Publications by authors named "Cheng-yi Liu"

Urolithiasis is a common and recurrent condition in the urological spectrum. Despite various proposed mechanisms, the causal relationship between sleep traits and the risk of urolithiasis remains unclear. We used publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data from the UK Biobank and FinnGen to perform a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis and genetic correlation analysis, evaluating the causal relationship and genetic correlation between sleep traits (chronotype, getting up in the morning, sleep duration, nap during the day, and insomnia) and urolithiasis (calculus of the kidney and ureter, and calculus of the lower urinary tract).

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Background: Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) represents highly multifarious malignant tumors that often occur in adolescents and have a poor prognosis. The basement membrane, as an ancient cellular matrix, was recently proven to play a vital role in developing abundant tumors. The relationship between basement membrane-related genes and STS remains unknown.

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  • Fine-grain copper films with a grain size of 100.36 nm and a nearly atomic-scale surface were successfully electroplated.
  • Direct bonding between copper surfaces can occur at 130℃ in air, requiring only a moderate pressure of 1 MPa without needing further treatment.
  • The study noted rapid grain growth, with a significant increase of 164.29 nm in the first day and an overall average growth rate of 105.58 nm over two weeks, which aids in the bonding process.
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Diversity, a hallmark of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, partly stems from alternative splicing of a single gene generating more than one isoform for a receptor. Additionally, receptor responses to ligands can be attenuated by desensitization upon prolonged or repeated ligand exposure. Both phenomena have been demonstrated and exemplified by the deuterostome tachykinin signaling system, although the role of phosphorylation in desensitization remains a subject of debate.

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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a clinical syndrome characterized by persistent renal function decline. Renal fibrosis is the main pathological process in CKD, but an effective treatment does not exist. Stratifin (SFN) is a highly-conserved, multi-function soluble acidic protein.

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Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) was introduced as an ergogenic aid for sport performance in healthy individuals is still controversial. The main aim of this study is to assess the potential enhancements in muscle endurance and recovery from muscle strength and injuries mediated by PBMT among individuals exhibiting diverse activity levels. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) of PBMT interventions for healthy people (both trained and untrained individuals) exercising were searched (up to January 16, 2024) in four electronic databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Embase.

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  • Researchers studied how different surgeries on a part of the foot (fifth metatarsal head) help people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have foot problems.
  • They looked at 50 patients with serious foot deformities and split them into two groups: one that kept the fifth metatarsal head and one that removed it.
  • The study compared how long the surgeries took, any problems after surgery, and changes in foot angles before and after the operation.
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  • Some juice companies mix cheaper juices into their products to save money, which makes it hard to trust the drink's quality.
  • A study used a special technique called Raman spectroscopy to quickly find out how much apple or grape juice was mixed into pomegranate juice.
  • The results showed that this method was really good at detecting how much the juice was being mixed, helping ensure that pomegranate juice is really what it says it is!
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Neuropeptides are ubiquitous intercellular signaling molecules in the CNS and play diverse roles in modulating physiological functions by acting on specific G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Among them, the elevenin signaling system is now believed to be present primarily in protostomes. Although elevenin was first identified from the L11 neuron of the abdominal ganglion in mollusc Aplysia californica, no receptors have been described in Aplysia, nor in any other molluscs.

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The efficacy and safety of adjunctive magnetic seizure therapy (MST) for patients with schizophrenia are unclear. This systematic review was conducted to examine the efficacy and safety of adjunctive MST for schizophrenia. Chinese (WanFang and Chinese Journal Net) and English (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library) databases were systematically searched.

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  • Tensile tests on electroplated copper (Cu) films revealed that the strength of these films is closely linked to the density of their nano-twin grain structures, with higher densities resulting in greater fracture strength.
  • The density of the nano-twin structure can be controlled by adjusting the concentration of gelatin in the Cu-sulfate electrolyte solution.
  • Analysis showed that plastic deformation in these nano-twinned films is primarily caused by a de-twinning mechanism activated during necking, involving the formation and collapse of ledges due to dislocation interactions with twin boundaries.
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is described as new based on collections from southwest China. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer region ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS) and portions of nuclear 28S rDNA (28S), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (), and the largest and second largest subunits of RNA polymerase II () support as a novel species in the genus (Boletinellaceae, Boletales).

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  • Researchers developed a powerful vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array that shows improved single-mode and single-polarized output without increasing intra-cavity losses or threshold current.
  • The innovative design features a low-loss zinc-diffusion aperture and an electroplated copper substrate, achieving high side mode suppression and a narrow divergence angle at high output power.
  • This new VCSEL structure demonstrates enhanced mode selectivity due to tensile strain from the copper substrate, maintaining nearly the same threshold current and efficiency as previous devices.
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  • - The study evaluated the effectiveness of metallic stents versus ordinary polymer stents in treating malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO) in 76 patients by comparing operation success rates, duration, patency, serum creatinine levels, postoperative complications, and quality of life (QOL) scores.
  • - Results showed similar success rates for both types of stents, but the metallic stent group had a significantly longer operation time, lower post-procedural complications, and consistently better QOL scores after 6 months and 1 year.
  • - Though there were no significant differences in serum creatinine levels between groups post-operation, the metallic stent patients maintained stable creatinine levels, while patients with polymer stents showed an increase
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  • - Modafinil, a drug known for promoting wakefulness, was studied to see if it could enhance cognitive performance in rats, as evidence for its cognitive enhancing effects in humans is lacking.
  • - The study used Y-maze training and specific brain techniques to evaluate the impact of modafinil on learning and synaptic activity in rats' hippocampus.
  • - Results showed that modafinil improved learning and memory in rats by boosting excitatory synaptic transmission while dampening inhibitory transmission, suggesting a complex effect on brain function.
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Topographical and pedological factors at 9 sites of Tuber indicum in Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet were studied by using principal component analysis in order to determine the connection between truffle-growth with topographic factors and soil factors. Results showed that: 1) The 5 principal components selected from 15 topographical and pedological factors had a great cumulative contribution, up to 87.5%.

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Background: Data on susceptibility to ceftobiprole and colistin, and the complete evolutionary trends of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of important carbapenem agents among important pathogens collected in intensive care units (ICUs) in Taiwan are lacking.

Methods: We surveyed the MIC distribution patterns of ceftobiprole and colistin and susceptibility profiles of some important pathogens collected from patients hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs) of major teaching hospitals throughout Taiwan in 2007. We also investigated the rates of nonsusceptibility to powerful carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem) among four important species of Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, and Proteus mirabilis) collected during the same period.

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To investigate the evolutionary trends in non-susceptibility of carbapenems against the isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae from patients hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs) of major teaching hospitals throughout Taiwan during 2005-2009, we applied the breakpoints of MICs recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in 2013. Escalations in imipenem MIC levels for overall E. coli and E.

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  • The study highlights a lack of data on cephalosporin susceptibility in ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae from Taiwanese ICUs.
  • Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of three cephalosporins were tested in various bacterial species with results indicating different susceptibility rates based on CLSI and EUCAST criteria.
  • The findings suggest that the CLSI's cefepime MIC breakpoints need revision for more accurately identifying ESBL producers, particularly in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae.
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Automatically segmenting anatomical structures from 3D brain MRI images is an important task in neuroimaging. One major challenge is to design and learn effective image models accounting for the large variability in anatomy and data acquisition protocols. A deformable template is a type of generative model that attempts to explicitly match an input image with a template (atlas), and thus, they are robust against global intensity changes.

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In this paper, a novel single-hidden-layer feed-forward quantum neural network model is proposed based on some concepts and principles in the quantum theory. By combining the quantum mechanism with the feed-forward neural network, we defined quantum hidden neurons and connected quantum weights, and used them as the fundamental information processing unit in a single-hidden-layer feed-forward neural network. The quantum neurons make a wide range of nonlinear functions serve as the activation functions in the hidden layer of the network, and the Grover searching algorithm outstands the optimal parameter setting iteratively and thus makes very efficient neural network learning possible.

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To investigate the in vitro susceptibilities to various carbapenems amongst clinical Gram-negative bacteria isolated from patients in intensive care units of ten major teaching hospitals in Taiwan in 2009, a survey was conducted to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of ertapenem, imipenem, meropenem and doripenem against isolates of Enterobacteriaceae (n = 594), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 185), Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 192) and Burkholderia cepacia (n = 23) using the agar dilution method. Susceptibilities were determined according to 2009, 2011 and 2012 MIC breakpoints recommended by the CLSI as well as 2012 MIC breakpoints recommended by EUCAST. Based on CLSI 2012 criteria, the ertapenem susceptible rate was 93%, 81%, 68% and 92% for Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia marcescens, respectively.

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Objective: To explore the three-dimensional movement of atlantoaxial joint, complete transverse ligament and cracked transverse ligament after posterior atlantoaxial fixation.

Methods: The fresh upper cervical cadaveric specimens were collected from 6 males dead from active craniocerebral injury. The average age was 39.

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