Search

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease. With the aging of the Chinese population, it is important to understand the prevalence of PD in the elderly. Objective: Little data are available on the current prevalence of PD in China. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of PD in Chinese individuals aged 65 years and older and to analyze associated risk factors. Methods: We performed a population-based cross-sectional survey using a multistage cluster sampling design. Residents aged 65 years and older were drawn from 11 urban districts and 10 rural counties across China. Data were entered into spreadsheets and analyzed using SPSS 24. Results: We identified 151 patients with PD among 8,124 residents aged 65 years and over, including 75 men and 76 women. The overall prevalence of PD in the study population was 1.86%, and the standardized prevalence of PD was 1.60%. The crude prevalence in men (2.12%) was higher than that in women (1.66%) and the standardized prevalence in urban areas (1.98%) was higher than that in rural areas (1.48%). Logistic regression analysis showed that independent risk factors for PD were older age, heavy metal or pesticide exposure, urban residence, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, and heart disease. Conclusions: The prevalence of PD among individuals aged 65 years and older in China has remained constant. The prevalence of PD is higher in men than in women and higher in urban areas than in rural areas.

The nondestructive testing technology of generated acoustic emission (AE) signals for wood is of great significance for the evaluation of internal damages of wood. To achieve more accurate and adaptive evaluation, an AE signals classification method combining the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier is proposed. Five features (entropy, crest factor, pulse factor, margin factor, waveform factor) are selected for classification because they are more sensitive to the uncertainty, complexity, and non-linearity of AE signals generated during wood fracture. The three-point bending load damage experiment was implemented on sample wood of beech and Pinus sylvestris to generate original AE signals. Evaluation indexes (precision, accuracy, recall, F1-score) were adopted to assess the classification model. The results show that the ensemble classification accuracies of two tree species reach 94.58% and 90.58%, respectively. Moreover, compared with the results of the original AE signal, the accuracy of the AE signal processed by the methods proposed is increased by 27.68%. It indicates that the EMD and DWT signal processing methods and selected features improve the classification accuracy, and this automatic classification model has good AE signal recognition performance.

Few studies have been performed to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation and T2DM in type 2 diabetic animal models. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between early 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] and the incidence of T2DM and determine whether early 1,25(OH)2D3 supplementation was associated with inflammation in KK-Ay mice. The KK-Ay mice were divided into 4 vitamin D treatment groups, the low-dose vitamin D supplementation group (VDS-L, 1.5 μg/kg 1,25(OH)2D3), moderate-dose vitamin D supplementation group (VDS-M, 3.0 μg/kg 1,25(OH)2D3), high-dose vitamin D supplementation group (VDS-H, 6.0 μg/kg 1,25(OH)2D3) and the model control group (MC). C57BL/6J mice were used as the controls. The treatment period lasted for 9 wk. During this treatment period, fasting blood glucose (FBG) level of the mice was measured on a weekly basis. The levels of lipid profile, insulin and inflammation biomarkers were determined after 9 wk of 1,25(OH)2D3 intragastric gavage. After 9 wk of 1,25(OH)2D3 intragastric gavage, FBG level was significantly decreased in the vitamin D treatment groups compared with the MC group. The number of T2DM incidence in the VDS-L group (n=7), VDS-M group (n=5) and VDS-H group (n=3) was lower than those in the MC group (n=10) on week 9. Moreover, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the vitamin D treatment groups were significantly suppressed by 1,25(OH)2D3 administration compared with the MC group. Early 1,25(OH)2D3 supplementation could effectively lower the incidence of T2DM via ameliorating inflammation in KK-Ay mice.

Background Several studies have indicated that inflammatory markers were associated with the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Serum folate was related to MCI as well as inflammation. However, no studies have investigated the association between inflammatory markers and MCI taking account of serum folate level in T2D patients. This study aimed to conduct a case-control study to evaluate the association between inflammatory markers and MCI taking account of serum folate level in Chinese patients with T2D. Methods This study consisted of 126 T2D patients (63 cases with MCI and 63 controls without MCI). Clinical parameters, serum folate, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured. Spearman correlation analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the association between the inflammatory markers and the risk of MCI in T2D patients. Results There were higher serum hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α in T2D cases with MCI compared with the controls. Serum folate was negatively correlated with hs-CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6 (P

Nondestructive testing technology of wood acoustic emission(AE) signal is of great significance to evaluate wood internal damage. In order to achieve more accurate and adaptive evaluation, we propose an AE signal analysis method combining instantaneous frequency and power to extract the signal features of different the Intrinsic Mode Function(IMF) components. Then input the SVM classifier for classification and recognition, and adopt the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve as the evaluation index to evaluate the classification model of different IMF components. The results show that the instantaneous frequency and power can clearly display AE signal features. The IMF components decomposed by EMD are classified by extracting features, and the classification accuracy of IMF 1 component up to 88% is the highest one. It indicates that IMF 1 component contains a large number of effective AE signal features, which can be utilized for the identification of wood damage and fracture state.

Hyperspectral images (HSIs) have very high spectral resolution, which can reflect the characteristics of different materials well. However, compared with RGB image or multispectral image (MSI), the spatial resolution of HSI is much lower, which limits its applications. Therefore, many super-resolution (SR) techniques have been proposed to reconstruct HSI with high spatial resolution image. To the best of our knowledge, there has not, to date, that been a study aimed at expatiating and summarizing the current research situation. Therefore, this is our motivation in this survey. In view of the promising development prospects in this field, this paper systematically reviews the existing SR methods of HSI. Specifically, two major categories are summarized, one is fusion-based methods, and the other is single HSI SR methods. At the end of the paper, several future development directions for HSI SR are given.

This study was carried out to estimate the incidence and to determine socio-demographic risk factors for dementia among individuals residing in rural northern China. The current prospective, population-based study was conducted between 2011 and 2016. Follow-up interviews were conducted annually from 2014 to 2016. The study involved 1511 dementia-free individuals aged 60 years or above from rural China. Standard criteria were used to make diagnoses for dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD). At least one follow up survey was completed with 1181 study participants. At the 5-year follow-up, 127 individuals had developed dementia, 75 had developed AD, and 32 had developed vascular dementia (VaD). With a total of 5649.2 risk years for the sample, the estimated incidence rates per 1000 person-years were 22.48 (95% CI: 18.62, 26.35) for dementia and 13.28 (95% CI: 10.29, 16.26) for AD. Incidence rates for dementia and AD increased with age across the 10-year age groups. Poor education (illiteracy) was an independent risk factor for both AD and VaD. Being engaged in social activities was an independent protective factor for VaD. The incidence of dementia in rural China was found to be higher than previously reported. Incidence of dementia increased with age, and AD was the most frequent type of dementia. Poor education was associated with a higher risk of VaD and AD. Engagement in social activities was an independent protective factor for VaD.

Homocysteine (Hcy) and folate, involved in a common metabolic pathway supplying essential methyl groups for DNA and protein synthesis, have been found to be associated with cognitive function. Moreover, diet may influence methionine cycle metabolites (MCM) as well as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but MCM-related dietary patterns are unclear in an older population.The study aimed to identify MCM-related dietary patterns of older Chinese adults, and examine their association with the prevalence of MCI in a large population-based study.This study included 4457 participants ≥ 60 years of age from the Tianjin Elderly Nutrition and Cognition Cohort study. Dietary data were collected using a valid self-administered food frequency questionnaire, and factor analysis was used to identify major dietary patterns in the population. MCM-based dietary patterns were derived using reduced rank regression (RRR) based on serum folate and Hcy as response variables.Compared with the participants in the lowest quartile of vegetarian pattern and processed foods pattern, the odds ratios (ORs) of MCI in the highest quartile were 0.72 (95% CI 0.53-0.98) and 1.39 (95% CI 1.03-1.88), respectively. In the MCM-based dietary patterns derived using RRR, the ORs for MCI for the highest quartile of MCM patterns I and II were 0.58 (95% CI 0.44-0.78) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.04-1.83), respectively, compared with participants in the lower quartile.Findings from this large population-based study suggested that adopting an MCM-related dietary pattern, especially avoiding processed foods, can decrease the occurrence of MCI.

Objective. Autophagy and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been the focus of research on the pathogenesis of melanoma. However, the autophagy network of lncRNAs in melanoma has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the lncRNA prognostic markers related to melanoma autophagy and predict the prognosis of patients with melanoma. Methods. We downloaded RNA sequencing data and clinical information of melanoma from the Cancer Genome Atlas. The coexpression of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) and lncRNAs was analyzed. The risk model of autophagy-related lncRNAs was established by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, and the best prognostic index was evaluated combined with clinical data. Finally, gene set enrichment analysis was performed on patients in the high- and low-risk groups. Results. According to the results of the univariate Cox analysis, only the overexpression of LINC00520 was associated with poor overall survival, unlike HLA-DQB1-AS1, USP30-AS1, AL645929, AL365361, LINC00324, and AC055822. The results of the multivariate Cox analysis showed that the overall survival of patients in the high-risk group was shorter than that recorded in the low-risk group ( p < 0.001 ). Moreover, in the receiver operating characteristic curve of the risk model we constructed, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.734, while the AUC of T and N was 0.707 and 0.658, respectively. The Gene Ontology was mainly enriched with the positive regulation of autophagy and the activation of the immune system. The results of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment were mostly related to autophagy, immunity, and melanin metabolism. Conclusion. The positive regulation of autophagy may slow the transition from low-risk patients to high-risk patients in melanoma. Furthermore, compared with clinical information, the autophagy-related lncRNA risk model may better predict the prognosis of patients with melanoma and provide new treatment ideas.

Background/Aims: The mechanism, by which vitamin D influences inflammatory biomarkers in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is not very well known. Thus, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on some inflammatory biomarkers in T2DM subjects. Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials from PubMed and the Cochrane Library in October 2017 and conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model was used to calculate pooled effects. Results: We identified 13 studies that met our inclusion criteria. The results indicated that the vitamin D supplementation significant decreased the hs-CRP level by 0.45 μg/mL, whereas the vitamin D supplementation did not influence the TNF-α and IL-6. Subgroup analysis showed that vitamin D significantly lowered hs-CRP by 0.34 μg/mL among trials with a daily vitamin D dose ≤4,000 IU and by 0.31 μg/mL among trials with time of vitamin D supplementation > 12 weeks. Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation is beneficial for the reduction of hs-CRP inT2DM subjects but does not have a significant influence on TNF-α and IL-6 in T2DM subjects.

Background The association of vitamin D status and inflammation prediabetes mellitus (PreDM) individuals has not been investigated. We investigated the association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 (25(OH) D 3 ) with adipokines and inflammatory markers in persons with PreDM. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we stratified 418 nondiabetic subjects as having PreDM or normal fasting glucose (NFG), and divided PreDM or NFG subjects into vitamin D sufficient, vitamin D insufficient and vitamin D deficient subgroups. 25(OH) D 3 concentrations were determined by HPLC. Serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleiukin-6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), adiponectin, leptin and resistin were measured by ELISA. Results In the PreDM group, compared with those in the vitamin D sufficient subgroup, vitamin D insufficient subgroup and vitamin D deficient subgroup had higher concentrations of hs-CRP and leptin ( P P 3 concentrations were inversely associated with hs-CRP and leptin concentrations after adjusted the BMI only in the PreDM group ( P 3 concentration (β = − 0.174 and β = − 0.171, respectively). Conclusions 25(OH) D 3 status in PreDM individuals was inversely correlated with concentrations of hs-CRP and leptin, suggesting their involvement in the inflammation response between vitamin D status and PreDM.

