Publications by authors named "RB Zhang"

Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers collected 147 fungal isolates from the diseased trees and identified them as eight different species, highlighting the complex nature of the pathogens involved.
  • * Pathogenicity tests indicated that certain combinations of these fungal species caused larger stem lesions in young seedlings, confirming that the decline of the redwoods is due to a disease complex.
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  • - Nucleic acid aptamers have unique advantages for specific recognition but lack thorough investigation of their dynamic recognition mechanisms, hindering their design and applications in biosensing and targeted therapy.
  • - This study used enhanced sampling molecular dynamics to explore how adenosine monophosphate (AMP) interacts with dual binding sites in DNA aptamers, revealing that different chemical environments contribute to AMP's stability at one site over the other.
  • - The findings show that when two AMPs bind simultaneously, their binding energy increases, particularly due to additional hydrogen bonding and strong electrostatic interactions with sodium ions, which play a key role in cooperative binding.
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  • Endophytes play a crucial role in plant-insect interactions, yet their specific contributions to managing Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestations are not well understood.
  • Utilizing advanced genetic analysis methods, the study compares the endophytic fungi and bacteria in the phloem of EAB-infested and healthy samples, revealing significant shifts in community structure and diversity due to infestation.
  • The results indicate that while fungal diversity declines and shifts significantly, bacterial abundance increases without diversity change, highlighting complex interactions that could inform better pest control strategies.
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Confined in a cylindrical pore with homeotropic anchoring condition, the hexagonal columnar phase of discotic liquid crystals can form a "log-pile" configuration, in which the columns are perpendicular to the long axis of the pore. However, the {100} planes of the hexagonal lattice can orient either parallel (termed (100) orientation) or perpendicular ((100)) to pore axis. Here we experimentally show that the (100) orientation is found in narrower cylindrical pores, and the (100)-(100) transition can be controlled by engineering the structure of the molecules.

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is the dominant tree species in Ili River Basin located in the western Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang. We investigated the growth decline characteristics of at different altitudes (1800, 2300 and 2800 m) based on tree-ring index (TRI) and percentage growth change (GC), aiming to understand the growth response of to drought events at different altitudes and the impacts of altitude on tree growth decline in this region. The results showed that experienced multiple decline events at low-altitude (1800 m).

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Background: Solasonine has been demonstrated to exert an inhibitory effect on bladder cancer (BC), but the potential mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the association between microRNAs (miRNAs)-mediated regulation and the anti-tumor activities of solasonine in BC.

Methods: MiRNA sequencing was performed to identify the differentially expressed microRNAs (DE-miRNAs) associated with solasonine in BC cells.

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Objectives: To investigate the incidence rate, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen, China.

Methods: Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital, the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022. The incidence, clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.

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Background: Despite advancements in chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, the recurrence and chemoresistance of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) remain a significant challenge, thus indicating the need for novel therapeutic targets.

Research Design And Methods: The protein levels of YAP1, p-YAP1, TAZ, and Cyr61 of cALL patients and healthy volunteers were measured by western blot analysis. Then the leukemic cell line SUP-B15 was transfected with sh-YAP1 and pcDNA3.

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Depression is a prevalent mental disorder. However, clinical treatment options primarily based on chemical drugs have demonstrated varying degrees of adverse reactions and drug resistance, including somnolence, nausea, and cognitive impairment. Therefore, the development of novel antidepressant medications that effectively reduce suffering and side effects has become a prominent area of research.

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Objective: This study analyzed the relationship between bone marrow microvessel density (MVD) and the expression of four miRNAs with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) resistance after tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment.

Methods: 234 CML patients were divided into resistance and non-resistance groups in terms of the results of the 5-year follow-up. Patients were divided into the Optimum response group and the Warning/Failure group based on TKI response.

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Macrophages are heterogenic phagocytic cells that play distinct roles in physiological and pathological processes. Targeting different types of macrophages has shown potent therapeutic effects in many diseases. Although many approaches are developed to target anti-inflammatory macrophages, there are few researches on targeting pro-inflammatory macrophages, which is partially attributed to their non-s pecificity phagocytosis of extracellular substances.

