Publications by authors named "Zhenqiang Xu"

Prostate cancer, prevalent among males, is influenced by various molecular factors, including Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15). Despite its recognized role in multiple tumor types, GDF15's specific involvement in prostate cancer remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates the regulatory function of GDF15 in prostate cancer.

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Conventional hydrajet fracturing techniques are often frustrated when they are applied to some specific well types, such as casing-damaged and small-diameter wells. It is of great significance to investigate the erosion and stress on a small-diameter hydrajet fracturing tool during its service and clarify the relevant influencing factors. Based on the solid-liquid two-phase flow theory and erosion model, a numerical simulation was conducted on the erosion and stress on a small-diameter hydrajet fracturing tool by using the computational fluid dynamics approach in order to understand how the inlet flow rate, particle size, and particle mass concentration affect the erosion and stress on the tool.

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Carcass traits in broiler chickens are complex traits that are influenced by multiple genes. To gain deeper insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying carcass traits, here we conducted a weighted single-step genome-wide association study (wssGWAS) in a population of Chinese yellow-feathered chicken. The objective was to identify genomic regions and candidate genes associated with carcass weight (CW), eviscerated weight with giblets (EWG), eviscerated weight (EW), breast muscle weight (BMW), drumstick weight (DW), abdominal fat weight (AFW), abdominal fat percentage (AFP), gizzard weight (GW), and intestine length (IL).

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Genotype imputation is a powerful technique employed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and genotyping arrays, which can significantly enhance the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of genomic selection. The accuracy of imputation is largely determined by the choice of reference panel, with previous studies generally demonstrating that a closely related population as a reference panel leads to greater accuracy than a more distantly related population. Various strategies have been proposed for selecting desirable individuals via targeted resequencing, but their efficiencies need further improvement.

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Genomic selection using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers is now intensively investigated in breeding and has been widely utilized for genetic improvement. Currently, several studies have used haplotype (consisting of multiallelic SNPs) for genomic prediction and revealed its performance advantage. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated the performance of haplotype models for genomic prediction in 15 traits, including 6 growth, 5 carcass, and 4 feeding traits in a Chinese yellow-feathered chicken population.

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A 50-year-old woman who had previously undergone right radical mastectomy presented with chest tightness and shortness of breath after physical activities. A cardiac mass and multiple hepatic lesions were successively detected. We first performed hepatic puncture biopsy.

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Background: The present study aimed to explore the relationship between serum anion gap (AG) and long-term mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: Clinical variables were extracted among patients undergoing CABG from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database. The primary outcome was 4-year mortality following CABG.

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Objective: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the major histopathological subtype of renal cancer, and ferroptosis is implicated in the pathogenesis of ccRCC. The present study was aimed at investigating the role and underlying mechanisms of microRNA-4735-3p (miR-4735-3p) in ccRCC.

Methods: Human ccRCC cell lines were transfected with the miR-4735-3p mimic or inhibitor to manipulate the expression of miR-4735-3p.

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Background: Blood urea nitrogen to albumin ratio (BAR) has been implicated in predicting outcomes of various inflammatory-related diseases. However, the predictive value of BAR in long-term mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not yet been evaluated.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the patients were recruited from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database and categorized into two groups by a cutoff value of BAR.

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Background: This study examined the role of blood urea nitrogen-to-albumin ratio (BAR) in predicting long-term mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, patients undergoing CABG were enrolled from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database. Patients were divided into the three groups according to the optimal cutoff values of BAR determined by X-tile software.

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Background: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is one of the most complex congenital cardiac malformations, and the molecular mechanism of heart failure (HF) in HLHS is still elusive.

Methods: Integrative bioinformatics analysis was performed to unravel the underlying genes and mechanisms involved in HF in HLHS. Microarray dataset GSE23959 was screened out for the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), after which the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional enrichment analyses were carried out using the Metascape.

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Objective: To investigate the impact of macrophage-induced immune inflammation on the proliferation and apoptosis of BPH cells and its possible mechanism.

