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Biomedical subjects

Wenbing Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Wenbing Zhang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of dietary beta-1, 3 glucan on innate immune response of large yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena crocea.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary beta-1, 3 glucan on the innate immune response and protection against Vibrio harveyi infection in large yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena crocea. A basal diet was supplemented with 0% (control), 0.09% (low) and 0.18% (high) beta-1, 3 glucan to formulate three experimental diets. Each diet was randomly allocated to triplicate groups of fish in floating sea cages (1.5 x 1.5 x 2.0m), and each cage was stocked with 100 fish (initial average weight 9.75+/-0.35 g). Fish were fed twice daily (05:00 and 17:00) to apparent satiation for 8 weeks. The results of 8 weeks feeding trial showed that low glucan supplementation (0.09%) significantly enhanced fish growth, whereas high supplementation (0.18%) did not. The serum lysozyme activity was significantly increased with the increase of dietary glucan (P < 0.05), and fish fed the diet with high glucan had significantly higher lysozyme activity compared with low glucan. There were no significant differences in alternative complement pathway (ACP) activity between fish fed diets with and without supplementation of glucan. The phagocytosis percentage (PP) and respiratory burst activity in fish fed the diet with 0.09% glucan were significantly higher than those in fish fed with the control diet (P < 0.05), but both immunological parameters significantly decreased in fish fed the diet with high supplementation compared with low supplementation and no significant difference was observed between the control and high supplementation groups. The challenge experiment showed that fish fed the diet with low glucan had significantly lower cumulative mortality compared with the control and high glucan groups (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed between the control and high supplementation groups. These results suggested that low glucan could enhance growth and innate immunity of large yellow croaker with an 8-week oral administration, but higher supplementation did not influence growth, or further improve immunity of large yellow croaker.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Effects of dissolved oxygen on survival and immune responses of scallop (Chlamys farreri Jones et Preston).

This experiment investigated the effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) on the survival and immune responses of scallop Chlamys farreri. The scallops (initial mean dry weight of soft tissue 1.52+/-0.10 g) were cultivated in the seawater with different DO levels (8.5, 6.5, 4.5, and 2.5mg l(-1), respectively) for 21 d. Each treatment had triplicate groups of 35 animals. During the experimental period, the scallops were fed with Spirulina maxima, and water temperature ranged from 15.2 degrees C to 17.5 degrees C, salinity from 29.5 per thousand to 32.5 per thousand and pH from 7.5 to 8.2. Survival, specific growth rate (SGR) and total haemocyte count (THC) were examined at the end of the study, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), were examined at 12 h, 24 h, Day 7, Day 14 and Day 21 after being exposed to the graded DO levels. The lower DO levels (2.5 and 4.5mg l(-1))resulted in lower survivals of scallops, and the survival (81.7%) at 2.5mg 1(-1)DO was significantly lower than those (100.0%) at 8.5 and 6.5mg l(-1) DO. Similarly, the SGR and THC of scallop gradually reduced with decreasing DO levels, and reached significant levels at 2.5mg l(-1) DO (P<0.05). At higher DO levels (8.5 and 6.5mg l(-1)), the SOD activity maintained rather stable during the entire sampling period. At lower DO levels (4.5 and 2.5mg l(-1)), however, the SOD activity significantly increased at 12 h, and then significantly decreased to the levels below the normal. At the two lower DO levels, ACP activities had no significant changes before Day 7, and then declined to the levels that were significantly lower than the normal. Significantly higher ALP activity was only observed at 12 h in the treatment of 2.5mg l(-1) DO, but in all other treatments and sampling times it fluctuated in a narrow range. In conclusion, less than 4.5mg l(-1) DO reduced the survival and depressed the immune responses of C. farreri.

Acid Phosphatase↗

Fast simultaneous determination of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A fast analysis method using liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of the 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OHBaP) in urine. Mass transitions were monitored at m/z 219.3-200.0 for 1-OHP and m/z 269.2-252.2 for 3-OHBaP. Only 10 min was needed for the analysis. The recovery was 60% for 3-OHBaP and 91% for 1-OHP, respectively. And the method detection limits were 0.49 microg/L for 1-OHP and 1.03 microg/L for 3-OHBaP. The inter- and intra-day relative standard deviations were in the range of 2.8-8.9% for 1-OHP and 9.7-20.8% for 3-OHBaP, respectively. The developed method was successfully used to measure urinary PAH metabolites of student volunteers in a high school.

Adolescent↗

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in South China maternal and fetal blood and breast milk.

Twenty-one-paired human fetal and maternal serum and 27 breast milk samples at South China were analyzed for concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Seven PBDE congeners (BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -154, and -183) were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This is the first report to present the residue levels of PBDEs in human samples of China. The concentrations of total PBDEs ranged from 1.5 to 17 ng/g in the samples and were within the range reported in European samples for a similar population, but lower than human tissue levels in North America. BDE-47 and -153 were the dominant PBDE congeners in all samples and accounted for 60% of the total PBDEs. Further research is needed to determine the exposure route of PBDEs and their health effects.

Birth Weight↗

Post-survey follow-up for human cystic echinococcosis in northwest China.

In Hobukesar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, (China), a mass-screening programme for human cystic echinococcosis (CE)was performed during 1995 and 1996. After the survey 51 cases were followed-up using ultrasound scan and serology for 1-8 years(1996-2003). These included 20 CE cases treated by surgery (endocystectomy), four CE cases treated by percutaneous drainage(PAIR), six untreated CE cases, five ultrasound 'query' cases, eight cases of isolated hepatic calcifications, four previous CE surgery cases whose ultrasound was now normal, and four seropositive cases who exhibited a normal hepatic ultrasound. Follow-up results indicated that in the untreated CE patients, one case exhibited a spontaneous cure within 4 years, another case changed from a hepatic hydatid cyst that contained a floating laminated membrane (type CE3) to a cyst that contained daughter cysts (type CE2)within 1 year of follow-up. In the 20 surgically treated cases, two recurrent CE cases occurred within 4 years, and five cases had had residual cavities for more than 4 or 8 years. Of the 4 PAIR treated cases, two recurrent cases of CE occurred within 4 or 8 years of follow-up. Serological follow-up data showed that specific IgG antibody levels were persistently positive in most CE cases, but exhibited a decreasing tendency in cases that were effectively treated by surgery; In contrast, serum IgG levels in the PAIR group or in the recurrent CE cases after surgery exhibited an increasing tendency. At least one persistent seropositive case with an isolated hepatic calcification was considered to be abortive CE.

Albendazole↗

Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism sites in exon 4 of the p53 gene using high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry tandem mass spectrometry.

Three groups of four oligonucleotides with special single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) sites in exon 4 of the p53 gene were analyzed with ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry tandem mass spectrometry. The retention order of four oligonucleotides with SNPs was C < G < A < T, regardless of whether the polymorphisms were at the 3' end, the 5' end, or the middle of the oligonucleotides. The charge state of the molecular ion affects the MS/MS spectra of the oligonucleotides. SNPs at the 3' end can be easily identified from the fragmentation pattern of the 2- charge state, but not from the 3- charge state, especially from the w1 fragment. The single base may be taken as the symbol of the 5' end SNP site derived from [M3H]2, but not from the [M3H]2 charge state. The oligonucleotides with SNPs in the middle were also determined from the [M2H]2 precursor ion.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

[Study on all-round evaluation of biocompatibility of biomaterial].

Biocompatibility has always been the focal point in the study of biomaterials applied to medical apparatus. But at present, the standard system hasn't formed completely to evaluate the biomaterials. In recent years scientists tend to use general standard of evaluation. In this article, based on the recalcification time, the adhesion of platelets as well as the total quantity of plasma protein and some other evidences, combining with the Analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the method of general evaluation on the biocompatibility of anticoagulant biomaterials was discussed.

Anticoagulants↗

Quantification of several monohydroxylated metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection has been developed to determine the urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-hydroxyfluorene, 9-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-hydroxypyrene and 3-hydroxybenz[a]pyrene. Solid phase extraction (SPE) was used to clean up the samples, and washing with 30% methanol was found to be the best way to remove interferences in the matrix. The method detection limits ranged from 0.044 microg/L for 1-hydroxypyrene to 1.615 microg/L for 3-hydroxybenz[a]pyrene, and the recoveries ranged between 40% for 3-hydroxybenz[a]pyrene and 99% for 2-hydroxynaphthalene. The within-day relative standard deviation was lowest for 2-hydroxynaphthalene at 0.67% and went up to 2.42% for 3-hydroxybenz[a]pyrene, and the between-day relative standard deviation ranged from 3.84% for 9-hydroxyphenanthrene to 10.42% for 2-hydroxyfluorene. The correlation coefficients were between 0.9962 and 0.9998. The developed method was successfully used to analyze samples from student volunteers in a high school.

