Psychometric properties of the Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale in community-dwelling adults: A cross-sectional online survey.

Background: The Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale (CFSS) was developed to allow the self-assessment of perceived cognitive functioning. It has been tested with satisfactory reliability and validity but was not available for the Chinese population. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Chinese version of the CFSS for community-dwelling adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study of a sample of 1,002 Chinese adults from the general population was conducted online (July-August 2022). The Chinese version of the CFSS with 18 items was created through translation, cognitive debriefing, and psychometric evaluation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the first half of the randomly split sample. A model derived from EFA was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the second half of the sample. The model fits were further evaluated with and without subgrouping by age, gender, and education level. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α) and McDonald's omega hierarchical coefficients (ωH). Results: EFA (n = 460) revealed a three-factor solution, including spatio-temporal orientation, attention, and memory, which explained 51% of the total variance. The second-order CFA (n = 510) demonstrated a good fit: CFI = 0.951, TLI = 0.944, RMSEA = 0.054, SRMR = 0.040. A second-order multiple-group analysis showed that the structure was invariant by age, gender, and education level. The total CFSS score was significantly associated with the Chinese version of the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (r = 0.56, p< 0.001) and the Chinese version of the seven-item General Anxiety Disorder (r = 0.53, p<0.001). The internal consistency reliability was satisfactory, with α = 0.94 and ωH = 0.84. The item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.58 to 0.72. Conclusion: The Chinese version of the CFSS possesses good item characteristics, satisfactory validity, and reliability for assessing self-reported cognitive functioning among community-dwelling adults. It is a feasible and appropriate self-assessment instrument to examine cognitive functioning in the Hong Kong Chinese population, which contributes to monitoring and developing strategies to prevent and manage cognitive impairment and disorders for the public's cognitive health and well-being.

Soundiation: A software in evaluation of acoustophoresis driven by radiation force and torque on axisymmetric objects.

Acoustic radiation force and torque arising from wave scattering are commonly used to manipulate micro-objects without contact. We applied the partial wave expansion series and the conformal transformation approach to estimate the acoustic radiation force and torque exerted on the axisymmetric particles. Meanwhile, the translational and rotational transformations are employed to perform the prediction of the acoustophoresis. Although these theoretical derivations are well-developed [Tang and Huang, J. Sound Vibr. 532, 117012 (2022), Tang and Huang, Phys. Rev. E 105, 055110 (2022)], coding the required systems, including generation of the wave function, implementation of the transformations, calculations between modules, etc., is non-trivial and time-consuming. Here, we present a new open-source, matlab-based software, called Soundiation [GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Tountain/SoundiationAcoustophoresis, GPL-3.0 license], to address the acoustic radiation force and torque while supporting the dynamic prediction of non-spherical particles. The implementation is basically generic, and its applicability is demonstrated through the validation of numerical methods. A graphical user interface is provided so that it can be used and extended easily.

Acoustic levitation of axisymmetric Mie objects above a transducer array by engineering the acoustic radiation force and torque.

Transducer arrays are a versatile tool for the contactless manipulation of spherical Rayleigh objects. Here we propose an analytical model for stable levitation of axisymmetric Mie objects through directly engineering the desired radiation force and torque. Acoustic contributions from multiple transducers are superimposed through the translation addition theorem, and the nonspherical objects are mapped into a sphere using the conformal transformation technique so that the scattered field can be asymptotically obtained. Then we give the acoustic radiation force and torque applied to a rigid nonspherical Mie object, which can be reconstructed as a series of quasiexplicit functions of the transducer (amplitude and phase) parameters. Through specifying the desired radiation force and torque exerted on the objects, a system of nonlinear equations is produced, which could be iteratively solved to retrieve appropriate transducer parameters that stabilize the object in an equilibrium position. Practically, we demonstrate several examples of stable levitation of a sphere, a spheroid, and a disk with an averaged radius of a=7mm (size parameter of ka≈5.18) above a transducer array. The absolute acoustic pressure field surrounding the objects simulated by the finite-element method is illustrated to verify the trapping results. The developed analytical model provides an alternative approach to retrieve the transducer parameters for levitating macroscopic nonspherical rigid objects, which may help design the systematic dynamical manipulation of Mie particles.

