Hispidin attenuates bleomycin‑induced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis via an anti‑oxidative effect in A549 cells

Ren Chen-Xi,Jin Xin,Xie Dan-Ping,Guo Xiao-Yu,Yu Li-Yun,Cui Yu-Dong,Kwon Taeho,Sun Hu-Nan 한국응용생명화학회 2021 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.64 No.5

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a serious and irreversible chronic lung disease. Bleomycin (BLM) is an anticancer drug, which can cause severe lung toxicity. The main target of oxidative stress-induced lung injury is alveolar epithelial cells, which lead to interstitial fibrosis. The present study investigated whether hispidin (HP), which has excellent antioxidant activity, attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis via anti-oxidative effects in A549 cells. We found that hispidin reduced bleomycin-induced fibrosis of A549 cells by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Taken together, our data suggest that hispidin has therapeutic potential in preventing bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

Relationship between Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Level and Efficacy of Inhaled Corticosteroid in Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome Patients with Different Disease Severity

Jia-Xi Feng,Yun Lin,Jian Lin,Su-Su He,Mei-Fang Chen,Xiao-Mai Wu,You-Zu Xu 대한의학회 2017 Journal of Korean medical science Vol.32 No.3

This study explored the relationship between the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) level and the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS) patients with different disease severity. A total of 127 ACOS patients with ACOS (case group) and 131 healthy people (control group) were enrolled in this study. Based on the severity of COPD, the ACOS patients were divided into: mild ACOS; moderate ACOS; severe ACOS; and extremely severe ACOS groups. We compared FeNO levels, pulmonary function parameters including percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to predicted value (FEV1%pred), ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), inspiratory capacity to total lung capacity (IC/TLC) and residual volume to total lung capacity (RV/TLC), arterial blood gas parameters, including PH, arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), induced sputum eosinophil (EOS), plasma surfactant protein A (SP-A), plasma soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), sputum myeloperoxidase (MPO), sputum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores, and COPD Assessment Test (CAT) scores. Compared with pre-treatment parameters, the FeNO levels, RV/TLC, PaCO2, total serum IgE, induced sputum EOS, plasma SP-A, sputum MPO, sputum NGAL, and CAT scores were significantly decreased after 6 months of ICS treatment, while FEV1%pred, FEV1/FVC, IC/TLC, PH, PaO2, plasma sRAGE, and ACT scores were significantly increased in ACOS patients with different disease severity after 6 months of ICS treatment. This finding suggests that the FeNO level may accurately predict the efficacy of ICS in the treatment of ACOS patients.

Research on Discontinuous Pulse Width Modulation Algorithm for Single-phase Voltage Source Rectifier

Yang, Xi-Jun,Qu, Hao,Tang, Hou-Jun,Yao, Chen,Zhang, Ning-Yun,Blaabjerg, Frede Journal of International Conference on Electrical 2014 Journal of international Conference on Electrical Vol.3 No.4

Single phase voltage source converter (VSC) is an important power electronic converter (PEC), including single-phase voltage source inverter (VSI), single-phase voltage source rectifier (VSR), single-phase active power filter (APF) and single-phase grid-connection inverter (GCI). As the fundamental part of large scale PECs, single-phase VSC has a wide range of applications. In the paper, as first, on the basis of the concept of the discontinuous pulse-width modulation (DPWM) for three-phase VSC, a new DPWM of single-phase VSR is presented by means of zero-sequence component injection. Then, the transformation from stationary frame (abc) to rotating frame (dq) is designed after reconstructing the other orthogonal current by means of one order all-pass filter. Finally, the presented DPWM based single-phase VSR is established analyzed and simulated by means of MATLAB/SIMULINK. In addition, the DPWMs presented by D. Grahame Holmes and Thomas Lipo are discussed and simulated in brief. Obviously, the presented DPWM can also be used for single-phase VSI, GCI and APF. The simulation results show the validation of the above modulation algorithm, and the DPWM based single-phase VSR has reduced power loss and increased efficiency.

The Therapeutic Effects of Tectorigenin on Chemically Induced Liver Fibrosis in Rats and an Associated Metabonomic Investigation

Xing-Xi Gao,Jun-Hua Wu,Da-Hua Shi,Yun-Xi Chen,Jiang-Tao Cui,Yu-Rong Wang,Chun-Ping Jiang 대한약학회 2012 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.35 No.8

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of tectorigenin on chemically induced liver fibrosis in rats. Liver fibrosis was induced in rats with carbon tetrachloride, a diet high in fat, cholesterol and alcohol in the drinking water. Our results indicate that tectorigenin treatment significantly inhibited the increases in the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the increases in the serum levels of hyaluronate (HA), laminin (LN) and procollagen III N-terminal peptide (PIIIP); tectorigenin treatment also significantly inhibited the increases in the amount of collagen in the livers of the fibrogenic rats. Chemically induced liver fibrosis caused a drop in the serum albumin concentration and a decrease in the ratio of albumin to globulin (A/G). Tectorigenin caused a remarkable increase at a dose of 30 mg/kg, but only a slight increase at the lower doses. Tectorigenin was also able to inhibit the increase in the liver lipid peroxidation (LPO), as well as the decrease in the activities of liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), caused by liver fibrosis. In addition, we present a related metabolic profile determined, using a 1H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate pattern recognition techniques. The results were consistent with the pathological examination, liver function analysis and liver fibrosis marker analysis. Furthermore, tectorigenin does not cause acute toxicity.

Expression of three neuropeptide genes (SfEH, SfETH, and SfCCAP) in response to insecticide stress on the white-backed planthopper Sogatella furcifera (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)

Long Gui-yun,Wang Zhao,Yang Jia-peng,Tang Chen-hong,Jin Dao-Chao,Yang Hong,Zhou Cao,Yang Xi-bin 한국응용곤충학회 2023 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.26 No.3

Insect neuropeptides are involved in many important developmental processes. Here, we cloned three neuro peptide genes (SfEH, SfETH, and SfCCAP) from Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) and analyzed the relative expression levels of these genes through Real-time Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) during different developmental stages and in different wing types of S. furcifera following exposure to sublethal concentrations (LC 10 and LC 25 ) of methylaminoavermectin benzoate. The results revealed that the three neuropeptide genes (SfEH, SfETH, and SfCCAP) of S. furcifera contained open reading frame sequences of 222, 636, and 408 bp, encoding 73, 211, and 135 amino acids, respectively. Moreover, the expression of SfEH and SfETH reached its peak on day 3 of the 5 th instar nymph stage, while the SfCCAP expressed pinnacle on 40 min after eclosion. Furthermore, the relative expression levels of the three genes were in the following order: SfEH, short-winged female > long-winged female > long-winged male; SfETH, long-winged female > short-winged female > longwinged male; and SfCCAP, short-winged female > long-winged male > short-winged female. Upon calculating the relative expression of the three peptide genes after 24 and 48 h of treatment with sublethal concentrations of methylaminoavermectin benzoate, it was found that the relative mRNA expression levels of SfEH and SfETH declined upon LC 10 treatment but increased upon LC 25 treatment. Meanwhile, the relative mRNA expression level of SfCCAP declined upon both LC 10 and LC 25 treatments. This result will help us understand the effects of pesticides on insect growth and development at the molecular level.

Terpenoid composition and the anticancer activity of Acanthopanax trifoliatus

Dong-Li Li,Xi Zheng,Yu-Chan Chen,Sen Jiang,Wei-Min Zhang,Huaqian Wang,Zhi-Yun Du,Kun Zhang 대한약학회 2016 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.39 No.1

The petroleum ether and ethyl acetate fractions of extract from an edible and medicinal plant Acanthopanax trifoliatus were found to show significant inhibitory effects against SF-268, MCF-7, HepG2 and NCIH460 cancer cells. Two new ursane-type triterpenoids, acantrifoic acid C (1) and acantrifoic acid D (2), along with five known triterpenoids (3–7) and eight known diterpenoids (8–15) were obtained from these two fractions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning the isolation of compounds (5–12, 14, 15) from A. trifoliatus. Among all the isolated compounds, 3, 5 and 8 from the ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest inhibitory effects against cancer cells, while 12 and 13 from the petroleum ether fraction showed moderate activities. These terpenoid compounds may be responsible for the anticancer activities of A. trifoliatus. Our study provides the first evidence that terpenoids from A. trifoliatus exert anticancer activities and indicates that A. trifoliatus may be a useful edible plant for further development of anticancer health supplement.

