Effect of electro-acupuncture on substance P, its receptor and corticotropin-releasing hormone in rats with irritable bowel syndrome

AIM： To investigate the effect and mechanism of electro-acupuncture lEA） at ST25 and ST37 on irritable bowel syndrome （IBS） of rats. METHODS： A total of 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group and EA group. A rat model of IBS was established by constraining the limbs and distending the colorectum of rats. Rats in EA group received bilateral EA at ST25 and ST37 with a sparse and intense waveform at a frequency of 2/50 Hz for 15 min, once a day for 7 d as a course. Rats in normal and model groups were stimulated by distending colorectum （CR）. An abdominal withdrawal reflex （AWR） scoring system was used to evaluate improvements in visceral hypersensitivity. Toluidine blue-improved method, immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay were used to observe mucosal mast cells （MC）, changes of substance P （SP） and substance P receptor （SPR） in colon and change of corticotropin-releasing hormone （CRH） in hypothalamus. RESULTS： The threshold of visceral sense was significantly lower in model group than in normal group,and significantly higher in EA group than in model group. The number of mucosal MC was greater in model group than in normal group and significantly smaller in EA group than in model group. The CRH level in hypothalamus of rats was significantly higher in model group than in normal group, which was remarkably decreased after electro-acupuncture treatment. The SP and SPR expression in colon of rats in model group was decreased after electro-acupuncture treatment. CONCLUSION： EA at ST25 and ST37 can decrease the number of mucosal MC and down-regulate the expression of CRH in hypothalamus, and the expression of SP and SPR in colon of rats with IBS.

Removal and transformation of organic matter during soil-aquifer treatment

This study investigated the removal and transformation of organic matter through laboratory-scale soil-aquifer treatment (SAT) soil columns over a 110-day period. Reductions in total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC), nonbiodegradable dissolved organic carbon (NBDOC) and absorbance of ul-traviolet light at 254 nm (UV-254) averaged 71.46%, 68.05%, 99.31%, 33.27% and 38.96% across the soil columns, respectively. DOC/TOC ratios increased slightly with depth while BDOC/DOC ratios showed a converse trend. DOC exiting the soil-column system contained only a very small biodegradable fraction. SAT decreased the concentration of DOC present in feed water but increased its aromaticity, as indicated by specific ultraviolet light absorbance (SUVA), which increased by 50%～115% across the soil columns, indicating preferential removal of non-aromatic DOC during SAT. Overall, laboratory-scale SAT reduced triha-lomethane formation potential (THMFP), although specific THMFP increased. THMFP reduction was dominated by removal in chloroform. All samples exhibited a common general relationship with respect to weight: chloroform>dichlorobromomethane >dibromochloromethane>bromoform.

Rangeland degradation assessment in Kyrgyzstan:vegetation and soils as indicators of grazing pressure in Naryn Oblast

Rangelands occupy more than 80% of the agricultural land in Kyrgyzstan. At least 30% of Kyrgyz pasture areas are considered to be subject to vegetation and soil degradation. Since animal husbandry is the economic basis to sustain people＇s livelihoods, rangeland degradation presents a threat for the majority of the population. We present for the first time an ecological assessment of different pasture types in a remote area of the Naryn Oblast, using vegetation and softs as indicators of rangeland conditions. We analysed the current degree of utilization （grazing pressure）, the amount of biomass, soil samples, and vegetation data, using cluster analysis as well as ordination techniques. Winter pastures （kyshtoo） are characterized by higher pH values （average of 7.27） and lower organic matter contents （average of 12.83%） compared to summer pastures （dzailoo） with average pH values of 6.03 and average organic matter contents of 21.05%. Additionally, summer pastures show higher above- ground biomass, and higher species richness and diversity. Our results support the hypothesis that winter pastures, which are located near settlements, suffer from over-utilisation, while the more distant summer pastures are subjected to much lower grazing pressure,

COF-based quasi-solid polymer electrolytes for high-performance zinc-ion batteries

To address the issues in aqueous zinc-ion batteries(ZIBs),including the formation of zinc dendrites and the occurrence of harmful side reactions(e.g.,the hydrogen evolution reaction),which seriously affect the performance of the battery,a sulfonated covalent organic framework(SCOF),TpPa-SO3H,was synthesized and the quasi-solid polymer electrolyte SCOF-PVDF/Zn(CF3SO3)2 was successfully prepared with a polymer matrix of PVDF and an ion-transporting backbone of SCOF.Both of Zn//Zn symmetric batteries and Zn//NH4V4O10 full batteries assembled using SCOF-PVDF/Zn(CF3SO3)2 electrolyte exhibited excellent battery cycling stability.The high ionic conductivity of 3×10^(-4)S·cm^(-1)could be achieved.The assembled symmetric batteries demonstrated a cycle life of 980 h at a current density of 2 mA·cm^(-2).The Zn//NH4V4O10 full battery can provide a specific capacity of 196 mAh·g^(-1)at a high current density of 10 A·g^(-1).

买赠活动如何开展？（下）

买赠活动是指购买商品时，以另外附加有价物质或服务等方式来直接提高商品价值的促销活动，其目的是通过直接的利益刺激达到短期内的销售增加。在我们的市场实践过程中，除产品导人期间或特殊的节日期间之外，除针对目标消费群，很少建议企业从事买赠促销活动。

Loss on Ignition-Based Indices for Evaluating Organic Matter Characteristics of Littoral Sediments

Understanding organic matter characteristics （e.g., amount and state） of sediments is necessary for evaluating both the sediment and water environments; however, methods that have been proposed to investigate these characteristics are relatively expensive. This study attempted to evaluate the organic matter characteristics of littoral sediments by employing solely the loss on ignition （LOI） method, which is the most economical and accessible method in developing countries. Different types of sediments were first oven dried at 100 ~C and then continuously burned at 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 ~C for 4 h at each temperature. The mass LOI at each temperature was calculated and compared with the 100 ℃oven-dried weight. Our results suggested that the mass LOI across the temperature range of 200-300 ℃（LOI200-300）：mass LOI at 600 ℃ （LOI600） ratio （LOI200-300/LOI600） could represent different types of sediments as well as the organic matter：organic C ratio. Compared with the sediments unaffected by wastewater, the sediments that were more influenced by the inflow of domestic wastewater had a higher LOI200-300/LOI600. Interestingly, LOI200-300/LOI600 could also represent changes in the organic matter characteristics as a function of organic matter decomposition in sediments. In conclusion, the organic matter characteristics of littoral sediments could be evaluated using solely the LOI method, particularly with LOI200 - 300/LOI600.