[Therapeutic effect on post-stroke spastic paralysis of upper extremity treated with combination of kinematic-acupuncture therapy and rehabilitation training].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical therapeutic effect on post-stroke spastic paralysis of the upper extremity between the combination of kinematic-acupuncture therapy and rehabilitation training and the combined treatment of the conventional acupuncture with rehabilitation training. METHODS: A total of 60 patients of post-stroke spastic paralysis of the upper extremity at the non-acute stage were randomized into an observation group (30 cases) and a control group (30 cases, 1 case dropped off). On the base of the routine western medication and rehabilitation treatment, the kinematic-acupuncture therapy was added in the observation group and the conventional acupuncture was used in the control group. Baihui (GV 20), Dazhui (GV 14), Jiaji (EX-B 2) from T1 to T8, Tianzong (SI 11), Jianzhen (SI 9), Jianyu (LI 15) and Quyuan (SI 13) were selected in both groups. The treatment was given once daily and the treatment for 14 days was as one course. The one course of treatment was required in this research. Separately, before treatment and in 7 and 14 days of treatment, the score of simplified Fugl-Meyer scale of the upper extremity (FMA-UE), the grade of the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and the score of the modified Barthel index scale (MBI) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, in 7 and 14 days of treatment, FMA-UE score was increased obviously in either group (P<0.01). In 14 days of treatment, FMA-UE score in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). In 7 and 14 days of treatment, MAS grades of shoulder joint, elbow joint, wrist joint and metacarpophalangeal joint were all improved markedly in the two groups (P<0.05). Compared with the grades in 7 days of treatment, MAS grades of elbow joint and metacarpophalangeal joint were improved markedly in 14 days of treatment in the two groups (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, MAS grades of elbow joint and metacarpophalangeal joint were improved more markedly in the observation group in 14 days of treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the score before treatment, MBI score was increased in 7 and 14 days of treatment respectively in the observation group (P<0.05, P<0.01). In 14 days of treatment, MBI score was increased in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: For the patients with post-stroke spastic paralysis of the upper extremity at the non-acute stage, the combined treatment with kinematic-acupuncture therapy and rehabilitation training obviously improves the motor function of the upper extremity and the muscle tone of elbow joint and metacarpophalangeal joint. The therapeutic effect of this combination is better than that of the combined treatment of the conventional acupuncture with rehabilitation training. Additionally, this combined therapy improves the ability of daily life activity.

[Mechanism of Synergistic Adsorption of Arsenic and Cadmium by Aluminium-substituted Ferrihydrites].

The synergistic process and mechanism of aluminum (Al)-substituted ferrihydrites on arsenic[As(Ⅴ)] and cadmium[Cd(Ⅱ)] were studied under laboratory conditions. The results showed that synergistic adsorption and coprecipitation of As and Cd by Al-substituted ferrihydrites was clearly affected by both the pH of solution and the order in which heavy metals were added. The solution in which As co-existed with Cd for 72 hours, at a pH of 6.0 to 6.5, the As and Cd adsorption capacity of Al-substituted ferrihydrites containing 20% Al (AF20) reached 60.9 mg·g-1 and 17.1 mg·g-1, respectively. The removal rates of As and Cd were 96.0% and 73.0%, respectively. Arsenic and Cd were synergistically adsorbed into the internal pores of AF20 particles, and the synergistic adsorption effect of AF20 on As and Cd was clear. Adding Cd to the solution containing As, for 72 hours, and with a pH of 6.1 to 6.5, the As and Cd adsorption capacity of AF20 was 58.1 mg·g-1 and 12.4 mg·g-1, respectively. The removal rates of As and Cd were 96.0% and 48.3%, respectively. Adsorption of As limited the fixation of Cd by AF20. When adding As to the solution containing Cd, for 72 hours, with a pH of 9.5 to 9.8, fixed amounts of As and Cd on AF20 were 20.9 mg·g-1 and 24.4 mg·g-1, respectively. The removal rates of As and Cd were 38.8% and 98.9%, respectively. The coprecipitation of As and Cd by AF20 was clear. The resulting insoluble As and Cd compounds distributed the Cd distribution in a sparse strip and impeded the further adsorption of As. The results show that Al-substituted ferrihydrites can synergistically adsorb and coprecipitate As and Cd in contaminated environmental media.

Release of cadmium in contaminated paddy soil amended with NPK fertilizer and lime under water management.

Agricultural soils contaminated with cadmium (Cd) pose a risk to receiving surface water via drainage or runoff. A 90-day laboratory incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the release characteristics and transformation of Cd from contaminated paddy soil amended with agrochemical (NPK fertilizer) and lime (L) under water management regimes of continuous flooding (F) and drying-wetting cycles (DW). The result showed that the dissolved Cd concentrations in overlying water of the fertilizer treatment under flooding (NPK+F) and drying-wetting (NPK+DW) reached up to 81.0 µg/L and 276 µg/L, and were much higher than that from the corresponding controls without NPK fertilizer addition at the end of experiment. The Cd concentration showed significantly negative correlation with overlying water pH, but positive correlation with soil redox potential and concentrations of dissolved total nitrogen, sulfate and manganese in overlying water (P < 0.05), indicating that drying-wetting cycles and N fertilizer addition may enhance soil Cd release. The Cd concentrations in overlying water from all treatments except NPK+L+F treatment exceeded the Cd threshold limit of Chinese Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (10 µg/L Grade V) and poses potential risk to surface water quality. Meanwhile, the proportion of Cd in the acid-soluble fraction from all incubated soil except NPK+L+F treatment increased compared to before incubation. The results indicated that continuous flooding was a reasonable water management candidate coupled with lime addition for immobilizing soil Cd.

Response of soil microbial activities and microbial community structure to vanadium stress.

High levels of vanadium (V) have long-term, hazardous impacts on soil ecosystems and biological processes. In the present study, the effects of V on soil enzymatic activities, basal respiration (BR), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and the microbial community structure were investigated through 12-week greenhouse incubation experiments. The results showed that V content affected soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA), BR, and MBC, while urease activity (UA) was less sensitive to V stress. The average median effective concentration (EC50) thresholds of V were predicted using a log-logistic dose-response model, and they were 362mgV/kg soil for BR and 417mgV/kg soil for DHA. BR and DHA were more sensitive to V addition and could be used as biological indicators for soil V pollution. According to a polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis, the structural diversity of the microbial community decreased for soil V contents ranged between 254 and 1104mg/kg after 1 week of incubation. As the incubation time increased, the diversity of the soil microbial community structure increased for V contents ranged between 354 and 1104mg/kg, indicating that some new V-tolerant bacterial species might have replicated under these conditions.