Severe influenza remains unusual in its virulence for humans. Complications or ultimately death arising from these infections are often associated with hyperinduction of proinflammatory cytokine production, which is a...Severe influenza remains unusual in its virulence for humans. Complications or ultimately death arising from these infections are often associated with hyperinduction of proinflammatory cytokine production, which is also known as ＇cytokine storm＇. For this disease, it has been proposed that immunomodulatory therapy may improve the outcome, with or without the combination of antiviral agents. Here, we review the current literature on how various effectors of the immune system initiate the cytokine storm and exacerbate pathological damage in hosts. We also review some of the current immunomodulatory strategies for the treatment of cytokine storms in severe influenza, including corticosteroids, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists, sphingosine-l-phosphate receptor 1 agonists, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, antioxidants, anti-tumour-necrosis factor therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, statins, arbidol, herbs, and other potential therapeutic strategies.展开更多
The North China and the neighbouring Mongolia in Asian Interior is characterized by extremely dry climate, resulted in one of the world＇s major dust emission centres. Deciphering the source region of Asian dust is cr...The North China and the neighbouring Mongolia in Asian Interior is characterized by extremely dry climate, resulted in one of the world＇s major dust emission centres. Deciphering the source region of Asian dust is critical for revealing the mechanism of the dust production, interpreting the paleo-environrnental records of eolian deposits, predicting the overall environmental effects of dust, and setting the strategies for the control of contemporary dust storms. This paper summarizes the geochemical methods applied to the source tracing of Asian dust. Nd-Sr isotopes were the most extensively studied source tracer of Asian dust and have been successfully applied in many cases. Geochemistry of detrital monomineral shows great theoretical advantages in source tracing and deserves further studies. The short-range transportation of Chinese loess with direction similar to that of the prevailing near surface wind is revealed. Source tracing also shows that the Asian dust has two ultimate material sources from the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and the Central Asian Orogen, which confirms the importance of mountain processes in the production of silt eolian particles. Based on the recent progresses on the source tracing of Asian dust, discussions are expanded on the natural background of Asian dust storms and potential anthropogenic influence, the materials evolution of the source regions of Asian dust and its relationships with climate changes and Tibetan uplift, and the role of Tibetan uplift in the Asian dust system.展开更多
The average mass concentration of the aerosols in Beijing during the dust storm in the spring of 2000 was -6000 μg · m-3, -30 times as high as that in the non-dust storm days. The enrichment factors of the pollu...The average mass concentration of the aerosols in Beijing during the dust storm in the spring of 2000 was -6000 μg · m-3, -30 times as high as that in the non-dust storm days. The enrichment factors of the pollution elements As, Sb and Se were higher than those in the non-dust storm days. This indicated that As, Sb and Se resulted from the pollution sources of those areas, through which the dust storm passed during their long-range transport, in addition to the local pollution sources in Beijing. The enrichment factors of the Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu were much less than those in the non-dust storm days, suggesting that the local pollution sources in Beijing area contributed to them mostly. The enrichment factors of elements Al, Fe, Sc, Mn, Na, Ni, Cr, V and Co were close to 1, showing that these elements originated from crust. The concentration of S in the dust storm was -10 μg · m-3,4 times as high as that in non-dust storm. S in the aerosols resulted from the adsorption of gaseous SO2 and the consequent展开更多
COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARSCo V-2)has spread across the globe,posing an enormous threat to public health and safety.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),in combination...COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARSCo V-2)has spread across the globe,posing an enormous threat to public health and safety.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),in combination with Western medicine(WM),has made important and lasting contributions in the battle against COVID-19.In this review,updated clinical effects and potential mechanisms of TCM,presented in newly recognized three distinct phases of the disease,are summarized and discussed.By integrating the available clinical and preclinical evidence,the efficacies and underlying mechanisms of TCM on COVID-19,including the highly recommended three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas,are described in a panorama.We hope that this comprehensive review not only provides a reference for health care professionals and the public to recognize the significant contributions of TCM for COVID-19,but also serves as an evidence-based in-depth summary and analysis to facilitate understanding the true scientific value of TCM.展开更多
