Validation of a Disability Assessment Tool Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health in the Chinese Context

Background:The common standards of disability assessment for long-term care (LTC) insurance are currently absent. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was designed for a better description of health and functioning, which could fill the demand gap for the standards of disability assessment and be a promising tool for the development of LTC insurance system.ObjectivesTo validate a disability assessment scale for disabled elderly individuals based on the ICF for LTC in the Chinese context.MethodsThe present study is a cross-sectional study. A disability assessment tool based on the ICF was developed by referring to other assessment tools and an expert consensus meeting in the initial phase of the study. The developed tool was used to evaluate 1,610 elderly individuals in the LTC institutions. The Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability were applied to test the internal consistency of the tool, while the Interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to evaluate the interrater reliability (IRR). Factor analysis was performed to verify the construct validity of the tool. The scores from the Medical Outcomes Short Form-12 (SF-12) were correlated with that from the disability assessment tool, to assess the criterion-related validity.ResultsThe Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability of the disability assessment tool were 0.969 and 0.877, respectively. The ICCs of the sum scale was 0.85, and the ICCs of each of the 20 items in the scale ranged from 0.78 to 0.94. The items were divided into three factors through analysis, which is consistent with the structure expectation. The scores of each item and the sum score of the disability assessment scale were negatively correlated with the scores of the physical and psychological fields in SF-12 (p < 0.001). Overall, the data indicated that the tool was characterized by good internal consistency, IRR, construct validity, and criterion-related validity.ConclusionsThe disability assessment tool based on the ICF is a reliable and valid tool for the collection of information on functioning across various LTC settings. The information of disability provided evidence for the distribution of LTC service and guided the development of LTC insurance standards

Protective Effect of Fucoidan against MPP+-Induced SH-SY5Y Cells Apoptosis by Affecting the PI3K/Akt Pathway

The main pathologic changes of the Parkinson’s disease (PD) is dopaminergic (DA) neurons lost. Apoptosis was one of the important reasons involved in the DA lost. Our previous study found a fucoidan fraction sulfated heterosaccharide (UF) had neuroprotective activity. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of UF on DA neurons using human dopaminergic neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells a typical as a PD cellular model. Results showed that UF prevented MPP+-induced SH-SY5Y cells apoptosis and cell death. Additionally, UF pretreated cells increased phosphorylation of Akt, PI3K and NGF, which means UF-treated active PI3K–Akt pathway. Moreover, UF treated cells decreased the expression of apoptosis-associated protein, such as the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, GSK3β, caspase-3 and p53 nuclear induced by MPP+. This effect was partially blocked by PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Our data suggested that protective effect of UF against MPP+-induced SH-SY5Y cells death by affecting the PI3K–Akt pathway. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the critical roles of UF in treating PD and may elucidate the molecular mechanisms of UF effects in PD

The Protective Effect of Fucoidan in Rats with Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has long been recognized as the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, but the efficacy of available strategies for the prevention of DN remains poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible beneficial effects of fucoidan (FPS) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. Wistar rats were made diabetic by injection of STZ after removal of the right kidney. FPS was administered to these diabetic rats for 10 weeks. Body weight, physical activity, renal function, and renal morphometry were measured after 10 weeks of treatment. In the FPS-treated group, the levels of blood glucose, BUN, Ccr and Ucr decreased significantly, and microalbumin, serum insulin and the β2-MG content increased significantly. Moreover, the FPS-treated group showed improvements in renal morphometry. In summary, FPS can ameliorate the metabolic abnormalities of diabetic rats and delay the progression of diabetic renal complications

