Study on fatigue life and mechanical properties of BRBs with viscoelastic filler

Zhao-Dong Xu,Jun Dai,Qian-Wei Jiang 국제구조공학회 2018 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.26 No.2

In this paper, two kinds of buckling restrained braces (BRBs) are designed to improve the mechanical properties and fatigue life, the reserved gap and viscoelastic filler with high energy dissipation capacity are employed as the sliding element, respectively. The fatigue life of BRBs considering the effect of sliding element is predicted based on Manson-Coffin model. The property tests under different displacement amplitudes are carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties and fatigue life of BRBs. At last, the finite element analysis is performed to study the effects of the gap and viscoelastic filler on mechanical properties BRBs. Experimental and simulation results indicate that BRB employed with viscoelastic filler has a higher fatigue life and more stable mechanical property compared to BRB employed with gap, and the smaller reserved gap can more effectively improve the energy dissipation capacity of BRB.

Effects of Aqueous Extract of Schizandra Chinensis Fruit on Cadmium-Induced Change of Monoamine Neurotransmitters in Rats

Zhao, Zheng Lin,Zhao, Guang Wen,Li, Li,Li, Meng Quan,Guan, Li Xin,Yang, Xu Dong,Li, Hou Zhong,Lin, Feng,Lee, Jong-Rok,Zhao, Rong Jie Korean Society of ToxicologyKorea Environmental Mu 2009 Toxicological Research Vol.26 No.1

The effects of aqueous extract of Schizandra Chinensis Fruit (AESC) on cadmium-induced changes of monoamine neurotransmitters in the different brain regions of adult rats were investigated. Male rats were received intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of CdCl2 (0.6 mg/kg/d) for 21 days and sacrificed 7 days after the last administration. Concentrations of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) in striatum and serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) in cortex were measured by HPLC. There were significant decreases of NE, DA, 5-HT and 5-HIAA in Cd intoxicated rats (P < 0.05), while pretreatment with AESC (20 mg/kg/d or 60 mg/kg/d, p.o., 30 min before $CdCl_2$) greatly inhibited the decrease of monoamine transmitters, respectively (P < 0.05). Also, AESC significantly increased the reduction of glutathione contents and superoxide dismutase activities in cortex induced by $CdCl_2$. These results suggest that AESC ameliorates Cd-induced depletion of monoamine neurotransmitters in brain through its antioxidant activity.

Metastasis associated genomic aberrations in stage II rectal cancer

Hong Zhao,Zhi-Zhou Shi,Rui Jiang,Dong-Bing Zhao,Hai-Tao Zhou,Jian-Wei Liang,Xin-Yu Bi,Jian-Jun Zhao,Zhi-Yu Li,Jian-Guo Zhou,Zhen Huang,Ye-Fan Zhang,Jian Wang,Xin Xu,Yan Cai,Ming-Rong Wang,Yu Zhang 한국유전학회 2016 Genes & Genomics Vol.38 No.11

Genomic aberrations of rectal carcinoma, especially DNA copy number changes associated with metastasis were largely unclear. We aim to identify the metastasis associated biomarkers in stage II rectal cancer. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary tumor tissues of stage II rectal carcinoma were analyzed by array-based comparative genomic hybridization, and genomic aberrations were identified by Genomic Workbench and SAM software. Copy number changes and mRNA expressions were validated by Real-time PCR in an independent rectal cancer samples. The results showed that the most frequent gains in stage II rectal cancer were at 1q21.2-q23.1, 3p21.31, 11q12.2-q23.3, 12q24.11-q24.31, 12q13.11-q14.1 and losses in 18q11.2-q23, 17q21.33-q22, 13q31.1-q31.3, 21q21.1-q21.3, 8p23.3-p23.1 and 4q22.1-q23. Twenty-two amplifications and five homozygous deletions were also identified. We further found that S100A1 (1q21.3-q23.1), MCM7 (7q22.1) and JUND (19p13.11) were amplified and overexpressed in stage II rectal cancer. Interestingly, the genomic aberrations affected 14 signaling pathways including VEGF signaling pathway and fatty acid metabolism. Most importantly, loss of 13q31.1-q34 and gain of 1q44 were associated with distant metastasis. Our results indicated that these metastasis associated genomic changes may be useful to reveal the pathogenesis of rectal cancer metastasis and identify candidate biomarkers.

