Efficacy of Aidi Injection and Brucea javanica Oil Emulsion Injection in Rectal Cancer during CapeOX Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant chemotherapy with CapeOX regimen is widely used in resected rectal cancer, which brings benefits to patients. But drug-related toxicities are severe during this process; thus, survival outcomes may potentially be affected. This study explored the efficacy of two Chinese herbal injections, Aidi injection (ADI) and Brucea javanica oil emulsion injection (BJOEI), as adjuvant drugs in CapeOX adjuvant chemotherapy on rectal cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 240 cases were enrolled in this retrospective study. 80 cases received CapeOX with ADI (the ADI group), 80 cases received CapeOX with BJOEI (the BJOEI group), and the rest 80 cases received CapeOX alone (the control group). After four cycles' chemotherapy, adverse reactions (ADRs) and quality of life (QOL) were analyzed. Then, patients received follow-up for at least one year, and the endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). RESULTS: All patients completed at least four cycles' adjuvant chemotherapy. The incidence of leukopenia and thrombocytopenia was significantly lower in the ADI group; the incidence of nausea was significantly lower in the BJOEI group; the incidence of hand-foot syndrome was significantly lower in both the ADI group and BJOEI group. Significant difference was found in the control group regarding the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scores prior and posttreatment. No difference was found among three groups regarding one-year DFS. CONCLUSION: As adjuvant drugs for rectal cancer during CapeOX chemotherapy, ADI shows advantages in decreasing leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, while BJOEI results better in remitting nausea. Both two CHIs had positive impacts on decreasing hand-foot syndrome and the maintenance of patients' QOL. It is worthy of further study and promotion for CHIs.

Stacked Use and Transition Trends of Rural Household Energy in Mainland China.

Household energy use is an important aspect of environmental pollution and sustainable development. From a nationwide residential energy survey, this study revealed that household fuel "stacking"-mixed use of multiple fuels-is becoming noticeable over the 20 years from 1992 to 2012, particularly in northern China where space heating is needed in the winter. Approximately 28% of rural households used only one single energy type in 1992, whereas the percentage declined to merely 11% in 2012. The number of energy types correlated positively with the heating degree days and negatively with the household income in areas with limited or no heating requirements. Combined use of biomass and fossil fuels may lead to extra energy use, up to 40% for cooking and 20% for heating. Some fuels, as supplementary ones, are used more often than others, and the energy consumption of coal and honeycomb briquette could be underestimated by 34% and 22% if only the primary energy was accounted for. Generally, household energy is shifting from solid fuels to cleaner ones, such as electricity or gas for both cooking and heating, but with different patterns and transition rates. Transition pathways varied extensively from one region to another due to the imbalanced development. Clean transitions initially occur in well-developed provinces and megacities and then extend to inland provinces approximately 5-10 years later. Rapid energy transitions and urbanization have led to nearly 50% reduction in residential energy consumption over these two decades, consequently resulting in significant declines in emissions of most air pollutants. The updated residential emission of primary PM2.5 was 3100 Gg in 2014. Extensively fuel stacking and rapid energy transitions have led to complex circumstances in energy use.