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IntroductionNoise reduction (NR) algorithms have been integrated into modern digital hearing aids to reduce noise annoyance and enhance speech intelligibility. This study aimed to evaluate the influences of a novel hearing aid NR algorithm on individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss.MethodsTwenty-five participants with severe-to-profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss underwent three tests (speech intelligibility, listening effort, and subjective sound quality in noise) to investigate the influences of NR. All three tests were performed under three NR strength levels (Off, Moderate, and Strong) for both speech in noise program (SpiN) and speech in loud noise program (SpiLN), comprising six different hearing aid conditions.ResultsNR activation significantly reduced listening effort. Subjective sound quality assessments also exhibited benefits of activated NR in terms of noise suppression, listening comfort, satisfaction, and speech clarity.DiscussionIndividuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss still experienced advantages from NR technology in both listening effort measure and subjective sound quality assessments. Importantly, these benefits did not adversely affect speech intelligibility.

In the present study, a heteromannan primarily composed of mannose, fucose, xylose, glucose, and arabinose at a molar ratio of 4.78:1.18:1:0.82:0.11 containing a low proportion of glucuronic acid with weight-average molecular weights of 3.6 × 106 Da, named NTP, was prepared from the fruiting body of Tremella fuciformis. The anti-skin-aging effects of NTP on d-Galactose-induced aging mice and the biological mechanisms were investigated by an iTRAQ-based proteomics approach. NTP substantially mitigated skin aging characterized by a decreased loss of hydroxyproline and hyaluronic acid and reduced oxidative stress in the skin. Moreover, 43 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in response to NTP, of which 23 were up-regulated and 20 were down-regulated. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that these DEPs were mainly involved in the biological functions of cellular and metabolic regulations, immune system responses, and structural components. The findings provided new insights into the biological mechanisms underlying the anti-skin-aging actions of T. fuciformis-derived polysaccharides and facilitated NTP applications in naturally functional foods.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of inoculation with Exiguobacterium profundum FELA1 isolated from traditional shrimp paste and koji on the taste, flavor characteristics, and bacterial community of rapidly fermented shrimp paste. E-nose and e-tongue results showed higher levels of alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones, enhanced umami and richness, and reduced bitterness and astringency in samples of shrimp paste inoculated with fermentation (p < 0.05). Eighty-two volatile compounds were determined using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPEM-GC-MS). The contents of 3-methyl-1-butanol, phenylethanol, isovaleraldehyde, and 2-nonanone in the inoculated samples were significantly increased (p < 0.05), resulting in pleasant odors such as almond, floral, and fruity. High-throughput sequencing results showed that the addition of koji and FELA1 changed the composition and abundance of bacteria and reduced the abundance of harmful bacteria. Spearman’s correlation coefficient indicated that the alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones of the inoculated fermented samples showed a strong correlation (|ρ| > 0.6) with Virgibacillus and Exiguobacterium, which contributed to the formation of good flavor in the fast fermented shrimp paste. This study may offer new insights into the production of rapidly fermented shrimp paste with better taste and flavor.

Conclusions: Gasserian ganglion HL-PRF combined with block can be an effective and safe technique to relieve the pain of acute/subacute zoster-related trigeminal neuralgia and prevent the incidence of TPHN.

We aimed to examine the potential effect of sex on the longitudinal association of baseline serum uric acid levels with brain amyloid accumulation over time among older adults with and without abnormal amyloid. At baseline, the study sample comprised 499 older adults, including 276 men and 223 women. Linear mixed-effects regression models were fitted to estimate the individual slopes of change in brain amyloid accumulation [as measured by AV45 standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR)] over time. At baseline, we did not observe a relationship between serum uric acid levels and brain amyloid deposition in women or men regardless of amyloid status. Among amyloid negative subjects, women and men did not differ in the relationship between baseline serum uric acid and the annual change in amyloid accumulation in subjects with normal amyloid levels. In amyloid positive women, serum uric acid levels were not associated with the annual change in amyloid accumulation (unstandardized β = 0.0005, SE = 0.0006, p value = 0.4179). However, in amyloid positive men, serum uric acid levels were negatively associated with the annual change in amyloid accumulation (unstandardized β = -0.0015, SE = 0.0005, p value = 0.0048). These findings support a potential sex-specific effect on the relationship between serum uric acid levels and amyloid accumulation among amyloid positive older adults.

