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Blog – Page 2530

A meta-analysis showed improvement of neuropsychiatric symptoms with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease, although effect sizes were small.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms are challenging to treat in patients with neurodegenerative conditions. In this meta-analysis, researchers investigated the effect of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) on neuropsychiatric symptoms in those with Alzheimer disease (AD) or Parkinson disease (PD). Studies in the analysis included placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials that included at least one ChEI — i.e., donepezil, rivastigmine, or galantamine — and applied at least one validated neuropsychiatric measure, with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) being the most used measure studied. The primary outcomes were hallucinations and delusions. Secondary outcomes included all other neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Original participant data for 6,649 individuals with AD or PD from 17 trials were available for analysis out of 34 eligible trials. In patients with AD, ChEI use was associated with significantly fewer delusions (effect size, −0.08) and hallucinations (−0.09) compared with placebo. In the PD subgroup, ChEIs also were associated with significantly fewer delusions (−0.14) and hallucinations (−0.08). These effects did not differ among ChEI types. ChEIs were associated with lower appetite scores in the AD group and with significantly improved total neuropsychiatric scores in the PD group (−0.18). Increases in baseline neuropsychiatric scores were associated with greater effect size favoring ChEIs in those with PD. Lower baseline cognitive score was associated with increased effect size favoring ChEIs in both AD and PD.

Based on this meta-analysis, ChEIs could be considered in appropriate patients, since ChEIs may reduce hallucinations and delusions in people with AD or PD. Greater effects may be possible if neuropsychiatric symptoms or lower cognitive scores are present at the time of initiation. ChEIs decreased appetite scores in AD, which should be considered in those who are underweight. Whether ChEIs also improve neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies requires further study, since data were insufficient to assess that population in this analysis.

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Researchers have developed a new computer simulation of the early universe that closely aligns with observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Initial JWST observations hinted that something may be amiss in our understanding of early galaxy formation. The first galaxies studied by JWST appeared to be brighter and more massive than theoretical expectations.

The findings, published in The Open Journal of Astrophysics, by researchers at Maynooth University, Ireland, with collaborators from US-based Georgia Institute of Technology, show that observations made by JWST do not contradict theoretical expectations. The so-called “Renaissance simulations” used by the team are a series of highly sophisticated computer simulations of galaxy formation in the early universe.

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You might have forgotten about it, but Apple unveiled what it described as the “next-generation” of CarPlay way back at WWDC 2022. Since that initial announcement, however, Apple hasn’t said a word about next-gen CarPlay, nor have any of its automaker partners.

Despite the silence, Apple still seems adamant that the first vehicles with next-generation CarPlay will be announced this year…

On its website dedicated to CarPlay, there’s a small section at the bottom dedicated to the “Next generation of CarPlay.” Apple explains:

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — First came the devastation, then people’s desperation.

Hurricane Otis blasted the Mexican tourist port of Acapulco like no other storm before in the Eastern Pacific. As a monstrous Category 5 meteor, with its 165 mph (266 kph) winds, it destroyed what it found in its path: large residential buildings, houses, hotels, roads and stores.

Fallen trees and power line poles covered practically all the streets in this city of more than 1 million people. The walls and the roofs of buildings and houses were left partially or totally ripped off, while some cars were buried under debris.

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A breakthrough in treating cervical cancer is reported, with participants in a recent trial achieving a five-year survival rate of 80% – up from the previous average of 70%. The study used a combination of existing, cheap drugs ahead of usual radiotherapy treatment.

Cervical cancer cell illustration. Credit: PRB ARTS

Phase III of the INTERLACE trial, funded by Cancer Research UK and University College London (UCL) Cancer Trials Centre, assessed whether a short course of induction chemotherapy (IC) prior to chemoradiation (CRT) could reduce the rate of relapse and death among patients with cervical cancer. Researchers involved in the study presented the preliminary results at the recent European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress.

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Hussam Amrouch has developed an AI-ready architecture that is twice as powerful as comparable in-memory computing approaches. As reported in the journal Nature Communications (“First demonstration of in-memory computing crossbar using multi-level Cell FeFET”), the professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) applies a new computational paradigm using special circuits known as ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFETs). Within a few years, this could prove useful for generative AI, deep learning algorithms and robotic applications.

  • The new architecture enables both data storage and calculations to be carried out on the same transistors, boosting efficiency and reducing heat.
  • The chip performs at 885 TOPS/W, significantly outperforming current CMOS chips which operate in the range of 10–20 TOPS/W, making it ideal for applications like real-time drone calculations, generative AI, and deep learning algorithms.
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    A collaborative team of researchers led by prof. Cees Dekker at TU Delft, in partnership with international colleagues, introduces a pioneering breakthrough in the world of nanomotors – the DNA origami nanoturbine. This nanoscale device could represent a paradigm shift, harnessing power from ion gradients or electrical potential across a solid-state nanopore to drive the turbine into mechanical rotations.

  • A 25-nanometer DNA nanoturbine, driven by water flow, spins up to 20 revolutions per second.
  • Ion-sensitive rotation offers unique applications like targeted drug delivery.
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    “There is this kind of power the images have. It really isn’t from us. We’re creating the context in which you can appreciate them, but we’re not forcing it,” Kahn said.

    In the background, award-winning actress Michelle Williams narrates what we see, which, Kahn admits, was a bit of a deviation from his usual filmmaking blueprint.

    “Many of my films are done just through putting together interviews with people or encounters with people,” he said. Or in other words, there is no doctored narrative.

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