Effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture on adjuvant analgesia in patients with total knee arthroplasty: a randomized sham-controlled trial

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture (AA) on postoperative analgesia, the degree of postoperative nausea, and the effect of inflammation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).MethodsThis was a single-center, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. In total, 96 patients were randomly divided into an AA group with an indwelling intradermal needle (n = 48) and a sham auricular acupuncture (SAA) group with a non-penetrating placebo needle (n = 48). Intra-spinal anesthesia was adopted in both groups during surgery, and an epidural analgesic pump was implanted after surgery for 48 h. The primary outcome was the post-surgery visual analog score (VAS) of resting and movement states (at 6, 12 h and 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days). The secondary outcomes included additional doses of analgesic injection during the treatment, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell (WBC) count on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day after the operation, nausea on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd day after the operation, the Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS) on the 2nd and 12th week after the operation, and adverse events.ResultsThe VAS in the AA group at 6 h, 12 h, 2, 3, and 5 days after surgery were lower than those of the SAA group (p < 0.05). Among the secondary outcomes, the total dose of additional analgesic injection after surgery in the AA group was lower than that in the SAA group (p < 0.05). The serum CRP on the 1st day after operation in the AA group was lower than that in the SAA group (p < 0.05). The degree of nausea on 2nd day after surgery in the AA group was lower than that in the SAA group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in other outcomes (p > 0.05).ConclusionIn this study, AA was shown to be an effective and safe complementary and alternative therapy for pain relief after TKA, which was able to reduce the total postoperative dose of additional painkillers, decrease serum CRP 1 day after surgery, and improve the degree of postoperative nausea.Clinical trial registrationwww.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR2100054403

A flexible dual-mode pressure sensor with ultra-high sensitivity based on BTO@MWCNTs core-shell nanofibers

Wearable flexible sensors have developed rapidly in recent years because of their improved capacity to detect human motion in wide-ranging situations. In order to meet the requirements of flexibility and low detection limits, a new pressure sensor was fabricated based on electrospun barium titanate/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (BTO@MWCNTs) core-shell nanofibers coated with styrene-ethylene-butene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS). The sensor material (BTO@MWCNTs/SEBS) had a SEBS to BTO/MWCNTs mass ratio of 20:1 and exhibited an excellent piezoelectricity over a wide range of workable pressures from 1 to 50 kPa, higher output current of 56.37 nA and a superior piezoresistivity over a broad working range of 20 to 110 kPa in compression. The sensor also exhibited good durability and repeatability under different pressures and under long-term cyclic loading. These properties make the composite ideal for applications requiring monitoring subtle pressure changes (exhalation, pulse rate) and finger movements. The pressure sensor developed based on BTO@MWCNTs core-shell nanofibers has demonstrated great potential to be assembled into intelligent wearable devices

Structural Analysis of Alkaline β-Mannanase from Alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. N16-5: Implications for Adaptation to Alkaline Conditions

Significant progress has been made in isolating novel alkaline β-mannanases, however, there is a paucity of information concerning the structural basis for alkaline tolerance displayed by these β-mannanases. We report the catalytic domain structure of an industrially important β-mannanase from the alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. N16-5 (BSP165 MAN) at a resolution of 1.6 Å. This enzyme, classified into subfamily 8 in glycosyl hydrolase family 5 (GH5), has a pH optimum of enzymatic activity at pH 9.5 and folds into a classic (β/α)8-barrel. In order to gain insight into molecular features for alkaline adaptation, we compared BSP165 MAN with previously reported GH5 β-mannanases. It was revealed that BSP165 MAN and other subfamily 8 β-mannanases have significantly increased hydrophobic and Arg residues content and decreased polar residues, comparing to β-mannanases of subfamily 7 or 10 in GH5 which display optimum activities at lower pH. Further, extensive structural comparisons show alkaline β-mannanases possess a set of distinctive features. Position and length of some helices, strands and loops of the TIM barrel structures are changed, which contributes, to a certain degree, to the distinctly different shaped (β/α)8-barrels, thus affecting the catalytic environment of these enzymes. The number of negatively charged residues is increased on the molecular surface, and fewer polar residues are exposed to the solvent. Two amino acid substitutions in the vicinity of the acid/base catalyst were proposed to be possibly responsible for the variation in pH optimum of these homologous enzymes in subfamily 8 of GH5, identified by sequence homology analysis and pKa calculations of the active site residues. Mutational analysis has proved that Gln91 and Glu226 are important for BSP165 MAN to function at high pH. These findings are proposed to be possible factors implicated in the alkaline adaptation of GH5 β-mannanases and will help to further understanding of alkaline adaptation mechanism

Insights into the vertical stratification of microbial ecological roles across the deepest seawater column on Earth

The Earth’s oceans are a huge body of water with physicochemical properties and microbial community profiles that change with depth, which in turn influences their biogeochemical cycling potential. The differences between microbial communities and their functional potential in surface to hadopelagic water samples are only beginning to be explored. Here, we used metagenomics to investigate the microbial communities and their potential to drive biogeochemical cycling in seven different water layers down the vertical profile of the Challenger Deep (0–10,500 m) in the Mariana Trench, the deepest natural point in the Earth’s oceans. We recovered 726 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) affiliated to 27 phyla. Overall, biodiversity increased in line with increased depth. In addition, the genome size of MAGs at ≥4000 m layers was slightly larger compared to those at 0–2000 m. As expected, surface waters were the main source of primary production, predominantly from Cyanobacteria. Intriguingly, microbes conducting an unusual form of nitrogen metabolism were identified in the deepest waters (>10,000 m), as demonstrated by an enrichment of genes encoding proteins involved in dissimilatory nitrate to ammonia conversion (DNRA), nitrogen fixation and urea transport. These likely facilitate the survival of ammonia-oxidizing archaea α lineage, which are typically present in environments with a high ammonia concentration. In addition, the microbial potential for oxidative phosphorylation and the glyoxylate shunt was enhanced in >10,000 m waters. This study provides novel insights into how microbial communities and their genetic potential for biogeochemical cycling differs through the Challenger deep water column, and into the unique adaptive lifestyle of microbes in the Earth’s deepest seawater

Anaerobic Fungi Isolated From Bactrian Camel Rumen Contents Have Strong Lignocellulosic Bioconversion Potential

This study aims to obtain anaerobic fungi from the rumen and fecal samples and investigates their potential for lignocellulosic bioconversion. Multiple anaerobic strains were isolated from rumen contents (CR1–CR21) and fecal samples (CF1–CF10) of Bactrian camel using the Hungate roll tube technique. After screening for fiber degradability, strains from rumen contents (Oontomyces sp. CR2) and feces (Piromyces sp. CF9) were compared with Pecoramyces sp. F1 (earlier isolated from goat rumen, having high CAZymes of GHs) for various fermentation and digestion parameters. The cultures were fermented with different substrates (reed, alfalfa stalk, Broussonetia papyrifera leaves, and Melilotus officinalis) at 39°C for 96 h. The Oontomyces sp. CR2 had the highest total gas and hydrogen production from most substrates in the in vitro rumen fermentation system and also had the highest digestion of dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and cellulose present in most substrates used. The isolated strains provided higher amounts of metabolites such as lactate, formate, acetate, and ethanol in the in vitro rumen fermentation system for use in various industrial applications. The results illustrated that anaerobic fungi isolated from Bactrian camel rumen contents (Oontomyces sp. CR2) have the highest lignocellulosic bioconversion potential, suggesting that the Bactrian camel rumen could be a good source for the isolation of anaerobic fungi for industrial applications

Soil diazotrophic abundance, diversity, and community assembly mechanisms significantly differ between glacier riparian wetlands and their adjacent alpine meadows

Global warming can trigger dramatic glacier area shrinkage and change the flux of glacial runoff, leading to the expansion and subsequent retreat of riparian wetlands. This elicits the interconversion of riparian wetlands and their adjacent ecosystems (e.g., alpine meadows), probably significantly impacting ecosystem nitrogen input by changing soil diazotrophic communities. However, the soil diazotrophic community differences between glacial riparian wetlands and their adjacent ecosystems remain largely unexplored. Here, soils were collected from riparian wetlands and their adjacent alpine meadows at six locations from glacier foreland to lake mouth along a typical Tibetan glacial river in the Namtso watershed. The abundance and diversity of soil diazotrophs were determined by real-time PCR and amplicon sequencing based on nifH gene. The soil diazotrophic community assembly mechanisms were analyzed via iCAMP, a recently developed null model-based method. The results showed that compared with the riparian wetlands, the abundance and diversity of the diazotrophs in the alpine meadow soils significantly decreased. The soil diazotrophic community profiles also significantly differed between the riparian wetlands and alpine meadows. For example, compared with the alpine meadows, the relative abundance of chemoheterotrophic and sulfate-respiration diazotrophs was significantly higher in the riparian wetland soils. In contrast, the diazotrophs related to ureolysis, photoautotrophy, and denitrification were significantly enriched in the alpine meadow soils. The iCAMP analysis showed that the assembly of soil diazotrophic community was mainly controlled by drift and dispersal limitation. Compared with the riparian wetlands, the assembly of the alpine meadow soil diazotrophic community was more affected by dispersal limitation and homogeneous selection. These findings suggest that the conversion of riparian wetlands and alpine meadows can significantly alter soil diazotrophic community and probably the ecosystem nitrogen input mechanisms, highlighting the enormous effects of climate change on alpine ecosystems

Oceanospirillales containing the DMSP lyase DddD are key utilisers of carbon from DMSP in coastal seawater

Background: Ubiquitous and diverse marine microorganisms utilise the abundant organosulfur molecule dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the main precursor of the climate-active gas dimethylsulfide (DMS), as a source of carbon, sulfur and/or signalling molecules. However, it is currently difficult to discern which microbes actively catabolise DMSP in the environment, why they do so and the pathways used. Results: Here, a novel DNA-stable isotope probing (SIP) approach, where only the propionate and not the DMS moiety of DMSP was 13C-labelled, was strategically applied to identify key microorganisms actively using DMSP and also likely DMS as a carbon source, and their catabolic enzymes, in North Sea water. Metagenomic analysis of natural seawater suggested that Rhodobacterales (Roseobacter group) and SAR11 bacteria were the major microorganisms degrading DMSP via demethylation and, to a lesser extent, DddP-driven DMSP lysis pathways. However, neither Rhodobacterales and SAR11 bacteria nor their DMSP catabolic genes were prominently labelled in DNA-SIP experiments, suggesting they use DMSP as a sulfur source and/or in signalling pathways, and not primarily for carbon requirements. Instead, DNA-SIP identified gammaproteobacterial Oceanospirillales, e.g. Amphritea, and their DMSP lyase DddD as the dominant microorganisms/enzymes using DMSP as a carbon source. Supporting this, most gammaproteobacterial (with DddD) but few alphaproteobacterial seawater isolates grew on DMSP as sole carbon source and produced DMS. Furthermore, our DNA-SIP strategy also identified Methylophaga and other Piscirickettsiaceae as key bacteria likely using the DMS, generated from DMSP lysis, as a carbon source. Conclusions: This is the first study to use DNA-SIP with 13C-labelled DMSP and, in a novel way, it identifies the dominant microbes utilising DMSP and DMS as carbon sources. It highlights that whilst metagenomic analyses of marine environments can predict microorganisms/genes that degrade DMSP and DMS based on their abundance, it cannot disentangle those using these important organosulfur compounds for their carbon requirements. Note, the most abundant DMSP degraders, e.g. Rhodobacterales with DmdA, are not always the key microorganisms using DMSP for carbon and releasing DMS, which in this coastal system were Oceanospirillales containing DddD. [MediaObject not available: see fulltext.]

Solution Behavior and Activity of a Halophilic Esterase under High Salt Concentration

Background: Halophiles are extremophiles that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt. Although the salt reliance and physiology of these extremophiles have been widely investigated, the molecular working mechanisms of their enzymes under salty conditions have been little explored. Methodology/Principal Findings: A halophilic esterolytic enzyme LipC derived from archeaon Haloarcula marismortui was overexpressed from Escherichia coli BL21. The purified enzyme showed a range of hydrolytic activity towards the substrates of p-nitrophenyl esters with different alkyl chains (n = 2−16), with the highest activity being observed for p-nitrophenyl acetate, consistent with the basic character of an esterase. The optimal esterase activities were found to be at pH 9.5 and [NaCl] = 3.4 M or [KCl] = 3.0 M and at around 45°C. Interestingly, the hydrolysis activity showed a clear reversibility against changes in salt concentration. At the ambient temperature of 22°C, enzyme systems working under the optimal salt concentrations were very stable against time. Increase in temperature increased the activity but reduced its stability. Circular dichroism (CD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) were deployed to determine the physical states of LipC in solution. As the salt concentration increased, DLS revealed substantial increase in aggregate sizes, but CD measurements revealed the maximal retention of the α-helical structure at the salt concentration matching the optimal activity. These observations were supported by SANS analysis that revealed the highest proportion of unimers and dimers around the optimal salt concentration, although the coexistent larger aggregates showed a trend of increasing size with salt concentration, consistent with the DLS data. Conclusions/Significance: The solution α-helical structure and activity relation also matched the highest proportion of enzyme unimers and dimers. Given that all the solutions studied were structurally inhomogeneous, it is important for future work to understand how the LipC's solution aggregation affected its activity