Advances in the prevention and treatment of postoperative delirium by acupuncture: A review.

Postoperative delirium is a common postoperative complication of neurocognitive dysfunction, especially in elderly surgical patients. Postoperative delirium not only damages patients' recovery but also increases social costs. Therefore, its prevention and treatment has essential clinical and social significance. However, due to its intricate pathogenesis and limited pharmacological interventions, the effective prevention and treatment of postoperative delirium remains a thorny problem. As traditional acupuncture therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment in many neurological disorders, and in recent years, it has begun to be clinically used as an intervention for postoperative delirium. Although most clinical and animal studies confirm that multiple types of acupuncture interventions can alleviate or prevent postoperative delirium by relieving acute postoperative pain, reducing the consumption of anesthetics and analgesics, attenuating neuroinflammation and neuronal lesions, while more evidence-based medical evidence and clinical validation are needed for these encouraging effects.

Effective flocculation of Microcystis aeruginosa with simultaneous nutrient precipitation from hydrolyzed human urine.

Mechanical harvest of massive harmful algal blooms is an effective measure for bloom mitigation. Yet subsequent processing of the resulting water from algae water separation after the harvesting becomes a new problem since individual algal cells or small algal aggregates are still present in the water. Here, we proposed a novel approach for effectively flocculating the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa with a removal efficiency of 97% in 6 h using hydrolyzed urine. Nitrogen and phosphorus were simultaneously reclaimed through struvite formation. The addition of Mg2+ promoted the flocculation efficiency and nutrient removal as well as the yield of struvite. Ca2+ could enhance the flocculation efficiency by forming calcium phosphate. During the flocculation process, no significant damage in algal cells was observed. This study provides a novel and sustainable potential for subsequent processing of the resulting water after algae water separation with simultaneous nutrient precipitation and reducing nutrient loads to wastewater treatment plants.

A multi-spectral approach to differentiate the effects of adsorbent pretreatments on the characteristics of NOM and membrane fouling.

Pretreatment of feed water is widely applied to mitigate NOM-induced fouling of low-pressure membranes. This research investigated the effectiveness of two pretreatment modes for NOM removal by heated aluminum oxide particles (HAOPs) and the associated reductions in membrane fouling and trihalomethane (THM) formation potential. One mode, referred to here as pre-adsorption, is the conventional process in which adsorbent particles are added to and thoroughly mixed with the feed, after which the particles are separated from the water either upstream of or by the membrane. By contrast, in the pre-deposition mode, a thin layer of adsorbent particles is deposited on a support media (which could be the membrane) prior to passing feed through the layer and the membrane. Although both pretreatment methods remove similar amounts of DOC at the same adsorbent dose, pre-deposition is superior with respect to mitigating membrane fouling and reducing DBP formation. UV and fluorescence spectroscopy and HPSEC analysis indicate that a pre-deposited adsorbent layer removes more chromophores and low apparent molecular weight (AMW) material than pre-adsorption does. Based on absorbance ratios at selected wavelengths, a pre-deposited HAOPs layer removes more aromatic moieties than aliphatic carboxyls, especially at higher HAOPs doses. In addition, pre-deposition is more effective than pre-adsorption at reducing the THM formation potential. The results provide new insights into the interactions between HAOPs and NOM molecules and shed light on the significantly different effects of different adsorbent contacting modes on the fouling potential of the pretreated water.

[Anatomical structures of Coleus forskohlii transplanted in Tongcheng].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the vegetative tissues of Coleus forskohlii cultivated in Tongcheng, Hubei Province, and to provide useful information for its planting. METHODS: The root, stem, leaf and enlarged rhizome of Coleus forskohlii were subject to routine paraffin section and staining with safranin and fast green FCF solution before examination by light microscopy. RESULTS: The secondary tissue was well developed in root, and stem showed a higher percentage of cortex and pitch, and 4 large vascular bundles. Leaf epidermis was covered by lots of trichomes, including glandular hairs, glandular scale and linear non-glandular hairs. Mesophyll tissue was poorly differentiated to palisade and spongy tissues. Enlarged rhizome was the same as normal dicotyledons plants. CONCLUSION: Enlarged rhizome, unconspicuous root tuber and poorly differentiated leaf mesophyll cells are 3 main different features of Coleus forskohlii transplanted in Tongcheng. These results provide scientific basis for formulating quality standards, further cultivation and utilization of the plant.