At the 16th China Health Information Technology/ Healthcare Big Data Application Exchange Conference held on July 10, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ZJU4H) was rated as a Grade V Level B hospital in China Health Information Connectivity Standardization Maturity Assessment, which is the highest level in this regard in China.In May, the assessment panel conducted an on-site inspection of ZJU4H and lauded its remarkable information infrastruc...

The research team led by Prof. ZHENG Shao-Jian from the Zhejiang University College of Life Sciencespublished a research article entitled “A Transcription Factor STOP1-Centered Pathway Coordinates Ammonium and Phosphate Acquisition in Arabidopsis” in the journal Molecular Plant on June 30, 2021 (doi: /10.1016/j.molp.2021.06.024). This study uncovers the molecular bases of low phosphorus-induced secretion of organic acids and the mechanisms for the coordination of phosphorous and nitr...

Iron (Fe) storage in plant seeds is not only necessary for seedling establishment following germination, but also a major source of dietary Fe for human and animal life. Mother plants transport iron into seeds for storage during the fruit-bearing process. However, an excessive amount of iron is toxic to cells. It has been reported that iron loading is restricted at the initial stage of seed development. Nevertheless, how plants regulate early seed iron loading and the biological function of this...

Prof. TANG Ruikang and Prof. LIU Zhaoming from the Zhejiang University Department of Chemistry discovered that amorphous calcium carbonate particles can be fused into integrated monoliths via regulation of structurally bound water and external pressure. The strategy of using the material’s own structural idiosyncrasies to promote mass transportation overcomes the flaw of conventional sintering and provides a novel approach to manufacturing inorganic bulk materials.Their research ...

Cancer metastasis, one of the challenges that the medical community faces, constitutes a severe health hazard for mankind. Recently, the research team led by Prof. SHEN Huahao and Prof. YING Songmin from the Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine discovered that eosinophilic inflammation promotes metastatic tumor growth. This study offers...

Being the fifth morbidity and the third leading cause of tumor mortality worldwide, gastric cancer (GC) remains to be a major health burden. Although alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been widely applied as a relatively specific marker for liver cancer, some other tumors such as a subgroup of gastric cancer can also produce and secrete AFP, namely AFP producing gastric cancer (AFPGC). AFPGC is a special and rare subtype of gastric cancer, accounting for 1.3-5.4% of GC. Compared with common GC, patient...

Ms. YAO Wenqin, an eminent alumna of Zhejiang University, died at the age 105 on June 16, 2021 in New York, U.S. Yao obtained her bachelor’s degree in education at Zhejiang University in 1940 and studied for her master’s degree in early childhood education at the University of Pittsburgh in 1946. She taught at the United Nations International School (UNIS) in New York from 1950 to 1990, dedicating her life wholeheartedly to early childhood education. “Her contributions to UNIS are remarkable ...

The research team led by Prof. JI Junfeng at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine recently published an article entitled “PHC1 maintains pluripotency by organizing genome-wide chromatin interactions of the Nanog locus” in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers found that PHC1, a type of polycomb group (PcG) protein, could silence developmental genes through the polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and activate Nanog transcription by stabilizing the genome-wide...

Hepatitis B virus-related ACLF (HBV-ACLF) is a complicated syndrome with a high short-term mortality rate that develops in patients with HBV-related chronic liver disease, regardless of the presence of cirrhosis, and it is characterized by the acute deterioration of liver function and hepatic and/or extrahepatic organ failure. The short-term mortality rate is as high as 50-90%. The early prognosis of HBV-ACLF helps to optimize diagnostic and therapeutic schemes, thus improving the survival rate ...

[Messages from the editor: With speeches, songs and smiles, and graduation parties, the ZJU community celebrated the Class of 2021’s farewell to the “Qiushi Garden”. Congratulations the Class of 2021 graduates! While the past year has been full of challenges, you have proven that hard work, dedication and resilience can get you to your goal. As you embark on a new journey, remember your connection to ZJU is for a lifetime. In the interview, the graduates shared their fondest memories and futu...