Publications by authors named "Zi-Jun Zhang"

Tibetan sheep are highly adaptable to cold and hypoxic environments, allowing them to thrive on the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau. Although many studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying their cold tolerance and hypoxia adaptation, it is still unclear how Tibetan sheep cope with the challenges of heat stress (HS) when raised in southern China. In this study, Tibetan sheep and heat-tolerant breeds (Hu sheep and Huanghuai sheep) were selected, and we conducted physiological observations, biochemical measurements, and metabolomic analysis on serum from a nonheat stress (NH) group, where the temperature-humidity index (THI) was 59.

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Polymer membranes are essential in separation processes such as desalination and organic solvent nanofiltration. However, simultaneously manipulating subnanometer pore size, homogeneity, and chemistry remains challenging due to the coupled diffusion-reaction of building blocks in membrane formation, resulting in the trade-off between permeance and selectivity. Here, we report a versatile enzyme-mediated strategy that kinetically decouples diffusion and reaction, enabling multidimensional pore engineering with tunable pore sizes (0.

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Background: This review evaluates the efficacy and safety of therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with hepatic vein tumor thrombus (HVTT), inferior vena cava tumor thrombus (IVCTT), and/or right atrium tumor thrombus (RATT).

Research Design And Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Wanfang databases up to 22 August 2024, was conducted, focusing on overall survival (OS), progression -free survival (PFS), and adverse reactions.

Results: Seven studies involving 453 patients were analyzed.

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Sleep deprivation (SD) disrupts circadian rhythms; however, its effects on SD and the mechanisms involved require further investigation. Previous studies on SD were mainly conducted on rodents, such as mice, with few studies on its effects on the liver of large diurnal animals, such as sheep. In this study, we used a Tibetan sheep model for the first time to investigate the effects of SD on the liver by exposing Tibetan sheep () to 7 days of SD (6 h/day) and performed transcriptome sequencing analysis on liver samples taken at 4 h intervals over 24 h.

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Heat stress (HS) has become a common stressor, owing to the increasing frequency of extreme high-temperature weather triggered by global warming, which has seriously affected the reproductive capacity of important livestock such as sheep. However, little is known about whether HS reduces sperm motility by inducing circadian rhythm disorders in rumen microorganisms and metabolites in sheep. In this study, the year-round reproduction of two-year-old Hu rams was selected, and the samples were collected in May and July 2022 at average environmental temperatures between 18.

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Skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) are pivotal in skeletal muscle development and are influenced by numerous regulatory factors. This study focuses on the regulatory and functional mechanism roles of lncMD1, a muscle-specific long non-coding RNA, in the proliferation and differentiation of goat SMSCs. Employing in vitro cultured goat SMSCs, this study demonstrated that lncMD1, functions as a decoy for miR-133a-3p and miR-361-3p.

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Ram sperm undergo a sequence of physiological and biochemical changes collectively termed as capacitation to perform oocyte fertilization. However, the protein changes induced by capacitation remain in need of further exploration. Thus, the present study investigated the comparative proteomic profiling in ram spermatozoa under non-capacitating (NC) and capacitating (CAP) conditions in vitro using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combined with tandem mass tag labeling strategy.

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Twenty-five acetophenone/piperazin-2-one (APPA) hybrids were designed and synthesized based on key pharmacophores found in anti-breast cancer drugs Neratinib, Palbociclib, and Olaparib. Compound 1j exhibited good in vitro antiproliferative activity (IC = 6.50 μM) and high selectivity (SI = 9.

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Cytochrome P450 enzymes are known to catalyse bimodal oxidation of aliphatic acids via radical intermediates, which partition between pathways of hydroxylation and desaturation. Developing analogous catalytic systems for remote C-H functionalization remains a significant challenge. Here, we report the development of Cu(I)-catalysed bimodal dehydrogenation/lactonization reactions of synthetically common N-methoxyamides through radical abstractions of the γ-aliphatic C-H bonds.

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Purpose: Autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) is a group of autoimmune retinal diseases that can cause blindness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the profiles of serum antiretinal antibodies (ARAs) and cytokines and their association with disease diagnosis as well as clinical features in AIR.

Methods: The patients with presumed para (p) and non-paraneoplastic (np) AIR diagnosis, the patients with retinitis pigmentosa and bilateral uveitis as disease controls, and healthy subjects were prospectively enrolled.

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Purpose: To characterize and compare clinical and immunological features of para(p)-autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) and non-para(np)-AIR and to assess the clinical significance of the presence of serum anti-retinal antibodies (ARAs).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 48 Chinese patients with p-AIR or np-AIR who took comprehensive ophthalmic examinations and lab tests of the presence of serum ARAs.

Results: p-AIR patients differed from np-AIR patients in terms of disease progression, ocular inflammation, findings of OCT, FFA, and presence of ARAs.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of decreasing dietary crude protein content on rumen fermentation, mictobiota, and metabolites in goats.

