Publications by authors named "Youjun Li"

Tumor metabolic reprogramming is critical for providing energy to support proliferation and resistance to stress-induced cell death. However, the regulatory mechanisms linking these processes remain incompletely understood. Here, using untargeted metabolomics, we demonstrate that creatine potently induces ferroptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC).

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Water deficiency and low water use efficiency severely constrain wheat yield in dryland regions. This study aimed to identify suitable tillage methods and straw management to improve dry matter production, grain yield, and water use efficiency of wheat in the dryland winter wheat-summer bean (hereafter referred to as wheat-soybean) double-cropping system. A long-term located field experiment (onset in October 2009) with two tillage methods-plowing (PT) and rotary tillage (RT)-and two straw management-no straw mulching (NS) and straw mulching (SM)-was conducted at a typical dryland in China.

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Over the last three decades, we have witnessed great progress in uncovering the scope of reversible acetylation of non-histone proteins and understanding its mechanisms and functional consequences. In this review, we summarize the histone acetyltransferases (HATs)/deacetylases (HDACs) and their inhibitors, focusing on the role of reversible acetylation modification of non-histone proteins in tumor development while also exploring the application of HAT and HDAC inhibitors in cancer therapy.

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Primary dysmenorrhea(PDM) is defined as painful menstrual cramps without any evident pathology, exhibiting central nervous system(CNS) sensitivity and functional and structural changes in brain regions responsible for pain perception and modulation. Previous imaging studies primarily focused on functional changes, with only a limited number of studies investigated changes in brain morphology, and these studies generally used small sample sizes. It remains largely unknown whether brain structural changes are coupled with functional changes in patients with PDM, as well as the association between structural alterations and prostaglandin levels.

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Background: Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury induces neuronal ferroptosis and microglial phenotypic shifts, driving post-ischemic neurological deficits. This study examines the regulatory role of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) reader insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) in coordinating these pathological processes through Keap1/Nrf2 signaling.

Methods: Cerebral I/R injury was modeled in C57BL/6 mice via middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and in hippocampal neurons and microglia through oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R).

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The winter wheat and summer maize double cropping system is the primary cropping pattern for wheat and maize in dryland areas of China. The management of tillage in this system is typically conducted before wheat sowing. However, few studies have validated and quantified the impact of tillage methods before wheat sowing and irrigation practices during the wheat season on the yield formation and water use efficiency of summer maize.

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Partial sleep deprivation (PSD) alters neural activity of intrinsic brain networks involved in cognitive functions. However, the age-related time-varying properties of large-scale brain functional networks after PSD remain unknown. Our study applied energy landscape analysis to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to characterize the dominant brain activity patterns in 36 healthy young (19 females, 23.

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The locus coeruleus (LC), as the primary source of norepinephrine (NE) in the brain, is central to modulating cognitive and behavioral processes. This review synthesizes recent findings to provide a comprehensive understanding of the LC-NE system, highlighting its molecular diversity, neurophysiological properties, and role in various brain functions. We discuss the heterogeneity of LC neurons, their differential responses to sensory stimuli, and the impact of NE on cognitive processes such as attention and memory.

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Chronic pain alters the configuration of brain functional networks. Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) is a form of chronic visceral pain, which has been identified spatial alterations in brain functional networks using static functional connectivity analysis methods. However, the dynamics alterations of brain functional networks during pain-free periovulation phase remain unclear.

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Irrigation practice, tillage method, and nitrogen (N) management are the three most important agronomic measures for wheat ( L.) production, but the combined effects on grain yield and wheat physiological characteristics are still poorly understood. We conducted a three-year split-split field experiment at the junction of the Loess Plateau and Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in China.

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Cholesterol metabolism reprogramming plays essential roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, precisely how cholesterol metabolism is dysregulated is not clear. Here, we show that the palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC3 and depalmitoylase ABHD17A regulate HCC cell cholesterol biosynthesis by dynamically S-acylating SREBP cleavage-activating protein (SCAP).

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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising intervention tool for the noninvasive modulation of brain activity and behavior in neuroscience research and clinical settings. However, the resting-state dynamic evolution of large-scale functional brain networks following rTMS has rarely been investigated. Here, using resting-state fMRI images collected from 23 healthy individuals before (baseline) and after 1 Hz rTMS of the left frontal (FRO) and occipital (OCC) lobes, we examined the different effects of rTMS on brain dynamics across the human cortex.

