Publications by authors named "Kejing Zhang"

The biological dissolution of jarosite accelerates As mobilization in acid mine drainage environments, which can be influenced by coexisting metals. However, few studies have focused on the effects of coexisting Pb on this biogeochemical process. Here, we investigated the behavior of As during the reductive dissolution of Pb-As jarosite (PbFe(SO, AsO)(OH)) by a sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Hypertension (HTN) is one of the leading risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and accounts for substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of HTN and its associated factors among healthcare workers (HCWs) at the Gaza Strip's governmental hospitals and primary healthcare centres (PHCs).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Interleukin-41 (IL-41), a multifunctional protein with neurotrophic and anti-inflammatory properties, may help combat conditions like sepsis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by reducing acute lung injury (ALI) triggered by lipopolysaccharides (LPS).
  • In a study involving mice and bronchial epithelial cells, researchers found that IL-41 administration led to less lung inflammation, reduced cell death, and overall improved lung conditions when exposed to LPS.
  • The study concluded that IL-41 activates the AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway to protect against ALI, suggesting it could be a potential therapeutic target for personalized treatment based on individual IL-41 levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by high invasiveness and metastasis potential. Ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is strongly associated with breast cancer progression, although the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown.

Methods: The gene expression profiles of TNBC samples were downloaded from the TCGA database, and ubiquitination enzymes related to immune regulation were screened.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how aging leads to degeneration of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and decreased motor function, focusing on the protein Sirt6 in aged mouse muscles.
  • Researchers found that lower levels of Sirt6 result in decreased Dystrophin, causing faster NMJ degeneration and poorer motor performance by affecting protein stability.
  • Supplementing with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) boosts the positive effects of Sirt6, helping to delay NMJ degeneration and maintain motor function in older mice, suggesting a promising therapeutic strategy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Paclitaxel-resistant triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains one of the most challenging breast cancers to treat. Here, using an epigenetic chemical probe screen, we uncover an acquired vulnerability of paclitaxel-resistant TNBC cells to protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) inhibition. Analysis of cell lines and in-house clinical samples demonstrates that resistant cells evade paclitaxel killing through stabilizing mitotic chromatin assembly.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Members of the genus Shewanella are known for their versatile electron accepting routes, which allow them to couple decomposition of organic matter to reduction of various terminal electron acceptors for heterotrophic growth in diverse environments. Here, we report autotrophic growth of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 with photoelectrons provided by illuminated biogenic CdS nanoparticles. This hybrid system enables photosynthetic oscillatory acetate production from CO for over five months, far exceeding other inorganic-biological hybrid system that can only sustain for hours or days.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Motor neurons are specialized cells that send signals over long distances to connect with muscles through neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), but local translation of proteins at these junctions hasn't been fully understood.
  • Recent research using advanced techniques identified that specific mRNAs linked to energy production and synaptic function are localized and translated at NMJs, which change focus from building structures in development to energy production in adulthood.
  • The study highlights the importance of the mRNA encoding Agrin at motor axon terminals; disrupting its local translation negatively affects motor function and synaptic transmission, implying that precise regulation at NMJs is crucial for proper muscle control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Zn doped CuBiO photocathodes are prepared by using a low-cost solution-based spray pyrolysis method. The doping of Zn in CuBiO promotes the separation and migration of carriers and effectively increases the carrier density. Compared with CuBiO alone, the photoelectrochemical activity of the Zn doped CuBiO photoelectrode is improved with the photocurrent density of -0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Microbial blooms have been reported in the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond at the Sellafield Nuclear Facility. The pond is kept alkaline with NaOH to minimise fuel rod corrosion, however alkali-tolerant microbial blooms dominated by the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena catenata are able to thrive in this hostile environment. This study assessed the impact of alternative alkali-dosing regimens (KOH versus NaOH treatment) on biomass accumulation, using a P.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women with unfavorite prognosis.

Objectives: Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) inhibits BC progression, however, the underlying mechanism remains largely undefined.

Methods: The cytotoxicity of Tan IIA was assessed by CCK-8 and LDH assays.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Moving from sole cropping to intercropping is a transformative change in agriculture, contributing to yield. Soybeans adapt to light conditions in intercropping by adjusting the onset of reproduction and the inflorescence architecture to optimize reproductive success. Maize-soybean strip intercropping (MS), maize-soybean relay strip intercropping (IS), and sole soybean (SS) systems are typical soybean planting systems with significant differences in light environments during growth periods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Selective protein degradation platforms have opened novel avenues in therapeutic development and biological inquiry. Antibody-based lysosome-targeting chimeras (LYTACs) have emerged as a promising technology that extends the scope of targeted protein degradation to extracellular targets. Aptamers offer an advantageous alternative owing to their potential for modification and manipulation toward a multivalent state.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rapid urbanization and industrialization have significantly contributed to the contamination of the environment through the discharge of wastewater containing various pollutants. The development of high-performance surface functional nanostructured adsorbents is of wide interest for researchers. Therefore, we explore the significant advancements in this field, focusing on the efficiency of nanostructured materials, as well as their nanocomposites, for wastewater treatment applications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anhedonia is a core feature of major depressive disorder (MDD) and the limbic system has been indicated to be associated with anhedonia in MDD due to its crucial role within the reward circuit. However, the relationship between different regions of the limbic system and MDD, particularly anhedonic symptoms, remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate volume changes of various parts of the subcortical limbic (ScLimbic) system in MDD with and without anhedonia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The pursuit of novel therapeutic agents for serious diseases such as cancer has been a global endeavor. Aptamers characteristic of high affinity, programmability, low immunogenicity, and rapid permeability hold great promise for the treatment of diseases. Yet obtaining the approval for therapeutic aptamers remains challenging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cr(VI) released into the environment inevitably co-exists with other contaminants, such as heavy metal ions, thus altering the performance of bacteria for Cr(VI) reduction; however, the mechanism underlying Cr(VI)-reducing bacterial response to heavy metal ions remains elusive. Herein, we investigate the toxic effects of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on Cr(VI)-reducing bacterium Pannonibacter phragmitetus D-6 (hereafter D-6), which changes the primary metabolic pattern of Cr(VI). At Cu(II) concentrations of 10-100 mg/L, the efficiency of Cr(VI) reduction increases significantly.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The focus of the study is to examine the function of TYMSOS in immune escape of breast cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among women globally. Our study demonstrated that upregulated TYMSOS was associated with unfavorable prognosis and immune escape in breast cancer. TYMSOS promoted the malignant phenotypes of breast cancer cells, and reduced the cytotoxicity of NK92 cells on these cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1 in regulating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) stemness and tumorigenesis was investigated.

Methods: Sphere formation and colony formation assays coupled with flow cytometry were employed to evaluate the percentage of CD44/CD44 cells, and ALDH cells were performed to evaluate the stemness. Bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) was employed to detect the methylation level of MALAT1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous breast cancer subtype with poor prognoses and limited therapeutic options. The TATA-box binding protein associated factor 1 (TAF1) is an essential protein involved in the transcriptional regulation of cancer development and progress. However, the therapeutic potential and underlying mechanism of targeting TAF1 in TNBC remain unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pseudanabaena dominates cyanobacterial blooms in the First-Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP) at a UK nuclear site. The fission product Cs is a radiologically significant radionuclide in the pond, and understanding the interactions between Cs and Pseudanabaena spp. is therefore important for determining facility management strategies, as well as improving understanding of microbiological responses to this non-essential chemical analogue of K.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The () gene regulates limb skeletal development and muscle growth, thus, it was selected as a candidate gene for bovine carcass traits. In this study, we analyzed the mRNA expression level of in various tissues and cells, and determined the genetic variations in the gene, which might be used as molecular markers for cattle breeding. The mRNA expression profiles of in bovine different tissues showed that was highly expressed in both fat and muscle.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Expansion of the hexanucleotide repeat GGGGCC in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Poly-Gly-Ala (poly-GA), one form of dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) produced from GGGGCC repeats, tends to form neurotoxic protein aggregates. The C9orf72 GGGGCC repeats and microglial receptor TREM2 are both associated with risk for ALS/FTD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a severe motoneuron disease characterized by the loss of control over skeletal muscles, beginning with degeneration at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs).
  • Dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) linked to the C9orf72 gene mutation are implicated in C9-ALS, but their role may extend beyond direct cellular effects to influence neighboring cells.
  • Our research reveals that the poly-GA form of DPR is released from cells and disrupts NMJ integrity, leading to muscle weakness and impaired signaling by interfering with Agrin-MuSK pathways, suggesting targeting NMJs could be a promising early treatment approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women. The physiological functions of N6-methyladenosine methylation in cancer have been the focus of studies in recent years. Herein, four data sets (GSE70947, GSE45827, GSE42586, and The Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Cancer) were analyzed to confirm the differentially expressed N6-methyladenosine genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF