Rapid Detection and Monitoring Therapeutic Efficacy of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Using a Novel Real-Time Assay

( Jiang Li Juan ),( Wen Juan Wu ),( Hai Wu ),( Son Sik Ryang ),( Jian Zhou ),( Wei Wu ),( Tao Li ),( Jian Guo ),( Hong Hai Wang ),( Shui Hua Lu ),( Yao Li ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2012 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.22 No.9

We combined real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR (R/P) assays using a hydrolysis probe to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC)-specific 16S rRNA and its rRNA gene (rDNA). The assay was applied to 28 nonrespiratory and 207 respiratory specimens from 218 patients. Total nucleic acids (including RNA and DNA) were extracted from samples, and results were considered positive if the repeat RT-PCR threshold cycle was ≤35 and the ratio of real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR load was ≥1.51. The results were compared with those from existing methods, including smear, culture, and real-time PCR. Following resolution of the discrepant results between R/P assay and culture, the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) of all samples (including nonrespiratory and respiratory specimens) were 98.2%, 97.2%, 91.7%, and 99.4%, respectively, for R/P assay, and 83.9%, 89.9%, 72.3%, and 94.7%, respectively, for real-time PCR. Furthermore, the R/P assay of four patient samples showed a higher ratio before treatment than after several days of treatment. We conclude that the R/P assay is a rapid and accurate method for direct detection of MTBC, which can distinguish viable and nonviable MTBC, and thus may guide patient therapy and public health decisions.

A Survey of the Geographic Distribution of Ophiocordyceps sinensis

Yi Li,Xiao-Liang Wang,Lei Jiao,Yi Jiang,Hui Li,Si-Ping Jiang,Ngarong Lhosumtseiring,Shen-Zhan Fu,Cai-Hong Dong,Yu Zhan,Yi-Jian Yao 한국미생물학회 2011 The journal of microbiology Vol.49 No.6

Ophiocordyceps sinensis is one of the best known fungi in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Many efforts have been devoted to locating the production areas of this species resulting in various reports; however, its geographic distribution remains incompletely understood. Distribution of O. sinensis at the county level is clarified in this work based on both a literature search and fieldwork. More than 3600 publications related to O. sinensis were investigated, including scientific papers, books, and online information. Herbarium specimens of O. sinensis and field collections made by this research group during the years 2000-2010 were examined to verify the distribution sites. A total of 203 localities for O. sinensis have been found, of which 106 are considered as confirmed distribution sites, 65 as possible distribution sites, 29 as excluded distribution sites and three as suspicious distribution sites. The results show that O. sinensis is confined to the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding regions, including Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces in China and in certain areas of the southern flank of the Himalayas, in the countries of Bhutan, India and Nepal, with 3,000 m as the lowest altitude for the distribution. The fungus is distributed from the southernmost site in Yulong Naxi Autonomous County in northwestern Yunnan Province to the northernmost site in the Qilian Mountains in Qilian County, Qinghai Province, and from the east edge of the Tibetan Plateau in Wudu County, Gansu Province to the westernmost site in Uttarakhand, India. The clarification of the geographic distribution of O. sinensis will lay the foundation for conservation and sustainable use of the species.

Radix ranunculus temate saponins induces apoptosis via the death receptor and mitochondrial pathways in SGC-7901 cells

Mao-lin Li,Han-min Gu,Hong-ya Hang,Yao-li Jiang,Jiao Jiang,Qian-na Gu,Wen-yan Wu,M.-L. Li 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2015 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.11 No.4

Radix ranunculus temate saponins (RRTS), one of the main constituents extracted from the popular traditional Chinese medicine Radix Ranunculi ternati, has been reported to have various biological activities including anti-cancer effect. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of RRTS on the cell proliferation and apoptosis in human gastric adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells. The data showed that exposure to RRTS for 24 h produced cytotoxic effects on SGC- 7901 cells in a dose-dependent manner (with an IC50 value of 21.22±2.76 μg/mL), which was accompanied by apoptosis induction (from 2.18±0.89% (control) to 63.72±13.16% (100 μg/mL)). Both the extrinsic or death receptor pathway and the intrinsic or mitochondrial pathway were involved in RRTS-induced apoptosis in SGC-7901 cells. Furthermore, apoptotic signaling induced by RRTS was amplified by cross-link between the two pathways via the signal-integrating protein Bid. In conclusion, our findings contribute to better understanding the molecular mechanism of RRTS’ effect on gastric cancer cells and form the basis of the therapeutic development of RRTS in treating gastric cancer in the future.

