2017: beginning of a new era for Chlamydia research in China and the rest of the world

The First Chinese Chlamydia Research Meeting was held in Lanzhou, China in May 2017, 60 years after the disclosure of reproducible isolation of Chlamydia trachomatis by 汤飞凡 (Fei-fan Tang). We report current state of the Chlamydia research community in China, and briefly review recent progress in Chlamydia vaccinology. The meeting represents a new milestone for Chlamydia research in the country. The Chinese Chlamydia Research Society (CCRS) was formed during the meeting. Future meetings will be held biennially and should facilitate collaboration of Chinese researchers with their domestic and international colleagues.     

Gait analysis of young male patients diagnosed with primary bladder neck obstruction

Primary bladder neck obstruction (PBNO) represents an inappropriate or inadequate relaxation of the bladder neck during micturition. Based on the observation of an increased rate of postural imbalances in male patients with PBNO, we hypothesized a possible role of an unbalanced biomechanics of the pelvis on urethral sphincters activity. Our aim was to identify kinematic imbalances, usually disregarded in PBNO patients, and which could eventually be involved in the etiopathogenesis of the disease.Seven male adult patients (39.6 ± 7.1 years) were recruited; in all patients, PBNO was suspected at bladder diary and uroflowmetry, and was endoscopically confirmed with urethroscopy. Participants gait was recorded with a motion capture system (BTS Spa, Italy) to obtain three-dimensional joint angles and gait parameters. Multivariate statistics based on a Principal Component model allowed to assess the similarity of patients’ gait patterns with respect to control subjects.The main finding is that patients with PBNO showed significant discordance in the observations at the ankle and pelvis level. Additionally, 6/7 patients demonstrated altered trunk positions compared to normal curves. We suggest that the identified postural imbalances could represent the cause for an anomalous activation of pelvic floor muscles (hypertonia). The consequent urinary sphincters hypercontraction may be responsible for the development of voiding dysfunction in male patients with no significant morphological alterations.Results reinforced the hypothesis of an etiopathogenetic role of postural imbalances on primary bladder neck obstruction in male patients.     

Understory vegetation response to mechanical mastication and other fuels treatments in a ponderosa pine forest

Questions: What influence does mechanical mastication and other fuel treatments have on: (1) canopy and forest floor response variables that influence understory plant development; (2) initial understory vegetation cover, diversity, and composition; and (3) shrub and non‐native species density in a second‐growth ponderosa pine forest. Location: Challenge Experimental Forest, northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Methods: We compared the effects of mastication only, mastication with supplemental treatments (tilling and prescribed fire), hand removal, and a control on initial understory vegetation response using a randomized complete block experimental design. Each block (n=4) contained all five treatments and understory vegetation was surveyed within 0.04‐ha plots for each treatment. Results: While mastication alone and hand removal dramatically reduced the midstory vegetation, these treatments had little effect on understory richness compared with control. Prescribed fire after mastication increased native species richness by 150% (+6.0 species m²) compared with control. However, this also increased non‐native species richness (+0.8 species m²) and shrub seedling density (+24.7 stems m²). Mastication followed by tilling resulted in increased non‐native forb density (+0.7 stems m²). Conclusions: Mechanical mastication and hand removal treatments aided in reducing midstory fuels but did not increase understory plant diversity. The subsequent treatment of prescribed burning not only further reduced fire hazard, but also exposed mineral soil, which likely promoted native plant diversity. Some potential drawbacks to this treatment include an increase of non‐native species and stimulation of shrub seed germination, which could alter ecosystem functions and compromise fire hazard reduction in the long‐term.     

Quantitative assessment of the effects of space allowance, group size and floor characteristics on the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs

To obtain quantitative information that can be later used in animal welfare modelling, the relationship between the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs (initial body weight (BW) between 19 and 87 kg) and different factors related to the housing conditions, with a potential negative effect on their welfare, was studied by means of a meta-analytical approach. Data from 22 experiments reported in 21 scientific publications were collected. The space allowance, expressed on an allometric basis by means of a k-value (m2/BW0.667), the group size (n) and the floor characteristics (fully and partly slatted v. non-slatted floor), as well as their significant two-way interactions were used as fixed effects, and the experiment was used as a random factor to take into account the interexperiment effect. Further regression analyses were performed on the predicted values of observations in order to improve the adjustment of data. A significant quadratic relationship was established between space allowance (k-value, P < 0.05; squared k-value, P < 0.01) and the percentage of time spent lying. A significant interaction between the k-value and the floor type was also found (P < 0.05), showing that the relationship between space allowance and lying behaviour is affected by the presence or absence of slats. Threshold k-values were obtained using broken-line analyses, being about 0.039 for slatted floors and almost double for non-slatted floors. Compared to other studies, these values suggest that the ability to rest as space availability decreases may be compromised before a reduced performance becomes apparent. Group size did not show a significant effect. Additional information should be added to the model, as further data become available, to adjust the proposed parameters as well as to try to include the effect of other important aspects such as that of ambient temperature.     

