Plant cover associated with aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) mediates insect community composition in steppes of Northwest China

Zi-Hua Zhao,Gadi V.P. Reddy,Shuhua Wei,Mengmeng Zhu,Kaiyang Zhang,Hongqian Yu,Zhanjun Wang,Qi Jiang,Rong Zhang 한국응용곤충학회 2018 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.21 No.1

Temperate steppe is one of the most important natural habitats for the conservation of arthropod and birdbiodiversity across the Eurasian Tectonic Plate. Since 1950, fragmentation of the steppe habitat has caused a lossof biodiversity and degradation of the species communities found in natural steppe. Therefore, in this study, bothplants and insects were sampled at 56 sites in the steppe biome of northwestern China to explore the effects ofplant community on insect community composition and diversity. The insect community structure varied in thefour different steppe types (meadow steppe, typical steppe, desert steppe, and steppe desert). Plant cover (diversity)was an important driving force, which could enhance number of families and abundance of an insectcommunity. Aboveground net primary productivity and water content of plants had no significant effects oninsect community, although the plant community as a whole did mediate insect composition and communitystructure. Future research should explore the ecological role of particular functional groups in plant and insectcommunities. Supplemental sowing to improve plant diversity in steppe habitat may be another strategy toenhance biodiversity and achieve sustainable management.

Plasmonic Nanoantennae Fabricated by Focused Ion Beam Milling

Jiang-Tao Lv,Yuan Yan,Wei-Kang Zhang,Yun-Hui Liu,Zi-Yu Jiang,Guang-Yuan Si 한국정밀공학회 2015 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

We show a novel approach to fabricate plasmonic nanoantennae based on a maskless focused ion beam nanoring patterning process. Antenna nanoarrays with desired outlines are achieved by precisely controlling the geometric parameters during the milling process. Various nanoantenna designs of bow-tie, nanoclusters (pentamers), and ellipsoid shaped satellites surrounded particle lattices arerealized. The whole fabrication method is programmable and monolithic since only a one-step milling process is involved. The opticalproperties are experimentally characterized. Such nanoantennae may find extensive applications in chemical/bio-sensing due toremarkably enhanced near field intensity at the plasmon resonance.

DFT and TD-DFT study on structure and properties of organic dye sensitizer TA-St-CA

Cai-Rong Zhang,Zi-Jiang Liu,Yu-Hong Chen,Hong-Shan Chen,You-Zhi Wu,WangJun Feng,Dao-Bin Wang 한국물리학회 2010 Current Applied Physics Vol.10 No.1

The geometry, electronic structure, polarizability and hyperpolarizability of organic dye sensitizer TA-St-CA, which contains a π-conjugated oligo-phenylenevinylene unit with an electron donor.acceptor moiety, was studied using density functional theory (DFT), and the electronic absorption spectrum was investigated via time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) with several hybrid functionals. The calculated geometry indicates that the strong conjugated effects are formed in the dye. The TD-DFT results show that the hybrid functional PBE1PBE and MPW1PW91 are more suitable than B3LYP for calculating electronic absorption spectra. The features of electronic absorption spectra were assigned on account of the qualitative agreement between the experiment and the calculations. The absorption bands in visible and near-UV region are related to photoinduced electron transfer processes, and the diphenylaniline group is major chromophore that contributed to the sensitization, and the interfacial electron transfer are electron injection processes from the excited dyes to the semiconductor conduction band. Compared with the similar dye D5, the good performance of TA-St-CA in dye-sensitized solar cells may be resulted from the higher energy level of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and the larger oscillator strengths for the most excited states with intramolecular electron transfer character.

Ultrasound Utility for Predicting Biological Behavior of Invasive Ductal Breast Cancers

Zhang, Lei,Liu, Yu-Jie,Jiang, Shuang-Quan,Cui, Hao,Li, Zi-Yao,Tian, Jia-Wei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.19

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation of ultrasound features with breast cancer molecular status. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review was performed of ultrasound findings in 263 patients diagnosed with breast invasive ductal carcinoma for comparison with immunohistochemistric results were obtained from each lesion. Relationships between ultrasound findings and molecular status were investigated by using multiple regression analysis by means of stepwise logistic regression. Differences in ultrasound criteria were assessed among women with different molecular status. Results: ER positivity was associated with small size, lobulate, angular or spiculated margin contours, absence of calcification, posterior tumor shadowing and low elasticity score; PR positivity was associated with small size, lobulate or angular or spiculated margin contours and absence of calcification; HER2 positivity was associated with presence of calcification and absence of any echogenic halo. The calculated models of predicted molecular status were accurate and discriminating with AUCs of 0.78, 0.74, and 0.74, respectively. Conclusions: Breast cnacer ultrasound features show some correlation with the molecular status. These models may help to expand the scope of ultrasound in predicting tumor biology.

