Publications by authors named "Wenxuan Zheng"

Introduction And Aims: Observational studies suggest an association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and periodontitis. However, observational studies are susceptible to reverse causation and confounding factors, so the causality of this association is uncertain. Causal association between compounds of MetS and periodontitis has been well studied.

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  • - Coughing serves as a protective reflex to remove harmful substances from the airway, but how the brain processes this reflex isn't fully understood.
  • - Researchers created a method to quantitatively assess cough-like reflexes in mice and discovered that specific neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) play a critical role in these reflexes.
  • - The activation of these NTS neurons, which receive signals from vagal sensory neurons, triggers respiratory responses similar to coughing, highlighting their importance in initiating cough-like reflexes via a specific neural pathway to the cough center in the brain.
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  • - The study focuses on a premature infant suffering from pneumonia and respiratory failure, characteristic of neonatal sepsis, where blood tests eventually identified a pathogen after initial tests were negative.
  • - Advanced methods like MALDI-TOF-MS and whole genome sequencing led to the identification of the pathogen as a new species, Massilia shenzhen sp. nov., with specific physical and genetic traits detailed in the research.
  • - The pathogen showed susceptibility to antibiotics, with low minimum inhibitory concentrations for ceftazidime and imipenem, suggesting potential treatment options for infections caused by Massilia, although drug resistance research is limited.
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  • Immunotherapy is becoming a leading approach for treating cancer, particularly with the activation of the cGAS-STING pathway that helps direct tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to fight tumors more effectively.
  • Researchers have developed a new type of manganese porphyrins called photo-STING agonists (PSAs) and packaged them into nanoparticles that target tumors and TAMs, enhancing the delivery of manganese while reducing toxicity.
  • These PSAs not only improve manganese delivery but also trigger the release of reactive oxygen species when exposed to light, stimulating the immune response that leads to better tumor eradication through the activation of dendritic cells and T lymphocytes.
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  • Fresh yak meat is nutritious but spoils quickly, making preservation methods essential.
  • A study showed that hydrogel coatings made from konjac glucomannan and gallic acid (KGX) significantly improved preservation at -1°C, keeping the meat safe for consumption for up to 16-20 days.
  • The KGX coating reduced bacterial growth and spoilage indicators, proving to be an effective method for extending the shelf life of fresh yak meat.
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This study aimed to investigate the developmental change of body growth and gene expression related to fatty acid uptake and oxidation in the yolk sac membrane (YSM) and jejunum during embryogenesis in Muscovy ducks. The weights of embryos and yolk sac (YS) (5 embryos per replicate, n = 6) were recorded on embryonic days (E)16, E19, E22, E25, E28, E31, and the day of hatch (DOH). The fat and fatty acid contents in YSM, jejunal histology, and gene expression related to fatty acid metabolism in YSM and jejunum were determined in each sampling time.

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Background: Observational studies have reported that gut microbiota composition is associated with metabolic syndrome. However, the causal effect of gut microbiota on metabolic syndrome has yet to be confirmed.

Methods: We performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study to investigate the causal effect between gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome in European population.

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Background: Metallothioneins (MTs) have a strong affinity for zinc (Zn) and remain at a sufficiently high level in mitochondria. As the avian embryo is highly susceptible to oxidative damage and relatively easy to manipulate in a naturally closed chamber, it is an ideal model of the effects of oxidative stress on mitochondrial function. However, the protective roles and molecular mechanisms of Zn-inducible protein expression on mitochondrial function in response to various stressors are poorly understood.

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For tumor treatment, the ultimate goal in tumor therapy is to eliminate the primary tumor, manage potential metastases, and trigger an antitumor immune response, resulting in the complete clearance of all malignant cells. Tumor microenvironment (TME) refers to the local biological environment of solid tumors and has increasingly become an attractive target for cancer therapy. Neutrophils within TME of gastric cancer (GC) spontaneously undergo ferroptosis, and this process releases oxidized lipids that limit T cell activity.

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Introduction: Recent research on the gut deepens people's understanding of the role of gut microbe-metabolites in longevity. However, most of the longevity population is female, and the gut microbe-metabolites associated with longevity in women remain unknown. Here, we hypothesize that the gut microbe-metabolite levels differed between the longevity women (LW, age ≥90) and the elderly women (EW, 60 < age <90).

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Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has promising applications. However, the lethal function of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during PDT is typically limited. This restriction is induced by oxygen shortage in the tumor microenvironment due to tumor cell hypermetabolism and reductive chemicals overexpression in tumor tissues.

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With an ageing population, healthy longevity is becoming an important scientific concern. The longevity phenomenon is closely related to the intestinal microflora and is highly complicated; it is challenging to identify and define the core gut microbiota associated with longevity. Therefore, in this study, 16S rRNA sequencing data were obtained from a total of 135 faecal samples collected as part of the latest sampling and pre-collection initiative in the Guangxi longevity area, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to find a mediumpurple3 network module significantly associated with the Guangxi longevity phenomenon.

