Induction of Forkhead Class box O3a and apoptosis by a standardized ginsenoside formulation, KG-135, is potentiated by autophagy blockade in A549 human lung cancer cells

Yao, Chih-Jung,Chow, Jyh-Ming,Chuang, Shuang-En,Chang, Chia-Lun,Yan, Ming-De,Lee, Hsin-Lun,Lai, I-Chun,Lin, Pei-Chun,Lai, Gi-Ming The Korean Society of Ginseng 2017 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.41 No.3

Background: KG-135, a standardized formulation enriched with Rk1, Rg3, and Rg5 ginsenosides, has been shown to inhibit various types of cancer cells; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we explored its effects in A549 human lung cancer cells to investigate the induction of Forkhead Class box O3a (FOXO3a) and autophagy. Methods: Cell viability was determined by sulforhodamine B staining. Apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were analyzed using flow cytometry. The changes of protein levels were determined using Western blot analysis. Autophagy induction was monitored by the formation of acidic vesicular organelles stained with acridine orange. Results: KG-135 effectively arrested the cells in G1 phase with limited apoptosis. Accordingly, a decrease of cyclin-dependent kinase-4, cyclin-dependent kinase-6, cyclin D1, and phospho-retinoblastoma protein, and an increase of p27 and p18 proteins were observed. Intriguingly, KG-135 increased the tumor suppressor FOXO3a and induced the accumulation of autophagy hallmark LC3-II and acidic vesicular organelles without an increase of the upstream marker Beclin-1. Unconventionally, the autophagy adaptor protein p62 (sequestosome 1) was increased rather than decreased. Blockade of autophagy by hydroxychloroquine dramatically potentiated KG-135-induced FOXO3a and its downstream (FasL) ligand accompanied by the cleavage of caspase-8. Meanwhile, the decrease of Bcl-2 and survivin, as well as the cleavage of caspase-9, were also drastically enhanced, resulting in massive apoptosis. Conclusion: Besides arresting the cells in G1 phase, KG-135 increased FOXO3a and induced an unconventional autophagy in A549 cells. Both the KG-135-activated extrinsic FOXO3a/FasL/caspase-8 and intrinsic caspase-9 apoptotic pathways were potentiated by blockade of autophagy. Combination of KG-135 and autophagy inhibitor may be a novel strategy as an integrative treatment for cancers.

CO in Protostars (COPS): <i>Herschel</i>-SPIRE Spectroscopy of Embedded Protostars

Yang, Yao-Lun,Green, Joel D.,Evans II, Neal J.,Lee, Jeong-Eun,Jørgensen, Jes K.,Kristensen, Lars E.,Mottram, Joseph C.,Herczeg, Gregory,Karska, Agata,Dionatos, Odysseas,Bergin, Edwin A.,Bouwman, Jeroe American Astronomical Society 2018 The Astrophysical journal Vol.860 No.2

<P>We present full spectral scans from 200 to 670. mu m of 26 Class 0+I protostellar sources obtained with Herschel-SPIRE as part of the 'COPS-SPIRE' Open Time program, complementary to the DIGIT and WISH Key Programs. Based on our nearly continuous, line-free spectra from 200 to 670. mu m, the calculated bolometric luminosities (L-bol) increase by 50%. on average, and the bolometric temperatures (T-bol) decrease by 10%. on average, in comparison with the measurements without Herschel. Fifteen protostars have the same class using Tbol and L-bol/L-smm. We identify rotational transitions of CO lines from J = 4 -> 3to J = 13 -> 12, along with emission lines of (CO)-C-13, HCO+, H2O, and [C I]. The ratios of (CO)-C-12 to (CO)-C-13 indicate that (CO)-C-12 emission remains optically thick for J(up) < 13. We fit up to four components of temperature from the rotational diagram with flexible break points to separate the components. The distribution of rotational temperatures shows a primary population around 100 K with a secondary population at similar to 350 K. We quantify the correlations of each line pair found in our data set and find that the strength of the correlation of CO lines decreases as the difference between J levels between two CO lines increases. The multiple origins of CO emission previously revealed by velocity-resolved profiles are consistent with this smooth distribution if each physical component contributes to a wide range of CO lines with significant overlap in the CO ladder. We investigate the spatial extent of CO emission and find that the morphology is more centrally peaked and less bipolar at high-J lines. We find the CO emission observed with SPIRE related to outflows, which consists of two components, the entrained gas and shocked gas, as revealed by our rotational diagram analysis, as well as the studies with velocity-resolved CO emission.</P>

