Publications by authors named "XueMei Zhou"

The exogenous bacterial infection and formation of biofilm on the surface of titanium implants can affect the adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of cells associated with osteogenesis, ultimately leading to surgical failure. This study focuses on two critical stages for biofilm formation: i) bacterial adhesion and aggregation, ii) growth and proliferation. The titanium with well-organized titania nanotube arrays is first modified by nitrogen dopants, then loaded with CuFeSe nanoparticles to form a p-n heterojunction.

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Long-term exposure to a microgravity environment leads to structural and functional changes in hearts of astronauts. Although several studies have reported mechanisms of cardiac damage under microgravity conditions, comprehensive research on changes at the protein level in these hearts is still lacking. In this study, proteomic analysis of microgravity-exposed hearts identified 156 differentially expressed proteins, and ubiquitinomic analysis of these hearts identified 169 proteins with differential ubiquitination modifications.

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Six new prenylated flavonoids, named visconaeas A-F (1-6), and eleven known isopentenyl flavonoids (7-17) were isolated from Dodonaea viscosa (L.) Jacq. The structures of the separated compounds were determined through comprehensive spectral analysis and quantum chemical calculations.

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Research into the pulmonary function of patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) is limited, with existing studies presenting conflicting results. We carried out a retrospective study involving 140 patients with TDT. The mean patient age was 8.

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Accurate and reliable detection of uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) activity is crucial for clinical diagnosis and prognosis assessment. However, current techniques for accurately monitoring UDG activity still face significant challenges due to the single input or output signal modes. Here, we develop a sequentially activated-dumbbell DNA nanodevice (SEAD) that enables precise and reliable evaluation of UDG activity through primer exchange reactions (PER)-based orthogonal signal output.

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Epilepsy is a common neurological condition characterized by abnormal neuronal activity, often leading to cellular damage and death. There is evidence to suggest that lipid imbalances resulting in cellular death play a key role in the development of epilepsy, including changes in triglycerides, cholesterol, sphingolipids, phospholipids, lipid droplets, and bile acids (BAs). Disrupted lipid metabolism acts as a crucial pathological mechanism in epilepsy, potentially linked to processes such as cellular ferroptosis, lipophagy, and immune modulation of gut microbiota (thus influencing the gut-brain axis).

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Intestine derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is closely related to systemic inflammation and disorders, yet little is known about its roles in the weanling stress of piglets and its potential as a nutritional intervention target. This study aimed to investigate the potential of essential oils (EO) and organic acids (OA) in mitigating weaning stress in piglets by modulating the circulation of intestine derived LPS. Seventy-two weaned piglets at 21 d old with body weight of 8.

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In intensive care unit (ICU) patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (MV), the occurrence of difficult weaning contributes to increased ventilator-related complications, prolonged hospitalization duration, and a significant rise in healthcare costs. Therefore, early identification of influencing factors and prediction of patients at risk of difficult weaning can facilitate early intervention and preventive measures. This study aimed to strengthen airway management for ICU patients by constructing a risk prediction model with comprehensive and individualized offline programs based on machine learning techniques.

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As one of the most serious microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetic retinopathy (DR) can cause visual impairment and even blindness. With the rapid increase in the prevalence of DM, the incidence of DR is also rising year by year. Preventing and effectively treating DR has become a major focus in the medical field.

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Precise and reliable monitoring of DNA adenine methyltransferase (Dam) activity is essential for disease diagnosis and biological analysis. However, existing techniques for detecting Dam activity often rely on specific DNA recognition probes that are susceptible to DNA degradation and exhibit limited target sensitivity and specificity. In this study, we designed and engineered a stable and dynamic DNA nanodevice called the ouble-lop interlcked DNA cicuit (DOOR) that enables the sensitive and selective monitoring of Dam activity in complex biological environments.

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Background: Although previous clinical studies and animal experiments have demonstrated the efficacy of Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD) in treating Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), the underlying mechanisms of its therapeutic effects remain elusive.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the shared pathogenic mechanisms between T2DM and UC and elucidate the mechanisms through which GQD modulates these diseases using bioinformatics approaches.

Methods: Data for this study were sourced from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.

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Traditional DNA walkers face enormous challenges due to limited biostability and reaction kinetics. Herein, we designed a self-driven close-looped DNAzyme walker (cl-DW) with high structural biostability and catalytic activity that enabled rapid electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection of pesticide residue acetamiprid. Specifically, cl-DW exhibited increasing ability to resist nuclease degradation with a 570-fold longer half-degradation time than that of the single-stranded DNAzyme walker (ss-DW) due to the protected DNA terminal.

