Tofacitinib combined with local low-dose ixekizumab injection benefits those with peripheral psoriatic arthritis

Dear Editor,Treating psoriatic arthritis(PsA)is always difficult.Systemic treatments can be administered either orally or through intramuscular and intra-articular injection,including conventional synthetics,biologics and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs[1].The alternatives,topical external therapies,are not effective on joint lesions due to drug permeability issues.Drugs injected into the articular cavity are also unsuitable for small peripheral joint lesions,the most common manifestations of PsA.The limited treatment options for PsA present a challenge.

Baicalin modulates microRNA expression in UVB irradiated mouse skin

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of baicalin on ultraviolet radiation B （UVB）-mediated microRNA （miRNA） expression in mouse skin. We determined miRNA expression profiles in UVB irradiated mice, baicalin treated irradiated mice, and untreated mice, and conducted TargetScan and Gene Ontology analyses to predict miRNA targets. Three miRNAs （mmu-miR-125a-5p, mmu-miR-146a, and mmu-miR-141） were downregulated and another three （mmu-miR-188-5p, mmu-miR-223 and mmu-miR-22） were upregulated in UVB irradiated mice compared with untreated mice. Additionally, these miRNAs were predicted to be related to photocarcinogenesis, hypomethylation and apoptosis. Three miRNAs （mmu-miR-378, mmu-miR-199a-3p and mmu-miR-181b） were downregulated and one （mmu-miR-23a） was upregulated in baicalin treated mice compared with UVB irradiated mice, and they were predicted to be related to DNA repair signaling pathway. These deregulated miRNAs are potentially involved in the pathogenesis of photodamage, and may aid treatment and prevention of UVB-induced dermatoses.

Efficacy and tolerance of tacrolimus and pimecrolimus for atopic dermatitis: a meta-analysis

Tacrolimus ointment and pimecrolimus cream have proved to be suitable for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. We conducted a meta-analysis of the efficacy, adverse events/withdrawal of tacrolimus versus pimecrolimus in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. According to our meta-analysis, 0.1% tacrolimus was more effective than 1% pimecrolimus in the treatment of adult patients and moderate to very severe pediatric patients, and more 0.1% mild pediatric patients treatal with pimecrolimus withdrew from the trials because of a lack of efficacy or the occurrence of adverse events, compared with mild pediatric patients treated with 0.03% tacrolimus. The combined analyses of tacrolimus with pimecrolimus showed that tacrolimus was more effective than pimecrolimus （week 3： RR=0.67, 95%CI=0.56-0.80; week 6/end of study： RR=0.65, 95%CI=0.57-0.75）, and fewer tacrolimus-treated patients withdrew because of a lack of efficacy （RR=0.32, 95CI%=0.19-0.53） or the occurrence of adverse events （RR=0.43, 95%CI=0.24-0.75）, compared with pimecrolimus-treated patients. In conclusion, tacrolimus has higher efficacy and better tolerance than pimecrolimus in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Methods Development for the Optical Determination of the Black Carbon Content of Loess Samples

We evaluate the applicability of an optical transmission measurement method commonly used for the analysis of the Black Carbon (BC) content of aerosol sample, to determine the BC content of loess sediments. A number of different sample pretreatment procedures are developed and compared, leading to an optimum preparation process. The results include: 1) Subtraction of the optical attenuation values before and after heating of the sample filters (“ΔATN”) varies linearly with the sample mass. The slope of the regression line provides the best determination of BC concentration. 2) When the sample mass is small, (NaPO3)6 pretreatment is best for BC measurement, and the BC concentration results are given by the slope of the regression between ΔATN and sample mass, for a series of samples of varying mass. 3) HF pretreatment accompanied by centrifugation and rinsing may produce a negative bias on the result. 4) Replicate measurements of BC for loess samples showed a maximum deviation less than 5.6%, suggesting that measurements of the BC concentration of a sequence of loess samples could determine variations to this degree of significance. 5) The overall trends of BC concentration in loess section sequences were similar for all chemical pretreatments. The BC concentration result for replicate samples is comparable when pretreated by the same procedure.

Distribution Characteristics of Geohazards Induced by the Lushan Earthquake and Their Comparisons with the Wenchuan Earthquake

