Search

Mycobacteria are causative agents of tuberculosis (TB), which is a global health concern. Drug-resistant TB strains are rapidly emerging, thereby necessitating the urgent development of new drugs. Two-component signal transduction systems (TCSs) are signaling pathways involved in the regulation of various bacterial behaviors and responses to environmental stimuli. Applying specific inhibitors of TCSs can disrupt bacterial signaling, growth, and virulence, and can help combat drug-resistant TB. We conducted a comprehensive pharmacophore-based inhibitor screening and biochemical and biophysical examinations to identify, characterize, and validate potential inhibitors targeting the response regulators PhoP and MtrA of mycobacteria. The constructed pharmacophore model Phar-PR-n4 identified effective inhibitors of formation of the PhoP–DNA complex: ST132 (IC50 = 29 ± 1.6 µM) and ST166 (IC50 = 18 ± 1.3 µM). ST166 (KD = 18.4 ± 4.3 μM) and ST132 (KD = 14.5 ± 0.1 μM) strongly targeted PhoP in a slow-on, slow-off manner. The inhibitory potency and binding affinity of ST166 and ST132 for MtrAC were comparable to those of PhoP. Structural analyses and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that ST166 and ST132 mainly interact with the α8-helix and C-terminal β-hairpin of PhoP, with functionally essential residue hotspots for structure-based inhibitor optimization. Moreover, ST166 has in vitro antibacterial activity against Macrobacterium marinum. Thus, ST166, with its characteristic 1,2,5,6-tetrathiocane and terminal sulphonic groups, has excellent potential as a candidate for the development of novel antimicrobial agents to combat pathogenic mycobacteria.

BackgroundResilience is a protective factor in healthy aging, helping to maintain and recover physical and mental functions. The Resilience in Illness Model has proven effective in fostering resilience and well-being. Physical activity is crucial for older adults’ independence and well-being, even as aging causes a progressive decline. Additionally, older adults face challenges such as spousal loss and physical disability, making preventive intervention strategies necessary. ObjectiveThis study aims to develop and evaluate a web-based program to enhance resilience, physical activity, and well-being among community-dwelling older adults. Additionally, we aim to gather feedback on the program’s strengths and limitations. MethodsA 4-week resilience-enhancing program was created, incorporating role-play and talk-in-interaction and focusing on 3 key skills: coping, control belief, and manageability. The program included scenarios such as becoming widowed and suffering a stroke, designed to engage older adults. A pilot test preceded the intervention. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program shifted from in-person to web-based sessions. A single-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants aged over 65 years were recruited offline and randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. A certified resilience practitioner delivered the program. Outcomes in resilience, physical activity, and well-being were self-assessed at baseline (T0), 4 weeks (T1), and 12 weeks (T2) after the program. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate feedback. ResultsA web-based participatory program enhancing 3 skills—coping, control belief, and manageability for resilience—was well developed. Among 96 participants, 63 were randomized into the intervention group (n=31) and the control group (n=32). The mean age in the intervention group was 69.27 (SD 3.08) years and 74.84 (SD 6.23) years in the control group. Significant between-group differences at baseline were found in age (t45.6=–4.53, P

The heightened transmissibility and capacity of African swine fever virus (ASFV) induce fatal diseases in domestic pigs and wild boars, posing significant economic repercussions and global threats. Despite extensive research efforts, the development of potent vaccines or treatments for ASFV remains a persistent challenge. Recently, inhibiting the AsfvPolX, a key DNA repair enzyme, emerges as a feasible strategy to disrupt viral replication and control ASFV infections. In this study, a comprehensive approach involving pharmacophore-based inhibitor screening, coupled with biochemical and biophysical analyses, were implemented to identify, characterize, and validate potential inhibitors targeting AsfvPolX. The constructed pharmacophore model, Phar-PolX-S, demonstrated efficacy in identifying a potent inhibitor, D-132 (IC50 = 2.8 ± 0.2 µM), disrupting the formation of the AsfvPolX-DNA complex. Notably, D-132 exhibited strong binding to AsfvPolX (KD = 6.9 ± 2.2 µM) through a slow-on-fast-off binding mechanism. Employing molecular modeling, it was elucidated that D-132 predominantly binds in-between the palm and finger domains of AsfvPolX, with crucial residues (R42, N48, Q98, E100, F102, and F116) identified as hotspots for structure-based inhibitor optimization. Distinctively characterized by a 1,2,5,6-tetrathiocane with modifications at the 3 and 8 positions involving ethanesulfonates, D-132 holds considerable promise as a lead compound for the development of innovative agents to combat ASFV infections.

