[Clinical comprehensive evaluation of Houyanqing Oral Liquid in treatment of acute pharyngitis].

This study systematically combed the existing evidence of Houyanqing Oral Liquid in the treatment of acute pharyngitis from the "6+1" dimensions of safety, effectiveness, economy, innovation, suitability, accessibility, and characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and carried out qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data from each dimension. The multi-criteria decision analysis(MCDA) model and CSC v2.0 were used to evaluate the clinical value of this drug, so as to provide evidence for the selection of essential drugs in the department of otolaryngology and for medical and health decision-making. The dimensions are graded A, B, C, or D. The adverse reactions of Houyanqing Oral Liquid in the treatment of acute pharyngitis were mainly manifested as abdominal pain, diarrhea, rash, etc., which were relieved after drug withdrawal. In terms of safety, it was considered that Houyanqing Oral Liquid had controllable risk and high safety, which was rated as grade B. Compared with ribavirin aerosol alone, Houyanqing Oral Liquid combined with ribavirin aerosol can significantly improve the total response rate, shorten the time to abatement of fever and di-sappearance of throat pain and mucosal congestion, and alleviate mucosal congestion and cough with sputum. With medium-quality evidence, the effectiveness was rated as grade B. Compared with ribavirin aerosol alone, Houyanqing Oral Liquid combined with ribavirin aerosol had cost-effectiveness advantages in the treatment of acute pharyngitis, and its economy was rated as grade C with the evidence of general quality. For acute pharyngitis, Houyanqing Oral Liquid can shorten the disease course and obviously relieve sore throat. Moreover, it can be used for the treatment of radioactive pharyngitis and oral ulcer, and thus its innovation was rated as grade B. With convenient and simple administration and standard and complete drug information, the suitability of this drug was rated as grade B. Houyanqing Oral Liquid is derived from the folk prescription in Hunan province and has been subjected to real-world studies, and thus the TCM characteristics was rated as grade B. According to the ratings of all the dimensions, the comprehensive value of Houyanqing Oral Liquid in the clinical treatment of acute pharyngitis was determined as grade B, with sufficient evidence and clear results. It is suggested that the results should be conditionally converted into relevant policy of clinical basic drug management according to procedures.

Are Iron Tailings Suitable for Constructing the Soil Profile Configuration of Reclaimed Farmland? A Soil Quality Evaluation Based on Chronosequences.

Iron tailings used as soil substitute materials to construct reclaimed farmland soil can effectively realize the large-scale resource utilization of iron tailings and reduce environmental risks. It is vital to understand the mechanisms affecting reclaimed soil quality and determine the appropriate pattern for reclamation with iron tailings. Thus, a soil quality index (SQI) was developed to evaluate the soil quality of reclaimed farmland with iron tailings in a semi-arid region. Soil samples were collected from two reclamation measures (20 cm subsoil + 20 cm iron tailings + 30 cm topsoil and 20 cm subsoil + 20 cm iron tailings + 50 cm topsoil) with reclamation years of 3 (R3), 5 (R5), and 10 (R10) at three soil depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) to measure 13 soil physicochemical properties in western Liaoning, China. Adjacent normal farmland (NF) acted as a reference. Results indicated that iron tailings were suitable for constructing the soil profile configuration of reclaimed farmland. SQI of reclaimed soil increased with the reclamation year, but it has not reached the NF level after 3 years, while it was better than NF after 5 years. The nutrient content of reclaimed soil increased with the reclamation year, but it still did not reach the NF level after 10 years. SQI of R10 (with 50 cm topsoil) was also better than NF but slightly lower than R5 (with 30 cm topsoil). For the semi-arid region with sticky soil texture, the topsoil thickness of reclamation was not the thicker the better, and 30 cm topsoil covered on iron tailings in western Liaoning could achieve a better reclamation effect than 50 cm.

Effects of constructing farmland with large amounts of iron tailings as soil reconstruction materials on soil properties and crop growth.

