Occurrence and Source Effect of Novel Brominated Flame Retardants (NBFRs) in Soils from Five Asian Countries and Their Relationship with PBDEs

Li, Wen-Long,Ma, Wan-Li,Zhang, Zi-Feng,Liu, Li-Yan,Song, Wei-Wei,Jia, Hong-Liang,Ding, Yong-Sheng,Nakata, Haruhiko,Minh, Nguyen Hung,Sinha, Ravindra Kumar,Moon, Hyo-Bang,Kannan, Kurunthachalam,Sverko, American Chemical Society 2017 Environmental science & technology Vol.51 No.19

<P>This paper presents the first comprehensive survey of 19 novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in soil samples collected among five Asian countries. High variability in concentrations of all NBFRs was found in soils with the geometric mean (GM) values ranging from 0.50 ng/g dry weight (dw) in Vietnam to 540 ng/g dw in the vicinity of a BFR manufacturer in China. In urban, rural, and background locations, the GM concentrations of Sigma(19)NBFRs decreased in the order of Japan > South Korea > China > India > Vietnam. Correlations among different NBFR compounds were positive and statistically significant (p < 0.05), suggesting that they originate from similar sources. Evidence for simultaneous application between polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and NBFRs were also noted. Principal component analysis of NBFR concentrations revealed specific pollution sources for different NBFRs coming from urban, BFR-related industrial, and e-waste sites. For the first time, this study demonstrates a 'point source fractionation effect' for NBFRs and PBDEs. The concentrations of all NBFRs and PBDEs were negatively and significantly correlated with the distance from BFR-related industrial and e-waste regions. Positive and significant correlation between population density and NBFR concentrations in soils was identified. Our study revealed that the primary sources effects were stronger than the secondary sources effects in controlling the levels and distribution of NBFRs and PBDEs in soils in these five Asian countries.</P>

Oral administration of Schisandra chinensis extract suppresses Dnmt1 expression in Kunming mice ovaries

Wen-yong Li,Feng-Rui Wu,Deng-kun Li,Mi-mi Su,Yong Liu,Biao Ding,Rong Wang 한국유전학회 2016 Genes & Genomics Vol.38 No.12

The plant Schisandra chinensis contains a phytoestrogens, a type of naturally occurring estrogens which have multiple functions in a number of biological processes. To investigate the correlation between phytoestrogens and epigenetic modification, especially the effect of phytoestrogens on DNA methylation, sexually healthy female mice were used as an animal model in the present study. Briefly, the total RNA and protein were isolated from the ovary of mice after 7-day oral administration of Schisandra chinensis extract (SCE), while distilled water was given to the animals in the control group. Real-time PCR, Western blotting, and enzyme activity assays were performed to examine the effect of the extract of S. chinensis on Dnmt1 transcription and activity. A promoter assay was further conducted in MCF cells (ER positive) to explore also the influence of SCE on Dnmt1 transcriptional activity. The results revealed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of mouse Dnmt1 were both significantly downregulated in the treated group. The transcription of Dnmt1 was suppressed by SCE and in the E2-added group also. Meanwhile the numbers of oocytes at different stages were increased in the treated group when compared by histological analyses with those in the control group. Taken together, the results indicated that, similarly to the action of estrogen, phytoestrogens affected Dnmt1 transcription in mammals, regulating the related gene expression and cell differentiation. The findings of our examination provided also basic data and understanding for the correlation between phytoestrogens and epigenetic modification.

Pseudonocardia rhizophila sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from a rhizosphere soil

Li, Jie,Zhao, Guo-Zhen,Huang, Hai-Yu,Zhu, Wen-Yong,Lee, Jae-Chan,Kim, Chang-Jin,Xu, Li-Hua,Zhang, Li-Xin,Li, Wen-Jun Springer-Verlag 2010 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Vol.98 No.1

Genetic Overlap in the Quantitative Resistance of Rice at the Seedling and Adult Stages to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Yong-Li Zhou,Xue-Wen Xie,Mei-Rong Xu,Jin-Ping Zang,Ling-Hua Zhu,Jian-Long Xu,Zhi-Kang Li 한국식물학회 2012 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.55 No.2

