Publications by authors named "WenTao Xu"

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing, recognized for its heightened sensitivity, faces limitations in its application for diagnosis due to the inefficiency of UV-visible light-driven photoactive materials in nontransparent biological samples. In this study, we investigate the potential of an S-scheme all-polymer heterojunction comprising a prototype nonfullerene polymeric acceptor (PYIT) and carbon nitride to develop a near-infrared (NIR) light-driven PEC biosensor for monitoring acetylcholinesterase activity in nontransparent human whole blood. The distinct molecular structure of PYIT enables efficient light absorption in the NIR region, enhancing sensitivity in nontransparent biological samples.

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In recent years, nanozymes have emerged as highly potential substitutes, surpassing the performance of natural enzymes. Among them, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and their metal hybrids have become a hot topic in nanozyme research due to their facile synthesis, easy surface modification, high stability, and excellent enzymatic activity. The integration of DNA with AuNPs, by precisely controlling the assembly, arrangement, and functionalization of nanoparticles, greatly facilitates the development of highly sensitive and selective biosensors.

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Soilless cultivation is increasingly utilized in supplying essential nutrients for greenhouse crops. However, the impact of coir cultivation under varying electrical conductivity (EC) conditions on cucumber growth and fruit quality, particularly through the regulation of gene expression during the vegetative stage, remains uncertain. In this study, we performed metabolic measurements on cucumber in both vegetative and reproductive stages under three different EC conditions and found metabolic products such as some primary metabolites (cellulose, many uncharged amino acids) and some secondary metabolites (rutin, cucurbitacin B) accumulated the most under EC of 5 dS·m.

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Garlic polysaccharide (GP) is an inulin-type fructan with potent antioxidant activity, whereas its health-promoting functions are not well explored. In the current study, we established a fatigue model by forcing mice to swim in a water tank for at least one hour every day. We measured changes in body weight, exhaustive swimming time, and biochemical indices related to fatigue in weight-bearing swimming mice fed low (1.

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We present a two-dimensional (2D) electrically conductive metal-organic framework (EC-MOF)-based artificial synapse. The intrinsic electronic conductivity and subnanometer channels of the EC-MOF facilitate efficient ion diffusion, enable a high density of active redox centers, and significantly enhance capacitance within the artificial synapse. As a result, the synapse operates at an ultralow voltage of 10 mV and exhibits a remarkably low power consumption of approximately 1 fW, along with the longest retention time recorded for two-terminal electrolyte-type artificial synapses to date.

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  • Hyponatremia negatively impacts outcomes in patients with liver cirrhosis, but predicting death risk remains challenging.
  • A study identified key predictors for in-hospital death, including ascites, total bilirubin, serum creatinine, and international normalized ratio, using logistic regression analyses.
  • An artificial neural network (ANN) model was created, showing better predictive accuracy (AUCs of 0.865 and 0.810) compared to traditional scoring systems like Child-Pugh and MELD.
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Objective: We investigated the feasibility of deep learning-based ultra-low dose kV-fan-beam computed tomography (kV-FBCT) image enhancement algorithm for clinical application in abdominal and pelvic tumor radiotherapy.

Methods: A total of 76 patients of abdominal and pelvic tumors were prospectively selected. The Catphan504 was acquired with the same conditions as the standard phantom test set.

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Background: Endoscopy is important for the diagnosis and treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB), especially acute variceal bleeding (AVB), in liver cirrhosis. However, the optimal timing of endoscopy remains controversial, primarily because the currently available evidence is of poor quality, and the definition of early endoscopy is also very heterogeneous among studies. Herein, a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) is performed to explore the impact of the timing of endoscopy on the outcomes of cirrhotic patients with AVB.

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  • A new catalytic reaction combining silyl ketene acetals and α/β-substituted unsaturated pyrazolamides was successfully developed using a nickel(II) complex catalyst.
  • The coordination of the substrate to the catalyst and longer ligands improved the control over the chemical stereochemistry.
  • This method produced various chiral γ-butyrolactones with high yields and significant stereoselectivity.
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Objective: Thrombolytic therapy is the primary treatment for acute ischemic stroke. Extending the therapeutic time window can effectively reduce the harmful side effects associated with thrombolytic therapy. Although electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to extend this time window, the specific mechanisms remain unclear.

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We demonstrate a flexible organic synaptic transistor (FOST) with an ion-composite electrolyte film resistant to chemical reagents, which uses a three-dimensionally cross-linked polyimide matrix to accommodate a high-concentration ionic liquid. FOST shows versatile synaptic plasticity for classical conditioning, high-pass filtering, and the learning-forgetting process. The device achieves low-energy consumption down to 1.

