Preparation and In Vitro Release of Ramose Chitosan-Based-5-Fluorouracil Microspheres

Li, He-Ping,Li, Hui,Wang, Zhou-Dong,Zhang, Juan-Juan,Deng, Man-Feng,Chen, San-Long Korean Chemical Society 2013 대한화학회지 Vol.57 No.1

In order to construct a controlled release system of drugs and to reduce toxic side effects of 5-fluorouracil, the novel ramose chitosan-based-5-fluorouracil microspheres (CS-FU-MS) were prepared. Firstly, using chitosan (CS) as carriers and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a model drug, ramose chitosan-based-5-fluorouracil (CS-FU) was efciently synthesized by chemical crosslinking method through microwave irradiation, drug loading was 10.6%; Secondly, CS-FU-MS were prepared by CS-FU self-assembled under the dialysis conditions and the free 5-FU was encapsulated further at the same time. The size dispersivity of particles is uniform, and the average diameter of the CS-FU-MS was $4{\mu}m$. The drug encapsulation efficiency was 76.1%, and the drug loading was increased to 26.22%. CS-FU-MS maintain the zero-order release time in PBS (pH = 7.4) and HCl/KCl (pH = 1.2) dialysis medium was 40h and 34h respectively, and the cumulative release were 58.89% and 79.33% in 182 h. The results showed that CS-FU-MS have excellent sustained release properties.

Evaluation of Anterior Ethmoidal Artery by 320-Slice CT Angiography with Comparison to Three-Dimensional Spin Digital Subtraction Angiography: Initial Experiences

Juan Ding,Gang Sun,Yang Lu,Bing-bing Yu,Min Li,Li Li,Guo-ying Li,Zhao-hui Peng,Xu-Ping Zhang 대한영상의학회 2012 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.13 No.6

Objective: To explore the usefulness of 320-slice CT angiography (CTA) for evaluating the course of the anterior ethmoidal artery (AEA) and its relationship with adjacent structures by using three-dimensional (3D) spin digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as standard reference. Materials and Methods: From December 2008 to December 2010, 32 patients with cerebrovascular disease, who underwent both cranial 3D spin DSA and 320-slice CTA within a 30 day period from each other, were retrospectively reviewed. AEA course in ethmoid was analyzed in DSA and CTA. In addition, adjacent bony landmarks (bony notch in medial orbital wall, anterior ethmoidal canal, and anterior ethmoidal sulcus) were evaluated with CTA using the MPR technique oriented along the axial, coronal and oblique coronal planes in all patients. The dose length product (DLP) for CTA and the dose-area product (DAP) for 3D spin DSA were recorded. Effective dose (ED) was calculated. Results: The entire course of the AEA was seen in all 32 cases (100%) with 3D spine DSA and in 29 of 32 cases (90.1%) with 320-slice CTA, with no significant difference (p = 0.24). In three cases where AEA was not visualized on 320-slice CTA, two were due to the dominant posterior ethmoidal artery, while the remaining case was due to diminutive AEA. On MPR images of 320-slice CT, a bony notch in the orbital medial walls was detected in all cases (100%, 64 of 64); anterior ethmoidal canal was seen in 28 of 64 cases (43.8%), and the anterior ethmoidal sulcus was seen in 63 of 64 cases (98.4%). The mean effective dose in CTA was 0.6 ± 0.25 mSv, which was significantly lower than for 3D spin DSA (1.3 ± 0.01 mSv) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: 320-slice CTA has a similar detection rate for AEA to that of 3D spin DSA; however, it is noninvasive, and may be preferentially used for the evaluation of AEA and its adjacent bony variations and pathologic changes in preoperative patients with paranasal sinus diseases. Objective: To explore the usefulness of 320-slice CT angiography (CTA) for evaluating the course of the anterior ethmoidal artery (AEA) and its relationship with adjacent structures by using three-dimensional (3D) spin digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as standard reference. Materials and Methods: From December 2008 to December 2010, 32 patients with cerebrovascular disease, who underwent both cranial 3D spin DSA and 320-slice CTA within a 30 day period from each other, were retrospectively reviewed. AEA course in ethmoid was analyzed in DSA and CTA. In addition, adjacent bony landmarks (bony notch in medial orbital wall, anterior ethmoidal canal, and anterior ethmoidal sulcus) were evaluated with CTA using the MPR technique oriented along the axial, coronal and oblique coronal planes in all patients. The dose length product (DLP) for CTA and the dose-area product (DAP) for 3D spin DSA were recorded. Effective dose (ED) was calculated. Results: The entire course of the AEA was seen in all 32 cases (100%) with 3D spine DSA and in 29 of 32 cases (90.1%) with 320-slice CTA, with no significant difference (p = 0.24). In three cases where AEA was not visualized on 320-slice CTA, two were due to the dominant posterior ethmoidal artery, while the remaining case was due to diminutive AEA. On MPR images of 320-slice CT, a bony notch in the orbital medial walls was detected in all cases (100%, 64 of 64); anterior ethmoidal canal was seen in 28 of 64 cases (43.8%), and the anterior ethmoidal sulcus was seen in 63 of 64 cases (98.4%). The mean effective dose in CTA was 0.6 ± 0.25 mSv, which was significantly lower than for 3D spin DSA (1.3 ± 0.01 mSv) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: 320-slice CTA has a similar detection rate for AEA to that of 3D spin DSA; however, it is noninvasive, and may be preferentially used for the evaluation of AEA and its adjacent bony variations and pathologic changes in preoperative patients with paranasal sinus diseases.

