Publications by authors named "Z-W Wei"

The newly emerged variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) demonstrate resistance to present therapeutic antibodies as well as the capability to evade vaccination-elicited antibodies. JN.1 sublineages were demonstrated as one of the most immune-evasive variants, showing higher neutralization resistance compared to XBB.

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Rationale And Objectives: To develop and externally validate interpretable CT radiomics-based machine learning (ML) models for preoperative Ki-67 expression prediction in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Methods: 506 patients were retrospectively enrolled from three independent institutes and divided into the training (n=357) and external test (n=149) sets. Ki67 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and categorized into low (<15%) and high (≥15%) expression groups.

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The immune escape capacities of XBB variants necessitate the authorization of vaccines with these antigens. In this study, we produce three recombinant trimeric proteins from the RBD sequences of Delta, BA.5, and XBB.

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The potential for mitigating intestinal inflammation through the gut-bone axis in the treatment of osteoporosis is significant. While various gut-derived postbiotics or bacterial metabolites have been created as dietary supplements to prevent or reverse bone loss, their efficacy and safety still need improvement. Herein, a colon-targeted drug delivery system is developed using surface engineering of polyvinyl butyrate nanoparticles by shellac resin to achieve sustained release of postbiotics butyric acid at the colorectal site.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study developed an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine called RBD-HR, which consists of a receptor binding domain-derived protein and a special oil-in-water adjuvant for enhanced immune response.
  • Testing in mice and rats showed that the vaccine generated strong and long-lasting immune responses, producing high levels of neutralizing antibodies against specific SARS-CoV-2 variants for at least six months.
  • Additionally, the intranasal administration of the vaccine resulted in effective mucosal and systemic immunity, and when used as a booster after mRNA vaccines, it provided better immune responses and protection against live virus challenges.
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The use of pervious concrete pavement systems with recycled aggregates is a sustainable and innovative solution to major urbanization challenges such as repurposing construction waste, alleviating urban waterlogging, and reducing heat-island effects. This study aims to investigate the effects of mixture proportions and molding methods on the performance of pervious recycled aggregate concrete (PRAC). To this end, the coarse aggregate size (4.

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Micro-stereolithography (μSL) is an advanced additive manufacturing technique that enables the fabrication of highly precise microstructures with fine feature resolution. One of the primary challenges in μSL is achieving and maintaining precise focus throughout the fabrication process. For the successful application of μSL, it is essential to maintain the sample surface within a focal depth of several microns.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers developed Bi-doped Ti/Sb-SnO/PbO electrode materials through electrodeposition to enhance their efficiency in zinc electrowinning, analyzing their properties using various characterization techniques like SEM, EDS, and XRD.* -
  • The study revealed that the Ti/Sb-SnO/2Bi-PbO electrode had the best hydrophilicity (contact angle of 21.6°), longest lifespan (1196 hours), and superior oxygen evolution activity compared to other electrodes.* -
  • Computational models indicated that Bi doping improves the electrode's catalytic activity and conductivity, making it a promising candidate for energy-efficient zinc electrowinning processes.*
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Background Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) is gaining acceptance for the management of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) in patients without negative prognostic factors. However, the value of MRI in evaluating tumor response after NCT remains unclear. Purpose To investigate the accuracy of MRI in assessing pathologic complete response in participants with LARC who underwent surgery after NCT without radiation.

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Background: STIM1 (stromal interaction molecule 1) regulates store-operated calcium entry and is involved in pulmonary artery vasoconstriction and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation, leading to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis and a 2-stage matched case-control study were conducted to screen for noncoding variants that may potentially affect transcriptional regulation in 242 patients with idiopathic PAH and 414 healthy controls. Luciferase reporter assay, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, and intracellular Ca measurement were performed to study the mechanistic roles of those noncoding variants in PAH.

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Background And Purpose: The Neuroform Atlas stent and the LVIS Jr stent are intracranial microstent systems for the treatment of wide-neck intracranial aneurysms. Hence, this study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of the Neuroform Atlas stent and the LVIS Jr stent for the treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in parent arteries of <2 mm in diameter.

Materials And Methods: From March 2022 to April 2023, the clinical and imaging data of 135 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms treated with stent-assisted coiling using the Neuroform Atlas or LVIS Jr stent in parent arteries of <2 mm in diameter were retrospectively analyzed.

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Background And Objectives: Noninvasive and accurate biomarkers of neurologic Wilson disease (NWD), a rare inherited disorder, could reduce diagnostic error or delay. Excessive subcortical metal deposition seen on susceptibility imaging has suggested a characteristic pattern in NWD. With submillimeter spatial resolution and increased contrast, 7T susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) may enable better visualization of metal deposition in NWD.