With continuous population growth and farmland decrease, the food security is seriously threatened. Farmland reclamation has been used as a means of raising the agricultural productivity and improving the ecological environment. However, the lack of reclaimed soil represents a serious problem. To verify the feasibility and effect of using large amounts of iron tailings to construct farmland, ten treatments (T1-T10) were designed to represent different soil profiles of regional normal farmland and constructed profiles using iron tailings. All treatments involving an iron tailings layer below topsoil exhibited higher soil water contents. The field capacity under T3 (20-cm iron tailings layer below cinnamon soil (b)) was 19.20% higher than that under T7 (20-cm red clay layer below cinnamon soil (b)), and the field capacity under T5 (20-cm iron tailings layer below cinnamon soil (a)) was 2.26% higher than that under T9 (20-cm red clay layer below cinnamon soil (a)). The soil water contents under T3 and T5 were almost the same as those under T7 and T9, respectively. The water-holding capacity of the 30-cm iron tailings layer (T6) was better than that of the 20-cm iron tailings layer (T2). Additionally, none of the treatments caused salt injury to maize. The maize height and stem thickness under the treatments employing iron tailings layers below topsoil were significantly greater than those in normal farmland; the maize height and stem thickness under T3 were 136.82% and 32.02% greater, respectively, than those under T7, and the values under T5 were 9.13% and 9.56% greater, respectively, than those under T9. The maize yields matched or even surpassed those in normal farmland, namely, the maize yield under T5 was equal to that under T9, and the maize yield under T3 was 12.69% higher than that under T7. In general, the application of an iron tailings layer below topsoil to construct farmland is a feasible and environmentally friendly way to realize sustainable farmland utilization and is beneficial to soil quality and crop yield improvement. Collectively, these results provide insight into the efficient utilization of iron tailings and environmental protection.

Impact of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Cd Phytotoxicity and Bioaccumulation in Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

The impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) on the migration and toxicity of coexisting pollutants is still unclear, especially in soil media. This study aims to evaluate the impact of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) on the phytotoxicity of cadmium (Cd) to Oryza sativa L., and the migration of cadmium (Cd) in the soil-rice system. Three different Cd stress groups (C1 group: 1.0 mg kg-1, C2 group: 2.5 mg kg-1 and C3 group: 5.0 mg kg-1) were set in the pot experiment, and the target concentration of TiO2 NPs in each group were 0 mg kg-1 (T0), 50 mg kg-1 (T1), 100 mg kg-1 (T2) and 500 mg kg-1 (T3). Plant height and biomass decreased with the increasing of Cd content in paddy soil. TiO2 NPs could lower the phytotoxicity of Cd in terms of the changes in the morphological and biochemical characteristics, especially in the tillering and booting stage. In the tillering stage, TiO2 NPs addition caused a significant increase in plant height, biomass and the total chlorophyll content in the leaves of Oryza saliva L. In the booting stage, TiO2 NPs addition caused a 15% to 32% and 24% to 48% reduction of malondialdehyde (MDA) content for the C2 and C3 group, respectively, compared to that of the respective control treatment (T0). TiO2-NPs addition reduced the activity of peroxidase (POD) in the leaves in the booting and heading stage, and the activity of catalase (CAT) in the tillering stage. In the C1 and C2 group, the grain Cd content in the 100 and 500 mg kg-1 TiO2 NPs treatments reached 0.47-0.84 mg kg-1, obviously higher than that of the treatment without TiO2 NPs (0.27-0.32 mg kg-1), suggesting that TiO2-NPs could promote Cd migration in the soil-rice system.

Pollution and Ecological Risk Evaluation of Heavy Metals in the Soil and Sediment around the HTM Tailings Pond, Northeastern China.

Tailings ponds are a main heavy metal pollution source in mining areas. In this study, the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and the potential ecological risk index (RI) are used to evaluate the environmental impact of Hongtou Mountain (HTM) tailings pond on the surrounding area. Farmland soil, surface water, and sediment samples in the Hun River around the HTM tailings pond were collected. Heavy metal contents in the samples were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results show that Cu, Zn, and Cd content in the farmland soil and sediment around the lower reaches of the Hun River (HTM tailings pond section) are obviously higher than the upper reaches. The Igeo values show that the farmland soil near the outlet of the tailings pond is the most polluted area. Cu was classified as moderate-strongly pollution, Zn was moderately pollution, and Cd was strongly pollution. Cd is the major pollutant in farmland soil, the monomial ecological risk (Eri) for Cd is a very high potential ecological risk. The potential ecological risk of sediment in the dry season is more serious than in the raining season. In the dry season, the Igeo index shows strong pollution for Cu and Cd at the confluence of the Hun River and the tributary from the HTM tailings pond, and a moderate-strongly pollution for Zn. Whereas, the Eri index shows that the monomial ecological risk for Zn at H3 is low, and Cu is moderate. The potential ecological risk at H3 is high, and Cd is the main source of the ecological risk around the HTM tailings pond.

[Spatial variability of soil total K and available N in Shenyang urban area].

Geostatistics combined with geographical information system (GIS) was applied to analyze the spatial variability of soil total K and available N in urban area of Shenyang City. The results showed that the theoretical semivariogram models of soil total K was best described by an exponential model, while soil available N was best fitted by a Gaussian model. The ratios of nugget to sill of soil total K and available N were 10.65% and 17.96%, respectively, indicating that there existed significant spatial correlations between soil total K and available N, and the spatial variability was mainly caused by structural factors. The spatial distributions of soil total K and available N in urban area of Shenyang were analyzed by kriging interpolation, and it was found that the content of soil total K had no definite spatial distribution pattern, while the content of soil available N was higher in the around and lower in the middle of the city.