Construction and Characterization of Vitreoscilla Hemoglobin (VHb) with Enhanced Peroxidase Activity for Efficient Degradation of Textile Dye

( Zi Dong Zhang ),( Wei Li ),( Hai Chao Li ),( Jing Zhangi ),( Yue Bin Zhang ),( Yu Feng Cao ),( Jian Zhang Ma ),( Zheng Qiang Li ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.9

Pollution resulting from the discharge of textile dyes into water systems has become a major global concern. Because peroxidases are known for their ability to decolorize and detoxify textile dyes, the peroxidase activity of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) has recently been studied. It is found that VHb and variants of this enzyme show great promise for enzymatic decolorization of dyes and may play a role in achieving their successful removal from industrial wastewater. The level of VHb peroxidase activity correlates with two amino acid residues present within the conserved distal pocket, at positions 53 and 54. In this work, sitedirected mutagenesis of these residues was performed and resulted in improved VHb peroxidase activity. The double mutant, Q53H/P54C, shows the highest dye decolorization and removal efficiency, with 70% removal efficiency within 5 min. UV spectral studies of Q53H/P54C reveals a more compact structure and an altered porphyrin environment (λSoret = 413 nm) relative to that of wild-type VHb (λSoret = 406), and differential scanning calorimetry data indicate that the VHb variant protein structure is more stable. In addition, circular dichroism spectroscopic studies indicate that this variant’s increased protein structural stability is due to an increase in helical structure, as deduced from the melting temperature, which is higher than 90°C. Therefore, the VHb variant Q53H/P54C shows promise as an excellent peroxidase, with excellent dye decolorization activity and a more stable structure than wild-type VHb under high-temperature conditions.

Effects of different modification techniques on molecular structure and bioactivity of Bombyx mori pupa protein

Zhi-Feng Zhou,Zi-Xu Ren,Hai-Yan Yu,Jun-Qiang Jia,Zhong-Zheng Gui 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.1

To improve the properties of silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa protein (SPP), the effects of different modification techniques included enzymolysis, ultrasound, and micronization on the molecular structure and bioactivity of SPP has been evaluated in this study. The results showed that enzymolysis modification led to the most substantial change in the area and shape of the infrared (IR) absorption peaks, decreased in size with an increased number of cracks of modified protein by scanning electron microscopy images, followed by ultrasound and micronization modification. After modification by enzymolysis, ultrasound, and micronization, the sulfhydryl concentrations of SPPwere increased by 48.56%, 34.82%, and 12.46%, respectively; disulfide bond concentrations were reduced by 40.47%, 10.79%, and 11.72%, respectively. Furthermore, the ratios of essential amino acids among total amino acids increased by 13.85%, 2.22%, and 6.93%, respectively. Antioxidant activity and ACE-inhibitory activity of SPP also increased notably after modifications.

Perceptions of a night float system for intern doctors in an internal medicine program: an Asian perspective

Benjamin Yong-Qiang Tan,Nicholas Jinghao Ngiam,Zi Yun Chang,Sandra Ming Yien Tan,Xiayan Shen,Shao Feng Mok,Srinivas Subramanian,Shirley Beng Suat Ooi,Adrian Chin-Leong Kee 한국의학교육학회 2019 Korean journal of medical education Vol.31 No.3

Long duty hours have been associated with significant medical errors, adverse events, and physician “burn-out”. An innovative night float (NF) system has been implemented in our internal medicine program to reduce the negative effects of long duty hours associated with conventional full-call systems. However, concerns remain if this would result in inadequate training for interns. We developed a structured questionnaire to assess junior doctors’ perceptions of the NF system compared to full calls, in areas of patient safety, medical training, and well-being. Ninety-seven (71%) of the 137 doctors polled responded. Ninety-one (94%) felt the NF system was superior to the full call system. A strong majority felt NF was beneficial for patient safety compared to full call (94% vs. 2%, p<0.001). The NF system was also perceived to reduce medical errors (94% vs. 2%, p<0.001) and reduce physician “burn-out” (95% vs. 5%, p<0.001). Beyond being a practical solution to duty-hour limitations, there was a significant perceived benefit of the NF system compared to the full call in terms of overall satisfaction, patient safety, reducing medical errors and physician “burn-out”.