Fibulin-5 is a Prognostic Marker that Contributes to Proliferation and Invasion of Human Glioma Cells

Sheng, Xu-Dong,Chen, Hu,Wang, Hui,Ding, Zhi-Bin,Xu, Gang-Zhu,Zhang, Jun-Feng,Lu, Wen-Chao,Wu, Tao,Zhao, Ling Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.2

Fibulin-5 has recently been considered as a potential tumor suppressor in human cancers. Several studies have shown that it is down-regulated in a variety of tumor types and inhibits tumor growth and metastasis. This study was aimed to investigate the clinical significance of fibulin-5 in glioma and its role in cell proliferation and invasion. We found that the expression of fibulin-5 in glioma tissues was significantly lower than those in normal brain (NB) tissues. Negative expression was significantly correlated with advanced clinical stage (grade III+IV). Furthermore, Fibulin-5 negative expression was correlated with a shorter overall survival of glioma patients. Multivariate Cox repression analysis indicated that fibulin-5 was an independent factor for predicting overall survival of glioma patients. Overexpression obviously inhibited cell proliferation in U251 and U87 cells. Furthermore, it significantly reduced the number of migrating and invading glioma cells. In conclusion, impaired expression of fibulin-5 is correlated with the advanced tumor stage in glioma. Otherwise, Fibulin-5 is an independent prognostic marker for predicting overall survival of glioma patients. Mechanistically, it may function as a tumor suppressor via inhibiting cell proliferation and invasion in gliomas.

Effects of Aqueous Extract of Schizandra Chinensis Fruit on Cadmium-Induced Change of Monoamine Neurotransmitters in Rats

Zheng Lin Zhao,Guang Wen Zhao,Li Li,Meng Quan Li,Li Xin Guan,Xu Dong Yang,Hou Zhong Li,Feng Lin,Jong Rok Lee,Rong Jie Zhao 한국독성학회 2009 Toxicological Research Vol.25 No.1

The effects of aqueous extract of Schizandra Chinensis Fruit (AESC) on cadmium-induced changes of monoamine neurotransmitters in the different brain regions of adult rats were investigated. Male rats were received intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of CdCl₂ (0.6 ㎎/㎏/d) for 21 days and sacrificed 7 days after the last administration. Concentrations of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) in striatum and serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) in cortex were measured by HPLC. There were significant decreases of NE, DA, 5-HT and 5-HIAA in Cd intoxicated rats (P < 0.05), while pretreatment with AESC (20 ㎎/㎏/d or 60 mg/kg/d, p.o., 30 min before CdCl₂) greatly inhibited the decrease of monoamine transmitters, respectively (P < 0.05). Also, AESC significantly increased the reduction of glutathione contents and superoxide dismutase activities in cortex induced by CdCl₂. These results suggest that AESC ameliorates Cd-induced depletion of monoamine neurotransmitters in brain through its antioxidant activity.

MSP58 Knockdown Inhibits the Proliferation of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Vitro and in Vivo

Xu, Chun-Sheng,Zheng, Jian-Yong,Zhang, Hai-Long,Zhao, Hua-Dong,Zhang, Jing,Wu, Guo-Qiang,Wu, Lin,Wang, Qing,Wang, Wei-Zhong,Zhang, Jian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.7

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most aggressive cancers with a poor prognosis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying esophageal cancer progression is a high priority for improved EC diagnosis and prognosis. Recently, MSP58 was shown to behave as an oncogene in colorectal carcinomas and gliomas. However, little is known about its function in esophageal carcinomas. We therefore examined the effects of MSP58 knockdown on the growth of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells in vitro and in vivo in order to gain a better understanding of its potential as a tumor therapeutic target. We employed lentiviral-mediated small hairpin RNA (shRNA) to knock down the expression of MSP58 in the ESCC cell lines Eca-109 and EC9706 and demonstrated inhibition of ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation in vitro. Furthermore, flow cytometry and western blot analyses revealed that MSP58 depletion induced cell cycle arrest by regulating the expression of P21, CDK4 and cyclin D1. Notably, the downregulation of MSP58 significantly inhibited the growth of ESCC xenografts in nude mice. Our results suggest that MSP58 may play an important role in ESCC progression.

Association Between TP53 Arg72Pro Polymorphism and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk: A Meta-analysis

Xu, Chang-Tao,Zheng, Fang,Dai, Xin,Du, Ji-Dong,Liu, Hao-Run,Zhao, Li,Li, Wei-Min Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.9

Background: Previous studies on the association between the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk obtained controversial findings. This study aimed to quantify the strength of the association by meta-analysis. Methods: We searched PubMed and Wangfang databases for published studies on the association between the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and HCC risk, using the pooled odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for assessment. Results: 10 studies with a total of 2,026 cases and 2,733 controls were finally included into this meta-analysis. Overall, the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism was not associated with HCC risk (all P values greaterth HCC risk in Caucasians in three genetic models (For Pro versus Arg, OR = 1.20, 95%CI 1.03-1.41; For ProPro versus ArgArg, OR = 1.74, 95%CI 1.23-2.47; For ProPro versus ArgPro/ArgArg, OR = 1.85, 95%CI 1.33-2.57). However, there was no significant association between the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and HCC risk in East Asians (all P values greater than 0.10). No evidence of publication bias was observed. Conclusion: Meta-analyses of available data suggest an obvious association between the TP53 Arg72Pro and HCC risk in Caucasians. However, the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism may have a race-specific effect on HCC risk and further studies are needed to elucidate this possible effect.

MicroRNA-27a Inhibits Cell Migration and Invasion of Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes by Targeting Follistatin-Like Protein 1 in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Dong-liang Shi,Gui-rong Shi,Jing Xie,Xu-zhao Du,Hao Yang 한국분자세포생물학회 2016 Molecules and cells Vol.39 No.8

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) with aberrant expres-sion of microRNA (miRNA) are critical pathogenic regula-tors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Previous studies have found that overexpression or silencing of miRNA can contribute to the development of miRNA-based therapeutics in arthritis models. In this study, we explored the effects of miR-27a on cell migration and invasion in cultured FLS from RA patients. We found that miR-27a was markedly downregulated in the serum, synovial tissue, and FLS of RA patients. Meanwhile, the expression of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) was upregulated, which suggests that FSTL1 plays a key role in RA development. The results of a Transwell assay showed that miR-27a inhibited FLS migration and invasion. However, miR-27a inhibition promoted the migration and invasion of FLS. In addition, the down-regulated expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2, MMP9, and MMP13) and Rho family proteins (Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA) was detected after treatment with miR-27a in RA-FLS by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and western blot analysis. Then, a luciferase reporter assay validated that miR-27a targeted the 3-untranslated region (3-UTR) of FSTL1. Moreover, miR-27a caused a significant decrease of FSTL1. In addition, the expression of TLR4 and NFκB was inhibited by miR-27a but increased by FSTL1 overexpression. In conclusion, we found that miR-27a inhibited cell migration and invasion of RA-FLS by targeting FSTL1 and restraining the TLR4/NFκB pathway.

Silencing of long noncoding RNA PVT1 inhibits podocyte damage and apoptosis in diabetic nephropathy by upregulating FOXA1

Dong-Wei Liu,Jia-Hui Zhang,Feng-Xun Liu,Xu-Tong Wang,Shao-Kang Pan,Deng-Ke Jiang,Zi-Hao Zhao,Zhang-Suo Liu 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

The number of patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) is still on the rise worldwide, and this requires the development of new therapeutic strategies. Recent reports have highlighted genetic factors in the treatment of DN. Herein, we aimed to study the roles of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) and histone 3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) in DN. A model of DN was established by inducing diabetes in mice with streptozotocin. Mouse podocyte clone 5 (MPC5) podocytes and primary podocytes were cultured in normal and high glucose media to observe cell morphology and to quantify PVT1 expression. The roles of PVT1 and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) were validated via loss-of-function and gain-of-function in vitro experiments to identify the interactions among PVT1, EZH2, and forkhead box A1 (FOXA1). The podocyte damage and apoptosis due to PVT1 and FOXA1 were verified with in vivo experiments. PVT1 was highly expressed in MPC5 and primary podocytes in DN patients and in cultures grown in high glucose medium. A large number of CpG (C-phosphate-G) island sites were predicted at the FOXA1 promoter region, where PVT1 recruited EZH2 to promote the recruitment of H3K27me3. The silencing of PVT1 or the overexpression of FOXA1 relieved the damage and inhibited the apoptosis of podocytes in DN, as was evidenced by the upregulated expression of synaptopodin and podocin, higher expression of Bcl-2, and lower expression of Bax and cleaved caspase-3. The key findings of this study collectively indicate that the suppression of lncRNA PVT1 exerts inhibitory effects on podocyte damage and apoptosis via FOXA1 in DN, which is of clinical significance.

Synthesis and characterization of monodisperse yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) micro-crystals with rhombic dodecahedron

Xu, Tao,Yuan, Rui,Xu, Peng-Cheng,Pan, Dong-Jie,Yang, Woochul,Guo, Hai-Bo,Shen, Yu-Fang,Hu, Jian-Feng,Zhang, Zhi-Jun,Zhao, Jing-Tai Elsevier 2018 Journal of alloys and compounds Vol.762 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Uniform, monodisperse yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) rhombic dodecahedron micro-crystals were synthesized using coprecipitation and hydrothermal methods. The Na<SUB>2</SUB>SO<SUB>4</SUB> as a surfactant was helpful in improving the dispersity of the crystallites and forming well-faceted, micro-sized dodecahedral YAG crystallites. The effect of the reaction time and the solvent has also been studied. The crystal growth mechanism called dissolution/crystallization was determined by analyzing the experimental and simulated results. And the specific well-developed crystal facets in the {110} family have been demonstrated by the theoretical calculation. A higher integrated emission intensity can be achieved for the YAG:Ce crystallites by improving the phase purity, morphology with better developed dodecahedrons, and dispersion. Furthermore, a rather high luminous efficacy (LE = 104.14 lm/W) for the white LED fabricated using the YAG:Ce<SUP>3+</SUP> phosphor prepared in this work was realized. The correlation between the crystal growth, morphology and luminescence properties of YAG crystallites has been established, which exhibits a great importance for the synthesis and application of mono-dispersed YAG crystallites.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Uniform and monodisperse YAG rhombic dodecahedron micro-crystals were synthesized. </LI> <LI> The growth mechanism of YAG rhombic dodecahedron was studied through experimental and computational simulation. </LI> <LI> The correlation between the crystal growth, morphology and luminescence of YAG crystallites was established. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>