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Objective To investigate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among the elderly in rural communities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and to explore the screening accuracy of Screening Scale for Mild Cognitive Impairment (sMCI) in the elderly with low education. Methods From April 2010 to September 2010, 360 elderly people in Sijiqing street, Jianggan district (now Shangcheng district), Hangzhou, Zhejiang were recruited. Dementia and MCI were judged by Mini⁃Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), sMCI and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR). Draw receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calculate the area under the curve (AUC), and compare the accuracy of sMCI, MoCA and CDR scores in screening MCI. Results Finally, 171 cases completed all investigations. 1) 55 cases (32.16%) were diagnosed as MCI, including 25 cases (14.62%) of amnestic MCI (aMCI) and 30 cases of non⁃aMCI, 11 cases (6.43%) of dementia, 10 cases (5.85%) of depression, 4 cases (2.34%) of anxiety disorder, one case (0.58%) of bipolar disorder, one case (0.58%) of schizophrenia and one case (0.58%) of mental retardation. Among 154 patients with cognitive impairment, 25 cases (16.23%) were screened for dementia by MMSE, 8 cases (5.19%) were screened for dementia by CDR, and 11 cases (7.14%) were clinically confirmed; 138 cases (89.61%) of MCI were screened by MoCA, 117 cases (75.97%) by sMCI, 70 cases (45.45%) by CDR, and 55 cases (32.16%) were clinically confirmed. 2) Taking clinical diagnosis as reference standard, the ROC curve showed CDR score had the highest accuracy in screening MCI, and the AUC was 0.90 ± 0.03 (95%CI: 0.844-0.957, P=0.000); the AUC of MoCA score was 0.53 ± 0.05 (95%CI: 0.430-0.621, P=0.603); when the cut⁃off value of sMCI score was 23, the AUC was 1.00 ± 0.00 (95%CI: 1.000-1.000, P=0.000). The cut⁃off value of subjects with education level of 0-3 years was adjusted to 22, and the AUC was 0.67 ± 0.05 (95%CI: 0.578-0.756, P=0.001). 3) According to education level, they were divided into 0-3 years group (113 cases) and 4-6 years group (47 cases). Taking CDR score as the reference standard, ROC curve showed the AUC of MoCA score in screening MCI in 4-6 years group was 0.49 ± 0.17 (95%CI: 0.157-0.824, P=0.955), the cut⁃off value of sMCI score was 23, the AUC of sMCI score was 0.50 ± 0.17 (95%CI: 0.161-0.839, P=1.000); the AUC of MoCA score in the 0-3 years group was 0.51 ± 0.06 (95%CI: 0.402-0.617, P=0.858), and the cut⁃off value of sMCI score was adjusted to 22, and the AUC was 0.64 ± 0.05 (95%CI: 0.535-0.744, P=0.011). Conclusions It is more common for the elderly in the rural communities with low education to have MCI, the accuracy of sMCI in screening MCI is higher than MoCA, and the cut⁃off value is 23 (education level 4-6 years) and 22 (education level 0-3 years), which is worthy of clinical application.

For the problem that parameter uncertainty was usually neglected when inverse system theory was used in speed regulation system of induction motor, on the basis of non-linear model of induction motor, a pseudo-linear control system model of induction motor with uncertain rotor resistance and load was established by use of inverse system theory. A dithering-prevented and adaptive sliding mode variable-structure control method was proposed which was realized by use of variable exponential reaching law, and the control method was used in the pseudo-linear control system of induction motor. The simulation result showed that the control method can restrain uncertainty of system parameters and improve system stability and control accuracy.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered to serve a key role in tumor progression, recurrence and metastasis. Tumorsphere culture is the most important method for enriching CSCs and is widely used in basic research and drug screening. However, the traditional suspension cell culture system has several disadvantages, including low efficiency, high cost and difficult procedure, making it difficult to produce tumorspheres on a large scale. In the present study, two biomaterials, methylcellulose (MC) and gellan gum (GG), were used to construct a novel culture system based on the traditional system. Subsequently, the characteristics of the novel three-dimensional (3D) culture system were evaluated, the design scheme was optimized, and the morphological and biological features of the tumorspheres cultured in this 3D system were compared with the traditional system. The results revealed that the tumorspheres cultured in the novel 3D system presented a higher seeding density and improved morphology, while maintaining stem-like properties. This evidence suggests that a simple, efficient and low-cost culture system that produces tumorspheres on a large scale was successfully constructed, which can be widely used in various aspects of stem cell research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of salicylanilide derivatives (compounds 1-- 32) were synthesised by reacting substituted salicylic acids and anilines. The chemical structures of these compounds were determined by 1H-NMR, electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and elemental analysis. The compounds were assayed for their antiproliferative activities against the Hep-G2 cell line by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. Among the compounds tested, 22 and 28 showed the most favouable antiproliferative activities with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 1.7 and 1.3 μμM, respectively, which were comparable to the positive control of 5-fluorouracil (IC50 == 1.8 μμM). A solid-phase ELISA assay was also performed to evaluate the ability of compounds 1-- 32 to inhibit the autophosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR TK). Docking simulations of 22 and 28 were carried out to illustrate the binding mode of the molecule into the EGFR active site, and the result suggested that both compounds 22 and 28 could bind the EGFR kinase well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]