Publications by authors named "Ai Liu"

Feather pecking (FP) is a significant welfare concern in poultry, which can result in reduced egg production, deterioration of feather condition, and an increase in mortality rate. This can harm the health of birds and the economic benefits of breeders. FP, as a complex trait, is regulated by multiple factors, and so far, no one has been able to elucidate its exact mechanism.

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Due to the unavoidable impact of ionizing radiation on the heart located near the mediastinum, varying degrees of myocardial damage may occur. As a result, the clinical application of radiotherapy in cancer treatment is significantly limited. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) are not yet fully understood, and there is a lack of disease-specific treatment strategies.

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Objective: This study explores the mechanism of AAC in intervening heart failure (HF) using network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro experimental validation.

Methods: The "active component-target" network and the "drug-disease target" protein interaction network were constructed using Cytoscape 3.9.

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Using deep eutectic solvents (DES) to pretreat wheat straw (WS) and extract lignin-containing nanocellulose (LCNC). Acrylic acid/choline chloride (AA/ChCl) polymerizable deep eutectic solvents (PDES) were used as the primary polymerization network, combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Lignocellulose nanocrystals (LCNC) oxidized by sodium periodate were prepared as dialdehyde-based nanocellulose (DCNC) to serve as the crosslinking agent.

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Article Synopsis
  • Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a serious brain condition that can cause complications like delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), affecting patient recovery.
  • Researchers looked at many studies to find out what factors increase the risk of DCI in patients with aSAH.
  • They found that factors like being female, having high scores on certain medical scales, and having other health problems make it more likely for patients to develop DCI, so these patients need close monitoring in the hospital.
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Aggressive pecking is an important welfare and production efficiency issue in poultry farming. The precise mechanisms underlying the occurrence of aggressive pecking remain poorly understood. In this study, we selected Sansui ducks that performed aggressive pecking and ducks that did not perform aggressive pecking from video recordings.

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Suppressor of Mek1 (Smek1) is a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 4. Genome-wide association studies have shown the protective effect of SMEK1 in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the physiological and pathological roles of Smek1 in AD and other tauopathies are largely unclear.

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Although molecular vibronic spectra generation is pivotal for chemical analysis, tackling such exponentially complex tasks on classical computers remains inefficient. Quantum simulation, though theoretically promising, faces technological challenges in experimentally extracting vibronic spectra for molecules with multiple modes. Here, we propose a nontrivial algorithm to generate the vibronic spectra using states with zero displacements (squeezed vacuum states) coupled to a linear optical network, offering ease of experimental implementation.

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BACKGROUND Heart failure and end-stage renal disease often coexist, and management of heart failure can be challenging in patients during hemodialysis. Sacubitril-valsartan (SV) is the first drug to receive regulatory approval for use in patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification II, III, or IV. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SV for use in chronic heart failure patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).

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Optical-fiber-based polarization scramblers can reduce the impact of polarization sensitive performance of various optical fiber systems. Here, we propose a simple and efficient polarization scrambler based on an all-optical Mach-Zehnder structure by combining a polarization beam splitter and an amplified fiber ring. To totally decoherence one polarization split beam, a fiber ring together with an amplifier is incorporated.

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  • * The fetus showed mild right ventricular (RV) dysplasia, with a notable decrease in TR jet velocity during pregnancy, leading to a postnatal diagnosis of PA/IVS without the expected severe TR.
  • * The conclusion suggests that the presence of mild or no TR in fetal PA/IVS cases can indicate non-biventricular outcomes, even when there are acceptable levels of RV dysplasia.*
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Obesity has become a major risk of global public health. SMEK1 is also known as a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 4 (PP4). Both PP4 and SMEK1 have been clarified in many metabolic functions, including the regulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis and glucose transporter gene expression in yeast.

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Enhancing light-matter interaction is a key requisite in the realm of optical sensors. Bound states in the continuum (BICs), possessing high quality factors ( factors), have shown great advantages in sensing applications. Recent theories elucidate the ability of BICs with hybrid metal-dielectric architectures to achieve high factors and high sensitivities.

