Colorimetric Detection of Hg2+ Based on Enhancement of Peroxidase‐like Activity of Chitosan‐Gold Nanoparticles

Cui-Feng Jiang,Zhuojian Li,Yinxing Wu,Jinshan Wang,Qiong Jiang 대한화학회 2018 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.39 No.5

Hg2+ is a serious environmental contaminant that can cause severe damage to the immune and nervous systems, and Hg2+ monitoring is critical. Herein, we report a novel, simple, and sensitive Hg2+ sensor based on the enhanced peroxidase?like activity of chitosan?gold nanoparticles (CS?AuNPs). The peroxidase?like activity of the CS?AuNPs can be markedly enhanced by Hg2+ as seen by the deeper color and increased absorbance at 652?nm. This improved catalytic ability was used to develop a sensitive and selective colorimetric sensor for Hg2+ detection. The limit of detection via the absorption spectra is as low as 0.02??M. The mechanism underlying the enhanced catalytic ability is discussed. This approach is label?free, simple, and offers detection with the naked eye. Thus, it has potential applications for the detection of Hg2+ in environmental and food samples.

Using a Functional Epoxy, Micron Silver Flakes, Nano Silver Spheres, and Treated Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes to Prepare High Performance Electrically Conductive Adhesives

Hui-wang Cui,Dong-sheng Li,Qiong Fan 대한금속·재료학회 2013 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.9 No.3

In this study, a matrix resin containing a functional epoxy, a reactive diluent, a silane-coupling agent, and a curing agent was used to fabricate three modal electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) with micron silver flakes, nano silver spheres, and treated single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNT). Results showed that too many micron silver flakes reduced the bulk resistivity and adhesion strength of uni-modal ECAs (matrix resin and micron silver flakes). As the nano silver spheres increased, the bulk resistivity of bi-modal ECAs (matrix resin, micron silver flakes, and nano silver spheres) firstly decreased, and then increased again. The adhesion strength decreased also. The bulk resistivity and adhesion strength of tri-modal ECAs (matrix resin, micron silver flakes, nano silver spheres, and treated CNT) both were reduced by the treated CNT greatly. These ECAs could be cured at 120°C or any higher temperature than this with different curing time. They all had high temperature stability with a pyrolysis temperature above 350°C and a glass transition temperature around 180°C.

Using Nano Hexagonal Boron Nitride Particles and Nano Cubic Silicon Carbide Particles to Improve the Thermal Conductivity of Electrically Conductive Adhesives

Hui-wang Cui,Dong-sheng Li,Qiong Fan 대한금속·재료학회 2013 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.9 No.1

To satisfy the high electrical and thermal conductivity required for the continuous development of electronic products, nano hexagonal boron nitride (BN) particles and nano cubic silicon carbide (SiC) particles were added into electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) to improve the thermal conductivity. BN and SiC had little negative effect on the electrical conductivity, but improved the thermal conductivity significantly. When their content was 1.5 wt. %, the thermal conductivity at 100°C, 150°C and 200°C was increased by 71%(100°C), 78% (150°C) and 70% (200°C), and 114% (100°C), 110% (150°C) and 98% (200°C) respectively for BN and SiC comparing with those of the ECAs with no thermal conductive fillers. This method is simple,easy to do, and can be used practically in electronic packaging.

Expression and Imprinting Analysis of AK044800, a Transcript from the Dlk1-Dio3 Imprinted Gene Cluster during Mouse Embryogenesis

Zhengbin Han,Qiong Wu,Qi Liu,Zhijun Huang,Wei Cui,Yijun Tian,Weili Yan 한국분자세포생물학회 2013 Molecules and cells Vol.35 No.4

Recent advances of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has demonstrated that full development potential is closely related with the expression state of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) of the Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted gene cluster. However, few of them, especially the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), have been characterized in detail. AK044800 is a transcript from the Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted region with little known information. This study reports original data on the expression pattern of AK044800 during embryogenesis. Expression analysis showed that AK044800 was specifically expressed in the brain at mid-gestation, E9.5 and E11.5. And at E15.5, its expression was mainly concentrated in the forebrain. In the late-gestation stage (E18.5), AK044800 expression was weaker in the brain and began to emerge in some other tissues during this period. Notably, the expression of AK044800 was biallelic in the brain, unlike other noncoding transcripts from this imprinted region. In addition, its expression was dependent on inbred mouse strains. This may be the first lncRNA that has been identified with a different expression between inbred mouse strains. This study may provide useful clues for further investigations of expression regulation and func-tions of lncRNAs of the Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted region.

