Publications by authors named "Xuewen Zhang"

Metal‒organic frameworks have attracted wide interest in the electrocatalytic CO reduction reaction (eCORR), but their differences of performances originated from chemical composition and stabilities are rarely concerned. Here, isomeric Cu(I) triazolate frameworks (MAF-2Fa and MAF-2Fb) with similar thermal/chemical stabilities but very different coordination modes are used for eCORR studies. MAF-2Fa with monotypic planar dinuclear Cu(I) coordination mode achieves high selectivity for CH (53%) and C products (70%), with almost unchanged over a wide potential window (‒1.

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Background: To improve the sensitivity and specificity of nucleic acid detection, coupling two or more signal amplification systems is a feasible pattern, such as nucleic acid isothermal amplification coupling genome-editing technology, and cascaded DNA self-assembly circuits. And representative signal amplification strategies include loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/associated proteins (CRISPR/Cas) systems, and catalyzed hairpin assembly (CHA). However, these detection strategies often require the enrichment of intermediate products, the replacement of reaction conditions and the design of multiple probes, which may seriously affect the reliability of detection results.

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The giant magnetoresistance effect in two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials has sparked substantial interest in various fields; including sensing; data storage; electronics; and spintronics. Their unique 2D layered structures allow for the manifestation of distinctive physical properties and precise performance regulation under different conditions. In this review, we present an overview of this rapidly developing research area.

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  • Increased levels of uric acid (UA) in the body can lead to hyperuricemia, which is linked to diseases like gout and cardiovascular issues.
  • Current treatments focus on xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors that reduce UA production, and urate transporter 1 (URAT1) inhibitors that enhance UA excretion.
  • There is a need for new anti-hyperuricemic drugs that are more effective and less toxic due to the side effects of existing long-term therapies.
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α-Hydroxyketones, which have significant industrial applications, can be sustainably synthesized through the oxidation of secondary alcohols using secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH). However, the activity of the SADH oxidation reaction is generally low, making it unsuitable for large-scale production. In this study, a rational design approach was employed to computationally engineer SADH derived from Ogataea parapolymorpha (OpSADH), significantly enhancing its oxidation activity towards (R)-1,2-propanediol (PDO).

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  • Branching enzymes (BEs) are crucial for modifying α-glucans, which are important energy storage molecules, but their mechanisms, especially regarding substrate binding and transfers (SBTs), are not fully understood from an industrial standpoint.
  • The study introduces a new Rhodothermus profundi BE (RpBE) that exhibits double the enzymatic activity compared to the currently used Rhodothermus obamensis BE in industry, highlighting its potential for better applications.
  • By leveraging experiments and large-scale computations, the research indicates that optimizing key positions in RpBE can enhance its activity and allow for customization of its products, with efficient substrate-transfer steps being a significant factor in its high performance.
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  • A biochar-loaded Fe-Cu layered double hydroxide (FeCu-LDH@BC) catalyst was developed using a hydrothermal method to degrade penicillin G (PG) in the presence of peroxydisulfate (PDS) and visible light, achieving nearly complete degradation (98.79%) in just 10 minutes.
  • * The characterization of the catalyst showed that biochar enhanced its optical properties, and the system maintained high activity over multiple reuse cycles, with better electron transfer noted in the catalyst activations.
  • * Additionally, the degradation process resulted in less toxic intermediates relative to the original PG, and the system effectively reduced organic matter from real wastewater, indicating its potential for practical applications in wastewater treatment.
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Background: Existing studies have already revealed the involvement of C-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CCR7) in diverse human cancers, including esophageal cell squamous carcinoma (ESCA). Our current study, aims to explore the relevant mechanisms implicated.

Methods: ESCA cell lines were collected for CCR7 expression quantification using western blot.

