Publications by authors named "Jianfeng Xu"

In this study, a chromosome-level genome of the tropical sea cucumber Stichopus monotuberculatus was generated by a combination of Nanopore long-read, Illumina short-read, and Hi-C sequencing technologies. The final assembly was 810.54 Mb in length, with contig N50 and scaffold N50 values of 10.

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Background: The mechanisms by which tumor-derived factors remodel the microenvironment of target organs to facilitate cancer metastasis, especially organ-specific metastasis, remains obscure. Our previous studies have demonstrated that SPP1 plays a key role in promoting metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the functional roles and mechanisms of tumor-derived SPP1 in shaping the pre-metastatic niche (PMN) and promoting lung-specific metastasis are unclear.

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: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) demonstrate a complex genetic landscape for migraine risk. Migraine polygenic risk scores (PRSs) developed from GWAS data may have utility for predicting disease course. We analyzed the strength of association between an integrative migraine PRS and age at onset and chronification.

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Aims: GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are proven therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and overweight or obesity. We performed non-clinical and first-in-human (FIH) evaluation of ECC5004/AZD5004, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 RA.

Materials And Methods: ECC5004 was profiled in cell lines overexpressing human GLP-1R, in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) assays in a human β-cell line and non-human primates (NHPs).

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Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly malignant tumor; however, its immune microenvironment and mechanisms remain elusive. Single-cell sequencing allows for the exploration of immune characteristics within tumor at the cellular level. However, current knowledge regarding the roles of different immune cell populations in liver cancer progression is limited.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) as a treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before liver transplantation, focusing on those who exceeded standard criteria.
  • Forty patients were analyzed retrospectively, showing an 82.5% response rate to DEB-TACE and successful liver transplants within an average of 2.3 months, despite experiencing some post-embolization syndrome.
  • The findings indicated that DEB-TACE is a viable option for improving survival rates in HCC patients, with factors like Child-Pugh classification and macrovascular invasion being significant predictors of post-transplant outcomes.
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Objective: This study examines the therapeutic potential of monotropein (Mon) in a rat model of acute pulmonary embolism (APE), aiming to elucidate its mechanistic role and provide new insights for APE treatment.

Methods: Thirty Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to five groups ( = 6 per group): sham, Mon (40 mg/kg), APE, APE + 20 mg/kg Mon, and APE + 40 mg/kg Mon. APE was induced autologous thrombus infusion in all groups except sham and Mon-only groups.

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Background: Grass coverage (GC) under no-tillage systems in orchards signifcantly infuences underground carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration, primarily through promoting mineral nutrient utilization by rhizospheric microorganisms. However, the comprehensive impact of GC on microbial communities and plant responses using soil metabolomics remains inadequately recognized.

Methods: We investigated two rhizosphere types established since 2002: bristlegrass ( (L.

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Background: Respiratory therapists (RTs) play a vital role in healthcare, specializing in the treatment and management of heart and lung conditions, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the importance of RTs, little attention has been paid to RTs in the Chinese health system. This study aimed to understand and describe the work experiences and career development expectations of RTs in China.

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Circular RNAs (circRNA) have a vital role in the progression of cancers. For instance, circTP63 is upregulated in prostate cancer (PCa) tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. However, the role of circTP63 in prostate cancer is still unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to find the cutoff value for endometrial thickness (ET) that would trigger a biopsy in asymptomatic postmenopausal women with thickened endometrium.
  • Researchers analyzed clinical records from a hospital in Beijing, focusing on women with ET of ≥4 mm and categorizing them based on pathology results into non-malignant and malignant groups.
  • They established that an ET of 8 mm is the optimal threshold for performing a biopsy, and developed a risk prediction model considering various factors like diabetes and BMI, achieving a good predictive accuracy.
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Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) and PDI-like proteins catalyze the oxidation and reduction in protein disulfide bonds, inhibit aggregation of misfolded proteins, and participate in isomerization and abiotic stress responses. The wild type 'duli' pear () is an important rootstock commonly used for commercial pear tree grafting in northern China. In this study, we identified 24 genes, named , from the genome of 'duli' pear.

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Atypical diabetes with overlapping clinical features of type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) is common and challenging diagnostically and for implementing effective treatment. Here, we validate a recently reported genetic probability of type 1 diabetes (GenProb-T1D) from the UK Biobank (UKB) for differentiating type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in a diabetes patient cohort from a healthcare system-based biobank in the USA. Among 3,363 diabetes patients, we confirmed the performance of GenProb-T1D in differentiating typical type 1 diabetes vs type 2 diabetes.

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Background: Recent advances in the detection and treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) have reduced morbidity and mortality from this common cancer. Despite these improvements, PCa remains the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States. Further understanding of the genetic underpinnings of lethal PCa is required to drive risk detection and prevention and ultimately reduce mortality.

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The distribution of small biomolecules, particularly amino acids (AAs), differs between normal cells and cancer cells. Imaging this distribution is crucial for gaining a deeper understanding of their physiological and pathological significance. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) provides accurate visualization information.

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E1 holoenzyme was extensively Hyp-O-glycosylated at the proline rich linker region in plants, which substantially increased the molecular size and improved the enzymatic digestibility of the biomass of transgenic plants. Thermophilic E1 endo-1,4-β-glucanase derived from Acidothermus cellulolyticus has been frequently expressed in planta to reconstruct the plant cell wall to overcome biomass recalcitrance. However, the expressed holoenzyme exhibited a larger molecular size (~ 100 kDa) than the theoretical one (57 kDa), possibly due to posttranslational modifications in the recombinant enzyme within plant cells.

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Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a complex disease with environmental and genetic risk factors. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) based on disease-specific risk-associated single nucleotide variants (SNVs) have demonstrated effectiveness in stratifying individual-level disease risk for cardiovascular diseases. This prospective cohort study assessed associations of PRS of AAA (PRS) with risk of incident AAA, analyzed the effectiveness of a combined clinical-genetic risk model, and explored the clinical utility of the model in identifying high-risk individuals for AAA screening.

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Background: Preoperative prediction of visual outcomes following pituitary adenoma surgery is challenging yet crucial for clinical decision-making. We aimed to develop models using radiomics from multiparametric MRI to predict postoperative visual outcomes.

Methods: A cohort of 152 patients with pituitary adenoma was retrospectively enrolled and divided into recovery and non-recovery groups based on visual examinations performed six months after surgery.

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In this report, we show that a very common modification (especially in tRNA), dihydrouridine, was efficiently produced by photoreduction of the canonical pyrimidine ribonucleoside, uridine in formamide. Formamide not only acts as a solvent in this reaction, but also as the reductant. The other three components of the canonical alphabet (C, A, G) remained intact under the same conditions, suggesting that dihydrouridine might have coexisted with all four canonical RNA nucleosides (C, U, A, G) at the dawn of life.

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Background: Electroacupuncture (EA) could represent a clinically effective treatment strategy for patients with vascular cognitive impairment no dementia (VCIND). This randomized trial aims to explore the underlying mechanism of EA in VCIND patients through cognitive function assessment and neuroimaging assessment.

Methods: 140 eligible patients with VCIND were recruited and randomly divided into EA group (n = 70) and Control group (n = 70).

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Partitioned polygenic scores (pPS) have been developed to capture pathophysiologic processes underlying type 2 diabetes (T2D). We investigated the association of T2D pPS with diabetes-related traits and T2D incidence in the Diabetes Prevention Program. We generated five T2D pPS (β-cell, proinsulin, liver/lipid, obesity, lipodystrophy) in 2,647 participants randomized to intensive lifestyle, metformin, or placebo arms.

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In this paper, we proposed an efficient and high-precision process for fabricating large-area microlens arrays using thermal reflow combined with ICP etching. When the temperature rises above the glass transition temperature, the polymer cylinder will reflow into a smooth hemisphere due to the surface tension effect. The dimensional differences generated after reflow can be corrected using etching selectivity in the following ICP etching process, which transfers the microstructure on the photoresist to the substrate.

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High levels of acetyl-CoA are considered a key metabolic feature of metastatic cancers. However, the impacts of acetyl-CoA metabolic accumulation on cancer microenvironment remodeling are poorly understood. In this study, using human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and orthotopic xenograft models, we found a close association between high acetyl-CoA levels in HCCs, increased infiltration of tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in the cancer microenvironment and HCC metastasis.

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