An Evaluation of the Effects of a Functional Energy Drink on Post-lunch and Early Evening Driving Performance

This paper reports the results of a pilot study designed to evaluatethe effect of an energy drink on mental performance and driving. 24 healthysubjects were tested after consumption of a placebo or an energy drink in adouble-blind crossover study. Measures included a laboratory test of AdaptiveTracking (AT), and a simulated drive involved a 40 Km motorway route in anadvanced motion-based simulator. Self-report scales of sleepiness revealed asignificant difference between placebo and energy drink. Though both drinksprovided an alerting effect, both the level and duration of the effect observedafter consumption of the energy drink was greater. Performance on the AT taskwas significantly improved. This improvement in hand-eye coordination wasreflected in better lane-keeping performance in the simulated driving task.There was also a consistent tendency when the drivers drank placebo to driveslightly faster in traffic than when drinking the energy drink. Thesepreliminary findings, which demonstrate that consumption of even a relativelysmall volume (250ml) of an energy drink can have an effect on sleepiness, lanekeeping and speed choice in simulated traffic, could have implications forfuture highway safety

Renal cell carcinoma of different pathological types in bilateral native kidneys of a kidney transplant recipient: A case report and literature review

Patients after kidney transplantation have a much higher risk of developing malignant tumors than the general population. And the native kidney is an organ relatively susceptible to malignant tumors after renal transplantation. However, the simultaneous development of bilateral renal tumors is very rare; especially the bilateral native kidneys harbor different pathological types of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We report a case of a patient who developed malignant tumors in both native kidneys nearly 19 years after renal transplantation. This patient underwent bilateral laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, and postoperative pathological examination showed clear cell RCC on the left native kidney and papillary RCC on the right one. And the early detection and surgical treatment resulted in a good prognosis. The literature related to the diagnosis and treatment of bilateral RCC after renal transplantation is also reviewed

Glucose effects on long-term memory performance : duration and domain specificity.

Rational; Previous research has suggested that long term- verbal declarative memory is particularly sensitive to enhancement by glucose loading, however investigation of glucose effects on certain memory domains has hitherto been neglected. Therefore domain specificity of glucose effects merits further elucidation. Objectives; The aim of the present research was to provide a more comprehensive investigation of the possible effects of glucose administration on different aspects of memory by i) contrasting the effect of glucose administration on different memory domains (implicit/ explicit memory; verbal/ non-verbal memory, recognition/ familiarity processes), ii) investigating whether potential effects on memory domains differ depending on the dose of glucose administered (25g versus 60g), iii) exploring the duration of the glucose facilitation effect (assessment of memory performance 35 min and 1 week after encoding). Methods; a double blind, between- subjects design was used to test the effects of administration of 25 and 60g glucose on memory performance. Results; Implicit memory was improved following administration of 60g of glucose. Glucose supplementation failed to improve face recognition performance but significantly improved performance of word recall and recognition following administration of 60g of glucose. However, effects were not maintained one-week following encoding. Conclusions; Improved implicit memory performance following glucose administration has not been reported before. Furthermore the current data tentatively suggest that level of processing may determine the required glucose dosage to demonstrate memory improvement and that higher dosages may be able to exert effects on memory pertaining to both hippocampal and non-hippocampal brain regions

Review of advanced road materials, structures, equipment, and detection technologies

As a vital and integral component of transportation infrastructure, pavement has a direct and tangible impact on socio-economic sustainability. In recent years, an influx of groundbreaking and state-of-the-art materials, structures, equipment, and detection technologies related to road engineering have continually and progressively emerged, reshaping the landscape of pavement systems. There is a pressing and growing need for a timely summarization of the current research status and a clear identification of future research directions in these advanced and evolving technologies. Therefore, Journal of Road Engineering has undertaken the significant initiative of introducing a comprehensive review paper with the overarching theme of “advanced road materials, structures, equipment, and detection technologies”. This extensive and insightful review meticulously gathers and synthesizes research findings from 39 distinguished scholars, all of whom are affiliated with 19 renowned universities or research institutions specializing in the diverse and multidimensional field of highway engineering. It covers the current state and anticipates future development directions in the four major and interconnected domains of road engineering: advanced road materials, advanced road structures and performance evaluation, advanced road construction equipment and technology, and advanced road detection and assessment technologies

