Publications by authors named "Xiao Fei Liu"

Single-population species (SPS) consist of only one natural population and often are at high risk of extinction. Although almost all species must go through this special stage in their evolutionary process, there is little understanding of how SPS survives. Camellia azalea C.

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  • Fish gelatin (FG) is a natural biopolymer derived from aquatic sources, considered a viable alternative to mammalian gelatins but has limitations due to its mechanical and gelling properties.
  • Various extraction techniques and modification strategies have been explored to improve FG's properties, including traditional methods and newer technologies like ultrasonic-assisted extraction.
  • Modified FG has potential applications in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, such as foaming agents, emulsifiers, and drug delivery systems, although more research is needed for developing advanced forms like tough gels and hydrogels.
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We report an experimental study of a 1D quintuple-quantum-dot array integrated with two charge sensors in an InAs nanowire. The device is studied by measuring double quantum dots formed consecutively in the array, and corresponding charge stability diagrams are revealed with both direct current measurements and charge sensor signals. The one-dimensional quintuple-quantum-dot array is then tuned up, and its charge configurations are fully mapped out with the two charge sensors.

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The potential biological properties of protein hydrolysates have generated considerable research interest. This study was to hydrolyze black soybean protein (BSP) using five different commercial enzymes, and elucidate the influence of these enzymes on the structure and biological activities of the resulting hydrolysates. Enzymatic treatment changed secondary and tertiary structures of BSP, decreased particle size, α-helix and β-sheet.

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Rice is commonly utilized as a wheat bread substitute due to its low allergenicity. However, rice bread faces challenges in processing efficiency and the formation of a cohesive gel network structure, resulting in suboptimal taste Hence, this study compared four improvers-trypsin, whey protein (WPC), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), and molecularly distilled monoglycerides (GMSs). The impacts of the four improvers on the processing attributes of rice dough were comprehensively assessed across fermentation, moisture content analysis, rheology, heat stability, and pasting characteristics.

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Nowadays, with the diversification of nutritious and healthy foods, consumers are increasingly seeking clean-labeled products. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) as a cold sterilization technology can effectively sterilize and inactivate enzymes, which is conducive to the production of high-quality and safe food products with extended shelf life. This technology reduces the addition of food additives and contributes to environmental protection.

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Background: Double-negative T (DNT) cells comprise a distinct subset of T lymphocytes that have been implicated in immune responses. The aim of this study was to characterize the peripheral DNT population in breast cancer (BC) patients.

Methods: DNT cells were isolated from the peripheral blood samples of BC patients and healthy controls by flow cytometry.

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With the intention of advancing our research on diverse C-20 derivatives of camptothecin (CPT), CPT derivatives bearing sulphonamide and sulfonylurea chemical scaffolds and different substituent groups have been designed, synthesised and evaluated for cytotoxicity against four tumour cell lines, A-549 (lung carcinoma), KB (nasopharyngeal carcinoma), MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer) and KBvin (an MDR KB subiline). As a result, all the synthesised compounds showed promising cytotoxic activity against the four cancer cell lines tested, and were more potent than irinotecan. Importantly, compounds , , and possessed better antiproliferative activity against all tested tumour cell lines with IC values of 0.

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  • The study aimed to assess how double-negative T (DNT) cells and T-lymphocyte subsets could help diagnose and predict outcomes in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients compared to healthy controls.
  • It found that CRC patients had significantly higher levels of DNT cells and specific T-cell types, and certain combinations of biomarkers showed strong diagnostic potential.
  • DNT cell percentages, along with factors like the CD4/CD8 ratio and clinical stage, were identified as important independent indicators for overall survival in CRC patients.
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This study used a combination method of ultrafine grinding and pregelatinization to modify rice starch (RS) to delay its retrogradation and provide a rationale for prolonging rice product shelf life. The structure and physicochemical properties of the pregelatinized ultrafine grinding rice starch (PURS) were compared with those of RS, ultrafine grinding rice starch (URS), and pregelatinized rice starch (PRS). The microstructure, molecular weight, branched starch length distribution, short-range order, crystal structure, and physical properties of RS, URS, PRS, and PURS were analyzed, respectively.

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The characteristics of lake dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool and lake ecosystem interact, and studying the responses between sediment DOM characteristics and lake ecosystem changes may shed light on the inherent connection between ecosystem evolution and carbon biogeochemical cycles. Lakes in cold and arid regions are sensitive to changes and accumulate large amounts of carbon as DOM, which may provide a window into more explicit relationships between ecosystem evolution and changes in sediment DOM characteristics in time dimension. However, considerable blind spots exist in the responses between the sediment DOM and ecosystem evolution on time scale and the underlying mechanisms.

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Background: Pruning is an important cultivation management option that has important effects on peach yield and quality. However, the effects of pruning on the overall genetic and metabolic changes in peach leaves and fruits are poorly understood.

Results: The transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles of leaves and fruits from trees subjected to pruning and unpruning treatments were measured.

