A Novel Anti-Microbial Peptide from Pseudomonas, REDLK Induced Growth Inhibition of Leishmania tarentolae Promastigote In Vitro

Yanhui Yu,Panpan Zhao,Lili Cao,Pengtao Gong,Shuxian Yuan,Xinhua Yao,Yanbing Guo,Hang Dong,Weina Jiang 대한기생충학ㆍ열대의학회 2020 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.58 No.2

Leishmaniasis is a prevalent cause of death and animal morbidity in underdeveloped countries of endemic area. However, there is few vaccine and effective drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are involved in the innate immune response in many organisms and are being developed as novel drugs against parasitic infections. In the present study, we synthesized a 5-amino acid peptide REDLK, which mutated the C-terminus of Pseudomonas exotoxin, to identify its effect on the Leishmania tarentolae. Promastigotes were incubated with different concentration of REDLK peptide, and the viability of parasite was assessed using MTT and Trypan blue dye. Morphologic damage of Leishmania was analyzed by light and electron microscopy. Cellular apoptosis was observed using the annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis detection kit, mitochondrial membrane potential assay kit and flow cytometry. Our results showed that Leishmania tarentolae was susceptible to REDLK in a dose-dependent manner, disrupt the surface membrane integrity and caused parasite apoptosis. In our study, we demonstrated the leishmanicidal activity of an antimicrobial peptide REDLK from Pseudomonas aeruginosa against Leishmania tarentolae in vitro and present a foundation for further research of anti-leishmanial drugs.

Clonidine Patch for Tourette Syndrome With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Yanhui Chen,Zhongling Ke,Ying Ouyang,Ying Han,Dong Liang,Xueping Gao,Jie He,Yasong Du 대한신경정신의학회 2024 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.21 No.4

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of clonidine adhesive patch in Tourette syndrome (TS) patients with comorbid attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Methods This study was conducted on a sample of children and adolescents with TS who had comorbid ADHD between May 2012 and March 2015. The patients were diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, and were randomly assigned to four different dose groups: 1.0 mg/week, 1.5 mg/week, 2.0 mg/week and placebo group, and the symptom was evaluated by Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale, Version IV (SNAP-IV) and Yale Global Tic Severity Scale scales every 2 weeks. The primary outcome was tic disorders (TD) effective rate at week 8.Results One hundred and twenty-seven TS patients with comorbid ADHD in 2.0 mg/week (n=35), 1.5 mg/week (n=27), 1.0 mg/week (n=36) and placebo groups (n=29) were included in this subgroup analysis. The TD effective rate of the 2.0 mg, 1.5 mg, and 1.0 mg groups at week 8 were significantly better than that in placebo group (85.7%, 81.5%, and 86.1% vs. 20.7%, all p<0.0001). All groups demonstrated significant improvements in SNAP-IV total scale scores compared to baseline (p=0.0004), with treatment groups showing only a trend for better performance compared to placebo group at week 8, without statistical differences (22.1±15.41, 21.3±11.96, and 21.2±12.48 vs. 26.0±13.37, p=0.3385). A total of 9 adverse reactions occurred, all recovered spontaneously without additional medication.Conclusion Clonidine adhesive patch could safely and effectively reduce the tic symptoms of TS patients with comorbid ADHD, and might be potentially helpful in the ADHD symptoms control.

Effects of Envy on Depression: The Mediating Roles of Psychological Resilience and Social Support

Xiang Yanhui,Dong Xia,Zhao Jiaxu 대한신경정신의학회 2020 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.17 No.6

Objective Envy, as a stable personality trait, can affect individuals’ mental health. Specifically, previous studies have found that envy can lead to depression; however, the mechanism by which envy affects depression is still unclear. Therefore, based on the resilience framework, we used structural equation modeling to explore the mediating roles that social support and psychological resilience play between envy and depression.Methods Chinese college students (n=680) were recruited to complete four scales: the Dispositional Envy Scale (DES), the Symptom Checklist 90-Depression Subscale (SCL-90-DS), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS).Results The results confirmed that both social support and psychological resilience are significant mediators between envy and depression. Furthermore, social support plays a significant mediating role between envy and psychological resilience, and psychological resilience plays a significant mediating role between social support and depression. Specifically, the results indicated that envy not only directly increases the likelihood of developing depression, but also indirectly increases the likelihood of developing depression by affecting psychological resilience through negatively influencing social support.Conclusion This study provides a theoretical basis for enhancing psychological resilience and social support in order to ameliorate adverse effects of envy on depression.

Decreased expression of ATF3, orchestrated by β-catenin/TCF3, miR-17-5p and HOXA11-AS, promoted gastric cancer progression via increased β-catenin and CEMIP

Xie Guohua,Dong ping,Chen Hui,Xu Ling,Liu Yi,Ma Yanhui,Zheng Yingxia,Yang Junyao,Zhou Yunlan,Chen Lei,Shen Lisong 생화학분자생물학회 2021 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.53 No.-

ATF3 has been reported to be dysregulated in various cancers and involved in various steps of tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms underlying the abnormal expression of ATF3 and its biological function in gastric cancer (GC) have not been well investigated. Here, we report ATF3 as one of the key regulators of GC development and progression. Patients with low ATF3 expression had shorter survival and a poorer prognosis. In vitro and in vivo assays investigating ATF3 alterations revealed a complex integrated phenotype that affects cell growth and migration. Strikingly, high-throughput sequencing and microarray analysis of cells with ATF3 silencing or of ATF3-low GC tissues indicated alterations in the Wnt signaling pathway, focal adhesions and adherens junctions. Mechanistically, the expression of β-catenin and cell migration inducing hyaluronidase 1 (CEMIP) was significantly upregulated in GC cells with downregulated ATF3, which was synergistically repressed by the β-catenin/TCF3 signaling axis and noncoding RNA miR-17-5p and HOXA11-AS. In addition, we found that WDR5 expression was promoted by TCF3 and is involved in miR-17-5p and HOXA11-AS activation in GC cells. Taken together, our findings revealed the mechanism of ATF3 downregulation and its biological role in regulating the expression of Wnt signaling-related genes during GC progression, suggesting new informative biomarkers of malignancy and therapeutic directions for GC patients.

Matrix-Diffusion-Controlled Coarsening of the γ′ Phase in Waspaloy

Haiping Wang,Dong Liu,Yongzhao Shi,Jianguo Wang,Yanhui Yang,Longxiang Wang,Weidong Qin 대한금속·재료학회 2019 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.25 No.6

This paper discussed the coarsening behavior of the γ′ phase in Waspaloy during heat treatment at different aging timesunder the temperatures of 960 °C and 1000 °C. The morphology of γ′ phase is obtained by scanning electron microscopyand it is measured by the software Image Pro Plus 6.0 in a variety of aging conditions. The volume fraction of the γ′ phase isdecreasing with the increase of the temperature. The radius of the γ′ phase is subject to involve the coarsening process duringaging treatment, and the coarsening rate decreases with the extension of the aging time at certain temperature. Besides,the coarsening kinetics of γ′ phase in Waspaloy is adequately characterized by the Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner (LSW) theorymodel as the particle size distribution and coarsening behavior show excellent agreement with the LSW model. Accordingto the experimental results and LSW model, the coarsening rate coefficients were determined to be 27.23 nm3/s and58.67 nm3/s under the aging temperature of 960 °C and 1000 °C respectively. Meanwhile, on the basis of the experimentalstatistics analysis and the LSW model, the mathematical model of the coarsening behavior of the γ′ phase in Waspaloy wasdeveloped. Mathematical model developed in this paper can be used to evaluate the coarsening process of the γ′ phase duringthermal exposure. The interfacial energy between the γ′ phase and the γ matrix was determined to be 56.04 mJ/m2 and44.27 mJ/m2 at the temperature of 960 °C and 1000 °C respectively.

