A Dual Functional Ti-Ga Alloy: Inhibiting Biofilm Formation and Osteoclastogenesis Differentiation via Disturbing Iron Metabolism

Fupeng Li,Kai Huang,Jinbing Wang,Kai Yuan,Yiqi Yang,Yihao Liu,Xianhao Zhou,Keyu Kong,Tao Yang,Jian He,Chunjie Liu,Haiyong Ao,Fengxiang Liu,Qian Liu,Tingting Tang,Shengbing Yang 한국생체재료학회 2023 생체재료학회지 Vol.27 No.00

Background Although biomedical implants have been widely used in orthopedic treatments, two major clinical challenges remain to be solved, one is the bacterial infection resulting in biofilm formation, and the other is aseptic loosening during implantation due to over-activated osteoclastogenesis. These factors can cause many clinical issues and even lead to implant failure. Thus, it is necessary to endow implants with antibiofilm and aseptic looseningprevention properties, to facilitate the integration between implants and bone tissues for successful implantation. To achieve this goal, this study aimed to develop a biocompatible titanium alloy with antibiofilm and anti-aseptic loosening dual function by utilizing gallium (Ga) as a component. Methods A series of Ti-Ga alloys were prepared. We examined the Ga content, Ga distribution, hardness, tensile strength, biocompatibility, and anti-biofilm performance in vitro and in vivo. We also explored how Ga3+ ions inhibited the biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) and osteoclast differentiation. Results The alloy exhibited outstanding antibiofilm properties against both S. aureus and E. coli in vitro and decent antibiofilm performance against S. aureus in vivo. The proteomics results demonstrated that Ga3+ ions could disturb the bacterial Fe metabolism of both S. aureus and E. coli, inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation. In addition, Ti-Ga alloys could inhibit receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-dependent osteoclast differentiation and function by targeting iron metabolism, then suppressing the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, thus, showing their potential to prevent aseptic loosening. Conclusion This study provides an advanced Ti-Ga alloy that can be used as a promising orthopedic implant raw material for various clinical scenarios. This work also revealed that iron metabolism is the common target of Ga3+ ions to inhibit biofilm formation and osteoclast differentiation.

Oxidative Stress-Activated NHE1 Is Involved in High Glucose-Induced Apoptosis in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells

Chunjie Zhao,Yiqing Wu,Min Zhang,Rui Liu 연세대학교의과대학 2016 Yonsei medical journal Vol.57 No.5

Purpose: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a prevalent chronic microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus involving disturbancesin electrolytes and the acid-base balance caused by a disorder of glucose metabolism. NHE1 is a Na+/H+ exchanger responsiblefor keeping intracellular pH (pHi) balance and cell growth. Our study aimed to investigate roles of NHE1 in high glucose (HG)-induced apoptosis in renal tubular epithelial cells. Materials and Methods: Renal epithelial tubular cell line HK-2 was cultured in medium containing 5 mM or 30 mM glucose. Then, cell apoptosis, oxidative stress, NHE1 expression, and pHi were evaluated. NHE1 siRNA and inhibitor were used to evaluate its role in cell apoptosis. Results: HG significantly increased cell apoptosis and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and 8-OHdG (p<0.05). Meanwhile, we found that HG induced the expression of NHE1 and increased the pHi from 7.0 to 7.6 after 48 h of incubation. However,inhibiting NHE1 using its specific siRNA or antagonist DMA markedly reduced cell apoptosis stimulated by HG. In addition, suppressing cellular oxidative stress using antioxidants, such as glutathione and N-acetyl cysteine, significantly reduced the productionof ROS, accompanied by a decrease in NHE1. We also found that activated cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Type I (PKG) signaling promoted the production of ROS, which contributed to the regulation of NHE1 functions. Conclusion: Our study indicated that HG activates PKG signaling and elevates the production of ROS, which was responsible for the induction of NHE1 expression and dysfunction, as well as subsequent cell apoptosis, in renal tubular epithelial cells.

Fault-Tolerant Control for 5L-HNPC Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drives with Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control Based on Hierarchical Optimization

Chunjie Li,Guifeng Wang,Fei Li,Hongmei Li,Zhenglong Xia,Zhan Liu 전력전자학회 2019 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.19 No.4

This paper proposes a fault-tolerant control strategy with finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) based onhierarchical optimization for five-level H-bridge neutral-point-clamped (5L-HNPC) inverter-fed induction motor drives. Faulttolerantoperation is analyzed, and the fault-tolerant control algorithm is improved. Adopting FCS-MPC based on hierarchicaloptimization, where the voltage is used as the controlled objective, called model predictive voltage control (MPVC), the postfaultcontroller is simplified as a two layer control. The first layer is the voltage jump limit, and the second layer is the voltagefollowing control, which adopts the optimal control strategy to ensure the current following performance and uniqueness of theoptimal solution. Finally, simulation and experimental results verify that 5L-HNPC inverter-fed induction motor drives havestrong fault tolerant capability and that the FCS-MPVC based on hierarchical optimization is feasible.

Fault-Tolerant Control for 5L-HNPC Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drives with Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control Based on Hierarchical Optimization

Li, Chunjie,Wang, Guifeng,Li, Fei,Li, Hongmei,Xia, Zhenglong,Liu, Zhan The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2019 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.19 No.4

This paper proposes a fault-tolerant control strategy with finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) based on hierarchical optimization for five-level H-bridge neutral-point-clamped (5L-HNPC) inverter-fed induction motor drives. Fault-tolerant operation is analyzed, and the fault-tolerant control algorithm is improved. Adopting FCS-MPC based on hierarchical optimization, where the voltage is used as the controlled objective, called model predictive voltage control (MPVC), the postfault controller is simplified as a two layer control. The first layer is the voltage jump limit, and the second layer is the voltage following control, which adopts the optimal control strategy to ensure the current following performance and uniqueness of the optimal solution. Finally, simulation and experimental results verify that 5L-HNPC inverter-fed induction motor drives have strong fault tolerant capability and that the FCS-MPVC based on hierarchical optimization is feasible.

