Over the next fifty years, the number of older adults is set to reach record levels. Protecting older adults from the age-related effects of cognitive decline is one of the greatest challenges of the ...next few decades as it places increasing pressure on families, health systems, and economies on a global scale. The disease-state of age-related cognitive decline-Alzheimer's disease and other dementias-hijacks our consciousness and intellectual autonomy. However, there is evidence that cognitively stimulating activities protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Similarly, bilingualism is also considered to be a safeguard. We propose that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. It is recommended that future research should test this potentially fruitful hypothesis.
The Gene Ontology (GO; http://www.geneontology.org) is a community-based bioinformatics resource that supplies information about gene product function using ontologies to represent biological ...knowledge. Here we describe improvements and expansions to several branches of the ontology, as well as updates that have allowed us to more efficiently disseminate the GO and capture feedback from the research community. The Gene Ontology Consortium (GOC) has expanded areas of the ontology such as cilia-related terms, cell-cycle terms and multicellular organism processes. We have also implemented new tools for generating ontology terms based on a set of logical rules making use of templates, and we have made efforts to increase our use of logical definitions. The GOC has a new and improved web site summarizing new developments and documentation, serving as a portal to GO data. Users can perform GO enrichment analysis, and search the GO for terms, annotations to gene products, and associated metadata across multiple species using the all-new AmiGO 2 browser. We encourage and welcome the input of the research community in all biological areas in our continued effort to improve the Gene Ontology.
The utility of poststroke cognitive status, namely dementia, cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and no cognitive impairment (NCI), in predicting dementia has ...been previously examined. However, no studies to date have compared the ability of subtypes of MCI and CIND to predict dementia in a poststroke population.
A cohort of ischemic stroke patients underwent neuropsychological assessment annually for up to 5 years. Dementia was defined using the DSM-IV criteria. Univariate and multivariable Cox proportional regression was performed to determine the ability of MCI subtypes, CIND severity, and individual domains of impairment to predict dementia.
A total of 362 patients without dementia were followed up for a mean of 3.4 years (17% drop out), with 24 developing incident dementia. Older age, previous and recurrent stroke, and CIND and MCI subtypes were significant predictors of dementia. In multivariable analysis controlling for treatment allocation, patients who were older, had previous or recurrent stroke, and had either CIND moderate or multiple domain MCI with amnestic component were at elevated risk for dementia. In multivariable domain analysis, recurrent strokes, age, and previous strokes, verbal memory, and visual memory were significant predictors of dementia. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that CIND moderate (area under the curve: 0.893) and multiple domain MCI with amnestic component (area under the curve: 0.832) were significant predictors of conversion to dementia. All other classifications of cognitive impairment had areas under the curve less than 0.7.
Stroke patients with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) moderate are at higher risk of developing dementia, while CIND mild patients are not at increased risk of developing dementia.
In 2017 April, the Event Horizon Telescope observed the shadow of the supermassive black hole at the core of the elliptical galaxy Messier 87. While the original image was constructed from ...measurements of the total intensity, full polarimetric data were also collected, and linear polarimetric images are expected in the near future. We propose a modal image decomposition of the linear polarization field into basis functions with varying azimuthal dependence of the electric vector position angle. We apply this decomposition to images of ray traced general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the Messier 87 accretion disk. For simulated images that are physically consistent with previous observations, the magnitude of the coefficient associated with rotational symmetry, β2, is a useful discriminator between accretion states. We find that at 20 as resolution, is greater than 0.2 only for models of disks with horizon-scale magnetic pressures large enough to disrupt steady accretion. We also find that images with a more radially directed electric vector position angle correspond to models with higher black hole spin. Our analysis demonstrates the utility of the proposed decomposition as a diagnostic framework to improve constraints on theoretical models.
Background
Hepatic resection and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are treatment options for early‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Whether tumour recurrence and long‐term survival favour either ...treatment has not been established. This randomized trial aimed to test the hypothesis that RFA is superior to hepatic resection in terms of lower tumour recurrence rate and better long‐term survival.
Methods
Patients with early‐stage HCC (solitary tumour no larger than 5 cm; or no more than 3 tumours, each 3 cm or smaller) were randomized into hepatic resection and RFA groups. Demographic and clinical characteristics, and short‐ and long‐term outcome measures were compared between groups. Primary and secondary outcome measures were overall tumour recurrence and survival respectively.
