CircFam190a: a critical positive regulator of osteoclast differentiation via enhancement of the AKT1/HSP90β complex

Chen Kun,Chen Xi,Lang Chuandong,Yuan Xingshi,Huang Junming,Li Zhi,Xu Mingyou,Wu Kerong,Zhou Chenhe,Li Qidong,Zhu Chen,Liu Lianxin,Shang Xifu 생화학분자생물학회 2023 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.55 No.-

The identification of key regulatory factors that control osteoclastogenesis is important. Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are discrete functional entities. However, the complexities of circRNA expression as well as the extent of their regulatory functions during osteoclastogenesis have yet to be revealed. Here, based on circular RNA sequencing data, we identified a circular RNA, circFam190a, as a critical regulator of osteoclast differentiation and function. During osteoclastogenesis, circFam190a is significantly upregulated. In vitro, circFam190a enhanced osteoclast formation and function. In vivo, overexpression of circFam190a induced significant bone loss, while knockdown of circFam190a prevented pathological bone loss in an ovariectomized (OVX) mouse osteoporosis model. Mechanistically, our data suggest that circFam90a enhances the binding of AKT1 and HSP90β, promoting AKT1 stability. Altogether, our findings highlight the critical role of circFam190a as a positive regulator of osteoclastogenesis, and targeting circFam190a might be a promising therapeutic strategy for treating pathological bone loss.

Dose-Dependent Associations between Wine Drinking and Breast Cancer Risk - Meta-Analysis Findings

Chen, Jia-Yan,Zhu, Hong-Cheng,Guo, Qing,Shu, Zheng,Bao, Xu-Hui,Sun, Feng,Qin, Qin,Yang, Xi,Zhang, Chi,Cheng, Hong-Yan,Sun, Xin-Chen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.3

Purpose: To investigate any potential association between wine and breast cancer risk. Materials and Methods: We quantitatively assessed associations by conducting a meta-analysis based on evidence from observational studies. In May 2014, we performed electronic searches in PubMed, EmBase and the Cochrane Library to identify studies examining the effect of wine drinking on breast cancer incidence. The relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR) were used to measure any such association. Results: The analysis was further stratified by confounding factors that could influence the results. A total of twenty-six studies (eight case-control and eighteen cohort studies) involving 21,149 cases were included in our meta-analysis. Our study demonstrated that wine drinking was associated with breast cancer risk. A 36% increase in breast cancer risk was observed across overall studies based on the highest versus lowest model, with a combined RR of 1.0059 (95%CI 0.97-1.05) in dose-response analysis. However, 5 g/d ethanol from wine seemed to have protective value from our non-linear model. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that wine drinking is associated with breast cancer risk in a dose-dependent manner. High consumption of wine contributes to breast cancer risk with protection exerted by low doses. Further investigations are needed for clarification.

Effects of macro-parameters on vibration and radiation noise for high speed wheel gear transmission in electric vehicles

Xi Chen,Chaosheng Song,Caichao Zhu,Jianjun Tan,Najeeb Ullah 대한기계학회 2018 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.32 No.9

Considering flexible shafts, a coupled dynamic model for the gear transmission system of wheel reducer used in electric vehicle was developed. By combining the acoustics finite element modal for housing in Virtual Lab and the coupled dynamic model for gear transmission system, a simulation method was proposed for the prediction of the radiation noise for the wheel reducer. Then, the effects of different macro geometry gear parameters including pressure angle and helical angle on the dynamic response and radiation noise were investigated under the rated working condition. Results show that the peak-peak value of the transmission error dramatically falls in the starting zone, followed by an upward trend with the increase of the pressure angle for the low speed stage gear pair. The minimum transmission error and vibration acceleration occur when the pressure angle is 17°. The increase of the pressure angle does not affect the sound pressure level at the field point obviously. The design case with 17° pressure angle shows the optimum radiation noise level, which is 4.41dB less than the original model. Compared to the pressure angle, the helix angle has a major influence on the transmission error, vibration acceleration and acoustic radiation noise. With the increase of the helix angle, the time-varying transmission error curve becomes more smooth with a lower peak-peak value. Besides, the increase of helix angle results in lowering the varying and fluctuating trend of both vibration acceleration and acoustic radiation noise. The design case with 24° helix angle shows the prime radiation noise level, which is 7 dB less than the original scheme.

