Publications by authors named "Jiankai Zhao"

Objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced anxiety is a common but under-investigated disorder, for which neuroinflammation is a significant contributor. Here we aim to investigate the protective effects of genistein, a plant-derived anti-inflammatory drug, against TBI-induced anxiety, and the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: A rat model of TBI was constructed using the lateral fluid percussion injury method.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a chronic abnormality of the Meibomian glands (MGs) that is recognized as the leading cause of evaporative dry eye worldwide. Despite its prevalence, however, the pathophysiology of MGD remains elusive, and effective disease management continues to be a challenge. In the past 50 years, different models have been developed to illustrate the pathophysiological nature of MGD and the underlying disease mechanisms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Sleep deprivation (SD) negatively impacts the nervous system, particularly the retina, though the specific effects on retinal structures and functions are not fully understood.
  • A study using a chronic SD mouse model found that four months of sleep loss led to decreased visual functions without significant morphological changes in the retina, revealing mitochondrial damage and increased oxidative stress.
  • Resting and supplementing with antioxidants like α-lipoic acid and N-acetyl-l-cysteine can reduce oxidative stress, repair damaged mitochondria, and restore retinal functions, highlighting the importance of sleep and antioxidants for retinal health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mammalian Müller glia (MG) possess limited regenerative capacities. However, the intrinsic capacity of mammalian MG to transdifferentiate to generate mature neurons without transgenic manipulations remains speculative. Here we show that MAP4K4, MAP4K6 and MAP4K7, which are conserved Misshapen subfamily of ste20 kinases homologs, repress YAP activity in mammalian MG and therefore restrict their ability to be reprogrammed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Flexible, lightweight sensors with a wide strain-sensing range are showing increasing significance in structural health monitoring compared with conventional hard sensors, which typically have a small strain range, are heavyweight, and have a large volume. In this work, salt particle precipitation and mechanical coating methods are used to fabricate porous graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) flexible sensors for tension monitoring in structural health applications. The signal transformation through the Back Propagation (BP) algorithm is integrated to provide monitoring data that are comparable with other sensors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many studies have focused on the identification of therapeutic targets for the treatment of certain types of cancer. Wogonin is a natural flavonoid compound that exhibits a potent anti-cancer effect. The underlying mechanism of wogonin may therefore reveal an effective way to identify novel therapeutic targets.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF