Questionnaire Data From the Revision of a Chinese Version of Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale

Funding statement: This work was supported by National Nature Science Foundations of China No. 31471001 to Kaiping Peng. All data, together with their codebooks and manipulation code, are available at osf.io/t2nsw/.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Effect of Virtual Reality Rehabilitation on Balance in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

As a popular method, virtual reality (VR) is still controversial in its effect on the balance function of patients with Parkinson’s disease. This systematic review aims to discuss such effects of VR and to compare it with that resulting from traditional therapies. A comprehensive search was conducted for randomized controlled trials published from 2000 to 2020 through the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library. Fifteen articles were included for the systematic review. An evaluation on their methodological qualities was performed using the PEDro scale, followed by an assessment of their risk of biases in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions for quality assessment. In terms of dynamic balance, the BBS score of the VR group was significantly improved when compared with the control group (SMD = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.31–0.73). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups on TUG (SMD = −0.26; 95% CI = −0.62–0.1; p = 0.16). Besides, the VR group also showed better results in improving patients’ static balance, balance confidence, and quality of life. A funnel plot was created to investigate the effects of each study included in the meta-analysis in order to identify any existing publication bias. This systematic review shows that the application of VR leads to more significant improvement in the balance of patients with Parkinson’s disease than having them perform traditional exercises. It can be used as an auxiliary method of rehabilitation

PO-209 Effects of aerobic exercise on oxidant/anti-oxidant indexes and gut microbiota in young obese volunteers

  Objective The mean body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of obese and overweight individuals increasing substantially worldwide during the previous three decades. Variation in gut microorganisms might play an important role in the pathogenesis of obesity, but the mechanisms by which gut microbiota promote metabolic disturbances are not well understood. Exercise is associated with altered gut microbial composition, but few studies have investigated whether the gut microbiota and associated metabolites are modulated by exercise training in humans. We explored the impact of 8 weeks aerobic exercise on serum oxidant and anti-oxidant indexes and gut microbiota. Methods All 40 young male volunteers are enrolled in the study, the lean ones (n=11), which BMI≤22 are as control group. And the obese ones (n=29), which BMI > 28 participated in the 8 weeks aerobic exercise. The body weight and BMI of each volunteers were recorded. The serum malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) were measured by ELISA. The composition and diversity of gut microbiota were analyzed with 16S rDNA sequencing. Results ① Compared with the control, the level of serum GPx, SOD and TAOC decreased significantly (P < 0.001), and the MDA increased significantly (P < 0.001) in the obese group. After the 8 weeks aerobic exercise intervention, the MDA level decreased significantly (P＜0.01), the TAOC level increased significantly (P < 0.01), and there were no significant changes in the level of GPX and SOD. ② Compared with the control, the ratio of Bifidobacteriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Verrucomicrobiaceae decreased significantly(p＜0.05) in the obese group, and the ratio of Ruminococcaceae, Helicobacteraceae increased significantly (P＜0.05). After the 8 weeks aerobic exercise intervention, the ratio of Bifidobacteriaceae, Alcaligenaceae increased significantly (P＜0.05)，and the ratio of Ruminococcaceae reduced remarkably (p＜0.05). The ACE index was significantly increased after the intervention (P < 0.05). ③ Through the correlation analysis of the data above, there was a certain correlation between the serum oxidant/anti-oxidant indexes and gut microbiota composition. After the aerobic exercise, there was a positive correlation between MDA and Ruminococcaceae、TAOC and Bifdobacteriace (P＜0.05)；a negative correlation between MDA and Bifdobacteriace、TAOC and Ruminococcaceae (P＜0.05). After 8 weeks of aerobic exercise, MDA level was negatively correlated with ACE index (r=-0.466，P＜0.05). Conclusions ① Compared with the control, there was a significant increase of serum oxidation index and the serum anti-oxidation index dropped significantly among the obese subjects, which indicated that the accumulation of serum free radicals might be one of the causes of obesity. The 8 weeks aerobic exercise intervention can enhance the antioxidant capacity effectively. ② Compared with the control, the proportion of Bifidobacteriaceae in the obese group was significantly decreased, and the proportion of the bacteria with direct correlation to obesity, such as Ruminococcaceae increased significantly. 8 weeks aerobic exercise could inverse these changes among the obese subjects, suggested that the improvement of body phenotype of obese subjects was closely related to the effective regulation of their gut microbiota structure.The change of ACE index indicated that aerobic exercise could increase the diversity of gut microbiota. ③ Combined the correlation analysis of gut microbiota diversity index showed that there were tight correlation between the serum oxidant/anti-oxidant indexes and the gut microbiota composition and structure. It might caused metabolic disorders and eventually increased fat accumulation and changed the host body phenotype.     &nbsp

Influence of planting methods and organic amendments on rice yield and bacterial communities in the rhizosphere soil

