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Background The global burden of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) attributable to air pollution has increased in recent years, but the association between ALRI and exposure to size-specific particulate matter has not been investigated using different exposure metrics. Methods We obtained ALRI admission from seven cities from 2014 to 2016 in China. Different sized particles were measured using three metrics (a) daily mean, (b) hourly peak, and (c) daily excessive concentration hours (DECH). Generalized additive models were fitted for each of the seven cities, and the city-specific estimates were then pooled using random-effects meta-analysis models. Stratified analyses were conducted to examine the effect modifications of gender, age, and season. We also estimated the disease burden due to particulate matter exposures. Results There were 111,426 ALRI (79,803 pneumonia and 31,622 bronchiolitis) hospital admissions under the age of 15 between 2014 and 2016 in our study. Daily means were associated with the largest ALRI estimates (95% confidence interval [CI]): 2.43% (0.79%, 4.11%) for PM2.5, 2.25% (0.11%, 4.44%) for PMc, and 2.64% (0.73%, 4.58%) for PM10. The magnitude of effect sizes were followed by DECH: 1.94% (0.51%, 3.39%) for PM2.5, 0.88% (−0.14%, 1.92%) for PMc, 1.86% (0.50%, 2.01%) for PM10; and hourly peak: 0.70% (−0.60%, 2.01%) for PM2.5, 1.05% (−0.13%, 2.66%) for PMc, and 1.20% (−0.20%, 2.62%) for PM10 at lag03. We found significantly higher effects in cold seasons than that in warm seasons, while we did not find a significant different between gender and age groups. Conclusions The adverse effects of exposure to particulate matter on ALRI hospitalizations are reconfirmed. DECH was a possible alternative exposure indicator for PM2.5 assessment, which may affect air quality standards in the future.

Posterior circulation ischemia (PCI) is a common clinical ischemic cerebrovascular disease that can endanger the lives of patients in severe cases. Our previous research found that needling the Fengchi (GB20) acupoint presents a significant effect on PCI and that different acupuncture directions can exert different effects. To investigate the biological mechanism of acupuncture directions, rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based metabonomic techniques are used to analyze the metabolic profiles of urine samples. The urine samples were obtained from 30 healthy control subjects, 60 PCI patients before and after treatment of different acupuncture directions. Six metabolites, including LPE (22:6), estrone, uric acid, vanillylmandelic acid, N-acetyl-l-tyrosine, and 4-hydroxyphenylacetylglutamine were identified as potential biomarkers of acupuncture treatment of PCI. Acupuncture treatment of PCI patients significantly changed the levels of these potential biomarkers. Moreover, different acupuncture directions showed different effects on the contents of these biomarkers. These results strongly support the belief that acupuncture direction performs an important function in acupuncture intervention. The findings provide new insights into the mechanism of acupuncture treatment and reveal that acupuncture manipulation results in various curative.

Intervertebral disk degeneration (IDD) is the most common diagnosis in patients with low back pain, a main cause of musculoskeletal disability in the world. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) β is the most important member of the IL-1 family, and has a strong pro-inflammatory activity by stimulating the secretion of multiple pro-inflammatory mediators. IL-1β is highly expressed in degenerative intervertebral disk (IVD) tissues and cells, and it has been shown to be involved in multiple pathological processes during disk degeneration, including inflammatory responses, matrix destruction, angiogenesis and innervation, cellular apoptosis, oxidative stress and cellular senescence. However, inhibition of IL-1β is found to promote extracellular matrix (ECM) repair and protect against disk regeneration. In this review, after a brief description of IL-1β signaling, we mainly focus on the expression profiles, roles and therapeutic potential of IL-1β in IDD. A better understanding will help develop novel IL-1β-based therapeutic interventions for degenerative disk disease.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is the most common diagnosis in patients with low back pain, a leading cause of musculoskeletal disability worldwide. The major components of extracellular matrix (ECM) within the discs are type II collagen (Col II) and aggrecan. Excessive destruction of ECM, especially loss of Col II and aggrecan, plays a critical role in promoting the occurrence and development of IDD. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs) are primary enzymes that degrade collagens and aggrecan. There is a large and growing body of evidence that many members of MMPs and ADAMTSs are highly expressed in degenerative IVD tissue and cells, and are closely involved in ECM breakdown and the process of disc degeneration. In contrast, targeting these enzymes has shown promise for promoting ECM repair and mitigating disc regeneration. In the current review, after a brief description regarding the biology of MMPs and ADAMTSs, we mainly focus on their expression profiles, roles and therapeutic potential in IDD. A greater understanding of the catabolic pathways involved in IDD will help to develop potential prophylactic or regenerative biological treatment for degenerative disc disease in the future.

Giant magnetostrictive SmFe 2 /Fe exchange-coupled multilayers were fabricated by ion beam sputtering deposition on glass substrates. The effects of SmFe 2 /Fe exchange coupling action and vacuum annealing on soft-magnetic property and static-dynamic magnetostrictive characteristics of SmFe 2 /Fe multilayers were investigated. The results showed that the soft-magnetic, static–dynamic magnetostrictive characteristics were greatly improved by SmFe 2 /Fe exchange coupling action and proper vacuum annealing treatment temperature. Compared with that of SmFe 2 single film, the coercivity in the direction of easy magnetization axis for SmFe 2 /Fe exchange-coupled multilayers exhibited a greater decrease. Better soft-magnetic properties were achieved ( H c =2.54 kA/m, M s =120.38 emu/g, and M r / M s =0.21) after vacuum annealing at certain temperature. The magnetostrictive coefficient for SmFe 2 /Fe exchange-coupled multilayers was about 135 ppm at 16 kA/m magnetic field. At first order resonant frequency (99.2 Hz), the amplitude peak–peak value for the as-deposited SmFe 2 /Fe exchange-coupled multilayers was 46 μm. After the vacuum annealing treatment at 250 °C, the amplitude peak–peak value increased to 650 μm.

In this study, SmFe2 monolayer and SmFe2/Fe multilayers were fabricated by the IBSD method. It scored a first by analyzing the TEM images of SmFe2 monolayer and cross-sectional configuration of SmFe2/Fe multilayers. The soft magnetic properties of the samples were measured by an alternating gradient magnetometer (AGM). The results showed that both SmFe2 monolayer and the SmFe2 layers in the multilayers were amorphous, while Fe layers were polycrystalline. Compact and high cohesion scale can be observed in all layers for the multilayers. In addition, an obvious transitional area between the film and substrate existed in the multilayers. Due to the strong exchange-coupled interaction among the layers of SmFe2/Fe, the easy axis turned to the direction parallel to the applied magnetic field, and the much smaller coercive force of the x direction compared with that of the SmFe2 monolayer (10.80 vs. 23.96 kA/m) contributed to the excellent soft magnetic properties of SmFe2/Fe multilayers.