Publications by authors named "Chengming Zhang"

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by articular cartilage degradation. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a secreted trimeric glycoprotein with multiple functions. It can bind to various cell-surface receptors and is downregulated in OA chondrocytes.

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Solar lentigines, commonly caused by prolonged ultraviolet exposure, raise the risk of skin disorders and remain challenging to manage due to their complex mechanisms. Understanding the molecular mechanisms driving the progression of solar lentigines is crucial for developing effective protective strategies. In this study, we introduced a novel method, Dynamic Network Driver (DND), which identifies upstream regulators that drive disease progression by integrating the Dynamic Network Biomarker (DNB) approach with network control theory.

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Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) is the primary cause of myocardial injury triggered by post-myocardial infarction reperfusion therapy. Its pathogenesis involves Ca overload, the production of large amounts of oxygen-free radicals, inflammation, and cell necrosis.

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The bottleneck in efficiency stability at high luminance limits the development of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) diodes, due to the insufficient management of quenching factors, especially exciton-phonon coupling during reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) assistant with vibrational coupling. Herein, this challenge is overcome by a TADF sensitizer based "energy transfer loop" strategy. A dimethylacridine-phosphole oxide hybrid sensitizer named 24DDMACPPPO is constructed with vibration-free RISC and excited-state energy levels equal to a TADF emitter 4CzTPNBu.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma stands out as an exceptionally fatal cancer owing to the complexities associated with its treatment and diagnosis, leading to a notably low five-year survival rate. This study offers a detailed exploration of epidemiological trends in pancreatic cancer and key molecular drivers, such as mutations in , , , and , along with the influence of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) on disease progression. In particular, we focused on the pivotal roles of signaling pathways such as the transforming growth factor-β and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in the development of pancreatic cancer and investigated their application in emerging therapeutic strategies.

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Many theories suggest that creative thinking involves a dynamic transition between different mental states, yet empirical evidence supporting this notion remains scarce. The dual process model proposes that spontaneous thinking and deliberate thinking drive the dwell in and the transitions between different mental states during creative thinking, but there is a debate over whether the two types of thinking operate in parallel or in sequence. To address these gaps, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 41 college students during a creative storytelling task.

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Background: , a perennial herbaceous medicinal plant, is extensively utilized in the pharmaceutical industry. The growth of is frequently constrained by soil phosphorus availability, as a significant portion of arable land in China suffers from phosphorus deficiency.

Method: This study utilized Ural Fisch as the subject and examined the application of GR24, a synthetic strigolactone, under three phosphorus conditions: none (P1), low (P2), and high (P3).

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Article Synopsis
  • Direct catalytic decomposition of NO (a greenhouse gas) shows promise, and researchers created cobalt-doped cryptomethane (OMS-2) catalysts using a simple sol-gel method for this purpose.
  • The Co-OMS-2 catalysts achieve 90% NO conversion at 398°C, thanks to a unique Mn-V-Co structure that enhances electron transfer and facilitates NO adsorption and activation.
  • However, while Co doping improves activity by lowering oxygen vacancy formation energy, too much Co leads to reduced active sites and poorer performance due to CoO formation; the primary reaction mechanism is Langmuir-Hinshelwood.
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Spatially Resolved Transcriptomics (SRT) serves as a cornerstone in biomedical research, revealing the heterogeneity of tissue microenvironments. Integrating multimodal data including gene expression, spatial coordinates, and morphological information poses significant challenges for accurate spatial domain identification. Herein, we present the Multi-view Contrastive Graph Autoencoder (MCGAE), a cutting-edge deep computational framework specifically designed for the intricate analysis of spatial transcriptomics (ST) data.

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Background: Chondrocyte hypertrophy is a potential target for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment, with Indian hedgehog (IHH), glioma-associated oncogene homolog (GLI), and hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) being closely associated with chondrocyte hypertrophy during OA progression. Whereas IHH can modulate chondrocyte hypertrophy, interference with IHH signalling has not achieved the anticipated therapeutic effects and poses safety concerns, necessitating further clarification of the specific mechanisms by which IHH affects articular cartilage degeneration. Inhibition of the HIF-2α overexpression in cartilage slows the progression of early OA, but the mechanisms underlying HIF-2α accumulation in OA cartilage remain unclear.

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Baicalein (BN) is an active ingredient naturally present in Chinese herbs, such as Scutellaria baicalein, Coptis chinensis, and Dendrobium officinale. It has a variety of pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Therefore, Baicalein (BN) is widely used in the field of medicine and is considered a potential natural medicine.

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To characterize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and aromatic sensory properties in Yun cigar, 27 samples from four origins were analyzed using SPME-HS-GC/MS and sensory analysis. The investigation results were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), Fisher linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and Pearson correlation analysis. In Yunnan cigars, the content of nicotine and neophytadiene accounted for over 90% of the total VOC content.

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In this paper, mixed methods research is presented and discussed in the context of research on reflective writing for the professional development of pre-service teachers. First, we present prominent theoretical frameworks to analyze reflective writings. Second, we review relevant methodological approaches of research on reflective writings in teacher education, such as qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition where joint cartilage deteriorates, and high levels of HIF-2α are linked to its worsening. PT2385 can block HIF-2α and slow down OA's advancement, but it faces challenges in cartilage penetration and quick clearance from joints.
  • - PT2385's efficacy is enhanced when delivered through a specially designed system using carbon quantum dots (BCP) that can transport the drug deeper into cartilage and release it based on pH changes.
  • - In laboratory and live experiments, BCP not only effectively delivers PT2385 to where it’s needed, but it also reduces harmful factors in cartilage cells, indicating potential for improved treatment of OA.
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The electrochemical reduction of CO to high-value carbon-based chemicals provides a sustainable approach to achieving an artificial carbon cycle. In the decade, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a kind of porous crystalline porous materials featuring well-defined structures, large surface area, high porosity, diverse components, easy tailorability, and controllable morphology, have attracted considerable research attention, serving as electrocatalysts to drive CO reduction. In this review, the reaction mechanisms of electrochemical CO reduction and the structure/component advantages of MOFs meeting the requirements of electrocatalysts for CO reduction are analyzed.

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Article Synopsis
  • The rapid urbanization and aging rural population in China threaten actively cultivated land, impacting global food security.
  • The paper introduces updated Cropland Use Intensity (CUI) maps for China, showcasing the status of cropland and its changes from 2018-2023 at a detailed 10-meter resolution.
  • With a high overall accuracy of 90.88%, these maps help track cropland abandonment and increased agricultural intensity, aiding in policy development for sustainable smallholder farming practices.
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Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination is an urgent environmental problem, which endangers human health through the food chain. Bioremediation attracted extensive attention around the world due to the high cost-efficiency. However, the remediation efficiency of different plant and earthworm species of soil Cd pollution is still unclear, it is thus of great significance to explore the combined effects of different remediation plants and earthworm species to improve the bioremediation capacity.

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This study aimed to determine whether Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) can be used as a biomarker to diagnose early osteoarthritis (OA) and whether it has a chondroprotective effect against OA. We examined TSP-1 expression in cartilage, synovial fluid, and serum at different time points after anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) surgery in rats. Subsequently, TSP-1 was overexpressed or silenced to detect its effects on extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis, autophagy level, proliferation and apoptosis in chondrocytes.

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Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic degenerative joint disease. Due to the limited understanding of its complex pathological mechanism, there is currently no effective treatment that can alleviate or even reverse cartilage damage associated with OA. With improvement in public databases, researchers have successfully identified the key factors involved in the occurrence and development of OA through bioinformatics analysis.

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Background: Macrophages in the synovium, as immune cells, can be polarized into different phenotypes to play an anti-inflammatory role in the treatment of osteoarthritis. In this study, bibliometric methods were used to search the relevant literature to find valuable research directions for researchers and provide new targets for osteoarthritis prevention and early treatment.

Methods: Studies about the application of macrophages in the treatment of osteoarthritis were searched through the Web of Science core database from 2009 to 2022.

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Advances in single-cell multi-omics technology provide an unprecedented opportunity to fully understand cellular heterogeneity. However, integrating omics data from multiple modalities is challenging due to the individual characteristics of each measurement. Here, to solve such a problem, we propose a contrastive and generative deep self-expression model, called single-cell multimodal self-expressive integration (scMSI), which integrates the heterogeneous multimodal data into a unified manifold space.

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Seven in absentia homolog 1 (SIAH1) was reported to be downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and played an important role in HCC progression; however, the underlying reason remains unknown. Here, we found that Cathepsin K (CTSK), a protein potentially interacting with SIAH1, inhibits SIAH1 protein level. CTSK was highly expressed in HCC tissues.

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The industrial ammonia synthesis process consumes a lot of energy and causes serious environmental pollution. As a sustainable approach for ammonia synthesis, photocatalytic nitrogen reduction employing water as the reducing agent has a lot of potential. A simple surfactant-assisted solvothermal method is used to synthesize g-C N nanotubes with flower-like spherical BiOBr grown inside and outside (BiOBr/g-C N , BC).

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Purpose: To systematically review the clinical value of three imaging examinations (Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Computed Tomography, and myelography) in the diagnosis of Lumbar Disc Herniation.

Methods: Databases including PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data, and VIP were electronically searched to collect relevant studies on three imaging examinations in the diagnosis of Lumbar Disc Herniation from inception to July 1, 2021. Two reviewers using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies.

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Background And Aims: The abundance or decline of fern populations in response to environmental change has been found to be largely dependent on specific physiological properties that distinguish ferns from angiosperms. Many studies have focused on water use efficiency and stomatal behaviours, but the effects of nutrition acquirement and utilization strategies on niche competition between ferns and flowering plants are rarely reported.

Methods: We collected 34 ferns and 42 angiosperms from the Botanic Garden of Hokkaido University for nitrogen (N), sulphur (S), NO3- and SO42- analysis.

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