Objective. To investigate the role and possible mechanism of α-Klotho in the calcification and th... more Objective. To investigate the role and possible mechanism of α-Klotho in the calcification and the osteogenic transition of cultured VSMCs. Methods. VSMCs were cultured in vitro and divided into 5 groups, each using a different medium: (1) control; (2) β-GP; (3) β-GP + Klotho; (4) β-GP + LiCl; (5) β-GP + Klotho + LiCl. Calcium deposits were visualized using Alizarin Red S staining. The calcium concentrations were determined by the o-cresolphthalein complexone method. BMP2, Runx2 and β-catenin levels were estimated by western blotting, and the level of α-SMA was determined by using immunofluorescence at day 12. Results. β-GP induced an increase in the expression of BMP2, Runx2, and β-catenin. The calcium content increased, and the expression of α-SMA decreased. Alizarin Red S staining was positive under the high phosphorus conditions. BMP2, Runx2, and β-catenin levels and the calcium content decreased when the cells were cultured with rmKlotho; however, the levels of each were upregu...
Small RNA-induced gene silencing is essential for post-transcriptional regulation of gene express... more Small RNA-induced gene silencing is essential for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression; however, it remains unclear how miRNA/siRNA efficiency is regulated. Here we show that TARBP2 is SUMOylated at K52, which can be enhanced by its phosphorylation. This modification can stabilize TARBP2 via repressing its K(48)-linked ubiquitination. We find that TARBP2 SUMOylation does not influence the overall production of mature miRNAs, but it regulates miRNA/siRNA efficiency. SUMOylated TARBP2 recruits Ago2 to constitute the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)-loading complex (RLC), and simultaneously promotes more pre-miRNAs to load into the RLC. Consequently, Ago2 is stabilized and miRNAs/siRNAs bound by TARBP2/Dicer is effectively transferred to Ago2. Thus, these processes lead to the formation of the effective RISC for RNA interference (RNAi). Collectively, our data suggest that SUMOylation of TARBP2 is required for regulating miRNA/siRNA efficiency, which is a general mecha...
A comparative modelling of a flexible rotating beam has been considered in this study. The dynami... more A comparative modelling of a flexible rotating beam has been considered in this study. The dynamic model is based on a beam with either isotropic material or composite material. The composite beam is considered as orthotropic fiber-reinforced and symmetrically laminated. Both small linear as well as geometric non-linear deformations are studied. A continuous system is considered in the analytical approach.
Chloroplast division is driven by the simultaneous constriction of the inner FtsZ ring (Z ring) a... more Chloroplast division is driven by the simultaneous constriction of the inner FtsZ ring (Z ring) and outer DRP5B ring. The assembly and constriction of these rings in Arabidopsis are coordinated partly through the inner envelope membrane (IEM) protein ARC6. Previously, we showed that PARC6 (Paralog of ARC6), also in the IEM, negatively regulates FtsZ assembly and acts downstream of ARC6 to position the outer envelope membrane (OEM) protein PDV1, which functions together with its paralog PDV2 to recruit DRP5B from a cytosolic pool to the OEM. However, whether PARC6, like ARC6, also functions in coordination of the chloroplast division contractile complexes was unknown. Here, we report a detailed topological analysis of Arabidopsis PARC6, which shows that PARC6 has a single transmembrane domain and a topology resembling that of ARC6. The newly identified stromal region of PARC6 interacts not only with ARC3, a direct inhibitor of Z-ring assembly, but also with the Z-ring protein FtsZ2. ...
