DNA methylation and mRNA expression of COL6A3 in antler mesenchyme of female and male reindeer

Jian‑Cheng Zhai,Ruo‑Bing Han,Sheng‑Nan Wang,Qiang‑Hui Wang,Yan‑Ling Xia,Wei‑Shi Liu,Ya‑Jie Yin,He‑Ping Li 한국유전학회 2019 Genes & Genomics Vol.41 No.9

Backgroud Reindeer is the only deer species that both male and female produce antlers, which provides a particularly interesting case in studying the differences between antlers of the two sexes. Alpha 3(VI) Collagen Gene (COL6A3), forms a microfibrillar network associated with the structural integrity and biomechanical properties, has been found to be one of the differentially expressed genes in antler mesenchyme of female and male reindeer. Objective and Methods The promoter sequence of reindeer COL6A3 gene was obtained using the cloning technology and analyzed by the bioinformatics methods. Bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) was used to detect the methylation status of the COL6A3 promoter in reindeer antler mesenchyme. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect COL6A3 expression in the antler mesenchyme of female and male reindeer. Results Sequence analysis revealed that the reindeer COL6A3 partial promoter sequence was 983 bp including the possible promoter region at + 105 bp to + 155 bp. Homology and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the COL6A3 promoter of reindeer had the closest genetic distance with Bos taurus, Capra hircus and Ovis aries. BSP results indicated that the methylation level of COL6A3 promoter in the female reindeer antler mesenchyme was significantly higher than in the male. Correlating with increased methylation status, we also found that COL6A3 mRNA expression in female reindeer antler mesenchyme was significantly lower than in the male. Conclusion The higher methylation level of the COL6A3 gene in female reindeer antler mesenchyme coincides with decreased COL6A3 mRNA expression, thereby affecting the transposon silencing mechanism and possibly contributing to apparent differences of antlers in female and male reindeer.

A rapid modeling method and accuracy criteria for common-cause failures in Risk Monitor PSA model

Zhang, Bing,Chen, Shanqi,Lin, Zhixian,Wang, Shaoxuan,Wang, Zhen,Ge, Daochuan,Guo, Dingqing,Lin, Jian,Wang, Fang,Wang, Jin Korean Nuclear Society 2021 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.53 No.1

In the development of a Risk Monitor probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) model from the basic PSA model of a nuclear power plant, the modeling of common-cause failure (CCF) is very important. At present, some approximate modeling methods are widely used, but there lacks criterion of modeling accuracy and error analysis. In this paper, aiming at ensuring the accuracy of risk assessment and minimizing the Risk Monitor PSA models size, we present three basic issues of CCF model resulted from the changes of a nuclear power plant configuration, put forward corresponding modeling methods, and derive accuracy criteria of CCF modeling based on minimum cut sets and risk indicators according to the requirements of risk monitoring. Finally, a nuclear power plant Risk Monitor PSA model is taken as an example to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling method and accuracy criteria, and the application scope of the idea of this paper is also discussed.

SDSS J013127.34-032100.1: A NEWLY DISCOVERED RADIO-LOUD QUASAR AT <i>z</i> = 5.18 WITH EXTREMELY HIGH LUMINOSITY

Yi, Wei-Min,Wang, Feige,Wu, Xue-Bing,Yang, Jinyi,Bai, Jin-Ming,Fan, Xiaohui,Brandt, William N.,Ho, Luis C.,Zuo, Wenwen,Kim, Minjin,Wang, Ran,Yang, Qian,Zhang, Ju-jia,Wang, Fang,Wang, Jian-Guo,Ai, Yanl IOP Publishing 2014 ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS - Vol.795 No.2

<P>Very few of the z > 5 quasars discovered to date have been radio-loud, with radio-to-optical flux ratios (radio-loudness parameters) higher than 10. Here we report the discovery of an optically luminous radio-loud quasar, SDSS J013127.34-032100.1 (J0131-0321 in short), at z = 5.18 +/- 0.01 using the Lijiang 2.4 m and Magellan telescopes. J0131-0321 has a spectral energy distribution consistent with that of radio-loud quasars. With an i-band magnitude of 18.47 and a radio flux density of 33 mJy, its radio-loudness parameter is similar to 100. The optical and near-infrared spectra taken by Magellan enable us to estimate its bolometric luminosity to be L-bol similar to 1.1 x 10(48) erg s(-1), approximately 4.5 times greater than that of the most distant quasar known to date. The black hole mass of J0131-0321 is estimated to be 2.7 x 10(9) M-circle dot, with an uncertainty up to 0.4 dex. Detailed physical properties of this high-redshift, radio-loud, potentially super-Eddington quasar can be probed in the future with more dedicated and intensive follow-up observations using multi-wavelength facilities.</P>

Prognostic Role of Hepatoma-derived Growth Factor in Solid Tumors of Eastern Asia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Bao, Ci-Hang,Liu, Kun,Wang, Xin-Tong,Ma, Wei,Wang, Jian-Bo,Wang, Cong,Jia, Yi-Bin,Wang, Na-Na,Tan, Bing-Xu,Song, Qing-Xu,Cheng, Yu-Feng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.5

Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is a novel jack-of-all-trades in cancer. Here we quantify the prognostic impact of this biomarker and assess how consistent is its expression in solid tumors. A comprehensive search strategy was used to search relevant literature updated on October 3, 2014 in PubMed, EMBASE and WEB of Science. Correlations between HDGF expression and clinicopathological features or cancer prognosis was analyzed. All pooled HRs or ORs were derived from random-effects models. Twenty-six studies, primarily in Eastern Asia, covering 2,803 patients were included in the analysis, all of them published during the past decade. We found that HDGF overexpression was significantly associated with overall survival (OS) ($HR_{OS}=2.35$, 95%CI=2.04-2.71, p<0.001) and disease free survival (DFS) ($HR_{DFS}=2.25$, 95%CI =1.81-2.79, p<0.001) in solid tumors, especially in non-small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Moreover, multivariate survival analysis showed that HDGF overexpression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis ($HR_{OS}=2.41$, 95%CI: 2.02-2.81, p<0.001; $HR_{DFS}=2.39$, 95%CI: 1.77-3.24, p<0.001). In addition, HDGF overexpression was significantly associated with tumor category (T3-4 versus T1-2, OR=2.12, 95%CI: 1.17-3.83, p=0.013) and lymph node status (N+ versus N-, OR=2.37, 95%CI: 1.31-4.29, p=0.03) in CCA. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the literature available on the association of HDGF overexpression with OS, DFS and some clinicopathological features in solid tumors. Meta-analysis results provide evidence that HDGF may be a new indicator of poor cancer prognosis. Considering the limitations of the eligible studies, other large-scale prospective trials must be conducted to clarify the prognostic value of HDGF in predicting cancer survival.

Metastasis associated genomic aberrations in stage II rectal cancer

Hong Zhao,Zhi-Zhou Shi,Rui Jiang,Dong-Bing Zhao,Hai-Tao Zhou,Jian-Wei Liang,Xin-Yu Bi,Jian-Jun Zhao,Zhi-Yu Li,Jian-Guo Zhou,Zhen Huang,Ye-Fan Zhang,Jian Wang,Xin Xu,Yan Cai,Ming-Rong Wang,Yu Zhang 한국유전학회 2016 Genes & Genomics Vol.38 No.11

Genomic aberrations of rectal carcinoma, especially DNA copy number changes associated with metastasis were largely unclear. We aim to identify the metastasis associated biomarkers in stage II rectal cancer. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary tumor tissues of stage II rectal carcinoma were analyzed by array-based comparative genomic hybridization, and genomic aberrations were identified by Genomic Workbench and SAM software. Copy number changes and mRNA expressions were validated by Real-time PCR in an independent rectal cancer samples. The results showed that the most frequent gains in stage II rectal cancer were at 1q21.2-q23.1, 3p21.31, 11q12.2-q23.3, 12q24.11-q24.31, 12q13.11-q14.1 and losses in 18q11.2-q23, 17q21.33-q22, 13q31.1-q31.3, 21q21.1-q21.3, 8p23.3-p23.1 and 4q22.1-q23. Twenty-two amplifications and five homozygous deletions were also identified. We further found that S100A1 (1q21.3-q23.1), MCM7 (7q22.1) and JUND (19p13.11) were amplified and overexpressed in stage II rectal cancer. Interestingly, the genomic aberrations affected 14 signaling pathways including VEGF signaling pathway and fatty acid metabolism. Most importantly, loss of 13q31.1-q34 and gain of 1q44 were associated with distant metastasis. Our results indicated that these metastasis associated genomic changes may be useful to reveal the pathogenesis of rectal cancer metastasis and identify candidate biomarkers.

