Publications by authors named "Xiaomin Pan"

In this study, we present a novel non-intrusive reduced-order model (ROM) for solving time-dependent stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs). Utilizing proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), we extract spatial modes from high-fidelity solutions. A dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) method is then applied to vertically stacked matrices of projection coefficients for future prediction of coefficient fields.

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Objective To analyze the incidence rate of birth defects in infants born at different gestational ages and birth weights,so as to provide a basis for improving the surveillance system and reducing the incidence of birth defects. Methods Data of all perinatal infants born at and after 28 weeks of gestation and within 7 days after delivery in all the hospitals with the obstetrical department from October 1,2003 to September 30,2015 were collected. Results From 2003 to 2015,1 236 937 perinatal infants were monitored,including 10 619 with birth defects (incidence rate of 8.

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Article Synopsis
  • Immune-mediated liver injury (ILI) happens when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks liver cells, causing damage.
  • A substance called FGF4 helps protect liver cells, but researchers are still figuring out how it works in ILI.
  • When FGF4 is lacking, it can lead to more liver cell death and inflammation, but giving FGF4 can help reduce this damage, making it a possible treatment for liver injuries related to immune disorders.
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Background: The major safety concern of the clinical application of wild type FGF19 (FGF19) emerges given that its extended treatment causes hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, we previously generated a safer FGF19 variant - FGF19, which have same effects on glycemic control and bile acid production but much less mitogenic activity. However, it remains unclear as to whether FGF19 ameliorates intrahepatic cholestasis.

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Cholestasis is characterized by hepatic accumulation of cytotoxic bile acids (BAs), which often subsequently leads to liver injury, inflammation, fibrosis, and liver cirrhosis. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a liver-secreted hormone with pleiotropic effects on the homeostasis of glucose, lipid, and energy metabolism. However, whether hepatic FGF21 plays a role in cholestatic liver injury remains elusive.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to explore the relationship between genetic and environmental factors and abnormal birth histories in order to improve monitoring of birth defects and reduce their occurrence.
  • Data was collected from over 1.2 million perinatal infants in Xi'an over a 12-year period, revealing a birth defect incidence rate of 0.86% and highlighting associations between previous births with defects, spontaneous abortions, and exposure to harmful substances.
  • Findings indicate that women with a history of having multiple children with birth defects are more likely to have a family history of such defects, suggesting a significant genetic and environmental influence on the likelihood of birth defects.
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The compound 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is a synthetic plant growth regulator, which is widely used in agricultural production. Consequently, it is necessary to establish a rapid and sensitive detection method to monitor its use and prevent the environmental and human health problems caused by overuse. In this study, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) 2D5 against 2,4-D was prepared, and based on it, an ic-ELISA and an immunochromatographic strip assay (ICA) were developed for rapid detection.

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Despite increased interest in microplasma-induced vapor generation (μPIVG) over the past several years, applications in real sample analyses remain limited due to their relatively low vapor generation efficiency and ambiguous mechanism. In this work, a novel method using methanol for significantly enhancing the liquid electrode discharge μPIVG efficiency was developed for the simultaneous and sensitive determination of Hg, Cd, and Zn by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). It is worth noting that the possible enhancement mechanism was investigated the characterizations of volatile products by AFS, microplasma optical emission spectrometry, online gas chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, which involved the reductive species such as electrons, hydrogen radicals (·H), methyl radicals (·CH), and other intermediates in the argon plasma adding methanol.

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Biliary atresia (BA) is a neonatal cholestatic liver disease that is the leading cause of pediatric liver transplantation, however, the mechanism of disease remains unknown. There are two major forms of BA: isolated BA (iBA) comprises the majority of cases and is thought to result from an aberrant immune response to an environmental trigger, whereas syndromic BA (BASM) has associated malformations and is thought to arise from a congenital insult. To determine whether B cells in BA biliary remnants are antigen driven, we examined the immunoglobulin (Ig) repertoire of diseased tissue from each BA group.

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The hybrid of finite element and boundary integral (FE-BI) method is employed to predict nano-optical trapping forces of arbitrarily shaped metallic nanostructures. A preconditioning strategy is proposed to improve the convergence of the iterative solution. Skeletonization is employed to speed up the design and optimization where iteration has to be repeated for each beam configuration.

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Gestational alloimmune liver disease (GALD) produces severe neonatal liver disease that is notable for paucity of hepatocytes, large numbers of parenchymal tubules, and extensive fibrosis. Liver specimens from 19 GALD cases were studied in comparison with 14 infants without liver disease (normal newborn liver; NNL) to better understand the pathophysiology that would produce this characteristic histopathology. GALD liver parenchyma contained large numbers of tubules comprising epithelium expressing KRT7/19, EPCAM, and SOX9, suggesting biliary progenitor status.

