CH4 and CO2 emissions in water networks of rice cultivation regions.

Rice cultivation regions have a high density of open water networks to meet the requirements of rice growth and production. These open water networks have a significant risk of carbon (C) emissions due to agricultural production, but the C emissions from these waters are not clearly recorded in previous studies. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the pattern and internal mechanism of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from multiple types of waters (i.e., river, fish pond, reservoir, and ditch) in a typical rice cultivation region in southwestern China. The annual CH4 and CO2 fluxes were higher in the downstream river (2.79-94.89 and 39.39-1699.98 mg m-2 h-1) and ditch (8.80-74.99 and 123.43-542.65 mg m-2 h-1, respectively) and lower in the reservoir (-0.67 to 3.45 and -239.15 to 141.50 mg m-2 h-1) (P < 0.05). The monthly trends of CH4 and CO2 fluxes from the middle river and ditch were driven by interactive reactions of rice cultivation practices and precipitation. In contrast, the emission patterns of CH4 and CO2 from the lower river, upper river, and fish pond were mainly driven by domestic sewage discharge, precipitation, and aquaculture practices, respectively. This study suggested that river and ditch were more sensitive to C emissions than other waters, and the rice production period was the critical period for controlling C emission. Although rice paddy soils yield more cumulative emissions of CH4, water networks in rice cultivation regions were possible hotspots for C emissions due to the higher emission intensities, which were largely overlooked before. Thus, it is necessary to refine and promote practices to better mitigate C emissions from waters in rice cultivation regions in the future.

An in-tube aptamer/gold nanoparticles coated capillary solid-phase microextraction for separation of adenosine in serum and urine samples.

As an endogenous nucleoside, adenosine was significant for the diagnosis and treatment of some diseases, such as schizophrenia. However, due to the complicated matrix interference, it was difficult to monitor trace or ultra-trace adenosine directly in bio-samples. In this contribution, a novel in-tube SPME technique based on aptamer/Au nanoparticles coated open tubular fused-silica capillary was established to separate and enrich adenosine in bio-samples with high affinity. Therefore, a uniform and dense AuNPs layer was coated on the inner surface of the open tubular capillary, and then adenosine aptamer was immobilized on AuNPs with a high capacity of 2.44 µg per 27-cm capillary. As a result, the capillary shown high selectivity to adenosine with a selectivity factor of 14.4 when compared with the scrambled aptamer/AuNPs coated capillary. Also, the extraction amount of adenosine was 2.8-24.8 times higher than those of its structural analogs and contrast, such as guanosine, uridine, cytidine, thymidine, and toluic acid. After the optimization of extraction conditions, the aptamer/AuNPs coated in-tube SPME-HPLC method was developed for the adenosine assay with the linear range of 0.002-0.100 µg mL-1 and the detection limit of 0.45 ng mL-1. Subsequently, the approach was applied for trace adenosine monitoring in human serum and urine samples. It showed a strong performance of reducing matrix interference and improving sensitivity, and the spiking recoveries of 89.9-92.6% and 91.1-94.5% were achieved respectively.

Comparative literature study between investigations in foreign Science Citation Index journals and Chinese core domestic journals in the treatment of low back pain with acupuncture.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the quality and methods of clinical research literature published in foreign Science Citation Index (SCI) journals studying the treatment of low back pain with acupuncture. To conduct a comparative study with clinical research literature published in Chinese core domestic journals, and to understand the prospects of current research trends of acupuncture clinical studies in Western countries and China. METHODS: Studies on clinical acupuncture treatment of low back pain in English SCI journals and four Chinese core domestic journals dated from 2002 to 2012 were sourced and summarized for this study. Objective analysis and evaluation on the differences in subject and scope of study on low back pain by foreign and Chinese researchers were conducted. RESULTS: Forty-seven English studies and 115 Chinese studies met our inclusion criteria. A keyword search revealed different kinds of low back pain related conditions in English and Chinese studies. The English studies were broad in scope, while the Chinese studies were more focused. There were also differences in the understanding and definition of concepts and study orientation. CONCLUSION: More study should be undertaken to understand the contradictions that acupuncture faces in view of modern research to further advance the field.

[Reflections into the latent contradictions between the "placebo" concept and traditional Chinese medicine].

The correspondence of modern western medicine efficacy research basis and traditional Chinese medicine are discussed through analysis of differences in treatment pattern that modern western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are based on. At the same time, the true meaning of "placebo" concept is re-analyzed and the latent contradiction of this concept when applied to traditional Chinese medicine studies is given in-depth reflection. It turns out that conflicts exist in treatment pattern between the two medicine theories and efficacy research basis of the two medicine theories lack correspondence. The "placebo" and "placebo effect" concepts have a different meaning when applied to traditional Chinese medicine. The "placebo" concept is applicable to just a small field of modern western medicine experimental studies. The research results and conclusions drawn from traditional Chinese medicine studies based on this concept should be given the necessary discretion and criticism.

[Comparison and thinking on literatures of low back pain treated with acupuncture-moxibustion published in foreign SCI journals and domestic core journals].

The literatures of clinical research on acupuncture treatment of low back pain included in foreign SCI journals as well as the domestic core journals in the recent 10 years were collected in this article to discuss the divergence of views domestically and abroad. The result showed that acute and chronic back pain and low back pain were generally set as the targets of research abroad. While, diseases with western diagnosis such as lumbar disc herniation was often set as the study target by domestic researchers. It indicats that divergence existed in understanding and study methods between Chinese and foreign research fellows. Thus, comparison should be carried out so as to learn from the strong points of each other and close the gap.