Publications by authors named "Ya-Ru Zhao"

Oncolytic vaccinia virus (VVs) based immunotherapy is a rapidly developing treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery achieve good effects in early-stage GI cancers, but effects are limited in advanced disease. Immunotherapy has limited efficacy in GI cancers due to tumor heterogeneity and complex immunosuppressive mechanisms.

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  • Soil microorganisms serve as a crucial link between aboveground ecosystems and belowground processes, significantly influencing ecological interactions in mountain ecosystems.
  • In a study conducted in the Helan Mountains, researchers assessed soil characteristics and microbial communities at various altitudes, revealing that microbial biomass peaked at mid-altitudes before declining and highlighting different growth patterns of bacterial and fungal groups.
  • Analysis indicated that vegetation and soil properties accounted for nearly all variations in the microbial community, with factors like soil organic carbon, water content, and total nitrogen being key influencers of microbial distribution across altitudes.
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The sulfur adsorption on gold surface is a hot topic in catalysis, electrochemistry and chemical sensors. However, the multiple structures of adsorbed sulfur and sulfur-induced reconstruction in gold substrate topography are still open problems until now. Here we performed an extensively study on sulfur adsorption on Au(111) surface based on First-Principles calculation.

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The edge structure of two-dimensional (2D) materials plays a critical role in controlling their growth kinetics and morphological evolution, electronic structures and functionalities. However, until now, the accurate edge reconstruction of ZnO nanoribbons remains absent. Here, we present results of a global search of ZnO edge structures having used the CALYPSO program combined with the density functional theory (DFT) method.

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The controllable preparation of ligand-protected clusters is still an unresolved problem, which may be due to that their formation mechanism is unclear. We propose that the ligand is the key to solve the above problems. Here, by using -, -, and -methylbenzenethiol ligand protected gold clusters as examples, we try to explore the effect of ligand structures on ligand-protected gold clusters.

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  • Researchers identified the roles of Methoprene-tolerant (Met) and Krüppel-homolog 1 (Kr-h1) in reproductive processes of the insect Liposcelis entomophila, focusing on vitellogenesis and ovarian development.
  • Treatment with juvenile hormone (JH III) increased the levels of key proteins involved in reproduction, while silencing Met and Kr-h1 reduced these proteins, affecting egg production and lowering fertility.
  • Additionally, disrupting these genes caused higher mortality rates in the insect, suggesting that targeting JH signaling could be a viable pest control method.
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  • The study investigates the elastic properties and thermodynamics of a newly synthesized material called -CN under high temperature and pressure using first-principles calculations.
  • The findings confirm agreement with previous experimental and theoretical data, showing notable elastic anisotropy in -CN, with varying stiffness along different crystal orientations.
  • Key thermal properties such as Debye temperature, heat capacity, and thermal expansion were also analyzed within the pressure range of 0-90 GPa and temperature up to 1600 K.
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Objective: To examine serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to explore the relationship between vitamin D level and ADHD.

Methods: Ninety-seven children with ADHD who were diagnosed according to DSM-V were selected as the ADHD group, including 46 cases of ADHD-I, 10 cases of ADHD-HI, and 41 cases of ADHD-C. Ninety-seven healthy children served as the control group.

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Speech sound disorder is the most common communication disorder. Some investigations support the possibility that the CNTNAP2 gene might be involved in the pathogenesis of speech-related diseases. To investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the CNTNAP2 gene, 300 unrelated speech sound disorder patients and 200 normal controls were included in the study.

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Adsorption of deuterium on the neutral and anionic Aln(λ) (n=1-9, 13; λ=0, -1) clusters has been investigated systematically using density functional theory. The comparisons between the Franck-Condon factor simulated spectra and the measured photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) of Cui and co-workers help to search for the ground-state structures. The results showed that D2 molecule tends to be dissociated on aluminum clusters and forms the radial AlD bond with one aluminum atom.

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Objective: A large proportion of preschoolers have been left behind due to parental migration in rural China. We conducted a preliminary cross-sectional survey to investigate the mental health of these left-behind preschool-aged children (LBPC) and associated risk factors.

Methods: A total of 750 LBPC, comprising 217 and 433 children left behind as a result of migration of either or both parents, respectively, and 100 controls were enrolled from two counties in Anhui province, China.

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In order to explore new magnetic superhalogens, we have systematically investigated the structures, electrophilic properties, stabilities, magnetic properties, and fragmentation channels of neutral and anionic Fe(m)F(n) (m = 1, 2; n = 1-7) clusters using density functional theory. Our results show that a maximum of six F atoms can be bound atomically to one Fe atom, and the Fe-Fe bonding is not preferred in Fe2F(n)(0/-) clusters. The computed electron affinities (EAs) indicate that FeF(n) with n ≥ 3 are superhalogens, while Fe2F(n) can be classified as superhalogens for n ≥ 5.