Mechanisms of m-dinitrobenzene-induced selective neurotoxicity and the roles of brain glutathione

m-Dinitrobenzene (m-DNB) is a neurotoxin producing selective damage in the brain stem. The mechanisms of the selective neurotoxicity induced by this compound have been investigated in this project. In vitro studies demonstrated that brain has considerable nitroreductive capacity towards m-DNB. m-Nitroaniline was the main metabolite produced, attaining up to 66% of the original concentration of m-DNB while nitrosonitrobenzene was also detectable in brain slices. Glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid were able to clinically reduce nitrosonitrobenzene. The results indicate that in situ reduction of m-DNB may play an important role in the m-DNB-induced neurotoxicity.;Both GSH and ascorbic acid were lower in normal brain stem. Striatum had the highest level of GSH while hippocampus had the highest level of ascorbic acid. In contrast, free malondialdehyde (MDA) was higher in the brain stem than the other areas. Brain stem areas were more sensitive to the BSO-induced GSH depletion since GSH half life in those areas were shorter than in other brain areas. These results indicate a lower antioxidant capacity and a higher spontaneous oxidative stress in brain stem. This may partially explain the susceptibility of brain stem to neurotoxic xenobiotics.;In order to test the hypothesis that GSH status in brain plays an important role in the selective neurotoxicity of m-DNB, the susceptibility of the rat to intoxication was studied in 6 month old animals that show naturally lower GSH levels in brain and also in young adult animals treated with BSO to deplete brain GSH. Control adult animals developed brain stem lesions after 4 doses of m-DNB(4x10mg/kg); but 6 month old animals showed these changes after 3 doses, while BSO-treated animals had brain stem lesions after only 1 dose of DNB. This demonstrated that brain GSH status is likely to be an important factor in determining regional sensitivity to gliovascular damage induced by m-DNB.;A close parallel between developmental changes of hippocampal GSH and cysteine suggests that cysteine may be a rate limiting factor for brain GSH synthesis during the early period of life

Oncolytic Viruses for the Treatment of Bladder Cancer: Advances, Challenges, and Prospects

Bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers. Despite recent advancements in bladder cancer therapy, new strategies are still required for improving patient outcomes, particularly for those who experienced Bacille Calmette–Guerin failure and those with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. Oncolytic viruses are either naturally occurring or purposefully engineered viruses that have the ability to selectively infect and lyse tumor cells while avoiding harming healthy cells. In light of this, oncolytic viruses serve as a novel and promising immunotherapeutic strategy for bladder cancer. A wide diversity of viruses, including adenoviruses, herpes simplex virus, coxsackievirus, Newcastle disease virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, alphavirus, and vaccinia virus, have been studied in many preclinical and clinical studies for their potential as oncolytic agents for bladder cancer. This review aims to provide an overview of the advances in oncolytic viruses for the treatment of bladder cancer and highlights the challenges and research directions for the future

A Systematic Review on the Role of Repeat Transurethral Resection after Initial en Bloc Resection for Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

International guidelines recommend repeat transurethral resection of bladder tumors (reTURB) for selected patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer to remove possible residual tumors, restage tumors and improve the therapeutic outcome. However, most evidence supporting the benefits of reTURB is from conventional TURB. The role of reTURB in patients receiving initial En bloc resection of bladder tumor (ERBT) is still unknown. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were systematically searched. Finally, this systematic review and meta-analysis included twelve articles, including 539 patients. The rates of residual tumor and tumor upstaging detected by reTURB after ERBT were 5.9% (95%CI, 2.0%–11.1%) and 0.0% (95%CI, 0.0%–0.5%), respectively. Recurrence-free survival, tumor recurrence and progression were comparable between patients with and without reTURB after initial ERBT. The pooled hazard ratios of 1-year, 2-year, 3-year and 5-year recurrence-free survival were 0.74 (95%CI, 0.36–1.51; p = 0.40), 0.76 (95%CI, 0.45–1.26; p = 0.28), 0.83 (95%CI, 0.53–1.32; p = 0.43) and 0.83 (95%CI, 0.56–1.23; p = 0.36), respectively. The pooled relative risks of recurrence and progression were 0.87 (95%CI, 0.64–1.20; p = 0.40) and 1.11 (95%CI, 0.54–2.32; p = 0.77), respectively. Current evidence demonstrates that reTURB after ERBT for bladder cancer can detect relatively low rates of residual tumor and tumor upstaging and appears not to improve either recurrence or progression

