Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in China for thousands of years to treat and prevent diseases. TCM has been proven safe and effective, and it is being considered as one of the ...important types of complementary and alternative medicine and receives increasing attention worldwide. The dried root of Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc. (also known as “Hu Zhang” in Chinese) is one of the medicinal herbs listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Hu Zhang is widely distributed in the world. It can be found in Asia and North America and is used as folk medicine in countries such as Japan and Korea. In China, Hu Zhang is usually used in combination with other TCM herbs. The therapeutic uses of those Hu Zhang-containing TCM prescriptions or formulations are for treating cough, hepatitis, jaundice, amenorrhea, leucorrhea, arthralgia, burns and snake bites. Recent pharmacological and clinical studies have indicated that Hu Zhang has antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective functions. This review gives a summary of the reported therapeutic effects of the active compounds and the different extracts of Hu Zhang.
Movement abnormalities, including movement slowing and irregular muscle contraction, exist in individuals with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and serve as vulnerable factors of developing ...psychotic diseases in the psychosis continuum. To date scarce studies have developed early intervention programs tackling these initial impairments, which may be caused by basal ganglia alterations, in the early stage of the psychosis course. Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) is a technique of neurological music therapy and has been proved effective in inducing faster movements in patients with psychotic diseases. This pilot study examined if RAS incorporated in functional movement training reduced severity of movement slowing and irregular muscle contraction in individuals with PLEs. Seventeen individuals with PLEs were randomly allocated to receiving RAS or receiving no RAS and underwent daily 40-min movement training (picking up beans) for three weeks. This study used motion analysis to measure movement performance at pretest and posttest. Eighteen age- and gender-matched individuals without PLEs were also recruited to provide data of intact movements. Results showed that RAS may reduce severity of movement slowing and irregular muscle contraction in individuals with PLEs. This pilot study is one of the pioneering studies validating effectiveness of early intervention programs tackling movement abnormalities, which are initial impairments in the psychosis continuum, in individuals with PLEs.
A new record of
Hippocampus mohnikei
Bleeker, 1853 was confirmed in Hong Kong through morphological and molecular identification. It is highly possible that there is an established population of
H. ...mohnikei
in Hong Kong due to continuous sightings by citizen scientists in the past nine years. The record is significant from a biogeographical perspective as it connects the distributions of known populations in northern China and Japan to those spanning Thailand to India. This further affirms the status of Hong Kong as a hotspot for seahorse biodiversity and conservation in China.
Desktop-size robots are becoming commonly used in many fields such as caring, education and entertainment. But factors that affect human perception of desktop-size robots and their interaction are ...still unclear. The study examined the impact of robot behavior and appearance on the Robot Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS) during a virtual human-robot interaction study. The results showed that robots with human-like behavior were perceived more positively than those with random behavior, but the appearance of the robot did not have a significant impact on perception. The findings suggest that the design of humanlike behavior should be prioritized in future HRI studies and robot design. Real-world experiments are also recommended to verify the findings for the application of desktop-size robots in the healthcare field.
Nationwide studies on secular trends of diabetes complications are not available in Asia. We examined changes in risk factor control and incidence of complications from diabetes and death in a large ...longitudinal cohort of Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong.
Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012, 338,908 Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes underwent metabolic and complication assessment in 16 diabetes centers operated by Hong Kong Hospital Authority that provided care to a large majority of diagnosed patients. Patients were followed for incident acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and death until 31 December 2012. Risk factor levels between enrollment periods were compared. Incidence of clinical events, stratified by diabetes duration, was examined over time.
Incidence of complications from diabetes and death declined over the observation period in patients at varying disease duration. Among the high-risk group with diabetes for at least 15 years, crude incidence of AMI decreased from 8.7 to 5.8, stroke from 13.5 to 10.1, ESRD from 25.8 to 22.5, and death from 29.0 to 26.6 per 1,000 person-year between the periods 2000 to 2002 and 2010 to 2012. Improvements in levels of metabolic risk factors were detected. Proportion of patients achieving HbA
<7.0% (53 mmol/mol) was increased from 32.9 to 50.0%, blood pressure ≤130/80 mmHg from 24.7 to 30.7%, and LDL cholesterol <2.6 mmol/L from 25.8 to 38.1%.
