Publications by authors named "ZiQi Liu"

Background: Food addiction and an impulsive personality can increase overeating, which can lead to weight gain. The amygdala and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) are critical for regulating obesogenic behaviour. However, whether the amygdala or the NAcc acts as the neural basis for the regulation of food addiction, impulsive personality, and body weight remains unclear.

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Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widespread ubiquitous phthalate environmental contaminant. The male reproductive toxicity (MRT) from exposure to DEHP and its main metabolite, mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), has been well documented. Fully elucidating its toxic mechanism and discovering effective antagonists are desirable means to reduce the health risks of DEHP.

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Background And Objectives: Pneumonia portrays a critical health concern in geriatrics. Geriatric pneumonia can lead to changes on other complications, in which hypoalbuminemia is a common complication. However, few studies have looked at the impact of pneumonia on the course of hypoalbuminemia and predicting.

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Autophagy dysfunction is associated with changes in autophagy-related genes. Various factors are connected to autophagy, and the mechanism regulating autophagy is highly complicated. Epigenetic changes, such as aberrant expression of histone demethylase, are actively associated not only with oncogenesis but also with inflammatory responses.

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detection of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is critical for understanding its complex physiological and pathological roles. Fluorescent probes, known for their sensitivity and selectivity, are the preferred approach for such detections. Anthracene carboxyimide, an analog of naphthalimide, offers extended excitation and emission wavelengths, making it an excellent candidate for developing new fluorescent probes that address the limitations of naphthalimide.

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The cycloaddition of CO to epoxide (CCE) reactions produce valuable cyclic carbonates useful in the electrolytes of lithium-ion batteries, as organic solvents, and in polymeric materials. However, halide-containing catalysts are predominantly used in these reactions, despite halides being notoriously corrosive to steel processing equipment and residual halides also having harmful effects. To eliminate the reliance on halides as cocatalyst in most CCE reactions, halide-free catalysts are highly desirable.

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The complete manipulation of Jones matrix phase-channels using metasurfaces brings forth unparalleled possibilities across diverse wavefront modulation applications. Traditionally, achieving independent control over all four phase-channels usually involves the introduction of chirality with multilayer or three-dimensional metasurfaces. Here, we present a general chirality-free method that relies on polarization base transformation with a planar minimalist metasurface, effectively decoupling the four Jones matrix phase-channels, thereby unleashing the fundamental boundaries imposed by conventional linear or circular polarization bases.

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Background: Thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis (TAMG) is a subtype of myasthenia gravis (MG) that is associated with more severe symptoms and a relatively poor prognosis. Eculizumab, an inhibitor to target human C5 component of the complement cascade, is considered a treatment option for refractory generalized MG (gMG).

Objectives: To explore the safety and efficacy of eculizumab in patients with TAMG.

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Aristolochic Acid I (AAI) is widely present in traditional Chinese medicines derived from the Aristolochia genus and is known to cause significant damage to renal tubular epithelial cells. Genome-wide screening has proven to be a powerful tool in identifying critical genes associated with the toxicity of exogenous substances. To identify undiscovered key genes involved in AAI-induced renal toxicity, a genome-wide CRISPR library screen was conducted in the human kidney-2 (HK-2) cell line.

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Cognitive dysfunction is common in Moyamoya disease (MMD). However, current knowledge of cognitive impairment in MMD is inadequate. In this review, we explored the characteristics of altered cognitive function associated with MMD and offered recommendations aimed at guiding potential research endeavors into the cognitive dysfunction in MMD.

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Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease that targets pigment-producing melanocytes and results in depigmentation. This disfiguring condition frequently affects visible areas of the body and therefore causes a heavy psychological burden and a decreased quality of life. Although remains intractable, the evergrowing understanding of its immunopathogenesis has dramatically shaped the treatment paradigm for vitiligo.

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Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accounts for a significant proportion of global fatalities, and early detection is crucial for improving patient outcomes. However, current diagnostic methods often struggle to detect AMI in its early stages. Herein, we present an electrochemical sensor utilizing a fractal gold (FracAu) electrode and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) amplification technology to detect AMI-specific microRNAs (miRNAs).

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How do growth hormones interact to specify female-germline cell types in flowering plants and control production of the first female-germline cell? Here, we find that gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis and signaling are restricted in ovule primordia, with overexpression of receptors and biosynthetic enzymes resulting in multiple and enlarged megaspore mother cells (MMCs) in Arabidopsis. GA signaling machinery interacts with and promotes the degradation of cytokinin (CK) type-B Arabidopsis response regulators (ARR1/10/12), which also directly interact with DELLA proteins. CK biosynthesis and signaling components are expressed in both MMCs and sporophytic cells, with signaling negatively controlled by GA in ovule primordia, and perturbations leading to the induction of multiple, enlarged MMC-like cells.

