Background: Apathy has been suggested as a potential predictor of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) progression to dementia. Whether it might predict the transition from normal cognitive function to cognitive impairment has been less studied. The current study aimed to provide a comprehensive summary of the evidence on the association between apathy and the transition from normal cognitive function to cognitive impairment.Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for longitudinal prospective cohort studies that evaluated apathy at baseline in the cognitively normal population and had cognitive impairment as the outcome. Random effects models were used, and heterogeneity was explored with stratification. The stability of the synthesized result was indicated using sensitivity analysis by excluding one study each time and recalculating the overall effect.Results: Ten studies comprising 26,195 participants were included. Apathy status was available for 22,101 participants. Apathy was present in 1,803 of 22,101 participants (8.16%). Follow-up ranged from 1 to 13 years. The combined odds ratio (OR) of cognitive impairment for patients with apathy was 2.07 (95% CI: 1.43–2.99; I2 = 86%), and the combined hazard ratio was 2.70 (95% CI: 1.38–5.27; I2 = 94%). The OR meta-analyses for different conversion outcomes were MCI (OR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.57–7.28; I2 =71%), cognitive decline (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 0.81–2.00; I2 = 64%) and dementia (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.32–3.41; I2 = 86%). Subgroup analysis suggested that the association between apathy and cognitive impairment changed with age, depression adjustments, apathy measurement, and follow-up time.Conclusions: Apathy was associated with a greater than 2-fold increased risk of progression to cognitive impairment in the cognitively normal population. Future interventions targeting apathy management in the general population may reduce the risk of cognitive impairment.
Gastroparesis is an extremely common condition among diabetic patients. The upper gastrointestinal symptoms of gastroparesis, such as early satiety and postprandial fullness, are associated with delayed gastric emptying. 1 Previous evidence has revealed that reduced antral contractions and increased postprandial antral diameter are responsible for delayed gastric emptying. 2 Although the pathophysiological mechanism of gastroparesis has not been fully elucidated, the etiology of this disorder is noted as follows: vagal
Objectives. Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that affects over 142 million people worldwide. The main causes of death of schistosomiasis include liver granuloma and secondary hepatic cirrhosis resulting from severe fibrosis. Despite intensive research, controlling liver fibrosis associated with schistosomiasis remains challenging. Sedum sarmentosum total flavonoid (SSTF) is a promising agent to reduce liver fibrosis with an unknown mechanism. Thus, the objectives of this study are to validate its effect on the liver fibrosis caused by schistosomiasis and to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: one group of normal control and five groups of liver fibrosis induced by schistosomiasis japonica with or without SSTF or colchicine treatment, the latter serving as the positive control. Liver tissues from each animal were harvested to observe the degree and grade of hepatic fibrosis. We also measured the expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) and Smad7 using RT-qPCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Results. Compared with the untreated model group, groups treated with SSTF at all three tested doses had significantly reduced hepatic fibrosis (
P
<
0.05
). Each dose of SSTF also significantly reduced TGF-β1 protein expression and mRNA levels in the liver tissues (
P
<
0.05
). In contrast, the middle and high doses of SSTF significantly increased Smad7 protein expression and mRNA levels (
P
<
0.05
). Immunohistochemistry showed that each dose of SSTF reduced TGF-β1 protein expression (
P
<
0.05
). Conclusion. Our results demonstrated that SSTF alleviated schistosomiasis japonica-induced hepatic fibrosis by inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smad7 pathway.
Solar interfacial evaporation based
on wood-derived materials has
been considered a promising strategy for desalination and wastewater
purification. Herein, we adopted delignified wood (DW) as the water
transport substrate and lignosulfonate (LS)-modified narrow-band gap
semiconductor nickel disulfide (NiS2) as the light-absorbing
agent (LS-NiS2) to fabricate a high-efficiency evaporator
(LS-NiS2@DW). On the one hand, the high absorbance (>95%)
within a broad wavelength range and excellent photothermal conversion
efficiency of LS-NiS2 endow efficient solar energy utilization.
On the other hand, the hydrophilicity of DW facilitates water activation,
which results in a lower evaporation enthalpy of LS-NiS2@DW (1274.4 kJ kg–1) than that of pure water. By
combining LS-NiS2 and DW, LS-NiS2@DW achieved
an evaporation rate as high as 2.80 kg m–2 h–1 under one sun irradiation (1 kW m–2), and the evaporation efficiency reached 87.4%. Notably, LS-NiS2@DW exhibits a high evaporation rate (2.42–2.69 kg
m–2 h–1) in simulated seawater
for 24 h with no salt crystals formed on the surface. Moreover, LS-NiS2@DW shows high antibacterial activity with about 90% reduction
in bacterial survival rate. This work could provide new perspectives
for the design of a high-efficiency wood-based photothermal evaporator.
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