Publications by authors named "Xiong Xiaoming"
Association of coffee intake with bone mineral density: a Mendelian randomization study.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)
April 2024
Background: In observational studies, the relationship between coffee intake and bone mineral density (BMD) is contradictory. However, residual confounding tends to bias the results of these studies. Therefore, we used a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to further investigate the potential causal relationship between the two.
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- - The study investigates the causal relationship between cytokine/growth factor levels and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) using bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) with data from large European samples.
- - Key findings revealed that higher levels of specific cytokines (CTACK and MCP-3) are linked to an increased risk of developing AS, while elevated levels of other factors (FGF-basic, G-CSF, and MCP-3) appeared to result from the disease itself.
- - The research supports the idea that targeted treatments for certain cytokines might help prevent or slow down AS, providing genetic evidence for their involvement in the disease process.
There is no measurable and evaluable index system for cloud-network convergence that provides guidance and reference for the subsequent construction and development of cloud-network convergence. It is a big project to select and evaluate the indexes of cloud-network convergence, which requires suitable index selection and index evaluation schemes. Based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weight method, this paper proposes an improved AHP (i-AHP) index selection scheme and index evaluation scheme leveraging the years of experts' experience, the geometric mean and the least square method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPiezoresistivity modeling of soft tissue electrical-mechanical properties: A validation study.
Proc Inst Mech Eng H
August 2023
Article Synopsis
- The study explores how static and dynamic stresses affect the electrical properties of soft tissues, highlighting their sensitivity to applied forces.
- An experimental platform is created to measure both force and electrical properties of soft tissues under various compression methods, including constant force and speed.
- The research introduces a piezoresistive model to understand the mechanical-electrical behavior of soft tissues, using Finite Element Modeling (FEM) to analyze static piezoresistivity and validate the model through experiments.
Article Synopsis
- * The enzyme ALDH3A2 is linked to poor outcomes in ovarian cancer and influences how sensitive cancer cells are to ferroptosis, with manipulations of its expression affecting this sensitivity.
- * Investigating the biological pathways activated or suppressed by ALDH3A2 reveals that it impacts important metabolic processes, highlighting its potential as a target for new ovarian cancer therapies.
Article Synopsis
- * The study utilized various techniques, including gene expression analysis and numerous assays, to measure growth, apoptosis, and DNA damage in ovarian cancer cell lines, focusing on those with the highest UQCRFS1 expression.
- * Results indicated that reducing UQCRFS1 expression led to decreased cell growth and increased cell death, suggesting it could be a potential target for diagnosis and treatment in ovarian cancer.
Article Synopsis
- Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are crucial in modulating immune responses and help tumors evade the immune system, but their interactions with tumor cells are not fully understood.
- The study found that interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a key cytokine that enhances immune suppression by inhibiting CD8 T cell activity in ovarian cancer, primarily through increased expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells.
- Targeting IL-1β with neutralizing antibodies showed promise in reducing tumor growth and improving the effectiveness of anti-PD-L1 treatment in mouse models, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target to enhance cancer immunotherapy.
Article Synopsis
- Platelets can be influenced by cancer through a process called education, leading to a specific transcriptional profile that can aid in cancer detection, particularly for ovarian cancer.
- A study involving 761 patients with confirmed adnexal masses and 167 healthy controls across multiple countries showed that tumor-educated platelets (TEPs) had a high diagnostic accuracy, with AUCs (area under the curve) ranging from 0.887 to 0.923 in validation cohorts.
- Combining TEPs with the CA125 biomarker further improved detection accuracy, and TEPs showed potential across diverse populations and cancer stages, but further extensive studies are necessary before they can be widely used in clinical settings.
Article Synopsis
- Therapy-induced senescence (TIS) in tumor cells treated with PARP inhibitors (PARPis) can negatively impact treatment effectiveness, and this study investigates whether the surrounding stromal components also experience TIS, contributing to resistance.
- The research found that stromal fibroblasts in tumor tissues from patients treated with neoadjuvant PARPis displayed a senescence-like phenotype and created a secretory environment (SASP) that led to tumor resistance against these therapies.
- Bepotastine, an H1-antihistamine, was shown to inhibit the SASP from PARPi-primed cancer-associated fibroblasts, suggesting that targeting this mechanism could enhance PARPi sensitivity in ovarian cancer.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on the role of a specific microRNA, miR-122, found in adipocyte-derived exosomes (ADEs), in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- Using rat models and cell cultures, researchers examined how miR-122 affects liver health, lipogenesis, and overall metabolic functions.
- Results indicate that miR-122 exacerbates NAFLD by downregulating Sirt1, suggesting it could serve as a useful biomarker and target for treatments in NAFLD management.
Article Synopsis
- Heparin is effective in reducing heart damage from ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), but its strong blood-thinning properties limit its clinical use.
- A specific derivative, 6-O-desulfated heparin, shows lower anticoagulant effects and can protect against myocardial I/R injury, as evidenced by reduced heart damage and cell death in animal studies.
- The protective mechanism involves influencing specific molecules (miR-199a-5p and klotho) and reducing harmful reactive oxygen species, making 6-O-desulfated heparin a promising therapeutic option for heart injury.
Article Synopsis
- * A 46-year-old woman was found to have a malignant tumor primarily made up of leiomyosarcoma, but with a small portion of HGESS that had specific genetic alterations and led to metastases.
