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The article analyzes chief physician SUN Wuquan’s empirical characteristics in treating neck-type cervical spondylosis: disease differentiation combined with pattern differentiation, emphasizing the assessment of tendons and bones, with DING’s Tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage) manipulations and static Gongfa (Qigong exercise) as the predominant treatment, inherits the academic features of DING’s Tuina school, “paying equal attention to tendons and bones, putting function first”; thus provides a reference for treating neck-type cervical spondylosis with Tuina therapy.

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy of spine subtle adjusting manipulation for postpartum low back pain (PLBP). Methods: A total of 76 patients with PLBP were randomized into a control group and a treatment group, with 38 cases in each group. The control group was treated with core muscle strengthening exercises, and the treatment group was treated with spine subtle adjusting manipulation. After 3 weeks of treatment, the clinical efficacy was observed, and the visual analog scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the changes of lumbar Cobb angle and pelvic rotation were compared between the two groups. Results: The total effective rate of the treatment group was 92.1%, and that of the control group was 78.9%. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). After treatment, the VAS score and ODI in both groups decreased, and the intra-group differences were all statistically significant (P<0.05). There were no intra-group statistical differences in the lumbar Cobb angle or pelvic rotation in the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, there were no statistical differences in the lumbar Cobb angle or pelvic rotation between the two groups (P>0.05); the VAS score and ODI in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Spine subtle adjusting manipulation can effectively relieve the pain for patients with PLBP, and improve their daily activity function.

This paper reports dual enhanced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of CdS quantum dot (QD)-decorated aminated Au@SiO2core/shell (Au@SiO2-NH2/CdS) superstructures. A maximum ECL emission of the Au@SiO2-NH2/CdS superstructures (Au core, ca. 55 nm) with a silica shell of 38 nm was 35-fold stronger than that of the counterparts (containing neither Au cores nor amino groups) with H2O2as a coreactant. The fold of ECL enhancement is the largest, and the optical path of maximum ECL enhancement is the longest reported so far. The larger the Au cores in the superstructures, the stronger the ECL emission of CdS QDs was. Two types of ECL enhancement mechanisms were clearly proposed for the dual enhanced ECL of the Au@SiO2-NH2/CdS superstructures. One was the electromagnetic field enhancement induced by localized surface plasmon resonance of Au cores, and the other was the chemical enhancement from amino groups modified on the silica surface involved in the ECL process in the assistance of H2O2. It is the first time to put forward the new concept of chemical enhanced ECL that was directly related to the participation of other chemicals, which caused a decrease in the difference in the redox potential between emitters and coreactants for the increase of their redox currents. The constructed ECL platform was demonstrated to have promising applications in highly sensitive detection of glutathione (GSH), and the response mechanism of GSH was also explored.

The experimental current is scaled by the generation, transportation and recombination loss of the mobile carriers. In this paper, we show that a change of small molecule/perylene diimide (PDI) weight ratio from 1:1 to 3:1 does not lead to different transportation or different recombination loss in the solar cell, while it results in different generation of the mobile carriers. With the increase of the donor/acceptor (D/A) ratio, the blend film has an enhanced absorption because the donor has a stronger light‐harvesting ability than the PDI acceptor. With respect to the contribution from the enhancement of the absorption of the solar photons, our data demonstrate that the phase size of the acceptor (donor) domains is the key factor that determines the generation of the mobile carriers. We observe a good relationship between the average short‐circuit current density (JSC) and phase size of the acceptor domains. Through fine‐tuning the D/A ratio, the best compatibility between the small molecule donor and the PDI acceptor is obtained at a mediate D/A ratio of 1.3:1, at which the absorbed solar photons are exploited efficiently, yielding an average power conversion efficiency of over 5.07 ± 0.10%. Compatibility and charge separation are modulated by varying donor weight ration in small molecule donor:perylene diimide based non‐fullerene solar cells, which affords improved exploitation of the solar photons absorbed by the photoactive layer. The acceptor phase size is a key factor that scales the photocurrent. An efficiency of 5.1% is obtained from this non‐fullerene small molecule system as a result of modulation of compatibility.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOSs) supplementation on growth performance, serum parameters, small intestinal morphology, intestinal mucosal integrity, and immune function in weaned piglets. A total of 240 weaned piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 8.82 ± 0.05 kg (28 d of age) were assigned randomly to four dietary treatments in a 28-d trial, including a control (CON) diet and three diets with XOS supplementation at the concentration of 100 (XOS100), 500 (XOS500), and 1,000 (XOS1000) mg/kg. There were four replicates per treatment with 15 pigs per pen. From day 1 to 14, there were no differences (P> 0.05) in average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake, and gain to feed ratio (G:F) during the different treatments. The different doses of XOSs showed a quadratic effect on BW on day 28, ADG, and G:F on day 1 to 28 of piglets (P< 0.05). From day 15 to 28, ADG of pigs fed the XOS500 diet was higher (P< 0.05) than pigs fed the CON diet. During the overall period (day 1 to 28), pigs fed the XOS500 diet had a higher BW, ADG, and G:F than pigs fed the CON diet (P< 0.05). In addition, compared with the CON group, the XOS500 group had significantly higher serum total antioxidant capacity, total superoxide dismutase and catalase levels, and lower malondialdehyde levels on days 14 and 28 (P< 0.05). The serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration in the XOS500 group was also significantly higher compared with the CON group on days 14 and 28 (P< 0.05). However, serum immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin M were not affected by the dietary treatments. Supplementation of XOS500 to the feed significantly increased the villus height (VH) and VH to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum and ileum in comparison with the CON and XOS1000 groups. Moreover, the XOS500 group significantly elevated the expression levels of occludin and zonula occludens protein-1 in the ileum compared with the CON group. The ileal interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8, and interferon (IFN)-γ mRNA expression levels in the XOS100 and XOS500 groups were markedly lower than in the CON group. In contrast, the ileal IL-10mRNA expression levels were remarkably higher in the XOS500 than in the CON group. In conclusion, XOSs have a beneficial effect on growth performance by improving serum antioxidant defense system, serum IgG, small intestinal structure, and intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets.

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Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a specific class of proteolytic enzymes that play critical roles in follicular development and luteinization in mammals. However, the role of MMPs in avian ovary remains largely unknown. We found that three MMP genes (MMP1, MMP3, and MMP9) were significantly up-regulated in 23-wk-old (laying phase) chicken ovaries compared with 6-wk-old ovaries (prepubertal phase). In reproductively active chicken ovary, MMP1 expression (both mRNA and protein) remained low in prehierarchical and preovulatory follicles but increased in postovulatory follicles (POFs). Both MMP3 and MMP9 expression levels increased during follicular maturation. MMP3 reached maximal expression in the first largest follicle (F1), while MMP9 levels continued to rise in POF1 and POF2 after ovulation. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot analysis, and zymography experiments indicated that MMP1, MMP3, and MMP9 were synthesized and secreted by granulosa cells of different follicles in the chicken ovary. The mRNA expression of MMP1and MMP3in the granulosa cells was stimulated by follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, progesterone, and estrogen but not by transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1). However, the mRNA of MMP9was induced by TGFB1 but not follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, progesterone, or estrogen. Luciferase reporter and mutagenesis analysis indicated the AP1 and NFkappaB elements located in the promoter region from −1700 to −2400 bp were critical for both basal and TGFB1-induced MMP9transcription. These data provide the first spatial-temporal expression analysis of MMP system in the chicken ovary.