ABSTRACT
Objective@#To examine the exposure to television advertising of unhealthy food among children and adolescents in Beijing, in order to provide a basis for the formulation of marketing management policies with unhealthy food.@*Methods@#Four weekdays and four weekend days were randomly selected during October 19, 2020 to January 17, 2021, excluding holidays and school holidays. The top five popular channels of children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years old were selected. A total of 720 hours was included for coding and analysis. World Health Organization Nutrient Profile Model for the Western Pacific Region was used to classify food and assess the health level.@*Results@#A total of 13 864 advertisings (ads) was monitored, 38.8% (5 376) of which were food ads. Furthermore, 49.9% (2 680) of food ads were unhealthy food ads, with a frequency of 2.00 per hour per channel. The top five most frequent food ads were infant formula for 12-36 months (26.7%), cheese (16.7%), savory snacks (12.2%), milk drinks (10.5%) and chocolate and candy (6.0%). The most frequently used marketing strategies for unhealthy food ads were brand benefit claims (96.8%) and promotional characters (67.9%).@*Conclusion@#Children and adolescents in Beijing are highly exposed to TV marketing of unhealthy foods. Marketing strategies such as brand benefit claims and promotional characters are employed to boost the impact of unhealthy food ads. There is an urgent need to introduce relevant policies to regulate TV marketing of unhealthy foods.
ABSTRACT
The Ruanjian Sanjie Decoction (RSD) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulation consisting of Spica Prunellae, Pseudobulbus Cremastrae Seu Pleiones, Concha Ostreae and Semen Coicis, and widely used as an adjuvant in anti-cancer therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of RSD on the extracellular matrix (ECM) of tumors, and on the efficacy of anti-cancer nano-formulations in a tumor-bearing mouse model. The mice were treated with triptolide encapsulated in PEG-modified liposomes (TP-PEG-LPs), either alone or in combination with RSD. The combination treatment significantly retarded tumor growth relative to the untreated controls, indicating the potent adjuvant effect of RSD in targeted anti-cancer therapy. In addition, RSD also reduced the amount of total collagen and collagen I and increased that of collagen III in the tumor ECM, along with decreasing the expression of the pro-angiogenic VEGF. Finally, even high doses of RSD did not significantly affect the liver and kidney function or body weight, indicating low toxicity.