Novel method to prepare polystyrene-based monolithic columns for chromatographic and electrophoretic separations by microwave irradiation

Zhang, Yu-Ping,Ye, Xiong-Wen,Tian, Meng-Kui,Qu, Ling-Bo,Choi, Seong-Ho,Gopalan, Anantha Iyengar,Lee, Kwang-Pill Elsevier 2008 Journal of chromatography A Vol.1188 No.1

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Microwave irradiation can provide a viable alternative to the traditional means such as ultraviolet light and thermal initiation for the preparation of monolithic capillary columns. Polystyrene-based monolithic stationary phases were prepared <I>in situ</I> in fused-silica capillaries and simultaneously in vials. The column permeability, electrophoretic and chromatographic behavior were evaluated using pressure-assisted capillary electrochromatography (pCEC), capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and low pressure liquid chromatography (LPLC). With an optimal monolithic material, the largest theoretical plates for preparing the column could be close to 18,000 plates/m for thiourea in the mode of pCEC. Furthermore, the influence of the composition of the porogenic solvents (toluene/isooctane) on the morphology of organic-based monoliths [poly(styrene-divinylbenzene-methacrylic acid)] was systematically studied with mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy. The monoliths which were prepared with a high content of isooctane had a bigger pore size and better permeability, and hence resulted in a faster separation.</P>

Incentivizing Consensus Propagation in Proof-of-Stake Based Consortium Blockchain Networks

Kang, Jiawen,Xiong, Zehui,Niyato, Dusit,Wang, Ping,Ye, Dongdong,Kim, Dong In IEEE 2019 IEEE wireless communications letters Vol.8 No.1

<P>In proof-of-stake based consortium blockchain networks, pre-selected miners compete to solve a crypto-puzzle with a successfully mining probability proportional to the amount of their stakes. When the puzzle is solved, the miners are encouraged to take part in mined block propagation for verification to win a transaction fee from the blockchain user. The mined block should be propagated over wired or wireless networks, and be verified as quickly as possible to decrease consensus propagation delay. In this letter, we study incentivizing the consensus propagation considering the tradeoff between the network delay of block propagation process and offered transaction fee from the blockchain user. A Stackelberg game is then formulated to jointly maximize utility of the blockchain user and individual profit of the miners. The blockchain user acting as the leader sets the transaction fee for block verification. The miners acting as the followers decide on the number of recruited verifiers over wired or wireless networks. We apply the backward induction to analyze the existence and uniqueness of the Stackelberg equilibrium. Performance evaluation validates the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed game model in consensus propagation.</P>

A novel human KRAB-related zinc finger gene ZNF425 inhibits mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway

( Yue Qun Wang ),( Xiang Li Ye ),( Jun Mei Zhou ),( Yong Qi Wan ),( Hua Ping Xie ),( Yun Deng ),( Yan Yan ),( Yong Qing Li ),( Xiong Wei Fan ),( Wu Zhou Yuan ),( Xiao Yang Mo ),( Xiu Shan Wu ) 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2011 BMB Reports Vol.44 No.1

Zinc finger (ZNF) proteins play a critical role in cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis, and intracellular signal transduction. In this paper, we cloned and characterized a novel human KRAB-related zinc finger gene, ZNF425, which encodes a protein of 752 amino acids. ZNF425 is strongly expressed in the three month old human embryos and then is almost undetectable in six month old embryos and in adult tissues. An EGFP-ZNF425 fusion protein can be found in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. ZNF425 appears to act as a transcription repressor. Over-expression of ZNF425 inhibits the transcriptional activities of SRE, AP-1, and SRF. Deletion analysis indicates that the C2H2 domain is the main region responsible for the repression. Our results suggest that the ZNF425 gene is a new transcriptional inhibitor that functions in the MAPK signaling pathway. [BMB reports 2011; 44(1): 58-63]

Synergistic efficacy of LBH and αB-crystallin through inhibiting transcriptional activities of p53 and p21

( Yun Deng ),( Yong Qing Li ),( Xiong Wei Fan ),( Wu Zhou Yuan ),( Hua Ping Xie ),( Xiao Yang Mo ),( Yan Yan ),( Jun Mei Zhou ),( Yue Qun Wang ),( Xian Li Ye ),( Yong Qi Wan ),( Xiu Shan Wu ) 생화학분자생물학회 (구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2010 BMB Reports Vol.43 No.6