Summary: Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) sustain hematopoiesis during homeostasis and regeneration. However, their limited availability poses a challenge for protein analysis. Here, we present a protocol for performing high-sensitivity western blot on HSCs using two techniques that enhance HSC isolation from mice and boost sensitivity for low cell numbers. We describe steps for isolating murine bone marrow cells, antibody staining, and cell sorting and post-sort analysis. We then detail a western blot procedure suitable for low numbers of HSCs.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Li et al (2022).1,2 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

The structure-bioactivity relationship of Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides (TFPs) in anti-aging in vivo is rarely reported. In the present study, a purified TFP, named HM, mainly composed of mannose, fucose, xylose, and glucose in a molar ratio of 4.14:0.98:0.81:0.62, was obtained from the fruiting body of T. fuciformis . Subsequently, two differentially degraded TFPs, named MM and LM, respectively, were prepared by a combined method of ultrasonic irradiation (US) and H 2 O 2 treatment. Their structural properties, scavenging activities against free radicals in vitro , and anti-aging effects on D-galactose-induced aging of mice were determined. The average molecular weight of HM, MM, and LM was 58.3×10 6 , 4.68×10 6 , and 3.14×10 5 Da, respectively. All three TFPs were devoid of triple helix conformation and exhibited concentration- and molecular weight-dependent scavenging activity against radicals. The TFPs markedly relieved skin aging, effectively attenuated oxidative stress, and significantly decreased inflammation in D-galactose-induced aging mice. MM exhibited the best anti-aging effect among the TFPs. Additionally, TFPs partially restored the alterations in pH and the total content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the colon but exhibited various impacts on the content of the individual SCFAs. These findings would provide rational guidance for a better application of TFPs in anti-aging foods and expand our understanding of the structure-function relationship of mushroom polysaccharides.

Abstract Background Accurately estimating elderly patients’ rehospitalisation risk benefits clinical decisions and service planning. However, research in rehospitalisation and repeated hospitalisation yielded only models with modest performance, and the model performance deteriorates rapidly as the prediction timeframe expands beyond 28 days and for older participants. Methods A temporal zero-inflated Poisson (tZIP) regression model was developed and validated retrospectively and prospectively. The data of the electronic health records (EHRs) contain cohorts (aged 60+) in a major public hospital in Hong Kong. Two temporal offset functions accounted for the associations between exposure time and parameters corresponding to the zero-inflated logistic component and the Poisson distribution’s expected count. tZIP was externally validated with a retrospective cohort’s rehospitalisation events up to 12 months after the discharge date. Subsequently, tZIP was validated prospectively after piloting its implementation at the study hospital. Patients discharged within the pilot period were tagged, and the proposed model’s prediction of their rehospitalisation was verified monthly. Using a hybrid machine learning (ML) approach, the tZIP-based risk estimator’s marginal effect on 28-day rehospitalisation was further validated, competing with other factors representing different post-acute and clinical statuses. Results The tZIP prediction of rehospitalisation from 28 days to 365 days was achieved at above 80% discrimination accuracy retrospectively and prospectively in two out-of-sample cohorts. With a large margin, it outperformed the Cox proportional and linear models built with the same predictors. The hybrid ML revealed that the risk estimator’s contribution to 28-day rehospitalisation outweighed other features relevant to service utilisation and clinical status. Conclusions A novel rehospitalisation risk model was introduced, and its risk estimators, whose importance outweighed all other factors of diverse post-acute care and clinical conditions, were derived. The proposed approach relies on four easily accessible variables easily extracted from EHR. Thus, clinicians could visualise patients’ rehospitalisation risk from 28 days to 365 days after discharge and screen high-risk older patients for follow-up care at the proper time.

