• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.339-348
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• 2020

The uncertain geotechnical properties of frozen soil are important evidence for the design, operation and maintenance of the frozen ground. The complex geological, environmental and physical effects can lead to the spatial variations of the frozen soil, and the uncertain mechanical properties are the key factors for the uncertain analysis of frozen soil engineering. In this study, the elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio of warm frozen soil were measured, and the statistical characteristics under different temperature conditions are obtained. The autocorrelation distance (ACD) and autocorrelation function (ACF) of uncertain mechanical properties are estimated by random field (RF) method. The results show that the mean elastic modulus and mean strength decrease with the increase of temperature while the mean Poisson ratio increases with the increase of temperature. The average values of the ACD for the elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio are 0.64m, 0.53m and 0.48m, respectively. The standard deviation of the ACD for the elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio are 0.03m, 0.07m and 0.03m, respectively. The ACFs of elastic modulus, strength and Poisson ratio decrease with the increase of ratio of local average distance and scale of fluctuation. The ACF of uncertain mechanical properties is different when the temperature is different. This study can improve our understanding of the spatial autocorrelation variations of uncertain geotechnical properties and provide a basis and reference for the uncertain settlement analysis of frozen soil foundation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5201-5205
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• 2014

Emodin, a natural anthraquinone isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Radix rhizoma Rhei, can induce apoptosis in many kinds of cancer cells. This study demonstrated that emodin induces apoptosis in human colon cancer HCT116 cells by provoking oxidative stress, which subsequently triggers a p53-mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Emodin induced mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss, increase in Bax and decrease in Bcl-2 expression and mitochondrial translocation and release of cytochrome c to cytosol in HCT116 cells. In response to emodin-treatment, ROS increased rapidly, and subsequently p53 was overexpressed. Pretreatment with the antioxidant NAC diminished apoptosis and p53 overexpression induced by emodin. Transfecting p53 siRNA also attenuated apoptosis induced by emodin, Bax expression and mitochondrial translocation being reduced compared to treatment with emodin alone. Taken together, these results indicate that ROS is a trigger of emodin-induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells, and p53 expression increases under oxidative stress, leading to Bax-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5645-5650
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• 2013

Src homology 2 domain containing (SHC) is a proto-oncogene which mediates cell proliferation and carcinogenesis in human carcinomas. Here, the SHC SH2-domain binding protein 1 (SHCBP1) was first established to be up-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues by array-base comparative genome hybridization (aCGH). Meanwhile, we examine and verify it by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot. Our current data show that SHCBP1 was up-regulated in HCC tissues. Overexpression of SHCBP1 could significantly promote HCC cell proliferation, survival and colony formation in HCC cell lines. Furthermore, knockdown of SHCBP1 induced cell cycle delay and suppressed cell proliferation. Furthermore, SHCBP1 could regulate the expression of activate extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and cyclin D1. Together, our findings indicate that SHCBP1 may contribute to human hepatocellular carcinoma by promoting cell proliferation and may serve as a molecular target of cancer therapy.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.1763-1769
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of L-carnitine on the pig semen characteristics during storage. Methods: Spermatozoa samples were examined for spermatozoa quality and then randomly divided into 5 groups: 0 (control), 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mM L-carnitine. Sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity and antioxidant parameters (total reactive oxygen species, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde) were evaluated after 0, 3, 5, and 10 day cooled-storage at 17℃. Moreover, ATP content, mitochondria activity as well as sperm-binding and in vitro fertilizing ability of preserved boar sperm were also investigated. Results: Supplementation with 50 mM L-carnitine could effectively maintain boar sperm quality parameters such as sperm motility and membrane integrity. Besides, we found that L-carnitine had positive effects on boar sperm quality mainly through improving antioxidant capacities and enhancing ATP content and mitochondria activity. Interestingly, by assessing the effect of L-carnitine on sperm fertility and developmental potential, we discovered that the extender containing L-carnitine could improve sperm quality and increase the number of sperms bounding to zona pellucida, without improving in vitro fertility and development potential. Conclusion: These findings suggested that the proper addition of L-carnitine to the semen extender improved boar sperm quality during liquid storage at 17℃.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.504-512
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• 2020

Objective : An important factor during pituitary adenoma surgery is to preserve pituitary stalk (PS) as this plays a role in reduction of the risk of postoperative diabetes insipidus. The hypothalamic-hypophyseal tract (HHT) projects through the PS to the posterior pituitary gland. To reconstruct white matter fiber pathways, methods like diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography have been widely used. In this report we attempted to predict the position of PS using DTI tractography and to assess its intraoperative correlation during surgery of pituitary adenomas. Methods : DTI tractography was used to tract the HHT in nine patients before craniotomy for pituitary adenomas. The DTI location of the HHT was compared with the PS position identified at the time of surgery. DTI fiber tracking was carried out in nine patients prior to the planned craniotomy for pituitary adenomas. In one patient, the PS could not be identified during the surgery. In the other eight patients, a comparison was made between the location of the HHT identified by DTI and the position of the PS visualized at the time of surgery. Results : The position of the HHT identified by DTI showed consistency with the intraoperative position of the PS in seven patients (88.9% concordance). Conclusion : This study shows that DTI can identify the position of the HHT and thus the position of the PS with a high degree of reliability.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.12
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• pp.789-794
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• 2010

