Expression and evolution of the phospholipase C gene family in Brachypodium distachyon

Xianguo Wang,Yang Liu,Zheng Li,Xiang Gao,Jian Dong,Mingming Yang 한국유전학회 2020 Genes & Genomics Vol.42 No.9

Background Phospholipase C (PLC) is an enzyme that hydrolyzes phospholipids and plays an important role in plant growth and development. The Brachypodium distachyon is a model plant of Gramineae, but the research on PLC gene family of Brachypodium has not been reported. Objective This study was performed to identify the PLC family gene in Brachypodium and to determine the expression profles of PLCs under the abiotic stress. Methods Complete genome sequences and transcriptomes of Brachypodium were downloaded from the PLAZA. The hidden Markov model-based profle of the conserved PLC domain was submitted as a query to identify all potential PLC domain sequences with HMMER software. Expression profles of BdPLCs were obtained based on the qRT-PCR analysis. Results There were 8 PLC genes in Brachypodium (BdPI-PLCs 1–4 and BdNPCs 1–4). All members of BdPI-PLC had three conserved domains of X, Y, and C2, and no EF-hand was found. All BdNPCs contained a phosphatase domain. BdPIPLC genes were distributed on Chr1, Chr2 and Chr4, with diferent types and numbers of cis-regulatory elements in their respective gene promoters. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the genetic relationship between Brachypodium and rice was closer than Arabidopsis. The expression patterns of BdPI-PLC gene under abiotic stresses (drought, low temperature, high temperature and salt stress) were up-regulated, indicated their important roles in response to low temperature, high temperature, drought and salt stresses. Conclusions This study provides comprehensive information for the study of Brachypodium PLC gene family and lays a foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism of Brachypodium stress adaptation.

An efficiency calibration method of segmented gamma scanning in reconstructing radioactive waste drum activity

Zheng Honglong,Tuo Xianguo,Wang Zhou,Gou Rui,Liu Qi,Li Qiang,Shi Rui,Yang Guang 한국물리학회 2024 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.84 No.4

For measuring radioactive waste drum, the segmented gamma scanning (SGS) is a quick and efective procedure. The accuracy of reconstructed radioactivity in the drum is directly impacted by SGS efciency matrix. To overcome the challenges of restricted experimental source and excessive workload in existing SGS efciency calibration methods, a new SGS efciency calibration method is presented. The point source efciency function calculates the non-attenuation efciency of each voxel in the calibrated segment. The voxel attenuation efciency is corrected by the linear attenuation coefcient for segments’ absorption. The attenuation efciency for the segment is calculated as the weighted average of all voxel attenuation efciencies in a segment. The waste drum sample is flled with a random mixture of 0.33 g·cm−3 aluminium silicate fbre, 0.64 g·cm−3 wood fbre, 1.84 g·cm−3 polyvinyl chloride plastic and a point source 60Co of 1.244× 105 Bq. The SGS system and the waste drum sample are used to complete SGS experimental measurement, efciency calibration and activity reconstruction. Result shows that the relative deviations of reconstructed activity are − 15.39–30.98% for the extreme case where just a point source 60Co is placed at 16 positions in the drum with diferent heights and eccentric distances. This relative deviation rang of reconstructed activity meets the needs of most users. Compared with other methods which have complicated computational processes, the main beneft of this work is to present a low-performance and easy-to-implement additional alternative to commercial software or existing approaches.

TGF-β1 suppresses CCL3/4 expression through the ERK signaling pathway and inhibits intervertebral disc degeneration and inflammation-related pain in a rat model

Jian Zhang,Zemin Li,Fan Chen,Hui Liu,Hua Wang,Xiang Li,Xianguo Liu,Jianru Wang,Zhaomin Zheng 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

The objective of this study was to investigate the regulatory effects of TGF-β1 on CCL3/4 expression and inflammation-related pain during intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). TGF-β1 and CCL3/4 expression patterns in different degenerative human nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues were measured by qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the effects of TGF-β1 on CCL3/4 expression were measured by qPCR, ELISA and immunofluorescence. The roles of NF-κB and MAPK in TGF-β1-mediated CCL3/4 promoter activity were studied using siRNAs, western blotting and qPCR. After establishing an IVDD rat model in vivo, we administered intradiscal injections of TGF-β1. The effects of TGF-β1 on IVDD were determined by MRI and histological analyses, and the effects of TGF-β1 on dorsal root ganglion (DRG) inflammation and pain development were determined by IHC staining and pain-behavior testing, respectively. TGF-β1 and CCL3/4 expression was elevated in degenerative NP tissue. CCL4 expression was significantly inhibited by TGF-β1 treatment. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA knockdown of the ERK1/2 signaling attenuated TGF-β1-mediated suppression of CCL4 expression. In vivo, TGF-β1 injection inhibited the development of degenerative features in the IVDD model. Moreover, TGF-β1 prevented the inflammatory response and pain development. The results of this study show that TGF-β1 downregulates CCL4 expression through ERK1/2 signaling activation in NP cells. Furthermore, TGF-β1 can prevent degenerative processes, inhibit inflammatory responses in the DRG and prevent pain development in the IVDD rat model. The results of this study indicate that TGF-β1 may represent a therapeutic target for the control of inflammation-related pain associated with IVDD.

Preparation and characterization of boron films used for boron-lined gaseous neutron detectors

Deng Chao,Wang Qibiao,Wu Yadong,Peng Shuming,Liu Fule,Li Huailiang,Cheng Jianfeng,Tuo Xianguo 한국물리학회 2021 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.79 No.7

Boron-lined gaseous neutron detectors are being widely used in neutron detection to replace 3He proportional counters, and the boron film’s parameters comprise the key factors influencing the performance of such detectors. However, the method of characterizing boron film is relatively simple at present. In this study, boron films stuck to ultrathin glass substrate with different mass proportions of epoxy to natural boron (MPENBs) were prepared. A variety of characterization methods, including scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, white-light interferometry, and multiple tape tests, were used to test the boron films simultaneously, and the test results are discussed herein. Moreover, neutron imaging was conducted to analyze the uniformity of boron-10 atoms. These characterization results demonstrate that the optimized MPENB formulation is 0.16 with the boron atomic ratio of chemical elements (ARCE) at approximately 68.8% and surface roughness Sa = 1.457 μm and that the structure of boron film is uniform and fluffy, contributing to improving the boron-lined method.

Synthesis, characterization and tribological performances of nano-CeO2/biodiesel carbon soot composites as a novel lubricant additive in polyalphaolefin

Chuan Li,Xinxin Wang,Qiangqiang Zhang,Xu Tan,Yefeng Liu,Honglin Li,Hao Liu,Enzhu Hu,Xianguo Hu 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.126 No.-

This study fabricated nano-CeO2/biodiesel carbon soot (BCS) composites using the raw material BCS,which is the byproduct of biodiesel combustion and cerium salt and used as a novel lubricant additiveto PAO6 for steel/steel contact. Oleylamine modified nano-CeO2/BCS composites comprise abundant lipophilicgroups, and thus nano-CeO2/BCS composites exhibit good dispersion in PAO6. The tribologicalresults showed that nano-CeO2/BCS composites significantly improved the lubricating performances ofPAO6. In case of 0.1 wt% nano-CeO2/BCS composites dispersed in PAO6, the friction coefficient and wearvolume were reduced by 17.3 and 35.2%, respectively. The improved tribological properties were attributedto the composites rolling and forming of a lubricating film on the friction surface and the presence ofBCS and CeO2 in composites exerting a synergistic lubricating effect, which simultaneously improved thetribological properties of PAO6. This discovery contributes to the conversion of BCS into valuables andpromotes the high value utilization of BCS as a lubricating additive.

Urchin-Like Ni Microspherical Structure with Enhanced Magnetic Loss for Thin Microwave Absorber at Gigahertz

Yuping Sun,Zhengwu Pan,Hongming Long,Siu Wing Or,S. L. Ho,Chao Feng,Xianguo Liu 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2017 NANO Vol.12 No.3

We describe in this report a wet chemical reduction synthetic strategy for synthesizing urchin-like Ni microspherical structures, in which the nanowires self-assembled by Ni nanoparticles with the size of 5–20 nm are assembled in a radial form from the center to the surface of the spherical oriented arrays. Urchin-like Ni microspherical structures exhibit the strong magnetic natural resonance peak at 7.0 GHz and superior magnetic loss at 2–18 GHz, originated from relatively high anisotropy energy of urchin-like shape. Electromagnetic absorption measurements show that the urchin-like Ni microspherical structures possess outstanding microwave absorption performance at 2–18 GHz. An optimal reflection loss of –21.98 dB can be observed at 17.4 GHz with a matching thickness of 1.4 mm and the effective absorption (below –10 dB, 90% absorption) bandwidth is 5 GHz (12–17 GHz) with a thickness of 1.7 mm. The excellent microwave absorption performance may be attributed to the good impedance, large attenuation constant and novel magnetic loss ability.

Novel α-FeOOH Nanorods/Ag3PO4 Semiconductor Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity and Stability

Wei Zhang,Chao Hu,Jie Tan,Zhujun Fan,Fangli Chi,Yaxin Sun,Songlin Ran,Xianguo Liu,Yaohui Lv 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2016 NANO Vol.11 No.6

The composite α-FeOOH nanorods/Ag3PO4 photocatalyst has been successfully fabricated through a facile hydrothermal process combined with a successive in situ precipitation technique. The SEM and TEM images show that Ag3PO4 particles have been successfully loaded on the surface of FeOOH nanorods. The photocatalytic activities of the α-FeOOH/Ag3PO4 composite were investigated for their efficiency on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under ultra-violet light and visible light irradiation, and the results showed that the α-FeOOH/Ag3PO4 composite possessed remarkable photocatalytic activities. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the strong absorption in visible light and the effective separation of photogenerated hole–electron pairs between Ag3PO4 and α-FeOOH.