Theoretical framework to predict the acoustophoresis of axisymmetric irregular objects above an ultrasound transducer array.

Acoustic radiation force and torque arising from wave scattering are able to translate and rotate matter without contact. However, the existing research mainly focused on manipulating simple symmetrical geometries, neglecting the significance of geometric features. For the nonspherical geometries, the shape of the object strongly affects its scattering properties, and thus the radiation force and torque as well as the acoustophoretic process. Here, we develop an analytical framework to calculate the radiation force and torque exerted on the sound-hard or the sound-soft, axisymmetric particles excited by a user-customized transducer array based on a conformal transformation approach, capturing the significance of the geometric features. The derivation framework is established under the computation coordinate system (CCS), whereas the particle is assumed to be static. For the dynamic processes, the rotation of particle is converted as the opposite rotation of transducer array, achieved by employing a rotation transformation to tune the incident driving field in the CCS. Later, the obtained radiation force and torque in the CCS should be transformed back to the observation coordinate system for force and torque analysis. The radiation force and torque exerted on particles with different orientations are validated by comparing the full three-dimensional numerical solution in different phase distributions. It is found that the proposed method presents superior computational accuracy, high geometric adaptivity, and good robustness to various geometric features, while the computational efficiency is more than 100 times higher than that of the full numerical method. Furthermore, it is found that the dynamic trajectories of particles with different geometric features are completely different, indicating that the geometric features can be a potential degree of freedom to tune acoustophoretic process. The ability to predict the acoustophoretic process of nonspherical particles above a user-customized transducer array has improved our understanding of the effect of shape asymmetry, which can also be used to verify the effectiveness of acoustic tweezers in manipulating nonspherical objects.

Agglomeration of particles by a converging ultrasound field and their quantitative assessments.

The acoustic radiation force resulting from acoustic waves have been extensively studied for the contact-free generation of organized patterning arrays. The precise arrangement of microscopic objects clustered at the pressure nodes is critical to the development of functional structures and patterned surfaces. However, the size of the clusters is restricted by the saturation limit of the acoustic nodes. Here, we present a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) platform, which employs a two-dimensional acoustic wave to propel particles of various sizes. Experimentally, when particles are large, significant acoustic energy is scattered and partly absorbed by the matched layers in front of the sensors. The acoustic radiation force from a convergent acoustic pressure field agglomerates the large polystyrene (PS) particles towards the central region instead of the pressure nodes. The parametric analysis has been performed to assess the transition in the particles from clustering at the organized nodal arrays to agglomerating in the central region, which is a function of particle size, particle concentration, and load voltage. Statistically, the particles can agglomerate with a cluster ratio greater than 70%, and this ratio can be improved by increasing the load power/voltage supplied to the transducers. With its ability to perform biocompatible, label-free, and contact-free self-assembly, this concept offers a new possibility in the fabrication of colloidal layers, the recreation of tissue microstructure, the development of organoid spheroid cultures, the migration of microorganisms, and the assembly of bioprinting materials.

Noise sensitivity associated with nonrestorative sleep in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nonrestorative sleep is a common sleep disorder with a prevalence ranging from 1.4 to 35%, and is associated with various psychological and physical health issues. Noise exposure and noise sensitivity have been proposed to contribute to nonrestorative sleep. This study aimed to examine the relationships among noise, noise sensitivity, nonrestorative sleep, and physiological sleep parameters in Chinese adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted with randomly selected Chinese adults based on a frame stratified by geographical districts and types of quarters in Hong Kong. We administered a battery of questionnaires, including the Nonrestorative Sleep Scale, the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale, the ENRICHD Social Support Instrument, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Perceived Stress Scale to assess nonrestorative sleep, noise sensitivity, social support, somatic symptoms and stress, respectively. Anxiety and depression were evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale while sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were assessed with an investigator-developed sheet. Nocturnal noise level and physiological sleep parameters were measured during nighttime for a week by noise dosimetry and actigraphy, respectively. A structured multiphase linear regression was conducted to estimate associations. RESULTS: A total of 500 adults (66.4% female) with an average age of 39 years completed this study. Bivariate regressions showed that age, marital status, occupation, family income, season, exercise, cola and soda consumption, social support, somatic symptoms, stress, depression, noise sensitivity, total sleep time, and awakenings were associated with nonrestorative sleep. In the multivariable analysis, family income, season, exercise, social support, somatic symptoms, stress, and depression remained associated with nonrestorative sleep. Specifically, a one-unit increase of noise sensitivity was associated with 0.08 increase in nonrestorative sleep (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01, 0.15, p = 0.023). Nocturnal noise was negatively associated with time in bed (b = - 1.65, 95% CI: - 2.77, - 0.52, p = 0.004), total sleep time (b = - 1.61, 95% CI: - 2.59, - 0.62, p = 0.001), and awakenings (b = - 0.16, 95% CI: - 0.30, - 0.03, p = 0.018), but was not associated with nonrestorative sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Nonrestorative sleep was predicted by noise sensitivity in addition to family income, season, exercise, social support, somatic symptoms, stress, and depression.

