A magnetostrictive self-powered biosensor based on Au-BaTiO3-FeGa & PDMS

Qiang Zhang,Meng Xu,Yan Liu,Chunyan Zhang,Rui Zhang,Zhiyuan Fu,Jianlong Ji,Riguang Zhang,Shengbo Sang 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.117 No.-

Piezoelectric flexible sensors have been used to detect biomolecules such as sweat and glucose because oftheir passive, simple structure and high sensitivity. This paper proposes a novel flexible piezoelectric Au-BaTiO3-FeGa & PDMS biosensor in which magnetostrictive deformation amplifies the surface stress generatedby biomolecules combining on the thin film. The modification process of bovine serum albumin(BSA) binding with the sensor was initially determined by the first principles approach. Then, the sensingmechanism was verified by finite-element simulation. Based on the simulation results, flexible Au-BaTiO3-FeGa & PDMS biosensors were prepared, modified, and measured. The structure, modification,and detection of the sensors were analyzed by digital microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry(FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The responses ofthe biosensors detecting different BSA solution concentrations under magnetic fields were then investigated. Experimental results indicate that the biosensor has the highest sensitivity under a magnetic fieldof 30 mT.

Potential Therapeutic Targets for the Primary Gallbladder Carcinoma: Estrogen Receptors

Zhang, Ling-Qiang,Zhang, Xiu-De,Xu, Jia,Wan, Yong,Qu, Kai,Zhang, Jing-Yao,Wang, Zhi-Xin,Wei, Ji-Chao,Meng, Fan-Di,Tai, Ming-Hui,Zhou, Lei,Liu, Chang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.4

Gallbladder carcinoma, the most frequent malignant neoplasm of the biliary tract system, has always been considered to feature late clinical presentation and diagnosis, limited treatment options and an extremely poor prognosis. In recent years, while the incidence of gallbladder cancer has appeared to be on the increase, the available treatment methods have not greatly improved survival of the affected patients. Thus, exploring new therapeutic targets for this devastating disease is an urgent matter at present. Epidemical studies have demonstrated that the incidence of gallbladder carcinoma exhibits a distinct gender bias, affecting females two to three times more than males, pointing to crucial roles of estrogen. It is well known that estrogen acts on target tissues by binding to estrogen receptors (ERs), which are mainly divided into three subtypes, $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$ and $ER{\gamma}$. $ER{\alpha}$ and $ER{\beta}$ appear to have overlapping but also unique even opposite biological effects. As important pathogenic mediators, ERs have been considered to relate to several kinds of tumors. In gallbladder carcinoma tissue, ERs have been shown to be positively expressed, and ERs expression levels are associated with differentiation and prognosis of this cancer. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of estrogen inducing growth of gallbladder carcinoma remain poorly understood. On the base of the current investigations, we deduce that estrogen participates in promotion of gallbladder carcinoma by influencing the formation of gallstones, stimulating angiogenesis, and promoting abnormal proliferation. Since ERs mediate the carcinogenic actions of estrogen in gallbladder, and therapy targeting ERs may provide new directions for gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, it should be stressed that ERs are potential therapeutic targets for gallbladder carcinoma.

Quantum Bee Colony Optimization and Non-dominated Sorting Quantum Bee Colony Optimization Based Multi-relay Selection Scheme

( Qiang Ji ),( Shifeng Zhang ),( Haoguang Zhao ),( Tiankui Zhang ),( Jinlong Cao ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2017 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.11 No.9

In cooperative multi-relay networks, the relay nodes which are selected are very important to the system performance. How to choose the best cooperative relay nodes is an optimization problem. In this paper, multi-relay selection schemes which consider either single objective or multi-objective are proposed based on evolutionary algorithms. Firstly, the single objective optimization problems of multi-relay selection considering signal to noise ratio (SNR) or power efficiency maximization are solved based on the quantum bee colony optimization (QBCO). Then the multi-objective optimization problems of multi-relay selection considering SNR maximization and power consumption minimization (two contradictive objectives) or SNR maximization and power efficiency maximization (also two contradictive objectives) are solved based on non-dominated sorting quantum bee colony optimization (NSQBCO), which can obtain the Pareto front solutions considering two contradictive objectives simultaneously. Simulation results show that QBCO based multi-relay selection schemes have the ability to search global optimal solution compared with other multi-relay selection schemes in literature, while NSQBCO based multi-relay selection schemes can obtain the same Pareto front solutions as exhaustive search when the number of relays is not very large. When the number of relays is very large, exhaustive search cannot be used due to complexity but NSQBCO based multi-relay selection schemes can still be used to solve the problems. All simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.

Microfluidic Synthesis of Hybrid Nanoparticles with Controlled Lipid Layers: Understanding Flexibility-Regulated Cell–Nanoparticle Interaction

Zhang, Lu,Feng, Qiang,Wang, Jiuling,Zhang, Shuai,Ding, Baoquan,Wei, Yujie,Dong, Mingdong,Ryu, Ji-Young,Yoon, Tae-Young,Shi, Xinghua,Sun, Jiashu,Jiang, Xingyu American Chemical Society 2015 ACS NANO Vol.9 No.10

<P>The functionalized lipid shell of hybrid nanoparticles plays an important role for improving their biocompatibility and <I>in vivo</I> stability. Yet few efforts have been made to critically examine the shell structure of nanoparticles and its effect on cell–particle interaction. Here we develop a microfluidic chip allowing for the synthesis of structurally well-defined lipid-polymer nanoparticles of the same sizes, but covered with either lipid-monolayer-shell (MPs, monolayer nanoparticles) or lipid-bilayer-shell (BPs, bilayer nanoparticles). Atomic force microscope and atomistic simulations reveal that MPs have a lower flexibility than BPs, resulting in a more efficient cellular uptake and thus anticancer effect than BPs do. This flexibility-regulated cell–particle interaction may have important implications for designing drug nanocarriers.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/ancac3/2015/ancac3.2015.9.issue-10/acsnano.5b05792/production/images/medium/nn-2015-05792e_0007.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/nn5b05792'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

rs10505474 and rs7837328 at 8q24 Cumulatively Confer Risk of Prostate Cancer in Northern Han Chinese

Zhang, Lin-Lin,Sun, Liang,Zhu, Xiao-Quan,Xu, Yong,Yang, Kuo,Yang, Fan,Yang, Yi-Ge,Chen, Guo-Qiang,Fu, Ji-Cheng,Zheng, Chen-Guang,Li, Ying,Mu, Xiao-Qiu,Shi, Xiao-Hong,Zhao, Fan,Wang, Fei,Yang, Ze,Wang, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.7

Aims: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several risk variants for prostate cancer (pCa) mainly in Europeans, which need to be further verified in other racial groups. We selected six previously identified variants as candidates and to define the association with PCa in Northern Han Chinese. Methods: 749 subjects from Beijing and Tianjin in Northern China were included. Six variants (rs10505474, rs7837328, rs4242384, rs7813, rs486907 and rs1058205) were genotyped by high resolution melting (HRM) assays. The individual and cumulative contribution for of the risk of PCa and clinical covariates were analyzed. Results: Among the six candidate variants, onlyrs10505474, and rs7837328, both locating at 8q24 region, were associated with PCa in our population.rs10505474 (A) was associated with PCa ($OR_{recessive}=1.56$, p=0.006); and rs7837328 (A) was associated with PCa ($OR_{dominant}=1.38$, p=0.042/$OR_{recessive}=1.99$, p=0.003). Moreover, we observed a cumulative effects between them ($p_{trend}=2.58{\times}10^{-5}$). The joint population attributable risk showed the two variants might account for 71.85% of PCa risk. In addition, we found the homozygotes of rs10505474 (A) and rs7837328 (A) were associated with PCa clinical covariants (age at onset, tumor stage, respectively) ($p_{age}=0.046$, $P_{tumorstage}=0.048$). Conclusion: rs10505474 (A) and rs7387328 (A) at 8q24 are associated with PCa and cumulatively confer risk, suggesting the two variations could determine susceptibility to PCa in the Northern Chinese Han population.

Effects of Dietary Acetyl-L-Carnitine on Meat Quality and Lipid Metabolism in Arbor Acres Broilers

Zhang, Yong,Ma, Qiugang,Bai, Xiumei,Zhao, Lihong,Wang, Qiang,Ji, Cheng,Liu, Laiting,Yin, Haicheng Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2010 Animal Bioscience Vol.23 No.12

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and lipid metabolism in broilers. A total of 240 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments (0, 300, 600, and 900 mg/kg dietary ALC supplementation, respectively). Compared with the control treatment, addition of ALC resulted in lower (linear effect, p<0.05) ADG and AFI. Abdominal fat percentage decreased (linear effect, p<0.05) as dietary ALC was increased, but there was no effect on dressing percentage, breast muscle percentage or thigh muscle percentage. Breast muscle pH value 24 h post-mortem increased (linear effect, p<0.05), but there were no significant differences among treatments. However, thigh muscle pH value increased (linear effect, p<0.05) as dietary ALC was increased. Breast and thigh muscle $a^*$ values increased (linear effect, p<0.05), and breast and thigh muscle $b^*$ values decreased (linear effect, p<0.05) with increased ALC in the diet. In addition, breast and thigh muscle shear force value decreased (linear effect, p<0.05) as dietary ALC was increased. Total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lipoprotein lipase decreased (linear effect, p<0.05) and free fatty acid and lipase in serum increased (linear effect, p<0.05) with increased ALC in diets.

