This study suggested that LL-37 may play important role in the pathogenesis of COPD and may be a possible novel therapeutic target in COPD.

BackgroundChina has the largest population of partially or completely disabled elderly people in the world. Although the disabled elderly people try to remain independent in their lives, many still need assistance from others. Failure to obtain sufficient assistance creates a situation of unmet need. Unmet needs of activities of daily living (ADL) for disabled elderly people pose significant risks for hospitalization and mortality and cause an increased economic burden on families and society. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors of unmet needs among the disabled elderly in China to guide government toward corrective action.MethodsA total of 303 older adults from 15 communities in Nanjing, China were recruited. The Barthel Index (BI) and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) were used to screen disabled elderly people from the communities. These disabled elderly participants were then investigated in terms of their unmet ADL needs, using an unmet needs assessment form, which had been adapted from the BI and FAQ. Additionally, the Zarit Burden Interview and Family Caregiver Task Inventory were used to survey the main caregivers. Finally, univariate analysis was first used to filter out candidate impact factors, and then, binary logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for cofounders and determine reliable risk factors.ResultsA total of 93.1% of the disabled elderly people in our study reported at least one unmet need. The prevalence of unmet needs for different ADL tasks ranged from 4.6 to 77.2%. The unmet needs with the highest percentages were using vehicles (77.2%), using stairs (73.1%), working on a hobby (72.1%), social interaction (62.6%) and ambulating (60.1%). The factors influencing unmet needs were related to the degree of disability in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (OR = 1.079, p ≤ 0.01), the relationship with caregivers (OR = 1.429, p ≤ 0.05) and the monthly income of caregivers (OR = 0.679, p ≤ 0.05).ConclusionDisabled elderly people living in communities had a high percentage of unmet needs for activities of daily life that required going outside the bedroom and involved spiritual aspects. Unmet needs increased with worsening disability status in IADL, more distanced relationships with caregivers and lower incomes of caregivers. Both government and caregivers should take more action to prevent or reduce unmet needs among the elderly.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12877-018-0856-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Dysphagia is a common health care problem and poses significant risks including mortality and hospitalization. China has many unsolved long-term care problems, as it is a developing country with the largest ageing population in the world. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors of dysphagia among nursing home residents in China to direct caregivers towards preventative and corrective actions. Methods Data were collected from 18 public or private nursing homes in 9 districts of Nanjing, China. A total of 775 older adults (aged 60 ~ 105 years old; 60.6% female) were recruited. Each participant underwent a standardized face-to-face interview by at least 2 investigators. The presence of risk of dysphagia was assessed using the Chinese version of the EAT-10 scale. The Barthel Index (BI) was used to evaluate functional status. Additionally, demographic and health-related characteristics were collected from the participants and their medical files. Univariate analyses were first used to find out candidate risk factors, followed by binary logistic regression analyses to determine reliable impact factors after adjusting for confounders. Results Out of 775 older adults, the prevalence of dysphagia risk was calculated to be 31.1%. A total of 85.0% of the older adults reported at least one chronic disease, and diseases with the highest prevalence were hypertension (49.5%), stroke (40.4%), diabetes (25.5%) and dementia (18.2%). Approximately 11.9% of participants received tube feeding. The mean BI score was 56.2 (SD = 38.3). Risk factors for dysphagia were texture of diet (OR = 2.978, p ≤ 0.01), BI level (OR = 1.418, p ≤ 0.01), history of aspiration, pneumonia and heart attack (OR = 22.962, 4.909, 3.804, respectively, p ≤ 0.01), types of oral medication (OR = 1.723, p ≤ 0.05) and Parkinson disease (OR = 2.566, p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions A serious risk of dysphagia was observed among Chinese nursing home residents. Overall, nursing home residents were moderately dependent, according to the BI level. The risk for dysphagia increased with thinner diet texture, worse functional status, history of aspiration, pneumonia and heart attack, more oral medications and Parkinson disease. The findings of our study may serve to urge nursing home staff to pay more attention to the swallowing function of all residents and to take more actions in advance to prevent or reduce dysphagia.

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In COPD patients, increased induced sputum levels of uPAR, PAI-1 and CAP18 were associated with airflow limitation, health status and exercise tolerance, suggesting that these biomarkers may be implicated in the pathogenesis of COPD.

We investigated the underlying mechanism for the potent proapoptotic effect of paeoniflorin (PF) on human glioma cells in vitro, focusing on signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling. Significant time- and dose-dependent apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation were observed in PF-treated U87 and U251 glioma cells. Expression of STAT3, its active form phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3), and several downstream molecules, including HIAP, Bcl-2, cyclin D1, and Survivin, were significantly downregulated upon PF treatment. Overexpression of STAT3 induced resistance to PF, suggesting that STAT3 was a critical target of PF. Interestingly, rapid downregulation of STAT3 was consistent with its accelerated degradation, but not with its dephosphorylation or transcriptional modulation. Using specific inhibitors, we demonstrated that the prodegradation effect of PF on STAT3 was mainly through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway rather than via lysosomal degradation. These findings indicated that PF-induced growth suppression and apoptosis in human glioma cells through the proteasome-dependent degradation of STAT3.

Background As the country with the largest aging population, China faces an enormous challenge with its elderly support and care. One of the proposed solutions is the development of volunteerism for elderly care. The Senior Care Volunteers Training Program (SCVTP) was initiated by the Red Cross Society of China with the purpose of training volunteers to care for community seniors. As one of the four pilot provinces, Jiangsu Province launched the program since 2017. Aims The present study was conducted to investigate the dropout rate of trained volunteer group leaders, the characteristics of the retained trained volunteer group leaders and the activities that their groups conducted. Additionally, the exploration of the factors influencing the SCVTP's performance was listed as another aim. Methods A cross-sectional study was designed. The study used purposive sampling to select participants who meet the criteria from all the trained volunteer group leaders (n = 623). Demographic questionnaire, volunteer role identity (VRI) scale, attitude toward helping others (AHO) scale, team climate and atmosphere (TCA) scale, and volunteer program performance evaluation (VPPE) questionnaire were used to collect the data online. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the dropout rate and general characteristics of the retained volunteers and the activities. A multiple linear regression equation was developed to study the factors that influence program performance.

Autophagy, a catabolic degradation system, is utilized for destroying and recycling the damaged or unnecessary cellular components. Brain plasticity refers to the remarkable characteristics of brain neurons that change their structure and function according to previous experience. This review was performed by searching the relevant articles in databases of SCIENCEDIRECT, PUBMED, and Web of Science, from respective inception to January 2019. Here, we review the neuroprotective effect of autophagy in neurological diseases and the mechanism of autophagy in brain plasticity. Moreover, the mechanism of autophagy in the process of brain plasticity can provide the possibility for the development of new treatment methods in the future, thus benefiting patients with neurological diseases. In summary, autophagy and brain plasticity play important roles in neurological diseases.