Publications by authors named "Zhixiang Zhou"

Article Synopsis
  • The probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) was studied for its effects on atherosclerosis in mice fed a high-fat diet, revealing its potential to alleviate disease progression.
  • EcN treatment reduced atherosclerotic plaque formation, improved cholesterol levels, and inhibited the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins linked to inflammation.
  • Further analysis showed that EcN regulated gut microbiota and metabolite levels, suggesting a mechanism for its beneficial effects, although antibiotics partially reversed these outcomes.
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Background: Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) arising from the left anterior fascicle (LAF) are uncommonly seen, and their characteristics still need to be sufficiently investigated. This study aimed to conclude these VAs' characteristics and explore efficient ablation strategies.

Methods: Data were analyzed from 118 patients undergoing successful catheter ablation for LAF VAs.

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Context: Trees play a vital role in reducing street-level particulate matter (PM) pollution in metropolitan areas. However, the optimal tree growth type for maximizing the retention of various sizes of PM remains uncertain.

Objectives: This study assessed the PM reduction capabilities of evergreen and deciduous broadleaf street trees, focusing on how leaf phenology influences the dispersion of pollutants across particle sizes.

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Atherosclerosis is a progressive inflammatory disease within the large and medium arteries. SUCNR1(Succinate receptor 1) has been reported to regulate the inflammatory response in cardiovascular diseases, but how it works in atherosclerosis remains unclear. In this study, we observed that SUCNR1 is upregulated in endothelial cells within human atherosclerotic lesions.

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Plastic products offer remarkable convenience for modern life. However, growing concerns are emerging regarding the potential health hazards posed by nanoplastics, which formed as plastics break down. Currently, the biological effects and mechanisms induced by nanoplastics are largely underexplored.

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Time-varying characteristics of particulate matter (PM) pollution play a crucial role in shaping atmospheric dynamics, which impact the health and welfare of urban commuters. Previously published studies on the diurnal patterns of PMs are not consistent, especially in the context of field experiments in central China, and most field studies have only focused on particles with a single particle size. This study conducted regional-scale studies across 72 street canyon sets in Wuhan, China, investigated diurnal and seasonal PM concentration variations while also evaluating various PM size and the key driving factors.

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Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a metabolite produced by intestinal flora, is recognized as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. However, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we showed that dietary TMAO supplementation accelerates atherosclerosis in ApoE mice.

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Tripartite-motif protein family member 65 (TRIM65) belongs to the tripartite motif (TRIM) protein family. Its typical structure consists of the RING, B-Box motif, and coiled-coil domains, which are highly conserved at the N-terminus and the variable SPRY domain at the C-terminus. TRIM65 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that participates in physiological and pathological processes through the ubiquitination pathway, including intracellular signal transduction, protein degradation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, carcinogenesis, autophagy, and phenotypic transformation.

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Background: The role of total bilirubin (TBIL) in cardiovascular disease has been increasingly recognized in recent decades. Studies have shown a correlation between total bilirubin levels and the prognosis of patients after heart surgery. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of bilirubin elevation in persistent atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients who received radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA).

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Article Synopsis
  • GERD is a common chronic condition, and this study sought to identify new drug targets for both GERD and Barrett's esophagus (BE) using genetic and protein data from past studies.
  • The researchers employed Mendelian randomization to analyze 2004 plasma proteins, narrowing down potential drug targets through various testing methods, ultimately identifying significant associations with 11 plasma proteins.
  • Among the identified proteins, C1-INH and DECR2 showed potential as drug targets, alongside four genes (EDEM3, PBX3, MEIS1-AS3, and NME7), suggesting they should be explored further for treating GERD and BE.
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HuR (Human antigen R) is an RNA binding protein (RBP) that specifically binds to certain RNA sequences, influencing post-transcriptional regulation. HuR is primarily involved in tumor regulation, as well as cell growth, proliferation, inflammation, and angiogenesis. HuR is implicated in endothelial activation, smooth muscle proliferation, inflammatory response, macrophage apoptosis, lipid regulation, and autophagy, playing a crucial regulatory role in atherosclerosis.

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Background And Aims: Tripartite motif (TRIM65) is an important member of the TRIM protein family, which is a newly discovered E ligase that interacts with and ubiquitinates various substrates and is involved in diverse pathological processes. However, the function of TRIM65 in atherosclerosis remains unarticulated. In this study, we investigated the role of TRIM65 in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, specifically in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) phenotype transformation, which plays a crucial role in formation of atherosclerotic lesions.

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Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) are emerging pollutants that can adsorb pollutants in the environment and biological molecules and ultimately affect human health. However, the aspects of adsorption of intracellular proteins onto MNPs and its biological effects in cells have not been investigated to date. The present study revealed that 100 nm polystyrene nanoplastics (NPs) could be internalized by THP-1 cells and specifically adsorbed intracellular proteins.