Gordonia jinhuaensis sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium, isolated from a VBNC (viable but non-culturable) state in pharmaceutical wastewater

Li, Shan-Hui,Jin, Yi,Cheng, Juan,Park, Dong-Jin,Kim, Chang-Jin,Hozzein, Wael N.,Wadaan, Mohammed A. M.,Shu, Wen-Sheng,Ding, Lin-Xian,Li, Wen-Jun Springer-Verlag 2014 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Vol.106 No.2

Clinical Risk Factor Analysis for Breast Cancer: 568,000 Subjects Undergoing Breast Cancer Screening in Beijing, 2009

Pan, Lei,Han, Li-Li,Tao, Li-Xin,Zhou, Tao,Li, Xia,Gao, Qi,Wu, Li-Juan,Luo, Yan-Xia,Ding, Hui,Guo, Xiu-Hua Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.9

Objectives: Although there are many reports about the risk of breast cancer, few have reported clinical factors including history of breast-related or other diseases that affect the prevalence of breast cancer. This study explores these risk factors for breast cancer cases reported in Beijing in 2009. Materials and Methods: Data were derived from a Beijing breast cancer screening performed in 2009, of 568,000 women, from 16 districts of Beijing, all aged between 40 and 60 years. In this study, multilevel statistical modeling was used to identify clinical factors that affect the prevalence of breast cancer and to provide more reliable evidence for clinical diagnostics by using screening data. Results and Conclusion: Those women who had organ transplants, compared with those with none, were associated with breast cancer with an odds ratio (OR)=65.352 [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.488-503.165] and those with solid breast mass compared with none had OR=1.384 (95% CI: 1.022-1.873). Malignant tendency was strongly associated with increased risk of breast cancer, OR=207.999(95% CI: 151.950-284.721). The risk of breast cancer increased with age, $OR_1$=2.759 (95% CI: 1.837-4.144, 56-60 vs. 40-45), $OR_2$=2.047 (95% CI: 1.394-3.077, 51-55 vs. 40-45), $OR_3$=1.668 (95% CI: 1.145-2.431). Normal results of B ultrasonic examination show a lower risk among participants, OR= 0.136 (95% CI: 0.085-0.218). Those women with ductal papilloma compared with none were associated with breast cancer, OR=6.524 (95% CI: 1.871-22.746). Therefore, this study suggests that clinical doctors should pay attention to these high-risk factors.