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Structures, electrophilic properties, and hydrogen bonds of the neutral and anionic monohydrated nucleoside, (cytidine)H2O, and (uridine)H2O have been systematically investigated using density functional theory. Various water-binding sites were predicted by explicitly considering the optimized monohydrated structures. Meanwhile, predictions of electron affinities and vertical detachment energies were also carried out to investigate their electrophilic properties.

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Ab initio method based on density functional theory at PW91PW91 level has been applied in studying the geometrical structures, relative stabilities, and electronic properties of small bimetallic Au(n)Be(+) (n = 1-8) cluster cations. The geometrical optimizations indicate that a transition point from preferentially planar (two-dimensional) to three-dimensional (3D) structures occurs at n = 6. The relative stabilities of Au(n)Be(+) clusters for the ground-state structures are analyzed based on the averaged binding energies, fragmentation energies, and second-order difference of energies.

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The local meta-GGA exchange correlation density functional (TPSS) with a relativistic effective core potential was employed to systematically investigate the geometric structures, stabilities, and electronic properties of bimetallic Ca(2)Au( n ) (n = 1-9) and pure gold Au( n ) (n ≤ 11) clusters. The optimized geometries show that the most stable isomers for Ca(2)Au( n ) clusters have 3D structure when n > 2, and that one Au atom capping the Ca(2)Au( n-1) structure for different-sized Ca(2)Au( n ) (n = 1-9) clusters is the dominant growth pattern. The average atomic binding energies and second-order difference in energies show that the Ca(2)Au(4) isomer is the most stable among the Ca(2)Au( n ) clusters.

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Ab initio methods based on density functional theory at BP86 level were applied to the study of the geometrical structures, relative stabilities, and electronic properties of small bimetallic Be(2)Au(n) (n = 1-9) clusters. The optimized geometries reveal that the most stable isomers have 3D structures at n = 3, 5, 7, 8, and 9. Here, the relative stabilities were investigated in terms of the averaged atomic binding energies, fragmentation energies and second-order difference of energies.

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A systematic study on the geometric structures, relative stabilities, and electronic properties of small bimetallic Au(n)Na (n = 1-9) clusters has been performed by means of first-principle density functional theory calculations at the PW91PW91 level. The results show that the optimized ground-state isomers adopt planar structures up to n = 5, and the Na-capped geometries are dominant growth patterns for n = 6-9. Dramatic odd-even alternative behaviors are obtained in the second-order difference of energies, fragmentation energies, highest occupied-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps, and chemical hardness for both Au(n)Na and Au(n+1) clusters.

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A systematic study of bimetallic Au(n)M(2) (n = 1-6, M = Ni, Pd, and Pt) clusters is performed by using density functional theory at the B3LYP level. The geometric structures, relative stabilities, HOMO-LUMO gaps, natural charges and electronic magnetic moments of these clusters are investigated, and compared with pure gold clusters. The results indicate that the properties of Au(n)M(2) clusters for n = 1-3 diverge more from pure gold clusters, while those for n = 4-6 show good agreement with Au(n) clusters.

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The density functional method with relativistic effective core potential has been employed to investigate systematically the geometrical structures, relative stabilities, growth-pattern behaviors, and electronic properties of small bimetallic M(2)Au(n) (M = Ag, Cu; n = 1-10) and pure gold Au(n) (n ≤ 12) clusters. The optimized geometries reveal that M(2) substituted Au(n+2) clusters and one Au atom capped M(2)Au(n-1) structures are dominant growth patterns of the stable alloyed M(2)Au(n) clusters. The calculated averaged atomic binding energies, fragmentation energies, and the second-order difference of energies as a function of the cluster size exhibit a pronounced even-odd alternation phenomenon.

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First-principle density functional theory is used for studying the anion gold clusters doped with magnesium atom. By performing geometry optimizations, the equilibrium geometries, relative stabilities, and electronic and magnetic properties of [Au(n)Mg]⁻ (n = 1-8) clusters have been investigated systematically in comparison with pure gold clusters. The results show that doping with a single Mg atom dramatically affects the geometries of the ground-state Au(n+1)⁻ clusters for n = 2-7.

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Objective: To study the effect of cesarean section birth based on different indications on attentiveness in school children.

Methods: A total of 308 school children were assigned to three groups according to their birth model: natural delivery (n = 105), cesarean section due to social factors (n = 101) or medical factors (n = 102). The integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test (IVA-CPT) was performed for assessing attentiveness.

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Objective: To study the incidences of comorbidities and behavioral problems in children with functional articulation disorders.

Methods: One hundred and twelve children with functional articulation disorders (aged 4-11 years) were enrolled. Their comorbidities were identified based on clinical investigations and the DSM-IV diagnosis criteria of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), stuttering, tic disorders and enuresis.

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