Publications by authors named "Xiao-jun Zheng"

Recently, signatures of superconductivity with critical temperature from 20 to 30 K have been reported in pressured trilayer nickelate LaNiOthrough a pressure-induced structure transition. Here we explore the evolution of electronic structures and electronic correlations in different phases of LaNiOunder corresponding pressure regions, by using density functional theory (DFT) combined with dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). Similar to bilayer superconductor LaNiO, the electronic bands in superconducting LaNiOare dominated by Ni-3dx2-y2and 3dz2orbits near the Fermi level, in contrast, the inner Ni-O plane in LaNiOgenerates a doublet hole-pocket Fermi surfaces around the Brillouin-zone corner, meanwhile one branch of the Ni-3dz2bands is pushed very close above the Fermi level, which can induce an electron pocket through small electron doping.

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Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a key protein in inflammation and contributes to tumor progression. However, the role of IL-1β in cancer is ambiguous or even contradictory. Here, we found that upon IL-1β stimulation, nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) in cancer cells is acetylated at lysine (K) 1042 (NNT K1042ac) and thereby induces the mitochondrial translocation of p300/CBP-associated factor (PCAF).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to investigate how electroacupuncture (EA) affects inflammation on the eye surface and the signaling pathway related to α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and NF-κB in guinea pigs suffering from dry eye.
  • A total of 32 guinea pigs were divided into four groups (control, model, EA, and sham), with the dry eye condition induced through scopolamine injections, followed by EA treatment at specific acupuncture points for 14 days.
  • Results showed that EA significantly improved dry eye symptoms by reducing inflammatory markers and immune cell activation compared to the control group, suggesting a potential therapeutic mechanism for EA in treating dry eye conditions.
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Objective: Methionine metabolism is involved in a myriad of cellular functions, including methylation reactions and redox maintenance. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether methionine metabolism, RNA methylation and antitumour immunity are molecularly intertwined.

Design: The antitumour immunity effect of methionine-restricted diet (MRD) feeding was assessed in murine models.

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Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on ocular surface sensory neuralgia and the expression of P2X receptor (P2XR) and protein kinase C(PKC)in cornea and trigeminal ganglion (TG) in dry eye disease (DED) guinea pigs, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of ocular surface sensory neuralgia in DED.

Methods: Male British tricolor short haired guinea pigs were randomly divided into control, model, medication (pranoprofen), EA and sham acupuncture groups, with 8 guinea pigs in each group. The dry eye model was induced by subcutaneous injection of scopolamine hydrobromide solution (0.

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A reverse micelle mediated dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (RM-DLLME) combined with high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) was developed for extraction and determination of 5 A components of teicoplanin (TA, TA, TA, TA, TA) in human plasma, and the mechanism of RM-DLLME was analysed and explored. In this method, 80 µL of the reverse micelle solution of cetylpyridinium chloride/n-hexanol (15 mmol/L) was used as the extraction solvent for the separation, extraction and enrichment of the teicoplanin in plasma sample. All factors affecting the extraction efficiencies of the target analytes, such as the amounts of acetonitrile and chloroform, the type and volume of reverse micelle solution, pH and volume of sample phase, dispersant, salt addition, extraction mode and time, centrifugation rate and time, were investigated and optimized.

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  • In a 90-day study, natural zeolite and rice husk biochar were tested together to reduce toxic metals (Cd, Pb, As, W) in contaminated soil.
  • Both amendments increased soil pH and cation exchange capacity while lowering the bioavailability of these metals, making the combination the most effective option for soil remediation.
  • The results showed that zeolite played a significant role in immobilizing As and W, while biochar effectively adsorbed Cd and Pb, highlighting the benefits of using combined treatments for contaminated environments.
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Using the constrained-path quantum Monte Carlo method, we systematically study the half-filled Hubbard model on AA-stacked honeycomb lattice. Our simulations demonstrate that a dominant chiral d + id wave superconductivity can be induced by a perpendicular electric field. At a fixed electric field, the effective pairing interaction of chiral d + id superconductivity exhibits an increasing behavior with increasing the on-site Coulomb interaction.

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Ischemic heart disease (IHD), caused predominantly by atherosclerosis, is a leading cause of global mortality. Our previous studies showed that Shenlian extract (SL) could prevent the formation of atherosclerosis and enhance the stability of atherosclerotic plaques. To further investigate the protective effects of SL on myocardial ischemic injury and its possible mechanisms, anesthetized dogs, rat hearts, and H9c2 cardiomyocytes were used as models.

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  • The study examines valence transitions in three-dimensional topological Kondo insulators using a slave-boson analysis of the periodic Anderson model.
  • A first-order valence transition occurs as local f-levels rise above a critical value, often coinciding with a topological transition.
  • Temperature changes can induce a thermal valence transition from mixed valence back to the Kondo region, and this research outlines a phase diagram illustrating various transitions, aiding in the understanding of valence variations in heavy-fermion systems.
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The function of nuclear receptor corepressor 1 (NCoR1) in cardiomyocytes is unclear, and its physiological and pathological implications are unknown. Here, we found that cardiomyocyte-specific NCoR1 knockout (CMNKO) mice manifested cardiac hypertrophy at baseline and had more severe cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction after pressure overload. Knockdown of NCoR1 exacerbated whereas overexpression mitigated phenylephrine-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.

