Publications by authors named "WenMing Zhao"

When classifying breeds of dogs, the accuracy of classification significantly affects breed identification and dog research. Using images to classify dog breeds can improve classification efficiency; however, it is increasingly challenging due to the diversities and similarities among dog breeds. Traditional image classification methods primarily rely on extracting simple geometric features, while current convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are capable of learning high-level semantic features.

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Background: Prior efforts have revealed changes in gut microbiome, circulating metabolome, and multimodal neuroimaging features in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). However, there is a paucity of research integrating the multi-omic information to characterize the role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in CSVD.

Methods: We collected gut microbiome, fecal and blood metabolome, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data from 37 CSVD patients with white matter hyperintensities and 46 healthy controls.

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Gene-edited animals are crucial for addressing fundamental questions in biology and medicine and hold promise for practical applications. In light of the rapid advancement of gene editing technologies over the past decade, a dramatically increased number of gene-edited animals have been generated. Genome editing at off-target sites can, however, introduce genomic variations, potentially leading to unintended functional consequences in these animals.

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Background: Working memory (WM), a core component of executive functions, relies on a dedicated brain system that maintains and stores information in the short term. While extensive neuroimaging research has identified a distributed set of neural substrates relevant to WM, their underlying molecular mechanisms remain enigmatic. This study investigated the neural correlates of WM as well as their underlying molecular mechanisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study introduces HiRisk-Detector, a machine learning tool designed for the early detection of high-risk SARS-CoV-2 variants, which is crucial for preventing and controlling COVID-19 outbreaks.
  • - HiRisk-Detector analyzed over 7.6 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes, successfully identifying all 13 high-risk variants ahead of World Health Organization announcements by an average of 27 days.
  • - The tool remains effective even with reduced data input and has been validated for identifying risks in Omicron variant sub-lineages, showcasing its strong performance and potential for future public health emergencies.
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Background: Preoperative risk stratification is significant for the management of endometrial cancer (EC) patients. Radiomics based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in combination with clinical features may be useful to predict the risk grade of EC.

Aim: To construct machine learning models to predict preoperative risk stratification of patients with EC based on radiomics features extracted from MRI.

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Unlabelled: In medical image retrieval, accurately retrieving relevant images significantly impacts clinical decision making and diagnostics. Traditional image-retrieval systems primarily rely on single-dimensional image data, while current deep-hashing methods are capable of learning complex feature representations. However, retrieval accuracy and efficiency are hindered by diverse modalities and limited sample sizes.

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Given the malignancy of gastric cancer, developing highly effective and low-toxic targeted drugs is essential to prolong patient survival and improve patient outcomes. In this study, we conducted structural optimizations based on the benzimidazole scaffold. Notably, compound 8 f presented the most potent antiproliferative activity in MGC803 cells and induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase.

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The rapid advancement of sequencing technologies poses challenges in managing the large volume and exponential growth of sequence data efficiently and on time. To address this issue, we present GenBase (https://ngdc.cncb.

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To analyze the characteristics of as well as macrolide antibiotic resistance through whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics. Thirteen clinical strains isolated from 2003 to 2019 were selected, 10 of which were resistant to erythromycin (MIC >64 µg/mL), including 8 P1-type I and 2 P1-type II. Three were sensitive (<1 µg/mL) and P1-type II.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mammalian AIM-2-like receptor (ALR) proteins are critical for the immune response, as they bind to nucleic acids and trigger the production of interferons or inflammasomes.
  • The ALR gene region in mice is highly variable and undergoes rapid evolution, with the IFI207 gene emerging through gene conversion or recombination events and varying significantly among species.
  • IFI207 enhances the immune response against murine leukemia virus infection and stabilizes STING protein, illustrating the ongoing evolution between hosts and pathogens, which leads to new gene functions that play vital roles in immunity.
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The analysis of the genetic diversity and historical dynamics of endemic endangered goose breeds structure has attracted great interest. Although various aspects of the goose breed structure have been elucidated, there is still insufficient research on the genetic basis of endemic endangered Chinese goose breeds. In this study, we collected blood samples from Lingxiang White (LX), Yan (YE), Yangjiang (YJ), Wuzong (WZ), Xupu (XP), and Baizi (BZ) geese () and used Sanger sequencing to determine the partial sequence of the cytochrome b () gene in a total of 180 geese.