The association of serum vitamin D deficiency and metabolic risk factors in Chinese adults with prediabetes (PreDM) has not been investigated. The present study aimed to investigate the association of serum vitamin D deficiency and metabolic risk factors in Chinese adults with PreDM. In this cross-sectional study, we stratified 412 PreDM patients into vitamin D sufficient, vitamin D insufficient and vitamin D deficient subgroups. The physical examination data was collected. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in PreDM patients were 30.58% and 26.70%, respectively. Compared with the vitamin D deficient group, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, central obesity, hyperglycemia and hypertension were higher than those in the vitamin D insufficient or sufficient group (p

It is not known how total homocysteine (tHcy) levels change during the transition from acute stroke to post-stroke convalescence or whether tHcy changes occurring after the acute period are associated with recurrence of cerebro-cardiovascular events. Levels of tHcy were measured during acute ischemia and again after three months. Patients were followed for a median of 18 (range: 12–36) months. A total of 2800 patients who had at least two tHcy measurements were enrolled between February 2012 and June 2014; 2587 patients presented with ischemic stroke and 213 presented with cerebral hemorrhage. During the follow-up period, 220 (7.9%) patients experienced another ischemic event. After adjusting for additional cardiovascular risk factors, patients with the highest levels of tHcy (fourth quartile; >15.5 μmol/L) had a 1.76-fold increased risk of a recurrence (adjusted HR: 1.76, 95%CI: 1.11–3.08) as compared to patients with the lowest levels of tHcy (lowest quartile; ≤9.65 μmol/L). Additional analysis by subgroup indicated that this correlation was only significant for patients with large-artery atherosclerosis ischemia (adjusted HR: 2.00, 95%CI: 1.13–3.55). Elevated tHcy during the convalescent phase of acute stroke was independently associated with an increased risk of recurrent ischemic stroke, especially in those patients with large-vessel atherosclerosis ischemia.

Background/Aims. Low serum folate levels can alter inflammatory reactions. Both phenomena have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the effect of folic acid on AD itself is unclear. We quantified folate supplementation’s effect on inflammation and cognitive function in patients with AD over the course of 6 months.Methods. Patients newly diagnosed with AD (age > 60 years;n=121; mild to severe; international criteria) and being treated with donepezil were randomly assigned into two groups with (intervention group) or without (control group) supplemental treatment with folic acid (1.25 mg/d) for 6 months. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was administered to all patients at baseline and follow-up, and blood samples were taken before and after treatment. We quantified serum folate, amyloid beta (Aβ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factorα(TNFα), plasma homocysteine (Hcy), S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), and the mRNA levels of presenilin (PS), IL-6, and TNFαin leukocytes. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures mixed model.Results. The mean MMSE was slightly increased in the intervention group compared to that in the control group (P<0.05). Posttreatment, plasma SAM and SAM/SAH levels were significantly higher (P<0.05), while Aβ40, PS1-mRNA, and TNFα-mRNA levels were lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P<0.05). The Aβ42/Aβ40ratio was also higher in the intervention group (P<0.05).Conclusions. Folic acid is beneficial in patients with AD. Inflammation may play an important role in the interaction between folic acid and AD. This trial is registered with clinical trial registration numberChiCTR-TRC-13003246.

Background/Aims: Our aim was to evaluate whether visceral adiposity index (VAI) could predict the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in different genders and to compare the predictive ability between VAI and other fatness indices. Methods: Four thousand seventy-eight participants including 1,817 men and 2,261 women, aged 18 and older and free of T2D at baseline were enrolled in 2010 and followed up for 4 years. New cases of T2D were identified via the annual medical examination. Cox regression analysis was used to assess the association between VAI and incidence of T2D. Receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curves (AUC) were applied to compare the prediction ability of T2D between VAI and other fatness indices. Results: During the 4-year follow-up, 153 (8.42%) of 1,817 men and 88 (3.89%) of 2,261 women developed T2D. The multivariable-adjusted hazards ratios for developing T2D in the highest tertile of VAI scores were 2.854 (95% CI 1.815-4.487) in men and 3.551 (95% CI 1.586-7.955) in women. The AUC of VAI was not higher than that of other fatness indices. Conclusions: VAI could predict the risk of T2D among Chinese adults, especially in women. However, the prediction ability of T2D risk for VAI was not higher than that of the other fatness indices.

Little is known of the relationships between dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in China. We therefore designed a 3-year longitudinal study to evaluate the impacts of dietary patterns on changes in these factors among Chinese women. A total of 1,028 subjects who received health examination in 2011 and 2014 were recruited. Three major dietary patterns ("vegetable pattern", "meat pattern", and "animal offal-dessert-and-alcohol pattern") were derived by principal component analysis based on validated food frequency questionnaires. Cardiovascular risk factors were standardized to create within-cohort z-scores and the changes in them were calculated as the differences between 2011 and 2014. Relationships between dietary patterns and changes in cardiovascular risk factors were assessed using general linear model. After adjustment for potential confounders, changes in total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose decreased across the tertiles of vegetable pattern (p for trend = 0.01 and 0.04, respectively). While, changes in diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol increased across the tertiles of animal offal-dessert-and-alcohol pattern (p for trend = 0.02, 0.01, and 0.02, respectively). The findings suggest that vegetable pattern was beneficially related to cardiovascular risk factors, whereas animal offal-dessert-and-alcohol pattern was detrimental related to these factors among apparently healthy Chinese women.