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Electroreductive ring-opening carboxylation of styrene carbonates with CO to achieve dicarboxylic acids and/or -hydroxy acids has been developed the selective cleavage of the C(sp)-O bond in cyclic carbonates. The product selectivity is probably determined by the stability and reactivity of the key benzylic radical and carbanion intermediate.

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We report an experimental study of quantum point contacts defined in a high-quality strained germanium quantum well with layered electric gates. At a zero magnetic field, we observed quantized conductance plateaus in units of 2/. Bias-spectroscopy measurements reveal that the energy spacing between successive one-dimensional subbands ranges from 1.

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  • Global climate change impacts plant-pollinator interactions beyond just timing and diversity, causing spatial mismatches due to shifts in geographic distributions.
  • A study simulated the suitable habitats for 15 Rhododendron species and 8 pollinator species under current and future climate change scenarios for the 2090s using MaxEnt.
  • Results indicated that suitable habitats for all Rhododendron species would decrease by the 2090s, leading to reduced spatial match regions for various Rhododendron-pollinator groups, emphasizing the need for conservation strategies in alpine ecosystems.
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Microbial necromass carbon (MNC) is a crucial source for stable soil carbon pool, and understanding its response to carbon inputs from both aboveground (litter) and belowground (roots) in subtropical forest soils is essential for assessing soil carbon stocks in global ecosystems. In a plantation at the Sanming Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station in Fujian Province, we conducted an experiment with five treatments, including root removal (NR), aboveground litter removal (NL), no litter input (removals of both aboveground litter and roots, NI), double aboveground litter addition (DL), and control (CK). After seven years, we collected soil samples in the 0-10 cm soil layer to examine changes in MNC content and its contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC).

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Rice gluten, as the hydrophobic protein, exhibits restricted application value in hydrophilic food, which may be enhanced through interaction with soybean 11S globulin, characterized by favorable functional properties. This study aims at revealing their interaction mechanism via multi-spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. The formation and structural change of rice glutelin-soybean 11S globulin complexes were detected using fluorescence, ultra-violet and circular dichroism spectra.

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The commercialization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries has been hindered by the shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Herein, we reported a viologen-based ionic conjugated mesoporous polymer (TpV-Cl), which acts as the cathode host for modifying Li-S batteries. The viologen component serves as a reversible electron conveyer, leading to a comprehensive enhancement in the adsorption of polysulfides and improved conversion rate of polysulfides during the electrochemical process.

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Adiabatic processes can keep the quantum system in its instantaneous eigenstate, which is robust to noises and dissipation. However, it is limited by sufficiently slow evolution. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the transitionless quantum driving (TLQD) of the shortcuts to adiabaticity in gate-defined semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) to greatly accelerate the conventional adiabatic passage for the first time.

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Electrocarboxylation of the C(sp)-O bond in 1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones with CO to achieve β-amino acids is developed. The C-O bond in substrates can be selectively cleaved via the single electron transfer on the surface of a cathode or through a CO  intermediate under additive-free conditions. A great diversity of β-amino acids can be obtained in a moderate to excellent yield and readily converted to various biologically active compounds.

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'Limoncello' finds applications in gardening and landscaping. In this study, we assembled and annotated the complete chloroplast genome of this variety for the first time. The length of its chloroplast genome was 156,493 bp, containing two short inverted repeat regions of 26,052 bp, each separated by a large single-copy region of 85,649 bp and a small single-copy region of 18,740 bp.

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This article reports two cases of children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) complicated by invasive fungal disease (IFD) who received bridging treatment using blinatumomab. Case 1 was a 4-month-old female infant who experienced recurrent high fever and limb weakness during chemotherapy. Blood culture was negative, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) of peripheral blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid were all negative.

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This study aimed to hydrolyze soy isolate protein (SPI) using five enzymes (alcalase, pepsin, trypsin, papain, and bromelain) in order to obtain five enzymatic hydrolysates and to elucidate the effect of enzymes on structural and biological activities of the resulting hydrolysates. The antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of the soy protein isolate hydrolysates (SPIEHs) were evaluated through in silico analysis, revealing that the alcalase hydrolysate exhibited the highest potential, followed by the papain and bromelain hydrolysates. Subsequently, the degree of hydrolysis (DH), molecular weight distribution (MWD), amino acid composition, structure, antioxidant activities, and hypoglycemic activity in vitro of SPIEHs were analyzed.

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Self-assembled peptide and polysaccharide nanogels are excellent candidates for bioactive delivery vectors. However, there are still significant challenges in the application of nanogels as delivery tools for bioactive elements. This study aims to deliver, and control the release of a hydrophobic bioactive flavonoid hesperidin.

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Objective: A high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet has been used to treat malignant glioma, in which the Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is overactivated. However, whether the Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is involved in the therapeutic effect of ketone bodies remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of a major ketone body, 3-hydroxybutyric acid (3-HBA), on the proliferation and metastasis of malignant glioblastoma cells and the underlying mechanism.

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