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Background: The aim of the study is to demonstrate that radiomics of preoperative multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can indeed improve the predictive performance of microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A total of 206 patients with pathologically confirmed HCC who underwent preoperative enhanced MRI were retrospectively recruited. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the independent clinicoradiologic predictors of MVI present and constituted the clinicoradiologic model.

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Ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD) or polyploidization is prevalent in plants and has played a crucial role in plant adaptation. However, the underlying genomic basis of ecological adaptation and subsequent diversification after WGD are still poorly understood in most plants. Here, we report a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the genus Orinus (Orinus kokonorica as representative) and preform comparative genomics with its closely related genus Cleistogenes (Cleistogenes songorica as representative), both belonging to a newly named subtribe Orininae of the grass subfamily Chloridoideae.

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Introduction: Chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) is one of the most common health problems worldwide. According to the clinical guideline released by the American College of Physicians, exercise has been recommended for the treatment of chronic LBP. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is becoming increasingly popular for the management of chronic LBP.

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Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common symptom, and exercise has shown potential in alleviating CRF. However, there is a need for diverse exercise options tailored to individual patient needs.

Objective: To evaluate the overall effects of a combined walking and resistance band exercise intervention in relieving CRF among cancer patients through randomized controlled trials.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Flow cytometry is a key technique for analyzing single particles and sorting cells in biological applications, known for its efficiency and ability to handle multiple samples at once.
  • - This study examines how changes in flow rates and microchannel dimensions affect the flow patterns in hydrodynamic focusing, revealing a shift from a focused to an unfocused state as the flow intensity increases beyond a certain point.
  • - By maintaining a Reynolds number below 30, optimal recovery rates in microfluidic cytometry were achieved, providing valuable insights for broader applications in food safety, water quality, and healthcare.
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Objective: To develop a comprehensive nomogram based on MRI intra- and peritumoral radiomics signatures and independent risk factors for predicting parametrial invasion (PMI) in patients with early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma (AC) and adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC).

Methods: A total of 460 patients with IB to IIB cervical AC and ASC who underwent preoperative MRI examination and radical trachelectomy/hysterectomy were retrospectively enrolled and divided into primary, internal validation, and external validation cohorts. The original (Ori) and wavelet (Wav)-transform features were extracted from the volumetric region of interest of the tumour (ROI-T) and 3mm- and 5mm-peritumoral rings (ROI-3 and ROI-5), respectively.

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Three nitrophenols are among the 126 priority toxic pollutants identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Catalyzing hydrogenation is a simple way to convert these toxic nitrophenols into harmless aminophenols. Commercial PdC has excellent catalytic hydrogenation activity but has weaknesses such as high price and low reusability.

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Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex syndrome with high morbidity and slow progression. Early stages of CKD are asymptomatic and lack of awareness at this stage allows CKD to progress through to advanced stages. Early detection of CKD is critical for the early intervention and prognosis improvement.

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Purpose: Patients with advanced cancer in palliative care often experience physical and psychological symptoms that negatively impact their quality of life (QoL) and spiritual well-being. Music therapy can be used for symptom management in these patients. However, the effectiveness is uncertain.

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Tauopathies, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), clinically present with progressive cognitive decline and the deposition of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. Neurovascular compromise is also prevalent in AD and FTD however the relationship between tau and the neurovascular unit is less understood relative to other degenerative phenotypes. Current animal models confer the ability to recapitulate aspects of the CNS tauopathies, however, existing models either display overaggressive phenotypes, or do not develop neuronal loss or genuine neurofibrillary lesions.

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Recent years have witnessed significant progress in quantum communication and quantum internet with the emerging quantum photonic chips, whose characteristics of scalability, stability, and low cost, flourish and open up new possibilities in miniaturized footprints. Here, we provide an overview of the advances in quantum photonic chips for quantum communication, beginning with a summary of the prevalent photonic integrated fabrication platforms and key components for integrated quantum communication systems. We then discuss a range of quantum communication applications, such as quantum key distribution and quantum teleportation.

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