Indoor nocturnal noise is associated with body mass index and blood pressure: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated that noise is associated with various health problems, such as obesity and hypertension. Although the evidence of the associations of noise with obesity and hypertension is inconsistent, there seems to be a stronger association of the latter. This study aimed to investigate the associations of noise with body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure in adults living in multi-story residential buildings. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hong Kong from February 2018 to September 2019. The Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, ENRICHD Social Support Instrument, Patient Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered to the participants. BMI and blood pressure were assessed. Nocturnal noise exposure and total sleep duration were measured for a week. RESULTS: Five hundred adults (66.4% female), with an average age of 39 years (range: 18-80), completed the study. The average levels of nocturnal noise, BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were 51.3 dBA, 22.2 kg/m2, 116.0 mmHg, and 75.4 mmHg, respectively. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, nocturnal noise was associated with BMI (b = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.01 to 1.06, p = 0.045) and SBP (b = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.12 to 4.68, p = 0.001). No association was detected between nocturnal noise and DBP (b = 0.79, 95% CI: - 0.56 to 2.13, p = 0.253). Specifically, higher nocturnal noise was associated with higher BMI (b = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.07 to 1.38, p = 0.031) and SBP (b = 3.91, 95% CI: 2.51 to 5.31, p < 0.001) in females but only higher SBP (b = 3.13, 95% CI: 1.35 to 4.92, p < 0.001) in males. The association between noise and SBP remained significant (b = 2.41, 95% CI: 0.62 to 4.20, p = 0.008) after additionally adjusting for lifestyle, diagnosis of hypertension, psychometric constructs, and sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Indoor nocturnal noise was associated with BMI and blood pressure in females but only blood pressure in males. It is important to control nocturnal noise or use soundproofing materials in buildings to reduce noise exposure.

A Short Form of the Chinese Version of the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale through Optimal Test Assembly.

This study developed a short form of the traditional Chinese version of the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale (WNSS) through optimal test assembly (OTA). A total of 1069 Chinese adults (64.8% female) completed the territory-wide cross-sectional study. We first removed Items 12 and 5 which had negative factor loading and gender-related differential item functioning (DIF), respectively. The optimal length was then determined as the minimal one that reasonably resembled the reliability and validity of the scale without DIF items. OTA identified an 8-item WNSS (WNSS-8) which retained 67.2% of the test information of the original 21-item scale and had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.83. It also showed significant correlations of 0.272 and -0.115 with the neuroticism and extraversion scales of Chinese NEO-Five Factor Inventory, respectively. Adequate model fit of the WNSS-8 was demonstrated by the confirmatory factor analysis. The Chinese WNSS-8 can be used to assess noise sensitivity without compromising reliability and validity.

Effect of noise tolerance on non-restorative sleep: a population-based study in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of auditory noise tolerance on non-restorative sleep using an objective audiometric test in a representative sample. DESIGN: A total of 202 Chinese individuals aged 15 years and above were recruited from a population-based household survey. Their non-restorative sleep was assessed by a single item, the degree of feeling refreshed on waking up, on a 0-10 scale, while noise tolerance was measured by the most comfortable level expressed in A-weighted decibels. RESULTS: The 202 individuals (106 women) had a mean degree of feeling refreshed on waking up of 6.5 on the 0-10 scale and a mean maximum comfortable sound level of 69.2 dB. A multivariable analysis showed that a 1 dB increase in noise tolerance was associated with a 0.1-unit increase in the degree of feeling refreshed after adjusting for age, education, marital status, occupation, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, household noise level, stress, anxiety and depression. Moreover, housewives, non-smokers and individuals who were less anxious or stressed felt significantly more refreshed on waking up. CONCLUSION: People with higher levels of noise tolerance experienced more refreshing sleep. Additional clinical consideration of enhancing noise tolerance in patients with sleep complaints is needed.

