Publications by authors named "Hou T"

Ribonucleic acid (RNA)-ligand interactions play a pivotal role in a wide spectrum of biological processes, ranging from protein biosynthesis to cellular reproduction. This recognition has prompted the broader acceptance of RNA as a viable candidate for drug targets. Delving into the atomic-scale understanding of RNA-ligand interactions holds paramount importance in unraveling intricate molecular mechanisms and further contributing to RNA-based drug discovery.

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The escalating drug addiction crisis in the United States underscores the urgent need for innovative therapeutic strategies. This study embarked on an innovative and rigorous strategy to unearth potential drug repurposing candidates for opioid and cocaine addiction treatment, bridging the gap between transcriptomic data analysis and drug discovery. We initiated our approach by conducting differential gene expression analysis on addiction-related transcriptomic data to identify key genes.

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Colonoscopy has attached great importance to early screening and clinical diagnosis of colon cancer. It remains a challenging task to achieve fine segmentation of polyps. However, existing State-of-the-art models still have limited segmentation ability due to the lack of clear and highly similar boundaries between normal tissue and polyps.

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Article Synopsis
  • China is facing significant ecological and economic threats from biological invasions, particularly from invasive alien species (IAS), with the Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) being a key example.
  • This species is widely distributed in southern China and is moving northward, necessitating effective monitoring methods to understand its distribution and impact amidst climate change.
  • Using Maxent modeling combined with environmental DNA (eDNA) verification, researchers found that G. affinis is expected to thrive in various regions, and its presence has been confirmed in new areas, highlighting the influence of temperature, precipitation, and human activities on its spread.
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Cyclic peptides have emerged as a highly promising class of therapeutic molecules owing to their favorable pharmacokinetic properties, including stability and permeability. Currently, many clinically approved cyclic peptides are derived from natural products or their derivatives, and the development of molecular docking techniques for cyclic peptide discovery holds great promise for expanding the applications and potential of this class of molecules. Given the availability of numerous docking programs, there is a pressing need for a systematic evaluation of their performance, specifically on protein-cyclic peptide systems.

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Androgen receptor (AR) antagonists are widely used for the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa), but their therapeutic efficacy is usually compromised by the rapid emergence of drug resistance. However, the lack of the detailed interaction between AR and its antagonists poses a major obstacle to the design of novel AR antagonists. Here, funnel metadynamics is employed to elucidate the inherent regulation mechanisms of three AR antagonists (hydroxyflutamide, enzalutamide, and darolutamide) on AR.

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It is well known that extreme heat events happen frequently due to climate change. However, studies examining the direct health impacts of increased temperature and heat waves are lacking. Previous reports revealed that heatstroke induced acute lung injury and pulmonary dysfunction.

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The aim of this study was to obtain egg-derived peptides with facilitating alcohol metabolism (EPs) by enzymolysis, to identify their structures, and screen small polypeptides with higher activity by molecular docking. The optimum conditions for preparing EPs with facilitating alcohol metabolism were obtained by a single factor experiment, adding 2% Protamex and performing enzymolysis for 3 h with a liquid-material ratio of 35:1. The dose-response relationship experiment showed that 800 mg/kg·bw EPs played a better role in facilitating alcohol metabolism.

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Reinjecting produced methane offers cost-efficiency and environmental benefits for enhances oil recovery. High minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) in methane-oil systems poses a challenge. To overcome this, researchers are increasingly focusing on using surfactants to reduce MMP, thus enhancing the effectiveness of methane injections for oil recovery.

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Ageing is defined as the degeneration of physiological functions in numerous tissues and organs of an organism, which occurs with age. As we age, the gut undergoes a series of changes and weaknesses that may contribute to overall ageing. Emerging evidence suggests that β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) plays a role in regulating intestinal function, but there is still a lack of literature on its role in maintaining the colon health of ageing mice.

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Much evidence has accumulated to show that inflammation and nutritional status are associated with the prognosis of patients with various cancers. The present study was designed to explore the prognostic role of the LANR in NPC patients receiving definitive radiotherapy and to construct a nomogram for predicting patient survival. This study retrospectively reviewed 805 NPC patients (604 in the training cohort and 201 in the validation cohort) who received definitive radiotherapy between January 2013 and December 2019.

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Heat exposure induces excessive hyperthermia associated with systemic inflammatory response that leads to multiple organ dysfunction including acute lung injury. However, how heat impairs the lung remains elusive so far. We aimed to explore the underlying mechanism by focusing on leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), which was associated with lung homeostasis.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe effects on older adults. Depressive symptoms, poor sleep quality, and pain are common in older adults with frailty. However, it is unknown the relationship between these symptoms and frailty in nursing home residents and the difference of importance between pain intensity and pain impact on frailty during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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Eggs, with their high nutritional value, are great carriers for enriching nutrients. In this study, selenium- and/or zinc-enriched eggs (SZE) were obtained and their effects on ameliorating oxidative stress injury, alleviating cognitive impairment, and maintaining intestinal flora balance in a D-gal-induced aging mice model were investigated. As determined by the Y-maze test, SZE restored the learning and memory abilities and increased the Ach level and AChE activity of aging mice ( < 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • Dietary fiber properties, like hydration and adsorption, impact digestion and metabolism, affecting satiety and how our body processes glucose and lipids.
  • The paper focuses on konjac glucomannan (KGM) and explores how its structure and properties can influence glucose and lipid metabolism through dietary fiber mechanisms.
  • It also discusses methods to modify KGM, its relationship with metabolic processes, and its potential use in low-fat foods, aiming to support nutritional research on dietary fiber.
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Hypoxia-inducible factor-2 (HIF-2) serves as the pivotal transcription factor in cellular responses to low oxygen levels, particularly concerning the regulation of erythropoietin (EPO) production. A docking-based virtual screening on crystal structures of HIF-2α inhibitors unexpectedly identified 3-phenyl-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-carboxamide derivative v19 as a hit of HIF-2α agonist. Further structural optimizations of compound v19 led to the discovery of a series of HIF-2α agonists with novel scaffolds.

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Plasmonic Cu@semiconductor heteronanocrystals (HNCs) have many favorable properties, but the synthesis of solid structures is often hindered by the nanoscale Kirkendall effect. Herein, we present the use of an atomically thin AuCu palisade interlayer to reduce lattice mismatch and mediate the Kirkendall effect, enabling the successive topological synthesis of Cu@AuCu@Ag, Cu@AuCu@AgS, and further transformed solid Cu@AuCu@CdS core-shell HNCs via cation exchange. The atomically thin and intact AuCu palisade interlayer effectively modulates the diffusion kinetics of Cu atoms as demonstrated by experimental and theoretical investigations and simultaneously alleviates the lattice mismatch between Cu and Ag as well as Cu and CdS.

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Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) among rural-dwelling Chinese older adults.

Methods: We collected data on demographic, epidemiological, and clinical factors via in-person interviews and clinical examinations following a structured questionnaire. The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was used to assess depressive symptoms, the Berlin questionnaire (BQ) to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk; and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to assess sleep characteristics.

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Electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) in acid can solve alkalinity issues while highly corrosive and reductive acidic electrolytes usually cause catalyst degradation. Inhibiting catalyst degradation is crucial for the stability of acidic CORR. Here, we reveal the microenvironment changes of dynamic Bi-based catalysts and develop a pulse chronoamperometry (CA) strategy to improve the stability of acidic CORR.

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Article Synopsis
  • MET amplification (METamp) is a potential target for treatment in non-small cell lung cancer, but determining which tumors are specifically METamp-dependent needs clarity.
  • In a study involving 231 patients from Shanghai, multiple methods (like FISH and next-gen sequencing) were used to analyze MET amplification and its relationship with treatment efficacy, revealing differing detection rates between methods.
  • The research found that tumors with focal MET amplification are linked to better responses to MET inhibitors than those with polysomy, highlighting a potential for combining MET treatments with immunotherapy for improved outcomes.
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Microplastics (MPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are pervasive pollutants in the marine environment, exerting adverse effects on marine organisms. While it is suggested that their exposure may compromise the immune responses of marine organisms, the cumulative immunotoxic effects remain uncertain. Additionally, the intricate mechanisms underlying the immunotoxicity of PCBs and MPs in marine organisms are not yet fully comprehended.

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Detecting airflow turbulence precursors promptly is crucial for ensuring flight safety and control. The initial stages of turbulence involve small reverse flows with random velocities and directions, which are not easily detected by existing airflow sensors. In this study, we designed a bionic, sensitivity-enhanced, bi-directional airflow sensor (BSBA) by incorporating bio-inspired circular tip slits and enlarging the central part of the cruciform beam structure.

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Chronic migraine (CM) is a profoundly debilitating condition that has detrimental clinical and social outcomes. Over the past two decades, novel small-molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists, known as gepants, and CGRP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been developed, ushering in a new era of migraine-specific treatment. In this review, we discuss the literature investigating the role of gepants for the treatment of CM.

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Studying the effect of morphology on the circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) of chiral molecular materials is important for the development of CPL-active materials for applications. Herein, we report that the morphology of Gd(NO)/-,-AnempH [AnempH = (1-anthrylethylamino)methylphosphonic acid] assemblies can be controlled by solvent modulation to form spiral bundles Gd(-,-AnempH)·2HO (R-,S-1), crystals Gd(-,-AnempH)·2HO (R-,S-2) and spindle-shaped particles Gd(-,-AnempH)·3HO·0.5DMF (R-,S-3) with similar chain structures.

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