To disclose the associated risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and the current ... more To disclose the associated risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and the current situation of LTBI in the eastern China. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate the LTBI rate and risk factors. A total of 5305 subjects were finally included, with the IGRA positive rate of 19.98% (1060/5305). The LTBI rates were increasing with age (ORs were in significance from 6.60 to 20.92). Male gender significantly increased the risk of LTBI by 0.52 fold (OR = 1.52). Both smoking and drinking significantly increased the risk of LTBI (OR = 1.83 and OR = 1.67, respectively). Meanwhile, overweight and close contact with tuberculosis were risk factors for LTBI (OR = 1.36 and OR = 2.38, respectively). However, higher level of education and BCG vaccination lowered the risk of LTBI (OR = 0.16 and OR = 0.39, respectively). The multivariate logistic regression showed that age, male gender, smoking, overweight and close contacting with tuberculosis were risk factors for LTBI, but...
Environmental science and pollution research international, 2015
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer for both genders. Classified as a hum... more Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer for both genders. Classified as a human carcinogen, cadmium has been related to diverse cancers. However, the association between cadmium exposure and the risk of pancreatic cancer is still unclear. We quantitatively reviewed the observational studies on the association of cadmium exposure with pancreatic cancer risk among individuals without occupational exposure history published through July 2014 in PubMed by using a fixed-effect model. Four prospective cohort studies (112,934 participants with 335 events) and two case-control studies (177 cases and 539 controls) were identified. The summarized relative risk (RR) with a 95 % confidence interval (CI) was 2.05 (95 % CI = 1.58-2.66), comparing the highest to the lowest category of cadmium exposure. This positive association persisted in men (RR = 1.78, 95 % CI = 1.04-3.05) but not in women (RR = 1.02, 95 % CI = 0.63-1.65). Further research is needed to provide more solid ev...
Accurate actuator tracking is critical to achieve reliable real-time hybrid simulation results fo... more Accurate actuator tracking is critical to achieve reliable real-time hybrid simulation results for earthquake engineering research. The frequency-domain evaluation approach provides an innovative way for more quantitative post-simulation evaluation of actuator tracking errors compared with existing time domain based techniques. Utilizing the Fast Fourier Transfonn the approach analyzes the actuator en-or in terms of amplitude and phrase errors. Existing application of the approach requires using the complete length of the experimental data. To improve the computational efficiency, two techniques including data decimation and frequency decimation are analyzed to reduce the amount of data involved in the frequency-domain evaluation. The presented study aims to enhance the computational efficiency of the approach in order to utilize it for future on-line actuator tracking evaluation. Both computational simulation and laboratory experimental results are analyzed and recommendations on t...
Two new organically templated manganese phosphate oxalates were synthesized under solvent-free co... more Two new organically templated manganese phosphate oxalates were synthesized under solvent-free conditions. They have different three-dimensional structures with a (4,6)-connected fsh topology. It is interesting that the amine molecules can reverse the structure-building roles of the metal phosphate skeleton and metal oxalate substructure for formation of their fsh-type frameworks.
Proceedings. 2000 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2000) (Cat. No.00CH37113), 2000
... We apply color cues in this system in two ways. First one is the background of the navigation... more ... We apply color cues in this system in two ways. First one is the background of the navigation graph. Green color means no network congestion and red one stands for full network congestion. ... Finally we presented Arter I, a new design in home healthcare robot platform via the ...
Biochemical assessment of vitamin A and vitamin E status of Taiwanese elderly persons was conduct... more Biochemical assessment of vitamin A and vitamin E status of Taiwanese elderly persons was conducted by quantitative analysis of the concentration of retinol and α-tocopherol in plasma samples collected in the Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1999-2000). Plasma samples were analyzed by a reverse phase HPLC that can detect retinol and α-tocopherol simultaneously. The mean (SE) plasma retinol
WSS25 is a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from the rhizome of Gastrodia elata BI, which has be... more WSS25 is a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from the rhizome of Gastrodia elata BI, which has been found to bind to bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) in hepatocellular cancer cells. Since BMP-2 may regulate both osteoclasts and osteoblasts, here we investigated the effects of WSS25 on osteoclastogenesis in vitro and bone loss in ovariectomized mice. RAW264.7 cells or mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) were treated with RANKL to induce osteoclastogenesis, which was assessed using TRAP staining, actin ring formation and pit formation assays, as well as bone resorption assay. Cell viability was detected with MTT assay. The mRNA levels of osteoclastogenesis-related genetic markers (TRAP, NFATc1, MMP-9 and cathepsin K) were detected using RT-PCR, while the protein levels of p-Smad1/5/8 and Id1 were measure with Western blotting. WSS25 was administered to ovariectomized mice (100 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), po) for 3 months. After the mice were euthanized, total bone mineral density and cortic...
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior, Jan 5, 2015
Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) causes cognitive impairments and increases the risk of Alzhe... more Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) causes cognitive impairments and increases the risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD) through several biologically plausible pathways, yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), could play neuroprotective role against chronic cerebral hypoperfusion injury and to clarify underlying mechanisms of its efficacy. Rats were subjected to permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (two-vessel occlusion, 2VO). Two weeks later, rats were treated with 30mg/kg fluoxetine (intragastric injection, i.g.) for 6weeks. Cognitive function was evaluated by Morris water maze (MWM) and novel objects recognition (NOR) test. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was used to address the underlying synaptic mechanisms. Western blotting was used to quantify the protein levels. Our results showed that fluoxetine treat...
2006 9th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, 2006
The Bayesian occupancy filter (BOF) (1) has achieved promising results in the object tracking app... more The Bayesian occupancy filter (BOF) (1) has achieved promising results in the object tracking applications. This paper presents a new development of BOF which inherits original BOF's advantages in handling occlusion and representing objects' shape. Meanwhile, the new formulation has significantly reduced original BOF's complexities and can be run in realtime. In Bayesian occupancy filter, the environment is finely divided
2011 International Conference on Information Management, Innovation Management and Industrial Engineering, 2011
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary role in developing countries and its fluct... more Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary role in developing countries and its fluctuations reflect the changes of influencing factors during time, and therefore the models to simulate and forecast the trends are of great significance. Model GM (1, 1) is used in this paper to overcome the problems of small sample size and poor data. In the pre-procession of
Objective. To investigate the role and possible mechanism of α-Klotho in the calcification and th... more Objective. To investigate the role and possible mechanism of α-Klotho in the calcification and the osteogenic transition of cultured VSMCs. Methods. VSMCs were cultured in vitro and divided into 5 groups, each using a different medium: (1) control; (2) β-GP; (3) β-GP + Klotho; (4) β-GP + LiCl; (5) β-GP + Klotho + LiCl. Calcium deposits were visualized using Alizarin Red S staining. The calcium concentrations were determined by the o-cresolphthalein complexone method. BMP2, Runx2 and β-catenin levels were estimated by western blotting, and the level of α-SMA was determined by using immunofluorescence at day 12. Results. β-GP induced an increase in the expression of BMP2, Runx2, and β-catenin. The calcium content increased, and the expression of α-SMA decreased. Alizarin Red S staining was positive under the high phosphorus conditions. BMP2, Runx2, and β-catenin levels and the calcium content decreased when the cells were cultured with rmKlotho; however, the levels of each were upregu...
Small RNA-induced gene silencing is essential for post-transcriptional regulation of gene express... more Small RNA-induced gene silencing is essential for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression; however, it remains unclear how miRNA/siRNA efficiency is regulated. Here we show that TARBP2 is SUMOylated at K52, which can be enhanced by its phosphorylation. This modification can stabilize TARBP2 via repressing its K(48)-linked ubiquitination. We find that TARBP2 SUMOylation does not influence the overall production of mature miRNAs, but it regulates miRNA/siRNA efficiency. SUMOylated TARBP2 recruits Ago2 to constitute the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)-loading complex (RLC), and simultaneously promotes more pre-miRNAs to load into the RLC. Consequently, Ago2 is stabilized and miRNAs/siRNAs bound by TARBP2/Dicer is effectively transferred to Ago2. Thus, these processes lead to the formation of the effective RISC for RNA interference (RNAi). Collectively, our data suggest that SUMOylation of TARBP2 is required for regulating miRNA/siRNA efficiency, which is a general mecha...
