Effects of habitat fragmentation on the functional diversity of insects in Thousand Island Lake, China

Tian‐Hao Tu,Ji-Rui WANG,Jian-Qiang GU,Tian-Qi LI,Kun LV,Guo-Xin ZHOU,Zhi-Hong XU 한국곤충학회 2019 Entomological Research Vol.49 No.2

Due to habitat fragmentation, the loss of species diversity has been extensively studied. On the contrary, the effects of habitat fragmentation on functional diversity is still poorly understood. In the Thousand Island Lake, we conducted studies of insect functional diversity on a set of 29 isolated islands. We used 10 functional diversity indices from three aspects (functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence) to respectively describe functional diversity of insects on sample islands. We found the following results: (i) The functional indices selected could reflect the functional diversity of sample islands and it is further proved that in general, three components of functional diversity were independent of each other; (ii) Sample islands could be divided into two categories, island JSD and the remaining islands; (iii) Functional richness increased with island area and shape index, but had no significant correlation with isolation. Likewise, both functional evenness and functional divergence had no significant correlation with island attributes. The conclusion to emphasize from our research is that: (i) habitat fragmentation reduced the biological functional diversity to some extent, further demonstrating the importance of habitat continuity in biodiversity protection; and (ii) for functional diversity protection of insects in a fragmented landscape, an island which has high approximate shape index values of at least hundred hectare magnitude order has a critical promoting effect.

Favorable Impact Toughness of High Heat Input Coarse-Grained HAZ in an Ultra-Low Carbon High-Strength Microalloyed Steel

Fuhui Cui,Junjie Wang1,Xiangdong Gan,Dawei Yu,Ilya Vladimirovich Okulov,Qinghua Tian,Xueyi Guo 대한금속ᆞ재료학회 2023 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.29 No.2

Liquid Mg is capable of quickly eroding the refractory Ni-based superalloy and selectively dissolve Ni, which opens up anew avenue for the recycling of superalloy scraps for comprehensive metal reclamation. This study aims at investigating theunderlining mechanism and kinetics of the selective dissolution of Ni from Inconel 718 (one type of Ni-based superalloy)with liquid Mg, by experimenting at 750, 800, and 850 °C for various amounts of time in an inert atmosphere. This selectivedissolution process is also known as liquid metal dealloying. Results show that a permeable dealloyed layer was formedresulting from the preferential dissolution of Ni over other metallic elements (e.g., Fe, Cr, Nb, Mo, and Ti). At the dealloyingforefront, the grain boundaries of the matrix γ phase were preferentially eroded by liquid Mg. The opposite concentrationgradients of Ni (4–9 wt%) and Mg (12–18 wt%) cross the dealloyed layer suggested their counter diffusion. A higher heatingtemperature substantially increased the dealloying rate.

Regulatory Network of MicroRNAs, Host Genes, Target Genes and Transcription Factors in Human Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Wang, Tian-Yan,Xu, Zhi-Wen,Wang, Kun-Hao,Wang, Ning Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Abnormally expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) and genes have been found to play key roles in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. The aim of this paper was to assess inter-relationships and the regulatory mechanisms of ESCC through a network-based approach. We built three regulatory networks: an abnormally expressed network, a related network and a global network. Unlike previous examples, containing information only on genes or miRNAs, the prime focus was on relationships. It is worth noting that abnormally expressed network emerged as a fault map of ESCC. Theoretically, ESCC might be treated and prevented by correcting the included errors. In addition, the predicted transcription factors (TFs) obtained by the P-match method also warrant further study. Our results may further guide gene therapy researchers in the study of ESCC.

Role of folP1 and folP2 Genes in the Action of Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim Against Mycobacteria

( Tian Zhou Liu ),( Bang Xing Wang ),( Jin Tao Guo ),( Yang Zhou ),( Mugweru Julius ),( Moses Njire ),( Yuan Yuan Cao ),( Tian Wu ),( Zhi Yong Liu ),( Chang Wei Wang ),( Yong Xu ),( Tian Yu Zhang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.9

The combination of trimethoprim (TMP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has been shown to be active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in clinical tuberculosis (TB) treatment. However, the mechanism of action of TMP-SMX against Mtb is still unknown. To unravel this, we have studied the effect of TMP and SMX by deleting the folP2 gene in Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msm), and overexpressing the Mtb and Msm folP1/2 genes in Msm. Knocking out of the folP2 gene in Msm reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of SMX 8-fold compared with wild type. Overexpression of the folP1 genes from Mtb and Msm increased the MICs by 4- and 2-fold in Msm for SMX and TMP, respectively. We show a strong correlation between the expression of folP1 and folP2 genes and TMP-SMX resistance in mycobacteria. This suggests that a combination of FolP2 inhibitor and SMX could be used for TB treatment with a better outcome.