盆腔疾病髂内动脉栓塞术的研究进展

髂内动脉栓塞是盆腔出血性疾病和肿瘤治疗的重要治疗方法,常规采用Seldinger技术,从一侧股动脉径路两侧髂内动脉选择性与超选择性插管。髂内动脉是盆腔脏器主要供血来源,根据数字减影动脉造影术（Digital subtraction arteriography,DSA）功能可分为：常规DSA,旋转DSA,平板数字减影旋转血管造影与三维血管重建和路图技术。栓塞剂可分为颗粒型和液态型栓塞剂。本文综述了盆腔疾病髂内动脉栓塞术近年来的研究进展。     

Microenvironmental preferences of oribatid mite species on the floor of a tropical rainforest

The vertical distribution, microenvironmental preference, canopy cover, as well as monthly fluctuations of recently described species of three genera of macropyline oribatid mites, Mesoplophora, Bicyrthermannia and Nothrus and three genera of brachypyline mites, Scheloribates, Muliercula and Galumnella were investigated over a 9-month period in shaded and unshaded areas of a secondary regrowth forest floor in Ile Ife, Nigeria. Sampling was done monthly from August 2002 to April 2003 covering the two seasons of the annual cycle. There was an overwhelming predominance of mite populations in the 5 cm topsoil compared with the fermentation and litter layers. The preference of M. ifeana and B. nigeriana extracted from the topsoil for the shaded plot was attributed to highly conducive moisture conditions provided by the canopy. It is suggested that M. ifeana, B. nigeriana, N. lasebikani, S. mochlosimilaris, M. inexpectata and G. sonpona, that exhibited a single peak density in the wet season in this study, had similar ecological needs. The populations of M. ifeana and S. mochlosimilaris were relatively stable in the fermentation layer. The study concluded that canopy cover affected the sensitivity of soil dwelling mites on the floor of a secondary regrowth forest with regard to vertical gradients of light, microclimate and foliage quality in a complex way.     

Initial results for urban metal distributions in house dusts of Syracuse, New York, USA

A program of house dust sample collection and analysis has begun in Syracuse, New York, USA, in order to determine the feasibility of a geography-based exposure assessment for urban metals. The sampling program, and the protocols it employs, is described for two different types of wipe media, Ghost Wipes and Whatman Filters. Preliminary results show that strong spatial patterns of floor dust loading (mg dust per square foot) can be observed for data aggregated at a spatial scale of about 1600 m (-2.5 km2). Floor dust metal concentrations were similar to those found in other urban environments, with some regional variation. The median floor dust Pb concentration was -108 mg ·kg-1 for this initial data set of -264 sampled residential locations, and varied from 50 to 1100 mg Pb ·kg-1.     

Soil micro-habitat effects on fine roots of Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.: A field experiment using root ingrowth cores

Ingrowth cores in the field were used to compare fine root characteristics of hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) among rooting substrate in the form of needle leaf litter, decomposing organic material, and mineral soil. Fine root growth, morphology, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associations, and tissue C and N concentration were determined. The inorganic N leaching from each soil substrate was taken as a measure of N availability. Although there was no significant difference in total N leaching among substrates, more NH ₊ ⁴ -N leached from the decomposing organic material than other substrates. Rapid fine root production was observed in the organic material, whereas root production in the litter substrate was suppressed. Annual net fine root productions in litter, organic material, and mineral soil were 51, 193, and 132 g m⁻², respectively. In the leaf litter substrate, AM colonization was suppressed and specific root length was higher than in the other substrates, indicating severe nutrient limitation in the litter. These responses of hinoki cypress roots seemed to be a soil exploitation pattern whereby absorptive fine roots were arranged to maximize nutrient acquisition.     

盆底康复治疗仪结合中医辨证治疗产后盆底功能障碍性疾病的临床研究

目的:评价盆底康复治疗仪结合中医辨证分型施治产后盆底功能障碍性疾病(PFD)的临床疗效,为中西医结合治疗产后PFD提供临床依据。方法:连续选择2017年6月至2018年6月入我院诊断产后PFD的患者共115例作为观察组,根据中医辨证分型将其分为气虚型60例和肾虚型55例,两组患者均给予盆底康复治疗仪进行产后康复,气虚型患者给予补中益气汤加减,肾虚型患者给予大补元煎加减,另选择50例仅进行盆底康复治疗仪干预作为对照组,疗程为产后12周。比较两组治疗前后盆底功能障碍问卷(PFDI20)评分、国际尿失禁咨询委员会尿失禁问卷表简表(ICI-Q-SF)评分、盆腔器官脱垂POP-Q量表评分、盆底肌力分级及中医症候积分的变化,临床疗效以及中医证候疗效。结果:对照组和观察组患者治疗后PFDI20、ICI-Q-SF和POP-Q评分均较治疗前明显降低(P0.05),盆底肌力明显增加(P0.05),中医症候积分明显降低(P0.05);与对照组比较,观察组改善更明显(P0.05),但气虚型和肾虚型患者比较改善程度不明显(P0.05)。与对照组比较,观察组临床疗效和中医证候疗效明显提高(P0.05),但是气虚型和肾虚型患者临床疗效和中医证候疗效比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:盆底康复治疗仪结合中医辨证分型施治产后PFD有较好的安全性和有效性。