[Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of small molecule compounds in scorpions].

Scorpions, a group of oldest animals with wide distribution in the world, have a long history of medicinal use. Scorpio, the dried body of Buthus martensii, is a rare animal medicine mainly used for the treatment of liver diseases, spasm, and convulsions in children in China. The venom has been considered as the active substance of scorpions. However, little is known about the small molecules in the venom of scorpions. According to the articles published in recent years, scorpions contain amino acids, fatty acids, steroids, and alkaloids, which endow scorpions with antimicrobial, anticoagulant, metabolism-regulating, and antitumor activities. This paper summarizes the small molecule chemical components and pharmacological activities of scorpions, with a view to providing valuable information for the discovery of new active molecules and the clinical use of scorpions.

Drought- and heat-induced mortality of conifer trees is explained by leaf and growth legacies.

An increased frequency and severity of droughts and heat waves have resulted in increased tree mortality and forest dieback across the world, but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We used a common garden experiment with 20 conifer tree species to quantify mortality after three consecutive hot, dry summers and tested whether mortality could be explained by putative underlying mechanisms, such as stem hydraulics and legacies affected by leaf life span and stem growth responses to previous droughts. Mortality varied from 0 to 79% across species and was not affected by hydraulic traits. Mortality increased with species' leaf life span probably because leaf damage caused crown dieback and contributed to carbon depletion and bark beetle damage. Mortality also increased with lower growth resilience, which may exacerbate the contribution of carbon depletion and bark beetle sensitivity to tree mortality. Our study highlights how ecological legacies at different time scales can explain tree mortality in response to hot, dry periods and climate change.

Association of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio levels with the risk of cardiac adverse events in people with type 2 diabetes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A large-scale prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), a promising inflammatory biomarker, contributes to the development of atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the importance of PLR in predicting adverse events in people undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with T2D. METHODS: We consecutively enrolled 8831 people who underwent PCI and divided them into four groups according to PLR and glycemic metabolic status (PLR-Low/High without T2D, PLR-Low/High with T2D). The endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and stent thrombosis. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to determine this association. RESULTS: During the 2.4-year follow-up, 663 (7.5%) MACCE and 75 (0.85%) stent thromboses were recorded. The risk of MACCE (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-1.53, P = 0.002) and stent thrombosis (HR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.38-3.90, P = 0.002) was significantly higher in people with high PLR levels than in those with low PLR. Among people with T2D, the PLR-High group showed a significantly higher risk of MACCE (HR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.21-2.09, P = 0.001) and stent thrombosis (HR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.32-7.52, P = 0.010). However, these associations were not significant in people without T2D. CONCLUSIONS: PLR has been originally documented as a significant predictor of poor prognosis and a high incidence of stent thrombosis in people undergoing PCI, especially in those with T2D.

Interleukin-36gamma Mediates the In Vitro Activation of CD8+ T Cells from Patients Living with Chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection.

Interleukin-36 (IL-36) signaling plays an important role in promoting CD8+ T cell-mediated antitumor immune responses. The role of IL-36 signaling in CD8+ T cells that are involved in host immune responses during human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection has not been characterized. Sixty-one patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection and 23 controls were enrolled in this study. The levels of IL-36 cytokine family members were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Purified CD8+ T cells were stimulated with recombinant IL-36gamma (1 or 10 ng/mL). The expression of inhibitory receptors, the secretion of cytotoxic molecules and interferon-gamma, and the mRNA levels of apoptosis-related ligands were assessed to evaluate the effect of IL-36gamma on CD8+ T cell function in vitro. There were no significant differences in IL-36alpha, IL-36beta, or IL-36 receptor antagonist levels between patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection and controls. Plasma IL-36gamma levels were reduced in patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection. Perforin, granzyme B, and granulysin secretion, as well as tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and Fas ligand (FasL) mRNA expression, but not programmed death-1 (PD-1) or cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) expression was downregulated in CD8+ T cells from patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection. The addition of both 1 and 10 ng/mL IL-36gamma enhanced perforin, granzyme B, granulysin, and interferon-gamma secretion by CD8+ T cells without affecting PD-1/CTLA-4 or TRAIL/FasL mRNA expression in CD8+ T cells from patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection. The addition of 1 ng/mL IL-36gamma also promoted perforin and granzyme B secretion by HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cells from patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection. The reduced IL-36gamma levels in patients living with chronic HIV-1 infection might be insufficient for the activation of CD8+ T cells, leading to CD8+ T cell exhaustion.

