The Successful Aging after Elective Surgery (SAGES) Study: Cohort Description and Data Quality Procedures.

Background/objectives: Delirium is the most common complication of major elective surgery in older patients. The Successful Aging after Elective Surgery (SAGES) study was designed to examine novel risk factors and long-term outcomes associated with delirium. This report describes the cohort, quality assurance procedures, and results.

Timing of Antiviral Therapy in Candidates for Liver Transplant for Hepatitis C and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus infection is the most common underlying reason for hepatocellular carcinoma and indication for liver transplant. The increased availability of non-interferon-based therapy has expanded the number of treatment-eligible patients.

Materials And Methods: We used a decision analysis model to compare 2 strategies of treating hepatitis C virus.

Underlying spirituality and mental health: the role of burnout.

Objective: This study investigated the effects of burnout on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among healthcare workers in Hong Kong.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 312 healthcare workers (mean age=38.6, SD=9.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment: Creating a Crosswalk with the Mini-Mental State Examination.

Objectives: To establish Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores that correspond to well-established cut-points on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: General medical service of a large teaching hospital.

Development and Testing of X-Ray Imaging-Enhanced Poly-L-Lactide Bone Screws.

Nanosized iron oxide particles exhibit osteogenic and radiopaque properties. Thus, iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were incorporated into a biodegradable polymer (poly-L-lactic acid, PLLA) to fabricate a composite bone screw. This multifunctional, 3D printable bone screw was detectable on X-ray examination.

Hinokitiol Exerts Anticancer Activity through Downregulation of MMPs 9/2 and Enhancement of Catalase and SOD Enzymes: In Vivo Augmentation of Lung Histoarchitecture.

Melanoma is extremely resistant to chemotherapy and the death rate is increasing hastily worldwide. Extracellular matrix promotes the migration and invasion of tumor cells through the production of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9. Evidence has shown that natural dietary antioxidants are capable of inhibiting cancer cell growth.

Social and behavioral problems among five gambling severity groups.

Gambling has been associated with various social and behavioral problems, but previous analyses have been limited by sample bias regarding gambling symptom severity range and the role of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). This study utilized a nationally representative data set and examined various characteristics of behavioral problems and ASPD among five gambling severity groups. Participants were 42,038 individuals who took part in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and provided information on social and behavioral problems, ASPD, and gambling.

Cognitive and brain reserve and the risk of postoperative delirium in older patients: analysis of data from a prospective observational study.

Background: Cognitive and brain reserve theories suggest that aspects of neural architecture or cognitive processes modify the effect of neuropathological processes on cognitive outcomes. Although frequently studied in the context of dementia, reserve in delirium is understudied.

Methods: Using data from a prospective observational study, we examined the association of three markers of brain reserve (head circumference, MRI-derived brain volume, and leisure time physical activity), five markers of cognitive reserve (education, vocabulary, cognitive activities, cognitive demand of lifetime occupation, and interpersonal demand of lifetime occupation), and the risk of postoperative delirium in 566 older adults (age ≥70 years) free of dementia undergoing scheduled surgery.

Psychometric validation of the consensus five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Background: The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is widely used for clinical assessment of symptoms in schizophrenia. Instead of the traditional pyramidal model, recent literature supports the pentagonal model for the dimensionality of the PANSS.

Aim: The present study aimed to validate the consensus five-factor model of the PANSS and evaluate its convergent validity.

Comparative decline of the protein profiles of nebulin in response to denervation in skeletal muscle.

The sliding filament model of the sarcomere was developed more than half a century ago. This model, consisting only of thin and thick filaments, has been efficacious in elucidating many, but not all, features of skeletal muscle. Work during the 1980s revealed the existence of two additional filaments: the giant filamentous proteins titin and nebulin.

The relationships of change in work climate with changes in burnout and depression: a 2-year longitudinal study of Chinese mental health care workers.

Mental health care workers face heavy emotional demand and are prone to work burnout. Work burnout has been associated with poor mental health and work climate, which refers to individual perceptions about work setting. The purpose of this study was to examine whether intra-individual changes in work climate were associated with intra-individual changes in burnout and depression over two years.

Dimensionality of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: an exploratory bi-factor analytic study.

Objective: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a widely used instrument for measuring depressive symptoms. Though conventional factor analytic evaluations supported the use of four sub-scales for the CES-D, existing studies have yet to adopt the bi-factor analytic approach in psychometric assessment of the 20-item inventory. The present study aimed to apply both confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory bi-factor analysis to evaluate the dimensionality of the CES-D.

Does Apolipoprotein E Genotype Increase Risk of Postoperative Delirium?

Objective: To determine whether apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is associated with postoperative delirium incidence, severity, and duration in older patients free of dementia at baseline.

Methods: The authors examined 557 nondemented patients aged 70 years or older undergoing major noncardiac surgery enrolled in the Successful Aging after Elective Surgery Study. Three ApoE measures were considered: ε2, ε4 carriers versus noncarriers, and a three-category ApoE measure.

