Application of rare earth as mordant for the dyeing of ramie fabrics with natural dyes

Guang Hong Zheng,Hong Bin Fu,Guang Ping Liu 한국화학공학회 2011 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.28 No.11

Selecting appropriate metallic compounds as mordants is essential for dyeing with natural dyes. This paper presents the application of rare earth compounds as mordant for the dyeing of ramie fabrics with four kinds of natural dyes. The influences of pre-mordanting, simultaneous mordanting, and post-mordanting on the dyeing effect were explored. The post-mordanting was proved to give rise to the highest dye uptake. The effects of dyeing conditions including dyeing temperature and time, dyeing bath pH and the concentration of rare earth on the dye uptake were investigated systematically. The fabrics dyed with natural dyes in presence of rare earth as mordant exhibited high color shade stability in the baths with pH varying from being acidic to neutral and alkaline. Employing rare earth as mordant apparently raised the color fastness to washing, rubbing and light of the ramie fabrics dyed with the natural extracts. In comparison with the commonly used metallic salts, using rare earth chlorides as mordants can greatly reduce the ionic concentration employed in natural dyeing. This study proved that rare earth would be a kind or promising environmentally friendly mordant in natural dyeing.

Settlement analysis of viscoelastic foundation under vertical line load using a fractional Kelvin-Voigt model

Zhu, Hong-Hu,Liu, Lin-Chao,Pei, Hua-Fu,Shi, Bin Techno-Press 2012 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.4 No.1

Soil foundations exhibit significant creeping deformation, which may result in excessive settlement and failure of superstructures. Based on the theory of viscoelasticity and fractional calculus, a fractional Kelvin-Voigt model is proposed to account for the time-dependent behavior of soil foundation under vertical line load. Analytical solution of settlements in the foundation was derived using Laplace transforms. The influence of the model parameters on the time-dependent settlement is studied through a parametric study. Results indicate that the settlement-time relationship can be accurately captured by varying values of the fractional order of differential operator and the coefficient of viscosity. In comparison with the classical Kelvin-Voigt model, the fractional model can provide a more accurate prediction of long-term settlements of soil foundation. The determination of influential distance also affects the calculation of settlements.

Overexpressions of xylA and xylB in Klebsiella pneumoniae Lead to Enhanced 1,3-Propanediol Production by Cofermentation of Glycerol and Xylose

Lu, Xinyao,Fu, Xiaomeng,Zong, Hong,Zhuge, Bin The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnol 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.7

1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PD) is a valuable platform compound. Many studies have shown that the supplement of NADH plays a key role in the bioproduction of 1,3-PD from Klebsiella pneumoniae. In this study, the xylA and xylB genes from Escherichia coli were overexpressed individually or simultaneously in K. pneumoniae to improve the production of 1,3-PD by cofermentation of glycerol and xylose. Compared with the parent strain, the xylose consumption was significantly increased by the introduction of these two genes. The 1,3-PD titers were raised from 17.9 g/l to 23.5, 23.9, and 24.4 g/l, respectively, by the overexpression of xylA and xylB as well as their coexpression. The glycerol conversion rate (mol/mol) was enhanced from 54.1% to 73.8%. The concentration of 2,3-butanediol was increased by 50% at the middle stage but drastically decreased after that. The NADH and NADH/NAD⁺ ratio were improved. This report suggests that overexpression of xylA or xylB is an effective strategy to improve the xylose assimilation rate to provide abundant reducing power for the biosynthesis of 1,3-PD in K. pneumoniae.

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Are Associated with Viral Persistence and Downregulation of TCRζ Chain Expression on CD8+ T Cells in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients

Qing-Lei Zeng,Bin Yang,Hong-Qi Sun,Guo-Hua Feng,Lei Jin,Zheng-Sheng Zou,Zheng Zhang,Ji-Yuan Zhang,Fu-Sheng Wang 한국분자세포생물학회 2014 Molecules and cells Vol.37 No.1

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play an important role in impairing the function of T cells. We characterized MDSCs in two chronic hepatitis C (CHC) cohorts: a cross-sectional group that included 61 treatment-naive patients with CHC, 14 rapid virologic response (RVR) cases and 22 early virologic response (EVR) cases; and a longitudinal group of 13 cases of RVR and 10 cases of EVR after pegylated-interferon-α/ribavirin treatment for genotype 1b HCV infection. Liver samples from 32 CHC patients and six healthy controls were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. MDSCs frequency in treatmentnaive CHC was significantly higher than in RVR, EVR, or healthy subjects and was positively correlated with HCV RNA. Patients infected with HCV genotype 2a had a significantly higher frequency of MDSCs than those infected with genotype 1b. Decreased T cell receptor (TCR) ζ expression on CD8+ T cells was significantly associated with an increased frequency of MDSCs in treatment-naive CHC patients and was restored by L-arginine treatment in vitro. Increased numbers of liver arginase-1+ cells were closely associated with the histological activity index in CHC. The TCR ζ chain was significantly downregulated on hepatic CD8+ T cells in CHC. During antiviral follow up, MDSCs frequency in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was directly correlated with the HCV RNA load in the plasma and inversely correlated with TCR ζ chain expression in CD8+ T cells in both RVR and EVR cases. Notably, the RVR group had a higher frequency of MDSCs at baseline than the EVR group. Collectively, this study provides evidence that MDSCs might be associated with HCV persistence and downregulation of CD8 ζ chain expression.