- * The study emphasizes the aggressiveness of HGESS with BCOR gene alterations and recommends that even small amounts of this type of tumor should be noted in pathology reports due to their potential to cause serious complications.
Article Synopsis
- An improved Josephus ring-based permutation (IJRBP) algorithm is introduced to enhance the existing permutation algorithms by replacing the traditional remove operation with position exchange and using random rather than fixed steps for better scrambling and efficiency.
- A new encryption algorithm is created using the IJRBP along with a chaotic system, leveraging a plaintext feature parameter to generate a diffusion matrix that ensures even slight changes in the source image result in drastically different encrypted images.
- This approach effectively balances sensitivity to plaintext and ciphertext, making it robust against chosen-plaintext attacks (CPAs) and capable of resisting noise attacks and data loss, as shown in successful simulation results demonstrating high encryption efficiency.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers collected pelvic ultrasound images from multiple hospitals in China over nearly 16 years, using a large dataset for training and validation to ensure comprehensive evaluation.
- * The DCNN demonstrated a higher accuracy in detecting ovarian cancer compared to radiologists, achieving an AUC (Area Under the Curve) score of 0.911 in internal testing, indicating its potential to enhance diagnostic practices in clinical settings.
We report a case of combined large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung associated with low-grade fetal adenocarcinoma (L-FLAC) without mutation in exon 3. A 33-year-old man presented at the hospital with a more than 5-month history of cough with no obvious cause. Computed tomography revealed a large, solid, round mass located in the upper lobe of the right lung.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorticosteroid has been proved to be one of the few effective treatments for COVID-19 patients. However, not all the patients were suitable for corticosteroid therapy. In this study, we aimed to propose a machine learning model to forecast the response to corticosteroid therapy in COVID-19 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the evolving demands of surgical intervention, there is a strong need for smaller and functionally augmented instruments to improve surgical outcomes, operational convenience, and diagnostic safety. Owing to the narrow and complicated anatomy, the probe head of the medical instrument is required to possess both good maneuverability and compact size. In addition, the development of medical instrument is moving toward patient-specialized, of which the articulation positions can be customized to reach the target position.
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- The proposed method enhances real-time video confidentiality by introducing a chaotic encryption technique specifically designed for H.264/AVC video, addressing security, real-time performance, and format compatibility.
- A new chaotic stream cipher algorithm (4-D SCSCA-CAC) is crafted to strengthen security against common attacks like chosen-ciphertext and divide-and-conquer.
- The system achieves efficient video encryption and decoding through advanced techniques such as Exponential-Golomb and multi-core multi-threading, demonstrating high efficiency and flexibility in experimental setups.
Article Synopsis
- - Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death globally among noncommunicable diseases, and Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) has shown promise in helping manage blood sugar levels.
- - The exact mechanism by which Roselle acts as an anti-diabetic treatment remains unclear, but this study explores its protective effects on vascular endothelial cells.
- - Using network pharmacology combined with experimental methods, the study identified active ingredients in Roselle and analyzed their potential molecular mechanisms, laying the groundwork for its development as a diabetes treatment.
Article Synopsis
- This study aimed to create and evaluate a radiomics-based nomogram to non-invasively predict lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) in cervical cancer patients before surgery.
- The research involved 149 cervical cancer patients, using T2 weighted imaging to extract radiomics features and build a predictive model through logistic regression and support vector machine algorithms.
- The results showed the radiomics model significantly outperformed traditional clinical models in accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, demonstrating its potential as a valuable tool for guiding treatment decisions.
Background: Coagulation abnormalities in COVID-19 patients accompanied with poor prognosis. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of thrombotic events on COVID-19 patients.
Methods: We systematically reviewed all the studies about thrombotic events on COVID-19 patients in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, MedRxiv, bioRxiv, from Dec 1, 2019 to July 5, 2020.
Article Synopsis
- MLL rearrangements are common in leukemias and lead to poor survival rates, highlighting the need for better treatments.
- This study explores Anlotinib, a new drug, and finds it effectively inhibits MLL-r acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell growth in lab models.
- Anlotinib's action involves disrupting the DNA damage response through inhibiting specific genes, SETD1A and AKT, suggesting a new way to treat MLL-r AML.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the impact of three drugs—ponatinib, deferoxamine, and cyclosporine—on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, aiming to determine if combinations of these drugs provide better cardioprotection than using them individually.
- - In laboratory models, both ponatinib and deferoxamine were effective in reducing cell injury from hypoxia and reoxygenation, but their combination showed a synergistic effect, effectively decreasing both necroptosis and ferroptosis.
- - Results from rat heart models support that the combination of ponatinib and deferoxamine is more effective in reducing heart damage compared to either drug alone, leading to lower infarct size and creatine kinase
Article Synopsis
- Surgeons often face challenges in identifying abnormal tissues and determining resection margins during minimally invasive surgeries.
- This study introduces a drop-in sensor probe that uses electrical bioimpedance technology, allowing surgeons to easily inspect suspicious tissue areas using laparoscopic forceps.
- Experiments conducted on porcine liver tissue demonstrate the probe's effectiveness, achieving tissue classification accuracies of 80% and 100% with impedance measurements taken across various frequencies.