Publications by authors named "Zhikun Wang"

Research on stimuli-responsive micro-nanocontainers has gained attention for targeted corrosion inhibition and controlled emulsification-demulsification in oil recovery. However, existing nanocontainers face issues like irreversible drug release and limited functionality. This study presents a multi-functional nanocontainer design with reversible drug release and emulsification-demulsification capabilities.

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Current research on emergent membrane materials with ordered and stable nanoporous structures often overlooks the vital facet of manufacturing scalability. We propose the preprocessed monomer interfacial polymerization (PMIP) strategy for the scalable fabrication of high-valent cluster-based metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes with robust structures. Using a roll-to-roll device on commercial polymer supports, Zr-fum-MOF membranes are continuously processed at room temperature through the PMIP approach.

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Self-healing materials show exceptional application potential for their high stability and longevity. However, a great challenge of the application of self-healing materials is the tradeoff between mechanical robustness and room temperature self-healing. In order to address this tradeoff, inspired by the characteristic that small molecules of living organisms self-assemble into large protein molecules by non-covalent interactions, we constructed polyurethane with highly dynamic and strong hard domains composed of dense hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions between the phenylurea groups at the end of the side chain.

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Micro/nanocontainers, as smart carriers of corrosion inhibitors, capable of intelligently detecting corroded areas and dispensing inhibitors precisely for targeted corrosion control. Here, pH-responsive chitosan-grafted-β-cyclodextrin (CS-g-β-CD) microspheres (CgCM) loaded with various corrosion inhibitors are prepared via an emulsification cross-linking method. By FT-IR and H NMR characterizations, the successful loading of corrosion inhibitor BTA into β-CD is achieved, with the obtained BTA@β-CD being further grafted on the CS chain by degree 28.

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Organs in the abdominal cavity are covered by a peritoneal membrane, which is comprised of a monolayer of mesothelial cells (MC). Diseases involving the peritoneal membrane include peritonitis, primary cancer (mesothelioma), and metastatic cancers (ovarian, pancreatic, colorectal). These diseases have gender- and/or age-related pathologies; however, the impact of gender and age on the peritoneal MC is not well evaluated.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study identifies and characterizes a protein called GmVOZ1A that interacts with another protein, GmWRI1a, and enhances seed oil and fatty acid content in soybeans.
  • * Findings suggest that GmVOZ1A and GmWRI1a work together to increase the expression of a gene (GmACBP6a) that promotes triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation, providing insights for potential improvements in soybean oil production through breeding.
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The development of a green, safe, and accurate sample preparation method for the determination of trace metal elements in environmental samples is of great importance. Choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were used to extract heavy metal elements from litterfall and the target analytes were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Factors such as the type, ratio, dosage, and extraction time and temperature of the DESs were studied.

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Aging is an inevitable physiological process, often accompanied by age-related bone loss and subsequent bone-related diseases that pose serious health risks. Research on skeletal diseases caused by aging in humans is challenging due to lengthy study durations, difficulties in sampling, regional variability, and substantial investment. Consequently, mice are preferred for such studies due to their similar motor system structure and function to humans, ease of handling and care, low cost, and short generation time.

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We introduce a "solution-processing-transformation" strategy, deploying solvent vapor as scaffolds, to fabricate high-quality hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) membranes. This strategy can overcome the mismatch in processing conditions and crystal growth thermodynamics faced during the facile solution processing of the membrane. The procedure includes the vapor-trigged in situ transformation of dense amorphous supramolecules to crystalline HOF-16, with HOF-11 as the transient state.

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The emulsions prepared with most currently reported emulsifiers are stable only at room temperature and are susceptible to demulsification at higher temperatures. This thermal instability prevents their use in high-temperature and high-salt environments encountered oilfield extraction. To address this issue, in this study, two temperature-responsive emulsifiers, PSBMA and CS-PSBMA, were synthesized.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates how aluminum (Al) ions affect the photoluminescence (PL) of two types of carbon quantum dots (CQDs): graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (DAP).
  • The research reveals that Al ions interact differently with these CQDs: they cluster around oxygen groups in GQDs without influencing their PL, while they reduce the PL of DAP by binding to pyridine nitrogen in its structure.
  • Observing these contrasting effects, the study suggests potential uses for CQDs in information encryption, demonstrating the ability to perform multi-level encryption and decryption, which could enhance information security strategies.
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Metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts obtained from zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have great potential in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, based on the same three-dimensional (3D) topological structure of ZIF-67 and ZIF-8, ZIF-67 is grown on the ZIF-8 surface by the epitaxial growth method, and ZIF-8 is used as a sacrificial template to obtain a Co-embedded layered porous carbon nanocage (CoPCN) electrocatalyst. Meanwhile, the self-sacrificing template effectively improves the specific surface area of the porous structure and reduces the depletion of active sites.