The genetic components responsible for the qualitative and quantitative resistance of rice to three Chinese races (C2, C4, and C5) of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo)were investigated at the seedling and adult stages in two successive years in set of Lemont/Teqing cross introgression lines (ILs) in a Teqing background, to create a complete linkage map using 160 well-distributed SSR markers. Teqing was resistant to C2 and C4, but moderately susceptible to C5,whereas Lemont was susceptible to all three races. Highly significant correlations were detected among the resistance to different races at different developmental stages. A major gene (Xa4), 14 main-effect QTLs (M-QTLs), and 18 epistatic QTLs were identified in the two developmental stages over 2 years,and were largely responsible for the segregation of resistance in the ILs. In 2007, the Lemont alleles at all loci in the seedling stage, except QBbr10 to C4, increased lesion length (LL) or decreased resistance. The Teqing allele at the Xa4 locus acted as a resistance gene against C2 and C4, but acted as a M-QTL when its resistance was overcome by the virulent race C5. MQTLs showed a degree of race specificity and had a cumulative effect on resistance. Most M-QTLs (94%) consistently expressed resistance to the same race at the seedling and adult stages, indicating that a high degree of genetic overlap exists between Xoo resistance at both developmental stages in rice. Among the digenic interactions, most co-introgressed Lemont alleles at the two epistatic loci lead to significantly smaller LL with all three races, compared to other types of interacting alleles at both development stages. The results indicate that a high level of resistance may be achieved by the cumulative effect of multiple M-QTLs, including the residual effects of “defeated” major resistance genes and the epistatic effects of co-introgression from diverse susceptible varieties.

Bradyrhizobium spp. and Sinorhizobium fredii are Predominant in Root Nodules of Vigna angularis, a Native Legume Crop in the Subtropical Region of China

Li Li Han,En Tao Wang,Yang Li Lu,Yong Fa Zhang,Xin Hua Sui,Wen Feng Chen,Wen Xin Chen 한국미생물학회 2009 The journal of microbiology Vol.47 No.3

Adzuki bean (Vigna angularis) is an important legume crop native to China, but its rhizobia have not been well characterized. In the present study, a total of 60 rhizobial strains isolated from eight provinces of China were analyzed with amplified 16S rRNA gene RFLP, IGS-RFLP, and sequencing analyses of 16S rRNA, atpD, recA, and nodC genes. These strains were identified as genomic species within Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Ochrobactrum. The most abundant groups were Bradyrhizobium species and Sinorhizobium fredii. Diverse nodC genes were found in these strains, which were mainly co-evolved with the housekeeping genes, but a possible lateral transfer of nodC from Sinorhizobium to Rhizobium was found. Analyses of the genomic and symbiotic gene backgrounds showed that adzuki bean shared the same rhizobial gene pool with soybean (legume native to China) and the exotic Vigna species. All of these data demonstrated that nodule formation is the interaction of rhizobia, host plants, and environment characters.

Improved Sufficient LMI Conditions for the Robust Stability of Timedelayed Neutral-type Lur’e Systems

Wen-Yong Duan,Baozhu Du,Yan Li,Cuifeng Shen,Xuelai Zhu,Xiaofan Li,Jian Chen 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2018 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.16 No.5

In this paper, we focus on the problem of the absolute and robustly absolute stability for the neutraltype Lur’e system with time-varying delay. By combining the piecewise analysis theory with extended doubleintegral and Wirtinger-based inequalities technology, some new delay-dependent stability criteria for the absolute and robustly absolute stability are proposed via Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) approach. The stability conditions can be expressed as convex linear matrix inequality (LMI) framework, which can be solved by using standard LMI convex optimization solvers. The criteria proposed in this paper are less conservative than some previous ones. Finally, some numerical examples are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Analysis of Bacterial Diversity and Communities Associated with Tricholoma matsutake Fruiting Bodies by Barcoded Pyrosequencing in Sichuan Province, Southwest China

( Qiang Li ),( Xiao Lin Li ),( Cheng Chen ),( Shu Hong Li ),( Wen Li Huang ),( Chuan Xiong ),( Xing Jin ),( Lin Yong Zheng ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.1

Endophytes play an important role in the growth and development of the host. However, the study of endophytes is mostly focused on plants, and reports on bacteria associated with fungi are relatively rare. We studied the bacteria associated with fruiting bodies of Tricholoma matsutake picked from seven main T. matsutake-producing areas in Sichuan, China, by barcoded pyrosequencing. About 8,272 reads were obtained per sample, representing 40 phyla, 103 classes, and 495 genera of bacteria and archaea, and 361.797 operational taxonomic units were observed at a 97% similarity level. The bacterial community was always both more abundant and more diverse than the archaeal community. UniFrac analysis showed there were some difference of bacterial communities among the samples sites. Three bacterial phyla, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes, were dominant in all samples. Correlation analysis showed there was a significant correlation between some soil properties and bacterial community associated with T. matsutake. This study demonstrated that the bacteria associated with T. matsutake fruiting bodies were diversified. Among these bacteria, we may find some strains that can promote the growth of T. matsutake.

