Application of Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) for Accurate Identification of Legionella spp. Isolated from Municipal Fountains in Chengdu, China, Based on 16S rRNA, mip, and rpoB Genes

Wang Guan,Ying Xu,Da-li Chen,Jia-nan Xu,Yu Tian,Jian-ping Chen 한국미생물학회 2012 The journal of microbiology Vol.50 No.1

Legionellosis (Legionnaires’ disease; LD) is a form of severe pneumonia caused by species of Legionella bacteria. Because inhalation of Legionella-contaminated aerosol is considered the major infection route, routine assessments of potential infection sources such as hot water systems, air-conditioner cooling water, and municipal fountains are of great importance. In this study, we utilized in vitro culture and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) targeting 16S rRNA, mip, rpoB, and mip-rpoB concatenation to isolate and identify Legionella spp. from 5 municipal fountains in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China. Our results demonstrated that 16S rRNA was useful for initial identification, as it could recognize isolates robustly at the genus level, while the genes mip, rpoB, and mip-rpoB concatenation could confidently discriminate Legionella species. Notably, the three subspecies of L. pneumophila could be distinguished by the analysis based on rpoB. The serotyping result of strain CD-1 was consistent with genetic analysis based on the concatenation of mip and rpoB. Despite regular maintenance and sanitizing methods, 4 of the 5 municipal fountains investigated in this study were positive for Legionella contamination. Thus, regularly scheduled monitoring of municipal fountains is urgently needed as well as vigilant disinfection. Although the application of MLSA for inspection of potential sites of infection in public areas is not standard procedure, further investigations may prove its usefulness.

Two new benzylisoquinoline alkaloids from Thalictrum foliolosum and their antioxidant and in vitro antiproliferative properties

Da-Hong Li,Jia Guo,Wen Bin,Nan Zhao,Kai-bo Wang,Jian-yong Li,Zhan-Lin Li,Hui-Ming Hua 대한약학회 2016 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.39 No.7

Two novel rare chloro-containing benzylisoquinolinealkaloids, thalfoliolosumines A (1) and B (2),along with eight known isoquinoline alkaloids (3–10) wereisolated from the whole plant of Thalictrum foliolosum. The structures of these compounds were elucidated byspectral analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR (COSY,HSQC, HMBC and NOESY) experiments. The antiproliferativeeffects of all the isolated compounds were evaluatedby MTT method against MCF-7, PC-3, and U937cells, and trypan blue method against HL-60 cells. Newcompounds 1 and 2 exhibited moderate in vitro antiproliferativeactivity against MCF-7, PC-3, and HL-60 cells,and good inhibitory effects against U937 cells with IC50values of 7.50 and 6.97 μM, respectively. Compounds 7and 10 showed the strongest in vitro antiproliferative withIC50 values of 0.93 and 1.69 lM against HL-60 cell line. The antioxidant properties were also measured, bisbenzyltetrahydroisoquinolinealkaloids 3–6 showed the strongestantioxidant activities in ABTS assay.

The game of safety behaviors among different departments of the nuclear power plants

Da Yuan,Hanqing Wang,Jian Wu 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.3

To study the developments and variations of unsafe behaviors in nuclear power plants thus reduce thepossibility of human-related accidents, this paper, based on the Game Theory, focused on the changes inbenefits of the Department of Management, Operational and Emergency in a nuclear power plant, andestablished the expected revenue functions of these departments. Additionally, the preventive measuresof unsafe behaviors in nuclear power plants were also presented in terms of these 3 departments. Resultsshowed that the violations of the Operation Department (OD) and the Emergency Department (ED) werenot only relevant with the factors such as their own risks, costs, and the responsibility-sharing due toaccidents, but also affected by the safety investments from the Management Department (MD). Furthermore, results also showed that the accident-induced responsibility-sharing of both the OD andthe ED would rise, if the MD increased the investments in safety. As a result, the probability of violationbehaviors of these 3 departments would be attenuated consciously, which would reduce the unsafebehaviors in the nuclear power plants significantly

The characteristics of genistin-induced inhibitory effects on intestinal motility

Yong-jian Xiong,Da-peng Chen,Bo-chao Lv,Fang-fei Liu,Li Wang,Yuan Lin 대한약학회 2013 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.36 No.3

Genistin belongs to isoflavones. Based on thefacts that genistin exerts inhibitory effects on the contractilityof vascular smooth muscle,the present study wasdesigned to characterize the effects of genistin on intestinalcontractility and evaluate its potential clinical implication. Ex vivo [isolated jejunal segment (IJS) of rat], in vitro, andin vivo assays were used in the study. The results indicatedthat genistin (5–80 lmol/L) inhibited the contraction of IJSin a dose-dependent manner and inhibited the increasedcontractilityof IJS induced by acetylcholine (ACh), histamine,high Ca2?, and erythromycin, respectively. Theinhibitory effects of genistin were correlated with thestimulation of alpha adrenergic and beta adrenergicreceptors since these inhibitory effects were significantlyblocked in the presence of phentolamine and propranololrespectively. No further inhibitory effects of genistin wereobserved in the presence of verapamil or in Ca2?-freecondition, indicating genistin-induced inhibitory effects areCa2?-dependent. Genistin decreased myosin light chainkinase (MLCK) protein contents and MLCK mRNAexpression in IJS, and inhibited both phosphorylation andMg2?-ATPase activity of purified myosin, implicating thatthe decrease of MLCK contents and inhibition of MLCKactivity are involved in the genistin-induced inhibitoryeffects. The study suggests the potential clinical implicationsof genistin in relieving intestinal hypercontractility.

Influence of Personal Character on Quality of Life of Patients with Esophageal Cancer in North Henan Province and Influencing Factors

Lin, Jian-Ying,Wang, Ming-Sheng,Dong, Liang-Peng,Xu, Da-Wei,Wang, Ying,Li, Xue-Liang,Li, Xiu-Min Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.11

The aim of this study was to investigate QoL (quality of life) of patients with esophageal cancer in northern Henan province, China, and to accurate evaluate and reflect the relationship between patient characteristics and QoL. In the high risk area of esophageal cancer in the north of Henan province, 735 patients with esophageal cancer were investigated. The Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ) and QoL were analyzed by using the questionnaire of general situation, EPQ, QLQ-C30 and QLQ-OES18. The effects of personal character on the QoL of esophageal carcinoma patients were analyzed by SPSS 11.0 software. The QoL of esophageal cancer patients in Northern Henan region was significantly affected by character. The difference between choleric and type of melancholic temperament types was significant (P<0.01), also in OESEAT, OESTA, OESCO and OESSP (P<0.05). Differences in personal character can thus influence the quality of esophageal cancer patient lives.

Attention and Working Memory Task- Load Dependent Activation Increase with Deactivation Decrease after Caffeine Ingestion

Wei Peng,Jian Zhang,Da Chang,Zhuo-Wen Shen,Yuanqi Shang,Donghui Song,Qiu Ge,Xuchu Weng,Ze Wang 대한자기공명의과학회 2017 Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Vol.21 No.4

Purpose: Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychostimulant. It is often adopted as a tool to modulate brain activations in fMRI studies. However, its pharmaceutical effect on task-induced deactivation has not been fully examined in fMRI. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of caffeine on both activation and deactivation under sustained attention. Materials and Methods: Task fMRI was acquired from 26 caffeine naive healthy volunteers before and after taking caffeine pill (200 mg). Results: Statistical analysis showed an increase in cognition-load dependent task activation but a decrease in load dependent de-activation after caffeine ingestion. Increase of attention and memory task activation and its load-dependence suggest a beneficial effect of caffeine on the brain even though it has no overt behavior improvement. The reduction of deactivation by caffeine and its load-dependence indicate reduced facilitation from task-negative networks. Conclusion: Caffeine affects brain activity in a load-dependent manner accompanied by a disassociation between task-positive network and task-negative network.

Application of Joint Detection of AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in Identification and Diagnosis of Cholangiocarcinoma

Li, Yong,Li, Da-Jiang,Chen, Jian,Liu, Wei,Li, Jian-Wei,Jiang, Peng,Zhao, Xin,Guo, Fei,Li, Xiao-Wu,Wang, Shu-Guang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Objective: To explore the application of joint detection of serum AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in identification and diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Materials and Methods: The levels of serum AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA of both 30 patients with CC and 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic effects of single and joint detection of those 4 kinds of tumor markers for CC. Results: The levels of serum CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in CC patients were higher than that in HCC patients,whereas that of serum AFP was significantly lower s. The area under ROC curve of single detection of serum AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA were 0.05, 0.86, 0.84 and 0.83, with the optimal cutoff values of 15.4 ng/ml, 125.1 U/ml, 95.7 U/ml and 25.9 ng/ml, correspondingly, and the percentage correct single diagnosis was <79%. With joint detection, the diagnostic effect of combined AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA was the highest, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.94 (95%CI 0.88~0.99). Conclusions: Single detection of serum CA19-9, CA125 and EA is not meaningful. The sensitivity, specificity, the rate of correct diagnosis and the area under ROC curve of joint detection of AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA are highest, indicating that the joint detection of these 4 tumor markers is of great importance in the diagnosis of CC.

