Magnetic graphene oxide-biomass activated carbon composite for dye removal

Tan Yan Ying,Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman,Mustapha Mohammed Bello,Archina Buthiyappan 한국화학공학회 2020 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.37 No.12

A magnetic composite was synthesized using palm kernel shell-based activated carbon, graphene oxide (GO) and iron oxide. The morphology, textural properties, magnetic properties, crystal structure and functional groups of the composite were studied. The characterization shows the successful formation of the ternary composite with a high specific surface area (280.39m2/g) and abundant surface functional groups. The magnetic properties of the composite indicate a saturation magnetization of 33.72 emu/g, signifying that the composite can be easily separated with an external magnetic field. The performance of the composite was then investigated through the removal of an anionic azo dye, Acid Blue 113, from aqueous solution. The effect of initial pH of the solution, adsorbent dosage and adsorption contact time was studied. The composite achieved an adsorption capacity of 32.2mg/g and 96.3% dye removal. Effective dye removal was still achieved after five cycles of adsorption-regeneration, with the dye removal of 74% after the fifth cycle. The analyses of adsorption isotherm and kinetics show that the adsorption process fits pseudo-secondorder kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models, indicating a monolayer chemisorption process. The excellent adsorption performance and reusability of the composite and its magnetic separability signify its potential as an adsorbent for wastewater treatment.

Increasing Demeclocycline Production in Streptomyces aureofaciens by Manipulating the Expression of a Novel SARP Family Regulator and Its Genes

Yan-Ying Tan,Guang-Yao Zhu,Rui-Fang Ye,Hong-Zhou Zhang,De-Yu Zhu 한국생물공학회 2021 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.26 No.6

Demeclocycline (DMCTC), a tetracycline derivative antibiotic produced by Streptomyces aureofaciens, has attracted attention owing to its high bioavailability, prolonged maintenance of a therapeutic concentration, and greater efficacy against many infectious microorganisms. However, the productivity of the DMCTC-producing strains has remained low. Thus, it is necessary to identify gene-knockout or amplification targets to increase DMCTC production. Here, we demonstrated that ctcB, which encodes a Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory protein (SARP), and ctcC, which encodes a resistance gene, positively regulate the biosynthesis of DMCTC in S. aureofaciens strain DT1. In particular, overexpression of the ctcB gene in S. aureofaciens DT1 significantly enhanced DMCTC production, resulting in increased expression of ctcG, ctcN, ctcQ, ctcH, ctcV, and ctcC. The deletion of ctcB dramatically reduced the DMCTC level, implying that CtcB is an activator of DMCTC biosynthesis. Although overexpression of the ctcC, which encodes a ribosomal protection protein, enhancing DMCTC biosynthesis in S. aureofaciens DT1, the improvement was limited compared with that achieved by ctcB overexpression. This is the first study to identify the role of ctcB and ctcC in DMCTC accumulation; these genes may also be ideal candidate targets for facilitating DMCTC production by other Streptomyces strains.

A Novel Approach to Cloning and Expression of Human Thymidylate Synthase

Lv, Ying-Tao,Du, Pei-Juan,Wang, Qiao-Yan,Tan, Yuan,Sun, Zong-Bin,Su, Zhong-Liang,Kang, Cong-Min Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.12

Thymidylate synthase (TS) catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from methylenetetrahydrofolate to dUMP to form dTMP. It is a primary target in the chemotherapy of colorectal cancers and some other neoplasms. In order to obtain pure protein for analysis of structure and biological function, an expression vector TS-pET28b (+) was constructed by inserting wild-type human thymidylate synthase (hTS) cDNA into pET28b (+). Then an expression strain was selected after transformation of the recombined plasmid into Rosetta (DE3). Fusion protein with His-tag was efficiently expressed in the form of inclusion bodies after IPTG induction and the content was approximately 40.0% of total bacteria proteins after optimizing expression conditions. When inclusion bodies were washed, dissolved and purified by Ni-NTA under denatured conditions, the purity was up to 90%. On SDS-PAGE and West-blotting, the protein band was found to match well with the predicted relative molecular mass-36kDa. Bioactivity was 0.1 U/mg. The results indicated that high-level expression of wild-type hTS cDNA can be achieved in prokaryotes with our novel method, facilitating research into related chemotherapy.