High triglyceride-glucose index predicts cardiovascular events in patients with coronary bifurcation lesions: a large-scale cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Coronary bifurcation lesion, as a complex coronary lesion, is associated with higher risk of long-term poor prognosis than non-bifurcation lesions. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has been shown to predict cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the prognostic value of the TyG index in patients with bifurcation lesions who are at high risk of CV events remains undetermined. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between the TyG index and CV events in patients with bifurcation lesions. METHODS: A total of 4530 consecutive patients with angiography-proven CAD and bifurcation lesions were included in this study from January 2017 to December 2018. The TyG index was calculated as Ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dL) × fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Patients were assigned into 3 groups according to TyG tertiles (T) (T1: <8.633; T2: 8.633-9.096 and T3: ≥9.096). The primary endpoint was CV events, including CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and nonfatal stroke at 3-year follow-up. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis, Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the associations between the TyG index and study endpoints. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 3.1 years, 141 (3.1%) CV events occurred. RCS analysis demonstrated a linear relationship between the TyG index and events after adjusting for age and male sex (non-linear P = 0.262). After multivariable adjustments, elevated TyG index (both T2 and T3) was significantly associated with the risk of CV events (hazard ratio [HR], 1.68; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.06-2.65; HR, 2.10; 95%CI, 1.28-3.47, respectively). When study patients were further stratified according to glycemic status, higher TyG index was associated with significantly higher risk of CV events in diabetic patients after adjusting for confounding factors (T3 vs. T1; HR, 2.68; 95%CI, 1.17-6.11). In addition, subgroup analysis revealed consistent associations of the TyG index with 3-year CV events across various subgroups. Furthermore, adding the TyG index to the original model significantly improved the predictive performance. CONCLUSIONS: High TyG index was associated with CV events in patients with bifurcation lesions, suggesting the TyG index could help in risk stratification and prognosis in this population.

Uric Acid Levels, Number of Standard Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Prognosis in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Large Cohort Study in Asia.

Background Serum uric acid (UA) is correlated closely with traditional cardiovascular risk factors, which might interfere with the action of UA, in patients with coronary artery disease. We performed this study to evaluate the prognostic effect of UA levels in individuals with different numbers of standard modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (SMuRFs). Methods and Results In this prospective study, we consecutively enrolled 10 486 patients with coronary artery disease. They were stratified into 3 groups according to the tertiles of UA concentrations and, within each UA tertile, further classified into 3 groups by the number of SMuRFs (0-1 versus 2-3 versus 4). The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), including death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and unplanned revascularization. Over a median follow-up of 2.4 years, 1233 (11.8%) MACCEs were recorded. Patients with high UA levels developed significantly higher risk of MACCEs than those with low UA levels. In addition, UA levels were positively associated with MACCEs as a continuous variable. More importantly, in patients with 0 to 1 SMuRF, the risks of MACCEs were significantly higher in the high-UA-level group (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.469 [95% CI, 1.197-1.804]) and medium-UA-level group (adjusted HR, 1.478 [95% CI, 1.012-2.160]), compared with the low-UA-level group, whereas no significant association was found between UA levels and the risk of MACCEs in participants with 2 to 3 or 4 SMuRFs. Conclusions In patients with coronary artery disease who received evidence-based secondary prevention therapies, elevated UA levels might affect the prognosis of individuals with 0 to 1 SMuRF but not that of individuals with ≥2 SMuRFs.

