Apocarotenoids from Equisetum debile Roxb. ex Vaucher regulate the lipid metabolism via the activation of the AMPK/ACC/SREBP-1c signaling pathway

Sixteen undescribed apocarotenoids (1-16), along with 22 known analogues, were isolated from the aerial parts of Equisetum debile. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were elucidated by NMR, HRESIMS, X-ray diffraction analysis, the modified Mosher's method and the quantum-chemical calculation of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compounds 1-9, 11-12 are the first example of C16-apocarotenoids appeared in nature. The plausible biosynthetic pathway of 1-16 was proposed. Moreover, the isolates were evaluated for their lipid-lowering activity, and the results showed that 13, 14, 15, 22, 31, 32 and 33 could remarkably decrease the levels of both TC and TG in FFA induced HepG2 cells at 20 μM. The oil red staining assay further demonstrated the lipid-lowering effects of 13, 14 and 15. The western blot results indicated that compounds 13, 14 and 15 could regulate the lipid metabolism via the activation of the AMPK/ACC/SREBP-1c signaling pathway. A preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) study of the isolates indicated that the apocarotenoids with 6/5 ring system displayed more potent lipid-lowering effects.

A One-Step Self-Flowering Method toward Programmable Ultrathin Porous Carbon-Based Materials for Microwave Absorption and Hydrogen Evolution

Ultrathin 2D porous carbon-based materials offer numerous fascinating electrical, catalytic, and mechanical properties, which hold great promise in various applications. However, it remains a formidable challenge to fabricate these materials with tunable morphology and composition by a simple synthesis strategy. Here, a facile one-step self-flowering method without purification and harsh conditions is reported for large-scale fabrication of high-quality ultrathin (≈1.5 nm) N-doped porous carbon nanosheets (NPC) and their composites. It is demonstrated that the layered tannic/oxamide (TA/oxamide) hybrid is spontaneously blown, exfoliated, bloomed, in situ pore-formed, and aromatized during pyrolysis to form flower-like aggregated NPC. This universal one-step self-flowering system is compatible with various precursors to construct multiscale NPC-based composites (Ru@NPC, ZnO@NPC, MoS2 @NPC, Co@NPC, rGO@NPC, etc.). Notably, the programmable architecture enables NPC-based materials with excellent multifunctional performances, such as microwave absorption and hydrogen evolution. This work provides a facile, universal, scalable, and eco-friendly avenue to fabricate functional ultrathin porous carbon-based materials with programmability.

Gradient Hierarchical Hollow Heterostructures of Ti3C2Tx@rGO@MoS2 for Efficient Microwave Absorption

Heterostructure engineering has emerged as a promising approach for creating high-performance microwave absorption materials in various applications such as advanced communications, portable devices, and military fields. However, achieving strong electromagnetic wave attenuation, good impedance matching, and low density in a single heterostructure remains a significant challenge. Herein, a unique structural design strategy that employs a hollow structure coupled with gradient hierarchical heterostructures to achieve high-performance microwave absorption is proposed. MoS₂ nanosheets are uniformly grown onto the double-layered Ti₃C₂T_x MXene@rGO hollow microspheres through self-assembly and sacrificial template techniques. Notably, the gradient hierarchical heterostructures, comprising a MoS₂ impedance matching layer, a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) lossy layer, and a Ti₃C₂T_x MXene reflective layer, have demonstrated significant improvements in impedance matching and attenuation capabilities. Additionally, the incorporation of a hollow structure can further improve microwave absorption while reducing the overall composite density. The distinctive gradient hollow heterostructures enable Ti₃C₂T_x@rGO@MoS₂ hollow microspheres with exceptional microwave absorption properties. The reflection loss value reaches as strong as -54.2 dB at a thin thickness of 1.8 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth covers the whole Ku-band, up to 6.04 GHz. This work provides an exquisite perspective on heterostructure engineering design for developing next-generation microwave absorbers.

Establishment and verification of prognostic model and ceRNA network analysis for colorectal cancer liver metastasis

OBJECTS

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. Approximately two-thirds of patients with CRC will develop colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) at some point in time. In this study, we aimed to construct a prognostic model of CRLM and its competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network.

