Benefit in physical function and quality of life to nonsurgical treatment of varicose veins: Pilot study

BACKGROUND Studies on varicose veins have focused its effects on physical function;however,whether nonsurgical treatments alter muscle oxygenation or physical function remains unclear.Moreover,the differences in such functions between individuals with varicose veins and healthy individuals remain unclear.AIM To investigate changes in physical function and the quality of life(QOL)following nonsurgical treatment of patients with varicose veins and determine the changes in their muscle oxygenation during activity.METHODS We enrolled 37 participants(those with varicose veins,n=17;healthy individuals,n=20).We performed the following measurements pre-and post-nonsurgical treatment in the varicose vein patients and healthy individuals:Calf muscle oxygenation during the two-minute step test,open eyes one-leg stance,30 s sit-to-stand test,visual analog scale(VAS)for pain,Pittsburgh sleep quality index,physical activity assessment,and QOL assessment.RESULTS Varicose veins patients and healthy individuals differ in most variables(physical function,sleep quality,and QOL).Varicose veins patients showed significant differences between pre-and post-nonsurgical treatment—results in the 30 sit-to-stand test[14.41(2.45)to 16.35(4.11),P=0.018],two-minute step test[162.29(25.98)to 170.65(23.80),P=0.037],VAS for pain[5.35(1.90)to 3.88(1.73),P=0.004],and QOL[39.34(19.98)to 26.69(17.02),P=0.005];however,no significant difference was observed for muscle oxygenation.CONCLUSION Nonsurgical treatment improved lower extremity function and QOL in varicose veins patients,bringing their condition close to that of healthy individuals.Future studies should include patients with severe varicose veins requiring surgery to confirm our findings.

Effect of barley straw biochar application on greenhouse gas emissions from upland soil for Chinese cabbage cultivation in short-term laboratory experiments

Chinese cabbage was cultivated in upland soil with the addition of biochar in order to investigate the potential for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Barley straw biochar(BSB) was introduced in a Wagner pot(1/5000a) in amounts of 0(BSB0, control), 100(BSB100), 300(BSB300), and 500(BSB500) kg 10a^(-1). After the addition of BSB into the upland soil, carbon dioxide(CO_2) emission increased while methane(CH_4) and nitrous oxide(N_2O) emissions decreased. The highest CO2 flux was measured for the BSB500 sample,(84.6 g m^(-2)) followed by BSB300, BSB100, and BSB0 in decreasing order. Relative to those of control, the total CH_4 flux and N_2O flux for the BSB500 treatment were lower by 31.6% and 26.1%, respectively. The global warming potential(GWP) of the treatment without biochar was 281.4 g CO_2 m-2 and those for treatments with biochar were in the range from 194.1 to 224.9 g CO_2 m^(-2). Therefore, introducing BSB into upland soil to cultivate Chinese cabbages can reduce the global warming potential.

Biochar-based materials as remediation strategy in petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil and water:Performances,mechanisms,and environmental impact

Petroleum contamination is considered as a major risk to the health of humans and environment.Biochars as low-cost and eco-friendly carbon materials,have been widely used for the removal of petroleum hydrocarbon in the environment.The purpose of this paper is to review the performance,mechanisms,and potential environmental toxicity of biochar,modified biochar and its integration use with other materials in petroleum contaminated soil and water.Specifically,the use of biochar in oil-contaminated water and soil as well as the factors that could influence the removal ability of biochar were systematically evaluated.In addition,the modification and integrated use of biochar for improving the removal efficiency were summarized from the aspects of sorption,biodegradation,chemical degradation,and reusability.Moreover,the functional impacts and associated ecotoxicity of pristine and modified biochars in various environments were demonstrated.Finally,some shortcoming of current approaches,and future research needs were provided for the future direction and challenges of modified biochar research.Overall,this paper gain insight into biochar application in petroleum remediation from the perspectives of performance enhancement and environmental sustainability.

Biochar improves soil properties and corn productivity under drought conditions in South Korea

Biochar has been shown to improve soil properties and plant productivity in soils with inherently low fertility.However,little has been reported for upland corns under dry and wet precipitation regimes.This study investigates the effect of biochar addition on a range of soil physicochemical,biological,and hydrological properties,and corn growth and productivity under agrometeorological drought and wet conditions.Here,experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications at two sites during 2017 and 2018 in South Korea.Treatments included(i)CN:control(ii)IF:inorganic fertilizer(N-P-K)at 145-30-60 kg ha^(−1);(iii)BS:barley straw at 5 t ha^(−1);(iv)CWBC:corn waste biochar at 5 t ha^(−1);(v)CWBC+IF:corn waste biochar+inorganic fertilizer;(vi)CWBC+BS:corn waste biochar+barley straw.The year 2017 was relatively dry,whereas the year 2018 was wet.Despite drought conditions in the year 2017,biochar facilitated soil water conservation.However,higher precipitation in 2018 increased the quantity and distribution of soil water and nutrients in the top 15 cm.Biochar reduced soil bulk density,and increased porosity,cation exchange capacity and total organic carbon in both years but increased total bacterial counts during the dry year only.Bacterial population was generally higher under wet conditions.Similarly,more soil CO_(2) was emitted in the wet year than in the dry year.Results further indicated that biochar can enhance corn biomass and grain yield regardless of precipitation conditions.The grain index was,however,affected by rainfall and was significantly different across treatments in the year 2018 only.All biomass,grain yield,and grain index were highest in CWBC+IF treatment and lowest under CN treatment.Indeed,biochar addition appeared to improve soil quality and soil conditioning effects in the drought and wet years,ameliorating soil and plant properties.Overall,biochar can improve water and nutrients storage,availability,and uptake,and therefore corn productivity during hydrological extremes.

Extracellular nucleoprotein exacerbates influenza viruspathogenesis by activating Toll-like receptor 4 and the NLRP3inflammasome

Host immune responses, such as those initiated by pattern recognition receptor (PRR) activation, are important for viralclearance and pathogenesis. However, little is known about the interactions of viral proteins with surface PRRs or, moreimportantly, the association of innate immune activation with viral pathogenesis. In this study, we showed that internalinfluenza virus proteins were released from infected cells. Among these proteins, nucleoprotein (NP) played a critical role inviral pathogenesis by stimulating neighboring cells through toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR4, and the NLR family pyrin domaincontaining 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Through the activation of these PRRs, NP induced the production of interleukin (IL)-1β andIL-6, which subsequently led to the induction of trypsin. Trypsin induced by NP increased the infectivity of influenza virus,leading to increases in viral replication and pathology upon subsequent viral infection. These results reveal the role of releasedNP in influenza pathogenesis and highlight the importance of the interactions of internal viral proteins with PRRs in theextracellular compartment during viral pathogenesis.