Selection and evaluation of RT-qPCR reference genes for expression analysis in the tiny egg parasitoid wasp, Trichogramma dendrolimi matsumura (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Huo Liang-xiao,Bai Xue-ping,Che Wu-nan,Ning Su-fang,Lv Lin,Zhang Lisheng,Zhou Jin-cheng,Dong Hui 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.2

The egg parasitoid, Trichogramma spp., is an important biological control agent used against a broad range of Lepidopteran pests in agriculture and forestry. The biology of Trichogramma has been studied in details. Further studies should focus on the molecular mechanisms of Trichogramma by qualifying the expression of related genes It is critical to select appropriate reference genes for normalizing RT-qPCR results and establishing a robust method for quantifying target gene expression. This study aimed to identify and validate appropriate reference genes for use in RT-qPCR analysis of Trichogramma dendrolimi. Ten candidate housekeeping genes, namely betaactin (ACTIN), forkhead box O (FOXO), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), heat shock pro tein 90 (HSP90), ribosomal protein L10a (RPL10a), L18 (RPL18), L28 (RPL28), S13 (RPS13), S15 (RPS15), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), were tested for their suitability as reference genes for developmental stage (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th day after parasitization), tissue (head, thorax, and abdomen of adults), sex of adults (male and female), and temperature (17℃, 25℃, and 32℃). According to the GeNorm analysis, a robust analysis should involve using an appropriate combination of reference genes, namely, at least three genes for different development stages, two genes for different tissues, two genes for different sex, and two genes for different temperatures, respectively. According to the RelFinder method by the integrated results of GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and the ΔCt method, we identified the developmental stage-specific reference genes SOD, GAPDH, and ACTIN; tissue-specific reference genes RPL18 and RPS15; sex-specific reference genes RPL18 and SOD; and temperature-specific reference genes RPL18 and RPL10a. This study provides a standardized procedure for the quantification of gene expression in T. dendrolimi and will be helpful for future biological control programs using Trichogramma wasps.

New Permeable Structure for Controlling Debris Flows in the Wenjiagou Gully

Yu-feng Liang,Chuan Liang,Hongwei Zhou,Feng-rong Yang,Miao Huo,Jia-wen Zhou 대한토목학회 2018 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.22 No.11

Aimed to control debris flows more effectively, we attempt to develop a new structure called a “sloping roof grill dam”, which consists of guidance walls, separation grills and lateral deposit areas. A series of flume tests were performed to verify the function of this new structure, focusing on the trapping efficiency (β ), deceleration efficiency (μ) and coarse-fine sediment separation extents (η) under different conditions of structure and debris flows. Experimental results show that both the trapping and deceleration efficiency increase with a decrease in permeability, whereas the separation extent shown the opposite effect. Multiple regression analysis indicates that β and η are linearly dependent on the permeability, deceleration efficiency and magnitudes of debris flow. In addition, an increase in beam gap can lead to an increase in the impact area downstream for the debris flow after the control of the structure. Finally, a two-level installation of the structure is tested to determine whether there is an enhancement of the debris control, which indicated that although the trapping effect of the two-level structure is considerably greater than that of a single-level structure (2.11 times at maximum), the separation extent of the two-level structure is not distinct and may be even lower.

Nozzle Swing Angle Measurement Involving Weighted Uncertainty of Feature Points Based on Rotation Parameters

Liang Wei,Ju Huo,Chen Cai 한국광학회 2024 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.8 No.3

Robust Adaptive Backstepping Control for Autonomous Spacecraft Proximity Maneuvers

Liang Sun,Wei Huo 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2016 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.14 No.3

The control problem of autonomous proximity phase during rendezvous and docking is studied for achaser spacecraft subject to parametric uncertainty and unknown external disturbance approaching to a tumblingnon-cooperative space target. A coupled relative motion model is established for the autonomous spacecraft proximitymissions based on the relative motion information and chaser’s motion information. Based on the cascadedstructure of the six degrees-of-freedom coupled model, the backstepping technology combined with element-wiseand norm-wise adaptive control methods is used to design a relative position controller firstly, then the same methodis also applied to the design of the relative attitude controller. Asymptotic stability is proven uniformly for the sixdegrees-of-freedom closed-loop system, and the performance of the controlled overall system is demonstrated viaa representative numerical example.