Effect of Trichostatin A on Anti HepG2 Liver Carcinoma Cells: Inhibition of HDAC Activity and Activation of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Shi, Qing-Qiang,Zuo, Guo-Wei,Feng, Zi-Qiang,Zhao, Lv-Cui,Luo, Lian,You, Zhi-Mei,Li, Dang-Yang,Xia, Jing,Li, Jing,Chen, Di-Long Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

Purpose: To investigate the effect of deacetylase inhibitory trichostatin A (TSA) on anti HepG2 liver carcinoma cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. Materials and Methods: HepG2 cells exposed to different concentrations of TSA for 24, 48, or 72h were examined for cell growth inhibition using CCK8, changes in cell cycle distribution with flow cytometry, cell apoptosis with annexin V-FTIC/PI double staining, and cell morphology changes under an inverted microscope. Expression of ${\beta}$-catenin, HDAC1, HDAC3, H3K9, CyclinD1 and Bax proteins was tested by Western blotting. Gene expression for ${\beta}$-catenin, HDAC1and HDAC3 was tested by q-PCR. ${\beta}$-catenin and H3K9 proteins were also tested by immunofluorescence. Activity of Renilla luciferase (pTCF/LEF-luc) was assessed using the Luciferase Reporter Assay system reagent. The activity of total HDACs was detected with a HDACs colorimetric kit. Results: Exposure to TSA caused significant dose-and time-dependent inhibition of HepG2 cell proliferation (p<0.05) and resulted in increased cell percentages in G0/G1 and G2/M phases and decrease in the S phase. The apoptotic index in the control group was $6.22{\pm}0.25%$, which increased to $7.17{\pm}0.20%$ and $18.1{\pm}0.42%$ in the treatment group. Exposure to 250 and 500nmol/L TSA also caused cell morphology changes with numerous floating cells. Expression of ${\beta}$-catenin, H3K9and Bax proteins was significantly increased, expression levels of CyclinD1, HDAC1, HDAC3 were decreased. Expression of ${\beta}$-catenin at the genetic level was significantly increased, with no significant difference in HDAC1and HDAC3 genes. In the cytoplasm, expression of ${\beta}$-catenin fluorescence protein was not obvious changed and in the nucleus, small amounts of green fluorescence were observed. H3K9 fluorescence protein were increased. Expression levels of the transcription factor TCF werealso increased in HepG2 cells following induction by TSA, whikle the activity of total HDACs was decreased. Conclusions: TSA inhibits HDAC activity, promotes histone acetylation, and activates Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin signaling to inhibit proliferation of HepG2 cell, arrest cell cycling and induce apoptosis.

Comparative analysis of the wind characteristics of three landfall typhoons based on stationary and nonstationary wind models

Yong Quan,Guo Qiang Fub,Zi Feng Huang,Ming Gu 한국풍공학회 2020 한국풍공학회지 Vol.24 No.4

The statistical characteristics of typhoon wind speed records tend to have a considerable time-varying trend; thus, the stationary wind model may not be appropriate to estimate the wind characteristics of typhoon events. Several nonstationary wind speed models have been proposed by pioneers to characterize wind characteristics more accurately, but comparative studies on the applicability of the different wind models are still lacking. In this study, three landfall typhoons, Ampil, Jongdari, and Rumbia, recorded by ultrasonic anemometers atop the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC), are used for the comparative analysis of stationary and nonstationary wind characteristics. The time-varying mean is extracted with the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) method, and the time-varying standard deviation is calculated by the autoregressive moving average generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARMA-GARCH) model. After extracting the time-varying trend, the longitudinal wind characteristics, e.g., the probability distribution, power spectral density (PSD), turbulence integral scale, turbulence intensity, gust factor, and peak factor, are comparatively analyzed based on the stationary wind speed model, time-varying mean wind speed model and time-varying standard deviation wind speed model. The comparative analysis of the different wind models emphasizes the significance of the nonstationary considerations in typhoon events. The time-varying standard deviation model can better identify the similarities among the different typhoons and appropriately describe the nonstationary wind characteristics of the typhoons.

Diversity of Endophytic Fungi from Different Verticillium-Wilt-Resistant Gossypium hirsutum and Evaluation of Antifungal Activity Against Verticillium dahliae In Vitro

( Zhi Fang Li ),( Ling Fei Wang ),( Zi Li Feng ),( Li Hong Zhao ),( Yong Qiang Shi ),( He Qin Zhu ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.9

