Stem-leaf saponins from Panax notoginseng counteract aberrant autophagy and apoptosis in hippocampal neurons of mice with cognitive impairment induced by sleep deprivation

Cao, Yin,Yang, Yingbo,Wu, Hui,Lu, Yi,Wu, Shuang,Liu, Lulu,Wang, Changhong,Huang, Fei,Shi, Hailian,Zhang, Beibei,Wu, Xiaojun,Wang, Zhengtao The Korean Society of Ginseng 2020 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.44 No.3

Backgroud: Sleep deprivation (SD) impairs learning and memory by inhibiting hippocampal functioning at molecular and cellular levels. Abnormal autophagy and apoptosis are closely associated with neurodegeneration in the central nervous system. This study is aimed to explore the alleviative effect and the underlying molecular mechanism of stem-leaf saponins of Panax notoginseng (SLSP) on the abnormal neuronal autophagy and apoptosis in hippocampus of mice with impaired learning and memory induced by SD. Methods: Mouse spatial learning and memory were assessed by Morris water maze test. Neuronal morphological changes were observed by Nissl staining. Autophagosome formation was examined by transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescent staining, acridine orange staining, and transient transfection of the tf-LC3 plasmid. Apoptotic event was analyzed by flow cytometry after PI/annexin V staining. The expression or activation of autophagy and apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blotting assay. Results: SLSP was shown to improve the spatial learning and memory of mice after SD for 48 h, accomanied with restrained excessive autophage and apoptosis, whereas enhanced activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in hippocampal neurons. Meanwhile, it improved the aberrant autophagy and apoptosis induced by rapamycin and re-activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling transduction in HT-22 cells, a hippocampal neuronal cell line. Conclusion: SLSP could alleviate cognitive impairment induced by SD, which was achieved probably through suppressing the abnormal autophagy and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons. The findings may contribute to the clinical application of SLSP in the prevention or therapy of neurological disorders associated with SD.

Stem-leaf saponins from Panax notoginseng counteract aberrant autophagy and apoptosis in hippocampal neurons of mice with cognitive impairment induced by sleep deprivation

Yin Cao,Yingbo Yang,Hui Wu,Yi Lu,Shuang Wu,Lulu Liu,Changhong Wang,Fei Huang,Hailian Shi,Beibei Zhang,Xiaojun Wu,Zhengtao Wang 고려인삼학회 2020 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.44 No.3

Backgroud: Sleep deprivation (SD) impairs learning and memory by inhibiting hippocampal functioningat molecular and cellular levels. Abnormal autophagy and apoptosis are closely associated with neurodegenerationin the central nervous system. This study is aimed to explore the alleviative effect and theunderlying molecular mechanism of stemeleaf saponins of Panax notoginseng (SLSP) on the abnormalneuronal autophagy and apoptosis in hippocampus of mice with impaired learning and memory inducedby SD. Methods: Mouse spatial learning and memory were assessed by Morris water maze test. Neuronalmorphological changes were observed by Nissl staining. Autophagosome formation was examined bytransmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescent staining, acridine orange staining, and transienttransfection of the tf-LC3 plasmid. Apoptotic event was analyzed by flow cytometry after PI/annexin Vstaining. The expression or activation of autophagy and apoptosis-related proteins were detected byWestern blotting assay. Results: SLSP was shown to improve the spatial learning and memory of mice after SD for 48 h,accomanied with restrained excessive autophage and apoptosis, whereas enhanced activation of phosphoinositide3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in hippocampalneurons. Meanwhile, it improved the aberrant autophagy and apoptosis induced by rapamycinand re-activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling transductionin HT-22 cells, a hippocampal neuronal cell line. Conclusion: SLSP could alleviate cognitive impairment induced by SD, which was achieved probablythrough suppressing the abnormal autophagy and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons. The findings maycontribute to the clinical application of SLSP in the prevention or therapy of neurological disordersassociated with SD.