Assessing metabolic properties of dairy cows fed low quality straws by integrative arterial and venous metabolomics

Wang Bing,Yu Zhu,Liu Jian-Xin 아세아·태평양축산학회 2020 Animal Bioscience Vol.33 No.11

Objective: This study was conducted to reveal potential metabolic differences of dairy cows fed corn stover (CS) and rice straw (RS) instead of alfalfa hay (AH) as main forage source. Methods: Thirty multiparous mid-late lactation Holstein dairy cows were selected and randomly assigned to three diets, AH, CS, or RS (n = 10). After 13 weeks of the feeding trial, coccygeal arterial and superficial epigastric venous plasma samples were collected before morning feeding for gas chromatography time-of-flight/mass spectrometry analyses. Results: In the artery, 8 and 13 metabolites were detected as differential metabolites between AH and CS, and between AH and RS, respectively. The relative abundance of phenylpropanoate (log2fold change [FC]) = 1.30, 1.09), panthenol (log2FC = 2.36, 2.20), threitol (log2FC = 1.00, 1.07), and 3,7,12-trihydroxycoprostane (log2FC = 0.79, 0.78) were greater in both CS and RS than in AH, and tyrosine (log2FC = –0.32), phenylalanine (log2FC = –0.30), and pyruvic acid (log2FC = –0.30) were lower in RS than in AH. In the vein, 1 and 7 metabolites were detected as differential metabolites between AH and CS, and between AH and RS, respectively. By comparing AH and RS, we found that metabolic pathways of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis and phenylalanine metabolism were enriched by integrative artery and vein analysis. Furthermore, AH and RS, arterial phenylpropanoate and 4-hydroxyproline were positively, and phenylalanine was negatively correlated with milk urea nitrogen. Finally, in AH and CS, arterial panthenol was negatively correlated with feed efficiency. Conclusion: Arterial metabolic profiles changed more than those in the veins from animals on three forage diets, differing in amino acids. We found that phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis and phenylalanine metabolism were restricted when cows were fed low-quality cereal straw diets.

Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen Levels before Initial Treatment are Associated with EGFR Mutations and EML4-ALK Fusion Gene in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients

Wang, Wen-Tao,Li, Yin,Ma, Jie,Chen, Xiao-Bing,Qin, Jian-Jun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.9

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (EML4-ALK) define specific molecular subsets of lung adenocarcinomas with distinct clinical features. Our purpose was to analyze clinical features and prognostic value of EGFR gene mutations and the EML4-ALK fusion gene in lung adenocarcinoma. Patients and Methods: EGFR gene mutations and the EML4-ALK fusion gene were detected in 92 lung adenocarcinoma patients in China. Tumor marker levels before first treatment were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: EGFR mutations were found in 40.2% (37/92) of lung adenocarcinoma patients, being identified at high frequencies in never-smokers (48.3% vs. 26.5% in smokers; P=0.040) and in patients with abnormal serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels before the initial treatment (58.3% vs. 28.6%, P=0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that a higher serum CEA level before the initial treatment was independently associated with EGFR gene mutations (95%CI: 1.476~11.343, P=0.007). We also identified 8 patients who harbored the EML4-ALK fusion gene (8.7%, 8/92). In concordance with previous reports, younger age was a clinical feature for these (P=0.008). Seven of the positive cases were never smokers, and no coexistence with EGFR mutation was discovered. In addition, the frequency of the EML4-ALK fusion gene among patients with a serum CEA concentration below 5ng/ml seemed to be higher than patients with a concentration over 5ng/ml (P=0.021). No significant difference was observed for time to progression and overall survival between EML4-ALK-positive group and EML4-ALK-negative group or between patients with and without an EGFR mutation. Conclusions: The serum CEA level before the initial treatment may be helpful in screening population for EGFR mutations or EML4-ALK fusion gene presence in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

A Design Approach for the Interior Anchorage Zone of Post-tensioned Concrete Structure

Jian-Li Zhao,Shui-Long Shen,Lin-Bing Wang,Jun Chen 대한토목학회 2011 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.15 No.3

