Nanotechnology has been developed to deliver cargos effectively to the vascular system. Nanomedicine is a novel and effective approach for targeted vascular disease treatment including atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, strokes, peripheral arterial disease, and cancer. It has been well known for some time that vascular disease patients have a higher cancer risk than the general population. During atherogenesis, the endothelial cells are activated to increase the expression of adhesion molecules such as Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1), Vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin, and P-selectin. This biological activation of endothelial cells gives a targetability clue for nanoparticle strategies. Nanoparticle formation has a passive targeting pathway due to the increased adhesion molecule expression on the cell surface as well as increased cell activation. In addition, the VCAM-1-targeting peptide has been widely used to target the inflamed endothelial cells. Biomimetic nanoparticles using platelet and leukocyte membrane fragment strategies have been promising techniques for targeted vascular disease treatment. Cyclodextrin, a natural oligosaccharide with a hydrophobic cavity, increase the solubility of cholesterol crystals at the atherosclerotic plaque site and has been used to deliver the hydrophobic drug statin as a therapeutic in a targeted manner. In summary, nanoparticles decorated with various targeting molecules will be an effective and promising strategy for targeted vascular disease treatment.

Beneficial natural products utilized in cosmetics formulation and pharmaceutical applications are of enormous interest. Lily (Lilium) serves as an essential edible and medicinal plant species with wide classification. Here, we have performed the screening of various extracts that were prepared from flower petals grown from the bulbs of eight Lilium varieties, with a viewpoint to their applicability as a viable source of natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidants agent. Interestingly, our findings indicated that all ethanol and water extracts exhibited a substantially differential spectrum of antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Specifically, Serrano showed a close similarity among ethanol and water extracts among all tested lily petal extracts. Therefore, to obtain a detailed analysis of chemical compounds, liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy was performed in ethanolic and water extracts of Serrano petals. Together, our preliminary results indicated that lily petals extracts used in this study could serve as a basis to develop a potential new whitening agent with powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties for medicinal, functional food, and cosmetic applications.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to assess the daily protein uptake and its relationship with sarcopenia, as defined by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS), among elderly patients with hip fractures.Methods: Forty-seven elderly patients with hip fractures were enrolled in this retrospective observational study. The main outcome measures included protein uptake, muscle mass, and grip strength for sarcopenia in elderly patients. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to AWGS. Wholebody densitometry was used to measure skeletal muscle mass, and muscle strength was evaluated using handgrip testing.Results: Of 47 patients with hip fractures (12 men and 35 women), 37 (79%) patients exhibited insufficient protein intake (range, 0.01-0.588 g/kg/day), and 10 (21%) patients exhibited excessive protein intake (range, 1.215-2.121 g/kg/day). The mean daily protein intake was 56.5 g (range, 7.2–136.0 g). Prevalence of low muscle strength (handgrip strength <18 kg in women and <26 kg in men) was detected in 13 (37%) women and 8 (67%) men (P=0.076). Sarcopenia (lower muscle mass and lower muscle strength) was detected in 9 (26%) women and 6 (50%) men (P=0.119). Although lower protein intake was marginally associated with sarcopenia (P=0.189), it was significantly associated with lower grip strength (P=0.042).Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that insufficient protein intake in elderly patients with hip fractures was common, and lower protein intake was significantly associated with lower muscle strength.

Background: Fall prevention is important for reducing hip fractures. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between variables related to hip fractures according to sex and season.Methods: This study included patients admitted for fragility hip fractures between 2012 and 2021. Patients were interviewed by a junior resident before discharge. Data on sex, age, diagnosis, osteoporosis treatment, direction, voiding problems, ambulatory function, seasons, weather, time of day, place, location, floor condition, activity during fall, and perceived reason for fall were collected and analyzed.Results: A total of 1,118 patients were included (279 males and 839 females). In both sexes, indoor falls were prevalent throughout all seasons, but males showed a higher proportion of outdoor falls, especially in winter during cloudy or snowy weather. Rooms and walking were the most common locations and activities during falls. The poor ambulatory function was associated with a higher prevalence of indoor falls. Osteoporosis treatment rates were low and did not differ according to Koval stage. Winter was associated with higher osteoporosis non-treatment group. Urgency/incontinence in female patients caused a higher proportion of falls during the evening time.Conclusions: Strategies for indoor fall prevention and vigilant osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment are important for all seasons, especially for frail elderly patients. Outdoor fall prevention emphasized for male patients, and education around nighttime falls should be provided for female patients with voiding dysfunction.

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) has emerged as a transformative technology, enabling seamless communication among vehicles and infrastructure to improve road safety, traffic efficiency, and passenger comfort. However, the pervasive collection and exchange of data in IoV environments raise significant privacy concerns, as sensitive information about vehicle locations, driving patterns, and personal preferences may be exposed to unauthorized parties. To address these challenges, this study proposes a novel approach that integrates homomorphic encryption with blockchain to ensure privacy-preserving communication in IoV networks. IoV networks rely on the continuous exchange of data among vehicles, roadside units, and centralized servers to support various applications, including traffic management, navigation, and emergency services. However, the centralized nature of traditional communication architectures poses inherent privacy risks, as sensitive data may be vulnerable to interception, tampering, or unauthorized access. Data integrity was ensured through blockchain storage, with an observed tamper-proof rate of 99.9%, effectively preventing unauthorized access or manipulation of exchanged messages. Despite the additional computational overhead introduced by homomorphic encryption and blockchain operations, our system maintained efficient communication capabilities, achieving an average latency of 50 milliseconds and a throughput of 1000 messages per second. Moreover, scalability was demonstrated as our framework seamlessly accommodated an increasing number of vehicles and communication nodes, with observed linear scalability up to 100,000 connected vehicles. Security analyses revealed robust protection against eavesdropping, data tampering, and replay attacks, with a detection rate exceeding 98%. Overall, our results underscore the viability and effectiveness of our integrated approach in providing privacy-preserving communication for IoV networks, paving the way for secure and resilient connected transportation systems. As IoV continues to evolve, our approach can contribute to the development of privacy-enhancing technologies that empower users to fully leverage the benefits of connected transportation while safeguarding their privacy rights.

Background: This study aimed to compare and analyze the effects of two training modalities—resistance training and power training—on maximal strength (one-repetition maximum, 1RM) and repetition-based muscular endurance in university students.Methods: Fifty-seven university students (34 males and 23 females) participated in a 12-week training intervention. The program was divided into two phases: Phase 1 (first 6 weeks) involved resistance training with a controlled 3-second concentric-eccentric tempo, while Phase 2 (last 6 weeks) incorporated power training with 20-second maximal repetition sets. A total of 12 exercises were included, comprising eight 1RM-based and four repetition-based exercises. Measurements were conducted at three time points—T1 (pre), T2 (mid), and T3 (post)—and included assessments of body composition and exercise performance. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-tests.Results: Significant improvements (P<0.001) were observed across most 1RM-based exercises, particularly during the power training phase. Repetition-based exercises also showed positive trends, although performance declines were noted in the kettlebell exercise for some participants. In terms of body composition, skeletal muscle mass significantly increased across all participants, while male participants exhibited a slight decrease in body fat percentage.Conclusions: These findings suggest that power training is highly effective in improving maximal strength within a short period and that the effectiveness of exercise interventions may differ depending on contraction velocity and training modality. Based on a practical training design for general university students, this study offers foundational insights for developing efficient physical training programs.