Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation regulates neuroinflammation in neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a frequent condition caused by a lesion in, or disease of, the central or peripheral somatosensory nervous system and is associated with excessive inflammation in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a supplementary treatment for NP. In clinical research, rTMS of 5-10 Hz is widely placed in the primary motor cortex (M1) area, mostly at 80%-90% RMT, and 5-10 treatment sessions could produce an optimal analgesic effect. The degree of pain relief increases greatly when stimulation duration is greater than 10 days. Analgesia induced by rTMS appears to be related to reestablishing the neuroinflammation system. This article discussed the influences of rTMS on the nervous system inflammatory responses, including the brain, spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and peripheral nerve involved in the maintenance and exacerbation of NP. rTMS has shown an anti-inflammation effect by decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, and increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-10 and BDNF, in cortical and subcortical tissues. In addition, rTMS reduces the expression of glutamate receptors (mGluR5 and NMDAR2B) and microglia and astrocyte markers (Iba1 and GFAP). Furthermore, rTMS decreases nNOS expression in ipsilateral DRGs and peripheral nerve metabolism and regulates neuroinflammation.

Why plasma-activated water treatment reduced the malonaldehyde content in muscle foods.

An interesting phenomenon that plasma-activated water (PAW) treatment reduced the malonaldehyde (MDA) content in muscle foods was observed in both previous reports and the present study. However, the mechanism remains unclear. To clarify the theoretical basis of this phenomenon, the main reactive components in PAW were determined, and the changes in the fatty acid profile in tuna muscle after PAW treatment were analyzed. The results showed that the MDA content reduction upon PAW treatment was not due to the inhibition of lipid oxidation. To mimic the possible reaction of the components in PAW with MDA, individual hydrogen peroxide, nitrite, and nitrate or their mixture solution were added into MDA standard and tuna muscle. The results showed that the reaction of nitrite in PAW with MDA occurred during its measurement processes caused its reduction. The results in this work fully explained why PAW treatment reduced the MDA content in muscle foods.

Health-Related Physical Fitness as a Risk Factor for Falls in Elderly People Living in the Community: A Prospective Study in China.

Objectives: Health-related physical-fitness (HRPF) involves multi-components of physical functional tests and is reported to be associated with the risk of fall. The study sought to determine whether specific physical fitness components were stronger predictors of falls among elderly people. Methods: This prospective cohort study involved 299 community residents age ≥60 years from Shanghai, China. The baseline data included comprehensive assessment of sociodemographic, clinical, and HRPF test. Subjects were followed for 1 year and were contacted by telephone to report falls. LASSO regression and Multivariate regression analysis were used to identify risk predictors of fall. In addition, we used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses to determine whether the predictors have diagnostic. Results: During the 1-year prospective fall assessment, 11.7% of these subjects experienced one or frequent falls. LASSO models revealed that age (=0.01) and 8-ft up-and-go test score (=0.06) were positively associated with falls, while activity-specific balance confidence (ABC; = -0.007) and 2-min step test score (= -0.005) were inversely related. The Area Under roc Curve (AUC) for a linear combination of age, ABC scale score, 2-min step test and 8-ft up-and-go test was 0.778 (95% confidence interval: 0. 700-0.857), which was superior to any of the variables taken alone. Conclusion: Age, activity-specific balance confidence and fitness abnormalities were determined to contribute to the incident of falls. The value of 2-min step test score, and 8-ft up-and-go test score were the key HRPF components in predicting falls among elderly people.

Characteristics of myoglobin degradation by cold plasma and its pro-oxidative activity on lipid in washed fish muscle.

In this study, the degradation of myoglobin both in solution and in tuna muscle by cold plasma (CP) was investigated through ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis, and the effect of the degradation products on lipid oxidation in washed turbot muscle (WTM) was explored. Results showed that heme in myoglobin was degraded upon CP treatment, from which a fluorescent product was formed and iron was released. The degradation products promoted lipid oxidation in WTM during cold storage, in which the released iron played an important role. Results of gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry analysis showed that the contents of 37 volatile compounds in WTM were increased by heme degradation products induced lipid oxidation, including 20 aldehydes, 9 alcohols, 5 ketones and 3 furans. This study provides a new insight to the mechanism of lipid oxidation in CP-treated fish during cold storage, as well as guidance for preserving myoglobin-containing foods with CP.

Cold plasma treated air improves the characteristic flavor of Dry-cured black carp through facilitating lipid oxidation.

In this study, the main reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) in cold plasma treated air (CPTA) were determined, and their effects on lipid oxidation, fatty acid composition and volatile profile in dry-cured black carp were investigated. Results showed that ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were the main ROS/RNS, both of which were in a few mg/m3 to tens mg/m3. Increased peroxide value (POV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) level indicated CPTA promoted lipid oxidation in samples. The contents of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in samples after CPTA exposure were decreased significantly. Volatile analysis by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) showed that CPTA exposure promoted the formation of characteristic volatile flavor compounds in dry-cured black carp via facilitating the oxidation of UFA. This work provides new ideas for the application of cold plasma in food processing.

Drivers of the water use efficiency changes in China during 1982-2015.

