Service Design of a Loss Prevention Device for Older Adults with Dementia.

This aim of this research was to explore the appraisal of the use of smart alert bracelets by older adults diagnosed with dementia. Convenience sampling was adopted to recruit older adults with dementia in Yunlin County, Taiwan. A manual questionnaire survey was conducted, and SPSS 26.0 statistical software was used for analysis. The results of this study showed noticeable positive correlation results in the post-test for the modes "wearing device", "degree of dementia", and "field configuration". Based on the experimental results, the following suggestions are provided: (1) in terms of statistical calculation, the statistical results were affected by changes in some participants; (2) as for the design of equipment, to be more suitable for adult use, the size and color of bracelets need to be optimized; (3) as for the problem of battery charging of the device, because the charging location of the device is not easy to find, it is better to extend device standby time; (4) regarding the selection of equipment, older adults with early-stage dementia could be concerned about the function of the wearable device, so it is recommended to provide a device designed with clear functions, such as a watch, so that older adults are more willing to wear it. Patients diagnosed with moderate and severe dementia should be advised to use concealed non-sensory devices, such as charms and cards, to better facilitate assistance from caregivers in wearing them; and (5) as for the device, in case of a loss event, in addition to mobile phone notifications, other light and sound device notifications can be added, allowing caregivers to pay more attention to information in real time. In summary, the feedback from caregivers and older adults suggests that if the device is to be used without charging, the overall design should be light and small, which is more suitable for service designs.

[Pharmacodynamics and intestinal flora research on different processed products of Puerariae Lobatae Radix and Puerariae Thomsonii Radix].

This study aims to explore the pharmacodynamic differences of Puerariae Lobatae Radix(PLR), Puerariae Thomsonii Radix(PTR) and their different processed products and the influences of these medical materials on the diversity of intestinal flora. The Sennae Folium-induced diarrhea model, streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetes model and L-nitro-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME)-induced hypertension model were used to compare the pharmacodynamic differences in anti-diarrhea, blood glucose reduction and blood pressure lowering among raw, roasted and vinegar-processed PLR and PTR. The effects of raw and processed PLR and PTR on intestinal flora diversity of rats were evaluated by 16 S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. The roasted PLR and PTR performed better in anti-diarrhea, especially the former. PLR and its processed products all presented the efficacy of reducing blood glucose, and the vinegar-processed PLR was the most outstanding. The raw PTR was not that effective in reducing blood glucose, whereas its efficacy was improved after roasting and vinegar processing. Both PLR and PTR were capable of lowering blood pressure to a certain extent, and PLR is superior to PTR in this aspect. Further, the vinegar-processed PLR showed the best effect. The diversity of intestinal flora was different among rats to which different products of PLR and PTR were administered. The roasted PLR led to the highest abundance of Lactobacillus, which was closely related to its best antidiarrheal effect. The highest abilities of vinegar-processed PLR to lower blood glucose and blood pressure were associated with the high abundance of Blautia and Prevotella_9. This study lays a foundation for elucidating the processing mechanisms of PLR and PTR and provides a basis for their further development and application.

Exploring the Relationship between the Caregiver's Stress Load and Dementia Patient Behavior: A Case Study of Dementia Specialist Outpatient Data from the Southern Medical Center of Taiwan.

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between caregivers' stress loads and dementia patient behavior, including the correlation of "patient behavior" (severity and frequency), "social care system", and "stress levels of caregivers". The research method was based on the analysis of survey data collected at a dementia specialist outpatient clinic of a medical center in southern Taiwan from November 2013 to May 2015. Those surveyed by the center included patients who visited the hospital, and their caregivers completed a questionnaire survey. During the study period, a total of 558 questionnaires for 279 pairs were distributed, and all questionnaires were recovered. According to the survey statistics, the average age of the caregivers interviewed was 53.1 years; women accounted for 61.3% of respondents, and the duration of care exceeded three years. In terms of education, most respondents were college/university graduates. The most common surveyed relationship was that of children acting as the caregiver to a parent, and the average age of the patients was 77.73 years. Most caregivers were found to live with the patients (75.3%). In terms of severity and frequency, the surveyed items with the highest average scores were both the "delusion" item of the "patient behavior" facet, the "mental support"(mean = 1.97; standard deviation, SD = 0.869) item of the "social care system" facet, and the "social life stress" (mean = 2.26, SD = 1.510) item of the "Stress levels of caregivers" facet. The research results show that the "patient behavior" and "Stress levels of caregivers" facets have a significant positive correlation, and the "social care system" and "Stress levels of caregivers" facets have a significant negative correlation. In the future, priority of service planning and implementation of long-term policy should be given to home care, since this is a cultural characteristic of Taiwan. In circumstances where a primary caregiver takes care of family members, the patient's behavior, length of care, mental support, and social life issues are key items that should be considered in the social welfare control service to alleviate the load of dementia patients on family caregivers.

Separation and alignment of chiral active particles in a rotational magnetic field.

We propose a method for the chiral separation and alignment of active paramagnetic particles in a two-dimensional square box with periodic boundary conditions. In a rotational magnetic field, the dynamic behavior of magnetized particles is strongly determined by the competition between the magnetic interaction and differing chirality. By suitably tailoring the parameters, active particles with different chirality can be aggregated into different clusters and separated. However, when either the magnetic interaction or chirality difference is dominant, the particles are prone to mixing. In addition, the external rotational magnetic field plays a decisive role in aligning particles. The numerical results show that there exists an optimal strength and rotation frequency of the magnetic field, as well as a rotational diffusion coefficient, self-propulsion velocity, and packing fraction, at which the separation coefficient takes its maximal value. The proposed method can be exploited to separate naturally occurring chiral active particles.

