Publications by authors named "Yuqi Cai"

The fetal liver is a hematopoietic organ, hosting a diverse and evolving progenitor population. While human liver organoids derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) mimic aspects of embryonic and fetal development, they typically lack the complex hematopoietic niche and the interaction between hepatic and hematopoietic development. We describe the generation of human Fetal Liver-like Organoids (FLOs), that model human hepato-hematopoietic interactions previously characterized in mouse models.

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  • The study investigates the origins of forebrain oligodendrocytes (OLs) in mice, focusing on contributions from different brain regions, namely MGE/POA, LGE/CGE, and dorsal pallium.
  • The research challenges the traditional view by showing that LGE/CGE-derived OLs primarily impact the piriform cortex and anterior commissure rather than the neocortex and corpus callosum.
  • It also reveals that MGE/POA-derived OLs provide a small but lasting contribution to the cortex, leading to a revised understanding of OL origins in cortical and white matter development.
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  • The proposed method combines electrochemical leaching and solvent extraction to effectively recover lithium (Li) and cobalt (Co) from used lithium-ion batteries.
  • Electrochemical leaching converts solid LiCoO to soluble Li and Co, achieving up to a 7-fold increase in extraction yields compared to traditional acid leaching methods.
  • This process not only improves the efficiency of metal recovery while minimizing chemical use and environmental impact, but also shows strong kinetic performance, suggesting cost benefits and reduced pollution.
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  • Biomass-assisted pyrolysis is a promising method for recycling spent lithium-ion batteries, particularly LiMnO and LiNiCoMnO.
  • The process employs sawdust pyrolysis and advanced analysis techniques to demonstrate high recovery efficiencies—over 99% for both battery types.
  • Economic and environmental benefits are highlighted, including low energy consumption, environmental compatibility, and strong economic viability.
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  • Detecting intermediates in the electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) is crucial for understanding how the reaction works and its mechanisms.
  • The study focuses on a novel catalyst made from two-dimensional FeN-embedded graphene, which shows promise for detecting key reaction intermediates.
  • Results indicate that FeN-embedded graphene can effectively sense four significant intermediates (*COOH, *OCHO, *CHO, and *COH), with the device being particularly sensitive to *COOH and *COH, thus aiding in uncovering catalytic pathways in CORR.
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Inter-cellular transmission of mRNA is being explored in mammalian species using immortal cell lines (1-3). Here, we uncover an inter-cellular mRNA transfer phenomenon that allows for the adaptation and reprogramming of human primed pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). This process is induced by the direct cell contact-mediated coculture with mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) under the condition impermissible for human primed PSC culture.

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  • This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) on different types of body fat in people with diabetes or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
  • The analysis included 13 randomized controlled trials and found that GLP-1RAs significantly reduced visceral and subcutaneous fat, body weight, and BMI, while also improving blood sugar control and insulin resistance.
  • Overall, the study supports the use of GLP-1RAs as effective treatments for reducing fat accumulation and improving metabolic health in individuals with diabetes and obesity-related conditions.
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  • The study aimed to evaluate how effective the Self-Help Plus (SH+) program is for reducing stress and mental health issues among healthcare workers.
  • Conducted as a randomized controlled trial, 270 participants who reported psychological stress were split into two groups: one received SH+ and the other served as a control group, with outcomes assessed after 3 months.
  • Results showed that the SH+ group had significantly reduced stress levels and improvements in depression, anxiety, insomnia, positive affect, and self-kindness compared to the control group.
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Background: Evaluation of the tricuspid valve (TV) is crucial for clinical decision making and post-treatment follow-up in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. However, little is known about 4-dimensional (4D) TV geometric remodeling in patients with PH. The aim of this study was to examine the 4D geometry of the TV in PH and its correlation with PH severity.

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  • The study focuses on the transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from rivers to coastal areas in Yancheng City, China, investigating their sources, concentrations, and factors affecting their presence.
  • Results showed an average PAHs concentration of 477.05 ng/g in river sediments, with higher levels in the Xinyanggang River due to urbanization, vehicle emissions, and industrial activities.
  • The findings highlight the need for urgent mitigation strategies to reduce PAHs pollution in rivers to protect both the environment and human health.
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  • Waste biomass can produce syngas, which is useful for fuels and chemicals, but the link between biomass components and pyrolysis gas remains unclear.
  • This study examines how different biomasses behave during pyrolysis and their impact on gas composition, finding that cellulose-rich biomass produces more CO.
  • The research reveals that gases with high CO content effectively convert spent lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO) to valuable products, suggesting a method for improving battery recycling and syngas production.
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Introduction: A wide array of post-translational modifications of the tau protein occurs in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and they are critical to pathogenesis and biomarker development. Several promising tau markers, pT181, pT217, and pT231, rely on increased phosphorylation within a common molecular motif threonine-proline-proline (TPP).

Methods: We validated new and existing antibodies against pT217, pT231, pT175, and pT181, then combined immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunoassays (ELISA) to broadly examine the phosphorylation of the tau TPP motif in AD brains.

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Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are likely to achieve poor therapeutic response when organs are involved. We produced anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, which are in a trial for patients with relapsed/refractory MM. One enrolled patient developed severe heart failure, highly suspected as light chain cardiac amyloidosis.

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  • - Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a prevalent and aggressive cancer in southern China, and understanding patients' perceptions of the illness is crucial for effective self-regulation and management.
  • - A study involving 631 patients in Guangzhou validated the Chinese version of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire, demonstrating a reliable seven-factor structure that explains over 67% of the variance in responses.
  • - The scale showed good reliability and significant correlations with psychological factors like depression and anxiety, indicating its usefulness for assessing illness perceptions among Chinese patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
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Human organoids have the potential to revolutionize in vitro disease modeling by providing multicellular architecture and function that are similar to those in vivo. This innovative and evolving technology, however, still suffers from assay throughput and reproducibility to enable high-throughput screening (HTS) of compounds due to cumbersome organoid differentiation processes and difficulty in scale-up and quality control. Using organoids for HTS is further challenged by the lack of easy-to-use fluidic systems that are compatible with relatively large organoids.

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Importance: Lower neighborhood and household socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with negative health outcomes and altered brain structure in children. It is unclear whether such findings extend to white matter and via what mechanisms.

Objective: To assess whether and how neighborhood and household SES are independently associated with children's white matter microstructure and examine whether obesity and cognitive performance (reflecting environmental cognitive and sensory stimulation) are plausible mediators.

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  • Soluble oligomers of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) are believed to cause synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease, but their structures are not well understood.
  • New research discovered that Aβ fibrils are present in high-speed supernatants from Alzheimer's brain samples and that these fibrils are structurally identical to those found in plaque samples.
  • The study also found that the antibody lecanemab, which targets Aβ aggregates, can protect against the synaptotoxic effects of these aqueous fibrils, suggesting important implications for Alzheimer's treatment and understanding the disease's progression.
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As a starchy and edible tropical plant, cassava ( Crantz) has been widely used as an industrial raw material and a dietary source. However, the metabolomic and genetic differences in specific germplasms of cassava storage root were unclear. In this study, two specific germplasms, Crantz cv.

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Activating non-inherited mutations in the guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(q) subunit alpha (GNAQ) gene family have been identified in childhood vascular tumors. Patients experience extensive disfigurement, chronic pain and severe complications including a potentially lethal coagulopathy termed Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon. Animal models for this class of vascular tumors do not exist.

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  • Human organoids show promise in disease modeling by mimicking multicellular structures and functions of actual organs.
  • Current challenges in using organoids for high-throughput screening (HTS) include complex differentiation processes and the need for reliable fluidic systems.
  • The development of a new "microarray 3D bioprinting" technology with special plates facilitates easy organoid culture and functional assays, making it compatible with existing drug discovery tools.
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  • * It highlights specific design challenges, including overcoming the mismatch of thermal expansion and using flexure connections, which can't be simply applied to every situation.
  • * A new six-point support system has been developed that minimizes surface deformation, showing impressive stability with only 16.7 nm of deformation after a 35 °C temperature change in a mirror with significant thermal expansion mismatches.
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Background: Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) provides accurate left atrial (LA) anatomical information in the procedure of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation but lacks LA functional assessment. LA reservoir strain (LASr) is an excellent marker of LA reservoir function. This study aimed to assess the agreement between LASr derived from ICE and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in AF patients and analyze the reproducibility of LASr assessed by ICE combined with speckle tracking imaging.

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Importance: Both neighborhood and household socioeconomic disadvantage relate to negative health outcomes and altered brain structure in children. It is unclear whether such findings extend to white matter development, and via what mechanisms socioeconomic status (SES) influences the brain.

Objective: To test independent associations between neighborhood and household SES indicators and white matter microstructure in children, and examine whether body mass index and cognitive function (a proxy of environmental cognitive/sensory stimulation) may plausibly mediate these associations.

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The Xinyanggang River in Yancheng City, one of the essential rivers entering the Yellow sea, has imported abundant pollutants to the coast of Jiangsu Province. Trace elements (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Mo, Pb, Th, U, Sc, Ga, Se, Zr, Nb, and Sn) in surface sediments in the Xinyanggang River were measured to analyze the spatial distribution, risk assessment, and source appointment. The results showed that the parts of 17 trace elements presented high average values in river sediments, such as Zr (309.

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  • * Data was collected from 218 NPC patients using a 20-item SSS, which was refined to 18 items, showing strong reliability and a clear four-factor structure related to stigma and appearance.
  • * The SSS effectively measures shame and stigma in these patients and is useful for tracking their treatment compliance, correlating positively with levels of depression and anxiety.
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