Abnormalities in Inflammatory Cytokines Confer Susceptible to Chronic Neuropathic Pain-related Anhedonia in a Rat Model of Spared Nerve Injury

Xi Fang,Gaofeng Zhan,Jie Zhang,Hui Xu,Bin Zhu,Yimin Hu,Chun Yang,Ailin Luo 대한정신약물학회 2019 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.17 No.2

Objective: Patients with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) have a higher incidence to develop depression. However, its pathogenesis has not yet been fully elucidated. Here we aimed to investigate the role of inflammatory cytokines in CNP-related anhedonia, which is a core symptom of depression, and to explore the effects of ketamine and parecoxib on pain and anhedonia. Methods: A rat model of spared nerve injury (SNI) was constructed to mimic CNP. Hierarchical cluster analysis of sucrose preference test (SPT) was applied to classify the SNI rats into anhedonia susceptible and unsusceptible. Inflammatory cytokines in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of brain, serum and L2-5 spinal cord were measured. Moreover, effects of ketamine or parecoxib on mechanical withdrawal test (MWT) and SPT in anhedonia susceptible rats were detected. Results: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- was increased in mPFC, serum and and spinal cord of anhedonia susceptible rats. Furthermore, anhedonia susceptible and unsusceptible rats both increased the interleukin (IL)-1 level in mPFC, serum and spinal cord. IL-6 was altered in serum and spinal cord, but not in mPFC. IL-10 was significantly altered in mPFC and serum, but not in spinal cord. Additionally, ketamine treatment significantly attenuated the decreased results of MWT and SPT in anhedonia susceptible rats, and that parecoxib significantly improved the MWT score, but failed to alter the result of SPT. Conclusion: These findings suggest that abnormalities in inflammatory cytokines confer susceptible to anhedonia in a rat model of SNI. Ketamine, a fast-acting antidepressant, has pharmacological benefits to alleviate pain and anhedonia symptoms.

旅游目的地的形象,感知价値及游客滿意度關系的分析 -訪韓中國游客위僞例

초방방 ( Fang Fang Xiao ),장요희 ( Yao Xi Zhang ),김시중 ( Si Joong Kim ) 관광경영학회 2015 관광경영연구 Vol.64 No.-

This study examines the relationships between cognitive image, affective image, perceived value and tourist satisfaction. Destination images play a significant influencing role in destination selection. This study was conducted with the specific goal of determining the destination images of South Korea as perceived by Chinese travelers. A conceptual framework was developed to model these relationships, which was validated with an empirical data set. The survey was conducted with Chinese tourists to South Korea by questionnaire from September 1st to September 25th, 2014. Based on the response of a total of 400 Chinese tourists obtained from the empirical research, this study reviewed reliability and fitness of the research model and verified a total of 3 hypotheses using SPSS21.0 program. The hypothesized relationship in the model were tested simultaneously by using regression analysis. The results shows that cognitive and affective image as independent variables had an effect on perceived value. The perceived value had influence on tourist satisfaction. Moreover, perceived value, and tourist satisfaction are strongly influenced by destination image. Finally, the implications and future research suggestions were discussed in the conclusion section. Recommendations are provided to offer valuable direction to Korean tourism offices and marketers to better promote South Korea as a valuable destination for Chinese tourists.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the meadow moth, Loxostege sticticalis (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae), compared to other Pyraloidea moths

Hong-Fang Ma,Xi-Xi Zheng,Ming-Hui Peng,Hai-Xu Bian,Miao-Miao Chen,Yan-Qun Liu,Xing-Fu Jiang,Li Qin 한국응용곤충학회 2016 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.19 No.3

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is an important topic for comparative and evolutionary genomics, as well as phylogenetic and population genetics. However, there are limited data regarding the mitochondrial genome available of Pyraloidea, one of the largest superfamilies in Lepidoptera. In this report, we present the complete mitogenome of the meadow moth, Loxostege sticticalis L. (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae), which is a serious economic pest of both crops and weedsworldwide, thereby enhancing the available genomic information for Pyraloidea. This circular genome is 15,218 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes (rRNAs), and 22 tRNA genes (tRNAs), with a typical gene orientation and order comparable to other sequenced Pyraloidea insects. The genome composition of the major strand exhibits highly AT bias (80.82%), with a slightly positive AT skew indicating the occurrence of more As than Ts. The L. sticticalis mitogenome has a total of 130 bp of intergenic spacer sequences spread over 15 regions, ranging in size from 1 to 48 bp, of which only two are common among the 23 total Pyraloidea moths that have data collected on the mitogenome (one is located between tRNAGln and ND2 with variation change in length and a limited sequence conservation, and the other is located between tRNASer(UCN) and ND1 with a conserved 6 bp motif ‘ATACTA’). The A + Trich region of 331 bp in the genome is comprised of non-repetitive sequences but contains an ATAGN motif followed by a poly-T stretch of 17 bp, a microsatellite-like (TA)11 element preceded by an ATTTA motif, and a poly-A stretch upstream tRNAMet. These conserved structures identified in the A + T-rich region are presented in all of the sequenced Pyraloidea species. We provide a mitogenome-based phylogeny of Pyraloidea species, in which L. sticticalis shares close ancestry to Ostrinia species with substantial evidence. Our phylogenetic analyses strongly divide Crambidae into two sister lineages, one consisting of Pyraustinae and Spilomelinae, while the other contains Crambinae, Acentropinae, Scopariinae, Schoenobiinae and Glaphyriinae. The mitogenome dataset also supports the basal split between Pyraustinae and Spilomelinae.

BmNPV chitinase gene deletion enhances foreign gene expression in a BmN cell system

Fang WANG,Chuan-Xi ZHANG 한국곤충학회 2009 Entomological Research Vol.39 No.1

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is extensively being studied as an expression vector for heterologous gene expression in silkworm-derived cells as well as in the host larvae or pupae. BmNPV chitinase is necessary for liquefaction of the virus-infected host insect. The influence of chitinase on the efficiency of foreign gene expression was studied to provide a scientific basis for improving the BmNPV expression system. The BmNPV chitinase gene (chiA) was deleted and the expression level of the polyhedrin promoter controlling the lacZ gene in BmN cells was determined. Sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)–olyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) showed that β-galactosidase accounted for approximately 6.9 and 7.7% of the total protein in BmN cells infected with the chiA deficient Bm lacZ+chiA−,at 3 and 4 days post infection, while the total protein was 3.2 and 4.2% in cells infected with Bm lacZ+. The relative β-galactosidase activities in Bm lacZ+chiA−[기호] -infected cells improved 2.33- and 1.56-fold compared to those of Bm lacZ+-infected cells at 3 and 4 days post infection. The results of the present study suggest that chitinase deletion could improve the lacZ expression level in the BmNPV-BmN cell expression system.

Apoptosis Induction Effects of EGCG in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells through Telomerase Repression

Xi Wang,Miao-Wang Hao,Ke Dong,Fang Lin,Ji-Hong Ren,Hui-Zhong Zhang 대한약학회 2009 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.32 No.9

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major component of green tea polyphenol, has potent efficiency to prevent the growth of a variety of cancer cells. As a novel anticancer agent for treatment of cancers, EGCG is promising and the mechanism has not been fully understood. Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is one common tumor in head and neck cancers. In the present study, we assess the effects of EGCG on LSCC cell line Hep-2, and their possible involvement in EGCG-induced apoptosis. The result showed that treatment of Hep-2 cells with EGCG decreased the cell viability, inhibited the growth and proliferation, induced apoptosis and increased the activity of caspase-3 in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we found that EGCG-treatment repressed telomerase activity effectively in a concentrationdependent manner. The combined results show that EGCG induced apoptosis in Hep-2 cells via inhibiting the telomerase activity.

Sclareol production in the moss Physcomitrella patens and observations on growth and terpenoid biosynthesis

Xi-Wu Pan,Lei Han,Yu-Hua Zhang,Dong-Fang Chen,Henrik Toft Simonsen 한국식물생명공학회 2015 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.9 No.3

The moss Physcomitrella patens was engineered to produce the diterpenoid sclareol, an important precursor for the synthesis of ambergris substitutes for the perfume industry. The best total yield of sclareol was 2.84 mg/g dry weight (2.28 mg/l culture) obtained after 18 days of cultivation in liquid media (extracted from both media and cell pellet). The two active sclareol synthase genes were integrated in a random fashion, and linked with the ribosomal skip 2A under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter. We conclude that moss can produce sclareol and utilize the ribosomal skip 2A. In addition, we observed growth impairment in all our sclareol-producing lines and moss lines knocked out in the endogenous diterpene synthase (copalyl/kaurene synthase—PpCPS/KS). A RT-PCR study, with ubiquitin as the best reference gene, showed that there was a down-regulation of the transcription of the terpenoid biosynthetic genes in the PpCPS/KS knock out moss. This down-regulation was recovered by the introduction of the two sclareol synthases, suggesting that the regulation of the general terpenoid biosynthesis is very flexible and can be amended in future biotechnological engineering.

Off-Road Machinery Systms Engineering : Development of a Prototype of Guidance System for Rice-transplanter

( Fang Ming Zhang ),( Beom Soo Shin ),( Xi Ming Feng ),( Yuan Li ),( Ri Jiang Shou ) 한국농업기계학회 2013 바이오시스템공학 Vol.38 No.4

