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Rhubarb (Da‐huang in pinyin, Radix Rhei Et Rhizome in pharmaceutical name) is a heat‐clearing and laxative herbal medicine, which is widely used to treat diabetic kidney disease in China. The study aims to decrypt the underlying mechanisms of the treatment of diabetic kidney disease using a systems pharmacology approach. Active compounds and corresponding potential therapeutic targets were harvested by utilizing the database of TCMSP. DKD targets were adopted from DrugBank, OMIM, TTD, and GAD databases. Then a network of Rhubarb‐ compounds ‐ target ‐ DKD network was harvested. The PPI network was then generated by the String database and subjected to Cytoscape software to harvest major and core targets network by topological analysis. Genes from the core targets network were further subjected to GO and KEGG enrichment analysis to figure out potential targeting pathways. Human podocyte cells (HPC) were used to further investigate the mechanism of against DKD. A total of 6 active ingredients and 271 targets of Rhubarb were picked out. 11 cellular biological processes and 18 pathways of mostly associated with inflammatory response, apoptosis, fibrosis, and peripheral circulation. Moreover, experimental validation suggests that Rhubarb increased cell viability. Rhubarb extract significantly suppressed the expression of NF‐kappa B, Bcl‐2, Caspase‐3, and Cleaved Caspase‐3, promoted the expression of AMPK and Bax, and decreased the release of cytokines. Rhubarb could alleviate DKD via the molecular mechanisms predicted by network pharmacology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food is people's primal want. A reasonable diet and healthy food not only provide nutrients for human growth but also contribute to disease prevention and treatment, while following an unhealthy diet can lead to an increased risk of many diseases, especially metabolic disorders, such as diabetes. Nature is enriched with different food sources, and it seems that purely natural products are more in line with the current concept of health, which enhance the formation of the notion that "Food/Diet Supplements from Natural Sources as a Medicine." As a delicious fruit, the medicinal values such as anticancer, antibacterial, antioxidation, and antiglycating properties of lychee have been found. Lychee (Litchi in Chinese) is a subtropical fruit plant belonging to the family Sapindaceae. It has been widely cultivated in warm climates worldwide, particularly in China, for thousands of years. In recent years, various phytochemical components such as quercetin, procyanidin A2, and (2R)-naringenin-7-O-(3-O-αL-rhamnopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranoside) have been identified in a lychee seed, which may lend a lychee seed as a relatively safe and inexpensive adjuvant treatment for diabetes and diabetic complications. In fact, accumulating evidence has shown that lychee seed, lychee seed extracts, and related compounds have promising antihyperglycemic activities, including improving insulin resistance, anti-inflammatory effect, lipid regulation, neuroprotection, antineurotoxic effect, and renoprotection effect. In this review, we summarized publications on antiglycemic effects and mechanisms of lychee seed, lychee seed extracts, and related compounds, which included their efficacies as a cure for diabetes and diabetic complications in cells, animals, and humans, attempting to obtain a robust evidence basis for the clinical application and value of lychee seed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with severe mental illnesses (SMI) were at high risk of infection during Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study examined hospitalized SMI patients' attitude and knowledge towards the COVID-19 infection. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in five psychiatric hospitals located in Gansu province, the most economically underdeveloped area in China. Patients' attitude towards preventive measures and knowledge of COVID-19 were measured by a self-report questionnaire. A total of 925 hospitalized patients with SMI were recruited. Of them, 84.8% (95%CI: 82.4%–87.1%) had positive attitudes towards preventive measures of the COVID-19 outbreak. Being married (OR: 1.55, 95%CI: 1.05–2.30) and a higher educational level (OR: 1.63, 95%CI: 1.12–2.38) were independently associated with positive attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures, whereas higher educational level was associated with better knowledge of the COVID-19 outbreak (β: 0.231, P < 0.001). Patients mainly received COVID-19 relevant knowledge from public media (58.9%), followed by their clinicians (33.2%). Most hospitalized SMI patients in economically underdeveloped areas in China showed positive attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures. However, public health education on COVID-19 relevant knowledge by mental health professionals was inadequate to reduce the risk of transmission and infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a powerful risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Although lifestyle intervention reduces several of the symptoms of the syndrome and cardiovascular risks, the lifestyle intervention that yields the benefits is restrictive. Jinlida is a Chinese patent medicine that has shown activity in type 2 diabetes, which has been approved in China. Preclinical studies in Jinlida granules support an improved role of abnormal glucose and lipids metabolism as well as reducing weight. Here, we describe the protocol of an ongoing clinical trial investigating a new therapy for metabolic syndrome in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism. Methods: This study will enroll 880 subjects (aged 18–70 years) who have metabolic syndromes with abnormal glucose metabolism. All the participants in a double-blind, parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, will receive Jinlida or placebo, orally, 9 g/time, three times daily for 2–4 years period on the basis of lifestyle intervention. The primary outcome measure (Incidence of type 2 diabetes) will be assessed during intervention cycles. Adverse events were monitored. All statistical tests will be performed using a two-sided test, and a p ≤ 0.05 (two-sided test) will be considered to be statistically significant results. Discussion: Results from this study will provide evidence on whether incorporating oral Jinlida granules treatment into lifestyle intervention can delay or inhibit the development of diabetes mellitus in metabolic syndrome subjects with abnormal glucose metabolism. Clinical trial registration: Registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn/enIndex.aspx. Trial registration number: ChiCTR1900023241. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Jinlida granules are a commonly prescribed oral medication in China used in combination with antidiabetic drugs to lower blood glucose. The aim of this study was to systematically identify and pool the findings of randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness and safety of Jinlida granules as add‐on therapy for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wang Fang, PubMed, China biology medicine (CBM), and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP) databases were searched for papers regarding the effects of Jinlida granules in T2D published before 1 July 2018. A pooled analysis of extracted data was performed using random‐effects models. Results: In all, data were retrieved for 15 studies including 1810 individuals. Decreases in HbA1c were greater in groups receiving Jinlida granules as add‐on therapy compared with control groups (n = 1820; mean difference − 0.66; 95% confidence interval − 0.72, −0.60; P < 0.00001; I2 = 38%). In addition, Jinlida granules reduced body mass index and had beneficial effects on homeostatic model assessment of β‐cell function and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. No obvious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Findings from this meta‐analysis demonstrate additional benefits of Jinlida granules as an add‐on therapy for T2D and that Jinlida granules are generally safe. Treatment with Jinlida granules provided clinically and statistically significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose, 2‐hour post‐load glucose, and HbA1c levels in patients with T2D. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size and study limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phytochemical investigation on gorgonianMuricellasp. from East China Sea resulted in the isolation of eight eunicellin diterpenoids including two new ones, muricellins A-B (1,2). Chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques (1D and 2D NMR and MS) and by comparison with data reported in the literature. Anti-rheumatoid arthritis activities of1,3,4, and6have been evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A coal bed water in Zhaolou coal mine of eastern China contained abundant microbial consortia, which could convert Baiyinhua native lignite to biogenic methane. The major microbes in coal bed water were bacteria (88%) includingProteobacteriaandFirmicutes, and the rest of it were assigned toMethanobacterium. Methane generation rate with this microbial consortium was up to 72 μmol/g coal in 28 d culture. After treatments with the enriched culture, the ash, volatility contents, and hydrophobicity of residual lignite decreased, while its active functional groups containing oxygen and hydrogen increased. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the 1990s, lean construction has gradually influenced ideas and methods of construction management, and played constantly an important role in improving management efficiency and economic effectiveness in some construction enterprises. In international research field for lean construction, last planner system (LPS) is one of the most powerful implementation tools and has become an important part, but in China it is an emerging field. In this paper, the origin, connotation and evolution of LPS are illustrated. A framework of LPS is outlined based on researching the existing literatures. And under the framework, the related studies on its operation mode, operating environment, running evaluation and engineering applications are reviewed. Also the limitations of the existing studies are analyzed and the researches in the future are argued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe patient characteristics associated with preoperative anxiety and subsequently assess the relationship between preoperative anxiety and postoperative anxiety, pain, sleep quality, nausea and vomiting.Methods: The study collected data from patients undergoing elective operation from 12 hospitals in China. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) were used to assess anxiety and sleep quality before surgery. Evaluations of anxiety, pain, sleep quality, nausea and vomiting were quantified using the Visual Analogue Scale on postoperative days 1 and 2.Results: Data from 997 patients were analyzed. Preoperatively, 258 (25.9%) patients had high anxiety (STAI-State>44). Multivariate analyses showed a significant relationship between high anxiety and female gender (OR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.08-2.57, p = 0.02), highly invasive surgery (OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.29-4.06, p = 0.005), higher trait anxiety (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.20-1.28, p < 0.001) and insomnia (AIS ≥ 6, OR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.17-2.76, p = 0.008). Preoperative anxiety demonstrated a negative correlation with postoperative anxiety following highly invasive surgery; this became a positive relationship following less invasive surgery. Preoperative anxiety was also positively related to postoperative pain and poor sleep quality. The correlation between preoperative anxiety and postoperative nausea and vomiting was not statistically significant.Conclusion: Female gender, highly invasive surgery, higher trait anxiety and insomnia are independent risk factors for high preoperative anxiety. Surgical invasiveness influences association between pre- and postoperative anxiety. Higher preoperative anxiety is related to poorer sleep quality and more severe pain postoperatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modaomen Waterway is the main outlet of the Pear River system and an important water source for Zhuhai and Macao. The water quality of 13 sampling sites in Modaomen Waterway, phytoplankton, and environmental factors were investigated at 21 sampling sites in 4 drinking water source groups, which transport water from Modaomen Waterway and connect with each other, in August and October of 2021. A total of 73 genera of phytoplankton in eight phyla were identified, with a total of 150 species, most of them belonging to Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, and Bacillariophyta . The relative abundance of Cyanophyta was higher than 90% in the DJS and YL reservoirs during flood and dry seasons; Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, and Bacillariophyta were dominant phyla during different seasons; and their distribution was balanced in the ZXD and ZY reservoirs. The Shannon-Wiener index, Pielous uniformity index, and Margalef richness index showed that the ZY reservoir had the most abundant biodiversity, which indicated the best water quality, followed by the ZXD and YL reservoirs. Conversely, the DJS was the least diverse reservoir for phytoplankton. The PCoA analysis indicated significant differences in plankton structures in ZXD and ZY with the other two reservoirs ( P <0.05), respectively. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the main environmental factors affecting the distribution of the phytoplankton community were NO 3 - , TOC, TP, Cl - , and NH 4 + -N. These results indicated that the phytoplankton community of the four reservoirs were greatly affected by the nutrient salt caused by water transport, which suggested that the water quality of Modaomen Waterway should be improved to increase reservoir water nutrition to ensure the safety of drinking water sources.

