Publications by authors named "Zhonghong Cao"

Background: Neurological disorders known as neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) result in the slow loss of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) or peripheral nervous system (PNS), as well as the collapse of neural networks in terms of structure and function. NDDs are expected to surpass cancer as the second biggest cause of mortality by 2040, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimations. Neurons cannot effectively regenerate themselves because they are terminally differentiated.

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The highly conserved Notch signaling pathway affects embryonic development, neurogenesis, homeostasis, tissue repair, immunity, and numerous other essential processes. Although previous studies have demonstrated the location and function of the core components of Notch signaling in various animal phyla, a more comprehensive summary of the Notch core components in lower organisms is still required. In this review, we objectively summarize the molecular features of the Notch signaling pathway constituents, their current expression profiles, and their functions in invertebrates, with emphasis on their effects on neurogenesis and regeneration.

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The occupational health and safety management factors of construction enterprises are critical influencing factors in their training management, and their causal principles are topics that warrant profound exploration. Drawing upon the conventional five factors, this study initially posited and authenticated a causal model among them, subsequently employing system dynamics on the NetLogo platform to dynamically simulate the model, and ultimately scrutinizing the interrelations and dynamic influence degree among the factors. The results show that the direct causes of management factors include human factors (weight coefficient of 0.

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FERM, RhoGEF, and Pleckstrin domain protein (FARP) mediated RhoGTPase pathways are involved in diverse biological processes, such as neuronal development and tumorigenesis. However, little is known about their role in neural regeneration. We uncovered for the first time that FARP-Rac1 signaling plays an important role in neural regeneration in Dugesia japonica, a planarian that possesses unparalleled regenerative capacities.

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To explore the relations between the number of accident deaths (NCD) and various factors in construction safety, a multiple linear regression model was established, based on the panel data of economy, construction labor, and the number of accident deaths in 31 provinces (regions) of China from 2009 to 2018. The results show that the average total profits and taxes (TPAT), and the death rate of ten thousand people (DR) are positively correlated with NCD, while the labor productivity (LP) is negatively correlated with it. Under the condition that other factors remain unchanged, NCD increases by 0.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the translation level in cell growth, proliferation and differentiation. In addition, some types of miRNAs have been proven to be key modulators of both CNS development and plasticity, such as let-7, miR-9 and miR-124. In this research, we found miR-8b acts as an important regulator involved in brain and eyespot regeneration in Dugesia japonica.

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Occupational health and safety (OHS) training is an important way to prevent construction safety risks. However, the effectiveness of OHS training in China is questionable. In this study, the CHAID (chi-squared automatic interaction detection) decision tree, chi-square analysis, and correlation analysis were used to explore the main, secondary, weak, unrelated, and expectation factors affecting the effectiveness of training.

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Background: Planarians reliably regenerate all body parts after injury, including a fully functional head and central nervous system. But until now, the expression dynamics and functional role of miRNAs and other small RNAs during the process of head regeneration are not well understood. Furthermore, little is known about the evolutionary conservation of the relevant small RNAs pathways, rendering it difficult to assess whether insights from planarians will apply to other taxa.

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The growth and differentiation of neurons are critical events in the establishment of proper neuron connectivity and function. Planarians have a remarkable ability to completely regenerate a functional nervous system from a pluripotent stem cell population. Thus, planarians provide a powerful model to identify genes required for neuronal differentiation in vivo.

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A small GTPase, RhoA, plays a variety of functions in the regulation of cellular and developmental events via its downstream effectors, including cytokinesis, cell migration, and phagocytosis. In this study, a novel RhoA-related gene from the planarian Dugesia japonica, DjRhoA, was cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA of DjRhoA is 869 bp, and the open reading frame encodes a poly-peptide of 194 amino acids.

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Planarians are bilaterally symmetric metazoans of the phylum Platyhelminthes. They have well-defined anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes and have a highly structured true brain which consists of all neural cell types and neuropeptides found in a vertebrate. Planarian flatworms are famous for their strong regenerative ability; they can easily regenerate any part of the body including the complete neoformation of a functional brain within a few days and can survive a series of extreme environmental stress.

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The discovery of RNAs (for example, messenger RNAs, non-coding RNAs) in sperm has opened the possibility that sperm may function by delivering additional paternal information aside from solely providing the DNA . Increasing evidence now suggests that sperm small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) can mediate intergenerational transmission of paternally acquired phenotypes, including mental stress and metabolic disorders. How sperm sncRNAs encode paternal information remains unclear, but the mechanism may involve RNA modifications.

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14-3-3 proteins are a family of highly conserved acidic proteins that regulate cellular processes. They act as a kind of important signaling molecules taking part in many crucial decisions throughout the development process. We have isolated and characterized two members of the 14-3-3 family, namely, Dj14-3-3 α and Dj14-3-3 ζ in the planarian Dugesia japonica.

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Increasing evidence indicates that metabolic disorders in offspring can result from the father's diet, but the mechanism remains unclear. In a paternal mouse model given a high-fat diet (HFD), we showed that a subset of sperm transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs), mainly from 5' transfer RNA halves and ranging in size from 30 to 34 nucleotides, exhibited changes in expression profiles and RNA modifications. Injection of sperm tsRNA fractions from HFD males into normal zygotes generated metabolic disorders in the F1 offspring and altered gene expression of metabolic pathways in early embryos and islets of F1 offspring, which was unrelated to DNA methylation at CpG-enriched regions.

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In rodent species, the ovary and the end of oviduct are encapsulated by a thin membrane called ovarian bursa. The biological functions of ovarian bursa remain unexplored despite its structural arrangement in facilitating oocytes transport into oviduct. In the present study, we observed a rapid fluid accumulation and reabsorption within the ovarian bursa after ovarian stimulation (PMSG-primed hCG injection), suggesting that the ovarian bursa might play an active role in regulating local fluid homeostasis around the timing of ovulation.

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Continuous disposal of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) into the environment can lead to serious human health problems and can affect plants and aquatic organisms. The determination of EDCs in water has become an increasingly important activity due to our increased knowledge about their toxicities, even at low concentration. The EDCs in water samples from the reclaimed water plant of Tianjin, northern China, were identified by gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS).

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Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of great concern due to their persistence, bioaccumulation and toxic effects. In this work, 16 PAHs included in the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) priority pollutant list were analyzed using solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPE-GC-MS) with a selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Reclaimed water and surface water sampling was undertaken in Tianjin, northern China.

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Distribution of the tributyltin (TBT) between egg-phosphatidylcholine membranes (liposome) and water under different pH and a comparison between the partition of TBT into lipid membranes and into octanol were studied. The distribution of this compound into both lipid membranes and octanol increased with pH. The major difference was that at lower pH, where ionized TBT dominated distribution was greater into lipid membranes compared to that of octanol.

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