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Are Associated with Viral Persistence and Downregulation of TCR ζ Chain Expression on CD8⁺ T Cells in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients

Zeng, Qing-Lei,Yang, Bin,Sun, Hong-Qi,Feng, Guo-Hua,Jin, Lei,Zou, Zheng-Sheng,Zhang, Zheng,Zhang, Ji-Yuan,Wang, Fu-Sheng Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2014 Molecules and cells Vol.37 No.1

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play an important role in impairing the function of T cells. We characterized MDSCs in two chronic hepatitis C (CHC) cohorts: a cross-sectional group that included 61 treatment-naive patients with CHC, 14 rapid virologic response (RVR) cases and 22 early virologic response (EVR) cases; and a longitudinal group of 13 cases of RVR and 10 cases of EVR after pegylated-interferon-${\alpha}$/ribavirin treatment for genotype 1b HCV infection. Liver samples from 32 CHC patients and six healthy controls were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. MDSCs frequency in treatment-naive CHC was significantly higher than in RVR, EVR, or healthy subjects and was positively correlated with HCV RNA. Patients infected with HCV genotype 2a had a significantly higher frequency of MDSCs than those infected with genotype 1b. Decreased T cell receptor (TCR) ${\zeta}$ expression on $CD8^+$ T cells was significantly associated with an increased frequency of MDSCs in treatment-naive CHC patients and was restored by L-arginine treatment in vitro. Increased numbers of liver arginase-$1^+$ cells were closely associated with the histological activity index in CHC. The TCR ${\zeta}$ chain was significantly downregulated on hepatic $CD8^+$ T cells in CHC. During antiviral follow up, MDSCs frequency in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was directly correlated with the HCV RNA load in the plasma and inversely correlated with TCR ${\zeta}$ chain expression in $CD8^+$ T cells in both RVR and EVR cases. Notably, the RVR group had a higher frequency of MDSCs at baseline than the EVR group. Collectively, this study provides evidence that MDSCs might be associated with HCV persistence and downregulation of CD8 ${\zeta}$ chain expression.

Molecular Identification of Taenia hydatigena from Sheep in Khartoum, Sudan

Rosline James Muku,Hong-Bin Yan,John Asekhaen Ohiolei,Abubakar Ahmed Saaid,Sara Ahmed,Wan-Zhong Jia,Bao-Quan Fu 대한기생충학열대의학회 2020 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.58 No.1

The cestode Taenia hydatigena uses canids, primarily dogs, as definitive hosts, while the metacestode larval stage cysticercus infects a range of intermediate hosts, including domestic animals such as goats, sheep, and pigs. Cysticercosis due to T. hydatigena has large veterinary and economic drawbacks. Like other taeniids, e.g., Echinococcus, intraspecific variation is found among the members of the genus Taenia. In Africa, few studies are available on the epidemiology and distribution of T. hydatigena, and even fewer studies are available on its genetic variation. In this study, we molecularly identified 11 cysticerci from sheep in Sudan and demonstrated the genetic variation based on the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) mitochondrial genes. The isolates were correctly identified as T. hydatigena with more than 99% similarity to those in the GenBank database. Low diversity indices and insignificant neutrality indices were observed, with 3 and 2 haplotypes for the nad1 and cox1 genes, respectively. The results suggest the presence of unique T. hydatigena haplotypes in Sudan, as haplotypes with 100% similarity were not found in the GenBank database. With few available studies on the genetic variation of T. hydatigena in Africa, this report represents the first insights into the genetic variation of T. hydatigena in Sudan and constitutes useful data.

