Publications by authors named "Mingfei Zhao"

Objective: Ischemic stroke (IS) is a major public health concern worldwide. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between gene polymorphisms and antiplatelet resistance in patients with IS.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive search of the PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Web of Science, and WANFANG databases for articles published until February 2024.

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B-cell receptor (BCR) complexes are expressed on the surface of a B-cell and are critical in antigen recognition and modulating the adaptive immune response. Even though the relevance of antibodies has been known for almost a hundred years, the antigen-dependent activation mechanism of B-cells has remained elusive. Several models have been proposed for BCR activation, including cross-linking, conformation-induced oligomerization, and dissociation activation models.

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A fundamental understanding of how the HIV-1 envelope (Env) protein facilitates fusion is still lacking. The HIV-1 fusion peptide, consisting of 15 to 22 residues, is the N-terminus of the gp41 subunit of the Env protein. Further, this peptide, a promising vaccine candidate, initiates viral entry into target cells by inserting and anchoring into human immune cells.

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A fundamental understanding of how HIV-1 envelope (Env) protein facilitates fusion is still lacking. The HIV-1 fusion peptide, consisting of 15 to 22 residues, is the N-terminus of the gp41 subunit of the Env protein. Further, this peptide, a promising vaccine candidate, initiates viral entry into target cells by inserting and anchoring into human immune cells.

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B-cell receptor complexes (BCR) are expressed on the surface of a B-cell and are critical in antigen recognition and modulating the adaptive immune response. Even though the relevance of antibodies has been known for almost a hundred years, the antigen-dependent activation mechanism of B-cells has remained elusive. Several models have been proposed for BCR activation, including cross-linking, conformation-induced oligomerization, and dissociation activation models.

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A long-standing challenge in bioinspired materials is to design and synthesize synthetic materials that mimic the sophisticated structures and functions of natural biomaterials, such as helical protein assemblies that are important in biological systems. Herein, we report the formation of a series of nanohelices from a type of well-developed protein-mimetics called peptoids. We demonstrate that nanohelix structures and supramolecular chirality can be well-controlled through the side-chain chemistry.

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A resonant screw-driven piezoelectric motor operating in single-mode vibrations is proposed, designed, manufactured, and studied. The motor is constructed with a stator and a threaded rotor. The stator consists of a hollow parallelogram metal elastomer and two piezoelectric ceramic plates.

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Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein organelles consisting of an inner enzymatic core encased within a selectively permeable shell. BMC shells are modular, tractable architectures that can be repurposed with new interior enzymes for biomanufacturing purposes. The permeability of BMC shells is function-specific and regulated by biophysical properties of the shell subunits, especially its pores.

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Peptoids (N-substituted glycines) are a group of highly controllable peptidomimetic polymers. Amphiphilic diblock peptoids have been engineered to assemble crystalline nanospheres, nanofibrils, nanosheets, and nanotubes with biochemical, biomedical, and bioengineering applications. The mechanical properties of peptoid nanoaggregates and their relationship to the emergent self-assembled morphologies have been relatively unexplored and are critical for the rational design of peptoid nanomaterials.

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Aims: Since the inhibitory effect of KNG1 on glioma has been proved, this study further explores the regulation of the lncRNA/miRNA axis on KNG1 in glioma.

Methods: The miRNAs that target KNG1 and the lncRNA that targets miR-942-5p were predicted by bioinformatics analysis and verified by experiments. The correlations between miR-942-5p and the survival of patients and between KNG1 and miR-942-5p were analyzed.

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Hierarchical materials that exhibit order over multiple length scales are ubiquitous in nature. Because hierarchy gives rise to unique properties and functions, many have sought inspiration from nature when designing and fabricating hierarchical matter. More and more, however, nature's own high-information content building blocks, proteins, peptides, and peptidomimetics, are being coopted to build hierarchy because the information that determines structure, function, and interfacial interactions can be readily encoded in these versatile macromolecules.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Peptoids, specifically N-substituted glycines, are synthetic polymers that can be customized and have potential uses in areas like catalysis and molecular separation.
  • - The study focuses on a specific peptoid (Nbrpe6Nc6) that can assemble into different structures (like 1D helical rods and 2D crystalline sheets) through a thermodynamically controlled process observed via simulations.
  • - Experimental techniques such as small-angle X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy support the findings, helping to enhance our understanding of how these materials can be designed and used in nanotechnology.
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Leaf functional traits and their covariation underlie plant ecological adaptations along environmental gradients, but there is limited information on the global covariation patterns of key leaf construction traits. To explore how leaf construction traits co-vary across diverse climate and soil environmental conditions, we compiled a global dataset including cell wall mass per unit leaf mass (CW ), leaf carbon (C) and calcium (Ca) concentrations, and specific leaf area (SLA) for 2348 angiosperm species from 340 sites world-wide. Our results demonstrated negative correlations between leaf C and Ca concentrations and between leaf C and SLA across diverse nongraminoid angiosperms.