An Improved Active Damping Method with Capacitor Current Feedback

Yi-Wen Geng,Ya-Wen Qi,Hai-Wei Liu,Fei Guo,Peng-Fei Zheng,Yong-Gang Li,Wen-Ming Dong 전력전자학회 2018 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.18 No.2

Proportional capacitor current feedback active damping (CCFAD) has a limited valid damping region in the discrete time domain as (0, fs/6). However, the resonance frequency (fr) of an LCL-type filter is usually designed to be less than half the sampling frequency (fs) with the symmetry regular sampling method. Therefore, (fs/6, fs/2) becomes an invalid damping region. This paper proposes an improved CCFAD method to extend the valid damping region from (0, fs/6) to (0, fs/2), which covers all of the possible resonance frequencies in the design procedure. The full-valid damping region is obtained and the stability margin of the system is analyzed in the discrete time domain with the Nyquist criterion. Results show that the system can operate stably with the proposed CCFAD method when the resonance frequency is in the region (0, fs/2). The performances at the steady and dynamic state are enhanced by the selected feedback coefficient H and controller gain Kp. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed CCFAD method are verified by simulation and experimental results.

MLH1 Polymorphisms and Cancer risk: a Meta-analysis Based on 33 Case-control Studies

Xu, Jia-Li,Yin, Zhi-Qiang,Huang, Ming-De,Wang, Xie-Feng,Gao, Wen,Liu, Ling-Xiang,Wang, Rong-Sheng,Huang, Pu-Wen,Yin, Yong-Mei,Liu, Ping,Shu, Yong-Qian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.3

Objective: Cumulative evidence suggests that MLH1, the key component in the mismatch pathway, plays an important role in human cancers. Two potential functional polymorphisms (-93G>A and I219V) of MLH1 have been implicated in cancer risk. The aim of this meta-analysis was to summarize the evidence for associations. Methods: Eligible studies were identified by searching the electronic literature PubMed, ScienceDirect and Embase databases for relevant reports and bibliographies. Studies were included if of case-control design investigating MLH1 polymorphisms (-93G>A and I219V) and cancer risk with sufficient raw data for analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to evaluate the strength of associations. Results: Our meta-analysis from 33 published case-control studies showed the variant A allele of -93G>A polymorphism to be associated with increased risk in all genetic models (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.03-1.44), especially among non-Asians (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.04-1.58). For the I219V polymorphism, however, there was no main effect associated with overall cancer risk in any genetic model. Conclusions: The meta-analysis suggested that the MLH1 -93G>A polymorphism may be a biomarker of cancer susceptibility. Large sample association studies and assessment of gene-to-gene as well as gene-to-environment interactions are required to confirm these findings.

Two new benzylisoquinoline alkaloids from Thalictrum foliolosum and their antioxidant and in vitro antiproliferative properties

Da-Hong Li,Jia Guo,Wen Bin,Nan Zhao,Kai-bo Wang,Jian-yong Li,Zhan-Lin Li,Hui-Ming Hua 대한약학회 2016 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.39 No.7

Two novel rare chloro-containing benzylisoquinolinealkaloids, thalfoliolosumines A (1) and B (2),along with eight known isoquinoline alkaloids (3–10) wereisolated from the whole plant of Thalictrum foliolosum. The structures of these compounds were elucidated byspectral analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR (COSY,HSQC, HMBC and NOESY) experiments. The antiproliferativeeffects of all the isolated compounds were evaluatedby MTT method against MCF-7, PC-3, and U937cells, and trypan blue method against HL-60 cells. Newcompounds 1 and 2 exhibited moderate in vitro antiproliferativeactivity against MCF-7, PC-3, and HL-60 cells,and good inhibitory effects against U937 cells with IC50values of 7.50 and 6.97 μM, respectively. Compounds 7and 10 showed the strongest in vitro antiproliferative withIC50 values of 0.93 and 1.69 lM against HL-60 cell line. The antioxidant properties were also measured, bisbenzyltetrahydroisoquinolinealkaloids 3–6 showed the strongestantioxidant activities in ABTS assay.