Background. Zoster-associated pain (ZAP) is often refractory to conventional treatments and can seriously affect patients’ physical and mental health. High-voltage pulsed radio frequency (H-PRF) is a new method for treating ZAP with pulse voltages above 60 V or even up to 100 V. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of H-PRF in the management of ZAP. Methods. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched from their inception to June 2022 to identify controlled trials which evaluated the effectiveness of H-PRF compared with standard PRF and sham operations. The primary outcome was pain scores at different treatment times. The secondary outcomes included SF-36 scores, rescue analgesic dose, and side effects. Results. We reviewed 6 randomized controlled trials involving 428 patients. There was no significant difference between the H-PRF and standard PRF pain scores at 1 week after surgery and the sham operation group at 1 month. At 1, 3, and 6 months, the H-PRF group had better pain score than the standard PRF group, and at 3 months, the pain score was better than the sham operation group. The H-PRF group showed improvement in the SF-36 score, and there were no significant complications in the H-PRF group. Conclusions. H-PRF is an effective and safe treatment method that has better effects in relieving pain and improving the quality of life and physical and mental health. Although H-PRF provides pain relief rates comparable to those of the control group in the early stages, it remains the preferred and alternative treatment for relieving herpes zoster-related pain.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health threat. Searching for anti-diabetic components from natural resources is of intense interest to scientists. Mushroom polysaccharides have received growing attention in anti-diabetes fields due to their advantages in broad resources, structure diversity, and multiple bioactivities, which are considered an unlimited source of healthy active components potentially applied in functional foods and nutraceuticals. In this review, the current knowledge about the roles of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of DM, the extraction method of mushroom polysaccharides, and their potential biological mechanisms associated with anti-diabetes, including antioxidant, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and gut microbiota modulatory actions, were summarized based on a variety of in vitro and in vivo studies, with aiming at better understanding the roles of mushroom polysaccharides in the prevention and management of DM and its complications. Finally, future perspectives including bridging the gap between the intervention of mushroom polysaccharides and the modulation of insulin signaling pathway, revealing structure-bioactivity of mushroom polysaccharides, developing synergistic foods, conducting well-controlled clinical trials that may be very helpful in discovering valuable mushroom polysaccharides and better applications of mushroom polysaccharides in diabetic control were proposed.

A solid phase extraction-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-Orbitrap HRMS) method was established for the determination of 12 mycotoxins (ochratoxin A, ochratoxin B, aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, HT-2 toxin, sterigmatocystin, diacetoxysciroenol, penicillic acid, mycophenolic acid, and citreoviridin) in edible oil, soy sauce, and bean sauce. Samples were extracted by 80:20 (v:v) acetonitrile-water solution, purified by PRiME HLB column, separated by aQ C18 column with mobile phase consisting of 0.5 mmol/L ammonium acetate-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and methanol. The results showed that the limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) of 12 mycotoxins were 0.12–1.2 μg/L and 0.40–4.0 μg/L, respectively. The determination coefficients of 12 mycotoxins in the range of 0.20–100 μg/L were > 0.998. The average recoveries in soy sauce and bean sauce were 78.4–106.8%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 1.2–9.7% under three levels, including LOQ, 2× LOQ and 10 × LOQ. The average recoveries in edible oil were 78.3–115.6%, and the precision RSD (n = 6) was 0.9–8.6%. A total of 24 edible oils, soy sauce and bean sauce samples were analyzed by this method. AFB1, AFB2, sterigmatocystin and mycophenolic acid were detected in several samples at concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 22.1 μg/kg. The method is simple, sensitive, and rapid and can be used for screening and quantitative analysis of mycotoxin contamination in edible oil, soy sauce, and bean sauce.

A compressed-gas fire extinguishing experiment was carried out to analyze the impact of gas-liquid flow ratio, liquid flow rate and driving pressure on the fire suppression efficiency of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) in a diesel pool fire, and a possible fire-extinguishing mechanism was proposed. A fire suppression test showed that AFFF at a gas-liquid flow ratio of 16 between the range of 5 to 24 had the fastest fire-extinguishing temperature drop rate (16.67 °C/s), the shortest fire-extinguishing time, of 42 s, and the lowest foam solution consumption of 230 g, exhibiting the best fire suppression performance. Meanwhile, the fire suppression efficiency of AFFF improved with the augmentation of either liquid flow rate or system driving pressure. Based on fluid mechanics and combustion science, a foam fire-extinguishing mechanism was proposed to explain the influence of system parameters such as gas-liquid ratio, liquid flow rate and driving pressure on key combustion parameters such as temperature drop rate, evaporation rate and combustion rate, which can better illustrate the change in fire extinguishing performance.