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The left ventricular summit (LVS) refers to the highest portion of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT). It is an epicardially delimited triangular area by the left coronary arteries and the coronary venous circulation. Its deep myocardium correlates closely with the left coronary cusp, aortic-mitral continuity, and right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), complicating the anatomical relationship.

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Enantiomeric excess (ee) is an essential indicator of chiral drug purification in the pharmaceutical industry. However, to date the ee determination of unknown concentration enantiomers generally involves two separate techniques for chirality and concentration measurement. Here, a whispering-gallery mode (WGM) based optofluidic microlaser near exceptional point to achieve the ee determination under unknown concentration with a single technique is proposed.

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Background: Gout is a common inflammatory arthritis, which is mainly caused by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) in tissues. Transcriptomics was used to explore the pathogenesis and treatment of gout in our work.

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze and validate potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers in THP-1 cells that were exposed to MSU.

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Carbon emissions are a major concern in China, and transportation is an important part of it. In this paper, data on China's 30 provinces' transport carbon emissions from 2005 to 2019 were selected to construct a spatial autocorrelation model and identified the decoupling types, which revealed the relationship between transport carbon emissions and economic development. This study suggests a regulation strategy for provincial transport carbon emissions in China based on the contribution rates of transport carbon emission variables.

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Background And Objective: Endothelial cell activation, characterized by increased levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), plays a crucial role in the development of atherosclerosis (AS). Therefore, inhibition of VCAM-1-mediated inflammatory response is of great significance in the prevention and treatment of AS. The tripartite motif (TRIM) protein-TRIM65 is involved in the regulation of cancer development, antivirals and inflammation.

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The joint form plays a vital role in the rapid assembly of precast bridge decks for steel-concrete composite bridges. Existing research primarily focuses on studying the shear performance of joints through direct shear tests, which is insufficient to fully reflect the mechanical behavior of joints under the constraint of prefabricated bridge deck panels during actual vehicular traffic. Considering situations such as vehicle loads and external forces acting on precast bridge decks, this study investigates the shear performance of epoxy joints under constraint through an improved shear test.

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Oncogene E6 plays a critical role in the development and progression of esophageal cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is a key metabolite in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and has been widely used as a dietary and anti-ageing supplement. In this study, we found that treating esophageal squamous carcinoma cells with a high dose of AKG can induce cell pyroptosis.

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Herein, we report a facile strategy for constructing hybrid coordination configurations by combining functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with CoPc (CoPc/R-GQDs, with R being -NH or -OH) for electrochemical CO reduction. Benefiting from the high density of functional groups that can be provided by GQDs and the strong electron-donating property of -NH, the examined CoPc/NH-GQDs achieved a 100% faradaic efficiency for CO formation (FE) at -0.8 to -0.

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In this paper, a series of energetic ionic liquid plasticizers of 1-methyl-4-methoxyethyl-1,2,4-triazolium chloride (), 1-methyl-4-methoxyethyl-1,2,4-triazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (), 1-methyl-4-methoxyethyl-1,2,4-triazolium nitrate (), 1-methyl-4-ethyl acetate-1,2,4-triazolium chloride (), 1-methyl-4-ethyl acetate-1,2,4-triazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (), and 1-methyl-4-ethyl acetate-1,2,4-triazolium nitrate () were synthesized and characterized. The results show that compounds , , , and have lower melting points (, -72.60 to -32.

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Precise electronic state regulation through coordination environment optimization by metal-support interaction is a promising strategy to facilitate catalysis reaction, while the limited density of functional groups in the bulk substrate restricts the regulation degree. Herein, different sizes of TiCT MXene with hydroxyl (-OH) terminal including the MXene layer (ML-OH, 3 μm), the MXene nanosheet (MNS-OH, 600 nm), and the MXene quantum dot (MQD-OH, 8 nm) were prepared to anchor CoPc, and the effect of -OH density on the performance of electrochemical CO reduction was systematically investigated. Notably, a linear relationship was established by plotting reactivity vs hydroxyl density.

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Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is a major cause of heart failure, and there is no effective approach for its prevention or treatment. The Trim family is a recently identified family of E3 ubiquitin ligases that regulate cardiac hypertrophy. Trim65, which is a member of the Trim family, previous studies have not determined whether Trim65 affects cardiac hypertrophy.

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Background: Although esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, details of its pathogenesis remain unclear. Metabolic reprogramming is a main feature of EC. Mitochondrial dysfunction, especially the decrease in mitochondrial complex I (MTCI), plays an important role in the occurrence and development of EC.

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