Current advancement on the isolation, characterization and application of lignin.

The most critical issues faced by the world nowadays is to provide the sustainability of consumption for energy and natural resources. Lignin is said to be one of the alternative new discoveries best-suited lignocellulosic biomass due to its low cost, sufficient availability and environmentally safe. The valuable properties exhibited by lignin can give broader applications usage such as in composite materials, wood industries, polymer composite industries, pharmaceutical and corrosion inhibitor industries. Many biomass wastes resources, isolation processes and treatments are undergoing development in order to enhance the producing new lignin-based materials on an industrial scale. Therefore, this review discussed on the current knowledge on the structure and chemistry of isolation of lignin from different sources using various common methods, its characterization, properties and its applications.

Current reversals of active particles in time-oscillating potentials.

Rectification of interacting active particles is numerically investigated in a two-dimensional time-oscillating potential. It is found that the oscillation of the potential and the self-propulsion of active particles are two different types of nonequilibrium driving, which can induce net currents with opposite directions. For a given asymmetry of the potential, the direction of the transport is determined by the competition of the self-propulsion and the oscillation of the potential. There exists an optimal oscillating angular frequency (or self-propulsion speed) at which the average velocity takes its maximal positive or negative value. Remarkably, when the oscillation of the potential competes with the self-propulsion, the average velocity can change direction several times due to the change in the oscillating frequency. Especially, particles with different self-propulsion velocities will move in opposite directions and can be separated. Our results provide a novel and convenient method for controlling and manipulating the transport (or separation) of active particles.

An oriental melon 9-lipoxygenase gene CmLOX09 response to stresses, hormones, and signal substances.

In plants, lipoxygenases (LOXs) play a crucial role in biotic and abiotic stresses. In our previous study, five 13-LOX genes of oriental melon were regulated by abiotic stress but it is unclear whether the 9-LOX is involved in biotic and abiotic stresses. The promoter analysis revealed that CmLOX09 (type of 9-LOX) has hormone elements, signal substances, and stress elements. We analyzed the expression of CmLOX09 and its downstream genes-CmHPL and CmAOS-in the leaves of four-leaf stage seedlings of the oriental melon cultivar "Yumeiren" under wound, hormone, and signal substances. CmLOX09, CmHPL, and CmAOS were all induced by wounding. CmLOX09 was induced by auxin (indole acetic acid, IAA) and gibberellins (GA3); however, CmHPL and CmAOS showed differential responses to IAA and GA3. CmLOX09, CmHPL, and CmAOS were all induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA), while being inhibited by abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA). CmLOX09, CmHPL, and CmAOS were all induced by the powdery mildew pathogen Podosphaera xanthii. The content of 2-hexynol and 2-hexenal in leaves after MeJA treatment was significantly higher than that in the control. After infection with P. xanthii, the diseased leaves of the oriental melon were divided into four levels-levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. The content of jasmonic acid (JA) in the leaves of levels 1 and 3 was significantly higher than that in the level 0 leaves. In summary, the results suggested that CmLOX09 might play a positive role in the response to MeJA through the hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) pathway to produce C6 alcohols and aldehydes, and in the response to P. xanthii through the allene oxide synthase (AOS) pathway to form JA.

Transport and diffusion of paramagnetic ellipsoidal particles in a rotating magnetic field.

Transport and diffusion of paramagnetic ellipsoidal particles under the action of a rotating magnetic field are numerically investigated in a two-dimensional channel. It is found that paramagnetic ellipsoidal particles in a rotating magnetic field can be rectified in the upper-lower asymmetric channel. The transport and the effective diffusion coefficient are much more different and complicated for active particles, while they have similar behaviors and change a little when applying rotating magnetic fields of different frequencies for passive particles. For active particles, the back-and-forth rotational motion facilitates the effective diffusion coefficient and reduces the rectification, whereas the rotational motion synchronous with the magnetic field suppresses the effective diffusion coefficient and enhances the rectification. There exist optimized values of the parameters (the anisotropic degree, the amplitude and frequency of magnetic field, the self-propelled velocity, and the rotational diffusion rate) at which the average velocity and diffusion take their maximal values. Particles with different shapes, self-propelled speeds, or rotational diffusion rates will move to the opposite directions and can be separated by applying rotating magnetic fields of suitable strength and frequency. Our results can be used to separate particles, orient the particles along any direction at will during motion, and control the particle diffusion.

[Correlation of the content and expression of urokinase plasminogen activator with asthenospermia in rat models].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the content and expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) in the ornidazole-induced asthenospermia animal model, and to probe the mechanism of ornidazole inducing asthenospermia and the possibility of using uPA for the prevention and treatment of asthenospermia. METHODS: Forty-eight male rats were equally randomized into 5 medication groups (1 d, 5 d, 10 d, 15 d and 20 d) and a blank control group, and ornidazole (200 mg/kg) was given intragastrically every day to the former five while 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose Na (CMC-Na) to the latter for 20 successive days. Then the rats were sacrificed by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days respectively and the epididymides and testes harvested. The integrity of the sperm cell membrane was detected by hypoosmotic swelling experiments, the uPA expression in the testicular and epididymal tissues dynamically observed by immunohistochemistry and the level of uPA mRNA in the testis determined by RT-PCR. RESULTS: The integrity of the sperm cell membrane was reduced at 10 days and remained low till the end of the medication, but with no statistic significance. Compared with the blank controls, the uPA expression and mRNA content in the testicular and epididymal tissues showed no conspicuous difference in the 1 d and 5 d groups, decreased insignificantly in the 10 d group, but significantly in the 15 d and 20 d groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The defect of sperm cell membrane and decrease of sperm motility go in parallel with the reduced expression and content of uPA, which may be one of the factors for the development of asthenospermia.