Publications by authors named "Lulu Hou"

Acetochlor is a widely used and highly effective herbicide. Its overuse poses significant threats to biosecurity and ecological integrity, particularly affecting free-ranging birds. Data on its impact, especially mechanisms of liver toxicity in chickens, are lacking.

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  • - Excessive copper intake can lead to inflammation in the brain, damaging neurons and glial cells, which disrupts normal brain function.
  • - Omega-3 (ω-3), especially DHA, is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and was tested on copper-exposed chickens to see if it could protect the brain.
  • - The study found that ω-3 reduced brain damage from copper by stabilizing inflammatory pathways, specifically downregulating IL-1β and related signaling cascades, highlighting its potential as a neuroprotective agent.
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Haizhou Bay, a semi-enclosed key aquaculture area in East China, has had relatively limited research focused on trace metals and perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in its biota. This study characterized the distribution, biomagnification and health risks of selected trace metals and PFAAs in various marine organisms from Haizhou Bay. Among the species examined, zinc (Zn) was the most prevalent metal, followed by copper (Cu) and chromium (Cr), whereas cadmium (Cd), total mercury (THg), and methylmercury (MeHg) contents were relatively low.

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  • Studies indicate degraded grassland ecosystems in Inner Mongolia are primarily due to intensified grazing, affecting above-ground biomass but not soil organic carbon density (SOCD).
  • Despite a 10% decline in total vegetation biomass from the 1980s to 2000s, total forage production rose by 6.72%, and SOCD remained stable even with 67% increased grazing intensity.
  • The analysis shows climate factors like precipitation and temperature greatly influence vegetation changes, while grazing impacts on carbon stocks are minimal, highlighting the resilience of grassland ecosystems against grazing pressure.
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Aims: This research aimed to clarify the relationship between serum asprosin levels and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in light of mixed findings about the role of asprosin in T2DM and the lack of studies on its effects on prediabetic conditions.

Methods: In this observational analysis the cohort included 252 adults aged22-69 recruitedfromJinan Central Hospital were categorized into three groups, normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose regulation (IGR) and T2DM groups. Serum asprosin levels were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

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Background: Ochrobactrum anthropi is widely distributed and primarily infects patients with compromised immune functions . Historically, O. anthropi has been considered to possess low toxicity and pathogenicity; however, recent studies suggest that it may in fact cause severe purulent infections.

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Microplastics biological toxicity, environmental persistence and biological chemicals have been paid widespread attention. Microplastics exposed to chicken spleen injury of the specific mechanism is unclear. Thus, we randomly assigned chickens to 4 groups: C (normal diet), L-MPs (1 mg/L), M-MPs (10 mg/L), and H-MPs (100 mg/L), and assessed spleen damage after 42 d of exposure.

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Excessive acetochlor residues present ecological and food safety challenges. Here, broiler chicks were exposed to varied acetochlor doses to first assess its effects on the gut. Subsequent dietary supplementation with omega-3 was used to assess its anti-contamination effects.

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Microplastics (MPs) have attracted growing attention worldwide as an increasingly prevalent environmental pollutant. In addition, chicken meat is currently the most widely consumed kind of poultry in the global market. Consumer demand for chicken is on the rise both at home and abroad.

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The sensitivity of grassland above- (AGB, gC m) and below-ground biomass (BGB, gC m) to climate has been shown to be significant on the Tibetan Plateau, however, the spatial patterns and sensitivity of biomass with altitudinal change needs to be quantitated. In this study, large data sets of AGB and BGB during the peak growth season, and the corresponding geographical and climate conditions in the grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau between 2001 and 2020 were analyzed, and modelled using a Cubist regression trees algorithm. The mean values for AGB and BGB were 61.

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Microplastics (MPs) have attracted widespread worldwide attention as a new pollutant. However, the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell cycle in nephrotoxicity induced by different concentrations of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) is unknown. This study used grass carp kidney cells (CIK) treated with different concentrations of PS-MPs (0, 0.