The admission of emergency patients in a hospital is unscheduled, urgent, and takes priority over elective patients, who are usually scheduled several days in advance. Hospital beds are a critical resource, and the management of elective admissions by enforcing quotas could reduce incidents of shortfall. We propose a distributionally robust optimization approach for managing elective admissions to determine these quotas. Based on an ambiguous set of probability distributions, we propose an optimized budget of variation approach that maximizes the level of uncertainty the admission system can withstand without violating the expected bed shortfall constraint. We solve the robust optimization model by deriving a second order conic problem (SOCP) equivalent of the model. The proposed model is tested in simulations based on real hospital admission data, and we report favorable results for adopting the robust optimization models.

Background and Purpose— Total homocysteine (tHcy) levels are associated with secondary vascular events and mortality after stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate whether tHcy levels in the acute phase of a stroke contribute to the recurrence of cerebro-cardiovascular events and mortality. Methods— A total of 3799 patients were recruited after hospital admission for acute ischemic stroke. Levels of tHcy were measured within 24 hours after primary admission. Patients were followed for a median of 48 months. Results— During the follow-up period, 233 (6.1%) patients died. After adjustment for age, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, and other cardiovascular risk factors, patients in the highest tHcy quartile (>18.6 μmol/L) had a 1.61-fold increased risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–2.53) compared with patients in the lowest quartile (≤10 μmol/L). Further subgroup analysis showed that this correlation was only significant in the large-artery atherosclerosis stroke subtype (adjusted HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.05–3.07); this correlation was not significant in the small-vessel occlusion subtype (adjusted HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.30–2.12). The risk of stroke-related mortality was 2.27-fold higher for patients in the third tHcy quartile (adjusted HR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.06–4.86) and 2.15-fold more likely for patients in the fourth quartile (adjusted HR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.01–4.63) than for patients in the lowest tHcy quartile. The risk of cardiovascular-related mortality and the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke were not associated with tHcy levels. Conclusions— Our findings suggest that elevated tHcy levels in the acute phase of an ischemic stroke can predict mortality, especially in stroke patients with the large-vessel atherosclerosis subtype.

Background Augmentation of the amplitude of QRS complexes with diuretic therapy for patients with congestive heart failure has been well documented. However, the effect of diuresis on the paced QRS complexes in pacing-dependent patients with heart failure is scarce. Objective To investigate the effect of diuresis on the paced QRS complexes in pacing-dependent patients with heart failure. Method Thrity-two consecutive pacing-dependent patients with heart failure were enrolled in this study. Before and after diuresis, the sums of paced QRS amplitude of leads I+II (ΣpQRSI+II), six limb leads (ΣpQRS6L), leads V1–V3 (ΣpQRSV1-V3), leads V4–V6 (ΣpQRSV4-V6), leads V1–V6 (ΣpQRSV1-V6), and lead aVR (pQRSaVR), paced QRS duration (pQRSd), paced QT intervals (pQT) and the body weight of each patient were measured, then the % changes (Δ%) in paced electrocardiogram (ECG) variables and the Δ% in body weight were evaluated. Results Compared with before diuresis, paced ECG variables significantly increased and body weight significantly decreased after diuresis, Δ% in paced QRS amplitude(s) in all ECG variables (ΣpQRSI+II, ΣpQRS6L, ΣpQRSV1-V3, ΣpQRSV4-V6, ΣpQRSV1-V6, and pQRSaVR) correlated well with Δ% in body weight (r = 0.416, r = 0.849, r = 0.901, r = 0.371, r = 0.837, r = 0.619, and P = 0.018, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.037, P < 0.001, P < 0.001), while there was no correlation between Δ% in pQRSd and pQT and Δ% in body weight. Conclusions The changes in amplitude of paced QRS complexes may be useful for the monitoring of therapy of pacing-dependent patients with heart failure.

Background: There is a growing focus on nutritional therapy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and controversy exists regarding the association between AD and homocysteine (Hcy), vitamin B 12 , and folate levels. Objective: The present study evaluated the association between AD and the combined levels of Hcy, vitamin B 12 , and folate. Methods: This case-control study consisted of 115 patients with AD and 115 matched controls. Serum folate and vitamin B 12 were measured using an automated immunoassay analyzer. Plasma Hcy was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. The association between AD and Hcy, vitamin B 12 , and folate was analyzed using binary logistic regression, adjusted for age and sex. Results: With the combination of normal blood Hcy, vitamin B 12 , and folate levels as the reference category, low vitamin B 12 in subjects with normal Hcy and folate was associated with AD (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6–13.2). The combination of low vitamin B 12 and folate in subjects with normal Hcy was associated with AD (adjusted OR, 4.3; 95% CI: 1.3–14.6). The combination of high Hcy and low folate levels in patients with normal vitamin B 12 was associated with AD (adjusted OR, 17.0; 95% CI: 5.4– 53.4). The combination of high Hcy, low vitamin B 12 , and any folate level was associated with AD (adjusted OR, 30.5; 95% CI: 9.7–95.9). Conclusion: Vitamin B 12 was directly associated with AD. The combination of high Hcy, low vitamin B 12 , and any folate level represented the poorest association with AD.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a risk factor for brain atrophy, cognitive impairment, and dementia. Vitamin B12 and folate are cofactors necessary for the methylation of Hcy. However, there is some debate regarding the differing levels of plasma Hcy and serum folate and vitamin B12 among healthy controls, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to evaluate how the levels of plasma Hcy and its biological determinants, folate and vitamin B12, are related to MCI and AD in older Chinese adults. This is a case-control study including 112 subjects with MCI, 89 AD patients and 115 healthy controls. Diagnosis of AD was made according to the NINCDS-ADRDA and MCI with modified Petersen’s criteria. Serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations were analyzed by radioimmunoassay, and plasma Hcy was assessed by a high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence method. Multivariate analysis of regression was used to examine the odds ratio (OR) of MCI or AD with Hcy or vitamin levels. Results have shown that serum folate and vitamin B12 levels were significantly lower, but the plasma Hcy level was higher, in patients with MCI and AD than in healthy controls. Multivariate regression analyses showed that subjects in the lowest folate tertile had significantly higher adjusted ORs for MCI (OR: 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12, 8.07) and AD (3.42; 95% CI: 1.15, 8.34) compared to subjects in the highest tertile. The highest Hcy tertile was significantly associated with MCI (adjusted OR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.15, 4.73) and AD (adjusted OR: 3.64; 95% CI: 1.13, 9.04) compared to the lowest tertile. No association existed between low vitamin B12 levels and AD or MCI (p > 0.05). Low blood levels of folate and vitamin B12 and elevated Hcy levels were associated with MCI and AD in older Chinese adults, and the association was stronger for AD.

Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Folate insufficiency fosters a decline in the sole methyl donor, S-adenosylmethionine, and decreases methylation potential, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease in non-diabetic patients. However, little is known in diabetic patients. We analyzed plasma levels of S-adenosylmethionine, S-adenosylhomocysteine and serum level of folate in 100 elderly type 2 diabetic patients with and without mild cognitive impairment. S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio was used to reflect the methylation potential. Patients with mild cognitive impairment had significantly lower levels of S-adenosylmethionine, folate and S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteineratios. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis indicated the plasma S-adenosylmethionine, S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio and serum folate (OR, 0.96, 0.698, 0.72, respectively; p

We exploit the inherent information redundancy in the control path of Network-on-Chip (NoC) routers to manage transient errors, preventing packet loss and misrouting. Outputs of the routing arbitration units in NoC routers can be used to determine arbitration failures, because the valid arbitration outputs are a subset of all possible values. This feature is exploited to detect and correct logic and register errors in the router arbitration control path. The proposed method is complementary to other error management methods for NoC routers. An analytical reliability model of our method is provided, including parameters such as logic unit size, different error rates for logic gates and registers, and the location of faulty elements. Compared to triple-modular redundancy (TMR), the proposed method improves the arbiter reliability by two orders of magnitude while reducing the total area and power by 43% and 64%, respectively. In the presented case studies, two traffic traces from the PARSEC benchmark suite are used to evaluate the average latency and energy consumption. Simulations performed on a 4× 4 NoC show that our method reduces the average latency by up to 50% and reduces average energy by up to 70% compared to other methods.

Older adults can experience glucose metabolism dysfunction, and although manganese may help regulate glucose metabolism, there is little information regarding this association among older people. This cross-sectional study included 2402 Chinese adults who were ≥60 years old in 2013 (Tianjin, China), and evaluated the associations of serum manganese with prediabetes and diabetes. Serum manganese levels were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the sex-specific associations of manganese levels with diabetes and prediabetes after adjusting for confounding factors (age, sex, life style factors, and health status). Based on the WHO criteria, prediabetes was observed in 15.1% of men and 13.4% of women, while diabetes was observed in 30.0% of men and 34.4% of women. In the final model, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for prediabetes according to manganese quartile were 1.000, 0.463 (0.269–0.798), 0.639 (0.383–1.065), and 0.614 (0.365–1.031) among men and 1.000, 0.773 (0.498–1.200), 0.602 (0.382–0.947), and 0.603 (0.381–0.953) among women (p for trend = 0.134 and 0.015, respectively). The lowest prevalence of diabetes among men occurred at a moderate range of serum manganese (p < 0.05). Therefore, appropriate serum manganese levels may help prevent and control prediabetes and diabetes.

Background/Aims: The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its subtypes among Chinese older adults, and the contribution of vascular risk factors (VRF) and vascular disorders to MCI remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of MCI and its different subtypes, and clarify the role of VRF and vascular diseases in the occurrence of MCI. Methods: A random sample of 5,214 nondementia (DSM-IV) individuals aged ≥65 years underwent neuropsychological assessments and clinical examinations. MCI, including amnestic MCI-single domain (aMCI-SD), amnestic MCI-multiple domains (aMCI-MD), nonamnestic MCI-single domain (naMCI-SD), and nonamnestic MCI-multiple domains (naMCI-MD), was defined according to modifications of the Petersen criteria. VRF (smoking, obesity, and diabetes) and vascular disorders (myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and hypertension) were assessed based on information through self-report and medical records. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of MCI was 11.33% (95% CI: 8.21-14.43), and that of aMCI-SD, aMCI-MD, naMCI-SD, and naMCI-MD was 4.48% (95% CI: 2.24-6.74), 2.09% (95% CI: 0.80-3.38), 4.22% (95% CI: 1.38-7.08), and 0.53% (95% CI: 0.32-0.75), respectively. The prevalence of MCI is higher in women than in men. Multivariate logistic regression analysis shows that VRF and vascular diseases were significantly related to increase the odds of MCI and its specific subtype. Conclusions: The prevalence of MCI is almost 11% among Chinese older adults. VRF and vascular disorders are associated with MCI, especially naMCI.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of high fruit and soybean products diet and standard diet interventions on serum uric acid (SUA) in asymptomatic hyperuricemia adults. A total of 187 Chinese adults (20-59 years old) with asymptomatic hyperuricemia participated in this randomized trial and were assigned to receive the standard diet recommended by guideline (group 1) and high fruit and soybean products diet (group 2) for 3 months. The outcome of SUA was assessed before and at the end of the intervention period. After 3 months, the SUA in group 1 and group 2 was significant reduced, whereas the SUA was not significantly changed in-between groups. These data suggest that over a 3-month period, although the high fruit and soybean products diet and standard diet interventions yield no different effects on SUA, the high fruit and soybean products dietary intervention could be an effective alternative to a standard diet for achieving clinically important reductions in SUA for asymptomatic hyperuricemia patients.

