The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the use of the arthrocentesis in patients with disc displacement without reduction (DDWOR). Two hundred and thirty-four (234) patients with DDWOR were evaluated and the following data collected: gender; affected side; age (years); duration of the pain (months); patient's perception of pain ; maximal interincisal distance (MID) (mm); and joint disc position, determined by magnetic resonance imaging. Data were obtained in two different moments: before the arthrocentesis (M1) and three or four months later (M2). Paired t-Student Test, Scores Test and Wilcoxon Test showed a statistical significant difference (p<0.0001) between the M1 and M2 for the variables VAS and MID. There was an alteration in the joint disc position in 93.88% of the cases after arthrocentesis. There was no association between the general characteristics of the patients on the M1 and the results of the arthrocentesis (p>0.05). It can be concluded that the arthrocentesis is efficient in reducing the pain, in increasing interincisal distance, and altering the joint disc position in patients with DDWOR regardless gender, age side and pain duration. Among the different kinds of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, the displacement of the disc without reduction (DDWOR) has a prevalence of 35.7% . In thisArthrocentesis is a minimally invasive joint surgery and it is effective for decreasing pain, increasing maximal interincisal distance, eliminating joint effusion and improving the oral health related to the quality of life of the patients with TMJ disorders , 7. It cThe arthrocentesis technique was introduced at about 30 years ago  and it hTherefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the arthrocentesis, alone, in patients with DDWOR. The null hypothesis to be tested says that the results of the variables studied here will not show any difference before and after the arthrocentesis.The research was approved by the Ethics Committee for Research on Humans of the State University of Maringá (N°: 1.751.299). A retrospective observational study was conducted based on the Helsinki Declaration and recommendations of the report entitled Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) . Data weThe patients included in the study should be 18 years old or above, have clinical symptoms compatible with DDWOR and joint pain that did not respond to a conservative treatment for at least three months . The diagnosis of DDWOR were confirmed by a combination of a clinical examination based on the axis I of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD)  and by MAbout the initial 400 patients, 20 had incomplete medical records were excluded; 59 present rheumatoid arthritis; 2 presented agenesis, 2 hyperplasia, 2 hypoplasia e 1 had a malignant neoplasm in the condyle; 5 presented bone ankylosis; 15 had previous TMJ surgery; 10 reported extreme fear for needles; and 50 no performed a MRI before the arthrocentesis and were also excluded from the sample. A total of 234 patients (245 TMJs) fit into the research criteria.The following variables were registered: gender; side affected by joint pain; age (years); pain duration (months); patient’s pain perception ); maximal interincisal distance (MID) (mm), measured by a digital calliper ; and joint disc position, determined by MRI. The data were obtained in two different moments: before the arthrocentesis (M1) and three to four months later (M2).MRI scans were obtained in a Magnetic Resonance device at 1.5 Tesla . Series of T1 weighted images were performed with a repetition time (RT) of 567 milliseconds and time echo (TE) of 11.4 milliseconds. The Series of T2 weighted images were performed with a RT of 5.200 milliseconds and a TE of 168.5, with bilateral spherical surface coil of 9cm diameter. The matrix used for T1 was 288 x 192, with numbers of excitation NEX = 3; and for T2, 288 x 160, with NEX = 4; and with a field of view (FOV) of 11x11 cm.The MRI images were all analysed by the same radiologist, who based his analysis on the studies of Ahmad et al. (2009) . The repThe Arthrocentesis was performed once only in each of the indicated joint and the procedure followed the technical references found in the literature –15, 17 . A demogThe individuals were considered as observational units; data were tabulated and submitted to a descriptive analysis. The variables, VAS and MID, were evaluated before and after arthrocentesis (M1 and M2) and the results analysed by Paired Wilcoxon Test. In addition, univariate analysis by logistic regression model was used to check if the characteristics of the patients collected in the M1  were responsible for the effects of the arthrocentesis on the variables of interest (VAS and MID). All tests were performed with a significance level of 5%. Data were analyzed using SAS version 9.3 .The descriptive variables are shown in The paired Wilcoxon test showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001) between M1, before, and M2, after the arthrocentesis, for VAS and MID. The univariate analysis by logistic regression model showed no association between the characteristics of the patients collected in the M1  with the results of VAS and MID after the arthrocentesis (p>0.05).The results of the second MRI revealed that there was no change NC,  in 6.12%Although most DDWOR patients are asymptomatic, some individuals can experience pain and reduced jaw mobility , being tPain is the most recurrent reason for patients to seek treatment for their TMJ , and theThe reduction of the pain is expected as the irrigation process, conducted with bio-compatible substances, allows the removal of debris of the joint tissues in degeneration and eliminates allogeneic substances, mainly inflammatory mediators , 10, 21.Despite reducing pain, the arthrocentesis performed under pressure may also present other benefits to the patient, as it removes adherences, eliminates the negative pressure in the joint, distends the joint space, recovering the space of the joint disc and fossa, changes the viscosity of the synovial liquid, helps in the translation of the joint disc and condyle, and, consequently, enlarges mouth opening , 24–27. The proportion men: women were of 8:1, similar to the ones previously found in the literature , 28. TheWithin time, the displaced joint disc becomes significantly deformed, and the retrodiscal tissue becomes less flexible and more fibrous, which does not allow it to reposition itself along the condyle, both in open and closed mouth , 22. OurThe minimally invasive character of the arthrocentesis produces less post-operative morbidity if compared with other surgical techniques for the TMJ. The main disadvantages in relation to the arthroscopy is that: it is not possible to visualise the intra-joint pathology; there are limitations for performing biopsies; and it is more difficult to eliminate adherences or adhesions in more advanced stages , 10. AltThis study was conducted in only one place and within a restricted population, so the results should be carefully analysed, as there were some limitations. No control group was used, as all the patients suffered from pain and restrictions to open the mouth and a control group could have their disorders aggravated. Placebo was also not used due to ethical conflicts, as we would have to perform the anaesthetic blocks and insert the needles without injecting any substance. After the procedure, the patients were not recommended to use the occlusal splints or realized any other treatment, during the follow-up period, so that there would be no interference in the interpretation of the results. Although the follow-up period in the present study ranged from 3 to 4 for months, the results tend to be long-lasting, once the literature has shown good results for pain and jaw motion even after one year after the arthrocentesis .Considering the results and the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that the arthrocentesis is efficient in reducing the pain, in increasing interincisal distance, and altering the joint disc position in patients with DDWOR regardless gender, age side and pain duration.