The interface between delirium and dementia in elderly adults.

Delirium and dementia are two of the most common causes of cognitive impairment in older populations, yet their interrelation remains poorly understood. Previous studies have shown that dementia is the leading risk factor for delirium and that delirium is an independent risk factor for subsequent development of dementia. However, a major area of controversy is whether delirium is simply a marker of vulnerability to dementia, whether the effect of delirium is solely related to its precipitating factors, or whether delirium itself can cause permanent neuronal damage and lead to dementia.

Durability of Hepatitis B e Antigen Seroconversion in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Treated with Entecavir or Tenofovir.

Introduction: Loss of HBeAg and development of anti-HBe (seroconversion) is seen as a milestone and endpoint in the treatment of HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Among patients treated with nucleos(t)ide analogs (NA), recurrent viremia is common after discontinuation of therapy. Entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir (TDF) are highly potent NA.

The potential of enzastaurin to enhance platelet aggregation and growth factor secretion: implications for cancer cell survival.

Background: Enzastaurin is a protein kinase C (PKC)β inhibitor with antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects that was in clinical development for the treatment of a variety of cancers. However, the primary endpoints in several clinical trials of enzastaurin were not met, and thrombosis was reported as an adverse effect in some trials. While investigating the role of PKC in regulating growth factor release from platelets, we found that, unlike other PKC inhibitors, enzastaurin may potentiate platelet aggregation.

Effectiveness of body-mind-spirit intervention on well-being, functional impairment and quality of life among depressive patients - a randomized controlled trial.

Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of body-mind-spirit Intervention in improving the outcomes (well-being, quality of life and functional impairment) among depressive patients.

Background: Depressive disorders lead to significant dysfunction, disability and poor quality of life among sufferers. Body-mind-spirit intervention has been associated with improvements in the outcomes; however, few studies have examined this among depressive patients.

Dimensionality of the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale revisited: A Bayesian structural equation modeling approach.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to reexamine the dimensionality of the widely used 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale using the maximum likelihood (ML) approach and Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) approach.

Methods: Three measurement models (1-factor, 3-factor, and bi-factor models) were evaluated in two split samples of 1,112 health-care workers using confirmatory factor analysis and BSEM, which specified small-variance informative priors for cross-loadings and residual covariances. Model fit and comparisons were evaluated by posterior predictive p-value (PPP), deviance information criterion, and Bayesian information criterion (BIC).

Neuropsychological profiles of an elderly cohort undergoing elective surgery and the relationship between cognitive performance and delirium.

Objectives: To examine baseline (preoperative) neuropsychological test performance in a cohort of elderly individuals undergoing elective surgery and the association between specific neuropsychological domains and postoperative delirium.

Design: Ongoing prospective cohort study.

Setting: Successful Aging after Elective Surgery Study.

Nucleoside-Nucleotide Analog Combination Therapy Is Effective in Preventing Recurrent Hepatitis B After Liver Transplantation.

Background: Hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIg) in combination with a nucleos(t)ide analog is the mainstay of prophylactic regimen to prevent recurrence of hepatitis B following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). HBIg therapy is costly and inconvenient for the patients. There is a growing experience converting HBIg/nucleos(t)ide to combination nucleotide/nucleoside analogs from.

Paraneoplastic Cholestasis Associated With Ovarian Dysgerminoma.

Background: Paraneoplastic syndromes are disorders caused by cancer that are not a direct result of the cancer mass itself or metastases to the affected organ. Paraneoplastic cholestasis is described with lymphoma and renal cell carcinoma. Unlike ovarian carcinoma, paraneoplastic syndromes are rarely seen in dysgerminoma.

Cryopreserved Ex Vivo-Expanded Allogeneic Myeloid Progenitor Cell Product Protects Neutropenic Mice From a Lethal Fungal Infection.

Severe neutropenia induced by chemotherapy or conditioning for hematopoietic cell transplantation often results in morbidity and mortality due to infection by opportunistic pathogens. A system has been developed to generate ex vivo-expanded mouse myeloid progenitor cells (mMPCs) that produce functional neutrophils in vivo upon transplantation in a pathogen challenge model. It has previously been demonstrated that transplantation of large numbers of freshly isolated myeloid progenitors from a single donor provides survival benefit in radiation-induced neutropenic mice.

Cortical thinning and progressive cortical porosity in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus on long-term glucocorticoids: a 2-year case-control study.

Unlabelled: In this study, we characterized longitudinal changes of volumetric bone mineral density and cortical and trabecular microstructure at the distal radius using HR-pQCT in female systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients on long-term glucocorticoids. Cortical thinning and increased cortical porosity are the major features of longitudinal microstructural deterioration in SLE patients.

Introduction: The study aims to characterize longitudinal changes of volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and bone microstructure at distal radius in female systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients on long-term glucocorticoids.