Publications by authors named "Zhongqing Xu"

Breast ultrasound is recommended for early breast cancer detection in China, but the rapid increase in imaging data burdens sonographers. This study evaluated the agreement between artificial intelligence (AI) software and sonographers in analyzing breast nodule features. Breast ultrasound images from two hospitals in Shanghai were analyzed by both the software and the sonographers for features including echotexture, echo pattern, orientation, shape, margin, calcification, and posterior echo attenuation.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted patient's visits to general practitioners (GPs). However, it is unclear what the impact of COVID-19 has been on the interaction among the local primary care clinics, the GP Department within the hospital and specialists.

Methods: The interaction among GPs referring to hospital-based specialists and specialists to local doctors was determined, comparing pre-pandemic 2019 and 2020 during the pandemic.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the link between CARD16 protein and sepsis in the super-elderly population, who are more vulnerable to infections due to weakened immune functions.
  • Transcriptome analysis of blood samples from elderly sepsis patients showed an increased expression of CARD16 and pro-inflammatory factors, indicating a potential role in enhancing inflammatory responses.
  • Comparisons with healthy elderly controls revealed a significant decrease in anti-inflammatory gene levels in sepsis patients, highlighting an imbalance in immune regulation associated with senile sepsis.
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Article Synopsis
  • Insulin influences neuron activity by interacting with insulin receptors and acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), which are both found in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons.
  • A study showed that insulin increases acid-evoked ASIC currents in rat DRG neurons, enhancing their response by about 46% when applied for 5 minutes.
  • The insulin-induced increase in ASIC activity is mediated through specific pathways, and insulin also heightens pain responses related to acid, indicating its potential role in pain modulation via ASIC signaling.
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Introduction: The study was designed to explore how cinobufagin (CB) regulates the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells through lipid rafts.

Material And Methods: The effects of CB at gradient concentrations (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 µM) on NSCLC cell viability, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, phosphorylation of Akt, and apoptosis- and lipid raft-related protein expression were assessed by MTT assay, flow cytometry and Western blot.

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Background: Human health is commonly threatened by organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) due to their widespread use and biological characteristics. However, the combined effect of mixtures of OPPs metabolites on the risk of hypertension and potential mechanism remain limited.

Objectives: To comprehensively investigate the effects between OPPs exposure on hypertension risk and explore and underlying mechanism among US general population.

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Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes (T2D), poses an unprecedented challenge to global public health. Hydration status also plays a fundamental role in human health, especially in people with T2D, which is often overlooked. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal associations between hydration status and the risk of T2D among the Chinese population.

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Obesity is a major health concern that lacks effective intervention strategies. Traumatic acid (TA) is a potent wound-healing agent in plants, considered an antioxidant food ingredient. This study demonstrated that TA treatment significantly reduced lipid accumulation in human adipocytes and prevented high-fat diet induced obesity in zebrafish.

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Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a peptide that has been implicated in pain modulation. Acid sensitive ion channels (ASICs) also play an important role in pain associated with tissue acidification. However, it is still unclear whether there is an interaction between CCK signaling and ASICs during pain process.

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Owing to their potential adverse health effects, global contamination by microplastics (MPs) has attracted increased scientific and societal concerns. However, in vivo studies on MP toxicity, along with its effects and underlying mechanisms, remain limited. We recently found that non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) contribute to MP-mediated vascular toxicity.

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Background: To combat/control the COVID-19 pandemic, a complete lockdown was implemented in China for almost 6 months during 2020.

Purpose: To determine the impact of a long-term lockdown on the academic performance of first-year nursing students via mandatory online learning, and to determine the benefits of online teaching.

Methods: The recruitment and academic performance of 1st-year nursing students were assessed between 2019 [prior to COVID-19, n = 195, (146 women)] and 2020 [during COVID-19, n = 180 (142 women)].

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DEAH-box helicase 33 (DHX33) is a potent oncogenic agent on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and colon cancer. Nevertheless, the prognostic significance of DHX33 in human pan-cancers remains unclear. Various bioinformatics tools have been used to clarify the oncogenic effects of DHX33 in pan-cancers.

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Data retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases can reveal important information behind molecular biomarkers and their associated oncogenesis. Therefore, this study was based on in silico predictions and in vitro experiments to explore regulatory network associated with breast carcinogenesis. The breast cancer (BC)-related data sets were retrieved from GEO database, followed by differential analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis.

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Background: Oxidative stress and cell apoptosis play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of doxorubicin (DOX)-induced myocardial injury. Heat shock protein-derived peptide (HSP-17) is a peptide which is low-expressed in DOX treated mouse heart tissue. It has high bioactivity and interspecies sequence consistency, and is predicted to have myocardial protective effect.

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Increasing evidence revealed that apoptosis and oxidative stress injury were associated with the pathophysiology of doxorubicin (DOX)-induced myocardial injury. ELABELA (ELA) is a newly identified peptide with 32 amino acids, can reduce hypertension with exogenous infusion. However, the effect of 11-residue furn-cleaved fragment (ELA-11) is still unclear.

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The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum capsules combined with rosuvastatin on the intestinal flora, lipid metabolism, liver function and inflammation in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). For this purpose, a total of 96 patients with NAFLD were selected as research subjects and randomly divided into a control group (n=48) and an observation group (n=48). The Control group was treated with rosuvastatin, based on which observation group received Clostridium butyricum capsule treatment.

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Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly heterogeneous tumor with different responses to immunotherapy. Identifying immune subtypes and landscape of GC could improve immunotherapeutic strategies.

Methods: Based on the abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in GC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we used unsupervised consensus clustering algorithm to identify robust clusters of patients, and assessed their reproducibility in an independent cohort from Gene Expression Omnibus.

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The COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus disease) pandemic is deeply concerning because of its massive mortality and morbidity, creating adverse perceptions among patients likely to impact on their overall medical care. Thus, we evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of primary care consultations within a Shanghai health district. A retrospective observational cohort study was performed, with data analyzed concerning the pattern of patient visits to general practitioners within the Tongren Hospital network (the sole provider of general practice to the population of 700,000).

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Vascular endothelial dysfunction is a vital pathological change in hypertension, which is mainly caused by apoptosis and oxidative stress injury of vascular endothelial cells. Peptidomics is a method for the direct analysis of small bioactive peptides in various biological samples using liquid chromatography‑mass spectrometry (MS)/MS. Given the advantages of the low molecular weight, optimum targeting and easy access to cells, peptides have attracted extensive attention in the field of drug research.

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Background: D-dimer, a soluble degradation product of cross-linked fibrin, is commonly used as an important marker for the diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation and differential diagnosis of thrombosis. Herein, we present a geriatric case with an unusually elevated D-dimer level.

Case Summary: An 82-year-old woman, admitted to the ward with a diagnosis of chronic heart failure, was noted to have a remarkably elevated D-dimer level, beyond the qualified range (> 100 mg/L), utilizing the Innovating D-dimer for Sysmex CS-5100 System™.

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Background And Objectives: As a result of the pandemic, family physicians face the additional challenge of navigating COVID-19. The aim of this study was to provide simulated training for best-practice management of COVID-19 presentations for residency program trainees in Shanghai, China.

Method: A simulated suspected COVID-19 case was designed on the basis of a real patient.

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Self-care is essential for primary care professionals who are at risk of COVID-19.

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Background And Objectives: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the commonest microvascular complications of diabetes and has been the major cause of end-stage renal disease in many countries. It is of great clinical significance to further explore more efficacious therapeutic strategies for DN. This study aims to explore the effect of Blnc1 on renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy.

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