Efficacy evaluation of summer acupoint application treatment on asthma patients: a two-year follow-up clinical study

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the self-efficacy and satisfaction of asthma patients subjected to summer acupoint application treatment (SAAT).MethodsA two-year follow-up clinical study was conducted. Patients with asthma were treated by applying a herbal paste onto the Feishu (BL 13) and Fengmen (BL 12) acupoints on the three hottest days of summer, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, from 2008 to 2010. During a two-year follow-up, these patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire evaluating asthma degree, exacerbation frequency, concomitant medications and self-satisfaction. The self-rate and doctor-report outcomes obtained in parallel were evaluated to assess the efficacy of SAAT.ResultsA total of 527 asthma patients were initially enrolled in this study, of which 97 elderly patients and those with more severe cases of asthma were lost to follow-up. Thus, a total of 430 patients were valid for analysis using self-rate data. Nevertheless, occasional negative returns were obtained; almost all of the outcomes were rated as “No change”, “Moderate effective”, or “Very effective”. In addition, 80% of the patients were satisfied with this treatment. Moreover, 391 (91.4%) patients were somewhat improved after SAAT in 2009, and further improvement was observed in 2010. After SAAT, the average asthma-degree score decreased from 5.3 in 2008 to 4 in 2009 and, subsequently to 3.5 in 2010.ConclusionWith pronounced patient satisfaction, SAAT can reduce the exacerbation severity and frequency, concomitant medications and asthma degree. Prolonging the treatment course might enhance the efficacy of SAAT

Comparison of carbon footprint and net ecosystem carbon budget under organic material retention combined with reduced mineral fertilizer

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Yang Wenting, Yang Binjuan and Zhou Quan for their help in our research. Funding This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant number: 41661070, the National Key R&D Program, Grant numbers: 2016YFD0300208, and Jiangxi Provincial 2019 Postgraduate Innovation Fund Project (YC-2019-B060).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Crystallization of Poly (ethylene glycol) in Poly (methyl methacrylate) Networks

The crystallization of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) networks were studied, which was compared with that of PEG homopolymer. Melting point (Tm) of PEG in PMMA networks is lower than that of pure PEG; the crystallinity and Tms of PEG in PMMA networks somewhat increase with increasing of PEG content; the cross-linker content of PMMA networks plays an important role for the crystallization of PEG. When the cross-linker content is between 3.5 wt% and 5.8 wt%, the distinct endothermic peak of PEG crystal fusion can be observed. Optical microscopic observation of the crystallized PEG in PMMA networks showed spherulite formation, indicating there was the co-continuous crystalline PEG in PMMA networks.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.19.2.4430</p

Metagenomic Insights Into a Cellulose-Rich Niche Reveal Microbial Cooperation in Cellulose Degradation

BackgroundCellulose is the most abundant organic polymer mainly produced by plants in nature. It is insoluble and highly resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis. Cellulolytic microorganisms that are capable of producing a battery of related enzymes play an important role in recycling cellulose-rich plant biomass. Effective cellulose degradation by multiple synergic microorganisms has been observed within a defined microbial consortium in the lab culture. Metagenomic analysis may enable us to understand how microbes cooperate in cellulose degradation in a more complex microbial free-living ecosystem in nature.ResultsHere we investigated a typical cellulose-rich and alkaline niche where constituent microbes survive through inter-genera cooperation in cellulose utilization. The niche has been generated in an ancient paper-making plant, which has served as an isolated habitat for over 7 centuries. Combined amplicon-based sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and metagenomic sequencing, our analyses showed a microbial composition with 6 dominant genera including Cloacibacterium, Paludibacter, Exiguobacterium, Acetivibrio, Tolumonas, and Clostridium in this cellulose-rich niche; the composition is distinct from other cellulose-rich niches including a modern paper mill, bamboo soil, wild giant panda guts, and termite hindguts. In total, 11,676 genes of 96 glucoside hydrolase (GH) families, as well as 1,744 genes of carbohydrate transporters were identified, and modeling analysis of two representative genes suggested that these glucoside hydrolases likely evolved to adapt to alkaline environments. Further reconstruction of the microbial draft genomes by binning the assembled contigs predicted a mutualistic interaction between the dominant microbes regarding the cellulolytic process in the niche, with Paludibacter and Clostridium acting as helpers that produce endoglucanases, and Cloacibacterium, Exiguobacterium, Acetivibrio, and Tolumonas being beneficiaries that cross-feed on the cellodextrins by oligosaccharide uptake.ConclusionThe analysis of the key genes involved in cellulose degradation and reconstruction of the microbial draft genomes by binning the assembled contigs predicted a mutualistic interaction based on public goods regarding the cellulolytic process in the niche, suggesting that in the studied microbial consortium, free-living bacteria likely survive on each other by acquisition and exchange of metabolites. Knowledge gained from this study will facilitate the design of complex microbial communities with a better performance in industrial bioprocesses