METHODS

RNA-seq of CRC, CRLM and normal samples were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus database. Limma was used to obtain differential expression genes (DEGs) between CRLM and CRC from sequencing data and GSE22834, and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional enrichment analyses were performed, respectively. Univariate Cox regression analysis and lasso Cox regression models were performed to screen prognostic gene features and construct prognostic models. Functional enrichment, estimation of stromal and immune cells in malignant tumor tissues using expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis, and ceRNA network construction were applied to explore potential mechanisms.

RESULTS

An 8-gene prognostic model was constructed by screening 112 DEGs from TCGA and GSE22834. CRC patients in the TCGA and GSE29621 cohorts were stratified into either a high-risk group or a low-risk group. Patients with CRC in the high-risk group had a significantly poorer prognosis compared to in the low-risk group. The risk score was identified as an independent predictor of prognosis. Functional analysis revealed that the risk score was closly correlated with various immune cells and immune-related signaling pathways. And a prognostic gene-associated ceRNA network was constructed that obtained 3 prognosis gene, 14 microRNAs (miRNAs) and 7 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, a prognostic model for CRLM identification was proposed, which could independently identify high-risk patients with low survival, suggesting a relationship between local immune status and prognosis of CRLM. Moreover, the key prognostic genes-related ceRNA network were established for the CRC investigation. Based on the differentially expressed genes between CRLM and CRC, the prognosis model of CRC patients was constructed.

Single-cell sequencing reveals the immune microenvironment landscape related to anti-PD-1 resistance in metastatic colorectal cancer with high microsatellite instability

BACKGROUND

The objective response rate of microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with first-line anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) monotherapy is only 40-45%. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables unbiased analysis of the full variety of cells comprising the tumor microenvironment. Thus, we used scRNA-seq to assess differences among microenvironment components between therapy-resistant and therapy-sensitive groups in MSI-H/mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) mCRC. Resistance-related cell types and genes identified by this analysis were subsequently verified in clinical samples and mouse models to further reveal the molecular mechanism of anti-PD-1 resistance in MSI-H or dMMR mCRC.

METHODS

The response of primary and metastatic lesions to first-line anti-PD-1 monotherapy was evaluated by radiology. Cells from primary lesions of patients with MSI-H/dMMR mCRC were analyzed using scRNA-seq. To identify the marker genes in each cluster, distinct cell clusters were identified and subjected to subcluster analysis. Then, a protein‒protein interaction network was constructed to identify key genes. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were applied to verify key genes and cell marker molecules in clinical samples. Immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blotting were performed to examine the expression of IL-1β and MMP9. Moreover, quantitative analysis and sorting of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and CD8⁺ T cells were performed using flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Tumor responses in 23 patients with MSI-H/dMMR mCRC were evaluated by radiology. The objective response rate was 43.48%, and the disease control rate was 69.57%. ScRNA-seq analysis showed that, compared with the treatment-resistant group, the treatment-sensitive group accumulated more CD8⁺ T cells. Experiments with both clinical samples and mice indicated that infiltration of IL-1β-driven MDSCs and inactivation of CD8⁺ T cells contribute to anti-PD-1 resistance in MSI-H/dMMR CRC.

CONCLUSIONS

CD8⁺ T cells and IL-1β were identified as the cell type and gene, respectively, with the highest correlation with anti-PD-1 resistance. Infiltration of IL-1β-driven MDSCs was a significant factor in anti-PD-1 resistance in CRC. IL-1β antagonists are expected to be developed as a new treatment for anti-PD-1 inhibitor resistance.

