• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.501-514
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• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of Chikusetsusaponin V (CsV) on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vascular endothelial cell functions. Different concentrations of CsV were added to animal models, bovine aorta endothelial cells (BAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in vitro. qPCR, Western blotting (WB), and B ultrasound were performed to explore the effects of CsV on mouse endothelial cell functions, vascular stiffness and cellular eNOS mRNA, protein expression and NO release. Bioinformatics analysis, network pharmacology, molecular docking and protein mass spectrometry analysis were conducted to jointly predict the upstream transcription factors of eNOS. Furthermore, pulldown and ChIP and dual luciferase assays were employed for subsequent verification. At the presence or absence of CsV stimulation, either overexpression or knockdown of purine rich element binding protein A (PURA) was conducted, and PCR assay was employed to detect PURA and eNOS mRNA expressions, Western blot was used to detect PURA and eNOS protein expressions, cell NO release and serum NO levels. Tube formation experiment was conducted to detect the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. The animal vasodilation function test detected the vasodilation functions. Ultrasonic detection was performed to determine the mouse aortic arch pulse wave velocity to identify aortic stiffness. CsV stimulus on bovine aortic cells revealed that CsV could upregulate eNOS protein levels in vascular endothelial cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. The expression levels of eNOS mRNA and phosphorylation sites Ser1177, Ser633 and Thr495 increased significantly after CsV stimulation. Meanwhile, CsV could also enhance the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. Following the mice were gavaged using CsV, the eNOS protein level of mouse aortic endothelial cells was upregulated in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and serum NO release and vasodilation ability were simultaneously elevated whereas arterial stiffness was alleviated. The pulldown, ChIP and dual luciferase assays demonstrated that PURA could bind to the eNOS promoter and facilitate the transcription of eNOS. Under the conditions of presence or absence of CsV stimulation, overexpression or knockdown of PURA indicated that the effect of CsV on vascular endothelial function and eNOS was weakened following PURA gene silence, whereas overexpression of PURA gene could enhance the effect of CsV upregulating eNOS expression. CsV could promote NO release from endothelial cells by upregulating the expression of PURA/eNOS pathway, improve endothelial cell functions, enhance vasodilation capability, and alleviate vessel stiffness. The present study plays a role in offering a theoretical basis for the development and application of CsV in vascular function improvement, and it also provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pharmacodynamics of CsV.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.859-868
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• 2020

Objective: To investigate the value of initial CT quantitative analysis of ground-glass opacity (GGO), consolidation, and total lesion volume and its relationship with clinical features for assessing the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: A total of 84 patients with COVID-19 were retrospectively reviewed from January 23, 2020 to February 19, 2020. Patients were divided into two groups: severe group (n = 23) and non-severe group (n = 61). Clinical symptoms, laboratory data, and CT findings on admission were analyzed. CT quantitative parameters, including GGO, consolidation, total lesion score, percentage GGO, and percentage consolidation (both relative to total lesion volume) were calculated. Relationships between the CT findings and laboratory data were estimated. Finally, a discrimination model was established to assess the severity of COVID-19. Results: Patients in the severe group had higher baseline neutrophil percentage, increased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and procalcitonin levels, and lower baseline lymphocyte count and lymphocyte percentage (p < 0.001). The severe group also had higher GGO score (p < 0.001), consolidation score (p < 0.001), total lesion score (p < 0.001), and percentage consolidation (p = 0.002), but had a lower percentage GGO (p = 0.008). These CT quantitative parameters were significantly correlated with laboratory inflammatory marker levels, including neutrophil percentage, lymphocyte count, lymphocyte percentage, hs-CRP level, and procalcitonin level (p < 0.05). The total lesion score demonstrated the best performance when the data cut-off was 8.2%. Furthermore, the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity were 93.8% (confidence interval [CI]: 86.8-100%), 91.3% (CI: 69.6-100%), and 91.8% (CI: 23.0-98.4%), respectively. Conclusion: CT quantitative parameters showed strong correlations with laboratory inflammatory markers, suggesting that CT quantitative analysis might be an effective and important method for assessing the severity of COVID-19, and may provide additional guidance for planning clinical treatment strategies.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1613-1616
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• 2012

Ni nanoparticles-$TiO_2$ nanotube arrays (Ni/$TiO_2NTs$) composites were prepared by pulsed electrodeposition method and subsequently characterized by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The FESEM results showed that highly dispersed Ni nanoparticles were not only loaded on the top of the $TiO_2NTs$ but also within the tubular structure, and the particle size of Ni prepared at different current amplitude (100, 200 and 300 $mA{\cdot}cm^{-2}$) was in the range of 15 to 70 nm. The electrochemical studies indicated that Ni nanoparticles loaded on the highly ordered $TiO_2NTs$ are readily accessible for electrochemical reactions, which improve the efficiency of the Ni nanoparticles and $TiO_2NTs$. A maximum specific capacitance (27.3 $mF.cm^{-2}$) was obtained on the Ni/$TiO_2NTs$ composite electrode that prepared at a current of 200 $mA.cm^{-2}$, and the electrode also exhibited excellent electrochemical stability.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.197-205
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• 2013

In energy injection resonant AC-AC converters, due to the low frequency effect of the AC input envelope and the low energy injection losses requirement, the constant and steady control of the high frequency AC output envelope is still a problem that has not been solved very well. With the aid of system modeling, this paper analyzes the mechanism of the envelope pit on the resonant AC current. The computing methods for the critical damping point, the falling time and the bottom value of the envelope pit are presented as well. Furthermore, this paper concludes the stability precondition of the system AC output. Accordingly, an optimal control method for the AC output envelope is put forward based on the envelope prediction model. This control method can predict system responses dynamically under different series of control decisions. In addition, this control method can select best series of control decisions to make the AC output envelope stable and constant. Simulation and experimental results for a contactless power transfer system verify the control method.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.244-251
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• 2013

