Genome-wide identification, evolution and expression analysis of the FtsH gene during fruit development in pear (Pyrus bretschneideri)

Guo Zhihua,Gao Xin,Cai Huaqing,Yu Lu,Gu Chao,Zhang Shao Ling 한국식물생명공학회 2021 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.15 No.4

Filtration temperature-sensitive H (FtsH) is an ATP-dependent protease family that plays important roles in many aspects of cellular processes and environmental adaption. However, little information is available about the FtsH genes in pear (Pyrus bretschneideri). In this study, 19 PbrFtsH genes were identified and classified into eight groups with several subgroups. The FtsH genes in pear show high sequence and structural conservation in the coding regions, and the majority of the FtsH members were located on the chromosome 3 (three members), chromosome 9 (four members), and chromosome 15 (three members). The WGD/segmenta, dispersed duplication played a major driving force in pear FtsH evolution. A Synteny analy- sis provided deep insight into the evolutionary relationships of PbrFtsH genes. The subcellular localization of the PbrFtsH genes showed them in the mitochondrion or chloroplast. Expression profiles derived from transcriptome data and RT-qPCR analysis revealed distinct expression patterns of PbrFtsH genes in different fruit developmental stages. These results provided valuable information that extends our understanding of the function, evolution and expression profile of the FtsH family during fruit development in pear, and a foundation for the further functional characterization of PbrFtsH genes, which can be applied to pear crop improvement.

Experimental study of a pretensioned connection for modular buildings

Yujie Yu,Zhihua Chen,Aoyi Chen 국제구조공학회 2019 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.31 No.3

Modular steel buildings consist of prefabricated room-sized structural units that are manufactured offsite and installed onsite. The inter-module connections must fulfill the assembly construction requirements and soundly transfer the external loads. This work proposes an innovative assembled connection suitable for modular buildings with concrete-filled steel tube columns. The connection uses pretensioned strands and plugin bars to vertically connect the adjacent modular columns. The moment-transferring performance of this inter-module connection was studied through monotonic and cyclic loading tests. The results showed that because of the assembly construction, the connected sections were separated under lateral bending, and the prestressed inter-module connection performed as a weak semirigid connection. The moment strength at the early loading stage originated primarily from the contact bonding mechanism with the infilled concrete, and the postyield strength depended mainly on the tensioned strands. The connection displayed a self-centering-like behavior that the induced deformation was reversed during unloading. The energy dissipation originated primarily from frictional slipping of the plugin bars and steel strands. The moment transferring ability was closely related to the section dimension and the arrangements of the plugin bars and steel strands. A simplified strength calculation and evaluation method was also proposed, and the effectiveness was validated with the test data.

Thermosensitive Block Copolymers PEG-b-PBEMAGG Containing Functional Pendant Amino Groups

Zhenke Wei,Zhihua Gan,Qingsong Yu 한국고분자학회 2012 Macromolecular Research Vol.20 No.3

A novel thermosensitive block copolymer composed of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(N-(NBoc-ethylenediamine)methacryloylglycylglycylamide) (PBEMAGG) with pendant amino groups was synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The thermosensitivity of these copolymers was studied with varying temperatures and block lengths of copolymers. The results indicated that the lowest critical solution temperatures (LCST) of this thermosensitive copolymer cover the range from 20 oC up to near 45 oC, and can be easily and precisely regulated by changing the block length or the amount of pendant amino groups. This copolymer with well-controlled LCST and pendant functional groups shows great potential for use as a smart drug-delivery system.

Geochronology, geochemistry, Hf isotope, and electron probe analysis of the diorite in the Jianhei Mountain, East Kunlun Orogenic Belt, China, and their geological significance

Yaming Sun,Bile Li,Peng Li,Zhihua Li,Yufan Shi,Runtao Yu 한국지질과학협의회 2022 Geosciences Journal Vol.26 No.6

The spatial distribution of flow units and reductant within a sandstone uranium reservoir is very beneficial for exploring the uranium mineralization mechanism; however, such studies have been almost neglected. As such, this paper aims to provide the sedimentological interpretation and heterogeneity models of the sandstone of the Middle Jurassic Zhiluo Formation at Shiwan outcrop area, in the eastern Ordos Basin. The outcrops are sandstone-dominated subaqueous distributary channel successions, in which five distinct architectural elements are identified and interpreted: channel units (CU), downstream accretion elements (DA), lateral accretion elements (LA), sandy bedforms (SB) and no-channelized fine-grained sediments (NFS). Within the sandstone succession, six flow units are present in the middle and lower parts of CU, or the lower parts of DA and SB elements, with their geometry to be controlled by the fourth- or third-order bounding surfaces. Moreover, the carbonaceous debris-rich zones (CDZ) are places with the highest abundance of reductant and preserve exclusively upon the basal erosional surfaces of CU and DA elements. Based on those results, a prediction model is established and shows that the formation of interlayer oxidation zone is strongly selective and confined within the CU and DA elements. The favorable site of uranium mineralization is preferentially distributed in the transition zone between the front of flow unit and the CDZ.

Polyurethane Membrane with Temperature- and pH-Controllable Permeability for Amino-Acids

Hu Zhou,Ruiping Xun,Kejian Wu,Zhihua Zhou,Bin Yu,Youxin Tang,Ning Li 한국고분자학회 2015 Macromolecular Research Vol.23 No.1

This work was focused on the investigation of the temperature- and pH-responsive polyurethane (PU)membranes and their permeability to amino-acids in response to environmental stimuli. The PU membrane wasprepared from a wet phase inversion method and a two-step solution polymerization from polycaprolactone diols(PCL), 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA), etc. The chemical structure,phase state, morphology and surface wettability of the membrane were characterized with Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectrometer, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contactangle tester, respectively. The temperature and pH responses of the membrane were investigated by means of anamino-acid permeate experiment. The L-phenylalanine (L-Phe) was chosen as model amino-acids. The permeation of theL-Phe was measured using a dead-end flow filtration at varied temperatures and pH, and characterized by the permeateflux (J) and rejection coefficient (R). J of the L-Phe across the PU membrane increased with increasingtemperature and showed a sharp increase when temperature was raised to the crystalline melting temperature (Tm)of the soft segment of PU, while decreased with increasing pH and having a sharp decrease when pH reached thedissociation constant (pKa) of DMPA contained in PU macromolecules. While, the R behavior of L-Phe was justopposite from the results of J, which decreased with increasing temperature and increased with increasing pH,also showing the temperature and pH responses. Hopefully, the PU membrane with temperature- and pH-controllablepermeability has promising prospects in water treatment, membrane separation, drug delivery system, etc.

Downregulation of HuR Inhibits the Progression of Esophageal Cancer through Interleukin-18

Xu Xiaohui,Song Cheng,Chen Zhihua,Yu Chenxiao,Wang Yi,Tang Yiting,Luo Judong 대한암학회 2018 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.50 No.1

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of human antigen R (HuR) downregulation and the potential target genes of HuR on the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Materials and Methods In this study, a proteomics assay was used to detect the expression of proteins after HuR downregulation, and a luciferase assay was used to detect the potential presence of a HuR binding site on the 3’-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of interleukin 18 (IL-18). In addition, colony formation assay, MTT, EdU incorporation assay, Western blot, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, transwell invasion assay, and wound healing assay were used. Results In the present study, we found that the expression of both HuR protein and mRNA levels were higher in tumor tissues than in the adjacent tissues. HuR downregulation significantly suppressed cell proliferation. In addition, the metastasis of esophageal cancer cells was inhibited, while the expression of E-cadherin was increased and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2, MMP9, and vimentin was decreased after HuR knockdown. Moreover, silencing of HuR disturbed the cell cycle of ESCC cells mainly by inducing G1 arrest. Furthermore, proteomics analysis showed that downregulation of HuR in TE-1 cells resulted in 100 upregulated and 122 downregulated proteins, including IL-18 as a significantly upregulated protein. The expression of IL-18 was inversely regulated by HuR. IL-18 expression was decreased in ESCC tissues, and exogenous IL-18 significantly inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of ESCC cells. The 3'-UTR of IL-18 harbored a HuR binding site, as shown by an in vitro luciferase assay. Conclusion HuR plays an important role in the progression of esophageal carcinoma by targeting IL-18, which may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of ESCC.

TRPV1 regulates ApoE4-disrupted intracellular lipid homeostasis and decreases synaptic phagocytosis by microglia

Wang Chenfei,Lu Jia,Sha Xudong,Qiu Yu,Chen Hongzhuan,Yu Zhihua 생화학분자생물학회 2023 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.55 No.-

Although the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE4) gene has been established as a genetic risk factor for many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, the mechanism of action remains poorly understood. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) was reported to regulate autophagy to protect against foam cell formation in atherosclerosis. Here, we show that ApoE4 leads to lipid metabolism dysregulation in microglia, resulting in enhanced MHC-II-dependent antigen presentation and T-cell activation. Lipid accumulation and inflammatory reactions were accelerated in microglia isolated from TRPV1flox/flox; Cx3cr1cre-ApoE4 mice. We showed that metabolic boosting by treatment with the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin rescued lipid metabolic impairments in ApoE4 neurons and defects in autophagy caused by disruption of the AKT-mTOR pathway. TRPV1 activation with capsaicin reversed ApoE4-induced microglial immune dysfunction and neuronal autophagy impairment. Capsaicin rescued memory impairment, tau pathology, and neuronal autophagy in ApoE4 mice. Activation of TRPV1 decreased microglial phagocytosis of synapses in ApoE4 mice. TRPV1 gene deficiency exacerbated recognition memory impairment and tau pathology in ApoE4 mice. Our study suggests that TRPV1 regulation of lipid metabolism could be a therapeutic approach to alleviate the consequences of the ApoE4 allele.

High Performance and Stable N-Channel Organic Field-Effect Transistors by Patterned Solvent-Vapor Annealing

Khim, Dongyoon,Baeg, Kang-Jun,Kim, Juhwan,Kang, Minji,Lee, Seung-Hoon,Chen, Zhihua,Facchetti, Antonio,Kim, Dong-Yu,Noh, Yong-Young American Chemical Society 2013 ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES Vol.5 No.21

<P>We report the fabrication of high-performance, printed, <I>n</I>-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on an <I>N</I>,<I>N</I>-dialkyl-substituted-(1,7&1,6)-dicyanoperylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) derivative, PDI-RCN2, optimized by the solvent-vapor annealing (SVA) process. We performed a systematic study on the influence of solubility and the chemical structure of a solvent used for the SVA process on the ordering and orientation of PDI-RCN2 molecules in the thin film. The PDI-RCN2 film showed improved crystallinity under vapor annealing with the aliphatic 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) as a marginal solvent. The <I>n</I>-type OFETs with DCE-vapor-annealed PDI-RCN2 show highly improved charge-carrier mobility of ∼0.5 cm<SUP>2</SUP> V<SUP>–1</SUP> s<SUP>–1</SUP> and higher stability under gate bias stress than the pristine OFETs. This large performance improvement was mainly attributed to increased crystallinity of the semiconductor thin film, enhancing π–π stacking. We also introduced a new method to pattern crystallinity of a certain region in the semiconducting film by selective exposure to the solvent vapor using a shadow mask. The crystal-patterned PDI-RCN2 OFETs exhibit decreased off-currents by ∼10× and improved gate bias stability by minimizing crosstalk, reducing leakage current between devices, and reducing the density of charge trap states of the organic semiconductor.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/aamick/2013/aamick.2013.5.issue-21/am4029075/production/images/medium/am-2013-029075_0008.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/am4029075'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>