Effect of gender on the reliability of COVID-19 rapid antigen test among elderly

Defining con-founders that affect the reliability of diagnostic tests for coronavirus disease 2019 is vital to breaking the chain of infection. The elderly population is a higher risk group for the emerging virus. However, gender seems to exert a critical role in modifying the infection risk among women owing to hormonal changes. The menopause transition is an exceptional period for older women where the protective and immunomodulatory effects of the estrogen hormone are lost. Accordingly, attention should be given to postmenopausal women since they will have an increased risk compared to their pre-menopausal peers.     

Evaluation of unsupervised 30-second chair stand test performance assessed by wearable sensors to predict fall status in multiple sclerosis

BackgroundOne in two people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) will fall in a three-month period. Predicting which patients will fall remains a challenge for clinicians. Standardized functional assessments provide insight into balance deficits and fall risk but their use has been limited to supervised visits.Research questionThe study aim was to characterize unsupervised 30-second chair stand test (30CST) performance using accelerometer-derived metrics and assess its ability to classify fall status in PwMS compared to supervised 30CST.MethodsThirty-seven PwMS (21 fallers) performed instrumented supervised and unsupervised 30CSTs with a single wearable sensor on the thigh. In unsupervised conditions, participants performed bi-hourly 30CSTs and rated their balance confidence and fatigue over 48-hours. ROC analysis was used to classify fall status for 30CST performance.ResultsNon-fallers (p = 0.02) but not fallers (p = 0.23) differed in their average unsupervised 30CST performance (repetitions) compared to their supervised performance. The unsupervised maximum number of 30CST repetitions performed optimized ROC classification AUC (0.79), accuracy (78.4%) and specificity (90.0%) for fall status with an optimal cutoff of 17 repetitions.SignificanceBrief durations of instrumented unsupervised monitoring as an adjunct to routine clinical assessments could improve the ability for predicting fall risk and fluctuations in functional mobility in PwMS.     

基于网络药理学和分子对接技术研究黄芪-赤芍治疗COPD的作用机制＊

目的 基于网络药理学和分子对接技术探究黄芪-赤芍配伍对治疗慢性阻塞性肺疾病（chronic obstructive pulmonary disease，COPD）的作用机制。方法 利用TCMSP，Pharmmaper数据库，筛选黄芪-赤芍治疗COPD的活性成分和潜在靶点；结合Genecards数据库挖掘的COPD相关靶点，对黄芪-赤芍药对与COPD靶点进行PPI网络构建，交互处理得到黄芪-赤芍药对治疗COPD的关键靶点，并进行GO分析和KEGG通路富集分析；并采用分子对接技术将主要活性成分与TNF-α（肿瘤坏死因子），IL-6（白细胞介素6）等进行分子对接；最后利用A549炎症细胞与人脐静脉内皮细胞缺氧损伤模型进行体外细胞实验对结果加以验证。结果 黄芪-赤芍药对中44个有效成分作用于COPD，核心成分为：槲皮素、山奈酚、丁子香萜、芍药苷、（2R，3R）-4-methoxyl-distylin、二氢异黄酮；黄芪-赤芍药对通过IL6、PTGS2、TNF等113个靶蛋白，调控Ras、PI3KAkt、IL-17等多条信号通路治疗COPD，且分子对接结果显示槲皮素、山奈酚、丁子香萜、芍药苷与IL-6、PTGS2、TNF大分子蛋白有良好的结合性，体外细胞试验证实，槲皮素与山奈酚均能减少IL-8，MMP-9炎症因子的分泌，具有不同程度的抗炎效果；芍药苷有明显的扩血管、抗血栓之效。结论 黄芪-赤芍药对治疗COPD具有多成分、多靶点、多通路、整体调节的作用特点。初步揭示了黄芪-赤芍药对通过抑制炎症反应、调节上皮细胞生长增强保护屏障等预测出黄芪-赤芍药对治疗COPD的潜在作用机制，以期为其活性成分的药效物质基础提供理论研究和思路。     

