To validate the integral conceptual model of frailty among community-dwelling older adults in China: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: The integral conceptual model of frailty (ICFM) integrates physical, psychological, social aspects of individuals and stresses that frailty is a dynamic state evolving over time. This study aimed to validate the ICMF among community-dwelling older adults in China. METHODS: The study recruited 341 older community-dwelling adults by convenient sampling method between June 1 and August 30, 2019 in Hubei province, China. The data was collected by questionnaire-based survey. Frailty was assessed by the Chinese version of the Tilburg Frailty Index. Participants were assessed for life-course determinants, disease and adverse health outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses, Bootstrap method and the structural equation model were conducted in data analysis. RESULTS: Both linear and logistic hierarchical regression models were statistically significant. Life-course determinants, disease, and three domains of frailty together explained 35.6% to 50.6% of the variance of disability and all domains of quality of life. The mediation effect of frailty between disease and all adverse outcomes was significant, excluding hospitalization. The structural equation model guided by the ICMF fits the data well. CONCLUSIONS: The ICMF is valid among community-dwelling older adults in China. Therefore, the multidimensional concept of frailty should be widely used in Chinese communities.

dbEssLnc: A manually curated database of human and mouse essential lncRNA genes.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in many biological processes. Knocking out or knocking down some lncRNAs will lead to lethality or infertility. These lncRNAs are called essential lncRNAs. Knowledges of essential lncRNAs are important in establishing minimal genomes of living cells, developing drug therapies and early diagnostic approaches for complex diseases. However, existing databases focus on collecting essential coding genes. Essential non-coding gene records are rare in existing databases. A comprehensive collection of essential non-coding genes, particularly essential lncRNA genes, is demanded. We manually curated 207 essential lncRNAs from literatures for establishing a database on essential lncRNAs, which is named as dbEssLnc (Database of essential lncRNAs). The dbEssLnc database has a web-based user-friendly interface for the users to browse, to search, to visualize and to blast search records in the database. The dbEssLnc database is freely accessible at https://esslnc.pufengdu.org. All data and source codes for mirroring the dbEssLnc database have been deposited in GitHub (https://github.com/yyZhang14/dbEssLnc).

Effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on rehabilitation patients with spinal cord injury.

This study aimed to explore the differences between the effectiveness of using a combination of rehabilitation and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT), and rehabilitation therapy alone for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). The newly admitted patients with spinal cord injury whose post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) score was higher than 38 points were randomly categorized into the treatment group and control group, with 30 patients in each group. One group underwent ACT and rehabilitation treatment, while the other underwent rehabilitation treatment only. PTSD and functional independence measure (FIM) scores were evaluated. Changes in scores were compared between the two groups before, one month, two months, and three months after treatment. The total PTSD score in SCI patients who were treated with ACT was significantly different before and after treatment (P < 0.05). Total FIM scores were also significantly different before and after treatment (P < 0.05). The FIM score in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group after 2 and 3 months of treatment (P < 0.05). The combination of rehabilitation therapy and ACT could immediately reduce stress levels and significantly improve impaired function, lifelong self-care ability, and the impact of rehabilitation therapy.

KNIndex: a comprehensive database of physicochemical properties for k-tuple nucleotides.

With the development of high-throughput sequencing technology, the genomic sequences increased exponentially over the last decade. In order to decode these new genomic data, machine learning methods were introduced for genome annotation and analysis. Due to the requirement of most machines learning methods, the biological sequences must be represented as fixed-length digital vectors. In this representation procedure, the physicochemical properties of k-tuple nucleotides are important information. However, the values of the physicochemical properties of k-tuple nucleotides are scattered in different resources. To facilitate the studies on genomic sequences, we developed the first comprehensive database, namely KNIndex (https://knindex.pufengdu.org), for depositing and visualizing physicochemical properties of k-tuple nucleotides. Currently, the KNIndex database contains 182 properties including one for mononucleotide (DNA), 169 for dinucleotide (147 for DNA and 22 for RNA) and 12 for trinucleotide (DNA). KNIndex database also provides a user-friendly web-based interface for the users to browse, query, visualize and download the physicochemical properties of k-tuple nucleotides. With the built-in conversion and visualization functions, users are allowed to display DNA/RNA sequences as curves of multiple physicochemical properties. We wish that the KNIndex will facilitate the related studies in computational biology.

LPI-SKF: Predicting lncRNA-Protein Interactions Using Similarity Kernel Fusions.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in serval biological activities, including transcription, splicing, translation, and some other cellular regulation processes. lncRNAs perform their biological functions by interacting with various proteins. The studies on lncRNA-protein interactions are of great value to the understanding of lncRNA functional mechanisms. In this paper, we proposed a novel model to predict potential lncRNA-protein interactions using the SKF (similarity kernel fusion) and LapRLS (Laplacian regularized least squares) algorithms. We named this method the LPI-SKF. Various similarities of both lncRNAs and proteins were integrated into the LPI-SKF. LPI-SKF can be applied in predicting potential interactions involving novel proteins or lncRNAs. We obtained an AUROC (area under receiver operating curve) of 0.909 in a 5-fold cross-validation, which outperforms other state-of-the-art methods. A total of 19 out of the top 20 ranked interaction predictions were verified by existing data, which implied that the LPI-SKF had great potential in discovering unknown lncRNA-protein interactions accurately. All data and codes of this work can be downloaded from a GitHub repository (https://github.com/zyk2118216069/LPI-SKF).

