Cloning and Characterization of a Novel Mannanase from Paenibacillus sp. BME-14

( Xiao Yu Fu ),( Xiao Luo Huang ),( Peng Fu Liu ),( Ling Lin ),( Gao Bing Wu ),( Chan Juan Li ),( Chun Fang Feng ),( Yu Zhi Hong ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2010 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.20 No.3

Microstructure evolution and effect on deuterium retention in oxide dispersion strengthened tungsten during He⁺ irradiation

Ding, Xiao-Yu,Xu, Qiu,Zhu, Xiao-yong,Luo, Lai-Ma,Huang, Jian-Jun,Yu, Bin,Gao, Xiang,Li, Jian-Gang,Wu, Yu-Cheng Korean Nuclear Society 2020 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.52 No.12

Oxide dispersion-strengthened materials W-1wt%Pr₂O₃ and W-1wt%La₂O₃ were synthesized by wet chemical method and spark plasma sintering. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis, XRD and Vickers microhardness measurements were conducted to characterize the samples. The irradiations were carried out with a 5 keV helium ion beam to fluences up to 5.0 × 10²¹ ions/m² under 600 ℃ using the low-energy ion irradiation system. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study was performed to investigate the microstructural evolution in W-1wt%Pr₂O₃ and W-1wt%La₂O₃. At 1.0 × 10²⁰ He⁺/m², the average loops size of the W-1wt%Pr₂O₃ was 4.3 nm, much lower than W-1wt% La₂O₃ of 8.5 nm. However, helium bubbles were not observed throughout in both doped W materials. The effects of pre-irradiation with 1.0 × 10²¹ He⁺/m² on trapping of injected deuterium in doped W was studied by thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS) technique using quadrupole mass spectrometer. Compared with the samples without He⁺ pre-irradiation, deuterium (D) retention of doped W materials increased after He⁺ irradiation, whose retention was unsaturated at the damage level of 1.0 × 10²²D₂⁺/m². The present results implied that irradiation effect of He⁺ ions must be taken into account to evaluate the deuterium retention in fusion material applications.

Comparison of Two Different Schemes of Once-weekly Ovum Pick Up in Dairy Heifers

Yang, Xiao-Yu,Li, Hua,Huang, Wen-Ying,Huang, Shu-Zhen,Zeng, Yi-tao Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2005 Animal Bioscience Vol.18 No.3

To compare two different schemes, continuous scheme (CS) and discontinuous scheme (DCS), of once-weekly ovum pick up (OPU) with ultrasound-guided follicular puncture technique, Holstein heifers were randomly divided into two groups of five. After characterization of their two normal estrous cycles, the heifers were subjected to consecutive 20 weeks of once-weekly OPU under two schemes: the CS (one week interval between continuous OPU, total 100 OPU sessions performed) and the DCS (OPU fixed to the day 3 and day 10 of each estrus). Then, the status of ovaries and artificial insemination results were observed. On oocyte yield, the total number of punctured follicles using DCS was lower than that using CS, but the mean numbers of punctured follicles and recovered oocytes per session were higher in DCS than CS group. So the total number of recovered oocytes was similar in both groups. There were also no differences in the quality of recovered oocytes, nor in the developmental ability of oocytes fertilized in vitro between groups. The heifers in the DCS group showed regular estrous cycles with stable estrous signs through the periods of before, during, and after OPU, while those in CS group showed longer estrous cycles and less estrous signs during and/or after OPU compared with before period. Furthermore, the mean number of inseminations required for obtaining pregnancy after completion of the experiments was lower in DCS than CS group. The research demonstrates that similar quantity and quality oocytes can be achieved, and the side effects on donors are lower in DCS that needs fewer OPUs than CS group, and DCS is superior to CS.