The ecological and etiological investigation of ticks and rodents in China: results from an ongoing surveillance study in Zhejiang Province

ObjectivesThis study aimed to analyze the population density of vector ticks and reservoir hosts rodents, and to investigate the relevant pathogen infection in Zhejiang Province, China.MethodsIn this surveillance study, the data of ticks density were collected with the tick picking method on animal body surface and the drag-flag method, while the rodent density with the night trapping method. The samples of ticks were examined for the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), and blood serum and organs from rodents were subjected for SFTSV, hantavirus, Leptospira, Orientia tsutsugamushi (O. tsutsugamushi) and Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) screening in the laboratory.ResultsFrom 2017 to 2022 in Zhejiang Province, 16,230 parasitic ticks were found in 1848 positive animals, with the density of parasitic ticks of 1.29 ticks per host animal, and a total of 5,201 questing ticks were captured from 1,140,910 meters of vegetation distance with the questing tick density of 0.46 ticks/flag·100 m. Haemaphysalis longicornis (H. longicornis) was the major species. A total of 2,187,739 mousetraps were distributed and 12,705 rodents were trapped, with the density of 0.58 per 100 trap-nights. Rattus norvegicus was the major species. For SFTSV screening, two groups nymphal ticks of H. longicornis were tested to be positive. For the rodents samples, the Leptospira had a positive rate of 12.28% (197/1604), the hantavirus was 1.00% (16/1604), and the O. tsutsugamushi was 0.15% (2/1332). No positive results were found with SFTSV and Y. pestis in the rodents samples.ConclusionFindings from this study indicated that the ticks and rodents were widely distributed in Zhejiang Province. Particularly, the positive detection of SFTSV, Leptospira, hantavirus and O. tsutsugamushi in ticks or rodents from this area suggested that more attention should be paid to the possibilities of relevant vector-borne diseases occurrence

Quantitatively assessing ecological stress of urbanization on natural ecosystems by using a landscape-adjacency index

Urban spatial expansion poses a threat to regional ecosystems and biodiversity directly through altering the size, shape, and interconnectivity of natural landscapes. Monitoring urban spatial expansion using traditional area-based metrics from remote sensing provides a feasible way to quantify this regional ecological stress. However, variation in landscape-adjacency relationships (i.e., the adjacency between individual landscape classes) caused by urban expansion is often overlooked. In this study, a novel edge-based index (landscape-adjacency index, LAdI) was proposed based on the spatial-adjacency relationship between landscape patches to measure the regional ecological stress of urban expansion on natural landscapes. Taking the entire Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomerations (YRD) as a study area, we applied the LAdI for individual landscape classes (Vi) and landscape level (LV) to quantitatively assess change over time in the ecological stress of YRD from 1990 to 2015 at two spatial scales: municipal scale and 5 km-grid scale. The results showed that the vulnerable zones (LV ≥ 0.6) were mainly distributed in the north of the YRD, and cultivated land was the most vulnerable natural landscape (Vi ≥ 0.6) at the 5 km-grid scale. The most vulnerable landscape at the municipal scale was cultivated land in 19 of 26 cities in each period, and that in the remaining 7 cities varied at distinct urbanization stages. We used scatter diagrams and Pearson correlation analysis to compare the edge-based LAdI with an area-based index (percent of built-up area, PB) and found that: LV and PB had a significant positive correlation at both the municipal scale and 5 km-grid scale. But there were multiple LVs with different values corresponding to one PB with the same value at the 5 km-grid scale. Both indexes could represent the degree of urban expansion; however, the edge-based metric better quantified ecological stress under different urban-sprawl patterns sharing the same percent of built-up area. As changes in land use affect both the size and edge effect among landscape patches, the area-based PB and the edge-based LAdI should be applied together when assessing the ecological stress caused by urbanization

