A Design and Development Approach for Mild Cognitive Impairment Screening

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a precursor to dementia and its early diagnosis in patients is important for appropriate intervention. In this study, an IoT (Internet of Things) device is developed that easily and conveniently screens for MCI, provides emotional comfort for elderly patients, and has a friendly design. It enables us to screen MCI by efficiently identifying the user\u27s condition in non-face-to-face manner. The experimental result and survey of this study show that this device will establish itself as a distinguished companion doll that can be widely shared with the elderly

From Regulatory Approval to Subsidized Patient Access in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Comparison of Systems Across Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Thailand

AbstractObjectivesTo compare processes and timings of regulatory and subsidized access systems for medicines across seven jurisdictions within the Asia-Pacific region.MethodsA questionnaire was developed focusing on regulatory and health technology assessment–based subsidized access processes and timings in each of the seven surveyant’s jurisdictions.ResultsAustralia and Thailand are the only two jurisdictions that formally allow the subsidized access evaluation process to be conducted in parallel with the regulatory evaluation process. Australian, Japanese, Korean, New Zealand, and Taiwanese systems afford broad coverage, whereas Chinese and Thai systems provide limited coverage for medicines under patent. Subsidized access systems for all jurisdictions except Thailand have an associated patient co-payment for each medicine/prescription. The biggest disparity across the study group relates to time from regulatory submission to subsidized access of patented medicines—ranging from just over 1 year (Japan) to a minimum of 5 years (China).ConclusionsThere is consistency across the seven jurisdictions studied in relation to regulatory and subsidized patient access processes—that is, regulatory approval is required before subsidized access review; subsidized access coverage is broad; and the cost of medicine subsidization is offset, in part, by patient co-payments. Although local differences will always exist in relation to budget and pricing negotiation, there may be efficiencies that can be applied across systems to improve time to subsidized access. Closer understanding of regulatory and subsidized access systems can lead to best-practice sharing and, ultimately, timely access and better health outcomes for patients

Distribution and Conservation of Long-billed Plovers Charadrius placidus in Korea

AbstractThe Long-billed Plover Charadrius placidus of distribution was surveyed from 2002 to 2005, on rivers, streams and coasts of 38 areas within Korea. The Sum of highest numbers (sum of peak counts) of Long-billed Plovers at 24 sites was 198 individuals. Number of observed individuals during breeding period was 88 individuals, 129 individuals during the migration period, and 56 individuals during the wintering period. The Long-billed Plover breeds and migrates throughout Korea. They spend winter south of 37° latitude. Highest numbers (73 individuals) were observed at Daejeon. Therefore, streams and rivers of Korea are considered as an important habitat for the Long-billed Plover

Self-assembled nanocomplex between polymerized phenylboronic acid and doxorubicin for efficient tumor-targeted chemotherapy

Since the discovery that nano-scaled particulates can easily be incorporated into tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, such nanostructures have been exploited as therapeutic small molecule delivery systems. However, the convoluted synthetic process of conventional nanostructures has impeded their feasibility and reproducibility in clinical applications. Herein, we report an easily prepared formulation of self-assembled nanostructures for systemic delivery of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Phenylboronic acid (PBA) was grafted onto the polymeric backbone of poly(maleic anhydride). pPBA-DOX nanocomplexes were prepared by simple mixing, on the basis of the strong interaction between the 1,3-diol of DOX and the PBA moiety on pPBA. Three nanocomplexes (1, 2, 4) were designed on the basis of [PBA]:[DOX] molar ratios of 1: 1, 2: 1, and 4: 1, respectively, to investigate the function of the residual PBA moiety as a targeting ligand. An acid-labile drug release profile was observed, owing to the intrinsic properties of the phenylboronic ester. Moreover, the tumor-targeting ability of the nanocomplexes was demonstrated, both in vitro by confocal microscopy and in vivo by fluorescence imaging, to be driven by an inherent property of the residual PBA. Ligand competition assays with free PBA pre-treatment demonstrated the targeting effect of the residual PBA from the nanocomplexes 2 and 4. Finally, the nanocomplexes 2 and 4, compared with the free DOX, exhibited significantly greater anti-cancer effects in vitro and even in vivo. Our pPBA-DOX nanocomplex enables a new paradigm for self-assembled nanostructures with potential biomedical applications.115Ysciescopu

A genome-wide Asian genetic map and ethnic comparison: The GENDISCAN study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic maps provide specific positions of genetic markers, which are required for performing genetic studies. Linkage analyses of Asian families have been performed with Caucasian genetic maps, since appropriate genetic maps of Asians were not available. Different ethnic groups may have different recombination rates as a result of genomic variations, which would generate misspecification of the genetic map and reduce the power of linkage analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We constructed the genetic map of a Mongolian population in Asia with CRIMAP software. This new map, called the GENDISCAN map, is based on genotype data collected from 1026 individuals of 73 large Mongolian families, and includes 1790 total and 1500 observable meioses. The GENDISCAN map provides sex-averaged and sex-specific genetic positions of 1039 microsatellite markers in Kosambi centimorgans (cM) with physical positions. We also determined 95% confidence intervals of genetic distances of the adjacent marker intervals.</p> <p>Genetic lengths of the whole genome, chromosomes and adjacent marker intervals are compared with those of Rutgers Map v.2, which was constructed based on Caucasian populations (Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) and Icelandic families) by mapping methods identical to those of the GENDISCAN map, CRIMAP software and the Kosambi map function. Mongolians showed approximately 1.9 fewer recombinations per meiosis than Caucasians. As a result, genetic lengths of the whole genome and chromosomes of the GENDISCAN map are shorter than those of Rutgers Map v.2. Thirty-eight marker intervals differed significantly between the Mongolian and Caucasian genetic maps.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The new GENDISCAN map is applicable to the genetic study of Asian populations. Differences in the genetic distances between the GENDISCAN and Caucasian maps could facilitate elucidation of genomic variations between different ethnic groups.</p

Spermidine-induced recovery of human dermal structure and barrier function by skin microbiome.

An unbalanced microbial ecosystem on the human skin is closely related to skin diseases and has been associated with inflammation and immune responses. However, little is known about the role of the skin microbiome on skin aging. Here, we report that the Streptococcus species improved the skin structure and barrier function, thereby contributing to anti-aging. Metagenomic analyses showed the abundance of Streptococcus in younger individuals or those having more elastic skin. Particularly, we isolated Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus infantis, and Streptococcus thermophilus from face of young individuals. Treatment with secretions of S. pneumoniae and S. infantis induced the expression of genes associated with the formation of skin structure and the skin barrier function in human skin cells. The application of culture supernatant including Streptococcal secretions on human skin showed marked improvements on skin phenotypes such as elasticity, hydration, and desquamation. Gene Ontology analysis revealed overlaps in spermidine biosynthetic and glycogen biosynthetic processes. Streptococcus-secreted spermidine contributed to the recovery of skin structure and barrier function through the upregulation of collagen and lipid synthesis in aged cells. Overall, our data suggest the role of skin microbiome into anti-aging and clinical applications

Comprehensive genomic analyses associate UGT8 variants with musical ability in a Mongolian population

Background: Musical abilities such as recognising music and singing performance serve as means for communication and are instruments in sexual selection. Specific regions of the brain have been found to be activated by musical stimuli, but these have rarely been extended to the discovery of genes and molecules associated with musical ability. Methods: A total of 1008 individuals from 73 families were enrolled and a pitch-production accuracy test was applied to determine musical ability. To identify genetic loci and variants that contribute to musical ability, we conducted family-based linkage and association analyses, and incorporated the results with data from exome sequencing and array comparative genomic hybridisation analyses. Results: We found significant evidence of linkage at 4q23 with the nearest marker D4S2986 (LOD=3.1), whose supporting interval overlaps a previous study in Finnish families, and identified an intergenic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) $(rs1251078, p=8.4×10^{−17})$ near UGT8, a gene highly expressed in the central nervous system and known to act in brain organisation. In addition, a non-synonymous SNP in UGT8 was revealed to be highly associated with musical ability $(rs4148254, p=8.0×10^{−17})$, and a 6.2 kb copy number loss near UGT8 showed a plausible association with musical ability $(p=2.9×10^{−6})$. Conclusions: This study provides new insight into the genetics of musical ability, exemplifying a methodology to assign functional significance to synonymous and non-coding alleles by integrating multiple experimental methods