Publications by authors named "Zhi-hui Chen"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aims to assess the use of ultrasound images in identifying key prognostic indicators for HER2-positive breast cancer, enrolling 512 female patients.
  • Five deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) and a deep ensemble approach were utilized to assess lymph node involvement, lymphovascular invasion, and histological grade, with the deep ensemble yielding the highest accuracy and AUC scores.
  • The results suggest that the ultrasound-based deep ensemble model could help guide clinical decisions and improve treatment strategies for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.
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Objectives: We aimed to develop MRI-based radiomic models (RMs) to improve the diagnostic accuracy of radiologists in characterizing intestinal fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with refractory CD who underwent MR before surgery from November 2013 to September 2021. Resected bowel segments were histologically classified as none-mild or moderate-severe fibrosis.

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Although it is well documented that mountains tend to exhibit high biodiversity, how geological processes affect the assemblage of montane floras is a matter of ongoing research. Here, we explore landform-specific differences among montane floras based on a dataset comprising 17,576 angiosperm species representing 140 Chinese mountain floras, which we define as the collection of all angiosperm species growing on a specific mountain. Our results show that igneous bedrock (granitic and karst-granitic landforms) is correlated with higher species richness and phylogenetic overdispersion, while the opposite is true for sedimentary bedrock (karst, Danxia, and desert landforms), which is correlated with phylogenetic clustering.

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BACKGROUND Laparoscopic-perineal neovagina construction by sigmoid colpoplasty is a popular therapeutic approach for patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. The conventional approach requires an auxiliary abdominal incision to exteriorize the descending colon to fix the anvil for end-to-end colorectal anastomosis. We modified the natural orifice specimen extraction surgery (NOSES) approach by exteriorizing the descending colon through the artificial neovaginal tunnel to replace the anvil extracorporeally, without requiring an auxiliary abdominal incision.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study involved eight CD patients treated with anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive drugs, alongside healthy donors for comparison, and analyzed T cell characteristics using flow cytometry.
  • * Results showed significant changes in T cell populations in CD patients, including an increase in CD8 T cells and decreased production of crucial cytokines like IFN-γ by memory T cells, indicating altered immune responses post-treatment.
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  • The study aimed to compare levels of thyroglobulin and thyroid disease prevalence in pregnant Chinese women with differing urinary iodine concentrations (UICs), specifically between those with UIC of 100-149 µg/L and 150-249 µg/L.
  • A total of 812 healthy pregnant women participated, providing samples of urine, blood, and household salt during routine check-ups, and their thyroid function and iodine levels were analyzed.
  • Results indicated no significant differences in thyroid morphology or disease prevalence between the two UIC groups, suggesting that a UIC of 100-149 µg/L does not lead to worse thyroid health compared to a higher iodine concentration.
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Protein kinases are major regulators of cellular processes, but the roles of most kinases remain unresolved. Dictyostelid social amoebas have been useful in identifying functions for 30% of its kinases in cell migration, cytokinesis, vesicle trafficking, gene regulation and other processes but their upstream regulators and downstream effectors are mostly unknown. Comparative genomics can assist to distinguish between genes involved in deeply conserved core processes and those involved in species-specific innovations, while co-expression of genes as evident from comparative transcriptomics can provide cues to the protein complement of regulatory networks.

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GDP-L-galactose phosphorylase (VTC2) catalyses the conversion of GDP-L-galactose to L-galactose-1-P, a vital step of ascorbic acid (AsA) biosynthesis in plants. AsA is well known for its function in the amelioration of oxidative stress caused by most pathogen infection, but its function against viral infection remains unclear. Here, we have identified a VTC2 gene in wheat named as TaVTC2 and investigated its function in association with the wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) infection.

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Objective: This study assesses the impact of iodine-rich processed foods and dining places on the iodine nutritional status of children.

Methods: School-aged children (SAC) in seven provinces in China were selected by school-based multi-stage sampling. Urinary iodine, salt iodine, and thyroid volume (TVOL) were determined.

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Background: As an economically important crop, tea is strongly nitrogen (N)-dependent. However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying the response of N deficiency in tea are not fully understood. Tea cultivar "Chunlv2" [Camellia sinensis (L.

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Objective: To construct a combined radiomics model based on pre-treatment ultrasound for predicting of advanced breast cancers sensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Methods: A total of 288 eligible breast cancer patients who underwent NAC before surgery were enrolled in the retrospective study cohort. Radiomics features reflecting the phenotype of the pre-NAC tumors were extracted.

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Molecular manipulation of susceptibility (S) genes that are antipodes to resistance (R) genes has been adopted as an alternative strategy for controlling crop diseases. Here, we show the S gene encoding Triticum aestivum mA methyltransferase B (TaMTB) is identified by a genome-wide association study and subsequently shown to be a positive regulator for wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) infection. TaMTB is localized in the nucleus, is translocated into the cytoplasmic aggregates by binding to WYMV NIb to upregulate the mA level of WYMV RNA1 and stabilize the viral RNA, thus promoting viral infection.

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Background: Extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma (EES) is a member of the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors which is pathologically known as a small, round, blue cell tumor involving bone and soft tissue. The prevalence of EES is only 15%-25% of all Ewing sarcoma and EES often occurs in patients aged from 20-mo-old to 30-years-old resulting in an unfavorable prognosis.

Case Summary: The present case report described a 7-year-old patient with a palpable EES mass of 33 mm × 27 mm × 28 mm in the deep neck with symptoms of persistent dyspnea over the past 5 mo.

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Tear resistance is of vital importance in the fabrication and application of synthetic soft materials. However, the paradox of simultaneously improving the tearing energy and elasticity remains a huge challenge for conventional approaches. Here, inspired by the skin, we successfully constructed an extraordinary tear-resistant, superelastic elastomer by the introduction of nanosized polycyclodextrin into the elastomer network to form a slidable interpenetrate double network structure.

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Cell differentiation is traditionally monitored with a few marker genes, which may bias results. To understand the evolution and regulation of the spore, stalk, cup and basal disc cells in Dictyostelia, we previously performed RNAseq on purified cell-types of taxon-group representative dictyostelids. Using promoter- constructs in , we here investigate the spatio-temporal expression pattern of 29 cell-type specific genes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The evolution of new cell types in certain organisms, specifically in group 4 Dictyostelia, appears to stem from the duplication of gene regulatory networks, though there are few confirmed instances of this process.
  • Researchers found that a transcription factor (TF) named cdl1 duplicated into cdl1a and cdl1b in the common ancestor of group 4, with cdl1a showing signs of positive selection, suggesting a new function.
  • Experiments revealed that deleting cdl1a led to poorly formed fruiting bodies lacking cup cells, while knocking out both cdl1a and cdl1b resulted in even more severe structural issues, indicating their essential roles in the development of specialized cell types.
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Background: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is commonly considered as one of the most important limiting factors in the agricultural production. As a result, a large amount of N fertilizer is used to improve the yield in modern tea production. Unfortunately, the large amount of N fertilizer input has led to increased plant nitrogen-tolerance and decreased amplitude of yield improvement, which results in significant N loss, energy waste and environment pollution.

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GTP binding proteins known as small GTPases make up one of the largest groups of regulatory proteins and control almost all functions of living cells. Their activity is under, respectively, positive and negative regulation by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase activating proteins (GAPs), which together with their upstream regulators and the downstream targets of the small GTPases form formidable signalling networks. While genomics has revealed the large size of the GTPase, GEF and GAP repertoires, only a small fraction of their interactions and functions have yet been experimentally explored.

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Gluconeogenesis is a key interface between organic acid/amino acid/lipid and sugar metabolism. The aims of this article are four-fold. First, to provide a concise overview of plant gluconeogenesis.

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In grapevines, as in other plants, sucrose and its constituents glucose and fructose are fundamentally important and carry out a multitude of roles. The aims of this review are three-fold. First, to provide a summary of the metabolism and transport of sucrose in grapevines, together with new insights and interpretations.

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The electrocaloric effect of (KNa)NbO₃ single crystal is calculated based on Landau-Devonshire theory. The electrocaloric coefficient and adiabatic temperature change are calculated with the variation of temperature in rhombohedral, orthorhombic and tetragonal phase. A maximum of electrocaloric coefficient is obtained in each ferroelectric phase.

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The room temperature electrocaloric effect is researched for (110) oriented KNbO₃ film based on Landau-Devonshire theory. The phase map with different ferroelectric states is built at room temperature with the considerations of thermodynamic equilibrium conditions and minimum of thermodynamic potential. Five ferroelectric structural phases are obtained theoretically.

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Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for CO separation have overcome the trade-off between gas permeability and gas selectivity to some extent. However, most MMMs still are prepared in lab- and pilot-scales since the permeability and selectivity of CO are not good enough to reach the economically available requirements. Moreover, the fabrication of few MMMs with good separation performance is time-consuming or need harsh conditions.

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