Isobaric Stable Isotope N-Phosphorylation Labeling (iSIPL) for Ultrasensitive Proteome Quantification

Stable isotope chemical labeling methods have been widely used for high-throughput mass spectrometry (MS)-based quantitative proteomics in biological and clinical applications. However, the existing methods are far from meeting the requirements for high sensitivity detection. In the present study, a novel isobaric stable isotope N-phosphorylation labeling (iSIPL) strategy was developed for quantitative proteome analysis. The tryptic peptides were selectively labeled with iSIPL tag to generate the novel reporter ions containing phosphoramidate P-N bond with high intensities under lower collision energies. iSIPL strategy are suitable for peptide sequencing and quantitative analysis with high sensitivity and accuracy even for samples of limited quantity. Furthermore, iSIPL coupled with affinity purification and mass spectrometry was applied to measure the dynamics of cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) interactomes during transactivation of the HIV-1 provirus. The interaction of CDK9 with PARP13 was found to significantly decrease during Tat-induced activation of HIV-1 gene transcription, suggesting the effectiveness of iSIPL strategy in dynamic analysis of protein-protein interaction in vivo. More than that, the proposed iSIPL strategy would facilitate large-scale accurate quantitative proteomics by increasing multiplexing capability.

Identifying and mapping individual medicinal plant Lamiophlomis rotata at high elevations by using unmanned aerial vehicles and deep learning

BACKGROUND

The identification and enumeration of medicinal plants at high elevations is an important part of accurate yield calculations. However, the current assessment of medicinal plant reserves continues to rely on field sampling surveys, which are cumbersome and time-consuming. Recently, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing and deep learning (DL) have provided ultrahigh-resolution imagery and high-accuracy object recognition techniques, respectively, providing an excellent opportunity to improve the current manual surveying of plants. However, accurate segmentation of individual plants from drone images remains a significant challenge due to the large variation in size, geometry, and distribution of medicinal plants.

RESULTS

In this study, we proposed a new pipeline for wild medicinal plant detection and yield assessment based on UAV and DL that was specifically designed for detecting wild medicinal plants in an orthomosaic. We used a drone to collect panoramic images of Lamioplomis rotata Kudo (LR) in high-altitude areas. Then, we annotated and cropped these images into equally sized sub-images and used a DL model Mask R-CNN for object detection and segmentation of LR. Finally, on the basis of the segmentation results, we accurately counted the number and yield of LRs. The results showed that the Mask R-CNN model based on the ResNet-101 backbone network was superior to ResNet-50 in all evaluation indicators. The average identification precision of LR by Mask R-CNN based on the ResNet-101 backbone network was 89.34%, while that of ResNet-50 was 88.32%. The cross-validation results showed that the average accuracy of ResNet-101 was 78.73%, while that of ResNet-50 was 71.25%. According to the orthomosaic, the average number and yield of LR in the two sample sites were 19,376 plants and 57.93 kg and 19,129 plants and 73.5 kg respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of DL and UAV remote sensing reveals significant promise in medicinal plant detection, counting, and yield prediction, which will benefit the monitoring of their populations for conservation assessment and management, among other applications.

Quality assessment of traditional Chinese medicine based on data fusion combined with machine learning: A review

The authenticity and quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) directly impact clinical efficacy and safety. Quality assessment of traditional Chinese medicine (QATCM) is a global concern due to increased demand and shortage of resources. Recently, modern analytical technologies have been extensively investigated and utilized to analyze the chemical composition of TCM. However, a single analytical technique has some limitations, and judging the quality of TCM only from the characteristics of the components is not enough to reflect the overall view of TCM. Thus, the development of multi-source information fusion technology and machine learning (ML) has further improved QATCM. Data information from different analytical instruments can better understand the connection between herbal samples from multiple aspects. This review focuses on the use of data fusion (DF) and ML in QATCM, including chromatography, spectroscopy, and other electronic sensors. The common data structures and DF strategies are introduced, followed by ML methods, including fast-growing deep learning. Finally, DF strategies combined with ML methods are discussed and illustrated for research on applications such as source identification, species identification, and content prediction in TCM. This review demonstrates the validity and accuracy of QATCM-based DF and ML strategies and provides a reference for developing and applying QATCM methods.