This study investigates the drivers of water use efficiency (WUE), a key metric of water resources management, and its changes over eight regions across China from 1982 to 2015 based on gross primary production (GPP) and actual evapotranspiration (AET) datasets. The order of seasonal change of WUE from large to small is autumn, summer, spring and winter. The drivers include seven variables, air temperature, specific humidity, precipitation, short-wave radiation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), soil moisture and CO2. Our analysis suggests that the sensitivity of annual average NDVI to WUE changes was high nationwide, but there were some differences in seasonal scales. The annual average contribution of air temperature and CO2 affecting WUE change was relatively high in China's largest area (SW, SE, E, NP). Other influencing factors were only relatively high in the local area. Seasonally, NDVI is the driving factor with the highest contribution rate in summer and autumn for NC and NW region. The seasonal contribution rates of driving factors in other regions are significantly different. For the study period (1982-2015), the shrubland ecosystem had the highest annual WUE followed by forest and cropland. The WUE of the farmland ecosystem was higher than that of the grassland ecosystem in most areas.

How Breathing Exercises Influence on Respiratory Muscles and Quality of Life among Patients with COPD? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Aim: This systematic review aimed to investigate the effect of different breathing exercises on respiratory muscle function, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and quality of life (QoL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: We searched online databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Ovid for randomized controlled trials that assessed the efficacy of breathing exercises on patients with COPD. Patient outcome parameters included changes in respiratory muscle function, 6MWT, and QoL. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was used to assess the risk of bias for each included study. Subgroup analyses concerning different interventions and outcome measurements were conducted as necessary. PROSPERO registration number is CRD42018118367. Results: A total of 17 studies were included for final analysis. Meta-analysis based on the relevant studies showed that breathing exercises had a significant total effect on pulmonary function PImax (mean difference (MD) = 8.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.13-14.16, P=0.002), as well as 6MWT (MD = 27.70, 95% CI 5.45-49.94, P=0.01) in patients with COPD. Conclusions: This systematic review summarized the use of breathing exercises for treating patients with COPD. Breathing exercises were found to be an effective tool for treating patients with COPD by improving inspiratory muscle strength and 6MWT. However, breathing exercises showed no significant improvements on the QoL of patients with COPD.

A Randomised Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Administration of the Health Improvement Card as a Health Promotion Tool: A Physiotherapist-Led Community-Based Initiative.

A randomised controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the administration of the Health Improvement Card (HIC) on lifestyle practices and biometric variables in community-dwelling Chinese participants. Adults living in Shanghai were randomly assigned to either the HIC-intervention or control group. Measurements/assessments were conducted at baseline and three-month follow-up. Supervised physiotherapy students administered the HIC and four standardised questionnaires related to health and wellbeing. Both groups received a health promotion education pamphlet. Based on participants' HIC biometric and lifestyle scores, students prescribed lifestyle, and exercise advice to the HIC-intervention group. 171 individuals (39 men, 132 women) (mean age 68.4 ± 9.7 y) participated. At follow-up, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference decreased significantly in the HIC-intervention group. Furthermore, the number of participants in the HIC-intervention group categorised as low risk regarding their physical activity and dietary practices, increased by 32.2% and 20%, respectively. Changes in standardised questionnaire scores did not meet minimum clinically importance differences in either group. This is the first study to demonstrate that HIC-informed health promotion education can improve people's lifestyle practices, thereby, objective biometric variables. Evaluation of the effect of HIC-informed lifestyle education on some biometric parameters (blood pressure and BMI) may warrant a longer timeframe.

Use of the Health Improvement Card by Chinese physical therapy students: A pilot study.

This study investigated the perceptions of Chinese physical therapy students on use of the Health Improvement Card (HIC) as a clinical tool to assess lifestyle and prescribe health education to others. The biometrics and health indices/attributes/lifestyles of these students were also evaluated with self-administration of the HIC. After a tutorial on the HIC and its clinical application, physical therapy students (n = 82) from two Chinese universities, completed the Chinese translation of the HIC followed by a questionnaire on students' perceptions of it. Second, they invited a friend/relative to complete the HIC. Then, they provided feedback on the HIC's strengths and challenges related to its administration. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and content thematic analysis. Response rate of self-completed HICs was 100% (n = 82) and that of questionnaires was 99% (n = 81). Participants' age range was 20-34 years; mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.9±5.4 for men and 20.5±2.6 kg/m2 for women. Generally, participants had low-risk BMIs (82%) and blood pressures (BPs) (91%), moderate-risk dietary habits (90%), but fewer had low-risk exercise habits (41%). Of 81 friends/relatives who participated, 25% had high-risk exercise habits. Student participants concurred the HIC is useful in developing lifestyle education programs. Challenges included uncertainty about obtaining laboratory data, serving-size quantities and confidence to effect lifestyle change in others. Although students appeared receptive to assessing health and lifestyle behaviors using the HIC, they reported being unconfident to prescribe long-term effective lifestyle advice. We recommend introducing the HIC in physical therapy curricula as an effective way of sensitizing emerging physical therapists to their responsibility to assess health/attributes/lifestyle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors. Prescribing lifestyle education/counselling warrants greater curricular focus. Further research will establish how HIC data and information can be effectively used as a clinical assessment and education tool to target health and lifestyle, and track behavior change over time.