Fertility and prognosis assessment between bleomycin/etoposide/cisplatin and paclitaxel/carboplatin chemotherapy regimens in the conservative treatment of malignant ovarian germ cell tumors: a multicenter and retrospective study

Ran Chu,Penglin Liu,Jingying Chen,Xiaodong Cheng,Kezhen Li,Yanci Che,Jianliu Wang,Li Li,Xi Zhang,Shu Yao,Li Song,Ying Zhao,Changzhen Huang,Ying Xue,Xiyu Pan,Junting Li,Zhongshao Chen,Jie Jiang,Beihua 대한부인종양학회 2023 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.34 No.2

Objective: To evaluate the impact of bleomycin/etoposide/cisplatin (BEP) and paclitaxel/carboplatin (PC) chemotherapy regimens on the fertility and prognostic outcomes in malignant ovarian germ cell tumor (MOGCT) patients who underwent fertility-sparing surgery (FSS). Methods: A propensity score matching algorithm was performed between the BEP and PC groups. The χ2 test and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to compare the fertility outcome, disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify risk factor of DFS. Results: We included 213 patients, 185 (86.9%) underwent BEP chemotherapy, and 28 (13.1%) underwent PC chemotherapy. The median age was 22 years (range, 8–44 years), and the median follow-up period was 63 months (range, 2–191 months). Fifty-one (29.3%) patients had a pregnancy plan, and 35 (85.4%) delivered successfully. In the before and after propensity score matching cohorts, there were no significant differences in spontaneous abortion, selective termination of pregnancy, during-pregnancy status, and live birth between the BEP and PC groups (p>0.05). Fourteen (6.6%) patients experienced recurrence, including 11 (5.9%) in the BEP group and 3 (10.7%) in the PC group. Four (1.9%) patients in the BEP group died. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant differences in DFS (p=0.328) and OS (p=0.446) between the BEP and PC groups, and the same survival results were observed in the after matching cohort. Conclusion: The PC regimen is as safe as the BEP regimen for MOGCT patients with fertility preservation treatment, and no differences were observed in fertility and clinical prognosis.

Genetic linkage map construction and quantitative trait loci mapping of agronomic traits in Gloeostereum incarnatum

Jiang Wan-Zhu,Yao Fang-Jie,Lu Li-Xin,Fang Ming,Wang Peng,Zhang You-Min,Meng Jing-Jing,Lu Jia,Ma Xiao-Xu,He Qi,Shao Kai-Sheng 한국미생물학회 2021 The journal of microbiology Vol.59 No.1

Gloeostereum incarnatum is an edible medicinal mushroom widely grown in China. Using the whole genome of G. incarnatum, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed and synthetic primers were designed to construct its first genetic linkage map. The 1,048.6 cm map is composed of 10 linkage groups and contains 183 SSR markers. In total, 112 genome assembly sequences were anchored, representing 16.43 Mb and covering 46.41% of the genome. Selfing populations were used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) targeting, and the composite interval mapping method was used to co-localize the mycelium growth rate (potato dextrose agar and sawdust), growth period, yield and fruiting body length, and width and thickness. The 14 QTLs of agronomic traits had LOD values of 3.20–6.51 and contribution rates of 2.22– 13.18%. No linkage relationship was found between the mycelium growth rate and the growth period, but a linkage relationship was observed among the length, width and thickness of the fruiting bodies. Using NCBI’s BLAST alignment, the genomic sequences corresponding to the QTL regions were compared, and a TPR-like protein candidate gene was selected. Using whole-genome data, 138 candidate genes were found in four sequence fragments of two SSR markers located in the same scaffold. The genetic map and QTLs established in this study will aid in developing selective markers for agronomic traits and identifying corresponding genes, thereby providing a scientific basis for the further gene mapping of quantitative traits and the marker-assisted selection of functional genes in G. incarnatum breeding programs.

Optimized Operation of Dual-Active-Bridge DC-DC Converters in the Soft-Switching Area with Triple-Phase-Shift Control at Light Loads

Li Jiang,Yao Sun,Mei Su,Hui Wang,Hanbing Dan 전력전자학회 2018 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.18 No.1

It is usually difficult for dual-active-bridge (DAB) dc-dc converters to operate efficiently at light loads. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of a DAB with triple-phase-shift (TPS) control under the light load condition to overcome this problem. A kind of operating mode which is suitable for light load operation is analyzed in this paper. First, an analysis of the zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) constraints for the DAB converter has been carried out and a reasonable dead-band setting method has been proposed. Secondly, the basic operating characteristics of the converter are analyzed. Third, under the condition of satisfying the ZVS constraints, both the reactive power and the root mean square (RMS) value of the current are simultaneously minimized and a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed to analyze and solve this optimization problem. Lastly, both simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the converter can effectively achieve ZVS and improved efficiency.