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Polypeptoids (poly-N-substituent glycines) are a class of highly tailorable peptidomimetic polymers. Polypeptoids have identical backbones as polypeptides (poly-C-substituent glycines), but sidechains of polypeptoids are appended to backbone nitrogen rather than α-carbon of polypeptides. As a result, peptoid backbone lacks of chirality and hydrogen bond donors.

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Stoichiometry of leaf macronutrients can provide insight into the tradeoffs between leaf structural and metabolic investments. Structural carbon (C) in cell walls is contained in lignin and polysaccharides (cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectins). Much of leaf calcium (Ca) and a fraction of magnesium (Mg) were further bounded with cell wall pectins.

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Purpose: LINC00466 is a newfound long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that has been rarely explored in cancers. However, the specific role and molecular mechanism of LINC00466 in glioma remain to be further elucidated.

Methods: Bioinformatic analysis was used to screen differentially expressed genes.

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Peptoids (poly-N-substituted glycines) are a class of synthetic polymers that are regioisomers of peptides (poly-C-substituted glycines), in which the point of side-chain connectivity is shifted from the backbone C to the N atom. Peptoids have found diverse applications as peptidomimetic drugs, protein mimetic polymers, surfactants, and catalysts. Computational modeling is valuable in the understanding and design of peptoid-based nanomaterials.

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Kisspeptin has been shown to participate in the regulation of pituitary hormone secretion and energy metabolism. In PCOS patients, there are disorders in pituitary hormone secretion and energy metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum kisspeptin and its relationship with abnormal metabolism in PCOS.

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Hypothesis: Capillary interactions play an important role in directing colloidal assembly on fluid interfaces. Interface curvature is expected to influence not only individual particle migration on interfaces but also capillary forces between nearby particles. In drying droplets, we hypothesize that the assembly and deposition of particles bound to droplet surface are controlled by the interplay between capillary effects and evaporation-driven flow.

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Study Question: Is physical activity associated with incident early menopause?

Summary Answer: Physical activity is not associated with incident early menopause.

What Is Known Already: Lifestyle factors such as physical activity may influence menopause timing, but results from prior research are inconsistent.

Study Design, Size, Duration: We evaluated the association between physical activity and the occurrence of early natural menopause in a prospective cohort study, the Nurses' Health Study II.

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Phosphorus (P) is arguably more limiting than nitrogen for forest ecosystems being free of disturbances for lengthy time periods. The elucidation of multivariate relationships between foliar P and its primary drivers for dominant species is an urgent issue and formidable challenge for ecologists. Our goal was to evaluate the effects of primary drivers on foliar P of Quercus wutaishanica, the dominant species in broadleaved deciduous forest at the Loess Plateau, China.

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We report on the use of electrospray atomization to deliver nanoparticles and surfactant directly to the surface of sessile droplets. The particles delivered to the target droplet remained adsorbed at its interface since they arrived solvent-free. Upon complete evaporation, the interface of the target drop was mapped to the underlying substrate, forming a nanoparticle deposit.

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Evaporation-induced assembly of nanoparticles in a drying droplet is of great importance in many engineering applications, including printing, coating, and thin film processing. The investigation of particle dynamics in evaporating droplets can provide fundamental hydrodynamic insight for revealing the processing-structure relationship in the particle self-organization induced by solvent evaporation. We develop a free-energy-based multiphase lattice Boltzmann method coupled with Brownian dynamics to simulate evaporating colloidal droplets on solid substrates with specified wetting properties.

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Most terrestrial ecosystems are nitrogen (N)-limited. The elucidation of the multivariate relationships among environmental drivers, leaf morphological traits, and foliar N of dominant species which are critical to the functioning of forests remains a critical challenge for ecologists. We sampled leaves of Quercus wutaishanica across a broad natural gradient in the Loess Plateau, China, and employed structural equation modelling to evaluate the causal pathways and the relative importance of drivers of the foliar N per unit area (Narea) and per unit mass (Nmass).

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) initiates a complex cascade of neurochemical and signaling changes that leads to neuronal apoptosis, which contributes to poor outcomes for patients with TBI. The neuron-specific K(+) -Cl(-) cotransporter-2 (KCC2), the principal Cl(-) extruder in adult neurons, plays an important role in Cl(-) homeostasis and neuronal function. This present study was designed to investigate the expression pattern of KCC2 following TBI and to evaluate whether or not melatonin is able to prevent neuronal apoptosis by modulating KCC2 expression in a Sprague Dawley rat controlled cortical impact model of TBI.

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