Publications by authors named "Lizhen Zhang"

Background: As modern industrial activities have advanced, the prevalence of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment has increased, thereby impacting plant growth. Potassium is one of the most crucial nutrient cations for plant biology. Understanding how polyethylene terephthalate (PET) treatment affects potassium uptake will deepen our understanding of plant response mechanisms to plastic pollution.

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Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is one of the most destructive pathogens and causes serious losses in agriculture worldwide. Biogenic pesticides application may be an effective approach for defending against TSWV. Tagitinin A (Tag A) extracted from Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.

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This study investigated the effects of adding 4-20 % Tartary buckwheat protein (TBP, with a purity of 93.35 %) on the structural, thermal, and digestive properties of Tartary buckwheat starch (TBS) by high moisture (60 %) extrusion. The added TBP embedded and enwrapped the starch matrix, which formed protein-starch complexes.

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This study investigated the emulsifying and ethanol-induced gelling properties of capsicum pectins from bell pepper and chili pepper, and also examined the effect of deproteinization (using the Sevag method). The research revealed that bell pepper pectin (BPP) formed smaller aggregates (337 nm at pH 2) with a higher hydrophobicity in solution due to its lower molecular weight (2.02 × 10 g/mol) and higher degree of esterification (82.

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Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), a predominant form of urinary malignancy, requires the identification of reliable biomarkers to enhance both prognostic outcomes and therapeutic developments specific to ccRCC. NSUN5, a member of the NOL1/NOP2/SUN domain (NSUN) family, plays a critical role in RNA stabilization and exhibits widespread expression across various tumor types. However, the exact function of NSUN5 in ccRCC remains insufficiently understood.

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The Asian honey bee () plays a crucial role in providing abundant bee products and in maintaining ecological balance. Despite the availability of the genomic sequence of the Asian honey bee, its transcriptomic information remains largely incomplete. To address this issue, here we constructed three pooled RNA samples from the queen, drone, and worker bees of and performed full-length RNA sequencing using Nanopore single-molecule sequencing technology.

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A manganese dioxide (MnO)/bamboo carbon (BC) composite was prepared using hydrothermal and impregnation methods and used for the capacitive desalination (CDI) and disinfection of water. The results showed that these composites had fast Na ion exchange and charge transfer properties. During the CDI process, these composites' electrodes exhibited good cycle stability and electrosorption capacity (4.

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The compound eyes are crucial to honeybees, playing pivotal roles in color recognition, orientation, localization, and navigation processes. The development of compound eyes is primarily mastered by an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor Pax6. In honeybees, there are two Pax6 homologs: ey and toy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and its extension, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), are used to examine the retina, but OCTA faces challenges with shadow artifacts caused by light obstruction, affecting data accuracy.
  • The study proposes a simplified model for shadow formation in OCTA and utilizes an adversarial neural network to automatically detect and remove these artifacts.
  • Experiments on OCTA images showed that the method effectively reduced non-perfusion areas (NPA) and achieved a mean absolute error of 0.83 in shadow removal, improving the quality of retinal vascular measurement.
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Article Synopsis
  • Chinese Baijiu is a well-known alcoholic drink from China, and this study focuses on the interactions between key microorganisms during its fermentation at different temperatures.
  • Results showed that one microorganism significantly reduced the growth and lactic acid production of another when the temperature was above 15 °C, while the first microorganism did not affect the growth of a third microorganism involved in ethanol production.
  • A detailed analysis revealed that key enzymes for sugar metabolism and lactic acid production were less active in the presence of the dominant microorganism, highlighting its inhibitory role and offering insights for optimizing Baijiu fermentation processes.
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Background: Understanding the effects of different additions of adzuki bean flour (ABF) on structural and functional characteristics of extruded buckwheat noodles is important in developing high-quality starchy foods with desirable glycemic indexes. This study explored how varying amounts of ABF in extruded buckwheat noodles influenced their structural and functional characteristics.

Results: The findings indicated that adding ABF substantially boosted the levels of protein and flavonoids, while decreasing the content of fat and starch.

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Continuous-wave (CW) yellow lasers have been demonstrated successfully by using a GaN laser-diode (LD) pumping in borate crystals for the first time. The Dy:GdMgBO (Dy:GMB) crystal with dimensions up to 33 × 19 × 15 mm is grown by the top-seeded solution growth method, and the polarized spectroscopic properties are investigated systematically at room temperature. The line strengths, Judd-Ofelt (J-O) intensity, spontaneous transition rates, fluorescence branching ratios, and radiative lifetimes are calculated in detail by the Judd-Ofelt theory.

