Publications by authors named "Lai C"

In this study, an individualized and stable passive-control lower-limb exoskeleton robot was developed. Users' joint angles and the center of pressure (CoP) of one of their soles were input into a convolutional neural network (CNN)-long short-term memory (LSTM) model to evaluate and adjust the exoskeleton control scheme. The CNN-LSTM model predicted the fitness of the control scheme and output the results to the exoskeleton robot, which modified its control parameters accordingly to enhance walking stability.

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  • The study identified RAD51D and XRCC2 as potential diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer by utilizing machine learning techniques.
  • The research demonstrated a strong correlation between the expression of these biomarkers and key clinicopathological features, such as T stage, N stage, and TNM stage.
  • Constructed predictive models based on radiomic features showed high accuracy in predicting biomarker expression, which could help guide chemotherapy choices for gastric cancer patients.
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Zika virus (ZIKV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) can cause permanent neurological damage and death, yet no approved drugs exist for these infections. an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine for its antioxidation and antifatigue properties, was studied for its antiviral activity against ZIKV and JEV in vitro. The cytotoxicity of extract (RCE) was evaluated using the CCK-8 reagent.

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  • Human milk (HM) composition, including hormones and lipids, is impacted by factors like lactation stage and possibly infant sex, which can influence infant body composition (BC).
  • A study analyzed 501 milk samples from 82 mothers over 6 months to assess levels of HM components and their relationship with BC.
  • Results show HM leptin, adiponectin, insulin, and total lipids intake increased in the first month and remained steady, with total lipids intake linked to infant BC, but no differences by sex were found in HM components.
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Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is often concomitant with fibromyalgia (FM). Salivary gland sonography aids in the diagnosis of pSS. We aimed to discover, in primary FM patients, the presence of pSS in undiagnosed patients through salivary gland sonography.

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Background: This study assessed the effect of hydrocortisone-fludrocortisone combination therapy on the mortality of patients with septic shock.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and other databases for articles published until October 1, 2023.

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Background/aim: Patients diagnosed with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) confront a bleak prognosis characterized by low survival rates. Anoikis, the programmed apoptosis resistance exhibited by metastatic cancer cells, is a crucial factor in this scenario.

Materials And Methods: We employed bulk flow cytometry and RT-qPCR assays, conducted in vivo experiments with mice and zebrafish, and analyzed patient tissues to examine the effects of the B cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site 1 (Bmi1)-midkine (MDK) axis on the cellular response to anoikis.

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Background/aim: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) can be life-threatening, but the conventional bacterial cultures have low sensitivity and are time-consuming. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is widely used as a diagnostic tool for detecting pathogens from infection sites. However, the use of mNGS for pathogen detection in SSTIs and related research is still relatively limited.

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  • - Marine algal toxins are produced during toxic algal blooms and can accumulate in marine organisms, leading to contaminated seafood that poses health risks for humans when consumed.
  • - Despite their harmful effects, these toxins have unique structures and biological activities that interest chemists and pharmacologists for potential drug discovery and life science exploration.
  • - The review includes an overview of the chemistry and activities of marine algal toxins while also discussing shellfish poisoning incidents in China over the past 15 years to raise awareness about the dangers of these toxins.
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Background: This study sought to assess the risk factors of herpes zoster (HZ) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with tofacitinib (TOFA).

Methods: This retrospective study reviewed RA patients receiving TOFA. We compared clinical characteristics, laboratory profiles, concomitant medication use, and HZ incidence in patients with and without recent biologic synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) treatment, which is defined as their administration ≤180 days before the initiation of TOFA treatment.

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Background And Purpose: Radiomics offers little explainability. This study aims to develop a radiomics model (Rad-Score) using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to predict high-risk patients for nodal metastasis or recurrence in endometrial cancer (EC) and corroborate with choline metabolism.

Materials And Methods: From August 2015 to July 2018, 356 EC patients were enrolled.

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Objective: The objective was to discern whether the cranial sagittal vertical axis (CrSVA) can best predict the trajectory of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at 2 years postoperatively.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected adult spinal deformity patient data. CrSVA relative to the sacrum, hip (CrSVA-H), knee, and ankle was measured as the horizontal distance to the vertical plumb line from the nasion-inion midpoint, with positive values indicating an anterior cranium.

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Older adults (and caregivers) face important health-related decisions which can have important consequences on their well-being, independence, and outcomes (e.g., where to live, how to stay safe, where to get care).

