A scoping review of music-based interventions for swallowing difficulties: implications for treating older adults with presbyphagia

ObjectivesPresbyphagia refers to age-related changes in the swallowing mechanism (e.g., reduced skeletal muscle strength that decreases bolus control). If left untreated, these changes can lead to dysphagia, which refers to impaired swallowing (e.g., coughing or choking when eating). Given that swallowing difficulties are common among older adults that they make up the fastest growing age group globally, the need for interventions to address presbyphagia is gaining urgency. To begin to address this need, we conducted a scoping review to analyze music therapy research aimed at enhancing swallowing function. The objective was to identify key intervention characteristics and propose clinical implications for treating presbyphagia using music therapy.MethodsThis review followed the methodological frameworks outlined by Arksey and O’Malley and Levac et al. and used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for Scoping Reviews for analysis and reporting. Four electronic databases (i.e., ProQuest, PubMed, RISS, Web of Science) were searched for quantitative and qualitative studies in English or Korean that used music-based interventions to address swallowing function in older adults. Content analysis was conducted to identify and compare the main features of music interventions for swallowing difficulties among older adults.ResultsTen articles were identified and analyzed. It was found that three core components–respiration, vocalization, and singing–were employed to enhance swallowing function in populations with neurological impairments, dementia, or head and neck cancer. Notably, actions closely linked to swallowing function, such as laryngeal elevation and oral movements, were utilized therapeutically to speak or sing. Based on these characteristics, clinical implications are proposed to address presbyphagia.ConclusionSinging entails a systematic and focused incorporation of stepwise activities that can be used to address swallowing disorders. In this context, critical clinical implications that music therapists should consider when treating individuals with presbyphagia include warmup breathing, vocalizing targeting laryngeal control, and singing targeting oral motor control. This review can contribute to the expansion of music therapy with older adults and the advancement of music therapy techniques

Rethinking Annotation: Can Language Learners Contribute?

Researchers have traditionally recruited native speakers to provide annotations for widely used benchmark datasets. However, there are languages for which recruiting native speakers can be difficult, and it would help to find learners of those languages to annotate the data. In this paper, we investigate whether language learners can contribute annotations to benchmark datasets. In a carefully controlled annotation experiment, we recruit 36 language learners, provide two types of additional resources (dictionaries and machine-translated sentences), and perform mini-tests to measure their language proficiency. We target three languages, English, Korean, and Indonesian, and the four NLP tasks of sentiment analysis, natural language inference, named entity recognition, and machine reading comprehension. We find that language learners, especially those with intermediate or advanced levels of language proficiency, are able to provide fairly accurate labels with the help of additional resources. Moreover, we show that data annotation improves learners' language proficiency in terms of vocabulary and grammar. One implication of our findings is that broadening the annotation task to include language learners can open up the opportunity to build benchmark datasets for languages for which it is difficult to recruit native speakers.Comment: ACL 202

Unleashing the full potential of Hsp90 inhibitors as cancer therapeutics through simultaneous inactivation of Hsp90, Grp94, and TRAP1

Cancer therapeutics: Extending a drug's reach A new drug that blocks heat shock proteins (HSPs), helper proteins that are co-opted by cancer cells to promote tumor growth, shows promise for cancer treatment. Several drugs have targeted HSPs, since cancer cells are known to hijack these helper proteins to shield themselves from destruction by the body. However, the drugs have had limited success. Hye-Kyung Park and Byoung Heon Kang at Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology in South Korea and coworkers noticed that the drugs were not absorbed into mitochondria, a key cellular compartment, and HSPs in this compartment were therefore not being blocked. They identified a new HSP inhibitor that can reach every cellular compartment and inhibit all HSPs. Testing in mice showed that this inhibitor effectively triggered death of tumor cells, and therefore shows promise for anti-cancer therapy. The Hsp90 family proteins Hsp90, Grp94, and TRAP1 are present in the cell cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria, respectively; all play important roles in tumorigenesis by regulating protein homeostasis in response to stress. Thus, simultaneous inhibition of all Hsp90 paralogs is a reasonable strategy for cancer therapy. However, since the existing pan-Hsp90 inhibitor does not accumulate in mitochondria, the potential anticancer activity of pan-Hsp90 inhibition has not yet been fully examined in vivo. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed that all Hsp90 paralogs were upregulated in prostate cancer. Inactivation of all Hsp90 paralogs induced mitochondrial dysfunction, increased cytosolic calcium, and activated calcineurin. Active calcineurin blocked prosurvival heat shock responses upon Hsp90 inhibition by preventing nuclear translocation of HSF1. The purine scaffold derivative DN401 inhibited all Hsp90 paralogs simultaneously and showed stronger anticancer activity than other Hsp90 inhibitors. Pan-Hsp90 inhibition increased cytotoxicity and suppressed mechanisms that protect cancer cells, suggesting that it is a feasible strategy for the development of potent anticancer drugs. The mitochondria-permeable drug DN401 is a newly identified in vivo pan-Hsp90 inhibitor with potent anticancer activity

