Dendritic cells (DCs), which are potent antigen presenting cells (APCs), are utilized to deliver ... more Dendritic cells (DCs), which are potent antigen presenting cells (APCs), are utilized to deliver the signals essential for the initiation of immune responses. In this study, we used an interdisciplinary approach to characterize the effect of K562 cells, a human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell line, on the biomechanical characteristics and immune functions of DCs. When co-cultured with K562 cells, the biomechanical and immunological characteristics of immature DCs (imDCs) and mature DCs (mDCs) were severely impaired compared with controls. The changes include increased membrane viscoelasticity, reorganized cytoskeleton (F-actin), suppressed capability of antigen uptake, transendothelium migration, and activation of naïve T cells. In exploring the mechanisms of these changes, we identified several genes and proteins by microarray analysis and 2D gel electrophoresis. Changes were found in the cytoskeleton-related genes and proteins (such as cofilin1 and profilin1) and matrix-relate...
To understand lncRNAs expression profiling and their potential functions in bladder cancer, we in... more To understand lncRNAs expression profiling and their potential functions in bladder cancer, we investigated the lncRNA and coding RNA expression on human bladder cancer and normal bladder tissues. Bioinformatic analysis revealed thousands of significantly differentially expressed lncRNAs and coding mRNA in bladder cancer relative to normal bladder tissue. Co-expression analysis revealed that 50% of lncRNAs and coding RNAs expressed in the same direction. A subset of lncRNAs might be involved in mTOR signaling, p53 signaling, cancer pathways. Our study provides a large scale of co-expression between lncRNA and coding RNAs in bladder cancer cells and lays biological basis for further investigation.
[1] Mounting evidence supports that wetland ecosystems, one of the largest carbon pools on the ea... more [1] Mounting evidence supports that wetland ecosystems, one of the largest carbon pools on the earth, are exposed to ample nitrogen (N) additions due to atmospheric deposition or N loading from upstream agricultural fertilizer application. However, our understanding of how N enrichment affects the fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in wetlands is weak. A 5 year N addition experiment was conducted to examine the responses of CH4 and N2O fluxes as well as ecosystem respiration from wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China, through 2005 to 2009. Four levels of N addition (control, 0 kg N ha−1 yr−1; low-level, 60 kg N ha−1 yr−1; medium-level, 120 kg N ha−1 yr−1; high-level, 240 kg N ha−1 yr−1) were designed in this study. Overall, our results show that medium and high levels of N addition increased ecosystem respiration by 28% and 69% (P < 0.05), respectively, while low-level N addition has no effect on ecosystem respiration (P > 0.05). High-level N fertilization exerted str...
ABSTRACT 1] This paper presents top-down constraints on the magnitude, spatial distribution, and ... more ABSTRACT 1] This paper presents top-down constraints on the magnitude, spatial distribution, and seasonality of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions over the central United States. We analyze data from tall towers in 2004 and 2008 using a high resolution Lagrangian particle dispersion model paired with both geostatistical and Bayesian inversions. Our results indicate peak N 2 O emissions in June with a strong seasonal cycle. The spatial distribution of sources closely mirrors data on fertilizer application with particularly large N 2 O sources over the US Cornbelt. Existing inventories for N 2 O predict emissions that differ substantially from the inverse model results in both seasonal cycle and magnitude. We estimate a total annual N 2 O budget over the central US of 0.9–1.2 TgN/yr and an extrapolated budget for the entire US and Canada of 2.1–2.6 TgN/yr. By this estimate, the US and Canada account for 12–15% of the total global N 2 O source or 32–39% of the global anthropogenic source as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007.
European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V, 2014
The aim of the present work was to develop a nasal delivery system of phenylephrine hydrochloride... more The aim of the present work was to develop a nasal delivery system of phenylephrine hydrochloride (PE) in spray form to make prolonged remedy of nasal congestion. The formulations contain the thermosensitive hydrogel, i.e., Poloxamer 407 (P407) and Poloxamer 188 (P188) mixtures, and mucoadhesives, i.e., ε-polylysine (ε-PL) and low molecular weight sodium hyaluronate (MW 11,000Da). The in vitro characterizations of formulations including rheology studies, texture profiles and in vitro mucoadhesion potential were investigated after gelation temperatures measurements. The results showed that the concentration of P407 or P188 had significant influence on gelation temperature and texture profiles. The addition of mucoadhesives, though lowered the gel strength of formulations, increased interaction with mucin. After screening, two formulations (i.e., 1.0% PE/0.5% ε-PL/17% P407/0.5% P188 or Formulation A; and 1.0% PE/0.5% HA/17% P407/0.8% P188 or Formulation B) presenting suitable gelation...
