Meta-analysis of the intervention effects of tai chi on fasting blood glucose, blood pressure and triglyceride in middle-aged and elderly people.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia have emerged as global health concerns of paramount significance. With the burgeoning popularity of mind-body therapy, cardiovascular patients have increasingly exhibited a vested interest in the practice of Tai Chi. The objective of this study seeks to quantitatively assess the impact of Tai Chi interventions on blood pressure, lipid levels, and glucose concentrations among the elderly population, thereby explaining the optimal intervention protocol. METHODS: An extensive search was conducted across multiple databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, RISS, KISS, and DBPIA, comprising English, Korean, and Chinese literature. The search strategy employed a retrieval method of subject term 1 + subject term 2, which included both full names and abbreviations of the terms. Specifically, "taijiquan" or "Tai Chi" were set as the Term 1, while Term 2 was set as "blood pressure," "BP," "Fasting blood glucose," "FBG," "Triglyceride," and "TG." Thereafter, the retrieved articles were filtered in accordance with the PICOS method. Risk of bias assessment was performed using RoB 2.0, while data analysis was conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.7. RESULTS: A total of 57 studies, including 3,856 research subjects, were eligible for inclusion. The findings of the primary effect quantitative synthesis demonstrated that Tai Chi exerted an improvement on systolic blood pressure (SBP) (ES = -0.764, p < .001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (ES = -0.426, p = .001), triglyceride (TG) (ES = -0.452, p < .001), and fasting blood glucose concentrations (FBG) (ES = -0.552, p = .002) among middle-aged and elderly individuals. Subgroup analysis further revealed that the intervention effects were significantly influenced by the characteristics of the research subjects and the specific intervention protocol employed. CONCLUSION: Tai Chi, as a gentle form of aerobic exercise, exerts a profound impact on reducing blood pressure, fasting blood glucose levels, and triglyceride concentrations among middle-aged and elderly individuals. Notably, the intervention effect is particularly pronounced among male patients afflicted with hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia. Based on the collective advantages underscored by this research, we strongly recommend engaging in Tai Chi exercises for a minimum duration of 16 weeks, with each session lasting 30-50 min and conducted 6-7 times per week, without any restrictions on the style employed.

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Taekwondo on Physical Self-Concept.

In this meta-analysis we explored whether Taekwondo practice has improved its participants' physical self-concepts. We also tested the mediating influence of factors in past research such as country, participant age, and measurement properties in their associations with these taekwondo effects. We reviewed extensive data collected from Chinese, English and Korean participants in articles listed in Cnki, Wanfang, PubMed, Web of Science, KISS, RISS, and DBPIA databases. First, we evaluated the methodological quality of these published articles with Review Manager 5.4 software according to the Cochrane System Evaluation Manual. Then, we used Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.7 software for statistical analysis. We based these analyses on nine research studies containing a total of 1154 participants. We found a significant association between taekwondo activity and an improved body self-concept (ES = .688, p < .001). Subgroup analyses showed a stronger association between these variables in Korea (ES = .90, p < .001) than in China (ES = .34, p < .001), a stronger association for children (ES = 1.04, p < .001) compared to adults (ES = .46, p < .001), and a stronger association with the modified version of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) (ES = .99, p < .001) than with the original PSDQ (ES = .57, p < .001). We concluded that practicing Taekwondo led to improved physical self-concept, especially in a younger population. In addition, the experimental design and measurement methods may influence the apparent link between these variables.

Identifying nitrate sources and transformations in an agricultural watershed in Northeast China: Insights from multiple isotopes.

Accurate identification of riverine nitrate sources is required for preventing and controlling nitrogen contamination in agricultural watersheds. The water chemistry and multiple stable isotopes (δ15N-NO3, δ18O-NO3, δ2H-H2O, and δ18O-H2O) of the river water and groundwater in an agricultural watershed in China's northeast black soil region were analyzed to better understand the sources and transformations of riverine nitrogen. Results showed that nitrate is an important pollutant that affects water quality in this watershed. Affected by factors such as seasonal rainfall changes and spatial differences in land use, the nitrate concentrations in the river water showed obvious temporal and spatial variations. The riverine nitrate concentration was higher in the wet season than in the dry season, and higher downstream than upstream. The water chemistry and dual nitrate isotopes revealed that riverine nitrate came primarily from manure and sewage (M&S). Results from the SIAR model showed that it accounted for more than 40% of riverine nitrate in the dry season. The proportional contribution of M&S decreased during the wet season due to the increased contribution of chemical fertilizers and soil nitrogen induced by large amounts of rainfall. The δ2H-H2O and δ18O-H2O signatures implied that interactions occurred between the river water and groundwater. Considering the large accumulation of nitrates in the groundwater, restoring groundwater nitrate levels is essential for controlling riverine nitrate pollution. As a systematic study on the sources, migration, and transformations of nitrate/nitrogen in agricultural watersheds in black soil regions, this research can provide a scientific support for nitrate pollution management in the Xinlicheng Reservoir watershed and provide a reference for other watersheds in black soil regions in the world with similar conditions.

Meta-analysis of the intervention effects of taekwondo on metabolic syndrome indicators.

Objective: To quantify the effect of taekwondo as an intervention on the indicators of metabolic syndrome and identify an intervention plan with the optimal effects. Methods: Combining the Cnki.net, Wanfang, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, KISS, RISS, and DBPIA databases, this paper retrieved relevant references in Chinese, English, and Korean, applied Review Manager 5.4 software to evaluate the methodological quality of the included references according to the Cochrane manual, and utilized Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3.7 to perform statistical analyses. Result: A total of 45 references and 1079 related subjects were included in the analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that taekwondo has a beneficial effect on all indicators of metabolic syndrome (Hedges' g [effect size] = -0.615, -0.672, -0.497, -0.785, -0.591, and 0.435; p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed the superior intervention effect of taekwondo on metabolic syndrome in women compared to men, middle-aged and elderly compared to other age groups, and abnormal metabolic syndrome indicators compared to normal values. Moreover, the best results were obtained for longer intervention durations-12 weeks-three times per week, for 40-50 min per session. In addition, the combination of intervention types (poomsae, kick, and taekwondo gymnastics) showed optimal effects. The exercise intensity should consider the characteristics of the intervention object and be generally set to medium or high intensity. Conclusion: Taekwondo can effectively improve metabolic syndrome, as evidenced by decreased body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and triglyceride (TG) levels and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level. Taekwondo had the greatest effect on quinquagenarian women with abnormal levels of metabolic syndrome indicators. To maximize the intervention effect of taekwondo on metabolic syndrome, an exercise prescription of high-intensity poomsae, kick, and taekwondo gymnastics performed in 40-50 min sessions, three times weekly for 12 weeks is recommended.

A comprehensive study of the source, occurrence, and spatio-seasonal dynamics of 12 target antibiotics and their potential risks in a cold semi-arid catchment.

Antibiotics are widely consumed and are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, such as in agricultural and fishery lake catchments, for prophylactic treatment. However, there are very few comprehensive studies reporting all seasonal occurrences, spatiotemporal dynamics, and risk assessments of antibiotics in agricultural lake catchments, especially in cold regions during the winter season. This study measured seasonality in the concentrations of 12 antibiotics belonging to seven different classes in the surface waters (tributary rivers and lakes) of the Chagan lake catchment in northeast China. All antibiotics were detected in most of the water samples across most seasons, with concentrations varying for different compounds, locations, and seasons. These levels were discussed in terms of the main sources at different sampling sites, including agriculture, fish farming, municipal wastewater, and others. In general, the highest concentrations of most compounds were observed during the freeze-thaw periods. The number of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) correlated with compound lipophilicity and half-life. Based on the ecological risks of antibiotics and the relative abundance of ARGs, a hierarchical control priority list (HCPL) of antibiotics was determined, considering four levels (critical, high, medium, and low). To further strengthen the control and effectively manage antibiotics, we highly recommend the reduction and selective use of veterinary antibiotics in winter and spring during the freeze-thaw periods in the Chagan lake catchment.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of succession and growth limitation of phytoplankton for nutrients and light in a large shallow lake.

