Effects of electroacupuncture therapy on intractable facial paralysis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assessment effects of electroacupuncture (EA) therapy on intractable facial paralysis. METHODS: The articles of EA treatment for intractable facial paralysis were retrieved from seven databases, the publication period was from its inception to November 30, 2022. Primary measure was the total effective rate, and other measures included the cure rate, Portmann scores, House-Brackmann scores, Sunnybrook scores and adverse events. The effect size of meta-analysis was expressed using relative risk (RR) or standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A total of 18 studies with 1,119 participants were included, all of them had various aspects of bias risk. Meta-analysis results revealed that EA ways improved total effective rate more effectively compared with non-EA counterparts (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.17-1.31, I2 = 0%, 18 studies, 1119 participants), and improved cure rate more significantly than non-EA groups (RR 2.04, 95% CI 1.70-2.44, I2 = 0%, 18 studies, 1119 participants). None of studies reported adverse events. CONCLUSION: EA therapy is more beneficial for patients with intractable facial paralysis than non-EA, but we lack sufficient evidence to evaluate its safety and follow-up effect. Therefore, more clinical trials with high quality methodologies are needed to further verify long-term effects of EA for IFP and improve the level of evidence. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration number: CRD42021278541.

Soil acidification induced variation of nitrifiers and denitrifiers modulates N2O emissions in paddy fields.

Soil acidification is a major land degradation process globally, and impacts soil nitrogen (N) transformation. However, it is still not well known how soil acidification affects net N mineralization and nitrification, especially N-cycling microbes and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Hence, three soils characterized by different soil pH values (5.5, 6.3, and 7.7) were collected from the paddy fields, and experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of soil acidification on net N mineralization and nitrification, and N2O emissions. Compared to those in the soils with pH 7.7 and 6.3, net N mineralization, net nitrification, and N2O emissions were decreased by 75-76 %, 89-91 %, and 19-48 %, respectively, in the soil with pH 5.5, while net N nitrification and N2O emissions decreased by 18 % in the soil with pH 6.3 when compared to those in the soil with pH 7.7. The significantly decreased net nitrification in the soils with pH 6.3 and 5.5 was mainly attributed to the limited N availability and abundance of nitrification-related microbes including ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and complete ammonia-oxidizers. The decrease in N2O emissions of soils with pH 6.3 and 5.5 had mainly resulted from decreasing nitrification and denitrification via suppressing microbes including nirS and fungal nirK and limiting N availability. Hence, this study provides new insights and improves our understanding of how soil acidification regulates N mineralization, nitrification, and N2O emissions in paddy soils, which gives guidance on developing N management strategies for sustainable production and N2O mitigation in acid soils.

The Combination of Phages and Faecal Microbiota Transplantation Can Effectively Treat Mouse Colitis Caused by Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is one of the common causes of human colitis. In the present study, two lytic phages vB_SenS-EnJE1 and vB_SenS-EnJE6 were isolated and the therapeutic effect of the combination of phages and faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on S. Typhimurium-induced mouse colitis was investigated. The characteristics and genome analysis indicated that they are suitable phages for phage therapy. Results showed that vB_SenS-EnJE1 lysis 41/54 Salmonella strains of serotype O4, and vB_SenS-EnJE6 lysis 46/54 Salmonella strains of serotypes O4 and O9. Severe inflammatory symptoms and disruption of the intestinal barrier were observed in S. Typhimurium -induced colitis. Interestingly, compared with a single phage cocktail (Pc) or single FMT, the combination of Pc and FMT (PcFMT) completely removed S. Typhimurium after 72 h of treatment, and significantly improved pathological damage and restored the intestinal barrier. Furthermore, PcFMT effectively restored the intestinal microbial diversity, especially for Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes [predominantly bacterial phyla responsible for the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA)]. Additionally, we found that PcFMT treatment significantly increased the levels of SCFA. All these data indicated that the combination of phages and FMT possesses excellent therapeutic effects on S. Typhimurium -induced intestinal microbiota disorder diseases. Pc and FMT played roles in "eliminating pathogens" and "strengthening vital qi," respectively. This study provides a new idea for the treatment of intestinal microbiota disorder diseases caused by specific bacterial infections.

Echinicola soli sp. nov., isolated from alkaline saline soil.