LBH is a transcription factor as a candidate gene for CHD associated with partial trisomy 2p syndrome. To identify potential LBH-interacting partners, a yeast two-hybrid screen using LBH as a bait was performed with a human heart cDNA library. One of the clones identified encodes αB-crystallin. Co-immunoprecipitation and GST pull-down assays showed that LBH interacts with αB-crystallin, which is further confirmed by mammalian two-hybrid assays. Co-localization analysis showed that in COS-7 cells, αB-crystallin that is cytoplasmic alone, accumulates partialy in the nucleus when co-transfected with LBH. Transient transfection assays indicated that overexpression of LBH or αB-crystallin reduced the transcriptional activities of p53 and p21, respectively, Overexpression of both αB-crystallin and LBH together resulted in a stronger repression of the transcriptional activities of p21 and p53. These results showed that the interaction of LBH and αB-crystallin may inhibit synergistically the transcriptional regulation of p53 and p21. [BMB reports 2010; 43(6): 432-437]

Changing patterns of Serum CEA and CA199 for Evaluating the Response to First-line Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Gastric Adenocarcinoma

He, Bo,Zhang, Hui-Qing,Xiong, Shu-Ping,Lu, Shan,Wan, Yi-Ye,Song, Rong-Feng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Background: This study was designed to investigate the value of CEA and CA199 in predicting the treatment response to palliative chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: We studied 189 patients with advanced gastric cancer who received first-line chemotherapy, measured the serum CEA and CA199 levels, used RECIST1.1 as the gold standard and analyzed the value of CEA and CA199 levels changes in predicting the treatment efficacy of chemotherapy. Results: Among the 189 patients, 80 and 94 cases had increases of baseline CEA (${\geq}5ng/ml$) and CA199 levels (${\geq}27U/ml$), respectively. After two cycles of chemotherapy, 42.9% patients showed partial remission, 33.3% stable disease, and 23.8% progressive disease. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for CEA and CA199 reduction in predicting effective chemotherapy were 0.828 (95%CI 0.740-0.916) and 0.897 (95%CI 0.832-0.961). The AUCs for CEA and CA199 increase in predicting progression after chemotherapy were 0.923 (95%CI 0.865-0.980) and 0.896 (95%CI 0.834-0.959), respectively. Patients who exhibited a CEA decline ${\geq}24%$ and a CA199 decline ${\geq}29%$ had significantly longer PFS (log rank p=0.001, p<0.001). With the exception of patients who presented with abnormal levels after chemotherapy, changes of CEA and CA199 levels had limited value for evaluating the chemotherapy efficacy in patients with normal baseline tumor markers. Conclusions: Changes in serum CEA and CA199 levels can accurately predict the efficacy of first-line chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. Patients with levels decreasing beyond the optimal critical values after chemotherapy have longer PFS.

SAMD4B, a novel SAM-containing protein, inhibits AP-1-, p53- and p21-mediated transcriptional activity

( Na Luo ),( Guan Li ),( Yong Qing Li ),( Xiong Wei Fan ),( Yue Qun Wang ),( Xiang Li Ye ),( Xiao Yan Mo ),( Jun Mei Zhou ),( Wu Zhou Yuan ),( Ming Tan ),( Hua Ping Xie ),( Karen Ocorr ),( Rolf Bodmer 생화학분자생물학회 (구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2010 BMB Reports Vol.43 No.5

The sterile alpha motif (SAM) is a putative protein interaction domain involved in a wide variety of biological processes. Here we report the identification and characterization of a novel gene, SAMD4B, which encodes a putative protein of 694 amino acids with a SAM domain. Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis showed that SAMD4B is widely expressed in human embryonic and adult tissues. Transcriptional activity assays show SAMD4B suppresses transcriptional activity of L8G5-luciferase. Over-expression of SAMD4B in mammalian cells inhibited the transcriptional activities of activator protein-1 (AP-1), p53 and p21, and the inhibitory effects can be relieved by siRNA. Deletion analysis indicates that the SAM domain is the main region for transcriptional suppression. The results suggest that SAMD4B is a widely expressed gene involved in AP-1-, p53-and p21-mediated transcriptional signaling activity. [BMB reports 2010; 43(5): 355-361]

An Experimental and Modeling Study on Vibro-Acoustic Response of Double-Walled Steel Cylindrical Shells

Xianzhong Wang,Li Chen,Ning Li,Yu Xia,Ye-Ping Xiong 한국강구조학회 2020 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.20 No.4

Based on precise transfer matrix method (PTMM), the analytical model of the double-walled steel cylindrical shell was setup by taking into account of the annular plate and interlayer water. Under the linear sweep frequency excitation or the fi xed frequency excitation, an experimental model of the double-walled steel cylindrical shell has been designed, which is performed to gain the natural frequencies, forced vibration in air and water, underwater acoustic radiation. The analytical model was established to calculate natural frequencies, vibration acceleration level and sound pressure level and compare with the relevant experimental results. The compared results show that analytical results coincide with the experimental value and prove that the analytical model established by PTMM is reliable and credible. Meanwhile, the forced vibration behaviour of measuring positions at inner and outer shells was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Eff ects of diff erent types of external excitations on the vibration and sound radiation of the double-walled cylindrical shell are discussed. As to acoustic radiation, the acoustic excitation plays a leading role in the low-frequency range. The force excitation is a major contributor in middle-high frequency range conversely.