A Comparative Study on Service Trade Competitiveness: Guangxi Province of China and ASEAN Countries in the Belt and Road Initiative

Bingxian Chen,Yan Tan,Ying CHENG,Cheng-Min NONG 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2023 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.7 No.4

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has consistently been China’s closest trading partner, and Guangxi Province has emerged as a vital trading hub connecting China and ASEAN, owing to its unique geographical location and supportive government policies. Although Guangxi’s service trade has grown significantly due to the Belt and Road Initiative, its global competitiveness remains relatively weak, and there is room for improvement in the overall volume of service trade. This study begins by reviewing existing research on the subject, revealing that ASEAN outperforms Guangxi in terms of total economic volume, total foreign trade, and total service trade. However, a closer examination reveals that Guangxi has an advantage in terms of industrial structure, service trade growth rate, and foreign trade composition. Using the market share index the revealed comparative advantage index, and the trade competitiveness index, the study identifies that Guangxi exhibits higher competitiveness in the service trade than ASEAN. Furthermore, using time series data from 2008 to 2019, an econometric model is developed using the Michael Porter Diamond Model to assess the determinants of Guangxi’s service trade competitiveness. The analysis concludes that gross domestic product positively impacts service trade, with service trade openness and foreign direct investment playing pivotal roles, outweighing their influence on ASEAN. In contrast, the proportion of the labor force has the least impact on Guangxi’s service trade competitiveness. In conclusion, this study provides recommendations and policy implications for enhancing the competitiveness of Guangxi’s service trade sector.

Maillard Reaction Products of Stir Fried Hordei Fructus Germinatus Are Important for Its Efficacy in Treating Functional Dyspepsia

Lu Wu,Yan Lai,Ying Wang,Lixia Tan,Lizhen Wen,Huasheng Yang 한국식품영양과학회 2020 Journal of medicinal food Vol.23 No.4

Hordei Fructus Germinatus (HFG) has been used as a traditional medicine to treat functional dyspepsia (FD) in China. Stir fried HFG (F-HFG) containing Maillard reaction products (MRPs) is used more widely than the raw HFG (R-HFG). However, the exact mechanisms in its functionality remain unclear. This article investigated the effect of R-HFG, F-HFG, and MRPs on brain-gut peptides, gut microbiota, and digestive enzymes using an FD animal mode. After administration of R-HFG, F-HFG, and MRPs, higher mRNA expression level of gastrin (GAS) and lower mRNA expression level of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were exhibited in F-HFG and MRPs rats than R-HFG rats (P < .05). Furthermore, compared with the R-HFG group, the contents of motilin (MTL) and GAS showed an upward tendency, whereas the contents of VIP and chokcystokinin (CCK) showed a downward tendency in the F-HFG group. In addition, bacterial communities in the control, F-HFG, and MRPs groups clustered closely to one another, and bacterial communities in the model and recovery groups clustered together, whereas the bacterial communities in the R-HFG group were clustered into a category. Moreover, there were no apparent differences in brain-gut peptides and gut microbiota between the F-HFG and MRPs groups. However, after the oral administration of R-HFG, F-HFG, and MRPs, the level of digestive enzyme did not show a significant change as compared with the recovery group. These results indicated that the stronger effect of F-HFG could be attributed to the MRPs produced during stir frying, and MRPs possessed the effect of regulating brain-gut peptides and gut microbiota.

Protective Effects of Silibinin and Its Possible Mechanism of Action in Mice Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress

( Wen Jing Yan ),( Ying Chun Tan ),( Ji Cheng Xu ),( Xian Ping Tang ),( Chong Zhang ),( Peng Bo Zhang ),( Ze Qiang Ren ) 한국응용약물학회 2015 Biomolecules & Therapeutics(구 응용약물학회지) Vol.23 No.3

Silibinin, a natural flavonoid antioxidant isolated from extracts of the milk thistle herb, has recently been identified as having antihepatotoxic and anticancer properties. In this paper, we investigated the effects of silibinin on behavior and neuroplasticity in mice subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). After 5 consecutive weeks of CUMS, the mice were treated with silibinin (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg by oral gavage) for 3 consecutive weeks. The results showed that silibinin administration significantly alleviated the CUMS-induced depressive-like behavior, including the total number of squares crossed and the frequency of rearing in the open field test, the immobility time in the tail suspension test and the forced swimming test. Furthermore, silibinin treatment increased the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Our study provides new insight into the protective effects of silibinin on the depressive status of CUMS mice, specifically by improving neuroplasticity and neurotransmission.