Lignocellulosic materials are commonly used in bio-$H_2$ production for the sustainable energy resource development as they are abundant, cheap, renewable and highly biodegradable. In the process of the bio-$H_2$ production, the pretreated lignocellulosic materials are firstly converted to monosaccharides by enzymolysis and then to $H_2$ by fermentation. Since the structures of lignocellulosic materials are rather complex, the hydrolysates vary with the used materials. Even using the same lignocellulosic materials, the hydrolysates also change with different pretreatment methods. It has been shown that the appropriate hydrolysate compositions can dramatically improve the biological activities and bio-$H_2$ production performances. Over the past decades, hydrolysis with respect to different lignocellulosic materials and pretreatments has been widely investigated. Besides, effects of the hydrolysates on the biohydrogen yields have also been examined. In this review, recent studies on hydrolysis as well as their effects on the biohydrogen production performance are summarized.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2017

The increasing of wind power penetration level presents challenges in classical optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) which is usually formulated as a deterministic optimization problem. This paper proposes a two-stage stochastic programming model for ORPD by considering the uncertainties of wind speed and load in a specified time interval. To avoid the excessive operation, the schedule of compensators will be determined in the first-stage while accounting for the costs of adjusting the compensators (CACs). Under uncertainty effects, on-load tap changer (OLTC) and generator in the second-stage will compensate the mismatch caused by the first-stage decision. The objective of the proposed model is to minimize the sum of CACs and the expected energy loss. The stochastic behavior is formulated by three-point estimate method (TPEM) to convert the stochastic programming into equivalent deterministic problem. A hybrid Genetic Algorithm-Interior Point Method is utilized to solve this large-scale mixed-integer nonlinear stochastic problem. Two case studies on IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 118-bus system are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.436-444
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• 2016

Oil-paper insulation of valve-side windings in converter transformers withstand electrical stresses combining with AC, DC and strong harmonic components. This paper presents the physical mechanisms and experimental researches on partial discharge (PD) of oil-paper insulation at pulsating DC voltage. Theoretical analysis showed that the phase-resolved distributions of PDs generated from different insulated models varied as the increase of the applied voltages following a certain rule. Four artificial insulation defect models were designed to generate PD signals at pulsating DC voltages. Theoretical statements and experimental results show that the PD pulses first appear at the maximum value of the applied pulsating DC voltage, and the resolved PD phase distribution became wider as the applied voltage increased. The PD phase-resolved distributions generated from the different discharge models are also different in the phase-resolved distributions and development progress. It implies that the theoretical analysis is suitable for interpretation of PD at pulsating DC voltage.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.192-199
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• 2016

With changes in insulated defects, the environment, and so on, new partial discharge (PD) data are highly different from the original samples. It leads to a decrease in on-line recognition rate. The UHF signal and pulse current signal of four kinds of typical artificial defect models in gas insulated switchgear (GIS) are obtained simultaneously by experiment. The relationship map of ultra-high frequency (UHF) cumulative energy and its corresponding apparent discharge of four kinds of typical artificial defect models are plotted. UHF cumulative energy and its corresponding apparent discharge are used as inputs. The support vector machine (SVM) incremental method is constructed. Examples show that the PD SVM incremental method based on simulated annealing (SA) effectively speeds up the data update rate and improves the adaptability of the classifier compared with the original method, in that the total sample is constituted by the old and new data. The PD SVM incremental method is a better pattern recognition technology for PD on-line monitoring.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2017

Our study aims to determine the metabolism and excretion of novel pulmonary-targeting docetaxel liposome (DTX-LP) using the in vitro and in vivo animal experimental models. The metabolism and excretion of DTX-LP and intravenous DTX (DTX-IN) in New Zealand rabbits were determined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We found DTX-LP and DTX-IN were similarly degraded in vitro by liver homogenates and microsomes, but not metabolized by lung homogenates. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry identified two shared DTX metabolites. The unconfirmed metabolite $M_{un}$ differed structurally from all DTX metabolites identified to date. DTX-LP likewise had a similar in vivo metabolism to DTX-IN. Conversely, DTX-LP showed significantly diminished excretion in rabbit feces or urine, approximately halving the cumulative excretion rates compared to DTX-IN. Liposomal delivery of DTX did not alter the in vitro or in vivo drug metabolism. Delayed excretion of pulmonary-targeting DTX-LP may greatly enhance the therapeutic efficacy and reduce the systemic toxicity in the chemotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer. The identification of $M_{un}$ may further suggest an alternative species-specific metabolic pathway.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1107-1113
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• 2015

Test temperature is an important factor affecting the measurement results of dielectric response of field power transformers. In order to better apply the polarization and depolarization current (PDC) to the condition monitoring of oil-paper insulation system in power transformers, the influences and elimination method of test temperature on PDC characteristic spectroscopy (PDC-CS) were investigated. Firstly, the experimental winding sample was measured by PDC method at different test temperatures, then the PDC-CS was obtained from the measurement results and its changing rules were discussed, which show that the PDC-CS appears a horizontal mobility with the rise of temperature. Based on the rules, the “time temperature shift technique” was introduced to eliminate the influence of test temperature. It is shown that the PDC-CS at different test temperatures can be converted to the same reference temperature coincident with each other.