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  • The study investigates the histopathological changes associated with glandular atrophy in the gastric mucosa, focusing on its occurrence and progression in patients.
  • Detailed observations were made through histological and immunohistochemical studies on biopsy specimens from 896 patients, utilizing various antibodies to analyze tissue samples.
  • Findings indicate that initial atrophy results in structural changes and increased mesenchyme, particularly affecting older patients; prolonged irritation can lead to abnormal cell growth, potentially progressing to gastric adenocarcinoma.
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Background: We aimed to use transcriptomics, bioinformatics analysis, and core gene validation to identify the core gene and potential mechanisms for electroacupuncture (EA) treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC).

Materials And Methods: EA was performed in mice after induction of UC dextran sodium sulfate. Body weight, disease activity index (DAI), colon length, and hematoxylin-eosin of the colon tissue were used to evaluate the effects of EA.

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The aim of this study was to elucidate the key targets of acupuncture in the colon of ulcerative colitis (UC) mice model using full-length transcriptome sequencing. 2.5% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mice were treated with or without acupuncture.

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Objectives: To explore the key genes involved in the occurrence and development of glioblastoma (GBM) by analyzing whole-transcriptome sequencing and biologic data from GBM and normal cerebral cortex tissues and to search for important noncoding RNA (ncRNA) molecular markers based on the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network.

Methods: Ten GBM and normal cerebral cortex tissues were collected for full transcriptome sequencing, screened for differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, and subjected to bioinformatic analysis. We constructed a Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network and a circRNA/lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network and identified them using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

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Objective: To observe the protective effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the intestinal mucosal barrier and its relationship with the Notch/NF-κB signaling pathway in mice with ulcerative colitis (UC), so as to explore its mechanism of treating UC.

Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were randomized into control, model and EA groups, with 6 mice in each group. The UC model was established by giving the mice with 2% Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS) for 7 days.

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Objective:  To discover the mechanism of the sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)-mediated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway in the protection against necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in neonatal mice.

Materials And Methods:  Neonatal mice were treated with EX527 (an inhibitor of SIRT1) and/or pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC, an inhibitor of NF-κB). The survival rate of the mice was recorded.

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  • The study examined how 5S-Tg (Tg, Thymine glycol) epimers affect DNA structure using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and Markov State Models (MSMs).
  • The findings indicate that while 5S,6S-Tg has minimal impact on DNA helix stability, the base-flipping barrier for Tg is slightly lower than that for normal thymine.
  • Different hydrogen bond configurations were identified for the 5S,6R-Tg adenine pairing, leading to varied energy conformations and signaling potentially distinct mechanisms for DNA repair.
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Background: Cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity severely limits its clinical application as an antitumor drug and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Icariin (ICA), the main flavonoid isolated from Epimedii Folium, has been demonstrated to have various beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease. However, the protective effect of ICA against cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity remains unclear.

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Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W. C. Cheng (Taxodiaceae), commonly called the Chinese redwood or dawn redwood, is a well-known "living fossil" and rare relict plant species endemic to China, which has been successfully cultivated throughout the world (Ma 2007).

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Helical structures continue to inspire, prompted by examples such as DNA double-helix and alpha-helix in proteins. Most synthetic polymers also crystallize as helices, which relieves steric clashes by twisting, while keeping the molecules straight for their ordered packing. In columnar liquid crystals, which often display useful optoelectronic properties, overall helical chirality can be induced by inclusion of chiral chemical groups or dopants; these bias molecular twist to either left or right, analogous to a magnetic field aligning the spins in a paramagnet.

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Damaged or mismatched DNA bases are normally thought to be able to flip out of the helical stack, providing enzymes with access to the faulty genetic information otherwise hidden inside the helix. Thymine glycol (Tg) is one of the most common products of nucleic acid damage. However, the static and dynamic structures of DNA duplexes affected by 5R-Tg epimers are still not clearly understood, including the ability of these to undergo spontaneous base flipping.

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