Publications by authors named "Z-X Zheng"

In holometabolous insects, critical weight (CW) attainment triggers pupation and metamorphosis, but its mechanism remains unclear in non-model organisms like mosquitoes. Here, we investigate the role of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in CW assessment and pupation timing in Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti, vectors of arboviruses including dengue and Zika.

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Background: Although the information on the validation status of electronic sphygmomanometer (ES) devices in use in health care institutions and households is much more clinically relevant than that of ES models available on the market, it remains insufficient.

Methods: A national survey was conducted across all administrative regions of mainland China to assess the validation status of ESs. Fifty-eight cities were selected with stratification by municipality, provincial capital, and other cities, and health care institutions and households in each city were chosen by convenience to identify ES devices in use according to the study protocol.

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  • The text discusses the need for improved detection of vulnerable road users (VRUs) like pedestrians and cyclists in autonomous driving to enhance safety.
  • It highlights the inadequacy of traditional classification methods due to the similarity between these two groups, prompting the development of a new algorithm based on the micro-Doppler effect.
  • The proposed method uses advanced data processing techniques and a support vector machine for better classification accuracy, showing superior performance through various testing methods.
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  • Researchers developed a microbiome-based diagnostic test for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by analyzing 5,979 fecal samples, identifying significant bacterial alterations related to IBD.* ! * The study created diagnostic models using ten bacterial species for ulcerative colitis and nine for Crohn's disease, achieving high accuracy (areas under the curve >0.90) in distinguishing IBD from healthy controls.* ! * A new multiplex droplet digital PCR test was also developed, which outperformed the standard fecal calprotectin test, indicating the potential for a noninvasive multibacteria biomarker panel in IBD diagnosis.* !
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  • The study investigates how corneal wound healing works by analyzing corneal limbal epithelial cell activities in cynomolgus monkeys through single-cell RNA sequencing.
  • Researchers collected corneal limbal tissues at uninjured, 1-day, and 3-day healing stages to understand the transcriptional changes and cell migration involved in healing.
  • The findings reveal nine distinct cell clusters, emphasizing the roles of different epithelial cells in healing, particularly highlighting the significance of transit amplifying cells in early healing through specific gene activation.
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Microbial production of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) provides a sustainable and eco-friendly means to obtain compounds with high pharmaceutical values. However, efficient biosynthesis of MIAs in heterologous microorganisms is hindered due to low supply of key precursors such as geraniol and its derivative 8-hydroxygeraniol catalyzed by geraniol 8-hydroxylase (G8H). In this study, we developed a facile evolution platform to screen strains with improved yield of geraniol by using the SCRaMbLE system embedded in the Sc2.

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In this case, various characterization technologies have been employed to probe dissociation mechanism of cellulose in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl) system. These results indicate that coordination of DMAc ligands to the Li-Cl ion pair results in the formation of a series of Li(DMAc)Cl (x = 1, 2; y = 1, 2, 3, 4; z = 1, 2) complexes. Analysis of interaction between DMAc ligand and Li center indicate that Li bond plays a major role for the formation of these Li(DMAc)Cl complexes.

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Objective: QL1604 is a highly selective, humanized monoclonal antibody against programmed death protein 1. We assessed the efficacy and safety of QL1604 plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer.

Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study.

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Unlabelled: African swine fever (ASF) is a highly fatal viral disease that poses a significant threat to domestic pigs and wild boars globally. In our study, we aimed to explore the potential of a multiplexed CRISPR-Cas system in suppressing ASFV replication and infection. By engineering CRISPR-Cas systems to target nine specific loci within the ASFV genome, we observed a substantial reduction in viral replication .

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Purpose: To identify specific markers indicative of macular neural and microvascular alterations in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) without clinically observable retinopathy.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Methods: Using the PLEX Elite 9000, all eyes underwent swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) angiography.

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Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and therefore the identification of the modifiable risk factors [such as exposure to vapors, gases, dust and fumes (VGDF)] for accelerate disease progression has important significance.

Methods: We conducted COPD surveillance in six cities of southern China between 2014 and 2019. We recorded the diagnosis of chronic bronchitis, respiratory symptoms, occupational exposure to VGDF and other covariates by using a structured questionnaire.

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While significant advances have been made in predicting static protein structures, the inherent dynamics of proteins, modulated by ligands, are crucial for understanding protein function and facilitating drug discovery. Traditional docking methods, frequently used in studying protein-ligand interactions, typically treat proteins as rigid. While molecular dynamics simulations can propose appropriate protein conformations, they're computationally demanding due to rare transitions between biologically relevant equilibrium states.

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Aims: A therapeutic strategy for chronic heart failure (HF) is to lower resting heart rate (HR). Ivabradine is a well-known HR-lowering agent, but limited prospective data exist regarding its use in Chinese patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ivabradine in Chinese patients with chronic HF.

