Current Status of Etiology, Epidemiology, Clinical Manifestations and Imagings for COVID-19

Jiang Meng Di,Zu Zi Yue,Schoepf U. Joseph,Savage Rock H.,Zhang Xiao Lei,Lu Guang Ming,Zhang Long Jiang 대한영상의학회 2020 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.21 No.10

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a transmissible respiratory disease that was initially reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. With the alarming levels of COVID-19 spread worldwide, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Over the past several months, chest CT has played a vital role in early identification, disease severity assessment, and dynamic disease course monitoring of COVID-19. The published data has enriched our knowledge on the etiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and pathologic findings of COVID-19. Additionally, as the imaging spectrum of the disease continues to be defined, extrapulmonary infections or other complications will require further attention. This review aims to provide an updated framework and essential knowledge with which radiologists can better understand COVID-19.

Stratigraphic Sequence and Deposition-affected Compressibility of Fine-grained Sediments in the Ancient Yellow River Delta during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene

Ming-Zhi Zhao,Qiang Luo,Liang-Wei Jiang,Ming Wei 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.1

To investigate the stratigraphic sequence in the ancient Yellow River Delta and further discuss the correlation of compressibility of undisturbed soils with depositional environments, two boreholes were drilled at Liyao test site in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, China. Some basic tests regarding to index properties were performed on sediments from one borehole, and oedometer test was conducted for the “undisturbed samples” collected from the other. The stratigraphic sequence in the study area is classified into four depositional systems in terms of sedimentation environment. Evaluation of sample disturbance shows that the “undisturbed samples” for oedometer test are just slightly disturbed in the sampling process. Since overall compressibility can be divided into intrinsic compressibility and additional one, the environmental factors that can affect soil microstructure are closely correlated with additional compressibility. Thus, the influencing mechanism of depositional rate on additional void index ΔIv was investigated quantitatively. Moreover, the relationship between floating range of yield stress and buried depth is established. Then, the additional compressibility of undisturbed samples can be evaluated with depositional rate and buried depth. Finally, the predicted overall compression curve with the proposed method in this study is compared with the measured curve to verify the reasonability and feasibility.

HMGB1 regulates autophagy through increasing transcriptional activities of JNK and ERK in human myeloid Leukemia cells

( Ming Yi Zhao ),( Ming Hua Yang ),( Liang Chun Yang ),( Yan Yu ),( Min Xie ),( Shan Zhu ),( Rui Kang ),( Dao Lin Tang ),( Zhi Gang Jiang ),( Wu Zhou Yuan ),( Xiu Shan Wu ),( Li Zhi Cao ) 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2011 BMB Reports Vol.44 No.9

HMGB1 is associated with human cancers and is an activator of autophagy which mediates chemotherapy resistance. We here show that the mRNA levels of HMGB1 are high in leukemia cells and it is involved in the progression of childhood chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). HMGB1 decreases the sensitivity of human myeloid leukemia cells K562 to anti-cancer drug induced death through up-regulating the autophagy pathway, which is confirmed by the observation with an increase in fusion of autophagosomes and autophagolysosomes. When overexpressing HMGB1, both mRNA levels of Beclin-1, VSP34 and UVRAG which are key genes involved in mammalian autophagy and protein levels of p-Bcl-2 and LC3-II are increased. Luciferase assays document that over-expression of HMGB1 increases the transcriptional activity of JNK and ERK, which may be silenced by siRNA. The results suggest that HMGB1 regulates JNK and ERK required for autophagy, which provides a potential drug target for therapeutic interventions in childhood CML. [BMB reports 2011; 44(9): 601-606]

Molecular Cloning and Expression of cDNA Encoding the Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitor from Upland Cotton

Ming-feng Jiang,Sheng-wei Li,Min Chen,Ying-fan Cai,Yong-fang Xie,Biao Li,Quan Sun,Huai-zhong Jiang,Zheng Pan,Yun-ling Gao,You-Lu Yuan,Yu-zheng Shi 한국식물학회 2009 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.52 No.5

