Publications by authors named "Qing-Hua Liu"

Glycogen structure is closely associated with its physiological functions. Previous studies confirmed that liver glycogen structure had two dominant states: mainly stable during the day and largely fragile at night. However, the diurnal change of glycogen structure is impaired, with dominant fragility in diseased conditions such as diabetes mellitus and liver fibrosis.

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  • - The study focuses on identifying differences between wild and cultivated ascomycete fungi, which have medicinal uses but are facing resource shortages due to over-exploitation and habitat destruction.
  • - Utilizing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and machine learning algorithms, researchers collected spectral data to distinguish between the two categories, validating their findings with advanced mass spectrometry techniques.
  • - The machine learning model, particularly the optimized support vector machine (SVM), showed a high accuracy of 98.95% in identifying the differences, highlighting the potential of SERS for quality control in fungi used for medicinal purposes.
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  • The study investigates the use of a deep learning radiomics nomogram (DLRN) to predict tumor status and axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
  • It included data from 243 patients, utilizing ultrasound images and various features to assess the model's diagnostic performance through statistical evaluations like ROC curves and decision curve analysis.
  • Results showed the DLRN had high accuracy in predicting tumor status and lymph node metastasis, with significant differences in overall survival between high-risk and low-risk patient groups, suggesting its potential as a clinical tool.
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The structure of glycogen α particles in healthy mouse liver has two states: stability and fragility. In contrast, glycogen α particles in diabetic liver present consistent fragility, which may exacerbate hyperglycemia. Currently, the molecular mechanism behind glycogen structural alteration is still unclear.

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  • The study aimed to determine how the calprotectin S100 A8/A9 complex helps in evaluating severe pneumonia in children.
  • Researchers compared S100 A8/A9 levels in 136 children with pneumonia and 30 healthy controls, finding significantly higher levels in those with severe pneumonia.
  • Results indicated that measuring both S100 A8/A9 and C-reactive protein (CRP) together provides a better assessment of pneumonia severity than using either marker alone.
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  • The study examines the clinical data of 7 children diagnosed with activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta syndrome (APDS) at a hospital in China between 2019 and 2023.
  • The children presented various symptoms, including recurrent respiratory infections, liver and spleen enlargement, swollen lymph nodes, and some cases involved serious conditions like sepsis and lymphoma.
  • The most frequent genetic mutation found was p.E1021K, and the findings suggest that specific symptom combinations should raise suspicion for APDS in affected children.
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  • - China leads the world in road construction due to its rapid economic growth, resulting in many exposed slopes that require ecological restoration, primarily through vegetation.
  • - The review covers key technologies like soil spraying and vegetation concrete, highlights the functions of slope vegetation (e.g., soil conservation and landscape improvement), and notes that shrub and grass communities are most commonly used.
  • - Factors influencing vegetation restoration include climate, soil, slope direction, plant species, and human impact; future research should explore these factors, as well as suitable plant configurations for different climates and environments.
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  • Pennisetum giganteum (PGB) shows promise for biogas production but faces challenges due to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) during anaerobic digestion (AD).
  • The study examines how KOH-activated biochar (KB) enhances AD efficiency by improving electron transfer and reducing resistance, which boosts methane production by 52%.
  • Key microbial players, Smithella and Methanosaeta, facilitate direct interspecies electron transfer, enhancing the conversion of VFAs to methane in the presence of KB.
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Growing evidence confirms associations between glycogen metabolic re-wiring and the development of liver cancer. Previous studies showed that glycogen structure changes abnormally in liver diseases such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, etc. However, few studies focus on glycogen molecular structural characteristics during liver cancer development, which is worthy of further exploration.

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Using a batch thermophilic anaerobic system established with 60 mL serum bottles, the mechanism on how microbial enrichments obtained from magnetite-amended paddy soil via repeated batch cultivation affected methane production from acetate was investigated. Magnetite-amended enrichments (MAEs) can improve the methane production rate rather than the methane yield. Compared with magnetite-unamended enrichments, the methane production rate in MAE was improved by 50%, concomitant with the pronounced electrochemical response, high electron transfer capacity, and fast acetate degradation.

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  • * Researchers genetically modified a mouse model to alter the balance of nerve growth factor (NGF) and semaphorin 3A (Sema3A), hypothesizing that this would decrease sympathetic nerve innervation and slow TAAD progression.
  • * Contrary to expectations, the modified mice experienced more severe TAAD, showing increased sympathetic innervation and other detrimental effects after treatment, indicating that this genetic approach may exacerbate the condition instead of mitigating it.
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Aim: To access the agreement of intraocular pressure (IOP) values obtained from biomechanically corrected tonometer [Corvis ST (CST)], non-contact tonometer (NCT), and Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) in children with NCT measured-IOP (NCT-IOP) values of 22 mm Hg or more, and related factors.