Phagocytosis of Glioma Cells Enhances the Immunosuppressive Phenotype of Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) play a crucial role in immunosuppression. However, how TAMs are transformed into immunosuppressive phenotypes and influence the tumor microenvironment (TME) is not fully understood. Here, we utilized single-cell RNA sequencing and whole-exome sequencing data of glioblastoma (GBM) tissues and identified a subset of TAMs dually expressing macrophage and tumor signatures, which were termed double-positive TAMs. Double-positive TAMs tended to be bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) and were characterized by immunosuppressive phenotypes. Phagocytosis of glioma cells by BMDMs in vitro generated double-positive TAMs with similar immunosuppressive phenotypes to double-positive TAMs in the GBM TME of patients. The double-positive TAMs were transformed into M2-like macrophages and drove immunosuppression by expressing immune-checkpoint proteins CD276, PD-L1, and PD-L2 and suppressing the proliferation of activated T cells. Together, glioma cell phagocytosis by BMDMs in the TME leads to the formation of double-positive TAMs with enhanced immunosuppressive phenotypes, shedding light on the processes driving TAM-mediated immunosuppression in GBM.

SIGNIFICANCE

Bone marrow-derived macrophages phagocytose glioblastoma cells to form double-positive cells, dually expressing macrophage and tumor signatures that are transformed into M2-like macrophages and drive immunosuppression.

Living with dementia: Why I am thinking of 'death'

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Dementia is recognized globally as a massive burden on public health and wider society. It is a major cause of disability and mortality amongst older people. China has the largest population of people with dementia worldwide, accounting for approximately 25% of the entire global population of people with dementia. The study investigated the perceived experiences of care giving and care receiving in China, with one area identified in the data concerning the extent to which the participants discussed death. The research also explored the meaning of living with dementia in modern China, where the economy, demography and culture are rapidly changing.

METHOD

The qualitative approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis was used for this study. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection.

FINDING

The paper reports on one specific finding concerning death as a way out of the situation that participants found themselves in.

CONCLUSION

The study described and interpreted one of the specific issues, 'death', in the participants' narratives. This finding reflects how psychological and social factors, such as stress, social support, healthcare cost, caring burden and medical practice have created the participants' thoughts of 'wishing to die' and the reasons why they believe 'death is a way to reduce burden'. It calls for an understanding, supportive social environment and a reconsideration of a culturally and economically appropriate family-based care system.

Zinc fingers and homeoboxes 2 inhibition could suppress the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells by apoptosis pathway

OBJECTIVE

The Zinc fingers and homeoboxes (ZHX) protein family has been reported to be involved in tumor development; however, it remains controversial whether these proteins can act as promoters or inhibitors of cancer development. The current study focused on the biological role of ZHX2 in ovarian cancer.

METHODS

Tissue microarrays were established using 154 ovarian cancer samples. Immunohistochemical analysis was employed to determine the expression levels of ZHX2 in ovarian cancer samples. The prognostic analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with a log-rank test. The specific role of ZHX2 in ovarian cancer was investigated in cell lines in vitro.

RESULTS

It was found that ZHX2 was not significantly overexpressed in ovarian cancer samples; however, its expression was significantly correlated with advanced tumor grade. Patient survival analysis indicated that patients with high expression of ZHX2 exhibited worse overall survival rate compared with those with low expression of ZHX2. Furthermore, univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that ZHX2 was an independent prognostic factor of progression-free survival in patients with ovarian cancer. In vitro experiments indicated that inhibition of ZHX2 could significantly suppress ovarian cancer cell proliferation via induction of the apoptotic pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

The data indicated that ZHX2 may be considered a promising biomarker in ovarian cancer and that inhibition of its expression may be a potential therapeutic target in ovarian cancer treatment.

