In this study,Ganoderma lucidumpolysaccharide decreased blood uric acid in potassium oxonate induced hyperuricemic mice and exerted renal protective effect.

The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional status and its risk factors among children under 5 years, with special focus on the coexistence of under and over nutrition in population level. We enrolled 6,570 children under 5 years among 26 counties in poor areas of China. Prevalences of malnutrition (stunting, underweight, wasting, overweight) were calculated. Overweight was evaluated using two indicators–weight for height Z score (WHZ) and body mass index for age Z score (BAZ), and results were compared. The total prevalence of malnutrition was 19.2%. The prevalence of stunting and overweight were as high as 8.4% and 8.8%, respectively. The BAZ-estimated prevalence of overweight was 9.9%, which was higher than the WHZ-estimated prevalence (p<0.001). Children older than 12 months age, within a minority group, with a caregiver of illiteracy/primary education level were significantly associated with stunting in multilevel regression models (p<0.05). Children younger than 24 months age and boys were significantly associated with overweight (p<0.05). Stunting and overweight were coexisted in surveyed areas. In conclusion, BAZ tended to overestimate the overweight prevalence compared with WHZ. While with the raising problem of childhood overweight, stunting should still be on the agenda for the poor areas in China. To improve children’s nutritional status in poor areas of China, caregivers with children at high risk of malnutrition should be guided for healthy feeding practices.

As a key indicator of childhood malnutrition, few studies have focused on stunting in relation to various socio-economic factors in which disadvantaged groups face in China. We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study incorporating forty-two rural counties in seven western provinces of China in 2011. In total, 5196 children aged 6–23 months were included. We used Poisson regression to examine risk factors for inadequate minimum dietary diversity (MDD) and stunting status, respectively. Overall, the proportion of children not meeting MDD was 44·5 %. Children aged 6–11 months (adjusted risk ratio (ARR)=1·39; 95 % CI 1·31, 1·49), with two siblings (ARR=1·09; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·17), delivered at home (ARR=1·30; 95 % CI 1·20, 1·41), within Yi (ARR=1·15; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·28) or Uighur groups (ARR=1·52; 95 % CI 1·36, 1·71), with an illiterate caregiver (ARR=2·12; 95 % CI 1·52, 2·96), receiving lowest income (ARR=1·32; 95 % CI 1·17, 1·50), and with breast-feeding in the last day (ARR=1·55; 95 % CI 1·44, 1·66) were more likely to have inadequate MDD. Moreover, inadequate MDD was positively associated with stunting (ARR=1·15; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·31). Other determinants for stunting were age, sex, place of delivery, minority group and income. The stunting prevalence and proportion of inadequate MDD remained high in Western China; to reduce stunting rates of ethnic minorities, further efforts addressing appropriate dietary feeding practices are needed, especially within these groups.

The childbirth experience of women represents a significant aspect of quality care. Due to the lack of a reliable Chinese language tool for assessing childbirth experiences, examples must be adapted from other countries. The aim of this study was to translate an English version of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) into Chinese and adapt this tool to the Chinese context. A questionnaire validation study was conducted. A forward-backward translation procedure involving the developer of the CEQ was conducted. The data were collected in postnatal wards at 50 birth facilities in 4 regions of Zhejiang Province, China. Women who gave birth vaginally at the investigated facilities during the study period completed an online questionnaire that included the Chinese version of the CEQ (CEQ-C), demographic information and clinical information. Psychometric analyses were performed to assess the internal and content consistency. After subdividing the sample into subsamples, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied to examine the structural validity. Known-group comparisons were performed to assess the discriminant validity. Overall, 1747 women participated in this study. The content validity index (CVI) of the CEQ was 0.92. Based on the comments of the experts combined with the statistical results, we removed 3 items related to pain, sense of control and sense of security and changed 3 items to different dimensions. The CFA supported the four dimensions of the CEQ-C (standard root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.037, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.036, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.966, and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.959). Cronbach’s alpha of the CEQ-C was 0.88, and McDonald’s omega value was 0.91. The duration of labor, delivery mode, parity, oxytocin augmentation, pain management, companionship, prenatal education and pain experienced exerted significant effects on the women’s childbirth experiences. Although some items performed differently in our analysis comparing the English and Chinese versions of the CEQ, the CEQ-C is reliable and valid. Additionally, the CEQ-C is an easy-to-use and promising tool for measuring childbirth experiences among Chinese women in facility settings that can be used to improve the quality of intrapartum care. Efforts are needed to provide women with respectful, evidence-based intrapartum care to facilitate positive childbirth experiences.

Background: The influence of the safety and security of environments on early childhood development (ECD) has been under-explored. Although housing might be linked to ECD by affecting a child’s health and a parent’s ability to provide adequate care, only a few studies have examined this factor. We hypothesized that housing environment is associated with ECD in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Methods and findings: From 92,433 children aged 36 to 59 months who participated in Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in 20 SSA countries, 88,271 were tested for cognitive and social–emotional development using the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) questionnaire and were thus included in this cross-sectional analysis. Children’s mean age was 47.2 months, and 49.8% were girls. Children were considered developmentally on track in a certain domain if they failed no more than 1 ECDI item in that domain. In each country, we used conditional logistic regression models to estimate the association between improved housing (housing with finished building materials, improved drinking water, improved sanitation facilities, and sufficient living area) and children’s cognitive and social–emotional development, accounting for contextual effects and socioeconomic factors. Estimates from each country were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. Subgroup analyses were conducted by the child’s gender, maternal education, and household wealth quintiles. On-track cognitive development was associated with improved housing (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.24,p< 0.001), improved drinking water (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.14,p= 0.046), improved sanitation facilities (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.28,p= 0.014), and sufficient living area (OR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10,p= 0.018). On-track social–emotional development was associated with improved housing only in girls (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.25,p= 0.006). The main limitations of this study included the cross-sectional nature of the datasets and the use of the ECDI, which lacks sensitivity to measure ECD outcomes.Conclusions: In this study, we observed that improved housing was associated with on-track cognitive development and with on-track social–emotional development in girls. These findings suggest that housing improvement in SSA may be associated not only with benefits for children’s physical health but also with broader aspects of healthy child development.

Hyperuricemia (HUA)-induced oxidative stress is a crucial contributor to hyperuricemic nephropathy (HN), but the molecular mechanisms underlying the disturbed redox homeostasis in kidneys remain elusive. Using RNA sequencing, together with biochemical analyses, we found that nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) expression and nuclear localization levels were increased in early HN progression and then gradually declined below the baseline level. We identified the impaired activity of the NRF2-activated antioxidant pathway as a driver of oxidative damage in HN progression. Through nrf2 deletion, we further confirmed aggravated kidney damage in nrf2 knockout HN mice compared with HN mice. In contrast, the pharmacological agonist of NRF2 improved kidney function and alleviated renal fibrosis in mice. Mechanistically, the activation of NRF2 signaling reduced oxidative stress by restoring mitochondrial homeostasis and reducing NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) expression in vivo or in vitro. Moreover, the activation of NRF2 promoted the expression levels of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of cells. Furthermore, the activation of NRF2 ameliorated renal fibrosis in HN mice through the downregulation of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) signaling pathway and ultimately delayed the progression of HN. Collectively, these results suggested NRF2 as a key regulator in improving mitochondrial homeostasis and fibrosis in renal tubular cells by reducing oxidative stress, upregulating the antioxidant signaling pathway, and downregulating the TGF-β1 signaling pathway. The activation of NRF2 represents a promising strategy to restore redox homeostasis and combat HN.