Publications by authors named "Harry Wu"

Article Synopsis
  • Forest geneticists often use provenances to differentiate populations, but historical records may not align with modern genetic analysis, which was investigated in this study on Norway spruce.
  • By comparing two models—one that includes population structure (model-A) and one that excludes it (model-B)—the research found that including population structure significantly lowers estimates of genetic variance and heritability, but enhances prediction accuracy for growth and wood properties.
  • The study concludes that models accounting for population structure provide more accurate, less biased results, which is crucial for breeders and forest managers to make economically efficient decisions.
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Background: Ageing, sex and polypharmacy affect physical function.

Objectives: This mouse study investigates how ageing, sex and polypharmacy interact and affect grip strength, balance beam and wire hang, correlating and comparing the different test results between and within subgroups.

Methods: Young (2.

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Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most widespread and economically important conifer species in the world. Applications like genomic selection and association studies, which could help accelerate breeding cycles, are challenging in Scots pine because of its large and repetitive genome.

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  • Perennial trees, like Populus tomentosa, grow continuously throughout their lives, but the genetic mechanisms behind this growth are still largely unknown.
  • Researchers conducted genome-wide association studies to identify the genes involved in tree growth and discovered that the PtoP4H9 gene plays a crucial role in regulating the growth rate of stem diameter over time.
  • The study highlights how variations in the PtoP4H9 gene, influenced by a specific transcription factor, can affect cell expansion and mechanical properties, offering valuable information for future breeding and genetic engineering efforts in poplar trees.
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Epigenetics has been revealed to play a crucial role in the long-term memory in plants. However, little is known about whether the epigenetic modifications occur with age progressively in conifers. Here, we present the single-base resolution DNA methylation landscapes of the 25-gigabase Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis) genome at different ages.

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Article Synopsis
  • Genomic prediction (GP) estimates the combined effects of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in populations by analyzing genomic relationships and capturing the linkage disequilibrium between markers and QTLs.
  • A study using a 50 k SNP Norway spruce array identified 41 SNPs associated with budburst stage, with the strongest association explaining 5.1% of phenotypic variation, while the other traits had weaker associations.
  • GP showed the best predictive ability for budburst using about 100 preselected SNPs and indicated that incorporating a large QTL SNP could improve the accuracy of GP if its phenotypic variation explained is greater than or equal to 2.5%.
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This article examines the pedagogical significance of history workshops as part of the mandatory medical curriculum in Hong Kong. At the University of Hong Kong, year one medical students must take a three-hour long history workshop at the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences. We argue that by immersing experiential museum learning into the official medical curriculum, students can grow interest in Hong Kong's local medical history and discover its spatial relevance to their future practice.

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  • Population movements driven by climate changes have influenced the genetic structure of plant species, especially during glacial periods when species retreated to warmer areas.
  • A study of 5000 Picea abies trees in Scandinavia reveals two distinct genetic clusters, one from the Baltics and the other from Northern Russia, with their contact zone aligning with major climatic boundaries.
  • The research shows that natural selection played a key role in this contact zone's formation, supported by models indicating selection rather than neutrality, and evidence of genomic loci linked to environmental factors and phenological traits.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Genetic factors influencing tree growth and wood formation change with the tree's age and the season, as shown by comprehensive genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on Norway spruce.
  • - The research involved analyzing a large set of SNPs and found that a multi-locus approach identified more genetic links to wood traits compared to simpler models, revealing unique patterns based on tree age and season.
  • - Significant SNPs were discovered linked to known genes for wood formation, as well as novel candidate genes, providing insights that could aid in future breeding and functional studies for Norway spruce.
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This article explores how 'lunatics' emerged and how they were managed beyond the capacity of institutionalization in colonial Hong Kong in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. The story contests the conventional historiography about madmen that focuses on institutions. Unlike in Britain or in other East Asian colonial cities, inpatients stayed at the asylum only for very short periods.

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This study reported domestic and overseas Taiwanese people's perceived stress levels and examined the mediation effect of their coping strategies during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We recruited 2727 Taiwanese respondents from the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey (N = 173,426) between March 30 and May 30, 2020. The self-report questionnaire included a modified 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and a 16-item coping strategy scale.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pinus tabuliformis is a significant tree species in northern China, and its TCP transcription factors are crucial for understanding its adaptation to cold climates, but their specific functions remain unclear.
  • In this study, 43 TCP genes were identified in the P. tabuliformis genome and categorized into four groups based on evolutionary relationships, revealing distinct motifs and structural characteristics among these groups.
  • The findings suggest that certain TCP genes, especially from clade II, play a key role in regulating the tree's seasonal and circadian rhythms, with winter cold temperatures potentially influencing their diurnal expression patterns.
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  • Lead (Pb) is highly toxic, and the study focuses on the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in regulating Pb uptake in the woody plant species Populus tomentosa.
  • A total of 226 Pb-induced differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified, influencing various metabolic processes and regulating genes involved in carbon metabolism and plant growth.
  • The key regulatory module identified involves the interaction between lncRNA PMAT, transcription factor PtoMYB46, and auxin response factor PtoARF2, which together help manage Pb tolerance and promote growth in these plants, suggesting potential for improving bioremediation strategies.
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Aging and multimorbidity are associated with inflammation. Polypharmacy is common in older people with multimorbidity. Given the potential for interactions between polypharmacy and inflammation, the relationship between inflammation and polypharmacy were studied in older adults with multimorbidity and in healthy aging mice.

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Aging, polypharmacy (concurrent use of ≥ 5 medications), and functional impairment are global healthcare challenges. However, knowledge of the age/sex-specific effects of polypharmacy is limited, particularly on daily physical activities. Using continuous monitoring, we demonstrated how polypharmacy with high Drug Burden Index (DBI-cumulative anticholinergic/sedative exposure) affected behaviors over 23 h in male/female, young/old mice.

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  • Slash pine is a significant timber and resin tree, and understanding its genetics can enhance breeding efforts.
  • Researchers conducted multiple analyses on a Chinese breeding population of 240 unrelated slash pines, identifying 53,229 high-quality SNPs.
  • Key findings include three genetic groups, 32 SNPs linked to growth and oleoresin traits, and the identification of six genes related to these important traits.
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  • Conifers, particularly the Chinese pine, have large and complex genomes, which present challenges for creating comprehensive reference genomes for research.
  • A newly assembled 25.4-Gb genome revealed significant intergenic regions and long introns, indicating a high content of transposable elements and showing that larger genes were more highly expressed.
  • The study found extensive gene duplication linked to stress responses and identified unique reproductive mechanisms in conifers compared to flowering plants, providing valuable insights into their evolution and adaptation.
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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers used temporal dynamic transcriptome analysis to uncover a gene module related to aging that contains 33 transcription factors linked to a rapid phase change, contrary to a gradual process previously assumed.
  • * The findings reveal the role of the MADS11 gene in regulating the transition from juvenile to adult phases in pine trees, showing it has different functions from the similar SOC1 gene in flowering plants like Arabidopsis.
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  • Drought stress significantly affects plants' physiological and molecular responses, with a focus on the transcriptional changes that occur when plants are subjected to drought conditions.
  • The study identified numerous genes and transcription factors that respond to drought, including 84 transcription factors, 62 protein kinases, and several important gene families, highlighting a conservation of drought-responsive genes between the studied species and Arabidopsis.
  • Key findings include a notable increase in ABA synthesis, which enhances drought resistance, and an observed recovery in photosynthesis rates within 24 hours post-re-watering after initial declines during drought stress.
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Polypharmacy is a major challenge in healthcare for older people, and is associated with increased risks of adverse outcomes, such as delirium, falls, frailty, cognitive impairment and hospitalization. There is significant public and professional interest in the role of deprescribing in reducing medication-related harms in older people. We aim to provide a narrative review of 1) the safety and efficacy of deprescribing interventions, 2) the challenges and solutions of deprescribing research and implementation in clinical practice, and 3) the benefits of using Computerized Clinical Decision Support Systems (CCDSS) and Quality Indicators (QIs) in deprescribing research and practice.

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This cross-sectional study examines the prevalence of hearing aid use among mid- to late-life older adults aged 50 to 69 years in 2011 to 2016 vs 1999 to 2004 in the US.

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Genomic selection study (GS) focusing on nonadditive genetic effects of dominance and the first order of epistatic effects, in a full-sib family population of 695 Scots pine ( L.) trees, was undertaken for growth and wood quality traits, using 6,344 single nucleotide polymorphism markers (SNPs) generated by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Genomic marker-based relationship matrices offer more effective modeling of nonadditive genetic effects than pedigree-based models, thus increasing the knowledge on the relevance of dominance and epistatic variation in forest tree breeding.

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