Publications by authors named "Q-L Liu"

Background: Although the information on the validation status of electronic sphygmomanometer (ES) devices in use in health care institutions and households is much more clinically relevant than that of ES models available on the market, it remains insufficient.

Methods: A national survey was conducted across all administrative regions of mainland China to assess the validation status of ESs. Fifty-eight cities were selected with stratification by municipality, provincial capital, and other cities, and health care institutions and households in each city were chosen by convenience to identify ES devices in use according to the study protocol.

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Rationale And Objectives: Extrathyroidal extension (ETE) and BRAF mutation in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) increase mortality and recurrence risk. Preoperative identification presents considerable challenges. Although radiomics has emerged as a potential tool for identifying ETE and BRAF mutation, systematic evidence supporting its effectiveness remains insufficient.

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Rationale And Objectives: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) often metastasizes to lateral cervical lymph nodes, especially in level II. This study aims to develop predictive models to identify level II lymph node metastasis (LNM), guiding selective neck dissection (SND) to minimize unnecessary surgery and morbidity in low-risk patients.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 313 PTC patients who underwent modified radical neck dissection (MRND) between October 2020 and January 2023 was analyzed.

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Limited whole genome sequencing (WGS) studies in Asian populations result in a lack of representative reference panels, thus hindering the discovery of ancestry-specific variants. Here, we present the South and East Asian reference Database (SEAD) panel ( https://imputationserver.westlake.

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Rationale And Objectives: To assess the predictive value of MRI-based radiomics of periprostatic fat (PPF) and tumor lesions for predicting Gleason score (GS) upgrading from biopsy to radical prostatectomy (RP) in prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: A total of 314 patients with pathologically confirmed prostate cancer (PCa) after radical prostatectomy (RP) were included in the study. The patients were randomly assigned to the training cohort (n = 157) and the validating cohort (n = 157) in a 1:1 ratio.

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  • Researchers developed a deep learning model (XDL) using superb microvascular imaging (SMI) to noninvasively assess interstitial fibrosis (IF) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.
  • The study included 365 CKD patients who underwent renal biopsies, ultrasounds, and SMI exams, categorizing their IF levels into minimal-mild and moderate-severe.
  • The XDL model outperformed traditional ultrasound radiomics and color Doppler ultrasonography in diagnostic accuracy, with additional tools like pie charts and heat maps enhancing the model's interpretability by highlighting important image regions for diagnosis.
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Objective: To evaluate whether preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) benefits women of advanced reproductive age (≥38 years old) with a diminished ovarian reserve (not more than three retrieved oocytes).

Design: A retrospective analysis comparing two groups: (a) PGT-A group: women who chose PGT-A and subsequent single re-warmed embryo transfers and (b) non-PGT-A group: women who chose not to genetically test their embryos and underwent subsequent fresh or re-warmed embryo transfers of one to two embryos on days 3 or 5.

Subjects: Two hundred thirty patients underwent PGT-A therapy, with 49 of these individuals undergoing more than one PGT-A cycle.

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Zeolites are crystalline microporous materials constructed by corner-sharing tetrahedra (SiO and AlO), with many industrial applications as ion exchangers, adsorbents and heterogeneous catalysts. However, the presence of micropores impedes the use of zeolites in areas dealing with bulky substrates. Introducing extrinsic mesopores, that is, intercrystal/intracrystal mesopores, in zeolites is a solution to overcome the diffusion barrier.

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Background: The effect of embolization of the middle meningeal artery in patients with subacute or chronic subdural hematoma is uncertain.

Methods: We performed a multicenter, open-label, randomized trial in China, involving patients with symptomatic nonacute subdural hematoma with mass effect. Patients were assigned to undergo burr-hole drainage or receive nonsurgical treatment at the surgeon's discretion, and patients in each group were then randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, to undergo middle meningeal artery embolization with liquid embolic material or to receive usual care.

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Rationale And Objectives: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Our study sought to determine the impact of MAFLD on both the anatomy and function of coronary plaques.

Materials And Methods: A total of 203 participants (including 728 plaques) with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and abdominal ultrasound were prospectively enrolled.

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Background: Play is an indispensable and meaningful activity in children's daily life. Research has shown that autistic children often exhibit differences in play development. The core traits of autism, such as distinct patterns in social interaction and communication, focused interests, and repetitive behaviors, frequently manifest in their play.

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Purpose To develop a deep learning model for the morphologic measurement of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) based on CT angiography (CTA) data and validate its performance using a multicenter dataset. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, patients with CTA examinations, including those with and without UIAs, in a tertiary referral hospital from February 2018 to February 2021 were included as the training dataset. Patients with UIAs who underwent CTA at multiple centers between April 2021 and December 2022 were included as the multicenter external testing set.

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Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are natural outputs of eukaryotic transcription and RNA processing and have emerged as critical regulators in physiology and diseases. Although multiple cis-elements and trans-factors are reported to modulate the backsplicing of circRNA biogenesis, most of these regulations play roles in flanking introns of circRNAs. Here, using a genome-wide CRISPR knockout screen, we have identified an evolutionarily conserved RNA-binding protein ZC3H14 in regulating circRNA biogenesis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Vaccination is key in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections, especially in vulnerable preterm-born children, but there is a lack of research on its effectiveness in this group.
  • A study involving 242 preterm-born children aged 3-7 years in China examined the impact of two inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac) after COVID-19 control measures were relaxed.
  • Results indicated that vaccination significantly reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 and related complications like pneumonia, fever, and persistent symptoms in these children.
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  • The study focuses on the antibody response to the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine, highlighting the importance of understanding this immune response to pathogens.
  • It introduces a new method that combines mass spectrometry and B-cell sequencing to analyze human plasma-derived polyclonal IgG, addressing limitations in traditional B-cell repertoire sequencing.
  • The researchers created 12 recombinant antibodies from their sequencing data, with six showing strong binding affinities and neutralizing capabilities against the target antigen.
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Poliovirus (PV) is on the brink of eradication due to global vaccination programs utilizing live-attenuated oral and inactivated polio vaccines. Recombinant PV virus-like particles (VLPs) are emerging as a safe next-generation vaccine candidate for the impending polio-free era. In this study, we investigate the production, antigenicity, thermostability, immunogenicity, and structures of VLPs derived from PV serotype 2 (PV2) wildtype strain and thermally stabilized mutant (wtVLP and sVLP, respectively).

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  • The study investigates how corneal wound healing works by analyzing corneal limbal epithelial cell activities in cynomolgus monkeys through single-cell RNA sequencing.
  • Researchers collected corneal limbal tissues at uninjured, 1-day, and 3-day healing stages to understand the transcriptional changes and cell migration involved in healing.
  • The findings reveal nine distinct cell clusters, emphasizing the roles of different epithelial cells in healing, particularly highlighting the significance of transit amplifying cells in early healing through specific gene activation.
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Shape morphing is vital to locomotion in microscopic organisms but has been challenging to achieve in sub-millimetre robots. By overcoming obstacles associated with miniaturization, we demonstrate microscopic electronically configurable morphing metasheet robots. These metabots expand locally using a kirigami structure spanning five decades in length, from 10 nm electrochemically actuated hinges to 100 μm splaying panels making up the ~1 mm robot.

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Background: Long-term effects of individualized acupuncture in persons with chronic neck pain (CNP) remain unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of pressure pain, sensory-based individualized acupuncture for relieving CNP.

Design: A 24-week multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial.

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  • The study investigates how the compound probiotic VSL#3 affects the metabolism of various cytochrome P450 enzyme probe drugs in male Wistar rats.
  • Results show that VSL#3 alters the gut microbiota, leading to significant increases in the bioavailability of certain drugs, like omeprazole, while decreasing the bioavailability of others like tolbutamide and chlorpropamide.
  • Additionally, the administration of VSL#3 impacted gene expression related to drug metabolism and intestinal structure, suggesting that probiotics can influence how drugs are processed in the body.
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Background: Developing guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of common cancers in China based on the evidence-based practice, the availability of diagnosis and treatment products, and the up-to-date advances in precision medicine is one of the basic tasks of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer (CSCO BC) Committee.

Methods: Protocols with high evidence level and good availability are used as the Level I recommendations; protocols with relatively high evidence level but slightly lower expert consensus or with poor availability are used as the Level II recommendations; and protocols that are clinically applicable but with low evidence level are regarded as the Level III recommendations. Based on the findings of clinical research at home and abroad and the opinions of CSCO BC experts, the CSCO BC guidelines determine the levels of recommendations for clinical application.

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  • Preoperative local-regional tumor staging for gastric cancer is essential for effective treatment planning, and a study aimed to compare the accuracy of multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and dual-energy CT (DECT) in this context.
  • The research involved 202 patients undergoing both imaging techniques before surgery, with diagnostic accuracy evaluated by six radiologists against the surgical specimens as the reference standard.
  • Results indicated that mpMRI outperformed DECT in T staging, while also providing equal or better accuracy in N staging, highlighting its potential as a more reliable imaging option for gastric cancer patients.
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  • - Jellyfish have unique swimming patterns that could help us understand how animals move, but the genetic and cellular reasons behind these patterns are not fully known.
  • - Researchers created detailed genome assemblies for two jellyfish species, revealing gene selection linked to their swimming styles and uncovering gene losses that may explain their differences.
  • - The study also identified important genes related to survival and development in jellyfish, illustrating how genetics influences their movement and adaptability, which adds to our knowledge of animal evolution.
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The decomposition of macrophytes plays a crucial role in the nutrient cycles of macrophyte-dominated eutrophication lakes. While research on plant decomposition mechanisms and microbial influences has rapid developed, it is curious that plant decomposition models have remained stagnant at the single-stage model from 50 years ago, without endeavor to consider any important factors. Our research conducted in-situ experiments and identified the optimal metrics for decomposition-related microbes, thereby establishing models for microbial impacts on decomposition rates (k_RDR).

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