Propolis polyphenols: A review on the composition and anti-obesity mechanism of different types of propolis polyphenols.

Obesity, one of the most common nutritional diseases worldwide, can lead to dyslipidemia, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and inflammation. Some drugs have been developed to ameliorate obesity. However, these drugs may cause serious side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative "natural" remedies including propolis. Studies have found that propolis has excellent anti-obesity activity in in vitro and in vivo models during the past decades, of which polyphenols are the key component in regulating weight loss. This review focused on the different polyphenol compositions of propolis from different regions and plants, the evidence for the anti-obesity effects of different types of propolis and its derivatives, discussed the impact of propolis polyphenols on obesity related signal pathways, and proposed the molecular mechanism of how propolis polyphenols affect these signal pathways. For example, propolis and its derivatives regulate lipid metabolism related proteins, such as PPARα, PPARγ, SREBP-1&2, and HMG CoA etc., destroy the formation of CREB/CRTC2 transcription complex, activate Nrf2 pathway or inhibit protein kinase IKK ε/TBK1, thereby affecting fat production and lipid metabolism; The effects of propolis on adipokines (adiponectin, leptin and inflammatory factors) were discussed. Additionally, the mechanism of polyphenols in propolis promoting the browning of adipose tissues and the relationship between intestinal microorganisms was summarized. These information may be of value to better understand how specific propolis polyphenols interact with specific signaling pathways and help guide the development of new drugs to combat obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Quality evaluation and geographical classification of immature rape and acacia honeys in China.

BACKGROUND: To reflect and understand the real situation regarding immature honey, the quality parameters of 141 honey samples from different regions of China were evaluated. The possibility of classifying Chinese honey from different geographical origins was also considered. RESULTS: The results revealed that the values of diastase, sucrose, proline and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) met the international honey standard, although moisture, total glucose and fructose, and invertase content in most of the honey samples failed to meet the standards. In addition, honey from different geographical locations could be well separated based on the contents of maltose, sucrose, HMF and glucose oxidase. CONCLUSION: The maturity of honey has a great impact on its quality, and the geographical origin of immature honey could be classified according to the physicochemical parameters. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Multifactor Prognostic Evaluation of Postoperative Craniopharyngiomas.

PURPOSE: To evaluate various factors that could be associated with the postoperative prognosis of patients with craniopharyngiomas and provide evidence for the proper surgical course and optimal outcome assessments of craniopharyngiomas. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study and reviewed 68 patients with craniopharyngiomas who received surgery from May 2013 to October 2018. The relationships between the disease prognosis and age, gender, onset symptoms, size of tumor, degree of calcification, consistency, QST classification, adhesion strength, and pathological types were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant associations between the prognosis and age, gender, number of onset symptoms, and pathological types (P > 0.05). The severity of onset symptoms, tumor diameter, and degree of calcification was significantly associated with the prognosis (P < 0.05). There were significant different prognoses between patients with cystic and solid, mixed tumors (P < 0.05). The prognosis of patients with T type tumors was different from that of patients with either Q or S type tumors (P < 0.05). The prognoses of patients with either loose or tight type tumors were significantly different from those of patients with either invasive or fusion type tumors (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Clinical and pathological variables, such as onset symptoms, size of tumor, degree of calcification, consistency, QST classification, and the degree of adhesion strength, were important factors in evaluating the prognosis of patients with craniopharyngiomas.

Examining the association between work-family conflict and the work attitudes of job satisfaction and organizational commitment among Chinese correctional staff.

Considerable empirical research has shown that work-family conflict has a negative effect on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of United States correctional staff. This study is the first to examine the effect of work-family conflict on job satisfaction and organizational commitment for staff at Chinese prisons. Findings from ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses indicated that strain-based conflict, behavior-based conflict and family-on-work conflict had negative effects on the job satisfaction of Chinese prison staff. Also, strain-based conflict and behavior-based conflict had negative effects on organizational commitment. Overall, the results support the conclusion that work-family conflict was generally perceived as stressful by Chinese prison staff and negatively impacted their job satisfaction and organizational commitment, as has been found among United States staff.

Intervening Paths From Strain to Delinquency Among High School and Vocational School Students in China.

Chinese education system comprises high schools and vocational school, and their differences on delinquency have seldom been investigated. From the perspective of general strain theory, the present study examined the differences among high school and vocational school students for delinquency, strain, and other explanatory variables. General strain theory delineates the effect of strain on delinquency or deviance and presents the paths from strain to delinquency or deviance through social control and social learning variables. Using a sample of 1,852 tenth-grade students in Guangzhou City, the present study tests the intervening paths from strains to deviance among high school and vocational school students. Results indicated that vocational school students have higher likelihood to be strained and delinquent, and have lower social control and higher interactions with delinquent peers. School type is a significant predictor for strain, as well as social control and delinquent peers.

Exploring the Association Between Work-Family Conflict and Job Involvement.

Past research among U.S. correctional staff has found that work-family conflict has negative outcomes such as decreasing job satisfaction, decreasing organizational commitment, and increasing job stress. Little empirical research has addressed the association of the specific types of work-family conflict with job involvement. The present study contributes to the literature by separately analyzing the relationship of the four specific major types of work-family conflict (time-based conflict, strain-based conflict, behavior-based conflict, and family-on-work conflict) with job involvement among surveyed staff at two Chinese prisons. Job involvement varied by the type of work-family conflict. Specifically, time-based conflict and strain-based conflict had nonsignificant association with job involvement, but behavior-based and family-based conflicts had significant negative associations.

Knockdown of lncRNA-UCA1 inhibits cell viability and migration of human glioma cells by miR-193a-mediated downregulation of CDK6.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNA urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (lncRNA-UCA1) is generally recognized as an oncogenic molecule in several human malignant tumors. However, the available evidence does not necessarily imply an unequivocal causal function of UCA1 in glioblastoma. The current study was aimed to probe the biological function of lncRNA-UCA1 in human glioblastoma cell lines. Besides, we further investigated the potential mechanisms. METHODS: Cell viability, apoptosis, as well as migration and invasion were measured using a commercial cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry, and 24-Transwell assay, respectively. LncRNA-UCA1, microRNA-193a (miR-193a), and CDK6 at messenger RNA levels were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method. Protein level was examined by Western blot analysis. RNA immunoprecipitation was utilized to validate lncRNA-UCA1 associated with miR-193a. Luciferase activity assay was used to identify the miR-193a-targeted CDK6 3'-untranslated region. RESULTS: lncRNA-UCA1 knockdown weakened cell viability, augmented apoptosis progression, as well as suppressed migration and invasion behaviors in glioblastoma cells, whereas lncRNA-UCA1 silence exhibited the opposite functions. lncRNA-UCA1 functioned as an endogenous sponge of miR-193a. miR-193a silence reversed the biological function of lncRNA-UCA1 knockdown on U-118 MG cells. miR-193a negatively regulated the expression of CDK6, and it affected the U-118 MG cells through regulating CDK6 expression. CDK6 overexpression abrogated the blockage of PI3K/AKT, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and Notch signaling pathways. Furthermore, lncRNA-UCA1 and miR-193a could affect these signaling cascades through regulating CDK6 expression. The regulatory mechanisms of lncRNA-UCA1 were further consolidated in clinical specimens. CONCLUSION: lncRNA-UCA1 silence reduced cell viability, promoted apoptosis progression, while impeding the migration and invasion of glioblastoma cells by miR-193a-mediated silence of CDK6, with blockage of PI3K/AKT, MAPK, and Notch pathways.

An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Work Environment Variables on Job Satisfaction Among Chinese Prison Staff.

Job satisfaction has been linked to many positive outcomes, such as greater work performance, increased organizational commitment, reduced job burnout, decreased absenteeism, and lower turnover intent/turnover. A substantial body of research has examined how work environment variables are linked to job satisfaction among U.S. correctional staff; far less research has examined prison staff in non-Western nations, especially China. Using survey data collected from two prisons in Guangzhou, China, this study investigated the level of job satisfaction among prison staff and how personal characteristics (i.e., gender, tenure, age, and educational level) and work environment variables (i.e., perceived dangerousness of the job, job variety, supervision, instrumental communication, and input into decision making) affect job satisfaction. The findings from ordinary least squares regression equations indicated that the work environment variables explained a greater proportion of the variance in the job satisfaction measure than the personal characteristics. In the full multivariate regression model, gender was the only personal characteristic to have a significant association with job satisfaction, with female staff reporting higher satisfaction. Input into decision making and job variety had significant positive associations, whereas dangerousness had a significant negative relationship with job satisfaction.

