Efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine Jiangniaosuan formula for treatment of hyperuricemia: study protocol for a double-blinded non-inferiority randomized controlled clinical trial

Background Jiangniaosuan formula (JNSF) is commonly used in China for treating hyperuricemia, but there is little research-based evidence to support its use. This randomized controlled trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of JNSF. Methods A total of 72 patients with hyperuricemia will be selected and randomly assigned in a ratio of 1:2 to receive either Western medicine, i.e., febuxostat 40 mg (WG group; n = 24), or Chinese herbal medicine, i.e., Jiangniaosuan formula + febuxostat 20 mg (WJNSG group; n = 48). After 12 weeks, the WJNSG will be randomly divided into two groups of 24 patients each; one group (WJNSG; n = 24) still will receive febuxostat 20 mg + Jiangniaosuan formula, and the other group (JNSG; n = 24) will continue to receive Jiangniaosuan formula + placebo. Participants will be followed up at 4-week intervals. The primary outcome will be the change in serum uric acid level, and the secondary outcome will be the change in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores. Serum creatinine, blood glucose, and insulin levels will also be measured. Discussion We hypothesize that patients with hyperuricemia will benefit from JNSF. This study will provide evidence-based recommendations for clinicians. Dissemination The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated by academic conferences. The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trials Register ChiCTR2000041083. Registered on 3 May 2021. The protocol version number is V3.0, 20210301.

Election preferences of the inhabitants of West Pomerania in local elections in the Third Republic of Poland

Western Pomerania was said to be called as a stronghold of the left, for the Democratic Left Alliance both in the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century achieved some of the best results in the country. Only after the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005 and the local government elections in 2006, the electoral preferences changed towards the center of the political scene. The Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland turned out to be the change, Law and Justice to a lesser extent. The article presents a political analysis of the voting preferences of the inhabitants of West Pomerania in the local government elections with regard to the three mentioned parties. The aim of the research was to analyze the direction in which the electorate goes. It was checked whether the SLD was permanently eliminated and how strong the dominance of the PO was. Furthermore it was examined whether PiS is a real threat to the PO RP and whether the SLD has a chance to regain its lost position. It seems that regardless of the attempts made, the position of the SLD after the 2006 elections is stable and there are no indications that the Alliance could dominate the analyzed region again. However, in spite of the fact that since 2006 the PO enjoys high support, since 2014 PiS has been achieving better and better results, depriving the PO RP hegemon in its position in 2006–2014.

Renewing Universities in Our Climate Emergency: Stewarding System Change and Transformation

This paper outlines climate emergencies facing universities and, by drawing on research on system transition, provides insights about how change to overcome the challenges might be stewarded. Climate change brings three interconnected and urgent emergencies for universities: (1) Manifest emergencies such as risks to operations and business models; (2) Conceptual emergencies that arise because assumptions, ideologies, systems, and structures cannot match the scale of the manifest challenges; and (3) Existential emergencies where current identities and sense of purpose are incapable of supporting the changes needed to overcome the conceptual challenges. To be viable leaders in the world, universities will need to renew their commitments to serving the public good, be dedicated to an unwavering challenge-orientation, create post-disciplinary structures, and be the change one seeks to see in the world. Importantly, universities will need to overcome the emergencies on the inside if they are to help society address the scale of the challenges on the outside, to which both universities and human capacity are seriously cognitively and emotionally ill-prepared. Fortunately, new insights from research on system transition provide helpful advice on how to steward transformational change. This work highlights that successful transformation requires strong adherence to transformational intent and, in the case of universities, working with all three emergencies simultaneously. Successful transformation will also require harnessing opportunities to disrupt the status quo; supporting an interplay of different forms of management and orientations to the future; developing appropriate infrastructure to support transformation; and rapidly accelerating the development of capacities for transformational change. By actively developing capacities for transformation on the inside universities will then be in a much better position to help and lead others beyond the halls of the academy.

Efficacy of Chinese Herbal Medicine Jiangniaosuan Formula for Treatment of Hyperuricemia: Study Protocol For A Double-Blinded Non-Inferiority Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Jiangniaosuan formula (JNSF) is commonly used in China for treating hyperuricemia, but there is little research-based evidence to support its use. This randomized controlled trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of JNSF.Methods: A total of 72 patients with hyperuricemia will be selected and randomly assigned in a ratio of 1:2 to receive either Western medicine i.e., febuxostat 40 mg (WG group; n = 24) or Chinese herbal medicine group, i.e., Jiangniaosuan formula + febuxostat 20 mg (WJNSG; n = 48). After 12 weeks, the WJNSG will be randomly divided into two groups of 24 patients each; one group (WJNSG; n = 24)still will receive febuxostat 20 mg + Jiangniaosuan formula and the other group(JNSG; n = 24) will continue to receive Jiangniaosuan formula+Placebo. Participants will be followed up at 4-week intervals. The primary outcome will be the change in serum uric acid level, and the secondary outcome will be the change in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores. Serum creatinine, blood glucose, and insulin levels will also be measured.Discussion: We hypothesize that patients with hyperuricemia will benefit from JNSF. This study will provide evidence-based recommendations for clinicians.Dissemination: The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated by academic conferences.Trial registration : This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number ChiCTR2000041083. 22 Registered on 3 May 2021.

Design Process and Environmental Impact of Unconventional Tail Airliners

The future of aviation depends on reducing the environmental impact of the aircraft. Unconventional configurations can be the change the industry needs to achieve that goal. Therefore, the development of a tool that allows analyzing these configurations will contribute to their being considered more easily in future designs. This design procedure is based on an aerodynamic model and a weight methodology validated for unconventional tail designs. The load cases selected to size the structure were extracted from the certification regulations in force. In order to validate the methodology, the V-tail configuration was selected as a case study. The fuel savings reached with this tail configurations are around 0.7%, and the reduction in NOx emissions are even greater. Thus, the methodology has been validated and it can be easily adapted to other unconventional tail configurations.

The efficacy and safety of Anyu Peibo Capsule in the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder in China: study protocol for a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Background: Major depressive disorder is the second leading cause of year lost to disability worldwide. Anyu Peibo Capsule was shown to have certain effective and favorable safety in phase II trials.Methods: The clinical study is a multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel groups phase Ⅲ trail of Anyu Peibo Capsule in China, to aim whether the administration of Anyu Peibo Capsule compared to placebo improves clinical outcome in adults (18 years to 65 years) with MDD. The subjects will receive 8-week treatment with Anyu Peibo Capsule 1.6 g per day or placebo. The primary outcome will be the change of total score from baseline to the end of week 8 in Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale.Discussion: The trial aims to provide pivotal evidence on the efficacy and safety of Anyu Peibo Capsule in patients with major depressive disorder. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04210973. Registered on December 26, 2019. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04210973 Protocol version 1.2 from 29 August 2019.

Mortality trends for young adults in Sweden in the years 2000–2017

Aim: Mental health problems in young people seem to be on the rise and more so in Sweden than in other locations. The aim was to compare the development of mortality rates for young adults in Sweden with Western Europe in total. Methods: Young adults were defined as individuals aged 20–34 years and the study period was 2000–2017. Mortality data were derived from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Results: During the period 2000–2017, the mortality rate in young adults in Sweden stayed about the same, while in Western Europe as a whole the mortality rate decreased by 42%. The leading explanation for the unfavourable Swedish development was deaths due to drug use, mainly opioids, which increased by 60% during this period. The other major causes of death decreased both in Sweden and Western Europe, but decreased more slowly in Sweden. The differences in the rate of decrease between Sweden and Western Europe were for self-harm (27%), transport injuries (12%), unintentional injuries (31%) and for neoplasms (23%). The unfavourable development in Sweden resembled the development in the USA. Conclusions: The risks of four of the five leading causes of death in this age group were affected by the individuals’ social conditions. The unfavourable mortality development in young adults in Sweden was mainly due to substance use. A contributing cause might be the change in the Swedish healthcare system that introduced competition between providers, which might have encouraged providers to prescribe opioids.

VARYING THE SHAPE OF A SURFACE WHICH IS DISCRETE PRESENTED BY AN IRREGULAR BALANCED GRID

The article discusses a problem, the solution of which is related to the research previously described in previous publications. This paper demonstrates the solution of the problem of forming a discrete frame, in the form of a balanced irregular grid, discretely represented surface. The described problem is solved by one of the methods of discrete modeling, using the static-geometric method of Professor Kovalev S.N. (SGM). The initial conditions for the formation of such irregular balanced discrete networks are the coordinates of the nodes of the reference loop, the topological organization of the grid and the z-coordinate of one of the internal nodes. Note that irregular grids are characterized by different node and cell topologies. This fact can greatly complicate the modeling process, namely, performing the necessary calculations when calculating the coordinates of discrete grid nodes. To facilitate calculations and simplify numbering of discrete grid nodes, it is proposed to use a topological grid scheme based on a regular grid. For regular grids, each node has a specific number, which greatly facilitates the calculation of node coordinates. The operative change in the shape of the grid can be carried out by connecting the classical coordinate calculations of the discrete SGM grid, that is, by solving the system of equilibrium equations of nodes, with an affine transformation, namely the introduction of the scaling factors of coordinates. The disadvantage of this synthesis of the two methods will be the change in the preassigned reference of contour of the mesh, due to the fact that all coordinates of absolutely all grid nodes are multiplied by the corresponding transformation coefficients. To avoid changing the shape of a given reference contour, it is proposed to use a synthesis of three methods in the work, namely SGM, affine coordinate transformation and a method of functional addition of coordinates. This synthesis of methods will maintain the balance of the discrete grid during the modeling process, and will allow you to simply vary (change) the shape of the simulated surface.