Publications by authors named "Kai Chen"

Background: To analyze the safety and efficacy of microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy(MSV) performed with and without preservation of all testicular arteries and lymphatic system.

Methods: All of the 98 patients with varicocele who underwent MSV were included in the analysis. Fifty-eight male patients surgically underwent MSV with preservation of all testicular arteries and lymphatic system(Group 1).

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Schizophrenia is a kind of neurodevelopmental mental disorder in which patients begin to experience changes early in their development, typically manifesting around or after puberty and has a fluctuating course. Environmental disturbances during adolescence may be a risk factor for schizophrenia-like deficits. As a better treatment option, preventive intervention prior to schizophrenia may be more beneficial than direct treatment.

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Nitrogen is a critical factor in plant growth, development, and crop yield. NODULE-INCEPTION-like proteins (NLPs), which are plant-specific transcription factors, function as nitrate sensors and play a vital role in the nitrogen response of plants. However, the genome-wide identification of the gene family, the elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanism governing nitrogen response, and haplotype mining remain elusive in millet.

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Biochar is widely acknowledged for its remarkable impact on soil conditioning. However, the influence of different sources of biochar, particularly anaerobic digested sludge biochar (ADBC) derived from anaerobic digested sludge and biochar derived from waste activated sludge, on alkaline soil remains largely unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, a comprehensive field experiment was conducted over a period of 180 days to investigate the effects of ADBC on slightly alkaline soil.

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Suppressing the lithium polysulfide (LiPS) shuttling as well as accelerating the conversion kinetics is extremely crucial yet challenging in designing sulfur hosts for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Phase engineering of nanomaterials is an intriguing approach for tuning the electronic structure toward regulating phase-dependent physicochemical properties. In this study, a metastable phase δ-MoC catalyst was elaborately synthesized via a boron doping strategy, which exhibited a phase transfer from hexagonal to cubic structure.

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Introduction: This study aimed to explore the effect of displaced dorsal rim fragments under defined size threshold on the clinical outcome.

Materials And Methods: Forty patients with an acute distal radius fracture accompanied by a dorsal rim fragment comprising less than 10% of the radiocarpal articular surface were included in the study. The size of the dorsal rim fragment was measured by axial CT scans and three-dimensional (3D) CT scans, and the correlation between these two methods was analyzed to evaluate the reliability of axial CT scan measurements.

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Hydrogel microspheres hold great promise as scaffolds for bone repair. Their hydrated matrix, biocompatibility, and functional properties make them an attractive choice in regenerative medicine. However, the irregularity of defect requires shape adaptability of the microspheres.

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Background: While low-fat yogurt offers numerous health benefits, its texture and sensory qualities are poor. This study aimed to investigate the effects of γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) on the rheological, microstructural and sensory properties of low-fat yogurt using rheological tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and sensory evaluation.

Results: The results showed that the syneresis of low-fat yogurt added with 0.

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A structure-dependent, palladium-catalyzed switchable alder-ene/[2π + 2σ] cycloaddition of VBCBs with α-ketoesters has been reported. A variety of cyclobutenes and 2-oxabicyclo[2.1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with schizophrenia experience heightened inflammation during acute episodes, and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) could serve as a potential biomarker for these exacerbations.
  • A study involving 651 participants (including both healthy controls and various patient groups) analyzed inflammatory indices and found that NLR was significantly higher in drug-free and medicated patients during acute phases compared to healthy individuals.
  • While NLR correlated with disease duration and mood stabilizer use, the platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) showed no significant differences among the patient groups or with healthy controls.
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Fascin is a major actin-binding protein (ABP) for stabilizing filopodia to support efficient adhesion and migration of cancer cells. Fascin is also highly expressed in metastatic tumors. Disrupting the actin-binding site (ABS) on fascin constitutes a critical approach to hindering tumor metastasis.

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In the general population, there is limited evidence for the associations between hand eczema (HE) and lifestyle factors, and between the severity of HE and quality of life. This study aimed to estimate the risk factors for the incidence of HE in the general population and the risk factors for the severity of HE. A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 121 HE patients in a hospital from December 2018 to December 2019 in Wuhan.

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Despite emerging evidence on the health impacts of fine particulate matter (PM) from wildland fire smoke, the specific effects of PM composition on health outcomes remain uncertain. We developed a three-level, chemical transport model-based framework to estimate daily full-coverage concentrations of smoke-derived carbonaceous PM, specifically Organic Carbon (OC) and Elemental Carbon (EC), at a 1 km spatial resolution from 2002 to 2019 across the contiguous U.S.

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Article Synopsis
  • Viral membrane fusion, driven by membrane fusion proteins (MFPs), is essential for viruses to infect host cells, with cholesterol playing a critical role in this process.
  • A study examining the GP64 protein of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) identified six putative CARC motifs, revealing their importance for viral fusion and infection depending on whether the signal peptide is retained or cleaved.
  • The research enhances our understanding of viral fusion mechanisms and suggests potential antiviral targets by showing different CARC motifs can function differently in cholesterol-dependent and cholesterol-independent contexts.
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Background: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MpBC) is a rare histological subtype of breast cancer, and its prognosis is relatively poor. The survival trend of MpBC with different hormone receptor statuses has remained unclear over the past two decades.

Methods: MpBC patient data were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 2000 to 2019.

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Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic parasite of the intestine and poses a threat to human and animal health. However, it is difficult to obtain a large number of oocysts for genome sequencing using in vitro culture. To address this challenge, we employed the strategy of whole-genome amplification of 10 oocysts followed by long-read sequencing and obtained a high-quality genome assembly of C.

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Recent observations of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates offer insights into high-temperature superconductivity mechanisms. However, defects and dislocations in doped films complicate the realization of superconductivity, limiting current research to superconducting nickelate heterostructures. The lack of research on superconductivity in superlattices composed of ultrathin nickelates severely impedes not only the exploration of the interface effect on superconductivity, but also the utilization of heterostructure engineering for exploring higher superconducting temperature T.

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We propose a Bayesian optimal phase 2 design for jointly monitoring efficacy and toxicity, referred to as BOP2-TE, to improve the operating characteristics of the BOP2 design proposed by Zhou. BOP2-TE utilizes a Dirichlet-multinomial model to jointly model the distribution of toxicity and efficacy endpoints, making go/no-go decisions based on the posterior probability of toxicity and futility. In comparison to the original BOP2 and other existing designs, BOP2-TE offers the advantage of providing rigorous type I error control in cases where the treatment is toxic and futile, effective but toxic, or safe but futile, while optimizing power when the treatment is effective and safe.

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Photoelectrochemical CO reduction reaction (PEC-CO2RR) into multicarbon (C and C) products is one of the most favorable paths for converting and utilizing atmospheric CO. Although Cu-based photocathodes have unique features that can convert CO into value-added products, they have limited selectivity. In this study, we established the Cu-based heterostructure by introducing the CuO (111) phase on the surface of Cu/Cu(OH) nanorods array (CNA) while integrating Pd cocatalyst to improve the selectivity of the C products via PEC-CO2RR.

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Article Synopsis
  • Coal mining can cause surface subsidence which poses safety risks and hampers sustainable development, necessitating effective monitoring and prediction methods.
  • The study introduces a new method that combines SBAS-InSAR technology with a CNN-BiGRU-Attention model to monitor and predict subsidence in the Banji mining area of Anhui Province, achieving accurate results based on satellite data from July 2021 to September 2023.
  • The proposed method shows improved accuracy and reduced costs in monitoring subsidence, with prediction errors as low as 1 mm, thus presenting a significant advancement over traditional subsidence monitoring techniques.
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