Nozzle Swing Angle Measurement Involving Weighted Uncertainty of Feature Points Based on Rotation Parameters

Liang Wei,Ju Huo,Chen Cai 한국광학회 2024 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.8 No.3

To solve the nozzle swing angle non-contact measurement problem, we present a nozzle pose estimation algorithm involving weighted measurement uncertainty based on rotation parameters. Firstly, the instantaneous axis of the rocket nozzle is constructed and used to model the pivot point and the nozzle coordinate system. Then, the rotation matrix and translation vector are parameterized by CayleyGibbs-Rodriguez parameters, and the novel object space collinearity error equation involving weighted measurement uncertainty of feature points is constructed. The nozzle pose is obtained at this step by the Gröbner basis method. Finally, the swing angle is calculated based on the conversion relationship between the nozzle static coordinate system and the nozzle dynamic coordinate system. Experimental results prove the high accuracy and robustness of the proposed method. In the space of 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 1.5 m, the maximum angle error of nozzle swing is 0.103°. To solve the nozzle swing angle non-contact measurement problem, we present a nozzle pose estimation algorithm involving weighted measurement uncertainty based on rotation parameters. Firstly, the instantaneous axis of the rocket nozzle is constructed and used to model the pivot point and the nozzle coordinate system. Then, the rotation matrix and translation vector are parameterized by CayleyGibbs-Rodriguez parameters, and the novel object space collinearity error equation involving weighted measurement uncertainty of feature points is constructed. The nozzle pose is obtained at this step by the Gröbner basis method. Finally, the swing angle is calculated based on the conversion relationship between the nozzle static coordinate system and the nozzle dynamic coordinate system. Experimental results prove the high accuracy and robustness of the proposed method. In the space of 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 1.5 m, the maximum angle error of nozzle swing is 0.105°.

A hybrid optimization strategy for simultaneous synthesis of heat exchanger network

Zhaoyi Huo,Hongchao Yin,Liang Zhao,Jianxiong Ye 한국화학공학회 2012 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.29 No.10

The heat exchanger network synthesis problem often leads to large-scale non-convex mixed integer nonlinear programming formulations that contain many discrete and continuous variables, as well as nonlinear objective function or nonlinear constraints. In this paper, a novel method consisting of genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed for simultaneous synthesis problem of heat exchanger networks. The simultaneous synthesis problem is solved in the following two levels: in the upper level, the network structures are generated randomly and reproduced using genetic algorithm; and in the lower level, heat load of units and stream-split heat flows are optimized through particle swarm optimization algorithm. The proposed approach is tested on four benchmark problems, and the obtained solutions are compared with those published in previous literature. The results of this study prove that the presented method is effective in obtaining the approximate optimal network with minimum total annual cost as performance index.

Radiosensitivity Enhancement by Arsenic Trioxide in Conjunction with Hyperthermia in the EC-1 Esophageal Carcinoma Cell Line

Cui, Yan-Hui,Liang, Hai-Jun,Zhang, Qing-Qin,Li, Si-Qing,Li, Xiao-Rui,Huo, Xiao-Qing,Yang, Qing-Hui,Li, Wei-Wei,Gu, Jian-Fa,Hua, Qin-Liang,Lu, Ping,Miao, Zhan-Hui Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.4

Objective: To explore the effect on radiosensitivity of arsenic trioxide ($As_20_3$) in conjunction with hyperthermia on the esophageal carcinoma EC-1 cell line. Method: Inhibition of EC-1 cell proliferation at different concentrations of $As_20_3$ was assessed using the methyl thiazolyl blue colorimetric method (MTT method), with calculation of $IC_{50}$ value and choice of 20% of the $IC_{50}$ as the experimental drug concentration. Blank control, $As_20_3$, hyperthermia, radiotherapy group, $As_20_3$ + hyperthermia, $As_20_3$ + radiotherapy, hyperthermia + radiotherapy and $As_20_3$ + hyperthermia + radiotherapy groups were established, and the cell survival fraction (SF) was calculated from flat panel colony forming analysis, and fitted by the 'multitarget click mathematical model'. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect changes in cell apoptosis and the cell cycle. Results: $As_20_3$ exerted inhibitory effects on proliferation of esophageal carcinoma EC-1 cells, with an $IC_{50}$ of 18.7 ${\mu}mol/L$. After joint therapy of $As_20_3$ + hyperthermia + radiotherapy, the results of FCM showed that cells could be arrested in the $G_2$/M phase, and as the ratio of cells in $G_0/G_1$ and S phases decreased, cell death became more pronounced. Conclusion: $As_20_3$ and hyperthermia exert radiosensitivity effects on esophageal carcinoma EC-1 cells, with synergy in combination. Mechanistically, $As_20_3$ and hyperthermia mainly influence the cell cycle distribution of EC-1 esophageal carcinoma cells, decreasing the repair of sublethal damage and inducing apoptosis, thereby enhancing the killing effects of radioactive rays.

