Publications by authors named "K-J Yang"

Separation of multi-component mixtures in an energy-efficient manner has important practical impact in chemical industry but is highly challenging. Especially, targeted simultaneous removal of multiple impurities to purify the desired product in one-step separation process is an extremely difficult task. We introduced a pore integration strategy of modularizing ordered pore structures with specific functions for on-demand assembly to deal with complex multi-component separation systems, which are unattainable by each individual pore.

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KRAS is an important oncogenic driver which is mutated in numerous cancers. Recent advances in the selective targeting of KRAS mutants via small molecule inhibitors and targeted protein degraders have generated an increase in research activity in this area in recent years. As such, there is a need for new assay platforms to profile next generation inhibitors which improve on the potency and selectivity of existing drug candidates, while evading the emergence of resistance.

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Background: Currently, validated biomarkers for assessing hemorrhagic transformation (HT) after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) are lacking. We aimed to validate a test combining GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) and UCH-L1 (ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1) to indicate the absence of HT after IVT.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with stroke treated with IVT from 16 hospitals.

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Rhodamines have been continuously optimized in brightness, biocompatibility, and color to fulfill the demands of modern bioimaging. However, the problem of phototoxicity caused by the excited fluorophore under long-term illumination has been largely neglected, hampering their use in time-lapse imaging. Here we introduce cyclooctatetraene (COT) conjugated rhodamines that span the visible spectrum and exhibit significantly reduced phototoxicity.

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  • * The researchers developed high-performance fluorescent biosensors called sensitive to arginine (STAR) that allow for real-time monitoring of arginine levels in cells, mice, and clinical samples.
  • * Using STAR, they discovered the influence of different amino acids on arginine levels and found that serum arginine levels tend to rise with age, which could help in assessing the progression of conditions like vitiligo.
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Thermoelectrics converting heat and electricity directly attract broad attentions. To enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, one of the key points is to decouple the carrier-phonon transport. Here, we propose an entropy engineering strategy to realize the carrier-phonon decoupling in the typical SrTiO-based perovskite thermoelectrics.

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Study Question: Can human pre- and peri-pubertal testicular cells obtained from childhood cancer patients, previously treated with chemotherapy, form testicular organoids (TOs)?

Summary Answer: Organoid formation from testicular tissue collected from childhood cancer patients positively correlates with SRY-Box transcription factor 9 (SOX9) expression in Sertoli cells, which in turn negatively correlates with previous exposure to alkylating chemotherapy.

What Is Known Already: Pre- and peri-pubertal boys exposed to highly gonadotoxic therapies can only safeguard their fertility potential through testicular tissue cryopreservation. Today, there is no established clinical tool to restore fertility using these testicular samples.

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  • Genomic alterations in tumors significantly influence cancer progression and treatment response, with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) emerging as a viable alternative to traditional targeted panel sequencing (TPS) due to advancements in cost and technology.
  • A study involving 120 cancer patients evaluated the clinical utility of WGS and found that 79% received genomic reports quickly, with 72% of these reports offering clinically relevant information.
  • The insights gained from WGS helped in selecting tailored treatments and clinical trials based on identifying specific mutations, potentially enhancing precision oncology and suggesting routine integration of WGS in cancer management.
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  • COVID-19 and influenza are respiratory illnesses caused by different viruses but share some symptoms and clinical risk factors, yet their genetic connections remain poorly understood.
  • A study involving over 18,000 influenza cases and nearly 276,000 control subjects found no common genetic risk factors between COVID-19 and influenza, revealing specific gene variants linked only to influenza.
  • The research highlights the potential for targeting cell surface receptors involved in viral entry, showing that manipulating specific genes could lead to treatments that prevent both COVID-19 and influenza infections.
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Corrections to the article based on comments published by Dr Acree, various models, including the modified Apelblat model, the λh model, the Jouyban-Acree model, the SUN model and the CNIBS/R-K model, recalculated, obtained new parameters and relative absolute percentage deviations.

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Background: Cerebral small vessel disease is a common cause of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia. There is an urgent need for preventative treatments for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, and reducing vascular dysfunction may provide a therapeutic route. Here, we investigate whether the chronic administration of nimodipine, a central nervous system-selective dihydropyridine calcium channel blocking agent, protects vascular, metabolic, and cognitive function in an animal model of cerebral small vessel disease, the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat.

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  • Researchers created a double-transgenic mouse model that expresses both human ACE2 and TMPRSS2 to study how SARS-CoV-2 infects and harms the body.* -
  • These mice exhibited severe weight loss, lung injury, and high susceptibility to the virus, making them a useful model for investigating disease mechanisms.* -
  • Treatment with the TMPRSS2 inhibitor nafamostat showed promise in reducing weight loss and virus replication, indicating potential therapeutic strategies against COVID-19.*
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  • The study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of two third-generation drug-eluting stents: the Coroflex ISAR and the Orsiro.
  • It was conducted as part of the HOST-IDEA trial, which originally involved dual antiplatelet therapy duration but shifted to a registry format for stent comparison, ultimately including 328 patients randomized between the two stents.
  • Results showed that patients with the Coroflex ISAR stent had a significantly higher rate of target lesion failure compared to those with the Orsiro stent, with revascularization being a major factor for this difference.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze human corneal endothelial cells (HCECs) morphology and ocular biometrics in premature (PM) children with or without retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods: Retrospective data on patient demographics, HCECs status, and ocular biometrics with at least 2 visits between 2016 and 2021 were reviewed. The main outcomes were endothelial cell density (ECD), coefficient of variation (CV), hexagonal cell ratio (HEX), central corneal thickness (CCT), axial length, anterior chamber depth, keratometry, corneal diameter, pupil diameter, and refraction status.

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Despite the record-breaking discovery, development and approval of vaccines and antiviral therapeutics such as Paxlovid, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remained the fourth leading cause of death in the world and third highest in the United States in 2022. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of PF-07817883, a second-generation, orally bioavailable, SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor with improved metabolic stability versus nirmatrelvir, the antiviral component of the ritonavir-boosted therapy Paxlovid. We demonstrate the pan-human coronavirus antiviral activity and off-target selectivity profile of PF-07817883.

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  • Cryoablation is a safe and effective treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), but its outcomes may vary by body mass index (BMI) in patients, especially in Asians.
  • In a study involving 2,648 patients, underweight individuals had a higher recurrence rate of AF after treatment compared to those with a normal BMI, along with a greater risk of complications like transient phrenic nerve palsy.
  • These findings suggest that underweight patients require special attention during and after cryoablation due to increased risks of both AF recurrence and procedural complications.
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The randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III PEONY trial (NCT02586025) demonstrated significantly improved total pathologic complete response (primary endpoint) with dual HER2 blockade in HER2-positive early/locally advanced breast cancer, as previously reported. Here, we present the final, long-term efficacy (secondary endpoints: event-free survival, disease-free survival, overall survival) and safety analysis (62.9 months' median follow-up).

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The mammalian gut microbiota plays diverse and essential roles in modulating host physiology. Key mediators determining the outcome of the microbiota-host interactions are the small molecule metabolites produced by the gut microbiota. The liver is a major organ exposed to gut microbial metabolites, and it serves as the nexus for maintaining healthy interactions between the gut microbiota and the host.

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Background: Oral antiviral drugs with improved antiviral potency and safety are needed to address current challenges in clinical practice for treatment of COVID-19, including the risks of rebound, drug-drug interactions, and emerging resistance.

Methods: Olgotrelvir (STI-1558) is designed as a next-generation antiviral targeting the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M), an essential enzyme for SARS-CoV-2 replication, and human cathepsin L (CTSL), a key enzyme for SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells.

Findings: Olgotrelvir is a highly bioavailable oral prodrug that is converted in plasma to its active form, AC1115.

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High-throughput experimentation (HTE) has the potential to improve our understanding of organic chemistry by systematically interrogating reactivity across diverse chemical spaces. Notable bottlenecks include few publicly available large-scale datasets and the need for facile interpretation of these data's hidden chemical insights. Here we report the development of a high-throughput experimentation analyser, a robust and statistically rigorous framework, which is applicable to any HTE dataset regardless of size, scope or target reaction outcome, which yields interpretable correlations between starting material(s), reagents and outcomes.

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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is associated with an incompetent lower esophageal sphincter (LES), resulting in the reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. U46619, a thromboxane A2 (TXA2) receptor agonist, induces contractions in various smooth muscles. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of action of U46619 on the porcine LES.

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Bersiporocin, a potent and selective prolyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor, is expected to show a synergistic effect with pirfenidone or nintedanib in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. To validate the combination therapy of bersiporocin with pirfenidone or nintedanib, a randomized, open-label, two-part, one-sequence, three-period, three-treatment study was designed to evaluate the effect of drug-drug interactions (DDI) regarding their pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability in healthy participants. In addition, the pharmacokinetic profiles of the newly formulated, enteric-coated bersiporocin tablet were evaluated after single and multiple administrations.

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Background: The RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance Versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) demonstrated that intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) improved clinical outcome compared with angiography-guided PCI for patients with complex coronary artery lesions. This study aims to assess whether the prognostic benefit of intravascular imaging-guided procedural optimization persists in patients undergoing PCI for left main coronary artery disease.

Methods: Of 1639 patients enrolled in the RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI, 192 patients with left main coronary artery disease were selected for the current prespecified substudy.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurodegenerative disease driven by damage to the protective myelin sheath, is currently incurable. Today, all clinically available treatments modulate the immune-mediated symptoms of the disease but they fail to stop neurodegeneration in many patients. Remyelination, the regenerative process of myelin repair by oligodendrocytes, which is considered a necessary step to protect demyelinated axons and stop neuronal death, is impaired in MS patients.

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