Stakeholder collaboration in long-term care of older people in Lithuania

Demographic situation, changes in the role of women in society and growing demand for long-term care (LTC) of older people have challenged the ability to meet the growing LTC needs in most developed countries. In countries where responsibility for LTC is still largely laid on families, it is, however, even more critical and calls for improvements in formal LTC systems. More intensive stakeholder collaboration in LTC policy development, organising and delivery are of primary importance in improving LTC systems. Such collaboration, however, is not always successful; thus, it is critical to understand what makes it effective and efficient. In this paper, we specifically look into multistakeholder collaboration in LTC in Lithuania, one of the fastest ageing countries in the EU, with the demand for LTC services growing fast and exceeding the supply despite rising business and NGO engagement. To determine facilitators of such collaboration, we build on the data obtained through eight focus group discussions with all key stakeholder representatives (LTC policymakers, organisers and service providers [public, private and NGOs], 54 participants in total). Our findings indicate that in addition to national and organisational level facilitators studied in prior research, there are important individual level factors, such as meaningfulness at work, concern and care for others, possibility for personal growth and development, satisfaction with supervision, a sense of belonging and role clarity. On the other hand, our results show that collaboration is constrained by a shortage of human resources, increased workload caused by growing LTC demand, bureaucratic requirements, legal restrictions, lack of awareness of LTC service availability among elder persons, and prevailing social norms and attitudes to institutionalised care. Interestingly, a lack of financial resources is not perceived as a major constraint.     

Dry eye in chronic stroke patients with hemiplegia: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Objective: Dry eye is reported to be associated with several neurological diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the patients with hemiplegia after stroke for dry eye and compare their results with a control group.

Materials and methods: Forty-five patients with hemiplegia and 45 individuals as the control group were included in the study. Tear function tests (Schirmer and tear breakup time) and a dry eye questionnaire for dry eye symptoms (ocular surface disease index) were performed and the results of the two groups were compared.

Results: Schirmer test results were significantly lower in the post-stroke hemiplegia group compared to the control group (11.3 ± 8.2 mm and 20.6 ± 11.6 mm, respectively, p < .001). Tear breakup time results were significantly lower in the post-stroke hemiplegia group compared to the control group (7.9 ± 3.1 s and 12.1 ± 4.3 s, respectively, p < .001). Ocular surface disease index scores were not significantly different between hemiplegia and control groups (21.6 ± 20.0 and 19.8 ± 13.9, respectively, p = .635). Schirmer scores lower than 10 mm (60% and 30%, p < .001) and tear breakup time results lower than 10 s (65.6% and 28.9%, p < .001) were also higher in the hemiplegia group compared to control group.

Conclusion: We found lower Schirmer test and tear breakup time results and similar OSDI scores in hemiplegia patients compared to controls. Hemiplegia patients may have dry eye without typical symptoms. This should be taken into consideration in the follow-up and rehabilitation of post-stroke hemiplegia patients.     

健脾益肾方对非小细胞肺癌细胞体外增殖凋亡作用的实验研究

目的:探讨健脾益肾方对非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)细胞体外增殖凋亡的作用。方法:人NSCLC细胞系A549分为四组:空白对照组(仅加入细胞培养液)、阴性对照组(加入细胞,不进行中药处理)、实验组(加细胞加中药处理)。荧光定量PCR和Western blot分别检测Survivin、Bcl-2和Caspase-3的mRNA和蛋白表达。MTT检测细胞增殖;流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡。结果:与空白对照组相比,阴性对照组细胞在24、48、72 h的吸光度值明显升高,细胞凋亡率下降,Survivin和Bcl-2 mRNA和蛋白相对表达量上调,Caspase-3 mRNA和蛋白相对表达量下调,组间比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);而健脾益肾方处理的实验组24、48、72 h的吸光度值均显著降低,细胞凋亡率显著上升,Survivin和Bcl-2 mRNA和蛋白相对表达量下调,Caspase-3 mRNA和蛋白相对表达量上调,与空白对照组相比差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:健脾益肾方可通过下调Survivin和Bcl-2、上调Caspase-3表达诱导NSCLC细胞凋亡,并抑制肿瘤细胞的增殖,进而抑制NSCLC的发展。     

Microspheres of essential oil in polylactic acid and poly(methyl methacrylate) matrices and their blends

This study is focussed on micro-encapsulation of essential oils in polylactic acid (PLA) and a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix as well as blends of the same. Microspheres were prepared by the solvent evaporation technique and characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The encapsulation efficiencies and release profiles of the essential oils were studied by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and head-space solid-phase microextraction GC-MS, respectively. Furthermore, the microspheres were tested for antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains.

The results showed that the microspheres compositions (PLA/PMMA ratio) have significant effect on their characteristics. The process adopted for preparing the microspheres promoted formation of spherical particles at the sizes of 1.5–9.5?µm. The highest encapsulation efficiency of the prepared microspheres was observed in systems consisting of linalool (81.10?±?10.0?wt. % for PLA system and 76.0?±?3.3?wt. % for PMMA system). Confirmation was also made that the release rate of the microspheres was affected by the size of the same.