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  • The study investigates the potential causal link between plasma metabolites and various types of cancer using a method called Mendelian randomization.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 1,400 plasma metabolites and 24 cancer types involving over 5 million individuals to identify significant associations.
  • Findings revealed 55 plasma metabolites linked to nine cancers, with implications for cancer detection and future research on how these metabolites might influence tumor growth and treatment.
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  • The study investigates how aging leads to degeneration of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and decreased motor function, focusing on the protein Sirt6 in aged mouse muscles.
  • Researchers found that lower levels of Sirt6 result in decreased Dystrophin, causing faster NMJ degeneration and poorer motor performance by affecting protein stability.
  • Supplementing with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) boosts the positive effects of Sirt6, helping to delay NMJ degeneration and maintain motor function in older mice, suggesting a promising therapeutic strategy.
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Engineered transcription factors (eTFs) binding diversed functional nucleic acids (dFNAs), as innovative biorecognition systems, have gradually become indispensable core elements for building synthetic biosensors. They not only circumvent the limitations of the original TF-based biosensing technologies, but also inject new vitality into the field of synthetic biosensing. This review aims to provide the first comprehensive and systematic dissection of the eTF-dFNA synthetic biosensor concept.

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Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated Cas proteins coupled with pre-amplification have shown great potential in molecular diagnoses. However, the current CRISPR-based methods require additional reporters and time-consuming process. Herein, a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-enhanced CRISPR/dCas9-mediated fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) termed Au-CFRET platform was proposed for rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of nucleic acid for the first time.

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An effective defect passivation strategy is crucial for enhancing the performance of antimony selenosulfide (Sb(S,Se)) solar cells, as it significantly influences charge transport and extraction efficiency. Herein, a convenient and novel in situ passivation (ISP) technique is successfully introduced to enhance the performance of Sb(S,Se) solar cells, achieving a champion efficiency of 10.81%, which is among the highest recorded for Sb(S,Se) solar cells to date.

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  • Terlipressin is a medicine used for people with liver problems called cirrhosis, but its safety is still debated.
  • A study looked at 78 different researches with over 7,200 patients to find out how often side effects happened when taking terlipressin.
  • The results showed that many patients experienced side effects, and certain conditions, like having high bilirubin levels or taking terlipressin with another medicine called human albumin, made these side effects more common.
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Glycation Stress (GS), induced by advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), significantly impacts aging processes. This study introduces a new model of GS of by feeding them OP50 cultured in a glucose-enriched medium, which better simulates human dietary glycation compared to previous single protein-glucose cross-linking methods. Utilizing WormCNN, a deep learning model, we assessed the health status and calculated the Healthy Aging Index (HAI) of worms with or without GS.

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Intravesical therapy (IT) is widely used to tackle various urological diseases. However, its clinical efficacy is decreased by the impermeability of various barriers presented on the bladder luminal surface, including the urinary mucus layer and the densely packed tissue barrier. In this study, we report a mucoadhesive-to-penetrating nanomotors-in-hydrogel system for urothelium-oriented intravesical drug delivery.

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"Brain fog," a persistent cognitive impairment syndrome, stands out as a significant neurological aftermath of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Yet, the underlying mechanisms by which COVID-19 induces cognitive deficits remain elusive. In our study, we observed an upregulation in the expression of genes linked to the inflammatory response and oxidative stress, whereas genes associated with cognitive function were downregulated in the brains of patients infected with COVID-19.

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Foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella bacteria pose a significant threat to public health. It is still challenging to detect them effectively. Herein, biotemplated Janus disk-shaped magnetic microrobots (BJDMs) based on diatomite are developed for the highly efficient detection of Salmonella in milk.

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  • * Advances in genomics have revealed the significant role of gut microbiota in jaundice, influencing bilirubin excretion in different ways, with some bacteria enhancing and others impeding bilirubin metabolism.
  • * Understanding the interaction between gut bacteria and bilirubin could lead to better strategies for managing breast milk jaundice and developing new therapeutic approaches to mitigate its effects.
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Graphene has demonstrated potential for use in neuromorphic electronics due to its superior electrical properties. However, these devices are all based on graphene sheets without patterning, restricting its applications. Here, we demonstrate a graphene nanoribbon synaptic transistor (GNST), with the graphene nanoribbon (GNR) channels fabricated using an electro-hydrodynamically printed nanowire array as lithographic masks for scalable fabrication.

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Although nanozymes have shown significant potential in wastewater treatment, enhancing their degradation performance remains challenging. Herein, a novel catalytic behavior was revealed for defective nanozymes with catalase-mimicking characteristics that efficiently degraded tetracycline (TC) in wastewater. Hydroxyl groups adsorbed on defect sites facilitated the in-situ formation of vacancies during catalysis, thereby replenishing active sites.

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  • Motor neurons are specialized cells that send signals over long distances to connect with muscles through neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), but local translation of proteins at these junctions hasn't been fully understood.
  • Recent research using advanced techniques identified that specific mRNAs linked to energy production and synaptic function are localized and translated at NMJs, which change focus from building structures in development to energy production in adulthood.
  • The study highlights the importance of the mRNA encoding Agrin at motor axon terminals; disrupting its local translation negatively affects motor function and synaptic transmission, implying that precise regulation at NMJs is crucial for proper muscle control.
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