Peach-specific aldehyde nonanal attracts female Oriental fruit moths, Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Hui-Ming Xiang,Rui-Yan Ma,Hong-Liang Diao,Xian-Wei Li,Xiao-Juan He,Yong-Fu Guo 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.4

The oriental fruit moth (OFM), Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a serious pest of stone and pome fruit trees worldwide. G. molesta can switch hosts and produce multiple generations per year. Both the primary and secondary host plants of G. molesta emit aldehydes. Here, we tested whether these aldehydes are helpful for host switching of G. molesta. SPME (Solid Phase Microextraction)-GC–MS analysis identified four aldehydes (octanal, nonanal, decanal, and benzaldehyde) from volatiles of late-season yellow peach fruits. Of the four aldehydes, eletroantennogram analysis showed that nonanal produced the strongest response from the antennae of virgin and mated females. In Y-tube bioassays, only nonanal was attractive to mated G. molesta females amongst the four aldehydes, suggesting that nonanal is important for host recognition in G. molesta. In a field trial, each of the four aldehydes was tested as an attractant for both sexes of G. molesta. The traps baited with nonanal captured more female G. molesta, as compared to traps with other aldehydes and control; the traps baited with benzaldehyde captured most male G. molesta. Our research investigations provide theoretical foundation for biological control of G. molesta females. Future G. molesta lure designs should take into account sex-specific differences in the response to individual aldehydes.

Follistatin N terminus differentially regulates muscle size and fat in vivo

Hui Zheng,Chunping Qiao,Ruhang Tang,Jianbin Li,Karen Bulaklak,Zhenhua Huang,Chunxia Zhao,Yi Dai,Juan Li,Xiao Xiao 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

Delivery of follistatin (FST) represents a promising strategy for both muscular dystrophies and diabetes, as FST is a robust antagonist of myostatin and activin, which are critical regulators of skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. FST is a multi-domain protein, and deciphering the function of different domains will facilitate novel designs for FST-based therapy. Our study aims to investigate the role of the N-terminal domain (ND) of FST in regulating muscle and fat mass in vivo. Different FST constructs were created and packaged into the adeno-associated viral vector (AAV). Overexpression of wild-type FST in normal mice greatly increased muscle mass while decreasing fat accumulation, whereas overexpression of an N terminus mutant or N terminusdeleted FST had no effect on muscle mass but moderately decreased fat mass. In contrast, FST-I-I containing the complete N terminus and double domain I without domain II and III had no effect on fat but increased skeletal muscle mass. The effects of different constructs on differentiated C2C12 myotubes were consistent with the in vivo finding. We hypothesized that ND was critical for myostatin blockade, mediating the increase in muscle mass, and was less pivotal for activin binding, which accounts for the decrease in the fat tissue. An in vitro TGF-beta1-responsive reporter assay revealed that FST-I-I and N terminus-mutated or -deleted FST showed differential responses to blockade of activin and myostatin. Our study provided direct in vivo evidence for a role of the ND of FST, shedding light on future potential molecular designs for FST-based gene therapy.

WDRP, a DWD protein component of CUL4-based E3 ligases, acts as a receptor of CDPK-related protein kinase 5 to mediate kinase degradation in Arabidopsis

Hui-Juan Teng,Yue Guo,Jian-Qi Wang,Rongjun Li,Ying-Tang Lu,Lei Zhang 한국식물학회 2016 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.59 No.6

CRK5 is a member of the Arabidopsis thaliana Ca2+-dependent protein kinase-related kinase family. Here, a yeast two-hybrid screen was performed with a truncated form of AtCRK5 as bait to identify interacting proteins and determine its physiological roles. One gene encoding the DWD protein WDRP was isolated. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo co-immunoprecipitation results strongly supported that these two proteins interact with each other. Using a cell-free degradation assay, we also established that CRK5 was an unstable protein that was degraded through the proteasome pathway. The rate of CRK5 degradation was delayed in a WDRP knockout line. On the other hand, the degradation of CRK5 mediated by WDRP might not affect the phosphorylation of PIN2 by CRK5. Overall, we demonstrated that AtCRK5 interacted with a DWD protein, AtWDRP; the protein AtWDRP targets the kinase for ubiquitin-dependent degradation. Therefore, this report describes a new kinase regulation pathway for CRK family proteins in Arabidopsis.