A comparative modelling of a flexible rotating beam has been considered in this study. The dynami... more A comparative modelling of a flexible rotating beam has been considered in this study. The dynamic model is based on a beam with either isotropic material or composite material. The composite beam is considered as orthotropic fiber-reinforced and symmetrically laminated. Both small linear as well as geometric non-linear deformations are studied. A continuous system is considered in the analytical approach.
Chloroplast division is driven by the simultaneous constriction of the inner FtsZ ring (Z ring) a... more Chloroplast division is driven by the simultaneous constriction of the inner FtsZ ring (Z ring) and outer DRP5B ring. The assembly and constriction of these rings in Arabidopsis are coordinated partly through the inner envelope membrane (IEM) protein ARC6. Previously, we showed that PARC6 (Paralog of ARC6), also in the IEM, negatively regulates FtsZ assembly and acts downstream of ARC6 to position the outer envelope membrane (OEM) protein PDV1, which functions together with its paralog PDV2 to recruit DRP5B from a cytosolic pool to the OEM. However, whether PARC6, like ARC6, also functions in coordination of the chloroplast division contractile complexes was unknown. Here, we report a detailed topological analysis of Arabidopsis PARC6, which shows that PARC6 has a single transmembrane domain and a topology resembling that of ARC6. The newly identified stromal region of PARC6 interacts not only with ARC3, a direct inhibitor of Z-ring assembly, but also with the Z-ring protein FtsZ2. ...
To disclose the associated risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and the current ... more To disclose the associated risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and the current situation of LTBI in the eastern China. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate the LTBI rate and risk factors. A total of 5305 subjects were finally included, with the IGRA positive rate of 19.98% (1060/5305). The LTBI rates were increasing with age (ORs were in significance from 6.60 to 20.92). Male gender significantly increased the risk of LTBI by 0.52 fold (OR = 1.52). Both smoking and drinking significantly increased the risk of LTBI (OR = 1.83 and OR = 1.67, respectively). Meanwhile, overweight and close contact with tuberculosis were risk factors for LTBI (OR = 1.36 and OR = 2.38, respectively). However, higher level of education and BCG vaccination lowered the risk of LTBI (OR = 0.16 and OR = 0.39, respectively). The multivariate logistic regression showed that age, male gender, smoking, overweight and close contacting with tuberculosis were risk factors for LTBI, but...
Environmental science and pollution research international, 2015
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer for both genders. Classified as a hum... more Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer for both genders. Classified as a human carcinogen, cadmium has been related to diverse cancers. However, the association between cadmium exposure and the risk of pancreatic cancer is still unclear. We quantitatively reviewed the observational studies on the association of cadmium exposure with pancreatic cancer risk among individuals without occupational exposure history published through July 2014 in PubMed by using a fixed-effect model. Four prospective cohort studies (112,934 participants with 335 events) and two case-control studies (177 cases and 539 controls) were identified. The summarized relative risk (RR) with a 95 % confidence interval (CI) was 2.05 (95 % CI = 1.58-2.66), comparing the highest to the lowest category of cadmium exposure. This positive association persisted in men (RR = 1.78, 95 % CI = 1.04-3.05) but not in women (RR = 1.02, 95 % CI = 0.63-1.65). Further research is needed to provide more solid ev...
Accurate actuator tracking is critical to achieve reliable real-time hybrid simulation results fo... more Accurate actuator tracking is critical to achieve reliable real-time hybrid simulation results for earthquake engineering research. The frequency-domain evaluation approach provides an innovative way for more quantitative post-simulation evaluation of actuator tracking errors compared with existing time domain based techniques. Utilizing the Fast Fourier Transfonn the approach analyzes the actuator en-or in terms of amplitude and phrase errors. Existing application of the approach requires using the complete length of the experimental data. To improve the computational efficiency, two techniques including data decimation and frequency decimation are analyzed to reduce the amount of data involved in the frequency-domain evaluation. The presented study aims to enhance the computational efficiency of the approach in order to utilize it for future on-line actuator tracking evaluation. Both computational simulation and laboratory experimental results are analyzed and recommendations on t...
