http://www.bjreview.com APRIL 20, 2017 BEIJING REVIEW 5
THIS WEEK
Celastrol, extracted from
thunder god vine, and artemisinin,
developed from sweet worm-
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journal Cell as having the most
potential to treat illnesses where no
cure has been discovered.
A research team led by Zhang
Xiaokun, a professor with the
College of Medicine at Xiamen
University, found that celastrol could
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The team carried out research
on mice and found celastrol could
control weight increases in mice
feeding on high fat food.
Zhang said his team would
continue to research how celastrol
regulates metabolism to explore
new drugs with low toxicity and
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weight.
His research has been supported
by the National Nature and Science
Foundation and Xiamen South Sea
Center.
Like sweet wormwood, thunder
god vine is native to China though
it also grows in other East Asian
countries. It has been used in tradi-
tional Chinese medicine for treating
arthritis and autoimmune diseases.
New Jobs
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seen 1.88 million new jobs.
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than the number created in the same
period last year,î Zhang Yizhen,
Vice Minister of Human Resources
and Social Security, said at a press
hospitals and clinics.
The reform has reduced charges
for tests such as computed tomog-
raphy and magnetic resonance
imaging but increased charges for
medical services needing a lot of
experience, expertise or staff time.
The overall medical costs for
Beijing residents will remain bal-
anced and there will be no increased
burden on patients, Fang Laiying,
head of the Beijing Municipal
Commission of Health and Family
Planning, said.
ìSeparating treatment and
drug sales will stop over-prescribing
and ensure better treatment,î Fangadded.
To ensure medicine prices are
reduced, Beijing has mandated
transparent drug purchases, choos-
ing suppliers through open bidding
and requiring the full disclosure of
drug and producer information.
Community hospitals and medi-
cal institutions have been given the
same access to medicines that were
once to be prescribed only by high-
level hospitals.
More than 90 percent of
Beijingís hospitals have taken action
to improve their services since the
reform plan was published on March
22, Fang said.XINHUA
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conference on April 7.
The employment situation was
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with the unemployment rate in 31
major Chinese cities at around 5
percent in January and February,
according to Zhang.
More than 11 million jobs would
be created this year, 1 million more
than last yearís target, according to
the latest government work report.
In 2016, 13.14 million new jobs
were added and the registered urban
jobless rate stood at 4.02 percent at
the end of the year.Medical Reform
Beijing began a reform drive on
April 8 that will separate drug sales
from medical treatment at public
hospitals and is aimed at lowering
medical expenses and improving
services.
Over 2,600 Beijing hospitals
had switched to a new billing system,
which replaced a registration and
treatment fee with a higher medical
service charge. On the other hand,
it scrapped the previous markup
on drugs, which was as high as 15
percent.
The reform applies to more than
3,600 medical institutions citywide,
Gao Xiaojun, spokesperson with the
Beijing Municipal Commission of
Health and Family Planning, said.
Some 1,000 small village clinics
are not yet equipped with the com-
puterized billing system.
Changes in drug and medical
test prices were also seen across 435
medical services offered at publicThe Kite Runners#MKVG ́[KPIEQORGVKVKQPWPFGTYC[KP9GKHCPIGCUV%JKPC«U5JCPFQPI
Province, on April 8.(QHUJL]HGA promotional event is held on the inaugural day of the three-day China
International Electronic Commerce Expo in Yiwu, east Chinaís Zhejiang
Province, on April 11. The fair was themed Sharing Economy, Connecting
the Future.