Background: Vagal reflexes regulate homeostasis in visceral organs and systems through afferent and efferent neurons and nerve fibers. Small, unmyelinated, C-type afferents comprise over 80% of fibers in the vagus and form the sensory arc of autonomic reflexes of the gut, lungs, heart and vessels and the immune system. Selective bioelectronic activation of C-afferents could be used to mechanistically study and treat diseases of peripheral organs in which vagal reflexes are involved, but it has not been achieved. Methods: We stimulated the vagus in rats and mice using trains of kHz-frequency stimuli. Stimulation effects were assessed using neuronal c-Fos expression, physiological and nerve fiber responses, optogenetic and computational methods. Results: Intermittent kHz stimulation for 30 min activates specific motor and, preferentially, sensory vagus neurons in the brainstem. At sufficiently high frequencies (>5 kHz) and at intensities within a specific range (7–10 times activation threshold, T, in rats; 15-25 × T in mice), C-afferents are activated, whereas larger, A- and B-fibers, are blocked. This was determined by measuring fiber-specific acute physiological responses to kHz stimulus trains, and by assessing fiber excitability around kHz stimulus trains through compound action potentials evoked by probing pulses. Aspects of selective activation of C-afferents are explained in computational models of nerve fibers by how fiber size and myelin shape the response of sodium channels to kHz-frequency stimuli. Conclusion: kHz stimulation is a neuromodulation strategy to robustly and selectively activate vagal C-afferents implicated in physiological homeostasis and disease, over larger vagal fibers.

In recent years, an increasing number of abnormal DNA genotypes caused by chromosomal abnormalities have been revealed in cases of individual identification and sex-typing analysis, especially analyses of the amelogenin and short tandem repeat (STR) loci on the sex chromosomes. Here, we report a 17-year-old female with Turner syndrome typed as male due to the presence of the amelogenin Y allele. The Y-STR haplotype showed allele dropout of three Y-STR loci (DYS549, DYS392 and DYS448). Further examination showed that the proband's karyotype was 45,X/46,X,del(Y) (q11.23), and the deletion of the Yp11.2 region was confirmed to encompass the observed microdeletion of the azoospermia factor (AZF)b + c region. One challenge in forensics is inaccurate sex typing of individuals at the molecular level, particularly for individuals with chromosomal abnormalities. This case suggests that various medical evaluations, including the examination of sex-related manifestations, karyotypes, and clinical phenotypes of individuals, along with the detection of sex-typing gene markers will be beneficial to overcome the issues caused by cytogenetic disorders of the sex chromosomes.

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has profound impacts on human life and global economy since the outbreak in 2019. With the new variants continue to emerge with greater immune escaping capability, the protectivity of the available vaccines is compromised. Therefore, development a vaccine that is capable of inducing immunity against variants including omicron strains is in urgent need. In this study, we developed a protein-based vaccine BCVax that is consisted of antigen delta strain spike protein and QS21-based adjuvant AB801 in nanoparticle immune stimulation complex format (AB801-ISCOM). Results from animal studies showed that high level of anti-S protein IgG was induced after two doses of BCVax and the IgG was capable of neutralizing multiple variants of pseudovirus including omicron BA.1 or BA.2 strains. In addition, strong Th1 response was stimulated after BCVax immunization. Furthermore, BCvax with AB801-ISCOM as the adjuvant showed significant stronger immunity compared with the vaccine using aluminum hydroxide plus CpG 1018 as the adjuvant. BCVax was also evaluated as a booster after two prior vaccinations, the IgG titers and pseudovirus neutralization activities against BA.2 or BA.4/BA.5 were further enhanced suggesting BCVax is a promising candidate as booster. Taken together, the pre-clinical data warrant BCVax for further development in clinic.