We reduce cache supply voltage below the normally acceptable VDDMIN, in order to improve overall many-core system energy efficiency. Based on the observation that cache lines contain mostly one hard faulty cell at these ultra-low supply voltages, we exploit existing double-error correcting triple-error detecting codes, together with cache line disabling, to handle both soft and hard cache faults, thus enabling reliable ultra-low supply voltage cache operation. Compared to the next-best approach in the research literature, the proposed method reduces system energy consumption by up to 25% and energy-execution time product by nearly 10%, while introducing only 0.28% storage overhead and marginal instruction per cycle degradation, when the target yield loss rate is 1/1000.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is one of the most common cancers of the head and neck region worldwide and is generally treated surgically in combination with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. However, anticancer agents have numerous serious side effects, and alternative, less toxic agents that are effective as chemotherapeutics for SCC are required. The Paeoniaceae family is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. We examined methanol and butanol extracts ofPaeonia lutea(P. lutea) leaves for their potential as an anticancer agent. Both extracts decreased the proliferation of SCC cells, induced apoptotic cell death, and modulated migration, adhesion, chemotaxis, and haptotaxis in an extracellular matrix- (ECM-) dependent manner due to altered expression of several integrin subunits. Subsequently, SCC cells were subcutaneously transplanted into athymic nude mice; the extracts reduced the metastasis of SCC cells but had little effect on the volume of the primary tumor or survival or body weight of the mice. The results suggest that the extracts may hold promise for preventing cancer metastasis.

Few studies have examined the association between Asian dietary pattern and prediabetes, in particular, the Chinese diet. We conducted a cross-sectional study to identify dietary patterns associated with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) which considered a state of prediabetes in Chinese men. The study included 1495 Chinese men aged 20 to 75 years. Information about diet was obtained using an 81-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and 21 predefined food groups were considered in a factor analysis. Three dietary patterns were generated by factor analysis: (1) a vegetables-fruits pattern, (2) an animal offal-dessert pattern, and (3) a white rice-red meat pattern. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of IFG for the highest tertile of the animal offal-dessert pattern in comparison with the lowest tertile was 3.15 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.87–5.30). The vegetables-fruits dietary pattern was negatively associated with the risk of IFG, but a significant association was observed only in the third tertile. There was no significant association between IFG and the white rice-red meat pattern. Our findings indicated that the vegetables-fruits dietary pattern was inversely associated with IFG, whereas the animal offal-dessert pattern was associated with an increased risk of IFG in Chinese men. Further prospective studies are needed to elucidate the diet-prediabetes relationships.

The management of tunneled cuffed catheter (TCC)-associated bacteremias varies among nephrologists. To determine whether patient outcomes after TCC-associated bacteremia can be improved by modifying the management model, we performed an interventional controlled trial comparing a collaborative team model, intervention (INT), with the usual physician-managed model, usual care (UC).INT consisted of an infection manager who worked closely with nephrologists and dialysis staff and made treatment recommendations using the available published guidelines at the time of the study's conception (Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative guideline no. 26, 1997) and additional literature-based recommendations. Nephrologists made the final treatment decisions. TCC-associated bacteremia was physician managed in the UC group.Two hundred twenty-three episodes of TCC-associated bacteremia occurred in 7 outpatient hemodialysis units during the 2-year study period. The INT was associated with a significantly lower incidence of recurrent bacteremia with the same organism (INT, 6% versus UC, 18%; odds ratio, 0.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.09 to 0.8; P = 0.015) and death from sepsis (INT, 0% versus UC, 6%; P0.02). In INT units, there was a 45% decrease in the practice of TCC salvage (TCC not removed; P = 0.05). Antibiotic prescribing practices (final antibiotic selection, dose, and duration of therapy) were improved in INT units compared with UC units. By using multivariate analysis, the INT was associated with a 73% decrease in the combined outcome of recurrent bacteremia or septic death (P0.02).Implementation of a collaborative team model for the management of TCC-associated bacteremic episodes is associated with improvement in the quality of heath care delivery and patient outcomes.

Background. Infection is a serious complication of tunnelled cuffed catheter (TCC) use and is associated with high complication and mortality rates. Although attempts at TCC salvage after bacteraemia have been associated with high rates of recurrent bacteraemia, there have been no large studies in which multivariate analysis has been performed to control for confounding factors such as infecting organisms, diabetes, etc. Methods. A prospective observational study was performed in chronic HD patients dialyzing with a TCC at seven outpatient HD centers. All patients diagnosed with TCC bacteraemia were observed for 3 months following initial presentation and outcomes were recorded. Results. During the 2.5 year study period, 226 patients had an episode of TCC bacteraemia that met inclusion criteria, and 3 month follow-up data were available in 219 episodes. Treatment failure, defined as recurrent TCC bacteraemia with the same organism or death from sepsis, occurred in 26 patients (12%). Infectious complications (such as endocarditis, osteomyelitis, etc.) occurred in 16 patients (7%), bacteraemia with a different organism occurred in 19 patients (9%), and death from sepsis occurred in eight patients (4%). Significant predictors of treatment failure (by univariate analysis) were TCC salvage, and infection with Staphylococcus aureus, (OR ¼ 4.2, P ¼ 0.002; and OR ¼ 3.3, P ¼ 0.02, respectively). TCC salvage, when used in episodes of S. aureus bacteraemia, was associated with an 8-fold higher risk of treatment failure (P ¼ 0.001). The presence of an abnormal TCC exit site was associated with a significantly higher rate of death from sepsis, (OR ¼ 7, P ¼ 0.001). Outcomes (treatment failure and infectious complications) did not differ among bacteraemic episodes where the TCC was exchanged over a guidewire compared to those in which the TCC was immediately removed followed by delayed reinsertion. In the multivariate analysis, adjusted for potential confounding covariates, the only significant predictors of treatment failure after an episode of TCC bacteraemia were TCC salvage (OR ¼ 5.4, P ¼ 0.003), and S. aureus (OR ¼ 4.2, P ¼ 0.002). In a multivariate analysis, controlling for TCC management, the only variable that was significantly associated with the development of an infectious complication was infection with S. aureus (OR ¼ 3.5, P ¼ 0.02). Conclusions. We have shown, using multivariate analysis and adjusting for potential confounding factors, that the use of TCC salvage and S. aureus are independent risk factors for treatment failure after an episode of TCC bacteraemia, and that S. aureus is an independent risk factor for developing an infectious complication. An infected-appearing TCC exit site is associated with a higher mortality rate. Episodes of TCC bacteraemia treated using TCC salvage are associated with the highest treatment failure rates. TCC guidewire exchange can be an acceptable practice, unless severe exit site or tunnel infection is present.

Background. Pseudomonas is regarded as a particularly lethal bacterial isolate. High mortality rates have been reported in episodes of Pseudomonas sepsis when associated with visceral infections as seen in immuno-suppressed, hospitalized patients. In comparison, lower mortality rates have been reported with catheter-associated Pseudomonas bacteraemia in non-dialysis patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors and the outcomes for episodes of Pseudomonas bacteraemia associated with the use of tunnelled cuffed haemodialysis catheters (TCCs) in a chronic out-patient population. Methods. We performed a prospective observational study in seven chronic haemodialysis units over a 2.5 year period. Patients who were diagnosed as having their initial TCC-associated bacteraemia within the study period were followed for 3 months. All episodes of Pseudomonas TCC bacteraemia were identified, and univariate analyses were performed to compare Pseudomonas bacteraemia with non-Pseydinibas bacteraemia. Results. During the study period, 219 episodes of TCC bacteraemia were identified; 18 had a Pseudomonas isolate (8%). Pseudomonas bacteraemia episodes were associated with a significantly higher risk of not receiving appropriate initial antibiotics (odds ratio = 3.6, P=0.02). There were no deaths in the Pseudomonas bacteraemia group, whereas 19% died in the non-Pseudomonas group. The TCC was removed in 89% of Pseudomonas bacteraemias. There were no significant risk factors for acquiring a Pseudomonas isolate, and no difference in recurrent bacteraemia or infectious complication rates between the groups. Conclusions. In haemodialysis patients with a TCC-associated Pseudomonas bacteraemia, outcomes are remarkably good. This may be because the source of Pseudomonas infection was removed in most cases. Initial antibiotic coverage lacking anti-Pseudomonas activity was not associated with increased mortality.

In this article, we start from the samples and the kernel principal component contribution rate adaptive point of view. Our aim is to research that how to choose the initial parameters of the mixed kernel function in comprehensive evaluation of KPCA. To some extent, it will overcome the shortcomings that the kernel function parameter is difficult to determine, and it provides an effective method that KPCA applies to determine the kernel function initial parameter of the multi-indexes comprehensive evaluation. We believe that it will be more widely applied to feature extraction with its advantages appear in specific issues, and makes the evaluation method more and more scientific and effective.

In this paper, an ultra-low voltage cache with improved variation-tolerance is proposed. A fast and stable adaptive mechanism, able to dynamically adjust error control strength, is designed to make the cache more resilient to supply voltage variations. Our proposed method shows a 10X improvement in residual error rate at ultra-low voltage, compared to an adaptive ECC method. It also reduces residual error rate by 3X compared to variable strength ECC method at low voltage operation and has less storage overhead.

Background Because human diets are composed of a wide variety of nutrients that may work synergistically to prevent or promote disease, assessing dietary nutrient intake status may be informative. The purpose of this study was to assess the dietary nutrient intake status of Chinese adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to evaluate its possible role in MetS. Methods This case–control study was conducted from March 2010 to January 2011. A total of 123 patients with MetS and 135 controls participated in this study at the Health Examination Center of Heping District in Tianjin, China. Dietary intake was estimated by 24-h dietary recalls. We used principal component factor analysis to derive nutrient groups from 17 major nutrients. We examined the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression models to test the relationship between tertiles of dietary nutrient pattern and MetS. Results There were 4 major dietary nutrient patterns in this study: “vitamin B group”, “protein and lipids”, “vitamin E and minerals”, and “antioxidant vitamins”. After adjustment for potential confounders, the highest tertile of the nutrient pattern factor score for the “vitamin B group” (odds ratio: 0.16; 95% confidence interval: 0.05–0.47) was negatively associated with MetS compared with the lowest tertiles. No relationships were found between other dietary nutrient patterns and MetS. Conclusions The “vitamin B group” pattern was inversely associated with MetS in Chinese adults. This finding supports the hypothesis that the “vitamin B group” pattern may have a potentially beneficial effect on the prevention of MetS.