Background: Given the high mortality of bacterial bloodstream infections (BSI), blood culture results do not meet clinical needs timely due to being time-consuming and having low positive rate. Whether we can identify the severity and type of bacterial infections by cytokines is a controversial issue. Objective: To investigate the dynamic change of cytokines in BSI. Methods: 55 patients with Gram-positive (GP) BSI, 64 patients with Gram-negative (GN) BSI and 52 healthy controls were enrolled. We quantitatively detected the cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) by flow cytometry in the sera. The levels of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, leukocytes and neutrophils were also detected simultaneously. Results: There were significantly up-regulated IL-6 and IL-10 expression in BSI patients, particularly in the GN-BSI, for instance Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae infections; following the treatment, IL-6 and IL-10 decreased by 10-23 and 4-27 times, respectively. Additionally, IL-2, TNF-α and IFN-γ expression increased slightly in BSI patients and IFN-γ expression declined as GN-BSI progressed. Conclusion: IL-6 and IL-10 are closely associated with the severity and treatment efficacy of BSI, and can help to distinguish between GP-BSI and GN-BSI at an early stage.

Amomum villosum Lour. (A. villosum), a comestible medicinal plant, has been traditionally used in China to treat diarrhea, stomach fullness, and abdominal distension. Polysaccharide, the main chemical component of A. villosum, has been shown to possess potential antioxidant and glycosidase inhibitory activities; however, whether it has anticolitis activity is unknown. The aim of this research was to evaluate the anticolitis effects of A. villosum polysaccharide (AVLP) in BALB/c mice. The results showed that AVLP administration significantly reversed body weight loss, colon shortening and colon weight gain and decreased the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in colitis mice (p < 0.05). AVLP administration also maintained intestinal barrier function by the upregulation of ZO-1 protein expression (p < 0.05). In addition, high-throughput sequencing analysis showed that AVLP possessed a great regulatory effect on the growth of Adlercreutzia, Clostridium, Streptococcus, Parabacteroides, Helicobacter, Odoribacter, and Alistipes (p < 0.05, LDA score > 2). The correlation analysis revealed that the protective effects against colitis of AVLP were highly correlated with intestinal bacterium regulation. These results suggest that AVLP intake could serve as a prospective nutritional strategy for inflammatory bowel diseases.

ObjectiveThis study was aimed at examining the effects of an adaptive non-linear frequency compression algorithm implemented in hearing aids (i.e., SoundRecover2, or SR2) at different parameter settings and auditory acclimatization on speech and sound-quality perception in native Mandarin-speaking adult listeners with sensorineural hearing loss.DesignData consisted of participants’ unaided and aided hearing thresholds, Mandarin consonant and vowel recognition in quiet, and sentence recognition in noise, as well as sound-quality ratings through five sessions in a 12-week period with three SR2 settings (i.e., SR2 off, SR2 default, and SR2 strong).Study SampleTwenty-nine native Mandarin-speaking adults aged 37–76 years old with symmetric sloping moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. They were all fitted bilaterally with Phonak Naida V90-SP BTE hearing aids with hard ear-molds.ResultsThe participants demonstrated a significant improvement of aided hearing in detecting high frequency sounds at 8 kHz. For consonant recognition and overall sound-quality rating, the participants performed significantly better with the SR2 default setting than the other two settings. No significant differences were found in vowel and sentence recognition among the three SR2 settings. Test session was a significant factor that contributed to the participants’ performance in all speech and sound-quality perception tests. Specifically, the participants benefited from a longer duration of hearing aid use.ConclusionFindings from this study suggested possible perceptual benefit from the adaptive non-linear frequency compression algorithm for native Mandarin-speaking adults with moderate-to-profound hearing loss. Periods of acclimatization should be taken for better performance in novel technologies in hearing aids.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate challenges in speech-in-noise (SiN) processing faced by school-age children with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) and their impact on listening effort. Method: Participants, including 23 Mandarin-speaking children with ASCs and 19 age-matched neurotypical (NT) peers, underwent sentence recognition tests in both quiet and noisy conditions, with a speech-shaped steady-state noise masker presented at 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio in the noisy condition. Recognition accuracy rates and task-evoked pupil responses were compared to assess behavioral performance and listening effort during auditory tasks. Results: No main effect of group was found on accuracy rates. Instead, significant effects emerged for autistic trait scores, listening conditions, and their interaction, indicating that higher trait scores were associated with poorer performance in noise. Pupillometric data revealed significantly larger and earlier peak dilations, along with more varied pupillary dynamics in the ASC group relative to the NT group, especially under noisy conditions. Importantly, the ASC group's peak dilation in quiet mirrored that of the NT group in noise. However, the ASC group consistently exhibited reduced mean dilations than the NT group. Conclusions: Pupillary responses suggest a different resource allocation pattern in ASCs--An initial sharper and larger dilation may signal an intense, narrowed resource allocation, likely linked to heightened arousal, engagement, and cognitive load, whereas a subsequent faster tail-off may indicate a greater decrease in resource availability and engagement, or a quicker release of arousal and cognitive load. The presence of noise further accentuates this pattern. This highlights the unique SiN processing challenges children with ASCs may face, underscoring the importance of a nuanced, individual-centric approach for interventions and support.

