• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4519-4525
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• 2014

Oleanolic acid (OA) is a nutritional component widely distributed in various vegetables. Although it has been well recognized for decades that OA exerts certain anti-tumor activity by inducing mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, it is still unclear that what molecular signaling is responsible for this effect. In this study, we employed cancer cell lines, A549, BXPC-3, PANC-1 and U2OS to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying OA anti-tumor activity. We found that activation of MAPK pathways, including p-38 MAPK, JNK and ERK, was triggered by OA in both a dose and time-dependent fashion in all the tested cancer cells. Activation was accompanied by cleavage of caspases and PARP as well as cytochrome C release. SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor), but not SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) and U0126 (ERK inhibitor), rescued the pro-apoptotic effect of OA on A549 and BXPC-3 cells. OA induced p38 MAPK activation promoted mitochondrial translocation of Bax and Bim, and inhibited Bcl-2 function by enhancing their phosphorylation. OA can induce reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent ASK1 activation, and this event was indispensable for p38 MAPK-dependent apoptosis in cancer cells. In vivo, p38 MAPK knockdown A549 tumors proved resistant to the growth-inhibitory effect of OA. Collectively, we elucidated that activation of ROS/ASK1/p38 MAPK pathways is responsible for the apoptosis stimulated by OA in cancer cells. Our finding can contribute to a better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the antitumor activity of nutritional components.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.735-742
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• 2017

Steel cables as the most important components are widely used in the certain types of structures such as cable-supported bridges, but the long-span structures may result in an increase in fatigue under high stress and corrosion of steel cables. The traditional steel cable is becoming a more evident hindrance. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) cables with lightweight, high-strength are widely used in civil engineering, but there is little research in vibrational characteristics of FRP cables, especially on the damping characteristic. This article studied the two methods to evaluate dynamical damping characteristic of basalt FRP(BFRP) and glass FRP(GFRP) cables. First, the vibration tests of the B/G FRP cables with different diameter and different cable force were executed. Second, the cables forces were calculated using dynamic strain, static strain and dynamic acceleration respectively, which were further compared with the measured force. Third, experimental modal damping of each cables was calculated by the half power point method, and was compared with the calculation by Rayleigh damping theory and energy dissipation damping theory. The results indicate that (1) The experimental damping of FRP cables decreases with the increase of cable force, and the trend of experimental damping changes is roughly similar with the theoretical damping. (2) The distribution of modal damping calculated by Rayleigh damping theory is closer to the experimental results, and the damping performance of GFRP cables is better than BFRP cables.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1959-1964
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• 2015

Purpose: To investigate the distribution of liver cancer mortality as well as its developing trend from 1991 to 2012, forecast the future five-year trend, and provide a basis for the comprehensive prevention and management. Materials and Methods: Mortality data for liver cancer in China from 1991 to 2012 were used to describe characteristics and distribution of liver cancer mortality. Trend surface analysis was used to study the geographical distribution of liver cancer mortality. Curve estimation, time series modeling, gray modeling (GM) and joinpoint regression were used to predict and forecast future trends. Results: The mortality rate of liver cancer has constantly increased in China since 1991. Rates in rural areas are higher than in urban areas, and in males are higher than in females. In addition, our data predicted that the trend will continue to increase in the next 5 years. The age-specific mortality of liver cancer increases with age and peaks in the group of 80-84 years old. Geographical analysis showed the liver mortality rate was higher in the southeast provinces, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, and southwest regions like Guangxi Province. Conclusions: The standardized mortality rate of liver cancer in China has consistently increased from 1991 to 2012, and the upward trend is predicted to continue in the future. Much better prevention and management of liver cancer is needed in high mortality areas (the southwestern and southeastern parts of China) and high mortality age groups (80- to 84-year-olds), especially in rural areas.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2004