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Background: Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a severe brain disorder with currently limited effective treatments. This study aims to explore the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification and associated regulatory factors in I/R to identify potential therapeutic targets.

Methods: We utilized a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model and SH-SY5Y cells subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) to assess m6A levels and investigate the impact of METTL3 overexpression on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) CRNDE expression.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the impact of foliar selenium (Se) fertilizer on melatonin levels in four different colored sweet potatoes during their swelling stage.
  • Both inorganic (ISe) and organic (OSe) selenium applications significantly increased melatonin across most varieties, with OSe showing a greater effect.
  • The orange sweet potato variety reached the highest melatonin levels overall, especially with OSe, indicating that selenium can enhance the health benefits of sweet potatoes.
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Certain metabolites in the tumor microenvironment (TME) can alter innate immunity. Here, it is shown how phosphomevalonate kinase (PMVK) allows hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells to overcome the anti-tumor immunity mediated by CD8 T cells. In HCCs, depletion of PMVK is required to facilitate CD8 T cell activation and their subsequent suppression of tumor growth.

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Tumor cells reprogram their metabolism to produce specialized metabolites that both fuel their own growth and license tumor immune evasion. However, the relationships between these functions remain poorly understood. Here, we report CRISPR screens in a mouse model of colo-rectal cancer (CRC) that implicates the dual specificity phosphatase 18 (DUSP18) in the establishment of tumor-directed immune evasion.

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The human brain is a dynamic system that shows frequency-specific features. Neuroimaging studies have shown that both healthy individuals and those with chronic pain disorders experience pain influenced by various processes that fluctuate over time. Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) is a chronic visceral pain that disrupts the coordinated activity of brain's functional network.

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Article Synopsis
  • Both subsoiling tillage (ST) and ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting (RF) are effective methods for enhancing wheat productivity, especially during the summer fallow season.
  • This study investigates how combining ST with RF affects water efficiency, nutrient uptake, and soil nitrate residues in dryland wheat farming in China.
  • Results show that the coupled method (SRFSM) not only improves grain yield and protein quality but also reduces soil nitrate-N residue compared to traditional tillage practices.
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The judicious management of water and nitrogen (N) is pivotal for augmenting crop productivity and N use efficiency, while also mitigating environmental concerns. With the advent of the High-Farmland Construction Program in China, one-off irrigation has become feasible for most dryland fields, presenting a novel opportunity to explore the synergistic strategies of water and N management. This study delves into the impact of one-off alternate furrow irrigation (AFI) and topdressing N fertilizer (TN) on soil nitrate-N distribution, and N productivity-including plant N accumulation, translocation, and allocation, and grain yield, protein content, N use efficiency of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

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  • Organic fertilizer substitution can boost wheat grain yield and quality while lowering the reliance on chemical fertilizers, especially in drought-prone areas.
  • A four-season study (2019-2023) showed that reducing nitrogen fertilizer by 20% and substituting with organic fertilizer significantly improved grain yield, protein content, and nutrient accumulation compared to traditional nitrogen applications.
  • The study highlights that using this combined approach of reduced chemical nitrogen and organic fertilizers enhances soil health and reduces nitrate-N residues, suggesting it as an effective strategy for sustainable wheat production.
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  • The study explores how spontaneous brain activity (intrinsic neural activities) changes over time when the brain is locally disturbed.
  • Researchers developed a method using statistical physics to analyze brain dynamics by examining patterns of nonreversibility in fMRI data.
  • Key findings indicate that longer analysis windows reduce variability of nonreversibility, show consistent states across different datasets, and reveal effects of stimulation on certain brain regions.
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  • Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNA molecules with important roles in health and disease, but predicting their connections to drug sensitivity is challenging and inefficient.
  • A new computational method called DGATCCDA uses deep learning to more accurately identify these associations by constructing multimodal networks and employing a novel approach that combines DeepWalk and graph attention networks.
  • DGATCCDA shows impressive results, achieving a 91.18% accuracy in predicting circRNA-drug sensitivities, outperforming five existing methods and demonstrating its potential for further research in this area.
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