Publications by authors named "Zhu K"

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common chronic joint disease globally. Synovial inflammation plays a pivotal role in its pathogenesis, preceding cartilage damage. Identifying biomarkers in osteoarthritic synovial tissues holds promise for early diagnosis and targeted interventions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study investigated the effects of dietary resveratrol (RES) and β-Hydroxy-β-methyl butyric acid (HMB) on immune, oxidative, and morphological changes in the livers of Tibetan sheep using transcriptomics and metabolomics. One hundred and twenty male Tibetan lambs of a similar initial weight (15.5 ± 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy plate is a structural material widely used in aerospace, and its rolling process plays a crucial role in determining its performance. This study investigated the effects of different pass combinations of forward and spread rolling on the grain characteristics, strength, and fracture toughness of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu aluminum alloy plates under industrial conditions. The results show that initially using a small pass reduction followed by a larger one can improve the grain width and thickness on the Long Transverse-Short Transverse surface.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Pecan seed oil contains essential fatty acids but the role of microRNAs in oil production during seed development is still unclear.
  • - The study found that oil content in pecans increases rapidly during early seed stages, with oleic acid being the main fatty acid in mature embryos, and identified 365 known and 321 novel miRNAs related to oil biosynthesis.
  • - Analysis revealed 91 known and 181 novel miRNAs that are differentially expressed, leading to the identification of five important miRNA-target pairs, enhancing our understanding of how oil biosynthesis is regulated in pecan seeds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria highlights the need for novel antimicrobial agents. This study presents the design and synthesis of a series of rhein (RH)-derived compounds with improved antimicrobial properties. The lead compound, RH, exhibited a potent antibacterial activity against () isolates, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 8 to 16 μg/mL.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Healthy dietary patterns have been linked to a decreased risk of chronic diseases. However, it remains uncertain whether proteomic signatures can reflect proteome response to healthy diet patterns, and whether these proteomic signatures are associated with health outcomes. Using data from the UK Biobank including Olink plasma proteins, we identified substantial proteomic variation in relation to adherence to eight healthy dietary patterns.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan essential for cellular processes and finding increasingly applications in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. While membrane-integrated Class I hyaluronan synthase (HAS) catalyzes HA synthesis in most organisms, the molecular mechanisms by which HAS-lipid interactions impact HAS catalysis remain unclear. This study employed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation combined with dimensionality reduction to uncover the interplay between lipids and Streptococcus equisimilis HAS (SeHAS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epidemiological surveys revealed that 33 of the 93 samples were positive for FHV-1, with the gD gene of these 33 samples exhibiting low variation, high homology, and no critical amino acid mutation. Feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1), also known as feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR) virus, is one of the main causes of URT disease in cats. All cats can become hosts of FHV-1, and the spread of this disease affects the protection of rare feline animals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Long-lasting insecticide-incorporated netting (LLIN) has successfully been used to impair mobility and prevent infestation of stored grain by stored product beetles. Understanding how to integrate LLIN with existing integrated pest management (IPM) tactics, such as phosphine fumigation, can further enhance IPM programs.

Results: We used three 110 metric tons (MT) capacity grain bins, and in each, 60 perforated buckets (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Lung cancer, on a global scale, leads to the most common cases of cancer mortalities. Novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed to disrupt this lethal disease. The rapid development of tumor immunology combining breakthroughs involving fatty acid metabolism brings possibilities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The heart's intricate myocardial architecture has been called the Gordian knot of anatomy, an impossible tangle of intricate muscle fibers. This complexity dictates equally complex cardiac motions that are difficult to mimic in physical systems. If these motions could be generated by a robotic system, then cardiac device testing, cardiovascular disease studies, and surgical procedure training could reduce their reliance on animal models, saving time, costs, and lives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) is a deadly clinical problem, and the exact underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Junctional adhesion molecule (JAM), a tight junction protein, is a key negative regulator of cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

