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Six new steroidal saponins, namely glauco-chinaosides A–F, and one known compound were isolated from the tubers ofSmilax glauco-china. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of spectroscopic analysis and hydrolysis followed by spectral and chromatographic analysis. Compounds1–7were testedin vitrofor their cytotoxic activities against four human tumor cell lines (SH-SY5Y, SGC-7901, HCT-116, and Lovo). Compounds1,2,and5exhibited cytotoxic activity against SGC-7901, with IC50values of 2.7, 11.5, and 6.8 μM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The similarity-based retrieval of lung nodule computed tomography (CT) images is an important task in the computer-aided diagnosis of lung lesions. It can provide similar clinical cases for physicians and help them make reliable clinical diagnostic decisions. However, when handling large-scale lung images with a general-purpose computer, traditional image retrieval methods may not be efficient. In this paper, a new retrieval framework based on a hashing method for lung nodule CT images is proposed. This method can translate high-dimensional image features into a compact hash code, so the retrieval time and required memory space can be reduced greatly. Moreover, a pruning algorithm is presented to further improve the retrieval speed, and a pruning-based decision rule is presented to improve the retrieval precision. Finally, the proposed retrieval method is validated on 2,450 lung nodule CT images selected from the public Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) database. The experimental results show that the proposed pruning algorithm effectively reduces the retrieval time of lung nodule CT images and improves the retrieval precision. In addition, the retrieval framework is evaluated by differentiating benign and malignant nodules, and the classification accuracy can reach 86.62%, outperforming other commonly used classification methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the utilisation of general health examinations and health and a healthy lifestyle. Methods The data were from a 5-wave panel of older Taiwanese people. Health was defined as the absence of chronic diseases and physical function difficulties. A healthy lifestyle included no smoking, no alcohol consumption and engaging in regular exercise. Generalised linear modelling was applied. Results The individuals with more chronic diseases were more likely to undergo health examinations, but the rate of change declined over time. Having more physical function disabilities may reduce the likelihood of undergoing health examinations. Individuals who engaged in regular exercise were more likely to undergo health examinations. Conclusion Health examination utilisation is related to health and healthy lifestyle among older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The significance of physical activity has been noticed. However, the dynamic change and the heterogeneity of physical activity patterns among older people are little explored. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the trajectory patterns of engaging in physical activity over time and its related factors. Method: Nationally representative four-wave panel data from Taiwanese older adults, gathered between 1996 and 2007, were used ( n = 4,018). The participants ranged in age from 50 to 96 years old. 'Being physically active' was defined as performing physical activity in sports or exercises at least three times per week and lasting for at least 30 min each time. Group-based trajectory analysis was performed for analyzing the data. Results: Four trajectory patterns were identified: inactive (47.83 %), decreasing (12.21 %), increasing (23.36 %), and active (16.60 %). Older respondents and those with more education were more likely to be active. Those respondents having more depressive symptoms, having more physical functional limitations, and having jobs were less likely to be physically active in the decreasing, increasing, and active patterns. Conclusion: There is heterogeneity among the trajectory patterns of physical activity across time in the older adults. Different strategies of physical activity promotion for the older people should be developed by the group characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have reported different results when using zoledr-onate to treat skeletal-related events (SREs) and bone pain in patients with metastatic bone disease (MBD), and few have looked at the risks and benefits of long-term use of the drug. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of zoledronate to treat MBD in the short and long-term. Methods. PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify RCTs evaluating zoledronate for MBD. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results. Twelve RCTs involving 4,450 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Zoledronate decreased the risk of developing SREs corn pared with placebo (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.81, P< 0.001). Zoledronate consistently reduced the brief pain inventory (BPI) below baseline com-pared with placebo at 3,12, and 24 months. In addi-tion, the likelihood of experiencing a bone pain event was significantly lower in the zoledronate group than in the placebo group (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.89, P< 0.001). While the two groups did not differ significantly in the incidence of nause-a(RR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.19, P= 0.250), emesis (RR 0.94, 95% Cl 0.81 to 1.09, P= 0.420), or adverse renal events (RR 1.41, 95% CI 0.94 to 2.11, P=0.09), the zoledronate group showed a significantly higher relative risk of pyrexia (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.70, P< 0.001), fatigue (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.43, P< 0.001), and anemia (RR 1.33, 95% C11.14 to 1.55, P< 0.001). Conclusion. Compared to placebo, zoledronate sig-nificantly reduced the incidence of bone pain and SREs in patients with MBD for periods as long as 24 months. In addition, zoledronate is generally well tolerated over this long period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]