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  • * The resulting catalyst, LD-B/RuO2, demonstrates a low overpotential of 175 mV and can maintain effective oxygen evolution for about 1.6 months under specific conditions, showcasing impressive durability.
  • * The study highlights that B-doping leads to a tough, disordered structure in the catalyst, promoting both its activity and stability, thus offering a promising alternative for future non-iridium-based electrolyzer applications.
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Fibrinogen is an important plasma protein composed of three polypeptide chains, fibrinogen alpha (FGA), beta, and gamma. Apart from being an inflammation regulator, fibrinogen also plays a role in tumor progression. Liver cancer usually has a poor prognosis, with chronic hepatitis being the main cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

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An enzyme catalyzed strategy for the synthesis of a chiral hydrazine from 3-cyclopentyl-3-oxopropanenitrile and hydrazine hydrate is presented. An imine reductase (IRED) from was identified to catalyze the reaction between 3-cyclopentyl-3-oxopropanenitrile and hydrazine hydrate to produce trace amounts of ()-3-cyclopentyl-3-hydrazineylpropanenitrile . We employed a 2-fold approach to optimize the catalytic performance of this enzyme.

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Targeting the programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway is one of the most promising cancer treatment strategies. Studies have shown that HDAC inhibitors can enhance the antitumor immune response by modulating the expression of PD-L1. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of novel hydrazide-based small molecule HDAC inhibitors; among them, compound showed selective HDAC3 inhibition (IC = 89 nM) and remarkable PD-L1-degrading activity (DC = 5.

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Molecular sieving is an ideal separation mechanism, but controlling pore size, restricting framework flexibility, and avoiding strong adsorption are all very challenging. Here, we report a flexible adsorbent showing molecular sieving at ambient temperature and high pressure, even under high humidity. While typical guest-induced transformations are observed, a high transition pressure of 16.

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  • The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of various combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with chemotherapy (CT) for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  • Researchers reviewed 17 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving nearly 7,800 patients from multiple databases, focusing on outcomes like overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and treatment-related adverse events.
  • Results highlighted that certain combinations, like tislelizumab with chemotherapy, significantly improved survival rates, particularly in subgroups without liver metastasis, while carboplatin-based therapies had better PFS and cisplatin-based ones showed superior OS.
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Guest-induced (crystal-to-crystal) transformation, i.e., periodic flexibility, is a typical feature of molecule-based crystalline porous materials, but its role for adsorptive separation is controversial.

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The inhibition of the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway with small molecules is a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy. Herein, novel small molecules compounds bearing various scaffolds including thiophene, thiazole, tetrahydroquinoline, benzimidazole and indazole were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Among them, compound Z13 exhibited the most potent activity with IC of 189.

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Separation of methanol/benzene azeotrope mixtures is very challenging not only by the conventional distillation technique but also by adsorbents. In this work, we design and synthesize a flexible Ca-based metal-organic framework MAF-58 consisting of cheap raw materials. MAF-58 shows selective methanol-induced pore-opening flexibility.

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This study will explore the therapeutic value of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) through meta-analysis, combined with network pharmacology analysis. The results of randomized controlled trials on TCM and HCC were retrieved and summarized from multiple databases. The effective active com-pounds and target genes of the high-frequency TCM were obtained using the TCMSP database, and disease targets of HCC were acquired through the public disease database.

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Both chemodynamic therapy and photodynamic therapy, based on the production of reactive oxygen (ROS), have excellent potential in cancer therapy. However, the abnormal redox homeostasis in tumor cells, especially the overexpressed glutathione (GSH) could scavenge ROS and reduce the anti-tumor efficiency. Therefore, it is essential to develop a simple and effective tumor-specific drug delivery system for modulating the tumor microenvironment (TME) and achieving synergistic therapy at the tumor site.

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Apoptosis has long been recognized as a significant mechanism for inhibiting tumor formation, and a plethora of stimuli can induce apoptosis during the progression and treatment of tumors. Moreover, tumor-derived apoptotic extracellular vesicles (apoEVs) are inevitably phagocytosed by live tumor cells, promoting tumor heterogeneity. Understanding the mechanism by which apoEVs regulate tumor cells is imperative for enhancing our knowledge of tumor metastasis and recurrence.

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Background: The intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity of gliomas and the complex tumor microenvironment make accurate treatment of gliomas challenging. At present, research on gliomas mainly relies on cell lines, stem cell tumor spheres, and xenotransplantation models. The similarity between traditional tumor models and patients with glioma is very low.

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