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This study adopted an advanced model, combining the technology acceptance model, the theory of reasoned action, the diffusion of innovations, trust, and five aspects of perceived risk, to measure the factors that influence the behavioral intentions of older adults to use mobile payments. A total of 365 questionnaires were collected from older adults aged 55 years or older from 20 community care sites in central Taiwan. Partial least-squares structural equation modeling was used to test our research model. The results showed that attitude was the main determinant of M-payment in older adults. Moreover, increasing the usefulness, ease of use, and observability of M-payment helped older adults improve their attitudes toward M-payment, thereby increasing their intention to use it. Trust had a significant effect on the usefulness and ease of use of M-payment, while the main factors affecting trust were only performance and financial risks.

Neurodegenerative diseases represent a significant unmet medical need in our aging society. There are no effective treatments for most of these diseases, and we know comparatively little regarding pathogenic mechanisms. Among the challenges faced by those involved in developing therapeutic drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, the syndromes are often complex, and small animal models do not fully recapitulate the unique features of the human nervous system. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a novel technology that ideally would permit us to generate neuronal cells from individual patients, thereby eliminating the problem of species-specificity inherent when using animal models. Specific phenotypes of iPSC-derived cells may permit researchers to identify sub-types and to distinguish among unique clusters and groups. Recently, iPSCs were used for drug screening and testing for neurologic disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinocerebellar atrophy (SCA), and Zika virus infection. However, there remain many challenges still ahead, including how one might effectively recapitulate sporadic disease phenotypes and the selection of ideal phenotypes and for large-scale drug screening. Fortunately, quite a few novel strategies have been developed that might be combined with an iPSC-based model to solve these challenges, including organoid technology, single-cell RNA sequencing, genome editing, and deep learning artificial intelligence. Here, we will review current applications and potential future directions for iPSC-based neurodegenerative disease models for critical drug screening.

Despite vitamin D deficiency (VDD) associated with cognitive dysfunction in the general population, the impacts of preoperative VDD on postoperative delirium (POD) and cognitive dysfunction (POCD) remain to be clarified. Meta-analysis of cohort studies. Postoperative care. Preoperative VDD as the prognostic factor. Adult patients undergoing surgery. Databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google scholar, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to September 2021. Random-effects modeling was applied to the pooling of results on the association between preoperative VDD and POD/POCD. The primary outcome was the association of VDD with the risk of POD/POCD, while the secondary outcomes included other prognostic factors (e.g., hypertension) with the risk of POD/POCD. A prediction interval (PI) was calculated to indicate the range of a true effect size of a future study in 95% of all populations. Meta-analysis of seven observational studies involving 2673 patients showed that the pooled incidence of POD/POCD was 29% (95% confidence interval (CI): 18% to 44%). Our results demonstrated that preoperative VDD increased the risk of POD/POCD [odds ratio (OR) = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.21–1.97, p < 0.01; I2 = 29.2%, seven studies, 2673 patients; 95% PI: 0.89–2.67], while vitamin D insufficiency was not associated with a higher risk of POD/POCD (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.49–1.57, p = 0.66; I2 = 62.6%, four studies, 1410 patients; 95% PI: 0.09–8.79). The PI in our primary outcome (i.e., 0.89 to 2.67) containing 1.0 suggested the possibility of inconsistent results in future studies. Patients with POD/POCD were older compared to those without. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, male gender, or smoking was not recognized as risk factors for POD/POCD. Our results demonstrated that preoperative vitamin D deficiency was associated with postoperative cognitive impairment. Given the prediction interval, more future studies are needed to elucidate associations between VDD and POD/POCD. •Postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction are postsurgical cognitive disorders.•Preoperative vitamin D deficiency increased postoperative cognitive disorders' risk.•Preoperative vitamin D deficiency remained a risk factor in subgroup analysis.•The meta-analysis results suggest optimization of preoperative vitamin D status.