Integrative microRNA-gene expression network analysis in genetic hypercalciuric stone-forming rat kidney

Background. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) influence a variety of biological functions by regulating gene expression post-transcriptionally. Aberrant miRNA expression has been associated with many human diseases. Urolithiasis is a common disease, and idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) is an important risk factor for calcium urolithiasis. However, miRNA expression patterns and their biological functions in urolithiasis remain unknown. Methods and Results. A multi-step approach combining microarray miRNA and mRNA expression profile and bioinformatics analysis was adopted to analyze dysregulated miRNAs and genes in genetic hypercalciuric stone-forming (GHS) rat kidneys, using normal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats as controls. We identified 2418 mRNAs and 19 miRNAs as significantly differentially expressed, over 700 gene ontology (GO) terms and 83 KEGG pathways that were significantly enriched in GHS rats. In addition, we constructed an miRNA-gene network that suggested that rno-miR-674-5p, rno-miR-672-5p, rno-miR-138-5p and rno-miR-21-3p may play important roles in the regulatory network. Furthermore, signal-net analysis suggested that NF-kappa B likely plays a crucial role in hypercalciuria urolithiasis. Conclusions. This study presents a global view of mRNA and miRNA expression in GHS rat kidneys, and suggests that miRNAs may be important in the regulation of hypercalciuria. The data provide valuable insights for future research, which should aim at validating the role of the genes featured here in the pathophysiology of hypercalciuria

The effect of energy drinks on cortisol levels, cognition and mood during a fire-fighting exercise

Acute stress has been associated with changes in cognitive performance and mood, and these have been in part associated with stress-related increased release of cortisol. Both glucose and caffeine consumed in isolation have been shown to moderate cortisol response and affect cognitive performance and affect mood; however, there has been very little research into their behavioural and physiological effects when taken in combination. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the two substances in combinationunder stressful and physically demanding conditions (fire-fighting training) on cognition, mood and cortisol release. Using a double-blind, mixed measures design, 81 participants were administered a 330-ml drink containing either (1) 50 g glucose and 40 mg caffeine, (2) 10.25 g of fructose/glucose and 80 mg caffeine or a placebo drink and tested across a range of cognitive tasks, mood and physiological measures. The results showed an increase in grip strength and improved memory performance after ingestion of the drink containing 50 g glucose and 40 mg caffeine, and both active drinks resulted in improved performance on the information-processing task compared to the placebo. In terms of mood effects, the drink containing 50 g glucose and 40 mg caffeine led to a reduction in anxiety and significantly reduced self-reported levels of stress following the fire-fighter training. Based on the results of this study, in situations of stress combined with physical performance, administration of an energy drink containing glucose and caffeine might be an easy to implement and cost effective way to maintain mental performance levels and to ameliorate the negative effects of stress on mood

The Activation of ROS/NF-κB/MMP-9 Pathway Promotes Calcium-Induced Kidney Crystal Deposition

Idiopathic hypercalciuria is an important risk factor for the formation of calcium-containing kidney stones. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is closely related to cell and tissue remodeling and is involved in ectopic tissue calcification. However, little is known about its role in kidney stone formation. In this study, we found that the expression of MMP-9 and that of osteoblastic-related proteins was increased in normal rat kidney epithelial-like (NRK-52E) cells following treatment with a high concentration of calcium, while the knockout or overexpression of MMP-9 could, respectively, significantly inhibit or upregulate the expression of osteoblastic-related proteins and calcium crystal deposition. In addition, apoptosis and calcium crystal deposition were significantly reduced in Sprague–Dawley rats with 1,25(OH)2D3-induced hypercalciuria following MMP-9 inhibitor I treatment. Furthermore, inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) production or the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell (NF-κB) pathway significantly reduced calcium-induced MMP-9 expression and calcium crystal deposition. In summary, our results suggested that a high calcium concentration promotes epithelial–osteoblastic transformation and calcium crystal deposition in renal tubule cells by regulating the ROS/NF-κB/MMP-9 axis and identified a novel role for MMP-9 in regulating calcium-induced calcium crystal deposition in renal tubules