Hybrid acoustic metamaterial as super absorber for broadband low-frequency sound.

A hybrid acoustic metamaterial is proposed as a new class of sound absorber, which exhibits superior broadband low-frequency sound absorption as well as excellent mechanical stiffness/strength. Based on the honeycomb-corrugation hybrid core (H-C hybrid core), we introduce perforations on both top facesheet and corrugation, forming perforated honeycomb-corrugation hybrid (PHCH) to gain super broadband low-frequency sound absorption. Applying the theory of micro-perforated panel (MPP), we establish a theoretical method to calculate the sound absorption coefficient of this new kind of metamaterial. Perfect sound absorption is found at just a few hundreds hertz with two-octave 0.5 absorption bandwidth. To verify this model, a finite element model is developed to calculate the absorption coefficient and analyze the viscous-thermal energy dissipation. It is found that viscous energy dissipation at perforation regions dominates the total energy consumed. This new kind of acoustic metamaterials show promising engineering applications, which can serve as multiple functional materials with extraordinary low-frequency sound absorption, excellent stiffness/strength and impact energy absorption.

Bromodomain-containing protein 7 (BRD7) as a potential tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Bromodomain-containing protein 7 (BRD7) is a subunit of the PBAF complex, which functions as a transcriptional cofactor for the tumor suppressor protein p53. Down-regulation of BRD7 has been demonstrated in multiple types of cancer. This study aimed to investigate BRD7 expression and its tumor suppressive effect in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).The expression of BRD7 was examined in clinical specimens of primary HCC and in HCC cell lines through real-time quantitative PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. The prognostic value of BRD7 expression and its correlation with the clinicopathological features of HCC patients were statistically analyzed. The effect of BRD7 on the tumorigenicity of HCC was also examined using proliferation and colony-formation assays, cell-cycle assays, migration and cell-invasion assays, and xenograft nude mouse models. BRD7 was down-regulated in tumor tissues and HCC cell lines. BRD7 protein expression was strongly associated with clinical stage and tumor size. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed higher survival rates in patients with higher BRD7 expression levels compared to those with lower BRD7 levels. A multivariate analysis indicated that BRD7 expression was an independent prognostic marker. The re-introduction of BRD7 expression significantly inhibited proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion and led to cell cycle arrest in HCC cells in vitro. Furthermore, experiments in mice suggested that BRD7 overexpression suppresses HCC tumorigenicity in vivo. In conclusions, our data indicated that BRD7 may serve as a tumor suppressor in HCC and may be a novel molecular target for the treatment of HCC.

Adjuvant cellular immunotherapy in patients with resected primary non-small cell lung cancer.

Postoperative non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients require adjuvant therapy to improve their prognosis. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a sequential combination of autologous cellular immunotherapy (CIT) and chemotherapy for postoperative NSCLC. This retrospective study included 120 postoperative NSCLC patients: 60 cases received only chemotherapy; 33 cases received chemotherapy and sequential CIT with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells; and 27 cases received chemotherapy and sequential CIT with alternate CIK and natural killer (NK) cells. Survival analysis showed significantly higher overall survival rates in the CIT group compared with the control group. Overall survival was higher in patients who received CIT with alternate CIK and NK cells than those who received treatment with only CIK cells. Multivariate analysis showed that adjuvant CIT was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of patients with NSCLC. In subgroup analyses, adjuvant CIT significantly improved the overall survival of patients with less than 60 y old and positive lymph node. In conclusions, these data indicate that adjuvant CIT, especially with alternate application of CIK and NK cells, is an effective therapeutic approach to prolong survival of patients with NSCLC, particularly for patients ≤60 y old with positive lymph nodes.

Phase I trial of adoptively transferred tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte immunotherapy following concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) for cancers using autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can induce immune responses and antitumor activity in metastatic melanoma patients. Here, we aimed to assess the safety and antitumor activity of ACT using expanded TILs following concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Twenty-three newly diagnosed, locoregionally advanced NPC patients were enrolled, of whom 20 received a single-dose of TIL infusion following CCRT. All treated patients were assessed for toxicity, survival and clinical and immunologic responses. Correlations between immunological responses and treatment effectiveness were further studied. Only mild adverse events (AEs), including Grade 3 neutropenia (1/23, 5%) consistent with immune-related causes, were observed. Nineteen of 20 patients exhibited an objective antitumor response, and 18 patients displayed disease-free survival longer than 12 mo after ACT. A measurable plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load was detected in 14 patients at diagnosis, but a measurable EBV load was not found in patients after one week of ACT, and the plasma EBV load remained undetectable in 17 patients at 6 mo after ACT. Expansion and persistence of T cells specific for EBV antigens in peripheral blood following TIL therapy were observed in 13 patients. The apparent positive correlation between tumor regression and the expansion of T cells specific for EBV was further investigated in four patients. This study shows that NPC patients can tolerate ACT with TILs following CCRT and that this treatment results in sustained antitumor activity and anti-EBV immune responses. A larger phase II trial is in progress.

A nomogram for predicting the benefit of adjuvant cytokine-induced killer cell immunotherapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The benefits of adjuvant cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain mixed among patients. Here, we constructed a prognostic nomogram to enable individualized predictions of survival benefit of adjuvant CIK cell treatment for HCC patients. Survival analysis showed that the median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for patients in the hepatectomy/CIK combination group were 41 and 16 months, respectively, compared to 28 and 12 months for patients in the hepatectomy alone group (control). Based on multivariate analysis of the entire cohort, independent factors for OS were tumor size, tumor capsule, pathological grades, total bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time, alpha-fetoprotein, and tumor number, which were incorporated into the nomogram. The survival prediction model performed well, as assessed by the c-index and calibration curve. Internal validation revealed a c-index of 0.698, which was significantly greater than the c-index value of the TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) staging systems of 0.634. The calibration curves fitted well. In conclusions, our developed nomogram resulted in more accurate individualized predictions of the survival benefit from adjuvant CIK cell treatment after hepatectomy. The model may provide valuable information to aid in the decision making regarding the application of adjuvant CIK cell immunotherapy.

Thin broadband noise absorption through acoustic reactance control by electro-mechanical coupling without sensor.

Broadband noise with profound low-frequency profile is prevalent and difficult to be controlled mechanically. This study demonstrates effective broadband sound absorption by reducing the mechanical reactance of a loudspeaker using a shunt circuit through electro-mechanical coupling, which induces reactance with different signs from that of loudspeaker. An RLC shunt circuit is connected to the moving coil to provide an electrically induced mechanical impedance which counters the cavity stiffness at low frequencies and reduces the system inertia above the resonance frequency. A sound absorption coefficient well above 0.5 is demonstrated across frequencies between 150 and 1200 Hz. The performance of the proposed device is superior to existing passive absorbers of the same depth (60 mm), which has lower frequency limits of around 300 Hz. A passive noise absorber is further proposed by paralleling a micro-perforated panel with shunted loudspeaker which shows potentials in absorbing band-limit impulse noise.