An Improved Method for Extracting Bacteria from Soil for High Molecular Weight DNA Recovery and BAC Library Construction

Juan Liu,Jingquan Li,Li Feng,Hui Cao,Zhongli Cui 한국미생물학회 2010 The journal of microbiology Vol.48 No.6

Separation of bacterial cells from soil is a key step in the construction of metagenomic BAC libraries with large DNA inserts. Our results showed that when combined with sodium pyro-phosphate and homogenization for soil dispersion, sucrose density gradient centrifugation (SDGC) was more effective at separating bacteria from soil than was low speed centrifugation (LSC). More than 70% of the cells, along with some soil colloids,were recovered with one round of centrifugation. A solution of 0.8% NaCl was used to resuspend these cell and soil pellets for purification with nycodenz density gradient centrifugation (NDGC). After purification,more than 30% of the bacterial cells in the primary soil were extracted. This procedure effectively removed soil contamination and yielded sufficient cells for high molecular weight (HMW) DNA isolation. Ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA) showed that the microbial community structure of the extracted cells was similar to that of the primary soil, suggesting that this extraction procedure did not significantly change the the soil bacteria community structure. HMW DNA was isolated from bacterial cells extracted from red soil for metagenomic BAC library construction. This library contained DNA inserts of more than 200 Mb with an average size of 75 kb.

Genotypic analysis of degenerative Cordyceps militaris cultured in the pupa of Bombyx mori

Juan Yin,Xiang-Dong XIN,Yu-JieWENG,Shao-Hui Li,Jun-Qiang JIA,Zhong Zheng Gui 한국곤충학회 2018 Entomological Research Vol.48 No.3

The chemical composition and pharmacological effects of Cordyceps militaris are similar to those of Cordyceps sinensis, with the former undergoing greater development and utilization. Strain degeneration is a common phenomenon that occurs with high frequency during the subculturing of C. militaris, however, and the mechanism underlying strain degeneration remains unclear. In this study, we used touch‐down PCR to compare the ITS1 + 5.8S + ITS2, 18S, 28S and mating‐type (MAT) regions sequence of wild‐type and degenerated strains of C. militaris. We also used quantitative real‐time PCR to analyze expression levels of the CmMAT gene. Sequence analysis showed that the ITS1 + 5.8S + ITS2 and 28S regions of degenerated and wild‐type strains were completely identical, the 18S region of the degenerated strain contained seven single‐base mutations, including six base substitutions and one single‐base insertion. Compared with the wild‐type strain, the degenerated strain contained a deletion of the MAT1–2‐1 region, three base substitutions in the MAT1–1‐1 region, and a base substitution in the MAT1–1‐2 region that causes a glycine‐to‐valine amino acid substitution. Quantitative real‐time PCR analysis detected no CmMAT1–2‐1 gene expression in the degenerated strain, confirming the deletion of the CmMAT1–2‐1 gene. Expression levels of the CmMAT1–1‐1 and CmMAT1–1‐2 genes were significantly down‐regulated to only 7.5 % and 4.4 %, respectively, that of the wild‐type strain. These results indicate that 18S and MAT region mutations, as well as down‐regulated of CmMAT gene expression levels, may play important roles in C. militaris degeneration. This study provides a theoretical basis for further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of C. militaris degeneration.

Controlled Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite Using a Novel Natural Rosin-Based Surfactant

Shu-Hui Zhan,Xue-He Jiang,Juan Li,Zhi Meng,Lin-Lin Chen,Chun-Rui Han 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2017 NANO Vol.12 No.8

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) with multiform morphologies, such as hollow dandelion-like bundles and nanoparticles with a diameter of 50 nm, was prepared using natural rosin-based surfactant dehydroabietyl phosphate diester (DDPD) as phosphorus source, crystal growth control agent, and template simultaneously by a facile hydrothermal method. Samples were obtained and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that DDPD and pH value of solution were the key factors for the morphology of HAP. Hollow dandelion-like bundles HAP, containing the Ca-monodehydroabietyl phosphate (PM-Ca) organic metal compounds, were formed at pH=3 without acid-base regulation, and nanoparticles were obtained at pH=12. SEM exhibited that the hollow dandelion-like bundles HAP are of 10 μm (outer) and 1 μm (inner) diameter, respectively. Cell viabilities are above 95% when the cells are co-cultured with all HAP samples at concentrations in the range of 250–1000 μg/ml. It indicated that the prepared HAP with PM-Ca has a good cytocompatibility without apparent toxicity. Finally, the possible formation mechanism of the HAP microstructures was discussed in detail.