Browsing by Author "Zhang, Kai"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Crop yield and soil organic carbon under ridge–furrow cultivation in China: A meta-analysis
    (Wiley, 2021-06) Wang, Yunqi; Gao, Fuli; Wang, Lixin; Guo, Tongji; Qi, Liuran; Zeng, Huanyu; Liang, Yuexin; Zhang, Kai; Jia, Zhikuan; Zhang, Rui; Earth Sciences, School of Science
    Ridge–furrow cultivation (RF) is a popular emerging technique that can increase crop productivity in dry areas. However, the efficacy of RF on crop yield and soil organic carbon (SOC) remains uncertain under different climate and management conditions. Here, we compiled data from 48 publications to evaluate the response of yield and SOC to RF in China. Overall, our meta-analysis showed that RF increased yield by 30.2%, but it had no effects on SOC. When differentiated based on different categories, yield and SOC varied by crop species, climate, soil textures, mulching management, and ridge–furrow patterns. RF increased the yield of wheat, maize, soybean, rape, linseed, potato, and SOC under soybean cultivation. Yield increase with RF was also consistent across temperature and precipitation. Yield increase was observed in all the soil textures. There were no RF effects on SOC under different soil textures. RF enhanced yields under no mulching, straw mulching and plastic film mulching, but increased SOC only in combination with straw mulching. A higher yield increase was observed under alternating small and large ridges (ASLR) than alternating ridges and furrows (AR). RF decreased SOC by 11.7% under AR, but had no effects on SOC under ASLR. Together, ASLR with straw mulching could increase yield and SOC in coarse soil texture regions with annual mean temperature >10°C and annual mean precipitation > 400 mm. This study showed the importance of considering local environmental conditions with management practices in identifying appropriate RF practices for improving crop productivity and soil carbon sequestration.
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    Extracting the phase information from atomic memory by intensity correlation measurement
    (OSA, 2015-04) Guo, Jinxian; Zhang, Kai; Chen, L. Q.; Yuan, Chun-Hua; Bian, Cheng-ling; Ou, Z. Y.; Zhang, Weiping; Department of Physics, School of Science
    We demonstrate experimentally controlled storage and retrieval of the optical phase information in a higher-order interference scheme based on Raman process in 87Rb atomic vapor cells. An interference pattern is observed in intensity correlation measurement between the write Stokes field and the delayed read Stokes field as the phase of the Raman write field is scanned. This result implies that the phase information of the Raman write field can be written into the atomic spin wave via Raman process in a high gain regime and subsequently read out via a spin-wave enhanced Raman process, thus achieving optical storage of phase information. This technique should find applications in optical phase image storage, holography and information processing.
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    Identification of benzothiazones containing a hexahydropyrrolo[3,4- c]pyrrol moiety as antitubercular agents against MDR-MTB
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020-04-07) Ma, Xican; Han, Bing; Wang, Aoyu; Yang, Lu; Huang, Menghao; Chowdhury, Kushan; Gu, Jian; Zhang, Kai; Lv, Kai; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    IMB1603, a spiro-benzothiazone compound discovered by our lab, displayed potent anti-MTB activity in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we reported a series of new BTZs containing the hexahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrol moiety based on the structure of IMB1603. Among them, BTZs 11 and 24 displayed potent anti-MTB (MIC < 0.035 μM) and MDR-MTB (MIC, 0.053-0.102 μM) activity, good solubility (1.82-1.85 μg mL-1), and low cytotoxicity (CC50 > 200 μM), suggesting BTZs 11 and 24 may serve as promising candidates for further study. The molecular docking study of 11 toward DprE was also investigated, and revealed that 11 mimicked the binding pattern of PBTZ169 in the active site of DprE1.
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    MCP5, a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein regulated by both the Hk1-Rrp1 and Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathways, is required for the immune evasion of Borrelia burgdorferi
    (bioRxiv, 2024-06-10) Raghunandanan, Sajith; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Yan; Sze, Ching Wooen; Priya, Raj; Luo, Yongliang; Lynch, Michael J.; Crane, Brian R.; Li, Chunhao; Yang, X. Frank; Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
    Borrelia (or Borreliella) burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is a motile and invasive zoonotic pathogen, adept at navigating between its arthropod vector and mammalian host. While motility and chemotaxis are well established as essential for its enzootic cycle, the function of methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) in the infectious cycle of B. burgdorferi remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that MCP5, one of the most abundant MCPs in B. burgdorferi, is differentially expressed in response to environmental signals as well as at different stages of the pathogen’s enzootic cycle. Specifically, the expression of mcp5 is regulated by the Hk1-Rrp1 and Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathways, which are critical for the spirochete’s colonization of the tick vector and mammalian host, respectively. Infection experiments with an mcp5 mutant revealed that spirochetes lacking MCP5 could not establish infections in either C3H/HeN mice or Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, which are defective in adaptive immunity, indicating the essential role of MCP5 in mammalian infection. However, the mcp5 mutant could establish infection and disseminate in NOD SCID Gamma (NSG) mice, which are deficient in both adaptive and most innate immune responses, suggesting a crucial role of MCP5 in evading host innate immunity. In the tick vector, the mcp5 mutants survived feeding but failed to transmit to mice, highlighting the importance of MCP5 in transmission. Our findings reveal that MCP5, regulated by the Rrp1 and Rrp2 pathways, is critical for the establishment of infection in mammalian hosts by evading host innate immunity and is important for the transmission of spirochetes from ticks to mammalian hosts, underscoring its potential as a target for intervention strategies.