The Lushan Earthquake induced a large number of geohazards. They are widely distributed and caused serious damages. The basic characteristics, formation mechanisms and typical cases of geohazards induced by Lushan Earthquake are described, and compares to the relationships of Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes between geohazards and earthquake magnitude, geomorphology, slope angle, elevation and seismic intensity in the most affected areas in the article.（1） The numbers and volumes of landslides and rockslides differ significantly between the two earthquakes due to their differing magnitudes. The Lushan Earthquake is associated with fewer and smaller-magnitude geohazards, within the immediate area, which mainly consist of small-and medium-sized shallow landslides and rockslides, and occur on steep slopes and mountain valleys. The largest landslide induced by Lushan Earthquake is the Gangoutou Landslide debris flow with a residual volume of about 2.48×106 m3. The most dangerous debris flow is at Lengmugou gulley in Baoxing County, which has similar geomorphological features and disaster modes as a previous disaster in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province.（2） Geohazards induced by the Lushan Earthquake show four mechanisms： cracking-rockslides-collision- scraping and then debris flows, cracking-rockslides, vibration-rainfall-rockslides-landslide and then debris flow, vibration-throwing or scrolling.（3） There are significant similarities and differences between the geohazards induced by these two earthquakes. The types of geohazards are the same but the volume, quantity and other factors differ： geohazards are concentrated on slope angles of 10°-40° in the Lushan Earthquake area, especially within 10°-20°, and at absolute elevation of 500-2000 m above sea level（a.s.l.）. Geohazards within the Wenchuan Earthquake area are concentrated on steeper slope angles of 30°-40° at higher absolute elevations of 1500-2000 m.s.l..

Digital zenith telescope prototype of China

Classical optical astronomy measures the direction of the local plumb line on the stellar background,and is influenced by variations of the earth gravity field.Therefore,classical optical astrometry can be used to measure and study variations of plumb line.This endows classical optical astrometric technologies special significance for the interdisciplinary researches of astronomy and geoscience,and makes them irreplaceable by technologies like very long baseline interferometry,satellite laser ranging.However,classical astrometric instruments have a major drawback of low efficiency,such as the low automaticity,more operating observers,and even operative error which makes it very difficult to reduce the random observation error in some visual instruments.To overcome this drawback,we have successfully developed the digital zenith telescope prototype(DZT-1)with the aperture of200 mm,using charge coupled device and other advanced technologies and new equipments.As proved by test observations,DZT-1 can observe thousands of stars over one night,which significantly reduces the random observation error and increases the observation accuracy.In addition,DZT-1 has a high degree of automation,even allowing unattended observation by remote control.Besides,DZT-1 has a small-size and is easy to move,making it convenient for mobile measurement of the deflection of the vertical.In summary,DZT can be widely used in the geoscience and astronomy fields.

Carbon fluxes in the China Seas: An overview and perspective

This paper aims to provide an overview of regional carbon fluxes and budgets in the marginal seas adjacent to China.The "China Seas" includes primarily the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the Bohai Sea. Emphasis is given to CO_2 fluxes across the air-sea interface and their controls. The net flux of CO_2 degassing from the China Seas is estimated to be9.5±53 Tg C yr^(-1). The total riverine carbon flux through estuaries to the China Seas is estimated as 59.6±6.4 Tg C yr^(-1). Chinese estuaries annually emit 0.74±0.02 Tg C as CO_2 to the atmosphere. Additionally, there is a very large net carbon influx from the Western Pacific to the China Seas, amounting to ～2.5 Pg C yr^(-1). As a first-order estimate, the total export flux of particulate organic carbon from the upper ocean of the China Seas is 240±80 Tg C yr^(-1). This review also attempts to examine current knowledge gaps to promote a better understanding of the carbon cycle in this important region.

Image and data processing of digital zenith telescope(DZT-1) of China

The first digital zenith telescope prototype(DZT-1)of China was successfully developed by National Astronomical Observatories,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shandong University of Science and Technology at the end of 2011.Compared with classical astrometric telescopes,DZT-1 has features of small size,high automation,and high accuracy.It can be used to do classical astrometric observations as well as measurement of plumb line variation and deflection of the vertical.So DZT-1 plays a significant role in astronomy and geoscience.Although the measurement principle and method of DZT-1 are somewhat similar to classical photographic zenith tube,there are still many differences.The present paper introduces the principle,method,and procedure for processing DZT-1 star image and data,as well as the application software for astronomical latitude and longitude calculation using DZT-1 observations.The test observations and the observation results are also presented.According to the test observation results,the standard deviation of single observation is about 0.200–0.300,and 0.0700–0.0800in term of a group observations.In conclusion,the data processing software fulfills DZT-1’s demand for data processing,guaranteeing the automation and high accuracy for DZT-1.

Revisit of short-term periodicities in solar mean magnetic field

Short-term variations of the solar mean magnetic field(SMMF) were investigated through re-analyzing the data from the Wilcox Solar Observatory during the last four solar activity cycles using continuous wavelet transforms.We demonstrated the time-variable characters of short-term periods of SMMF. Our results indicate that the SMMF has main periods of about 27 and 13.5 days not only in the minimum and maximum years of each activity cycle, but also in the increase and decrease of the solar cycle. The result is partly different from the conclusion that the SMMF has dominant period of about 27 days during the solar maxima and about 13.5 days during the solar minimum years(Ye et al. in Solar Phys 279:411–418, 2012). The entire time span of SMMF was investigated and discussed further.