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Background: Intracellular Ca cycling determines myocardial contraction and relaxation in response to physiological demands. SERCA2a (sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase 2a) is responsible for the sequestration of cytosolic Ca into intracellular stores during cardiac relaxation, and its activity is reversibly inhibited by PLN (phospholamban). However, the regulatory hierarchy of SERCA2a activity remains unclear.

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Purpose: This study seeks to evaluate the ability of the updated stress strain index (SSIv2) and other Corvis ST biomechanical parameters in distinguishing between keratoconus at different disease stages and normal eyes.

Design: Diagnostic accuracy analysis to distinguish disease stages.

Methods: 1084 eyes were included and divided into groups of normal (199 eyes), forme fruste keratoconus (FFKC, 194 eyes), subclinical keratoconus (SKC, 113 eyes), mild clinical keratoconus (CKC-Ⅰ, 175 eyes), moderate clinical keratoconus (CKC-Ⅱ, 204 eyes), and severe clinical keratoconus (CKC-Ⅲ, 199 eyes).

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Designing and printing metamaterials with customizable architectures enables the realization of unprecedented mechanical behaviors that transcend those of their constituent materials. These behaviors are recorded in the form of response curves, with stress-strain curves describing their quasi-static footprint. However, existing inverse design approaches are yet matured to capture the full desired behaviors due to challenges stemmed from multiple design objectives, nonlinear behavior, and process-dependent manufacturing errors.

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Introduction: To investigate the efficacy and safety of preprocedural simethicone (S) and pronase (P) for optimal mucosal visualization during esophagogastroduodenoscopy with sedation. The effect of postural change combined with premedication on mucosal visibility was also examined.

Methods: The study randomized 496 patients into 8 groups based on the type of premedication provided and whether a postural change occurred.

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Despite the rapidly growing interest in nanoparticle-mediated controllable male contraception and recovery of male fertility, novel applications of nanoparticles in these processes are limited by a knowledge gap regarding their transport and distribution in the testes. Here, we investigated the fate of gold nanoparticles in the mouse testes using two injection methods, namely, interstitial testicular injection (IT-AuNPs, AuNPs exposure in the interstitial compartment of the testes) and rete testis injection (RT-AuNPs, AuNPs exposure in the adluminal compartment of the seminiferous tubules). In this study, we used 100 nm spherical AuNPs and microinjected with 5 μL AuNPs (30 mg/mL) for the experiments.

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Purpose: Corneal epithelial homeostasis is maintained by coordinated gene expression across distinct cell populations, but the gene regulatory programs underlying this cellular diversity remain to be characterized. Here we applied single-cell multi-omics analysis to delineate the gene regulatory profile of mouse corneal epithelial cells under normal homeostasis.

Methods: Single cells isolated from the cornea epithelium (with marginal conjunctiva) of adult mice were subjected to scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq using the 10×Genomics platform.

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The strong suppression of Aedes albopictus on two Guangzhou islands in China has been successfully achieved by releasing males with an artificial triple-Wolbachia infection. However, it requires the use of radiation to sterilize residual females to prevent population replacement. To develop a highly effective tool for dengue control, we tested a standalone incompatible insect technique (IIT) to control A.

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Introduction: Although the 9-minute mean withdrawal time (m-WT) is often reported to be associated with the optimal adenoma detection rate (ADR), no randomized trials of screening colonoscopy have confirmed the impact of a 9-minute m-WT on adenoma miss rate (AMR) and ADR.

Methods: A multicenter tandem trial was conducted in 11 centers. Seven hundred thirty-three asymptomatic participants were randomized to receive segmental tandem screening colonoscopy with a 9-minute withdrawal, followed by a 6-minute withdrawal (9-minute-first group, 9MF, n = 366) or vice versa (6-minute-first group, 6MF, n = 367).

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The first study of the angular distribution of μ^{+}μ^{-} pairs produced in the forward rapidity region via the Drell-Yan reaction pp→γ^{*}/Z+X→ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-}+X is presented, using data collected with the LHCb detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1  fb^{-1}. The coefficients of the five leading terms in the angular distribution are determined as a function of the dimuon transverse momentum and rapidity.

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Background: Adverse environmental exposure during the prenatal period can lead to diseases in the offspring, including hypertension. Whether or not the hypertensive phenotype can be transgenerationally transmitted is not known.

Methods: Pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on gestation days 6, 8, 10, and 12 to generate the prenatal LPS exposure model.

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Objective: To determine the association between olfactory function and cognition in patients and rodents.

Background: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders include delayed neurocognitive recovery (dNCR). The contribution of olfactory function to dNCR remains undetermined.

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