Publications by authors named "Wei-yi Chen"

Bone tissue is a biological composite material with a complex hierarchical structure that could continuously adjust its internal structure to adapt to the alterations in the external load environment. The fluid flow within bone is the main route of osteocyte metabolism, and the pore pressure as well as the fluid shear stress generated by it are important mechanical stimuli perceived by osteocytes. Owing to the irregular multiscale structure of bone tissue, the fluid stimulation that lacunar-canalicular network (LCN) in different regions of the tissue underwent remained unclear.

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Coronaviruses (CoV) are highly pathogenic single-strand RNA viruses. CoV infections cause fatal respiratory symptoms and lung injuries in humans and significant economic losses in livestock. Since the SARS-2 outbreak in 2019, the highly conserved main protease (M), also termed 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL), has been considered an attractive drug target for treating CoV infections.

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In recent years, mounting evidence has highlighted a global decline in male semen quality, paralleling an increase in male infertility problems. Such developments in the male reproductive system are likely due to a range of environmental factors, which could negatively affect the outcomes of pregnancy, reproductive health, and the well-being of fetuses. Different environmental contaminants ultimately accumulate in riverbed sediments due to gravity, so these sediments are frequently considered hotspots for pollutants.

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TFIID, one of the general transcription factor (GTF), regulates transcriptional initiation of protein-coding genes through direct binding to promoter elements and subsequent recruitment of other GTFs and RNA polymerase II. Although generally required for most protein-coding genes, accumulated studies have also demonstrated promoter-specific functions for several TFIID subunits in gene activation. Here, we report that TBP-associated factor 2 (TAF2) specifically regulates TFIID binding to a small subset of protein-coding genes and is essential for cell growth of multiple cancer lines.

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The advancement of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology has promoted in-depth research on the nonmodel microbial metabolism, and the potential of nonmodel organisms in industrial biotechnology is becoming increasingly evident. The nonmodel organism is a safe plant growth promoting bacterium for the production of phenazine compounds; however, its application is seriously hindered due to the lack of an effective gene expression precise regulation toolkit. In this study, we constructed a library of 108 promoter-5'-UTR (PUTR) and characterized them through fluorescent protein detection.

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Alpha-pinene is one of the main defensive components in conifers. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), a wood borer feeding on Pinaceae plants, relies on its detoxifying enzymes to resist the defensive terpenoids. Here, we assayed the peroxide level and GST activity of larvae treated with different concentrations of α-pinene.

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Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) is a critical component of the DNA damage response and a potential target in the treatment of cancers. An ATR inhibitor, BAY 1895344, was evaluated for its use in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) therapy. BAY 1895344 inhibited cell viability in four DTC cell lines (TPC1, K1, FTC-133, and FTC-238) in a dose-dependent manner.

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The transcription factor TATA-box binding protein (TBP) modulates gene expression in nuclei. This process requires the involvement of nuclear transport receptors, collectively termed karyopherin-β (Kap-β) in yeast, and various regulatory factors. In previous studies we showed that Kap114p, a Kap-β that mediates nuclear import of yeast TBP (yTBP), modulates yTBP-dependent transcription.

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The onset of retinal degenerative disease is often associated with neuronal loss. Therefore, how to regenerate new neurons to restore vision is an important issue. NeuroD1 is a neural transcription factor with the ability to reprogram brain astrocytes into neurons in vivo.

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Purpose: To develop a zebrafish cataract model for screening potential anti-cataract compounds.

Methods: Living zebrafish were anesthetized and exposed to ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation at a dosage of 3250 mJ/cm2/d until they developed severe cataracts. These cataracts were graded based on photographs analyzed with ImageQuant TL version 7.

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Background: Post-stroke hemiparesis strongly affects stroke patients' activities of daily living and health-related quality of life. Scalp acupuncture (SA) is reportedly beneficial for post-stroke hemiparesis. However, there is still no standard of SA for the treatment of post-stroke hemiparesis.