A cDNA encoding a novel cysteine proteinase inhibitor (CPI) was isolated from a gland mutant Xiangmian-18 of upland cotton during the pigments gland forming stage. The cDNA comprises 378 bp and encodes 125 amino acid residues with molecular mass of 13.8 kDa. It contains the conserved motif of cysteine protease inhibitors and belongs to the cystatin superfamily (Gln- Val-Val-Ala-Gly). The deduced amino acid sequences of the domains are highly similar to the normal upland cotton (96.8%). SDS-PAGE and western hybridization analysis showed that the expressed recombinant protein was recombinant CPI. The inhibitory activity of recombinant CPI was 46 u/μg which was measured by inhibiting the protease activity of papain. RT-PCR results indicated that the expression level of developing gland stage was higher than that of undeveloped gland stage.

Improved DV-Hop Localization Algorithm Based on Anchor Weight and Distance Compensation in Wireless Sensor Network

Ming Jiang,Yunfei Li,Yuan Ge,Wengeng Gao,Ke Lou,Shinong Wang,Juanjuan Jiang 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.9 No.12

Position information is the foundation of massive applications in Wireless Sensor Network(WSN). Three improved positioning algorithms based on DV-Hop are proposed in order to enhance the positioning accuracy of wireless sensor nodes. First improved algorithm is distance compensation algorithm (DCA) that creates a triangle model to compensate the estimated distance. The second improved algorithm creates a new chain table for all anchor nodes to record and compute the average hop distance. The third improved algorithm is weighting different anchor nodes with anchor nodes’ nearest unknown nodes. The second and third improved algorithms are based on the DCA. The simulation results show that the three improved algorithms are better than the original DV-Hop in localization accuracy. Compared to the original DV-Hop algorithm, the simulation results shows that the three improved algorithms proposed in the paper increase the positioning accuracy of the unknown nodes.

Virtual Network Mapping Algorithm Based on Load Balancing

Ming Jiang,Xijie Tang,Min Zhang,Ziyang Li 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Grid and Distributed Comp Vol.9 No.9

Recent studies for network virtualization have shown a promising way to overcome the Internet ossification. The one of the key issues in network virtualization is a virtual network mapping problem, i.e., mapping a virtual network to the physical network. The situations of dynamic arrivals of virtual network request and the limited life cycle of the virtual networks pose significant challenges to the virtual network mapping problem. A balance between the resource allocation of the physical network and the number of mapped virtual networks. In this paper, we have considered the time characteristics that virtual network requests when mapping algorithms so as to achieve the objective that the node load and link load can simultaneously reach a balance. Giving full consideration to mutual restraints of time and resources, we propose a two-dimensional discrete weighted model based on time and resources, and establish a mathematical programming model of minimizing the degree of two-dimensional load balancing. Moreover, we devise a VN embedding algorithms LB-VNE. Simulation experiments show that the proposed algorithms can increase the acceptance ratio and the revenue by the substrate network in the long term.

Microbiological Purification of L-Arabitol from Xylitol Mother Liquor

( Ming Guo Jiang ),( Ben Wang ),( Li Fang Yang ),( Shuang Jun Lin ),( Hai Rong Cheng ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2011 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.21 No.1

As a rare sugar alcohol, L-arabitol can be used in food and can prevent extra fat deposits in the intestinal tract. Commercially, L-arabitol is prepared from pure L-arabinose by hydrogenation, which needs a high temperature and high pressure, leading to a high production cost for Larabitol. Therefore, this study describes a novel L-arabitol production method based on biological purification from the xylitol mother liquor, a cheap and readily available raw material that contains a high concentration of Larabitol. First, a novel Bacillus megaterium strain was screened that can utilize xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol, yet not L-arabitol. The isolated strain was inoculated into a medium containing the xylitol mother liquor under formulated culture conditions, where a high L-arabitol yield (95%) and high purity (80%) were obtained when the medium was supplemented with 50 g/l of xylitol mother liquor. Upon further purification of the fermentation broth by ion exchange and decolorization, L-arabitol was crystallized with a purity of 98.5%.