Role of high-frequency ultrasound in differentiating benign and malignant skin lesions: potential and limitations

Qiao Wang,Weiwei Ren,Lifan Wang,Xiaolong Li,Anqi Zhu,Dandan Shan,Jing Wang,Yujing Zhao,Danhua Li,Tian Tian Ren,Lehang Guo,Huixiong Xu,Liping Sun 대한초음파의학회 2024 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.43 No.4

Purpose: This study examined the diagnostic value of high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) features in differentiating between benign and malignant skin lesions.Methods: A total of 1,392 patients with 1,422 skin lesions who underwent HFUS examinations were included in an initial dataset (cohort 1) to identify features indicative of malignancy. Qualitative clinical and HFUS characteristics were recorded for all lesions. To determine which HFUS and clinical features were suggestive of malignancy, univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed. The diagnostic performance of HFUS features combined with clinical information was evaluated. This assessment was validated using internal data (cohort 2) and multicenter external data (cohort 3).Results: Features significantly associated with malignancy included age above 60 years; lesion location in the head, face, and neck or genital regions; changes in macroscopic appearance; crawling or irregular growth pattern; convex or irregular base; punctate hyperechogenicity; blood flow signals; and feeding arteries. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity of HFUS features combined with clinical information were 0.946, 92.5%, and 86.9% in cohort 1; 0.870, 93.1%, and 80.8% in cohort 2 (610 lesions); and 0.864, 86.2%, and 86.6% in cohort 3 (170 lesions), respectively. However, HFUS is not suitable for evaluating lesions less than 0.1 mm in thickness or lesions exhibiting surface hyperkeratosis.Conclusion: In a clinical setting, the integration of HFUS with clinical information exhibited good diagnostic performance in differentiating malignant and benign skin lesions. However, its utility was limited in evaluating extremely thin lesions and those exhibiting hyperkeratosis.

Melatonin protects endothelial progenitor L255cells against AGE-induced apoptosis via autophagy flux stimulation and promotes wound healing in diabetic mice

Haiming Jin,Zengjie Zhang,Chengui Wang,Qian Tang,Jianle Wang,Xueqin Bai,Qingqing Wang,Majid Nisar,Naifeng Tian,Quan Wang,Cong Mao,Xiaolei Zhang,Xiangyang Wang 생화학분자생물학회 2018 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.50 No.-

Wound healing is delayed in diabetic patients. Increased apoptosis and endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) dysfunction are implicated in delayed diabetic wound healing. Melatonin, a major secretory product of the pineal gland, promotes diabetic wound healing; however, its mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, EPCs were isolated from the bone marrow of mice. Treatment of EPCs with melatonin alleviated advanced glycation end product (AGE)-induced apoptosis and cellular dysfunction. We further examined autophagy flux after melatonin treatment and found increased light chain 3 (LC3) and p62 protein levels in AGE-treated EPCs. However, lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 expression was decreased, indicating that autophagy flux was impaired in EPCs treated with AGEs. We then evaluated autophagy flux after melatonin treatment and found that melatonin increased the LC3 levels, but attenuated the accumulation of p62, suggesting a stimulatory effect of melatonin on autophagy flux. Blockage of autophagy flux by chloroquine partially abolished the protective effects of melatonin, indicating that autophagy flux is involved in the protective effects of melatonin. Furthermore, we found that the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway is involved in autophagy flux stimulation by melatonin. An in vivo study also illustrated that melatonin treatment ameliorated impaired wound healing in a streptozotocin-induced diabetic wound healing model. Thus, our study shows that melatonin protects EPCs against apoptosis and dysfunction via autophagy flux stimulation and ameliorates impaired wound healing in vivo, providing insight into its mechanism of action in diabetic wound healing.

Code development and preliminary validation for lead-cooled fast reactor thermal-hydraulic transient behavior

Wang Chenglong,Wang Chen,Tian Wenxi,Su Guanghui,Qiu Suizheng 한국원자력학회 2024 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.56 No.6

Lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) have a wide range of application scenarios, which require the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of LFRs to be reliable. In the present paper, the Lead-cooled fast reactor Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis Code LETHAC was developed, including the models of pipe, heat exchanger, and pool. To verify the correctness of LETHAC, two experimental facilities and three experimental cases were selected, including GFT and PLOFA tests for NACIE-UP and Test-1 for CIRCE. The calculated results show the same and consistent trend with the experimental data, but there are some discrepancies. It can be found that LETHAC is suitable and reliable in predicting the transient behavior of lead-cooled system.