A large-area free-standing graphene oxide multilayer membrane with high stability for nanofiltration applications

Chen, Long,Li, Yanhui,Chen, Lina,Li, Na,Dong, Chenglong,Chen, Qiong,Liu, Beibei,Ai, Qing,Si, Pengchao,Feng, Jinkui,Zhang, Lin,Suhr, Jonghwan,Lou, Jun,Ci, Lijie Elsevier 2018 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL -LAUSANNE- Vol.345 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>A flexible and free-standing graphene oxide and nylon 6 (GO@nylon 6) multilayer nanofiltration membrane was prepared by a layer-by-layer assembly process. The combination of electrospinning and electrospraying technique was employed, which can facilely prepare large-area membrane with size of 20 × 30 cm. The mechanical stability of multilayer membrane has enhanced significantly due to the tightly locked structure achieved by nylon 6 nanofibers network. The novel GO@nylon 6–13 multilayer nanofiltration membrane demonstrated a pure water flux up to 11.15 L m<SUP>−2</SUP> h<SUP>−1</SUP> bar<SUP>−1</SUP>, while keeping high organic dye rejection rate (>95% for methylene blue, and >99% for methyl orange). The rejections rate of the Na<SUB>2</SUB>SO<SUB>4</SUB>, NaCl, CuSO<SUB>4</SUB>, and Pb(NO<SUB>3</SUB>)<SUB>2</SUB> were 56.5%, 27.6%, 36.7%, and 18.9%, respectively. Furthermore, GO@nylon 6–13 multilayer nanofiltration membrane also demonstrated a high flux of some common organic solvents (8.4, 5.3, and 0.8 L m<SUP>−2</SUP> h<SUP>−1</SUP> bar<SUP>−1</SUP> for methanol, ethanol, and NMP, respectively), showing excellent chemical stability for separation process in those solvents.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Large-area GO@nylon 6 multilayer nanofiltration membrane was prepared. </LI> <LI> The multilayer structure enhances the mechanical stability. </LI> <LI> The multilayer membrane demonstrates a high water flux. </LI> <LI> The multilayer membrane shows high rejection rate for organic dyes. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>Photograph and cross-section SEM image of GO@nylon 6 multilayer nanofiltration membrane, the inset shows the water contact angle.</P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Bi@H-TiO2/B-C3N4 heterostructure for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation activity under visible light

Junfeng Yang,Yuyang Wu,Yanhui Dong,Hao Cui,Chenyang Shi,Hang Sun,Shengyan Yin 한국공업화학회 2022 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.111 No.-

Herein, a ternary Bi@H-TiO2/B-C3N4 type II heterostructure is successfully designed and prepared viametal Bi as cocatalyst for photocatalytic H2 generation. As expected, under k > 300 nm light, the highestphotocatalytic hydrogen production rate (HPR) of Bi@H-TiO2/B-C3N4 is up to 223.08 lmol g1 h1. Excitingly, under visible light (k > 400 nm), the highest HPR of Bi@H-TiO2/B-C3N4 is increased to18.84 lmol g1 h1, which is about 67.3 times, 37.7 times and 6.8 times as high as that of H-TiO2, BC3N4and H-TiO2/B-C3N4 under the same conditions, respectively. Moreover, the electrochemical impedancespectroscopy and transient photocurrent tests manifest that the interface resistance of Bi@HTiO2/B-C3N4 composite decreases and the photocurrent density increases after loading metal Bi. Theseresults indicate that loading metal Bi as cocatalyst (providing more electron trapping sites) is beneficialto improve photocatalytic activity in the type II heterostructure composite. And the electron transferdirections (B-C3N4 ? H-TiO2 ? Bi or B-C3N4 ? Bi) are proved by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopytest. Therefore, the Bi@H-TiO2/B-C3N4 photocatalyst with strong visible light absorption is expected to bea promising candidate in photocatalytic fields under visible light.