Efficacy of exercise interventions combined with Selegiline in ameliorating freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of exercise interventions combined with Selegiline in ameliorating freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. METHODS: A total of 60 PD patients with FOG treated in the First People's Hospital of Fuyang District from January 2020 to January 2023 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Patients were divided into a control group (n = 28, treated with Selegiline alone) and an observation group (n = 32, treated with Selegiline and exercise interventions). Gait parameters, FOG indices, motor and balance functions, Berg Balance, psychological status, and quality of life were compared between the groups pre- and post-treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, the observation group exhibited longer step length, higher step speed, and lower step frequency (P = 0.000, 0.003, 0.001, respectively), with enhanced balance as indicated by lower Timed Up and Go Test and higher Berg Balance Scale scores than the control group (P = 0.000, 0.000, respectively). The Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory scores were notably lower in the observation group than those in the control group (P = 0.000, 0.004, respectively). Additionally, the observation group showed better quality of life across several dimensions of the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire, including mobility, activities of daily living, emotional well-being, stigma, social support, cognition, communication, and bodily discomfort (P = 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.017, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, respectively) than the control group. CONCLUSION: The combination of exercise interventions and Selegiline effectively rectifies the gait parameters, enhances the balance function, alleviates psychological distress, and improves the overall quality of life in PD patients experiencing FOG.

Trade-off control of organic matter and disinfection by-products in the drinking water treatment chain: Role of pre-ozonation.

Ozone is a strong oxidant commonly used in drinking water treatment, but its role in the transformation/formation of organic matters (OMs) and disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the drinking water treatment chain had not been systematically studied. In this work the occurrence and building up of OMs, DBPs of trihalomethanes (THMs) and nitrosamines (NAs) during water purification steps under different pre-ozonation dosages have been studied through lab-scale and pilot-scale studies. Results indicated that 0-0.4 mg/L of pre-ozonation dosage could reduce organic load of following-up process steps but insufficient to control DBPs. Seasonal performances of a pilot plant indicated that the accumulation of DBPs was much less in summer than in winter. Furthermore the formation potential of NAs was higher in winter than summer when 0.4 mg/L pre-ozonation was dosed while the maximum removal efficiency of organic matter was found at a pre-ozonation dosage of 0.8 mg/L in summer. Finally a seasonal trade-off control strategy for both OMs and DBPs was proposed with an elucidated role of pre-ozonation in the drinking water treatment chain. This study provided working principles on optimizing pre-ozonation dosage and a seasonal control strategy for trade-off control of both OMs and DBPs in drinking water treatment plants.

Effects of hairy crab breeding on drinking water quality in a shallow lake.

The Yangcheng Lake, connected to Taihu, is partly served as drinking water source for Suzhou, China; the temporal and spatial changes of water quality parameters of it are investigated in this study. The Yangcheng Middle Lake with aquaculture area and the Yangcheng East Lake with important water intake are chosen to make a comparative investigation of the relationship between crab breeding and water quality. Phytoplankton community and the composition of dissolved organic matters (DOM) at different areas of the Yangcheng Lake are characterized with spectral fluorescence signatures. Results reveal that biopolymers and humic substances (HS) are the two major DOM compositions in the Yangcheng Lake. In the Yangcheng Middle Lake, the CODMn concentration at the large breeding area was lower than that in most other areas; while the concentration of algae and HS fluorescence intensity are positively correlated with each other in the Yangcheng Middle Lake. Crab breeding could accelerate nitrogen transformation and utilization. In summer and winter, the cumulative risk of building up potential harmful by-products such as DPBs caused by the biopolymers and HS is greater; the breeding of hairy crabs could reduce biopolymers and improve drinking water safety.

Role of illumination intensity in microcystin development using Microcystis aeruginosa as the model algae.

Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) is one of the most common genera of cyanobacteria in algal blooms. In the present work, the impact of the illumination intensity on the growth of M. aeruginosa has been studied and a grinding method for the extraction of intracellular microcystins (MCs) was developed. The variations of algal density, pH, total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) have been investigated during MCs' culturing period. Results showed that the extraction efficiency of MC-YR by the grinding method was 275% higher than the sonication method, and the extraction efficiencies of MC-RR and MC-LR by the grinding method were similar to the sonication method. The optimal illumination intensity for M. aeruginosa was found to be 19-38 µmol m-2 s-1 with suitable pH range of 7.5-10.5. Active release of extracellular MCs was not significantly observed when illumination intensities were ≤ 38 µmol m-2 s-1. Furthermore, the intracellular MC yields under different illumination intensities were found to be a relatively stable level. However, excess illumination intensity (≥ 47 µmol m-2 s-1) led to the lysis of algal cell and increased the concentrations of extracellular MCs, with MC-RR as the dominant compound. The calculated intracellular/extracellular MCs ratios for MC-RR, MC-LR, and MC-YR were 2.38 (N = 100, SD = 2.44), 2.68 (N = 64, SD = 3.48), and 1.25 (N = 30, SD = 1.64), respectively. Strong illumination intensity and cell lysis were found to be the two major factors influencing the release of extracellular MCs.

Effects of phosphorus amendments and plant growth on the mobility of Pb, Cu, and Zn in a multi-metal-contaminated soil.

PURPOSE: Phosphorus amendments have been widely and successfully used in immobilization of one single metal (e.g., Pb) in contaminated soils. However, application of P amendments in the immobilization of multiple metals and particularly investigations about the effects of planting on the stability of the initially P-induced immobilized metals in the contaminated soils are far limited. METHODS: This study was conducted to determine the effects of phosphate rock tailing (PR), triple superphosphate fertilizer (TSP), and their combination (P+T) on mobility of Pb, Cu, and Zn in a multimetal-contaminated soil. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis) (metal-sensitive) and Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra Bailey) (metal-resistant) were introduced to examine the effects of planting on leaching of Pb, Cu, and Zn in the P-amended soils. RESULTS: All three P treatments greatly reduced CaCl(2)-extractable Pb and Zn by 55.2-73.1% and 14.3-33.6%, respectively. The PR treatment decreased CaCl(2)-extractable Cu by 27.8%, while the TSP and P+T treatments increased it by 47.2% and 44.4%, respectively. All three P treatments were effective in reducing simulated rainwater leachable Pb, with dissolved and total leachable Pb decrease by 15.6-81.9% and 16.3-64.5%, respectively. The PR treatment reduced the total leachable Zn by 16.8%, while TSP and P+T treatments increased Zn leaching by 92.7% and 78.9%, respectively. However, total Cu leaching were elevated by 17.8-178% in all P treatments. Planting promoted the leaching of Pb and Cu by 98.7-127% and 23.5-170%, respectively, especially in the colloid fraction, whereas the leachable Zn was reduced by 95.3-96.5% due to planting. The P treatments reduced the uptake of Pb, Cu, and Zn in the aboveground parts of Chinese cabbage by up to 65.1%, 34.3%, and 9.59%, respectively. Though P treatments were effective in reducing Zn concentrations in the aboveground parts of the metal-resistant Chinese kale by 22.4-28.9%, they had little effect on Pb and Cu uptake. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that all P treatments were effective in immobilizing Pb. The effect on the immobilization of Cu and Zn varied with the different P treatments and evaluation methods. Metal-sensitive plants are more responsive to the P treatments than metal-resistant plants. Planting affects leaching of metals in the P-amended soils, specially leaching of colloid fraction. The conventional assessment on leaching risks of heavy metals by determining dissolved metals (filtered through 0.45-µm pore size membrane) in leachates could be underestimated since colloid fraction may also contribute to the leaching.