A comprehensive understanding of rice cultivation techniques and organic amendments affecting soil quality, enzyme activities and bacterial community structure is crucial. We investigated two planting methods (direct seeding and transplanting) of paddy rice (Oryza sativa) and organic amendments with rice straw and biochar on crop yield and soil biological and physicochemical properties. Rhizosphere bacterial communities at the maturity stage of rice growth were characterized through high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing. Soil biochemical properties and enzyme activity levels were analyzed. Grain yield of paddy rice with transplanting increased 10.6% more than that with direct seeding. The application of rice straw increased grain yield by 7.1 and 8.2%, more than with biochar and the control, respectively. Compared to biochar and the control, the application of rice straw significantly increased sucrase, cellulase, protease, organic carbon, available phosphorus, nitrate, and ammonium. The application of biochar increased microbial biomass nitrogen and carbon, urease, pH, available nitrogen, and available potassium compared to the application of rice straw and the control. Principal coordinate analysis and dissimilarity distances confirmed significant differences among the microbial communities associated with planting methods and organic amendments. Bacteroidetes, Nitrospirae, Firmicutes, and Gemmatimonadetes abundance increased with rice straw relative to biochar and the control. The biochar addition was associated with significant increases in Chloroflexi, Patescibacteria, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria abundance. Pearson’s correlation analyzes showed that Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes and Nitrospirae abundance was positively correlated with grain yield. The relative abundance of these bacteria in soil may be beneficial for improving grain yield. These results suggest that planting methods and organic amendments impact soil biochemical characteristics, enzyme activity levels, and microbial community composition

Is it the appropriate syringe filter? The loss of PPCPs during filtration by syringe filter

Syringe filters are used to separate solids from liquids before chromatography analysis for the removal of particulate matter to avoid column blockage. The inappropriate selection of syringe filters may lead to the interception of micropollutants in samples (especially aqueous phase samples) and inaccurate quantification. In this study, mass losses of typical micropollutants - pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) - by syringe filters were evaluated considering the material of syringe filters, the pore size of syringe filters, solvents, and pre-rinsing. The lowest mass losses of 57 PPCPs were observed by hydrophobic- polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (median value was 10%), but for quinolone (7-37%) and macrolide antibiotics (9-52%), the mass losses were still considerable. By changing the pore sizes of filters, the interception of quinolone and macrolide antibiotics by hydrophobic-PTFE was not improved. In contrast, by increasing the proportion of methanol in the solvent and discarding the first 1 mL pre-rinsing samples, the mass losses of quinolone and macrolide antibiotics by hydrophobic-PTFE can be considerably decreased. This study provides guidance for selecting appropriate filters for micropollutants before chromatography analysis of samples to guarantee the accuracy of the results

Integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis of roots of Bupleurum chinense and B. scorzonerifolium, two sources of medicinal Chaihu

Abstract Radix Bupleuri (Chaihu in Chinese) is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used to treat colds and fevers. The root metabolome and transcriptome of two cultivars of B. chinense (BCYC and BCZC) and one of B. scorzonerifolium (BSHC) were determined and analyzed. Compared with BSHC, 135 and 194 differential metabolites were identified in BCYC and BCZC, respectively, which were mainly fatty acyls, organooxygen metabolites. A total of 163 differential metabolites were obtained between BCYC and BCZC, including phenolic acids and lipids. Compared with BSHC, 6557 and 5621 differential expression genes (DEGs) were found in BCYC and BSHC, respectively, which were annotated into biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acid and fatty acid metabolism. A total of 4,880 DEGs existed between the two cultivars of B. chinense. The abundance of flavonoids in B. scorzonerifolium was higher than that of B. chinense, with the latter having higher saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D than the former. Pinobanksin was the most major flavonoid which differ between the two cultivars of B. chinense. The expression of chalcone synthase gene was dramatically differential, which had a positive correlation with the biosynthesis of pinobanksin. The present study laid a foundation for further research on biosynthesis of flavonoids and terpenoids of Bupleurum L

Establishment of an Enteric Inflammation Model in Broiler Chickens by Oral Administration with Dextran Sulfate Sodium

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of oral gavage of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to establish an enteric inflammation model in broilers. Forty 1-day-old male, yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into 2 groups with 5 replicates of 4 birds each for a 42-day trial. The experiment design used 2 groups: (1) the control group (CT), normal broilers fed a basal diet, and (2) the DSS group, DSS-treated broilers fed a basal diet. The DSS group received 1 mL of 2.5% DSS solution once a day by oral gavage from 21 to 29 days of age. The results showed that compared with those in CT, DSS treatment significantly increased histological scores for enteritis and mucosal damage at 29 and 42 days of age (p p p < 0.01). DSS also caused gross lesions and histopathological damage in the jejunum of broilers, such as obvious hemorrhagic spots, loss of villus architecture, epithelial cell disruption, inflammatory cell infiltration, and decreased villus height. These results suggest that oral gavage of DSS is an effective method for inducing mild and non-necrotic enteric inflammation in broilers