Laser hemorrhoidoplasty versus conventional hemorrhoidectomy for grade II/III hemorrhoids: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ian Jun Yan Wee,Chee Hoe Koo,Isaac Seow-En,Yvonne Ying Ru Ng,Wenjie Lin,Emile John Kwong-Wei Tan 대한대장항문학회 2023 Annals of Coloproctolgy Vol.39 No.1

Purpose: This study compared the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of laser hemorrhoidoplasty (LH) vs. conventional hemorrhoidectomy (CH) in patients with grade II/III hemorrhoids. Methods: PubMed/Medline and the Cochrane Library were searched for randomized and nonrandomized studies comparing LH against CH in grade II/III hemorrhoids. The primary outcomes included postoperative use of analgesia, postoperative morbidity (bleeding, urinary retention, pain, thrombosis), and time of return to work/daily activities. Results: Nine studies totaling 661 patients (LH, 336 and CH, 325) were included. The LH group had shorter operative time (P<0.001) and less intraoperative blood loss (P<0.001). Postoperative pain was lower in the LH group, with lower postoperative day 1 (mean difference [MD], –2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], –3.44 to –0.75; P=0.002) and postoperative day 7 (MD, –3.94; 95% CI, –6.36 to –1.52; P=0.001) visual analogue scores and use of analgesia (risk ratio [RR], 0.59; 95% CI, 0.42–0.81; P=0.001). The risk of postoperative bleeding was also lower in the LH group (RR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.12– 0.28; P<0.001), with a quicker return to work or daily activities (P=0.002). The 12-month risks of bleeding (P>0.999) and prolapse (P=0.240), and the likelihood of complete resolution at 12 months, were similar (P=0.240). Conclusion: LH offers more favorable short-term clinical outcomes than CH, with reduced morbidity and pain and earlier return to work or daily activities. Medium-term symptom recurrence at 12 months was similar. Our results should be verified in future well-designed trials with larger samples.

Synthesis of N-Azaaryl Anilines: An Efficient Protocol via Smiles Rearrangement

Xia, Shuai,Wang, Li-Ying,Sun, Heng-Zhi,Yue, Huan,Wang, Xiu-Hua,Tan, Jia-Lian,Wang, Yin,Hou, Di,He, Xiao-Yan,Mun, Ki-Cheol,Kumar, B. Prem,Zuo, Hua,Shin, Dong-Soo Korean Chemical Society 2013 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.34 No.2

An efficient process for the synthesis of N-azaaryl anilines via Smiles rearrangement as a tool. A variety of N-azaaryl anilines were generated by the reaction of substituted phenols, substituted anilines, aminopyridines and chloroacetyl chloride or pyridols, under base condition in good to excellent yields.

Genetic algorithm‐based content distribution strategy for F‐RAN architectures

Xujie Li,Ziya Wang,Ying Sun,Siyuan Zhou,Yanli Xu,Guoping Tan 한국전자통신연구원 2019 ETRI Journal Vol.41 No.3

Fog radio access network (F‐RAN) architectures provide markedly improved performance compared to conventional approaches. In this paper, an efficient genetic algorithm‐based content distribution scheme is proposed that improves the throughput and reduces the transmission delay of a F‐RAN. First, an F‐RAN system model is presented that includes a certain number of randomly distributed fog access points (F‐APs) that cache popular content from cloud and other sources. Second, the problem of efficient content distribution in F‐RANs is described. Third, the details of the proposed optimal genetic algorithm‐based content distribution scheme are presented. Finally, simulation results are presented that show the performance of the proposed algorithm rapidly approaches the optimal throughput. When compared with the performance of existing random and exhaustive algorithms, that of the proposed method is demonstrably superior.

Synthesis of N-Azaaryl Anilines: An Efficient Protocol via Smiles Rearrangement

Shuai Xia,Li-Ying Wang,Heng-Zhi Sun,Huan Yue,Xiu-Hua Wang,Jia-Lian Tan,Yin Wang,Di Hou,Xiao-Yan He,Ki-Cheol Mun,B. Prem kumar,Hua Zuo,신동수 대한화학회 2013 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.34 No.2

An efficient process for the synthesis of N-azaaryl anilines via Smiles rearrangement as a tool. A variety of Nazaaryl anilines were generated by the reaction of substituted phenols, substituted anilines, aminopyridines and chloroacetyl chloride or pyridols, under base condition in good to excellent yields.