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The rational design of advanced electrocatalysts at the molecular or atomic level is important for improving the performance of hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) and replacing precious metal catalysts. In this study, we describe the fabrication of electrocatalysts based on Fe, Co, or Ni single atoms supported on titanium carbide (TiC) using the molten salt method, i.e., TiC-FeSA, TiC-CoSA, or TiC-NiSA, to enhance HER performance. The introduction of uniformly distributed transition-metal single atoms successfully reduces the overpotential of HERs. Overpotentials of TiC-FeSA at 10 mA cm−2 are 123.4 mV with 61.1 mV dec−1 Tafel slope under acidic conditions and 184.2 mV with 85.1 mV dec−1 Tafel slope under alkaline conditions, which are superior to TiC-NiSA and TiC-CoSA. TiC samples loaded with transition-metal single atoms exhibit high catalytic activity and long stability under acidic and basic conditions. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the introduction of transition-metal single atoms effectively reduces the HER barrier of TiC-based electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Age- and sex-specific reference intervals (RIs) for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) are not available in China. The objective of the present research was to determine the assay-specific 99th percentile upper reference limits (URLs) for hs-cTnI in healthy Chinese adults. Methods: Apparently healthy individuals were first screened with a questionnaire. The reference population was selected according to the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) criteria using surrogate biomarker for diabetes, myocardial dysfunction, and renal dysfunction. The serum concentration of hs-cTnI was measured using the automatized VITROS 5600 Immunodiagnostic system (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, NJ, USA). Results: A total of 2,183 healthy individuals (1,051 men and 1,132 women aged from 20 to 95 years) were enrolled in the study. The serum overall 99th percentile URLs of hs-cTnI were 11.1 ng/L (12.5 ng/L in men, 9.6 ng/L in women). In both men and women, the 99th percentile URLs were significantly higher in individuals ≥55 years old than those in the <55 years old, especially in women. Moreover, 78.8% of males and 70.1% of females presented with hs-cTnI concentrations above the limit of detection of 0.43 ng/L. Conclusion: The hs-cTnI-VITROS assay coincided with the performance standard of the IFCC for high-sensitivity cTnI assays. The 99th percentile URLs for hs-cTnI in healthy Chinese adults were different from the manufacturer declared and appeared heterogeneous, potentially susceptible to factors such as age and sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: corticosteroid injection (CSI) has been used to treat greater trochanter pain syndrome (GTPS) for many years. However, so far, the efficacy of CSI in the treatment of GTPS is still controversial. Therefore, the aim of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of CSI in comparison with sham intervention, nature history, usual care, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), physiotherapy/exercise therapy, dry needling, or other nonsurgical treatment for improvements in pain and function in GTPS. Methods: PubMed (Medline), Embase, Cochrane Library were searched from their inception until April 2021. Randomized controlled trails (RCTs) comparing CSI to nonsurgical treatment were included. Data on the effect of CSI on pain and function were extracted and checked by two review authors independently. The treatment effect was analyzed in the short term, medium term, and long term. Results: Eight RCTs (764 patients) were included. This review suggests CSI may be superior to usual care and 'wait and see,' ESWT, but may not be superior to exercise, PRP, dry needling, and sham intervention in short-term pain or function improvement. In terms of medium-term pain or function improvement, CSI may be superior to usual care and 'wait and see,' but may not be superior to PRP. In terms of long-term pain or function improvement, CSI may be inferior to PRP and ESWT, but it may be superior to usual care and 'wait and see' at 12 months. Conclusions: Due to the small sample size and lack of sufficient clinical studies, current evidence is equivocal regarding the efficacy of CSI in the treatment of GTPS. Considering the limitations, more large-sample and high-quality RCTs are needed to prove the therapeutic effect of CSI on GTPS. Trial registration: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021247991. Registered 09 May 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to establish age- and sex-specific pediatric reference intervals of serum potassium (K), sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorus (P) using a direct sampling technique.Methods: In accordance with the a priori approach, healthy individuals (n = 6,466, aged 1 month to <18 years) were enrolled from five regions in Jilin Province, China, and all analytes were performed in the center laboratory. Reference intervals were divided according to the regression tree and Harris and Boyd's method, and then they were calculated by the nonparametric rank method. The dynamic changes of reference intervals were evaluated by the lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) method.Results: Reference intervals of serum Na and Ca were divided into three age-specific partitions. The concentrations of K, Cl, and Mg remained stable with age. However, only dramatic sex-specific changes of P were shown in those 11 to less than 13 years old and 13 to less than 15 years old, with an earlier peak time in females than in males. The correlation between Na and Cl was the strongest among all serum electrolytes (r = 0.31).Conclusions: Serum electrolyte reference intervals for children and adolescents were established by regression tree, z test, and the LMS method, which provide a more accurate interpretation for diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of clinical pediatric diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect tea is a special non- Camellia tea produced from the feces of insects in ethnic minority regions in Southwest China. Insect tea was recorded to have the traditional functions to treat summer heat, dampness, digestive disturbance, excessive phlegm, shortness of breath and otitis, etc. This review provides an updated and comprehensive review of insect tea on the tea types, host plants, tea-producing insects, producing process, traditional uses, nutritional values, chemistry, pharmacological activities, biological safety and toxicity. Moreover, the general challenges and the possible suggestions on insect tea in future were also discussed. The relevant literature on insect tea was obtained from scientific database, including Elsevier, PubMed, Springer, Wiley, Web of Science, Google Scholar, SciFinder, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Baidu Scholar, Wanfang Database, etc. In addition, pertinent information available in Ph.D theses, MSc. dissertations, books, records, and some classical Chinese herbal literature were also included. The references cited in this review were up to September 2022. Insect tea has been traditionally used as popular beverage with various medicinal functions in the ethnic minority regions in Southwest China for centuries. At present, ten types of insect teas are recorded in different regions. Ten species tea-producing insect and fifteen species host plants are used to in the production of the tea. Insect teas were rich in various nutrients including proteins, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, dietary fiber and Vitamins. A total of 71 compounds have been isolated from insect teas, mainly including flavonoids, ellagitannins, chlorogenic acids and other phenolic compounds as well as the alkaloids. Modern studies demonstrated that insect tea had a variety of pharmacological activities in vitro and in vivo, such as anti-diabetic, lipid-lowing and anti-hypertensive, hepato-protective, gastro-intestinal promoting, anti-cancer, anti-mutagenic, antioxidant, and anti-aging activity, etc. Moreover, existing experimental results showed that insect teas are non-toxicity and biological safety. Insect tea is a unique and niche product originated in the ethnic minority regions of Southwest China with various health-promoting benefits. Phenolics including flavonoids, ellagitannins, chlorogenic acids were reported as the main chemical constituents identified from insect tea. Multiple pharmacological activities of insect tea have been reported, which indicated that it had great potential for further development and application as drugs and health-promoting products. However, more studies on the tea-producing insects, host plants, chemistry and pharmacological activity of insect tea, as well as the toxicology should be further investigated. [Display omitted] • Insect tea is a special non- Camellia tea in ethnic minority regions in Southwest China. • Insect tea is was recorded to have traditional beneficial functions. • Ten insect species and fifteen plant species are used to produce insect tea. • Insect tea mainly contains phenolic constituents. • Insect tea demonstrated various pharmacological activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rubus species (Rosaceae) have been used in folk medicine to treat diabetes due to their hypoglycaemic activity. To screen the active components that act as hypoglycaemic agents in Rubus amabilis Focke and the underlying mechanisms. Aqueous stem extract of R. amabilis was incubated with MIN6 β-cells, PBS was used as the blank control. Then the cells were washed, cell membrane-bound components were dissociated and identified by UPLC/MS. Total procyanidins (PCs) in R. amabilis was enriched and the cytotoxicity and anti-proliferation on β-cell were evaluated by MTT assay. PCs at 25, 50, and 75 μg/mL was applied for 24 h to determine its effects on palmitate (PA)-induced apoptosis and GSIS. Western blotting was employed to detect the protein expression of PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signalling. The antioxidant indices were also measured. β-Cell membrane-bound components were identified as three procyanidin B dimers and a C trimer. PCs showed no significant cytotoxicity up to a concentrations of 100 μg/mL. PCs treatment reversed the elevated apoptosis rate and impaired GSIS induced by PA. PCs markedly decreased the intracellular ROS and MDA production and increased the SOD activity. Moreover, PCs promoted the phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO1, and regulated Pdx-1 and Bax expression in MIN6 cells. Discussion and conclusion: The active components that act as hypoglycaemic agents in R. amabilis are procyanidins, which protected MIN6 cells against PA-induced apoptosis by activating PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signalling. These results indicate that β-cell extraction, combined with UPLC/MS, is a valid method for screening antidiabetic components from herbal medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Patrinia scabiosaefolia, a medicinal herb being used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from ancient times. Topics discussed include using herb in the treatment of fever, intestinal abscess and insomnia; isolating biologically active compounds including flavonoids, coumarins and sterols from the herb and determining the cytotoxicity of Patrineolignans A and B.

Abstract: Chemical investigation of the root of Rosa laevigata led to the isolation of sixteen phenolic compounds, including seven flavonoids (1–7), five condensed tannins (8–12), two stilbenes (13 and 14) and two benzoic acid derivatives (15 and 16). Their structures were identified as (+)-catechin (1), (+)-gallocatechin (2), (2R, 3S, 4S)-cis- leucocyanidin (3), (2R, 3S, 4S)-cis-leucofisetinidin (4), (2S, 3R, 4R)-cis- leucofisetinidin (5), dehydrodicatechin A (6), phloridzin (7), procyanidin B3 (8), fisetinidol-(4α, 8)-catechin (9), guibourtinidol- (4α, 8)-catechin (10), ent- isetinidol -(4α, 6)-catechin (11), fisetinidol-(4β, 8)-catechin (12), (Z)-3-methoxy-5-hydroxy- stilbene (13), (Z)-piceid (14), gallic acid (15) and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid- 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (16). Among them, compounds 3–7, 9–14, and 16 were isolated from R. laevigata for the first time, and compounds 3–7, 9, 10, 12–14 and 16 were reported for the first time from the genus Rosa. The chemotaxonomic significance of these compounds was summarized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One new diarylheptanoid, namely (4 E,6 E)-7-(3,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxyphenyl)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hepta-4,6-dien-3-one ( 1), was isolated from the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale, along with ten known ones, tetrahydrocurcumin ( 2), curcumin ( 3), 5-hydroxy-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)heptan-3-one ( 4), gingerenone A ( 5), 7-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)heptan-3-one ( 6), ( E)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hept-1-ene-3,5-dione ( 7), ( E)-7-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-hept-1-ene-3,5-dione ( 8), shogasulfonic acid A ( 9), 1,5-epoxy-3-hydroxy-1-(3,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxyphenyl)-7-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)heptane ( 10), and (3 S,5 S)-3,5-diacetoxy-1,7-bis(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)heptane ( 11). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral evidence and comparisons with literature data. The free radical scavenging activity of 1- 11 was evaluated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Most of the isolated compounds were found to be better antioxidants than the positive control ascorbic acid. These compounds were also evaluated for their cytotoxicity against HeLa and MNK-45 cells using the MTT assay. Our results suggest that compounds 3 and 5- 8 inhibited HeLa cells, and 3, 5, 7 and 8 inhibited MNK-45 cells. It was found that compound 5 was markedly cytotoxic against HeLa and MNK-45 cell lines with IC50 values of 6.4 and 7.8 µmol/L, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]