Two new organically templated manganese phosphate oxalates were synthesized under solvent-free co... more Two new organically templated manganese phosphate oxalates were synthesized under solvent-free conditions. They have different three-dimensional structures with a (4,6)-connected fsh topology. It is interesting that the amine molecules can reverse the structure-building roles of the metal phosphate skeleton and metal oxalate substructure for formation of their fsh-type frameworks.
Proceedings. 2000 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2000) (Cat. No.00CH37113), 2000
... We apply color cues in this system in two ways. First one is the background of the navigation... more ... We apply color cues in this system in two ways. First one is the background of the navigation graph. Green color means no network congestion and red one stands for full network congestion. ... Finally we presented Arter I, a new design in home healthcare robot platform via the ...
Biochemical assessment of vitamin A and vitamin E status of Taiwanese elderly persons was conduct... more Biochemical assessment of vitamin A and vitamin E status of Taiwanese elderly persons was conducted by quantitative analysis of the concentration of retinol and α-tocopherol in plasma samples collected in the Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1999-2000). Plasma samples were analyzed by a reverse phase HPLC that can detect retinol and α-tocopherol simultaneously. The mean (SE) plasma retinol
WSS25 is a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from the rhizome of Gastrodia elata BI, which has be... more WSS25 is a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from the rhizome of Gastrodia elata BI, which has been found to bind to bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) in hepatocellular cancer cells. Since BMP-2 may regulate both osteoclasts and osteoblasts, here we investigated the effects of WSS25 on osteoclastogenesis in vitro and bone loss in ovariectomized mice. RAW264.7 cells or mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) were treated with RANKL to induce osteoclastogenesis, which was assessed using TRAP staining, actin ring formation and pit formation assays, as well as bone resorption assay. Cell viability was detected with MTT assay. The mRNA levels of osteoclastogenesis-related genetic markers (TRAP, NFATc1, MMP-9 and cathepsin K) were detected using RT-PCR, while the protein levels of p-Smad1/5/8 and Id1 were measure with Western blotting. WSS25 was administered to ovariectomized mice (100 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), po) for 3 months. After the mice were euthanized, total bone mineral density and cortic...
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior, Jan 5, 2015
Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) causes cognitive impairments and increases the risk of Alzhe... more Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) causes cognitive impairments and increases the risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD) through several biologically plausible pathways, yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), could play neuroprotective role against chronic cerebral hypoperfusion injury and to clarify underlying mechanisms of its efficacy. Rats were subjected to permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (two-vessel occlusion, 2VO). Two weeks later, rats were treated with 30mg/kg fluoxetine (intragastric injection, i.g.) for 6weeks. Cognitive function was evaluated by Morris water maze (MWM) and novel objects recognition (NOR) test. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was used to address the underlying synaptic mechanisms. Western blotting was used to quantify the protein levels. Our results showed that fluoxetine treat...
2006 9th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, 2006
The Bayesian occupancy filter (BOF) (1) has achieved promising results in the object tracking app... more The Bayesian occupancy filter (BOF) (1) has achieved promising results in the object tracking applications. This paper presents a new development of BOF which inherits original BOF's advantages in handling occlusion and representing objects' shape. Meanwhile, the new formulation has significantly reduced original BOF's complexities and can be run in realtime. In Bayesian occupancy filter, the environment is finely divided
2011 International Conference on Information Management, Innovation Management and Industrial Engineering, 2011
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary role in developing countries and its fluct... more Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary role in developing countries and its fluctuations reflect the changes of influencing factors during time, and therefore the models to simulate and forecast the trends are of great significance. Model GM (1, 1) is used in this paper to overcome the problems of small sample size and poor data. In the pre-procession of
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