Reduced neutralization and Fc effector function to Omicron subvariants in sera from SARS-CoV-1 survivors after two doses of CoronaVac plus one dose subunit vaccine.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron harbors more than 30 mutations of the spike protein and exhibits substantial immune evasion. Although previous study indicated that BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccine induces potent cross-clade pan-sarbecovirus neutralizing antibodies in survivors of the infection by SARS-CoV-1, the neutralization activity and Fc-mediated effector functions of these cross-reactive antibodies elicited in SARS-CoV-1 survivors to Omicron subvariants still remain largely unknown. In this study, the neutralization activity and Fc-mediated effector functions of antibodies boosted by a third dose vaccination were characterized in SARS-CoV-1 convalescents and healthy individuals. Potent cross-clade broadly neutralizing antibodies were observed in SARS-CoV-1 survivors who received a three-dose vaccination regimen consisting of two priming doses of CoronaVac followed by one booster dose of the protein subunit vaccine ZF2001. However, the induced antibodies exhibited both reduced neutralization and impaired Fc effector functions targeting multiple Omicron subvariants. Importantly, the data also support the notion that immune imprints resulted from SARS-CoV-1 infection may exacerbate the impairment of neutralization activity and Fc-mediated effector functions to Omicron subvariants and provided invaluable information to vaccination strategy in future.

Association Between MIND Diet Adherence and Mortality: Insights from Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Cohorts.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To date, evidence regarding the protective roles of the Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is scarce. This study aims to estimate the impact of adhering to the MIND diet on the mortality in patients with and without T2DM. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In this cohort study, 6887 participants (1021 patients with T2DM) from the NHANES dataset were analyzed. The exposure is the MIND diet adherence. The primary outcomes are all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) deaths. RESULTS: We documented 1087 all-cause deaths consisting of 377 CV deaths during the follow-up (median time of 10 years). Among participants with T2DM, those with a high MIND score (> 8.0, range of MIND score: 4.5-13) had a significantly lower risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59, 0.96, P = 0.021) and CV death (HR 0.50, 95% CI: 0.29, 0.87, P = 0.014) compared to those with a low MIND score (≤ 8.0). In participants without T2DM, a high MIND score was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of all-cause death (HR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.99, P < 0.001), but the association with CV death risk was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This study uncovered significant associations between the MIND diet and decreased risk of all-cause and CV death in patients with T2DM. The findings highlight the potential benefits of following the MIND diet in managing and enhancing the outcomes of individuals with T2DM.

Characterization of CCoV-HuPn-2018 spike protein-mediated viral entry.

Canine coronavirus-human pneumonia-2018 (CCoV-HuPn-2018) was recently isolated from a child with pneumonia. This novel human pathogen resulted from cross-species transmission of a canine coronavirus. It has been known that CCoV-HuPn-2018 uses aminopeptidase N (APN) from canines, felines, and porcines, but not humans, as functional receptors for cell entry. The molecular mechanism of cell entry in CCoV-HuPn-2018 remains poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that among the nine APN orthologs tested, the APN of the Mexican free-tailed bat could also efficiently support CCoV-HuPn-2018 spike (S) protein-mediated entry, raising the possibility that bats may also be an alternative host epidemiologically important for the transmission of this virus. The glycosylation at residue N747 of canine APN is critical for its receptor activity. The gain of glycosylation at the corresponding residues in human and rabbit APNs converted them to functional receptors for CCoV-HuPn-2018. Interestingly, the CCoV-HuPn-2018 spike protein pseudotyped virus infected multiple human cancer cell lines in a human APN-independent manner, whereas sialic acid appeared to facilitate the entry of the pseudotyped virus into human cancer cells. Moreover, while host cell surface proteases trypsin and TMPRSS2 did not promote the entry of CCoV-HuPn-2018, endosomal proteases cathepsin L and B are required for the entry of CCoV-HuPn-2018 in a pH-dependent manner. IFITMs and LY6E are host restriction factors for the CCoV-HuPn-2018 entry. Our results thus suggest that CCoV-HuPn-2018 has not yet evolved to be an efficient human pathogen. Collectively, this study helps us understand the cell tropism, receptor usage, cross-species transmission, natural reservoir, and pathogenesis of this potential human coronavirus. IMPORTANCE Viral entry is driven by the interaction between the viral spike protein and its specific cellular receptor, which determines cell tropism and host range and is the major constraint to interspecies transmission of coronaviruses. Aminopeptidase N (APN; also called CD13) is a cellular receptor for HCoV-229E, the newly discovered canine coronavirus-human pneumonia-2018 (CCoV-HuPn-2018), and many other animal alphacoronaviruses. We examined the receptor activity of nine APN orthologs and found that CCoV-HuPn-2018 utilizes APN from a broad range of animal species, including bats but not humans, to enter host cells. To our surprise, we found that CCoV-HuPn-2018 spike protein pseudotyped viral particles successfully infected multiple human hepatoma-derived cell lines and a lung cancer cell line, which is independent of the expression of human APN. Our findings thus provide mechanistic insight into the natural hosts and interspecies transmission of CCoV-HuPn-2018-like coronaviruses.

Social isolation, loneliness, and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus: results from two large prospective cohorts in Europe and East Asia and Mendelian randomization.

Background: Social isolation and loneliness pose significant public health challenges globally. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between social isolation, loneliness, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: 423,503 UK adults from the UK Biobank (UKB) and 13,800 Chinese adults from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were analyzed. The exposures of interest were social isolation and loneliness. Social isolation was evaluated based on the number of household members, frequency of social activities, contact with others, and marriage status (CHARLS only). Loneliness was evaluated by the subjective feeling of loneliness and the willingness to confide in others (UKB only). The primary endpoint was incident T2DM. The two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was based on the genome-wide association studies of UKB (n = 463,010) and the European Bioinformatics Institute (n = 655,666). Findings: The UKB cohort study documented 15,072 T2DM cases during a mean follow-up of 13.5 years, and the CHARLS cohort study recorded 1,249 T2DM cases during a mean follow-up of 5.8 years. Social isolation and loneliness showed significant associations with an elevated risk of T2DM in both UKB (social isolation [most vs least]: HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.11-1.23; loneliness [yes vs no]: HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.13-1.30) and CHARLS cohorts (social isolation [yes vs no]: HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.06-1.40; loneliness [yes vs no]: HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07-1.36). These associations remained significant after accounting for baseline glucose status and genetic susceptibility to T2DM. Two-sample MR analyses determined that feeling lonely (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.06) and engaging in fewer leisure/social activities (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.05) were associated with increased T2DM risk, whereas more contact with friends or family (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99) was associated with reduced T2DM risk. Interpretation: Social isolation and loneliness are each associated with an elevated risk of T2DM, with MR analyses suggesting potential causal links. These associations remain significant after considering genetic susceptibility to T2DM. The findings highlight the importance of promoting initiatives to address social isolation and loneliness as part of T2DM prevention strategies. Funding: CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (No. 2021-I2M-1-008) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72103187).

High triglyceride-glucose index and stress hyperglycemia ratio as predictors of adverse cardiac events in patients with coronary chronic total occlusion: a large-scale prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and the stress hyperglycaemia ratio (SHR) are both positively associated with cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients with coronary heart disease. However, the prognostic value of these two biomarkers has not been well elucidated in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the association of the TyG index and the SHR with long-term prognosis in patients with CTO. METHODS: This prospective cohort study consecutively included 2740 angina patients with CTO from January 2017 to December 2018 at Fuwai Hospital. The outcomes are a composite of CV death and target vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI) and major CV cerebrovascular adverse events (MACCEs, including all-cause death, nonfatal MI, ischaemia-driven target vessel revascularization, and stroke). The association between biomarkers and prognosis was analysed by multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, and the predictive value was determined by a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: During the follow-up with a median time of 3 years, 179 (6.5%) cases of MACCEs and 47 (1.7%) cases of CV death or TVMI were recorded. Patients with a high TyG index (> 9.10) and a high SHR (> 0.87) showed a significantly increased risk of CV death/TVMI (TyG index: HR 4.23, 95% CI 1.58-11.37; SHR: HR 5.14, 95% CI 1.89-13.98) and MACCEs (TyG index: HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.54-3.97; SHR: HR 2.91, 95% CI 1.84-4.60) compared with those with a low Tyg index and a low SHR (TyG < 8.56, SHR < 0.76). The area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.623 (TyG index) and 0.589 (SHR) for CV death/TVMI and 0.659 (TyG index) and 0.624 (SHR) for MACCEs. Furthermore, patients with both a high TyG index and a high SHR showed the highest risk of clinical outcomes among patients with different levels of these two biomarkers, and the AUC for the TyG-SHR combination was larger than the TyG index alone in predicting MACCE risk. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that a high TyG index and a high SHR were significantly correlated with poor prognosis in patients with CTO and suggested that these two biomarkers are reliable in predicting long-term prognosis in CTO patients.

Impact of WeChat guidance on bowel preparation for colonoscopy: a quasi-experiment study.

Colonoscopy is a standard procedure for screening, monitoring, and treating colorectal lesions. To explore the impact of WeChat guidance on bowel preparation before colonoscopy. This quasi-experiment study included patients who underwent colonoscopy at Qingdao Endoscopy Center between March 2016 and September 2016. The primary outcome was bowel preparation quality (Ottawa score), the secondary outcomes were intubation time, withdrawal time, adenoma detection rate (ADR), and adverse reactions. Finally, 588 patients were included and divided into the WeChat guide (n = 295) and the non-WeChat guide (n = 293) groups, they were comparable in baseline characteristics. The Ottawa score (1.59 ± 1.07 vs. 6.62 ± 3.07, P < 0.001), intubation time (6.47 ± 1.81 vs. 11.61 ± 3.34, P < 0.001), withdrawal time (13.15 ± 3.93 vs. 14.99 ± 6.77, P < 0.001), and occurrence rate of adverse reactions (2.0% vs. 5.5%, P = 0.029) were significantly lower in the WeChat guide group than those in the non-WeChat guide group. ADR was significantly higher in the WeChat guide than that in the non-WeChat guide group (1.47 ± 2.30 vs. 0.84 ± 1.66, P < 0.001). WeChat guidance might improve the quality of bowel preparation and adenoma detection rate, shorten the time of colonoscopy, and reduce adverse reactions in bowel preparation.

The impact of sleep quality and its change on the long-term risk of stroke in middle-aged and elderly people: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

OBJECTIVE: This study focused on middle-aged and elderly adults (mean age ≥60 years) in England and aimed to evaluate the impact of sleep quality and change in sleep quality on the long-term risk of stroke. PATIENTS/METHODS: The current prospective study enrolled 6214 participants without stroke from wave 4 (2008-2009) of the English Longitudinal Study Aging (ELSA) dataset. From the ELSA questionnaires, sleep quality scores were calculated and used to evaluate the sleep quality of each participant. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the association between sleep status and stroke risk. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was employed for the relationship between sleep quality score and the risk of stroke. RESULTS: During the 8-year follow-up, 130 (2.1%) cases of stroke were recorded. Participants with poor baseline sleep quality had a significantly higher long-term risk of stroke compared with those with good sleep quality (hazard ratio [HR] 2.37, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.44, 3.91). For the influence of change in sleep quality on stroke risk, worsened sleep quality was associated with a significant increase in the risk of stroke in the good (HR 2.08, 95% CI, 1.02, 4.26) and intermediate sleep quality groups (HR 2.15, 95% CI, 1.16, 3.98). Moreover, improved sleep quality decreased stroke risk among subjects with poor sleep quality (HR 0.31, 95% CI, 0.15, 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: Poor and worsened sleep quality is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Emphasis should be placed on improving sleep quality in middle-aged and elderly individuals.