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    MCP5, a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein regulated by both the Hk1-Rrp1 and Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathways, is required for the immune evasion of Borrelia burgdorferi
    (Public Library of Science, 2024-12-30) Raghunandanan, Sajith; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Yan; Priya, Raj; Sze, Ching Wooen; Lou, Yongliang; Lynch, Michael J.; Crane, Brian R.; Kaplan, Mark H.; Li, Chunhao; Yang, X. Frank; Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
    Borrelia (or Borreliella) burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is a motile and invasive zoonotic pathogen adept at navigating between its arthropod vector and mammalian host. While motility and chemotaxis are well known to be essential for its enzootic cycle, the role of each methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) in the infectious cycle of B. burgdorferi remains unclear. In this study, we show that mcp5, a gene encoding one of the most abundant MCPs in B. burgdorferi, is differentially expressed in response to environmental signals and at distinct stages of the pathogen's enzootic cycle. Notably, mcp5 expression is regulated by the Hk1-Rrp1 and Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathways, two key regulatory pathways that are critical for the spirochete's colonization of the tick vector and mammalian host, respectively. Infection experiments with an mcp5 mutant revealed that spirochetes lacking MCP5 were unable to establish infections in either C3H/HeN mice or Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, which are deficient in adaptive immunity, underscoring MCP5's critical role in mammalian infection. However, the mcp5 mutant was able to establish infection and disseminate in NOD SCID Gamma (NSG) mice, which are deficient in both adaptive and most innate immune responses, suggesting that MCP5 plays an important role in evading host innate immunity. Moreover, NK cell depletion in C3H and SCID mice restored the infectivity of the mcp5 mutant, further highlighting MCP5's role in evading NK cell-associated immunity. Co-culture assays with NK cells and macrophages revealed that the mcp5 mutant enhanced interferon-gamma production by NK cells. In the tick vector, the mcp5 mutants survived feeding but failed to transmit to mice. These findings reveal that MCP5, regulated by both the Rrp1 and Rrp2 pathways, is critical for establishing infection in mammalian hosts by evading NK cell-mediated host innate immunity and is important for the transmission of spirochetes from ticks to mammalian hosts. This work provides a foundation for further elucidation of chemotactic signals sensed by MCP5 that facilitate B. burgdorferi in evading host defenses.
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    Social and Behavior Factors of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: A National Study in the U.S.
    (Elsevier, 2024) Ciciora, David; Vásquez, Elizabeth; Valachovic, Edward; Hou, Lifang; Zheng, Yinan; Xu, Hua; Jiang, Xiaoqian; Huang, Kun; Gabriel, Kelley Pettee; Deng, Hong-Wen; Gallant, Mary P.; Zhang, Kai; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Introduction: Considerable research has linked many risk factors to Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Without a clear etiology of ADRD, it is advantageous to rank the known risk factors by their importance and determine if disparities exist. Statistical-based ranking can provide insight into which risk factors should be further evaluated. Methods: This observational, population-based study assessed 50 county-level measures and estimates related to ADRD in 3,155 counties in the U.S. using data from 2010 to 2021. Statistical analysis was performed in 2022-2023. The machine learning method, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, was utilized to rank the importance of these variables by their relative contribution to the model performance. Stratified ranking was also performed based on a county's level of disadvantage. Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) provided marginal contributions for each variable. Results: The top three ranked predictors at the county level were insufficient sleep, consuming less than one serving of fruits/vegetables per day among adults, and having less than a high school diploma. In both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged counties, demographic variables such as sex and race were important in predicting ADRD. Lifestyle factors ranked highly in non-disadvantaged counties compared to more environmental factors in disadvantaged counties. Conclusions: This ranked list of factors can provide a guided approach to ADRD primary prevention strategies in the U.S., as the effects of sleep, diet, and education on ADRD can be further developed. While sleep, diet, and education are important nationally, differing prevention strategies could be employed based on a county's level of disadvantage.