Methods: A total of 51 eyes with NCT-IOP≥22 mm Hg in children aged 7 to 14y were examined and IOP was measured by CST, NCT, and GAT. Based on GAT measured IOP (GAT-IOP), ocular hypertension (OHT) group (≥22 mm Hg, 24 eyes) and the non-OHT group (<22 mm Hg, 27 eyes) were defined.

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  • Glycogen in Escherichia coli exists in two structural states—fragile and stable—that change dynamically, but the molecular mechanisms behind these changes are not well understood.
  • This study investigates the roles of glycogen degradation enzymes, glycogen phosphorylase (glgP) and glycogen debranching enzyme (glgX), in the structural alterations of glycogen.
  • Results show that glycogen is consistently fragile in E. coli mutants lacking glgP, while it remains stable in mutants lacking glgX, highlighting the critical role of glycogen phosphorylase in maintaining glycogen structural stability.
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The leaves of Linn., which is also known as white mulberry, have been commonly used in many of traditional systems of medicine for centuries. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), mulberry leaf is mainly used for anti-diabetic purpose due to its enrichment in bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids and polysaccharides.

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Ophiocordyceps sinensis (syn. Cordyceps sinensis) is a valuable medicinal fungus in traditional Chinese medicine, and one or more polysaccharides are the key constituents with important medical effects. Glycogen as a functional polysaccharide is widely identified in eukaryotes including fungi.

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Background: The rapid and reliable detection of pathogenic bacteria at an early stage is a highly significant research field for public health. However, most traditional approaches for pathogen identification are time-consuming and labour-intensive, which may cause physicians making inappropriate treatment decisions based on an incomplete diagnosis of patients with unknown infections, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, novel methods are constantly required to face the emerging challenges of bacterial detection and identification.

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A batch anaerobic fermentation system was employed to clarify how nano magnetite-loaded biochar can improve methanogenic performance of the propionate-degrading consortia (PDC). The nano magnetite-loaded biochar was prepared in a sequential hydrothermal and pyrolysis procedure using the household waste (HW), biogas residue (BR) and Fe (NO) as pristine materials. Comprehensive characterization showed that the nano magnetite-loaded biochar ameliorated the biochar properties with large specific surface area, high electrochemical response and low electron transfer resistance.

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  • * Raman spectroscopy (RS) is gaining attention for its cost-effectiveness and non-invasive nature, but challenges like low signal intensity and poor reproducibility still exist.
  • * The study utilized surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combined with machine learning, achieving high accuracy in identifying 30 bacterial species, highlighting SERS's potential for practical applications in clinical laboratories.
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Over the past decades, conventional methods and molecular assays have been developed for the detection of tuberculosis (TB). However, these techniques suffer limitations in the identification of (), such as long turnaround time and low detection sensitivity, etc., not even mentioning the difficulty in discriminating antibiotics-resistant strains that cause great challenges in TB treatment and prevention.

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  • Gastric cancer (GC) is a major health issue in China, prompting research into biomarkers for its detection and evaluation of disease severity.
  • The study analyzed 180 gastric tissue specimens, finding that interleukins IL-31, IL-32, and IL-33 were expressed at lower levels in GC tissues compared to non-cancerous tissues and showed varying correlations with survival and clinical parameters.
  • Results suggest that IL-32, in particular, may serve as an independent prognostic factor for GC, highlighting the potential of these interleukins as biomarkers and indicating the need for further research into their mechanisms.
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  • - The study investigates the structural differences in liver glycogen α particles at various times of day, confirming previous findings that glycogen is fragile in the early hours (12 am and 8 am) and stable in the afternoon and evening (12 pm and 8 pm).
  • - Researchers analyzed liver tissue transcriptomes to identify genes correlated with these structural changes in glycogen.
  • - A significant change was found in the expression level of the gene ppp1r3g, which may provide insights into the molecular mechanisms affecting glycogen structure throughout the day.
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  • Lysine malonylation is a newly identified protein modification that occurs in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, playing a significant role in inflammation, angiogenesis, and diabetes, but its effects on cardiac remodeling were previously unknown.
  • In a study, researchers found decreased lysine malonylation in hypertrophic hearts of mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction and in cardiomyocytes treated with angiotensin II, indicating a possible link to cardiac hypertrophy.
  • The study revealed 679 malonylated sites across 330 proteins, with specific focus on isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2), suggesting that lysine malonylation significantly affects heart health and could have implications
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Background: A hormonal role in the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been well documented, and the classic estrogen receptors (ERs)-ERα and ERβ have been extensively investigated over the past decade. The expression of ERβ was found to be high and display biological activity in NSCLC, but anti-estrogen therapy targeting this receptor has shown limited efficacy for the disease. The third estrogen receptor, G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1/GPR30), was recently found to be highly expressed in NSCLC.

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