Serum Tumor Marker Levels might have Little Significance in Evaluating Neoadjuvant Treatment Response in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

Wang, Yu-Jie,Huang, Xiao-Yan,Mo, Miao,Li, Jian-Wei,Jia, Xiao-Qing,Shao, Zhi-Min,Shen, Zhen-Zhou,Wu, Jiong,Liu, Guang-Yu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.11

Background: To determine the potential value of serum tumor markers in predicting pCR (pathological complete response) during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively monitored the pro-, mid-, and post-neoadjuvant treatment serum tumor marker concentrations in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (stage II-III) who accepted pre-surgical chemotherapy or chemotherapy in combination with targeted therapy at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center between September 2011 and January 2014 and investigated the association of serum tumor marker levels with therapeutic effect. Core needle biopsy samples were assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) prior to neoadjuvant treatment to determine hormone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2), and proliferation index Ki67 values. In our study, therapeutic response was evaluated by pCR, defined as the disappearance of all invasive cancer cells from excised tissue (including primary lesion and axillary lymph nodes) after completion of chemotherapy. Analysis of variance of repeated measures and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed for statistical analysis of the data. Results: A total of 348 patients were recruited in our study after excluding patients with incomplete clinical information. Of these, 106 patients were observed to have acquired pCR status after treatment completion, accounting for approximately 30.5% of study individuals. In addition, 147patients were determined to be Her-2 positive, among whom the pCR rate was 45.6% (69 patients). General linear model analysis (repeated measures analysis of variance) showed that the concentration of cancer antigen (CA) 15-3 increased after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in both pCR and non-pCR groups, and that there were significant differences between the two groups (P=0.008). The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of pre-, mid-, and post-treatment CA15-3 concentrations demonstrated low-level predictive value (AUC=0.594, 0.644, 0.621, respectively). No significant differences in carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or CA12-5 serum levels were observed between the pCR and non-pCR groups (P=0.196 and 0.693, respectively). No efficient AUC of CEA or CA12-5 concentrations were observed to predict patient response toward neoadjuvant treatment (both less than 0.7), nor were differences between the two groups observed at different time points. We then analyzed the Her-2 positive subset of our cohort. Significant differences in CEA concentrations were identified between the pCR and non-pCR groups (P=0.039), but not in CA15-3 or CA12-5 levels (p=0.092 and 0.89, respectively). None of the ROC curves showed underlying prognostic value, as the AUCs of these three markers were less than 0.7. The ROC-AUCs for the CA12-5 concentrations of inter-and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the estrogen receptor negative HER2 positive subgroup were 0.735 and 0.767, respectively. However, the specificity and sensitivity values were at odds with each other which meant that improving either the sensitivity or specificity would impair the efficiency of the other. Conclusions: Serum tumor markers CA15-3, CA12-5, and CEA might have little clinical significance in predicting neoadjuvant treatment response in locally advanced breast cancer.

Relation between Ki-67, ER, PR, Her2/neu, p21, EGFR, and TOP II-α Expression in Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer Patients and Correlations with Prognosis

Yan, Jian,Liu, Xiao-Long,Han, Lu-Zhe,Xiao, Gang,Li, Ning-Lei,Deng, Yi-Nan,Yin, Liang-Chun,Ling, Li-Juan,Yu, Xiao-Yuan,Tan, Can-Liang,Huang, Xiao-Ping,Liu, Li-Xin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.2

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of the transcription factor Ki-67, ER, PR, Her2/neu, p21, EGFR, and TOP II-${\alpha}$ in the tumor tissue of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma(IDC); in addition, we examined correlations between these markers. Two hundred and sixteen IDC patients, who were not previously been treated with chemo- or radiotherapy, were included in the study. All tumors were grade I-III. Expression of molecular markers was determined by immunohistochemical analysis on paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Follow-up data were collected for 3 months to 10 years and analyzed for tumor recurrence, survival time, and prognostic risk factors. We determined Ki-67 expression correlates with the expression of ER, PR, HER-2, EGFR, and TOP-${\alpha}$, as well as lymph node involvement, high tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, high tumor stage, and high TNM stage in IDC. Positive Ki-67 expression was a risk factor for rapid tumor recurrence and may help tumor progression, leading to poor prognosis in IDC. Ki-67 was directly correlated with EGFR, TOP II-${\alpha}$, lymph node involvement, high tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, high tumor stage, and high TNM stage in the hormone receptor subtypes of breast cancer. In triple negative breast cancer, Ki-67 correlated with TOP II-${\alpha}$. Expression of Ki-67 correlated with that of ER, PR, HER-2, EGFR, TOP II-${\alpha}$, and p21. In addition, the biomarker Ki-67 has a role as a prognostic factor and indicates a poor prognosis in IDC.

Fumigaclavine C attenuates adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and ameliorates lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Yu, Wan-Guo,He, Yun,Chen, Yun-Fang,Gao, Xiao-Yao,Ning, Wan-E,Liu, Chun-You,Tang, Ting-Fan,Liu, Quan,Huang, Xiao-Cheng The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2019 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.23 No.3

Fumigaclavine C (FC), an active indole alkaloid, is obtained from endophytic Aspergillus terreus (strain No. FC118) by the root of Rhizophora stylosa (Rhizophoraceae). This study is designed to evaluate whether FC has anti-adipogenic effects in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and whether it ameliorates lipid accumulation in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. FC notably increased the levels of glycerol in the culture supernatants and markedly reduced lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. FC differentially inhibited the expressions of adipogenesis-related genes, including the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor proteins, CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins, and sterol regulatory element-binding proteins. FC markedly reduced the expressions of lipid synthesis-related genes, such as the fatty acid binding protein, lipoprotein lipase, and fatty acid synthase. Furthermore, FC significantly increased the expressions of lipolysis-related genes, such as the hormone-sensitive lipase, Aquaporin-7, and adipose triglyceride lipase. In HFD-induced obese mice, intraperitoneal injections of FC decreased both the body weight and visceral adipose tissue weight. FC administration significantly reduced lipid accumulation. Moreover, FC could dose-dependently and differentially regulate the expressions of lipid metabolism-related transcription factors. All these data indicated that FC exhibited anti-obesity effects through modulating adipogenesis and lipolysis.

Path Loss Exponent Estimation for Indoor Wireless Sensor Positioning

( Yu-sheng Lu ),( Chin-feng Lai ),( Chia-cheng Hu ),( Yueh-min Huang ),( Xiao-hu Ge ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2010 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.4 No.3

Rapid developments in wireless sensor networks have extended many applications, hence, many studies have developed wireless sensor network positioning systems for indoor environments. Among those systems, the Global Position System (GPS) is unsuitable for indoor environments due to Line-Of-Sight (LOS) limitations, while the wireless sensor network is more suitable, given its advantages of low cost, easy installation, and low energy consumption. Due to the complex settings of indoor environments and the high demands for precision, the implementation of an indoor positioning system is difficult to construct. This study adopts a low-cost positioning method that does not require additional hardware, and uses the received signal strength (RSS) values from the receiver node to estimate the distance between the test objects. Since many objects in indoor environments would attenuate the radio signals and cause errors in estimation distances, knowing the path loss exponent (PLE) in an environment is crucial. However, most studies preset a fixed PLE, and then substitute it into a radio propagation loss model to estimate the distance between the test points; such method would lead to serious errors. To address this problem, this study proposes a Path Loss Exponent Estimation Algorithm, which uses only four beacon nodes to construct a radio propagation loss model for an indoor environment, and is able to provide enhanced positioning precision, accurate positioning services, low cost, and high efficiency.

Augmenter of Liver Regeneration Alleviates Renal Hypoxia-Reoxygenation Injury by Regulating Mitochondrial Dynamics in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells

Xiao-hui Liao,Rui-ting Long,Jun-bo Peng,Li-li Huang,Gui-ping Jiang,Yue-juan Liao,Hang Sun,Yu-dong Hu 한국분자세포생물학회 2019 Molecules and cells Vol.42 No.12