Multi-objective Optimization of a Hydrogen-Battery Hybrid Storage System for Offshore Wind Farm Using MOPSO

Tian Tian,Ma Zetao,Cui Qiong,Shu Jie,Tan Lei,Wang Hao 대한전기학회 2023 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.18 No.6

Recently, offshore wind farms (OWFs) are gaining more and more attention for its high efficiency and yearly energy production capacity. However, the power generated by OWFs has the drawbacks of intermittence and fluctuation, leading to the deterioration of electricity grid stability and wind curtailment. Energy storage is one of the most important solutions to smooth the wind power and capture its surplus. In this paper, we provide a multi-objective optimization approach that combines multi-objective particle swarm optimization and rule-based energy management strategy for an on-gird offshore wind-hydrogen-battery system to simultaneously address the economic (Eco), the qualified rate of smoothing offshore wind power fluctuations (QRS), and the rate of offshore wind power curtailment (ROC). Results revealed that ROC and Eco, QRS and Eco are negatively correlated, but ROC and QRS are positively correlated. The hybrid storage system is more conducive to improve QRS and reduce ROC. Comparing with other three systems, the improvement range for ROC is between 13.6 and 46% when QRS is 100%. In addition, battery storage improves QRS by 2.6%, hydrogen storage deteriorates Eco by 86.8% and improve ROC by 38.5%, the change of ROC and QRS brings by transmission project are close to 100% and 4.4%.

Effects of yeast hydrolysate supplementation on intestinal morphology, barrier, and anti-inflammatory functions of broilers

Wang Ting,Cheng Kang,Li QiMing,Wang Tian 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.6

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary yeast hydrolysate (YH) supplementation on intestinal morphology, barrier, and anti-inflammatory functions of broilers. Methods: A total of 320 one day old male broilers were randomly allocated into four groups with eight replicates of ten broilers each. The broilers were supplemented with a basal diet (the control group) or basal diets adding 50, 100, 150 mg/kg YH, respectively. This trial lasted for 42 days. The orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to determine the linear and quadratic effects of increasing levels of YH. Results: In our previous research, supplementing YH improved growth performance by enhancing body weight gain but decreased feed-to-gain ratio. In this study, compared with the control group, dietary YH addition linearly and quadratically decreased serum diamine oxidase activity (p<0.05). Additionally, supplementing YH linearly and/or quadratically decreased jejunal crypt depth (CD), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentration as well as mucin 2, interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, TNF-α, nuclear factor kappa B, and myeloid differentiation factor 88 gene expression levels (p<0.05). Whereas the jejunal villus height (VH), VH/CD, IL-10 concentration as well as zonula occludens-1 and IL-10 gene expression levels were linearly and/or quadratically increased by YH supplementation (p<0.05). Conclusion: Dietary YH supplementation improved intestinal morphology, barrier and anti-inflammatory functions while decreased intestinal permeability of broilers, which might be related with altering pertinent genes expression. This study provides evidence of YH as a promising feed additive for broilers. Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary yeast hydrolysate (YH) supplementation on intestinal morphology, barrier, and anti-inflammatory functions of broilers.Methods: A total of 320 one day old male broilers were randomly allocated into four groups with eight replicates of ten broilers each. The broilers were supplemented with a basal diet (the control group) or basal diets adding 50, 100, 150 mg/kg YH, respectively. This trial lasted for 42 days. The orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to determine the linear and quadratic effects of increasing levels of YH.Results: In our previous research, supplementing YH improved growth performance by enhancing body weight gain but decreased feed-to-gain ratio. In this study, compared with the control group, dietary YH addition linearly and quadratically decreased serum diamine oxidase activity (p<0.05). Additionally, supplementing YH linearly and/or quadratically decreased jejunal crypt depth (CD), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentration as well as mucin 2, interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, TNF-α, nuclear factor kappa B, and myeloid differentiation factor 88 gene expression levels (p<0.05). Whereas the jejunal villus height (VH), VH/CD, IL-10 concentration as well as zonula occludens-1 and IL-10 gene expression levels were linearly and/or quadratically increased by YH supplementation (p<0.05).Conclusion: Dietary YH supplementation improved intestinal morphology, barrier and anti-inflammatory functions while decreased intestinal permeability of broilers, which might be related with altering pertinent genes expression. This study provides evidence of YH as a promising feed additive for broilers.

Numerical simulation of ice loads on a ship in broken ice fields using an elastic ice model

Wang, Chao,Hu, Xiaohan,Tian, Taiping,Guo, Chunyu,Wang, Chunhui The Society of Naval Architects of Korea 2020 International Journal of Naval Architecture and Oc Vol.12 No.1

The finite element method is used to simulate the navigation of an ice-area bulk carrier in broken ice fields. The ice material is defined as elastic, and the simulations are accomplished at four model speeds and three ice concentrations. The movements of ice floes in the simulation are consistent with those in the model test, and the percentage deviation of the numerical ice resistance from the ice resistance in the model test can be controlled to be less than 15 %. The key characteristics of ice loads, including the average ice loads, extreme ice loads, and characteristic frequency, are analyzed thoroughly in a comprehensive manner. Moreover, the effects of sailing speed and ice concentration on the ice loads are analyzed. In particular, the stress distribution of ice floes is presented to help understand how model speed and concentration affect the ice loads. The "ice pressure" phenomenon is observed at 90 % ice concentration, and it is realistically reflected both in the time―and frequency―domain ice force curves.