Publications by authors named "Xu Ma"

The control of conditional pathogenic bacteria and inhibition of their virulence factors (VFs) in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) is vital for drinking water safety. This study adopted two groups of DWDSs to investigate how ammonia nitrogen affects bacterial VFs and conditional pathogenic bacterial growth in biofilms. Our results indicated that Acidimicrobium (95,916.

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Benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) is a common disease in middle-aged and elderly men, with lower urinary tract symptoms as the main manifestation, severely affecting the quality of life of patients. The pathogenesis of BPH is not yet fully understood, and there are still some challenges and limitations in western medicine treatment for BPH. Therefore, finding new and more effective treatment strategies is urgent.

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Despite many studies on the environmental cycling of As, Fe, and S, sulfide (S(-II))-induced hydrous ferric arsenate (HFA) transformation remains to be elucidated. Herein, we investigated the anaerobic reaction of HFA with S(-II) at three environmental concentrations (1, 10, and 50 mM) at pH 48. Changes in solid-phase As, Fe, and S speciation were investigated by XRD, FTIR, Raman, XPS, synchrotron XANES, SEM, and TEM.

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Cleft palate is one of the most prevalent congenital craniofacial birth defects in human congenital facial anomaly. Severe cleft palate is usually accompanied by alveolar bone defects (ABDs). Growth factors (GFs) are considered as desirable opportunity to promote the craniofacial healing post the surgery.

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To explore the influence of storm runoff on bacterial metabolic activity and water quality in Jinpen Reservoir, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy parallel factor analysis, high-throughput DNA sequencing technology, and Biolog technology were used to analyze variations in the components of dissolved organic matter, bacterial community composition, and microbial metabolic activity during three periods (before, during, and one month after runoff). The results showed that after storm runoff into the reservoir, the water temperature decreased, and dissolved oxygen in the middle of the water column increased significantly. Finally, the aerobic and low-temperature state in the middle water and anaerobic and low-temperature state in the bottom water was formed.

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Micron-sized Si anodes garner renewed attention due to their advantages of low cost, small specific surface area, and high energy density. However, micron-sized Si anodes undergo significant volume changes during lithiation/delithiation, leading to particle cracking and pulverization. This study employs the tape casting method and ultrafast high-temperature sintering technology to construct a porous sheet, within which a solid framework constrains the Si particles.

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Introduction: Biological age (BA) can represent the actual state of human aging more accurately than chronological age (CA).

Methods: Using hematological data from 112,925 participants in southwestern China, collected between 2015 and 2021, this study constructed BA predictors using 7 machine learning (ML) methods (tailored separately for male and female populations). This study then analyzed the association between BA acceleration and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within this data using logistic regression.

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Purpose: The predictive value of the Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII) on mortality in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (S-AKI) remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the predictive value of SII levels at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the 28-day mortality of S-AKI patients.

Patients And Methods: S-AKI patients admitted to the ICU of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.

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Background: Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is one of the most common hereditary organic acid metabolism disorders that endangers the lives and health of infants and children. Early detection and intervention before the appearance of a newborn's clinical symptoms can control disease progression and prevent or mitigate its serious consequences.

Methods: 42,004 newborns from two Chinese populations were included in the study.

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In view of the low levels of speed and precision associated with fault detection in transmission lines using traditional algorithms due to resource constraints, a transmission line fault target-detection method for YOLOv8 (You Only Look Once version 8) based on the Rep (Representational Pyramid) Visual Transformer and incorporating an ultra-lightweight module is proposed. First, the YOLOv8 detection network was built. In order to address the needs of feature redundancy and high levels of network computation, the Rep Visual Transformer module was introduced in the Neck part to integrate the pixel information associated with the entire image through its multi-head self-attention and enable the model to learn more global image features, thereby improving the computational speed of the model; then, a lightweight GSConv (Grouped and Separated Convolution, a combination of grouped convolution and separated convolution) convolution module was added to the Backbone and Neck to share computing resources among channels and reduce computing time and memory consumption, by which the computational cost and detection performance of the detection network were balanced, while the model remained lightweight and maintained its high precision.

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Reward processing deficit is a core feature of schizophrenia, however, it remains unclear whether reward processing is impaired in individuals with high schizotypy. In this study, 27 high schizotypal trait and 25 control group children were screened by the Chinese version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire for Children (SPQC). We recorded their brain activity (event-related potentials, ERPs) while they completed a simple gambling task.

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The proliferation of pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the biofilm of drinking water distribution pipes poses a serious threat to human health. This work adopted 15 polyethylene (PE) pipes to study the co-selective effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and chlorine on the bacterial community and their antibiotic resistance in biofilm. The results indicated that ozone and granular activated carbon (O-GAC) filtration effectively removed lignins and proteins from DOM, and chlorine disinfection eliminated carbohydrate and unsaturated hydrocarbons, which both contributed to the inhibition of bacterial growth and biofilm formation.

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In the research and development of technology and equipment for bamboo products deep processing, such as filling, drying, and medicinal use of bamboo flour (BF), the poor compaction and fluidity of BF materials entails the need for accurate discrete element model (DEM) and BF parameters to provide a reference for the simulation of BF processing operationsand the development of related equipment. The average particle size of the 5 types of BFs ranges from 0.136 mm to 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) involves abnormal connections between pulmonary arteries and veins, sometimes linked to systemic arteries, which can cause health issues like hemoptysis (coughing up blood).
  • A 33-year-old male with intermittent bloody sputum was diagnosed with a rare congenital PAVM connected to the inferior phrenic artery, treated successfully with endovascular embolization, which blocks the abnormal blood flow.
  • The procedure proved to be effective and safe, as the patient did not experience further bleeding after one year, highlighting the importance of recognizing and treating such rare conditions.
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  • The Yishenjiangya formula (YSJ) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat kidney qi deficiency and associated hypertension in elderly patients, but its specific anti-hypertensive mechanisms are not well understood.
  • This study combines metabolomic and proteomic analyses to uncover the biological mechanisms through which YSJ exerts its antihypertensive effects, focusing on four key metabolic pathways.
  • Results identified eight metabolites and three proteins as potential therapeutic targets linked to YSJ's effectiveness, predominantly involving fatty acid metabolism and related health pathways.
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: Circular RNA (circRNA) therapeutics hold great promise as an iteration strategy in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics due to their inherent stability and durable protein translation capability. Nevertheless, the efficiency of RNA circularization remains a significant constraint, particularly in establishing large-scale manufacturing processes for producing highly purified circRNAs. Hence, it is imperative to develop a universal and more efficient RNA circularization system when considering synthetic circRNAs as therapeutic agents with prospective clinical applications.

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Article Synopsis
  • - *Wearable sensors collect continuous health data, but often face issues with missing information due to various complexities.* - *This study focuses on improving the estimation of missing step count data using a large dataset with over 5.5 million hourly observations.* - *A new model, based on sparse self-attention, is proposed to effectively handle the data, with performance assessed against other methods and through design evaluations.*
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Purpose: Cauliflower ear is an ear deformity caused by a closed ear injury with varying severity. Several studies on the systematic reconstruction of cauliflower ear have been reported. Here, the authors aim to introduce a simplified subunit-based reconstruction concept for the cauliflower ear.

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Objective: Pediatric asthma management faces challenges in medication delivery through oral inhalation devices. While dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are increasingly prescribed to children, many do not receive their prescribed dosage due to insufficient inspiratory flow. This study investigates the utilization of metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) and DPIs among pediatric patients with asthma, focusing on medication delivery challenges.

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  • The study looked at whether a man's creatinine levels (a waste product in the blood) affect how long it takes a couple to get pregnant.
  • Researchers found that both low and high creatinine levels were linked to fewer couples successfully conceiving.
  • The study involved over 4 million couples who were monitored until they either got pregnant or for a year, and they used special math models to analyze the data.
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Background: Menopause significantly impacts the immune system. Postmenopausal women are more susceptible to infection. Nonetheless, the pattern of change in peripheral white blood cell counts around the menopause remains poorly understood.

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Background: Depression is very prevalent in middle-aged and older smokers. Therefore, we aimed to identify the risk of depression among middle-aged and older adults with frequent and infrequent nicotine use, as this is quite necessary for supporting their well-being.

Methods: This study included a total of 10,821 participants, which were derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Wave 5, 2020 (CHARLS-5).

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To explore molecular biomarkers associated with the pathophysiology and therapy of lupus nephritis (LN), we conducted a joint analysis of transcriptomic data from 40 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (GSE81622) and 21 kidney samples (GSE112943) from the Gene Expression Omnibus database using bioinformatics. A total of 976 and 2,427 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in PBMCs and renal tissues. Seven and two functional modules closely related to LN were identified.

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Importance: Previous evidence suggests that maternal hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during prepregnancy or pregnancy is associated with congenital heart diseases (CHDs) in offspring. However, the association of paternal HBV infection with CHDs is not well examined.

Objective: To explore the association of paternal preconception HBV infection with CHDs in offspring.

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