Background: Diabetic renal fibrosis (DRF) is an irreversible renal pathological change in the end-stage of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), which plays a significant role in the development and deterioration of the disease. However, data for bibliometric analysis of renal fibrosis in DKD is currently missing. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive and visualized view of DRF research and lay the foundation for further studies., Materials and Methods: Firstly, the data was collected from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. Secondly, the Web of Science analytic tool was performed to analyze publication years, authors, countries/regions, organizations, and citation frequency. Finally, CiteSpace was employed to construct a visualization bibliometric network to reveal the emerging trends and hotspots of DRF., Results: A total of 3,821 publications from 1985 to 2020 were included in this study. The number of publications has maintained a growth trend since 2003. Cooper is the most prolific author in this field, and the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology ranking as first place compared with other journals. In terms of the number of publications, China contributed the most to DRF. Monash University is the organization that published the most papers. The top 5 clusters of keyword co-appearance are "chronic kidney disease", "primary biliary cirrhosis", "receptor", "TGF-beta", "renal tubulointerstitium". The top 5 clusters of reference co-citation are "microRNAs", "bone morphogenetic protein", "hypertrophy", "glomerulosclerosis", "diabetic kidney disease". The strongest citation burst of keyword is "diabetic kidney disease" and the strongest burst of cited reference is "Meng, 2016"., Conclusions: The present study analyzed the research hotspots, Frontiers, and development trend of DRF and have important implications for future research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Jin, Duan, Zhang, Duan, Lian and Tong.)

