Verification of the association between cognitive decline and olfactory dysfunction using a DEmentia screening kit in subjects with Alzheimer's dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and normal cognitive function (DESK study): A multicenter, open-label, interventional study.

Background And Purpose: Olfactory dysfunction may be an early symptom of degenerative neurological disorders such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which may progress to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the relationship between cognitive decline and olfactory dysfunction in healthy controls and patients with MCI or AD using the DEmentia Screening Kit (DESK), an olfactory identification assessment tool designed for Japanese populations.

Methods: In this multicenter, open-label, interventional study conducted from 16 September 2020 to 30 April 2021, participants underwent olfactory tests using the DESK tool.

Influence of atmospheric pressure low-temperature plasma treatment on the shear bond strength between zirconia and resin cement.

Purpose: Zirconia exhibits excellent strength and high biocompatibility in technological applications and it is has therefore been investigated for clinical applications and research. Before setting prostheses, a crown prosthesis inner surface is sandblasted with alumina to remove contaminants and form small cavities. This alumina sandblasting causes stress-induced phase transition of zirconia.

Carbidopa abrogates L-dopa decarboxylase coactivation of the androgen receptor and delays prostate tumor progression.

The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in prostate cancer progression to the castration-resistant (CR) lethal state. L-Dopa decarboxylase (DDC) is an AR coactivator that increases in expression with disease progression and is coexpressed with the receptor in prostate adenocarcinoma cells, where it may enhance AR activity. Here, we hypothesize that the DDC enzymatic inhibitor, carbidopa, can suppress DDC-coactivation of AR and retard prostate tumor growth.

STAT3 enhances intracellular Fas-mediated apoptotic signals in HHUA human endometrial epithelial cells.

Several endometrial signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-activating cytokines are reported to be essential for blastocyst implantation, with inhibition of STAT3 activation in the endometrium also reported to prevent implantation. To investigate STAT3 signals in endometrial epithelial cells, the activation and inactivation effects of STAT3 signals were examined in the human endometrial epithelial cell line HHUA, which is thought to retain many of the intracellular signaling pathways found in normal human endometrial epithelial cells. Five STAT3-activating cytokines, IL-11, IL-10, LIF, oncostatin M and leptin, enhanced the Fas-mediated apoptosis of the HHUA cells without any increase in cell surface Fas antigen expression.

Early, H+-V-ATPase-dependent proton flux is necessary for consistent left-right patterning of non-mammalian vertebrates.

Biased left-right asymmetry is a fascinating and medically important phenomenon. We provide molecular genetic and physiological characterization of a novel, conserved, early, biophysical event that is crucial for correct asymmetry: H+ flux. A pharmacological screen implicated the H+-pump H+-V-ATPase in Xenopus asymmetry, where it acts upstream of early asymmetric markers.

Serotonin transporter function is an early step in left-right patterning in chick and frog embryos.

The neurotransmitter serotonin has been shown to regulate a number of embryonic patterning events in addition to its crucial role in the nervous system. Here, we examine the role of two serotonin transporters, the plasma membrane serotonin transporter (SERT) and the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT), in embryonic left-right asymmetry. Pharmacological or genetic inhibitors of either SERT or VMAT specifically randomized the laterality of the heart and viscera in Xenopus embryos.

Serotonin signaling is a very early step in patterning of the left-right axis in chick and frog embryos.

Background: Consistent left-right (LR) asymmetry is a fascinating problem in developmental and evolutionary biology. Conservation of early LR patterning steps among vertebrates as well as involvement of nonprotein small-molecule messengers are very poorly understood. Serotonin (5-HT) is a key neurotransmitter with crucial roles in physiology and cognition.

Asymmetric expression of Syndecan-2 in early chick embryogenesis.

Chicken Syndecan-2 (cSyndecan-2) is the homologue of Xenopus Syndecan-2, a member of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan family with an important role in left-right patterning in frog embryos. A relationship to LR asymmetry in other species has not been reported. We show that cSyndecan-2 is expressed throughout the primitive streak between st.