Characteristics and Health Risks of Particulate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Nitro-polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at Urban and Suburban Elementary Schools in Shanghai, China

Lulu Zhang,Takahiro Tokuda,Lu Yang,Quanyu Zhou,Xuan Zhang,Wanli Xing,Qing Wu,Zhijun Zhou,Renjie Chen,Takayuki Kameda,Akira Toriba,Kazuichi Hayakawa,Ning Tang 한국대기환경학회 2019 Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment (AJAE) Vol.13 No.4

PM2.1 was collected at urban and suburban elementary schools in Shanghai during two sampling periods in cold and warm seasons in 2007. Nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and ten nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in PM2.1 were determined. During both seasons, the concentrations of PAHs and NPAHs at urban and suburban schools were not significantly different (p>0.05) and were higher in the cold period than in the warm period. According to the diagnostic ratios, PAHs and NPAHs at both schools were subject to the mixed effects of vehicle emission and coal combustion during both periods. Moreover, the results of the backward trajectory showed that PAHs and NPAHs were more susceptible to external polluted air masses in the cold period. At both urban and suburban schools, the inhalation cancer risk of PAHs and NPAHs in PM2.1 for children during elementary period was dozens of times of the acceptable risk level regulated by the U.S.EPA, highlighting the adverse impact of exposure to PAHs and NPAHs on the healthy development of children.

Fertility-preserving treatment outcome in endometrial cancer or atypical hyperplasia patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Lulu Wang,Xuezhen Luo,Qian Wang,Qiaoying Lv,Pengfei Wu,Wei Liu,Xiaojun Chen 대한부인종양학회 2021 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.32 No.5

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on fertility-sparing treatment in young patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) or endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC). Methods: A total of 285 patients with EEC (n=76, FIGO stage IA, without myometrium invasion) or AEH (n=209) who received progestin-based fertility-sparing treatment were evaluated retrospectively. Among the 285 patients, 103 (36.1%), including 70 AEH cases and 33 EEC cases, were diagnosed with PCOS. General characteristics, cumulative 16- and 32-week complete response (CR) rate, pregnancy outcome and recurrence were compared between patients with or without PCOS. Results: The cumulative 16-week CR rate was lower in the PCOS group than in the non- PCOS group (18.4% vs. 33.8%, p=0.006). Patients with PCOS took longer treatment duration to achieve CR (7.0 months vs. 5.4 months, p=0.006) and shorter time to relapse after CR (9.6 months vs. 17.6 months, p=0.040) compared with non-PCOS group. After adjusting for patient age, body mass index, PCOS, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index, and serum testosterone levels, we found that body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 (HR=0.583; 95% CI=0.365–0.932; p=0.024) and PCOS (HR=0.545; 95% CI=0.324–0.917; p=0.022) were significantly correlated with lower 16-week CR rate. Conclusion: PCOS was associated with lower 16-week CR rate, longer treatment duration and shorter recurrence interval in patients with AEH or EEC receiving fertility-preserving treatment.

Oxygen vacancies assisted LaFeO3 derived from metal organic frameworks endows a practical HCHO sensor with excellent sensing characteristics

Lulu Guo,Shushu Zhao,Guimao Yang,Lifeng Gao,Yanhong Wu,Xuguang Zhang 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.126 No.-

Perovskite oxide semiconductors have attracted tremendous interest in gas sensing due to their promisingproperties of tunable active sites, excellent catalytic ability and good structural stability. Nevertheless, the rapid synthesis of perovskite oxides and controlled regulation of their surface oxygenvacancies remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a novel metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) selftemplatestrategy for the rapid and large-scale preparation of LaFeO3 nanoparticles (MLaFeO3) withabundant oxygen vacancies. Benefit from the introduction of oxygen vacancies, the resultantMLaFeO3 gas sensor exhibit excellent formaldehyde (HCHO) sensing performance at a low operatingtemperature of 160 C, including high sensitivity (Rg/Ra = 8.9 @ 100 ppm), fast response/recovery rate(53 s/32 s), low detection limit (1 ppm) and excellent selectivity. Comprehensive density functional theory(DFT) calculation and spectral characterizations reveal that oxygen vacancies play a vital role in promotingthe adsorption and activation of O2 and HCHO molecules, and accelerate the chemical reaction onthe sensing materials surface. Most importantly, it proves the promising application of MLaFeO3 sensorin food safety assessment. This work not only provides a simple strategy for constructing oxygen vacanciesenriched LaFeO3, but also demonstrates the application potential of LaFeO3-based gas sensors in thefield of formaldehyde detection.

Severe choline deficiency induces alternative splicing aberrance in optimized duck primary hepatocyte cultures

Zhao Lulu,Cai Hongying,Wu Yongbao,Tian Changfu,Wen Zhiguo,Yang Peilong 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.11

Objective: Choline deficiency, one main trigger for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is closely related to lipid metabolism disorder. Previous study in a choline-deficient model has largely focused on gene expression rather than gene structure, especially sparse are studies regarding to alternative splicing (AS). In modern life science research, primary hepatocytes culture technology facilitates such studies, which can accurately imitate liver activity in vitro and show unique superiority. Whereas limitations to traditional hepatocytes culture technology exist in terms of efficiency and operability. This study pursued an optimization culture method for duck primary hepatocytes to explore AS in choline-deficient model. Methods: We performed an optimization culture method for duck primary hepatocytes with multi-step digestion procedure from Pekin duck embryos. Subsequently a NAFLD model was constructed with choline-free medium. RNA-seq and further analysis by rMATS were performed to identify AS events alterations in choline-deficency duck primary hepatocytes. Results: The results showed E13 (embryonic day 13) to E15 is suitable to obtain hepatocytes, and the viability reached over 95% by trypan blue exclusion assay. Primary hepatocyte retained their biological function as well identified by Periodic Acid-Schiff staining method and Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity assay, respectively. Meanwhile, genes of alb and afp and specific protein of albumin were detected to verify cultured hepatocytes. Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate purity of hepatocytes, presenting up to 90%. On this base, choline-deficient model was constructed and displayed significantly increase of intracellular triglyceride and cholesterol as reported previously. Intriguingly, our data suggested that AS events in choline-deficient model were implicated in pivotal biological processes as an aberrant transcriptional regulator, of which 16 genes were involved in lipid metabolism and highly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism. Conclusion: An effective and rapid protocol for obtaining duck primary hepatocytes was established, by which our findings manifested choline deficiency could induce the accumulation of lipid and result in aberrant AS events in hepatocytes, providing a novel insight into various AS in the metabolism role of choline. Objective: Choline deficiency, one main trigger for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is closely related to lipid metabolism disorder. Previous study in a choline-deficient model has largely focused on gene expression rather than gene structure, especially sparse are studies regarding to alternative splicing (AS). In modern life science research, primary hepatocytes culture technology facilitates such studies, which can accurately imitate liver activity <i>in vitro</i> and show unique superiority. Whereas limitations to traditional hepatocytes culture technology exist in terms of efficiency and operability. This study pursued an optimization culture method for duck primary hepatocytes to explore AS in choline-deficient model.Methods: We performed an optimization culture method for duck primary hepatocytes with multi-step digestion procedure from Pekin duck embryos. Subsequently a NAFLD model was constructed with choline-free medium. RNA-seq and further analysis by rMATS were performed to identify AS events alterations in choline-deficency duck primary hepatocytes.Results: The results showed E13 (embryonic day 13) to E15 is suitable to obtain hepatocytes, and the viability reached over 95% by trypan blue exclusion assay. Primary hepatocyte retained their biological function as well identified by Periodic Acid-Schiff staining method and Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity assay, respectively. Meanwhile, genes of <i>alb</i> and <i>afp</i> and specific protein of albumin were detected to verify cultured hepatocytes. Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate purity of hepatocytes, presenting up to 90%. On this base, choline-deficient model was constructed and displayed significantly increase of intracellular triglyceride and cholesterol as reported previously. Intriguingly, our data suggested that AS events in choline-deficient model were implicated in pivotal biological processes as an aberrant transcriptional regulator, of which 16 genes were involved in lipid metabolism and highly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism.Conclusion: An effective and rapid protocol for obtaining duck primary hepatocytes was established, by which our findings manifested choline deficiency could induce the accumulation of lipid and result in aberrant AS events in hepatocytes, providing a novel insight into various AS in the metabolism role of choline.

Numerical simulation and analysis of flow characteristics in the front chamber of a centrifugal pump

Yang Wu,Xiaoping Chen,Hua-Shu Dou,Lulu Zheng,ZuChao Zhu,BaoLing Cui,Boo Cheong Khoo 대한기계학회 2017 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.31 No.11

We performed numerical simulations to study the flow characteristic in a centrifugal pump based on the RANS equations and the RNG k-ε turbulent model. The flow field, including the front and back pump chambers, the impeller wear-ring, the impeller passage, the volute casing, the inlet section and outlet section was calculated to obtain accurate numerical results of fluid flow in a centrifugal pump. The flow characteristic was studied from the internal flow structure in pump chambers, the radial velocity at impeller outlet as well as the pressure inside of the pump, the circumferential velocity and the radial velocity in front pump chamber. The variation of flow parameters in internal flow versus flow rate in the centrifugal pump was analyzed. The results show that the overall performance of the pump is in good agreement with the experimental data. The simulation results show that the distribution of flow field in the front pump chamber is axial asymmetry. The energy dissipation at the impeller outlet is larger than other areas. The distribution of the circumferential velocity and that of radial velocity are similar along the axial direction in the front pump chamber, but the distribution of flow is different along the circumferential and the radial directions. It was also found that the vorticity is large at the impeller inlet compared with other areas.