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To control the transport stability and release efficiency of loaded theranostic drugs in triblock copolymer carriers, the reversible crosslinking ability is of great significance. A molecular level exploration of such a function is needed to extend existing stabilizing and responsive dissociation mechanisms of carriers. Here, dissipative particle dynamics simulations were used to first demonstrate the formation of triblock copolymer vesicular carriers.

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With the aging of the global population, the incidence of musculoskeletal diseases has been increasing, seriously affecting people's health. As people age, the microenvironment within skeleton favors bone resorption and inhibits bone formation, accompanied by bone marrow fat accumulation and multiple cellular senescence. Specifically, skeletal stem/stromal cells (SSCs) during aging tend to undergo adipogenesis rather than osteogenesis.

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Introduction: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a mechanical complication of acute myocardial infarction (MI) with a very high mortality, despite advances in surgical and circulatory support. The tremendous hemodynamic disturbance and the severely fragile myocardium render surgical repair a great challenge. The optimal time of surgical repair with or without circulatory support is still controversial.

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In recent years, Pickering emulsifiers have been widely used in various production fields due to their excellent structural stability, biocompatibility and environmental friendliness. For some applications, it is required that the emulsifier can quickly respond to environmental stimuli and control the transition between stable and unstable emulsions. In this paper, we report a novel composite Pickering emulsifier with FeO as the core and magnetic response recognition body, silica as the intermediate protective layer, and chitosan (CS) of different molecular weights to endow solid particles with surface activity and pH-responsive properties.

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Flowering time is an important agronomic character that influences the adaptability and yield of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]. WRINKLED 1 (WRI1) plays an important regulatory role in plant growth and development.

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Background: The majority of women with epithelial ovarian cancer (OvCa) are diagnosed with metastatic disease, resulting in a poor 5-year survival of 31%. Obesity is a recognized non-infectious pandemic that increases OvCa incidence, enhances metastatic success and reduces survival. We have previously demonstrated a link between obesity and OvCa metastatic success in a diet-induced obesity mouse model wherein a significantly enhanced tumor burden was associated with a decreased M1/M2 tumor-associated macrophage ratio (Liu Y et al.

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Purpose: As the global population ages rapidly, osteoporotic fractures have become an important public health problem. Previous studies have suggested that miR-137 is involved in the regulation of bone formation, but its specific regulatory mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the expression, role, and regulatory mechanism of miR-137 in the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs).

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In view of the association between long noncoding RNA OIP5-AS1 and osteoarthritis (OA) pathology, the corresponding potential mechanism is worthy of exploration. Primary chondrocytes were identified by morphological observation and immunohistochemical staining of collagen II. The association between OIP5-AS1 and miR-338-3p was analyzed by StarBase and dual-luciferase reporter assay.

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Bone is a tissue that is active throughout the lifespan, and its physiological activities, such as growth, development, absorption, and formation, are always ongoing. All types of stimulation that occur in sports play an important role in regulating the physiological activities of bone. Here, we track the latest research progress locally and abroad, summarize the recent, relevant research results, and systematically summarize the effects of different types of exercise on bone mass, bone strength and bone metabolism.

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Objective: To establish a cutoff level of AMH which could help for the diagnosis of PCOS, to investigate the predictive value of AMH combined with androgens in Chinese women to diagnose PCOS.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective case control study, 550 women recruited (aged 20-40 years), in which 450 PCOS women recruited according to the Rotterdam criteria and 100 non-PCOS women in the control group were from the women for the pregnancy preparation examination. AMH were measured by the Elecsys AMH Plus immunoassay.

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Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional noncollagenous matrix phosphoprotein that is expressed both intracellularly and extracellularly in various tissues. As a growth regulatory protein and proinflammatory immunochemokine, OPN is involved in the pathological processes of many diseases. Recent studies have found that OPN is widely involved in the aging processes of multiple organs and tissues, such as T-cell senescence, atherosclerosis, skeletal muscle regeneration, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative changes, hematopoietic stem cell reconstruction, and retinal aging.

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Polymersomes with inhomogeneous membranes in composition and structure have generated widespread interest for the preparation of functionalized nanocarriers. We propose a simple but versatile strategy to manipulate inhomogeneous subdomains on polymersome membranes by the co-assembly of block copolymer blends with varied molecular architectures and chemistries. Both binary and ternary copolymer blends are considered to construct polymersomes, and the subdomains of the membranes are formed by controlling the difference in the flexibility and rigidity of different blocks.

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