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A fast full-wave method for computing radiation pressure force (RPF) exerted by shaped light beams on moving particles is presented. The problem of evaluating RPF exerted on a moving particle by a single excitation beam is converted into that of computing RPF's exerted on a static particle by multiple beams. The discretization of different beams leads to distinct right hand sides (RHS's) for the matrix system.

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Gestational alloimmune liver disease has emerged as the major cause of antenatal liver injury and failure. It usually manifests as neonatal liver failure with hepatic and extrahepatic iron overload, a clinical presentation called neonatal hemochromatosis. We report on a newborn in whom fetal hepatomegaly was detected during pregnancy and who presented at birth with liver cirrhosis and mild liver dysfunction.

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Background & Aims: Gestational alloimmune liver disease is the main cause of the neonatal hemochromatosis phenotype, wherein severe neonatal liver disease is associated with iron overload and extrahepatic tissue siderosis. How fetal liver disease produces extrahepatic siderosis is not known. We hypothesized that fetal liver injury causes deficient hepcidin production and poor regulation of placental iron flux.

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Objective: To determine whether alloimmune liver disease can be identified as a cause of fetal death.

Study Design: This is a retrospective examination of the autopsy tissue of 6 stillborn fetuses and 2 extreme preterm infants (gestational age, 20 to 34 weeks) drawn from families referred for suspected neonatal hemochromatosis. Thirteen appropriate nondisease controls and 8 cases of neonatal acute liver failure with known etiology were also examined.

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Unlabelled: Evidence suggests that most neonatal hemochromatosis (NH) is the phenotypic expression of gestational alloimmune fetal liver injury. Gestational alloimmune diseases are induced by the placental passage of specific reactive immunoglobulin G and often involve the activation of fetal complement by the classical pathway leading to the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC) as the effector of cell injury. We examined liver specimens from cases of NH, from cases of non-NH liver disease, and from infants without liver disease to determine if they would provide evidence that MAC is involved in hepatocyte injury.

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Background: Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is a biomarker for hepatitis of various aetiologies including fatty liver disease. Increased serum ALT is thought to be related to its increased release from dying hepatocytes.

Aim: We sought to understand the mechanisms by which serum ALT is elevated in a mouse model of experimental fatty liver disease where hepatocyte death is minimal.

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Abnormal dietary intake of macronutrients is implicated in the development of obesity and fatty liver disease. Steatosis develops in cultured hepatocytes exposed to medium containing either a high concentration of long chain free fatty acids (HFFA) or medium deficient in methionine and choline (MCD). This study examined the mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent regulation of the phosphoinositol (PI) 3-kinase pathway in steatosis induced by exposure of AML-12 mouse hepatocytes to MCD or HFFA medium.

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Feeding mice a methionine and choline-deficient (MCD) diet serves as an experimental animal model for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In the present study we examined the effect of exposing AML-12 hepatocytes to MCD culture medium in regard to mechanisms of steatosis and alanine amino-transferase (ALT) release. Cells exposed to MCD medium developed significant and progressive steatosis from 6 to 24 h and also had significantly increased loss of ALT into the medium at 18 and 24 hours of incubation.

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Obesity and type 2 diabetes are associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but an obese/diabetic animal model that mimics human NASH remains undefined. We examined the induction of steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis in obese and type 2 diabetic db/db mice in a nutritional model of NASH and determined the relationship of the expressions of osteopontin (OPN) and leptin receptors to the pathogenesis of NASH. db/db mice and the corresponding lean and nondiabetic db/m mice were fed a diet deficient in methionine and choline (MCD diet) or control diet for 4 wk.

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Background: Imprinted genes, mesodermal specific cDNA or transcript (MEST) and H19, are implicated in peri-implantation embryogenesis, and their expression was assessed in embryonic kidneys undergoing glucose-induced dysmorphogenesis.

Methods: MEST and H19 mRNA expression was assessed by Northern blot analysis in embryonic kidneys of mice harvested at day 15 to day 19 of gestation and of 1-week-old mice obtained from hyperglycemic mothers. A full-length mouse MEST cDNA was isolated, subcloned into an expression vector, a recombinant protein prepared and an antibody raised; the latter was used to assess protein expression by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence microscopy in day 13 metanephric explants subjected to high glucose ambience.

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The molecular mechanism(s) by which high glucose induces fibronectin expression via G-protein activation in the kidney are largely unknown. This investigation describes the effect of high glucose (HG) on a small GTP-binding protein, Rap1b, expression and activation, and the relevance of protein kinase C (PKC) and Raf pathways in fibronectin synthesis in cultured renal glomerular mesangial cells (MCs). In vivo experiments revealed a dose-dependent increase in Rap1b expression in glomeruli of diabetic rat kidneys.

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