Publications by authors named "Du X"
A layer-by-layer chemical bonding strategy was developed for fast in situ growth of bifunctional mesoporous covalent organic framework submicrospheres (COF SMSs) on the nickel-chromium alloy (Ni-Cr) fiber substrate via the ultrasound-assisted Schiff-base reaction for the first time. COF SMSs showed well-defined morphology, extraordinary high surface area (1211 m·g) and narrow mesopore (2.50 nm) as well as excellent stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFN 6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is a crucial and widespread molecular mechanism governing plant development and stress tolerance. The specific impact of m6A regulation on plants with inherently high salt tolerance remains unclear. Existing research primarily focuses on the overexpression or knockout of individual writer or eraser components to alter m6A levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrocystin-LR (MC-LR) and nitrites from the environment and daily life can be ingested and absorbed by humans via the digestive tract. However, their combined effects on intestinal health remain unclear. Here, the combined impact of MC-LR and sodium nitrite (NaNO) on the intestines of mice was investigated under actual human exposure conditions.
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- Optical chaos communication offers security but typically only reacts to attacks, so researchers tested a proactive method for detecting attacks.
- The study explored how bending a fiber's curvature affects chaos synchronization and bit error rates, finding notable performance degradation.
- Results indicated that a 10 mm bend in the fiber decreased synchronization and increased error rates, highlighting the attack, while also causing minor power loss that generally goes unnoticed.
This study aimed to establish a complete atlas of retinal cells in lens-induced myopia (LIM) and electroacupuncture (EA) intervention by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and to explore the potential mechanism of EA in improving experimental myopia progression in guinea pigs. scRNA-seq is used to assess changes in individual cellular gene levels in the retina of LIM- and EA-treated guinea pigs. In addition, the role of EA in slowing myopia progression by improving retinal mitochondrial function is further investigated.
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- * China's dual-track regulatory framework has led to it becoming the second largest nation for cell therapy clinical trials, with a significant focus on hematologic malignancies despite a high demand for treatments for solid tumors.
- * The study reveals that over 90% of cell therapy trials in China are investigator-initiated, highlighting the need for stricter regulations and guidelines to minimize redundant research and promote value-driven product development.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to assess the effectiveness and success rate of the TurboHawk peripheral plaque excision system for treating femoral popliteal artery blockages over the mid-term, based on different GLASS grades.
- Researchers analyzed clinical data from 141 patients treated with TurboHawk between January 2018 and July 2022, monitoring factors like limb ischemia symptoms, technical success rates, and primary patency rates.
- Results showed a 100% technical success rate with significant improvements in limb ischemia symptoms and a primary patency rate of 98.58%, with no major complications during follow-up, indicating TurboHawk is an effective treatment for chronic total occlusions.
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- The study investigates the effectiveness of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and Llama 2 in identifying cognitive decline from real electronic health records (EHRs), comparing them with traditional models.
- Conducted at Mass General Brigham, researchers analyzed clinical notes from patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, using various approaches to optimize LLM performance and create an ensemble model that combined different methods.
- The findings showed that while GPT-4 was more accurate than Llama 2, it still didn't surpass traditional models; however, an ensemble model significantly outperformed all others in key evaluation metrics.
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- - Zucchini tigre mosaic virus (ZTMV) is a positive-sense RNA virus from the Potyvirus genus, which infects various plants like snake gourd and zucchini.
- - Researchers created a full-length infectious cDNA clone of ZTMV to study its infection capabilities and sequenced its genome, finding a close genetic relation to the ZTMV-TW strain.
- - Analysis of 12 ZTMV isolates revealed high variability in the P1 gene, with overall negative selection on all genes but some positive selection at certain sites within the P1 gene itself.
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- A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a new laparoscopic surgical instrument in teaching basic surgical skills to trainees at a military hospital in China over a 10-month period.
- Fifty trainees were split into two groups: one using the conventional instruments and the other using the new instrument, and they underwent training in five specific surgical tasks.
- Post-training results showed that both groups improved their completion times for each task, but the new instrument group had significantly shorter completion times compared to the conventional instrument group, indicating a more effective learning curve with the new tool.
Background: Aberrant accumulation of R-loops leads to DNA damage, genome instability and even cell death. Therefore, the timely removal of harmful R-loops is essential for the maintenance of genome integrity. Nucleolar R-loops occupy up to 50% of cellular R-loops due to the frequent activation of Pol I transcription.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessing the eco-efficiency of milk production systems using water-energy-labor-food nexus.
Sci Total Environ
December 2024
Article Synopsis
- The dairy industry faces challenges due to excessive resource use and waste, prompting a study on eco-efficiency in milk production using data envelopment analysis within the water-energy-labor-food nexus.
- The research, which analyzed national statistics from 2014-2021, found that while milk production increased by 30% and production costs rose by 23%, improvements in eco-efficiency were achieved due to better resource management.
- The study revealed a shift in resource use from water and labor to energy, suggesting that advancements in production technology and clean energy on farms could significantly enhance eco-efficiency in the dairy sector.
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- Female fertility is essential for family well-being, but factors like chemotherapy and lifestyle changes can negatively affect it, highlighting the need for preservation and restoration efforts.
