Browsing by Author "Feng, L"

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Open Access
A Glimpse Into Duke Research: Where Are You Now?
(2017-02-28) Yuan, A; Feng, L; Qin, X; Zhao, Y
Duke is one of the leading sites for research across the nation, throughout the world where professionals are defining the way to a better and healthier future. A thorough understanding of how Duke networks behave is crucial to their efficient operation. By visualizing data on networks, it is possible to greatly improve our knowledge of how Duke researchers collaborate and detect patterns that would not be evident in a database alone. Our focus is on mapping collaboration networks. Clusters of nodes in the maps show both the research communities that coalesce from different departments or affiliations and the relationship among those communities. The maps also show the collaborations that have not been made, which indicate opportunities for future research. The goal of this visualization was to examine the geographic spread of collaborations represented in the scholars@duke dataset. The goal of the Scholars@Duke Visualization Challenge was to create visualizations that capture the richness and dynamism of Duke research. The datasets were provided by Scholars@Duke (https://schoalrs.duke.edu/) and they describe publications, authorships, and scholarly collaborations from university researchers over the past 5 years.
Open Access
Bacteria localization and chorion thinning among preterm premature rupture of membranes.
(PLoS One, 2014) Murtha, AP; Fortner, KB; Grotegut, CA; Ransom, CE; Bentley, RC; Feng, L; Lan, L; Heine, RP; Seed, PC
OBJECTIVE: Bacterial colonization of the fetal membranes and its role in pathogenesis of membrane rupture is poorly understood. Prior retrospective work revealed chorion layer thinning in preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) subjects. Our objective was to prospectively examine fetal membrane chorion thinning and to correlate to bacterial presence in PPROM, preterm, and term subjects. STUDY DESIGN: Paired membrane samples (membrane rupture and membrane distant) were prospectively collected from: PPROM = 14, preterm labor (PTL = 8), preterm no labor (PTNL = 8), term labor (TL = 10), and term no labor (TNL = 8), subjects. Sections were probed with cytokeratin to identify fetal trophoblast layer of the chorion using immunohistochemistry. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed using broad range 16 s ribosomal RNA probe. Images were evaluated, chorion and choriodecidua were measured, and bacterial fluorescence scored. Chorion thinning and bacterial presence were compared among and between groups using Student's t-test, linear mixed effect model, and Poisson regression model (SAS Cary, NC). RESULTS: In all groups, the fetal chorion cellular layer was thinner at rupture compared to distant site (147.2 vs. 253.7 µm, p<0.0001). Further, chorion thinning was greatest among PPROM subjects compared to all other groups combined, regardless of site sampled [PPROM(114.9) vs. PTL(246.0) vs. PTNL(200.8) vs. TL(217.9) vs. TNL(246.5)]. Bacteria counts were highest among PPROM subjects compared to all other groups regardless of site sampled or histologic infection [PPROM(31) vs. PTL(9) vs. PTNL(7) vs. TL(7) vs. TNL(6)]. Among all subjects at both sites, bacterial counts were inversely correlated with chorion thinning, even excluding histologic chorioamnionitis (p<0.0001 and p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fetal chorion was uniformly thinner at rupture site compared to distant sites. In PPROM fetal chorion, we demonstrated pronounced global thinning. Although cause or consequence is uncertain, bacterial presence is greatest and inversely correlated with chorion thinning among PPROM subjects.
Open Access
GxE interactions between FOXO genotypes and drinking tea are significantly associated with prevention of cognitive decline in advanced age in China.
(J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2015-04) Zeng, Y; Chen, H; Ni, T; Ruan, R; Feng, L; Nie, C; Cheng, L; Li, Y; Tao, W; Gu, J; Land, KC; Yashin, A; Tan, Q; Yang, Z; Bolund, L; Yang, H; Hauser, E; Willcox, DC; Willcox, BJ; Tian, X; Vaupel, JW
Logistic regression analysis based on data from 822 Han Chinese oldest old aged 92+ demonstrated that interactions between carrying FOXO1A-266 or FOXO3-310 or FOXO3-292 and tea drinking at around age 60 or at present time were significantly associated with lower risk of cognitive disability at advanced ages. Associations between tea drinking and reduced cognitive disability were much stronger among carriers of the genotypes of FOXO1A-266 or FOXO3-310 or FOXO3-292 compared with noncarriers, and it was reconfirmed by analysis of three-way interactions across FOXO genotypes, tea drinking at around age 60, and at present time. Based on prior findings from animal and human cell models, we postulate that intake of tea compounds may activate FOXO gene expression, which in turn may positively affect cognitive function in the oldest old population. Our empirical findings imply that the health benefits of particular nutritional interventions, including tea drinking, may, in part, depend upon individual genetic profiles.
Open Access
Interaction Between the FOXO1A-209 Genotype and Tea Drinking Is Significantly Associated with Reduced Mortality at Advanced Ages.
(Rejuvenation Res, 2016-06) Zeng, Y; Chen, H; Ni, T; Ruan, R; Nie, C; Liu, X; Feng, L; Zhang, F; Lu, J; Li, J; Li, Y; Tao, W; Gregory, SG; Gottschalk, W; Lutz, MW; Land, KC; Yashin, A; Tan, Q; Yang, Z; Bolund, L; Ming, Q; Yang, H; Min, J; Willcox, DC; Willcox, BJ; Gu, J; Hauser, E; Tian, X; Vaupel, JW
On the basis of the genotypic/phenotypic data from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) and Cox proportional hazard model, the present study demonstrates that interactions between carrying FOXO1A-209 genotypes and tea drinking are significantly associated with lower risk of mortality at advanced ages. Such a significant association is replicated in two independent Han Chinese CLHLS cohorts (p = 0.028-0.048 in the discovery and replication cohorts, and p = 0.003-0.016 in the combined dataset). We found the associations between tea drinking and reduced mortality are much stronger among carriers of the FOXO1A-209 genotype compared to non-carriers, and drinking tea is associated with a reversal of the negative effects of carrying FOXO1A-209 minor alleles, that is, from a substantially increased mortality risk to substantially reduced mortality risk at advanced ages. The impacts are considerably stronger among those who carry two copies of the FOXO1A minor allele than those who carry one copy. On the basis of previously reported experiments on human cell models concerning FOXO1A-by-tea-compounds interactions, we speculate that results in the present study indicate that tea drinking may inhibit FOXO1A-209 gene expression and its biological functions, which reduces the negative impacts of FOXO1A-209 gene on longevity (as reported in the literature) and offers protection against mortality risk at oldest-old ages. Our empirical findings imply that the health outcomes of particular nutritional interventions, including tea drinking, may, in part, depend upon individual genetic profiles, and the research on the effects of nutrigenomics interactions could potentially be useful for rejuvenation therapies in the clinic or associated healthy aging intervention programs.