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  • Fluorosis, caused by fluoride exposure, is a major health risk for both humans and animals, particularly affecting heart health and necessitating further research into its mechanisms.
  • A study on chickens revealed that increasing sodium fluoride doses (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg) led to significant heart damage, including congested tissue and disrupted myofiber structures.
  • The research found that sodium fluoride activated stress response and inflammatory pathways, causing both apoptosis and necroptosis, which contributed to cardiac injury, highlighting the importance of understanding fluoride's cardiotoxic effects.
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  • The study investigates the effects of the simultaneous exposure of grass carp to the pesticide cypermethrin and the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole over six weeks, revealing significant risks to fish health.
  • The results indicated that this exposure compromised intestinal barrier function, increased inflammation, and created oxidative stress, with greater toxicity observed in the group receiving both substances.
  • Findings suggest that monitoring the gut-liver axis and specific transporters may be critical for assessing ecological risks from these contaminants in aquatic environments.
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High-accuracy simulation of gross primary productivity (GPP) is crucial for the monitoring and evaluation of the ecosystem services and the adaptive management of grassland. The light use efficiency (LUE) model is one of the most widely-used methods to simulate GPP, given its simple structure and low input requirements. Current LUE models are less applicable to grasslands than other vegetation types and have lower overall estimation accuracy in arid and semi-arid regions.

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Background: In our previous studies, it was found that metformin can elevate the expression of FGF21 in the peripheral blood of type 2 diabetic rats and improve insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats. However, whether this effect is mediated by increased FGF21 expression in pancreatic islet β-cells is still unknown. Therefore, this study focuses on the effect of metformin on insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells.

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Cadmium (Cd) is a widely distributed environmental contaminant that is highly toxic to animals and humans. However, detailed reports on Cd-induced programmed necrosis have not been seen in chicken testicular Leydig cells. Selenium (Se) is a trace element in the human body that has cytoprotective effects in a variety of pathological damages caused by heavy metals.

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Previous studies have tentatively suggested that working memory training (WMT) has the potential to improve reward processing, but it is not known how long this improvement lasts, whether there is a lag effect, or whether it is reflected in neurophysiological indicators. In this study, 40 university students with subsyndromal depression were randomly assigned to a training group or a control group and completed a 20-day working memory training task and a simple memory task, respectively. All participants completed the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) and a doors task with electroencephalogram (EEG) signals recorded simultaneously on a pre- and post-test and a 3-month follow-up.

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Laboratory studies reveal that young women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) often exhibit decreased reward processing during the late luteal phase. However, studies based on the self-reports find opposite results (e.g.

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A successful deception involves making a decision, acting on it, and evaluating results. Here, we investigated deception in a non-clinical sample (n = 36) with varying autism traits using a coin-toss paradigm of active deception. The subjects were asked to react to the instructions by clicking one of the two boxes that could mislead their opponents, followed by feedback on their success or failure.

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Endemic fluorosis (EF) has been listed as one of the serious public health problems in many countries. Long-term exposure to high fluoride can lead to severe neuropathological damage to the brain. Although long-term research has revealed the mechanism of some brain inflammation caused by excessive fluoride, the role of intercellular interactions, especially immune cells, in brain damage is still unclear.

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Livestock-grassland interactions are among the most important relationships in grazed grassland ecosystems, where herbivores play a crucial role in plant community and ecosystem functions. However, previous studies primarily have focused on the responses of grasslands to grazing, with few focussing on the effects of livestock behaviour that in turn would influence livestock intake and primary and secondary productivity. Through a 2-year grazing intensity experiment with cattle in Eurasian steppe ecosystem, global positioning system (GPS) collars were used to monitor animal movements, where animal locations were recorded at 10-min intervals during the growing season.

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Microplastics (MPs) are a hot environmental contaminant now. However, researchers paid little attention to their effects on immune organs such as the thymus. Here, we exposed chickens to a concentration gradient of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) and then followed the decrease in the thymus index.

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Wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs) and intelligent microsystems are crucial components of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. In various IoT applications, small, lightweight, and low-power microsystems are essential to enable autonomous edge computing and networked cooperative work. This study presents an innovative intelligent microsystem with wireless networking capabilities, sound sensing, and sound event recognition.

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Background: Previous studies have revealed a high comorbidity between premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and depression; however, whether PMS can longitudinally predict depression has not been examined in large sample studies.

Methods: This study surveyed 8,133 women from the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Participants completed seven repeated measurements at 3-year intervals starting in 2000 (aged 22-27 years).

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Microplastics (MPs), a new and increasing environmental pollutant, can cause ongoing damage to organisms. Although recent studies have revealed mechanisms of action for some of the hepatotoxicity caused by MPs, the role-played by cellular interactions, particularly immune cells, in the process of liver injury has not been elucidated. In the present study, 5-μm polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) induced liver inflammation as well as the formation of Macrophage extracellular traps (METs).

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