Induction of Forkhead Class box O3a and apoptosis by a standardized ginsenoside formulation, KG-135, is potentiated by autophagy blockade in A549 human lung cancer cells

Chih-Jung Yao,Jyh-Ming Chow,Shuang-En Chuang,Chia-Lun Chang,Ming-De Yan,Hsin-Lun Lee,I-Chun Lai,Pei-Chun Lin,Gi-Ming Lai 고려인삼학회 2017 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.41 No.3

Background: KG-135, a standardized formulation enriched with Rk1, Rg3, and Rg5 ginsenosides, has been shown to inhibit various types of cancer cells; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we explored its effects in A549 human lung cancer cells to investigate the induction of Forkhead Class box O3a (FOXO3a) and autophagy. Methods: Cell viability was determined by sulforhodamine B staining. Apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were analyzed using flow cytometry. The changes of protein levels were determined using Western blot analysis. Autophagy induction was monitored by the formation of acidic vesicular organelles stained with acridine orange. Results: KG-135 effectively arrested the cells in G1 phase with limited apoptosis. Accordingly, a decrease of cyclin-dependent kinase-4, cyclin-dependent kinase-6, cyclin D1, and phospho-retinoblastoma protein, and an increase of p27 and p18 proteins were observed. Intriguingly, KG-135 increased the tumor suppressor FOXO3a and induced the accumulation of autophagy hallmark LC3-II and acidic vesicular organelles without an increase of the upstream marker Beclin-1. Unconventionally, the autophagy adaptor protein p62 (sequestosome 1) was increased rather than decreased. Blockade of autophagy by hydroxychloroquine dramatically potentiated KG-135-induced FOXO3a and its downstream (FasL) ligand accompanied by the cleavage of caspase-8. Meanwhile, the decrease of Bcl-2 and survivin, as well as the cleavage of caspase-9, were also drastically enhanced, resulting in massive apoptosis. Conclusion: Besides arresting the cells in G1 phase, KG-135 increased FOXO3a and induced an unconventional autophagy in A549 cells. Both the KG-135-activated extrinsic FOXO3a/FasL/caspase-8 and intrinsic caspase-9 apoptotic pathways were potentiated by blockade of autophagy. Combination of KG- 135 and autophagy inhibitor may be a novel strategy as an integrative treatment for cancers.

AutoScale: Adaptive QoS-Aware Container-based Cloud Applications Scheduling Framework

( Yao Sun ),( Lun Meng ),( Yunkui Song ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2019 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.13 No.6

Container technologies are widely used in infrastructures to deploy and manage applications in cloud computing environment. As containers are light-weight software, the cluster of cloud applications can easily scale up or down to provide Internet-based services. Container-based applications can well deal with fluctuate workloads by dynamically adjusting physical resources. Current works of scheduling applications often construct applications’ performance models with collected historical training data, but these works with static models cannot self-adjust physical resources to meet the dynamic requirements of cloud computing. Thus, we propose a self-adaptive automatic container scheduling framework AutoScale for cloud applications, which uses a feedback-based approach to adjust physical resources by extending, contracting and migrating containers. First, a queue-based performance model for cloud applications is proposed to correlate performance and workloads. Second, a fuzzy Kalman filter is used to adjust the performance model’s parameters to accurately predict applications’ response time. Third, extension, contraction and migration strategies based on predicted response time are designed to schedule containers at runtime. Furthermore, we have implemented a framework AutoScale with container scheduling strategies. By comparing with current approaches in an experiment environment deployed with typical applications, we observe that AutoScale has advantages in predicting response time, and scheduling containers to guarantee that response time keeps stable in fluctuant workloads.