A novel panel of serum miR-21/miR-155/miR-365 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for breast cancer

Ji-Guang Han,Yong-Dong Jiang,Chun-Hui Zhang,Yan-Mei Yang,Da Pang,Yan-Ni Song,Guo-Qiang Zhang 대한외과학회 2017 Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research(ASRT) Vol.92 No.2

Purpose: Insufficient sensitivity and specificity prevent the use of most existing biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. Recently, it was reported that serum microRNAs (miRNAs) may be potential biomarkers in many cancer diseases. In this study, we investigated whether serum levels of 5 miRNAs including miR-21, miR-125b, miR-145, miR-155, and miR-365 could discriminate breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Methods: Serum levels of miRNAs were measured by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in 99 breast cancer patients and 21 healthy controls. The abundance change of serum miRNAs were also evaluated following surgical resection in 20 breast cancer patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers. Results: Serum levels of miR-21 and miR-155 was significantly higher, while miR-365 was significantly lower in breast cancer as compared with healthy controls. The serum levels of miR-21 and miR-155 significantly decreased following surgical resection. Additionally, the serum level of miR-155 at stages I and II was significantly higher compared to stage III. The serum miR-145 level was remarkably higher in progesterone receptor (PR)-positive patients than PR-negative. The positivity of miR-21, miR-155, and miR-365 was high compared to CA 153 and CEA in breast cancer. ROC curve analyses of a combination of miR-21, miR-155, and miR-365 yielded much higher area under curve and enhanced sensitivity and specificity in comparison to each miRNA alone. Conclusion: The combination of serum miR-21/miR-155/miR-365 may potentially serve as a sensitive and specific biomarker that enables differentiation of breast cancer from healthy controls.

Efficient Scheme for Implementing a Fredkin Gate via Resonant Interaction with Two-Mode Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

Xiao-Qiang, Shao,Jing-Ji, Wen,Xing-Ri, Jin,Ai-Dong, Zhu,Shou, Zhang,Kyu-Hwang, Yeon Science Press 2007 Chinese physics letters Vol.24 No.10

<P>A scheme for implementing a Fredkin gate with an atom sent through a microwave cavity is proposed. The scheme is based on the resonant atom-cavity interaction so that the gating time is sharply short, which is important in view of decoherence.</P>

Overexpression of ENA1 from Yeast Increases Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis

( Xiang Qiang Kong ),( Xiu Hua Gao ),( Wei Huan Li ),( Ji Qiang Zhao ),( Yan Xiu Zhao ),( Hui Zhang ) 한국식물학회 2008 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.51 No.2

In yeast, the plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter and Na+ -ATPase are key enzymes for salt tolerance. Saccharomyces cerevisiae Na+ -ATPase (Ena1p ATPase) is encoded by the ENA1/PMR2A gene; expression of ENA1 is tightly regulated by Na+ and depends on ambient pH. Although Ena1p is active mainly at alkaline pH values in S. cerevisiae, no Na+ -ATPase has been found in flowering plants. To test whether this yeast enzyme would improve salt tolerance in plants, we introduced ENA1 into Arabidopsis (cv. Columbia) under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Transformants were selected for their ability to grow on a medium containing kanamyin. Southern blot analyses confirmed that ENA1 was transferred into the Arabidopsis genome and northern blot analyses showed that ENA1 was expressed in the transformants. Several transgenic homozygous lines and wild-type (WT) plants were evaluated for salt tolerance. No obvious morphological or developmental differences existed between the transgenic and WT plants in the absence of stress. However, overexpression of ENA1 in Arabidopsis improved seed germination rates and salt tolerance in seedlings. Under saline conditions, transgenic plants accumulated a lower amount of Na+ than did the wild type, and fresh and dry weights of the former were higher. Other experiments revealed that expression of ENA1 promoted salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis under both acidic and alkaline conditions.

MicroRNA-122 Promotes Proliferation, Invasion and Migration of Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells Through the PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

Lian, Ji-Hu,Wang, Wei-Hua,Wang, Jia-Qiang,Zhang, Yu-Hong,Li, Yi Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.9

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a small class of non-coding, single-stranded RNAs with a critical role in genesis and maintenance of renal cancer mainly through binding to 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) of target mRNAs, which causes a block of translation and/or mRNA degradation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential effects of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinomas. Methods: The expression level of miR-122 was quantified by qRT-PCR. MTT, colony formation, invasion and migration assays were used to explore the potential functions of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinoma cells. Results: Cellular growth, invasion and migration in two A498 and 786-O cells were significantly increased after miR-122 transfection. Further experiments demonstrated that overexpression of miR-122 resulted in the increase of phospho-Akt (Ser473) and phospho-mTOR (Ser2448), then activation of mTOR targets, p70S6K and 4E-BP1. Conclusions: The up-regulation of miR-122 may play an important role in the progress of renal cancer through activating PI3K/Akt signal pathway and could be a potential molecular target for anti-cancer therapeutics.