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Background: As persistent organic pollutants (POPs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may potentially impact human health. Our study aimed to investigate the prospective association between PFAS exposure and the incidence risk of breast cancer in females.

Methods: By fully following the Jinchang Cohort after a decade, we conducted this nested case-control study with 135 incidence cases of breast cancer (BC) and 540 bias-paired controls.

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Background: WEE1 is a critical kinase in the DNA damage response pathway and has been shown to be effective in treating serous uterine cancer. However, its role in gliomas, specifically low-grade glioma (LGG), remains unclear. The impact of DNA methylation on WEE1 expression and its correlation with the immune landscape in gliomas also need further investigation.

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Background: Panax ginseng C. A. Mey is a precious medicinal resource that could be used to treat a variety of diseases.

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Polarization modulation of ultraviolet (UV) birefringent crystals is crucial for various applications. Here, we introduce distorted La-O polyhedra into alkali metal sulfates to synthesize a novel birefringent material with excellent UV transmission and birefringence. The incorporation of distorted La-O polyhedra significantly increases the birefringence to 0.

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Objective: Selenium is an essential micronutrient and a type of dietary antioxidant. This study aimed to investigate the associations of dietary selenium intake with the risk of human chronic disease [cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus (DM), and cancer] and mortality among US general adults.

Methods: The dietary and demographic data in this study were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018.

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Cisplatin resistance is a major challenge for systemic therapy against advanced bladder cancer (BC). Little information is available on the regulation of cisplatin resistance and the underlying mechanisms require elucidation. Here, we detected that downregulation of the tumor suppressor, PPP2R2B (a serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2 A regulatory subunit), in BC promoted cell proliferation and migration.

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Hyacinth bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet], a plant belonging to the leguminous family and traditionally used for medicinal purposes in China, is a valuable resource with a wide range of health benefits. This review examines the bioactive compounds, health-promoting properties and functional food potential of hyacinth bean, highlighting its role in protecting against metabolic diseases and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

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Starch chain-length distributions play a key role in regulating the processing and digestion characteristics of proso millet starch. Waxy proso millet starch has higher endothermic enthalpy (13.06-16.

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The digestibility of ungelatinized, short-term retrograded and long-term retrograded starch from foxtail millet was investigated and correlated with starch chain length distributions (CLDs). Some variations in starch CLDs of different varieties were obtained. Huangjingu and Zhonggu 9 had higher average chain lengths of debranched starch and lower average chain length ratios of amylopectin and amylose than Dajinmiao and Jigu 168.

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Continuous cropping obstacles poses significant challenges for melon cultivation, with autotoxicity being a primary inducer. Suberization of cells or tissues is a vital mechanism for plant stress response. Our study aimed to elucidate the potential mechanism of root suberization in melon's response to autotoxicity.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on SiMBR genes in foxtail millet, identifying ten specific genes that play a role in drought stress responses and analyzing their structural features and regulatory elements.
  • - SiMBR2, a gene linked to drought tolerance, was shown to improve drought resistance when expressed in Arabidopsis by lowering reactive oxygen species levels during water deficit.
  • - Overall, the research highlights the potential of SiMBR genes in foxtail millet to enhance genetic resilience in other crops, offering insights into drought tolerance mechanisms for future breeding efforts.
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Viral diseases are becoming an important problem in Amorphophallus production due to the propagation of seed corms and their trade across regions. In this study, combined-High-Throughput Sequencing, RT-PCR, electron microscopy, and mechanical inoculation were used to analyze virus-like infected Amorphophallus samples in Yunnan province to investigate the distribution, molecular characterization, and diversity and evolution of Amorphophallus-infecting viruses including three isolates of dasheen mosaic virus and three orthotospoviruses: mulberry vein banding associated virus (MVBaV), tomato zonate spot virus (TZSV) and impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV). The results showed that DsMV is the dominant virus infecting Amorphophallus, mixed infections with DsMV and MVBaV to Amorphophallus were quite common in Yunnan province, China.

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Chinese bayberry is a fruit that is appreciated for its taste. A novel totivirus associated with rolling, disfiguring, chlorotic and vein-clearing symptoms on the leaf apices of Chinese bayberry was identified by transcriptome sequencing and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). The complete genome of the virus was determined to be 4959 nucleotides long, and it contains two open reading frames (ORFs).

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