In this study, we conducted a case-control study to evaluate the association of major dietary patterns and asymptomatic hyperuricemia taking account of blood lipids in Chinese adults. 187 cases with confirmed asymptomatic hyperuricemia and 187 controls were frequency matched on age, gender and area of residence. We conducted factor analysis using dietary information from a validated food frequency questionnaire to derive dietary patterns. The association between major dietary patterns and asymptomatic hyperuricemia was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Three major dietary patterns were found: 1) "animal products and fried food," 2) "western," 3) "soybean products and fruit." In multivariate analyses the "animal products and fried food" pattern score was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.15 (95% CI, 1.22-3.76) compared with the lowest tertile. The OR for the top tertile of score for "soybean products and fruit" pattern was 0.32 (95% CI, 0.19-0.57) compared with the lowest tertile of "soybean products and fruit" pattern score. The significant association of these two patterns and asymptomatic hyperuricemia persisted after further adjusting for blood lipids. On the other hand, the "western" pattern was not associated with asymptomatic hyperuricemia. We observed a positive relationship between the "animal products and fried food" pattern and asymptomatic hyperuricemia, and a negative relationship between the "soybean products and fruit" pattern and asymptomatic hyperuricemia, independent of blood lipids.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia. AD diagnosis, progression, and treatment have not been analyzed nationwide in China. The primary aim of this study was to analyze demographic and clinical characteristics related to cognitive decline in AD patients treated at outpatient clinics in China.We performed a retrospective study of 1993 AD patients at 10 cognitive centers across 8 cities in China from March 2011 to October 2014. Of these, 891 patients were followed for more than 1 year.The mean age at diagnosis was 72.0 ± 10.0 years (range 38-96 years), and the mean age at onset of AD was 69.8 ± 9.5 years. Most patients (65.1%) had moderate to severe symptoms at the time of diagnosis, and mean Mini-Mental State Examination at diagnosis was 15.7 ± 7.7. AD patients showed significant cognitive decline at 12 months after diagnosis. Having more than 9 years of formal education was an independent risk factor related to rapid cognitive decline [odds ratio (OR) = 1.80; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.11-2.91]. Early-onset AD patients experienced more rapid cognitive decline than late-onset patients (OR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.09-3.06).Most AD patients in China had moderate to severe symptoms at the time of diagnosis and experienced significant cognitive decline within 1 year. Rapid cognitive decline in AD was related to having a higher educational level and younger age of onset.

The relation between serum uric acid and metabolic syndrome is observed not only with frank hyperuricemia but also with serum uric acid levels within the normal range. The current “normal” range set for hyperuricemia often fails to identify patients with potential metabolic disorders. We investigate the association between serum uric acid within the normal range and incident metabolic syndrome risk, and further to determine the optimal cut-off value of serum uric acid for the diagnosis or prediction of metabolic syndrome. A total of 7399 Chinese adults (2957 men and 4442 women; ≥20 years) free of metabolic syndrome were followed for 3 years. During the 3-year follow-up, 1190 normouricemic individuals developed metabolic syndrome (16.1%). After adjusting the associated variables, the top quartile of serum uric acid levels was associated with higher metabolic syndrome development compared with the bottom quartile in men (hazard ratio (HR), 1.29; p

We propose a series of fine-grained splitting transmission methods to address permanent errors in Network-on-Chip (NoC) links, maintaining high throughput and ensuring reliability. While prior permanent error management approaches discard the entire or half link, our proposed methods greatly improve wire utilization in the presence of permanent errors. A case study shows that our methods achieve throughput improvement of 234% and 56%, respectively, compared to fault-tolerant routing and half-splitting methods in the presence of high number of permanent errors.

Error control is imperative for reliable Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) design. In this demo session, we will present a CAD tool---a flexible and parallel NoC simulator. Our simulator evaluates the impact of different error control mechanisms on NoC performance and energy consumption in various noise and traffic injection scenarios. Our message passing interface language-based simulator can be executed on multiprocessors or server clusters. Multiple built-in blocks provide flexibility to evaluate different error control methods.

We exploit the inherent information redundancy in the control path of Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) routers to manage transient errors, preventing packet loss and misrouting. Unlike fault-tolerant routing, our method does not drop packets when faults occur in routers and thus does not increase the burden on neighboring routers. Unlike the NoC interconnect links, the routing operation is nonlinear and standard error control coding methods cannot be used. Instead, our method exploits existing information redundancy in the router, significantly reducing the area overhead and power consumption compared to triple-modular redundancy (TMR). An analytical reliability model of our method is provided, including parameters such as circuit size, different error rates for logic gates and registers, and the location of a faulty element. Compared to TMR, the proposed method improves the arbiter reliability by two orders of magnitude while reducing the total power and area by 43% and 64%, respectively. Simulations performed on a 4×4 NoC show that our method reduces the average latency by up to 90% and 12% over no-protection and TMR methods, respectively.

More and more novel usage models require the capability of resource sharing among different platforms. To achieve a satisfactory efficiency, we introduce a specific resource sharing technology under which IO peripherals can be shared among different platforms. In particular, in a personal working environment that is built up by a number of devices, IO peripherals at each device can be applied to support application running at another device. This IO sharing is our so-called composable IO because it is equivalent to compose IOs from different devices for an application. We design composable IO logic and achieve pro-migration PCIe devices access, namely a migrated application running at the targeted host can still access the PCIe peripherals at the source host. This is supplementary to traditional VM migration under which application can only use resources from the device where the application runs. Experimental results show that through composable IO logic, applications with remote IO can achieve high efficiency compared with native IO.

Background Visceral fat area (VFA), a novel sex-specific index for visceral fat obesity (VFO) might play a major role in the development of vitamin D deficiency. However, the association between VFA and vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in Chinese population is less clear. The aim of this study was to explore the population-level association between VFA and vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among Chinese men and women. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 1105 adults aged 20–70 years living in Tianjin who were randomly selected and medically examined. All subjects underwent the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method to estimate the VFA. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH) D3) level was assayed by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method and defined insufficiency and deficiency following recommended cutoffs. The association between VFA and vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was estimated using binary regression analysis. Results The total prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH) D3: 20–29 μg/L) and deficiency (25(OH) D3 0.05). Moreover, increased VFA was observed to be associated with higher vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency risk with a positive dose–response trend (P for trend