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The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) plays important roles in cardiovascular pathogenesis. The function of MR in angiogenesis is still controversial. This study aimed to explore the role of endothelial MR in angiogenesis and to delineate the underlying mechanism.

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Malaria is still the most severe strain of the human malaria parasites, and malaria disease is life-threatening which can result in severe anemia and cerebral malaria, especially in children in tropical Africa. Previous studies have shown that artemisinin and its derivatives could selectively kill erythrocytic stage of malaria and have a greater impact on the ring period. In recent years, there have been new findings of its mechanism continually.

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Cerebral malaria (CM) is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years in Africa, severe neurological sequelae may occur in surviving children. Although artesunate has made breakthrough progress in the clinical treatment of CM, the clinical problems of high mortality and high morbidity have not yet been completely resolved. In this study, an experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) model was established by infecting C57BL/6 mice with Pb ANKA (Plasmodium berghei ANKA) to compare parasitemia level, survival rates, and rapid murine coma behavior scale scores, cerebral microvascular obstruction, haemozoin deposition in the liver, body temperature and weight to investigate the anti-cerebral malaria effect of the artesunate compound combination.

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Cerebral malaria (CM), a severe neurological syndrome caused by Plasmodium falciparum infection, is a serious life-threatening disease with a high mortality. Survivors' persistent brain injury is manifested as long-term neurocognitive disorders. The main neuropathological feature of CM is the sequestration of parasited red blood cells (pRBCs) in cerebral microvessels.

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Article Synopsis
  • - High salt concentrations (NaCl) have been found to enhance type I interferon (IFNβ) production and signaling in macrophages, which are key players in the innate immune system.
  • - The study reveals that high salt primes macrophages for better immune responses against viruses, as seen in experiments with both human and mouse macrophages.
  • - High salt's effects on IFNβ signaling are linked to the p38 MAPK/ATF2/AP1 signaling pathway, and a high-salt diet has been shown to increase resistance to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection in mice.
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Shuyu Yiban decoction(SYYB) has significant effect in treating the patients with coronary heart disease combined with chronic psychological stress. In this study, in order to observe the effects of SYYB on early formation of atherosclerosis(As) and inflammation response induced by chronic psychological stress, high-fat diet+intraperitoneal injections of Vitamin D3 were given to establish As early lesion models, and based on these models, chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) was used to observe whether the chronic psychological stress could increase coronary atherosclerotic lesions investigate the intervention effect of SYYB(6.6, 13.

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Although antagonists of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) have been widely used to treat heart failure, the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Recent reports show that T cells play important roles in pathologic cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. However, it is unclear whether and how MR functions in T cells under these pathologic conditions.

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Although the importance of macrophages in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been recognized, how macrophages affect hepatocytes remains elusive. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) has been implicated to play important roles in NAFLD and T2DM. However, cellular and molecular mechanisms are largely unknown.

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Rationale: Hypertension remains to be a global public health burden and demands novel intervention strategies such as targeting T cells and T-cell-derived cytokines. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists have been clinically used to treat hypertension. However, the function of T-cell MR in blood pressure (BP) regulation has not been elucidated.

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Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) has been considered as a potential target for treating atherosclerosis. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. We aim to explore the functions and mechanisms of macrophage MR in atherosclerosis.

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High salt is positively associated with the risk of many diseases. However, little is known about the mechanisms. Here we showed that high salt increased proinflammatory molecules, while decreased anti-inflammatory and proendocytic molecules in both human and mouse macrophages.

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Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blockade has been shown to suppress cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling in animal models of pressure overload (POL). This study aims to determine whether MR deficiency in myeloid cells modulates aortic constriction-induced cardiovascular injuries. Myeloid MR knockout (MMRKO) mice and littermate control mice were subjected to abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) or sham operation.

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Objective: Recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor (rhPDGF) is used topically in the treatment of diabetic lower-extremity ulcers. There have been few meta-analyses of the efficacy of rhPDGF in this treatment context. The aim of this study was to perform an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the clinical efficacy of rhPDGF in the treatment of diabetic lower-extremity ulcers.

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We investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of K(x)Fe(2-y)Se2 materials at different band fillings utilizing the multi-orbital Kotliar-Ruckenstein slave boson mean-field approach. We find that the ground state of KFe2Se2 is a paramagnetic (PM) bad metal with intermediate correlation, in contrast with the previous antiferromagnetic (AFM) results obtained by the local density approximation. Our PM metallic ground state suggests that KFe2Se2 is the parent phase of superconducting K(x)Fe(2-y)Se2, supporting a recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy experiment.

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