Expression of Lamininγ2 in Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Tissues and its Influence on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis

Li, Yong,Li, Da-Jiang,Chen, Jian,Liu, Wei,Li, Jian-Wei,Jiang, Peng,Zhao, Xin,Guo, Fei,Li, Xiao-Wu,Wang, Shu-Guang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.5

Objective: To explore the expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) tissues and its influence on tumor invasion and metastasis. Materials and Methods: Paraffin embedding samples of cancer, para-cancer, lymph node metastatic and hepatic metastatic tissues from 79 patients undergoing EHCC resection were collected. Expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ was detected by immunohistochemistry and its relationship with clinical pathological characteristics and the prognosis of EHCC patients were analyzed. Results: $Laminin{\gamma}2$ showed negative staining in para-cancer tissues, but demonstrated a 51.9% (41/79) positive expression rate in extracellular matrix (ECM) or cytoplasm of EHCC tissues. In lymph node metastatic and distant metastatic nidi, expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ was significantly higher than in the primary nidi (${\chi}^2=7.4173$, P=0.0065; ${\chi}^2=4.0077$, P=0.0453). The expression was in obvious association with lymph node metastasis (P<0.01), but had no relevance with age, gender, tumor location, tumor stage, differentiation and distant metastasis in ECM (P>0.05), whereas it was in marked connection with lymph node and distant metastasis (P<0.05 or P<0.01), but had no relationship with age, gender, tumor location, tumor stage and differentiation in cytoplasm (P>0.05). However, the median survival time and median recurrent period of patients with positive expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ in both cytoplasm and ECM of tumor cells, only in ECM and only in cytoplasm, were evidently lower than with negative expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ in RCM and cytoplasm (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Further Cox regression analysis showed that the positive expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ and the tumor differentiation were independent risk factors influencing the prognosis of EHCC patients. Conclusions: Abnormal expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ may be closely associated with invasion and metastasis of tumor cells, and thus a potential molecular marker for prognosis of EHCC patients.

Attention and Working Memory Task-Load Dependent Activation Increase with Deactivation Decrease after Caffeine Ingestion

Peng, Wei,Zhang, Jian,Chang, Da,Shen, Zhuo-Wen,Shang, Yuanqi,Song, Donghui,Ge, Qiu,Weng, Xuchu,Wang, Ze Korean Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 2017 Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Vol.21 No.4

Purpose: Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychostimulant. It is often adopted as a tool to modulate brain activations in fMRI studies. However, its pharmaceutical effect on task-induced deactivation has not been fully examined in fMRI. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of caffeine on both activation and deactivation under sustained attention. Materials and Methods: Task fMRI was acquired from 26 caffeine naive healthy volunteers before and after taking caffeine pill (200 mg). Results: Statistical analysis showed an increase in cognition-load dependent task activation but a decrease in load dependent de-activation after caffeine ingestion. Increase of attention and memory task activation and its load-dependence suggest a beneficial effect of caffeine on the brain even though it has no overt behavior improvement. The reduction of deactivation by caffeine and its load-dependence indicate reduced facilitation from task-negative networks. Conclusion: Caffeine affects brain activity in a load-dependent manner accompanied by a disassociation between task-positive network and task-negative network.

Overproduction of Glutathione by L-Cysteine Addition and a Temperature-shift Strategy

Gong-Yuan Wei,Da-Hui Wang,Jian Chen 한국생물공학회 2008 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.13 No.3

The present study investigated the effects of three constituent amino acids on glutathione production in flask culture of Candida utilis. Although L-glutamic acid and glycine had little impact on cell growth and glutathione biosynthesis, L-cysteine positively influenced glutathione production, despite inhibiting cell growth when it was added prior to stationary phase. Adding 8 mmol/L of L-cysteine to the culture broth at 16 h boosted glutathione production by 91%, increasing the intracellular glutathione content by 106% compared to untreated controls. A temperature-shift strategy, in which we shifted batch and fed-batch cultures of C. utilis from 30 to 26℃, also significantly enhanced glutathione production. Applying both strategies (i.e. adding 20 mmol/L L-cysteine and shifting the temperature from 30 to 26℃) at 33 h enhanced the glutathione concentration and the intracellular glutathione content to 1,312 mg/L and 3.75%, respectively, during fed-batch cultivation (glucose feeding at a constant rate of 18.3 g/h). The average specific glutathione production rate under this condition was 129% higher than that of the control without strategy.