Multi-objective Optimization of a Hydrogen-Battery Hybrid Storage System for Offshore Wind Farm Using MOPSO

Tian Tian,Ma Zetao,Cui Qiong,Shu Jie,Tan Lei,Wang Hao 대한전기학회 2023 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.18 No.6

Recently, offshore wind farms (OWFs) are gaining more and more attention for its high efficiency and yearly energy production capacity. However, the power generated by OWFs has the drawbacks of intermittence and fluctuation, leading to the deterioration of electricity grid stability and wind curtailment. Energy storage is one of the most important solutions to smooth the wind power and capture its surplus. In this paper, we provide a multi-objective optimization approach that combines multi-objective particle swarm optimization and rule-based energy management strategy for an on-gird offshore wind-hydrogen-battery system to simultaneously address the economic (Eco), the qualified rate of smoothing offshore wind power fluctuations (QRS), and the rate of offshore wind power curtailment (ROC). Results revealed that ROC and Eco, QRS and Eco are negatively correlated, but ROC and QRS are positively correlated. The hybrid storage system is more conducive to improve QRS and reduce ROC. Comparing with other three systems, the improvement range for ROC is between 13.6 and 46% when QRS is 100%. In addition, battery storage improves QRS by 2.6%, hydrogen storage deteriorates Eco by 86.8% and improve ROC by 38.5%, the change of ROC and QRS brings by transmission project are close to 100% and 4.4%.

Human Telomerase Gene and High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection are Related to Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Zhao, Xu-Ye,Cui, Yongm,Jiang, Shu-Fang,Liu, Ke-Jun,Han, Hai-Qiong,Liu, Xiao-Su,Li, Yali Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.2

Our aims were to evaluate the clinical performance of human telomerase RNA gene component (hTERC gene) amplification assay with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) DNA test of Hybrid Capture 2 DNA test (HC2), for the detection of high grade cervical precancerous lesions and cancer (CIN 2+). In addition, the association shown between hTERC gene amplification and HPV DNA test positive in women with and without cervical neoplasia was assessed. There were 92 women who underwent cytology, HR-HPV DNA test, hTERC gene amplification test, colposcopy and biopsy. We compared the clinical performance of hTERC gene test along with HR-HPV DNA test of women with colposcopy and routine screening. The samples were histology-confirmed high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2) or worse (CIN2+) as the positive criterion. The test of hTERC gene showed the hTERC gene amplification positivity increased with the severity of histological abnormality and cytological abnormality. The test of hTERC gene showed higher specificity than HR-HPV DNA test for high-grade lesions (84.4% versus 50%) and also higher positive predictive value (90.4% versus 76.5%). Our results predicted that hTERC gene amplification demonstrated more specific performance for predicting the risk of progression and offer a strong potential as a tool for triage in cervical cancer screening, with the limited sensitive as HR-HPV DNA test.

Heterologous Expression of a Thermostable α-Galactosidase from Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius Isolated from the Lignocellulolytic Microbial Consortium TMC7

Wang, Yi,Wang, Chen,Chen, Yonglun,Cui, MingYu,Wang, Qiong,Guo, Peng The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnol 2022 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.32 No.6

α-Galactosidase is a debranching enzyme widely used in the food, feed, paper, and pharmaceuticals industries and plays an important role in hemicellulose degradation. Here, T26, an aerobic bacterial strain with thermostable α-galactosidase activity, was isolated from laboratory-preserved lignocellulolytic microbial consortium TMC7, and identified as Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius. The α-galactosidase, called T26GAL and derived from the T26 culture supernatant, exhibited a maximum enzyme activity of 0.4976 IU/ml when cultured at 60℃ and 180 rpm for 2 days. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the α-galactosidase T26GAL belongs to the GH36 family. Subsequently, the pET-26 vector was used for the heterologous expression of the T26 α-galactosidase gene in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The optimum pH for α-galactosidase T26GAL was determined to be 8.0, while the optimum temperature was 60℃. In addition, T26GAL demonstrated a remarkable thermostability with more than 93% enzyme activity, even at a high temperature of 90℃. Furthermore, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ promoted the activity of T26GAL while Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ inhibited it. The substrate specificity studies revealed that T26GAL efficiently degraded raffinose, stachyose, and guar gum, but not locust bean gum. This study thus facilitated the discovery of an effective heat-resistant α-galactosidase with potent industrial application. Meanwhile, as part of our research on lignocellulose degradation by a microbial consortium, the present work provides an important basis for encouraging further investigation into this enzyme complex.

Branched polymeric prodrug/programmed cell death 4 complexes for combinational cancer therapy

Yu‑Jing He,Lei Xing,Peng‑Fei Cui,Jia‑Liang Zhang,Jian‑Bin Qiao,Cheng‑Qiong Luo,Ge Jiang,Hu‑Lin Jiang 한국약제학회 2017 Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation Vol.47 No.2

Here, we demonstrate a co-delivery system constructed by integrating chemotherapeutic molecules into branched polymeric prodrug which can condense nucleic acids. Demethylcantharidate (DCA) was chosen as a model drug and premodified through nucleophilic substitution reaction by its two carboxylic groups with allyl chloride. The synthesized intermediate (DCA-dially) was then used to polymerize with tris (2-aminoethyl) amine (TAEA) through progressively ammonolysis reaction. The obtained poly (DCA-alt-TAEA) (DCAT) was used to pack PDCD4 into spherical-like nanoparticles through electrostatic interaction. Gel retardation assays implied that DCAT could integrate DNA at the weight ratio of 1 and protect it from digestion by nuclease. Acid-base titration experiments showed that DCAT obtained preferable buffering capability which was beneficial for the endosomal escape of DCAT/PDCD4 complexes. Cellular tests involving gene transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity indicated that DCA and PDCD4 co-delivered by the complexes significantly and synergistically suppressed the viability of SMMC-7721 cells. These results suggest that integrating chemotherapeutic molecules into nucleic acid-packing polymeric prodrug as cationic polymer/PDCD4 complexes is a highly efficient way to co-deliver chemotherapeutic drugs and nucleic acids for cancer therapy.

