Genomic Structure of the Luciferase Gene and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Firefly, Pyrocoelia rufa

( Jian Hong Li ),( Yong Soo Choi ),( Zhao Feng ),( Ik Soo Kim ),( Sang Mong Lee ),( Jong Gill Kim ),( Keun Young Kim ),( Hung Dae Sohn ),( Byung Rae Jin ) 한국잠사학회 2003 International Journal of Industrial Entomology Vol.7 No.2

Detection of the expression of a Bombyx mori Atypical Protein Kinase C in BmPLV-Infected Larval Midgut

( Jian Cao ),( Yuan Qing He ),( Guo Hui Li ),( Ke Ping Chen ),( Jie Kong ),( Feng Hua Wang ),( Jing Shi ),( Qin Yao ) 한국잠사학회 2011 International Journal of Industrial Entomology Vol.22 No.2

Protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in many cellular signaling pathways, it participates in many physiological processes, such as cell cycle, growth, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. To investigate the effect of PKC on the silkworm midgut tissue infection of Bombyx mori parvo-like virus (BmPLV), a B. mori atypical protein kinase C (BmaPKC) gene was cloned from larval midgut tissue, expressed in E. coli and purified. Additionally, the BmPLV susceptible silkworm strain and resistant silkworm strain were used to test the effect of the B. mori infection on BmPLV. The result showed that BmaPKC encodes a predicted 586 amino acid protein, which contains a C-terminal kinase domain and an N-terminal regulatory domain. The maximum expression amount of the soluble (His)6-tagged fusion protein was detected after 0.8 mmol/L IPTG was added and cultured at 21˚C. The (His) 6-tagged fusion protein revealed about 73 kDa molecular weight which confirmed by western blot and mass spectrography. Furthermore BmaPKC protein were detected at 0-72 h post-infection in BmPLVinfected larval midgut tissue, western blot showed that as time went on, the expression of BmaPKC increased gradually in susceptible strain, the expression quantity on 72 h is 5 times of 0 h. However, in resistant strain, the expression quantity is slightly lower than susceptible strain. But no significant change in resistant strain was observed as time went on. The available data suggest that BmaPKC may involve in the regulation of BmPLV proliferation.

Surface effect on the necking of hyperelastic materials

Li Min,Yan Yi,Xu Shihao,Wang Gangfeng,Wu Jian,Feng Xi-Qiao 한국물리학회 2022 Current Applied Physics Vol.38 No.-

Necking is a widely observed instability phenomenon. Surface tension often plays a significant role in the deformation of soft materials, especially at the micro scale, but its influence on the necking behavior of soft structures remains unclear. In this paper, we use the energy method to explore surface effects on the necking of soft plates and cylindrical bars under uniaxial tension. Analytical solutions are derived for the critical conditions of necking instability in the two types of structural components with a power-law constitutive relation. It is found that surface energy shows different impacts on their necking behaviors – it tends to postpone the occurrence of necking in soft plates but promote that in soft cylinders. This work not only deepens our understanding of the instability of soft materials but also helps design soft devices and robots.

Mobile sand barriers for windblown sand mitigation: Effects of plane layout and included angle

Li Gao,Jian-jun Cheng,Bo-song Ding,Jia Lei,Yuan-feng An,Ben-teng Ma 한국풍공학회 2022 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.34 No.3

Mobile sand barriers are a new type sand-retaining structure that can be moved and arranged according to the engineering demands of sand control. When only used for sand trapping, mobile sand barriers could be arranged in single row. For the dual purposes of sand trapping and sand stabilization, four rows of mobile sand barriers can be arranged in a staggered form. To reveal the effect of plane layout, the included angle between sand barrier direction and wind direction on the characteristics of flow fields and the sand control laws of mobile sand barriers, numerical computations and wind tunnel tests were conducted. The results showed that inflows deflected after passing through staggered arrangement sand barriers due to changes in included angle, and the sand barrier combination exerted successive wind resistance and group blocking effects. An analysis of wind resistance efficiency revealed that the effective protection length of staggered arrangement sand barriers approximately ranged from the sand barrier to 10H on the leeward side (H is sand barrier height), and that the effective protection length of single row sand barriers roughly ranged from 1H on the windward side to 20H on the leeward side. The distribution of sand deposit indicated that the sand interception increased with increasing included angle in staggered arrangement. The wind-breaking and sand-trapping effects were optimal when included angle between sand barrier direction and wind direction is 60°-90°.