Hierarchical Resource Management Framework and Multi-hop Task Scheduling Decision for Resource-Constrained VEC Networks

Xi Hu,Yicheng Zhao,Yang Huang,Chen Zhu,Jun Yao,Nana Fang 한국인터넷정보학회 2022 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.16 No.11

In urban vehicular edge computing (VEC) environments, one edge server always serves many task requests in its coverage which results in the resource-constrained problem. To resolve the problem and improve system utilization, we first design a general hierarchical resource management framework based on typical VEC network structures. Following the framework, a specific interacting protocol is also designed for our decision algorithm. Secondly, a greedy bidding-based multi-hop task scheduling decision algorithm is proposed to realize effective task scheduling in resource-constrained VEC environments. In this algorithm, the goal of maximizing system utility is modeled as an optimization problem with the constraints of task deadlines and available computing resources. Then, an auction mechanism named greedy bidding is used to match task requests to edge servers in the case of multiple hops to maximize the system utility. Simulation results show that our proposal can maximize the number of tasks served in resource constrained VEC networks and improve the system utility.

Release Kinetics of Tocopheroland Quercetin fromBinary Antioxidant Controlled-Release Packaging Films

Chen, Xi,Lee, Dong Sun,Zhu, Xuntao,Yam, Kit L. American Chemical Society 2012 Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol.60 No.13

<P>This paper investigated the feasibility of manipulatingpackagingpolymers with various degrees of hydrophobicity to release two antioxidants,tocopherol and quercetin, at rates suitable for long-term inhibitionof lipid oxidation in food. For example, one antioxidant can be releasedat a fast rate to provide short-term/intermediate protection, whereasthe other antioxidant can be released at a slower rate to provideintermediate/long-term protection of lipid oxidation. Controlled-releasepackaging films containing tocopherol and quercetin were producedusing ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA),low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polypropylene (PP) polymers;the release of these antioxidants to 95% ethanol (a fatty food simulant)was measured using UV–vis spectrophotometry, and Fickian diffusionmodels with appropriate initial and boundary conditions were usedto fit the data. For films containing only quercetin, the resultsshow that the release of quercetin was much faster but lasted fora much shorter time for hydrophilic polymers (EVOH and EVA) than forhydrophobic polymers (LDPE and PP). For binary antioxidant films containingtocopherol and quercetin, the results show that tocopherol releasedmore rapidly but for a shorter period of time than quercetin in LDPEand EVOH films, and the difference is more pronounced for LDPE filmsthan EVOH films. The results also show the presence of tocopherolcan accelerate the release of quercetin. Although none of the filmsproduced is acceptable for long-term lipid oxidation inhibition, thestudy provides encouraging results suggesting that acceptable filmsmay be produced in the future using polymer blend films.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/jafcau/2012/jafcau.2012.60.issue-13/jf2045813/production/images/medium/jf-2011-045813_0006.gif'></P>

Synthesis and characterization of epoxy resin-based ion-imprinted polymer for selective removal of copper ions

Zhu Sining,Wan Haitao,Yan Zhibo,Xi Chen,Zhang Yuzhuo,Zhang Fan 한국화학공학회 2023 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.40 No.9

With the continuous development of the concept of green chemistry, more attention is being paid to the selective capture of copper (II) from wastewater and its recovery and reuse. Ion imprinting technology is widely used to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions due to its high selectivity. In this work, Cu(II) imprinted polymer (Cu(II)-IIP) was prepared by stepwise polymerization using Cu(II) ions as the template ions, PEG-600 as a pore-forming agent, epoxy resin as the carrier, and polyethylene polyamine as curing agent and complexing agent. The influences of solution pH, reaction temperature, reaction time and initial solubility of metal ions on its adsorption ability were systematically examined. The studies showed that the maximum adsorption quantity was 91.58 mg/g when pH=5 and T=318 K. The adsorption for Cu(II) of the Cu(II)-IIP was considered to be the monolayer chemisorption and spontaneous endothermic process. In the presence of multiple coexisting ions, Cu(II)-IIP had high selectivity for Cu(II). After five adsorption-desorption cycles, high removal rate could still be obtained, which means that the material provides a feasible method for treating wastewater containing Cu(II) ions.