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that constantly undergo fission and fusion processes that closely related to their function. Disruption of mitochondrial dynamics has been demonstrated in acute kidney injury (AKI), which could eventually result in cell injury and death. Previously, we reported that augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR) alleviates renal tubular epithelial cell injury. Here, we gained further insights into whether the renoprotective roles of ALR are associated with mitochondrial dynamics. Changes in mitochondrial dynamics were examined in experimental models of renal ischemia-reperfusion (IR). In a model of hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) injury in vitro, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) and mitochondrial fission process protein 1 (MTFP1), two key proteins of mitochondrial fission, were downregulated in the Lv-ALR + HR group. ALR overexpression additionally had an impact on phosphorylation of Drp1 Ser637 during AKI. The inner membrane fusion protein, Optic Atrophy 1 (OPA1), was significantly increased whereas levels of outer membrane fusion proteins Mitofusin-1 and -2 (Mfn1, Mfn2) were not affected in the Lv-ALR + HR group, compared with the control group. Furthermore, the mTOR/4E-BP1 signaling pathway was highly activated in the Lv-ALR + HR group. ALR overexpression led to suppression of HR-induced apoptosis. Our collective findings indicate that ALR gene transfection alleviates mitochondrial injury, possibly through inhibiting fission and promoting fusion of the mitochondrial inner membrane, both of which contribute to reduction of HK-2 cell apoptosis. Additionally, fission processes are potentially mediated by promoting tubular cell survival through activating the mTOR/4E-BP1 signaling pathway.

Low Prevalence of HPV in Male Sexual Partners of HR-HPV Infected Females and Low Concordance of Viral Types in Couples in Eastern Guangdong

Huang, Yue,Lin, Min,Luo, Zhao-Yun,Li, Wen-Yu,Zhan, Xiao-Fen,Yang, Li-Ye Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.3

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of genital high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) in male sexual partners of HR-HPV infected women and the concordance of viral types in couples in China, and comprehend the role of men play in HPV transmission to women. Methods/Materials: 94 asymptomatic women and their husbands from rural Chaozhou participated in epidemiologic screening for HPV infection. Cervical cells from females were collected for high risk HPV screening by real time-PCR, and they were positive for at least 1 of 13 HR-HPV subtypes, then these samples were genotyped. Approximately one mouth later, penile epithelial cells from 94 asymptomatic husbands were collected for HPV genotyping. At the same time, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 366 male patients from sexually transmitted disease (STD) outpatient clinic in China for the prevalence of genital HR-HPV infection in men having frequent sex behavior. Penial epithelial cells were collected for HPV 6/11 and HPV 16/18 detection by fluorescent real-time quantified PCR. Results: Among 94 couples, the prevalence of genital HR-HPV infection in men whose wife was positive for cervical HR-HPV was 5.32% (5/94). Only 2.63% (2/76) had the same high risk viral type presented by their wife. HPV 16 proved to be the most prevalent viral type in men and in couples. Of 366 male patients from STD outpatient clinic, the prevalence of HPV 16/18 infection in men with or without HPV 6/11 was 6.85% and 8.16%, respectively. The incidence of HPV 16/18 was higher in men aged more than 35 years than the young men (18-35 years). Conclusion: The prevalence of genital HR-HPV infection in male sexual partners of HPV-positive women in China was lower than that expected, and the concordance of high risk viral type between couples was extremely low. These data suggested that infected men consitute an important viral reservoir, contributing to transmission of HR-HPV to women and maintenance of infection, but HR-HPV infection may be less likely to persist in men than in women.

Repairing Facial Soft Tissue Defects by Swelling Anesthesia after Tumor Resection with Narrow Pedicle Flaps

Huang, Chun-Hui,Qian, Han-Gen,Zhao, Xiao-Yu,Shen, Guo-Liang,Lin, Wei,Qi, Qiang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.15

Aims: To investigate the role of swelling anesthesia in repairing facial soft tissue defects after tumor resection and temporal superficial artery frontal branch of narrow pedicle flap. Materials and Methods: From January 2008 to June 2008, 16 patients from Department of Ophthalmology with eye or eyelid tumors after eyeball removal of eye and part resection of surrounding soft tissue, undergoing postoperative swelling anesthesia with superficial temporal artery flap repair to prevent facial soft tissue defect formation and bone exposure, were recruited. Results: In all 16 patients facial soft tissue defect repair had good effects, with limited bleeding, and short operation times. Seven days after surgery, all flaps were in good repair. On postoperative follow-up after 3 months, flaps showed a similar appearance as with facial tissue. Conclusions: Swelling anesthesia for superficial temporoparietal artery frontal branch of narrow pedicle flap to repair soft tissue defect after facial tumor resection is feasible, and is linked with good analgesic effects, high postoperative survival of skin flaps, and good cosmetic effects.