Molecular and cytological analyses of A and C genomes at meiosis in synthetic allotriploid Brassica hybrids (ACC) between B.napus (AACC) and B.oleracea (CC)

Yan Yang1,Xiaochun Wei,Gongyao Shi,Fang Wei,Janeen Braynen,Jingshu Zhang,Baoming Tian,Gangqiang Cao,Xiaowei Zhang 한국식물학회 2017 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.60 No.2

Success of interspecific hybridization relies mostly on the adequate similarity between the implicated genomes to ensure synapsis, pairing and recombination between appropriate chromosomes during meiosis in allopolyploid species. Allotetraploid Brassica napus (AACC) is a model of natural hybridization between Brassica rapa (AA) and Brassica oleracea (CC), which are originally derived from a common ancestor, but genomic constitution of the same chromosomes probably varied among these species through time after establishment, giving rise to cytogenetic difference in the synthetic hybrids. Herein we investigated meiotic behaviors of A and C chromosomes of synthetic allotriploid Brassica hybrids (ACC) at molecular and cytological levels, which result from the interspecific cross between natural B. napus (AACC) and B.oleracea (CC), and the results showed that meiosis course was significantly aberrant in allotriploid Brassica hybrids, and chromosomes aligned chaotically at metaphase I, chromosome bridges and lags were frequently observed from later metaphase I to anaphase II during meiosis. Simultaneously, we also noticed that meiosis-related genes were abruptly down-regulated in allotriploid Brassica hybrids, which likely accounted for irregular scenario of meiosis observed in these synthetic hybrids. Therefore, these results indicated that inter-genomic exchanges of A and C chromosomes could occur frequently in synthetic Brassica hybrids, and provided an efficient approach for genetic changes of homeologous chromosomes during meiosis in polyploid B.napus breeding program.

Genome-wide identification and analysis of MIKC-type MADS-box genes expression in Chimonanthus salicifolius

Gui Fang-Fang,Jiang Ge-Ge,Bin Dong,Zhong Shi-Wei,Xiao Zheng,Qiu Fang,Wang Yi-Guang,Yang Li-Yuan,Zhao Hongbo 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.9

Background MIKC type MADS-box transcription factors are one of the largest gene families and play a pivotal role in flowering time and flower development. Chimonanthus salicifolius belongs to the family Calycanthaceae and has a unique flowering time and flowering morphology compared to other Chimonanthus species, but the research on MIKC type MADS-box gene family of C. salicifolius has not been reported. Objective Identification, comprehensive bioinformatic analysis, the expression pattern of MIKC-type MADS-box gene family from different tissues of C. salicifolius. Methods Genome-wide investigation and expression pattern under different tissues of the MIKC-type MADS-box gene family in C. salicifolius, and their phylogenetic relationships, evolutionary characteristics, gene structure, motif distribution, promoter cis-acting element were performed. Results A total of 29 MIKC-type MADS-box genes were identified from the whole genome sequencing. Interspecies synteny analysis revealed more significant collinearity between C. salicifolius and the magnoliids species compared to eudicots and monocots. MIKC-type MADS-box genes from the same subfamily share similar distribution patterns, gene structure, and expression patterns. Compared with Arabidopsis thaliana, Nymphaea colorata, and Chimonanthus praecox, the FLC genes were absent in C. salicifolius, while the AGL6 subfamily was expanded in C. salicifolius. The selectively expanded promoter (AGL6) and lack of repressor (FLC) genes may explain the earlier flowering in C. salicifolius. The loss of the AP3 homologous gene in C. salicifolius is probably the primary cause of the morphological distinction between C. salicifolius and C. praecox. The csAGL6a gene is specifically expressed in the flowering process and indicates the potential function of promoting flowering. Conclusion This study offers a genome-wide identification and expression profiling of the MIKC-types MADS-box genes in the C. salicifolius, and establishes the foundation for screening flowering development genes and understanding the potential function of the MIKC-types MADS-box genes in the C. salicifolius.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) gene is a potential methylation biomarker for malignancy of breast cancer

Fang-Ming Chen,Hsueh-Wei Chang,Sheau-Fang Yang,Ya-Fang Huang,Pei-Yung Nien,Yao-Tsung Yeh,Ming-Feng Hou 생화학분자생물학회 2012 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.44 No.5

