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This study aims to systematically review the efficacy and safety of oral semaglutide in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and provide a basis for the rational use of the drug in clinical practice. From the database's inception until February 2023, a systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, and China Science and Technology Journal Database to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of oral semaglutide at dosages of 3, 7, and 14 mg (trial group) against placebo or other positive control drugs (control group) for the treatment of T2DM. Following literature screening and data extraction, the bias risk assessment tool in the Cochrane reviewer handbook 5.1.0 was used to evaluate the literature quality. Meta‐analysis was carried out with RevMan 5.4 software. A total of 10 RCTs with 9541 patients were included. The meta‐analysis results revealed that compared with placebo or positive control drugs (empagliflozin, sitagliptin, liraglutide, and dulaglutide), oral semaglutide significantly reduced the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in patients (compared to placebo, 3 mg [MD = −0.61%, 95% CI (−0.89, −0.34)], 7 mg [MD = −1.12%, 95% CI (−1.45, −0.79)], 14 mg [MD = −1.08%, 95% CI (−1.32, −0.85)]; compared to positive control drugs (7 mg [MD = −0.26%, 95% CI (−0.38, −0.15)], 14 mg [MD = −0.37%, 95% CI (−0.52, −0.23)]). Oral semaglutide also showed certain advantages over placebo or positive control drugs in terms of weight loss, HbA1c reduction achievement rate, fasting plasma glucose level, and body mass index with overall dose‐dependent efficacy. The incidence of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting caused by oral semaglutide was higher than that of the placebo or positive control drugs, and the incidence of appetite decrease or constipation was higher than that of the placebo. Severe or symptomatic hypoglycemic episodes were reduced compared to positive control drugs. Oral semaglutide has definite clinical benefits of reducing blood glucose, body weight, reducing the risk of hypoglycemia, and with good safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to examine the influence of group membership and cultural conceptions on the regulation of interpersonal distance (IPD) among Chinese and Italian adolescents. Two‐hundred forty participants completed an online computerized version of the Interpersonal Visual Analogue Scale to assess their preferred IPD. A greater distance was found in Chinese than Italian participants. Chinese participants also chose a larger distance from outgroup than ingroup members, whereas no such tendencies were found among Italian participants. Moreover, in the Chinese group, a larger distance from the male target was chosen by females compared to male participants. Finally, all participants maintained greater distance when outgroup members approached from the back than from the front. These findings not only provide evidence that nationality and group membership impact on how individuals regulate spatial boundaries, but also offer a new lens to understand intergroup dynamics shaping social interactions among individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synergism of binary vacancies with the interfacial electric field could be efficient for improving CO2 photoreduction but is hindered by thermodynamic preparations and strict restrictions in lattice mismatches and component selections. Herein, atomic-thin nanosheets of the VO–I-BiOCl/BiOI heterojunction were simply constructed by a cascade electrospray (ESI)-annealing preparation method, achieving the synergism of oxygen–iodine binary vacancies with the interfacial electric field. Demonstrated by experiments and theoretical calculations, the interfacial electric field was successfully constructed to expedite the photogenerated electron–hole separation/transfer. Moreover, oxygen–iodine binary vacancies tuned the surface electronic structures to decrease the activation energy barrier and form a stable rate-limiting *COOH intermediate. Upon the synergism of binary vacancies with the interfacial electric field, CO2 photoreduction was promoted to significantly enhance the selective reduction of CO2 to CO (31.9, 24.5, 2.59, and 1.25-times higher than that of pure BiOCl, BiOI, and unitary vacancies of VO-BiOCl/BiOI and VI-BiOCl/BiOI). This has inspired a new engineering strategy for the synergism of oxygen–iodine binary vacancies with the interfacial electric field, contributing to the improvement of solar-energy-driven conversions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of the polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on the growth of cervical carcinoma cell lines infected with different high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes, as well as the associated regulation of microRNA (miR) expression. Cell proliferation was measured using an MTT assay. The effects of 7 different concentrations of EGCG (100, 80, 60, 40, 20, 10 and 0 µg/ml) on HeLa cell proliferation were assessed. HeLa cell growth was significantly inhibited by EGCG in a dose- and time-dependent manner (P<0.05), and the IC50 was 90.74 and 72.74 µg/ml at 24 and 48 h, respectively. The expression of miR-210, miR-29a, miR-203 and miR-125b in HeLa (HPV16/18+), SiHa (HPV16+), CaSki (HPV16+) and C33A (HPV-) cell lines was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. In CA33 cells, miR-203 (all P<0.001) and miR-125b (P<0.01 and <0.0001) were significantly downregulated by EGCG, and miR-210 was significantly upregulated with 40 and 60 µg/ml EGCG (P<0.0001). miR-125b was significantly downregulated (P<0.001 and <0.0001), and miR-210 and miR-29 were significantly upregulated by ≤80 µg/ml EGCG in HeLa cells (all P<0.0001). In CaSki cells, miR-210, miR-29a (all P<0.001) and miR-125b (P<0.01–0.0001) were significantly upregulated by EGCG. In SiHa cells, miR-125b (both P<0.001) and miR-203 (P<0.01 and <0.0001) were significantly upregulated by EGCG. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that EGCG suppresses cervical carcinoma cell growth, possibly via regulating the expression of miRs, suggesting their potential as therapeutic targets for the control and prevention of cervical cancer. Additionally, EGCG may be considered a novel anti-cervical cancer drug in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]