Overexpressions of xylA and xylB in Klebsiella pneumoniae Lead to Enhanced 1,3-Propanediol Production by Cofermentation of Glycerol and Xylose

( Xinyao Lu ),( Xiaomeng Fu ),( Hong Zong ),( Bin Zhuge ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.6

1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PD) is a valuable platform compound. Many studies have shown that the supplement of NADH plays a key role in the bioproduction of 1,3-PD from Klebsiella pneumoniae. In this study, the xylA and xylB genes from Escherichia coli were overexpressed individually or simultaneously in K. pneumoniae to improve the production of 1,3-PD by cofermentation of glycerol and xylose. Compared with the parent strain, the xylose consumption was significantly increased by the introduction of these two genes. The 1,3-PD titers were raised from 17.9 g/l to 23.5, 23.9, and 24.4 g/l, respectively, by the overexpression of xylA and xylB as well as their coexpression. The glycerol conversion rate (mol/mol) was enhanced from 54.1% to 73.8%. The concentration of 2,3-butanediol was increased by 50% at the middle stage but drastically decreased after that. The NADH and NADH/NAD+ ratio were improved. This report suggests that overexpression of xylA or xylB is an effective strategy to improve the xylose assimilation rate to provide abundant reducing power for the biosynthesis of 1,3-PD in K. pneumoniae.

Genetic Variants at 6p21.1 and 7p15.3 Identified by GWASs of Multiple Cancers and Ovarian Cancer Risk: a Case-control Study in Han Chinese Women

Li, Da-Ke,Han, Jing,Liu, Ji-Bin,Jin, Guang-Fu,Qu, Jun-Wei,Zhu, Meng,Wang, Yan-Ru,Jiang, Jie,Ma, Hong-Xia Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.1

A recent study summarized several published genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of cancer and reported two pleiotropic loci at 6p21.1 and 7p15.3 contributing to multiple cancers including lung cancer, noncardia gastric cancer (NCGC), and esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Han Chinese. However, it is not known whether such genetic variants have similar effects on the risk of gynecologic cancers, such as ovarian cancer. Hence, we explored associations between genetic variants in 6p21.1 and 7p15.3 and ovarian cancer risk in Han Chinese women. We performed an independent case-control study by genotyping the two loci (rs2494938 A > G at 6p21.1 and rs2285947 A > G at 7p15.3) in a total of 377 ovarian cancer cases and 1,034 cancer-free controls using TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. We found that rs2285947 at 7p15.3 was significantly associated with risk of ovarian cancer with per allele odds ratio (OR) of 1.33 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-1.64, P=0.008]. However, no significant association was observed between rs2494938 and ovarian cancer risk. Our results showed that rs2285947 at 7p15.3 may also contribute to the development of ovarian cancer in Han Chinese women, further suggesting pleiotropy of 7p15.3 in multiple cancers.

Endothelial Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) Expression Is Regulated by Transcription Factor Mef2c

Jiang, Yong,Liu, He,Liu, Wen-jing,Tong, Hai-bin,Chen, Chang-jun,Lin, Fu-gui,Zhuo, Yan-hang,Qian, Xiao-zhen,Wang, Zeng-bin,Wang, Yu,Zhang, Peng,Jia, Hong-liang Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2016 Molecules and cells Vol.39 No.4

Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) is expressed in most microvasculature endothelial cells and forms water channels that play major roles in a variety of physiologic processes. This study aimed to delineate the transcriptional regulation of AQP1 by Mef2c in endothelial cells. Mef2c cooperated with Sp1 to activate human AQP1 transcription by binding to its proximal promoter in human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Over-expression of Mef2c, Sp1, or Mef2c/Sp1 increased HUVEC migration and tube-forming ability, which can be abolished AQP1 knockdown. These data indicate that AQP1 is a direct target of Mef2c in regulating angiogenesis and vasculogenesis of endothelial cells.

Upregulation of MicroRNA 181c Expression in Gastric Cancer Tissues and Plasma

Cui, Mei-Hua,Hou, Xiao-Lin,Lei, Xiao-Yan,Mu, Fang-Hong,Yang, Gui-Bin,Yue, Lin,Fu, Yi,Yi, Guo-Xing Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.5

Objective: To test the microRNA-181c (miR-181c) expression in tissues and plasma of gastric cancer (GC) cases, analyze any correlations, and explore the possibility of miR-181c as a potential molecular marker for GC diagnosis. Materials and Methods: Relative miR-181c expression levels in cancers and plasma from 30 GC patients was tested using reverse transcription-real-time fluorescent quantitation PCR and compared to that in samples from 30 gastric ulcer and 30 chronic gastritis patients. Results: The miR-181c expression level in the GC tissues was significantly higher than that in the gastric ulcer and chronic gastritis tissues (P = 0.000), as was the miR-181c expression level in the GC plasma (P = 0.000). We determined that miR-181c expression in GC plasma was positively correlated to its expression in the GC tissues (P = 0.000). Conclusions: The expression of miR-181c is upregulated in GC tissues and plasma, and the miR-181c expression level in GC plasma is positively correlated to that in the corresponding cancer tissues. Plasma miR-181c is possibly a new serological marker for GC diagnosis.