Abstract Traumatic peri-contusional penumbra represents crucial targets for therapeutic interventions after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Current resuscitative approaches may not adequately alleviate impaired cerebral microcirculation and, hence, compromise oxygen delivery to peri-contusional areas. Low-frequency oscillations in cerebral blood flow (CBF) may improve cerebral oxygenation in the setting of oxygen deprivation. However, no method has been reported to induce controllable oscillations in CBF and it hasn’t been applied as a therapeutic strategy. Electrical stimulation of the trigeminal nerve (TNS) plays a pivotal role in modulating cerebrovascular tone and cerebral perfusion. We hypothesized that TNS can modulate CBF at the targeted frequency band via the trigemino-cerebrovascular network, and TNS-induced CBF oscillations would improve cerebral oxygenation in peri-contusional areas. In a rat model of TBI complicated by hemorrhagic shock, TNS-induced CBF oscillations conferred significant preservation of peri-contusional tissues leading to reduced lesion volume, attenuated hypoxic injury and neuroinflammation, increased eNOS expression, improved neurological recovery and better 10-day survival rate, despite not significantly increasing CBF as compared with those in immediate and delayed resuscitation animals. Our findings indicate that low-frequency CBF oscillations enhance cerebral oxygenation in peri-contusional areas, and play a more significant protective role than improvements in non-oscillatory cerebral perfusion or volume expansion alone.

The human body has tremendous self-healing capacity and regeneration after injuries and pathogen invasions. These factors are particularly important in older adults which take longer to heal and recover physically. In addition to clinical investigations, perspectives from both experts in the field and the living experiences of the general public could play significant roles to enhance the body’s healing mechanisms in older adults. A semi-structured interview was conducted which included 15 participants (9 experts and 6 older adults aged 65 years and older). Content analysis with an inductive approach was employed about participants’ experiences and perspectives. All participants in this study revealed that self-healing mechanisms can be enhanced through physiological, psychological, and socio-environmental factors. When more of these factors can be integrated into a recovery management plan, it can hasten self-healing in older adults. Social capability has a profound impact on an individual’s mental health while oral health and hygiene significantly affect the nutritional intake status. In regards to physical aspects, regular daily activity patterns, nutritious eating, moderate exercise, and sleep quality are significant, while psychological aspects such as cheerfulness, positive attitudes, and good interpersonal relationships can help control chronic diseases.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer affecting men, with increasing global mortality and morbidity rates. Despite the progress in the diagnosis and treatment of PCa, patient outcomes remain poor, and novel therapeutic targets for PCa are urgently needed. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been studied in-depth as potential biomarkers for many diseases. In this study, circRNA microarrays using four pairs of PCa tissues were utilized to show that circGFRA1 was upregulated in PCa tumor tissues. CircGFRA1 is suggested to play an oncogene role in PCa progression as the silencing of circGFRA1 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and immune escape activity of PCa cells. Furthermore, by utilizing bioinformatics analysis, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assays, our results showed that LMX1B could bind to the GFRA1 promoter and regulate circGFRA1 expression in PCa cells and circGFRA1 upregulated HECTD1 expression through sponging miR-3064-5p. This novel LMX1B/circGFRA1/miR-3064-5p/HECTD1 axis identified in PCa provides new insights for developing novel therapeutic strategies for PCa.

This study used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) to explore the future goal aspirations of students with extensive support needs who participate in alternate assessments, compared to other students with extensive support needs and to students with other disabilities. We examined students' individualized education program (IEP)/transition planning meeting experiences and postschool goals in relation to their functional, communication, and self-advocacy skills, as well as their school/community support. Students with other disabilities held higher expectations than all students with extensive support needs for future participation in postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and financial independence. All students had higher postschool goal expectations than their parents. Implications for supporting students with extensive support needs and directions for future research and practice are discussed.

Alcohol use ranks as one of the most prevalent health-risk behaviors among Taiwanese adolescents. Possible selves--personalized future-oriented cognitions about the self--are significant motivators of one's actions, which may potentially influence adolescent drinking behavior. This study aimed to estimate the content domain-specific possible selves and their associations with drinking behaviors among Taiwanese adolescents. A total of 225 Taiwanese seventh and eighth graders from a public junior high school were recruited. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data during two time-points at six-month intervals. Results showed that having a "physical appearance" related hoped-for possible self and a "friendship" related feared possible self was associated with adolescent alcohol use after six months. Whereas, having the "physical appearance" related hoped-for and feared possible selves were associated with alcohol problems, at both, baseline and six months later. Future studies could clarify the meaning behind "physical appearance" related possible selves.