Anionic defect engineering of transition metal oxides for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

Zhu, Yunmin,Liu, Xi,Jin, Shiguang,Chen, Huijun,Lee, Wonyoung,Liu, Meilin,Chen, Yan The Royal Society of Chemistry 2019 Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for e Vol.7 No.11

<P>The development of cost-effective catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for enhancing the energy efficiency of many electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices. Owing to their low cost and high activity, transition metal oxides have attracted much attention as alternative electrocatalysts to replace the currently used noble metal-based catalysts. Anion defects (<I>e.g.</I>, oxygen vacancies, interstitials, and anion dopants) can significantly change the electronic structure of oxides or the stability of adsorbed intermediates, thus greatly enhancing the electrocatalytic activities of the oxide surface. Anionic defect engineering represents a potential new direction for rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts. In this review, recent progress in manipulating the anion defects in transition metal oxides for enhancing their activity and stability is summarized and the proposed mechanisms for enhanced performance are discussed in detail. Challenges and prospects are also discussed in the development of a new generation of highly efficient ORR and OER electrocatalysts.</P>

An experimental study on the ballistic performance of FRP-steel plates completely penetrated by a hemispherical-nosed projectile

Changhai Chen,Xi Zhu,Hailiang Hou,Lijun Zhang,Xiaole Shen,Ting Tang 국제구조공학회 2014 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.16 No.3

Experiments were carried out to investigate the ballistic performance of fiber reinforced plastic(FRP)-steel plates completely penetrated by hemispherical-nosed projectiles at sub-ordnance velocities greater than their ballistic limits. The FRP-steel plate consists of a front FRP laminate and a steel backing plate. Failure mechanisms and impact energy absorptions of FRP-steel plates were analyzed and compared with FRP laminates and single steel plates. The effects of relative thickness, manufacturing method and fabric type of front composite armors as well as the joining style between front composite armors and steel backing plates on the total perforation resistance of FRP-steel plates were explored. It is found that in the case of FRP-steel plates completely penetrated by hemispherical-nosed projectiles at low velocities, the failure modes of front composite armors are slightly changed while for steel backing plates, the dominate failure modes are greatly changed due to the influence of front composite armors. The relative thickness and fabric type of front composite armors as well as the joining style of FRP-steel plates have large effects whereas the manufacturing method of front composite armors has slight effect on the total perforation resistance of FRP-steel plates.

Improved Inventory Management for Retail Stores based on Intelligent Demand Forecasts

Xiaomin Zhu,Xi Xiang,Donghua Chen 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Hybrid Information Techno Vol.8 No.8

In order to meet the increasing daily demands of customers and reduce the unnecessary cost in retail stores as far as possible, the inventory management of retail stores becoming more and more important. However, because of various characteristics of demand in retail stores, the traditional demand forecasting technologies can’t work well. In this paper, we use the modified K-means clustering analysis to help determine the groups with different characteristics of demand. In addition, a demand forecasting model integrated BP neural networks and grey model is proposed to make the prediction more intelligent and general. The example illustrates that the proposed method for forecast is feasible by the comparative analysis between the predicted values and the actual values.

Numerical investigation of the effect of primary nozzle geometries on flow structure and ejector performance for optimal design

Anna Li,Jianan Chen,Guang Xi,Zhu Huang 대한기계학회 2023 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.37 No.5

A numerical simulation of the internal flow structure of a steam ejector is conducted in a jet refrigeration system. The previous studies widely used traditional performance curves for assessment of ejector performance. However, a critical performance curve which is obtained by connecting each critical point at various generator temperatures has been rarely studied. In this paper, we design a range of primary nozzles with same or different area ratio by varying the nozzle’s throat and exit diameters, and the impact of nozzle geometries on the critical performance curve is mainly explored. Moreover, we proposed a linear fractional fitting function of generator temperature to predict the critical entrainment ratio and compression ratio for different nozzles. It is found that the nozzle throat diameter is a key parameter affecting the ejector performance and shock wave structure, and the hot source may provide some guidance for the adjustment of nozzle size.