Publications by authors named "B-T Zhu"

Background And Purpose: Early identification of malignant cerebral edema (MCE) in patients with acute ischemic stroke is crucial for timely interventions. We aimed to identify regions critically associated with MCE using the Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS) to evaluate the association between location-specific-net water uptake (NWU) and MCE.

Materials And Methods: This multicentre, retrospective cohort study included patients with acute ischemic stroke following large anterior circulation occlusion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thermoelectrics have been limited by the scarcity of their constituent elements, especially telluride. The earth-abundant, wide-bandgap ( ≈ 46 ) tin sulfide (SnS) has shown promising performance in its crystal form. We improved the thermoelectric efficiency in SnS crystals by promoting the convergence of energy and momentum of four valance bands, termed quadruple-band synglisis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A novel photo-thermal-controlled drug delivery system was created to inhibit tumor glycolysis and enhance T cell activation, using a drug encapsulated in modified nanoparticles that respond to specific light wavelengths.
  • * This approach effectively reduces tumor growth and immune evasion by decreasing lactate and PD-L1 levels, ultimately improving the efficiency of immunotherapy treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Gliomas are "immune-desert" tumors with limited immune response, making them resistant to immunotherapies; the study investigates ways to create lymphoid structures within the glioma microenvironment to boost immunity.
  • Researchers induced the formation of these structures using TLR agonists and glioma antigens, employing various scientific techniques to understand how this promotes anti-glioma immunity.
  • Results showed that inducing these structures led to increased immune cell activity and better outcomes in glioma-bearing mice, implying that targeting the microenvironment could enhance treatment strategies for glioma in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

CD4 T helper antigens are essential components of cancer vaccines, but the relevance of the source of these MHC class II-restricted antigens remains underexplored. To compare the effectiveness of tumor-specific versus tumor-unrelated helper antigens, we designed three DNA vaccines for the murine MC-38 colon carcinoma, encoding CD8 T cell neoantigens alone (noHELP) or in combination with either "universal" helper antigens (uniHELP) or helper neoantigens (neoHELP). Both types of helped vaccines increased the frequency of vaccine-induced CD8 T cells, and particularly uniHELP increased the fraction of KLRG1 and PD-1 effector cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite the record-breaking discovery, development and approval of vaccines and antiviral therapeutics such as Paxlovid, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remained the fourth leading cause of death in the world and third highest in the United States in 2022. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of PF-07817883, a second-generation, orally bioavailable, SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor with improved metabolic stability versus nirmatrelvir, the antiviral component of the ritonavir-boosted therapy Paxlovid. We demonstrate the pan-human coronavirus antiviral activity and off-target selectivity profile of PF-07817883.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Maternal use of valproate during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Although most studies of other antiseizure medications have not shown increased risks of these disorders, there are limited and conflicting data regarding the risk of autism spectrum disorder associated with maternal topiramate use.

Methods: We identified a population-based cohort of pregnant women and their children within two health care utilization databases in the United States, with data from 2000 through 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Oncogenic mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IDH1/2) produce 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG), which inhibits dioxygenases that modulate chromatin dynamics. The effects of 2HG have been reported to sensitize IDH tumors to poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. However, unlike PARP-inhibitor-sensitive BRCA1/2 tumors, which exhibit impaired homologous recombination, IDH-mutant tumors have a silent mutational profile and lack signatures associated with impaired homologous recombination.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • MK-0616 is a newly developed oral PCSK9 inhibitor that raises hope for an alternative to injectable treatments, following nearly 20 years of research without an effective oral option.* -
  • Using advanced mRNA display screening and structured drug design, MK-0616 was shown to effectively lower PCSK9 levels and significantly reduce LDL cholesterol in clinical trials.* -
  • The trials indicated that MK-0616 has a strong affinity for PCSK9 and demonstrated promising safety and efficacy, suggesting it could be a game changer in cholesterol management.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Given the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron variants, booster vaccination (BV) using inactivated virus vaccines (the third dose) has been implemented in China. However, the immune responses after BV, especially those against Omicron, in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHB) are unclear. In this prospective longitudinal study, 114 patients with CHB and 68 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited after receiving inactivated vaccination.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely spread pathogen associated with lymphoproliferative diseases, B/ T/ NK cell lymphomas, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and gastric carcinoma (GC). EBV lytic reactivations contribute to the genomic instability, inflammation and tumorigenesis of NPC, promoting cancer progression. Patients with NPC refractory to standard therapies show dismal survival.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe thrombocytopenia that presents soon after birth and is usually not accompanied by specific somatic malformations [Germeshausen M, Ballmaier M. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 2021; 34: 101286]. CAMT is more prevalent in females than males [Ballmaier M, Germeshausen M.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