An Energy-Efficient Multicast Algorithm with Maximum Network Throughput in Multi-hop Wireless Networks

Jiang, Dingde,Xu, Zhengzheng,Li, Wenpan,Yao, Chunping,Lv, Zhihan,Li, Tao The Korea Institute of Information and Commucation 2016 Journal of communications and networks Vol.18 No.5

Energy consumption has become a main problem of sustainable development in communication networks and how to communicate with high energy efficiency is a significant topic that researchers and network operators commonly concern. In this paper, an energy-efficient multicast algorithm in multi-hop wireless networks is proposed aiming at new generation wireless communications. Traditional multi-hop wireless network design only considers either network efficiency or minimum energy consumption of networks, but rarely the maximum energy efficiency of networks. Different from previous methods, the paper targets maximizing energy efficiency of networks. In order to get optimal energy efficiency to build network multicast, our proposed method tries to maximize network throughput and minimize networks' energy consumption by exploiting network coding and sleeping scheme. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has better energy efficiency and performance improvements compared with existing methods.

The Role of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) in Asthmatic Airway Remodeling

Li Ruyi,Wang Feiyun,Wei Jianghong,Lin Yun,Tang Guofang,Rao Lizong,Ma Libing,Xu Qing,Wu Jingjie,Lv Qian,Zhou Rui,Lei Huiren,Zhao Xueqiang,Yao Dong,Xiao Bo,Huang Haiming,Zhang Jiange,Mo Biwen 대한천식알레르기학회 2021 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.13 No.1

Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is of importance in asthmatic inflammation. The role of MIF in modulating airway remodeling has not yet been thoroughly elucidated to date. In the present study, we hypothesized that MIF promoted airway remodeling by intensifying airway smooth muscle cell (ASMC) autophagy and explored the specific mechanisms. Methods: MIF knockdown in the lung tissues of C57BL/6 mice was conducted by instilling intratracheally adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors (MIF-mutant AAV9) into mouse lung tissues. Mice genetically deficient in the autophagy marker ATG5 (ATG5+/−) was used to detect the role of autophagy in ovalbumin (OVA)-asthmatic murine models. Moreover, to block the expression of MIF and CD74 in vitro models, inhibitors, antibodies and lentivirus transfection techniques were employed. Results: First, MIF knockdown in the lung tissues of mice showed markedly reduced airway remodeling in OVA murine mice models. Secondly, ASMC autophagy was increased in the OVA-challenged models. Mice genetically deficient in the autophagy marker ATG5 (ATG5+/−) that were primed and challenged with OVA showed lower airway remodeling than genetically wild-type asthmatic mice. Thirdly, MIF can induce ASMC autophagy in vitro. Moreover, the cellular source of MIF which promoted ASMC autophagy was macrophages. Finally, MIF promoted ASMC autophagy in a CD74-dependent manner. Conclusions: MIF can increase asthmatic airway remodeling by enhancing ASMC autophagy. Macrophage-derived MIF can promote ASMC autophagy by targeting CD74.

Modeling, Identification and Control of a Redundant Planar 2-DOF Parallel Manipulator

Yao-Xin Zhang,Shuang Cong,Wei-Wei Shang,Ze-Xiang Li,Shi-Long Jiang 대한전기학회 2007 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.5 No.5

In this paper, the dynamic controller design problem of a redundant planar 2-dof parallel manipulator is studied. Using the Euler-Lagrange equation, we formulate the dynamic model of the parallel manipulator in the joint space and propose an augmented PD controller with forward dynamic compensation for the parallel manipulator. By formulating the controller in the joint space, we eliminate the complex computation of the Jacobian matrix of joint angles with end-effector coordinate. So with less computation, our controller is easier to implement, and a shorter sampling period can be achieved, which makes the controller more suitable for high-speed motion control. Furthermore, with the combination of static friction model and viscous friction model, the active joint friction of the parallel manipulator is studied and compensated in the controller. Based on the dynamic parameters of the parallel manipulator evaluated by direct measurement and identification, motion control experiments are implemented. With the experiments, the validity of the dynamic model is proved and the performance of the controller is evaluated. Experiment results show that, with forward dynamic compensation, the augmented PD controller can improve the tracking performance of the parallel manipulator over the simple PD controller.

Self-Healing Polycarbonate-Based Polyurethane with Shape Memory Behavior

Li Shuai,Zhang Jun,Chen Jianjun,Yao Ming,Liu Xuepeng,Jiang Zhiguo 한국고분자학회 2019 Macromolecular Research Vol.27 No.7

A self-healing polycarbonate-based shape memory polyurethane (PCPU) comprising of polycarbonate diol, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4- Butanediol (1,4-BDO) was synthesized. Through a series of shape memory tests, PCPUs showed 100% shape fixation rate, and a shape recovery rate of over 95% within 15 s. PCPUs exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared to common shape memory polymers, such as a tensile strength of up to 38.10 MPa and elongation at break of 616%. Additionally, after being damaged, polyurethane can self-heal within 60 s at 80 °C without any external force, which makes it applicable in many fields.