| 21. |
- Xu, Hui, et al.
(author)
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Association of lifespan cognitive reserve indicator with the risk of mild cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia
- 2020
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In: Alzheimer's & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 16:6, s. 873-882
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: The association of lifespan cognitive reserve (CR) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains controversial. We aimed to examine the association of lifespan CR indicator with the risk of MCI and its progression to dementia, taking brain pathologies into account.Methods: In a community-based cohort study (mean age, 79 years) with annual followup (median, 5.16 years; maximum, 20 years), a cognitively intact group (n = 1182) and an MCI group (n = 420) were identified at baseline. During the follow-up, 611 participants died and underwent autopsies. CR indicator encompassing education, early life to late-life cognitive and social activities were obtained and tertiled.Results: The multi-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of MCI was 0.72 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58 to 0.90) in the cognitively intact group, and the HR of dementia was 0.66 (95% CI 0.45 to 0.97) in the MCI group for participants with the highest CR indicator (reference: the lowest CR indicator). Among MCI participants with brain pathologies, dementia incidence was about 50% lower in people with the highest CR indicator than the lowest CR indicator.Discussion: High lifespan CR indicator reduces risk of MCI, and delays its progression to dementia.
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| 22. |
- Xu, Hui, et al.
(author)
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Impact of Pore Structure on Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Materials : Rotating Ring-Disk Electrode vs. Flow Cell
- 2022
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In: ChemSusChem. - : Wiley. - 1864-5631 .- 1864-564X. ; 15:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The impact of pore structure on the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in nitrogen-doped carbon materials is currently under debate, and previous studies are mainly limited to the rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) rather than the practical flow cell (FC) system. In this study, assisted by a group of reliable pore models, the impact of two pore structure parameters, that is, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (SBET) and micropore surface fraction (fmicro), on ORR activity and selectivity are investigated in both RRDE and FC. The ORR mass activity correlates positively to the SBET in the RRDE and FC because a higher SBET can host more active sites. The H2O2 selectivity is independent of fmicro in the RRDE but correlates negatively to fmicro in the FC. The inconsistency results from different states of the electrode in the RRDE and the FC. These insights will guide the design of carbon materials for H2O2 synthesis.
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| 23. |
- Xu, Hui, et al.
(author)
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Osteoporosis and Osteopenia Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Aged >= 50 : Role of Sex and Clinical Characteristics
- 2020
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In: Journal of clinical densitometry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1094-6950 .- 1559-0747. ; 23:1, s. 29-36
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction/Background: Although some studies have explored the association of adiposity and life habits (such as smoking) with osteoporosis and osteopenia among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, the association between diabetic clinical characteristics (especially hypoglycemic drug use) and osteoporosis/ osteopenia remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of clinical characteristics with osteoporosis and osteopenia among T2DM patients by sex. Methods: A total of 1222 T2DM patients aged >= 50 were included in the present study. Information on demographic, anthropometric and clinical characteristics was collected from medical records. Bone mineral density was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry densitometer. Multiple adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of osteoporosis and osteopenia related to clinical characteristics. Results: Of all participants, the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia was 9.2% and 41.3%, respectively, and they were higher in females (14.7% and 48.5%) than in males (2.8% and 33%). After adjustment for potential confounders, the results showed that overweight (OR = 0.59; 95 % CI, 0.42-0.81) and obesity (OR = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.24-0.50) were related to decreased odds of osteoporosis and osteopenia in both male and female T2DM patients, poor glycemic control (OR = 1.63; 95% CI, 1.08-2.47) was associated with increased odds of osteoporosis and osteopenia in males, and metformin treatment (OR = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.43-0.99) was associated with decreased odds of osteoporosis and osteopenia in females. Conclusions: Better glycemic management and rational choice of antidiabetic medication might be promising to prevent osteoporosis in T2DM patients. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to explore the association between antidiabetic treatment and osteoporosis.
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| 24. |
- Xu, Jie, et al.
