The feeding habits of small-bodied fishes mediate the strength of top-down effects on plankton and water quality in shallow subtropical lakes.

The proliferation of small-bodied fishes in lakes is often accompanied by deterioration of water quality and ecosystem function. However, the potential impacts of different types of small-bodied fish species (e.g., obligate zooplanktivores and omnivores) on subtropical lake ecosystems in particular have been overlooked mainly due to their small size, shorter life spans and lower economic value. Therefore, we conducted a mesocosm experiment to elucidate how plankton communities and water quality respond to different types of small-bodied fishes, including a common zooplanktivorous fish (thin sharpbelly Toxabramis swinhonis) and other small-bodied omnivorous fishes (bitterling Acheilognathus macropterus, crucian carp Carassius auratus and sharpbelly Hemiculter leucisculus). During the experiment, the mean weekly total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), chemical oxygen demand (CODMn), turbidity, chlorophyll-a (Chl.α) and trophic level index (TLI) values were generally higher in treatments where fish were present compared to treatments where fish were absent, but responses varied. At the end of the experiment, phytoplankton abundance and biomass and the relative abundance and biomass of cyanophyta were higher while the abundance and biomass of large-bodied zooplankton were lower in the fish-present treatments. Moreover, the mean weekly TP, CODMn, Chl.α and TLI values were generally higher in treatments with the obligate zooplanktivore, thin sharpbelly, when compared to treatments with omnivorous fishes. Also, the ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton biomass was the lowest, and the ratio of Chl.α to TP was the highest in treatments with thin sharpbelly. Collectively, these general findings indicate that an overabundance of small-bodied fishes can have adverse effects on water quality and plankton communities and that small-bodied zooplanktivorous fishes likely induce stronger top-down effects on plankton and water quality than omnivorous fishes. Our results emphasise that small-bodied fishes should be monitored and controlled if overabundant when managing or restoring shallow subtropical lakes. From the perspective of environmental protection, the combined stocking of different piscivorous fish species that feed in different habitat types could be a way forward to control small-bodied fishes with different feeding habits, but more research is needed to assess the feasibility of this approach.

Radix Asteris: Traditional Usage, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of An Important Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Radix Asteris (RA), also known as 'Zi Wan', is the dried root and rhizome of Aster tataricus L. f., which has been used to treat cough and asthma in many countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. This article summarizes the available information on RA in ancient Chinese medicine books and modern research literature: its botanical properties, traditional uses, chemical composition, pharmacological activity, toxicity and quality control. Studies have shown that RA extracts contain terpenes, triterpenoid saponins, organic acids, peptides and flavonoids, and have various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, and anti-depression. RA is considered to be a promising medicinal plant based on its traditional use, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities. However, there are few studies on its toxicity and the consistency of its components, which indicates the need for further in-depth studies on the toxicity and quality control of RA and its extracts.

The effectiveness of Tuina in managing chronic non-specific low back pain: A protocol of a multicenter international randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) is a common complaint about medical care and carries a heavy social burden. The efficacy of Tuina (TN) or physiotherapy (PT) for CNLBP has been evaluated in previous systematic reviews. However, there is no high-quality evidence to support the efficacy of Tuina. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a large-scale, multicenter, high-quality clinical trial to provide evidence for Tuina to treat CNLBP. METHODS: This is a multicenter, assessor-, and analyst-blinded, randomized controlled trial with 3 parallel arms: TN, PT, and TN combined with PT (Tuina combined with physiotherapy) group. Six hundred twelve eligible CNLBP patients will be randomly assigned to the groups in a 1:1:1 ratio in 3 centers. The TN intervention includes 9-step routine techniques, while the PT intervention includes a physiotherapy treatment plan based on a patient's symptoms. The interventions for both groups will last for 30 minutes and will be carried out for 6 sessions in 8 weeks. The primary outcome will be the visual analog scale pain score. And the secondary outcomes will include the Oswestry Disability Index, spinal range of motion, 36-item short-form health survey. Safety evaluation will be recorded during the whole study. All data in this randomized controlled trial will be analyzed by SAS 9.4. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will provide evidence to evaluate the efficacy of Tuina's value as a treatment for CNLBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000040288, November 27, 2020).