Earth system models describe the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern our glob... more Earth system models describe the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern our global climate. While it is difficult to single out one component as being more important than another in these sophisticated models, terrestrial vegetation is a critical player in the biogeochemical and biophysical dynamics of the Earth system. There is much debate, however, as to how plant diversity and function should be represented in these models. Plant functional types (PFTs) have been adopted by modellers to represent broad groupings of plant species that share similar characteristics (e.g. growth form) and roles (e.g. photosynthetic pathway) in ecosystem function. In this review, the PFT concept is traced from its origin in the early 1800s to its current use in regional and global dynamic vegetation models (DVMs). Special attention is given to the representation and parameterization of PFTs and to validation and benchmarking of predicted patterns of vegetation distribution in high-la...
A new regional dust model suitable for simulation and forecasting of dust storms over northern Ch... more A new regional dust model suitable for simulation and forecasting of dust storms over northern China was described. The dust model was developed by coupling the mesoscale dynamics model MM5 (the Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model) with a set of mass conservation equations for the particles. The model includes all the atmospheric physical processes of dust storms including occurrence, lifting,
Axial-paraxial mesoderm patterning is a special dorsal-ventral patterning event of establishing t... more Axial-paraxial mesoderm patterning is a special dorsal-ventral patterning event of establishing the vertebrate body plan. Though dorsal-ventral patterning has been extensively studied, the initiation of axial-paraxial mesoderm pattering remains largely unrevealed. In zebrafish, spt cell-autonomously regulates paraxial mesoderm specification and flh represses spt expression to promote axial mesoderm fate, but the expression domains of spt and flh initially overlap in the entire marginal zone of the embryo. Defining spt and flh territories is therefore a premise of axial-paraxial mesoderm patterning. In this study, we investigated why and how the initial expression of flh becomes repressed in the ventrolateral marginal cells during blastula stage. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments showed that a maternal transcription factor Vsx1 is essential for restricting flh expression within the dorsal margin and preserving spt expression and paraxial mesoderm specification in the ventrolater...
Prechordal mesendoderm (PME) is a derivative of gastrula organizer underlying the anterior neural... more Prechordal mesendoderm (PME) is a derivative of gastrula organizer underlying the anterior neural plate of vertebrate embryos. It has been firmly established that PME is critical for head induction and anterior-posterior patterning. Therefore, the establishment of PME in a desired shape and size at a correct position during early embryogenesis is crucial for normal head patterning. However, it remains largely unclear how the desired form and size of PME is generated at a predestined position during early embryogenesis. Here we show that in zebrafish a maternal transcription repressor Vsx1 is essential for this early developmental regulation. Knocking down maternal vsx1 resulted in impaired PME formation and progression associated with a deficient and posteriorized forebrain. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments showed that maternal Vsx1 is essential for repressing ntl ectopic expression in more animal region at early gastrula stages. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay in combinat...
Dendritic cells (DCs), which are potent antigen presenting cells (APCs), are utilized to deliver ... more Dendritic cells (DCs), which are potent antigen presenting cells (APCs), are utilized to deliver the signals essential for the initiation of immune responses. In this study, we used an interdisciplinary approach to characterize the effect of K562 cells, a human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell line, on the biomechanical characteristics and immune functions of DCs. When co-cultured with K562 cells, the biomechanical and immunological characteristics of immature DCs (imDCs) and mature DCs (mDCs) were severely impaired compared with controls. The changes include increased membrane viscoelasticity, reorganized cytoskeleton (F-actin), suppressed capability of antigen uptake, transendothelium migration, and activation of naïve T cells. In exploring the mechanisms of these changes, we identified several genes and proteins by microarray analysis and 2D gel electrophoresis. Changes were found in the cytoskeleton-related genes and proteins (such as cofilin1 and profilin1) and matrix-relate...
To understand lncRNAs expression profiling and their potential functions in bladder cancer, we in... more To understand lncRNAs expression profiling and their potential functions in bladder cancer, we investigated the lncRNA and coding RNA expression on human bladder cancer and normal bladder tissues. Bioinformatic analysis revealed thousands of significantly differentially expressed lncRNAs and coding mRNA in bladder cancer relative to normal bladder tissue. Co-expression analysis revealed that 50% of lncRNAs and coding RNAs expressed in the same direction. A subset of lncRNAs might be involved in mTOR signaling, p53 signaling, cancer pathways. Our study provides a large scale of co-expression between lncRNA and coding RNAs in bladder cancer cells and lays biological basis for further investigation.
[1] Mounting evidence supports that wetland ecosystems, one of the largest carbon pools on the ea... more [1] Mounting evidence supports that wetland ecosystems, one of the largest carbon pools on the earth, are exposed to ample nitrogen (N) additions due to atmospheric deposition or N loading from upstream agricultural fertilizer application. However, our understanding of how N enrichment affects the fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in wetlands is weak. A 5 year N addition experiment was conducted to examine the responses of CH4 and N2O fluxes as well as ecosystem respiration from wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China, through 2005 to 2009. Four levels of N addition (control, 0 kg N ha−1 yr−1; low-level, 60 kg N ha−1 yr−1; medium-level, 120 kg N ha−1 yr−1; high-level, 240 kg N ha−1 yr−1) were designed in this study. Overall, our results show that medium and high levels of N addition increased ecosystem respiration by 28% and 69% (P < 0.05), respectively, while low-level N addition has no effect on ecosystem respiration (P > 0.05). High-level N fertilization exerted str...
ABSTRACT 1] This paper presents top-down constraints on the magnitude, spatial distribution, and ... more ABSTRACT 1] This paper presents top-down constraints on the magnitude, spatial distribution, and seasonality of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions over the central United States. We analyze data from tall towers in 2004 and 2008 using a high resolution Lagrangian particle dispersion model paired with both geostatistical and Bayesian inversions. Our results indicate peak N 2 O emissions in June with a strong seasonal cycle. The spatial distribution of sources closely mirrors data on fertilizer application with particularly large N 2 O sources over the US Cornbelt. Existing inventories for N 2 O predict emissions that differ substantially from the inverse model results in both seasonal cycle and magnitude. We estimate a total annual N 2 O budget over the central US of 0.9–1.2 TgN/yr and an extrapolated budget for the entire US and Canada of 2.1–2.6 TgN/yr. By this estimate, the US and Canada account for 12–15% of the total global N 2 O source or 32–39% of the global anthropogenic source as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007.
European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V, 2014
The aim of the present work was to develop a nasal delivery system of phenylephrine hydrochloride... more The aim of the present work was to develop a nasal delivery system of phenylephrine hydrochloride (PE) in spray form to make prolonged remedy of nasal congestion. The formulations contain the thermosensitive hydrogel, i.e., Poloxamer 407 (P407) and Poloxamer 188 (P188) mixtures, and mucoadhesives, i.e., ε-polylysine (ε-PL) and low molecular weight sodium hyaluronate (MW 11,000Da). The in vitro characterizations of formulations including rheology studies, texture profiles and in vitro mucoadhesion potential were investigated after gelation temperatures measurements. The results showed that the concentration of P407 or P188 had significant influence on gelation temperature and texture profiles. The addition of mucoadhesives, though lowered the gel strength of formulations, increased interaction with mucin. After screening, two formulations (i.e., 1.0% PE/0.5% ε-PL/17% P407/0.5% P188 or Formulation A; and 1.0% PE/0.5% HA/17% P407/0.8% P188 or Formulation B) presenting suitable gelation...
Earth system models describe the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern our glob... more Earth system models describe the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern our global climate. While it is difficult to single out one component as being more important than another in these sophisticated models, terrestrial vegetation is a critical player in the biogeochemical and biophysical dynamics of the Earth system. There is much debate, however, as to how plant diversity and function should be represented in these models. Plant functional types (PFTs) have been adopted by modellers to represent broad groupings of plant species that share similar characteristics (e.g. growth form) and roles (e.g. photosynthetic pathway) in ecosystem function. In this review, the PFT concept is traced from its origin in the early 1800s to its current use in regional and global dynamic vegetation models (DVMs). Special attention is given to the representation and parameterization of PFTs and to validation and benchmarking of predicted patterns of vegetation distribution in high-la...
A new regional dust model suitable for simulation and forecasting of dust storms over northern Ch... more A new regional dust model suitable for simulation and forecasting of dust storms over northern China was described. The dust model was developed by coupling the mesoscale dynamics model MM5 (the Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model) with a set of mass conservation equations for the particles. The model includes all the atmospheric physical processes of dust storms including occurrence, lifting,
Axial-paraxial mesoderm patterning is a special dorsal-ventral patterning event of establishing t... more Axial-paraxial mesoderm patterning is a special dorsal-ventral patterning event of establishing the vertebrate body plan. Though dorsal-ventral patterning has been extensively studied, the initiation of axial-paraxial mesoderm pattering remains largely unrevealed. In zebrafish, spt cell-autonomously regulates paraxial mesoderm specification and flh represses spt expression to promote axial mesoderm fate, but the expression domains of spt and flh initially overlap in the entire marginal zone of the embryo. Defining spt and flh territories is therefore a premise of axial-paraxial mesoderm patterning. In this study, we investigated why and how the initial expression of flh becomes repressed in the ventrolateral marginal cells during blastula stage. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments showed that a maternal transcription factor Vsx1 is essential for restricting flh expression within the dorsal margin and preserving spt expression and paraxial mesoderm specification in the ventrolater...
Prechordal mesendoderm (PME) is a derivative of gastrula organizer underlying the anterior neural... more Prechordal mesendoderm (PME) is a derivative of gastrula organizer underlying the anterior neural plate of vertebrate embryos. It has been firmly established that PME is critical for head induction and anterior-posterior patterning. Therefore, the establishment of PME in a desired shape and size at a correct position during early embryogenesis is crucial for normal head patterning. However, it remains largely unclear how the desired form and size of PME is generated at a predestined position during early embryogenesis. Here we show that in zebrafish a maternal transcription repressor Vsx1 is essential for this early developmental regulation. Knocking down maternal vsx1 resulted in impaired PME formation and progression associated with a deficient and posteriorized forebrain. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments showed that maternal Vsx1 is essential for repressing ntl ectopic expression in more animal region at early gastrula stages. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay in combinat...
Uploads
Papers by Xiaofeng Xu