Separate school placements persist for students with extensive support needs (ESN) despite longstanding federal mandates for all students with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive environment. This study extends research on separate school placement for students with ESN to explore the potential impact of locale and charter school policy by determining (1) the percentage of separate schools in states across locales, (2) whether there is a relationship between the percentages of separate schools in each locale and separate school placement rates, and (3) how the number and location of separate special education charter schools change by state over time. Results showed varying proportions of separate schools among each locale in states with different placement rates, a significant moderate difference between the percentage of separate schools in suburban locales and overall separate school placement rate, and few separate special education charter schools. Implications for research and practice are highlighted.

Abstract Hemorrhagic shock (HS), a major cause of early death from trauma, accounts for around 40% of mortality, with 33–56% of these deaths occurring before the patient reaches a medical facility. Intravenous fluid therapy and blood transfusions are the cornerstone of treating HS. However, these options may not be available soon after the injury, resulting in death or a poorer quality of survival. Therefore, new strategies are needed to manage HS patients before they can receive definitive care. Recently, various forms of neuromodulation have been investigated as possible supplementary treatments for HS in the prehospital phase of care. Here, we provide an overview of neuromodulation methods that show promise to treat HS, such as vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, trigeminal nerve stimulation, and phrenic nerve stimulation and outline their possible mechanisms in the treatment of HS. Although all of these approaches are only validated in the preclinical models of HS and are yet to be translated to clinical settings, they clearly represent a paradigm shift in the way that this deadly condition is managed in the future.

Background Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is an optimal recommended treatment for stage III non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of oral vinorelbine plus cisplatin with concomitant radiotherapy for stage III NSCLC. Methods This prospective, open‐label, single‐arm, observational cohort study was performed between January 2010 and September 2016. Patients were treated with two cycles of chemotherapy with 60 mg/m2 intravenous cisplatin on day 1 and 50 mg/m2 oral vinorelbine on days 1, 8, and 15; radiotherapy was administered concurrently from day 1 when chemotherapy was initiated. A total dose of 66–70 Gy radiotherapy was delivered in daily fractions of 2 Gy for 6.5–7 consecutive weeks. The tumor response was assessed after completing concomitant treatment. Results A total of 58 patients were enrolled and analyzed; 31 patients had stage IIIA NSCLC and 27 had stage IIIB NSCLC. After induction CCRT, 31 patients achieved an objective response (complete response in one and partial response in 30; the response rate was 53.4%). The median progression‐free survival was 6.73 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.42–7.91), duration of response was 12.30 months (95% CI, 5.59–19.01), and overall survival was 24.83 months (95% CI, 19.26–30.21). No treatment‐related mortality was observed, and neutropenia was the most common grade 3 and 4 treatment‐related toxicity (11 patients; 18.9%). Conclusions CCRT with the weekly regimen of oral vinorelbine plus triweekly cisplatin was effective and safe for stage III NSCLC.

Abstract Background A previous screen of a human kinase and phosphatase shRNA library to select genes that mediate arsenite induction of spindle abnormalities resulted in the identification of phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinase type-2 gamma (PIP4KIIγ), a phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2)-synthesizing enzyme. In this study, we explored how PIP4KIIγ regulates the assembly of mitotic spindles. Results PIP4KIIγ accumulates at the spindle pole before anaphase, and is required for the assembly of functional bipolar spindles. Depletion of PIP4KIIγ enhanced the spindle pole accumulation of mitotic centromere-associated kinesin (MCAK), a microtubule (MT)-depolymerizing kinesin, and resulted in a less stable spindle pole-associated MT. Depletion of MCAK can ameliorate PIP4KIIγ depletion-induced spindle abnormalities. In addition, PIP2 binds to polo-like kinase (PLK1) and reduces PLK1-mediated phosphorylation of MCAK. These results indicate that PIP4KIIγ and PIP2 may negatively regulate the MT depolymerization activity of MCAK by reducing PLK1-mediated phosphorylation of MCAK. Consequently, depletion of PLK1 has been shown to counteract the PIP4KIIγ depletion-induced instability of spindle pole-associated MT and cell resistance to arsenite. Conclusions Our current results imply that PIP4KIIγ may restrain MT depolymerization at the spindle pole through attenuating PLK1-mediated activation of MCAK before anaphase onset.

Typhoons in summer and cold snaps during winter in Taiwan often cause huge aquaculture losses. Simultaneously, the lack of human resources is a problem. Therefore, we used wireless transmission technology with various sensors to transmit the temperature, pH value, dissolved oxygen, water level, and life expectancy of the sensor in the fish farm to the server. The integrated data are transmitted to mobile devices through the Internet of Things, enabling administrators to monitor the water quality in a fish farm through mobile devices. Because the current pH sensors cannot be submerged in the liquid for a long time for measurements, human resources and time are required to take the instrument to each fish farm for testing at a fixed time. Therefore, a robotic arm was developed to complete automatic measurement and maintenance actions. We designed this arm with a programmable logic controller, a single chip combined with a wireless transmission module, and an embedded system. This system is divided into control, measurement, server, and mobility. The intelligent measurement equipment designed in this study can work 24 h per day, which effectively reduces the losses caused by personnel, material resources, and data errors.

Background. Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cell (CAR-T) therapy has great potential for treating malignant tumors, especially hematological malignancies. However, the therapeutic effect of solid tumors is limited. One of the most important factors is the homing of CAR-T cells to tumor tissues in vivo. Method. a recombinant adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) subtype carrying the CCL19 gene was used to pretreat the tumor before the Glypican-3 (GPC3) CAR-T treatment. The tumor tissue continuously expressed CCL19 and analyzed the tumor-suppressive effect of AAV-CCL19 on GPC3 CAR-T by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Result. Under the chemotaxis of CCL19, CAR-T cells had a significant increase in the degree of tumor tissue infiltration; also, the antitumor effect in vitro was significantly enhanced. AAV-CCL19 combined with GPC3 CAR-T significantly increased the survival time of mice. The aforementioned results showed that the combination of AAV-CCL19 and GPC3 CAR-T cells effectively increased the ability of CAR-T cells to go home into the tumor tissue, making the CAR-T cell treatment more effective. Conclusion. This study is expected to solve the dilemma in treating CAR-T cell solid tumors and achieve better clinical results.

Silicon-based anodes are promising to replace graphite-based anodes for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries (LIB). However, the charge–discharge cycling suffers from internal stresses created by large volume changes of silicon, which form silicon-lithium compounds, and excessive consumption of lithium by irreversible formation of lithium-containing compounds. Consumption of lithium by the initial conditioning of the anode, as indicated by low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE), and subsequently continuous formation of solid-electrolyte-phase (SEI) on the freshly exposed silicon surface, are among the main issues. A high-performance, silicon-based, high-capacity anode exhibiting 88.8% ICE and the retention of 2 mAh/cm2 areal capacity after 200 discharge–charge cycles at the rate of 1 A/g is reported. The anode is made on a copper foil using a mixture of 70%:10%:20% by weight ratio of silicon flakes of 100 × 800 × 800 nm in size, Super P conductivity enhancement additive, and an equal-weight mixture of CMC and SBR binders. Pyrolysis of fabricated anodes at 700 °C in argon environment for 1 h was applied to convert the binders into a porous graphitic carbon structure that encapsulates individual silicon flakes. The porous anode has a mechanically strong and electrically conductive graphitic carbon structure formed by the pyrolyzed binders, which protect individual silicon flakes from excessive reactions with the electrolyte and help keep small pieces of broken silicon flakes together within the carbon structure. The selection and amount of conductivity enhancement additives are shown to be critical to the achievement of both high-ICE and high-capacity retention after long cycling. The Super P conductivity enhancement additive exhibits a smaller effective surface area where SEI forms compared to KB, and thus leads to the best combination of both high-ICE and high-capacity retention. A silicon-based anode exhibiting high capacity, high ICE, and a long cycling life has been achieved by the facile and promising one-step fabrication process.

The components of OLED encapsulation with hermetic sealing and a 1026-day lifetime were measured by PXI-1033. The optimal characteristics were obtained when the thickness of the TPBi layer was 20 nm. This OLED obtained a maximum luminance (Lmax) of 25,849 cd/m2 at a current density of 1242 mA/cm2, an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2.28%, a current efficiency (CE) of 7.20 cd/A, and a power efficiency (PE) of 5.28 lm/W. The efficiency was enhanced by Lmax 17.2%/EQE 0.89%/CE 42.1%/PE 41.9%. The CIE coordinates of 0.32, 0.54 were all green OLED elements with wavelengths of 532 nm. The shear strain and leakage test gave results of 16 kgf and 8.92 × 10−9 mbar/s, respectively. The reliability test showed that the standard of MIL-STD-883 was obtained.

