Publications by authors named "Qiao Zhu"

Fine particulate matter (PM) is linked to dementia risk, but ultrafine particles (UFPs, <100 nm) may be even more toxic due to their distinct physicochemical properties. However, evidence on UFPs and dementia remains limited. This study assessed the association between UFP exposure and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) among U.

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Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is associated with considerable blood loss during the perioperative period, which commonly requires a blood transfusion, especially in patients who continue aspirin treatment preoperatively. Blood transfusion can significantly increase both the length of hospital stay and total treatment costs and is potentially associated with adverse reactions. However, a visual predictive model for assessing the risk of blood transfusion in THA patients is lacking.

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Background: Drought is a major limiting factor for plant survival and crop productivity. Stylosanthes angustifolia, a pioneer plant, exhibits remarkable drought tolerance, yet the molecular mechanisms driving its drought resistance remain largely unexplored.

Results: We present a chromosome-scale reference genome of S.

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Climate change poses direct and indirect threats to public health, including exacerbating air pollution. However, the influence of rising temperature on air quality remains highly uncertain in the United States, particularly under rapid reduction in anthropogenic emissions. Here, we examined the sensitivity of surface-level fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O) to summer temperature anomalies in the contiguous US as well as their decadal changes using high-resolution datasets generated by machine learning.

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Background: Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ameliorates LL-37-induced rosacea-like dermatitis in mice, whereas mast cells and cytokine overexpression are prominent features in rosacea skin.

Objective: To evaluate the potential mechanisms of AhR activation on autophagy and degranulation of mast cells in rosacea.

Methods: LL-37 treated mast cells were used to mimic rosacea.

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Background: The associations of PM mass and various adverse health outcomes have been widely investigated. However, fewer studies focused on the potential health impacts of PM components, especially for dementia and Alzheimer's diseases (AD).

Methods: We constructed a nationwide population-based open cohort study among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older during 2000-2018.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ambient PM pollution in China poses serious health risks, despite recent declines in overall PM concentrations; understanding of chemical constituents remains limited due to inadequate monitoring.
  • A Super Learner model using satellite data and other information predicts daily organic carbon (OC) concentrations with high accuracy, revealing elevated levels in Northern China from industrial activities and contributions from forest fires in Yunnan.
  • From 2003 to 2019, national OC levels declined by 1.3% annually, with regional variations, and the OC/EC ratio analysis indicated different pollution sources in urban versus rural areas, highlighting the effectiveness of air quality policies post-2013.
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KYS-164, isolated from homemade Tibetan kefir grains, produces bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS), which are peptides with antimicrobial properties, but have not been fully characterized. The research on BLIS will lay the foundation for mining new bacteriocins. In this study, the optimal culture conditions for the production of highly active BLIS were found to be incubation at 30 °C and 120 rpm, and the most effective extraction method was ammonium sulfate precipitation (ASP) using ammonium sulfate at 80% saturation.

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Here, we report the genetic features and evolutionary mechanisms of two (M)-bearing plasmids (pTA2 and pTA7) recovered from swine isolates. The genetic profiles of pTA2 and pTA7 and corresponding transconjugants were accessed by S1 nuclease pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization, followed by whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. The biological influences of pTA2 and pTA7 were determined by stability and direct competition assays.

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  • The world is nearing the critical threshold of 1.5°C warming, with 2023 recording an average temperature rise of 1.45°C since pre-industrial times, leading to severe climate-related impacts.
  • The Countdown collaboration, formed to assess the health impacts of climate change post-Paris Agreement, involves over 300 experts analyzing data and trends annually.
  • The 2024 report highlights troubling increases in climate-related health risks, such as a staggering 167% rise in heat-related deaths among seniors, indicating worsening conditions affecting wellbeing globally.
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Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a serious life-threatening pathogen. The rise in P. aeruginosa resistance rates has renewed interest in phages as an alternative therapeutic approach for treating bacterial infections.

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  • Magnesium is crucial for plant health as it is a key part of chlorophyll and acts as a coenzyme, but its regulatory role in secondary metabolite synthesis is not fully understood.
  • The study focuses on Sophora tonkinensis, a medicinal plant in China, analyzing how different magnesium concentrations in tissue-cultured seedlings affect their secondary metabolites and overall growth.
  • By using multi-omics data analysis, the research reveals the complex ways magnesium influences metabolic pathways, which in turn affects the levels of beneficial compounds and the growth of the plant.
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In bacteria and eukaryotic organelles of prokaryotic origin, ATP-dependent proteases are crucial for regulating protein quality control through substrate unfolding and degradation. Understanding the mechanism and regulation of this key cellular process could prove instrumental in developing therapeutic strategies. Very recently, cryo-electron microscopy structural studies have shed light on the functioning of AAA+ proteases, including membrane-bound proteolytic complexes.

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Background: We investigated the associations between IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE levels and all-cause mortality risk in Chinese centenarians.

Methods: All participants were from the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study. Eligible participants were divided into quartiles based on their IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE levels.

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  • - Over the past 20 years, increased warehouse construction near seaports and low-cost land has led to higher transportation and e-commerce activities, negatively impacting air quality and health in nearby disadvantaged communities.
  • - A study from 2000 to 2019 in Southern California found that larger warehouses (measured by rentable building area, loading docks, and parking spaces) were linked to increased pollution levels of particulate matter (PM) and elemental carbon (EC).
  • - Data revealed that an increase in warehouse size and facilities led to significant rises in PM and EC concentrations, with disadvantaged populations facing higher pollution exposure and related health risks.
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  • * The PotD-PotABC protein complex is a specific transporter system that helps bacteria take up spermidine, characterized as part of the ATP-binding cassette transporter family.
  • * The study reveals key structural details of the PotD-PotABC transporter, highlighting its different conformations and specific residues that regulate the uptake of spermidine, enhancing our understanding of how this process occurs in bacteria.
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  • The study focuses on a foodborne pathogen impacting newborns and examines how the PhoP/PhoQ two-component system affects bacterial virulence and intestinal inflammation in neonatal mice. !* -
  • Neonatal mice were infected with different strains of the pathogen, revealing that deleting the PhoP gene decreased bacterial count and reduced intestinal tissue damage. !* -
  • Results indicated that the deletion also led to lower levels of inflammatory markers and affected specific inflammatory genes, suggesting that targeting the PhoP/PhoQ system could help treat neonatal infections. !*
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Low temperature (LT) is an important environmental factor affecting the growth and yield of plants. Melatonin (MT) can effectively enhance the LT tolerance of cucumber. This study found that LT stress induced the expression of Comt1 (caffeic acid O-methyltransferase 1), with the highest expression being about 2-times that of the control.

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The SPFH (stomatin, prohibitin, flotillin, and HflK/C) protein family is universally present and encompasses the evolutionarily conserved SPFH domain. These proteins are predominantly localized in lipid raft and implicated in various biological processes. The NfeD (nodulation formation efficiency D) protein family is often encoded in tandem with SPFH proteins, suggesting a close functional relationship.

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Melioidosis is a zoonotic disease, with its outbreaks being rare and indicative of an unusual concurrence of extreme climate and natural environmental factors. An outbreak of melioidosis cases emerged in Hainan following Typhoon "Dianmu" from October to December 2021, presenting an opportunity to identify the environmental sources of infection for these cases due to its nature as a well-defined point-source cluster. To investigate the relationship between the occurrence of these melioidosis cases and the environment, we extracted the entire genome of 25 clinical strains and conducted MLST typing, followed by whole genome sequencing and analysis of molecular genetic information for four ST46 genotypes from these strains.

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Aims: To identify efficient, broad-spectrum, and non-toxic preservatives for natural agricultural products, eight essential oils were screened for high inhibitory and antioxidant activities against spoilage microbes.

Methods And Results: The zone of inhibition test and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay were performed to assess the antimicrobial activity of eight essential oils against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Penicillium, Saccharomyces, and Escherichia coli. Among the eight essential oils, garlic and rose essential oils exhibited the best inhibitory effects, their MICs against the spoilage microbes were 40-640 μl/l and 10-320 μl/l, respectively.

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Melatonin (Mel) is recognized as a prominent plant growth regulator. This study investigated the alleviating effect of Mel pretreatment on growth inhibition caused by low-temperature (LT) stress (10 °C/6 °C) in cucumber seedlings and explored the role of the Ca/Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) signaling pathway in Mel-regulated LT tolerance. The main results are as follows: compared to LT treatment alone, 100 μM Mel increased both the content of Ca (highest about 42.

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  • * The study included 32 patients with axSpA and 32 healthy volunteers, who underwent 3D-UTE sequences and traditional T2* mapping, with radiologists interpreting the results and comparing them to CT scans as the reference.
  • * Results showed that the 3D-UTE technique had high diagnostic accuracy, with sensitivities around 94-95% and specificities around 96-97%,
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  • * Probiotic fermentation can prevent spoilage and enhance the nutritional value, flavor, and appearance of fruits by interacting with their nutrients.
  • * The review discusses various fermentation strains and strategies, emphasizing their effects on the quality and shelf life of fermented fruits, offering guidance for production methods.
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  • Identifying sources of particulate matter (PM) is essential for managing air quality and protecting public health; researchers analyzed PM data from 515 sites across the U.S. using the Multilinear Engine model from 2000 to 2019.
  • The study identified seven main sources of PM: soil/dust, vehicle emissions, biomass burning, heavy oil/coal combustion, secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, and sea salt, as well as calculated secondary organic aerosols (SOA).
  • Even though there have been significant reductions in emissions from secondary sulfate, nitrate, and heavy oil/coal due to recent regulations, vehicle emissions and biomass burning remain persistent pollutants needing more targeted management.
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