Impact of pillar configuration on the amphiphobicity of micro-patterned polymer surface

Yao, Wenhui,Li, Oi Lun,Kang, Young-Joon,Jeong, Myung-Yung,Cho, Young-Rae Elsevier 2018 Vacuum Vol.156 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Hydrophobic surfaces are easily contaminated by oil owing to its lower surface tension, which significantly limits their potential applications. In this study, micro-patterned surfaces with cylindrical or square pillar arrays were fabricated on a polycarbonate substrate by the thermal imprinting process. The geometry and size of the pillars were varied to obtain different samples, whereas the height of the pillars was kept constant. The surface of each micro-patterned sample was fluorinated with perfluorooctanoic acid. With the aim of characterizing the wetting behavior of the samples, droplets of water and oily liquids with different surface tensions were employed to measure the contact angles. In addition, the applicability of the Wenzel and Cassie equations for explaining the wetting mechanisms of droplets on the surfaces of the micro-patterned samples was systematically investigated. The prediction obtained using the Wenzel equation was found to differ considerably from the experimental results, whereas the Cassie equation was found to be acceptable for satisfactorily explaining the wetting behaviors of liquids on the micro-patterned samples. The main factor influencing the surface wettability of the micro-patterned sample was not the pillar geometry, but rather the pillar configuration, e.g., the solid area fraction, groove fraction, and spacing between pillars.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Micro-patterned surface with pillar array is formed by a thermal imprinting method. </LI> <LI> The micro-patterned surface is repellent to both water and oily liquids. </LI> <LI> Effect of pillar configuration on the amphiphobicity is studied. </LI> <LI> Wetting mechanism of liquid droplet on the micro-patterned surface is proposed. </LI> </UL> </P>

Robust, self-cleaning, amphiphobic coating with flower-like nanostructure on micro-patterned polymer substrate

Yao, Wenhui,Li, Lei,Li, Oi Lun,Cho, Young-Wook,Jeong, Myung-Yung,Cho, Young-Rae Elsevier 2018 Chemical Engineering Journal Vol.352 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Many superhydrophobic surfaces lose their repellency to water owing to the contamination of organic liquids or mechanical damage. Though amphiphobic coatings can repel both water and organic liquids, the poor mechanical and chemical stabilities significantly restrict their practical applications. Herein, we demonstrated a hydrothermal method to synthesize micro-patterned substrates bearing NiAl layered double hydroxide with flower-like nanostructures, which resemble the surface morphology of a lotus leaf. The surface was further modified by a low-surface-energy material of perfluorooctanoic acid through a solution immersion method. The binder-free coating formed in-situ on the substrate showed a good adhesion quality of 5B (ASTM D-3359). The coating possessed high repellency to different liquid droplets, including water, diiodomethane, ethylene glycol, soybean oil, etc., with surface tensions ranging from 72.7 to 22.4 mN m<SUP>−1</SUP>. Due to the excellent self-cleaning property, the contaminant on the surface was easily cleaned as the water droplet rolled off. Moreover, the coating exhibited good mechanical and chemical robustness in some extreme conditions, such as gas blowing, sea sand abrasion, and chemical immersion tests. These good performances made the coating possible to be applied widely in various practical applications.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Flower-like nanostructure of NiAl-LDH was synthesized on micro-patterned polymer. </LI> <LI> The hierarchical structure showed good amphiphobicity after fluorination. </LI> <LI> The amphiphobic surface possessed excellent self-cleaning performance. </LI> <LI> The amphiphobic surface exhibited good mechanical and chemical robustness. </LI> <LI> The coating can be used in anti-contaminant, self-cleaning, and biomedical device. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Colorful Oxide Film Formation on Titanium by using EDM Process

Yao-Yang Tsai,Pei-Lun Song,Jeffrey Shih-Chung Fang 한국정밀공학회 2013 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

This paper describes the influence of the main factor on the colorful titanium oxide reacted film fabricated by EDM (Electrical Discharge machining). In our process, copper, together with pure titanium sheet, was used as anode and cathode (workpiece)respectively, and dielectric medium involved in the study was tap water. From the figures and tables shown, we can observe that colors of titanium oxide reacted films change with the increase of open voltages (0~240) from yellow (10 V), purple (20 V), indigo (30 V),golden yellow (70 V), to peach (100 V), blue (130 V), yellow green (180 V), pink (240 V). The other open voltages produce mixed colors between those created by neighboring voltages. Moreover, XRD as well as EDS analysis have made it evident that the structure of the reacted film mentioned above is Ti2O other than TiO2 and the rise of pulse duration and interval will cause non-uniform color distribution. Compared with anodizing process, the Electrical Discharge machining approach we developed for generating colorful titanium oxide reacted film in the paper is much simpler, faster, cheaper and have plenty of advantages still in environment protection and hazard avoidance.