Methods: Macrophages were stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate, co-cultured with BPH-1 cells, and then treated with the androgen receptor (AR) inhibitor or anti-CD40L antibody. The immunohistochemical biomarkers of the T lymphocytes (CD4 and CD8), B lymphocyte (CD20) and macrophages (CD68), AR, CD40/CD40L, and inflammatory factors IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α were measured before and after treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze the prevalence of atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP) and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) in prostate biopsies in China, and the subsequent risk of prostate cancer (PCa) in follow-up biopsies.
  • Among 2,456 patients, initial biopsies showed a considerable rate of PCa (30%), with lower rates for ASAP (8.8%) and HGPIN (4%). Patients with ASAP were more likely to be diagnosed with PCa in subsequent biopsies as compared to those with HGPIN.
  • The results suggest that ASAP is a strong indicator for the need for
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Objective: To evaluate the effects of different treatments of unilateral testicular torsion on the long-term fertility of the patient.

Methods: We reviewed the clinical and fertility-related follow-up data on 92 cases of unilateral testicular torsion treated by orchiectomy (the OE group, n = 49) or orchiopexy (the OP group, n = 43) between January 2000 and December 2014. We compared the testis volume, semen parameters, reproductive hormone indexes, natural pregnancy rate (NPR) and time to pregnancy (TTP) between the two groups, and analyzed the influence of orchiectomy and orchiopexy on the fertility of the patients.

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Background: Growth traits are of great importance for poultry breeding and production and have been the topic of extensive investigation, with many quantitative trait loci (QTL) detected. However, due to their complex genetic background, few causative genes have been confirmed and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear, thus limiting our understanding of QTL and their potential use for the genetic improvement of poultry. Therefore, deciphering the genetic architecture is a promising avenue for optimising genomic prediction strategies and exploiting genomic information for commercial breeding.

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Purpose: To probe the effect and mechanism of androgen receptor antagonist MDV3100 on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) of rats.

Methods: BPH rat model was induced by testosterone propionate. Then antagomir-miR-21-3p or agomir-miR-21-3p was injected into rats before MDV3100 treatment.

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Investigations on the association between chicken traits and genetic variations can provide basic information to improve production performance in chickens. In our previous work, we genotyped 450 male chickens with a 600 K SNP array [1] and found that several SNPs in the genomic regions of the amylase alpha 1A (AMY1A) gene were significantly associated with feed intake efficiency and carcass traits. Given the lower accuracy of the SNP array, we performed direct sequencing with male and female chickens to further test chicken AMY1A polymorphisms and investigate their association with 17 traits in chickens.

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HnRNPA2/B1 is highly expressed in many tumors. However, the role of hnRNPA2/B1 in breast cancer is not clear. In this study, we found the proliferation rate was decreased after knockout of hnRNPA2/B1 by CRISPR-CAS9 in MCF-7 cells, as demonstrated by the reduced expression of CDK4 and p-AKT, and the increased expression of P27.

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This study examined the role of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), an inflammatory biomarker, in predicting the severity of calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS) in a Chinese case-control study. The LMR significantly decreased in the patients with CAVS compared with healthy controls. An inverse correlation was observed between the severity of stenosis and LMR in the patients.

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Objective: Considering the association of macrophage migration inhibitory factor with development of prostate diseases, this study aims to explore the effect and mechanism of macrophages (MAs) in inflammation and proliferation of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) cells.

Methods: Totally 85 prostate tissues (75 from BPH patients and 10 from brain death patients) were collected for determination of biomarkers of T lymphocyte (CD4 and CD8), B lymphocyte (CD20) and MAs (CD68), as well as androgen receptor (AR) and CD40/CD40L. MAs stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) were cultured with BPH cells (BPH-1), followed by AR inhibitor or anti-CD40 L antibody treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the NPR-C receptor affects the development of salt-sensitive hypertension by using Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) and salt-resistant (DR) rats on different salt diets.
  • After six weeks, it was found that a high-salt diet notably raised the systolic blood pressure in DS rats, indicating a significant impact of salt intake on hypertension.
  • Various physiological markers, such as blood sodium levels, urinary sodium excretion, and renal health, were measured to understand the role of ANP and NPR-C in regulating blood pressure and kidney function.
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Introduction: Recently transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has emerged as a feasible alternative for traditional surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients with intermediate to high risk. There is currently no clear consensus regarding the optimal antiplatelet strategy after TAVR. The primary objective of this updated meta-analyses was to compare the outcomes of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) versus single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) following TAVR.

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Background: Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) participates in several vital steps of lipid metabolism, which is associated with calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS). Although a few studies have suggested that PON1 in blood could inhibit aortic valve calcification, they did not provide detailed descriptions. In this study, we hypothesized that PON1 is expressed in the aortic valve and that the PON1 level is related to the severity of CAVS.

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