ROLE OF MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN CARTILAGE BIOLOGY AND THERAPY

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Macromolecular depletion modulates the binding of diabetic erythrocytes to endothelial cells

In normal condition, the adherence of normal red blood cells (RBC) with endothelial cells (EC) is usually insignificant. However, such insignificant adhesion is magnified in several pathological conditions and the mechanisms of such adhesion have been poorly understood. The present study investigated whether depletion mechanism mediate diabetic red blood cells adhesion to endothelial cells. The results showed that both 500kDa dextran and 70kDa dextran promote RBC adhesion with EC and the adhesion efficiency is elevated with the increase of the molecular weight of dextran. Hence, the present study reveals a novel mechanism of RBC-EC interaction in diabetes mellitus and provides new therapeutic approach to prevent vascular complications associated with RBC-EC interaction.​Master of Science (Biomedical Engineering

Data-driven process decomposition and robust online distributed modelling for large-scale processes

With the increasing attention of networked control, system decomposition and distributed models show significant importance in the implementation of model-based control strategy. In this paper, a data-driven system decomposition and online distributed subsystem modelling algorithm was proposed for large-scale chemical processes. The key controlled variables are first partitioned by affinity propagation clustering algorithm into several clusters. Each cluster can be regarded as a subsystem. Then the inputs of each subsystem are selected by offline canonical correlation analysis between all process variables and its controlled variables. Process decomposition is then realised after the screening of input and output variables. When the system decomposition is finished, the online subsystem modelling can be carried out by recursively block-wise renewing the samples. The proposed algorithm was applied in the Tennessee Eastman process and the validity was verified

The complete chloroplast genome of Semiliquidambar cathayensis (Hamamelidaceae)

Semiliquidambar cathayensis is a semi-evergreen broad-leaved tree species distributed in southern China. In 1999, it was approved and published as a national secondary protected plant. We obtained the complete chloroplast genome sequence of S. cathayensis by Illumina sequencing data. The complete chloroplast sequence is 160,430 bp, include large single-copy (LSC) region of 88,991 bp, small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,917 bp, and a pair of invert repeats (IR) regions of 26,261 bp. Plastid genome contain 133 genes, 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that S. cathayensis is closely related to Liquidambar formosana

The complete chloroplast genome of Altingia chinensis (Hamamelidaceae)

Altingia chinensis is an important native broad-leaved tree in southern China. Its wood can be used as an excellent edible fungus culture medium, in addition, aromatic oil can be extracted for medicine and spices. Its full-length chloroplast genome is 160,410 bp, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 88,936 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,917 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,274 bp. Furthermore, we also found 132 genes, 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes in the chloroplast genome of Altingia chinensis. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Altingia chinensis is most closely related to Liquidambar formosana and Semiliquidambar cathayensis. This study can provide basic data for research on molecular-assisted breeding of Altingia chinensis,and phylogeny of Hamamelidaceae

Biochar Impacts on Acidic Soil from Camellia Oleifera Plantation: A Short-Term Soil Incubation Study

Nowadays, biochar is increasingly used widely as an important soil amendment to enhance soil nutrients availability. Therefore, we investigated the effect of C.oleifera shell biochar (CSB) on C.oleifera plantation soils to provide evidence that C. oleifera shell as a raw material in biochar has great potential to be a soil amendment. For this, a short-term incubation experiment was conducted in controlled conditions to evaluate the effects of CSB application on two soil chemical properties, microbial biomass, and enzymatic activity. We compared two acidic soils, mixed with CSB of three pyrolysis temperatures (300, 500, and 700 °C), and two application rates (3% and 5% (w/w)), incubated for 180 days. The results showed that the soil pH, total P (TP), and available P (AP) significantly increased under 5CSB700 in two soils, and indicated CSB application rate and pyrolysis temperature had a significant impact on soil pH, TP, and AP (p < 0.05). CSB application also significantly increased the total inorganic P in two soils and presented a significantly positive correlation with soil pH, TP, and AP under redundancy analysis. The results suggested that CSB application has a variable effect on soil enzymatic activity, microbial biomass C (MBC), and microbial biomass P (MBP) on average, while it increased the soil microbial biomass N (MBN) in both soils. We concluded that CSB could be a soil amendment to increase soil nutrients of C.oleifera plantation soils. Before the application of biochar to C.oleifera plantation forest soils, long-term studies are required to assess the effects of biochar under field conditions and its promoting effect on the growth of C. oleifera

Substrate stiffness modulates the multipotency of human neural crest derived ectomesenchymal stem cells via CD44 mediated PDGFR signaling

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been isolated from various mesodermal and ectodermal tissues. While the phenotypic and functional heterogeneity of MSCs stemming from their developmental origins has been acknowledged, the genetic and environmental factors underpinning these differences are not well-understood. Here, we investigated whether substrate stiffness mediated mechanical cues can directly modulate the development of ectodermal MSCs (eMSCs) from a precursor human neural crest stem cell (NCSC) population. We showed that NCSC-derived eMSCs were transcriptionally and functionally distinct from mesodermal bone marrow MSCs. eMSCs derived on lower substrate stiffness specifically increased their expression of the MSC marker, CD44 in a Rho-ROCK signaling dependent manner, which resulted in a concomitant increase in the eMSCs’ adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential. This mechanically-induced effect can only be maintained for short-term upon switching back to a stiff substrate but can be sustained for longer-term when the eMSCs were exclusively maintained on soft substrates. We also discovered that CD44 expression modulated eMSC self-renewal and multipotency via the downregulation of downstream platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) signaling. This is the first instance demonstrating that substrate stiffness not only influences the differentiation trajectories of MSCs but also their derivation from upstream progenitors, such as NCSCs

Solar photovoltaic cell model optimal parameter identification by using an improved chimp optimization algorithm

Identifying the parameters of solar photovoltaic (PV) cell models accurately and reliably is crucial for simulating, evaluating, and controlling PV systems. For this reason, we present an improved chimp optimization algorithm (IChOA) for the generation of precise and reliable solar PV cell models. As a new and improved version of the standard chimp optimization algorithm (ChOA), IChOA embeds two mutation rules in ChOA that include the elite opposition-based learning and visual search mechanism. The first rule is applied to strengthen global exploration capacity of ChOA, and the second one is utilized to enhance ChOA’s local exploitation ability (convergence accuracy). Based on the six benchmark test functions with different characteristics, the effectiveness of IChOA is evaluated by comparing to other five well-known optimization algorithms. The results suggest that IChOA offers superior performance over other competing algorithms. Finally, IChOA’s performance is confirmed through optimizing parameters for three widely employed mathematical models, specifically the single diode model, the double diode model, and the multi-cell PV modules. The findings prove the excellent performance of the suggested approach

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Schima superba (Teaceae)

Schima superba is the dominant species of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest which has the characteristics of ecological fire prevention function. In this study, we report the complete chloroplast genome sequence of S. superba. The cp genome was 157,205 bp in length with a GC content of 37.40%, including a large single-copy (LSC 87,161 bp), a small single-copy (SSC 18,092 bp), and a pair of inverted repeats (IR 25,976 bp). The genome encoded 133 functional genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis showed that S. superba was closely related to Schima sinensis, Schima multibracteata, Schima crenata, and Schima remotisertata