Pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity of taraxacum officinale in vitro and in vivo

Jian Zhang,Min-Jung Kang,Myung-Jin Kim,Mi-Eun Kim,Ji-Hyun Song,Young-Min Lee,Jung-In Kim 한국영양학회 2008 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.2 No.4

Obesity has become a worldwide health problem. Orlistat, an inhibitor of pancreatic lipase, is currently approved as an anti-obesity drug. However, gastrointestinal side effects caused by Orlistat may limit its use. In this study the inhibitory activities of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) against pancreatic lipase in vitro and in vivo were measured to determine its possible use as a natural anti-obesity agent. The inhibitory activities of the 95% ethanol extract of T. officinale and Orlistat were measured using 4-methylumbelliferyl oleate (4-MU oleate) as a substrate at concentrations of 250, 125, 100, 25, 12.5 and 4 ㎍/㎖. To determine pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity in vivo, mice (n=16) were orally administered with corn oil emulsion (5 ㎖/㎏) alone or with the 95% ethanol extract of T. officinale (400 ㎎/㎏) following an overnight fast. Plasma triglyceride levels were measured at 0, 90, 180, and 240 min after treatment and incremental areas under the response curves (AUC) were calculated. The 95% ethanol extract of T. officinale and Orlistat, inhibited, porcine pancreatic lipase activity by 86.3% and 95.7% at a concentration of 250 ㎍/㎖, respectively. T. officinale extract showed dose-dependent inhibition with the IC50 of 78.2 μg/ml. A single oral dose of the extract significantly inhibited increases in plasma triglyceride levels at 90 and 180 min and reduced AUC of plasma triglyceride response curve (p<0.05). The results indicate that T. officinale exhibits inhibitory activities against pancreatic lipase in vitro and in vivo. Further studies to elucidate anti-obesity effects of chronic consumption of T. officinale and to identify the active components responsible for inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase are necessary.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Min Zhang(Min Zhang),YiRan Wu(YiRan Wu),ZhaoXu Lu(ZhaoXu Lu),MeiYan Song(MeiYan Song),XiaoLan Huang(XiaoLan Huang),LaLa Mi(LaLa Mi),Jian Yang(Jian Yang),Xiaodai Cui(Xiaodai Cui) 대한정신약물학회 2023 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.21 No.2

The effect of vitamin D supplementation on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is inconclusive. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of the available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to explore whether vitamin D supplementation can improve core symptoms and coexisting conditions in children with ASD. Data were obtained by searching the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL and Cochrane Library databases up to February 2022 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Using a random-effects model, mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated through a meta-analysis. There were eight RCTs with 266 children with ASD in the present review, among which six RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. Children who received vitamin D supplementation showed a significant improvement in stereotypical behavior scores (pooled mean difference (MD): −1.39; 95% CI: −2.7, −0.07; p = 0.04) with low heterogeneity (I2 = 34%), and there was a trend toward decreased total scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS, p = 0.05); however, there were no other significant differences in the core symptoms of ASD and coexisting conditions between groups as measured by the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). Vitamin D supplementation appears to improve stereotypical behaviors but does not improve other core symptoms and coexisting conditions. Further randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes and individualized doses are needed.

Fabrication of Co/Al2O3 Composite Nanofiber via Electrospinning with Tunable Magnetic Properties

Zidong Zhang,Wenjin Zhang,Min Chen,Yuliang Jiang,Rui Tian,Jian Zhang,Runhua Fan 한국섬유공학회 2020 Fibers and polymers Vol.21 No.11

In this paper, Co/Al2O3 composite nanofibers with different Co content are fabricated by electrospinning combinedwith selective reduction. By controlling the Co content in the composite nanofiber, not only the fiber’s morphology, but alsothe magnetic properties can be well adjusted to meet different applications’ requirements. The magnetic hysteresis loops ofcomposite nanofiber show two different types of shape, typical ferromagnetism and wasp-waisted ferromagnetism. Interestingly, the saturation magnetization, which has a close relationship with the content of magnetic component, is notsimply shows an increasing tendency with the increases of Co content in the composite fiber. For the Co content below50 wt%, the Ms value increases with the Co content. After that, the saturation magnetization decreases to a valley value atnear 60 wt% Co content, then increases again. The coercivity also shows the same tendency. The results indicate that thedipolar coupling interaction plays a key role in the magnetic property adjustment of Co/Al2O3 composite nanofiber.

Relationships of uPA and VEGF Expression in Esophageal Cancer and Microvascular Density with Tumorous Invasion and Metastasis

Jiang, Jian-Tao,Zhang, Lan-Fang,Zhou, Bin,Zhang, Shun-Qun,Li, Shao-Min,Zhang, Wei,Zhang, Jin,Qiao, Zhe,Kong, Ran-Ran,Ma, Yue-Feng,Chen, Sheng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.7

Objective: To investigate uPA and VEGF expression in esophageal cancer and relations with tumorous invasion and metastasis. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect uPA and VEGF expression in the normal epithelial tissue of esophageal mucosa and cancer tissue and detect CD34 labeled micrangium and analyze the relationships with clinical pathological features and tumor angiogenesis. Results: Positive rates for uPA and VEGF protein expression were significantly greater in esophageal cancer than normal epithelial tissue (P < 0.05), the two being linked (P <0.05). In addition, uPA and VEGF protein expression of the high microvessel density (MVD) group was significantly lower than in the low MVD group (P < 0.05), with relation to clinical pathological staging, differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In esophageal cancer tissue, uPA and VEGF proteins are overexpressed and promote tumor angiogenesis, indicative of a poor prognosis.

Genome-wide identification and analysis of long noncoding RNAs in longissimus muscle tissue from Kazakh cattle and Xinjiang brown cattle

Yan, Xiang-Min,Zhang, Zhe,Liu, Jian-Bo,Li, Na,Yang, Guang-Wei,Luo, Dan,Zhang, Yang,Yuan, Bao,Jiang, Hao,Zhang, Jia-Bao Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2021 Animal Bioscience Vol.34 No.11

Objective: In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified in many species, and some of them have been shown to play important roles in muscle development and myogenesis. However, the differences in lncRNAs between Kazakh cattle and Xinjiang brown cattle remain undefined; therefore, we aimed to confirm whether lncRNAs are differentially expressed in the longissimus dorsi between these two types of cattle and whether differentially expressed lncRNAs regulate muscle differentiation. Methods: We used RNA-seq technology to identify lncRNAs in longissimus muscles from these cattle. The expression of lncRNAs were analyzed using StringTie (1.3.1) in terms of the fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads values of the encoding genes. The differential expression of the transcripts in the two samples were analyzed using the DESeq R software package. The resulting false discovery rate was controlled by the Benjamini and Hochberg's approach. KOBAS software was utilized to measure the expression of different genes in Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways. We randomly selected eight lncRNA genes and validated them by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: We found that 182 lncRNA transcripts, including 102 upregulated and 80 downregulated transcripts, were differentially expressed between Kazakh cattle and Xinjiang brown cattle. The results of RT-qPCR were consistent with the sequencing results. Enrichment analysis and functional annotation of the target genes revealed that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were associated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase, Ras, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3k)/Akt signaling pathways. We also constructed a lncRNA/mRNA coexpression network for the PI3k/Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion: Our study provides insights into cattle muscle-associated lncRNAs and will contribute to a more thorough understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying muscle growth and development in cattle.

The Impact of Carrier Transport Confinement on the Energy Transfer Between InGaN/GaN Quantum‐Well Nanorods and Colloidal Nanocrystals

Jiang, Bin,Zhang, Chunfeng,Wang, Xiaoyong,Park, Min Joo,Kwak, Joon Seop,Xu, Jian,Zhang, Huichao,Zhang, Jiayu,Xue, Fei,Xiao, Min WILEY‐VCH Verlag 2012 Advanced Functional Materials Vol.22 No.15

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>The energy transfer (ET) between InGaN/GaN multiple‐quantum‐well (MQW) nanorods (NRs) and semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) for efficient color conversion is studied. An exceptional contribution of carrier transport confinement to the ET mechanisms is observed in the proximal side‐wall coupling system, which consists of InGaN/GaN NRs and CdSe NCs. Under relatively low or high excitation, the ET rate shows different carrier‐density dependence, resulting from different electron‐hole configurations, i.e., bound excitons and free carriers. In the localized exciton regime, the ET rate decreases when increasing temperature from 20 K to 200 K. However, in the free‐carrier regime, the ET rate varies insignificantly in the same temperature range. The temperature dependence in this NR‐NC coupling system is different from that in the previously studied planar MQW‐NC coupling system. It is suggested that the carrier transport confinement in NRs is a major factor for these divergences. The highly efficient ET with efficiency up to 80% shows a promising potential of using such NR‐NC coupled structures for ET‐pumped, NC‐based, light‐emitting devices.</P>

Polyacrylonitrile fiber with strongly acidic electrostatic microenvironment: Highly efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds

Jian Xiao,Gang Xu,Lu Wang,Pengyu Li,Wenqin Zhang,Ning Ma,Minli Tao 한국공업화학회 2019 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.77 No.-

Four categories of sulfonic acid functionalizedfiber catalysts with different surface microenvironmentswere synthesized by covalent grafting using polyacrylonitrilefiber (PANF) as the support. After the effectof acid structure on catalytic activity has been investigated by Friedlander reaction, PANEOSF was chosenfor the synthesis of quinolines and coumarin derivatives with high yields and extensive substrate scope(51 examples) in ethanol or water. The effect of electrostatic microenvironment and solvent has beendiscussed, and a “release-catch-release-catch” catalytic pattern was proposed accordingly. PANEOSF canbe easily recycled for 20 times without any decrease of catalytic activity.

Nonradiative energy transfer between colloidal quantum dot-phosphors and nanopillar nitride LEDs.

Zhang, Fan,Liu, Jie,You, Guanjun,Zhang, Chunfeng,Mohney, Suzanne E,Park, Min Joo,Kwak, Joon Seop,Wang, Yongqiang,Koleske, Daniel D,Xu, Jian Optical Society of America 2012 Optics express Vol.20 No.2

<P>We present in this communication our study of the nonradiative energy transfer between colloidal quantum dot (QD) phosphors and nitride nanopillar light emitting diodes (LEDs). An epitaxial p-i-n InGaN/GaN multiple quantum-well (QW) heterostructure was patterned and dry-etched to form dense arrays of nanopillars using a novel etch mask consisting of self-assembled In3Sn clusters. Colloidal QD phosphors have been deposited into the gaps between the nanopillars, leading to sidewall coupling between the QDs and InGaN QW emitters. In this approach, close QW-QD contact and a low-resistance design of the LED contact layer were achieved simultaneously. Strong non-radiative energy transfer was observed from the InGaN QW to the colloidal QD phosphors, which led to a 263% enhancement in effective internal quantum efficiency for the QDs incorporated in the nanopillar LEDs, as compared to those deposited over planar LED structures. Time-resolved photoluminescence was used to characterize the energy transfer process between the QW and QDs. The measured rate of non-radiative QD-QW energy-transfer agrees well with the value calculated from the quantum efficiency data for the QDs in the nanopillar LED.</P>

Declutching control of a point absorber with direct linear electric PTO systems

Zhang, Xian-Tao,Yang, Jian-Min,Xiao, Long-Fei Techno-Press 2014 Ocean systems engineering Vol.4 No.1

Declutching control is applied to a hemispherical wave energy converter with direct linear electric Power-Take-Off systems oscillating in heave direction in both regular and irregular waves. The direct linear Power-Take-Off system can be simplified as a mechanical spring and damper system. Time domain model is applied to dynamics of the hemispherical wave energy converter in both regular and irregular waves. And state space model is used to replace the convolution term in time domain equation of the heave oscillation of the converter due to its inconvenience in analyzing the controlled motion of the converters. The declutching control strategy is conducted by optimal command theory based on Pontryagin's maximum principle to gain the controlled optimum sequence of Power-Take-Off forces. The results show that the wave energy converter with declutching control captures more energy than that without control and the former's amplitude and velocity is relatively larger. However, the amplification ratio of the absorbed power by declutching control is only slightly larger than 1. This may indicate that declutching control method may be inapplicable for oscillating wave energy converters with direct linear Power-Take-Off systems in real random sea state, considering the error of prediction of the wave excitation force.

Modelling of Acoustic Waves Propagating in Nesting Fibonacci Super-Lattice Phononic Crystal

Min Zhao,Hai-Feng Qi,Jia-Hui Xu,Ya-Zhuo Xie,Xing-Gan Zhang,Jian Gao 대한금속·재료학회 2014 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.20 No.4

Herein, we report construction of one kind of nesting-Fibonacci-super-lattice phononic crystal, in whichthe super-lattice cell is a well-defined Fibonacci generation sequence. We present a comparative study onband-gap structures of acoustic waves propagating in one-dimensional, nesting Fibonacci-periodic structureand simple-periodic structure. We find that there are more band gaps in nesting Fibonacci super-latticemodels, and that they present behavior different from the split-up of band gaps with different generationnumbers. With the increase of generation number, more band gaps split and occur. Additionally, whengeneration number becomes larger, Bragg scattering becomes more significant: the characteristic curvesbecome flatter and band gaps become wider. Furthermore, we study the effect of various parameters suchas density, thickness and defects on band-gap structures. Our work is significant both for understandingthe intrinsic physical properties of nesting Fibonacci sequences and for providing flexible choices to meetreal engineering requirements.