Background: Joint contractures, which affect activity, participation, and quality of life, are common complications of neurological conditions among elderly residents in long-term care facilities. This study examined the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales in a population with joint contractures., Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. The sample included elderly residents older than 64 years with joint contractures in an important joint who had lived at one of 12 long-term care facilities in Taiwan for more than 6 months (N = 243). The Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales for joint contractures was generated from the English version through five stages: translation, review, back-translation, review by a panel of specialists, and a pretest. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity were evaluated, and the results were compared with those for the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule., Results: The Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales had excellent reliability, with a Cronbach α coefficient of 0.975 (mean score, 28.98; standard deviation, 17.34). An exploratory factor analysis showed three factors and one factor with an eigenvalue > 1 that explained 75.176 and 62.83 % of the total variance in the Activity subscale and Participation subscale, respectively. The subscale-to-total scale correlation analysis showed Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.881 for the Activity subscale and 0.843 for the Participation subscale. Pearson's product-moment correlation revealed that the correlation coefficient (r) between the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule was 0.770, whereas that for the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale was - 0.553; these values were interpreted as large coefficients., Conclusions: The underlying theoretical model of the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales functions well in Taiwan and has acceptable levels of reliability and validity. However, the Chinese version must be further tested for applicability and generalizability in future studies, preferably with a larger sample and in different clinical domains.