Antitumor Activity of Chloroquine in Combination with Cisplatin in Human Gastric Cancer Xenografts

Zhang, Hui-Qing,Fang, Nian,Liu, Xiao-Mei,Xiong, Shu-Ping,Liao, Yu-Qian,Jin, Wen-Jian,Song, Rong-Feng,Wan, Yi-Ye Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Purpose: To investigate the antitumor activity and mechanism of chloroquine (CQ) in combination with cisplatin (DDP) in nude mice xenografted with gastric cancer SGC7901 cells. Materials and Methods: 35 cases of gastric cancer patients with malignant ascites were enrolled and intraperitoneal cisplatin injection was performed. Ascites were collected before and 5 days after perfusion for assessment of autophagy levels in cancer cells. In addition, 24 tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into control, DDP, CQ and CQ + DDP groups. Results: In 54.3% (19/35) of patients the treatment was therapeutically effective (OR), 5 days after peritoneal chemotherapy, 13 patients had the decreased ascites Beclin-1 mRNA levels. In 16 patients who had NR, only 2 cases had decreased Beclin-1 (P=0.001). Compared with the control group, the xenograft growth in nude mice in the DDP group was low, and the inhibition rate was 47.6%. In combination with chloroquine, the inhibition rate increased to 84.7% (P<0.01). The LC3-II/I ratio, and Beclin1 and MDR1/P-gp expression were decreased, while caspase 3 protein levels increased (P<0.05). Conclusions: Antitumor ability of cisplatin was associated with autophagy activity and chloroquine can enhance chemosensitivity to cisplatin in gastric cancer xenografts nude mice.

Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Prognoses for Multicentric Occurrence and Intrahepatic Metastasis in Synchronous Multinodular Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Li, Shi-Lai,Su, Ming,Peng, Tao,Xiao, Kai-Yin,Shang, Li-Ming,Xu, Bang-Hao,Su, Zhi-Xiong,Ye, Xin-Ping,Peng, Ning,Qin, Quan-Lin,Chen, De-Feng,Chen, Jie,Li, Le-Qun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and the outcomes for patients are still poor. It is important to determine the original type of synchronous multinodular HCC for preoperative assessment and the choice of treatment therapy as well as for the prediction of prognosis after treatment. Aims: To analyze clinicopathologic characteristics and prognoses in patients with multicentric occurrence (MO) and intrahepatic metastasis (IM) of synchronous multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The study group comprised 42 multinodular HCC patients with a total of 112 nodules. The control group comprised 20 HCC patients with 16 single nodular HCC cases and 4 HCC cases with a portal vein tumor emboli. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region was sequenced, and the patients of the study group were categorized as MO or IM based on the sequence variations. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the important clinicopathologic characteristics in the two groups. Results: In the study group, 20 cases were categorized as MO, and 22 as IM, whereas all 20 cases in the control group were characterized as IM. Several factors significantly differed between the IM and MO patients, including hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), cumulative tumor size, tumor nodule location, cirrhosis, portal vein and/or microvascular tumor embolus and the histological grade of the primary nodule. Multivariate analysis further demonstrated that cirrhosis and portal vein and/or microvascular tumor thrombus were independent factors differentiating between IM and MO patients. The tumor-free survival time of the MO subjects was significantly longer than that of the IM subjects ($25.7{\pm}4.8$ months vs. $8.9{\pm}3.1$ months, p=0.017). Similarly, the overall survival time of the MO subjects was longer ($31.6{\pm}5.3$ months vs. $15.4{\pm}3.4$ months, p=0.024). The multivariate analysis further demonstrated that the original type (p=0.035) and Child-Pugh grade (p<0.001) were independent predictors of tumor-free survival time. Cirrhosis (p=0.011), original type (p=0.034) and Child-Pugh grade (p<0.001) were independent predictors of overall survival time. Conclusions: HBeAg, cumulative tumor size, tumor nodule location, cirrhosis, portal vein and/or microvascular tumor embolus and histological grade of the primary nodule are important factors for differentiating IM and MO. MO HCC patients might have a favorable outcome compared with IM patients.