Strains of Echinicola, thought to play vital roles in the environment for their high enzyme production capacity during decomposition of polysaccharides, are ubiquitous in hypersaline environments. A Gram-negative, non-spore forming, gliding, aerobic bacterial strain, designated LN3S3T, was isolated from alkaline saline soil sampled in Tumd Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, northern PR China. Strain LN3S3T grew at 10-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 5.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 8.0) and with 0-12.5 % NaCl (optimum, 2.0 %). A phylogenetic tree based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain LN3S3T clustered with Echinicola rosea JL3085T and Echinicola strongylocentroti MEBiC08714T, sharing 97.0, 96.7 and <96.50 % of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to E. rosea JL3085T, E. strongylocentroti MEBiC08714T and all other type strains. MK-7 was the major respiratory quinone, while phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified phospholipids, an unidentified aminophospholipid, an unidentified lipid and two unidentified aminolipids were the major polar lipids. Its major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c). The genome consisted of a circular 5 550 304 bp long chromosome with a DNA G+C content of 44.0 mol%. The average nucleotide identity (ANI), average amino acid identity (AAI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values of strain LN3S3T to E. rosea JL3085T and E. strongylocentroti MEBiC08714T were 82.5 and 81.5 %, 87.5 and 86.0 %, and 39.1 and 35.1 %, respectively. Based on physiological, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, strain LN3S3T could be discriminated from its phylogenetic relatives. Echinicola soli sp. nov. is therefore proposed with strain LN3S3T (=CGMCC 1.17081T=KCTC 72458T) as the type strain.

Complete Genome Sequence of Sphingobacterium psychroaquaticum Strain SJ-25, an Aerobic Bacterium Capable of Suppressing Fungal Pathogens.

Using antagonistic bacterium is an effective method to control plant disease by fungal pathogens. An aerobic bacterium designated SJ-25, capable of suppressing Fusarium graminearum, Exserohilum turcicum, Pythium aphanidermatum, and Cochliobolus sativus, was isolated from farmland soil. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain SJ-25 belongs to the species of Sphingobacterium psychroaquaticum. The genome of strain SJ-25 consists of a 4,396,535-bp chromosome with a G+C content of 41.7 mol%; including 3696 CDS, 64 tRNA genes and six rRNA operons. Genomic analysis revealed that its genome contains multiple genes responsible for biosynthesis of siderophore, methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate, chitinase, giving strain SJ-25 the antagonistic ability on fungi pathogen. Strain SJ-25 harbors sets genes responsible for production of 2, 3-butanediol and salicylic acid, which could elicit the induced systemic resistance of the host plant. This genome sequence could be used as a basis material for further exploration of antagonistic mechanisms on fungi, widening our understanding of the ecological role of the genus Sphingobacterium in farmland ecosystem.

Qingshengfaniella alkalisoli gen. nov., sp. nov., a p-hydroxybenzoate-degrading strain isolated from saline soil.

p-Hydroxybenzoate is an allelopathic compound commonly found in soil from long-term monoculture cropping systems. During the bacterial diversity analysis of saline soil, a Gram-negative, non-spore forming, non-motile, aerobic p-hydroxybenzoate-degrading bacterial strain, designated LN3S51T, was isolated from saline soil which was sampled from Tumd Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, northern China. Strain LN3S51T grew at 4-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 5.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and 0-15 % NaCl (optimum 3.0 %). Though strain LN3S51T has the highest 16S rRNA gene similarities to Litoreibacter ponti GJSW-31T (96.0 %), the phylogenetic tree based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that it clustered with Fluviibacterium aquatile SM1902T (95.8 %), Meridianimarinicoccus roseus TG-679T (93.9 %), and Phycocomes zhengii LMIT002T (93.9 %). Strain LN3S51T contained Q-10 as the major ubiquinone. Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylcholine (PC), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), an unidentified aminolipid (AL), and two unidentified lipids (L) were the major polar lipids. The major fatty acids were sum feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c), C16 : 0, C18 : 0, and C18 : 1 ω7c 11-methyl. The genome of strain LN3S51T consisted of a 2 257 066 bp chromosome and four plasmids with a 59.1 mol% of genomic DNA G+C content. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization score (dDDH) values of strain LN3S51T to F. aquatile SM1902T, M. roseus TG-679T, P. zhengii LMIT002T, and L. ponti GJSW-31T were 69.6, 70.9, 70.6, and 69.5 %, and 20.0, 19.5, 19.0, and 20.0 %, respectively. Based on the results of phylogenetic, chemtaxonomic and phenotypic characterization, strain LN3S51T is considered to represent a novel species in a new genus within the family Rhodobacteraceae, for which Qingshengfaniella alkalisoli gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LN3S51T (=CGMCC 1.17099T=KCTC 72457T).