Fault-tolerant analysis of two boost inverters for open-end winding induction motor drives

Li, Chunjie,Wang, Guifeng,Li, Hongmei,Li, Fei,Xia, Zhenglong,Liu, Zhan The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2021 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.21 No.4

An open-end winding induction motor drive system fed by two boost inverters with fault-tolerant capability is presented to improve the reliability and safety of the drive system. The boost inverters consist of an impedance-source network and a two-level inverter. It can realize the boost/buck function. An analysis of its fault-tolerance is presented in detail. Short circuits and open circuits are commonly considered as the two main types of faults. Therefore, the fault types of the dual boost inverters are analyzed and diagnosed. Then, two different fault-tolerant schemes are presented. The presented fault-tolerant inverters are restructured through the power switch itself. In addition, different SVPWM methods are addressed. A simulation model and an experimental platform are constructed. Simulation and experimental results verify the fault tolerance of the drive system.

High Utility Itemset Mining over Uncertain Datasets Based on a Quantum Genetic Algorithm

( Ju Wang ),( Fuxian Liu ),( Chunjie Jin ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2018 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.12 No.8

The discovered high potential utility itemsets (HPUIs) have significant influence on a variety of areas, such as retail marketing, web click analysis, and biological gene analysis. Thus, in this paper, we propose an algorithm called HPUIM-QGA (Mining high potential utility itemsets based on a quantum genetic algorithm) to mine HPUIs over uncertain datasets based on a quantum genetic algorithm (QGA). The proposed algorithm not only can handle the problem of the non-downward closure property by developing an upper bound of the potential utility (UBPU) (which prunes the unpromising itemsets in the early stage) but can also handle the problem of combinatorial explosion by introducing a QGA, which finds optimal solutions quickly and needs to set only very few parameters. Furthermore, a pruning strategy has been designed to avoid the meaningless and redundant itemsets that are generated in the evolution process of the QGA. As proof of the HPUIM-QGA, a substantial number of experiments are performed on the runtime, memory usage, analysis of the discovered itemsets and the convergence on real-life and synthetic datasets. The results show that our proposed algorithm is reasonable and acceptable for mining meaningful HPUIs from uncertain datasets.

Nicotine Induces the Expression of C-Reactive Protein via MAPK-Dependent Signal Pathway in U937 Macrophages

Junjun Mao,Juntian Liu,Xiaoming Pang,Ming Li,Jinyan Song,Chunjie Han,Di Wu,Shuyue Wang 한국분자세포생물학회 2012 Molecules and cells Vol.34 No.5

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease in the vessel wall. Nicotine, a major component of cigarette smoke, is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis. As an inflammatory molecule, C- reactive protein (CRP) participates in atherogenesis. Although it has been confirmed that CRP level in smoking patient is significantly higher than non-smokers and cigarette withdrawal,it is unknown whether nicotine induces CRP expression in macrophages. The present study was to observe effect of nicotine on CRP production and the related signal pathway in U937 macrophages. The results showed that nicotine significantly increased mRNA and protein expression of CRP in U937 macrophages in time- and concentration-dependent ways. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) blocker hexamethonium, MEK1/2 inhibitor PD98059, p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 and NF-B inhibitor PDTC almost completely abolished nicotine-induced CRP expression in mRNA and protein levels in U937 macrophages. The further study indicated that hexa-methonium, PD98059, and SB203580 significantly inhibited ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation. These demonstrate that nicotine has ability to induce CRP ex-pression in macrophages through nAChR-ERK1/2/p38 MAPK-NF-B signal pathway, which contributes to better understanding of the pro-inflammatory and pro-atherosclerotic effects of nicotine in cigarette smokers.

Effects of Yttrium and Cerium co-substitution on Structures and Magnetic Properties of Nanocrystalline Nd-Fe-B Magnets

Xiaoqiang Yu,Lei He,Yuting Hu,Jiajie Li,Xiao Liu,Yuhan Wang,Chunji Li,Munan Yang,Zhenchen Zhong 한국자기학회 2022 Journal of Magnetics Vol.27 No.2

Cerium-containing (Ce) rare earth magnets with extraordinary cost-effectiveness are widely investigated around the world. However, when the concentration of Ce is much more, the kind of these magnets exhibits very poor thermal stability and overall magnetic properties. To weaken these disadvantages, we take eutectic Y50Ce50 co-substitution alloys into account in this work. Magnetic properties, microstructures and metallurgical behaviors of (Y, Ce, Nd)-Fe-B magnets are systematically researched. For (Y50Ce50)10Nd20Fe68.9B1.1 SPSed permanent magnets, good overall magnetic properties are Hcj = 725 kA/m, Jr = 0.73 T and (BH)max = 81 kJ/m³. It schematically depicts that coarse grain zones and fine grain zones occur during the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. With the Nd content increasing, the deleterious CeFe₂ phases disappear. In addition, the volume fraction and width of coarse grain zones decrease. Ce-rich and Ce-lean regions are also observed in main phases, while Y and Nd elements are uniformly distributed. TEM results show that Nd and Ce are rich in the grain boundary and Y elements prefer to enter in 2:14:1 main phases. This work is favorable to a balanced utilization of high abundance rare earth elements in Nd-Fe-B magnets.