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus(BmNPV) ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase gene (egt) promoter fragments of different lengths were amplified from BmNPV ZJ-8 genomic DNA by PCR. Reporter plasmids pBmegt542-luc, pBmegt309-luc and pBmegtl59-luc with luciferase (lue) driven by egt promoters were constructed. Both in vitro and in vivo expressions showed that BmNPV egt promoter activity requires the transactivation of viral factor(s), and expression of luc was detected earliest at 24 hrs post infection (pi). BmNPV ZJ-8 homologous region 3 (hr3) increased the expression of luc by over 1,600-fold. Molting hormone of 1.0 - 2.0 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ can dramatically down regulate expression of luc. Juvenile hormone analogue of 0.5-2.0 ${\mu}g$/$m\ell$ increased expression of luc by 145.8% to 75.7%. Deletion assay revealed that the promoter fragment of 159 bp contains the basal promoter structure; Promoter fragments of 309 bp and 542 bp showed similar but much higher transcriptional activities than that of 159 bp, suggesting that nucleotide from -159 to -309 nt upstream the translation initiation site harbors the main cis-acting elements.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.804-810
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• 2020

The profitability of the dairy and beef industries is largely affected by the actually achieved reproductive efficiency. Although a large proportion of cows worldwide are bred by artificial insemination (AI) services, many potential factors affecting the outcome of pregnancy by AI remain to be addressed. In the present study, we investigated the vaginal microbiota by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and analyzed their association with differential pregnancy outcomes (i.e., pregnant vs. nonpregnant) of multiple AI services in dairy cows. Sequencing of the V3-V4 region totally produced 512,046 high-quality sequences that were computationally clustered into 2,584 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). All OTUs were taxonomically assigned to 10 bacterial phyla. There were statistically significant differences among the three AI service times (T1, T2 and T3) with respect to the Shannon index and number of observed OTUs (p < 0.05). Bray-Curtis distance-based PCoA analysis also revealed that T2 group could be significantly distinguished from T1 and T3. However, no significant difference between the pregnant and nonpregnant cows was found in confidence regarding both alpha diversity and beta diversity. These results could help us better understand the possible influence of vaginal microbial community on pregnancy outcomes of AI service in cows.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2017

The root bark extract of Aralia taibaiensis is used traditionally for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in China. The total saponin extracted from Aralia Taibaiensis (sAT) has effective combined antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic activities in experimental type 2 diabetic rats. However, the active compounds have not yet been fully investigated. In the present study, we examined effects of twelve triterpenoid saponins on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation, and found that compound 28-O-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl ester (AT12) significantly increased phosphorylation of AMPK and Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). AT12 effectively decreased blood glucose, triglyceride (TG), free fatty acid (FFA) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The mechanism by which AT12 activated AMPK was subsequently investigated. Intracellular ATP level and oxygen consumption were significantly reduced by AT12 treatment. The findings suggested AT12 was a novel AMPK activator, and could be useful for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1375-1378
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• 2005

The objective of this study was to investigate polymorphisms of BMPRIB (bone morphogenetic protein type IB receptor) gene and its effect on litter size traits in sheep. Three populations including 101 Small Tailed Han sheep, 79 Poll Dorset and 81 hybrids (Poll Dorset${\times}$Small Tailed Han sheep) were used to detect the polymorphisms in exon 6 region of sheep BMPRIB gene. A fragment of approximately 190bp was amplified by one pair of primers, the polymorphism was revealed from the analysis of three populations by the technique of PCR -SSCP, and a mutation from A to G at 746 of the coding region was confirmed by sequencing in several individual. Statistical results indicated the distribution of allele B (with a A$\longrightarrow$G mutation) and A (without mutation) or genotype AA, AB and BB frequencies differed in three populations. BB genotype (44.55%) and B allele (66.34%) frequencies of Small Tailed Han sheep were higher than those of the others. Analysis of variance showed that the polymorphism of BMPRIB gene was associated with positive effect on litter size traits. The means of genotype BB and AB were about 1.04 and 0.74 more than genotype AA for litter size (p<0.05). Analysis of BMPRIB genotype effects on litter size in three populations indicates the existence of genotype BB or B allele increases the litter size. It suggested that the polymorphism in exon 6 (at 746 in the coding region) of sheep BMPRIB gene may be used as a marker for early selection of prolificacy in sheep.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.821-826
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• 2007