Non-native listeners deal with adverse listening conditions in their daily life much harder than native listeners. However, previous work in our laboratories found that native Chinese listeners with native English exposure may improve the use of temporal fluctuations of noise for English vowel identification. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Chinese listeners can generalize the use of temporal cues for the English sentence recognition in noise. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sentence recognition in quiet condition, stationary noise, and temporally-modulated noise were measured for native American English listeners (EN), native Chinese listeners in the United States (CNU), and native Chinese listeners in China (CNC). Results showed that in general, EN listeners outperformed the two groups of CN listeners in quiet and noise, while CNU listeners had better scores of sentence recognition than CNC listeners. Moreover, the native English exposure helped CNU listeners use high-level linguistic cues more effectively and take more advantage of temporal fluctuations of noise to process English sentence in severely degraded listening conditions [i.e., the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of −12 dB] than CNC listeners. These results suggest a significant effect of language experience on the auditory processing of both speech and noise.

Current surgical treatments and material applications are not ideal for the treatment of orthopedic clinical injuries, such as large bone defects, cartilage defects, and vascular tendon adhesions that occur after repair. With the continuous development of tissue engineering technology, hydrogels have become important medical biomaterials. Hydrogels are three-dimensional hydrophilic network structures composed of cross-linked polymer chains. They are a new kind of polymeric material for the treatment of orthopedic diseases. Hydrogels have good biocompatibility, biodegradability, drug-carrying capacity, and controllable drug release ability and are less toxic than nanoparticle carriers. They have been widely used in wound repair, guided tissue regeneration, bacteriostasis, hemostasis, postoperative adhesion prevention, drug delivery, and 3D printing. These characteristics can be used to develop a variety of treatments for different diseases. This paper focuses on the innovative progress of hydrogels in promoting and improving bone, cartilage, tendon, and soft tissue regeneration in orthopedic clinical applications. Current and prospective applications of hydrogels in the field of orthopedics are discussed herein.

We aimed to examine whether the use of aspirin is associated with change in cognitive performance over time, and whether this association is modified by the cognitive stages. This study included a total of 1866 subjects, including 509 subjects with normal cognition (NC), 985 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 372 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In each group, we further categorized our subjects into two groups based on their aspirin using conditions: Aspirin users and non-aspirin users. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was the cognitive outcome. Linear mixed models were conducted to examine the longitudinal relationship between the use of aspirin and cognitive performance in each diagnostic group. In the cross-sectional analysis, there were no significant differences in MMSE scores between non-aspirin users and aspirin users in subjects with NC, subjects with MCI or patients with AD. In the longitudinal analysis, we detected an association of the baseline use of aspirin with cognitive decline (MMSE) over time in patients with AD, but not in the NC group or MCI group. Specifically, in AD patients, the use of aspirin at baseline was associated with slower cognitive decline over time. Our data may support an association between the use of aspirin and slower cognitive decline, while this association may be dependent on the clinical stages.

Lung ischemia–reperfusion injury (LIRI) is a common clinical concern. As the injury occurs, the pulmonary afferent nerves play a key role in regulating respiratory functions under pathophysiological conditions. The present study was to examine the effects of inhibiting microRNA-155 on the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and products of oxidative stress in the pulmonary vagal afferent nerves and the commissural nucleus of the solitary tract (cNTS) after LIRI. A rat model of LIRI was used. ELISA method was employed to examine proinflammatory cytokines, namely, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α; and key biomarkers of oxidative stress, 8-isoprostaglandin F2α (8-iso PGF2α) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). In results, in the process of LIRI, the levels of microRNA-155 were amplified in the vagal afferent nerves and cNTS, and this was accompanied with increases of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α; and 8-iso PGF2α and 8-OHdG. Application of microRNA-155 inhibitor, but not its scramble, attenuated the elevation of proinflammatory cytokines and amplification of 8-iso PGF2α and 8-OHdG in those nerve tissues. In conclusion, we observed the abnormalities in the pulmonary afferent pathways at the levels of the peripheral nerves and brainstem, which is likely to affect respiratory functions as LIRI occurs. Our data suggest that blocking microRNA-155 signal pathways plays a beneficial role in regulating LIRI via inhibiting responses of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress signal pathways to LIRI.

To evaluate the effect of cold application on pain and bruising after the subcutaneous injection of low-molecular-weight heparin, 8 electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials and quasiexperimental studies from the inception of the databases to June 2019. Review Manager 5.3 software was used for the heterogeneity test and meta-analysis. A total of 8 studies including 694 participants were analyzed. The cold application group assessed with the Verbal Descriptor Scale pain assessment tool showed significant reductions in pain intensity immediately after injection. Compared to the control group, the cold application group showed a reduction in the occurrence of bruises at 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after injection. There was no significant difference in the area of bruising in the cold application group at 48 hours after injection, but the area of bruising at 72 hours after injection was significantly reduced. These results show that cold application can reduce the incidence of pain and bruising after subcutaneous injection of low-molecular-weight heparin and reduce the area of bruising 72 hours after injection. Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine whether plasma transferrin levels are associated with longitudinal changes in cognitive performance in older individuals with normal cognition (CN), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Methods: At baseline, there were a total of 358 participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort, including 58 older individuals with CN, 198 older individuals with MCI, and 102 patients with AD. Linear mixed models were utilized to examine the associations of plasma transferrin levels with changes in cognitive performance over time after adjustment of several potential covariates. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) were used to examine the global cognition of participants.Results: First, no significant differences in the plasma transferrin levels were observed across three diagnostic groups. Second, in the cross-sectional analyses, the baseline plasma transferrin levels were negatively associated with the MMSE scores in the CN group, but not in the MCI or the AD group. Third, in the longitudinal analyses, we found that a higher plasma transferrin was associated with a steeper cognitive decline in the MCI and AD groups, but not in the CN group.Conclusion: Higher plasma transferrin levels were associated with a steeper cognitive decline in participants with MCI and AD.

Postoperative bleeding is a dangerous complication after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, and arterial laceration are the three most common causes of post-PCNL bleeding. Subcostal artery bleeding is a rare cause. We herein present a clinical case involving a 43-year-old man who presented with right renal complex calculi and was managed by PCNL in the prone position using an inferior calyceal puncture approach. Intermittent extreme bleeding occurred 1 day postoperatively, and immediate renal angiography was performed. However, we found no sign of a pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, or arterial laceration. Another well-trained and experienced doctor also found no pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, or arterial laceration. After adjusting the catheter position, subcostal artery bleeding finally appeared and was successfully controlled by coils. This finding indicates that subcostal artery damage is one cause of post-PCNL bleeding. We suggest that clinicians should carefully and patiently perform angiography and/or embolization to avoid misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

For the treatment of malignancy, many therapeutic agents, including small molecules, photosensitizers, immunomodulators, proteins and genes, and so forth, have been loaded into nanocarriers for controllable cancer therapy. Among these nanocarriers, polymeric micelles have been considered as one of the most promising nanocarriers, some of which have already been applied in different stages of clinical trials. The successful advantages of polymeric micelles from bench to bedside are due to their special core/shell structures, which can carry specific drugs in certain disease conditions. Particularly, poly(ethylene glycol)–polylactide (PEG–PLA) micelles have been considered as one of the most promising platforms for drug delivery. The PEG shell effectively prevents the adsorption of proteins and phagocytes, thereby evidently extending the blood circulation period. Meanwhile, the hydrophobic PLA core can effectively encapsulate many therapeutic agents. This review summarizes recent advances in PEG–PLA micelles for the treatment of malignancy. In addition, future perspectives for the development of PEG–PLA micelles as drug delivery systems are also presented.