Longipetalol A ( 1 ) is an unprecedented highly modified triterpenoid with a unique 1,2- seco -3-(2-oxo-phenylethyl)-17α-13,30-cyclodammarane skeleton, featuring an acetal-lactone fragment. It was isolated from Dichapetalum longipetalum along with two additional derivatives, namely, longipetalols B ( 2 ) and C ( 3 ). Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic analyses combined with single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1 , 2 , and 3 exhibited inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 macrophages.

With the rapid development of industry, chromium (Cr) has become one of the main soil heavy metal pollutants in China, seriously affecting the soil ecological environment and health of residents. In this study, contaminated soil samples were taken around the tannery sludge yard area in Heibei Province. The Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was employed to analyze the structure and assembly processes of soil bacterial communities at different pollution levels. Results showed that chromium pollution significantly influences soil properties and soil bacterial communities. The composition and structure of bacterial communities were significantly shifted at different pollution levels. Furthermore, the α diversity of bacterial communities may decrease with relatively high concentrations of chromium. Bacterial communities in chromium polluted soil can be divided into 55 phyla, where Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes are the dominant phyla (relative abundance>5%). Moreover, the soil bacterial communities were dominated by the deterministic assembly process (homogeneous selection) and the stochastic ratios decreased with increases in the concentration of chromium in soil. The total concentration of chromium, soil moisture, pH, and organic matter were significantly correlated ( P <0.05) with the bacterial communities. Therefore, these soil properties might be the driving factors affecting the structure of bacterial communities.

Background: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the main cause of end-stage kidney disease and has become a heavy economic and social burden due to its high prevalence and morbidity. The most effective strategy is that patients with DKD should be diagnosed and treated early. Preliminary studies showed that the Chinese herbal Tangshen Formula (TSF) may delay the progression of DKD, reducing microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria and improving renal function. We designed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of TSF in patients with DKD., Methods/design: This trial is a 13-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. A total of 632 participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to an experiment group (TSF plus losartan) and a control group (placebo plus losartan). The trial cycle will last 24 weeks. The primary outcome will be the change in the urine microalbumin-creatinine ratio from baseline to week 24. The secondary outcome will be the change in the rate of progression to the clinical proteinuria period after intervention, the rate of urine microalbumin negative conversion, the rate of normal urinary microalbumin, the doubling rate of the baseline creatinine value and the glomerular filtration rate between the two groups. Safety in medication will also be evaluated., Discussion: We hypothesize that patients with type 2 diabetes in the early stage of DKD will benefit from TSF. If successful, this study will provide evidence-based recommendations for clinicians., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03009864. Registered January 2017.

Three new polyunsaturated lipids, (6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca-6,9,12,15-tetraen-3-one (1), (6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)-1-bromooctadeca-6,9,12,15-tetraen-3-one (2), and (Z)-ethyl docos-5-enoate (3), together with two known polyunsaturated lipids, 4(Z),7(Z),10(Z)-tridecatrienoic acid (4) and (6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca-1,6,9,12,15-pentaen-3-one (5), were isolated from the marine sponge Haliclona sp., which was collected from Guangxi, using HSCCC and HPLC methods. Chemical structures of the five compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques.

A chemical investigation of marine sponge Jaspis stellifera, collected from the South China Sea, led to the isolation of four new isomalabaricane-type triterpenoids, jaspiferins C-F (1-4). The structures of those compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods. Jaspiferin C (1), which has the six-membered carbon ring at the side chain, was discovered for the first time from the isomalabaricane-type triterpenoids. The hypothesis of a biogenetic pathway to generate jaspiferin C (1) was depicted.

Background/aims: To study the clinical features of elderly Chinese patients with autoimmune hepatitis., Materials and Methods: The clinical features of 36 patients diagnosed at age >60 years were compared with those of 39 patients aged <50 years., Results: The M:F ratio was 1:35 (>60 years) vs. 3:36 (<50 years). The patients >60 years had a higher frequency of cirrhosis at presentation than the patients <50 years (52.8% vs. 15.4%, p=0.001). The patients >60 years also had a significantly increased incidence of ascites at presentation (41.7% vs. 10.3%, p=0.001) and lower serum albumin levels (p=0.037). There were significant differences between older and younger patients with respect to the frequencies or titers of anti-nuclear antibody (46.2% vs. 83.3%, p=0.011). HLA DR3 positivity occurred more frequently in the patients <50 years than in those >60 years (59.0% vs. 19.4%, p<0.001), whereas HLA DR4 occurred more often in the patients >60 years (63.9% vs. 25.6%, p=0.001). Treatment failure occurred more frequently in the patients <50 years (28.2% vs. 9.1%, p=0.041). However, there were no significant differences between the groups with respect tomode of onset, other clinical signs at presentation biochemical parameters, and smooth muscle antibody positivity., Conclusion: Elderly patients have a greater frequency of cirrhosis at presentation, anti-nuclear antibody, HLA DR4 positivity than patients <50 years, and they have a lower occurrence of treatment failure. Conventional corticosteroid regimens may be an effective management for older patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

Objective: To investigate the types of lipid disorder and its relationship with macrovascular diseases and insulin resistance in Chinese diabetic patients., Methods: 2,430 diabetic patients finished the diabetes complications assessment and were surveyed on their blood lipids, insulin level and macrovascular diseases. The insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated based on HOMA model., Results: Prevalence of lipids disorder was as high as 63.8% in this group, including 23.9% with both hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia (HY-C-T), 16.1% with hypercholesterolemia only (HY-C), 15.0% with hypertriglyceridemia only (HY-T), 5.5% with lower HDL level (L-HDL), 3.3% with hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and lower HDL level together. Compared with the patients with normal lipid level (control group), no duration differences existed among these groups. There were more female patients in HY-C and HY-C-T groups. BMI and WHR were higher in all groups with lipid disorder except in HY-C group. Macrovascular diseases were more common in HY-C-T patients than in control group (33.6% vs 24.0%, P < 0.001). Average blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension were significantly higher in HY-C-T, HY-C, HY-T groups than in control group (139/79, 138/76, 134/77 vs. 132/75 mmHg; 53.2%, 50.1%, 46.2% vs. 39.2%). Fasting insulin level was significantly higher in HY-C-T and HY-C-T-L-LDL groups than in controls. Insulin resistance was more severe in all patients with lipid disorder except in L-HDL group, particularly in the HY-C-T-L-HDL group., Conclusions: (1) BMI, WHR increased significantly with the severity of lipid disorder. (2) Nearly two thirds of Chinese diabetic patients have lipid disorder, which is the strong risk factor of macrovascular diseases and aggravates insulin resistance. (3) There was severe insulin resistance in patients with hypertriglyceridemia or with hypertriglyceridemia plus other lipid disorder.