A novel gene, designated mgt-6, containing four splicing variants, was isolated from a gene trap clone library of C3H/10T1/2 cells transfected with retroviral promoterless gene-trap vector, ROSAFARY. The transcript variants were differentially expressed in murine tissues and cell lines and differentially responded to diverse stimuli including TGF-${\beta}1$ and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors. The mgt-6 gene encoded a protein of 37 or 11 amino acid residuals with cytoplasmic distribution. However, when C3H/10T1/2 cells were treated with 5-azacytidine, the protein translocated into cell nucleus as indicated by fused LacZ or C-terminally tagged EGFP. Our preliminary results suggest that further study on the role of mgt-6 gene in cell transformation and differentiation may be of significance.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.3066-3079
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• 2016

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic increase in topology research of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) where both energy consumption and survivability need careful consideration. To balance energy consumption and ensure survivability against both random failures and deliberate attacks, we resort to complex network theory and propose an energy-aware preferential attachment (EPA) model to generate a robust topology for WSNs. In the proposed model, by taking the transmission range and energy consumption of the sensor nodes into account, we combine the characters of Erdős -Rényi (ER) model and Barabasi-Albert (BA) model in this new model and introduce tunable coefficients for balancing connectivity, energy consumption, and survivability. The correctness of our theoretic analysis is verified by simulation results. We find that the topology of WSNs built by EPA model is asymptotically power-law and can have different characters in connectivity, energy consumption, and survivability by using different coefficients. This model can significantly improve energy efficiency as well as enhance network survivability by changing coefficients according to the requirement of the real environment where WSNs deployed and therefore lead to a crucial improvement of network performance.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1317-1325
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• 2018

A generator-grid coupling calculation model is established to study the leading-phase operational capability of a 770 MW jumbo hydro-generator in a Chinese ultra-mega hydropower station. The static and dynamic stability of the generator are analyzed and calculated to obtain stability limits under leading-phase operating conditions. Three-dimensional (3D) time-varying nonlinear moving electromagnetic and temperature field models of the generator end-region are also established and used to determine the magnetic field, loss, and temperature of the end-region under the leading-phase operating condition. The simulation results agree with data measured from the actual 770 MW hydro-generator. This paper provides reliable reference data for the leading-phase operation of a jumbo hydro-generator, which will help to improve in the design and manufacture of future hydro-generators.

• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• v.50 no.11
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• pp.10.1-10.11
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• 2018

Although early studies suggested that bladder cancer (BCa) is more prevalent in men than in women, muscle-invasive rates are higher in women than in men, suggesting that sex hormones might play important roles in different stages of BCa progression. In this work, we found that estrogen receptor beta ($ER{\beta}$) could increase BCa cell proliferation and invasion via alteration of miR-92a-mediated DAB2IP (DOC-2/DAB2 interacting protein) signals and that blocking miR-92a expression with an inhibitor could partially reverse $ER{\beta}$-enhanced BCa cell growth and invasion. Further mechanism dissection found that $ER{\beta}$ could increase miR-92a expression at the transcriptional level via binding to the estrogen-response-element (ERE) on the 5' promoter region of its host gene C13orf25. The $ER{\beta}$ up-regulated miR-92a could decrease DAB2IP tumor suppressor expression via binding to the miR-92a binding site located on the DAB2IP 3' UTR. Preclinical studies using an in vivo mouse model also confirmed that targeting this newly identified $ER{\beta}$/miR-92a/DAB2IP signal pathway with small molecules could suppress BCa progression. Together, these results might aid in the development of new therapies via targeting of this $ER{\beta}$-mediated signal pathway to better suppress BCa progression.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.449-458
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• 2019

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is one of the most common eye malignancies occur in childhood. The crucial roles of non-coding RNAs, particularly long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), have been widely reported in Rb progression. In the present study, we found the expression of lncRNA T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 6 (TCL6) was significantly downregulated in Rb tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of lncRNA TCL6 promoted cell proliferation while reduced cell apoptosis in Rb cells. Moreover, lncRNA TCL6 serves as a sponge for miR-21, a previously-reported oncogenic miRNA in Rb, by direct targeting to negatively regulated miR-21 expression, therefore modulating Rb proliferation through miR-21. TCL6 overexpression inhibited Rb cell proliferation while miR-21 overexpression exerted an opposing effect; the effect of TCL6 overexpression was partially attenuated by miR-21 overexpression. PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was involved in lncRNA TCL6/miR-21 axis modulating Rb cell proliferation. Taken together, lncRNA TCL6 serves as a tumor suppressor by acting as a sponge for miR-21 to counteract miR-21-mediated PTEN repression.