Abstract: Evaluation of engineering geological environment and construction of urban layout compose a multi-factors and multi-levels process. How to choose and use condition of engineering geological environment, protect and control the possible engineering geological problem, reduce the occurrence of geological hazard is very important in urban layout. In this paper, we investigate the engineering geological environment comprehensive evaluation with intuitionistic fuzzy information. Motivated by the ideal of dependent aggregation, we shall propose the dependent intuitionistic fuzzy Hamacher weighted average(DIFHWA) operator, in which the associated weights only depend on the aggregated intuitionistic fuzzy arguments and can relieve the influence of unfair arguments…on the aggregated results by assigning low weights to those “false” and “biased” ones and then apply this operator to develop an approach for engineering geological environment comprehensive evaluation with intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. Finally, an illustrative example for engineering geological environment comprehensive evaluation is given to verify the developed approach.
Show more
Abstract: This article has been retracted. You can find the retraction notice here: (http://content.iospress.com/articles/neurorehabilitation/nre1288 ).
Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. Over the past 20 years, both pharmacological and lifestyle interventions have been studied for AD prevention, but the overall results have been disappointing. The majority of disappointing results have raised questions and great challenges for the future of AD prevention trials. Ongoing advances in the knowledge of pathogenesis, in the identification of novel targets, in improved outcome measures, and in identification and validation of biomarkers may lead to effective strategies for AD prevention. In this paper, we review the selection of participants and interventions, trial design, outcome…assessments, and promising biomarkers in prevention trials, and summarize the lessons learned from completed trials and perspectives from ongoing trials in AD prevention. Selection of optimal participants and interventions, coupled with more refined outcomes and more efficient trial design, may have the capacity to deliver a new era of preventive discovery in this challenging area.
Show more
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common progressive dementia in the elderly and places an enormous burden on the individual and society. Presently, the treatments for AD are only symptomatic and do not halt the progression of the disease. With the recent advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of AD in past years, numerous therapies which could modify the disease process are under active investigation. These therapies could attenuate or even reverse the neurodegenerative process by interfering with the underlying pathogenesis including amyloid-β production, tau hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress, inflammation, and excitotoxicity. In this review, new disease-modifying therapies which reduce…amyloid-β production, prevent tau hyperphosphorylation, and provide neuroprotective effects are described, including the results of in vitro and in vivo studies and clinical trials. Some typical therapies with disease-modifying effects have also been discussed.
Show more
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, amyloid, disease-modifying therapies, neuroprotection, tau protein
Abstract: Silica nanomaterials (NMs) are widely used in semiconductor, agriculture, cosmetics, and biomedical applications, in addition to other industries. We investigated the toxic effect of silica NMs on rheological characteristics of human red blood cells (RBCs), including hemolysis, deformability, aggregation, and morphological changes. Red blood cells were exposed to silica nanoparticles (d =∼200 nm) or silica nanowires (d =∼200 nm, l = 1μ m or 10μ m) at a range of concentrations and incubation times. Rheological characteristics were measured using microfluidic-laser diffractometry and aggregometry. Overall, at a concentration greater than 12.5μ g/ml, the hemolytic activity was shown to be in the order of nanoparticles,…short nanowires, and long nanowires. Elongation index (EI) values were insignificant in the RBCs exposed to each of the silica NMs at a concentration of 12.5μ g/ml. Aggregation index (AI) values decreased in the short silica nanowires at a concentration of 12.5μ g/ml compared to other silica NMs. Therefore, the safe concentration of silica NMs for toxicity, in this study, was considered less than 12.5μ g/ml. These hemorheological results provided insight into the interaction between RBCs and silica NMs; they will also help assess the risk of NMs’ toxicity in the blood.
Show more
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the tissue deposition of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) in the brain. Recent studies have shown apoproteins (apo) in amyloid plaques and associated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Western blot analysis revealed that serum amyloid A (apoSAA) protein was present in control and AD patients at low levels compared to apoE and apoA-I, however, AD brains showed a significant increase over control values. Analysis of CSF-HDL from control and AD individuals showed that apoA-I, apoE and apoSAA were on the particle. Immuno-cytochemical analysis showed that SAA was detected in senile plaques in…AD tissue, but was predominantly localized to neuritic plaques. ApoE staining of AD brain confirmed that most plaques contained the apoprotein, similar to Aβ immunoreactivity, whereas apoA-I expressed little staining of senile plaques. No significant differences were detected in the level of apoSAA when compared to APOE genotype in AD samples, suggesting that interactions with apoE were non-specific. These data imply that the specific interactions of SAA with Aβ in the neuritic plaques may play a role in AD.
Show more
Abstract: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a clinically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disease with a strong genetic component. In this review, we summarize most common mutations in MAPT, GRN, and C90RF72, as well as less common mutations in VCP, CHMP2B, TARDBP, FUS gene and so on. Several guidelines have been developed to help gene testing based on genotype–phenotype correlation, the underlying histopathological subtypes, and the neuroanatomic associations. Furthermore, we also summarize molecular pathways implicated by genes and novel targets for FTLD prevention and management in recent years.
Abstract: Background: Cerebral ionic homeostasis impairment, especially Ca2+ , has been observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and also with hypertension. Hypertension and AD both have been implicated in impaired cerebral autoregulation. However, the relationship between the ionic homeostasis impairment in AD and hypertension and cerebral blood flow (CBF) autoregulation is not clear. Objective: To test the hypothesis that a high-salt diet regimen influences the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβand CBF) and CBF, exacerbates cognitive decline, and increases the propensity to AD. Methods: Double transgenic mice harboring the amyloid-β protein precursor (APPswe), and presenilin-1 (PSEN1) along with control littermates, 2 months of age…at initiation of special diet, were divided into 4 groups: Group A, APP/PS1 and Group B, controls fed a high-sodium (4.00%) chow diet for 3 months; Group C, APP/PS1 and Group D, controls fed a low-sodium (0.08%) regular chow diet for 3 months. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and CBF were measured noninvasively using the tail MAP measurement device and magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Aβ plaques numbers in the cortex and hippocampus of APP/PS1 were quantified. Results: In contrary to controls, APP/PS1 mice fed a high-salt diet did not show markedly elevated mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (134±4.8 compared with 162±2.8 mmHg, and 114±5.0 compared with 137±20 mmHg, p < 0.0001). However, a high-salt diet increased CBF in both APP/PS1 and controls and did not alter the cerebral tissue integrity. Aβ plaques were significantly reduced in the cortex and hippocampus of mice fed a high-salt diet. Conclusion: These data suggest that a high-salt diet differently affects MAP and CBF in APP/PS1 mice and controls.
Show more
Abstract: Currently, there is a pressing need to shift the focus to accurate detection of the earliest phase of increasingly preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). Meanwhile, the growing recognition that the pathophysiological process of AD begins many years prior to clinically obvious symptoms and the concept of a presymptomatic or preclinical stage of AD are becoming more widely accepted. Advances in clinical identification of new measurements will be critical not only in the discovery of sensitive, specific, and reliable biomarkers of preclinical AD but also in the development of tests that will aid in the early detection and differential diagnosis of dementia…and in monitoring disease progression. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of biomarkers for preclinical AD, with emphasis on neuroimaging and neurochemical biomarkers. We conclude with a discussion of emergent directions for AD biomarker research.
Show more