From this territory-wide Hong Kong Diabetes Database, we observed decreases in incidence of cardiovascular-renal complications and death and corresponding improvements in risk factor control over a 13-year period.
Single‐cycle infectious virus can elicit close‐to‐natural immune response and memory. One approach to generate single‐cycle severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is through ...deletion of structural genes such as spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N). Transcomplementation of the resulting ΔS or ΔN virus through enforced expression of S or N protein in the cells gives rise to a live but unproductive virus. In this study, ΔS and ΔN BAC clones were constructed and their live virions were rescued by transient expression of S and N proteins from the ancestral and the Omicron strains. ΔS and ΔN virions were visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Virion production of ΔS was more efficient than that of ΔN. The coated S protein from ΔS was delivered to infected cells in which the expression of N protein was also robust. In contrast, expression of neither S nor N was detected in ΔN‐infected cells. ΔS underwent viral RNA replication, induced type I interferon (IFN) response, but did not form plaques. Despite RNA replication in cells, ΔS infection did not produce viral progeny in culture supernatant. Interestingly, viral RNA replication was not further enhanced upon overexpression of S protein. Taken together, our work provides a versatile platform for development of single‐cycle vaccines for SARS‐CoV‐2.
Background
An echocardiography‐derived calcium score (ECS) has been shown to predict cardiovascular (CV) mortality in the general population but has not been utilized in the dialysis population.
...Methods
We conducted a prospective cohort study including 125 prevalent PD patients. Two blinded and independent echocardiographers determined the ECS for each subject at baseline. The primary outcome was the three‐point major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) which is a composite outcome comprising CV death, non‐fatal myocardial infarction and non‐fatal stroke. The secondary outcome was all‐cause mortality.
Results
The mean age was 61 ± 13 years. The median follow‐up duration was 40 months (range 1–50). Seventy six (60.8%) of the subjects had diabetes mellitus (DM). The median duration of dialysis was 32 (IQR 16–54) months. The incidences of MACE and all‐cause mortality were 13.0 per 100 patient‐years and 18.3 per 100 patient‐years. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified the following three independent predictors of MACE: ECS (HR 1.253/unit increase in ECS, 95% CI 1.014–1.547, p = .036), DM (HR 2.467, 95% CI 1.014–6.005, p = .047) and pre‐existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 2.441, 95% CI 1.261–4.728, p = .008); and the following two predictors of all‐cause mortality: pre‐existing CVD (HR 2.156, 95% CI 1.251–3.714, p = .006) and serum albumin (HR 0.887/g/L increase in serum albumin, 95% CI 0.839–0.937, p < .001).
Conclusion
The ECS appears to be a significant predictor of MACE in PD patients independently of DM and pre‐existing CVD.
SUMMARY AT A GLANCE
Increased echocardiography‐derived calcium score was associated with a significantly higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in 125 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, suggesting that this modality of investigation may be useful in cardiovascular risk stratification.
Background:Little is known about the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the outbreak response measures on door-to-balloon time (D2B). This study examined both D2B and ...clinical outcomes of patients with STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).Methods and Results:This was a retrospective study of 303 STEMI patients who presented directly or were transferred to a tertiary hospital in Singapore for PPCI from October 2019 to March 2020. We compared the clinical outcomes of patients admitted before (BOR) and during (DOR) the COVID-19 outbreak response. The study outcomes were in-hospital death, D2B, cardiogenic shock and 30-day readmission. For direct presentations, fewer patients in the DOR group achieved D2B time <90 min compared with the BOR group (71.4% vs. 80.9%, P=0.042). This was more apparent after exclusion of non-system delay cases (DOR 81.6% vs. BOR 95.9%, P=0.006). Prevalence of both out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (9.5% vs. 1.9%, P=0.003) and acute mitral regurgitation (31.6% vs. 17.5%, P=0.006) was higher in the DOR group. Mortality was similar between groups. Multivariable regression showed that longer D2B time was an independent predictor of death (odds ratio 1.005, 95% confidence interval 1.000–1.011, P=0.029).Conclusions:The COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak response have had an adverse effect on PPCI service efficiency. The study reinforces the need to focus efforts on shortening D2B time, while maintaining infection control measures.
