Publications by authors named "Yi Fang Chen"

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for crop growth, making it important for maintaining food security as the global population continues to increase. Plants acquire P primarily via the uptake of inorganic phosphate (Pi) in soil through their roots. Pi, which is usually sequestered in soils, is not easily absorbed by plants and represses plant growth.

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Ovarian cancer, marked by high rate of recurrence, novel therapeutic strategies are needed to improve patient outcome. One of the potential strategies is inducing ferroptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent, lipid peroxidation-driven mode of cell death primarily occurring on the cell membrane.

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As an essential macronutrient, phosphorus (P) is often a limiting nutrient because of its low availability and mobility in soils. Drought is a major environmental stress that reduces crop yield. How plants balance and combine P-starvation responses (PSRs) and drought resistance is unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • First-line anti-TB drugs like isoniazid, rifampicin, and ethambutol can contaminate aquatic environments through wastewater discharge, but research on their interactions in mixtures is limited.
  • The study tested the toxic effects of these drugs on Daphnia magna, finding that their combinations showed mostly antagonistic interactions, with acute immobilization concentrations indicating varying levels of toxicity.
  • The research established a systematic approach for monitoring the ecological risks of anti-TB drug mixtures in water, indicating that while some risks exist, they are not significant based on current trends in environmental concentrations.
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The risk of cancer and dementia increases with age, raising complex questions about whether it is appropriate to continue cancer treatment in older patients. There is emerging research suggesting the association between cancer and dementia. However, the mechanistic underpinnings are still under investigation.

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Purpose: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is such a global health problem that hundreds of millions of people are HBV carriers. Current anti-viral agents can inhibit HBV replication, but can hardly eradicate HBV. Cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG) oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are an adjuvant that can activate plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) to induce therapeutic immunity for HBV eradication.

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Dissolved methanediol in aqueous solution has been treated as the precursor for the formation of atmospheric formic acid in multiphase environments. In this work, methanediol, CH(OH), and its isotopic analogues, CH(OD), CD(OH), and CD(OD), in aqueous solution were prepared by dissolving paraformaldehyde and deuterium-substituted paraformaldehyde powders in HO and DO under reflux. Their infrared absorption contours of formaldehyde solutions at concentrations of <1 wt % are not dependent on the concentration, mainly referring to the characteristics of the monomeric configuration, and can be categorized into two parts.

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The simplest geminal diol CH(OH) serves as an important precursor to form atmospheric formic acid. CH(OH) vapour can be generated by the evaporation of an aqueous formaldehyde solution, prepared by dissolving paraformaldehyde under reflux. Its rovibrational feature at 980-1100 cm is consistent with the simulation and free of the intense interferences of HO and CHO.

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Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plants. The phosphate (Pi) concentration in soil solutions is typically low, and plants always suffer from low-Pi stress. During Pi starvation, a number of adaptive mechanisms in plants have evolved to increase Pi uptake, whereas the mechanisms are not very clear.

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Arsenic is a metalloid that is toxic to plants. Arsenate (As(V)), the prevalent chemical form of arsenic, is a phosphate (Pi) analog and is incorporated into plant cells via Pi transporters. Here, we found that the MYB40 transcription factor played important roles in the control of As(V) resistance.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how osmotic pressure affects the nanostructures in thin films of a specific block copolymer (P(S-b-MMA)) and its mixtures with polystyrene (PS) homopolymer under different compositions.
  • Thin films were created using a method called surface neutralization, where PS mats were treated with UV light and then thermally annealed, leading to the formation of various layer structures, including perpendicular lamellae.
  • The removal of the PMMA block through UV exposure and acetic acid rinsing caused osmotic pressure, resulting in surface wrinkling, which was influenced by factors such as film thickness, PS content, and the molecular weight of the block copolymer used.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is transmitted through respiratory droplets, aerosols and close contact. Cross infections occur because viruses spread rapidly among humans. Nineteen percent (19%) of the infected patients developed severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

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Efficient capture and presentation of tumor antigens by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), especially dendritic cells (DCs), are crucial for activating the anti-tumor immunity. However, APCs are immunosuppressed in the tumor microenvironment, which hinders the tumor elimination. To reprogram APCs for inducing strong anti-tumor immunity, we report here a co-delivery immunotherapeutic strategy targeting the phagocytosis checkpoint (signal regulatory protein α, SIRPα) and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) of APCs to jointly enhance their ability of capturing and presenting tumor antigens.