Sulfated Hetero-Polysaccharides Protect SH-SY5Y Cells from H2O2-Induced Apoptosis by Affecting the PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies suggest that sulfated hetero-polysaccharides (UF) protect against developing PD. However, the detailed mechanisms of how UF suppress neuronal death have not been fully elucidated. We investigated the cytoprotective mechanisms of UF using human dopaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells as a PD model. UF prevented H2O2-induced apoptotic cell death in SH-SY5Y cells in a dose-dependent manner. An examination of the PI3K/Akt upstream pathway revealed that UF-pretreated cells showed a decreased relative density of Akt, PI3K, and TrkA, and increased the phosphorylation of Akt, PI3K, and NGF; the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, partially prevented this effect. An examination of the PI3K/Akt downstream pathway revealed the increased expression of the apoptosis-associated markers Bax, p53, CytC, and GSK3β, and the decreased expression of Bcl-2 in UF-treated cells. UF-treated cells also exhibited decreased caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 activities, which induced cell apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that UF affect the PI3K/Akt pathway, as well as downstream signaling. Therefore, the UF-mediated activation of PI3K/Akt could provide a new potential therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative injury. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the critical roles of UF in the treatment of PD

Antioxidant Dipeptides Enhance Osmotic Stress Tolerance by Regulating the Yeast Cell Wall and Membrane

This study aimed to investigate the role of the yeast cell wall and membrane in enhancing osmotic tolerance by antioxidant dipeptides (ADs) including Ala-His (AH), Thr-Tyr (TY), and Phe-Cys (FC). Results revealed that ADs could improve the integrity of the cell wall by restructuring polysaccharide structures. Specifically, FC significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the leakage of nucleic acid and protein by 2.86% and 5.36%, respectively, compared to the control. In addition, membrane lipid composition played a crucial role in enhancing yeast tolerance by ADs, including the increase of cell membrane integrity and the decrease of permeability by regulating the ratio of unsaturated fatty acids. The up-regulation of gene expression associated with the cell wall integrity pathway (RLM1, SLT2, MNN9, FKS1, and CHS3) and fatty acid biosynthesis (ACC1, HFA1, OLE1, ERG1, and FAA1) further confirmed the positive impact of ADs on yeast tolerance against osmotic stress

A Versatile Approach for the Synthesis of Antimicrobial Polymer Brushes on Natural Rubber/Graphene Oxide Composite Films via Surface-Initiated Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization

A simple strategy was adopted for the preparation of an antimicrobial natural rubber/graphene oxide (NR/GO) composite film modified through the use of zwitterionic polymer brushes. An NR/GO composite film with antibacterial properties was prepared using a water-based solution-casting method. The composited GO was dispersed uniformly in the NR matrix and compensated for mechanical loss in the process of modification. Based on the high bromination activity of α–H in the structure of cis-polyisoprene, the composite films were brominated on the surface through the use of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) under the irradiation of a 40 W tungsten lamp. Polymerization was carried out on the brominated films using sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) as a monomer via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The NR/GO composite films modified using polymer brushes (PSBMAs) exhibited 99.99% antimicrobial activity for resistance to Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. A novel polymer modification strategy for NR composite materials was established effectively, and the enhanced antimicrobial properties expand the application prospects in the medical field

Identification of microRNA editing sites in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a malignant tumor originating from the renal tubular epithelium. Although the microRNAs (miRNAs) transcriptome of ccRCC has been extensively studied, the role of miRNAs editing in ccRCC is largely unknown. By analyzing small RNA sequencing profiles of renal tissues of 154 ccRCC patients and 22 normal controls, we identified 1025 miRNA editing sites from 246 pre-miRNAs. There were 122 editing events with significantly different editing levels in ccRCC compared to normal samples, which include two A-to-I editing events in the seed regions of hsa-mir-376a-3p and hsa-mir-376c-3p, respectively, and one C-to-U editing event in the seed region of hsa-mir-29c-3p. After comparing the targets of the original and edited miRNAs, we found that hsa-mir-376a-1_49g, hsa-mir-376c_48g and hsa-mir-29c_59u had many new targets, respectively. Many of these new targets were deregulated in ccRCC, which might be related to the different editing levels of hsa-mir-376a-3p, hsa-mir-376c-3p, hsa-mir-29c-3p in ccRCC compared to normal controls. Our study sheds new light on miRNA editing events and their potential biological functions in ccRCC