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As natural predators, owls fly with astonishing stealth due to the serrated feather morphology that produces advantageous flow characteristics. Traditionally, these serrations are tailored for airfoil edges with simple two-dimensional patterns, limiting their effect on noise reduction while negotiating tradeoffs in aerodynamic performance. Conversely, the intricately structured wings of cicadas have evolved for effective flapping, presenting a potential blueprint for alleviating these aerodynamic limitations.

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Broad-spectrum RAS inhibition has the potential to benefit roughly a quarter of human patients with cancer whose tumours are driven by RAS mutations. RMC-7977 is a highly selective inhibitor of the active GTP-bound forms of KRAS, HRAS and NRAS, with affinity for both mutant and wild-type variants. More than 90% of cases of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are driven by activating mutations in KRAS.

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Glutarate is a key monomer in polyester and polyamide production. The low efficiency of the current biosynthetic pathways hampers its production by microbial cell factories. Herein, through metabolic simulation, a lysine-overproducing E.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists found that blocking RAS, a gene that can cause cancer when mutated, might help about 25% of cancer patients.
  • They tested a drug called RMC-7977 on various cancer models, especially pancreatic cancer, and saw it stopped tumors from growing without harming normal tissue.
  • The drug caused cancer cells to die off, but normal cells only slowed down a bit, showing it could be a good option for treating pancreatic cancer.
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FL058 is a novel diazabicyclooctane β-lactamase inhibitor. This first-in-human study evaluated the safety, tolerability, and population pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic target attainment analysis of FL058 alone and in combination with meropenem in healthy subjects. The results showed that the maximum tolerated dose of FL058 was 3,000 mg after single-dose infusion.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The in-depth study of genes and metabolites related to nucleotide metabolism will provide new ideas for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients. This study integrated the transcriptome data of different cancer types to explore the characteristics and significance of nucleotide metabolism-related genes (NMGRs) in different cancer types.

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Lipid metabolism has been associated with the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP)-AMP synthase (cGAS) stimulator of interferon genes (STING) DNA-sensing pathway, but our understanding of how these signals are integrated into a cohesive immunometabolic program is lacking. Here, we have identified liver X receptor (LXR) agonists as potent inhibitors of STING signaling. We show that stimulation of lipid metabolism by LXR agonists specifically suppressed cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP)-STING signaling.

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Background: Patients with a history of hypertension have elevated inflammation and a worse prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are reported to lose their immunosuppressive capacity under pathological conditions. However, whether hypertension leads to Treg dysfunction, thus accelerating myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, is still unknown.

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Rationale And Objectives: More pulmonary nodules (PNs) have been detected with the wide application of computed tomography (CT) in lung cancer screening. Radiomics is a noninvasive approach to predict the malignancy of PNs. We aimed to systematically evaluate the methodological quality of the eligible studies regarding CT-based radiomics models in predicting the malignancy of PNs and evaluate the model performance of the available studies.

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Background: Repeat stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for persistent cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) has generally favorable patient outcomes. However, reporting studies are limited by small patient numbers and single-institution biases. The purpose of this study was to provide the combined experience of multiple centers, in an effort to fully define the role of repeat SRS for patients with arteriovenous malformation.

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Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare, heterogeneous, and aggressive malignancy with a generally poor prognosis. Surgical resection is the optimal treatment plan. After surgery, both mitotane treatment or the etoposide-doxorubicin-cisplatin (EDP) protocol plus mitotane chemotherapy have a certain effect, but there is still an extremely high possibility of recurrence and metastasis.

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Background: Doxorubicin is an effective chemotherapy drug for treating various types of cancer. However, lethal cardiotoxicity severely limits its clinical use. Recent evidence has indicated that aberrant activation of the cytosolic DNA-sensing cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS)-STING (stimulator of interferon genes) pathway plays a critical role in cardiovascular destruction.

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes motor, sensory and automatic impairment due to rarely axon regeneration. Developing effective treatment for SCI in the clinic is extremely challenging because of the restrictive axonal regenerative ability and disconnection of neural elements after injury, as well as the limited systemic drug delivery efficiency caused by blood spinal cord barrier. To develop an effective non-invasive treatment strategy for SCI in clinic, we generated an autologous plasma exosome (AP-EXO) based biological scaffold where AP-EXO was loaded with neuron targeting peptide (RVG) and growth-facilitating peptides (ILP and ISP).

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