Cotton plants were sampled and ranked according to their resistance to Verticillium wilt. In total, 642 endophytic fungi isolates representing 27 genera were recovered from Gossypium hirsutum root, stem, and leaf tissues, but were not uniformly distributed. More endophytic fungi appeared in the leaf (391) compared with the root (140) and stem (111) sections. However, no significant difference in the abundance of isolated endophytes was found among resistant cotton varieties. Alternaria exhibited the highest colonization frequency (7.9%), followed by Acremonium (6.6%) and Penicillium (4.8%). Unlike tolerant varieties, resistant and susceptible ones had similar endophytic fungal population compositions. In three Verticillium-wilt-resistant cotton varieties, fungal endophytes from the genus Alternaria were most frequently isolated, followed by Gibberella and Penicillium. The maximum concentration of dominant endophytic fungi was observed in leaf tissues (0.1797). The evenness of stem tissue endophytic communities (0.702) was comparatively more uniform than the other two tissues. Eighty endophytic fungi selected from 27 genera were evaluated for their inhibition activity against highly virulent Verticillium dahliae isolate Vd080 in vitro. Thirty-nine isolates exhibited fungistasis against the pathogen at varying degrees. Seven species, having high growth inhibition rates (≥75%), exhibited strong antifungal activity against V. dahliae. The antifungal activity of both volatile and nonvolatile metabolites was also investigated. The nonvolatile substances produced by CEF-818 (Penicillium simplicissimum), CEF-325 (Fusarium solani), CEF-714 (Leptosphaeria sp.), and CEF-642 (Talaromyces flavus) completely inhibited V. dahliae growth. These findings deepen our understanding of cotton-endophyte interactions and provide a platform for screening G. hirsutum endophytes with biocontrol potential.

Induction of Apoptosis in Human Leukemic Cell Lines by Diallyl Disulfide via Modulation of EGFR/ERK/PKM2 Signaling Pathways

Luo, Nian,Zhao, Lv-Cui,Shi, Qing-Qiang,Feng, Zi-Qiang,Chen, Di-Long,Li, Jing Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Background: Diallyl disulfide (DADS) may exert potent anticancer action both in vitro and in vivo. Although its effects on cancer are significant, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we sought to elucidate possible links between DADS and pyruvate kinase (PKM2). Materials and Methods: $KG1{\alpha}$, a leukemia cell line highly expressing PKM2 was used with a cell counting kit (CCK)-8 and flow cytometry (FCM) to investigate the effects of DADS. Relationships between PKM2 and DADS associated with phosphorylation of EGFR, ERK1/2 and MEK, were assessed by western blot analysis. Results: In $KG1{\alpha}$ cells highly expressing PKM2, we found that DADS could affect proliferation, apoptosis and EGFR/ERK/PKM2 signaling pathways, abrogating EGF-induced nuclear accumulation of PKM2. Conclusions: These results suggested that DADS suppressed the proliferation of $KG1{\alpha}$ cells, providing evidence that its proapoptotic effects are mediated through the inhibition of EGFR/ERK/PKM2 signaling pathways.

Experimental quantum fast hitting on hexagonal graphs

Tang, Hao,Di Franco, Carlo,Shi, Zi-Yu,He, Tian-Shen,Feng, Zhen,Gao, Jun,Sun, Ke,Li, Zhan-Ming,Jiao, Zhi-Qiang,Wang, Tian-Yu,Kim, M. S.,Jin, Xian-Min Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2018 Nature photonics Vol.12 No.12

EphB1 and Ephrin-B, New Potential Biomarkers for Squamous Cell/adenosquamous Carcinomas and Adenocarcinomas of the Gallbladder

Yuan, Yuan,Yang, Zhu-Lin,Miao, Xiong-Ying,Liu, Zi-Ru,Li, Dai-Qiang,Zou, Qiong,Li, Jing-He,Liang, Lu-Feng,Zeng, Gui-Xiang,Chen, Sen-Lin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.3

Squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinoma (SC/ASC) of the gallbladder are rare tumors and there are few clinical reports in the literature. Herein we report our clinical experience with 46 patients with SC/ASC and 80 with adenocarcinoma (AC). Expression of EphB1 and Ephrin-B in each tumor was determined using immunohistochemical methods for determination of correlations with prognosis. There was no difference in EphB1 and Ephrin-B expression between SC/ASC and AC tumors (P>0.05), but greater expression in those less than 3 cm in diameter, stage I or II (TNM stage), with no lymph node metastases, with no local invasion and treated with radical resection was apparent. Expression of EphB1 (P<0.05) and Ephrin-B (P<0.01) was higher in well differentiated than in poorly differentiated AC tumors. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that degree of differentiation, tumor diameter, lymph node metastases, local invasion, surgical approach and expression rate of EphB1 and Ephrin-B were closely related to the survival of SC/ASC (P<0.05) and AC patients (P<0.01). Patients with tumors that positive expressed EphB1 and Ephrin-B, whether it is SC/ASC ($P_{SC/ASC}$ =0.000) or AC ($P_{AC}$ =0.000 or $P_{AC}$ =0.002) had longer survival than those negative expression. Cox multivariate analysis indicated a negative correlation between expression of EphB1 or Ephrin-B and overall survival. Hence, EphB1 and Ephrin-B could be regarded as independent good prognostic factorsand important biological markers for SC/ASC and AC of gallbladder.