QTL mapping and identification of candidate genes for cold tolerance at the germination stage in wild rice

Pan Ying-Hua,Nong Bao-Xuan,Chen Lei,Yang Xing-Hai,Xia Xiu-Zhong,Zhang Zong-Qiong,Qing Dong-Jin,Gao Ju,Huang Cheng-Cui,Li Dan-Ting,Deng Guo-Fu 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.7

Background Cold damage stress significantly affects rice growth (germination and seedling) and causes serious losses in yield in temperate and high-altitude areas around the globe. Objective This study aimed to explore the cold tolerance (CT) locus of rice and create new cold-tolerant germplasm. We constructed a chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) with strong CT and fine mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with CT by performing the whole-genome resequencing of CSSL with phenotypes under cold treatment. Methods A chromosome CSSL, including 271 lines from a cross between the cold-tolerant wild rice Y11 (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) and the cold-sensitive rice variety GH998, was developed to map QTLs conferring CT at the germination stage. The whole-genome resequencing was performed on CSSL for mapping QTLs of associated with CT at the germination stage. Results A high-density linkage map of the CSSLs was developed using the whole-genome resequencing of 1484 bins. The QTL analysis using 615,466 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) led to the identification of 2 QTLs related to germination rate at low-temperature on chromosome 8 (qCTG-8) and chromosome 11 (qCTG-11). The qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 explained 14.55% and 14.31% of the total phenotypic variation, respectively. We narrowed down qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 to 195.5 and 78.83-kb regions, respectively. The expression patterns of important candidate genes in different tissues, and of RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) in CSSLs, were identified based on gene sequences in qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 cold-induced expression analysis. LOC_Os08g01120 and LOC_Os08g01390 were identified as candidate genes in qCTG-8, and LOC_Os11g32880 was identified as a candidate gene in qCTG-11. Conclusions This study demonstrated a general method that could be used to identify useful loci and genes in wild rice and aid in the future cloning of candidate genes of qCTG-8 and qCTG-11. The CSSLs with strong CT were supported for breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties.

β-elemene Induces Caspase-dependent Apoptosis in Human Glioma Cells in vitro through the Upregulation of Bax and Fas/FasL and Downregulation of Bcl-2

Li, Chen-Long,Chang, Liang,Guo, Lin,Zhao, Dan,Liu, Hui-Bin,Wang, Qiu-Shi,Zhang, Ping,Du, Wen-Zhong,Liu, Xing,Zhang, Hai-Tao,Liu, Yang,Zhang, Yao,Xie, Jing-Hong,Ming, Jian-Guang,Cui, Yu-Qiong,Sun, Ying Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.23

Background: ${\beta}$-elemene, extracted from herb medicine Curcuma wenyujin has potent anti-tumor effects in various cancer cell lines. However, the activity of ${\beta}$-elemene against glioma cells remains unclear. In the present study, we assessed effects of ${\beta}$-elemene on human glioma cells and explored the underlying mechanism. Materials and Methods: Human glioma U87 cells were used. Cell proliferation was determined with MTT assay and colony formation assay to detect the effect of ${\beta}$-elemene at different doses and times. Fluorescence microscopy was used to observe cell apoptosis with Hoechst 33258 staining and change of glioma apoptosis and cell cycling were analyzed by flow cytometry. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western-blotting assay were performed to investigated the influence of ${\beta}$-elemene on expression levels of Fas/FasL, caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax. The experiment was divided into two groups: the blank control group and ${\beta}$-elemne treatment group. Results: With increase in the concentration of ${\beta}$-elemene, cytotoxic effects were enhanced in the glioma cell line and the concentration of inhibited cell viability ($IC_{50}$) was $48.5{\mu}g/mL$ for 24h. ${\beta}$-elemene could induce cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. With Hoechst 33258 staining, apoptotic nuclear morphological changes were observed. Activation of caspase-3,-8 and -9 was increased and the pro-apoptotic factors Fas/FasL and Bax were upregulated, while the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was downregulated after treatment with ${\beta}$-elemene at both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, proliferation and colony formation by U87 cells were inhibited by ${\beta}$-elemene in a time and does-dependent manner. Conclusions: Our results indicate that ${\beta}$-elemene inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of human glioma cells in vitro. The induction of apoptosis appears to be related with the upregulation of Fas/FasL and Bax, activation of caspase-3,-8 and -9 and downregulation of Bcl-2, which then trigger major apoptotic cascades.