Clinical activity of adjuvant cytokine-induced killer cell immunotherapy in patients with post-mastectomy triple-negative breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a high risk form of this disease, even after surgery, due to the absence of targets for hormone treatment and anti-Her-2 therapy. Chemotherapy is the main therapeutic strategy for such patients with breast cancer, although the outcome is often unsatisfactory. Thus, the development of combination adjuvant therapies is essential for improved prognosis in patients with TNBC. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a sequential combination of cytokine-induced killer cell (CIK) infusion and chemotherapy for patients with post-mastectomy TNBC. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: From 2008 to 2012, 90 patients with post-mastectomy TNBC were included in this retrospective study: 45 cases received chemotherapy alone or with sequential radiotherapy; a further 45 cases received chemotherapy with/without radiotherapy and sequential CIK infusion. RESULTS: Survival analysis showed significantly higher disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates in the CIK treatment group compared with the control group (P = 0.0382, P = 0.0046, respectively; log-rank test). Multivariate survival analysis showed that CIK adjuvant treatment was an independent prognostic factor for OS of patients with TNBC. In subgroup analyses, CIK adjuvant treatment significantly increased the DFS rate of patients with pathologic grade 3, and significantly increased the OS rate of patients in N1, N2, N3, IIB, III TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) stages, and with pathologic grade 3. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that adjuvant CIK treatment combined with chemotherapy is an effective therapeutic strategy to prevent disease recurrence and prolong survival of patients with TNBC, particularly those with lymph node metastasis, advanced TNM stage, and poor pathologic grade. Clin Cancer Res; 20(11); 3003-11. ©2014 AACR.

The phenotype of ex vivo generated cytokine-induced killer cells is associated with overall survival in patients with cancer.

Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are ex vivo generated heterogeneous NK-like T lymphocytes. It is not very clear whether the phenotype of CIK cells is associated with their therapeutic efficacy to cancer patients. Thus, in this study, the association of phenotype of CIK cells and the overall survival of 121 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 74 patients with lung cancer and 42 patients with colorectal cancer, all of whom underwent surgical resection and received autogenous CIK cell therapy, was analyzed. We found that high ratio of the CD3+CD4+ subset was associated with poorer overall survival in colorectal cancer, but not HCC or lung cancer. A high ratio of the CD3+CD8+ subset was associated with improved overall survival in all three types of cancer. A high ratio of the CD3+CD56+ NK-like subset was associated with improved overall survival in lung and colorectal cancer, but not HCC. A high ratio of the CD3-CD56+ NK subset was associated with poorer overall survival in lung and colorectal cancer, but not HCC. In conclusion, the CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD56+ subsets, especially the CD3+CD8+ subset, may be the major phenotypes responsible for anti-tumor immunity in vivo after autogenous CIK cell therapy.

Effects of secondary loudspeaker properties on broadband feedforward active duct noise control.

Dependence of the performance of feedforward active duct noise control on secondary loudspeaker parameters is investigated. Noise reduction performance can be improved if the force factor of the secondary loudspeaker is higher. For example, broadband noise reduction improvement up to 1.6 dB is predicted by increasing the force factor by 50%. In addition, a secondary loudspeaker with a larger force factor was found to have quicker convergence in the adaptive algorithm in experiment. In simulations, noise reduction is improved in using an adaptive algorithm by using a secondary loudspeaker with a heavier moving mass. It is predicted that an extra broadband noise reduction of more than 7 dB can be gained using an adaptive filter if the force factor, moving mass and coil inductance of a commercially available loudspeaker are doubled. Methods to increase the force factor beyond those of commercially available loudspeakers are proposed.

The efficacy of cytokine-induced killer cell infusion as an adjuvant therapy for postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Even after surgery, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has poor prognosis; adjuvant therapy is needed to improve effectively the outcome of HCC patients. We evaluated the efficacy of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell infusion as an adjuvant therapy for postoperative HCC patients. METHODS: A total of 410 patients were studied retrospectively (January 2002 to January 2007): 206 received surgery alone; 204 received surgery and at least four cycles of CIK cell transfusion (CIK group). Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to explore differences in OS between two groups. RESULTS: The CIK group overall survival rates were significantly higher than that of the surgery-alone group (log-rank test; p = 0.0007). Multivariate survival analysis showed that CIK cell treatment was an independent prognostic factor. In subgroup analysis, patients who received ≥8 cycles of CIK cell transfusion exhibited significantly better survival than the <8 cycle group (p = 0.0272). There was no significant difference in overall survival in patients with ≤5-cm tumors between the CIK and surgery-alone groups (p = 0.7567). However, in patients with >5-cm tumors, the CIK group displayed significantly better overall survival than the surgery-alone group (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative immunotherapy with CIK cell transfusion may be an effective adjuvant treatment for improving the outcomes of HCC patients; >8 cycles of CIK cell transfusion may ensure that patients derive maximal benefits. Moreover, patients with large tumors might benefit more from CIK cell adjuvant treatment than patients with small tumors.