Publications by authors named "Lei Cai"

Proton transport channels in biological systems are constructed by the specific amino acid residues with hanging carboxylic acid groups acting as proton donors and acceptors, enabling rapid proton conduction via the Grotthuss mechanism. Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) are promising candidates for artificially simulating proton channels due to their designable structure and abundant proton sources in the network. However, these protons were usually immobilized within hydrogen bonds between two building blocks, which require a high energy barrier for initiating proton transport.

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China has a huge area of diverse landscapes and is believed to conceive incredibly high fungal diversity. To systematically and promptly report Chinese fungal species, we initiate the series of here. In the first paper of this series, we focus on plant-inhabiting fungi.

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Hypochlorous acid is one of the most widely distributed reactive oxygen species in vivo. It is usually used as a signal molecule to participate in various life activities such as immunity and metabolism, and plays a notable role in maintaining homeostasis. When hypochlorous acid level is abnormal in the body, it will lead to a variety of diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis and cancer.

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Mice are the most common and easily manipulated experimental model animals. The potential information embedded in their behaviors can reflect intrinsic physical and mental states. High-precision head-face segmentation helps track and analyze the behavioral patterns of mice.

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Background: Although the use of hot compresses with the herbal medicine Evodia rutaecarpa (ER) as a complementary and alternative therapy to promote recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal function is gradually increasing in clinical practice, there is still a lack of relevant empirical studies. Particularly, the role of ER hot compress therapy on gastrointestinal recovery post-laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer has not been well investigated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and applicability of ER hot compress therapy for the recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal function.

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Cancer is one of the most important challenges worldwide with an increasing incidence. However, most of patients with malignant cancer receiving traditional therapies have tumor recurrence and short-term 5-year survival. Herein, a novel CuO-MnO@PEG (CMP) nanomaterial is developed to treat tumors.

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Background: Due to the complexity of the thoracic spine's surrounding structures, thoracic tuberculosis surgery is challenging to perform, with difficult exposure, complex operations, numerous complications, and often unsatisfactory prognoses. Currently, it is believed that the posterior approach alone is superior to both the anterior and the combined anterior-posterior surgical methods in correcting spinal kyphosis and maintaining spinal stability. The posterior approach encompasses the transpedicular approach, costotransverse approach, and lateral thoracic approach.

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Emerging evidence has indicated that m5C modification plays a vital role in cancer development. However, the function of m5C-lncRNAs in PTC has never been reported. This study aims to explore the regulation mechanism of m5C RNA methylation-related long noncoding RNAs (m5C-lncRNAs) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

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Bromide-chloride mixed perovskites have garnered significant attention as a direct and efficient material for achieving pure-blue emission. However, the complex problem of halide migration in mixed halide perovskites presents a significant obstacle to achieving stable electroluminescence (EL) spectra. Here, we investigate the mechanism of partially replacing the B-site Pb with the non-toxic Sr to achieve pure-blue emission based on first principles.

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Spondyloarthritis is a prevalent and persistent condition that significantly impacts the quality of life. Its intricate pathological mechanisms have led to a scarcity of animal models capable of replicating the disease progression in humans, making it a prominent area of research interest in the field. To delve into the pathological and physiological traits of spontaneous non-human primate spondyloarthritis, this study meticulously examined the disease features of this natural disease model through an array of techniques including X-ray imaging, MRI imaging, blood biochemistry, markers of bone metabolism, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics.

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The southeastern Yunnan is one of the most typical areas in China with karst landforms. The rich variety of vegetation types and plant diversity means that threatened status are also synchronized. Over the past 20 years, the comprehensive conservation team for plant species with extremely small populations (PSESP) has conducted in-depth field surveys in the region, combining relevant literature and conservation projects to compile a list of PSESP which including conservation and endangered status, conservation actions, and scientific research.

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The salient object detection task based on deep learning has made significant advances. However, the existing methods struggle to capture long-range dependencies and edge information in complex images, which hinders precise prediction of salient objects. To this end, we propose a salient object detection method with non-local feature enhancement and edge reconstruction.