Understanding the limiting factors of phytoplankton growth and competition is crucial for the restoration of aquatic ecosystems. However, the role and synergistic effect of co-varying environmental conditions, such as nutrients and light on the succession of phytoplankton community remains unclear. In this study, a hydrodynamic-ecological modeling approach was developed to explore phytoplankton growth and succession under co-varying environmental conditions (nutrients, total suspended solids (TSS) and variable N:P ratios) in a large shallow lake called Lake Chagan, in Northeast China. A phytoplankton bloom model was nested in the ecological modeling approach. In contrast to the traditonal ecological modeling, competition between phytoplankton species in our study was modeled at both the species/functional group and phenotype levels. Six phytoplankton functional groups, namely diatoms, green algae, Anabaena, Microcystis, Aphanizomenon and Oscillatoria and each of them with three limitation types (i.e., light-limitation, nitrogen-limitation and phosphorus-limitation) were included in the bloom model. Our results demonstrated that the average biomass proportion of the three limitation types (light-limitation, nitrogen-limitation and phosphorus-limitation) in the six phytoplankton function groups accounted for approximately 50%, 37% and 23% of the total phytoplankton biomass, respectively. TSS suppressed the growth of diatoms and green algae, but favored the dominance of cyanobacteria in Lake Chagan, especially in the turbid water phase (TSS ≥ 60 mg/L). In addition, it was reported that the potential of either N-fixing or non-N-fixing cyanobacterial blooming along the gradients of N:P ratios could exist under the influence of the co-environmental factors in the lake. The proportion of non-N-fixing cyanobacteria (i.e., Microcystis and Oscillatoria) exceeded the proportion of N-fixing cyanobacteria (i.e., Anabaena and Aphanizomenon) when the N:P ratios exceeded 20. Non-N-fixing cyanobacteria would become dominant at higher TSS concentrations and lower light intensities in the turbid water. N-fixing cyanobacteria favored lower N:P ratios and higher light intensities in the clearwater phase (where TSS ≤ 60 mg/L). To sustain a good ecological status in the lake, our results suggest that nutrient and TSS levels in the lake should be maintained at or below the thresholds (TN ≤ 1.5 mg/L; TP ≤ 0.1 mg/L; N:P ratios between 15 and 20; and TSS ≤ 60 mg/L). These findings can help improve water quality management practices to restore aquatic ecosystems.

Occurrence and distribution of selected antibiotics in the surface waters and ecological risk assessment based on the theory of natural disaster.

With increasing population growth and resource depletion, ecological health is a hotspot and urgent topic. Our study investigated the occurrence and distribution of five antibiotics, i.e., metronidazole (MET), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), ciprofloxacin (CFX), norfloxacin (NFX), and enrofloxacin (EFX), in the surface water from Erlong Lake, China. With the seasonal and spatial variations of antibiotics, this study developed an interdisciplinary approach for the ecological risk of antibiotics considering the natural, human, and socioeconomic elements of watershed based on the risk theory of natural disaster. This approach integrates the geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis tool, natural disaster theory, "driving force"-"pressure"-"state"-"impact"-"response" (DPSIR) model, and ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operators in terms of various environmental factors, representing a new ecological risk paradigm for environmental managers or decision-makers to identify environmental change. A total of 69 samples were collected in wet, dry, and normal seasons from 2017 to 2018, and laboratory analyses revealed that four antibiotics (MET, SMZ, CFX, and NFX) were widely detected in the lake. The mean concentrations decreased in the order of MET (1041.7 ng L-1) > SMZ (771.4 ng L-1) > CFX (646.4 ng L-1) > NFX (179.0 ng L-1) > EFX (15.3 ng L-1), with their levels in natural surface waters higher than those in other studies. Antibiotic concentrations were higher in dry seasons than in other seasons, and the concentrations were strongly correlated with EC (electrical conductivity), pH, DOC (dissolved organic carbon), and TP (total phosphorus) according to redundancy analysis (RDA). Significant seasonal variations were found in CFX and EFX (ANOVA, p < 0.001). For the whole watershed, the ecological extremely and heavily vulnerable levels were concentrated in the central and northwest regions of the watershed, i.e., Changling county and Lishu county. Hence, the ecological distributions of extreme risk and heavy risk posed by the five selected antibiotics were assessed by using the mixture hazard quotient methods and DPSIR model which were also located in these counties in different seasons. The antibiotic results of ecosystem risk assessment can support decision-makers in identifying and prioritizing the necessary taking of specific measures and different risk attitudes to preserve the quality of ecological health for a city or multiple counties.

Terrestrial humic-like fluorescence peak of chromophoric dissolved organic matter as a new potential indicator tracing the antibiotics in typical polluted watershed.

Natural surface waters are threatened globally by antibiotics pollution. In this study, we analyzed antibiotics and CDOM (Chromophoric dissolved organic matter) fluorescence in different water bodies using HPLC method and Excitation Emission Matrix- Parallel factor analysis, respectively. A combination of field studies in the Yinma River Watershed were conducted in rivers, reservoirs and urban rivers, and 65 CDOM and antibiotic samples were taken in April, May, July, and August 2016. EEM-PARAFAC analysis identified two components; a humic-like (C1) component and a tryptophan-like (C2) component. The redundancy analysis (RDA) demonstrated that CDOM could explain 38.2% (two axes) of the five antibiotics in reservoirs (N = 31), and 26.0% (two axes) of those in rivers and urban water (N = 30). Furthermore, the Pearson correlation coefficient between Sulfamethoxazole and C1 in reservoir water was 0.91 (t-test, 2-tailed, p < 0.01), and that between Sulfamethoxazole and C2 was 0.68 (t-test, 2-tailed, p < 0.01). This indicated that the humic-like component of CDOM PARAFAC fluorescence could detect Sulfamethoxazole contamination levels in the homogenized reservoir waters. Our results identified Sulfamethoxazole and Quinolones (Norfloxacin, 16.5 ng L-1; Enrofloxacin, 0.3 ng L-1; Ciprofloxacin, 30.9 ng L-1) at mean concentrations of 369.5 ng L-1 and 15.9 ng L-1, respectively, which were the higher levels in natural surface waters. The FTIR spectroscopy of the mixture of humic acid and sulfamethoxazole showed that the absorbance at 3415 cm-1 linked to OH stretching of OH groups and at 1386 cm-1 because of OH bending and vibration of COOH groups became weaker, indicating that COOH groups of humic acid can adsorb and react with -NH2 of sulfamethoxazole. The CDOM PARAFAC components can be adapted for online or in situ fluorescence measurements as an early warning of Sulfamethoxazole distribution and contamination in similar aquatic environments.

Enterobacter aerogenes metabolites enhance Microcystis aeruginosa biomass recovery for sustainable bioflocculant and biohydrogen production.

We report a recycling bioresource involving harvesting of Microcystis aeruginosa using the bioflocculant (MBF-32) produced by Enterobacter aerogenes followed by the recovery of the harvested M. aeruginosa as the main substrate for the sustainable production of MBF-32 and biohydrogen. The experimental results indicate that the efficiency of bioflocculation exceeded 90% under optimal conditions. The harvested M. aeruginosa was further recycled as the main substrate for the supply of necessary elements. The highest yield (3.6±0.1g/L) of MBF-32 could be obtained from 20g/L of wet biomass of M. aeruginosa with an additional 20g/L of glucose as the extra carbon source. The highest yield of biohydrogen was 35mL of H2/g (dw) algal biomass, obtained from 20g/L of wet biomass of M. aeruginosa with an additional 10g/L of glycerol. Transcriptome analyses indicated that MBF-32 was mainly composed of polysaccharide and tyrosine/tryptophan proteins. Furthermore, NADH synthase and polysaccharide export-related genes were found to be up-regulated.

The relationship of chromophoric dissolved organic matter parallel factor analysis fluorescence and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in natural surface waters.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a large group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have caused wide environmental pollution and ecological effects. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), which consists of complex compounds, was seen as a proxy of water quality. An attempt was made to understand the relationships of CDOM absorption parameters and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) components with PAHs under seasonal variation in the riverine, reservoir, and urban waters of the Yinma River watershed in 2016. These different types of water bodies provided wide CDOM and PAHs concentration ranges with CDOM absorption coefficients at a wavelength of 350 nm (a CDOM(350)) of 1.17-20.74 m-1 and total PAHs of 0-1829 ng/L. CDOM excitation-emission matrix (EEM) presented two fluorescent components, e.g., terrestrial humic-like (C1) and tryptophan-like (C2) were identified using PARAFAC. Tryptophan-like associated protein-like fluorescence often dominates the EEM signatures of sewage samples. Our finding is that seasonal CDOM EEM-PARAFAC and PAHs concentration showed consistent tendency indicated that PAHs were un-ignorable pollutants. However, the disparities in seasonal CDOM-PAH relationships relate to the similar sources of CDOM and PAHs, and the proportion of PAHs in CDOM. Overlooked and poorly appreciated, quantifying the relationship between CDOM and PAHs has important implications, because these results simplify ecological and health-based risk assessment of pollutants compared to the traditional chemical measurements.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment from a river basin: sediment-water partitioning, source identification and environmental health risk assessment.

The information on concentration levels, partitioning and sources of pollutants in aquatic environment is quite necessary for pollution treatment and quality criteria. In this work, sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) recommended by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the water and sediment of Yinma River Basin were firstly investigated. Among 16 individual PAHs, naphthalene was the highest average concentration in water samples as well as in sediment samples, 67.2 ng/L and 825.06 ng/g, respectively, whereas benzo(g,h,i)perylene was undetected in water samples nor in sediment samples. For three PAH compositional patterns, concentrations of light (2-3 ring) PAHs were dominant in water and sediment, accounting for 71.69 and 86.98 % respectively. The PAH partitioning in the sediment-water system was studied, results showed that PAH partitioning was in an unsteady state and tended to accumulate in the sediment. The possible sources of PAHs in water and sediment were both identified as a mixed source of petroleum and combustion. The benzo(a)pyrene equivalents (EBaP) values for PAHs in the water and sediment in some sites were relatively higher, suggesting the existence of environmental health risk.