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) belongs to the MAPK cascades which are central to cell proliferation and apoptosis. The carcinogenic role of MKP-1 has been reported in many types of cancer but it has rarely been investigated in breast cancer. The present study was designed to evaluate the MKP-1 mRNA expression and its possible regulation by methylation of MKP-1 promoter in the model of several breast cancer cell lines and tissues as well as controls. Our data demonstrate MKP-1mRNA expression significantly decreased in five breast cancer cell lines compared to breast controls (P <0.01). Using the methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analysis,the unmethylated reaction (U) is dominant in both normal cell lines and benign breast tumors (100% vs. 86.2%), whereas the methylated reaction (M) is dominant in both breast cancer cell lines and invasive breast tumors (100% vs. 57.2%). In terms of methylation ratio (M/M+U), methylation level in MKP-1 promoter is significantly higher in the invasive breast tumor tissues (n = 152) than in benign breast tumor tissues (n = 29)(P < 0.0001). Assessing the methylation ratio of the promoter of MKP-1 gene to diagnose the breast malignancy (invasive vs. benign), the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.809(95% CI: 0.711-0.906, P < 0.001). The best performance for this prediction has a sensitivity of 76.32% and a specificity of 82.76% at the cutoff value of 0.38. Taken together, we firstly demonstrated that the promoter methylation of MKP-1 gene is a potential breast cancer biomarker for breast malignancy.

Involvement of Orai1 in tunicamycin-induced endothelial dysfunction

Yang, Hui,Xue, Yumei,Kuang, Sujuan,Zhang, Mengzhen,Chen, Jinghui,Liu, Lin,Shan, Zhixin,Lin, Qiuxiong,Li, Xiaohong,Yang, Min,Zhou, Hui,Rao, Fang,Deng, Chunyu The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2019 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.23 No.2

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is mediated by disturbance of $Ca^{2+}$ homeostasis. The store-operated calcium (SOC) channel is the primary $Ca^{2+}$ channel in non-excitable cells, but its participation in agent-induced ER stress is not clear. In this study, the effects of tunicamycin on $Ca^{2+}$ influx in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were observed with the fluorescent probe Fluo-4 AM. The effect of tunicamycin on the expression of the unfolded protein response (UPR)-related proteins BiP and CHOP was assayed by western blotting with or without inhibition of Orai1. Tunicamycin induced endothelial dysfunction by activating ER stress. Orai1 expression and the influx of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ in HUVECs were both upregulated during ER stress. The SOC channel inhibitor SKF96365 reversed tunicamycin-induced endothelial cell dysfunction by inhibiting ER stress. Regulation of tunicamycin-induced ER stress by Orai1 indicates that modification of Orai1 activity may have therapeutic value for conditions with ER stress-induced endothelial dysfunction.

Gut Microbiota Community and Its Assembly Associated with Age and Diet in Chinese Centenarians

( Fang Wang ),( Ting Yu ),( Guo Hong Huang ),( Da Cai ),( Xiaolin Liang ),( Hai Yan Su ),( Zhenjun Zhu ),( Danlei Li ),( Yang Yang ),( Pei Hong Shen ),( Rui Feng Mao ),( Lian Yu ),( Mou Ming Zhao ),( 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.8

Increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota underpin the development of health and longevity. However, our understanding of what influences the composition of this community of the longevous has not been adequately described. Therefore, illumina sequencing analysis was performed on the gut microbiota of centenarians (aged 100-108 years; RC) and younger elderlies (aged 85-99 years; RE) living in Bama County, Guangxi, China and the elderlies (aged 80-92 years; CE) living in Nanning City, Guangxi, China. In addition, their diet was monitored using a semiquantitative dietary questionary (FFQ 23). The results revealed the abundance of Roseburia and Escherichia was significantly greater, whereas that of Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, Coprococcus, Megamonas, Mitsuokella, Sutterella, and Akkermansia was significantly less in centenarians at the genus level. Both clustering analysis and UniFraq distance analysis showed structural segregation with age and diet among the three populations. Using partial least square discriminate analysis and redundancy analysis, we identified 33 and 34 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) as key OTUs that were significantly associated with age and diet, respectively. Age-related OTUs were characterized as Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Lachnospiraceae, and the former two were increased in the centenarians; diet-related OTUs were classified as Bacteroidales, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae. The former two were deceased, whereas the later one was increased, in the high-fiber diet. The age and high-fiber diet were concomitant with changes in the gut microbiota of centenarians, suggesting that age and high-fiber diet can establish a new structurally balanced architecture of gut microbiota that may benefit the health of centenarians.

Robust visual tracking based on global-and-local search with confidence reliability estimation

Fang, Yang,Ko, Seunghyun,Jo, Geun-Sik Elsevier 2019 Neurocomputing Vol.367 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Visual object tracking is an open and challenging problem, an online tracker must be able to keep track of the target object for a long time period even in complex scenarios, such as target drift and background occlusion. Discriminative correlation filters (DCF) have shown excellent performance in short-term target tracking problems thanks to their circular dense sampling mechanism and fast computation with a discrete Fourier transform. However, they tend to drift from the target when the target encounters drastic deformation, fast motion, or background occlusion. This can result in a bad model update since the tracker searches the target in a local region centered at the position where target was located in the previous frame. There is no recovery mechanism for target re-identification and re-location. To handle this issue, this paper proposes a global-and-local-search technique that applies a DCF-based tracking model with a novel target-aware detector in a collaborative way. Our tracking model performs the local search process with high tracking confidence, and the target-aware detector is executed to re-identify and locate the target via global search from the entire frame when the model instability and confidence fluctuation are detected by proposed tracking system. Additionally, we designed an enhanced peak-to-sidelobe ratio (EPSR) for confidence estimation, which indicates system instability and fluctuation degree. Thus, the local tracking model and target-aware detector are collaboratively applied for both final target state estimation and online model updates. This not only avoids model corruption from bad updates, but also prevents our tracker from drifting problems for long-term tracking. Experiments on OTB-100 and VOT2016 benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed tracking method achieves state-of-the-art tracking performance in terms of accuracy and robustness, with 22 fps tracking speed (close to realtime) run on a single GPU.</P>