Modes and Mechanisms of Pacific Decadal-Scale Variability

The modes of Pacific decadal-scale variability (PDV), traditionally defined as statistical patterns of variance, reflect to first order the ocean's integration (i.e., reddening) of atmospheric forcing that arises from both a shift and a change in strength of the climatological (time-mean) atmospheric circulation. While these patterns concisely describe PDV, they do not distinguish among the key dynamical processes driving the evolution of PDV anomalies, including atmospheric and ocean teleconnections and coupled feedbacks with similar spatial structures that operate on different timescales. In this review, we synthesize past analysis using an empirical dynamical model constructed from monthly ocean surface anomalies drawn from several reanalysis products, showing that the PDV modes of variance result from two fundamental low-frequency dynamical eigenmodes: the North Pacific-central Pacific (NP-CP) and Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension (KOE) modes. Both eigenmodes highlight how two-way tropical-extratropical teleconnection dynamics are the primary mechanisms energizing and synchronizing the basin-scale footprint of PDV. While the NP-CP mode captures interannual- to decadal-scale variability, the KOE mode is linked to the basin-scale expression of PDV on decadal to multidecadal timescales, including contributions from the South Pacific.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the molecular features of peripheral blood immune cells in children, adults and centenarians

Peripheral blood immune cells have different molecular characteristics at different stages of the whole lifespan. Knowledge of circulating immune cell types and states from children to centenarians remains incomplete. We profiled peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of multiple age groups with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), involving the age ranges of 1-12 (G1), 20-30(G2), 30-60(G3), 60-80(G4), and >110 years (G5). The proportion and states of myeloid cells change significantly from G1 to G2. We identified a novel CD8⁺CCR7⁺GZMB⁺ cytotoxic T cell subtype specific in G1, expressing naive and cytotoxic genes, and validated by flow cytometry. CD8⁺ T cells showed significant changes in the early stage (G1 to G2), while CD4⁺ T cells changed in the late stage (G4 to G5). Moreover, the intercellular crosstalk among PBMCs in G1 is very dynamic. Susceptibility genes for a variety of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) have different cell-specific expression localization, and the expression of susceptibility genes for AIDs changes with age. Notably, the CD3⁺ undefined T cells clearly expressed susceptibility genes for multiple AIDs, especially in G3. ETS1 and FLI1, susceptibility genes associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, were differentially expressed in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ effector cells in G1 and G3. These results provided a valuable basis for future research on the unique immune system of the whole lifespan and AIDs.

Medication Adherence in People with Asthma: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Patient and Health Professional Perspectives

Background

Increased medication adherence leads to better asthma control and health outcomes. However, many studies have found that patient adherence to maintenance medication is poor.

Aim

We undertook a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies, to investigate asthma patient and healthcare professionals' perspectives of medication adherence.

Methods

This systematic review was reported by following the PRISMA guidelines. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) meta-aggregative approach was used for the qualitative synthesis. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022346831).

Results

In total, 12 articles were included in the review. These articles reported findings from 433 participants in total, which included 315 patients and 118 healthcare professionals. Four synthesised findings with sub-themes were identified from the reviewed studies. These synthesised findings were described as: 1) The role of relationship and communication with/between Healthcare Professionals in medication adherence; 2) Insufficient information from Healthcare Professionals acting as a barrier for adherence; 3) How patient's attitude/beliefs effect their adherence to medication; and 4) Patients' personal behaviour and other relevant barriers.

Conclusion

The synthesized findings provide a strong evidence-base of patient and health professionals' perspectives and behaviours toward medication adherence, which helps to identify and address non-adherence. Healthcare providers can use these findings to support patients' adherence to asthma medications. The findings suggest that empowering people to make informed decisions around medication adherence rather than "adherence controlling" by health professionals is very important. Effective dialogue and appropriate education are critical approaches to increase medication adherence.

Trends and risk factors of global incidence, mortality, and disability of genitourinary cancers from 1990 to 2019: Systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background

The incidence of kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer ranked ninth, sixth, and third in male cancers respectively, meanwhile, the incidence of testicular cancer also increased gradually in the past 30 years.

Objective

To study and present estimates of the incidence, mortality, and disability of kidney, bladder, prostate, and testicular cancer by location and age from 1990 to 2019 and reveal the mortality risk factors of them.

Materials

The Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019 was used to obtain data for this research. The prediction of cancer mortality and incidence was based on mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). The MIR data was processed by logistic regression and adjusted by Gaussian process regression. The association between the socio-demographic index and the incidence or disease burden was determined by Spearman's rank order correlation.