For the interior anchorage zone in post-tensioned concrete structure, International Federation for Presterssing (FIP) proposed a design method based on the theory of Strut-and-Tie Model (STM) (called FIP-STM in the following context). However, the condition of FIP-STM is that the dimension ratio of anchor, b/h, is equal to 1/9. In this paper, the stress distribution in interior anchorage zone was analyzed via using Finite Element Method (FEM) at first. The relationship between ratio of internal force over post-tensioned load (F/P) and dimension ratio (b/h) (F/P-b/h curve) was obtained. FEM results show that in case of b/h<1/9, the interior anchorage zone can be simplified to the core region, in which b/h is equal to 1/9 and FIP-STM is still applicable. However, in case of b/h>1/9, the amount of non-prestressed rebar designed in interior anchorage zone by use of FIP-STM is more than that required, and in some cases it is difficult to allocate non-prestressed rebar in the crowded space. Based on the results of stress analysis, a modified approach for FIP-STM was presented, which can be applied for any dimension ratio. With the proposed modification on FIP-STM, the non-prestressed rebar can be reasonably allocated in the narrow space of interior anchorage zone via modifying the internal forces and geometry of FIP-STM. The analytical result shows that for interior anchorage zone about 30% of non-prestressed rebar can be reduced via using the proposed method compared with that using FIP-STM if b/h is equal to 3/10.

Socio-economic Factors Influencing Tumor Presentation and Treatment Options in Chinese Breast Cancer Patients

Wang, Ke,Li, Xiao,Zhou, Can,Ren, Yu,Wang, Xian-Bing,He, Jian-Jun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

The impact of income and education level on the clinical and pathologic characteristics, implementation of clinical breast examination (CBE), and treatment patterns of a small population of Chinese female breast cancer patients was studeied in order to provide a theoretical basis and statistical reference for further nationwide research. We included 484 pathologically confirmed female primary breast cancer inpatients of the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University from February 2003 to January 2004. All cases were reviewed and relevant information was collected using a designed case report form (CRF). Chisquare tests, rank-sum tests, and Fisher's exact tests were used in the analysis. Our analysis showed that: (1) women in different occupation groups had significant differences in tumor size, pre-operative mammography, surgical options, post-operative estrogen receptor (ER), progestin receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) status, and post-operative radiotherapy and chemotherapy (P < 0.05); and (2) women with different education levels had statistically significant differences in tumor size, post-operative ER, PR and Her2 status, and post-operative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy (P < 0.05). In Xi'an, China, women in low-income occupations or with low education levels are more likely to have advanced tumor stages at presentation, lower implementation rate of clinical breast examination, and less treatment.

Association between Toll-Like Receptor 9 -1237T/C Polymorphism and the Susceptibility of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Meta-Analysis

Bing Xia,Jian Shang,Xiaobing Wang,Wei Wang,Huaqin Pan,Shi Liu,Lixia Li,Liping Chen 연세대학교의과대학 2016 Yonsei medical journal Vol.57 No.1

Purpose: The -1237T/C polymorphism of the Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) gene has been implicated in the susceptibility of inflammatorybowel diseases (IBDs), but the results remain conflicting. We further investigated this association via meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Multiple electronic databases were extensively searched until February, 2015. The strength of associationwas evaluated by calculating the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 2987 cases and 2388 controls from eight studies were analyzed. Overall, association was found between TLR9 -1237T/C polymorphism and the risk of IBDs when all the studies were pooled (recessive model, OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02–2.47, p=0.04; homozygote comparison, OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.04–2.52, p=0.03; allele model, OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.00–1.27, p=0.05). Stratificationby ethnicity indicated an association between TLR9 -1237T/C polymorphism and IBDs risk in Caucasians (recessive model,OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02–2.47, p=0.04; homozygote comparison, OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.04–2.52, p=0.03; allele model, OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.00–1.27, p=0.05). When stratified by disease type, significant correlation were only found in the Crohn’s disease subgroup (recessive model, OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.05–2.73, p=0.03; homozygote model, OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.07–2.82, p=0.02; allele model, OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01–1.32, p=0.04). Conclusion: The present study suggested that the TLR9 -1237T/C polymorphism might act as a risk factor in the development of IBDs, particularly in Caucasians.