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Our study aims to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among the Northern Taiwanese indigenous population and to explore the relationship between MetS and liver enzyme, especially serum alanine transaminase (ALT). This is an observational and cross-sectional study that was conducted in remote villages of an indigenous community in Northern Taiwan between 2010 and 2015. MetS was defined based on the revised NCEP/ATPIII criteria from Taiwan Health Promotion Administration.

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Nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and phosphorus (P) are essential macronutrients for plant growth and development, and their availability affects crop yield. Compared with N, the relatively low availability of K and P in soils limits crop production and thus threatens food security and agricultural sustainability. Improvement of plant nutrient utilization efficiency provides a potential route to overcome the effects of K and P deficiencies.

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Studies have shown that the simultaneous regulation of tumor cell proliferation and the suppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) could achieve better therapeutic effects. However, the targets of the proliferation and the TIME are different, which greatly limits the development of cancer therapy. A recent study found CD155, a highly expressed poliovirus receptor in melanoma cells and melanoma-infiltrating macrophages, functions as both an oncogene and immune checkpoint.

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Phosphorus and nitrogen are essential macronutrients for plant growth and crop production. During phosphate (Pi) starvation, plants enhanced Pi but reduced nitrate (NO ) uptake capacity, and the mechanism is unclear. Here, we show that a GARP-type transcription factor NITRATE-INDUCIBLE, GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIOANL REPRESSOR1.

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Tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells (TIDCs) are mostly immature and immunosuppressive, usually mediating immune inhibition. The utilization of cytosine-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODNs) to stimulate the activation of TIDCs has been demonstrated to be effective for improving antitumor immunity. However, a series of biological barriers has limited the efficacy of previous nanocarriers for delivering CpG to TIDCs.

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Protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation modulates the absorption of many nutrients in plants. CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASES (CPKs) are key players in plant signaling to translate calcium signals into diverse physiological responses. However, the regulatory role of CPKs in ammonium uptake remains largely unknown.

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Phosphorus, an essential mineral macronutrient, is a major constituent of fertilizers for maize (Zea mays L.) production. However, the molecular mechanisms of phosphate (Pi) acquisition in maize plants and its redistribution remain unclear.

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Ultraviolet irradiation (UVI) of varied duration caused cross-linking and neutralization of polystyrene (PS) homopolymers of molar mass () from 6 to 290 kg mol on a silicon-oxide surface. An optimal neutral skin layer on the surface of the PS was obtained via brief UVI in air (UVIA), by which the PS had no preferential interaction with either block in the copolymer. UVI in an inert environment (gaseous dinitrogen) (UVIN) stabilized the PS layers via cross-linking and enabled the PS networks to have an effective adhesive contact with the underlying substrate.

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Aims: Our study investigates the influence of career facilitators and barriers on nurses' improvement of their professional capabilities and their professional turnover intention.

Background: Reducing nurses' professional turnover intention could help alleviate the global nursing shortage. Nevertheless, little research has addressed how career facilitators and barriers, nurses' improvement of their professional capabilities and professional turnover intention are related, indicating a gap.

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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an intestinal chronic inflammatory disease, and is related to imbalance of CD4T subsets. However, the current treatments of chronic colitis are not ideal and have potential side effects. Therefore, more effective and safer biologically active substances which are extracted from natural plants have been widely concerned.

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