(author)
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UV-B-induced molecular mechanisms of stress physiology responses in the major northern Chinese conifer Pinus tabuliformis Carr
- 2021
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In: Tree Physiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0829-318X .- 1758-4469. ; 41:7, s. 1247-1263
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During their lifetimes, plants are exposed to different abiotic stress factors eliciting various physiological responses and triggering important defense processes. For UV-B radiation responses in forest trees, the genetics and molecular regulation remain to be elucidated. Here, we exposed Pinus tabuliformis Carr., a major conifer from northern China, to short-term high-intensity UV-B and employed a systems biology approach to characterize the early physiological processes and the hierarchical gene regulation, which revealed a temporal transition from primary to secondary metabolism, the buildup of enhanced antioxidant capacity and stress-signaling activation. Our findings showed that photosynthesis and biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments were inhibited, while flavonoids and their related derivates biosynthesis, as well as glutathione and glutathione S-transferase mediated antioxidant processes, were enhanced. Likewise, stress-related phytohormones (jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and ethylene), kinase and reactive oxygen species signal transduction pathways were activated. Biological processes regulated by auxin and karrikin were, for the first time, found to be involved in plant defense against UV-B by promoting the biosynthesis of flavonoids and the improvement of antioxidant capacity in our research system. Our work evaluated the physiological and transcriptome perturbations in a conifer's response to UV-B, and generally, highlighted the necessity of a systems biology approach in addressing plant stress biology.
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| 25. |
- Yang, Rongrong, et al.
(author)
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A healthy lifestyle mitigates the risk of heart disease related to type 2 diabetes : a prospective nested case-control study in a nationwide Swedish twin cohort
- 2021
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In: Diabetologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0012-186X .- 1432-0428. ; 64, s. 530-539
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims/hypothesis We aimed to examine the association between type 2 diabetes and major subtypes of heart disease, to assess the role of genetic and early-life familial environmental factors in this association and to explore whether and to what extent a healthy lifestyle mitigates the risk of heart disease related to type 2 diabetes.Methods In this prospective nested case-control study based on the Swedish Twin Registry, 41,463 twin individuals who were aged >= 40 and heart disease-free were followed up for 16 years (from 1998 to 2014) to detect incident heart disease. Type 2 diabetes was ascertained from self-report, the National Patient Registry and glucose-lowering medication use. Heart disease diagnosis (including coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure) and onset age were identified from the National Patient Registry. Healthy lifestyle-related factors consisted of being a non-smoker, no/mild alcohol consumption, regular physical activity and being non-overweight. Participants were divided into three groups according to the number of lifestyle-related factors: (1) unfavourable (participants who had no or only one healthy lifestyle factor); (2) intermediate (any two or three); and (3) favourable (four). Generalised estimating equation models for unmatched case-control design and conditional logistic regression for co-twin control design were used in data analyses.Results Of all participants, 2304 (5.5%) had type 2 diabetes at baseline. During the observation period, 9262 (22.3%) had any incident heart disease. In unmatched case-control analyses and co-twin control analyses, the multi-adjusted OR and 95% CI of heart disease related to type 2 diabetes was 4.36 (3.95, 4.81) and 4.89 (3.88, 6.16), respectively. The difference in ORs from unmatched case-control analyses vs co-twin control analyses was statistically significant (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.42, 1.73; p < 0.001). In stratified analyses by type 2 diabetes, compared with an unfavourable lifestyle, an intermediate lifestyle or a favourable lifestyle was associated with a significant 32% (OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.49, 0.93) or 56% (OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.30, 0.63) decrease in heart disease risk among patients with type 2 diabetes, respectively. There were significant additive and multiplicative interactions between lifestyle and type 2 diabetes on heart disease.Conclusions/interpretation Type 2 diabetes is associated with more than fourfold increased risk of heart disease. The association still remains statistically significant, even after fully controlling for genetic and early-life familial environmental factors. However, greater adherence to a healthy lifestyle may significantly mitigate the risk of heart disease related to type 2 diabetes.
