Bing Zhao

Menzies Research Institute

Background & aims: Over the past decades, particulate matter (PM), especially fine PM <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) has been a major research focus. However, the air pollutant is a mixture of gases or vapour-phase compounds, such as carbon monoxide (C), nitrogen oxides (NOx), photochemical oxidants (Ox), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Little...

Advanced and aggressive prostate cancer (PCa) depends on glutamine for survival and proliferation. We have previously shown that inhibition of glutaminase 1, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of glutamine catabolism, achieves significant therapeutic effect; however, therapy resistance is inevitable. Here we report that while the glutamine carb...

Background and objective: The link between respiratory and vascular health is well documented in adult populations. Impaired lung function is consistently associated with thicker arteries and higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. However, there are limited data on this relationship in young children and the studies that exist have focussed o...

Background: PM2·5 is an important but modifiable environmental risk factor, not only for pulmonary diseases and cancers, but for cardiovascular health. However, the evidence regarding the association between air pollution and acute cardiac events, such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), is inconsistent, especially at concentrations lower th...

Objective To evaluate whether vascular health in young children was associated with exposure to a 6-week episode of coal mine fire smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in a retrospective cohort study. Methods Three years after a coal mine fire in Victoria, Australia, we investigated the vascular health of children either in utero (n=75) or a...

The choice of valve type for aortic valve replacement surgery is sometimes challenging. The main risk for bioprostheses is structural valve degeneration (SVD); however, little is known about what the most important risk factors are. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify the risk factors and estimate their pooled effect size...

Introduction Accumulating evidence has shown the elevated risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) with exposure to air pollution, such as fine particles <2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5). A bi-directional relationship exists between air pollution and traditional CV risk factors like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. However, little is known...

Introduction The cardiovascular health consequences of ambient air pollution generally equal or exceed those due to pulmonary diseases and cancers. Particulate matter less than 2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) has become a major focus of research on the short-term exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. However, the evidence rega...

Introduction In adults, noninvasive assessments of vascular function have been established. However, little is known about the applicability and reference values of these techniques among children < 6 years old and none ≤ 2. We aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting noninvasive vascular assessments in 2-year-old children and the normal ra...

Background: Over recent decades, adverse effects of ambient air pollution on the cardiovascular system have been clearly demonstrated. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Air pollution may accelerates biological aging and thereby the susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Telomeres are tandem repetitive DNA comp...