Clinical Applications of the Microbiome in Obstetrics

Human microbiome refers to the genetic material of approximately 1013 microorganisms present in the human body. These microbiomes interact significantly with the physiological, metabolic, and immune systems, particularly during pregnancy. Microbiome dysbiosis in pregnant women and their fetuses is associated with obstetric complications and poor neonatal outcomes. Oral and gut microbiomes can influence the placenta, uterus, and fetus via hematogenous translocation. Through ascending translocation, vaginal microbiota can directly affect the uterine environment. Current research focuses on the presence of the placental microbiome, which is characterized by low biomass. However, more well-controlled studies are required to specifically address the contamination issues. Use of antibiotics during pregnancy and the mode of delivery, specifically cesarean section, have been linked to the establishment of the neonatal gut microbiome. Probiotic supplementation may be beneficial during pregnancy, particularly for women receiving antibiotic treatment

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Arising in a Huge Hepatocellular Adenoma with Bone Marrow Metaplasia

Hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) is the most common type of benign liver tumor, and its major complication is malignant transformation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we report a case of HCC arising in HCA with bone marrow metaplasia in a 24-year-old Korean woman who presented with abdominal discomfort. A huge liver mass was found on abdominal ultrasonography. She underwent surgical hepatic resection, and the resected specimen was entirely involved by a 20-cm-sized tumor. Histological review revealed a well differentiated HCC arising from inflammatory HCA with β-catenin nuclear positivity and bone marrow metaplasia that contained hematopoietic cells. This case was unique because malignant transformation, inflammatory type HCA, β-catenin nuclear staining, and bone marrow metaplasia were simultaneously observed. Additionally, it should be noted that a large HCA with β-catenin activation can undergo malignant transformation and should be surgically resected in a timely manner

Immunohistochemical and Molecular Characteristics of Follicular Patterned Thyroid Nodules with Incomplete Nuclear Features of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Background : Follicular patterned thyroid nodules with incomplete nuclear features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FTN-INPTCs) are difficult to diagnose, and their biological behavior and association with follicular variants of PTC (FVPTCs) have not yet been established. The aim of this study is to determine immunohistochemical and molecular characteristics of FTN-INPTCs. Methods : We investigated immunohistochemical features (galectin-3, HBME-1, CK19, fibronectin-1, CITED1), BRAF V600E mutation and RASSF1A promoter methylation status in 30 FTN-INPTC cases, along with 26 FVPTCs, 21 follicular adenomas (FAs) and 14 nodular hyperplasias (NHs). Results : Expression of galectin-3, HBME-1, CK19 and CITED1 was significantly higher in FTN-INPTCs than in FAs or NHs, but expression of galectin-3, CK19 and fibronectin-1 was lower in FTN-INPTCs than in FVPTCs. The BRAF V600E mutation was not detected in the benign nodules or FTN-INPTCs, whereas 57% of FVPTCs had the mutation. RASSF1A promoter methylation was higher in FTN-INPTCs than in benign nodules but there was no difference between FTN-INPTCs and FVPTCs. Conclusions : Our results represent the borderline immunohistochemical and molecular characteristics of FTN-INPTC. We conclude that FTN-INPTC is an intermediate lesion between a benign nodule and a FVPTC, and that it is pathogenetically related to FVPTC.This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (KRF-2006- 331-E00050).Arora N, 2008, WORLD J SURG, V32, P1237, DOI 10.1007/s00268-008-9484-1Park YJ, 2007, J KOREAN MED SCI, V22, P621CHAN JKC, 2007, DIAGNOSTIC HISTOPATH, P997Rhoden KJ, 2006, J CLIN ENDOCR METAB, V91, P2414, DOI 10.1210/jc.2006-0240de Matos PS, 2005, HISTOPATHOLOGY, V47, P391, DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2005.02221.xNakamura N, 2005, LAB INVEST, V85, P1065, DOI 10.1038/labinvest.3700306Xing M, 2005, ENDOCR-RELAT CANCER, V12, P245, DOI 10.1677/erc.1.0978Papotti M, 2005, MODERN PATHOL, V18, P541, DOI 10.1038/modpathol.3800321Prasad ML, 2005, MODERN PATHOL, V18, P48, DOI 10.1038/modpathol.3800235Weisenberger DJ, 2005, NUCLEIC ACIDS RES, V33, P6823, DOI 10.1093/nar/gki987Vasko VV, 2004, EUR J ENDOCRINOL, V151, P779Kim KH, 2004, YONSEI MED J, V45, P818Gasbarri A, 2004, BRIT J CANCER, V91, P1096, DOI 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602097Xing MZ, 2004, CANCER RES, V64, P1664Kimura ET, 2003, CANCER RES, V63, P1454Hirokawa M, 2002, AM J SURG PATHOL, V26, P1508Schagdarsurengin U, 2002, CANCER RES, V62, P3698Fusco A, 2002, AM J PATHOL, V160, P2157Shivakumar L, 2002, MOL CELL BIOL, V22, P4309, DOI 10.1128/MCB.22.12.4309-4318.2002Coli A, 2002, HISTOPATHOLOGY, V40, P80Bartolazzi A, 2001, LANCET, V357, P1644Eads CA, 2001, CANCER RES, V61, P3410Williams ED, 2000, INT J SURG PATHOL, V8, P181Orlandi F, 1998, CANCER RES, V58, P3015Sack MT, 1997, MODERN PATHOL, V10, P668Herman JG, 1996, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V93, P9821OKAYASU I, 1995, CANCER, V76, P2312BERHO M, 1995, ANN CLIN LAB SCI, V25, P513RAPHAEL SJ, 1994, MODERN PATHOL, V7, P295ROSAI J, 1992, ATLAS TUMOR PATHOL, P65