Results

Globally in 2019, there were 371,700 kidney cancer cases with an age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of 4.6 per 100,000, 524,300 bladder cancer cases, with an ASIR of 6.5 per 100,000, 1,410,500 prostate cancer cases with an ASIR of 4.6 per 100,000 and 109,300 testicular cancer incident cases with an ASIR of 1.4 per 100,000, the ASIR of these four cancers increased by 29.1, 4, 22, and 45.5% respectively. The incidence rate of the four cancers and the burden of kidney cancer were positively correlated with the socio-demographic index (SDI), regions with a higher SDI faced more of a burden attributable to these four cancers. High body-mass index has surpassed smoking to be the leading risk factor in the past thirty years for kidney cancer mortality. Smoking remained the leading risk factor for cancer-related mortality for bladder cancer and prostate cancer and the only risk factor for prostate cancer. However, the contribution of high fasting plasma glucose to bladder cancer mortality has been increasing.

Conclusion

The incidence of bladder, kidney, prostate, and testicular cancer is ever-increasing. High-income regions face a greater burden attributable to the four cancers. In addition to smoking, metabolic risk factors may need more attention.

The Current Status and Future Prospects for Conversion Therapy in the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In China, most HCC patients are diagnosed with advanced disease and in these cases surgery is challenging. Conversion therapy can be used to change unresectable HCC into resectable disease and is a potential breakthrough treatment strategy. The resection rate for unresectable advanced HCC has recently improved as a growing number of patients have benefited from conversion therapy. While conversion therapy is at an early stage of development, progress in patient selection, optimum treatment methods, and the timing of surgery have the potential to deliver significant benefits. In this article, we review the current evidence and clinical experience of conversion therapy in HCC. General conversion modalities such as systemic treatments (systemic chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy), locoregional therapy (transarterial chemoembolization, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, or selective internal radiation therapy), and combination therapy were summarized. We also discuss the current challenges of conversion therapy and provide identify areas for future research to improve the development of conversion therapy in advanced HCC.

Global, Regional, and National Burden of CKD due to Glomerulonephritis from 1990 to 2019: A Systematic Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND

CKD is becoming a major human health concern. Limited quantitative assessments of the burden of CKD due to glomerulonephritis have been performed. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the disease burden to update the epidemiology of this disease.

METHODS

Incidence, prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) data and percent changes in these indicators were extracted from Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 to analyze the burden of CKD due to glomerulonephritis.

RESULTS

Globally, there were 606,300 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 560,100 to 658,100) incident patients, 17,300,000 (95% UI, 16,100,000 to 18,600,000) prevalent patients, 183,700 (95% UI, 146,300 to 228,900) deaths, and 6,900,000 (95% UI, 5,900,000 to 8,100,000) DALYs of CKD due to glomerulonephritis in 2019. Compared with those in 1990, the numbers of incident patients, prevalent patients, deaths, and DALYs increased by 77%, 81%, 100%, and 66%, respectively. Most of the disease burden was concentrated in countries with lower sociodemographic index. In Central Latin America, the disease burden was much higher than expected on the basis of its sociodemographic index. Decomposition analysis showed that population aging and growth were the two major drivers of the increase in DALYs. Frontier analysis revealed considerable opportunities to reduce the age-standardized DALYs in the middle of the sociodemographic-index spectrum. Although middle-aged and elderly individuals accounted for the majority of the disease burden, the highest incidence rate was observed in children aged 1-4 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The disease burden of CKD due to glomerulonephritis has increased worldwide, especially in regions and countries with lower sociodemographic indexes.

Lipskynoids A-G, New Acyclic Diterpenes from the Flowers of Carpesium lipskyi

Seven new acyclic diterpenes, namely lipskynoids A-G (1-7), were isolated from the flowers of Carpesium lipskyi, a traditional Tibetan herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory and antipyretic-analgesic effects. These new compounds were elucidated by analysis of extensive spectroscopic data including ESI-MS, 1D, 2D NMR, and DP4+ analyses. Biological assays showed that 1-7 display significant inhibitory effects against the NO production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells with its IC50 values from 9.9 to 18.47 μM, however, no cytotoxicity effect was observed of these isolates against the growth of HePG2, PC3, DU145, and A549 cells.