Review of Vasectomy Complications and Safety Concerns

Yang Fang,Li Junjun,Dong Liang,Tan Kun,Huang Xiaopeng,Zhang Peihai,Liu Xiaozhang,Chang Degui,Yu Xujun 대한남성과학회 2021 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.39 No.3

Vasectomy is a simple, safe, effective, and economical method used worldwide for long-term male contraception. As a sur-gical operation, it has short-term and long-term complications such as hematoma formation, infection, sterilization failure, sperm granulomas, short-term postoperative pain (nodal pain, scrotal pain, and ejaculation pain), and chronic pain syn-drome. Whether it increases the risk of autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, testicular cancer, or prostate cancer is still controversial. Changes in plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone after vasectomy have also been studied, as well as the relation between vasectomy and sexual function. Sperm quality de-creases very slowly after vasectomy, and vasovasostomy and intracytoplasmic sperm injection could help a couple achieve a pregnancy if they change their minds at any point. We include a follow-up strategy and suggestions for follow-up care at the end of this review.

Engaging with Korean Dramas : Discourses of Gender, Media, and Class Formation

Fang-chih Irene Yang 한국방송학회 2005 한국방송학회 세미나 및 보고서 Vol.- No.-

miR-638 is a new biomarker for outcome prediction of non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

Fang Wang,Jian-fang Lou,Yan Cao,Xin-hui Shi,Peng Wang,Jian Xu,Er-fu Xie,Ting Xu,Rui-hong Sun,Jianyu Rao,Pu-wen Huang,Shi-yang Pan,Hong Wang 생화학분자생물학회 2015 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.47 No.-

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, mediate gene expression by either cleaving target mRNAs or inhibiting their translation. They have key roles in the tumorigenesis of several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of miR-638 in the evaluation of NSCLC patient prognosis in response to chemotherapy. First, we detected miR-638 expression levels in vitro in the culture supernatants of the NSCLC cell line SPC-A1 treated with cisplatin, as well as the apoptosis rates of SPC-A1. Second, serum miR-638 expression levels were detected in vivo by using nude mice xenograft models bearing SPC-A1 with and without cisplatin treatment. In the clinic, the serum miR-638 levels of 200 cases of NSCLC patients before and after chemotherapy were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, and the associations of clinicopathological features with miR-638 expression patterns after chemotherapy were analyzed. Our data helped in demonstrating that cisplatin induced apoptosis of the SPC-A1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner accompanied by increased miR-638 expression levels in the culture supernatants. In vivo data further revealed that cisplatin induced miR-638 upregulation in the serum derived from mice xenograft models, and in NSCLC patient sera, miR-638 expression patterns after chemotherapy significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis. Moreover, survival analyses revealed that patients who had increased miR-638 levels after chemotherapy showed significantly longer survival time than those who had decreased miR-638 levels. Our findings suggest that serum miR-638 levels are associated with the survival of NSCLC patients and may be considered a potential independent predictor for NSCLC prognosis.

UKF Based Nonlinear Offset-free Model Predictive Control for Ship Dynamic Positioning under Stochastic Disturbances

Fang Deng,Hua-Lin Yang,Long-Jin Wang,Wei-Min Yang 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2019 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.17 No.12

This paper presents the schemes of nonlinear offset-free model predictive control (MPC) for reference tracking of ship dynamic positioning (DP) systems, in the presence of slow-varying stochastic disturbances and input constraints. Two offset-free MPC strategies for nonlinear DP systems are proposed. The first approach, namely, the target calculation formulation, estimates the disturbance based on the augmented disturbance model, and employs a target calculator to address the MPC optimization problem. The second approach, namely, the delta input formulation, works with the augmented velocity model to lump the effects of disturbances into the input estimates. By successively on-line linearizing the state-space model at the current operating point, the future outputs are explicitly predicted, and then the nonlinear optimization problem becomes an easy quadratic optimization problem. The unscented Kalman filter is adopted for the state estimation. By implementing simulations for two scenarios of disturbances with parametric plant-model mismatch, the effectiveness of the two strategies is demonstrated. Results show that the closed-loop control performance of the delta input formulation method is superior, for its good robustness to the stochastic disturbance.