A comprehensive review of vine tea: Origin, research on Materia Medica, phytochemistry and pharmacology.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Vine tea is a popular folk tea that has been consumed in China for more than 1200 years. It is often used in ethnic medicine by ethnic groups in southwest China with at least 35 aliases in 10 provinces. In coastal areas, vine tea is mostly used to treat heatstroke, aphtha, aphonia, toothache, etc. In contrast, in the southwest inland regions, vine tea is mostly used to clear away heat and toxic materials, antiphlogosis and relieving sore-throat, lowering blood pressure and lipid levels, and alleviating fatigue. Three main species have been used as the source of vine tea, Nekemias grossedentata, Nekemias cantonensis and Nekemias megalophylla. Among them, the leaves of Nekemias grossedentata were considered as new food resource in complicance with regulations, according to the Food Safety Standards published by the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the National Health and Family Planning Commission in China. AIM OF THE STUDY: At present, the comprehensively summary of Materia Medica on the history and source of vine tea is currently unavailable. The current article summed up the Materia Medica, species origin and pharmacological effects of all 3 major species used in vine tea to fill the knowledge gaps. We also aim to provide a reference for future research on historical textual, resource development and medicinal utilization of vine tea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adhering to the literature screening methodology outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), this review encompasses 148 scholarly research papers from three database, paper ancient books, local chronicles and folklore through field investigations. We then comprehensively summarized and discussed research progresses in scientific and application studies of vine tea. RESULTS: The historical records indicated that vine tea could have been used as early as Southern and Northern Dynasties (AC 420-589). Nekemias grossedentata, Nekemias cantonensis and Nekemias megalophylla, were used to considered as vine tea in the ethnic medicine. The main phytochemicals found in three plants are flavonoids, polyphenols and terpenoids, among which dihydromyricetin (DHM) is the most important and most studied active substance. The key words "Ampelopsis grossedentata" (Synonym of Nekemias grossedentata) and "dihydromyricetin/DHM" showed the highest frequency over the last 27 year based on the research trend analysis. And the ethnopharmacology studies drawn the main activities of vine tea are antioxidant, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and anti-atherosclerosis activities. CONCLUSIONS: This review systematically summarized and discussed vine tea from the following five aspects, history, genetic relationship, phytochemistry, research trend and ethnopharmacology. Vine tea has a long historical usage in Chinese ethnic medicine. Its outstanding therapeutic efficacies have attracted extensive attention in other places in the world at present. Nekemias cantonensis and Nekemias megalophylla are quite similar to Nekemias grossedentata in terms of many aspects. However, the current research has a narrow focus on mainly Nekemias grossedentata and DHM. We propose that future studies could be carried out to determine the synergistic effect of multi-components and multi-targets of vine tea including all 3 species to provide valuable knowledge.

Association of sleep quality, its change and sleep duration with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Findings from the English longitudinal study of ageing.

AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the association of sleep quality and its long-term change with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to assess the relationship between sleep duration and the risk of T2DM according to categories of sleep quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 5728 participants free of T2DM at wave 4 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were included and received a follow-up with a median time of 8 years. We created a sleep quality score to evaluate sleep quality, which was based on three Jenkins Sleep Problems Scale questions (the frequency of feeling hard to fall asleep, waking up at night, and feeling tired in the morning) and one question for rating overall sleep quality. Participants were allocated into three groups according to their baseline sleep quality scores (groups of good [4-8], intermediate [8-12], and poor quality [12-16]). Sleep duration was assessed by a self-reporting sleep hours from each participant. RESULTS: 411 (7.2%) T2DM cases were documented during the follow-up. Compared with the good quality group, subjects with poor sleep quality showed a significantly higher risk of T2DM (hazard ratio (HR) 1.45, confidence interval (CI) 1.09, 1.92). In participants with good baseline sleep quality, those who experienced worsened sleep quality showed a significantly increased T2DM risk (HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.26, 2.49). Type 2 diabetes mellitus risk was not changed regardless of sleep duration in subjects with good quality. Short sleep duration (≤4h) was associated with an elevated T2DM risk in participants with intermediate sleep quality, and both short (≤4h) and prolonged sleep time (≥9h) were associated with an increased T2DM risk in the poor sleep quality group. CONCLUSIONS: Poor sleep quality is correlated with an increase in T2DM risk, and regulating sleep quality to a good range could potentially be an effective approach for preventing T2DM.

The prognostic effect of prediabetes defined by different criteria in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a prospective cohort study in Asia.

AIMS: To evaluate the impact of prediabetes identified by different glycemic thresholds (according to ADA or WHO/IEC criteria) and diagnostic tests (fasting plasma glucose [FPG] or hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c]) on clinical outcomes in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS: In this prospective cohort study, we consecutively enrolled 4088 stable CAD non-diabetic patients with a median follow-up period of 3.2 years. Prediabetes was defined according to ADA criteria as FPG 5.6∼6.9 mmol/L and/or HbA1c 5.7∼6.4%, and WHO/IEC criteria as FPG 6.1∼6.9 mmol/L and/or HbA1c 6.0∼6.4%. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), including all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. The prevalence of prediabetes defined according to ADA criteria (67%) was double that of WHO/IEC criteria (34%). Compared with patients with normoglycaemia, those with WHO/IEC-defined prediabetes were significantly associated with higher risk of MACE [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-2.06], mainly driven by the higher incidence of events in individuals with HbA1c-defined prediabetes. However, this difference was not found in patients with ADA-defined prediabetes and normoglycaemia (adjusted HR 1.17, 95% CI 0.81-1.68). Although FPG was not associated with cardiovascular events, HbA1c improved the risk prediction for MACE in a model of traditional risk factors. Furthermore, the optimal cutoff value of HbA1c for predicting MACE was 5.85%, which was close to the threshold recommended by IEC. CONCLUSION: This study supports the use of WHO/IEC criteria for the identification of prediabetes in stable CAD patients. Haemoglobin A1c, rather than FPG, should be considered as a useful marker for risk stratification in this population. REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