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| 26. |
- Zhu, Xingwang, et al.
(author)
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Stacking Engineering of Heterojunctions in Half-Metallic Carbon Nitride for Efficient CO2 Photoreduction
- 2023
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In: Advanced Science. - : WILEY. - 2198-3844.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Enhancing charge separation in semiconductor photocatalysts is a major challenge for efficient artificial photosynthesis. Herein, a compact heterojunction is designed by embedding half-metallic C(CN)(3) (hm-CN) hydrothermally in BiOBr (BOB) as the backbone. The interface between hm-CN and BOB is seamless and formed by covalent bonding to facilitate the transmission of photoinduced electrons from BOB to hm-CN. The transient photocurrents and electrochemical impedance spectra reveal that the modified composite catalyst exhibits a larger electron transfer rate. The photocatalytic activity of hm-CN/BOB increases significantly as indicated by a CO yield that is about four times higher than that of individual components. Density-functional theory calculations verify that the heterojunction improves electron transport and decreases the reaction energy barrier, thus promoting the overall photocatalytic CO2 conversion efficiency. The half-metal nitride coupled semiconductor heterojunctions might have large potential in artificial photosynthesis and related applications.
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| 27. |
- Abazajian, Kevork, et al.
(author)
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CMB-S4 : Forecasting Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves
- 2022
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 926:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- CMB-S4—the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment—is set to significantly advance the sensitivity of CMB measurements and enhance our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. Among the science cases pursued with CMB-S4, the quest for detecting primordial gravitational waves is a central driver of the experimental design. This work details the development of a forecasting framework that includes a power-spectrum-based semianalytic projection tool, targeted explicitly toward optimizing constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, in the presence of Galactic foregrounds and gravitational lensing of the CMB. This framework is unique in its direct use of information from the achieved performance of current Stage 2–3 CMB experiments to robustly forecast the science reach of upcoming CMB-polarization endeavors. The methodology allows for rapid iteration over experimental configurations and offers a flexible way to optimize the design of future experiments, given a desired scientific goal. To form a closed-loop process, we couple this semianalytic tool with map-based validation studies, which allow for the injection of additional complexity and verification of our forecasts with several independent analysis methods. We document multiple rounds of forecasts for CMB-S4 using this process and the resulting establishment of the current reference design of the primordial gravitational-wave component of the Stage-4 experiment, optimized to achieve our science goals of detecting primordial gravitational waves for r > 0.003 at greater than 5σ, or in the absence of a detection, of reaching an upper limit of r < 0.001 at 95% CL.
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| 28. |
- Baker, Yare, et al.
(author)
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Impact of HO2/RO2 ratio on highly oxygenated α-pinene photooxidation products and secondary organic aerosol formation potential
- 2024
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In: ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 24:8, s. 4789-4807
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Highly oxygenated molecules (HOMs) from the atmospheric oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds are important contributors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Organic peroxy radicals (RO2) and hydroperoxy radicals (HO2) are key species influencing the HOM product distribution. In laboratory studies, experimental requirements often result in overemphasis on RO2 cross-reactions compared to reactions of RO2 with HO2. We analyzed the photochemical formation of HOMs from alpha-pinene and their potential to contribute to SOA formation under high (approximate to 1/1) and low (approximate to 1/100) conditions. As > 1 is prevalent in the daytime atmosphere, sufficiently high is crucial to mimic atmospheric conditions and to prevent biases by low on the HOM product distribution and thus SOA yield. Experiments were performed under steady-state conditions in the new, continuously stirred tank reactor SAPHIR-STAR at Forschungszentrum J & uuml;lich. The ratio was increased by adding CO while keeping the OH concentration constant. We determined the HOM's SOA formation potential, considering its fraction remaining in the gas phase after seeding with (NH4)(2)SO4 aerosol. An increase in led to a reduction in SOA formation potential, with the main driver being a similar to 60 % reduction in HOM-accretion products. We also observed a shift in HOM-monomer functionalization from carbonyl to hydroperoxide groups. We determined a reduction of the HOM's SOA formation potential by similar to 30 % at approximate to 1/1 compared to approximate to 1/100. Particle-phase observations measured a similar decrease in SOA mass and yield. Our study shows that too low ratios compared to the atmosphere can lead to an overestimation of SOA yields.
