Does Liuzijue Qigong affect anxiety in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,even during the COVID-19 outbreak?a randomized,controlled trial

Background:Anxiety is a common comorbidity associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD),but no well-recognized method can provide effective relief.Liuzijue Qigong(LQG)is a traditional Chinese fitness method,based on breath pronunciation.This study aimed to examine the efficacy of LQG to relieve anxiety in COPD patients and to explore the factors that influence anxiety,including whether LQG is effective during the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)outbreak.Methods:We conducted an open-label,randomized,controlled,clinical trial.A total of 60 patients with stable COPD were randomly assigned to two groups.Both groups were given routine medical treatment,and the patients in the pulmonary rehabilitation(PR)group were given an extra intervention in the form of LQG,performed for 30 minutes each day for 12 weeks.Data collection was performed at baseline and 12 weeks(during the COVID-19 epidemic).The primary outcomes were the self-rating anxiety scale(SAS)scores,and the secondary outcomes were relevant information during the epidemic and analyses of the related factors that influenced SAS scores during the COVID-19 outbreak.Results:Compared with baseline,patients in both groups demonstrated varying degrees of improvements in their SAS scores(all P<0.01).An analysis of covariance,adjusted for baseline scores,indicated that the SAS scores improved more dramatically in the PR group than in the control group(F=9.539,P=0.004).During the outbreak,the SAS scores for sleep disorder were higher than all other factors,reaching 1.38±0.67,and the scores for“I can breathe in and out easily”for the PR group were lower than the scores for the control group(Z=−2.108,P=0.035).Significant differences were identified between the two groups for the categories“How much has the outbreak affected your life”,“Do you practice LQG during the epidemic”and“Do you practice other exercises during the epidemic”(all P<0.05).Compared with current reports,LQG had a relatively high adherence rate(80.95%).A multiple linear regression analysis revealed multiple predictors for SAS scores during the outbreak:group(b=−3.907,t=−3.824,P<0.001),COPD assessment test score(b=0.309,t=2.876,P=0.006),SAS score at baseline(b=0.189,t=3.074,P=0.004),and living in a village(b=4.886,t=2.085,P=0.043).Conclusion:LQG could effectively reduce the risks of anxiety among COPD patients,even during the COVID-19 outbreak.For those COPD patients with high COPD assessment test and high baseline SAS scores or who live in villages,we should reinforce the management and intervention of psychological factors during the epidemic.

The evolution of coal, examining the transitions from anthracite to natural graphite: a spectroscopy and optical microscopy evaluation

Coal-derived natural graphite(CDNG)has multiple industrial applications.Here,ten metamorphic coals from anthracite to CDNG were obtained from Lutang and Xinhua in the Hunan Province and Panshi in the Jilin Province.Bulk characterization(proximate and ultimate analyses,X-Ray powder diffraction(XRD),and powder Raman spectroscopy),along with optical microscopy,scanning electron microscope(SEM)and micro-Raman spectroscopy were utilized to examine the transitions from anthracite to semi-graphite to CDNG.The XRD and Raman spectroscopy data indicate that from anthracite to highly ordered graphite the average crystal diameter(La)and height(Lc)increased from 6.1 and 4.6 nm to 34.8 and 27.5 nm,respectively.The crystalline parameters of the CDNG samples from Panshi and Lutang varied slightly when closer to the intrusive body.Optical microscopy and SEM indicated that in the anthracite samples there were thermoplastic vitrinite,devolatilized vitrinite,and some“normal”macerals.In the meta-anthracite,pyrolytic carbon,mosaic structure,and crystalline tar were present.In the CDNG there were flake graphite,crystalline aggregates,and matrix graphite.The crystalline aggregates show the highest structural ordering degree as determined from Raman spectral parameters(full-width at half maxima(G-FWHM)~20 cm^(−1),D1/(D1+D2+G)area ratio(R2)value<0.5).The flake graphite is less ordered with G-FWHM~28 cm^(−1) and 0.5<R2<1,but a larger grain size(up to 50μm).The mosaic structures were likely the precursors of the matrix graphite through in situ solid-state transformation.The pyrolytic carbon and crystalline tars are the transient phase of gas-state and liquid-state transformations.This study is beneficial to realize the rational utilization of CDNG.

Unique Damping Properties of Modified Eucommia Ulmoides Gum Bearing Polar and Branched Pendants

Eucommia ulmoides gum(EUG)was a biobased hard rubber with the prospected broad applications in rubber products,whereas possessed poor elasticity and weak damping functionality at room temperature.After modification of EUG by triazolinedione-based Alder-ene reaction,the modified EUG containing varied amount of polar and branched pendants could become a new type of soft rubber and functional material with excellent damping properties,and especially exhibited the unique damping plateau with a wide effective damping temperature range of 132℃ covering from-35℃ to 97℃,large loss factor of 0.8,high damping coefficient of 0.53,and more hysteresis loss of 0.35.Therefore,this sustainable elastomeric material with adjustable damping performance would absorb more vibrational mechanical energy in a wide temperature range,and have broadened applications in energy-absorption devices and shock-absorbing materials.

Metabolic syndrome and acute pancreatitis:Current status and future prospects

Rising incidence of a complicated disorder with a multifarious etiology is acute pancreatitis.Growing numbers of cases of acute pancreatitis are linked to obesity,hyperlipidemia,hyperglycemia,hypertension,and other metabolic diseases.Trends driven by better living standards and unhealthy lifestyle choices both in China and abroad.Furthermore common diagnosis for many patients is metabolic syndrome.Predicting the adverse effect of metabolic syndrome on the severity and prognosis of acute pancreatitis is a main focus of present clinical research.Our next studies seek to investigate the fundamental causes of this link and create preventative plans meant to lower the incidence of pancreatitis linked to meta-bolic syndrome and enhance the prognosis.

Facile synthesis of graphene via reduction of graphene oxide by artemisinin in ethanol

The preparation of reduced graphene oxide(RGO)by chemical reduction of graphene oxide(GO)usually involves highly toxic reducing agents which are harmful to the environment and human health.In this paper,a mediated facile and relative green approach for the preparation of RGO in ethanol using artemisinin as a reducing agent is reported for the first time.The morphology and de-oxidation efficiency of the obtained RGO were characterized by transmission electron microscope(TEM),atomic force microscope(AFM),and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The results showed that artemisinin can effectively reduce GO into few-layered RGO with a high carbon to oxygen ratio(11.7).The mechanism for elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups decorated on GO nanosheets by artemisinin was proposed.The important features of relatively environmentally friendly and facile operation procedures endow this approach with great promise in the mass production of RGO and various graphene-based materials,especially for biomaterials.