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract ameliorates hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammation in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).

Hepatic lipid metabolism disorder due to excessive fat accumulation in fish is a significant problem in aquaculture. Studies have shown that grape seed procyanidin extract (GSPE) can regulate fish lipid metabolism and improve fish immunity. However, the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we used grass carp that stores excess fat in the liver as a model. In vitro, GSPE treatment of hepatocytes for 3 h significantly decreased TG content, accompanied with decreased expression of SREBP-1c, FAS, and ACC and increased expression of PPARα, ATGL, and LPL. GSPE treatment for 1 h significantly decreased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-6, IL-1ß, and NF-κB) and increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-ß1). In vivo, the administration of GSPE significantly reduced high-fat diet-induced increase of serum CHOL, TG, and HDL, but increased LDL content. GSPE treatment for 3 h increased expression of ATGL and LPL, and significantly decreased the expression of HFD-fed-induced SREBP-1c, ACC, FAS, PPARγ, PPARα, and H-FABP. GSPE treatment for 3 h also significantly decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-6, and IL-1ß) and increased the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. The expression levels of the lipogenic miRNAs, miR-33, and miR-122, were suppressed both in vivo and in vitro by GSPE. In summary, GSPE had hypolipidemic and potential anti-inflammatory effects in the liver, potentially mediated by miR-33 and miR-122.

Preventive Effects of Alprostadil Against Contrast-Induced Nephropathy Inpatients With Renal Insufficiency Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

We investigated the preventive effect of alprostadil on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with renal insufficiency undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 300 patients with creatinine clearance (crCl) ≤60 mL/min undergoing PCI were randomly assigned to alprostadil or a control group. The primary end point was the incidence of CIN defined as an increase in serum creatinine (Scr) levels by ≥0.5 mg/dL or≥ 25% after administration of the contrast media within 72 hours. The secondary end points were (1) changes in Scr and crCl within 72 hours and (2) the incidence of major adverse events during hospitalization. The incidence of CIN was 2.7% (4/150) in the alprostadil group, and 8.7% (13/150) in the control group (χ2 = 5.05, P = .043).There was no difference regarding the incidence of major adverse events during hospitalization between the alprostadil group and control groups (2.7% vs 4.0%, P = .750). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that alprostadil was an independent protective factor for CIN (odds ratio = 0.136, 95% confidence interval: 0.020-0.944, P = .044). Prophylactic administration of alprostadil may prevent CIN in patients with renal insufficiency undergoing PCI.

[Preparation and release mechanism of tectorigenin intragastric floating sustained-release tablets].

To investigate the preparation technology and release mechanism of tectorigenin intragastric floating sustained-release tablets. The tablet was produced by wet granulation compression method, with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMCK15M), cross-linked polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVPP), octadecanol and sodium bicarbonate as excipient. The prescriptions were screened and optimized by orthogonal experimental design with in vitro floating capacity and drug release characteristics as the evaluation indexes. The optimization results were as follows: tectorigenin 33.3%, HPMCK15M 16.7%, PVPP 20.0%, octadecanol 13.3%, sodium bicarbonate 5%, and starch gel 10.7%. The prepared tablet can be floated within 10 s in the artificial gastric juice, lasting for 12 h in vitro, with a cumulative release rate of 70% in 10 h. The analysis of Rritger-Peppas equation showed that the sustained-release tablet had two advantages of both drug diffusion and skeleton dissolution. The tablet had good appearance and compressibility, as well as favorable floating capacity and drug release characteristics.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 levels and aortic valve calcification: A prospective, cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible association between plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) and the incidence and severity of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). METHODS: This prospective, cross sectional study involved patients with and without (controls) aortic valve calcification diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography and dual source computed tomography (DSCT) scan. Aortic valves calcification scores were calculated from DSCT scans and patients were graded: grade 1, no calcification; grade 2, mildly calcified; grade 3, moderately calcified; grade 4, heavily calcified. Plasma PCSK9 levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Forty patients were grade 1 (controls), 32 were grade 2, 48 were grade 3 and 32 were grade 4. Plasma levels of PCSK9 were significantly different between the four groups and the highest value was observed in the patients with grade 2 calcification. Only low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lipoprotein (Lp)(a) were associated with the severity of CAVD. Regression analysis showed that age, Lp(a) and PCSK9 were independent predictors of CAVD. CONCLUSION: Data from this cross sectional study in a small sample of patients showed that plasma PCSK9 was correlated with the presence of CAVD but not its severity.