Food Supplement 20070721-GX May Increase CD34+ Stem Cells and Telomerase Activity

Few rejuvenation and antiaging markers are used to evaluate food supplements. We measured three markers in peripheral blood to evaluate the antiaging effects of a food supplement containing placental extract. Samples were evaluated for CD34+ cells, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), and telomerase activity, which are all markers related to aging. To control the quality of this food supplement, five active components were monitored. In total, we examined 44 individuals who took the food supplement from 1.2 months to 23 months; the average number of CD34+ cells was almost 6-fold higher in the experimental group compared with the control group. Food supplement intake did not change serum IGF1 levels significantly. Finally, the average telomerase activity was 30% higher in the subjects taking this food supplement. In summary, our results suggest that the placental extract in the food supplement might contribute to rejuvenation and antiaging

Effectiveness of influenza vaccination in patients with end-stage renal disease receiving hemodialysis: a population-based study.

BackgroundLittle is known on the effectiveness of influenza vaccine in ESRD patients. This study compared the incidence of hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) between cohorts with and without influenza vaccination.MethodsWe used the insurance claims data from 1998 to 2009 in Taiwan to determine the incidence of these events within one year after influenza vaccination in the vaccine (N = 831) and the non-vaccine (N = 3187) cohorts. The vaccine cohort to the non-vaccine cohort incidence rate ratio and hazard ratio (HR) of morbidities and mortality were measured.ResultsThe age-specific analysis showed that the elderly in the vaccine cohort had lower hospitalization rate (100.8 vs. 133.9 per 100 person-years), contributing to an overall HR of 0.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72-0.90). The vaccine cohort also had an adjusted HR of 0.85 [95% CI 0.75-0.96] for heart disease. The corresponding incidence of pneumonia and influenza was 22.4 versus 17.2 per 100 person-years, but with an adjusted HR of 0.80 (95% CI 0.64-1.02). The vaccine cohort had lowered risks than the non-vaccine cohort for intensive care unit (ICU) admission (adjusted HR 0.20, 95% CI 0.12-0.33) and mortality (adjusted HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.41-0.60). The time-dependent Cox model revealed an overall adjusted HR for mortality of 0.30 (95% CI 0.26-0.35) after counting vaccination for multi-years.ConclusionsESRD patients with HD receiving the influenza vaccination could have reduced risks of pneumonia/influenza and other morbidities, ICU stay, hospitalization and death, particularly for the elderly

Outcomes and prognostic factors of simple partial cystectomy for localized bladder urothelial cell carcinoma

AbstractRadical cystectomy has remained the gold standard for recurrent superficial or muscle invasive bladder tumor. However, partial cystectomy still has a role in those who reject or have contraindications for radical cystectomy. In this study, we sought to identify predictors of bladder recurrence and overall survival after simple partial cystectomy. We included 27 patients with bladder tumor who received simple partial cystectomy without pelvic lymph node dissection between March 2000 and September 2013. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy was prescribed according to the pathological results. Parameters were compared on the basis of bladder recurrence and overall survival. During a mean follow-up time of 39 months, five patients (18.5%) experienced bladder recurrence. An older age, a higher pathological stage, positive surgical margins, and distant metastases were significant predictors of overall survival (p = 0.031, p = 0.001, p = 0.001, and p = 0.011, respectively). Meanwhile, previous bladder instillation and positive surgical margins were significant predictors of bladder recurrence (p = 0.026 and p = 0.027, respectively). The rate of consecutive distant metastases (33.3%) was almost twice the rate of bladder recurrence (18.5%), and six patients developed consecutive distant metastases without first experiencing bladder recurrence. In patients who received a simple partial cystectomy as an alternative treatment, previous bladder instillation and positive surgical margins were significant predictors of bladder recurrence. Patients with an older age, positive surgical margins, and consecutive distant metastases had worse overall survival. Partial cystectomy with routine lymph node dissection may be a better option for achieving favorable long-term outcomes

Combined Quantitative X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy Investigations of Crystal Evolution in CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–TiO2–ZrO2–Nd2O3–Na2O System

Glass-ceramics, with a specific crystalline phase assembly, can combine the advantages of glass and ceramic and avoid their disadvantages. In this study, both cubic-zirconia and zirconolite-based glass-ceramics were obtained by the crystallization of SiO2-CaO-Al2O3-TiO2-ZrO2-Nd2O3-Na2O glass. Results show that all samples underwent a phase transformation from cubic-zirconia to zirconolite when crystallized at 900, 950, and 1000 °C. The size of the cubic-zirconia crystal could be controlled by temperature and dwelling time. Both cubic-zirconia and zirconolite crystals/particles show dendrite shapes, but with different dendrite branching. The dendrite cubic-zirconia showed highly oriented growth. Scanning electron microscopy images show that the branches of the cubic-zirconia crystal had a snowflake-like appearance, while those in zirconolite were composed of many individual crystals. Rietveld quantitative analysis revealed that the maximum amount of zirconolite was ∼19 wt %. A two-stage crystallization method was used to obtain different microstructures of zirconolite-based glass-ceramic. The amount of zirconolite remained approximately 19 wt %, but the individual crystals were smaller and more homogeneously dispersed in the dendrite structure than those obtained from one-stage crystallization. This process-control feature can result in different sizes and morphologies of cubic-zirconia and zirconolite crystals to facilitate the design of glass-ceramic waste forms for nuclear wastes

Efficacy of the visual cognitive assessment test for mild cognitive impairment/mild dementia diagnosis: a meta-analysis