This study, for the first time, evaluated the prognostic effect of prediabetes identified by different glycaemic thresholds (ADA or WHO/IEC criteria) and diagnostic tests (FPG or HbA1c) in individuals with stable CAD. The results of this study support the identification of individuals with prediabetes using WHO/IEC criteria in stable, angiography-proven CAD patients. Haemoglobin A1c, rather than FPG, should be considered as a useful marker for risk stratification and the optimal cutoff value of HbA1c for predicting MACE was 5.85%, which was close to the threshold of 6.0% recommended by IEC.

The value of the MIND diet in the primary and secondary prevention of hypertension: A cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort study from NHANES analysis.

Background: The Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) has been regarded as a novel healthy dietary pattern with huge benefits. However, its value in preventing and treating hypertension has not been investigated. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of adhering to the MIND diet on the prevalence of hypertension in the entire population and long-term mortality in hypertensive patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional and longitudinal study, 6,887 participants consisting of 2,984 hypertensive patients in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys were analyzed and divided into 3 groups according to the MIND diet scores (MDS; groups of MDS-low [<7.5], MDS-medium [7.5-8.0] and MDS-high [≥8.5]). In the longitudinal analysis, the primary outcome was all-cause death and the secondary outcome was cardiovascular (CV) death. Hypertensive patients received a follow-up with a mean time of 9.25 years (median time: 111.1 months, range 2 to 120 months). Multivariate logistics regression models and Cox proportional hazards models were applicated to estimate the association between MDS and outcomes. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to estimate the dose-response relationship. Results: Compared with the MDS-low group, participants in the MDS-high group presented a significantly lower prevalence of hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58, 0.97, p = 0.040) and decreased levels of systolic blood pressure (ß = -0.41, p = 0.033). Among hypertensive patients, 787 (26.4%) all-cause death consisting of 293 (9.8%) CV deaths were recorded during a 10-year follow-up. Hypertensive patients in the MDS-high group presented a significantly lower prevalence of ASCVD (OR = 0.71, 95% CI, 0.51, 0.97, p = 0.043), and lower risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.69, 95% CI, 0.58, 0.81, p < 0.001) and CV death (HR = 0.62, 95% CI, 0.46, 0.85, p for trend = 0.001) when compared with those in the MDS-low group. Conclusion: For the first time, this study revealed the values of the MIND diet in the primary and secondary prevention of hypertension, suggesting the MIND diet as a novel anti-hypertensive dietary pattern.

Ecosystem-dependent responses of soil carbon storage to phosphorus enrichment.

Phosphorus deposition can stimulate both plant carbon inputs and microbial carbon outputs. However, how P enrichment affects soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis of 642 SOC observations from 213 field P addition experiments world-wide and explored the regulations of plant inputs, microbial outputs, plant characteristics, and environmental and experimental factors on SOC responses. We found that, globally, P addition stimulated SOC by 4.0% (95% CI: 2.0-6.0%), but the stimulation only occurred in forest and cropland rather than in grassland. Across sites, the response of SOC correlated with that of plant aboveground rather than belowground biomass, suggesting that the change in plant inputs from aboveground was more important than that from belowground in regulating SOC changes due to P addition. Among multiple factors, plant N fixation status and mean annual temperature were the best predictors for SOC responses to P addition, with SOC stimulation being higher in ecosystems dominated by symbiotic nitrogen fixers and ecosystems in high-temperature regions like tropical forests. Our findings highlight the differential and ecosystem-dependent responses of SOC to P enrichment and can contribute to accurate predictions of soil carbon dynamics in a P-enriched world.