Comparison of stomach microRNA transcriptomes of Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs by deep sequencing

Wen‑kui Sun,Yanyue Li,Chi Cheng,Yi‑hui Chen,Kai Zeng,Xiaohui Chen,Yiren Gu,Rui Liu,Xuebin Lv,Rong Gao 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.9

MiRNAs regulate the expression of target genes in diverse cellular processes and hence play important roles in different physiological processes, yet little is known about the stomach microRNAome (miRNAome) of the Tibetan pig. The objective of this experiment was to investigate differentially expressed stomach miRNAs participating in digestion. Firstly, we isolated total RNA by Trizol reagent from three Tibetan and three Yorkshire purebred pigs stomach samples at 90-day-old. Secondly, a comprehensive analysis of Tibetan and Yorkshire pig stomach miRNAomes was performed by small RNA sequencing in the Illumina HiSeq 2000 system. Finally, SYBR Green Real-time RT-PCR was performed to validate the differentially expressed miRNAs. We identified 318 unique miRNAs, 260 were co-expressed in both libraries, 17 and 31 miRNAs were specifically expressed in Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs respectively. Fifty six differentially expressed miRNAs were identified by the identifying differentially expressed genes 6 (IDEG6). Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes analysis revealed that some of the differentially expressed miRNAs were associated with protein and fat digestion. Two differentially expressed miRNAs (miR-214-3p and ssc-un39) participating in the digestion of lipid were identified. Additionally, qRT-PCR results suggested that a higher expression of miR-214-3p in the Tibetan pig stomach could lead to relatively lower expression of calcium-dependent phospholipase A2, which is an enzyme important for the digestion of glycerol phospholipid. This study has delineated the different stomach miRNAs expression patterns of Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs, which would help explain the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs in digestion of Tibetan pigs, and contribute to utilize a the unique digestion merits of Tibetan pig in future porcine hybridization breeding.

Prevention of Natural Flowering in Pineapple (Ananas comosus) by Shading and Urea Application

Meng-Tzu Lin,Alfred Ming Chen1,Tzong-Shyan Lin,Ching-San Kuan,Ching-Lung Lee,Wen-Ju Yang 한국원예학회 2015 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.56 No.1

The year-round production of pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus) is often interrupted by natural flowering during winter in Taiwan. A stable and promising technique for preventing natural flowering is required. In this study, we have tested the effect of shading and urea application on the flowering of pineapple. Shading 90% of sun light(s) before mid-November delayed the natural flowering of pineapple and the delay was affected by the plant age. For pineapples planted less than 11 month before mid-November, applying 1% urea plus shading treatment (SN) completely inhibited natural flowering. All the flowering-inhibited plants could be forced to flower by applying calcium carbide. Long-term shading might result in a decreased number of fruitlets within a fruit. However, 6 weeks of recovery before forcing flowering was sufficient for plants to produce fruits with quality equal to that of the control plants. In winter, pineapple plants that were prone to flowering tended to accumulate more leaf starch and increase their C/N ratio. The SN treatment increased the leaf nitrogen concentration and thus effectively maintained a low leaf C/N ratio. Furthermore, flowering-inhibited plants exhibited a constantly low level of leaf starch during the winter and their flowering forced by calcium carbide did not accompany with leaf starch accumulation.

Current state of research about acupuncture for the treatment of COVID-19: A scoping review

Chen Chen,Jie Zhan,Hao Wen,Xiaojing Wei,Lu Ding,Chenyang Tao,Cui Li,Peiming Zhang,Yuyuan Tang,Jing-chun Zeng,Li-ming Lu 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.-

Background Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), acupuncture has been widely used in the treatment of COVID-19. The research community has responded rapidly and has already published many research articles about this topic. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library as well as CNKI, Wanfang and VIP from January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2021. The dates of publication, language of publication, methodological characteristics and the key findings were analyzed separately. The data are presented as bar graphs, structured tables and figures. Results In this scoping review, 16 research articles were included: 7 case reports, 6 observational studies, 1 review, 1 RCT and 1 nonrandomized clinical trial. The majority of the articles (81.3%) were published by Chinese scholars, 12.5% articles were by scholars in the United States, and 6.3% articles were by scholars in Iran. The included studies reported that acupuncture could alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 patients, shorten their hospitalization days, and is effective for the elderly. There were no side effects reported. The most frequent acupoints used were LI4, PC6, ST36 and KI3. They reported many obstacles in implementing acupuncture therapy for treating COVID-19 patients. Conclusion Acupuncture has a good effect for the treatment of COVID-19, but high-quality evidence support is still lacking. Coupled with the difficulties that acupuncturists experienced during the process of treatment, the promotion of acupuncture treatment for COVID-19 faces many obstacles. Background Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), acupuncture has been widely used in the treatment of COVID-19. The research community has responded rapidly and has already published many research articles about this topic. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library as well as CNKI, Wanfang and VIP from January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2021. The dates of publication, language of publication, methodological characteristics and the key findings were analyzed separately. The data are presented as bar graphs, structured tables and figures. Results In this scoping review, 16 research articles were included: 7 case reports, 6 observational studies, 1 review, 1 RCT and 1 nonrandomized clinical trial. The majority of the articles (81.3%) were published by Chinese scholars, 12.5% articles were by scholars in the United States, and 6.3% articles were by scholars in Iran. The included studies reported that acupuncture could alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 patients, shorten their hospitalization days, and is effective for the elderly. There were no side effects reported. The most frequent acupoints used were LI4, PC6, ST36 and KI3. They reported many obstacles in implementing acupuncture therapy for treating COVID-19 patients. Conclusion Acupuncture has a good effect for the treatment of COVID-19, but high-quality evidence support is still lacking. Coupled with the difficulties that acupuncturists experienced during the process of treatment, the promotion of acupuncture treatment for COVID-19 faces many obstacles.

Inverse Diamond Search Algorithm for 3D Medical Image Sets Compression

Wen-Jan Chen,Hui-Min Chen 대한전자공학회 2008 ITC-CSCC :International Technical Conference on Ci Vol.2008 No.7

The scheme of motion estimation is introduced to exploit the redundancy between continuous frames of 3D medical image sets in this paper. The proposed scheme is based on inter-frame motion estimation of inverse diamond search algorithm. The residual images are encoded by the Huffman encoder. The test images include five sets of the heart and two sets of the brain MRI images. The average compression ratio of the inverse diamond search algorithm is similar to the JPEG_LS and diamond search algorithm. The inverse diamond search leads to speed improvement around 5 % over diamond search for all the tested MRI sets.

An integrate information technology model during earthquake dynamics

Chen-Yuan Chen,Ying-Hsiu Chen,Shang-En Yu,Yi-Wen Chen,Chien-Chung Li 국제구조공학회 2012 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.44 No.5

Applying Information Technology (IT) in practical engineering has become one of the most important issues in the past few decades, especially on internal solitary wave, intelligent robot interaction, artificial intelligence, fuzzy Lyapunov, tension leg platform (TLP), consumer and service quality. Other than affecting the traditional teaching mode or increasing the inter-relation with users, IT can also be connected with the current society by collecting the latest information from the internet. It is apparently a fashion-catching-up technology. Therefore, the learning of how to use IT facilities is becoming one of engineers’ skills nowadays. In addition to studying how well engineers learn to operate IT facilities and apply them into teaching, how engineers’ general capacity of information effects the results of learning IT are also discussed. This research introduces the “Combined TAM and TPB mode,” to understand the situation of engineers using IT facilities.

An integrate information technology model during earthquake dynamics

Chen, Chen-Yuan,Chen, Ying-Hsiu,Yu, Shang-En,Chen, Yi-Wen,Li, Chien-Chung Techno-Press 2012 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.44 No.5

Applying Information Technology (IT) in practical engineering has become one of the most important issues in the past few decades, especially on internal solitary wave, intelligent robot interaction, artificial intelligence, fuzzy Lyapunov, tension leg platform (TLP), consumer and service quality. Other than affecting the traditional teaching mode or increasing the inter-relation with users, IT can also be connected with the current society by collecting the latest information from the internet. It is apparently a fashion-catching-up technology. Therefore, the learning of how to use IT facilities is becoming one of engineers' skills nowadays. In addition to studying how well engineers learn to operate IT facilities and apply them into teaching, how engineers' general capacity of information effects the results of learning IT are also discussed. This research introduces the "Combined TAM and TPB mode," to understand the situation of engineers using IT facilities.

Data Preprocessing Using Hybrid General Regression Neural Networks and Particle Swarm Optimization for Remote Terminal Units

Wen-Hui Chen,Jun-Horng Chen,Shih-Chun Shao 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2012 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.10 No.2

Data corruption in SCADA systems refers to errors that occur during acquisition, processing, or transmission, introducing unintended changes to the original data. In SCADA-based power systems, the data gathered by remote terminal units (RTUs) is subject to data corruption due to noise interfer-ence or lack of calibration. In this study, an effective approach based on the fusion of the general re-gression neural network (GRNN) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique is employed to deal with errors in RTU data. The proposed hybrid model, denoted as GRNN-PSO, is able to handle noisy data in a fast speed, which makes it feasible for practical applications. Experimental results show the GRNN-PSO model has better performance in removing the unintended changes to the original data compared with existing methods.

Cav3.2 T-Type Ca2+ Channel-Dependent Activation of ERK in Paraventricular Thalamus Modulates Acid-Induced Chronic Muscle Pain.

Chen, Wen-Kwei,Liu, Ingrid Y,Chang, Ya-Ting,Chen, Yong-Cyuan,Chen, Chih-Cheng,Yen, Chen-Tung,Shin, Hee-Sup,Chen, Chien-Chang The Society 2010 The Journal of neuroscience Vol.30 No.31

<P>Treatments for chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as lower back pain, fibromyalgia, and myofascial pain syndrome, remain inadequate because of our poor understanding of the mechanisms that underlie these conditions. Although T-type Ca(2+) channels (T-channels) have been implicated in peripheral and central pain sensory pathways, their role in chronic musculoskeletal pain is still unclear. Here, we show that acid-induced chronic mechanical hyperalgesia develops in Ca(v)3.1-deficient and wild-type but not in Ca(v)3.2-deficient male and female mice. We also show that T-channels are required for the initiation, but not maintenance, of acid-induced chronic muscle pain. Blocking T-channels using ethosuximide prevented chronic mechanical hyperalgesia in wild-type mice when administered intraperitoneally or intracerebroventricularly, but not intramuscularly or intrathecally. Furthermore, we found an acid-induced, Ca(v)3.2 T-channel-dependent activation of ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) in the anterior nucleus of paraventricular thalamus (PVA), and prevention of the ERK activation abolished the chronic mechanical hyperalgesia. Our findings suggest that Ca(v)3.2 T-channel-dependent activation of ERK in PVA is required for the development of acid-induced chronic mechanical hyperalgesia.</P>

Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir plus ribavirin for Child-Pugh B and Child-Pugh C hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis

( Chen-hua Liu ),( Chi-yi Chen ),( Wei-wen Su ),( Chun-jen Liu ),( Ching-chu Lo ),( Ke-jhang Huang ),( Jyh-jou Chen ),( Kuo-chih Tseng ),( Chi-yang Chang ),( Cheng-yuan Peng ),( Yu-lueng Shih ),( Chia 대한간학회 2021 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.27 No.4

Background/Aims: Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) plus ribavirin (RBV) for Child-Pugh B/C hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis are limited. Methods: We included 107 patients with Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis receiving SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks in Taiwan. The sustained virologic response rates at off-treatment week 12 (SVR₁₂) for the evaluable population (EP), modified EP, and per-protocol population (PP) were assessed. The safety profiles were reported. Results: The SVR₁₂ rates in the EP, modified EP and PP were 89.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82.5-94.2%), 94.1% (95% CI, 87.8-97.3%), and 100% (95% CI, 96.2-100%). Number of patients who failed to achieve SVR₁₂ were attributed to virologic failures. The SVR₁₂ rates were comparable regardless of patient characteristics. One patient discontinued treatment because of adverse events (AEs). Twenty-four patients had serious AEs and six died, but none were related to SOF/VEL or RBV. Among the 96 patients achieving SVR₁₂, 84.4% and 64.6% had improved Child-Pugh and model for endstage liver disease (MELD) scores. Multivariate analysis revealed that a baseline MELD score ≥15 was associated with an improved MELD score of ≥3 (odds ratio, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.16-14.71; P=0.02). Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1 had more significant estimated glomerular filtration rate declines than patients with CKD stage 2 (-0.42 mL/min/1.73 ㎡/month; P=0.01) or stage 3 (-0.56 mL/min/1.73 ㎡/month; P<0.001). Conclusions: SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks is efficacious and well-tolerated for Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2021;27:575-588)

Electrochemical Behavior and Protective Property of Al-containing Zinc-Rich Paints

Chen, Wen-Ben,Chen, Peter,Chen, Hunz-Yin,Wu, Chung-Min,Tsai, Wen-Ta 한국부식방식학회 2002 Corrosion Science and Technology Vol.31 No.3

The effect of Al addition on the corrosion performance of zinc-rich paints (ZRP) was investigated. Both electrochemical measurement and salt spray test were employed to evaluate the corrosion performance of ZRP with or without Al addition. The Al content as percentage of the total metallic components in the ZRP, investigated in this study, varied from 0 to 75wt%. The experimental results showed that protective nature of ZRP altered from cathodic protection to barrier former as the Al content was increased beyond 20wt%. The results from salt spray tests also revealed that the corrosion products were modified with the presence of aluminum oxide in the Al-containing ZRP. The amount of zinc white on the painted steel decreased as the Al content in the ZRP increased. The protectiveness, in terms of the time of red rust formation and cathodic protection, was reduced as the Al content was higher than 20wt%.