Amazonian Dark Earth(ADE) is a highly fertile soil of anthropogenic origin characterized by high levels of charred black carbon(BC). It is considered a model of fertility; however, knowledge on the fungal community st...
详细信息
Amazonian Dark Earth(ADE) is a highly fertile soil of anthropogenic origin characterized by high levels of charred black carbon(BC). It is considered a model of fertility; however, knowledge on the fungal community structure and diversity inhabiting ADE and its BC particles is scarce. Fungal community structure and diversity of ADE and its BC from four sites under different land uses(three agricultural systems and a secondary pristine forest) in the Brazilian Central Amazon were evaluated by 18S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Fungal communities in ADE and BC were dissimilar and showed differential abundances of fungal operational taxonomic units(OTUs). Estimated fungal species richness(abundance-based coverage estimate and Chao-1 index) and diversity estimators(Shannon and Simpson's reciprocal indices) were higher in ADE than in BC in all agricultural areas. No differences were observed in those parameters in ADE and BC samples from the secondary forest. Pezizomycotina fungi and OTUs assigned to Cordyceps confragosa,Acremonium vitellinum, Camarops microspora, and Hirsutella rhossiliensis were more abundant in BC particles than in ADE. These findings represent a breakthrough in our understanding of fungal communities in BC particles from ADE, and will be valuable in future studies considering biochar application in soil.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer in terms of incidence and mortality in China and its incidence in China is predicted to increase in the next 20 years.1 The majority of the lung cancer patients are diagnosed with adv...
详细信息
Lung cancer is the leading cancer in terms of incidence and mortality in China and its incidence in China is predicted to increase in the next 20 years.1 The majority of the lung cancer patients are diagnosed with advanced stage disease,for which chemotherapy or targeted therapies are the mainstay palliative *** the identification of single-driver mutations,like the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation,platinum-based doublet was the standard first line treatment for advanced stage nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a good performance status (PS).However,patient prognosis remains poor and the modest treatment efficacy seems to have reached a plateau despite newer generation of platinum doublets.2 The recommendation for the duration of first line platinum doublet treatment is 4-6 cycles.3 The paradigm was based on the fact that a protracted course of chemotherapy did not prolong survival but introduced cumulative toxicities.4,5 The use of maintenance therapy (MT),defined by Grossi et al6 as the prolongation of chemotherapy with the administration of additional drugs at the end of a defined number of initial chemotherapy cycles after achieving maximum tumor response,was not considered as a standard option in the past.
Background Asthma is a significant chronic health problem worldwide. Management aims at disease control by reducing functional impairment and exacerbations and improving quality of life (QoL). We report a multi-center...
详细信息
Background Asthma is a significant chronic health problem worldwide. Management aims at disease control by reducing functional impairment and exacerbations and improving quality of life (QoL). We report a multi-center study to survey asthma control and QoL in four cities in the Pearl River Delta. Methods The conjoint survey involved ten Hong Kong pediatric hospitals/units, two Shenzhen hospitals, two Macao hos-pitals, and two Guangzhou hospitals on asthma control (using Asthma Control Test) and QoL (Pediatric Allergic Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire, PADQLQ). Acceptability of a treatment is graded as very good/good/fair/poor. Results Good asthma control was only reported in 80% subjects in Hong Kong, but higher in sister cities (85–94%, P<0.001). Allergic rhinitis, 'incense burning', and 'smoker in family' were prevalent among the four cities. Logistic regres-sion showed better control of asthma was associated with better PADQLQ (B=?0.029, P < 0.001), better acceptability of bronchodilator (B=?1.488, P = 0.025), negatively with 'smoker in family' (B=?0.83, P = 0.015) and various PADQLQ domains. Conversely, worse PADQLQ was associated with allergic rhinitis severity (B=4.77, P <0.001), poor control of asthma (B=7.56, P <0.001), increased frequency of traditional Chinese medicine use (B=1.7, P < 0.05), increased fre-quency of bronchodilator usage (B=1.05, P < 0.05), 'smoker in family' (B=4.05, P < 0.05), and incense burning at home (B=3.9, P < 0.05). Conclusions There are some clinical and cultural differences among the four southern Chinese cities within the Guangdong province. This study identifies potentially modifiable environmental and treatment factors associated with poor asthma control and QoL for health-care interventions. Having a smoker in the family is independently associated with poor asthma control and QoL.
暂无评论