Publications by authors named "Qing-qing Huang"

Article Synopsis
  • A fetus in China with an intronic variant in the COL4A2 gene was diagnosed prenatally with severe brain damage, including cerebral encephalomalacia and subdural hemorrhage.
  • Whole exome sequencing identified a specific genetic variant (c.549 + 5G > A) that causes the COL4A2 protein to be shortened, due to skipping of an important exon.
  • This research highlights the pathogenic nature of the variant and enhances the understanding of genetic contributions to fetal neurological disorders, which can aid in future genetic testing and counseling efforts.
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Heterostructures endow electrochemical hybrids with promising energy storage properties owing to synergistic effects and interfacial interaction. However, developing a facile but effective approach to maximize interface effects is crucial but challenging. Herein, a bimetallic sulfide/carbon heterostructure is realized in a confined carbon network via a high-throughput template-assisted strategy to induce highly active and stable electrode architecture.

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In order to evaluate the feasibility of using sp. Y4 as a cadmium (Cd)-reducing bacterial agent in contaminated wheat fields, the changes in the rhizosphere soil microbial community and Cd available state, as well as the content and transport characteristics of Cd in the wheat root, basal node, internode, and grain under the treatment of strain Y4 were tested using microbial high-throughput sequencing, step-by-step extraction, subcellular distribution, and occurrence analyses. The results showed that root application of strain Y4 significantly reduced the root and grain Cd content of wheat by 7.

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Stem cells have self-renewal, replication, and multidirectional differentiation potential, while progenitor cells are undifferentiated, pluripotent or specialized stem cells. Stem/progenitor cells secrete various factors, such as cytokines, exosomes, non-coding RNAs, and proteins, and have a wide range of applications in regenerative medicine. However, therapies based on stem cells and their secreted exosomes present limitations, such as insufficient source materials, mature differentiation, and low transplantation success rates, and methods addressing these problems are urgently required.

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To investigate the effects of nano-copper oxide (CuO NPs) on plant growth, physio-biochemical characteristics, and heavy metal content under cadmium stress, a hydroponics experiment was conducted on the effects of single and combined treatments of CuO NPs (0, 10, 20, and 50 mg·L) and Cd (0, 1, and 5 μmol·L) on the fresh weight, photosynthetic pigment content, MDA content, antioxidant enzyme activity (CAT, POD, SOD, and GR), and Cu and Cd contents in L. The results showed that under the single addition of CuO NPs, the fresh weight and activities of CAT, POD, and GR were inhibited as a whole. Photosynthetic pigment content and SOD activity increased first and then decreased with the increase in CuO NPs concentration, whereas MDA content in leaves and roots, and Cu content in subcells of L.

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Article Synopsis
  • Heterogeneous peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) show great promise for degrading pollutants, but large-scale application has not yet been tested.
  • Researchers developed a simple method to produce Cu-Fe-Mn spinel oxide (CuFeMnO) catalysts, which enhance PMS-catalytic activity due to their unique structural properties.
  • The study highlights how different organic pollutants interact with the catalyst, leading to varying degradation mechanisms, and demonstrates the CuFeMnO-PMS system's effectiveness in treating wastewater from municipal plants.
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A field trial was conducted to identify the key factors affecting intraspecific variation in the cadmium (Cd) content in the grain of winter wheat. Three wheat cultivars with low Cd accumulation and two wheat cultivars with high Cd accumulation were planted. The Cd accumulation and transport and ionomic traits were examined in different organs of the tested wheat cultivars.

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Background: Group B Streptococcal (GBS) infection is the primary agent of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Rapid and simple methods to detect GBS are Xpert GBS and GBS LB assays based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, since the diagnostic accuracy of the two techniques in diagnosing GBS remains unclear, we designed this study to appraise the diagnostic accuracy of the aforementioned.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Enhancers are DNA elements that boost the transcription of genes in specific tissues, and their malfunction can lead to diseases like cancer; recent research highlights their role in regulating microRNAs (miRNAs) across various cancers, revealing complex interactions.
  • - A study identified 2,418 proximal and 1,280 distal enhancer-miRNA interactions across 31 types of cancer, showing a strong correlation between miRNA expression and the number of enhancers involved, along with distinct cancer-specific patterns at the tissue level.
  • - The analysis found significant differences between enhancers regulating miRNAs and those that do not, in terms of sequence conservation and histone modifications, with a case study linking an enhancer to thyroid cancer survival and gene expression affecting tumor
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Super elongation complex (SEC) is a positive regulator of RNA polymerase II, which is required for HIV-1 proviral transcription. AFF1/4 is the scaffold protein that recruits other components of SEC and forms dimer depending on its THD domain (TPRL with Handle Region Dimerization Domain). Here we report the crystal structure of the human AFF4-THD at the resolution of 2.