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Background: CYP11A1 is a protein located in the inner membrane of mitochondria catalyzing the first step of steroid synthesis. As a marker gene for steroid-producing cells, the abundance of CYP11A1 characterizes the extent of steroidogenic cell differentiation. Besides, the mitochondria of fully differentiated steroidogenic cells are specialized with tubulovesicular cristae.

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This study used DNA methyltransferase 3b (DNMT3b) knockout cells and the functional loss of DNMT3b mutation in immunodeficiency-centromeric instability-facial anomalies syndrome (ICF) cells to understand how DNMT3b dysfunction causes genome instability. We demonstrated that R-loops contribute to DNA damages in DNMT3b knockout and ICF cells. More prominent DNA damage signal in DNMT3b knockout cells was due to the loss of DNMT3b expression and the acquirement of p53 mutation.

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Bioallethrin belongs to the family of pyrethroid insecticides. Previous studies have shown that bioallethrin affected the function of muscarinic receptor and subsequently induced neurotoxicity in different brain models. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated in the metabolic course of the human body, which can cause human damage when overactivated.

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Acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) with the NUP98-NSD1 or mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) rearrangement (MLL-r) share transcriptomic profiles associated with stemness-related gene signatures and display poor prognosis. The molecular underpinnings of AML aggressiveness and stemness remain far from clear. Studies with EZH2 enzymatic inhibitors show that polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is crucial for tumorigenicity in NUP98-NSD1 AML, whereas transcriptomic analysis reveal that , a lysine demethylase gene carrying "bivalent" chromatin domains, is directly repressed by PRC2.

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Canonically, EZH2 serves as the catalytic subunit of PRC2, which mediates H3K27me3 deposition and transcriptional repression. Here, we report that in acute leukaemias, EZH2 has additional noncanonical functions by binding cMyc at non-PRC2 targets and uses a hidden transactivation domain (TAD) for (co)activator recruitment and gene activation. Both canonical (EZH2-PRC2) and noncanonical (EZH2-TAD-cMyc-coactivators) activities of EZH2 promote oncogenesis, which explains the slow and ineffective antitumour effect of inhibitors of the catalytic function of EZH2.

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Introduction: Learning through international experience has been well documented in USA literature, yet not well explored in Australia. The aim of this study is to understand Australian dental students' experiences and perceptions of international dental experience by: (i) capturing past participation; (ii) identifying potential interests for participants who have not been on a trip and (iii) ascertaining perceived benefits of the trip/s.

Materials And Methods: A 19 question paper survey was distributed to 310 eligible undergraduate dental students of The University of Queensland (UQ).

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Coronaviral papain-like proteases (PLpros) are essential enzymes that mediate not only the proteolytic processes of viral polyproteins during virus replication but also the deubiquitination and deISGylation of cellular proteins that attenuate host innate immune responses. Therefore, PLpros are attractive targets for antiviral drug development. Here, we report the crystal structure of papain-like protease 2 (PLP2) of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in complex with ubiquitin (Ub).

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USP7, one of the most abundant ubiquitin-specific proteases (USP), plays multifaceted roles in many cellular events, including oncogenic pathways. Accumulated studies have suggested that USP7, through modulating the MDM2/MDMX-p53 pathway, is a promising target for cancer treatment; however, little is known about the function of USP7 in p53-deficient tumors. Here we report that USP7 regulates the autoregulation of SMAD3, a key regulator of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling, that represses the cell progression of p53-deficient lung cancer.

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Article Synopsis
  • Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common issue following cardiac surgery, often occurring 24 to 72 hours after the procedure, and its relationship with frailty is not fully understood.
  • A study involving 152 cardiac surgery patients found that preoperative frailty was significantly linked to the development of POD, with 6.58% of patients experiencing delirium, particularly peaking on postoperative day 2.
  • Key predictors of POD identified include preoperative frailty, arrhythmia, anxiety, and depression, highlighting the need for thorough preoperative assessments by healthcare professionals.
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Background: Frailty may increase the risk of complications and mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Few studies on frailty and its associated factors have been conducted in these patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore frailty and related factors in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

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