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BACKGROUND: Low protein intake (LPI) has been suggested as a treatment for chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, protein intake is essential for bone health. METHODS: We studied the database of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2010. Basic variables, metabolic diseases, and bone density of different femoral areas were stratified into four subgroups according to different protein intake (DPI) (that is, 1.2 g/kg/day). RESULTS: Significant differences were found among all lumbar area bone mineral density (BMD) and T-scores (p 1.2 g/day/kg over L2 (relative risk (RR)=1.326, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.062-1.656), subgroup >1.2 g/day/kg over L3 (RR = 1.31, 95%CI = 1.057-1.622), subgroup 1.2 g/day/kg over all L spines (RR = 0.333, 95%CI = 1.098-1.618). However, a higher risk of osteoporosis was observed only in the non-CKD group. There was an apparent trend of higher DPI coexisting with lower BMD and T scores in patients with CKD. For osteoporosis (reference:0.8-1.0 g/day/kg), lower (1.2 g/day/kg) was associated with higher risks in the non-CKD group, but not in the CKD group. CONCLUSIONS: In the CKD group, LPI for renal protection was safe without threatening L spine bone density and without causing a higher risk of osteoporosis.

Objectives: We investigated the associations of mean levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and latent LTPA trajectories with all-cause mortality risk. Methods: Trajectories of LTPA were established using group-based trajectory analysis with a latent class growth model in a population-based cohort between 1996 and 2014. A Cox-proportional hazard model was conducted to examine the associations of LTPA quintiles and LTPA trajectories with all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 21,211 participants (age 18-90 years) were analyzed (median follow-up 16.8 years). The study participants were divided into five groups according to percentiles of LTPA (

Aim: This study aimed to compare mortality risks across uric acid (UA) levels between non-diabetes adults and participants with diabetes and to investigate the association between hyperuricemia and mortality risks in low-risk adults. Methods: We analyzed data from adults aged >18 years without coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease (n = 29,226) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2010) and the associated mortality data (up to December 2011). We used the Cox proportional hazards models to examine the risk of all-cause and cause-specific (cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer) mortality at different UA levels between adults with and without diabetes. Results: Over a median follow-up of 6.6 years, 2069 participants died (495 from CVD and 520 from cancers). In non-diabetes adults at UA ≥ 5 mg/dL, all-cause and CVD mortality risks increased across higher UA levels (p-for-trend = 0.037 and 0.058, respectively). The lowest all-cause mortality risk in participants with diabetes was at the UA level of 5-7 mg/dL. We set the non-diabetes participants with UA levels of

Integrating education practices and measurements of brain activity has the potential to make learning more engaging and productive. Direct recordings of electrical activity in the brain provide important information about the complex dynamics of the cognitive processes and mental states that occur during learning, which can ultimately empower learners. In this article, electroencephalographic (EEG) methodologies, including the time-frequency and event-related potential techniques, are introduced, and the application of these techniques to studies of digital learning studies is discussed. Considerations of how to collect high quality data in both laboratory and real world settings are also presented, along with potential research directions. Finally, a general guideline for publishing results is offered. These issues are critical for producing useful applications of EEG studies to the digital learning research community.

Thirty-four phytochemicals were isolated from dry tubers of Bletilla striata Rchb.f. The compounds were classified as bibenzyls 1–14, dihydrophenanthrenes 15, 17, 20, 21, phenanthrenes 16, 18, 19, simple benzoids 22–24, a fatty acid 25, glucosyloxybenzyl 2-isobutylmalates 26–32, and glucosyloxybenzyl cinnamates 33, 34. Compounds 1–4, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 16 inhibited melanogenesis (17.96–55.27%) induced by α-MSH in B16F10 cells at 10–40 μM. However, compounds 9, 10, 17, 18, and 21 exhibited significant cytotoxicity against melanomas, with IC50 values of 12–34 μM. Additionally, compounds 15, 17, 19, 20, 23, 31, and 33 reduced the ROS generation induced by H2O2 in HaCaT cells at 6.25–100 μM. In particular, compounds 15, 19, and 20 strongly inhibited ROS generation, with IC50 values of 2.15–9.48 μM. Consequently, compounds 1–4, 7–12, and 15–21 may be the strongest leads to follow in B. striata extract for further research on the skin disorders, hyperpigmentation, melanoma, and ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a constellation of several cardiometabolic risk factors. We investigated sex disparity in the associations between MS and cognitive impairment using cross-sectional data from Taiwan Biobank. Methods: We determined the associations of MS and its five components with cognitive impairment (mini-mental state examination, MMSE < 24) and the five domains of MMSE using logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 7399 men and 11,546 women were included, and MS was significantly associated with cognitive impairment only in women (adjusted OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.29–1.71, p = 0.001) (p for interaction 0.005). In women, the association with MS was significant in orientation (adjusted OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07–1.37, p = 0.003), memory (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01–1.25, p = 0.034) and design copying (adjusted OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.23–1.62, p = 0.001) (p value for interaction 0.039, 0.023, and 0.093, respectively). Among the components of MS, a large waist circumference (adjusted OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.08–1.46, p = 0.003), high fasting glucose (adjusted OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00–1.34, p = 0.046), and low HDL cholesterol (adjusted OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00–1.34, p = 0.049) were significantly associated with cognitive impairment in women. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that sex has a significant influence on the association between MS and cognitive dysfunction, especially in orientation and memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate how age affects the ability to comprehend sentence meaning, specifically how individuals resolve pronouns to their corresponding nouns. The study included 34 young participants (20–29 years old) and 34 older participants (60–81 years old). The participants were presented with sentences containing two characters and a third-person singular pronoun. Stereotypical genders associated with character names were manipulated such that the pronoun had either one, two, or no possible antecedents, rendering the pronoun referentially unambiguous, ambiguous, or mismatched, respectively. Consistent with the prior findings on preserved syntactic processing with advanced age, event-related potential data time-locked to the critical pronouns showed a P600 effect to mismatched pronouns regardless of age. These results indicate that older adults, like their younger counterparts, have a strong preference for readily available antecedents. When the pronoun was ambiguous, younger adults showed a typical Nref effect—a sustained anterior negativity associated with elaborative inferencing to search for the referent. Older adults did not exhibit this effect, suggesting a reduction in elaborative processes for establishing coherence. Nevertheless, the Nref response to ambiguous pronouns was observed in a subset of older adults, who also showed a Nref instead of P600 response to mismatched pronouns. Overall, individuals who elicited the Nref response to ambiguous pronouns were associated with a higher level of print exposure, suggesting that life-long reading experience may help to counteract age-related decline. Together, these findings help characterize the differential effects of aging on pronominal understanding and provide initial electrophysiological evidence of the protective benefit of print exposure on language processing in the aging population. Public Significance Statement: The results of this study indicated that older adults as a group have less available resources for making elaborative referential inferences to comprehend pronouns with multiple potential antecedents. Nevertheless, individual analysis provided evidence for the role of print exposure in offsetting the influence of this age-related decline on reading in older adults. These findings emphasize the protective benefits of reading activities in the aging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]