Biomedical subjects

Fu Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Fu Liu.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Puerarin Attenuates Binge Ethanol-Induced Cortical Neurotoxicity in Association with AKT/mTOR Signaling and Autophagy-Related Responses.

Puerarin (Pue), a major isoflavone derived from Pueraria lobata, has demonstrated neuroprotective potential in multiple neurological disorders; however, its effects on ethanol (EtOH)-induced cortical injury and the associated molecular responses remain incompletely understood. In the present study, network pharmacology was combined with in vivo and in vitro experiments to investigate molecular responses associated with the effects of Pue on EtOH-induced neurotoxicity. Public databases were used to predict targets of Pue and alcohol-related brain injury, followed by protein-protein interaction analysis, Gene Ontology annotation, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment. A total of 101 overlapping targets were identified, among which TNF, AKT1, EGFR, TP53, and PPARG emerged as major hub targets, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was among the pathways that remained significantly enriched after FDR correction. In a 4-day binge EtOH rat model, Pue attenuated EtOH-associated increases in oxidative stress, neuronal degeneration, and apoptotic markers in cortical tissue. This was accompanied by attenuation of the EtOH-associated reductions in the p-AKT/AKT and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios, as well as an attenuation of EtOH-associated changes in LC3, ATG5, and Beclin-1 expression. In primary cortical neurons, Pue partially attenuated the EtOH-associated loss of neuronal viability and preserved neurite morphology. Bafilomycin A1 (BafA1)-based analysis of LC3-II and p62/SQSTM1 showed an overall BafA1-sensitive increase in LC3-II without a significant treatment-dependent difference in the BafA1 response. Collectively, these findings suggest that Pue attenuates binge EtOH-induced cortical neurotoxicity in association with changes in AKT/mTOR phosphorylation and autophagy-related responses.

AKT/mTOR signaling↗

PubMed2006

Perceived body size affected by garment and body mass index.

This study investigated the effect of garment size on perceived body size. The perceived body sizes of nine Chinese men, with Body Mass Index between 17.0 and 37.1 kg/m(2), wearing five sizes of white T-shirts were assessed using Thompson and Gray's Nine-figural Scale. Garment sizes on perceived body sizes were different for those of different Body Mass Index. A backpropagation neural net model was used to model the nonlinear relationship between the perceived body size and the body's BMI, body chest girth, and garment ease (difference between garment and body chest girth). When the BMI was less than 20, wearing larger-sized T-shirts tended to increase perceived body size. For large chest sizes and for taller persons (BMI of 20 to 28) large garments made the wearer look thinner. However, for small persons (BMI of 20 to 28) effect of garment size was relatively small. Obese persons (BMI of > 28), wearing garments too tight or too loose were perceived as larger. Minimum perceived body size was found for garment ease of 2 to 3 cm.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Formation characterization of hydroxyapatite on titanium by microarc oxidation and hydrothermal treatment.

Microarc oxidation (MAO) was performed on titanium in an electrolyte containing calcium glycerphosphate (Ca-GP) and calcium acetate (CA) using a direct current power supply. It was found that the MAO method is suitable forming a ceramic coating containing Ca and P using titanium, and that films display a porous and rough structure on their surface. Samples with a Ca/P ratio of 1.71 were hydrothermally treated in water solution whose pH was adjusted to 7.0-11.0 by adding NaOH at 190 degrees C for 10 h in an autoclave. Hydroxyapatite crystals were precipitated on the film surface after the hydrothermal treatment, and the amount of hydroxyapatite precipitated increased with increasing pH of water solution. The oxide film composition was semiquantitatively analyzed with an electron probe microanalyzer. The microstructures on the sample surfaces were observed by scanning electron microscopy before and after the hydrothermal treatment. The topography of the oxide film was imaged with an atomic force microscope. Its cross section was observed by scanning electron microscopy after being coated with a thin Au film. The surface structures of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction.

Adhesiveness↗

PubMed2005

Visual perception of surface wrinkles.

To study the relationship between visual perception of magnitude of wrinkles and geometrical parameters of surfaces, four potentially relevant parameters of the surface profile were considered: the variance (sigma2), the cutting frequency (Fc), the effective disparity curvature (Dce) of the wrinkled surface over the eyeball distance of the observer, and the frequency component of the disparity curvature (Dcf). Analysis of garment seams with varying amount of pucker showed that, while the logarithm for each of these four parameters has a strong linear relationship with the visually perceived magnitude of wrinkles, following the Fechner Law, the effective disparity curvature (Dce) and the frequency component of the disparity curvature (Dcf) with visual perception appeared stronger. This modeling may be an objective method for measuring magnitude of surface wrinkles.

Clothing↗

PubMed2003

Garment sizes in perception of body size.

This paper reports an experimental investigation of the effect of garment size on perceived body size. The perceived body sizes of three Chinese men (thin, medium, and obese build) wearing different sizes of white T-shirts were assessed using Thompson and Gray's 1995 Nine-figural Scale in 1 (thinnest) to 9 (obese) grade and a newly-proposed method. Within the limit of commercially available T-shirt sizes, for thin and medium persons, perceived body sizes are bigger when wearing T-shirts of larger sizes. For an obese person, however, wearing a large size T-shirt tends to make him look thinner. The study also showed that the newly proposed comparative method is more reliable in comparing body size perception but without measuring the magnitude of the change in body-size grade. The figural scale and the comparative method can be complementary.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Plasma exchange for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: report of 2 cases.

Two patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) were treated with daily plasma exchange with fresh frozen plasma of the plasma volume of the body (40 mg/kg . b.w.), in combination with red blood cell transfusion. The clinical symptoms resolved immediately and the parameters of laboratory examination improved promptly after the treatment, and follow-up of the 2 patients revealed no recurrent TTP episodes. This result indicates that plasma exchange is obviously superior to traditional treatment modalities and has significantly changed the course of TTP.

Adult↗