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Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), as a vital base excision repair enzyme, is essential for maintaining genomic integrity and stability, and its abnormal expression is closely associated with malignant tumors. Herein, we constructed an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor for detecting APE1 activity by combining nanoconfined ECL silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) with X-shaped DNA recognizer-triggered cascade amplification. Specifically, the Ag NCs were prepared and confined in the glutaraldehyde-cross-linked chitosan hydrogel network using the one-pot method, resulting in a strong ECL response and exceptional stability in comparison with discrete Ag NCs.

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Ultrafine iridium particles anchored on nitrogen-doped CNTs were obtained from Ir(ppy) and CNTs using a simple annealing method and acted as highly efficient bifunctional oxygen catalysts for Zn-air batteries. A synergistic effect, efficient *OH adsorption and rapid *OOH deprotonation were demonstrated from FTIR spectroscopy, EIS and activation energy measurements.

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Intranasal vaccines, eliciting mucosal immune responses, can prevent early invasion, replication, and transmission of pathogens in the respiratory tract. However, the effective delivery of antigens through the nasal barrier and boosting of a robust systematic and mucosal immune remain challenges in intranasal vaccine development. Here, we describe an intranasally administered self-healing hydrogel vaccine with a reversible strain-dependent sol-gel transition by precisely modulating the self-assembly processes between the natural drug rhein and aluminum ions.

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Background: Cancer threat is relevant to age, and the threat of a foreshortened life coupled with a lengthy treatment process negatively affects middle-aged and older adults. Understanding the coping throughout the cancer experience in middle-aged and older cancer survivors will help develop supportive care to promote their physiological and psychological coping effects.

Objectives: To explore the cancer coping experiences of middle-aged adults aged 40-59 and older adults over 60.

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Background: In the past decades, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been a major threat to global public health. Long-term, chronic otitis media is becoming more challenging to treat, thus the novel antibiotic alternative agents are much needed.

Methods: ZnO@TiO@AMP (ATZ NPs) were synthesized through a solvothermal method and subjected to comprehensive characterization.

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Upcycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste by photoreforming (PR) is a sustainable and green approach to tackle environmental problems but with challenges to obtain valuable oxidation products and high purity hydrogen simultaneously. Noble metal cocatalysts are essential to enhance the overall PR reaction efficacy. In this work, TiO nanotubes (TiO NTs) decorated with single Pt atoms (Pt/TiO) or Pt nanoparticles (Pt/TiO) are used in the photoreforming reaction (in one batch), and the oxidation products from ethylene glycol (EG, hydrolysed product of PET) in liquid phase and hydrogen are detected.

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Objective: Exploring the mechanism of ferroptosis as a potential avenue for investigating the pathogenesis and therapeutic outlook of diabetes mellitus and its complications has emerged as a focal point within recent years. Herein, we employ a bibliometric approach to delineate the current landscape of ferroptosis research in the context of diabetes mellitus. Our objective is to furnish insights and scholarly references conducive to the advancement of comprehensive investigations and innovations in related domains.

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Antibacterial properties and osteogenic activity are considered as two crucial factors for the initial healing and long-term survivability of orthopedic implants. For decades, various drug-loaded implants to enhance biological activities have been investigated extensively. More importantly, to control the drug release timing is equally significant due to the sequential biological processes after implantation.

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Wearable heaters with multifunctional performances are urgently required for the future personal health management. However, it is still challengeable to fabricate multifunctional wearable heaters simultaneously with flexibility, air-permeability, Joule heating performance, electromagnetic shielding property, and anti-bacterial ability. Herein, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)@MXene heterostructure-decorated graphite felts are fabricated by introducing MXene nanosheets onto the graphite felts via a simple dip-coating method and followed by a facile in situ growth approach to grow AgNPs on MXene layers.

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This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a complex comprising formic acid, benzoic acid, and essential oils (AO3) on the growth performance of weaned piglets and explore the underlying mechanism. Dietary AO3 supplementation significantly enhanced the average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI), while decreasing the feed conversion rate (FCR) and diarrhea rate ( < 0.05).

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The electrocatalytic conversion of nitrate (NO ) to NH (NORR) at ambient conditions offers a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. The pivotal factors in optimizing the proficient conversion of NO into NH include enhancing the adsorption capabilities of the intermediates on the catalyst surface and expediting the hydrogenation steps. Herein, the Cu/CuO/Pi NWs catalyst is designed based on the directed-evolution strategy to achieve an efficient reduction of NO‾.

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Biofilms on public devices and medical instruments are harmful. Hence, it is of great importance to fabricate antibacterial surfaces. In this work, we target the preparation of an antibacterial surface excited by near-infrared light the coating of rare earth nanoparticles (RE NPs) on a titanium surface.

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