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Unlabelled: Genomic data serve as an invaluable resource for unraveling the intricacies of the higher plant systems, including the constituent elements within and among species. Through various efforts in genomic data archiving, integrative analysis and value-added curation, the National Genomics Data Center (NGDC), which is a part of the China National Center for Bioinformation (CNCB), has successfully established and currently maintains a vast amount of database resources. This dedicated initiative of the NGDC facilitates a data-rich ecosystem that greatly strengthens and supports genomic research efforts.

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Background: The hippocampus consists of histologically and functionally distinct subfields, which shows differential vulnerabilities to Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated pathological changes.

Objective: To investigate the atrophy patterns of the main hippocampal subfields in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD and the relationships among the hippocampal subfield volumes, plasma biomarkers and cognitive performance.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 119 patients stratified into three categories: normal cognition (CN; N = 40), MCI (N = 39), and AD (N = 40).

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Background: Growing evidence points to the pivotal role of vitamin D in the pathophysiology and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there is a paucity of longitudinal research investigating the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the brain of MDD patients.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial in 46 MDD patients, who were randomly allocated into either VD (antidepressant medication + vitamin D supplementation) or NVD (antidepressant medication + placebos) groups.

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Background: Sleep disturbance is one of the most frequent somatic symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD), but the neural mechanisms behind it are not well understood. Sleep efficiency (SE) is a good indicator of early awakening and difficulty falling asleep in MDD patients. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep efficiency and brain function in MDD patients.

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Accurate gender identification is crucial for the study of bird reproduction and evolution. The current study aimed to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of a noninvasive method for gender identification in Yangzhou geese. In this experiment, 600 goose eggs were collected.

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A floor egg is an egg that is not laid in the nest, which is a prevalent issue in many fowl breeder farms, lowering egg collection efficiency, hatching performance, and economic benefits. Although the pattern and influencing factors of floor laying have been extensively reported in chickens and ducks, it is not clear in geese. Herein, the Yangzhou goose breeders were selected, and the time and location preferences, genetic and environmental influences, and physiological indexes in floor laying were investigated.

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Retroviral reverse transcription starts within the capsid and uncoating and reverse transcription are mutually dependent. There is still debate regarding the timing and cellular location of HIV's uncoating and reverse transcription and whether it occurs solely in the cytoplasm, nucleus or both. HIV can infect non-dividing cells because there is active transport of the preintegration complex (PIC) across the nuclear membrane, but Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV) is thought to depend on cell division for replication and whether MLV uncoating and reverse transcription is solely cytoplasmic has not been studied.

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Intestinal microorganisms are closely related to the health, development, and production performance of animals and can also provide basic information for us to fully understand and explore the germplasm characteristics and traits of local chicken breeds. In this experiment, we used five local Chinese chicken breeds as research materials; metagenomic sequencing technology was used to explore the differences in the composition of intestinal microorganisms in different breeds, and it was found that each local chicken breed had unique unigenes, of which Silkies had the most, with a total of 12,948. GO and KEGG analyses found that the biological processes most enriched by differential functional genes include genetic coding, macromolecular transport, protein synthesis, and molecular functions such as glycoprotein binding, protein hydrolysis, etc.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how the age of geese affects the quality and lipid composition of their meat, revealing that older geese (300 days) have chewier meat and higher intramuscular fat (IMF) levels.
  • - Using advanced techniques like liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, researchers identified 849 lipids in the pectoralis muscle, finding significant changes in 107 lipids, particularly glycerides, which are crucial for IMF deposition.
  • - The analysis highlights the importance of glycerophospholipid and glyceride metabolism pathways in transforming lipid profiles as geese grow, with unsaturated fatty acids increasing the nutritional value of the meat.
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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous syndrome, and understanding its neural mechanisms is crucial for the advancement of personalized medicine. However, conventional subtyping studies often categorize MDD patients into a single subgroup, neglecting the continuous interindividual variations. This implies a pressing need for a dimensional approach.

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Semen delivery practice is crucial to the efficiency of artificial insemination using high-quality boar sperm. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of a common semen delivery method, a Styrofoam box, under elevated temperatures on boar sperm quality and functionality and to investigate the underlying molecular responses of sperm to the temperature rise. Three pooled semen samples from 10 Duroc boars (3 ejaculates per boar) were used in this study.

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Biomarkers play an important role in various area such as personalized medicine, drug development, clinical care, and molecule breeding. However, existing animals' biomarker resources predominantly focus on human diseases, leaving a significant gap in non-human animal disease understanding and breeding research. To address this limitation, we present BioKA (Biomarker Knowledgebase for Animals, https://ngdc.

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