• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4615-4619
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• 2013

Background: Artesunate, extracted from Artemisia annua, has been proven to have anti-cancer potential. Allicin, diallyl thiosulfinate, the main biologically active compound derived from garlic, is also of interest in cancer treatment research. This object of this report was to document synergistic effects of artesunate combined with allicin on osteosarcoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Methods: After treatment with artesunate and allicin at various concentrations, the viability of osteosarcoma cells was analyzed by MTT method, with assessment of invasion and motility, colony formation and apoptosis. Western Blotting was performed to determine the expression of caspase-3/9, and activity was also detected after drug treatment. Moreover, in a nude mouse model established with orthotopic xenograft tumors, tumor weight and volume were monitored after drug administration via the intraperitoneal (i.p.) route. Results: The viability of osteosarcoma cells in the combination group was significantly decreased in a concentration and time dependent manner; moreover, invasion, motility and colony formation ability were significantly suppressed and the apoptotic rate was significantly increased through caspase-3/9 expression and activity enhancement in the combination group. Furthermore, suppression of tumor growth was evident in vivo. Conclusion: Our results indicated that artesunate and allicin in combination exert synergistic effects on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1029-1031
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• 2015

Objective: Glypican-3 (GPC3) is reported to be an oncofetal protein that is a useful diagnostic immunomarker for hepatoblastoma. However, the results are not inclusive. This study systemically investigated the association between expression of GPC3 and pediatric hepatoblastoma. Methods: Clinical studies evaluating the association were identified using a predefined search strategy. GPC3 immunohistochemistry was applied in the pathological diagnosis of hepatoblastoma using the monoclonal antibodies with formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. Positive predictive rates for the association between expression of GPC3 and pediatric hepatoblastoma were calculated. Results: Specimens from four clinical studies which including 134 patients with pediatric hepatoblastoma tested by GPC3 immunohistochemistry were considered eligible for inclusion. Systemic analysis showed that, in all patients, pooled positive predictive rate of the association between expression of GPC3 and pediatric hepatoblastoma was 95.5% (128/134). Conclusion: This systemic analysis suggests that the expression of glypican-3 is highly associated with the diagnosis of pediatric hepatoblastoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2263-2267
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• 2012

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in carcinogenesis. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of miR-181b on gastric cancer. Methods: The expression level of miR-181b was quantified by qRT-PCR. MTT, flow cytometry and matrigel invasion assays were used to test proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of miR-181b stable transfected gastric cancer cells. Results: miR-181b was aberrantly overexpressed in gastric cancer cells and primary gastric cancer tissues. Further experiments demonstrated inducible expression of miR-181b by Helicobacter pylori treatment. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion in the gastric cancer cells were significantly increased after miR-181b transfection and apoptotic cells were also increased. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-181b downregulated the protein level of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3). Conclusion: The upregulation of miR-181b may play an important role in the progress of gastric cancer and miR-181b maybe a potential molecular target for anticancer therapeutics of gastric cancer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.1665-1669
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• 2001

A QTL was localized near S0120 on porcine chromosome 18. The QTL was significant (p<0.05) for average daily gain (ADG) of body weight and backfat thickness (BFT). The estimates of additive and dominance effects for the QTL were 0.0135 kg/day (p<0.001) and 0.0138 kg/day (p>0.5) for ADG and 1.6115 mm (p<0.001) and 0.9281 mm (p>0.05) for BFT. The location of this QTL coincided with a few growth hormone pathway genes. This study suggested that a QTL allele probably resulted from a mutation responsible for physiological lipase deficiency favoring obesity. This QTL might be important to obesity as well as growth in pigs.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.382-387
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• 2008

It is known that the stable protein 1 (SP1) detected in aspen plants remains soluble upon boiling and that sp1 expression in transgenic aspen is resistant to salt stress. Presently, we analyzed the effect of expression of SP1 in Arabidopsis thaliana plants and their response to high temperature stress. After $45^{\circ}C$ for 16 h, relative to wild type plants, sp1 transgenic plants exhibited stronger growth and were better in several physiological properties including chlorophyII, chlorophyII fluorescence, water content, proline content, and malondialdehyde content. These preliminarily results suggest that the over-expression of SP1 may notably enhance heat-tolerant level of transgenic A. thaliana plants.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 2010