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  • Mitochondrial dysfunction from high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during embryonic development can cause growth issues.
  • This study investigates if maternal zinc (Zn) can protect against oxidative stress affecting mitochondrial function, using an avian model.
  • Results show that Zn supplementation improves mitochondrial health by boosting ATP production and reducing oxidative damage, suggesting it can safeguard offspring from oxidative stress through Nrf2/PGC-1α signaling activation.
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  • The refresh rate of VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) has increased to meet user demand for smoother experiences, with rates currently ranging from 20Hz to 180Hz, affecting performance and comfort.
  • Users and developers must consider higher costs and trade-offs associated with using high refresh rate content, especially as it impacts simulator sickness and overall experience.
  • The study indicates that 120fps is a crucial threshold for reducing simulator sickness symptoms and enhancing user performance, while lower rates like 60fps force users to adapt their strategies when interacting with fast-moving objects.
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Hepatic lipid and fatty acid (FA) metabolism are critical for regulating energetic homeostasis during embryogenesis. At present, it remains unclear how an exogenous FA intervention affects embryonic development in an avian embryo model. In Exp.

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In the protein nutrition strategy of middle-aged and elderly people, some believe that low protein is good for health, while others believe high protein is good for health. Facing the contradictory situation, the following hypothesis is proposed. There is a process of change from lower to higher ratio of protein nutritional requirements that are good for health in the human body after about 50 years of age, and the age at which the switch occurs is around 65 years of age.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the responses of non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) enzymes and protease combination on growth performance, meat quality, and nutrients digestibility of yellow-feathered broilers fed with corn-soybean meal basal diets with normal and subnormal crude protein (CP) levels. The experimental design was completely randomized with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, including six replicates of 20 birds per pen. Two basal diets were formulated with normal CP level as positive control (PC) and subnormal CP level without extra essential amino acid (AA) supplementation as negative control (NC).

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Unlabelled: The phenomenon of longevity in Guangxi of China proved to be closely relevant to its specific dietary habits, but the exact effects of this diet on health remain to be explored. In this work, fourteen screened volunteers with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk followed a novel dietary pattern derived from centenarians of Guangxi, China for 2 weeks, then the effects of diet on human health were explored by measuring the health metrics and fecal metabolites. The results showed that the short-term dietary intervention significantly decreased the body weight, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) levels, while it significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) levels.

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In the present study, developmental changes of gluconeogenesis and glycolysis in an avian model were measured, and then the intervention effects of feeding (IOF) linoleic acid (LA) on hepatic glucose metabolism were evaluated. In Experiment 1, thirty fertilized eggs were sampled on embryonic days (E) of 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, and thirty newly-hatched ducklings at hatch (E34 and E35). In Experiment 2, a total of 120 fertilized eggs (60 eggs for each group) were injected into the yolk sac with PBS as the control group and LA as the IOF LA group on E25.

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Probiotic intake has been shown to improve certain physiological health indicators. We aimed to examine effects of   LTL1879, obtained from long-lived elderly volunteers, on blood biochemical, oxidative, and inflammatory markers and gut microbiota in twenty healthy, young volunteers. Volunteers were randomly divided into equal probiotic and placebo groups and changes in blood biochemical indicators, oxidative and inflammatory markers, and gut microbiota were examined after three weeks of probiotic intervention.

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Bistable electrochromic materials have been explored as a viable alternative to reduce energy consumption in display applications. However, the development of ideal bistable electrochromic displays (especially multicolour displays) remains challenging due to the intrinsic limitations associated with existing electrochromic processes. Here, a bistable electrochromic device with good overall performance-including bistability (>52 h), reversibility (>12,000 cycles), colouration efficiency (≥1,240 cm C) and transmittance change (70%) with fast switching (≤1.

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Bistable display has been a long-awaited goal due to its zero energy cost when maintaining colored or colorless state and electrochromic material has been highly considered as a potential way to achieve bistable display due to its simple structure and possible manipulation. However, it is extremely challenging with insurmountable technical barriers related to traditional electrochromic mechanisms. Herein a prototype for bistable electronic billboard and reader with high energy efficiency is demonstrated with excellent bistability (decay 7% in an hour), reversibility (10 cycles), coloration efficiency (430 cmC) and very short voltage stimulation time (2 ms) for color switching, which greatly outperforms current products.

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This work was undertaken to explore the effects of platycodin D, a triterpenoid saponin from Platycodon grandiflorum, on the growth and invasiveness of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Platycodin D caused a significant, concentration-dependent inhibition of cell viability and induced significant apoptosis in OSCC cells. Moreover, platycodin D significantly inhibited OSCC cell invasion.

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Pannexin 1 (Panx1) is expressed in various mammalian tissues including the brain and immune cells. Here, we present evidence that Panx1 when expressed in mammalian cells, forms anion-selective channels, with a rank order of permeabilities: NO (3) (-)> I(-) > Br (-)> Cl (-) > F (-)>> aspartate (-)≈ glutamate (-)≈ gluconate(-). Single-channel Panx1-mediated currents have a unitary conductance around 68 pS.

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