Algorithms↗

Exploring the complex folding kinetics of RNA hairpins: I. General folding kinetics analysis.

Depending on the nucleotide sequence, the temperature, and other conditions, RNA hairpin-folding kinetics can be very complex. The complexity with a wide range of cooperative and noncooperative kinetic behaviors arises from the interplay between the formation of the loops, the disruption of the misfolded states, and the formation of the rate-limiting base stacks. With a rate constant model and a kinetic-cluster theory, we explore the broad landscape for RNA hairpin-folding kinetics. The model is validated through direct tests against several experimental measurements. The general kinetic folding mechanisms and the predicted great variety of folding kinetics are directly applicable and quantitatively testable in experiments. The results from this study suggest that 1), previous experimental findings based on the individual hairpins revealed only a small fraction of much broader and more complex RNA hairpin-folding landscapes; 2), even for structures as simple as hairpins, universal folding timescales and pathways do not exist; and 3), to treat the loop size as the sole factor to determine the hairpin-folding rate is an oversimplification.

Base Pairing↗

Exploring the complex folding kinetics of RNA hairpins: II. Effect of sequence, length, and misfolded states.

The complexity of RNA hairpin folding arises from the interplay between the loop formation, the disruption of the slow-breaking misfolded states, and the formation of the slow-forming native base stacks. We investigate the general physical mechanism for the dependence of the RNA hairpin folding kinetics on the sequence and the length of the hairpin loop and the helix stem. For example, 1), the folding would slow down when a stable GC basepair moves to the middle of the stem; 2), hairpin with GC basepair near the loop would fold/unfold faster than the one with GC near the tail of the stem; 3), within a certain range of the stem length, a longer stem can cause faster folding; and 4), certain misfolded states can assist folding through the formation of scaffold structures to lower the entropic barrier for the folding. All our findings are directly applicable and quantitatively testable in experiments. In addition, our results can be useful for molecular design to achieve desirable fast/slow-folding hairpins, hairpins with/without specific misfolded intermediates, and hairpins that fold along designed pathways.

Base Pairing↗

Effects of dietary pyridoxine on immune responses in abalone, Haliotis discus hannai Ino.

A feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary pyridoxine (PN) on the immune responses of abalone, Haliotis discus hannai Ino. Purified diets supplemented with 0, 40, 800 mg PN kg(-1) or 80 mg kg(-1) of 4-deoxypyridoxine (PN antagonist) were fed to adult abalone (initial weight 45.77 +/- 0.25 g; initial shell length 68.02 +/- 0.78 mm) for 90 days. The air-dried brown kelp, Laminaria japonica, was used as a control diet. Each diet was fed to three replicate groups of abalone in a recirculation system using a completely randomised design. The results showed that weight gain ratio (WGR) of the abalone generally increased with the level of dietary PN supplementation though no significant differences were found among the treatments (P > 0.05). Phagocytic and phenoloxidase activities were significantly higher in abalone fed diets supplemented with 800 mg PN kg(-1) than those fed the PN-free diet or the one with 4-deoxypyridoxine (P < 0.05). Agglutination titre and respiratory burst activity were significantly higher in abalone fed diets supplemented with 40 mg PN kg(-1) than those fed the PN-free diet or the one with 4-deoxypyridoxine (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in immunological characteristics between the abalone fed the diet containing 40 mg PN kg(-1) and those fed the diet containing 800 mg PN kg(-1) (P > 0.05). L. japonica resulted in significantly lower agglutination titre, respiratory burst and phagocytic activities than the artificial diets supplemented with 40 or 800 mg PN kg(-1) (P < 0.05). Total haemocyte count (THC), serum protein concentration, and the activities of lysozyme and acid phosphatase were not significantly affected by the dietary treatments (P > 0.05). These results demonstrate that dietary deficiency of pyridoxine suppresses the immune functions in H. discus hannai, and further investigations are needed to optimise the dietary level of this vitamin for maintaining the best immune responses in abalone.