Methods: In an 84-day feeding trial, a total of twelve male Anhui white goat kids with initial body weight 15.9±1.

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Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a new type of subregional cooperation mechanism initiated and built by China and other five countries of the Lancang-Mekong subregion, namely Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Countries in the Lancang-Mekong subregion are geographically and culturally connected, and they have nurtured their unique traditional medicine. By combing the history of traditional medicine exchanges between China and other Lancang-Mekong countries and their progress of modern research, this paper summarized the challenges and opportunities of traditional medicine cooperation in the Lancang-Mekong subregion.

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Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. Intraocular pressure (IOP) plays a key role in glaucoma development and progression. Schlemm's canal (SC), an important structure of the anterior chamber angle, regulates the flow of aqueous humor and maintains IOP.

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Purpose: To evaluate intravitreal conbercept injection for treatment of macular oedema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in Chinese patients during 1-year follow-up in the real-world setting.

Methods: Twenty-seven eyes of 27 patients with macular oedema associated with CRVO were retrospectively reviewed. The eyes received monthly intravitreal conbercept injection (0.

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Based on heavy chassis dynamometers, an experimental study was conducted in a diesel bus with proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). It investigated the effects of volatile organic compound (VOC) emission characteristics with three different diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC)+catalyzed diesel particulate filter (CDPF) after-treatments for a typical Chinese city bus driving cycle (CCBC). The results reveal that the major compounds from the diesel bus are OVOCs, aromatic hydrocarbons, alkenes, alkanes, nitrogenous organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and that the OVOCs account for more than 50%of the total VOCs.

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Unlabelled: Increased vascular permeability facilitates metastasis. Emerging evidence indicates that secreted microRNAs (miRNAs) may mediate the crosstalk between cancer and stromal cells. To date, whether and how secreted miRNAs affect vascular permeability remains unclear.

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Tannic acid-templated mesoporous silica (TAMS) was synthesized using a simple nonsurfactant template method and dopamine-functionalized TAMS (Dop-TAMS), which was prepared via a biomimetic coating, was developed as a new support for immobilization of NHase (NHase@Dop-TAMS). The Dop-TAMS was thoroughly characterized by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and the results showed that the Dop-TAMS possessed sufficiently large pore size and volume for the accommodation of NHase. Studying the thermal stability, storage, shaking stability, and pH stability of the free and immobilized NHase indicated that the catalytic properties of NHase@Dop-TAMS were significantly enhanced.

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Vascular mimicry (VM) is a critical complement for microcirculation and is implicated in tumor progression. We showed that IL-6 derived from tumor cells and stroma cells promoted tumor cells to form a VM structure, whereas blocking the IL-6 signaling by RNA interference, IL-6-neutralizing antibody, or STAT3 inhibitor suppressed the VM formation of tumor cells. Mechanism investigations revealed that IL-6 stimulated VM formation by activating STAT3, in turn upregulating VE-cadherin expression and MMP2 activity.

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We have previously shown that vessels that encapsulated tumour cluster (VETC), a prevalent vascular pattern in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), facilitates the entry of the whole tumour cluster into the bloodstream in an invasion-independent manner, and that angiopoietin 2 (Angpt2), the levels of which are increased in HCC cells, is essential for VETC formation. However, the mechanisms underlying VETC formation remains unclear. Herein, we characterized miR-125b and miR-100 as novel VETC suppressors by using human HCC specimens, and cell and animal models.

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A copper (I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) grafting-to method was used to tether alkyne-terminated poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid) (alkyne-PAMPS) to the azide functionalized macroporous polypropylene membrane (MPPM-N3). Alkyne-PAMPS was synthesized by the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) of AMPS with an alkyne-terminated trithiocarbonate served as a chain transfer agent. The combination of RAFT polymerization with click chemistry to graft polymer to the surface of polypropylene membrane produced relatively high grafting density and controllable grafting chain length.

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Background: Superior kidding rate is an important economic trait in production of meat goat, and ovulation rate is the precondition of kidding rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in almost all ovarian biological processes, including folliculogenesis, follicle development, follicle atresia, luteal development and regression. To find out the different ovarian activity and follicle recruitment with miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional regulation, the small RNAs expressed pattern in the ovarian tissues of multiple and uniparous Anhui White goats during follicular phase was analyzed using Solexa sequencing data.

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This study was designed to examine the effects of pulsed low-intensity ultrasound (PLIUS) on chondrocyte viability, proliferation, matrix production and gene expression. Chondrocytes were isolated from the distal part of the sternum of 16-day-old chick embryos and cultured in alginate beads. PLIUS at 2 mW/cm(2) (group PLIUS(2)) and 30 mW/cm(2) (group PLIUS(30)) was applied to chondrocytes for a single 20-min treatment.

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