Publications by authors named "Mingchun Zhang"

Article Synopsis
  • Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have health benefits essential for the conservation of endangered animals, specifically giant pandas, but their diversity in pandas' gut microbiota is largely unexplored.
  • The researchers created a culture pipeline to isolate and study LAB strains from giant pandas using various growth conditions, resulting in a significant collection of bacterial strains.
  • The study revealed that the cultured bacteria were more diverse than those found in culture-independent methods, laying groundwork for future research on LAB's potential health benefits and probiotic applications in conservation efforts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The South China tiger (SCT) is critically endangered and suffers from inbreeding, necessitating improved genetic diversity among captive populations.* -
  • A study identified three hybrid SCTs that share over 40% of their genome with pureblood SCTs, presenting a potential opportunity for genetic rescue.* -
  • To ensure the long-term survival of SCTs, it is crucial to create a back-up population by introducing one pureblood SCT annually to enhance genetic diversity and protect against future threats.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

High-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with ultralow density and environment-friendly properties are greatly demanded to address electromagnetic radiation pollution. Herein, carbon nanotube/polylactic acid (CNT/PLA) materials with different CNT contents, which exhibit characteristics of light weight, environmental protection and good chemical stability, are fabricated using 3D printing technology, where CNTs are evenly distributed and bind well with PLA. The performances of 3D-printed CNT/PLA composites are improved compared to pure 3D-printed PLA composites, which include mechanical properties, conductive behaviors and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Extant giant pandas are divided into Sichuan and Qinling subspecies. The giant panda has many species-specific characteristics, including comparatively small organs for body size, small genitalia of male individuals, and low reproduction. Here, we report the most contiguous, high-quality chromosome-level genomes of two extant giant panda subspecies to date, with the first genome assembly of the Qinling subspecies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The mammal gut is a rich reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and the relationship between bacterial communities and ARGs has been widely studied. Despite ecological significance of microeukaryotes (fungi and protists), our understanding of their roles in the mammal gut microbiome and antibiotic resistome is still limited. Here, we used amplicon sequencing, metagenomic sequencing and high-throughput quantitative PCR to examine microbiomes and antibiotic resistomes of 41 giant panda fecal samples from individuals with different genders, ages, sampling sites and diet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diet plays a pivotal role in dictating behavioral patterns of herbivorous animals, particularly specialist species. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is well-known as a bamboo specialist. In the present study, the response of giant pandas to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo shoots was explored using field surveys and GPS collar tracking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Critically ill cirrhotic patients have a high mortality, particularly with concomitant respiratory failure on admission. There are no specific models in use for mortality risk assessment in critically ill cirrhotic patients with acute respiratory failure (CICRF). The aim is to develop a risk prediction model specific to CICRF in order to quantify the severity of illness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Earthquakes not only result in a great loss of human life and property, but also have profound effects on the Earth's biodiversity. The Lushan earthquake occurred on 20 Apr 2013, with a magnitude of 7.0 and an intensity of 9.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Jujuboside B (JuB) is a main bioactive saponin constituent of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, which is a traditional herb for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety. However, the detailed metabolic mechanism of JuB is poorly understood. In this study, a novel method of rapid resolution liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was developed and validated for the analysis of JuB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, the composition of fatty oil from Semen Ziziphi Spinosae and its cardiotonic activity on the heart isolated from a toad were studied. Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions of fatty oil were prepared by the perfusion method. The fatty oil had a positive inotropic effect on isolated rat hearts at a concentration between 5 × 10(-3) and 2 × 10(-2) mL/10 mL, and the effect was in positive correlation with the concentration of calcium ions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aims to explore and evaluate the effects of Semen Ziziphi Spinosae extracts on the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IFN-γ, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-4 in mice, and the regulative effect of Semen Ziziphi Spinosae on the cytokine system. Using an ELISA assay, the serum levels of IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-4 were examined in mice after intraperitoneal injection (i.p.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) was developed for simultaneous determination of jujuboside A, B and betulinic acid in semen Ziziphi spinosae. The analysis was performed by gradient elution, using an aqueous mobile phase (containing 0.1% acetic acid) modified by acetonitrile.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF