Perceived Effectiveness of Acupuncture: Findings From the National Health Interview Survey

Background: Knowledge of perceived benefit from acupuncture treatment is important to predict who is using acupuncture, to inform physicians of the possible benefits of acupuncture, to determine where rigorous research should be focused, and to help policy makers predict future demand. Objectives: To determine the proportions of survey respondents who reported perceived effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for specific conditions; and to determine the association of specified demographic variables with perceived effectiveness. Design, Setting, and Participants: Publicly available data from 31,044 noninstitutionalized US adults who participated in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional in-home computer-assisted interview. Outcome Measures: The proportions of participants reporting “any help” and “great help” for perceived effectiveness across conditions treated and per condition treated; and the association of the subgroups within age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), along with the subgroups Asian race and Chinese ethnicity, with “any help” of acupuncture treatment across conditions treated. Results: Of the 1,274 respondents who reported having consulted an acupuncturist, 329 had used acupuncture in the last 12 months; 276 had used acupuncture to treat a specific condition. A total of 86% of respondents reported being helped by acupuncture, while 45% reported being greatly helped across conditions treated. In an examination of specific conditions treated, the range for “any help” was 98% to 67%, and 98% to 7% in the “great help” outcome. Older age and obesity were negatively associated with perceived effectiveness statistically but not clinically. Asian race and Chinese ethnicity were not statistically significantly associated with perceived effectiveness. Conclusions: Acupuncture is perceived to be effective by most respondents who used it to treat a specific condition. Older age and obesity are negatively associated with perceived effectiveness, but not at a clinically significant level. A larger sample of Asian and Chinese subgroups is needed to determine if there is an association of these subgroups with perceived benefit

Numerical Simulation of Segregation in Slabs under Different Secondary Cooling Electromagnetic Stirring Modes

Secondary cooling electromagnetic stirring (S-EMS) significantly impacts the internal quality of continuous casting slabs. In order to investigate the effects of S-EMS modes on segregation in slabs, a three-dimensional numerical model of the full-scale flow field, solidification, and mass transfer was established. A comparative analysis was conducted between continuous electromagnetic stirring and alternate stirring modes regarding their impacts on steel flow, solidification, and carbon segregation. The results indicated that adopting the alternate stirring mode was more advantageous for achieving uniform flow fields and reducing the disparity in solidification endpoints, thus mitigating carbon segregation. Specifically, the central carbon segregation index under continuous stirring at 320 A was 1.236, with an average of 1.247, while under alternate stirring, the central carbon segregation index decreased to 1.222 with an average of 1.227

Carbon neutrality and clean air acts can enable China to meet the Minamata Convention goals with substantial cost savings

China faces the concurrent challenges of carbon dioxide (CO2) and toxic mercury (Hg) emissions from coal combustion, with implications for environmental and human health. To address these problems, China has implemented carbon neutrality targets and air pollution controls and signed the Minamata Convention. However, how to best leverage these measures for optimal outcomes (i.e., effectively reduce emissions and pollution with the least cost) remains elusive. Here we examined the best-practice portfolio of climate, air pollution, and Hg reduction policies via an energy-environment-economic integrated assessment model. We found that the most cost-effective solution to simultaneously address these issues is coupling carbon neutrality strategies with clean air policies, which can further save 384 million Chinese yuan (CNY) in Hg abatement in 2060. Furthermore, carbon neutrality measures alone can achieve near-zero Hg emissions, whereas Hg policies will only achieve about one-third of the carbon neutrality target. These findings provide practical lessons to cost-effectively address multiple climate and pollution issues, especially for emerging economies that face similar challenges

Photochemical Reduction of Particle Bound Mercury in Atmospheric Aerosol Water

Particle bound mercury (PBM) deposition on the Earth’s surface threatens biota and humans. The photoreduction of PBM competes with deposition and thereby modifies global mercury cycling; yet, its pathway and mechanism remain poorly understood. Herein, we reveal the photoreduction process of PBM by comprehensively using field observation, mercury stable isotope analysis, and controlled experiment. We found the Δ199Hg values in wet haze episodes (0.34‰ ± 0.30‰) were significantly higher than those in clean periods (0.14‰ ± 0.19‰), majorly attributed to the elevated aerosol water content (AWC), which shifts the aerosol phase from the solid state to the liquid state, promoting soluble HgCl2 and HgBr2 photoreduction reactions. The carboxyl functional groups of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were further identified as the crucial compounds that induce PBM photoreduction, whose reaction rates were ∼2 times higher than those of phenol and ketone ligands and 3–6 times higher than those observed in other atmospheric aqueous phases. Considering the ubiquitously distributed carboxyl ligands and significant positive Δ199Hg signals in the atmospheric aqueous phases, the PBM photoreduction mediated by carboxyl ligands is highlighted to significantly influence global mercury transformations, regional depositions, and isotopic compositions of atmospheric mercury pools