Health

New research finds the extent of arterial occlusive disease in the popliteal artery correlates with the prognosis of peripheral arterial disease in lower limbs. The study of 31 patients who underwent percutaneous angioplasty of femoropopliteal artery (FPA) proved for the first time that ulcerated plaque observed in the FPA during angioscopy is the source of the thromboembolic mechanism in the popliteal artery.

Advancement in cell lines capable of producing Hepatitis B’s many genotypes can reveal much about the unique virological features and treatment responses eluding researchers of this virus that has been infecting humans as far back as the Bronze Age.

With brain training games receiving much fanfare in recent years, scientists have been eager to explore their cognitive impacts. Now, a research group has developed a new brain training system that provides neurofeedback, allowing trainees to monitor their brain activity as they perform tasks.

Low volcanic temperature ushered in global cooling and thriving dinosaurs, Broccoli compound induces cell death in yeast, A single molecule makes big splash in quantum mechanics, Dengue virus makes mosquitos bite more often, and Asia Research News: How it all began, all in the February's Editor's Choice

An international research collaboration has discovered a potential new diagnostic marker for ulcerative colitis in a trans-ethnic analysis. The finding could lead to the development of a non-invasive, diagnostic blood test to both identify the disease and to determine progression in patients, according to the researchers.

A large-scale study has found that simulation-based surgical training produced an increase of surgeons’ skills for more complex surgeries.

Wastewater-based epidemiological tracking of COVID-19 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic village showed that SARS-CoV-2 was present in areas without diagnosed individuals.

Garden soil houses a variety of bacteria and their natural byproducts — including one that may help halt tumor growth. Lankacidins are molecules that can be isolated from Strepomyces rochei, a common bacterium in soil. In addition to antimicrobial properties, a type of lankacidins, called lankacidin C, can inhibit tumor activity in various cancer cell lines, including leukemia, melanoma, ovarian and breast cancers. Lankacidin C offers a potential foundation on which to design anticancer drugs, but its structure is complicated and difficult to manipulate, according to an international research group. The same group recently identified where antitumor activity is housed on the molecule and has now used that information to simplify lankacidin as a potential starting point to engineer treatments.

Giants in History: In 1939, biochemist Kamala Sohonie (18 June 1911 – 28 June 1998) became the first woman to be accepted into the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Broccoli may contain advantages beyond nutrition. A molecule found in broccoli, cabbage and more digests down into DIM, a compound with brighter benefits than the name implies, such as inducing cell death in breast, prostate and colon cancer. Now, researchers are beginning to understand the mechanism underpinning this molecular behavior — information that could help elucidate future anti-cancer treatments.

A specific deep neural network model called Bidirectional Long-Short-Term Memory can use cough sounds to distinguish sick from healthy children, paving the way for preliminary screening.

Researchers in Singapore and USA have developed a first-of-its-kind country ranking based on in-country experts’ ratings of the quality of palliative care services. The results reveal many countries have much room for improvement, including some high-income countries.

Researchers at International Islamic University Malaysia are investigating whether the prognosis of severe head injury patients improves with early surgical opening of the windpipe to help wean them off mechanical ventilation.

Giants in History: Filipina chemist María Orosa (29 November 1892–13 February 1945) fought malnutrition and food insecurity in the Philippines by devising over 700 culinary creations including Soyalac, a nutrient rich drink made from soybeans, and Darak, rice cookies packed with Vitamin B1, which could prevent beriberi disease caused by Vitamin B1 deficiency.

Researchers from Osaka City University have shown in mice models of Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies, that the intranasal administration of rifampicin and resveratrol in combination is safer and improves cognitive function more than rifampicin alone. The research results are expected to lead to the development of safe and effective nasal spray for the prevention of dementia.

By searching for the protein transglutaminase 1 (TGM1) among patients with various autoimmune skin diseases, researchers have successfully identified a separate disease that can be linked to autoimmunity against TGM1. This backward method demonstrates a new way of identifying autoantigens as markers for various diseases. By letting autoantigens point to the disease, diagnosis and treatment can be facilitated, according to the study now published in PNAS.

In a study of 280 patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI), researchers investigated the 3-year prognostic impact of frailty evaluated by the Kihon checklist (KCL), a survey originally developed to identify elderly individuals who were at risk of requiring support within the Japanese long-term care insurance system. Results showed that the estimated 3-year mortality rate was significantly higher in individuals who ranked high on the KCL, showcasing the checklist as a simple tool to be used alongside other surgical risk scores, in identifying patients who are too frail to benefit from TAVI

Zika virus infection hijacks glucose metabolism for its own good and to the detriment of infected foetuses.

A prototype MRI machine that can be built at low cost and produces high quality neuroimaging is reported in Nature Communications. The machine can help provide access to MRI across low- and middle-income countries, as well as at the point of care.

Asthma sufferers generally find their condition gets worse at night. Now a research group may understand why. Melatonin, a sleep hormone that is sometimes prescribed to treat insomnia, exasperates the constriction of the bronchus - the pathway that moves air to and from your lungs.

Scientists at Hokkaido University and Texas A&M University have identified a key mechanism used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to evade host immune systems.

Examination of Japanese cases of gynecological cancer offers a better understanding of the profile of a rare ovarian tumor and could change treatment guidelines.

Giants in History: Esther Park (1877-1910), born Kim Jeom-dong, was the first female Korean physician to practise modern medicine in Korea.

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong will confer honorary doctoral degrees upon four distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their respective professions and valuable contributions to the well-being of society.

Researchers from the Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine have shown in patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma who received cancer treatment that eliminating the hepatitis C virus with a direct-acting antiviral treatment reduces the risk of the liver cancer progression and increases overall patient survival.

Giants in History: Min Chueh Chang (10 October 1908 – 5 June 1991) was a Chinese-American biologist who studied fertilization in mammalian reproduction.

Poor sleep kills people through medical illnesses, traffic accidents (impaired concentration and decision making), and suicides (relating to mood disorders). Since joining The Education University of Hong Kong in 2015, Dr Esther Lau Yuet-ying, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, has been conducting a long-term research programme that sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of sleep deprivation and its negative effect on emotions, cognition and daily functioning. The findings have been disseminated via public media and workshops to education and government bodies and have led to changes in community attitudes and school policy. They have also resulted in the establishment and strengthening of clinical and consultation support for sleep health in universities and government departments.

Scientists are turning to genomics to better understand the epidemiology of malaria and to inform control and elimination interventions and strategies. In the Lake Victoria region of Kenya, malaria burden remains very high despite more than a decade of intense control activities. A team of researchers from Osaka City University, Nagasaki University, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Mount Kenya University generated whole Plasmodium falciparum genome sequences from the lake region. Their analyses revealed that malaria parasites from this region appear distinct from other parasites from East Africa, while frequencies of known drug resistance markers were similar to those in other East African parasite populations. Their findings will help to develop improved surveillance tools to determine parasite transmission routes and aid clinical disease management.

Giants in History: Indian organic chemist Asima Chatterjee (1917 to 2006) studied the medicinal properties of plant products, especially compounds known as vinca alkaloids.

Giants in History: A Japanese surgeon, Tetsuzo Akutsu (20 August 1922 – 9 August 2007) built the first artificial heart capable of keeping an animal alive.