Results
Clinicopathological data were similar in the two groups, which each contained 109 patients. The RFA group had a shorter treatment duration, less blood loss and shorter hospital stay than the resection group. Mortality and morbidity rates were similar in the two groups. The overall tumour recurrence rate was similar in the resection and RFA groups (71·3 versus 81·7 per cent respectively). The 1‐, 3‐, 5‐ and 10‐year overall survival rates were 94·5, 80·6, 66·5 and 47·6 per cent respectively in the resection group, compared with 95·4, 82·3, 66·4 and 41·8 per cent in the RFA group (P = 0·531). Corresponding disease‐free survival rates were 74·1, 50·9, 41·5 and 31·9 per cent in the resection group, and 70·6, 46·6, 33·6 and 18·6 per cent in the RFA group (P = 0·072).
Conclusion
RFA for early‐stage HCC is not superior to hepatic resection, in terms of tumour recurrence, overall survival and disease‐free survival. Registration number: HKUCTR‐10 (http://www.hkuctr.com).
Radiofrequency ablation is not superior
Differences in speech prosody are a widely observed feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, it is unclear how prosodic differences in ASD manifest across different languages that ...demonstrate cross-linguistic variability in prosody. Using a supervised machine-learning analytic approach, we examined acoustic features relevant to rhythmic and intonational aspects of prosody derived from narrative samples elicited in English and Cantonese, two typologically and prosodically distinct languages. Our models revealed successful classification of ASD diagnosis using rhythm-relative features within and across both languages. Classification with intonation-relevant features was significant for English but not Cantonese. Results highlight differences in rhythm as a key prosodic feature impacted in ASD, and also demonstrate important variability in other prosodic properties that appear to be modulated by language-specific differences, such as intonation.
Abstract Purpose Motivational interviewing (MI) is a counseling strategy to help people change their behaviors. This single-blinded randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of MI in ...improving adolescents' oral health. Methods Fifteen secondary schools were randomly assigned to three groups: (I) prevailing health education, (II) MI, and (III) MI coupled with interactive dental caries risk assessment (MI + RA). Adolescents (n = 512) with unfavorable oral health behaviors (infrequent toothbrushing and/or frequent snacking) were recruited; 161, 163, and 188 in groups I–III, respectively. Participants in the three groups received their respective interventions. At baseline and after 6 and 12 months, participants completed a questionnaire on their oral health self-efficacy and behaviors. Their oral hygiene (dental plaque score) and dental caries (number of decayed surfaces/teeth status) were recorded. Results Compared with group I, subjects in groups II and III were more likely to reduce their snacking frequency (odds ratios 95% confidence intervals {CIs}: 7.12 1.80–28.16 and 11.17 2.90–42.98, respectively) and increase their toothbrushing frequency (odds ratios 95% CIs: 5.26 2.28–12.16 and 11.45 4.99–26.26, respectively) after 12 months. Taking group I as a reference, groups II and III had lower number of new carious teeth △DICDAS II 1-6 MFT (β 95% CI: −.24 −.44 to −.04 and −.31 −.51 to −.11, respectively). Conclusions MI was more effective than prevailing health education strategy in eliciting positive changes in adolescents' oral health behaviors and preventing dental caries.
Objective:
To quantify stress and the psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on high-risk health care workers (HCWs).
Method:
We evaluated 271 HCWs from SARS units and 342 ...healthy control subjects, using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to assess stress levels and a structured list of putative psychological effects of SARS to assess its psychological effects. Healthy control subjects were balanced for age, sex, education, parenthood, living circumstances, and lack of health care experience.
Results:
Stress levels were raised in both groups (PSS = 18) but were not relatively increased in the HCWs. HCWs reported significantly more positive (94%, n = 256) and more negative psychological effects (89%, n = 241) from SARS than did control subjects. HCWs declared confidence in infection-control measures.
Conclusions:
In HCWs, adaptive responses to stress and the positive effects of infection control training may be protective in future outbreaks. Elevated stress in the population may be an important indicator of future psychiatric morbidity.
Aim: To investigate the factors predicting non‐surgical periodontal treatment responses using multilevel multiple regression.
Material and Methods: Forty men (mean 45.6 years) were recruited; 20 were ...smokers. A 12‐month reduction in probing pocket depth (PPD) and gain in probing attachment level (PAL) of 5814 sites were analysed, with 594 being initially diseased sites (initial PPD5 mm).
Results: Variance Component models showed that site‐level variations contributed about 70–90% of the total variance. About a 10% reduction of the total variations of PPD reduction in initially diseased sites was achieved with the inclusion of the 10 predictors in the multilevel multiple regression. Multilevel multiple regression showed that three predictors, subject level: non‐smokers; tooth‐level: anterior teeth; and site level: sites without plaque at baseline, were significantly associated with a greater reduction in PPD in initially diseased sites over the 12‐month study period (p<0.05). No consistent predictor was found for PAL gain.
Conclusion: Multilevel analysis was applied on periodontal treatment response data. Smokers showed less favourable PPD reduction at deep sites after non‐surgical periodontal therapy.
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