In many arid and semiarid regions,saline playas represent a significant source of unconsoli-dated sediments available for aeolian transport,and severe saline dust storms occur frequently due to human disturbance.In th...In many arid and semiarid regions,saline playas represent a significant source of unconsoli-dated sediments available for aeolian transport,and severe saline dust storms occur frequently due to human disturbance.In this study,saline dust storms are reviewed systematically from the aspects of con-cept,general characteristics,conditions of occurrence,distribution and ecological impact.Our researches showed that saline dust storms are a kind of chemical dust storm originating in dry lake beds in arid and semiarid regions;large areas of unconsolidated saline playa sediments and frequent strong winds are the basic factors to saline dust storm occurrence;there are differentiation characteristics in deposition flux and chemical composition with wind-blown distance during saline dust storm diffusion;and saline dust storm diffusion to some extent increases glacier melt and results in soil salinization in arid regions.An under-standing of saline dust storms is important to guide disaster prevention and ecological rehabilitation.展开更多
By using the observation data from 89 weather stations in Xinjiang during 1961-2010, this paper analyzed the basic climatic elements including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration, water vapor pre...By using the observation data from 89 weather stations in Xinjiang during 1961-2010, this paper analyzed the basic climatic elements including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration, water vapor pressure, and dust storm in the entire Xinjiang and the subareas: North Xinjiang, Tianshan Mountains, and South Xinjiang. The results indicate that from 1961 to 2010 the annual and seasonal mean temperatures in the entire Xinjiang show an increasing trend with the increasing rate rising from south to north. The increasing rate of annual mean minimum temperature is over twice more than that of the annual mean maximum temperature, contributing much to the increase in the annual averages. The magnitude of the decrease rate of low-temperature days is larger than the increase rate of high-temperature days. The increase of warm days and warm nights and the decrease of cold days and cold nights further reveal that the temperature increasing in Xinjiang is higher. In addition, annual and seasonal rainfalls have been increasing. South Xinjiang experiences higher increase in rainfall amounts than North Xinjiang and Tianshan Mountains. Annual rainy days, longest consecutive rainy days, the daily maximum precipitation and extreme precipitation events, annual torrential rain days and amount, annual blizzard days and amount, all show an increasing trend, corresponding to the increasing in annual mean water vapor pressure. This result shows that the humidity has increased with temperature increasing in the past 50 years. The decrease in annual mean wind speed and gale days lessen the impact of dust storm, sandstorm, and floating dust events. The increase in annual rainy days is the cause of the decrease in annual sunshine duration, while the increase in spring sunshine duration corresponds with the decrease in dust weather. Therefore, the increase in precipitation indicators, the decrease in gales and dust weather, and the increasing in sunshine duration in spring will be beneficial to crops growth.展开更多
文摘Severe influenza remains unusual in its virulence for humans. Complications or ultimately death arising from these infections are often associated with hyperinduction of proinflammatory cytokine production, which is also known as ＇cytokine storm＇. For this disease, it has been proposed that immunomodulatory therapy may improve the outcome, with or without the combination of antiviral agents. Here, we review the current literature on how various effectors of the immune system initiate the cytokine storm and exacerbate pathological damage in hosts. We also review some of the current immunomodulatory strategies for the treatment of cytokine storms in severe influenza, including corticosteroids, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists, sphingosine-l-phosphate receptor 1 agonists, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, antioxidants, anti-tumour-necrosis factor therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, statins, arbidol, herbs, and other potential therapeutic strategies.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41021002)
文摘The North China and the neighbouring Mongolia in Asian Interior is characterized by extremely dry climate, resulted in one of the world＇s major dust emission centres. Deciphering the source region of Asian dust is critical for revealing the mechanism of the dust production, interpreting the paleo-environrnental records of eolian deposits, predicting the overall environmental effects of dust, and setting the strategies for the control of contemporary dust storms. This paper summarizes the geochemical methods applied to the source tracing of Asian dust. Nd-Sr isotopes were the most extensively studied source tracer of Asian dust and have been successfully applied in many cases. Geochemistry of detrital monomineral shows great theoretical advantages in source tracing and deserves further studies. The short-range transportation of Chinese loess with direction similar to that of the prevailing near surface wind is revealed. Source tracing also shows that the Asian dust has two ultimate material sources from the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and the Central Asian Orogen, which confirms the importance of mountain processes in the production of silt eolian particles. Based on the recent progresses on the source tracing of Asian dust, discussions are expanded on the natural background of Asian dust storms and potential anthropogenic influence, the materials evolution of the source regions of Asian dust and its relationships with climate changes and Tibetan uplift, and the role of Tibetan uplift in the Asian dust system.
