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Objectives: Cognitive frailty combines physical frailty and cognitive impairment in the absence of dementia. The prompt detection of cognitive frailty and early implementation of preventive interventions may reduce the incidence of dementia. However, intervention studies of exergaming in older adults with cognitive frailty are scant. Therefore, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of exergaming on cognitive functions and loneliness among older adults with cognitive frailty. Design: Quasi‐experimental design. Methods: Participants were recruited from four community settings. The experimental group participated in two 40‐min group exergaming sessions weekly for eight weeks; the control group received usual care. The outcome measures were the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Chinese Version of the Loneliness Scale. Analyses of covariance were conducted to analyze whether exergaming influenced participants' cognitive functions and loneliness. In addition, the effect size of the posttest of the experimental group relative to its baseline value was calculated to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Result: 69 older adults with cognitive frailty were included, and 35 and 34 were assigned to the experimental and control groups, respectively. The exergaming effectively improved the cognitive function of older adults with cognitive frailty. Conclusions: Exergaming interventions can effectively improve the cognitive functions of older adults with cognitive frailty but do not positively affect loneliness. We provide evidence to healthcare workers to apply exergaming interventions for older adults with cognitive frailty to improve cognitive function. Key points: This paper highlights that an exergaming intervention can effectively improve the cognitive functions of older adults with cognitive frailty.Older adults with cognitive frailty are a crucial group in the gerontology field, and this study emphasizes that healthcare workers can apply exergaming to achieve improvements in cognitive function based on our research results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potassium–sulfur battery (K–S battery) as an innovative battery technology is a promising candidate for large‐scale applications, due to its high energy density and the low cost of both K and S. The development of the K–S technology is, however, inhibited by its low reversible capacity and the safety issues related to the K metal anode. Here, the review starts by discussing the mechanism of the redox reactions for the K–S batteries and emphasizes the challenges for this battery system based on its current research status. Furthermore, the current improvement strategies for the K–S system in terms of the sulfur cathode, electrolyte, separator, and K metal anode are summarized. Finally, future perspectives on the development of the K–S system are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aimed to analyze the effects of multidomain attention training on alertness, sustained attention, and visual-spatial attention in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Design: The design used in this study was a two-arm, parallel group, double-blind randomized controlled trial.Setting and Participants: The participants of the study were seventy-eight older adults with MCI (mean age: 79.5 ± 7.9 years) from retirement centers and community housing for the elderly.Intervention: The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (multidomain attention training, n = 39) or an active control group (n = 39). Both groups underwent training sessions for 45 minutes three times per week for 6 weeks (18 sessions in total).Measures: The main efficacy indicator was alertness (Trail Making Test Part B), sustained attention (Digit Vigilance Test), and visual-spatial attention (Trail Making Test Part A). The secondary outcome indicators were other cognitive functions (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] and Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA] subscales). Measurements were obtained at pretest, posttest, and 3 and 6 months after training.Results: The results were analyzed by a generalized estimating equation (GEE), which indicated that attention outcomes (alertness, sustained attention, and visual-spatial attention) of the experimental group did not improve after training. However, the experimental group displayed a significant improvement in the attention, memory, and orientation of MMSE and MoCA subscales over a period of 6 months and also showed superior results compared with the control group.Conclusions: Multidomain attention training demonstrated improved alertness and visual-spatial attention for posttest after 6 months. We also outline potential future advances in attention training for improving attention in older adults with MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With increasing energy demands worldwide, significant efforts have been made to develop superior electrocatalysts for efficient energy conversion systems. Among all the electrocatalysts exploited, Pt‐based bimetallic nanomaterials stand out by virtue