Distribution of nitrate and its implication for the contaminant source in groundwater of Huaibei Plain, Anhui Province

Jiazhong Qian,Lulu Wang,Yong Liu,Boren Wu,Xiaoming Wang 한국지질과학협의회 2015 Geosciences Journal Vol.19 No.3

High concentration of NO3-N in groundwater can pose risk to human’s health, thus the study of NO3-N contamination in groundwater is a very important issue related to public health. Using a typical agriculture zone, Huaibei plain in Anhui Province of China as a field site, the temporal and spatial variation of groundwater NO3-N concentration was studied using a multivariate statistical factor analysis combined with Kaiser-Meyer- Olkin method based on a hydrogeological investigation from 2005 to 2009 year. The results show: (1) The contaminant in the groundwater of Huaibei Plain in Anhui Province are serious. 10% of the shallow groundwater samples in non-rainy season of 2005 exceeds the recommended value of NO3-N by Chinese drinking water standard (≤20 mg/L), while 17.5% exceeds the recommended value (11.3 mg/L) by EC. (2) About 15% of shallow groundwater in the whole study area was polluted in 2005 with the maximum of 97.67 mg/L; Groundwater NO3-N concentration is higher in non-rainy season than in rainy season. And the NO3-N content in groundwater shows the increasing trend at all three depths sampled from 2005 to 2009 year. (3) Groundwater nitrate pollution mainly derives from anthropogenic activities in Huaibei Plain, Anhui Province. Further quantitative analysis need to be studied in the future.

Identification of Moment of Inertia for PMSM Using Improved Model-reference Adaptive System

Jinhua She,Lulu Wu,Chuan-Ke Zhang,Zhen-Tao Liu,Yonghua Xiong 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2022 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.20 No.1

The moment of inertia (MOI) is one of the most important parameters of a permanent magnet synchronous motor. High-precision identification of the MOI is essential to ensure system performance. This paper explains an MOI identification method based on the frame of an improved model-reference adaptive system (IMRAS). It improved a model-reference adaptive system by incorporating a curvature model and a dynamic gain in the system. First, a curvature model is used to estimate a load torque to construct an accurate reference model. This strategy reduces the identification error caused by ignoring the load torque. Note that identification accuracy and convergence speed are closely related to a gain factor in the system. Then, the relationship between the gain factor and the convergence time of the identification error is modeled as a power function. Finally, the IMRAS uses the absolute value of the relative MOI error and the convergence time for a given gain factor as switching conditions to balance the convergence speed and identification accuracy. A comparison with a conventional fixed-gain MRAS shows the effectiveness and superiority of the developed method.

Fluid-structure interaction analysis of annular seals and rotor systems in multi-stage pumps

Qinglei Jiang,Lulu Zhai,Leqin Wang,Dazhuan Wu 대한기계학회 2013 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.27 No.7

Annular seals play an important role in determining the vibrational behavior of rotors in multi-stage pumps. To determine the critical speeds and unbalanced responses of rotor systems which consider annular seals, a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) method was developed,and the numerical method was verified by experiments conducted on a model rotor. In a typical FSI process, rotor systems are modeled based on a node-element method, and the motion equations are expressed in a type of matrix. To consider the influence of annular seals,dynamic coefficients of annular seals were introduced into the motion equations through matrix transformation. The test results of the model rotor showed good agreement with the calculated results. Based on the FSI method proposed here, the governing equations of annular seals were solved in two different ways. The results showed that the Childs method is more accurate in predicting a rotor’s critical speed. The critical speeds of the model rotor were calculated at different clearance sizes and length/diameter ratios. Tilting coefficients of long seals were added to the dynamic coefficients to consider the influence of tilting. The critical speeds reached their maximum value when the L/D ratio was around 1.25, and tilting enhanced the rotor’s stability when long annular seals were located in either end of the shaft.