Purpose: It is not easy to drive a rice-transplanter avoiding underlapped or overlapped transplanting in paddy fields. An automated guidance system for the riding-type rice-transplanter would be necessary to operate the rice-transplanter autonomously or to assist the beginning drivers as a driving aid. Methods: A prototype of guidance system was composed of embedded computers, RTK-GPS, and a power-steering mechanism. Two Kalman filters were adopted to overcome sparse positioning data (1 Hz) from the RTK-GPS. A global Kalman filter estimated the posture of rice-transplanter every one second, and a local Kalman filter calculated the posture from every new estimation of the global Kalman filter with an interval of 200 ms. A PID controller was applied to the row-following mode control. A control method of U-turning mode was developed as well. A stepping motor with a reduction gear set was used to rotate the shaft of steering wheel. Results:Test trials for U-turning and row-following modes were done in a paddy field after some parameters have been tuned at the ground speed range of 0.3 ~ 1.2 m/s. The minimum RMS error of offset was 3.13 cm at the ground speed of 0.3 m/s while the maximum RMS error was 13.01 cm at 1.2 m/s. The offset RMS error tended to increase as the ground speed increased. The target point distance, LT also affected the system performance and PID controller parameters should be adjusted on different ground speeds. Conclusions: A target angle-based PID controller plus stationary steering angle controller made it possible for the rice-transplanter to steer autonomously by following a reference line accurately and even on U-turning mode. However, as condition in paddy fields is very complicated, the system should control the ground speed that prevents it from deviating too much due to ditch and slope.

Development of an automated guidance system for rice transplanter1

( Fang-ming Zhang ),( Xi-ming Feng ),( Yuan Li ),( Beom-soo Shin ),( Ru-jiang Shou ) 한국농업기계학회 2012 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.17 No.1

An automated guidance system was developed on a rice transplanter. A distributed embedded computer system, one ECC and 5 ECUs, was constructed. Two Kalman filters were formed. The 1^st one, named as global Kalman filter, integrated data of a RTK-GPS, a strapdown attitude sensor, and two encoders. The 2^nd one, named as local Kalman filter, integrated data of a strapdown attitude sensor and two encoders. A PID controller was applied to row following control, whose offset RMS could less than 4 cm at speed of 1.2 m/s. A U-turn controller was also designed that it could control the transplanter in a go-turn-back mode.

Characteristics and Prediction of Lung Cancer Mortality in China from 1991 to 2013

Fang, Jia-Ying,Dong, Hong-Li,Wu, Ku-Sheng,Du, Pei-Ling,Xu, Zhen-Xi,Lin, Kun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.14

Objective: To describe and analyze the epidemiological characteristics of lung cancer mortality in China from 1991 to 2013, forecast the future five-year trend and provide scientific evidence for prevention and management of lung cancer. Materials and Methods: Mortality data for lung cancer in China from 1991 to 2013 were used to describe epidemiological characteristics. Trend surface analysis was applied to analyze the geographical distribution of lung cancer. Four models, curve estimation, time series modeling, gray modeling (GM) and joinpoint regression, were performed to forecast the trend for the future. Results: Since 1991 the mortality rate of lung cancer increased yearly. The rate for males was higher than that for females and rates in urban areas were higher than in rural areas. In addition, our results showed that the trend will continue to increase in the ensuing 5 years. The mortality rate increased from age 45-50 and peaked in the group of 85 years old. Geographical analysis indicated that people living in northeast China provinces and the coastal provinces in eastern China had a higher mortality rate for lung cancer than those living in the centre or western Chinese provinces. Conclusions: The standardized mortality rate of lung cancer has constantly increased from 1991 to 2013, and been predicted to continue in the ensuing 5 years. Further efforts should be concentrated on education of the general public to increase prevention and early detection. Much better prevention and management is needed in high mortality areas (northeastern and eastern parts of China) and high risk populations (45-50-year-olds).

Liver Cancer Mortality Characteristics and Trends in China from 1991 to 2012

Fang, Jia-Ying,Wu, Ku-Sheng,Zeng, Yang,Tang, Wen-Rui,Du, Pei-Ling,Xu, Zhen-Xi,Xu, Xiao-Ling,Luo, Jia-Yi,Lin, Kun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.5

Purpose: To investigate the distribution of liver cancer mortality as well as its developing trend from 1991 to 2012, forecast the future five-year trend, and provide a basis for the comprehensive prevention and management. Materials and Methods: Mortality data for liver cancer in China from 1991 to 2012 were used to describe characteristics and distribution of liver cancer mortality. Trend surface analysis was used to study the geographical distribution of liver cancer mortality. Curve estimation, time series modeling, gray modeling (GM) and joinpoint regression were used to predict and forecast future trends. Results: The mortality rate of liver cancer has constantly increased in China since 1991. Rates in rural areas are higher than in urban areas, and in males are higher than in females. In addition, our data predicted that the trend will continue to increase in the next 5 years. The age-specific mortality of liver cancer increases with age and peaks in the group of 80-84 years old. Geographical analysis showed the liver mortality rate was higher in the southeast provinces, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, and southwest regions like Guangxi Province. Conclusions: The standardized mortality rate of liver cancer in China has consistently increased from 1991 to 2012, and the upward trend is predicted to continue in the future. Much better prevention and management of liver cancer is needed in high mortality areas (the southwestern and southeastern parts of China) and high mortality age groups (80- to 84-year-olds), especially in rural areas.