Characteristics of registered studies for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a systematic review

Ming Yang,Ya-xi Shang,Zi-yu Tian,Min Xiong,Chun-li Lu,Jiang Yue,Zhang Yao,Zhang Ying-ying,Jin Xin-yan,Jin Qiu-bai,Zhang Ying-ying,Willcox Merlin L.,Liu Jian-ping 한국한의학연구원 2020 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.9 No.3

Background: The World Health Organization characterized the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11th. Many clinical trials on COVID-19 have been registered, and we aim to review the study characteristics and provide guidance for future trials to avoid duplicated effort. Methods: Studies on COVID-19 registered before March 3rd, 2020 on eight registry platforms worldwide were searched and the data of design, participants, interventions, and outcomes were extracted and analyzed. Results: Three hundred and ninety-three studies were identified and 380 (96.7%) were from mainland China, while 3 in Japan, 3 in France, 2 in the US, and 3 were international collaborative studies. Two hundred and sixty-six (67.7%) aimed at therapeutic effect, others were for prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, etc. Two hundred and two studies (51.4%) were randomized controlled trials. Two third of therapeutic studies tested Western medicines including antiviral drugs (17.7%), stem cell and cord blood therapy (10.2%), chloroquine and derivatives (8.3%), 16 (6.0%) on Chinese medicines, and 73 (27.4%) on integrated therapy of Western and Chinese medicines. Thirty-one studies among 266 therapeutic studies (11.7%) used mortality as primary outcome, while the most designed secondary outcomes were symptoms and signs (47.0%). Half of the studies (45.5%) had not started recruiting till March 3rd. Conclusion: Inappropriate outcome setting, delayed recruitment and insufficient numbers of new cases in China implied many studies may fail to complete. Strategies and protocols of the studies with robust and rapid data sharing are warranted for emergency public health events, helping the timely evidence-based decision-making.

Structural Characterization and Optical Properties of Sol-gel-derived Polycrystalline Pb(Zr0.35Ti0.65)O3 Thin Films

Fan Zhang,Rong-Jun Zhang,Zi YiWang,Yu-Xiang Zheng,Song-You Wang,Hai-Bin Zhao,Liang-Yao Chen,Xiao Bin Liu,An Quan Jiang 한국물리학회 2013 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.63 No.1

Polycrystalline Pb(Zr0.35Ti0.65)O3 thin films prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by using solgel technique were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The optical properties of the films were investigated by using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) with a four-phase optical model, air/roughness layer/PZT layer/Pt layer in the spectral range of 300 - 800 nm. The optical band gap of the films calculated following the Tauc’s Law was smaller than that of an amorphous PZT thin film with some microcrystals existing on the surface. The result indicates that the quantum-size effect leads to an increase in band gap when the crystalline dimensions become very small.

The role of the apoptosis-related protein BCL-B in the regulation of mitophagy in hepatic stellate cells during the regression of liver fibrosis

Qian Ding,Xiao-Li Xie,Miao-Miao Wang,Jie Yin,Jin-Mei Tian,Xiao-Yu Jiang,Di Zhang,Jing Han,Yun Bai,Zi-Jin Cui,Hui-Qing Jiang 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

The clearance of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) by apoptosis is critical for the reversibility of hepatic fibrosis. Mitochondrial homeostasis is regulated by mitophagy, which is an efficient way of clearing injured mitochondria that plays an important role in apoptosis. However, the role of mitophagy in apoptosis in HSCs and hepatic fibrosis is still unclear. Here, we show that mitophagy is enhanced in parallel with increased apoptosis in hepatic stellate cells during the reversal of hepatic fibrosis. The inhibition of mitophagy suppressed apoptosis in HSCs and aggravated hepatic fibrosis in mice. In contrast, the activation of mitophagy induced apoptosis in HSCs. Furthermore, we confirmed that BCL-B, which is a member of the BCL-2 family, is a regulator mediating mitophagy-related apoptosis. The knockdown of BCL-B resulted in increased apoptosis and mitophagy in HSCs, while the overexpression of BCL-B caused the opposite effects. BCL-B inhibited the phosphorylation of Parkin (a key regulator of mitophagy) and directly bound phospho-Parkin. Altogether, enhanced mitophagy promotes apoptosis in HSCs during the reversal of hepatic fibrosis. BCL-B suppresses mitophagy in HSCs by binding and suppressing phospho-Parkin, thereby inhibiting apoptosis. BCLB- dependent mitophagy is a new pathway for the regulation of apoptosis in HSCs during the regression of hepatic fibrosis