Impacts and mechanism of biodegradable microplastics on lake sediment properties, bacterial dynamics, and greenhouse gasses emissions.

The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater ecosystems plays a vital role in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions from lake sediment by altering sediment properties and microbial communities. Thus, a short-term microcosm experiment was performed to explore the effect of conventional polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable Poly (butylene-adipate-co-terephtalate) (PBAT) MPs on carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions from lake sediment and associated microbial community. The results indicated that at 1.0 % concentration, the cumulative CO2 emissions were increased by 16.8 % and the cumulative CH4 emissions were increased more than four times following the addition of biodegradable MPs compared to conventional MPs, which was due to the more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) provided by biodegradable MPs for microbial respiration. Furthermore, the cumulative CO2 and CH4 emissions significantly (p < 0.05) increased with the increasing concentrations of biodegradable MPs. Notably, the accumulation of MPs could weaken the microbial stress from requirements of energy and substrate, and increase the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) value, thus eventually improving the respiratory capacity of microbes. In addition, the biodegradable MPs significantly increased the abundance of microbes, such as Firmicutes, Myxococcota and Actinobacteriota, which were related to the function of anaerobic respiration. Overall, we concluded that the abundant DOC provided by biodegradable MPs could promote the growth of microbes in lake sediment, and they could change the structure and diversity of the microbial community, which would eventually enhance the anaerobic respiration of microbes and aggravate the GHGs emissions.

Toxicological Assessment of Ammonia Exposure on Carassius auratus red var. Living in Landscape Waters.

To understand the toxic mechanism of ammonia and identify effective biomarkers on the oxidative stress for the fish Carassius auratus red var., acute and chronic toxicity tests were conducted. The 96-h LC50 of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) for C. auratus was 135.4 mg L-1, the corresponding unionized ammonia (NH3) concentration was 1.5 mg L-1. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione (GSH) showed an increase with a subsequent falling, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) increased during the chronic test. The SOD, MDA, and GSH could be effective biomarkers to evaluate the TAN oxidative stress, the maximum acceptable toxicant concentration (MATC) was 11.3 mg L-1 for TAN. To our knowledge, this is the first study to propose biomarkers to evaluate potential environmental risk and establish a risk threshold for TAN in C. auratus.

Mobile Phone-Based Telemedicine Practice in Older Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies on telemedicine interventions have shown that older diabetic patients experience difficulty in using computers, which is a barrier to remote communication between medical teams and older diabetic patients. However, older people in China tend to find it easy to use mobile phones and personal messaging apps that have a user-friendly interface. Therefore, we designed a mobile health (mHealth) system for older people with diabetes that is based on mobile phones, has a streamlined operation interface, and incorporates maximum automation. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research was to investigate the use of mobile phone-based telemedicine apps for management of older Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Variables of interest included efficacy and safety. METHODS: A total of 91 older (aged over 65 years) patients with T2DM who presented to our department were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Patients in the intervention group (n=44) were provided glucometers capable of data transmission and received advice pertaining to medication, diet, and exercise via the mHealth telemedicine system. Patients assigned to the control group (n=47) received routine outpatient care with no additional intervention. Patients in both groups were followed up at regular 3-month intervals. RESULTS: After 3 months, patients in the intervention group showed significant (P<.05) improvement in postprandial plasma glucose level. After 6 months, patients in the intervention group exhibited a decreasing trend in postprandial plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels compared with the baseline and those in the control group (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mobile phone-based telemedicine apps help improve glycemic control in older Chinese patients with T2DM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: China Clinical Trial Registration Center ChiCTR 1800015214; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=25949 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73wKj1GMq).

Telemedicine in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To explore a model of Internet-based integrated management of diabetes, we established a remote diabetes medical service platform (U-Healthcare) and evaluated its effectiveness and practicality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 212 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned to 2 groups. Data from the intervention group were automatically transmitted through a glucometer; furthermore, this group received information regarding medicines, diet, exercise and other management through U-Healthcare. The control group received conventional medical treatment without any additional intervention. All patients were regularly followed up every 3 months for half a year. RESULTS: At the 3-month follow-up, fasting plasma glucose levels of the intervention group were significantly lower than those at the baseline as well as those of the control group. Triglyceride levels of the intervention group were much lower than those at the baseline. At the 6-month follow-up, 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose levels of the intervention group significantly improved compared with those of the control group. HbA1c levels gradually decreased every 3 months in the intervention group, and the mean change in the levels was significantly greater in this group than in the control group (from 1.27-0.68%). At the end of the study, more than 80% of the patients in the intervention group adhered to blood glucose monitoring 2-3 days per week, and their compliance degree was 72%. CONCLUSIONS: The Internet-based U-Healthcare system of integrated management in diabetes not only achieved better glycemic control, effectively improved HbA1c levels and decreased triglyceride levels but also enhanced patients' adherence to the medical team's instructions.