This study analyzes the effects of employee satisfaction and demographic indicators on employee commitment to organizational culture at the enterprise level. With data from a survey of 3029 employees from 27 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a hierarchical linear model (HLM) is used to identify the influencing factors of employee commitment to organizational culture at the enterprise level. An empirical study indicates that apart from the factors of employee satisfaction and demographic background, four contextual variables of enterprises, namely, comprehensive management, energy intensity, cost-income ratio, and capacity-load ratio, also influence commitment to organizational culture levels. Results show that applying HLM can substantially improve the explanatory power of employee satisfaction factors on commitment to organizational culture using nested enterprise contextual variables. Although measurement scales and satisfaction models have been proposed over the years, only a few studies have addressed the particular nature inherent in Chinese SOEs. HLM, which accounts for the nested data structure and determines the effects of employee satisfaction factors on commitment to organizational culture without bias, is developed in this study. Through an insider view based on empirical work, this research can improve the ability of senior managers to understand the culture and dynamics of organizations, to deliver strong leadership, and to enhance corporate internal management.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate challenges in speech-in-noise (SiN) processing faced by school-age children with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) and their impact on listening effort. Method: Participants, including 23 Mandarin-speaking children with ASCs and 19 age-matched neurotypical (NT) peers, underwent sentence recognition tests in both quiet and noisy conditions, with a speech-shaped steady-state noise masker presented at 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio in the noisy condition. Recognition accuracy rates and task-evoked pupil responses were compared to assess behavioral performance and listening effort during auditory tasks. Results: No main effect of group was found on accuracy rates. Instead, significant effects emerged for autistic trait scores, listening conditions, and their interaction, indicating that higher trait scores were associated with poorer performance in noise. Pupillometric data revealed significantly larger and earlier peak dilations, along with more varied pupillary dynamics in the ASC group relative to the NT group, especially under noisy conditions. Importantly, the ASC group’s peak dilation in quiet mirrored that of the NT group in noise. However, the ASC group consistently exhibited reduced mean dilations than the NT group. Conclusions: Pupillary responses suggest a different resource allocation pattern in ASCs: An initial sharper and larger dilation may signal an intense, narrowed resource allocation, likely linked to heightened arousal, engagement, and cognitive load, whereas a subsequent faster tail-off may indicate a greater decrease in resource availability and engagement, or a quicker release of arousal and cognitive load. The presence of noise further accentuates this pattern. This highlights the unique SiN processing challenges children with ASCs may face, underscoring the importance of a nuanced, individual-centric approach for interventions and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Chinese Emotional Speech Audiometry Project (CESAP) aims to establish a new material set for Chinese speech audiometry tests, which can be used in both neutral and emotional prosody settings. As the first endeavor of CESAP, this study demonstrates the development of the material foundation and reports its validation in neutral prosody. Method: In the development step, 40 phonetically balanced word lists consisting of 30 Chinese disyllabic words with neutral valence were first generated. In a following affective rating experiment, 35 word lists were qualified for validation based on the familiarity and valence ratings from 30 normal-hearing (NH) participants. For validation, performance-intensity functions of each word list were fitted with responses from 60 NH subjects under six presentation levels (−1, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 20 dB HL). The final material set was determined by the intelligibility scores at each decibel level and the mean slopes. Results: First, 35 lists satisfied the criteria of phonetic balance, limited repetitions, high familiarity, and neutral valence and were selected for validation. Second, 15 lists were compiled in the final material set based on the pairwise differences in intelligibility scores and the fitted 20%–80% slopes. The established material set had high reliability and validity and was sensitive to detect intelligibility changes (50% slope: 6.20%/dB; 20%–80% slope: 5.45%/dB), with small covariance of variation for thresholds (15%), 50% slope (12%), and 20%–80% slope (12%). Conclusion: Our final material set of 15 word lists takes the initiative to control the emotional aspect of audiometry tests, which enriches available Mandarin speech recognition materials and warrants future assessments in emotional prosody among populations with hearing impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]