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Background: The Modified Inflation-Deflation Method (MIDM) is widely used in China in pulmonary segmentectomies. We optimized the procedure, which was named as Blood Flow Blocking Method (BFBM), also known as "No-Waiting Segmentectomy". This method has produced commendable clinical outcomes in segmentectomies.

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Background: The tumor suppressor wild-type p53 is known for its role in inducing apoptosis in tumor cells. This study investigated the relationship between wild-type p53 and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and caspase in promoting apoptosis of breast cancer cells.

Methods: Human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 obtained from the American Type Culture Collection were used in this study.

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Background: Intrahepatic and perihepatic abscess (IPHA) is a severe yet understudied complication that can occur after hepatectomy. This multicenter study aimed to elucidate the clinical features, risk factors, and outcomes of IPHA after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to develop a novel prediction model for personalized risk assessment.

Methods: This was a multicenter cohort study of HCC patients who underwent curative-intent hepatectomy.

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Objective: Effective osteoarthritis treatments that enhance the anabolic/regenerative capacity of chondrocytes are needed. Studying cartilage development processes may inform us of approaches to control chondrocyte differentiation and anabolism and, ultimately, how to effectively treat OA. MicroRNAs are broad-acting epigenetic regulators known to affect many skeletal processes.

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Background: Although the lactate pathway has been reported to lead to immune escape through the inhibition of effector T cells, the cancer-intrinsic lactate signature has not been identified, and the immunotherapeutic efficacy and potential mechanism of the lactate signature are still unclear.

Methods: We defined a pan-cancer up-lactate score by comparing malignant tissues and normal tissues in the TCGA cohort. The immunotherapeutic efficacy was evaluated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic renal cancer (mRCC), bladder cancer (BLCA) and melanoma cohorts.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of neurological dysfunction and disability. This study aimed to investigate the transcriptomic changes and the functional consequences in TBI, focusing on the interplay between inflammation and mitochondrial impairment. Brain tissue samples from TBI patients and healthy controls were subjected to RNA-sequencing analysis.

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Despite the advancements in treatment strategies, the long-term survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still pessimistic. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma may offer substantial benefits for patients. Our previous research has revealed that Hornerin promoted HCC progression by regulating the AKT signaling pathway.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Surgical site infection (SSI) is a frequent complication for patients undergoing surgery for liver cancer (HCC), affecting nearly 9.5% of the 4,124 patients studied, and significantly worsening their recovery outcomes like prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality.
  • - Risk factors for SSI identified include obesity, diabetes, portal hypertension, significant blood loss, and specific surgical approaches, with a new predictive model developed to assess individual patient risk effectively.
  • - This study emphasizes the importance of recognizing SSI risks to improve patient outcomes post-surgery and suggests further research to validate the predictive tool and explore preventive measures for high-risk patients.
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The effect of caffeine on the behavior and sleep patterns of zebrafish larvae, as well as its underlying mechanisms, has been a topic of great interest. This study aimed to investigate the impact of caffeine on zebrafish larval sleep/wake behavior and the expression of key regulatory genes such as cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) and adenosine (ADA) in the sleep pathway. To begin, the study determined the optimal dose and duration of caffeine exposure, with the optimal doses found to be 31.

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Osteosarcoma (OSA) is a primary bone malignancy characterized by its aggressive nature and high propensity for metastasis. Despite advancements in multimodal therapies, the clinical outcomes for OSA patients remain suboptimal, necessitating deeper molecular insights for improved therapeutic strategies. Here, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to elucidate the cellular heterogeneity and transcriptional dynamics of OSA tumors.

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With the improvement of people's living standards and health awareness, reducing salt, sugar, and fat is gradually becoming the mainstream trend. In this work, we delved into the development of an innovative taste enhancer, N-lauroyl theanine (NLT), and its taste presentation mechanism. NLT was synthesized in the aqueous phase by enzyme-catalyzed and direct-heating methods using food-grade enzymes in yields of up to 64.

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