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Heterostructured metal-organic framework (MOF)-on-MOF thin films have the potential to cascade the various properties of different MOF layers in a sequence to produce functions that cannot be achieved by single MOF layers. An integration method that relies on van der Waals interactions, and which overcomes the lattice-matching limits of reported methods, has been developed. The method deposits molecular sieving Cu-TCPP (TCPP=5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin) layers onto semiconductive Cu-HHTP (HHTP=2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydrotriphenylene) layers to obtain highly oriented MOF-on-MOF thin films.

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Background: This study was trying to investigate the association of hot food and beverage consumption and the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Hotan, a northwest area of China with high risk of esophageal squmous cell carcinoma.

Methods: A population-based case-control study was designed. For the study, 167 patients diagnosed with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were selected from Hotan during 2014 to 2015, and 167 community-based controls were selected from the same area, matched with age and sex.

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In order to investigate heavy metals in phosphorus fertilizers in China, 159 samples of phosphorus fertilizers including imported fertilizers and domestic fertilizers were collected from fertilizer markets, and the contents of heavy metals were determined by ICP-MS and AFS after microwave digestion. The results showed that the phosphorous fertilizers contained certain amount of heavy metals, and there was great variability in the contents of heavy metals. The mean contents of Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, Ni, As and Hg were 0.

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A new practical and concise total synthesis of enantiopure camptothecin and SN-38 (14% overall yield, 99.9% ee and 99.9% purity) was described, starting from inexpensive and readily available materials.

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Objective: To study sedative effect and safety of dexmedetomidine and midazolam for post-operative patients undergoing mechanical ventilation(MV) in surgical intensive care unit(SICU).

Methods: Two hundred cases of post-operative patients undergoing MV with tracheal intubation in SICU were enrolled and divided into two groups by random numerical table method. They were treated either with midazolam (98 cases) or dexmedetomidine (102 cases).

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Background: Methionine aminopeptidase is a potential target of future antibacterial and anticancer drugs. Structural analysis of complexes of the enzyme with its inhibitors provides valuable information for structure-based drug design efforts.

Results: Five new X-ray structures of such enzyme-inhibitor complexes were obtained.

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Two divalent metal ions are commonly seen in the active-site cavity of methionine aminopeptidase, and at least one of the metal ions is directly involved in catalysis. Although ample structural and functional information is available for dimetalated enzyme, methionine aminopeptidase likely functions as a monometalated enzyme under physiological conditions. Information on structure, as well as catalysis and inhibition, of the monometalated enzyme is lacking.

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Objective: To explore the effect positions of the volatile anesthetic inhibiting the nociceptive reflex in the central nervous system.

Methods: Thirty adult SD rats were randomly and equally divided into two groups that the lip and hind paw of rats were held by clamp. The minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) was determined by clamping two places: one was to clamp the hind paw of rats, of which the nervous reflex is controlled via the spinal cord; the another group was to clamp the lip of rats, of which the nervous reflex is controlled through the brain stem.

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Objective: To investigate the effects, side-effects and security of bupivacaine, ropivacaine combined with fentanyl in postoperative continuous epidural analgesia.

Methods: A total of 1 600 postoperative continuous epidural analgesia patients receiving different agents in SICU were divided into two groups: 0.1% bupivacaine +5 microg/ml fentanyl group (group B, n = 920) and 0.

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Methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP) is a promising target for development of novel antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer agents. However, its physiologically relevant metal ion remains to be defined, and its inhibitors need to inhibit the in vivo metalloform. Based on the Mn(II)-form-selective inhibitors discovered by high throughput screening as leads, a series of analogs of 5-phenylfuran-2-carboxylic acid was prepared and subsequently evaluated on Co(II)-, Mn(II)-, Ni(II)-, and Fe(II)-forms of Escherichia coli MetAP, in order to define the structural elements responsible for their inhibitory potency and metalloform selectivity.

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Systematic SAR studies on the thiazole ring 5-substituent of TCAT derivatives revealed that the introduction of a beta-alkoxy or an amino group enhanced the inhibitory activity significantly. The present compounds are representative of specific Co(II)-MetAP1 inhibitors. Before the physiologically relevant metal ions for MetAPs are established, these small molecular compounds could be used as tools for detailed biological studies.

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A series of thiazole-4-carboxylic acid thiazol-2-ylamide (TCAT, 4) derivatives were designed and synthesized according to simple bioisosteric replacement from previously reported pyridine-2-carboxylic acid thiazol-2-ylamide (PCAT) MetAP inhibitors. The preliminary SAR studies demonstrated that these TCAT series of compounds showed different activity and selectivity compared with those of the corresponding PCAT compounds. These findings provide useful information for the design and discovery of more potent inhibitors of type I MetAPs.

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