Effects of Danggui-Shaoyao-San on depression- and anxiety-like behaviors of rats induced by experimental tooth movement.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS) on depression- and anxiety-like behavior induced by experimental tooth movement (ETM) in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six rats were randomly divided into a sham group (n = 12; rats underwent all operation procedures, except placement of orthodontic forces, and received saline treatment), ETM group (n = 12; rats received saline treatment and ETM), and DETM group (n = 12; rats received DSS [dose: 150 mg/kg twice daily from preoperative day 5 to postoperative day 7] treatment and ETM). The vacuous chewing movement (VCM) test, open-field test, and elevated plus maze test were performed to assess the depression- and anxiety-like behaviors of the rats. RESULTS: DSS pretreatment significantly decreased the ETM-induced VCM time (P < 0.05, DETM vs. ETM), increased the ETM-induced time to the central area of experimental device during the 5 min open-field test (P < 0.05, DETM vs. ETM), and increased the ratio of time spent in the open arms of the 5 min elevated plus maze test induced by ETM (P < 0.01, DETM vs. ETM). CONCLUSIONS: DSS pretreatment can restore the impaired abilities of rats caused by ETM-induced depression- and anxiety-like behavior.

Chemical Compositions and Anti-tumor Effect of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Due to the infinite proliferation， strong migration and loss of contact inhibition of tumor cells， tumor has become the most intractable diseases to be cured in the world. At present， the main treatments of tumor diseases are surgical resection， radiotherapy， chemotherapy， targeted-therapy and immunotherapy. Although these measures can inhibit or kill the tumor to a certain extent， they still cannot avoid adverse reactions and drug resistance. After thousands of years of clinical practice， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has the characteristics of good curative effect， few adverse reactions and significantly improving the quality of life in patients， which provides new ideas for the prevention and treatment of tumors. As an endemic and rare plant in China， Tetrastigma hemsleyanum has been listed in the 2015 edition of Zhejiang Provincial Processing Specification of TCM with the effects of heat-clearing and detoxification， detumescence and analgesia， dissipating phlegm and resolving masses. It has been reported that the chemical constituents of T. hemsleyanum are mainly flavonoids， polysaccharides， phenolic acids， terpenoids， steroids， volatile oils， alkaloids and so on. It can exert a broad spectrum of anti-tumor effects through various ways such as inhibiting proliferation， migration and invasion of tumor cells， inducing apoptosis of tumor cells， inhibiting angiogenesis of tumor cells， reversing multidrug resistance of tumor cells and regulating body autoimmunity. On the basis of reviewing relevant literature at home and abroad， this paper intends to systematically sort out the chemical and anti-tumor research of T. hemsleyanum， and in order to provide a new idea for its synergistic anti-tumor effect of multi-component， multi-pathway and multi-target， and finally provide theoretical basis for the research and development and clinical application of new anti-tumor drugs of T. hemsleyanum.

[Effect of acupuncture on patients with cancer-related fatigue and serum levels of CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and sTNF-R1].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and to explore its possible mechanism. METHODS: A total of 80 patients with CRF were randomized into an observation group and a control group, and finally 67 patients completed the trial (36 patients in the observation group, 31 patients in the control group). Patients in the control group were treated with conventional chemoradiotherapy and symptomatic treatment, while no particular anti-fatigue intervention was adopted. On the basis of treatment in the control group, acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV 20), Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6), Fengchi (GB 20), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) in the observation group, once a day, 5 times as one course, with 2 days interval between each course, totally 4 courses were required. Before and after treatment, scores of functional assessment of cancer therapy-fatigue (FACT-F) in Chinese and McGill quality of life questionnaire (MQOL), serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and soluble TNF receptor-1 (sTNF-R1) were observed in the two groups. RESULTS: ①Compared before treatment, the FACT-F score was decreased after treatment in the observation group (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the control group (P<0.05). The change of the FACT-F score in the observation group was larger than that in the control group (P<0.05). ②In the observation group, scores of physiological and psychological dimension were decreased (P<0.05), score of social support dimension was increased after the treatment (P<0.05). The score changes of physiological, psychological and social support dimension in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (all P<0.05). ③After treatment, the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and sTNF-R1 were decreased in the observation group (P<0.05), while the serum levels of CPR and IL-6 were increased in the control group (P<0.05). The serum levels of CPR, IL-6 and TNF-α in the observation were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: ①Acupuncture can improve the related symptoms of depression, weakness and headache in patients with CRF, strengthen their cognition of the support from society and family, and boost the confidence in curing the disease. ②Acupuncture can effectively down-regulate serum levels of the relative inflammatory factors, which may be its possible mechanism on treating CRF.

Surgical management of Gorham-Stout syndrome involving the cervical spine with bilateral pleural effusion: A case report and literature review.

Gorham-Stout syndrome (GSS) is a rare disease characterized by spontaneous and progressive osteolysis caused by benign proliferation of lymphatic vessels or capillaries. It most commonly occurs in children or young individuals without any inherited predisposition. GSS most commonly affects the shoulder girdle, pelvis, ribs and skull. Its diagnosis is mainly based on radiological and pathological findings. The present study reports on the case of a 22-year-old male patient diagnosed with GSS involving the C1-T1 vertebrae accompanied by bilateral pleural effusion. Resection of the occipital and cervical vertebral lesions and spinal reconstruction using an internal fixator were successfully performed via the posterior approach. After the surgery, the patient received bisphosphonate treatment and vitamin D supplementation. The pleural effusion gradually decreased. At the 18-month follow-up visit, no evidence of new bone obstruction was present and the patient had no neurological sequelae.

Partial replacement of inorganic phosphorus (P) by organic manure reshapes phosphate mobilizing bacterial community and promotes P bioavailability in a paddy soil.

The optimization of more sustainable fertilization practice to relieve phosphorus (P) resource scarcity and increase P fertilizer utilization, a better understanding of the regulatory roles of microbes in P mobilization is urgently required to reduce P input. The genes phoD and pqqC are responsible for regulating organic and inorganic P mobilization, respectively. Using high-throughput sequencing, the corresponding bacterial communities harbored by these genes were determined. We conducted a 4-year rice-rice-crop rotation to investigate the responses of phoD- and pqqC-harboring bacterial communities to the partial replacement of inorganic P fertilizer by organic manure with reduced P input. The results showed that a combination of organic and inorganic fertilization maintained high rice yield, and also produced a more complex and stable phosphate mobilizing bacterial community, which contributed to phosphatase activities more than their gene abundances in the model analysis. Compared with the conventional mineral fertilization, organic-inorganic fertilization with the reduced P input slightly increased pqqC gene abundance while significantly enhanced the abundance of phoD-harboring bacteria, especially the genera Bradyrhizobium and Methylobacterium known as potential organic P mineralizers which can maintain high rice production. Moreover, the increased pH was the most impactful factor for the phoD- and pqqC-harboring bacterial communities, by promoting microbial P turnover and greatly increasing bioavailable P pools (H2O-Pi and NaHCO3-Pi, NaOH-Pi) in this P-deficient paddy soil. Hence, our study demonstrated that the partial replacement of mineral P with organic manure could reshape the inorganic phosphate solubilizing and alkaline-phosphomonoesterase encoding bacterial communities towards more resilient and effective to the high P utilization and productivity over intense cultivation, providing insights into the potential of soil microbes in the efficient management of agricultural P fertilization.

Effect of acupuncture on patients with cancer-related fatigue and serum levels of CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and sTNF-R1 / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and to explore its possible mechanism.@*METHODS@#A total of 80 patients with CRF were randomized into an observation group and a control group, and finally 67 patients completed the trial (36 patients in the observation group, 31 patients in the control group). Patients in the control group were treated with conventional chemoradiotherapy and symptomatic treatment, while no particular anti-fatigue intervention was adopted. On the basis of treatment in the control group, acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV 20), Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6), Fengchi (GB 20), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) in the observation group, once a day, 5 times as one course, with 2 days interval between each course, totally 4 courses were required. Before and after treatment, scores of functional assessment of cancer therapy-fatigue (FACT-F) in Chinese and McGill quality of life questionnaire (MQOL), serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and soluble TNF receptor-1 (sTNF-R1) were observed in the two groups.@*RESULTS@#①Compared before treatment, the FACT-F score was decreased after treatment in the observation group (<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the control group (<0.05). The change of the FACT-F score in the observation group was larger than that in the control group (<0.05). ②In the observation group, scores of physiological and psychological dimension were decreased (<0.05), score of social support dimension was increased after the treatment (<0.05). The score changes of physiological, psychological and social support dimension in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (all <0.05). ③After treatment, the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and sTNF-R1 were decreased in the observation group (<0.05), while the serum levels of CPR and IL-6 were increased in the control group (<0.05). The serum levels of CPR, IL-6 and TNF-α in the observation were lower than those in the control group (<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#①Acupuncture can improve the related symptoms of depression, weakness and headache in patients with CRF, strengthen their cognition of the support from society and family, and boost the confidence in curing the disease. ②Acupuncture can effectively down-regulate serum levels of the relative inflammatory factors, which may be its possible mechanism on treating CRF.

Effects of Danggui-Shaoyao-San on the Influence of Spatial Learning and Memory Induced by Experimental Tooth Movement.

BACKGROUND: The pain caused by orthodontic treatment has been considered as tough problems in orthodontic practice. There is substantial literature on pain which has exactly effected on learning and memory; orthodontic tooth movement affected the emotional status has been showed positive outcomes. Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription that has been used for pain treatment and analgesic effect for orthodontic pain via inhibiting the activations of neuron and glia. We raised the hypothesis that DSS could restore the impaired abilities of spatial learning and memory via regulating neuron or glia expression in the hippocampus. METHODS: A total of 36 rats were randomly divided into three groups: (1) Sham group (n = 12), rats underwent all the operation procedure except for the placement of orthodontic forces and received saline treatment; (2) experimental tooth movement (ETM) group (n = 12), rats received saline treatment and ETM; (3) DSS + ETM (DETM) group (n = 12), rats received DSS treatment and ETM. All DETM group animals were administered with DSS at a dose of 150 mg/kg. Morris water maze test was evaluated; immunofluorescent histochemistry was used to identify astrocytes activation, and immunofluorescent dendritic spine analysis was used to identify the dendritic spines morphological characteristics expression levels in hippocampus. RESULTS: Maze training sessions during the 5 successive days revealed that ETM significantly deficits in progressive learning in rats, DSS that was given from day 5 prior to ETM enhanced progressive learning. The ETM group rats took longer to cross target quadrant during the probe trial and got less times to cross-platform than DETM group. The spine density in hippocampus in ETM group was significantly decreased compared to the sham group. In addition, thin and mature spine density were decreased too. However, the DSS administration could reverse the dendritic shrinkage and increase the spine density compared to the ETM group. Astrocytes activation showed the opposite trend in hippocampus dentate gyrus (DG). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with DSS could restore the impaired abilities on ETM-induced decrease of learning and memory behavior. The decreased spines density in the hippocampus and astrocytes activation in DG of hippocampus in the ETM group rats may be related with the decline of the ability of learning and memory. The ability to change the synaptic plasticity in hippocampus after DSS administration may be correlated with the alleviation of impairment of learn and memory after ETM treatment.

Chemical and biological insights into uranium-induced apoptosis of rat hepatic cell line.

Uranium release into the environment is a threat to human health, and the mechanisms of cytotoxicity caused by uranium are not well-understood. To improve our understanding in this respect, we herein evaluated the effects of uranium exposure on normal rat hepatic BRL cells. As revealed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope analysis, uranyl nitrate was found to be transformed into uranyl phosphate particles in the medium and taken up by BRL cells in an endocytotic uptake manner, which presumably initiates apoptosis of the cell, although soluble uranyl ion may also be toxic. The apoptosis of BRL cells upon uranium exposure was also confirmed by both the acridine orange and ethidium bromide double staining assay and the Annexin V/propidium iodide double staining assay. Further studies revealed that uranium induced the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the uranium-induced apoptosis was found to be associated with the activation of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, indicating both a mitochondria-dependent signaling pathway and a death receptor pathway by a crosstalk. This study provides new chemical and biological insights into the mechanism of uranium toxicity toward hepatic cells, which will help seek approaches for biological remediation of uranium.

A spectroscopic study of uranyl-cytochrome b5/cytochrome c interactions.

Uranium is harmful to human health due to its radiation damage and the ability of uranyl ion (UO2(2+)) to interact with various proteins and disturb their biological functions. Cytochrome b5 (cyt b5) is a highly negatively charged heme protein and plays a key role in mediating cytochrome c (cyt c) signaling in apoptosis by forming a dynamic cyt b5-cyt c complex. In previous molecular modeling study in combination with UV-Vis studies, we found that UO2(2+) is capable of binding to cyt b5 at surface residues, Glu37 and Glu43. In this study, we further investigated the structural consequences of cyt b5 and cyt c, as well as cyt b5-cyt c complex, upon uranyl binding, by fluorescence spectroscopic and circular dichroism techniques. Moreover, we proposed a uranyl binding site for cyt c at surface residues, Glu66 and Glu69, by performing a molecular modeling study. It was shown that uranyl binds to cyt b5 (KD=10 µM), cyt c (KD=87 µM), and cyt b5-cyt c complex (KD=30 µM) with a different affinity, which slightly alters the protein conformation and disturbs the interaction of cyt b5-cyt c complex. Additionally, we investigated the functional consequences of uranyl binding to the protein surface, which decreases the inherent peroxidase activity of cyt c. The information of uranyl-cyt b5/cyt c interactions gained in this study likely provides a clue for the mechanism of uranyl toxicity.