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans Lour.)

Hong Na Mu,Liang Gui Wang,Huo Gen Li,Xiu Lian Yang,Tao Ze Sun,Chen Xu 한국유전학회 2014 Genes & Genomics Vol.36 No.6

Osmanthus fragrans is a woody, evergreenspecies of shrubs and small trees that is extensively plantedin sub-tropical and temperate climates as an ornamentalplant in gardens and for its health benefits. The flower colorranges from ivory to orange to pink among different varietiesand even color difference during the whole blossom inthe sweet osmanthus. Sweet osmanthus is widely cultivatedthroughout China and other countries due to its prominentfragrance, colorful flowers, and medicinal properties. However, the scanty genomic resources in the Olea familyhave greatly hindered further exploration of its geneticmechanism on these economically important traits. In thisstudy, transcriptome sequencing of O. fragrans was performedusing the Illumina HighSeqTM2000 sequencingplatform. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of the transcriptomeof O. fragrans produced 31.7G of clean bases(211,266,818 clean reads) that were assembled into256,774 transcripts and 117,595 unigenes. Of them, 197and 237 candidate genes involved in fragrance and pigmentbiosynthesis respectively were identified based on functionannotation. Meanwhile, 1 unnamed protein and 468 functionalunknown genes were also identified. Furthermore,mRNA sequencing expression profiling of O. fragranswere compared to previous genes’. In summary, thiscomprehensive transcriptome dataset allows the identificationof genes associated with several major metabolicpathways and provides a useful public information platformfor further functional genomic studiesin O. fragransLour.

Mitochondrial NDUFA4L2 attenuates the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells induced by oxidative stress via the inhibition of mitophagy

Wen-Ning Xu,Huo-Liang Zheng,Run-Ze Yang,Tao Liu,Wei Yu,Xin-Feng Zheng,Bo Li,Sheng-Dan Jiang,Lei-Sheng Jiang 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

The main pathological mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is the programmed apoptosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Oxidative stress is a significant cause of IVDD. Whether mitophagy is induced by strong oxidative stress in IVDD remains to be determined. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and mitophagy and to better understand the mechanism of IVDD in vivo and in vitro. To this end, we obtained primary NP cells from the human NP and subsequently exposed them to TBHP. We observed that oxidative stress induced mitophagy to cause apoptosis in NP cells, and we suppressed mitophagy and found that NP cells were protected against apoptosis. Interestingly, TBHP resulted in mitophagy through the inhibition of the HIF-1α/NDUFA4L2 pathway. Therefore, the upregulation of mitochondrial NDUFA4L2 restricted mitophagy induced by oxidative stress. Furthermore, the expression levels of HIF-1α and NDUFA4L2 were decreased in human IVDD. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that the upregulation of NDUFA4L2 ameliorated the apoptosis of NP cells by repressing excessive mitophagy, which ultimately alleviated IVDD. These findings show for the first time that NDUFA4L2 and mitophagy may be potential therapeutic targets for IVDD.

Development of Simple and Effective Dual-Readout Sensor Based on Gold Nanoparticles and Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dots for Cartap Analysis

Huixiang Wu,CHANGJUN HOU,Huanbao Fa,Liang Dong,Yi Ma,Mei Yang,Caihong Shen,Jun Zhou,DANQUN HUO 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2016 NANO Vol.11 No.7

Cartap is among the most popular pesticides that are widely used to boost food production, however, its residues pose a great threat to human health and the environment. We presented simple and effective colorimetric sensor based on aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with appropriate diameter and fluorescent sensor via inner filter effect (IFE) of AuNPs on cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs), respectively. Firstly, effect of diameter of AuNPs was investigated and the results indicated that AuNPs with diameter of 13 nm (AuNPs13nm) showed better sensitivity toward cartap. Thus, AuNPs13nm was chosen for colorimetric and fluorescent cartap assay. On one hand, mercaptoacetic acid (MA) was functionalized on AuNPs13nm for the improvement of anti-disturbance ability for discrimination study. A decent linear relationship for cartap was obtained in the range from 1 µM to 50 µM with detection limit of 1.32 µM for colorimetric readout; on the other hand, fluorescent sensor based on AuNPs13nm displayed excellent linear relationship with cartap concentration varying from 20 nM to 100 nM with low detection limit of 4.02 nM. And the above-mentioned sensor showed acceptable anti-disturbance ability for cartap discrimination. These results demonstrated that the sensor as-developed would be a great potential candidate for cartap detection in real application.