文摘The average mass concentration of the aerosols in Beijing during the dust storm in the spring of 2000 was -6000 μg · m-3, -30 times as high as that in the non-dust storm days. The enrichment factors of the pollution elements As, Sb and Se were higher than those in the non-dust storm days. This indicated that As, Sb and Se resulted from the pollution sources of those areas, through which the dust storm passed during their long-range transport, in addition to the local pollution sources in Beijing. The enrichment factors of the Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu were much less than those in the non-dust storm days, suggesting that the local pollution sources in Beijing area contributed to them mostly. The enrichment factors of elements Al, Fe, Sc, Mn, Na, Ni, Cr, V and Co were close to 1, showing that these elements originated from crust. The concentration of S in the dust storm was -10 μg · m-3,4 times as high as that in non-dust storm. S in the aerosols resulted from the adsorption of gaseous SO2 and the consequent
基金supported by grants from National Science and Technology Emergency Project(Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine to Control COVID-19,2020yfc0841600,China)National Major Science and Technology Projects of China(2018YFC1704502,2020YFA0708004)+2 种基金National Science Foundation of China(NSFC 82104431)Open project of State Key Laboratory of Component-based Chinese Medicine(CBCM2020201,China)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant(2019M650989)。
文摘COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARSCo V-2)has spread across the globe,posing an enormous threat to public health and safety.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),in combination with Western medicine(WM),has made important and lasting contributions in the battle against COVID-19.In this review,updated clinical effects and potential mechanisms of TCM,presented in newly recognized three distinct phases of the disease,are summarized and discussed.By integrating the available clinical and preclinical evidence,the efficacies and underlying mechanisms of TCM on COVID-19,including the highly recommended three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas,are described in a panorama.We hope that this comprehensive review not only provides a reference for health care professionals and the public to recognize the significant contributions of TCM for COVID-19,but also serves as an evidence-based in-depth summary and analysis to facilitate understanding the true scientific value of TCM.
基金funded by the Xinjiang Natural Science Foundation of China (200821162)the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2009CB825101)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40671170)
文摘In many arid and semiarid regions,saline playas represent a significant source of unconsoli-dated sediments available for aeolian transport,and severe saline dust storms occur frequently due to human disturbance.In this study,saline dust storms are reviewed systematically from the aspects of con-cept,general characteristics,conditions of occurrence,distribution and ecological impact.Our researches showed that saline dust storms are a kind of chemical dust storm originating in dry lake beds in arid and semiarid regions;large areas of unconsolidated saline playa sediments and frequent strong winds are the basic factors to saline dust storm occurrence;there are differentiation characteristics in deposition flux and chemical composition with wind-blown distance during saline dust storm diffusion;and saline dust storm diffusion to some extent increases glacier melt and results in soil salinization in arid regions.An under-standing of saline dust storms is important to guide disaster prevention and ecological rehabilitation.
基金supported by China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Specific Research on ClimateChange (No. CCSF-10-06)the National Key Scientific Research Program of Global Change (No. 2010CB951001)
文摘By using the observation data from 89 weather stations in Xinjiang during 1961-2010, this paper analyzed the basic climatic elements including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration, water vapor pressure, and dust storm in the entire Xinjiang and the subareas: North Xinjiang, Tianshan Mountains, and South Xinjiang. The results indicate that from 1961 to 2010 the annual and seasonal mean temperatures in the entire Xinjiang show an increasing trend with the increasing rate rising from south to north. The increasing rate of annual mean minimum temperature is over twice more than that of the annual mean maximum temperature, contributing much to the increase in the annual averages. The magnitude of the decrease rate of low-temperature days is larger than the increase rate of high-temperature days. The increase of warm days and warm nights and the decrease of cold days and cold nights further reveal that the temperature increasing in Xinjiang is higher. In addition, annual and seasonal rainfalls have been increasing. South Xinjiang experiences higher increase in rainfall amounts than North Xinjiang and Tianshan Mountains. Annual rainy days, longest consecutive rainy days, the daily maximum precipitation and extreme precipitation events, annual torrential rain days and amount, annual blizzard days and amount, all show an increasing trend, corresponding to the increasing in annual mean water vapor pressure. This result shows that the humidity has increased with temperature increasing in the past 50 years. The decrease in annual mean wind speed and gale days lessen the impact of dust storm, sandstorm, and floating dust events. The increase in annual rainy days is the cause of the decrease in annual sunshine duration, while the increase in spring sunshine duration corresponds with the decrease in dust weather. Therefore, the increase in precipitation indicators, the decrease in gales and dust weather, and the increasing in sunshine duration in spring will be beneficial to crops growth.