Emerging research has demonstrated that transgender and non‐binary (TNB) individuals face an elevated risk of experiencing family rejection and violence. However, there remains a significant ...knowledge gap regarding how TNB individuals manage stressors and their gender identity within the family context, particularly in regions where TNB individuals are highly stigmatized and where legal protections against family violence are lacking. The present study represents one of the first pioneering efforts to provide large‐scale quantitative data examining the experiences of family stressors, the management of gender identity and expression, and family violence among TNB individuals in China. A national sample of 1063 TNB individuals in China was involved in the study. They completed questionnaires about their experiences of family stressors and violence. The results indicated that 76.0% of TNB individuals reported having encountered at least one form of violence perpetrated by their family members. Transfeminine individuals were more likely to report experiencing emotional and physical abuse, whereas transmasculine individuals were more likely to be subjected to gender identity and/or expression change efforts. Family stressors, including family non‐acceptance and the pressure to marry and reproduce, were positively associated with non‐disclosure of gender identity, the suppression of gender expression, and family violence. The findings underscore the substantial burden of family violence borne by TNB individuals in China, which warrants immediate legal, institutional, and social responses. Trans‐inclusive family violence prevention and intervention are urgently needed, with a focus on Chinese cultural factors and gender identity differences in violence screening and risk assessment.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a pivotal role in connecting tumor cells with their local and distant microenvironments. Herein, we aimed to understand the role (on a molecular basis) ...patient-derived EVs play in modulating cancer stemness and tumorigenesis in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
EVs from patient sera were isolated, quantified and characterized. The EVs were vigorously tested, both in vitro and in vivo, through various functional assays. Proteomic analysis was performed to identify the functional components of EVs. The presence and level of polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) in circulating EVs and tumor and non-tumorous tissues of patients with HCC were determined by ELISA, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR. The functional role and underlying mechanism of EVs with enhanced pIgR expression were elucidated. Blockade of EV-pIgR with neutralizing antibody was performed in nude mice implanted with patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDTXs).
Circulating EVs from patients with late-stage HCC (L-HCC) had significantly elevated pIgR expression compared to the EVs released by control individuals. The augmenting effect of L–HCC–EVs on cancer stemness and tumorigenesis was hindered by an anti-pIgR antibody. EVs enriched with pIgR consistently promoted cancer stemness and cancerous phenotypes in recipient cells. Mechanistically, EV-pIgR-induced cancer aggressiveness was abrogated by Akt and β-catenin inhibitors, confirming that the role of EV-pIgR depends on the activation of the PDK1/Akt/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling axis. Furthermore, an anti-pIgR neutralizing antibody attenuated tumor growth in mice implanted with PDTXs.
This study illustrates a previously unknown role of EV-pIgR in regulating cancer stemness and aggressiveness: EV-pIgR activates PDK1/Akt/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling cascades. The blockade of the intercellular communication mediated by EV-pIgR in the tumor microenvironment may provide a new therapeutic strategy for patients with cancer.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1 million patients will die from liver cancer, mostly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in 2030. Understanding the underlying mechanism by which HCC acquires aggressive attributes is crucial to improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Herein, we demonstrated that nanometer-sized extracellular vesicles released by tumors promote cancer stemness and tumorigenesis. Within these oncogenic vesicles, we identified a key component that functions as a potent modulator of cancer aggressiveness. By inhibiting this functional component of EVs using a neutralizing antibody, tumor growth was profoundly attenuated in mice. This hints at a potentially effective therapeutic alternative for patients with cancer.
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•Elevated pIgR levels are found in circulating extracellular vesicles from patients with liver cancer.•EV-pIgR promotes cancer stemness and cancerous phenotypes in recipient liver cancer cells.•EV-pIgR promotes liver cancer cell aggressiveness by activating the PDK1/Akt/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling axis.•Combined treatment using sorafenib and anti-pIgR antibody attenuates growth of patient-derived xenografts in mice.
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