Electroencephalogram beta power assay: a promising diagnosis tool of cognitive impairment in early time after cerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral hemorrhage (CH) could affect the cerebral function on specific cognitive abilities and lead to the cognitive decline or cognitive dysfunction. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a relatively cheap and easy usable tool, which could reflect the cerebral function of the patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 170 patients (patients with and without cognitive impairment) with CH and 120 normal healthy controls were recruited from September 2008 to June 2012 at the Department of Neurology. EEG studies were carried out to analyze the cerebral function in all the subjects. Correlation, clustering and concordance analysis were performed to analyze the relationship between EEG power and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scores. The effects of EEG analysis were assessed to diagnosis the cognitive impairment. RESULTS: The results were showed that patients with cognitive impairment had a significantly decreased EEG beta power (0.771 ± 0.149 µV 2 ) compared with the normal cognitive function (1.654 ± 0.186 µV 2 , P < 0.01) or normal healthy controls (1.703 ± 0.216 µV 2 , P < 0.01). Significantly positive correlation (r = 0.90174, P < 0.001) was discovered between relative beta power and hemorrhage type, while significantly negative correlations between the relative beta power and hemorrhage size and amount were also observed (r =-0.81235 and r =-0.90136, respectively, all P < 0.001). There was a better concordance between K-means clustering algorithm calculating of the relative beta power and MoCA scores (κ =0.913, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The cognitive impairment post hemorrhage was positively correlated to hemorrhage type and negatively correlated with hemorrhage size and amount. The analysis method of EEG beta power abnormality holds a promise to assess the cognitive impairment post CH.

[The experimental research about the effect of Prunella vulgaris L. on Raji cells growth and expression of apoptosis related protein].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-lymphoma effect of Prunella vulgaris L. in order to offer exprimental data for the treatment of lymphoma with Prunella vulgaris L. in clinic. METHODS: Effect of Prunella vulgaris L. injection on inhibition ratio of cell growth of Raji cells and IC50 were tested by MTT assay. The growth curve line of Raji cells was drawn also by MTT assay. The cellular morphology was observed by invert microscope, Giemas staining and MTT assay. The expression of apoptosis related protein bcl-2, bax was measured by immunocytochemistry and the quantitative analysis was made with figure analysis system. RESULTS: 1. Prunella vulgaris L. could obviously suppress the cell proliferation of Raji cells in a concentration-dependent manner (r = 0.97). The IC50 was 0.118 mg/ml. 2. After Raji cells was reacted with injection of Prunella vulgaris L. (50 mg/ml) , the morphlogical of apoptosis were observed by invert microscope, Giemsa staining and MTT assay. RESULTS: The results of immunocytochemistry showed that after Raji cells were treated by the injection of Prunella vulgaris L. (50 mg/ml) for 48 hours, the expression of bcl-1 was up-regulated, and the expression of bax was down-regulated. The differences between process group and control group were significant (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Prunella vulgaris L. can suppress the proliferation of Raji cells and may be a new anti-lymphoma drug. Inducing the apoptosis of Raji cells maybe one of anti-lymphoma mechanisms.

[Advances in clinical and mechanism studies of acupuncture and moxibustion for treatment of depression].

OBJECTIVE: To introduce clinical and mechanism studies about treatment of depression by acupuncture and moxibustion in recent years. METHODS: Review was made from clinical controls, mechanism studies and animal experiments. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture and moxibustion have definite therapeutic effect on depression, with less adverse effects, but some problems in clinical and mechanism studies remain to be resolved.

Advances in clinical and mechanism studies of acupuncture and moxibustion for treatment of depression / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To introduce clinical and mechanism studies about treatment of depression by acupuncture and moxibustion in recent years.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Review was made from clinical controls, mechanism studies and animal experiments.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture and moxibustion have definite therapeutic effect on depression, with less adverse effects, but some problems in clinical and mechanism studies remain to be resolved.</p>