Methods: Junction adhesion molecule 3 (JAM3) expression in breast cancer was analyzed using bioinformatics methods and confirmed by PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence (IF) in cell lines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 manipulate ubiquitination pathways to aid their replication and cause disease by binding to host proteins.
  • The crystal structure of the CUL2 protein and ORF10 from SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated that ORF10 mimics a specific motif to enhance CUL2's activity, which leads to the degradation of a protein called IFT46 and disrupts cilia functions linked to COVID-19 symptoms.
  • This research reveals the molecular interactions between ORF10 and CUL2, paving the way for developing new treatments for COVID-19 and informing drug design strategies that target this interaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Breast cancer (BC) persists as a highly prevalent malignancy in females, characterized by diverse molecular signatures and necessitating personalized therapeutic approaches. The equilibrium of copper within the organism is meticulously maintained through regulated absorption, distribution, and elimination, underpinning not only cellular equilibrium but also various essential biological functions. The process of cuproptosis is initiated by copper's interaction with lipoylases within the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, which triggers the conglomeration of lipoylated proteins and diminishes the integrity of Fe-S clusters, culminating in cell demise through proteotoxic stress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Decidual mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) are easily obtained and exhibit strong anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Compared with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), their role in cell transplantation after idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis remains unclear. We investigated whether the transplantation of BMSCs and DMSCs could alleviate pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in a bleomycin-induced mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Wound healing is a continuous and complex process regulated by multiple factors, which has become an intractable clinical burden. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-exos) possess low immunogenicity, easy preservation, and potent bioactivity, which is a mirror to their parental cells MSC-exos are important tools for regulating the biological behaviors of wound healing-associated cells, including fibroblasts, keratinocytes, immune cells, and endothelial cells. MSC-exos accelerate the wound healing process at cellular and animal levels by modulating inflammatory responses, promoting collagen deposition and vascularization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Before implementing a biomarker test for early cancer detection into routine clinical care, the test must demonstrate clinical utility, that is, the test results should lead to clinical actions that positively affect patient-relevant outcomes. Unlike therapeutical trials for patients diagnosed with cancer, designing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to demonstrate the clinical utility of an early detection biomarker with mortality and related endpoints poses unique challenges. The hurdles stem from the prolonged natural progression of the disease and the lack of information regarding the time-varying screening effect on the target asymptomatic population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the J/ψ and ψ(3686) decays into Σ^{0}Σ[over ¯]^{0} processes using data from the BESIII detector, which has extensive datasets.
  • It presents the first measurements of parity-violating decay parameters for Σ^{0} and Σ[over ¯]^{0}, suggesting implications for strong CP symmetry through their asymmetries.
  • The findings include the observation of opposite transverse polarizations of Σ^{0} hyperons in these decays and the ratio of S-wave to D-wave contributions, contributing valuable insights into charmonium state dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Laryngeal cancer is a malignant tumor that originates from the mucous membrane of the larynx. Currently, the specific involvement mechanism of copper death in laryngeal cancer patients has not been deeply studied.

Objective: This study aims to explore the molecular characteristics and clinical survival significance of copper death-related genes in laryngeal cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study looks at how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in glaucoma research from 2013 to 2022 to understand trends and future opportunities.
  • Researchers found 750 articles and noticed more studies being published each year, with most coming from China, the U.S., and India.
  • Key topics shifted from basic ideas like "segmentation" to more advanced concepts like "deep learning," showing how AI in glaucoma research is evolving quickly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Micronuclear batteries harness energy from the radioactive decay of radioisotopes to generate electricity on a small scale, typically in the nanowatt or microwatt range. Contrary to chemical batteries, the longevity of a micronuclear battery is tied to the half-life of the used radioisotope, enabling operational lifetimes that can span several decades. Furthermore, the radioactive decay remains unaffected by environmental factors such as temperature, pressure and magnetic fields, making the micronuclear battery an enduring and reliable power source in scenarios in which conventional batteries prove impractical or challenging to replace.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignant disease that has a fifth highest incidence and fourth highest mortality worldwide. The Warburg effect is a common phenomenon observed in tumors, which suggests that tumor cells would enhance glucose uptake by overexpressing multiple glucose transporters. Sodium glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) is one of glucose transporters which highly expressed in several cancers, but its role in gastric cancer is still unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In the Military Health System (MHS), women with breast cancer may undergo surgical treatment in military hospitals (direct care) or in the civilian setting via the insurance benefit (private sector care). We conducted this study to determine immediate breast reconstruction rates among women undergoing mastectomy for cancer in the MHS by setting of care.

Methods: Using the linked Department of Defense's Central Cancer Registry and MHS Data Repository, the Department of Defense's medical claims database, we identified adult women who underwent mastectomy for breast cancer from 1998 to 2014.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF