Publications by authors named "Liang Zhu"

Aim And Introduction: Diabetes and prediabetes pose significant global public health challenges. Sex steroids, particularly testosterone and estradiol, play crucial roles in various metabolic processes. This study investigates the relationship between sex hormone levels and long-term mortality in adults with prediabetes and diabetes, as well as those without glucose intolerance.

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Febrile Infection-Related Epilepsy Syndrome (FIRES) is an infrequent yet severe form of epilepsy that rapidly evolves into status epilepticus following a febrile episode. Prompt diagnosis coupled with effective treatment strategies is critical for improving patient outcomes. Herein, we describe the case of an 11-year-old male with FIRES who was successfully treated with tocilizumab, resulting in no further seizures or residual disability.

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Pre-chlorination is usually applied to facilitate coagulation process when treating cyanobacteria-laden source waters. However, the responses of cyanobacteria after chlorination were varied in different growth phases, hence how these differences affect the coagulation is not clear. In this study, Microcystis aeruginosa (M.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent malignant tumor often leading to liver metastasis and mortality. Despite some success with PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy, the response rate for colon cancer patients remains relatively low. This is closely related to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment mediated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs).

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Objectives: Due to the complex and unclear pathogenesis of neuropathic pain, there is a lack of effective therapeutic strategy. miR-363-5p was considered of great potential in mediating the development of neuropathic pain, which has not been confirmed with direct evidence. This study evaluated the role of miR-363-5p in neuropathic pain with animal and cell models, aiming to reveal the potential of miR-363-5p in target therapy of neuropathic pain.

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Granular size induces the operation performance variation of aerobic granular sludge reactor, but the profound reasons are unrevealed. This study investigated the influence of granular size distribution on the reactor operation under salt stress. The effective nitrogen removal was achieved at ≤4% salinity, but declined at 6% salinity.

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Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contribute to cancer initiation and progression and play a pivotal role in therapeutic response and patient prognosis. CAFs exhibit functional and phenotypic heterogeneity, highlighting the need to clarify the specific subtypes of CAFs to facilitate the development of targeted therapies against pro-tumorigenic CAFs. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing on patient samples of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), we identified a CAF subcluster associated with tumor stemness that was enriched in genes associated with hypoxia and senescence.

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Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the deadliest cancers. Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI)-targeted therapy is an important approach for treating LUAD. However, the development of acquired resistance poses a serious clinical challenge.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have demonstrated considerable potential in the treatment of ischemic bone diseases, such as glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (GIONFH). However, the clinical application of EVs faces challenges such as low yield, poor bioactivity, and lack of targeting. Herein, we have developed a platform of multiengineered extracellular vesicle mimetics (EVMs) to address these challenges.

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Objectives: This paper aims to investigate the application of intraoral scanning and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) registration implant robot in dental implant surgery.

Methods: The data of 40 cases with dental defect of robot-assisted implantation from November 2023 to May 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Before the operation, the intraoral scan data and CBCT data of the positioning markers were automatically fused with the initial CBCT images, and the registration error was calculated.

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Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a major contributor to global cancer-related mortality. While the inhibitory effect of metformin (Met) on PC has been reported, the underlying mechanism remains elusive.

Methods: We established BxPC-3 cell models with miR-378a-3p and VEGFA knockdown.

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Sewage systems are a major source for microplastics in riverine exports to oceans. Urban areas are generally considered hotspots for microplastic discharge, whereas emissions from rural areas remain largely understudied. Hence, this study investigated the abundance, characteristics, and polymer types of microplastics in rural wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Guiyang and estimated the annual microplastic emissions of China based on sewage discharge.

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Long-term survival varies among hormone receptor-positive (HR+) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer patients and is seriously impaired by metastasis. Chromosomal instability (CIN) was one of the key drivers of breast cancer metastasis. Here we evaluate CIN and 10-year invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) and overall survival (OS) in HR+/HER2-- breast cancer.

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Sulfate reduction can compete for electrons with methane production, thereby reducing methane production. Several factors, such as magnetite addition, carbon sources, and the chemical oxygen demand (COD)/SO ratio, can influence the direction of electron flow toward methanogenesis. However, their contributions to methane production remain unclear.

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Background: Bladder cancer (BCa), one of the most common cancers worldwide, is characterized by high rates of recurrence, progression, and mortality. Machine learning algorithms offer promising advancements in enhancing predictive models. This study aims to develop robust machine learning models for predicting BCa survival using clinical and gene expression data.

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To assess the feasibility of 5.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in characterizing pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs), compared with 3.0 T MRI and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 5.0T MRI, 3.0T MRI, and MDCT in identifying insulinomas and understanding their relationship to the pancreatic duct.
  • Results showed that 5.0T MRI had superior image quality, lesion contrast, and tumor detection rates compared to 3.0T MRI and MDCT.
  • The findings suggest that 5.0T MRI is more effective in assessing insulinomas and predicting the risk of complications after surgery than the other imaging methods.
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RAS is the most frequently mutated oncoprotein for cancer driving. Understanding of RAS biology and discovery of druggable lynchpins in RAS pathway is a prerequisite for targeted therapy of RAS-mutant cancers. The recent identification of KRAS inhibitor breaks the "undruggable" curse on RAS and has changed the therapy paradigm of KRAS-mutant cancers.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding how the motor cortex adapts during tasks that involve both sides of the body is key to furthering our grasp of how the brain learns and changes (neural plasticity).
  • Researchers used advanced imaging techniques to study specific neurons in mice while they performed a left-right lever-press task, revealing that these neurons behave differently based on whether the movement is on the same side or the opposite side.
  • The study found that these neurons not only adjust their activity patterns over time but also highlight the brain’s flexible reorganization during motor learning, which could be important for developing better rehabilitation strategies for motor skills.
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Objectives: Long-term follow-up is essential for type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) patients due to high relapse rates. The cumulative radiation dose from repeated CT scans during follow-up should not be ignored. We aim to investigate the cumulative radiation dose in AIP patients undergoing CT surveillance and the diagnostic performance of CT in detecting disease relapse.

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Oxygenated aromatics are substantial secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors, such as benzyl alcohol and phenolic compounds. Aromatic ketone intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs), as a subclass of oxygenated aromatics, were found in anthropogenic source emissions and may contribute to SOA formation. However, the SOA yields and formation pathways of aromatic ketone IVOCs remain unknown.

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