of their high catalytic activity and relatively low cost due to the introduction of a nonprecious metal component. It should be noted that electrocatalytic reactions only take place on the surface of catalysts, so investigations of the surface composition of Pt‐based bimetallic nanomaterials are necessary for practical electrocatalysts. In this review, recent studies on controlling the surface composition of Pt‐based bimetallic catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction, formic acid electrooxidation, and ethanol electrooxidation are summarized. The controlling strategies, including the chemical method and the electrochemical method, are discussed. The impacts of surface composition compositions on the electrocatalytic performance are also discussed. Finally, the challenges and future directions for controlling the surface composition of Pt‐based bimetallic nanomaterials are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toxic effects of cadmium (Cd) on the green alga Chlorella vulgaris were investigated by following the response to Cd of various toxicity endpoints (cell growth, cell size, photochemical efficiency of PSII in the light or ΦPSII , maximal photochemical efficiency or Fv/Fm, chlorophyll a fluorescence, esterase activity, and cell viability). These toxicity endpoints were studied in laboratory batch cultures of C. vulgaris over a long-term 96-h exposure to different Cd concentrations using flow cytometry and pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry. The sequence of sensitivity of these toxicity endpoints was: cell yield >> ΦPSII ≈ esterase activity > Fv/Fm > chlorophyll a fluorescence ≈ cell viability. It is shown that cell apoptosis or cell death only accounted for a minor part of the reduction in cell yield even at very high algistatic free Cd2+ concentrations, and other mechanisms such as blocked cell divisions are major contributors to cell yield inhibition. Furthermore, cadmium may affect both the electron donors and acceptors of the electron transport chain at high free Cd2+ concentration. Finally, the resistance of cells to cell death was size-dependent; medium-sized cells had the highest toxicity threshold. The present study brings new insights into the toxicity mechanisms of Cd in C. vulgaris and provides a detailed comparison of the sensitivity of various Cd toxicity endpoints. Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:2762-2770. © 2013 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: p21WAF1/CIP1 is transcriptionally activated by p53 and is required for G1 to S phase progression. p21 plays a critical role in DNA repair after DNA damage. Thus, cells with defective p21 may result in an enhancement of radiation induced apoptosis and improved radiosensitivity. We tested the hypothesis that p21 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (p21 AS ODNs) can be used to reduce p21 expression level and increase radiosensitivity in CNE-1-wtp53 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line with normal p53 function. Methods and materials: The p21 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (p21 AS ODNs) and the random control oligodeoxynucleotides (p21 RD ODNs) were synthesized. p21 AS ODNs sequence: 5′-TGTCATGCTGGTCTGCCGCC-3′; p21 RD ODNs sequence: 5′-CCGGTGAACGAGCGAGCACA-3′. p21 AS ODNs and p21 RD ODNs were transfected into CNE-1-wtp53 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line. The protein expression levels of P21 were evaluated using Western blotting analysis. Cell cycle progression and apoptotic cells were assessed by flow cytometric analysis. The clonogenic survival assay was performed to determine the survival fraction. The parameters D 0, Dq, and N for the single-hit multitarget model and the parameters α, β, α/β, and SF2 for the linear-quadratic model were calculated. BALB/c nude mice were used to investigate the effect of p21 AS ODNs on the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal xenografts in vivo. Results: p21 AS ODNs were detected mainly in plasma with fluorescence microscopy investigation. P21 protein level dramatically decreased and the amount of apoptotic cells increased in p21 AS ODNs transfected cells than in p21 RD ODNs transfected cells after irradiation. The percentage of G1 arrest decreased in p21 AS ODNs transfected cells 24h after radiation, then G2 arrest decreased 48h after radiation. The values of D 0, Dq, SF2 decreased and α value increased in p21 AS ODNs transfected cells than in control cells. The inhibition rate in tumor xenografts exposed to X ray of 10Gy alone was 39.1%, while it was 51.4% in xenografts injected with p21 AS ODNs before exposure to radiation. Unfortunately, there was no significant difference between these two groups (P <0.05). Conclusion: p21 Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides led to inhibition of P21 protein expression, loss of G1 arrest, increase of apoptosis in CNE-1-wtp53 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides may become a promising strategy to enhance radiosensitivity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells with normal p53 function. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]