Phage transcription activator RinA regulates Staphylococcus aureus virulence by governing sarA expression

Jiang Ming,Li Yilin,Sun Baolin,Xu Shiwen,Pan Ting,Li Yujie 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.2

Background Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen, that can lead to various community- and hospital-acquired infections. RinA is a transcription activator of S. aureus phage φ 11 involved in phage packaging and virulence gene transfer. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of RinA in the regulation of virulence. Objective We aimed to explore a novel contribution of RinA in the regulation of virulence and provide a new drug target in the treatment of S. aureus infections. Methods The specific functions of RinA in S. aureus were analyzed by the methods of growth curve, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), subcellular localization, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), infection model of Galleria mellonella larvae and the mouse subcutaneous abscess model. Results In this study, we demonstrated that RinA is a protein evenly distributed in the cytoplasm of S. aureus, and its deletion could cause the growth defects. RT-qPCR and EMSA determined that rinA could negatively regulate the expression of sarA by directly binding to its promoter, and vice versa. The Galleria mellonella larvae infection and mouse subcutaneous abscess models revealed that the rinA mutant strain exhibited obvious virulence defects. When sarA is knocked out, the virulence of S.aureus had no significantly changes whether rinA is knocked out or not. Conclusion Our fndings demonstrated that phage transcription activator RinA regulates S. aureus virulence by governing sarA expression.

A Modified Mutation Detection Method for Large-scale Cloning of the Possible Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Sequences

( Ming Chung Jiang ),( Pao Chu Jiang ),( Ching Fong Liao ),( Ching Chiu Lee ) 생화학분자생물학회 2005 BMB Reports Vol.38 No.2

Although the human genome has been nearly completely sequenced, the functions and the roles of the vast majority of the genes, and the influences of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes are not entirely known. A modified mutation detection method was developed for large-scale cloning of the possible SNPs between tumor and normal cells for facilitating the identification of genetic factors that associated with cancer formation and progression. The method involves hybridization of restriction enzyme-cut chromosomal DNA, cleavage and modification of the sites of differences by enzymes, and differential cloning of sequence variations with a designed vector. Experimental validations of the presence and location of sequence variations in the isolated clones by PCR and DNA sequencing support the capability of this method in identifying sequence differences between tumor cells and normal cells.

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of a New C-type Lysozyme Gene from Yak Mammary Tissue

Jiang, Ming Feng,Hu, Ming Jun,Ren, Hong Hui,Wang, Li Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.12

Milk lysozyme is the ubiquitous enzyme in milk of mammals. In this study, the cDNA sequence of a new chicken-type (c-type) milk lysozyme gene (YML), was cloned from yak mammary gland tissue. A 444 bp open reading frames, which encodes 148 amino acids (16.54 kDa) with a signal peptide of 18 amino acids, was sequenced. Further analysis indicated that the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences identities between yak and cow milk lysozyme were 89.04% and 80.41%, respectively. Recombinant yak milk lysozyme (rYML) was produced by Escherichia coli BL21 and Pichia pastoris X33. The highest lysozyme activity was detected for heterologous protein rYML5 (M = 1,864.24 U/mg, SD = 25.75) which was expressed in P. pastoris with expression vector $pPICZ{\alpha}A$ and it clearly inhibited growth of Staphylococcus aureus. Result of the YML gene expression using quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that the YML gene was up-regulated to maximum at 30 day postpartum, that is, comparatively high YML can be found in initial milk production. The phylogenetic tree indicated that the amino acid sequence was similar to cow kidney lysozyme, which implied that the YML may have diverged from a different ancestor gene such as cow mammary glands. In our study, we suggest that YML be a new c-type lysozyme expressed in yak mammary glands that plays a role as host immunity.