Background: Although the vaccination against influenza has been found to be an impactful and cost-effective protection against the disease, coverage is incomplete. This draws attention to the factors of people's flu vaccination decisions. The article contributes to understanding the effect of social factors on vaccination behavior. Social factors comprise the ways people may be affected by their peers and the mass media or by healthcare providers and health institutions.Method: Samples of some 200 senior citizens were interviewed by write-in questionnaire in Taiwan, South Korea and the Swiss canton Ticino.Results: Encouragement by the family physician and a combination of the frequency of contact with vaccination subjects in interpersonal and traditional mass communication and perceived concern with vaccination there increased vaccination rates in the two Asian countries, and model behavior and experience strongly affected vaccination in South Korea, all in bivariate analyses. Multivariate regression in Taiwan and Korea loses the impact of mass media. Perceived concern in sources showed complete mediation by frequency of interpersonal communication in Taiwan and partial mediation in Korea.Conclusion: There is indeed a relationship between social factors and individual vaccination behavior, which, however, is far from being pervasive. There's hardly any result with direct relevance for the hypotheses that shows up in all three countries, and a meaningful and clear pattern in the differences between the Swiss sample on the one hand and the two Asian countries emerges.

This study aimed to investigate the function, working mechanisms and active components of Hsian-tsao tea (Mesona procumbens Hemsl., HT) on dyslipidaemia. Hamsters were fed an atherogenic diet supplemented with HT reduced serum concentrations of triacylglycerol (TAG), cholesterol, LDL-C and VLDL-TAG, and increased HDL-C/LDL-C ratio. In HepG2 cells, HT reduced TAG and apoB concentrations in the medium, without causing lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. The HT-mediated reduction in TAG output was associated with MAPKerk and MAPKjnk activation. In addition, HT activated AMPK and inhibited lipogenic activity. Using bioassay-guided fractionations, caffeic acid, kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, and (S)-rosmarinic acid were identified and kaempferol was shown to reduce both medium and cellular TAG concentrations in HepG2. We concluded that HT improves dyslipidaemia via MAPK and AMPK pathways. Kaempferol and its glucoside may serve as marker constituents for hypolipidaemic function. Combined with documented anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, HT may be used as an adjunct agent for atherogenesis.

TheArabidopsisCCA1 transcription factor is a core regulator of the circadian clock. Here, the authors show that the LWD1 protein, in complex with the TCP20 or TCP22 transcription factors, acts as a co-activator of CCA1 expression contributing to elevated CCA1 expression at dawn.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act emphasizes that students and parents are equal partners in the individualized education program (IEP) process, including planning for transition to postsecondary education, employment, and community living. This is especially important for English learners (ELs) with disabilities, yet little is known about the transition planning meeting experiences of parents of ELs with disabilities. We examined the transition planning experiences of a nationally representative sample of parents of ELs with disabilities and parents of non-ELs with disabilities through an analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012). Results showed parents of ELs with disabilities were more likely to perceive their children taking a passive role in the IEP transition planning meeting than parents of non-ELs with disabilities. Differences were found in several predictors of parent experiences in IEP transition planning. Recommendations are suggested for transition research and practice for ELs with disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with expectations regarding postsecondary education of students with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 16 and 21 years. We conducted logistic regressions using variables at the student, family, and school levels using the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012. Logistic regression results showed that parental expectations for attending college was the only significant predictor of students' own educational expectations. Students' adaptive functioning, autonomy levels, demographic and family variables, parent involvement, and prior roles in Individualized Education Program/transition planning were not significant predictors. Future research needs to examine how schools can develop effective ways to increase both students' and parents' expectations toward postsecondary education.

