Progress of Clinical Research on the Treatment of Spinal Disorders by the Tongdu Method

Spinal disorders are diseases caused by congenital, degenerative, postural errors, trauma, and external evils that result in lesions of bones, discs, ligaments, and muscles, thus compressing the nerves. Spine-related diseases include scoliosis, intervertebral disc herniation, intervertebral stenosis, spinal fracture, ankylosing spondylitis, spinal cord injury, spinal tumour, etc., which seriously affect people’s daily life. This paper summarises the relevant studies on the treatment of spinal diseases by Tongzhu therapy. The mechanism of action of Tongzhu therapy in treating spinal diseases is closely related to the control of inflammatory factors, the improvement of local microcirculation, analgesia, and the promotion of nerve repair. This paper describes the application and modern mechanism of Tongzhu therapy in the treatment of spinal diseases, which will provide a direction for future research on Tongzhu therapy.

Overview of Research on the Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis in Chinese Medicine

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), also known as spondylitis, is a rheumatic disorder that develops gradually in the sacroiliac, lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine and can involve peripheral joints in severe cases. The disease is insidious, starting in the sacroiliac and hip joints and gradually involving the entire spine. AS, also known as seronegative arthritis, is primarily due to a negative response to the susceptibility sheep blood clotting test (RF). Until the 1960s, it was known as “central rheumatoid arthritis” and “rheumatoid spondylitis”. At present, modern medicine has no effective treatment for this disease, but Chinese medicine treatment for ankylosing spondylitis is based on the concept of treating both the symptoms and the underlying cause of the disease, with few side effects and significant clinical effects, and has become a research hotspot in recent years, worthy of further investigation.

Variations of trace elements and rare earth elements(REEs)treated by two different methods for snow-pit samples on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their implications

Although previous investigations of the trace elements in snow and ice from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau obtained interesting information about pollution from human activities on the plateau, most were based on traditional acidification methods.To emphasize the influence of the different sample-preparation methods on the records of trace elements and rare earth elements, snow samples were collected from glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China and prepared using two methods: traditional acidification and total digestion. Concentrations of 18 trace elements(Al, Ti, Fe, Rb, Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Mn, Li,Cu, Co, Mo, Cs, Sb, Pb, Tl, and U), along with 14 rare earth elements(REEs: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er,Tm, Yb, and Lu), Y, and Th in the snow samples, were measured using inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry(ICP-SFMS). The results showed that the mass fraction of the trace elements(defined as ratio of concentration in the acid-leachable fraction to that in the digested sample) such as Mo, Ti, Al, Rb, and V, varied from 0.06 to 0.5. The mass fraction of other trace elements varied from about 0.6 to more than 0.9; those of the REEs, Y, and Th varied from 0.34 to0.75. Lower mass fractions will lead to an overestimated contribution of other sources, especially human activities, and the underestimated fluxes of these trace elements(especially REEs, Y, and Th, as well as dust) if the REEs are used as the proxy for the crust dust. The two sample-preparation methods exhibited different REE normalized distribution patterns,REE ratios, and provenance-tracing results. The REE normalized distribution patterns and proxies in the digested samples are more reliable and integrated than those found in traditional acidification method for dust-provenance tracing.

Plant coexistence can enhance phytoextraction of cadmium by tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) in contaminated soil

A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate whether plant coexistence affects cadmium （Cd） uptake by plant in contaminated soil. Tobacco （Nicotiana tabacum L. var. K326） and Japanese clover （Kummerowia striata （Thunb.） Schindl.） were used. Cadmium was applied as 3CdSO4.SH2O in solution at three levels （0, 1, and 3 mg/kg soil） to simulate an unpolluted soil and soils that were slightly and moderately polluted with Cd. Tobacco （crop）, Japanese clover （non-crop）, and their combination were grown under each Cd treatment. Compared to monoculture and under all Cd treatments, co-planting with Japanese clover did not affect tobacco biomass but significantly increased Cd concentration in all tobacco tissues and enhanced Cd accumulation in tobacco shoots and roots. Compared to monoculture, co-planting reduced soil pH and increased Cd bioavailability. For tobacco, co-planting with Japanese clover increased the Cd bioconcentration factor （BCF） in Cd contaminated soil. Japanese clover also accumulated substantial quantities of Cd in shoots and roots. Thus, total Cd uptake by the plants was much greater with co-planting than with monoculture. The results suggested that phytoextraction can be effectively increased through tobacco co-planting with Japanese clover in mildly Cd-contaminated soil.

Accumulation in Dasuopu ice core in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and solar activity

The time series of accumulation in recent 300 years correlated well with solar activity in Dasuopu ice core. Results of spectrum analysis on the accumulation time series of the Dasuopu ice core shows that there are some periods that coincide with the periods of solar activity. By comparing the long-time change trend of the accumulation in the Dasuopu ice core with various kinds of indexes of solar activity intensity, a negative correlation is found between the trend and solar activity.

Increasing atmospheric pollution revealed by Pb record of a 7000-m ice core

Concentrations of Pb in Dasuopu ice core in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau have been directly measured by ICP-MS at pg/g level. The Pb profile shows a very significant increase in modern times due to anthropogenic input, The use of leaded gasoline in the South Asian countries may be a main source of Pb in this region. The input of Pb to the Dasuopu Glacier is mainly supplied by Indian summer monsoon moisture which traverses the pass at the head of the Dasuopu Glacier.

Global pollution shown by lead and cadmium contents in precipitation of polar regions and Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The analysis of the major ions, lead and cadmium has been performed for snow-pit samples collected from the Arctic, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Antarctic Ice Sheet. These snow pits were excavated respectively from the snowpack in Canadian Northwest Territory (NWT) and the central Arctic, three glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and surface snow along the route of the International Trans-Antarctic Expedition (ITAE). The source regions for the lead pollution of central Arctic have been identified by analyzing of stable lead isotopic ratios, meteorological and atmospheric chemistry studies. It shows that the central Arctic is still under intensive lead input, despite the fact that lead content in Greenland Ice Sheet displays a rapid decreasing since the 1970s due to US and some European countries’ campaigns to reduce lead-containing gasoline-additives. This is because there are multiple lead sources for the central Arctic, including the countries that have not performed gasoline-additives

Main pollution sources of central Arctic revealed by lead and its isotopic ratios recorded in snow

The spatial distribution and environmental significance of Pb and its stable isotope ratios in central Arctic snow are discussed. The shear zone is a dividing line. The concentration of Pb in the south section is higher than that of the north section, and in the shear zone it is close to that of sea salt. Anthropogenic Pb by calculation is larger than 99%. Its main sources are polluted air masses origi nation from Europe and the midpart of Russia, as well as the western North America and far east Russia. This is also conformed by 206Pb/ 207Pb.