Life Stress, Strain, and Deviance Across Schools: Testing the Contextual Version of General Strain Theory in China.

General Strain Theory delineates different types of strain and intervening processes from strain to deviance and crime. In addition to explaining individual strain-crime relationship, a contextualized version of general strain theory, which is called the Macro General Strain Theory, has been used to analyze how aggregate variables influence aggregate and individual deviance and crime. Using a sample of 1,852 students (Level 1) nested in 52 schools (Level 2), the current study tests the Macro General Strain Theory using Chinese data. The results revealed that aggregate life stress and strain have influences on aggregate and individual deviance, and reinforce the individual stress-deviance association. The current study contributes by providing the first Macro General Strain Theory test based on Chinese data and offering empirical evidence for the multilevel intervening processes from strain to deviance. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

A Happy Life: Exploring How Job Stress, Job Involvement, and Job Satisfaction Are Related to the Life Satisfaction of Chinese Prison Staff.

Working in prisons is a demanding career. While a growing number of studies have explored the predictors of job stress, job involvement, and job satisfaction, very few studies have examined how job stress, job involvement, and job satisfaction effect prison staff life satisfaction. Moreover, past studies on prison staff life satisfaction have all been conducted among those working in the United States. The current study examined how job stress, job involvement and job satisfaction were associated with satisfaction with life among surveyed staff at two Chinese prisons. Job involvement and job satisfaction had positive effects on life satisfaction, while job stress had a negative effect.

Testing the Predictive Validity of the LSI-R Using a Sample of Young Male Offenders on Probation in Guangzhou, China.

This study explored the predictive validity of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) with 112 young male probationers on recidivism for new offense and rearrest in Guangzhou, China, from 2010 to 2013. Using bivariate correlations, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis, the LSI-R total score was found to be a stable and significant predictor of recidivism. The LSI-R total score and subscales of Criminal History and Leisure/Recreation were significantly correlated to recidivism. There was significant association between time at risk and recidivism. Increase in the LSI-R total score was associated with greater likelihood that recidivism would occur. There was no recidivism in low-risk group, and higher recidivism rates were found in moderate-and high-risk groups. The LSI-R was effective in specifying recidivists and non-recidivists with area under the curve (AUC) coefficient of .733. The current study supports the utility of the LSI-R, which is applicable to different cultural and social contexts, as a risk/need assessment instrument for young male probationer recidivism in Guangzhou. Sufficient training and accumulated experience of administering the LSI-R would be necessary to reduce regional variation. Future studies with larger samples across different offender groups are needed. Limitations and implications for offender assessment in China are discussed.

Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the LSI-R With Probationers.

The Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) is an instrument used world-wide for offender risk/need assessment, and the predominant samples for the LSI-R literature were Caucasian participants. This study is the first attempt to examine the reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the LSI-R with 305 probationers (269 males, 36 females) in Guangzhou, China. Factor analysis was conducted using principal component analysis. The internal consistency was estimated by Cronbach's alpha for the total and subscales. Under the cross-sectional design, technical violation (TV) was used as a dependent variable for bivariate correlations and binary logistic regression model to investigate the concurrent validity of the Chinese version of LSI-R, controlling the age. Results offered support to this instrument by sound internal consistency. Significant gender differences were apparent on the total scores, and subscales of Criminal History, Family/Marital, and Companions. Bivariate correlations and binary logistic regression analyses supported the concurrent validity of the LSI-R total score for technical violations, and the subscales of Criminal History and Education/Employment were significantly associated with technical violations, which are consistent with the LSI-R literature. Overall, the LSI-R, which has been translated into Chinese, is a reliable risk/need assessment instrument for technical violations for probationers in Guangzhou, China. Further studies with follow-up data for different offender groups are needed. Discussions about the results, implications, limitations, and further research were presented.

Exacerbation of autoimmune arthritis by copolymer-I through promoting type 1 immune response and autoantibody production.

Copolymer-I (COP-I) is an unique immune regulatory polymer that has been shown to suppress experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and is a treatment option for multiple sclerosis (MS). To investigate whether its immune suppressive effects can be extended to other autoimmune diseases, we treated mice with COP-I during the induction of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Our results show that COP-I treatment exacerbated CIA, leading to faster onset, more severe and longer-lasting disease. The mechanisms underlying the exacerbation of CIA by COP-I treatment include enhanced activation and inflammatory cytokine production by autoreactive T cells and elevated production of autoreactive antibodies. In addition, germinal center response was significantly enhanced by COP-I treatment. Thus, great caution should be taken when COP-I is to be used in MS patients with other autoimmune complications or its potential therapeutic effects are to be extended beyond autoimmune demyelinating diseases.

Effect of polysaccharides of cassiae seeds on the intestinal microflora of piglets.

The objective of this study was to examine if polysaccharides from Cassiae Seeds (PCS) can be used as prebiotics to improve the intestinal microflora of piglets with an in vitro and an in vivo trial. The in vitro trial was conducted to study the dose-response effect of PCS on the growth of E. coli 09 and Lactobacillus with traditional plate count method. The gradient culture mediums, containing 3.2, 1.6, 0.8, 0.4, 0.2, 0.1, 0.05, 0.025 and 0% PCS, were inoculated with E. coli09, Lactobacillus and cecum content, respectively. PCS had no influence on the growth of E. coli09 from rejuvenation fluid, but inhibited the growth of E. coli09 from cecum content when the concentration of PCS was higher than 0.1%. Lactobacillus counts were significantly increased with 0.1% PCS or higher (p< 0.05); and the largest increase was found with 0.8% PCS. With the inoculum of cecum content in the medium, Lactobacillus counts increased when the concentration of PCS was 0.4% and 0.8%, whilst E. coli 09 counts decreased. The in vivo trial was carried out to investigate the effect of PCS on the growth of E. coli 09 and Lactobacillus in piglets. Thirty six barrows (average initial BW = 6.5 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 each, fed diets supplemented without or with 0.4% or 0.8% PCS. After 14 days, 3 piglets were slaughtered from each group; digesta samples were collected from the ileum, cecum and colon for detection of E.coli 09 and Lactobacillus with plate count method. Samples of the tissue and content of the cecum were taken for detection of caecal microflora profiles with Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. The dietary inclusion of PCS increased Lactobacillus counts, but reduced E. coli 09 counts in digesta of ileum, cecum and colon of piglets. The dietary inclusion of 0.8% PCS significantly increased the number of electrophoresis brands of caecal bacterial microflora in mucosa and content of the cecum (p< 0.05). These results confirmed the dynamic change in the intestinal microflora profile with the dietary inclusion of PCS in piglets. Thus, PCS can be used as prebiotics to improve the intestinal microflora.

The 73-kDa heat shock cognate protein is a CXCR4 binding protein that regulates the receptor endocytosis and the receptor-mediated chemotaxis.

The CXCR4 chemokine receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor that plays an important role in leukocyte homing, cancer metastasis, and human immunodeficiency virus infection. In response to ligand stimulation, chemokine receptors undergo endocytosis through clathrin-coated vesicle (CCV). Uncoating of CCV, a process involving heat shock cognate protein and several other proteins, is critical for fusion of CCV to endosomal compartments. The present study demonstrated that CXCR4 was associated with the 73-kDa heat shock cognate protein (Hsc73) in human embryonic kidney 293 cells in response to ligand stimulation. Truncation of the carboxyl terminal domain of CXCR4 reduced the association with Hsc73 and a glutathione S-transferase-CXCR4 carboxyl terminal fusion protein associated with Hsc73 in vitro, suggesting involvement of the carboxyl terminal domain of the receptor in the interaction. In response to ligand stimulation, CXCR4 underwent internalization and colocalization with Hsc73, but the receptor endocytosis was blocked by knockdown of Hsc73 with RNA interference. Moreover, Hsc73 knockdown significantly reduced the CXCR4-mediated chemotaxis of U87 glioma cell lines. These findings suggest that Hsc73 plays a role in chemokine receptor trafficking and the receptor-mediated chemotaxis.