The aim of the experiment was to detect polymorphisms in the keratin-associated protein 8.2 (KAP8.2) gene to determine associations between the genotype and fibre traits in Chinese Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. The fibre traits data investigated were cashmere fibre diameter, combed cashmere weight, cashmere fibre length and guard hair length. Five hundred and forty-two animals were used to detect polymorphisms in the complete coding sequence of the hircine KAP8.2 gene by means of PCR-SSCP. The results identified six genotypes, AA, BB, DD, AB, AD and BD, coded for by three different alleles A, B and D. Two SNPs in the coding region were confirmed by sequencing, which were A214G and T218C respectively. The relationships between the genotypes and cashmere fibre diameter, combed cashmere weight, cashmere fibre length and guard hair length were analyzed. There were significant differences (p<0.01) between the associations of the different genotypes with cashmere fibre diameter, cashmere weight and hair length. Cashmere length was the only trait that was not associated with the genotypes. The genotype AA (0.73) was found to be predominant in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats and the animals with this genotype had the thinnest cashmere fibre diameter compared with the other genotypes. These results suggested that polymorphisms in the hircine KAP8.2 gene may be a potential molecular marker for cashmere fibre diameter in cashmere goats.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.315-320
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the recurrence pattern and characteristics of patients based on the 2013 St. Gallen surrogate molecular subtypes after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in Chinese women. Methods: This retrospective analysis included 709 consecutive breast cancer patients undergoing BCS from 1999-2010 at our institution. Five different surrogate subtypes were created using combined expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2. Locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were calculated. Results: The 5-year LRRFS, DMFS, and DFS rates were 90.5%, 88.2%, and 81.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that young age, node-positive disease, and HER2 enrichment were independent prognostic factors in LRRFS patients. There was also an independent prognostic role of lymph node-positive disease in DMFS and DFS patients. Patients with luminal A tumors had the most favorable prognosis, with LRRFS, DMFS, and DFS rates of 93.2%, 91.5%, and 87.4% at 5 years, respectively. Conversely, HER-2-enriched tumors exhibited the highest rate of locoregional recurrence (20.6%). Conclusion: Surrogate subtypes present with significant differences in RFS, DMFS, and LRRFS. Luminal A tumors have the best prognosis, whereas HER2-enriched tumors have the poorest.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6929-6934
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• 2014

Background: To analyze the mortality distribution of esophageal cancer in China from 1991 to 2012, to forecast the mortality in the future five years, and to provide evidence for prevention and treatment of esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: Mortality data for esophageal cancer in China from 1991 to 2012 were used to describe its epidemiological characteristics, such as the change of the standardized mortality rate, urban-rural differences, sex and age differences. Trend-surface analysis was used to study the geographical distribution of the mortality. Curve estimation, time series, gray modeling, and joinpoint regression were used to predict the mortality for the next five years in the future. Results: In China, the incidence rate of esophageal cancer from 2007 and the mortality rate of esophageal cancer from 2008 increased yearly, with males at $8.72/10^5$ being higher than females, and the countryside at $15.5/10^5$ being higher than in the city. The mortality rate increased from age 45. Geographical analysis showed the mortality rate increased from southern to eastern China, and from northeast to central China. Conclusions: The incidence rate and the standardized mortality rate of esophageal cancer are rising. The regional disease control for esophageal cancer should be focused on eastern, central and northern regions China, and the key targets for prevention and treatment are rural men more than 45 years old. The mortality of esophageal cancer will rise in the next five years.