The application of high-voltage positive electrode materials in sulfide all-solid-state lithium batteries is hindered by the limited oxidation potential of sulfide-based solid-state electrolytes (SSEs). Consequently, surface coating on positive electrode materials is widely applied to alleviate detrimental interfacial reactions. However, most coating layers also react with sulfide-based SSEs, generating electronic conductors and causing gradual interface degradation and capacity fading. To address this, we propose a Li 2 ZrF 6 coating layer on LiCoO 2 , which exhibits minimal reaction with SSEs, and its decomposition products are electron-conductive-free. Furthermore, this coating layer also efficiently mitigates the layered-to-spinel/rock-salt surface structural transformation in LiCoO 2 . As a result, the In-Li|Li 6 PS 5 Cl | Li 2 ZrF 6 -LiCoO 2 all-solid-state cell demonstrates an initial areal capacity of 5.2 mAh cm −2 and a capacity retention of 80.5% after 1500 cycles at 70 mA/g with high LiCoO 2 areal mass loading (30.19 mg cm −2 ) and a cut-off voltage of 3.9 V (corresponding to potential of 4.5 V versus Li + /Li), at 25 °C. High-voltage positive electrodes in sulfide all-solid-state lithium batteries face challenges due to the low oxidation stability of sulfide electrolytes. Here, authors propose a Li 2 ZrF 6 coating on LiCoO 2 to suppress interfacial reactions and enhance the long-term battery cycling performance.

Reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus can cause herpes zoster (HZ) infection, and renal transplant recipients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy are particularly susceptible to this condition. This study aims to evaluate the potential increase in HZ incidence following influenza vaccination among this specific patient population. This study was a population-based, retrospective, self-controlled case series. Data were retrieved from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database spanning the years 2008 to 2017. Patients diagnosed with HZ within a 6-month period before and after receiving the influenza vaccine were eligible for inclusion. Two distinct time intervals were defined for analysis: the initial 15 days and 30 days following vaccination were categorized as risk intervals, while all other periods served as control intervals. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were computed to compare HZ incidence during the risk intervals with that during the control intervals. This study encompassed a cohort of 4,222 renal transplant recipients who had received the influenza vaccine. Among this group, 67 recipients were subsequently diagnosed with HZ. The IRR during both the initial 15 days (IRR = 0.63; 95 % CI, 0.23–1.89) and the first 30 days (IRR = 1.50; 95 % CI, 0.71–3.16) following influenza vaccination did not demonstrate a statistically significant increase when compared to the post-exposure observation times. Comparable results were also observed when comparing these IRR values to the pre-exposure observation times. The subgroup analysis, stratified by age, sex, and underlying medical conditions (including cancer and autoimmune diseases), revealed that the IRRs did not exhibit statistically significant differences. No significant association between the influenza vaccine and an elevated risk of HZ was detected. The administration of annual influenza vaccines appears to be a reasonable practice for renal transplant recipients.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a highly contagious swine disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). PED causes enteric disorders with an exceptionally high fatality in neonates, bringing substantial economic losses in the pork industry. The trimeric spike (S) glycoprotein of PEDV is responsible for virus-host recognition, membrane fusion, and is the main target for vaccine development and antigenic analysis. The atomic structures of the recombinant PEDV S proteins of two different strains have been reported, but they reveal distinct N-terminal domain 0 (D0) architectures that may correspond to different functional states. The existence of the D0 is a unique feature of alphacoronavirus. Here we combined cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to demonstrate in situ the asynchronous S protein D0 motions on intact viral particles of a highly virulent PEDV Pintung 52 strain. We further determined the cryo-EM structure of the recombinant S protein derived from a porcine cell line, which revealed additional domain motions likely associated with receptor binding. By integrating mass spectrometry and cryo-EM, we delineated the complex compositions and spatial distribution of the PEDV S protein N-glycans, and demonstrated the functional role of a key N-glycan in modulating the D0 conformation. Hsu and co-workers integrate cryo-electron tomography, cryo-electron microscopy and mass spectrometry to reveal the structural polymorphism of a pig coronavirus spike protein within intact viral particles, and how glycosylation modulates the conformational changes pertinent to host recognition.

In Taiwan, cancer is the top cause of death, and the mortality rate of lung cancer is the highest of all cancers. Some studies have demonstrated that multidisciplinary team (MDT) care can improve survival rates of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, no study has discussed the effect of MDT care on different stages of NSCLC. The target population for this study consisted of patients with NSCLC newly diagnosed in the 2005-2010 Cancer Registry. The data was linked with the 2002-2011 National Health Insurance Research Database and the 2005-2011 Cause of Death Statistics Database. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to explore whether the involvement of MDT care had an effect on survival. This study applied the propensity score as a control variable to reduce selection bias between patients with and without involvement of MDT care. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of death of MDT participants with stage III & IV NSCLC was significantly lower than that of MDT non-participants (adjusted HR = 0.87, 95% confidence interval = 0.84-0.90). This study revealed that MDT care are significantly associated with higher survival rate of patients with stage III and IV NSCLC, and thus MDT care should be used in the treatment of these patients.

Barriers to smartphone use often exist among older adults, and increasing smartphone use is beneficial to increasing older adults’ quality of life. Studies of older adults’ smartphone use intentions have mostly adopted the technology acceptance model or unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). However, these models have their limitations. A meta-UTAUT has been developed, but it has not been extensively verified with older adults. This study used the meta-UTAUT model to explore the influences on older adults’ smartphone use intentions and behaviors. A total of 311 adults aged 60 to 75 years who had minimal experience with smartphones were recruited. They participated in a 16 h smartphone training and then completed a questionnaire. The results demonstrated that the meta-UTAUT model can predict older adults’ smartphone use intentions and behaviors. Performance expectancy (PE) and social influence significantly influenced behavioral intention (BI) and attitude toward using smartphones (AT). PE was the strongest factor influencing BI. AT also affected BI. Although facilitating conditions did not significantly affect BI, they had a high influence on AT. To increase smartphone use among older adults, training can be implemented to teach smartphone skills and emphasize the benefits of using smartphones.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant brain tumor. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the first-line chemotherapeutic drug for treating GBM. However, drug resistance is still a challenging issue in GBM therapy. Our preliminary results showed upregulation of androgen receptor (AR) gene expression in human GBM tissues. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of enzalutamide, a specific inhibitor of the AR, on killing drug-resistant and -sensitive glioblastoma cells and the possible mechanisms. Data mining from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database revealed upregulation of AR messenger (m)RNA and protein expressions in human GBM tissues, especially in male patients, compared to normal human brains. In addition, expressions of AR mRNA and protein in human TMZ-sensitive U87 MG and -resistant U87 MG-R glioblastoma cells were elevated compared to normal human astrocytes. Exposure of human U87 MG and U87 MG-R cells to enzalutamide concentration- and time-dependently decreased cell viability. As to the mechanism, enzalutamide killed these two types of glioblastoma cells via an apoptotic mechanism. Specifically, exposure to enzalutamide augmented enzyme activities of caspase-9 rather than those of caspase-8. Moreover, enzalutamide successively triggered an elevation in levels of the proapoptotic Bax protein, a reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c, cascade activation of caspases-3 and -6, DNA fragmentation, and cell apoptosis in human TMZ-sensitive and -resistant glioblastoma cells. Pretreatment with Z-VEID-FMK, an inhibitor of caspase-6, caused significant attenuations in enzalutamide-induced morphological shrinkage, DNA damage, and apoptotic death. Taken together, this study showed that enzalutamide could significantly induce apoptotic insults to human drug-resistant and -sensitive glioblastoma cells via an intrinsic Bax-mitochondrion-cytochrome c-caspase cascade activation pathway. Enzalutamide has the potential to be a drug candidate for treating GBM by targeting the AR signaling axis.

The Cu(II)‐mediated Chan‐Lam coupling reaction offers several benefits for developing point‐of‐care detection devices on microelectrode arrays. However, achieving selectivity on borate ester‐based polymer surfaces has proven difficult due to background reactions. Fluorescence‐based studies were conducted using fluorescently labeled acetylene nucleophiles. Initial experiments revealed significant background fluorescence across the electrode array, indicating selectivity issues. Further investigation uncovered significant background reactions occurring even without copper. To address this, a strategy utilizing an arylbromide‐based polymer was developed, enhancing reaction selectivity by minimizing background non‐specific reactions. Exploration into the confinement mechanism revealed the role of acetylene in forming dimers, facilitating rapid consumption of Cu(II) reagents that escaped from the specific electrodes used. These findings offer a way to construct devices for the multiplex point‐of‐care detection of metabolites, improving performance and accuracy in diagnostic devices. The paper focuses on enhancing the confinement strategy of the Chan‐Lam coupling reaction on microelectrode arrays, achieving efficient, site‐selective DNA‐aptamer immobilization. We also explored the underlying confinement mechanism, demonstrating that aptamers can be immobilized with minimal loss. These advancements pave the way for future point‐of‐care (POC) diagnostics applications.