Comedications and potential drug-drug interactions with direct-acting antivirals in hepatitis C patients on hemodialysis

( Po-yao Hsu ),( Yu-ju Wei ),( Jia-jung Lee ),( Sheng-wen Niu ),( Jiun-chi Huang ),( Cheng-ting Hsu ),( Tyng-yuan Jang ),( Ming-lun Yeh ),( Ching-i Huang ),( Po-cheng Liang ),( Yi-hung Lin ),( Ming-ye 대한간학회 2021 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.27 No.1

Background/Aims: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been approved for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis. Nevertheless, the complicated comedications and their potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with DAAs might limit clinical practice in this special population. Methods: The number, class, and characteristics of comedications and their potential DDIs with five DAA regimens were analyzed among HCV-viremic patients from 23 hemodialysis centers in Taiwan. Results: Of 2,015 hemodialysis patients screened in 2019, 169 patients seropositive for HCV RNA were enrolled (mean age, 65.6 years; median duration of hemodialysis, 5.8 years). All patients received at least one comedication (median number, 6; mean class number, 3.4). The most common comedication classes were ESRD-associated medications (94.1%), cardiovascular drugs (69.8%) and antidiabetic drugs (43.2%). ESRD-associated medications were excluded from DDI analysis. Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir had the highest frequency of potential contraindicated DDIs (red, 5.6%), followed by glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (4.0%), sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (1.3%), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (1.3%), and elbasvir/grazoprevir (0.3%). For potentially significant DDIs (orange, requiring close monitoring or dose adjustments), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir had the highest frequency (19.9%), followed by sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (18.2%), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (12.6%), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (12.6%), and elbasvir/grazoprevir (7.3%). Overall, lipid-lowering agents were the most common comedication class with red-category DDIs to all DAA regimens (n=62), followed by cardiovascular agents (n=15), and central nervous system agents (n=10). Conclusions: HCV-viremic patients on hemodialysis had a very high prevalence of comedications with a broad spectrum, which had varied DDIs with currently available DAA regimens. Elbasvir/grazoprevir had the fewest potential DDIs, and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir had the most potential DDIs. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2021;27:186-196)

Function and Oligomerization Study of the Leucine Zipper-Like Domain in P13 from Leucania separata Multiple Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus

( En Qi Du ),( Lun Guang Yao ),( Hua Xu ),( Song Ya Lu ),( Yi Peng Qi ) 생화학분자생물학회 2007 BMB Reports Vol.40 No.2

THE CDF ARCHIVE:<i>HERSCHEL</i>PACS AND SPIRE SPECTROSCOPIC DATA PIPELINE AND PRODUCTS FOR PROTOSTARS AND YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS

Green, Joel D.,Yang, Yao-Lun,II, Neal J. Evans,Karska, Agata,Herczeg, Gregory,Dishoeck, Ewine F. van,Lee, Jeong-Eun,Larson, Rebecca L.,Bouwman, Jeroen American Astronomical Society 2016 The Astronomical journal Vol.151 No.3

<P>We present the COPS-DIGIT-FOOSH (CDF) Herschel spectroscopy data product archive, and related ancillary data products, along with data fidelity assessments, and a user-created archive in collaboration with the Herschel-PACS and SPIRE ICC groups. Our products include datacubes, contour maps, automated line fitting results, and best 1D spectra products for all protostellar and disk sources observed with PACS in RangeScan mode for two observing programs: the DIGIT Open Time Key Program (KPOT_nevans_1 and SDP_nevans_1; PI: N.. Evans), and the FOOSH Open Time Program (OT1_jgreen02_2; PI: J. Green). In addition, we provide our best SPIRE-FTS spectroscopic products for the COPS Open Time Program (OT2_jgreen02_6; PI: J. Green) and FOOSH sources. We include details of data processing, descriptions of output products, and tests of their reliability for user applications. We identify the parts of the data set to be used with caution. The resulting absolute flux calibration has improved in almost all cases. Compared to previous reductions, the resulting rotational temperatures and numbers of CO molecules have changed substantially in some sources. On average, however, the rotational temperatures have not changed substantially (<2%), but the number of warm (T-rot similar to 300 K) CO molecules has increased by about 18%.</P>