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Article Synopsis
  • Atopic dermatitis (AD) often affects flexion areas, highlighting the need for DMNs with strong skin adhesion to ensure effective drug delivery during movement.
  • Matrine (MAT), derived from the plant Sophora flavescens, is effective in treating skin inflammation and itching, leading to the development of MAT-loaded DMNs for joint application in AD.
  • In studies, MAT-DMNs showed significant improvements in reducing skin lesions and alleviating AD symptoms compared to control groups, indicating their potential for clinical use in treating skin disorders, especially around joints.
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Objective: To study the characteristics of event related potential P300 in preschool children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aged 4-6 years (4≤ age <6), and to explore the differences in cognitive function compared with healthy children. To explore a new method for the study of cognitive function in preschool children with ADHD.

Methods: A total of 73 preschool children aged 4-6 years were selected from the outpatient clinic of Neurology Department, the ADHD-specialized Clinic and Health Care Department of the Children's Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics from March 2021 to May 2024.

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Article Synopsis
  • The volume of remote sensing data is rapidly increasing, requiring new computing solutions as traditional models struggle to keep up with processing demands.
  • The study introduces a Multi-Strategy Improved Siberian Tiger Optimization (MSSTO) algorithm, which enhances task processing efficiency through advanced strategies and better resource allocation.
  • MSSTO significantly reduces task completion time by 21% compared to the original Siberian Tiger Optimization and outperforms other algorithms like particle swarm and gray wolf, making it a strong option for optimizing task scheduling.
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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules are essential macromolecules that perform diverse biological functions in living beings. Precise prediction of RNA secondary structures is instrumental in deciphering their complex three-dimensional architecture and functionality. Traditional methodologies for RNA structure prediction, including energy-based and learning-based approaches, often depict RNA secondary structures from a static perspective and rely on stringent a priori constraints.

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Muscular atrophy is among the systematic decline in organ functions in aging, while defective thermogenic fat functionality precedes these anomalies. The potential crosstalk between adipose tissue and muscle during aging is poorly understood. In this study, it is showed that UCP1 knockout (KO) mice characterized deteriorated brown adipose tissue (BAT) function in aging, yet their glucose homeostasis is sustained and energy expenditure is increased, possibly compensated by improved inguinal adipose tissue (iWAT) and muscle functionality compared to age-matched WT mice.

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Grasp planning is crucial for robots to perform precision grasping tasks, where determining the grasp points significantly impacts the performance of the robotic hand. Currently, the majority of grasp planning methods based on analytic approaches solve the problem by transforming it into a nonlinear constrained planning problem. This method often requires performing convex hull computations, which tend to have high computational complexity.

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Aptamers are single-stranded nucleic acid ligands, featuring high affinity and specificity to target molecules. Traditionally they are identified from large DNA/RNA libraries using $in vitro$ methods, like Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX). However, these libraries capture only a small fraction of theoretical sequence space, and various aptamer candidates are constrained by actual sequencing capabilities from the experiment.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A new hybrid conductive network (LFP-HN) was created using an in situ self-oxidation method, enhancing lithium-ion transfer and structural stability by preventing impurity cations from interfering.
  • * The improved LFP-HN material achieved remarkable results, extracting 27.42 mg/g of lithium with low energy use and high purity in real brine, and prototypes are designed to extract 25 kg Lithium Carbonate Equivalent every 4.55 hours, making it viable for large-scale industrial applications.
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This study aimed to investigate the effects of different defatting methods of black soldier fly () larvae meal (BSFM) on the metabolic energy and nutrient digestibility in laying hens. Sixty young laying hens (Hy-Line W-36) aged 63 days were randomly divided into two groups (G1 and G2), each with five replicates of six hens housed in individual cages. Group G1 was fed 25% pressed black soldier fly meal (BSFMp) and 75% basal diet, and Group G2 was fed 25% extracted black soldier fly meal (BSFMe) and a 75% basal diet.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to assess the relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) and Parkinson's disease (PD) in adults in the U.S. using NHANES data from 2011 to 2020, involving over 11,000 participants aged 40 and older.
  • - Results showed a significant positive correlation, indicating that individuals with OA had nearly double the risk of developing PD compared to those without arthritis, even after adjusting for various factors like age and gender.
  • - The authors concluded that there is a notable connection between OA and PD, suggesting that medical professionals should consider this increased risk when treating patients with OA and recommend further research on their relationship.
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  • Hydrogen is a colorless and odorless gas with a high explosive range, necessitating effective leak detection methods.
  • The paper explores adding surfactants to modify the distribution of nanocrystals (NCs) in sensors to enhance hydrogen detection performance.
  • Results indicate that a sensor with 0.1 wt % PdCu-SnO dispersed with surfactants showed an 18-fold increase in response to hydrogen compared to the undispersed version, attributed to better NC distribution and more active surface sites.
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