metal plating, mining operations, tanning, wood and chipboard production, industrial paint and textile manufacturing, as well as oil refining, are major contributors of heavy metals in water sources. Therefore, removing heavy metals from water is crucial, especially for safe water supply in swimming and water sports. Iron oxide nanoparticles have proven to be highly effective adsorbents for water contaminants, and efforts have been made to enhance their efficiency and absorption capabilities through surface modifications. Nanoparticles synthesized using plant extracts can effectively bind with heavy metal ions by modifying the nanoparticle surface with plant components, thereby increasing the efficiency of heavy metal removal. This study focuses on removing lead from industrial wastewater using environmentally friendly, cost-effective iron nanoparticles synthesized with Genovese basil extract. The synthesis of nanoparticles is confirmed through analysis using Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction, validating their spherical shape and nanometer-scale dimensions. The method used in this study has a low detection limit of 0.031 ppm for measuring lead concentration, making it suitable for ensuring water safety in swimming and water sports.

Overexpression of a LAM Domain Containing RNA-Binding Protein LARP1c Induces Precocious Leaf Senescence in Arabidopsis

Bangyue Zhang,Yuzhen Han,Jianheng Jia,Min Yang,Chunxia Yan 한국분자세포생물학회 2012 Molecules and cells Vol.34 No.4

Leaf senescence is the final stage of leaf life history, and it can be regulated by multiple internal and external cues. La-related proteins (LARPs), which contain a well-con-served La motif (LAM) domain and normally a canonical RNA recognition motif (RRM) or noncanonical RRM-like motif, are widely present in eukaryotes. Six LARP genes (LARP1a-1c and LARP6a-6c) are present in Arabidopsis, but their biological functions have not been studied previously. In this study, we investigated the biological roles of LARP1c from the LARP1 family. Constitutive or inducible overexpression of LARP1c caused premature leaf senescence. Expression levels of several senes-cence-asso-ciated genes and defense-related genes were elevated upon overexpression of LARP1c. The LARP1c null mutant 1c-1 impaired ABA-, SA-, and MeJA-induced leaf senescence in detached leaves. Gene expression profiles of LARP1c showed age-dependent expression in rosette leaves. Taken together, our results suggest LARP1c is involved in regulation of leaf senescence.

Dynamic stress of impeller blade of shaft extension tubular pump device based on bidirectional fluid-structure interaction

Kan Kan,Yuan Zheng,Shifeng Fu,Huiwen Liu,Chunxia Yang,Xin Zhang 대한기계학회 2017 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.31 No.4

Current research on the stability of tubular pumps is mainly concerned with the transient hydrodynamic characteristics. However, the structural response under the influence of fluid-structure interaction hasn’t been taken fully into consideration. The instability of the structure can cause vibration and cracks, which may threaten the safety of the unit. We used bidirectional fluid-structure interaction to comprehensively analyze the dynamic stress characteristics of the impeller blades of the shaft extension tubular pump device. Furthermore, dynamic stress of impeller blade of shaft extension tubular pump device was solved under different lift conditions of 0° blade angle. Based on Reynolds-average N-S equation and SST k-ω turbulence model, numerical simulation was carried out for three-dimensional unsteady incompressible turbulent flow field of the pump device whole flow passage. Meanwhile, the finite element method was used to calculate dynamic characteristics of the blade structure. The blade dynamic stress distribution was obtained on the basis of fourth strength theory. The research results indicate that the maximum blade dynamic stress appears at the joint between root of inlet side of the blade suction surface and the axis. Considering the influence of gravity, the fluctuation of the blade dynamic stress increases initially and decreases afterwards within a rotation period. In the meantime, the dynamic stress in the middle part of inlet edge presents larger relative fluctuation amplitude. Finally, a prediction method for dynamic stress distribution of tubular pump considering fluid-structure interaction and gravity effect was proposed. This method can be used in the design stage of tubular pump to predict dynamic stress distribution of the structure under different operating conditions, improve the reliability of pump impeller and analyze the impeller fatigue life.

Crystallization and Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites Molded by Rapid Heat Cycle Molding

Aimin Zhang,Guoqun Zhao,Jialong Chai,Junji Hou,Chunxia Yang,Guilong Wang 한국섬유공학회 2020 Fibers and polymers Vol.21 No.12

The crystalline behavior and mechanical properties of PP/GF (glass fibers) composites molded by rapid heat cyclemolding (RHCM) and conventional injection molding (CIM) were compared. SEM, DSC and XRD were utilized to studycrystallization behavior of PP and PP/GF composites. Furthermore, universal testing machine was employed to investigatethe mechanical properties. Results proved that higher degree of crystallinity and larger crystal size can be obtained in RHCMin comparison to CIM. GF can induce more crystal nuclei and then reduce the crystal size due to shear stress which isgenerated in polymer matrix around fibers. Nucleating agent (NA) has a positive effect on refine grains. The average crystaldiameter of PP/NA/30 %GF is about 1.7 μm which is one-tenth of PP/30 %GF (14 μm) in RHCM. XRD tests illustrated thatα-form crystal is the main crystal type for PP and PP/GF composites in RHCM and CIM. However, there is a little β-formcrystal in RHCM for PP/GF composites without NA. NA accelerates the formation of α-form crystal and restrains theemergence of β-form crystal. The plastic parts obtained in RHCM exhibited higher strength and modulus compared with thatobtained in CIM for both tensile and flexural tests.

Numerical study on the internal flow characteristics of an axial-flow pump under stall conditions

Kan Kan,Yuan Zheng,Yujie Chen,Zhanshan Xie,Guang Yang,Chunxia Yang 대한기계학회 2018 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.32 No.10

When an axial-flow pump works in low flow rate conditions, rotating stall phenomena will probably occur, and the pump will enter hydraulic unsteady conditions. The rotating stall can lead to violent vibration, noise, turbulent flow, and a sharp drop in efficiency. This affects the safety and stability of the pump unit. To study the rotating stall flow characteristics of an axial-flow pump, the steady and unsteady internal flow field in a large vertical axial-flow pump was investigated using 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technology. Numerical calculations were carried out using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solver and Menter's shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. Steady flow characteristics including streamline, velocity vector, pressure and turbulent kinetic energy are presented and analyzed. Unsteady flow characteristics are described using post-processing signals for pressure monitoring points in the time and frequency domains. Using Q-criterion, the locations and evolution rules of the core region of the vortex structure in guide vanes under deep stall conditions were investigated. The reliability of the numerical simulation results was verified using the experimental prototype pressure fluctuation test. In this way, typical flow structure and pressure fluctuation characteristics in an axial-flow pump were analyzed, with contrastive analysis in design condition and stall conditions. Finally, the mechanism of low-frequency pressure fluctuation in a pump unit under the stall condition was revealed.