Chemical immune conization of precancerous cervical lesions awakens immune cells and restores normal HPV negative and abnormal proliferation

BackgroundCervical cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers in women, which is closely linked to the persistent infection of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Current treatment of cervical cancer involves radical hysterectomy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy or a combination.ObjectiveWe investigated if hapten-enhanced intratumoral chemotherapy (HEIC) was effective in boosting immunity for effective treatment of precancerous cervical lesions and HPV infection.Study designWe used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) to obtain transcriptome profiles of 40,239 cells from biopsies of precancerous cervical lesions from the cervix directly from one patient before the start of HEIC and approximately 1 week after HEIC. The blood samples were taken at the same time as biopsies. We compared the expression characteristics of malignant epithelial cells and immune cells, including epithelial cells, endothelial cells (ECs), fibroblasts, mural cells, T cells, B cells, T and NK neutrophils, mast cells, microparticles (MPs), and platelets, as well as the dynamic changes in cell percentage and cell subtype heterogeneity.ResultsIntratumoral injection of chemotherapy drug plus hapten induces an acute immune response in precancerous cervical lesions with HPV and further awakens immune cells to prevent the abnormal proliferation of the precancerous cells.ConclusionHEIC provides a potential treatment method for cervical cancer and HPV infection tailored to each patient’s condition

Greenspace’s value orientations of ecosystem service and socioeconomic service in China

Background: Natural ecosystems provide necessary services for human beings, including ecosystem service values (ESVs) and socioeconomic service values (SSVs). The value orientations of ESVs and SSVs are mainly related to people’s interaction with nature. This study reclassified greenspace from a perspective of exposed and non-exposed greenspace based on the level of interaction by people and greenspace. We applied an expert questionnaire to survey the SSVs value orientations of forestland, grassland, wetland, and water bodies, and quantitatively compared the value orientations between the ESVs and SSVs of greenspace in China. Result: (1) The values of exposed greenspace were relatively far higher than non-exposed greenspace, as it had both ESVs and SSVs. (2) The forestland and grassland had relatively high ESVs and SSVs, and are the priority for both the exposed and non-exposed greenspace. (3) Wetland had relatively high ESVs but low SSVs, which was unpopular for exposed greenspace. (4) The ESVs and SSVs of water body were relatively balanced. Conclusion: Greenspace had both ESVs and SSVs when they are exposed to human. Our study provided an innovative perspective to explore the value orientations of greenspace, which provides an actionable scientific basis for greenspace planning, design and construction in human habitat.

Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation Reverses the After-Effects of Contralateral Virtual Lesion on the Suprahyoid Muscle Cortex: Evidence From Dynamic Functional Connectivity Analysis

Contralateral intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) can potentially improve swallowing disorders with unilateral lesion of the swallowing cortex. However, the after-effects of iTBS on brain excitability remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the alterations of temporal dynamics of inter-regional connectivity induced by iTBS following continuous TBS (cTBS) in the contralateral suprahyoid muscle cortex. A total of 20 right-handed healthy subjects underwent cTBS over the left suprahyoid muscle motor cortex and then immediately afterward, iTBS was applied to the contralateral homologous area. All of the subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) pre- and post-TBS implemented on a different day. We compared the static and dynamic functional connectivity (FC) between the post-TBS and the baseline. The whole-cortical time series and a sliding-window correlation approach were used to quantify the dynamic characteristics of FC. Compared with the baseline, for static FC measurement, increased FC was found in the precuneus (BA 19), left fusiform gyrus (BA 37), and right pre/post-central gyrus (BA 4/3), and decreased FC was observed in the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCC) (BA 29) and left inferior parietal lobule (BA 39). However, in the dynamic FC analysis, post-TBS showed reduced FC in the left angular and PCC in the early windows, and in the following windows, increased FC in multiple cortical areas including bilateral pre- and postcentral gyri and paracentral lobule and non-sensorimotor areas including the prefrontal, temporal and occipital gyrus, and brain stem. Our results indicate that iTBS reverses the aftereffects induced by cTBS on the contralateral suprahyoid muscle cortex. Dynamic FC analysis displayed a different pattern of alteration compared with the static FC approach in brain excitability induced by TBS. Our results provide novel evidence for us in understanding the topographical and temporal aftereffects linked to brain excitability induced by different TBS protocols and might be valuable information for their application in the rehabilitation of deglutition