Anti-inflammatory effect of hispidin on LPS induced macrophage inflammation through MAPK and JAK1/STAT3 signaling pathways

Han Ying-Hao,Chen Dong-Qin,Jin Mei-Hua,Jin Ying-Hua,Li Jing,Shen Gui-Nan,Li Wei-Long,Gong Yi-Xi,Mao Ying-Ying,Xie Dan-Ping,Lee Dong-Seok,Yu Li-Yun,Kim Sun-Uk,김지수,권태호,Cui Yu-Dong,Sun Hu-Nan 한국응용생명화학회 2020 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.63 No.3

Severe inflammatory reactions caused by macrophage activation can trigger a systemic immune response. In the present study, we observed the anti-inflammatory properties of hispidin on LPS induced RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Our results showed that hispidin treatment significantly reduced the production of cellular NO, IL-6 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) while has not inhibitory effect on TNF-α productions. Excitingly, hispidin treatment retains the phagocytosis ability of macrophages which enabling them to perform the function of removing foreign invaders. Signaling studies showed, hispidin treatment dramatic suppressed the LPS induced mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) and JAK/STAT activations. In conclusion, our findings suggest that hispidin may be a new therapeutic target for clinical treatment of macrophages-mediated inflammatory responses.

Females and Barriers to Work–Family Balance: A Case Study of Casino Dealers

Grace. Suk Ha Chan,Perry. Yun Kit Ip,Fei Fei Lin,Xi Chen 한국문화관광학회 2018 문화관광연구 Vol.20 No.1

A positive work–family balance (WFB) can enhance service quality and facilitate job satisfaction among staff members, thereby reducing absenteeism and turnover rate. Female participation in hospitality is one of the significant changes in the last century. Significant progress has been achieved by women with their increase movements in their occupations. The proportion of female dealers in Macau has increased. If females spend additional time in their job, they will often spend less time for their family and social life. This condition is often considered ‘win–lose’ outcomes and hardly achieves WFB. This study investigates the features of quality WFB of female dealers in a casino hotel in Macau. Long work hours, shift duties, demanding customers and a stressful environment are taken-for-granted in the casino business and could lead to an unbalanced WFB. This qualitative study involves face-to-face interviews with 25 casino hotel female dealers from five major large casino hotels in Macau. Content analysis is used to elaborate the female employees’ perception of WFB and identify the challenges and barriers in achieving WFB. Findings show that human resources should provide additional support to eliminate the concern of females in balancing their family and job security. Recommendations will be formulated in the study

Females and Barriers to Work-Family Balance: A Case Study of Casino Dealers

( Grace,Suk Ha Chan ),( Perry,Yun Kit Ip ),( Fei Fei Lin ),( Xi Chen ) 한국문화관광학회 2018 문화관광연구 Vol.20 No.1

A positive work-family balance (WFB) can enhance service quality and facilitate job satisfaction among staff members, thereby reducing absenteeism and turnover rate. Female participation in hospitality is one of the significant changes in the last century. Significant progress has been achieved by women with their increase movements in their occupations. The proportion of female dealers in Macau has increased. If females spend additional time in their job, they will often spend less time for their family and social life. This condition is often considered ‘win-lose’ outcomes and hardly achieves WFB. This study investigates the features of quality WFB of female dealers in a casino hotel in Macau. Long work hours, shift duties, demanding customers and a stressful environment are taken-for-granted in the casino business and could lead to an unbalanced WFB. This qualitative study involves face-to-face interviews with 25 casino hotel female dealers from five major large casino hotels in Macau. Content analysis is used to elaborate the female employees’ perception of WFB and identify the challenges and barriers in achieving WFB. Findings show that human resources should provide additional support to eliminate the concern of females in balancing their family and job security. Recommendations will be formulated in the study.

Facile Preparation of Novel Hierarchically Porous Carbon at the Molecular Level for Supercapacitor Electrode Application

Kai Li,Wei-Bin Zhang,Zhi-Yun Zhao,Yue Zhao,Xi-Wen Chen,Ling-Bin Kong 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2018 NANO Vol.13 No.08

Hierarchically porous carbons are obtained by a facile process of carbonizing the precursor of diblock copolymer xPS-b-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). In the diblock copolymer, there is a carbon source of cross-linked polystyrene (xPS) and a sacrificial block of PMMA. The atom transfer radical polymerization was used to synthesize the diblock copolymer with controlled molecular weight and narrow polydispersity in dimethylformamide at 120 ℃. The obtained hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs) exhibit remarkable electrochemical properties, such as higher specific capacitance of 204 Fg -1 at the current density of 0.5Ag -1 in 6 mol L -1 aqueous KOH electrolyte. In addition, it also presents an excellent rate performance of 64% capacitance retention as the current density increases to 10Ag -1 and a superior cycling stability of 98% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at the current density of 1Ag -1.