Ameliorative effects of atractylodin on intestinal inflammation and co-occurring dysmotility in both constipation and diarrhea prominent rats

Yu, Changchun,Xiong, Yongjian,Chen, Dapeng,Li, Yanli,Xu, Bin,Lin, Yuan,Tang, Zeyao,Jiang, Chunling,Wang, Li The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2017 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.21 No.1

Intestinal disorders often co-occur with inflammation and dysmotility. However, drugs which simultaneously improve intestinal inflammation and co-occurring dysmotility are rarely reported. Atractylodin, a widely used herbal medicine, is used to treat digestive disorders. The present study was designed to characterize the effects of atractylodin on amelioration of both jejunal inflammation and the co-occurring dysmotility in both constipation-prominent (CP) and diarrhea-prominent (DP) rats. The results indicated that atractylodin reduced proinflammatory cytokines TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, and IL-6 in the plasma and inhibited the expression of inflammatory mediators iNOS and NF-kappa B in jejunal segments in both CP and DP rats. The results indicated that atractylodin exerted stimulatory effects and inhibitory effects on the contractility of jejunal segments isolated from CP and DP rats respectively, showing a contractile-state-dependent regulation. Atractylodin-induced contractile-state-dependent regulation was also observed by using rat jejunal segments in low and high contractile states respectively (5 pairs of low/high contractile states). Atractylodin up-regulated the decreased phosphorylation of 20 kDa myosin light chain, protein contents of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), and MLCK mRNA expression in jejunal segments of CP rats and down-regulated those increased parameters in DP rats. Taken together, atractylodin alleviated rat jejunal inflammation and exerted contractile-state-dependent regulation on the contractility of jejunal segments isolated from CP and DP rats respectively, suggesting the potential clinical implication for ameliorating intestinal inflammation and co-occurring dysmotility.

Effects of different carbon sources on the phase composition and microstructure of synthesized SiC-B4C composite powders

Yu Cao,Ruyi Deng,Jilin Hu,Jinxiu He,Dapeng Lei,Zhanjun Chen,Yangxi Peng 한양대학교 청정에너지연구소 2023 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.24 No.2

SiC-B4C composite powders were synthesized by the carbothermal reduction method under an argon atmosphere usingdifferent kinds of carbon sources (carbon black and starch) and silica sol and boric acid as the precursor raw materials. Basedon thermodynamic analysis and calculation, the effects of different carbon sources and reaction temperatures on the mass lossrate, phase composition, and microstructure of SiC-B4C ultrafine composite powders were comparatively studied. Resultsshowed that the optimum conditions for synthesizing SiC-B4C composite powders with carbon black as the carbon source were1550 ºC for 2 h, whereas the optimum conditions for synthesizing SiC-B4C composite powders with starch as the carbon sourcewere 1450 ºC-1550 ºC for 2 h. The powder samples synthesized with carbon black as the carbon source at 1550 ºC were mainlycomposed of flaky, columnar-like, spherical, and irregular polyhedral particles (about 100-200 nm in diameter). Mutualcohesion or agglomeration between particles was minimal. In the powder samples synthesized at 1550 ºC with an excess of 10wt% starch, in addition to a certain amount of flaky, spherical, and other irregular structure particles, a certain amount ofuniform, slender whiskers (about 50-100 nm in diameter) and a certain phenomenon of lap and winding between the whiskerswere noted. The powder samples synthesized at 1550 ºC with an excess of 20 wt% starch had no whisker-like substance.

The catalytic core of DEMETER guides active DNA demethylation in <i>Arabidopsis</i>

Zhang, Changqing,Hung, Yu-Hung,Rim, Hyun Jung,Zhang, Dapeng,Frost, Jennifer M.,Shin, Hosub,Jang, Hosung,Liu, Fang,Xiao, Wenyan,Iyer, Lakshminarayan M.,Aravind, L.,Zhang, Xiang-Qian,Fischer, Robert L. National Academy of Sciences 2019 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF Vol.116 No.35

<P><B>Significance</B></P><P>Flowering plants reproduce via a unique double-fertilization event, producing the zygote and the nutritive endosperm. The genome of the central cell, the precursor of the endosperm, undergoes extensive demethylation prior to fertilization. This epigenetic reconfiguration, directed by the DEMETER (DME) glycosylase at thousands of loci in <I>Arabidopsis</I>, differentiates the epigenetic landscapes of parental genomes and establishes parent of origin-specific expression of many imprinted genes in endosperm essential for seed development. However, how DME is targeted to various locations remains unknown. Here we show that the multidomain DME is organized into 2 functional regions: the C-terminal region, which guides localization and catalysis, and the N-terminal region, which likely recruits chromatin remodelers to facilitate demethylation within heterochromatin.</P><P>The <I>Arabidopsis</I> DEMETER (DME) DNA glycosylase demethylates the maternal genome in the central cell prior to fertilization and is essential for seed viability. DME preferentially targets small transposons that flank coding genes, influencing their expression and initiating plant gene imprinting. DME also targets intergenic and heterochromatic regions, but how it is recruited to these differing chromatin landscapes is unknown. The C-terminal half of DME consists of 3 conserved regions required for catalysis in vitro. We show that this catalytic core guides active demethylation at endogenous targets, rescuing <I>dme</I> developmental and genomic hypermethylation phenotypes. However, without the N terminus, heterochromatin demethylation is significantly impeded, and abundant CG-methylated genic sequences are ectopically demethylated. Comparative analysis revealed that the conserved DME N-terminal domains are present only in flowering plants, whereas the domain architecture of DME-like proteins in nonvascular plants mainly resembles the catalytic core, suggesting that it might represent the ancestral form of the 5mC DNA glycosylase found in plant lineages. We propose a bipartite model for DME protein action and suggest that the DME N terminus was acquired late during land plant evolution to improve specificity and facilitate demethylation at heterochromatin targets.</P>

A CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME PGL(2, q) BY MAXIMUM ELEMENT ORDERS

LI, JINBAO,SHI, WUJIE,YU, DAPENG Korean Mathematical Society 2015 대한수학회보 Vol.52 No.6

In this paper, we characterize some PGL(2, q) by their orders and maximum element orders. We also prove that PSL(2, p) with $p{\geqslant}3$ a prime can be determined by their orders and maximum element orders. Moreover, we show that, in general, if $q=p^n$ with p a prime and n > 1, PGL(2, q) can not be uniquely determined by their orders and maximum element orders. Several known results are generalized.

A CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME PGL(2, q) BY MAXIMUM ELEMENT ORDERS

Jinbao Li,Wujie Shi,Dapeng Yu 대한수학회 2015 대한수학회보 Vol.52 No.6

In this paper, we characterize some PGL(2, q) by their orders and maximum element orders. We also prove that PSL(2, p) with p ≥ 3 a prime can be determined by their orders and maximum element orders. Moreover, we show that, in general, if q = pn with p a prime and n > 1, PGL(2, q) can not be uniquely determined by their orders and maximum element orders. Several known results are generalized.

A pilot study on differential expression of microRNAs in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and serum of sows in activity restricted crates or activity free pens

Guoan Yin,Liwei Guan,Langchao Yu,Dapeng Huang 아세아·태평양축산학회 2019 Animal Bioscience Vol.32 No.9

Objective: Physical activity restriction in sows may lead to behavioral abnormalities and affective disorders. However, the psychophysiological state of these sows is still unclear. As miRNAs can be used as effective markers of psychopathy, the present study aimed to assess the difference in microRNA expression between the long-term activity restricted sows and activity free sows, thus contributing to the understanding of abnormal sow behavior. Methods: Four dry sows (sixth parity, Large×White genetic line) were selected from activity restricted crates (RC) or activity free pens (FP) separately. microRNAs in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) and serum were examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the correlation between the miRNAs expressed in the vMPFC and serum was evaluated. Results: miR-134 (1.11 vs 0.84) and miR-1202 (1.09 vs 0.85) levels were higher in the vMPFC of the RC sows than in the FP sows (p<0.01). Furthermore, miR-132 (1.27 vs 1.08) and miR-335 (1.03 vs 0.84) levels were also higher in the RC sows than in FP sows (p<0.05); however, miR-135a, miR-135b, miR-16, and miR-124 levels were not different (p>0.05). The relative expression of serum miR-1202 was higher in the RC sows than in the FP sows (1.04 vs 0.54) (p<0.05), and there was a strong correlation (R = 0.757, p<0.05) between vMPFC and Serum levels of miR-1202. However, no significant difference was observed in miR-16 levels in the serum of the RC sows and FP sows (p>0.05). Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates that long-term activity restriction in sows likely results in autism or other complex psychopathies with depression-like behaviors. These observations may provide new insights for future studies on abnormal behavior in sows and contribute to research on human psychopathy.

Investigation of The Magnetic Properties of Zn₂TiO₄ Single Crystal

Ying Liu,Liang Li,Huamin Yu,Tian Cui,Dapeng Xu 한국자기학회 2019 Journal of Magnetics Vol.24 No.3

The magnetic properties of Zn₂TiO₄ single crystals were investigated by physical property measurement system (PPMS). The field dependent magnetization (M-H) curves showed a weak ferromagnetism at low field and diamagnetism at high field for Zn₂TiO₄ single crystals. The zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) curves further confirmed ferromagnetic behavior of the sample. With the temperature decreasing from 300 to 10 K, the weak ferromagnetism increased slowly. Around 50 K, the M-T curves had a shoulder. After the temperature decreased to 10 K, the ferromagnetism increased significantly. The magnetic mechanism was investigated using the first-principle calculations method. The origin of the ferromagnetic was discussed.

Radiation shielding optimization design research based on bare-bones particle swarm optimization algorithm

Jichong Lei,Chao Yang,Huajian Zhang,Chengwei Liu,Dapeng Yan,Guanfei Xiao,Zhen He,Zhenping Chen,Tao Yu Korean Nuclear Society 2023 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.55 No.6

In order to further meet the requirements of weight, volume, and dose minimization for new nuclear energy devices, the bare-bones multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to automatically and iteratively optimize the design parameters of radiation shielding system material, thickness, and structure. The radiation shielding optimization program based on the bare-bones particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed and coupled into the reactor radiation shielding multi-objective intelligent optimization platform, and the code is verified by using the Savannah benchmark model. The material type and thickness of Savannah model were optimized by using the BBMOPSO algorithm to call the dose calculation code, the integrated optimized data showed that the weight decreased by 78.77%, the volume decreased by 23.10% and the dose rate decreased by 72.41% compared with the initial solution. The results show that the method can get the best radiation shielding solution that meets a lot of different goals. This shows that the method is both effective and feasible, and it makes up for the lack of manual optimization.