- Stem cells offer potential solutions through advancements in areas like ovarian tissue freezing, in vitro culture of ovarian tissue, and creating ovarian-like organs.
- The review discusses the importance of stem cell technology in fertility preservation, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, and personalized treatment strategies for effective fertility solutions.
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- Transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) is a significant global health issue, requiring patients to undergo regular blood transfusions, which are limited in availability; this study aimed to assess the transfusion burden and patients' willingness to pay (WTP) for temporary relief from anemia.* -
- The study recruited 149 TDT patients in China and employed online questionnaires to gather data on demographics, WTP, and transfusion experiences, finding an average WTP of $70.4 per unit of blood and a total estimated WTP per transfusion of $260.6, surpassing the monthly income of participants.* -
- Results indicated that higher WTP was associated with males, higher-income households, and individuals
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- Human thermal stress indices are crucial for public health and environmental management, especially due to climate change and extreme weather events.
- Current thermal indices often fail to capture the variability of thermal comfort over time, and there is a lack of comprehensive, high-resolution global datasets.
- A new metric called Thermal Stress Duration (TSD) has been introduced, alongside a high-resolution dataset (HiGTS) that provides hourly maps of thermal stress metrics across the globe from 2000 to 2023.
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- Antibiotic resistance due to overuse poses a significant challenge for treating infections, prompting research into alternatives such as photothermal therapy (PTT).
- PTT often unintentionally harms beneficial bacteria while targeting harmful ones, necessitating improved methods for selectively recognizing and damaging pathogens.
- A new water-soluble system using cucurbit[10]uril (CB[10]) and porphyrins has been developed, which selectively sterilizes E. coli through a bacteria-responsive near-infrared PTT, showing promise in treating infections with minimal side effects in mice.
Article Synopsis
- - A biofilm lifestyle helps bacterial pathogens thrive by shielding them from host immunity and antimicrobial treatments, but how plants' biofilm processes work is not fully understood.
- - The RuvC protein from *Ralstonia solanacearum* promotes biofilm growth and pathogenicity in tomatoes by targeting structures that weaken the biofilm's DNA framework, aiding in bacterial spread.
- - Introducing RuvC in plants can enhance resistance to diseases like bacterial wilt and blight, while a similar protein (MOC1) in plants can also inhibit bacterial biofilm formation, suggesting strategies for improving crop resistance to vascular diseases.
Background: Renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) is a common feature of chronic kidney diseases (CKD), with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) being one of its important mechanisms. S100A2 is a protein associated with cell proliferation and differentiation, but its specific functions and molecular mechanisms in RIF remain to be determined.
Methods: S100A2 levels were evaluated in three mouse models, including unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), and aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN), as well as in TGF-β1- treated HK-2 cells and in kidney tissue samples.
Article Synopsis
- Many rice plants high in selenium are facing pollution from cadmium, prompting research into different organic amendments to reduce cadmium while preserving selenium levels.
- Pot experiments tested humic acid, cow manure, and vermicompost, revealing that humic acid significantly lowered cadmium more than selenium in rice grains, while other amendments had limited effects.
- The study highlights that the relationship between soil solution concentrations and the uptake of selenium and cadmium in rice is more crucial than soil ratios, providing insights for remediation strategies in selenium-cadmium contaminated soils.
Selenoprotein S (SELENOS) is a potential prognostic biomarker for brain lower grade glioma.
J Trace Elem Med Biol
December 2024
Article Synopsis
- SELENOS, a vital selenoprotein, is linked to cancer development and its expression levels were studied to understand their impact on prognosis in lower-grade gliomas (LGG).
- The study utilized various databases to compare SELENOS expression in normal vs. tumor tissues and found significant correlations with patient prognosis and immune infiltration in LGG.
- Results indicated that SELENOS was overexpressed in LGG, negatively associated with chemotherapy response to temozolomide, and interacted with multiple proteins related to LGG tumor progression.
Accessibility is one of the crucial criteria for measuring the ease of access to public services in a region. Given China's historical rural-urban dualism and rapid urbanization process, there exist significant disparities in public services within metropolises. This study selects Nanjing as a representative metropolis and employs the Gaussian two-step floating catchment area method and an improved potential model to calculate the accessibility of comprehensive hospitals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have undertaken a vibrational study of the structure of interfacial water and its potential dependence using HO : DO mixtures to explore the O-H and O-D stretching modes of HOD as well as the bending modes of HOD and HO. Due to the symmetry reduction, some of the complexity characteristic of the vibrational spectrum of water is removed in HOD. Coupled with potential-dependent simulations of the gold-water interface, this has enabled a deeper insight into the hydrogen-bond network of interfacial water and into how it is affected by the applied potential.
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- Broccoli contains sulforaphane (SFN), which has beneficial properties such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer effects, and researchers developed SFN derivatives for potential antidepressant benefits.
- The study identified SLL-III-9 and SLL-III-120 as effective SFN derivatives that improved depression-like behaviors in mice and influenced gut bacteria composition, suggesting a link to the microbiota-gut-brain axis.
- SFN and its derivatives were shown to enhance protective proteins, increase levels of neurotransmitters and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and reduce inflammatory factors, indicating their potential as safe antidepressant agents.