Melatonin Attenuates Noise Stress-induced Gastrointestinal Motility Disorder and Gastric Stress Ulcer: Role of Gastrointestinal Hormones and Oxidative Stress in Rats

( Lei Zhang ),( Ji T Gong ),( Hu Q Zhang ),( Quan H Song ),( Guang H Xu ),( Lei Cai ),( Xiao D Tang ),( Hai F Zhang ),( Fang E Liu ),( Zhan S Jia ),( Hong W Zhang ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회 2015 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.21 No.2

Background/Aims There are increasing evidences for gastrointestinal motility disorder (GIMD) and gastric stress ulcer induced by noise stress. The present study was to investigate the reversed effect of melatonin on GIMD and gastric stress ulcer induced by noise stress and potential mechanism. Methods Noise stress was induced on rats, and melatonin (15 mg/kg) was administered to rats by intraperitoneal injection. Differences were assessed in gastric residual rate (GRR), small intestine propulsion rate (SPR), Guth injury score, cortisol, gastrointestinal hormones (calcitonin-gene-related peptide and motilin) and oxidative stress markers (superoxide dismutase and malondialde hyde) in blood plasma as well as gastric mucosa homogenate with or without melatonin. The pathological examination of gastric mucosa was also performed. Results The GRR and SPR were improved by noise stress compared with control (P < 0.05). The pathological examination and Guth injury score revealed gastric stress ulcer. Moreover, the levels of cortisol, motilin and malondialdehyde in blood plasma and malondialdehyde in gastric mucosa homogenate were increased by noise stress (P < 0.05). CGRP and superoxide dismutase activity in both of blood plasma and gastric mucosa homogenate were significantly decreased (P< 0.05). Furthermore, melatonin reversed changes in GRR, SPR, pathological examination, Guth injury score, cortisol, motilin, CGRP, superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde (P < 0.05). Conclusions Melatonin is effective in reversing the GIMD and gastric stress ulcer induced by noise stress. The underlying mechanism may be involved in oxidative stress and gastrointestinal hormones. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2015;21:189-199)

Fabrication of Photopolymer Hierarchical Micronanostructures by Coupling Electrospinning and Photolithography for SERS Substrates

Wen-Yi Zhang,Xin-Ze Xiao,Chao Lv,Jia Zhao,Gong Wang,Xuan Gu,Ran Zhang,Bin-Bin Xu,Dan-Dan Zhang,Ai-Wu Li,Yong-Lai Zhang,Hong-Bo Sun 한국고분자학회 2013 Macromolecular Research Vol.21 No.3

Reported here is the fabrication of photopolymer hierarchical micronanostructures through a combinative process of electrospinning and subsequent photolithography. Electrospun SU-8 (epoxy-based negative photoresist)nanofiber films have been patterned into gratings with periods of 100, 200, 300, and 400 μm, respectively. Deposition of a silver nanolayer on these interlaced nanofiber films would lead to the formation of various plasmonic nanostructures,and therefore, giving rise to abundant surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) “hot spots”. In the detection of Rhodamine 6G (R6G), probing molecule, the resultant SERS substrates show both high sensitivity and good reproducibility. The SERS enhancement factor could reach as high as ~108, indicating high efficiency. The fabrication of patterned, highly efficient SERS substrates may hold a great promise for the integration of SERS substrates in various microdevices such as microfluidic chips.

Sensitivity of surface characteristics on the simulation of wind-blown-dust source in North America

Park, S.H.,Gong, S.L.,Gong, W.,Makar, P.A.,Moran, M.D.,Stroud, C.A.,Zhang, J. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier [distribution] 2009 Atmospheric environment Vol.43 No.19

Recently, a wind-blown-dust-emission module has been built based on a state-of-the-art wind erosion theory and evaluated in a regional air-quality model to simulate a North American dust storm episode in April 2001 (see Park, S.H., Gong, S.L., Zhao, T.L., Vet, R.J., Bouchet, V.S., Gong, W., Makar, P.A., Moran, M.D., Stroud, C., Zhang, J. 2007. Simulation of entrainment and transport of dust particles within North America in April 2001 (''Red Dust episode''). J. Geophys. Res. 112, D20209, doi:10.1029/2007JD008443). A satisfactorily detailed assessment of that module, however, was not possible because of a lack of information on some module inputs, especially soil moisture content. In this paper, the wind-blown-dust emission was evaluated for two additional dust storms using improved soil moisture inputs. The surface characteristics of the wind-blown-dust source areas in southwestern North America were also investigated, focusing on their implications for wind-blown-dust emissions. The improved soil moisture inputs enabled the sensitivity of other important surface characteristics, the soil grain size distribution and the land-cover, to dust emission to be investigated with more confidence. Simulations of the two 2003 dust storm episodes suggested that wind-blown-dust emissions from the desert areas in southwestern North America are dominated by emissions from dry playas covered with accumulated alluvial deposits whose particle size is much smaller than usual desert sands. As well, the source areas in the northwestern Texas region were indicated to be not desert but rather agricultural lands that were ''activated'' as a wind-blown-dust sources after harvest. This finding calls for revisions to the current wind-blown-dust-emission module, in which ''desert'' is designated to be the only land-cover category that can emit wind-blown dust.

Diagnostic value of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Parametric Imaging in Breast Tumors

Zhang Yuan,Jiang Quan,Zhang Yunxiao,Chen Jian,He Zhu,Gong Liping 한국유방암학회 2013 Journal of breast cancer Vol.16 No.2

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of SonoLiver software for parametric imaging in breast tumors. Methods: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was performed in 216 breast lesions (113 malignant, 103 benign). The CEUS parameters were compared between benign and malignant lesions. The rise time, the time to peak, the mean transit time and dynamic vessel pattern (DVP) were analyzed using SonoLiver software. Results: Quantitative analysis showed that the rise time was 16.52±4.15 seconds in the benign group vs. 13.86±3.36 seconds in the malignant group (p=0.007), and the time to peak was 19.86±4.87 seconds in the benign group vs. 16.52±4.85 seconds in the malignant group (p=0.009). The mean transit time was 80.55±18.65 seconds in the benign group vs. 65.16±20.28 seconds in the malignant group (p=0.006). The difference between the distribution of DVP in benign and malignant tumors was statistically significant. One hundred one malignant tumors (89.4%) performed an irregular red/yellow fill in the region of interest (ROI) and 85 benign tumors (82.5%) performed a single blue/green fill in the ROI. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of parametric imaging in breast tumors were 84.1%, 85.4%, 84.7%, respectively. Conclusion: The CEUS parametric imaging can distinguish differences between malignant and benign breast tumors as well as provide diagnostic information on breast lesions.

Biological Characteristics of Recombinant Arthrobotrys oligospora Chitinase AO-801

Gong, Shasha,Meng, Qingling,Qiao, Jun,Huang, Yunfu,Zhong, Wenqiang,Zhang, Guowu,Zhang, Kai,Li, Ningxing,Shang, Yunxia,Li, Zhiyuan,Cai, Xuepeng The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Me 2022 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.60 No.5

Chitinase AO-801 is a hydrolase secreted by Arthrobotrys oligospora during nematode feeding, while its role remained elusive. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of recombinant chitinase of Arthrobotrys oligospora (reAO-801). AO-801 belongs to the typical glycoside hydrolase 18 family with conserved chitinase sequence and tertiary structure of (α/β)₈ triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel. The molecular weight of reAO-801 was 42 kDa. reAO-801 effectively degraded colloidal and powdered chitin, egg lysate, and stage I larval lysate of Caenorhabditis elegans. The activity of reAO-801 reached its peak at 40℃ and pH values between 4-7. Enzyme activity was inhibited by Zn2⁺, Ca2⁺, and Fe3⁺, whereas Mg2⁺ and K⁺ potentiated its activity. In addition, urea, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and 2-mercaptoethanol significantly inhibited enzyme activity. reAO-801 showed complete nematicidal activity against C. elegans stage I larvae. reAO-801 broke down the C. elegans egg shells, causing them to die or die prematurely by hatching the eggs. It also invoked degradation of Haemonchus contortus eggs, resulting in apparent changes in the morphological structure. This study demonstrated the cytotoxic effect of reAO-801, which laid the foundation for further dissecting the mechanism of nematode infestation by A. oligospora.

Evolution of surface O₃ and PM_2.5 concentrations and their relationships with meteorological conditions over the last decade in Beijing

Zhang, Z.,Zhang, X.,Gong, D.,Quan, W.,Zhao, X.,Ma, Z.,Kim, S.J. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier [distribution] 2015 Atmospheric environment Vol.108 No.-

In this study, hourly and daily records since 2005 and correlation, regression and composite methods were used to analyze the long-term evolution of surface O<SUB>3</SUB> and PM<SUB>2.5</SUB> concentrations at the rural station of Shangdianzi (SDZ) and urban station of Baolian (BL) over Beijing and their relationships with meteorological conditions. The results show that the mean concentrations of PM<SUB>2.5</SUB> (O<SUB>3</SUB>) decreased (increased) at the urban and rural stations over the last decade. The linear trends of the annual mean concentrations of PM<SUB>2.5</SUB> at BL and SDZ were -31.8 ug/m<SUP>3</SUP>/10yr (-4.3%/yr) (p < 0.01) and -13.3 ug/m<SUP>3</SUP>/10yr (-2.9%/yr) (p < 0.05), respectively. In winter, the mean wind speed (W<SUB>s</SUB>) and relative humidity (RH) were the most closely correlated with O<SUB>3</SUB> at both stations, whereas RH and sunshine hours (S) were most closely correlated with PM<SUB>2.5</SUB>. The correlation coefficients and explained variances in spring and autumn were generally less than those in winter and greater than those in summer. Moreover, increase in precipitation can significantly reduce the PM<SUB>2.5</SUB> concentration in both urban and rural areas in Beijing, whereas trace and light precipitation more effectively decreases the O<SUB>3</SUB> concentration. Concentrations of PM<SUB>2.5</SUB> (O<SUB>3</SUB>) on haze days increased by 114% (3%) and 162% (20%) compared with that on non-haze days at the urban and rural stations, respectively. This result suggests that haze is a major manifestation of air pollution in Beijing.

Multiple-Period Repetitive Controller for Selective Harmonic Compensation with Three-Phase Shunt Active Power Filter

Zhang, Chao,Gong, Maofa,Zhang, Yijun,Li, Yuxia The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2015 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.15 No.3

This paper presents a shunt active power filter (SAPF) for compensating inter-harmonics and harmonics when inter-harmonics content is evident in the grid. The principle of inter-harmonics generation in the grid was analyzed, and the inter-harmonics effect on repetitive controllers was discussed in terms of control performance. Traditional repetitive controllers are not applicable in inter-harmonic compensation. Moreover, the effect of an ideal controller on harmonics signals was analyzed on the basis of the internal model principle. The repetitive controller was improved in the form of a basis function according to theoretical analysis. The finite-dimensional repetitive controller, which is also called the multiple-period repetitive controller, was designed for the control of multiple periodic signals. A selective harmonic compensation system was developed with SAPF. This system can be used to compensate harmonics and inter-harmonics in the grid. Finally, system control performance was verified by simulation and experimental results.

Impact of Adjuvant Chemotherapy Cycles on Prognosis of Resectable Stomach Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis

Zhang, Wen-Ying,Zhang, Wen-Jun,Bai, Yu,Yuan, Hai-Hua,Liu, Feng,Gao, Jun,Gong, Yan-Fang,Jiang, Bin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy cycles on the prognosis of patients with post-operative stomach cancer through retrospective analysis. Methods: A total of 128 patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of epirubicin, cisplatin or oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil, according to a defined schedule, were divided into three groups according to the number of chemotherapy cycles: Group I (<6 cycles); Group II (6 cycles); and Group III (>6 cycles). Results: The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 20.8% in Group I, 45.0% in Group II, and 42.9% in Group III, with a median follow-up of 43 months. The 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) was 15.1% in Group I, 40% in Group II, and 40% in Group III. The OS and RFS in Groups II and III were significantly better than in Group I (OS, p = 0.002 and p=0.003; RFS, P<0.001 and P=0.002). There was no difference in OS (p = 0.970) or in RFS (p = 0.722) between Groups II and III. Multivariate Cox hazard analysis determined that the number of adjuvant chemotherapy cycles was an independent factor that influenced OS and RFS. Conclusion: Six cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy gave encouraging outcomes in patients with resectable gastric cancer. Further prospective randomized controlled investigations are warranted in a multi-center setting.

Research on the Inter-harmonics Equivalent Impedance of Series Hybrid Active Power Filter

Zhang Jian-gong,Liu Jian-ben,Dai Shao-jun,Chen Qiao-fu,He Jun-jia 대한전기학회 2015 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.10 No.5

In the series hybrid active power filter (SHAPF) with magnetic flux compensation (MFC), the system current oscillate in the experimental results when adding the same phase harmonic current command in current control block. This condition endangers the security of the SHAPF. Taking the digit period average arithmetic as example, this paper explains the inter-harmonics current oscillation in the experiment. The conclusion is that the SHAPF is unstable to the inter-harmonics current in theory. Limited by the capacity of the inverter, the system current and the inverter output current do not increase to infinite. At last, some methods are proposed to solve this problem. From the practical viewpoint, the voltage feed-forward control is easy to achieve. It can suppress the current oscillation problems, and also improve the filtering effect. The feasibility of the methods is validated by both the emulation and experiment results.

Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Analysis of Long Non-coding RNAs in Sesame Response to Salt Stress

Gong Huihui,You Jun,Zhang Xiurong,Liu Yanzhong,Zhao Fengtao,Cui Xinxiao,Zhang Yujuan 한국식물학회 2021 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.64 No.6

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in various biological regulatory processes in which complicated mechanisms are involved, as well as stress-responsive regulation. However, the number, characteristics, sequences and possible effects of lncRNAs in sesame response to salt stress are poorly understood. In this study, a total of 2482 lncRNAs were identified from two contrasting sesame genotypes under salt stress using high-throughput RNA sequencing, of which 599 were intergenic lncRNAs, 293 were antisense lncRNAs and 786 lncRNAs may encode proteins. Expression pattern analysis showed that most lncRNAs were expressed at a low level and a total of 700 differentially expressed lncRNAs were characterized as salt responsive in sesame. A large number of potential target genes of lncRNAs were predicted, and functional annotation analysis indicated that the differentially expressed lncRNAs in salt stress may regulate protein-coding genes involved in several important pathways related to glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, monoterpenoid biosynthesis, biotin metabolism, galactose metabolism, cyanoamino acid metabolism and carotenoid biosynthesis. Integrated analysis of lncRNAs and mRNAs revealed the regulatory role of lncRNAs associated with salt resistance in sesame, and provided convincing proof of the interplay of specific candidate target genes with lncRNAs. Our results indicated that a comprehensive set of lncRNAs with potential target genes were responsive to salt stress in sesame seedlings. These findings provided important information on salinity responses and adaptation of sesame to salt stress and may constitute useful resources for more comprehensive studies on gene regulation in sesame.