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| 29. |
- Cao, Zhixing, et al.
(author)
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Multi-scale data-driven engineering for biosynthetic titer improvement
- 2020
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In: Current Opinion in Biotechnology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0958-1669 .- 1879-0429. ; 65, s. 205-212
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Industrial biosynthesis is a very complex process which depends on a range of different factors, from intracellular genes and metabolites, to extracellular culturing conditions and bioreactor engineering. The identification of species that improve the titer of some reaction is akin to the task of finding a needle in a haystack. This review aims to summarize state-of-the-art biosynthesis titer improvement on different scales separately, particularly regarding the advancement of metabolic pathway rewiring and data-driven process optimization and control. By integrating multi-scale data and establishing a mathematical replica of a real biosynthesis, more refined quantitative insights can be gained for achieving a higher titer than ever.
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| 30. |
- Chen, Baoqing, et al.
(author)
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The Long Noncoding RNA CCAT2 Induces Chromosomal Instability Through BOP1-AURKB Signaling
- 2020
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In: Gastroenterology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 159:6, s. 2146-2162
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background & AimsChromosomal instability (CIN) is a carcinogenesis event that promotes metastasis and resistance to therapy by unclear mechanisms. Expression of the colon cancer–associated transcript 2 gene (CCAT2), which encodes a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), associates with CIN, but little is known about how CCAT2 lncRNA regulates this cancer enabling characteristic.MethodsWe performed cytogenetic analysis of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines (HCT116, KM12C/SM, and HT29) overexpressing CCAT2 and colon organoids from C57BL/6N mice with the CCAT2 transgene and without (controls). CRC cells were also analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy, γ-H2AX, and senescence assays. CCAT2 transgene and control mice were given azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium to induce colon tumors. We performed gene expression array and mass spectrometry to detect downstream targets of CCAT2 lncRNA. We characterized interactions between CCAT2 with downstream proteins using MS2 pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, and selective 2′-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension analyses. Downstream proteins were overexpressed in CRC cells and analyzed for CIN. Gene expression levels were measured in CRC and non-tumor tissues from 5 cohorts, comprising more than 900 patients.ResultsHigh expression of CCAT2 induced CIN in CRC cell lines and increased resistance to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Mice that expressed the CCAT2 transgene developed chromosome abnormalities, and colon organoids derived from crypt cells of these mice had a higher percentage of chromosome abnormalities compared with organoids from control mice. The transgenic mice given azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium developed more and larger colon polyps than control mice given these agents. Microarray analysis and mass spectrometry indicated that expression of CCAT2 increased expression of genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis. CCAT2 lncRNA interacted directly with and stabilized BOP1 ribosomal biogenesis factor (BOP1). CCAT2 also increased expression of MYC, which activated expression of BOP1. Overexpression of BOP1 in CRC cell lines resulted in chromosomal missegregation errors, and increased colony formation, and invasiveness, whereas BOP1 knockdown reduced viability. BOP1 promoted CIN by increasing the active form of aurora kinase B, which regulates chromosomal segregation. BOP1 was overexpressed in polyp tissues from CCAT2 transgenic mice compared with healthy tissue. CCAT2 lncRNA and BOP1 mRNA or protein were all increased in microsatellite stable tumors (characterized by CIN), but not in tumors with microsatellite instability compared with nontumor tissues. Increased levels of CCAT2 lncRNA and BOP1 mRNA correlated with each other and with shorter survival times of patients.ConclusionsWe found that overexpression of CCAT2 in colon cells promotes CIN and carcinogenesis by stabilizing and inducing expression of BOP1 an activator of aurora kinase B. Strategies to target this pathway might be developed for treatment of patients with microsatellite stable colorectal tumors.
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