Using National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 data, this study explored parent and youth expectations in the areas of postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and financial independence. Compared to youth with other disabilities, youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their parents had much lower expectations for the four postschool goals, and parent expectations were much lower than youth's own expectations. Also, youth's race, along with their daily living skills and functional abilities, were positively associated with parent and youth expectations in several future goal areas. Our discussion highlights implications for improving the transition experiences of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has been employed to detect Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, analysis of the SPECT PD images was mostly based on the region of interest (ROI) approach. Due to limited size of the ROI, especially in the multi-stage classification of PD, this study utilizes deep learning methods to establish a multiple stages classification model of PD. In the retrospective study, the 99mTc-TRODAT-1 was used for brain SPECT imaging. A total of 202 cases were collected, and five slices were selected for analysis from each subject. The total number of images was thus 1010. According to the Hoehn and Yahr Scale standards, all the cases were divided into healthy, early, middle, late four stages, and HYS I~V six stages. Deep learning is compared with five convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The input images included grayscale and pseudo color of two types. The training and validation sets were 70% and 30%. The accuracy, recall, precision, F-score, and Kappa values were used to evaluate the models’ performance. The best accuracy of the models based on grayscale and color images in four and six stages were 0.83 (AlexNet), 0.85 (VGG), 0.78 (DenseNet) and 0.78 (DenseNet).

The neuroimaging techniques such as dopaminergic imaging using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) with 99mTc-TRODAT-1 have been employed to detect the stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this retrospective study, a total of 202 99mTc-TRODAT-1 SPECT imaging were collected. All of the PD patient cases were separated into mild (HYS Stage 1 to Stage 3) and severe (HYS Stage 4 and Stage 5) PD, according to the Hoehn and Yahr Scale (HYS) standard. A three-dimensional method was used to estimate six features of activity distribution and striatal activity volume in the images. These features were skewness, kurtosis, Cyhelsky’s skewness coefficient, Pearson’s median skewness, dopamine transporter activity volume, and dopamine transporter activity maximum. Finally, the data were modeled using logistic regression (LR) and support vector machine (SVM) for PD classification. The results showed that SVM classifier method produced a higher accuracy than LR. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, accuracy, and AUC with SVM method were 0.82, 1.00, 0.84, 0.67, 0.83, and 0.85, respectively. Additionally, the Kappa value was shown to reach 0.68. This claimed that the SVM-based model could provide further reference for PD stage classification in medical diagnosis. In the future, more healthy cases will be expected to clarify the false positive rate in this classification model.

BACKGROUND:Methylated DNA in fluids may be a suitable biomarker for cancer patients. XAF1 has been shown to be frequently down-regulated in human gastric cancer (GC). Here, we investigated if XAF1 methylation in GC could be a useful biomarker. METHODS:Real-time RT-PCR was used to detect XAF1 mRNA expression; immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to examine XAF1 protein expression in GC tissues (n = 202) and their corresponding para-cancerous histological normal tissues (PCHNTs). Real-time methylation specific-PCR was used to investigate XAF1 promoter methylation in the same panel of GC tissues, their PCHNTs and sera. RESULTS:We confirmed frequent XAF1 down-regulation in both mRNA and protein levels in GC tissues as compared to normal controls and PCHNTs. XAF1 hypermethylation was evidenced in 83.2% (168/202) of GC tissues and 27.2% (55/202) of PCHNTs, while no methylation was detected in the 88 normal controls. The methylation level in GC tissues was significantly higher than that in PCHNTs (p

In patients with intubation, the endotracheal tube oppresses the throat for a long time, causing laryngeal ulcers or paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, resulting in reduced swallowing efficiency. After extubation, evaluation of swallowing and oral rehabilitation exercises should be performed as soon as possible to strengthen swallowing muscle strength and reflex, so as to achieve safe eating. Based on the analysis of the current practices, it was established that the completeness of swallowing care performed by nursing staff in extubated patients is 34.3%. Contributing reasons include: the nursing staff's swallowing care cognition is 55%; the in-hospital evaluation form is not applicable; the swallowing care process is incomplete; there is no swallowing care guide and unified assessment tool for patients after extubation. In order to improve current practice, the following steps were taken: revising the swallowing training evaluation form and swallowing care flow chart; the production of swallowing assessment kits and oral rehabilitation exercise videos covering the five steps of swallowing care; and holding educational courses on swallowing care. After the implementation of the project, the completeness of swallowing care performed by nursing staff increased from 34.3% to 92.3%. The cognitive accuracy increased from 55% to 95.3%, thus reaching the project goal to maintain patient safety and improve nursing quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]