Nannies Go Rogue? A Call for Research into Nanny-Induced Elderly Abuse in China.

Older people often face varied and vicious abuse from care workers. Situations are often more pronounced for older people who live with additional cognitive or physical difficulties, such as dementia and disabilities, the prevalence of which has been on the rise in China and elsewhere. Recent discoveries of elderly abuse in China, which span from alarming levels of verbal, physical, psychological, financial, to sexual abuse, are all caused by nannies or "bao mu". Different from Western countries, the word nanny is often used to refer to people who offer caregiving help in residential settings at large, regardless of the age of the care recipients. What is also different is the lack of regulations or even rigorous training and evaluation processes for nannies in China: almost anyone could become a nanny-even though a background check is often required for nannies, this process is often highly variable and dependent on the specific labour agencies that nannies are registered with. Yet without structured studies and systematic data, little is known about the extent and severity of nanny-induced elderly abuse in China. To this end, this paper aims to discuss the unique elderly care environment-such as the "721 Rule"-in China, particularly in the post-COVID era, and highlight the critical need for timely and rigorous studies on the potential prevalence and severity of nannies' abuse and neglect of older people.

Deep learning enables automatic adult age estimation based on CT reconstruction images of the costal cartilage.

OBJECTIVE: Adult age estimation (AAE) is a challenging task. Deep learning (DL) could be a supportive tool. This study aimed to develop DL models for AAE based on CT images and compare their performance to the manual visual scoring method. METHODS: Chest CT were reconstructed using volume rendering (VR) and maximum intensity projection (MIP) separately. Retrospective data of 2500 patients aged 20.00-69.99 years were obtained. The cohort was split into training (80%) and validation (20%) sets. Additional independent data from 200 patients were used as the test set and external validation set. Different modality DL models were developed accordingly. Comparisons were hierarchically performed by VR versus MIP, single-modality versus multi-modality, and DL versus manual method. Mean absolute error (MAE) was the primary parameter of comparison. RESULTS: A total of 2700 patients (mean age = 45.24 years ± 14.03 [SD]) were evaluated. Of single-modality models, MAEs yielded by VR were lower than MIP. Multi-modality models generally yielded lower MAEs than the optimal single-modality model. The best-performing multi-modality model obtained the lowest MAEs of 3.78 in males and 3.40 in females. On the test set, DL achieved MAEs of 3.78 in males and 3.92 in females, which were far better than the MAEs of 8.90 and 6.42 respectively, for the manual method. For the external validation, MAEs were 6.05 in males and 6.68 in females for DL, and 6.93 and 8.28 for the manual method. CONCLUSIONS: DL demonstrated better performance than the manual method in AAE based on CT reconstruction of the costal cartilage. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Aging leads to diseases, functional performance deterioration, and both physical and physiological damage over time. Accurate AAE may aid in diagnosing the personalization of aging processes. KEY POINTS: • VR-based DL models outperformed MIP-based models with lower MAEs and higher R2 values. • All multi-modality DL models showed better performance than single-modality models in adult age estimation. • DL models achieved a better performance than expert assessments.

Structure-based bioisosterism design, synthesis, insecticidal activity and structure-activity relationship (SAR) of anthranilic diamide analogues containing 1,2,4-oxadiazole rings.

BACKGROUND: Anthranilic diamide derivatives are among the most important classes of synthetic insecticides. Moreover, the 1,2,4-oxadiazole heterocycle, a bioisostere of amide, has been extensively used in pesticides. In order to discover novel molecules with high insecticidal activities, a series of anthranilic diamide analogues containing 1,2,4-oxadiazole rings were designed and synthesised. RESULTS: A series of novel anthranilic diamide derivatives containing 1,2,4-oxadiazole were obtained, and confirmed by 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The structure of 3-bromo-N-(4-chloro-2-methyl-6-{3-[(methylsulphonyl)methyl]-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl}phenyl)-1-(3-chloropyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxamide was further characterised by X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, bioassays showed that most of the newly synthesised compounds displayed 100% mortality against Plutella xylostella at 100 mg L-1 , and compound 3IIl showed 90% larvicidal activities at a concentration of 0.5 mg L-1 . The LC50 value of 3IIl was 0.20 mg L-1 , which indicated that it may be used as a potential leading compound for further structural optimisation. Furthermore, brief comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) models were established to study the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of the title compounds. CONCLUSION: Compound 3IIl may be used as a potential leading compound for further structural optimisation, and SARs and CoMFA models could provide reliable clues for further structural optimisation. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Melittin induces human gastric cancer cell apoptosis via activation of mitochondrial pathway.

AIM: To investigate the apoptotic effects of melittin on SGC-7901 cells via activation of the mitochondrial signaling pathway in vitro. METHODS: SGC-7901 cells were stimulated by melittin, and its effect on proliferation and apoptosis of was investigated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, morphologic structure with transmission electron microscopy, annexin-V/propidium iodide double-staining assay, measuring mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) levels, and analyzing reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations were analyzed by flow cytometry. Cytochrome C (Cyt C), apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), endonuclease G (Endo G), second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (Smac)/direct IAP binding protein with low isoelectric point (Diablo), and FAS were analyzed by western blot. The expression of caspase-3 and caspase-8 was measured using activity assay kits. RESULTS: Melittin was incubated at 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, or 6.0 µg/mL for 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 h and showed a time- and concentration-dependent inhibition of SGC-7901 cell growth. Melittin induced SGC-7901 cell apoptosis, which was confirmed by typical morphological changes. Treatment with 4 µg/mL melittin induced early apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells, and the early apoptosis rates were 39.97% ± 3.19%, 59.27% ± 3.94%, and 71.50% ± 2.87% vs 32.63% ± 2.75% for 1, 2, and 4 h vs 0 h (n = 3, P < 0.05); the ROS levels were 616.53% ± 79.78%, 974.81% ± 102.40%, and 1330.94% ± 93.09% vs 603.74% ± 71.99% (n = 3, P < 0.05); the MMP values were 2.07 ± 0.05, 1.78 ± 0.29, and 1.16 ± 0.25 vs 2.55 ± 0.42 (n = 3, P < 0.05); caspase-3 activity was significantly higher compared to the control (5492.3 ± 321.1, 6562.0 ± 381.3, and 8695.7 ± 449.1 vs 2330.0 ± 121.9), but the caspase activity of the non-tumor cell line L-O2 was not different from that of the control. With the addition of the caspase-3 inhibitor (Ac-DEVD-CHO), caspase-3 activity was significantly decreased compared to the control group (1067.0 ± 132.5 U/g vs 8695.7 ± 449.1 U/g). The expression of the Cyt C, Endo G, and AIF proteins in SGC-7901 cells was significantly higher than those in the control (P < 0.05), while the expression of the Smac/Diablo protein was significantly lower than the control group after melittin exposure (P < 0.01). Ac-DEVD-CHO did not, however, have any effect on the expression of caspase-8 and FAS in the SGC-7901 cells. CONCLUSION: Melittin can induce apoptosis of human gastric cancer (GC) cells through the mitochondria pathways, and it may be a potent agent in the treatment of human GC.

[Monoclonal antibody preparation and identification of vascular endothelial growth factor 165 expressed in vitro].

AIM: To prepare a monoclonal antibody against human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165), for further study the VEGF165 in the tumorigenesis, tumor cell migration and the tumor cells escape from the immune response. METHODS: VEGF165 gene was cloned from the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) by RT-PCR, and then cloned into the pGEX-6P1, constructed the prokaryotic expression of pGEX-6P1-VEGF165. The fusion -protein of VEGF165 was expressed in E.coli (BL21) induced by the 1.0 mmol/L IPTG at 37DegreesCelsius after 4 h. The fusion-protein was purified by the MicroSpin GST purification kit for immunized the BALB/c mouse. The monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the VEGF165 were prepared by hybridoma technique, and ELISA and Western blot identified their immunoglobulin subclass and specificity. And we used the inhibition the embryo angiogenesis assay, inhibition the HUVEC migration assay and inhibition the HUVEC tubule information assay to study the bioactivity of the mAbs of VEGF165. RESULTS: The sequence of the VEGF165 is agreed to the GenBank, and we obtained five species VEGF165 mAbs, and the titer of the antibody is high, and we named, they are 5A6, 3F5, 6H3, 7D10 and 7A10. Our study showed that the 5A6, 3F5, 6H3, 7D10 were classified to IgG2a, 7A10 was classified to IgG2b, and the light chain is k.Meanwhile the purified mAbs inhibited formation of chicken embryo blood vessels, and inhibited tubule formation of the HUVEC and inhibited migration of the HUVEC. CONCLUSION: mAbs against human VEGF165 have the effective bioactivity, which would play a significant role for further study the mechanism of VEGF165.

Effects of Changtai granules, a traditional compound Chinese medicine, on chronic trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis in rats.

AIM: To study the effects of Changtai granules (CTG), a traditional compound Chinese medicine, on chronic trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis in rats. METHODS: Healthy adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats of both sexes, weighing 250-300 g, were employed in the present study. The rat colitis models were induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) enemas at a concentration of 100 mg/kg in 50% ethanol. The experimental animals were randomly divided into dexamethasone (DX) treatment, CTG treatment, and model control groups, which were intracolicly treated daily with DX (0.2 mg/kg), CTG at doses of 2.9, 5.7 and 11.4 g crude drug/kg, and the equal amount of saline respectively from 6 h following induction of the colitis in rats inflicted with TNBS to the end of study. A normal control group of rats treated without TNBS but saline enema was also included in the study. After 3 wk of treatment, the animals were assessed for colonal inflammatory and ulcerative responses with respect to mortality, frequency of diarrhea, histology and myeloperoxidase activity (MPO). RESULTS: The therapeutic effect of CTG on ulcerative colitis (UC) was better than DX. CTG effectively inhibited the activity of granulocytes, macrophages and monocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Also it reduced MPO and formation of inflammation in colonic mucosal tissue. Furthermore, administration of CTG significantly prevented body mass loss and death, and decreased frequency of diarrhea in UC rats, when compared with the model control group rats. CONCLUSION: CTG would prove to be an ideal drug for chronic UC, and is warranted to be studied further.