BackgroundMild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate stage between normal ageing and dementia. The early identification of MCI is important for timely intervention. The visual cognitive assessment test (VCAT) is a brief language-neutral screening tool for detecting MCI/mild dementia. This meta-analysis evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of the VCAT for MCI/mild dementia.MethodsMedline, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library were searched from their inception until August 2023 to identify studies using VCAT to diagnose MCI/mild dementia. The primary outcome was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the VCAT for detecting MCI/mild dementia through area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AU-ROC) analysis. The secondary outcome was to explore the correlation between VCAT scores and MCI/mild dementia presence by comparing scores among patients with and without MCI/mild dementia. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated.ResultsFive studies with 1,446 older adults (mean age 64–68.3 years) were included. The percentage of participants with MCI/mild dementia versus controls ranged from 16.5% to 87% across studies. All studies were conducted in Asian populations, mostly Chinese, in Singapore and Malaysia. The pooled sensitivity was 80% [95% confidence interval (CI) 68%–88%] and the specificity was 75% (95% CI 68%–80%). The AU-ROCC was 0.77 (95% CI 0.73–0.81). Patients with MCI/mild dementia had lower VCAT scores than the controls (mean difference −6.85 points, p < 0.00001).ConclusionVCAT demonstrated acceptable diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing MCI/mild dementia in cognitively normal older adults. As a language-neutral and culturally unbiased tool, the VCAT shows promise in detecting MCI/mild dementia. Further studies in non-Asian populations are required.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42023453453

Using Capacitance Sensor to Extract Characteristic Signals of Dozing from Skin Surface

Skin is the largest organ of the human body and a physiological structure that is directly exposed to the environment. From a theoretical perspective, numerous physiological and psychological signals use the skin as a medium for input and output with the outside world. Therefore, the skin is considered an optimal signal interception point when developing noninvasive, direct, and rapid signal exploration devices. To date, skin signal interceptions are predominantly performed by measuring skin impedance. However, this method is prone to interference such as sweat secretion, salt accumulation on the skin, and muscle contractions, which may result in a substantial amount of interference and erroneous results. The present study proposes novel and effective methods for skin signal interception, such as using a nested probe as a sensor to measure capacitance to be further processed as physiological and psychological signals. The experimental results indicate that the capacitance curve for the transition between wakefulness and dozing exhibits significant changes. This change in the curve can be analyzed by computer programs to clearly and rapidly determine whether the subject has entered the initial phases of sleep

Oral Cancer Development in Patients with Leukoplakia – Clinicopathological Factors Affecting Outcome

Oral leukoplakia (OL) is the best-known potentially malignant disorder. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the clinicopathological factors predictive of outcome in a large cohort of patients with OL, and report our experience in the early detection of malignant events.A total of 320 patients with biopsy-proven OL were retrospectively reviewed from the study institution who had a mean follow-up of 5.1 years. Data on patient and lesion at initial diagnosis and patient underwent sequential biopsies were reviewed. Multiple biopsies indicates > = 3 times sequential biopsies. Oral cancer-free survival rate (OCFS) was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and significant factors were identified by Cox regression analysis.<0.001), especially during the first 2–3 years of follow-up. Multivariate analysis revealed that the 4 factors including patient aged >60 years, lesion located at lateral/ventral tongue, non-homogenous lesion, high-grade dysplasia were independent significant indicators for OL malignant transformation. In addition, significant positive correlation between the multiple biopsies and these 4 factors and malignant outcome was established.Elderly patients with OL located at lateral/ventral tongue and who had non-homogenous lesion with high-grade dysplasia correlated much higher risk of transformation. This high-risk subpopulation was suggested to undergo sequential biopsies and histologic examination contributing to early detection of malignant event

Requirement of Mouse BCCIP for Neural Development and Progenitor Proliferation

Multiple DNA repair pathways are involved in the orderly development of neural systems at distinct stages. The homologous recombination (HR) pathway is required to resolve stalled replication forks and critical for the proliferation of progenitor cells during neural development. BCCIP is a BRCA2 and CDKN1A interacting protein implicated in HR and inhibition of DNA replication stress. In this study, we determined the role of BCCIP in neural development using a conditional BCCIP knock-down mouse model. BCCIP deficiency impaired embryonic and postnatal neural development, causing severe ataxia, cerebral and cerebellar defects, and microcephaly. These development defects are associated with spontaneous DNA damage and subsequent cell death in the proliferative cell populations of the neural system during embryogenesis. With in vitro neural spheroid cultures, BCCIP deficiency impaired neural progenitor's self-renewal capability, and spontaneously activated p53. These data suggest that BCCIP and its anti-replication stress functions are essential for normal neural development by maintaining an orderly proliferation of neural progenitors

AV-SUPERB: A Multi-Task Evaluation Benchmark for Audio-Visual Representation Models

Audio-visual representation learning aims to develop systems with human-like perception by utilizing correlation between auditory and visual information. However, current models often focus on a limited set of tasks, and generalization abilities of learned representations are unclear. To this end, we propose the AV-SUPERB benchmark that enables general-purpose evaluation of unimodal audio/visual and bimodal fusion representations on 7 datasets covering 5 audio-visual tasks in speech and audio processing. We evaluate 5 recent self-supervised models and show that none of these models generalize to all tasks, emphasizing the need for future study on improving universal model performance. In addition, we show that representations may be improved with intermediate-task fine-tuning and audio event classification with AudioSet serves as a strong intermediate task. We release our benchmark with evaluation code and a model submission platform to encourage further research in audio-visual learning.Comment: Submitted to ICASSP 2024; Evaluation Code: https://github.com/roger-tseng/av-superb Submission Platform: https://av.superbbenchmark.or