Expression patterns of OsAREB1 revealed that expression of OsAREB1 gene can be induced by ABA, PEG and heat. Yeast one-hybrid assay demonstrated it can bind to ABA-responsive element (ABRE), which was found in most stress-induced genes. Transgenic Arabidopsis over-expressing OsAREB1 had different responses to ABA and glucose compared to wild-type plants, which suggest OsAREB1 might have a crucial role in these two signaling pathways. Further analysis indicate that OsAREB1 have multiple functions in Arabidopsis. First, OsAREB1 transgenic plants had higher resistance to drought and heat, and OsAREB1 up-regulated the ABA/stress related gene such as RD29A and RD29B. Second, it delayed plant flowering time by down-regulating the expression of flowering-related genes, such as FT, SOC1, LFY and AP1. Due to the dates, OsAREB1 may function as a positive regulator in drought/heat stresses response, but a negative regulator in flowering time in Arabidopsis.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.196-204
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• 2015

Nineteen compounds, including one organic acid (1), one anthraquinone (2), one amide (3), and sixteen triterpenoid saponins (4 - 19) were isolated from the leaves of Acanthopanax henryi (Oliv.) Harms (Araliaceae). Their structures were determined on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral analyses (HR-MS and NMR). Among them, compounds 2, 3, 7, 12 and 19 were new within Araliaceae. Compounds 4, 5, 9 - 11, 13, 14, 16 and 18 were reported for the first time from the Acanthopanax genus. Except for compounds 4 and 9, other compounds were isolated from A. henryi (Oliv.) Harms for the first time. The rare anthraquinone, compound 2, significantly decreased the production of NO and the levels of other inflammatory factors, such as TNF-α and IL-6, in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. This is the first time to report anti-inflammatory effect of this compound.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1183-1200
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• 2015

Reinforcement corrosion can cause serious safety deterioration to aging concrete structures exposed in aggressive environments. This paper presents an approach for reliability analyses of deteriorating reinforced concrete structures affected by reinforcement corrosion on the basis of the representative symptoms identified during the deterioration process. The concrete cracking growth and rebar bond strength evolution due to reinforcement corrosion are chosen as key symptoms for the performance deterioration of concrete structures. The crack width at concrete cover surface largely depends on the corrosion penetration of rebar due to the expansive rust layer at the bond interface generated by reinforcement corrosion. The bond strength of rebar in the concrete correlates well with concrete crack width and decays steadily with crack width growth. The estimates of cracking development and bond strength deterioration are examined by experimental data available from various sources, and then matched with symptom-based lifetime Weibull model. The symptom reliability and remaining useful life are predicted from the predictive lifetime Weibull model for deteriorating concrete structures. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach for forecasting the performance of concrete structures subject to reinforcement corrosion. The results show that the corrosion rate has significant impact on the reliability associated with serviceability and load bearing capacity of reinforced concrete structures during their service life.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.271-281
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• 2012

Tianjin Goldin Finance 117 tower has an architectural height of 597 m, total of 117 stories, and the coronation of having the highest structural roof of all the buildings under construction in China. Structural height-width ratio is approximately 9.5, exceeding the existing regulation code significantly. In order to satisfy earthquake and wind-resisting requirements, a structure consisting of a perimeter frame composed of mega composite columns, mega braces and transfer trusses and reinforced concrete core containing composite steel plate wall is adopted. Complemented by some of the new requirements from the latest Chinese building seismic design codes, design of the super high-rise building in high-intensity seismic area exhibits a number of new features and solutions to professional requirements in response spectrum selection, overall stiffness control, material and component type selection, seismic performance based design, mega-column design, anti-collapse and stability analysis as well as elastic-plastic time-history analysis. Furthermore, under the prerequisite of economic viability and a series of technical requirements prescribed by the expert review panel for high-rise buildings exceeding code limits, the design manages to overcome various structural challenges and realizes the intentions of the architect and the client.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.2255-2259
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• 2012

Aggregation of titania nanotubes (TNTs) fabricated by hydrothermal method were calcined in air and dry nitrogen; Changes in morphology and crystallinity of the nanotubes were studied by means of TEM, EDX, and XPS. EDX patterns and XPS spectra proved that there were a certain densities of oxygen vacancies in TNTs annealed in $N_2$. The photocatalysis experiments revealed TNTs/$N_2$ possesses significantly higher photocatalytic efficiency than TNTs annealed in dry air to degrade methylene blue. The correlation between oxygen vacancies and photocatalytic property may be attributed to: 1) oxygen vacancies might have affected results on water molecules adsorption and increase of the hydroxyl concentration; and 2) oxygen vacancies resulted in some changes in electronic structure of TNTs/$N_2$ aggregation and Fermi level extends into the conducting band.