Publications by authors named "Xiaodong Gao"

Rainwater harvesting is a viable solution for providing clean water in regions where conventional water sources are scarce or contaminated. However, the harvested rainwater often contains microorganisms, suspended particles, and other impurities that must be removed before consumption. Gravity-driven ceramic membranes (GDCMs) are an efficient choice for purifying harvested rainwater due to their energy-saving properties.

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Kidney injury from high-altitude polycythemia (HAPC) is common, yet few studies have explored effective treatments. This research assessed the renal benefits of therapeutic erythrocytapheresis (TE) in HAPC patients, analyzing the efficacy of single versus multiple treatments. From 2017 to 2023, 631 patients undergoing TE were included.

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Glycoconjugates, including glycans on proteins and lipids, have obtained significant attention due to their critical roles in both intracellular and intercellular biological functions and processes. Notably, recent discoveries have revealed the presence of glycosylated RNAs (glycoRNAs) on cell surfaces. Despite the well-characterized roles of RNA modifications, RNA glycosylation remains relatively unexplored.

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Plastic film mulching is an important agricultural practice, but its release of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) poses threats to soil and human health. However, the migration patterns of PAEs during the lifecycle of mulch plastic film (MPF) remain unclear. This study aims to explore the temporal patterns of release of PAEs during the MPF's lifecycle and evaluate the migration patterns of PAEs from MPF in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) system through pot experiments and model simulations.

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Article Synopsis
  • - N-Glycosylation is a key process in modifying proteins, playing a major role in the function of cell surfaces and secreted proteins in humans, influenced by the complexity of N-glycan branches.
  • - The study focuses on enhancing the expression of human N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-IVa (HsGnT-IVa) in E. coli by creating a shorter, more soluble version of the enzyme, which significantly increased its production levels.
  • - Characterization of the enzyme showed it has optimal activity at 37 °C with specific conditions and activators, providing a method for producing bioactive HsGnT-IVa for further research on complex N-glycans.
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The common pochard (Aythya ferina) is a freshwater diving duck found in the Palearctic region that has been classified as vulnerable by the IUCN due to continuous and rapid population declines across their distribution. To gain a better understanding of its genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution, we successfully sequenced and assembled the first high-quality chromosome-level genome of A. ferina using Illumina, Nanopore and Hi-C sequencing technologies.

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In this study, we employed high-throughput metagenomic data to assemble the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the European greenfinch (; Linnaeus 1758). The circular mitogenome was 16,813 base pairs (bp) in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 1 control region. The base composition of the mitogenome is 30.

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Endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidases (ENGases) are pivotal enzymes in the degradation and remodeling of glycoproteins, which catalyze the cleavage or formation of β-1,4-glycosidic bond between two N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues in N-linked glycan chains. It was investigated that targeted mutations of amino acids in ENGases active site may modulate their hydrolytic and transglycosylation activities. Endo-Tb, the ENGase derived from Trypanosoma brucei, belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 85 (GH85).

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Several studies have investigated the gut bacterial composition of wild ungulates in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. However, the relationship between their gut microbiome dendrograms and their phylogenetic tree remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed 45 amplicons (V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene) from five wild ungulates-, , , , and -from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau to clarify the relationship between their phylogenies and gut microbiome dendrograms.

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In this study, we employed high-throughput sequencing data to assemble the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the White-tufted Sunbeam (). The total length of the mitogenome was found to be 16,872 base pairs (bp), containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 1 control region. The nucleotide composition was as follows: A 30.

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Article Synopsis
  • * In studies using cells lacking the MOGS gene (encoding an enzyme important for glycan processing) and components of the CANX/CALR cycle, significant changes were observed in protein expression and glycosylation patterns, particularly affecting oligomannosidic -glycans.
  • * The research revealed that lysosomal hydrolases in the defective cells were poorly modified and improperly secreted, highlighting the important role of the CANX/CALR cycle in
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Mitochondrial membranes define distinct structural and functional compartments. Cristae of the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) function as independent bioenergetic units that undergo rapid and transient remodelling, but the significance of this compartmentalized organization is unknown. Using super-resolution microscopy, here we show that cytosolic IMM vesicles, devoid of outer mitochondrial membrane or mitochondrial matrix, are formed during resting state.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent and bioaccumulative pollutants that can easily accumulate in soil, posing a threat to environment and human health. Current PFAS degradation processes often suffer from low efficiency, high energy and water consumption, or lack of generality. Here, we develop a rapid electrothermal mineralization (REM) process to remediate PFAS-contaminated soil.

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Multifrequency atomic force microscopy (AFM) utilizes the multimode operation of cantilevers to achieve rapid high-resolution imaging and extract multiple properties. However, the higher-order modal response of traditional rectangular cantilever is weaker in air, which affects the sensitivity of multifrequency AFM detection. To address this issue, we previously proposed a bridge/cantilever coupled system model to enhance the higher-order modal response of the cantilever.

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Protein folding and quality control processes primarily occur in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER-resident molecular chaperones play a crucial role in guiding nascent polypeptides towards their correct tertiary structures. Some of these chaperones specifically recognize glucosylated -glycan moieties on peptide.

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Article Synopsis
  • Eukaryotic N-linked glycans are formed on a lipid carrier in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), starting with the assembly of a fourteen-sugar oligosaccharide on dolichol pyrophosphate.
  • The process includes the addition of seven sugars to dolichol, resulting in an intermediate called Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol, which is then transported into the ER lumen.
  • Research identified the protein Rft1 as essential for this transportation, and new experiments confirm that Rft1 directly facilitates the translocation of Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol across the lipid bilayer, resolving a long-standing debate about its role.
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  • Cytotoxicity assays are important for testing how effective drugs are at killing cancer cells and understanding their therapeutic value, especially regarding drug concentration effects.
  • This study introduces a novel cytotoxicity assay utilizing microwave sensors to count live cells, offering a new method distinct from traditional fluorescent labeling techniques.
  • The results show that the new microwave biosensor method produced inhibition curves similar to established CCK-8 methods, indicating its effectiveness in measuring the impact of drug concentrations on cell growth inhibition.
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  • The study examines the evolutionary divergence between Galliformes (landfowl) and Anseriformes (waterfowl), which began around 79.62 million years ago, leading to distinct evolutionary trends in their mitochondrial genomes.* -
  • Complete mitogenome sequences were assembled for two Anseriformes species, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed for 142 Galloanseres species to analyze evolutionary patterns and divergence times.* -
  • The findings indicate that Galloanseres species mainly experience purifying selection on their mitochondrial protein-coding genes, with variations in evolutionary rates, highlighting the impact of energy requirements on their evolutionary paths.*
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Background: As a culture-independent method, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is widely used in microbiological diagnosis with advantages in identifying potential pathogens, guiding antibiotic therapy, and improving clinical prognosis, especially in culture-negative cases. () mediastinitis is a rare and severe disease for which etiological diagnosis is important but challenging. The application of mNGS in the etiological diagnosis of mediastinitis has seldom been studied.

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Background: A rapid and precise etiological diagnosis is crucial for the effective treatment of bloodstream infection (BSI). In this study, the performance of probe capture-based targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) was compared to that of blood culture and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in detecting potential pathogens in patients with BSI.

Methods: A total of 80 patients with suspected BSI were prospectively enrolled from 24 November 2023 to 30 December 2023 at Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, China.

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  • Different quantities of white blood cells (WBCs) have similar dielectric properties, making it challenging for traditional microwave sensors to detect their concentration changes in solution.
  • This paper introduces a sensitive microwave biosensor that utilizes evaporation to count WBCs by measuring changes in dielectric properties as the cell solution evaporates on a chip.
  • The biosensor, designed with an air-bridged inductor and capacitor on a GaAs substrate, shows high sensitivity (25.06 Hz/cells·mL) and a linear response, effectively measuring WBC concentrations between 0.25 × 10 and 8 × 10 cells per mL under monitored temperature and humidity conditions.
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Compressive sensing (CS) can reconstruct the rest information almost without distortion by advanced computational algorithm, which significantly simplifies the process of atomic force microscope (AFM) scanning with high imaging quality. In common CS-AFM, the partial measurements randomly come from the whole region to be measured, which easily leads to detail loss and poor image quality in regions of interest (ROIs). Consequently, important microscopic phenomena are missed probably.

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The synergy between bacteria and fungi is a key determinant of soil health and have a positive effect on plant development under drought conditions, with the potentially enhancing the sustainability of amending soil with natural materials. However, identifying how soil amendments influence plant growth is often difficult due to the complexity of microorganisms and their links with different soil amendment types and environmental factors. To address this, we conducted a field experiment to examine the impact of soil amendments (biochar, Bacillus mucilaginosus, Bacillus subtilis and super absorbent polymer) on plant growth.

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  • Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a blood marker used to detect ovarian cancer, but its levels can also rise due to non-cancerous conditions, making diagnosis tricky.
  • Researchers engineered cells to express CA125 that carries the Tn antigen, hoping to improve the accuracy of ovarian cancer diagnosis.
  • They achieved this by knocking out specific genes in kidney cells to increase Tn antigen levels, using a system to anchor CA125 to the cell surface, and ultimately converting it to a form that can be secreted for better detection.
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