Objective To explore the effects of group guidance on the cognitive ability of empty nesters in a community.Methods Totally 179 empty nesters aged above 60 from a community in Xicheng District,Beijing between April 2014 and April 2015 were selected by convenience sampling,and divided into an intervention group (n=89) and a control group (n=90). Patients in the intervention group were treated by group guidance,once a week (60 min each time) for 12 months,while patients in the control group received no intervention. And the empty nesters' cognitive ability was evaluated with Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) before and after the intervention.Results The differences found in comparing the orientation,memory, linguistic competence and cognitive ability of the empty nesters in the intervention group were statistically significant (P<0.05). And the differences found in comparing the memory and cognitive ability of the empty nesters in the control group were also statistically significant (P<0.05). Before the intervention,however,there was no significant difference between the empty nesters in the two groups in cognitive ability and other indicators (P>0.05). After the intervention,the empty nesters in the observation group scored higher in orientation, attention,numeracy,linguistic competence and cognitive ability than the empty nesters in the control group (P<0.05).Conclusions Empty nesters' cognitive ability comes to weaken and decline with age,and group guidance helps to improve their cognitive ability significantly.

ObjectiveTo observe the mechanism of modified Shengjiangsan in necroptosis and renal fibrosis of rats with diabetic nephropathy based on receptor-interacting protein （RIP）1/RIP3/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein （MLKL） signaling pathway. MethodSeventy-five SD rats were randomly divided into a model group， a normal group， three high， medium， and low-dose modified Shengjiangsan groups （4.365， 8.73， 17.46 g·kg^-1）， and an irbesartan group （0.013 5 g·kg^-1）. After 4 weeks of intragastric administration， the levels of 24 h urine protein （UTP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） of rats in each group were determined， as well as the changes in degree of renal pathology. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-1β， TNF-α， monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 （MCP-1）， transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁）， and nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB） in kidney tissues of rats. Western blot assay was used to detect the expression levels of key proteins in the RIP1/RIP3/MLKL signaling pathway. ResultAs compared with the normal group， the renal interstitial fibrosis in the model group was obvious， and the 24 h UTP， IL-1β， TNF-α levels were significantly increased （P<0.05）. In the model group， the mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-1β， TNF-α， MCP -1， TGF-β₁， and NF-κB in the kidney tissues were significantly increased （P<0.05）， and protein expression levels of RIP1， RIP3， p-MLKL， and MLKL were significantly increased （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， all modified Shengjiangsan groups and the irbesartan group improved the levels of renal interstitial fibrosis in rats to varying degrees. As compared with the model group， the 24 h UTP levels in all modified Shengjiangsan groups and the irbesartan group were decreased to varying degrees （P<0.05）， the content of IL-1β and TNF-α in the serum were decreased （P<0.05）， the mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-1β， TNF-α， MCP-1， TGF-β₁， and NF-κB in renal tissues was down-regulated （P<0.05）， and the protein expression levels of RIP1， RIP3， p-MLKL， and MLKL were down-regulated （P<0.05）. ConclusionModified Shengjiangsan ameliorates renal injury of rats with diabetic nephropathy， and the mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the RIP1/RIP3/MLKL signaling pathway， the prevention of renal tissue necroptosis， and the inhibition of renal fibrosis.