ROOM-TEMPERATURE FERROMAGNETISM IN SnO 2 NANOFIBERS AND NANOTUBES PREPARED BY ELECTROSPINNING

JIAN-GUO ZHAO,WEI-YING ZHANG,ZHAO-JUN LIU,ZHONG-LI LIU,YA-JUAN ZHANG,ER-QING XIE,XIU-YUN AN,YONG-FENG CHEN,CHANG-YOU ZHANG 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2014 NANO Vol.9 No.2

SnO 2 nano¯bers and nanotubes were synthesized by electrospinning method. Magnetizationmeasurement indicates that the SnO 2 nano¯bers and nanotubes annealed in air at 500?C exhibitthe room-temperature ferromagnetism and the ferromagnetism of nanotubes is stronger than thenano¯bers. Selected area electron di®raction, X-ray di®raction and Raman measurements showthat all the samples possess a typical rutile structure and no other impurity phases are observed. The results of the Raman spectra also indicate that there are lots of defects existing in thefabricated samples. The observed room-temperature ferromagnetism in SnO 2 nano¯bers andnanotubes possibly originates from oxygen vacancies. The ¯eld cooled (FC) and zero-¯eld-cooled(ZFC) magnetization curves indicate that the Curie temperature T C is above 300 K.

Structure-Based Design and Synthesis of C-1- and C-4-Modified Analogs of Zanamivir as Neuraminidase Inhibitors

Feng, Enguang,Shin, Woo-Jin,Zhu, Xuelian,Li, Jian,Ye, Deju,Wang, Jiang,Zheng, Mingyue,Zuo, Jian-Ping,No, Kyoung Tai,Liu, Xian,Zhu, Weiliang,Tang, Wei,Seong, Baik-Lin,Jiang, Hualiang,Liu, Hong American Chemical Society 2013 Journal of medicinal chemistry Vol.56 No.3

<P>In order to exploit the 430-cavity in the active sites of neuraminidases, 22 zanamivir analogs with C-1 and C-4 modification were synthesized, and their inhibitory activities against both group-1 (H5N1, H1N1) and group-2 neuraminidases (H3N2) were determined. Compound <B>9f</B> exerts the most potency, with IC<SUB>50</SUB> value of 0.013, 0.001, and 0.09 μM against H3N2, H5N1, and H1N1, which is similar to that of zanamivir (H3N2 IC<SUB>50</SUB> = 0.0014 μM, H5N1 IC<SUB>50</SUB> = 0.012 μM, H1N1 IC<SUB>50</SUB> = 0.001 μM). Pharmacokinetic studies of compound <B>9f</B> in rats showed a much longer plasma half-life (<I>t</I><SUB>1/2</SUB>) than that of zanamivir following administration (po dose). Molecular modeling provided information about the binding model between the new inhibitors and neuraminidase, with the elongated groups at the C-1-position being projected toward the 430-loop region. This study may represent a novel starting point for the future development of improved antiflu agents.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/jmcmar/2013/jmcmar.2013.56.issue-3/jm3009713/production/images/medium/jm-2012-009713_0009.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/jm3009713'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

LRTV: MR Image Super-Resolution With Low-Rank and Total Variation Regularizations

Feng Shi,Jian Cheng,Li Wang,Pew-Thian Yap,Dinggang Shen IEEE 2015 IEEE transactions on medical imaging Vol.34 No.12

<P>Image super-resolution (SR) aims to recover high-resolution images from their low-resolution counterparts for improving image analysis and visualization. Interpolation methods, widely used for this purpose, often result in images with blurred edges and blocking effects. More advanced methods such as total variation (TV) retain edge sharpness during image recovery. However, these methods only utilize information from local neighborhoods, neglecting useful information from remote voxels. In this paper, we propose a novel image SR method that integrates both local and global information for effective image recovery. This is achieved by, in addition to TV, low-rank regularization that enables utilization of information throughout the image. The optimization problem can be solved effectively via alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Experiments on MR images of both adult and pediatric subjects demonstrate that the proposed method enhances the details in the recovered high-resolution images, and outperforms methods such as the nearest-neighbor interpolation, cubic interpolation, iterative back projection (IBP), non-local means (NLM), and TV-based up-sampling.</P>

LDL Coating pVEGF/polyethylenimine Complex Enhances Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression

Jian Li,Guang Yang,Min Feng,Hailong Liang,Jun Zhang,Danhong Huang,Siyun Deng,Yuan Shen 한국생물공학회 2012 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.17 No.6

The major limitations to non-viral gene delivery are relatively low efficiency and cytotoxicity, which need to be addressed in the design of new vectors. In this study,negatively charged low density lipoproteins (LDL) were coated onto positively charged pVEGF/PEI complexes to form pVEGF/PEI/LDL terplexes by a two-step procedure. The biocompatible LDL was introduced to reduce the cytotoxicity of the gene delivery system and increase its affinity to cells. The successful formation of pVEGF/PEI/LDL terplexes was confirmed by their near-neutral and slightly negative surface charges. The pVEGF/PEI/LDL terplexes were well-defined sub-micron spherical particles. On the cell viability assay, both of the PEI/LDL combined vector and pVEGF/PEI/LDL terplexes exhibited much lower cytotoxicity to HeLa cells and HUVE cells than those of PEI and pVEGF/PEI complexes, attributed to the shielding effect of the LDL. pEGFP/PEI/LDL terplexes showed significantly higher transfection efficiency in comparison to pEGFP/PEI complexes in serum-containing medium. pVEGF/PEI/LDL terplexes at their optimal N/P ratio and LDL/PEI weigh ratio induced higher expression levels of VEGF protein in HUVE cells than those of pVEGF/PEI complexes. Therefore, the pVEGF/PEI/LDL terplexes could be used as a promising gene delivery system to enhance VEGF protein expression.

Experimental hysteretic behavior of in-plane loaded reinforced grouted multi-ribbed aerated concrete blocks masonry walls

Li, Sheng-Cai,Dong, Jian-Xi,Li, Li-Feng Techno-Press 2012 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.41 No.1

In order to analyze the experimental hysteretic behavior of the in-plane loaded reinforced grouted multi-ribbed aerated concrete blocks masonry walls (RGMACBMW), we have carried out the pseudo static testing on the six specimens of RGMACBMW. Based on the test results and shear failure characteristics, the shear force hysteretic curves and displacement envelope curves of the models were obtained and discussed. On the basis of the hysteretic curves a general skeleton curve of the shear force and displacement was formed. The restoring model was adopted to analyze the seismic behavior and earthquake response of RGMACBMW. The deformation capacity of the specimens was discussed, and the formulas for calculating the lateral stiffness of the walls at different loading stages were proposed as well. The average lateral displacement ductility factor of RGMACBMW calculated based on the test results was 3.16. This value illustrates that if the walls are appropriately designed, it can fully meet the seismic requirement of the structures. The quadri-linear restoring models of the walls degradation by the test results accurately reflect the hysteretic behaviors and skeleton curves of the masonry walls. The restoring model can be applied to the RGMACBMW structure in earthquake response analysis.

Comparison of Pre-Operation Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer with Fine Needle Aspiration and Core-needle Biopsy: a Meta-analysis

Li, Lei,Chen, Bao-Ding,Zhu, Hai-Feng,Wu, Shu,Wei, Da,Zhang, Jian-Quan,Yu, Li Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.17

Background: The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare sensitivities and specificities of fine needle aspiration (FNA) and core needle biopsy (CNB) in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Materials and Methods: Articles were screened in Medline, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Google Scholar, and subsequently included and excluded based on the patient/problem-intervention-comparison-outcome (PICO) principle. Primary outcome was defined in terms of diagnostic values (sensitivity and specificity) of FNA and CNB for thyroid cancer. Secondary outcome was defined as the accuracy of diagnosis. Compiled FNA and CNB results from the final studies selected as appropriate for meta-analysis were compared with cases for which final pathology diagnoses were available. Statistical analyses were performed for FNA and CNB for all of the selected studies together, and for individual studies using the leave-one-out approach. Results: Article selection and screening yielded five studies for meta-analysis, two of which were prospective and the other three retrospective, for a total of 1,264 patients. Pooled diagnostic sensitivities of FNA and CNB methods were 0.68 and 0.83, respectively, with specificities of 0.93 and 0.94. The areas under the summary ROC curves were 0.905 (${\pm}0.030$) for FNA and 0.745 (${\pm}0.095$) for CNB, with no significant difference between the two. No one study had greater influence than any other on the pooled estimates for diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions: FNA and CNB do not differ significantly in sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of thyroid cancer.