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  • Prostate cancer (PCa) mortality is rising due to recurrence and metastasis, prompting research on collagen's role in tumor progression and its gene relationships with PCa prognosis.
  • Gene expression data led to the identification of four key collagen-associated genes (PLOD3, COL1A1, MMP11, FMOD), used to create a risk scoring model linked to improved biochemical recurrence-free survival outcomes.
  • The findings suggest that the risk score may serve as an effective prognostic tool for PCa patients, with PLOD3 identified as a promising target for therapeutic interventions.
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Nerve injury can induce aberrant changes in the spine; these changes are due to, or at least partly governed by, transcription factors that contribute to the genesis of neuropathic allodynia. Here, we showed that spinal nerve ligation (SNL, a clinical neuropathic allodynia model) increased the expression of the transcription factor Tbx5 in the injured dorsal horn in male Sprague Dawley rats. In contrast, blocking this upregulation alleviated SNL-induced mechanical allodynia, and there was no apparent effect on locomotor function.

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Continuous monitoring of ammonia (NH) in humid environments poses a notable challenge for gas sensing applications because of its effect on sensor sensitivity. The present work investigates the detection of NH in a natural humid environment utilizing ReS/TiCT heterostructures as a sensing platform. ReS nanosheets were vertically grown on the surface of TiCT sheets through a hydrothermal synthetic approach, resulting in the formation of ReS/TiCT heterostructures.

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  • A native tree of Taiwan, (C. Presl) Kubitzki, known for its tolerance to salt and wind, faced a disease outbreak in December 2022 at a nursery in Wu-Lai, characterized by leaf lesions leading to blight and defoliation.
  • The pathogen involved produced distinctive sporophores and sclerotia, which were isolated and examined under laboratory conditions, revealing specific morphological traits.
  • DNA analysis was conducted on samples from the infected plants, and the fungus responsible was identified as (I. Hino) Redhead, using PCR techniques to amplify genetic material for further studies.
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Objective: In addition to the well-established advantage that strengthened pelvic musculature increases urethral resistance in stress urinary incontinence (SUI) patients, intra-vaginal electrical stimulation (iVES) has been shown in preclinical studies to improve bladder capacity via the pudendal-hypogastric mechanism. This study investigated whether iVES also benefits bladder storage in SUI patients by focusing on compliance, a viscoelastic parameter critically defining the bladder's storage function, in a clinical study. Moreover, the potential involvement of stimulation-induced neuromodulation in iVES-modified compliance was investigated by comparing the therapeutic outcomes of SUI patients treated with iVES to those who underwent a trans-obturator tape (TOT) implantation surgery, where a mid-urethral sling was implanted without electric stimulation.

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The arabinogalactan in the representative softwood biomass of larch was degraded using an environmentally friendly hydrogen peroxide and vitamin C (HO-V) system to improve its immunomodulatory activity. Through the HO-V degradation mechanism, hydroxyl radicals are generated, which then target the hydrogen atoms within polysaccharides, resulting in the breaking of glycosidic bonds. Given the impact of oxidative degradation on polysaccharides, we identified three specific arabinogalactan degradation products distinguished by their arabinosyl side chain compositions.

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The advent of online education has become indispensable for nursing students seeking to acquire knowledge. However, the efficacy of online education often falls short of initial expectations. Deep learning (DL) can assist learners tackle complex problems and make innovative decisions.

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Individuals' continuous success in competitive interactions with conspecifics strongly affects their social hierarchy. Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is the key brain region mediating both social competition and hierarchy. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the neural ensemble in the mPFC remains unclear.

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Background: Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) belongs to the genotoxin family and is closely related to Campylobacter jejuni-associated gastroenteritis. We recently reported that CDT triggers the danger-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) signaling to exert deleterious effects on host cells. However, how CDT traffics in cells and the mechanism of CDT intoxication remain to be elucidated.

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  • - Crouzon syndrome (CS) is a craniofacial deformity caused by mutations in the FGFR2 gene, and traditional mouse models have had limitations like low efficiency and unstable traits.
  • - This study used CRISPR/Cas9 to create a more accurate mouse model with a specific FGFR2 mutation that shows physical and behavioral traits similar to those seen in humans with CS, such as skull deformities and learning deficits.
  • - The research confirmed the success of this gene-editing approach through various techniques, providing a valuable tool for understanding the disease and developing potential treatments.
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,-Dimethylformamide was reacted with hexamethyldisilazane to generate an ,-dimethylformimidamide intermediate; thereafter, a reaction with acetophenones/β-diketones was induced to form enaminones. The one-pot synthetic protocol described in this paper can be applied to synthesize 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles and 1,4,5-trisubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles, in which organic azides are used as substrates under optimized conditions. Furthermore, this protocol uses readily available materials, is nearly free of solvent, can be applied to gram-scale operations, and leads to the formation of structurally diverse products with favorable yields.

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