Acid Phosphatase↗

Comparison of A+T-rich oligonucleotides with and without self-complementary sequence using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Both A+T-rich oligonucleotides with and without self-complementary sequences were analyzed using ion- pair reversed-phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (IP-RP-HPLC/ESI-MS) by tryethylammonium acetate (TEAA) and hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) buffer systems to study the characteristics of their retention behavior and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) response. The results indicated that the chain length had the same effect on the retention of A+T-rich oligonucleotides in both of TEAA and HFIP buffer systems but the sequence had a different impact on the retention in the two buffer systems. A+T- rich oligonucleotides with a self-complementary sequence were much shorter than those without in the TEAA buffer system whereas a slight difference was observed in the HFIP buffer system. Similar total ion current (TIC) intensity was observed both in oligonucleotides with or without self-complementary sequence. The opposite trend of a change in the TIC intensities with increasing chain length were observed in both the TEAA and HFIP buffer systems. A lower charge state was predominant in the TEAA buffer system whereas a higher charge state was mainly distributed in the HFIP buffer system. The oligonucleotides without self-complementary sequences had a higher charge state than those with self-complementary sequences. A- and T- are more esily formed at a higher charge state whereas the sequence fragments will be formed more easily at a lower charge state in both A+T-rich oligonucleotides with and without self-complementary sequences.

AT Rich Sequence↗

Characterization of methylated and unmethlyated CpG-ODNs by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Methylated and unmethylated CpG-ODNs at A-rich, C-rich, G-rich and T-rich conditions were characterized by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). The methylted site could be confirmed by comparison of the MS/MS spectra of methylated and unmethylated CpG-ODNs. The fragmentation patterns of the CpG-ODNs were not influenced by the presence of the methyl group but significant effects were observed for nucleobase identities and parent ion charges. The cleavage at guanine was the most facile while that at thymine was the least facile. With the increase of the parent ions charge states, the major dissociation behaviors changed from the middle to the 3' and 5' termini of the sequence.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Characterization of G-rich and T-rich oligonucleotides using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Characteristics of G-rich and T-rich oligonucleotides were investigated to compare their retention time, total ion current (TIC) intensity, charge-state distribution and product ion using ion-pair reversed-phase high- performance liquid chromatography/tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (IP-RP-HPLC/ESI-MS) at room temperature. Three commonly used mobile phases for the analysis of oligonucleotides, triethylammonium acetate (TEAA), triethylammonium bicarbonate (TEAB) and triethylammonium hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) have been utilized. Retention time of G-rich and T-rich oligonucleotides was significantly different in TEAA and TEAB buffer systems, while in the HFIP buffer system it was affected more by the length of oligonucleotides. On the other hand, the ESI-MS ion abundance in the HFIP buffer system was higher than that in both TEAA and TEAB buffers. The TIC intensity of T-rich oligonucleotides was much higher than that of G-rich oligonucleotides in all mobile phases. In addition, much higher charge-state fragments were observed in HFIP buffer system than that in the case of TEAA and TEAB buffer systems. Product ions of both G-rich and T-rich oligonucleotides were affected by charge state of parent ions and collision energy.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Metabolic responses to dietary cholecalciferol and phosphorus in abalone Haliotis discus hannai ino.

Metabolic responses of cholecalciferol (VD(3)) and minerals (Ca, P and Mg) in abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino to dietary VD(3) and phosphorus (P) were investigated. Based on a 2 x 2 factorial design, four casein-gelatin-based diets were formulated. The basal diet was supplemented with either 0 or 2000 IU VD(3)/kg diet and 0 or 10 g P/kg diet. The abalone was reared in P-free artificial seawater for 55 days. Results showed that dietary VD(3) was hydroxylated to 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) [25(OH)D(3)] and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3)] in abalone, and subsequently raised the serum levels of these two VD(3) metabolites. Dietary P deficiency elevated serum 1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) level only when the dietary VD(3) supplementation was sufficient. The supplementations of either dietary VD(3) or P significantly increased the levels of P in serum, mantle and hepatopancreas, and only the addition of VD(3) significantly raised the concentrations of Ca in serum and mantle (P<0.05). Interaction between dietary VD(3) and P was only found significant on the concentrations of P and Mg in mantle (P<0.05). The concentrations of Ca, P and Mg in muscle were not significantly influenced by these dietary treatments. Hence, the metabolic responses in serum, muscle, mantle and hepatopancreas of abalone to dietary VD(3) and P were in different manners.

Analysis of Variance↗