N-glycanase 1 (NGLY1) Deficiency is a progressive, ultra-rare, autosomal recessive disorder with no approved therapy and five core clinical features: severe global developmental delay, hyperkinetic movement disorder, elevated liver transaminases, alacrima, and peripheral neuropathy. Here, we confirmed and characterized the rat as a relevant disease model. GS-100, a gene therapy candidate, is a recombinant, single-stranded adeno-associated virus (AAV) 9 vector designed to deliver a functional copy of the human gene.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) is a subtype of leukemia in which lymphoid and myeloid markers are co-expressed. Knowledge regarding the genetic features of MPAL is lacking due to its rarity and heterogeneity. Here, we applied an integrated genomic and transcriptomic approach to explore the molecular characteristics of 176 adult patients with MPAL, including 86 patients with T-lymphoid/myeloid MPAL (T/My MPAL-NOS), 42 with Ph+ MPAL, 36 with B-lymphoid/myeloid MPAL (B/My MPAL-NOS), 4 with t(v;11q23), and 8 with MPAL, NOS, rare types.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Controlling nanoporosity to favorably alter multiple properties in layered crystalline inorganic thin films is a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of CaCoO films can be engineered through nanoporosity control by annealing multiple Ca(OH)/CoO reactant bilayers with characteristic bilayer thicknesses (b ). Our results show that doubling b , , from 12 to 26 nm, more than triples the average pore size from ∼120 nm to ∼400 nm and increases the pore fraction from 3% to 17.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Filoviruses cause severe hemorrhagic fever with case fatality rates as high as 90%. Filovirus-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) confer protection in nonhuman primates as late as 5 days after challenge, and FDA-approved mAbs REGN-EB3 and mAb114 have demonstrated efficacy against Ebola virus (EBOV) infection in humans. Vectorized antibody expression mediated by adeno-associated virus (AAV) can generate protective and sustained concentrations of therapeutic mAbs in animal models for a variety of infectious diseases, including EBOV.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cervical cancer is a common gynecological cancer among women worldwide.

Objective: To determine the effects of 6 MV and 10 MV volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) photon beams on the target volume (TV) planning and critical organs in cases of cervical cancer.

Methods: Fifty patients with carcinoma of the cervix who underwent radiotherapy were selected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objective: Little is known about trajectories of recovery 12 months after hospitalization for severe COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of patients with and without neurologic complications during index hospitalization for COVID-19 from March 10, 2020, to May 20, 2020. Phone follow-up batteries were performed at 6 and 12 months after COVID-19 onset.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Metabolism of cancer cells is geared toward biomass production and proliferation. Since the metabolic resources within the local tissue are finite, this can lead to nutrient depletion and accumulation of metabolic waste. To maintain growth in these conditions, cancer cells employ a variety of metabolic adaptations, the nature of which is collectively determined by the physiology of their cell of origin, the identity of transforming lesions, and the tissue in which cancer cells reside.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

According to first-principle lattice QCD calculations, the transition from quark-gluon plasma to hadronic matter is a smooth crossover in the region μ_{B}≤T_{c}. In this range the ratio, C_{6}/C_{2}, of net-baryon distributions are predicted to be negative. In this Letter, we report the first measurement of the midrapidity net-proton C_{6}/C_{2} from 27, 54.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Longitudinal cognitive trajectories in multiple sclerosis are heterogeneous and difficult to measure. We aimed to identify discrete longitudinal reaction time trajectories in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis using a computerized cognitive battery and to assess the association between trajectories of reaction time and disability progression.

Methods: All participants serially completed computerized reaction time tasks measuring psychomotor speed, visual attention, and working memory.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: T cell-mediated immune response plays a key role in Takayasu arteritis (TAK). Although previous studies have showed the roles of CD4T cell and its subsets in TAK, the change of CD8 T cell subsets remains unclear. This study investigated the role of CD8 T cell subsets in TAK.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Inflammatory responses play a multiphase role in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemic stroke (IS). Ruxolitinib (Rux), a selective oral JAK 1/2 inhibitor, reduces inflammatory responses the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. Based on its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects, we hypothesized that it may have a protective effect against stroke.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Liquid biopsy is a valuable precision oncology tool that is increasingly used as a non-invasive approach to identify biomarkers, detect resistance mutations, monitor disease burden, and identify early recurrence. The Tempus xF liquid biopsy assay is a 105-gene, hybrid-capture, next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay that detects single-nucleotide variants, insertions/deletions, copy number variants, and chromosomal rearrangements. Here, we present extensive validation studies of the xF assay using reference standards, cell lines, and patient samples that establish high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in variant detection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF