Publications by authors named "HJ Xu"

Natural flavonoids may be utilized as an important therapy for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) caused by intestinal barrier damage. More research is being conducted on the protective properties of natural flavonoids against intestinal barrier injury, although the underlying processes remain unknown. Thus, the purpose of this article is to present current research on natural flavonoids to reduce the incidence of CVDs by protecting intestinal barrier injury, with a particular emphasis on intestinal epithelial barrier integrity (inhibiting oxidative stress, regulating inflammatory cytokine expression, and increasing tight junction protein expression).

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Biochars (BCs) derived from waste-branches of apple tree, grape tree, and oak were developed for direct solid-phase extraction (SPE) of five benzodiazepines (BZDs) in crude urine samples prior to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) determination. Scanning electron microscopy, elemental analyzer, X-ray diffractometry, N adsorption/desorption experiments, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry characterizations revealed the existence of their mesoporous structure and numerous oxygen-containing functional groups. The obtained BCs not only possessed high affinity towards BZDs via π-π and hydrogen bond interactions, but also afforded the great biocompatibility of excluding interfering components from undiluted urine samples when using SPE adsorbents.

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Purpose: Bone cement-reinforced fenestrated pedicle screws (FPSs) have been widely used in the internal fixation and repair of the spine with osteoporosis in recent years and show significant improvement in fixation strength and stability. However, compared with conventional reinforcement methods, the advantages of bone cement-reinforced FPSs remain undetermined. This article compares the effects of fenestrated and conventional pedicle screws (CPSs) combined with bone cement in the treatment of osteoporosis.

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Pancreatic development is a complex process vital for maintaining metabolic balance, requiring intricate interactions among different cell types and signaling pathways. Fibroblast growth factor receptors 2b (FGFR2b)-ligands signaling from adjacent mesenchymal cells is crucial in initiating pancreatic development and differentiating exocrine and endocrine cells through a paracrine mechanism. However, the precise critical time window that affects pancreatic development remains unclear.

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  • The shape phase transition in nuclear physics, particularly for isotopes like xenon (Xe), involves a change in structure from a γ-soft rotor to a spherical vibrator, especially around the isotopes ^{128-130}Xe.
  • In this study, researchers explore the γ-soft deformation of the isotope ^{129}Xe during ultrarelativistic collisions, using a model called iEBE-VISHNU to analyze how elliptic flow and transverse momentum relate to this deformation.
  • The authors introduce new correlators that can effectively differentiate between γ-soft and rigid triaxial deformations of ^{129}Xe during collisions, furthering the understanding of shape phase transitions in finite nuclei.
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The retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) is a key regulator of Th17 cells, associated with autoimmune diseases, making it a significant drug target. Herein, we designed and synthesized 1-(phenylsulfonyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives, improving upon GSK2981278 to enhance bioavailability. Of which, exhibited superior bioavailability (F = 48.

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Problem: Investigating the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on female fertility and laboratory outcomes in patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment who were initially uninfected but later became infected.

Methods Of The Study: This self-controlled study included 197 patients who underwent repeated oocyte retrieval before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 2021 and April 2023, of which 117 used the same ovarian stimulation protocol within a consistent age range. We evaluated the ovarian reserve, ovarian response, and laboratory outcomes in patients before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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  • The review analyzed microplastics' distribution in China's water ecosystems and their removal during treatment processes.
  • Most common microplastics found were fibrous and transparent types, primarily made of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polystyrene (PS).
  • Removal efficiency varied by treatment stage, with pre-treatment and primary stages being most effective, while advanced methods like membrane technologies showed high effectiveness for terminal control.
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A three-component defluorinative haloalkylation of alkenes with trifluoromethyl compounds and TBAX (X = Cl, Br) via dual photoredox/copper catalysis is reported. The mild conditions are compatible with a wide array of activated trifluoromethyl aromatics bearing diverse substituents, and various nonactivated terminal and internal alkenes, enabling straightforward access to synthetically valuable γ-gem-difluoroalkyl halides with high efficiency. Mechanistic studies indicate that the [Cu] complexes not only serve as XAT catalysts but also facilitate the SET reduction of trifluoromethyl groups by photocatalysts.

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  • The study discusses the issues of pesticide overuse and explores the development of sustainable alternatives, specifically using novel microcapsules for controlled pesticide delivery.
  • Researchers created thermo-responsive microcapsules (IMI@MACNCs-g-NIPAM) to efficiently deliver Imidacloprid (IMI), achieving high encapsulation (88.49%) and loading (55.02%) capabilities.
  • Compared to traditional pesticide formulations, IMI@MACNCs-g-NIPAM shows better release rates, retention on leaf surfaces, and reduced toxicity, highlighting their potential as an effective smart pesticide system.
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  • Researchers studied the planthopper Nilaparvata muiri, which is closely related to the rice pest N. lugens, to explore their different host preferences and evolutionary adaptations.
  • They assembled a high-quality reference genome for N. muiri using advanced sequencing technologies, determining its size to be 531.62 Mb with a high level of completeness (98.6%).
  • The research identified over 22,000 protein-coding genes and significant repetitive sequences in the genome, making it a crucial resource for further studies on planthopper evolution and potential pest management strategies.
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2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) is a significant biomass-derived compound with diverse applications in novel furan-based materials, fragrances, fuel additives, and drug synthesis. A pivotal challenge in DFF synthesis was developing a method to produce DFF under mild conditions using sustainable feedstocks. In this study, an affordable 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TEMPOL)- assisted Cu(OAc) catalytic system for aerobic oxidation reaction of HMF to DFF in liquid sunlight methanol solvent was developed.

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CF-containing compounds hold significant potential in drug discovery, organic synthesis, and materials science. However, synthesizing various CF-containing building blocks from a single compound remains challenging. Here, we present a Cu-catalyzed, switchable defluoroborylation and hydrodefluorination of trifluoromethylated alkynes, yielding four types of CF-containing compounds.

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To investigate the role of an inflammatory microenvironment induced by () in the occurrence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in mice. A total of 180 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, i.e.

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To explore the relationship between insomnia and osteoporosis. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis were used in this study. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to insomnia from genome-wide association analysis research data were selected as the instrumental variables by using inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median method, maximum likelihood, penalized weighted median estimator, and Mendelian randomization robust adjusted profile score (MR-RAPS) to determine the causal relationship between insomnia and osteoporosis.

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The hexadecapole deformation (β_{4}) of the ^{238}U nucleus has not been determined because its effect is overwhelmed by those from the nucleus' large quadrupole deformation (β_{2}) in nuclear electric transition measurements. In this Letter, we identify the nonlinear response of the hexadecapole anisotropy to ellipticity in relativistic U+U collisions that is solely sensitive to β_{4} and insensitive to β_{2}. We demonstrate this by state-of-the-art hydrodynamic calculations and discuss the prospects of discovering the β_{4} of ^{238}U in heavy-ion data at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

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Herein, we have designed and synthesized two novel BODIPY dimer-based small molecules, denoted as ZMH-1 and ZMH-2, covalently linked and functionalized with triphenylamine (TPA) (ZMH-1) and carbazole (C) (ZMH-2) units as the electron donor at the 3- and 5-positions of the BODIPY core, respectively. Their optical and electrochemical properties were investigated. We have fabricated all small molecule bulk heterojunction organic solar cells using these BODIPY-based small molecules as electron donors along with fullerene derivative (PCBM) and medium bandgap non-fullerene acceptor IDT-TC as electron acceptors.

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It is universally acknowledged that ligands can improve the reaction activity to simplify the reaction operating conditions and enrich the applicability of the reaction. Therefore, we developed -octylglycine ligand-accelerated Pd-catalyzed -arylation of benzoic acids under mild conditions with just 6 h; moreover, this -octylglycine ligand was successfully implemented to carboxyl-directed Pd-catalyzed β-C(sp)-H arylation and arylation of phenylacetic acids under mild conditions.

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Objective: Sepsis is frequently complicated by neuroinflammation. Gibberellic acid (GA3) is recognized for its anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, our objective was to investigate whether GA3 could alleviate Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) -dependent inflammatory stress in sepsis-induced neuroinflammation.

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Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease occurring worldwide. It is currently considered a multi-system disease, which is associated with several comorbidities.

Aim: To deeply understand the clinical characteristics of psoriasis comorbidities and explore the relationship between psoriasis comorbidities, different subtypes and related influencing factors.

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The Bethylidae are the most diverse of Hymenoptera chrysidoid families. As external parasitoids, the bethylids have been widely adopted as biocontrol agents to control insect pests worldwide. Thus far, the genomic information of the family Bethylidae has not been reported yet.

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Catalytic cyclization of enynes is an efficient approach for the preparation of cyclic compounds, and a large variety of four- to six-membered rings could be synthesized using this method. However, it has been rarely employed for the construction of medium- and large-sized rings. Herein, we describe a copper-catalyzed cycloisomerization of ene-ynamides through a [2 + 2] cyclization/electrocyclic ring opening cascade, leading to the atom-economical assembly of indole-fused medium- and large-sized rings in moderate to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.

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  • * Using advanced single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers found that prostate epithelial cells are more metabolically active and adaptable than stromal cells, with neuroendocrine (NE) cells exhibiting particularly high metabolic rates.
  • * The study highlights that differences in mitochondrial activity contribute significantly to metabolic variations in both tumor and non-tumor cells, providing insights into prostate cancer progression and the need for more research on tumor microenvironments and heterogeneity from a metabolic standpoint.
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Background: Saliva has a crucial role in determining the compatibility between piercing-sucking insects and their hosts. The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens, a notorious pest of rice in East and Southeast Asia, secretes gelling and watery saliva when feeding on rice sap. Nlsalivap-5 (NlSP5) and Nlsalivap-7 (NlSP7) were identified as potential planthopper-specific gelling saliva components, but their biological functions remain unknown.

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