Pneumococcal infection being one of the dominant causes of acute respiratory diseases and exacerbation of chronic ones is a serious problem for human health and society. The flood in the Amur river basin in the summer of 2013 created a special zone and risk conditions for the formation of respiratory pathology in the Far-Eastern region of Russia. We aimed to give clinical and epidemiological assessment of the effectiveness of vaccination programs of respiratory viral and pneumococcal infections and generalization of regional experience in the organization of a set of measures aimed at their prevention in the postflood period in the Far-Eastern region. Prevenar-13 was used for immunization. Data on the incidence of ARVI and pneumonia in children in pre- and postvaccination periods were to be recorded. The indicators and special criteria were used to assess the effectiveness of vaccination. To study the circulation of serovariants of pneumococcus in inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract and nasopharyngeal carrier, bacteriological and molecular genetic methods (RT-PCR in the mode of multiprime detection) were used. The monitoring program includes children aged 2 to 5 years in the amount of 4988 with risk factors for pneumococcal infection. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Differences in the frequency and range of serovariants of circulating isolates of pneumococcus in the postvaccinal period and in unvaccinated children, elimination of a number of serotypes, and appearance of circulation of nonvaccinated strains were revealed. The incidence of acute respiratory diseases and pneumonia among the vaccinated population for 2 years in the region decreased by 2.5 times. The coefficient of effectiveness of vaccination according to the indicator of morbidity of children with pneumonia reaches 75-100% with direct dependence on the age of children (r=0.98). Comparative statistical analysis revealed a high degree of effectiveness of regional programs with the methods of immunoprophylaxis of pneumococcal infections. Pneumococcal infection being one of the dominant causes of acute respiratory diseases and exacerbation of chronic ones is a serious problem for human health and society. In the Russian Federation, pneumonia ranks first among the causes of mortality from infectious diseases and sixth among all causes of mortality and causes a high level of socioeconomic losses for society and the state. Pneumococcal infections, being widespread diseases, affect people of any age, while children, elderly people, and those with chronic diseases are most at risk of disease –4.Currently, pneumonia as an independent infectious nosological form is of interest from the point of view of epidemiologists as a group of infections that are spreading fast among the population and are characterized by the peculiarities of the manifestations of the epidemic process, by the specificity of pathogens and as the ones that have a certain epidemic potential. Consequently, pneumonia as an infectious pathology needs targeted epidemiological surveillance and the development of an adequate set of sanitary and antiepidemic and preventive measures –8.Along with the known risk factors for pneumonia, climatic conditions are important for the formation of pathological conditions of the respiratory system , 10. The S. pneumoniae serotypes significant on the territory of the Russian Federation [Specific vaccine prophylaxis is the most affordable and economically justified way to influence the incidence of pneumococcal infections, primarily in the risk groups , 14, 15.deration –22.The expert community noted that in Russia and abroad there is enough data on the clinical effectiveness of vaccination of children and adults at risk and its high economic efficiency was demonstrated , 15, 23. aim of the study was to conduct a clinical and epidemiological assessment of the effectiveness of vaccination against respiratory viral and pneumococcal infections and summarize regional experience in the organization of a set of measures aimed at their prevention in the postflood period in the Far-Eastern region of Russia.In this regard, theThe surveyed people included in the program of monitoring and clinical and epidemiological assessment of the effectiveness of vaccination are represented by children aged 2 to 5 years in the number of 4988 with risk factors for pneumococcal infection. Vaccination of children was done in March-May 2014 in 17 municipalities of the Amur region (coverage was 22.1% in this age group and 85-90% in the risk group). Vaccinated children were represented almost in equal proportions by age groups from 2 to 3 years, from 3 to 4 years and from 4 to 5 years.For immunization against pneumococcal infections, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar-13 was used. In 13.1% of cases, vaccination was done in combination with the use of an anti-influenza vaccine. Modes of administration, dosage, and conditions of use of the vaccine were done in accordance with Federal Clinical Guidelines , 17 and During the implementation of the program activities, the effectiveness of vaccination for specific prevention of pneumococcal infections was assessed using the methods of clinical and epidemiological analysis and economic and statistical analysis. This was done using the database of the regional health administration bodies, bodies of state statistics of Russia (Rosstat).The main indicators of the effectiveness of vaccination against pneumococcal infection (in addition to the incidence of infectious diseases) were chosen to be the following: the total duration of the disease, the number of courses of antibacterial therapy and the frequency of hospitalization in pre- and postvaccination periods. To assess the effectiveness and quality of specific prevention, special criteria were used: the coefficient of preventive effectiveness (CE) of vaccination and the infectious index (II).As part of the epidemiological monitoring of pneumonia, the analysis of the main characteristics of the epidemic process, of the dynamics of morbidity, of its seasonality, of the age structure of patients, and of the etiology of the disease was done. In the analysis of the social and epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination, the impact of pneumococcal vaccination on the incidence of pneumonia among the total population (children aged 0 to 14 years), both those caught in the flood zone and those free from it over a number of years, was assessed. S. pneumoniae in postflood period on the territory of Khabarovsk Krai. To assess the molecular genetic characteristics of S. pneumonia and to identify the effectiveness of vaccination against pneumococcal infection in the postflood period on the Amur river, healthy children under the age of 5 years  were examined; they visited preschool institutions that were in the flood zone before and a year after vaccination. All studies were approved by the Local Ethics Committee and were conducted after informed parental consent.In accordance with the program, monitoring studies were done to assess the circulation of serological variants of S. pneumoniae were tested (n=57), isolated in children carriers (n=22), in patients with pneumonia (n=15), and in those with noninvasive nasopharyngeal infection (n=20). In order to identify the phenotypic features and genetic characteristics of S. pneumoniae, the strains isolated from the carriers, patients with community-acquired pneumonia, and acute sinusitis (n=363) were also studied.At the stage of studying the molecular genetic structure of pneumococci to assess the circulation of serovariants of pneumococcus in inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract and nasopharyngeal carrier by RT-PCR in the mode of multiprime detection, strains ofThe material was studied by the bacteriological methods (64 samples) and molecular genetic (RT-PCR in the mode of multiprime detection) methods (94 samples). The samples from the nasopharynx were taken by using sterile swabs which were later inoculated in 0.5 ml of the “Transport medium for storage and transport of respiratory smears”  in an Eppendorf test-tube. The identification of microorganisms was performed by standard methods with the use of the certified culture media  and reagents . S. pneumoniae by the RT-PCR method with genes lytA and psaA as targets. The extraction of DNA of S. pneumoniae from the bacterial suspension was done according to the instruction attached to the reagents «DNA-sorb-AM” made by the company “InterLabService”. The RT-PCR was performed on the thermal cycler CFX 96  in the multiprime mode, with the volume of 25 μL. For serotyping of S. pneumoniae the primers recommended for serotyping by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention  prepared at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being were used. The multilocus sequencing-typing was performed in 13 clinical strains of pneumococci per protocols of MLST and CDC. The sensitivity to antimicrobial drugs (AMD) was determined by the method of serial dilutions, used according to the standard CLSI M100-S24E, 2014 within the framework of the project “PeGas IV”.The obtained samples from pure cultures (57) and samples from the primary material (nasopharynx washing) (54) were tested to reveal DNA ofThe analytical stage of evaluation of efficiency of the program included statistical processing of primary materials on the basis of the Microsoft Excel 2010 program package with calculation of the main indicators . Methods of mathematical statistics  were used for the analysis and evaluation of statistical material.Bacteriological studies (n=811) allowed establishing the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia in children, in which the leading role belongs to pneumoniae. The frequency of its isolation from the tracheal aspirate is 13.3-23% in children of the first year of life; 51.8-65.9% in children over 1 year . In gene S. pneumoniae was isolated in 90% of cases. A coinfection was found in 10%. In 67% cases it was caused by associations of S. pneumoniae with H. influenzae (32%), Enterobacteriaceae (25%), and M. catarrhalis (10%). In 33% cases there was a combination of H. influenzae (NTHi and Hib) with Enterobacteriaceae and with Acinetobacter spp. The detection rate of H. influenzae was 6.9%, predominantly in the composition of coinfections with S. pneumoniae. The detection of Hib strains accounted for 0.4% cases . The significant differences in the microbial spectrum of the tracheal aspirate in children were established depending on the age: prevalence of the detection rate of Enterobacteriaceae (64-56%) in the first and rarely in the second half of the first year of life and of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae after the 1st year of life.In monocultureAnalysis of clinical strains (isolates 2012-13) of 7 genes of the main metabolism, the aro gene (shikimate dehydrogenase) in comparison with the same genes of Chinese, American, and English strains by multilocus sequencing (MLST), showed their greatest similarity with the Chinese strains A026, ST556  , 25. The S. pneumoniae were identified, 87.5% of which belong to the vaccine strains included in the conjugate vaccine Prevenar-13 and 73.7% are basic variants which are of clinical significance in Russia: 19F, 6AB, and 3. Serovariant 11 AD isolated from the carrier did not belong to the vaccine strains. In 14% (8 out of 57) the serotype was not established (untyped strains).According to molecular genetic studies, 8 serovariants/groups ofThe revealed serovariants were present in all studied groups: both in carriers and in those with the respiratory pathology. Clinically significant vaccine serovariant 19F was found 2 times more often in the respiratory pathology: in 53% of cases in community-acquired pneumonia, in 50% in sinusitis, and 22.7% in carriers (p=0.0606). Serogroup 6AV was detected in carriers with noninvasive pneumococcal infection in 22.7% of cases, which was 1.9 times more often than in pneumonia. On the contrary, serotype 3, which causes severe pneumonias, including destructive ones, was detected with high frequency in pneumonia (20%) and quite often (13%) in carriers. Serotypes 19F and 3 were detected mainly in patients with community-acquired pneumonia; 6AV was in carriers and in those with a noninvasive infection (sinusitis). S. pneumoniae in carriers and patients with respiratory pathology in the city of Khabarovsk was characterized by a predominance of 3 options: 19F, 6AB, and 3, making 73.7% of all the obtained strains. All isolates belonged to the vaccine strains included in the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar-13. The coincidence of the established range of pneumococcus with vaccine strains showed the effectiveness of scheduled vaccination and reduction of nosocomial carriage of S. pneumoniae and of the incidence of pneumococcal infections in children.Thus, the established range of serological variants of S. pneumoniae, 86.8% are sensitive to amoxicillin, 7.4% are resistant, and 5.8% are moderately resistant. 85.3% are sensitive to penicillin, only 1.5% of strains are resistant, and 13.2% are in the range of moderate resistance. Ceftriaxone is active in 73.5% of cases; resistance was revealed in 22%. The greatest resistance was established to macrolides, mainly to azithromycin (61%) (MPC50-90-64 mg/l), to tetracycline (65%), and to trimethoprim (69%), respectively. Polyresistance was revealed in 51% of cases. The established levels of resistance of strains of S. pneumoniae isolated from sputum/bronchoalveolar lavage in children with community-acquired pneumonia exceed those recorded in the western regions of Russia.An increase in resistance to antimicrobial drugs (AMD) has been established. Of the 68 clinical strains ofμg/disc (taking into account EUCAST standards), 64% of serotype 19F strains were resistant to β-lactam antibiotics.Thus, almost all strains circulating in the studied child population are vaccine serovariants, including 19F, 14, 6 A/B/C/D, 4, 23F serogroups and serotype 3, with a predominance of serotypes 19 F, which are associated with resistance to AMD. According to the screening results of the resistance of pneumococci isolated from children in the kindergarten, using a disc with oxacillin 1 The evaluation of nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococcus among children in kindergarten showed that before vaccination the range of serovariants of pneumococcus included all vaccine strains, except for 7F and 19A, with a predominance of the circulation of serotype 19F (37.5%). Serotype 14 was detected in 19%, serotype 4 in 12.1%, and 6A / B/C / D in 10% .Emergency vaccination against pneumococcal infection in the region has led to a change in the range of serovariants with the elimination of a number of invasive and resistant populations of pneumococcus. At the same time the predominance of nasopharyngeal carriage of 19F serovariant remained, but a circulation of nonvaccine strains that do not have clinical significance appeared.A year after vaccination (n=36), the main range of serotypes remained the same with a predominance of 19F serotype (44.4%). Serotypes 23 and 9V and nonvaccine serotypes 11A/D, 12F/A, and 15A/F were eliminated. A reduction in the carriage of serogroups 14 from 19 to 8.3% and serogroups 18A/C/F from 7 to 5.6% was found out. Some vaccine strains were replaced by nonvaccine strains. Nonvaccine strains (NVT) were found in 22.2% of cases. Full replacement of serovariants was found in 38.9% of children. The dynamics of the change of serovariants is shown in Among serovariants eliminated after vaccination at the individual level, almost all circulating in the study population options were revealed. It was reliably determined that only vaccinated children a year later in 32.1% of cases had no nasopharyngeal carrier of pneumococcus (p<0.05), which proves the effectiveness of vaccination. Carriage of prevaccination serovariant persisted in 61.1% of cases, out of these at persistence of the previous variant after vaccination in 22.2% of children (8 out of 36) the appearance of carriage of additional vaccine product occurred. According to the results of the survey, it was found that in a year in the nonvaccinated children (n=23) the frequency of carriage of serovariant 19F increased almost twice and amounted to 62.2% (p<0.05), displacing other serovariants from the population. Thus, in the absence of vaccination, the increase in the population of serotype 19F of pneumococcus is dangerous from the viewpoint of the spread and increase of resistance of pneumococcus to antimicrobial drugs.The analysis of dynamics of indicators of incidence of pneumonia of children on the territory of the Amur region and Khabarovsk Krai testifies  that itsThe structure of patients with pneumonia is dominated by an adult population making 75.0±0.45% (average for 2010-2015). However, the intensive parameters of the incidence are much higher among children and adolescents (854.1±114.2 per 100 000 of the respective age groups) than among the adult population (609.1±59.8 per 100 000), at p≤0.05. It was found out that the disease is most susceptible to children of younger age group (0 to 2 years) and the elderly (over 65 years). Incidence rates among those age groups are, respectively, 1732.0 and 1303.0 per 100 000 population of corresponding age with minimal morbidity among persons in the age group of 18-39 years (460.0:100 000).In the analysis of the annual dynamics of the incidence of pneumonia there is a pronounced seasonality . It was Analysis of indicators of the effectiveness of vaccination against pneumococcal infection shows that in the postvaccination period the total duration of the disease decreased by 14.6%; the number of courses of antibacterial therapy (ABT) decreased by 21.3% compared to the prevaccination period. However, the most significant positive changes in the indicator were observed with respect to the frequency of hospitalization of patients, which in the postvaccination period in most municipalities decreased by 2-3 times (p=0.0389).Comparative statistical analysis of the effectiveness of vaccination against pneumococcal infections with the use of the vaccine Preventar-13 for the prevention of various diseases of infectious etiology in children showed its high efficiency in the prevention of pneumonia. The coefficient of preventive effectiveness of vaccination in most municipalities of the region on the indicator of the incidence of pneumonia has reached 75-100%. It was found that there is a direct dependence of the degree of effectiveness of vaccination against pneumococcal infection on the age of children: the older the child is, the higher the efficiency becomes (r=0.94), at t =6.71, p≤0.05.One of the main indicators of the effectiveness of prevention programs is the incidence of vaccinated population in pre- and postvaccination periods. The results of the analysis of vaccine used in the Amur region show that the number of pneumonia diseases registered in the observed population decreased by 2.3 times in the postvaccination period (p=0.034).Analysis of the results of epidemiological monitoring of the incidence of pneumonia in the population of the Amur region shows  that amoOver the past 10 years, the coverage of the population with influenza vaccination has increased 2.2 times . At the same time, the incidence of ARVI and influenza in the region over the past 6 years decreased by 29.2% (from 22216.9 per 100 000 population in 2009 to 15737.7 in 2015); r=-1.0, p≤0.05.Analysis of the results of the implementation of preventive programs shows that in general the level of cumulative morbidity of children with ARVI and pneumonia in the postvaccination period (2015) decreased compared to the prevaccination period (2013) by 2.5 times (from 3725.8‰ to 1471.4‰). If in the administrative territories of the region included in the program of vaccine prevention of pneumococcal infections, the incidence of pneumonia decreased among the total population by 25.6%, then in the territories not included in it, this happened only by 0.29% (p≤0.05). Consequently, the use of pneumococcal vaccine had a significant impact on the effectiveness of prevention programmes. During the period of implementation of preventive programs, the incidence of pneumonia in the Amur region decreased by 23.1%, and mortality from these causes by 39.4% (p≤0.05). By reducing the incidence of 1505 cases for the period 2013-2015, an economic damage in the amount of 139.5 million roubles was prevented.Currently on the territory of the Far-Eastern region of Russia, the experience of how to organize and provide the complex of antiepidemic and preventive measures aimed at reducing the level of incidence of acute respiratory infections and pneumonia in the conditions of influence of extreme climatic factors is accumulated. Emergency vaccination against pneumococcal infection in the Khabarovsk Krai of Russia led to a decrease in the frequency of nasopharyngeal carriage in vaccinated children of pneumococcus 19F, 4, 6A/BC/D, and 14 serovariants by 1.5-2 times and complete elimination of pneumococcus from the nasopharynx in 32.1% of cases (p<0.05).The implementation of regional preventive programs in the field of respiratory health care using vaccines against pneumococcal infection has a high level of medical and socioeconomic efficiency. This allows us to recommend its use as the most effective method of prevention of respiratory viral and pneumococcal infections in the complex of antiepidemic and preventive measures among different age groups.


Eupallasella percnurus Pall.) inhabit 160 sites, including 44 in the eastern part of the country. Their habitats are mainly small and shallow peat holes vulnerable to complete destruction due to being dried or overgrown. Such processes are regularly observed, with ~ 60% of sites having vanished since the 1950s. Therefore, this species is one of the most endangered fish species from the Cyprinidae family in Polish inland waters. A GIS approach was adopted to fully analyze their habitat loss. The habitat area was marked in four time periods (from the 1960s to 2018) in reference to 26 sites composed of 111 reservoirs and representing almost 60% of all those documented in Eastern Poland. On this basis, the rate at which the habitat will vanish and the predicted time when this will happen were calculated. The results showed that the mean vanishing rate oscillates between 1 and 2% of the area per year for 50% of the analyzed sites (N = 13). For three sites (11%), this value does not exceed 1% of each area per year and is higher than 2% for the rest of the sites (39%). The results indicate that if the process of overgrowing and shallowing is not stopped, 58% of the analyzed sites will disappear in the next 50 years (including 8 (31%) in the next 20 years). This trend may lead to a serious decline in the species population or even its extinction in the next decades. Passive protection has proven to be insufficient in preserving lake minnow habitats. Therefore, there is an urgent need to undertake decisive protection action, as proposed in this manuscript.In Poland, lake minnow (The online version of this article (10.1007/s10661-019-7731-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Both natural processes and human land-use activities may have contributed to the native habitat loss and thus to the local and global extinction of the fish species  , remote sensing can be used to assess different environmental indicators that affect the existence of a given population in a certain area  is one of the rarest and the most endangered fish species of the Cyprinidae family in Polish inland waters. The species comprises small phytophilic fish, which belong to the fish family of cyprinids (Cyprinidae). The occurrence of this fish species is highly dispersed spatially  due to habitat loss is composed of five stages.The method of analyzed extinction risk to lake minnow  of lake minnow documented in Eastern Poland were pre-analyzed : the year 1961, 1977, or 1985 ;Second period (P2): the year 2003 or 2004 ;Third period (P3): the year 2009 or 2012 ;Fourth period (P4): the year 2017 or 2018 .Using the ArcGIS 10.3 software, the surface of the water visible was marked manually in four periods, depending on the availability of data, i.e.:The smallest polygon marked had an area of 0.001 ha. During the work, it occurred that 35 of the analyzed reservoirs were not visible on orthophotomap 2017 (2018) (marked by * in the Rmean), which showed the differences between the P1 and P4(P3), and the 10 or 15-year rate (R15-years) to refer to the differences between the P2 and P4(P3). Such a methodology was adopted as a topographic map and features much lower accuracy in representing borders of small reservoirs than the orthophotomap. The Rmean gives insight into the direction and intensification of vanishing processes, wherein the last R15-years allowed us to estimate the area of reservoir that disappeared in a given period of time. Analyses were performed both in relation to whole sites and to individual reservoirs with a given site. The following formula was used:Since the maps that served as data sources were created in different time periods and the analyzed reservoirs were of various sizes, the rate at which habitats vanish was expressed in percentages per year, rather than in hectares per year (which would make comparisons across the sites impossible). Two types of the mean rate were calculated: the mean rate ; and T—difference in year between given periods of analysis.where Rmean and R15-years. It allows estimating roughly how long it will take for lake minnow to become extinct in the east of Poland due to the loss of their habitat.Then, we calculated when each site as well as each reservoir would disappear if the observed trend persisted. As a result, two dates were identified—based on the mean—prognosis year of reservoir vanishing based on Rmean; PY15-years—prognosis year of reservoir vanishing based on R15-years; Year—a given period of time; and Area—area of reservoir (m2) in a given period of analysis.The estimation of the date of reservoirs vanishing was based on the following formula:GIS analysis showed the intensification of negative trends leading to the reservoir vanishing between two last analyzed periods. In relation to most of the reservoirs, trends observed between P1 and P3 changed significantly after P3 resulted in a more rapid overgrowing and shallowing process. This is why the model had to be rebuilt to obtain more likely data of reservoir vanishing. Firstly, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to select the best correction factors to estimate the final data of reservoir vanishing. Different factors and factors values were analyzed to check the prediction power of the model. Finally, three factors were added to the model, which lower the prognosis year of reservoir vanishing  was executed to define the differences between Generally, four models of reservoir vanishing can be observed. The first one, known as Shrinkage < 50%, is characteristic for relatively steady reservoirs, where the area has been shrunk slightly between P1 and P4 and the water area decreased by less than 50% between P3 and P4 Fig. . Such a Rmean oscillates between 1 and 2% of the area per year , 7 (6.57% per year), 21 (6.26%), and 24 (6.21% per year). Individual reservoirs comprising each site show quite similar trends.In the case of the 13 analyzed lake minnow sites (50%), the n = 52; α = 0.05; Fcrit = 4.034) with post hoc Scheffé test showed that the difference in means between the mean and 15-year rate is statistically significant in the case of the analyzed sites . The analysis  also showed a statistical significance in the case of individual reservoirs composing each site . Generally, in the case of 91% of reservoirs, R15-years is significantly higher than Rmean indicating the intensification of overgrowing processes during the last years. Reservoirs which feature a lower value of R15-years than Rmean (9%) belong to a greater complex and the mean rate calculated for those sites still shows the general trend.The ANOVA test (R15-years was similar to Rmean ± 5 years in the case of 47 reservoirs (10 sites)  , as well as in the case of individual reservoirs .Prognosis year of reservoir vanishing based on es) Fig. , and siges) Fig. . Only thdel Fig. . The ANOmean, it was found that if the process of overgrowing and shallowing were not stopped, 15, or 58%, of the analyzed lake minnow sites would disappear in the next 50 years (of which 8 (31%) in the next 20 years). According to PYCor15-years, the prognosis is even worse, as 17 peat holes (65%) are due to disappears in the next 50 years (of which 11 (42%) in the next 20 years). Sites Nos. 7, 13, 19, and 21 are particularly vulnerable to extinction. They are predicted to vanish in 2024–2025, 2022–2025, 2020–2021, and 2019–2021, respectively, based on the observed trend. If the current rate of processes continues, site nos. 14 and 18 and 25 and 26 will survive the longest.Based on the PYCorThe lake minnow sites under analysis are divided into four distinct groups depending on their geographical situation. They include (A) the Tyśmienica river valley ; (B) the Polesie region ; (C) the Mogielnica and Świnka river valleys ; and (D) the surrounding of the Gotówka village  , but the differences in means between PYCor15-years and PYCor15-years are statistically significant . The differences in means in relation to each reservoir are significant both in relation to each site  and reservoir . Tukey’s post hoc tests showed that significant differences are between groups B and C as well as A and C (Table The ANOVA test showed that differences in means between R15-years. Rmean predicted the disappearance of seven peat holes (28%) and both rates (Rmean and R15-years) of four peat holes (16%). The model, however, 100% correctly predicted the existence of the remaining 76 reservoirs after the P4. Generally, taking into account the state in 2019, the model was corrected in relation to 90% of reservoirs.As mentioned in the “The results clearly indicate that the analyzed water reservoirs inhabited by lake minnow are gradually disappearing. If these processes do not stop, 58% of them will disappear in the next 50 years (of which 8 (31%) in the next 20 years). These findings are generally consistent with the estimations found for other Polish regions. Radke et al.  stated t−1, with the mean value of 421 μS cm−1  of them are located in the area of Natura 2000 Sites , the results of the analysis indicated that they are subject to atrophy to the same degree as other sites that are not protected. Therefore, from the management point of view, the main conclusion resulting from the study is that passive protection is not sufficient to maintain the existing population of lake minnow. It is necessary to take active action, such as the restoration and maintenance of a steady level of groundwater appropriate for the species, maintenance of the water level through damming (wherever it is possible), deepening of a reservoir, and removal of shrubs. Others sites require that garbage and waste deposited in them should be removed. Above all, it is necessary to discontinue drainage works that affect the habitat conditions of some reservoirs. In Natura 2000 sites, such works have not been conducted so far, mainly because the areas have only been protected for a short period of time and because it is necessary to prepare the plans for implementing protective action for selected habitats and species. It should be noted, however, that not all currently existing habitats are classified for passive and active protection. In some cases, it is not possible because of the legal status of private properties (land ownership), in others—because the state in which the habitat is preserved indicates that protective measures will not be effective.The analysis revealed that in the case of 50% of the analyzed sites, the mean vanishing rate oscillates between 1 and 2% of the area per year and is higher than 2% for 39% of the sites.The prediction model showed that if the trends continue, 58% of analyzed lake minnow habitats, or 37% of all the documented sites in Eastern Poland, will disappear in the next 50 years (of which 8 (31%) in the next 20 years).The model also indicates that the lake minnow population in the Mogielnicy and Świnka valleys and in the Polesie region will survive the longest, whereas the population inhabiting the Tyśmienica valley and the surrounding of the Gotówka village is the most threatened with extinction.R15-years).Taking into account the state in the year 2019, the model was corrected in relation to 90% of analyzed reservoirs. The prediction was more accurate based on the 15-year rate of vanishing


Psychological insulin resistance (PIR) is a common but unappreciated phenomenon by health care providers with a negative impact on the control of type 2 diabetes mellitus.To determine the frequency of PIR and its determinants in patients with type 2 diabetes.This study was conducted in Kinshasa in three health centres providing management of diabetic patients.This study was a multicentric, cross-sectional study conducted from 01 November 2017 to 31 March 2018 in Kinshasa among 213 type 2 diabetic patients who were taking oral anti-diabetic drugs. A standardised questionnaire, the Chinese Attitudes to Starting Insulin Questionnaire (Ch-ASIQ), was used for data collection.p = 0.045), the presence of complications , lack of knowledge about insulin therapy  and the high cost of insulin .The average age of participants was 59.8 ± 11.1 years with a male to female ratio of 1.5. The prevalence of PIR was 42.7%; and its main determinants were 50 years of age (odds ratios [OR] adjusted 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.98–4.27; The study showed that almost half of type 2 diabetic patients had PIR with the main determinant factors related to the patient and the health system. The establishment of a therapeutic education programme, improved ‘provider–patient’ communication and the development of approaches to increase access to drugs are crucial to reduce the prevalence of PIR. However, the use of insulin remains essential at the evolutionary stage of the disease, because insulin resistance which is a characteristic of type 2 diabetes, leads over time to the depletion of beta cells of islets of Langerhans.2 In the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) study,3 less than 25% of normal insulin secretion was observed 6 years after diagnosis of the disease. Many patients with type 2 diabetes, who should benefit from insulin therapy during the course of their illness or in special circumstances, do not receive it at all or receive it outside of the required timing because of resistance.2 Psychological insulin resistance (PIR) can be explained by factors related to the patient, the provider and the health system.6 Attitudes contributing to PIR include beliefs that receiving insulin is associated with an adverse outcome and/or outcome of the disease because of non-compliance by the patient, a restriction in lifestyle habits and stigma unfavourable to glycaemic control.2 Management guidelines, not recommending insulin therapy unless other strategies have failed to achieve glycaemic control, also contribute to this resistance to insulin therapy from health care providers.2 The factors leading to PIR vary in different settings.2The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing exponentially worldwide. Particularly, low- and middle-income countries will carry a heavy burden in the next few years if there are no efforts made to prevent and ensure early detection and management of type 2 diabetes.7 with type 2 diabetes causing high morbidity and mortality, as well as several acute conditions, such as infections, hyperosmolarity and surgical complications, requiring a switch to insulin therapy.11In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is estimated at 4.8%The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of PIR in type 2 diabetic patients and its determinants in hospital settings in Kinshasa.Our study was a cross-sectional study.1Centre Hospitalier Mère-Enfant (CHME) Monkole Diabetology Unit located in the Mont-Ngafula 1 Health Zone, the Diabetic Clinic of the Tatamena Health Center located in the Bumbu Health Zone and the Diabetes Unit of the Strategos Medical Services (SMS) Center DRC located in the Gombe Health Zone. These health facilities organise outpatient consultations of diabetic patients at a weekly rate. At each medical consultation, patients receive training on diabetes and are examined for adjustments in their treatments according to the progression of the disease.The study was conducted in Kinshasa from November 2017 to March 2018, in three health facilities providing care to diabetic patients: specifically, the All diabetic patients followed at the CHME Monkole Diabetes Unit, the Tatamena Health Center and the DRC SMS Hospital Centre during the study period represented the study population.Patients were included in the study based on the following criteria:be a type 2 diabetic patient (any diabetic patient who had knowledge of the type of diabetes or had started diabetes after age 40)be on oral anti-diabetic medicationbe regularly followed in one of the clinics selected for the studygive informed consent.n ≥ (Z2p (1-p))/d 2, with p = 0.5 as the prevalence of psychological insulin is unknown in our setting, Z = 1.96 and d = 0.1. As we expected a non-response rate of 10%, the minimum sample size was 105.6. In the field, we had 213 patients, representing more than twice the calculated sample size.The size of our sample was 213, which was calculated according to the formula: The participants were selected by convenience until the total of 213 patients was reached.12 It includes 13 items divided into four factors: self-image and stigma, factors promoting self-efficacy, fear of pain or needles, and family support. Responses to each item were coded according to a 4-point Likert scale . High scores for ‘time and family support’ and ‘self-efficiency’ factors reflect a more positive attitude to insulin therapy; high scores for ‘self-image and stigma’ and ‘fear of pain or needles’ indicate negative attitudes towards insulin initiation. All factors and total score ranged from 1 to 4 with a central point of 2.5.12 Psychological insulin resistance was defined in any patient with an overall score between 0 and 2, and the acceptance of insulin therapy was defined in patients with an overall score between 3 and 4. The Ch-ASIQ has an alpha coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha for all four factors that are greater than 0.60 (0.62–0.80). The questionnaire, translated from English into French and Lingala, was administered in one of the two local languages in which the patient was more comfortable speaking.The data were collected using interviews by two investigators, the principal investigator and the co-investigator. The collection tools were a data collection sheet and the ‘Chinese Attitudes to Starting Insulin Questionnaire’ (Ch-ASIQ). The collection sheet identified socio-demographic characteristics  and number of persons in charge), characteristics of diabetes  and knowledge about insulin therapy . Insulin therapy knowledge was defined from eight questions; a good knowledge was defined in all patients with a score ≥ 5 and poor knowledge was defined in all patients with a score between 0 and 4. The Ch-ASIQ is the first validated psychometric questionnaire to evaluate psychological resistance to the initiation of insulin for diabetic patients in the context of primary health care.The primary variable of interest was the prevalence of PIR. The secondary variable of interest was the determinants of insulin resistance.t-test and Mann–Whitney U test were, respectively, used to compare the means or medians. The determinants of knowledge and PIR were assessed through the logistic regression; the odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate the strength of association between the independent and dependent variables. The value of p < 0.05 was the statistical significance threshold.The data were encoded into an Excel database after cleaning and exporting to the SPSS . The statistical data analysis consisted of determining average, medians, interquartile range (IQR) and standard deviation for continuous variables (quantitative) and proportions of categorical variables . The results are presented as graphs and tables. The Pearson chi-square test or the Fischer’s exact test was used to compare proportions and Student’s The study obtained the approval of the Ethics Committee of the Protestant University of Congo (Register number CEUPC0031).Two hundred and thirteen patients with type 2 diabetes took part in this study, and among them were 84 men and 129 women, with a sex ratio of 1:5. The average age was 59.8 ± 11.1 years with extremes of 30 and 84 years. The proportion of patients who were married, had secondary school level and unemployed was, respectively, 75.1%, 70.9% and 70%. The average monthly income was 387.3 ± 52 USD, and the median number of people in charge of diabetic patients was four. The median duration of diabetes mellitus was 4 years in 65.7% of patients; diabetes was associated with hypertension in 65.7% of patients; 34.3% of patients had a complication of diabetes; and the most common complication was peripheral neuropathy (24.4%). Fifty percent of patients had good knowledge of insulin therapy, and the cost of insulin therapy was estimated to be unaffordable by 75.1% of patients .The PIR was present in 91 participants (42.7%) , with 33p < 0.001) associated with PIR compared to non-resistant patients.p = 0.045), the presence of complications , lack of knowledge on insulin therapy  and the unaffordable cost of insulin therapy  had emerged as the main independent determinants of PIR.In the multivariate analysis , age ≤ 5In our study, almost half of type 2 diabetic patients had PIR with independent determinants such as age < 50 years, presence of complications, lack of knowledge about insulin therapy and low cost of insulin.13 the United States14 and Egypt.15 This prevalence is lower than 51%, 53.29%, 70.6% and 72% found in Asia.19 On the other hand, it is higher than 27%, 28% and 33% reported by European authors.21 This high prevalence in our study may be because of a weak integration of diabetes care at the primary care level, misinformation and lack of training of diabetic patients on diabetes, its complications and the benefits of insulin therapy. Differences in the age of patients included in the various studies may also explain this disparity in PIR frequency.22 Low knowledge of diabetes can negatively affect beliefs and perceptions about insulin therapy as demonstrated by other authors who have evaluated PIR.22 Being under 50 years of age has been one of the determinants of PIR in our study. Age as a determinant has not been found by other authors.14 The diverse population studied, the method used and the sample size can explain this difference. Machinani et al. conducted their study on different ethnic groups (African Americans and Latin Americans),14 whereas our study focused on a homogenous population in terms of race with participants living in the same socio-economic and cultural context. Restrictions and the adaptation of lifestyle habits are all factors that may explain the prevalence of PIR in patients under 50 years of age.The prevalence of PIR in our study was close to the 42%, 40% and 47.2% reported in the studies conducted, respectively, in Bangladesh,23 Complications, especially in a patient undergoing treatment, are experienced as an injustice and a progression that can lead to death. Lack of knowledge about insulin therapy emerged as one of the main factors associated with PIR in our study. This observation has already been made by Karter et al, who linked the lack of knowledge about diabetes to a quality problem of communication between caregiver and patient.24 The reasons given by the patients included, among other things, not having received information, misunderstanding the information received either because of a vision problem, or the inability to read the documents made available to them.24 Other studies have found that fear of initiation to insulin therapy was associated with poor beliefs: fear of injections, stigma, addiction, symptoms synonymous with complications and death, the onset of hypoglycaemia and complications.25 In the study, it was also noted that patients did not have a knowledge of insulin indications and adverse effects at injection sites. Poor perception of insulin therapy as the basis of PIR in our midst is also linked, among other things, to the low level of education of patients as also found by Jasper et al.25 The cost of insulin was considered unaffordable in three quarters of cases and in almost 9 out of 10 patients, respectively, in the whole group and in patients with a negative attitude towards insulin therapy. The unaffordable cost was found to be a significant barrier to insulin therapy and a factor favouring PIR in Nigeria with an average monthly cost of $39.00.28 The lack of state subsidies, the grouping of patients in association with diabetes and a policy of diabetes control in the face of the progress of the pharmaceutical industry are all factors in favour of the PIR. The absence of a social policy affects the entire supply and distribution circuit and increases the unit price of insulin. Government involvement in the purchase of insulin, and the choice of providers and products can improve insulin availability.29Nearly half of the patients had diabetes complications that were associated with a negative attitude towards insulin therapy. This observation is similar to that made by Lee in China and Brod et al., in a systematic review.This study showed that almost half of the patients with type 2 diabetes had PIR with the main determinant factors related to the patient and the health system. The establishment of a therapeutic education programme on diabetes, improved ‘provider–patient’ communication and the development of approaches to geographic and financial access to essential drugs are crucial to reduce the prevalence of PIR and its deleterious consequences on the control of diabetes mellitus and the quality of life of patients.


With the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization, the problem of airborne particulate pollution has become more and more serious. Green areas in urban spaces with different green coverage rates in Baoji City were selected to quantitatively compare the effects and differences of month, time, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, vegetation structure, and area of site on PM2.5 and PM10 concentration. The results showed that increasing the urban green coverage rate will help to improve the green area’s reduction of airborne particulate matter concentration and the selected factors affecting the green area’s reduction ability were discrepant in urban spaces with different green coverage rates. With the decrease of the green coverage rate, the purification effect of green area itself on air particles was weakened, and other factors, such as meteorological conditions and human activities, became the dominant influencing factors. Vegetation structure only had significant effects on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 in green areas of urban space with a green coverage rate greater than 75%. The concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 were lowest in the partly closed green area of one-layered coniferous trees and the closed green area of one-layered mixed trees. The research shows that green areas in urban spaces with different green coverage rates have different reduction effects on the concentration of airborne particles, which provides a theoretical basis and reference for the optimization of green area structures and to improve air quality effectively in the future. With the acceleration of urbanization in China, the problem of airborne particulate pollution is becoming more and more serious ,2. ChinaAs the basic part of an urban ecosystem, urban green space plays an important role in improving environmental quality, beautifying the environment, regulating the urban microclimate, and promoting urban sustainable development ,7. HowevAs the main body of urban green spaces, plants play a major role in improving air quality. This can be considered from two angles. The physiological and ecological characteristics of the plant itself can play a certain role. The combination of different plants in green spaces also produces different ecological benefits. The impact of plants itself on air particle deposition depends on the scale considered . ConsideVegetation structure, as an important factor reflecting the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and the dynamic changes of green space ecological functioning, has seldom been studied systematically to explore the ability of green spaces and different vegetation structures’ effects on reducing the concentration of airborne particles. Gao et al. (2015) showed that green spaces with complex structures have better effects than ones with simple structures, such as lawns and single shrubs, in reducing airborne particulate matters . ConversTherefore, this study took green areas in an urban space with different green coverage rates in Baoji City as study areas and compared the effects and differences of the month, time, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, vegetation structure, and area of the site on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 quantitatively. Through this study, the green coverage range of an urban space in which a green area can effectively exert its ability to improve air quality was determined, as well as which type of vegetation structure works best. This provides a theoretical basis and practical methods for the optimization of urban overall green space planning and green area vegetation planting design in the future.Baoji is situated in the western part of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi province, China between 106°18′ E, 108°03′ E and 33°35′ W, 35°06′ W, belonging to the semi-humid climate zone of mid-latitude temperature climate. The lowest temperature is in January during which time the average minimum temperature is −3.5 °C. The highest temperature is in July during which time the average maximum temperature is 30.9 °C. The annual average precipitation is 700 mm . The cit2, accounting for 40% of the total built area, comprising of a variety of urban habitats, and was subject to an investigation of a new green belt for ecological regulating use , II (35%–75% of green coverage ratio), and III (<35% of green coverage ratio). The space with >75% of a green coverage ratio referred to urban forests and urban parks; urban space with a green coverage rate ranging from 35% to 75% included the campus, square and affiliated green spaces next to the bridge across the river; the urban space with a green rate of less than 35% referred to the urban residential areas .According to the characteristics of Baoji’s urban landscape patterns, a three-level urban green area classification system integrated with vegetation structure parameters, including the vegetation horizontal structure, vertical structure, and forest type, was constructed ,27. The Based on the above classification system and the actual situation of the vegetation structure types in Baoji city, 51 green areas of 9 different vegetation structures in three different green coverage rate urban spaces were finally selected as sample plots. The repetition and distribution of each type of green area was as follows . The surThe concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 and the meteorological factors, including wind velocity, temperature, and humidity, were tested at the same time using a hand-held particle counter (Aerocet 831) and a hand-held weather station (FC-36025). The instruments were zeroed before each monitoring. The area calculation of each sample plot was measured by using a hand-held GPS receiver (Garmin GPS map 629sc) to obtain the latitude and longitude around the sample plots, and then the plot coordinates were introduced into ArcGIS 10.2 software combined with the satellite image to calculate the area accurately.The on-site monitoring was carried out for one year from April 2017 to March 2018. In order to avoid dramatic changes in the meteorological factors, the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were tested in each sample plot every two hours, five times a day from 8 a.m to 6 p.m in good weather conditions within three days every month. Two typical vegetation structures located in each of the plots were selected as the sampling point. During the same period of time, the test team members monitored all the samples in each site in the same sequence at the same time. All the tests were performed at a height of 1.5 m, which is the average height of human respiration.p < 0.05.In this study, Microsoft Office Excel 2007 software  was used for all data recording and collection. Generalized regression analysis was used by the statistical software package, Minitab 16 , to model all variables in the experiment, including independent variables, such as the green coverage rate, month, time, wind velocity, temperature, humidity, vegetation structure, and area, and dependent variables, including PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations . This inp < 0.01, R2 = 71.39%). Except for wind velocity and area, the other factors also had significant effects on PM10 concentration   .The PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the selected green areas of three urban spaces with different green coverage rates were significantly discrepant, and their reductions in airborne particulate matter were ranked as urban space I > urban space II > urban space III , indicatThe factors affecting the concentration of airborne particulate in green areas of three urban space with different green coverage rates were not identical. In urban space I, all variables had a significant effect on the PM2.5 concentration, but wind velocity and area had no significant effects on the PM10 concentration. With the decrease of the green coverage rate, the influence of the vegetation structure and area on the PM2.5 concentration was weakened to no significant effect in urban space II, and in addition to wind speed and area, the effect of the vegetation structure on the PM10 concentration was also reduced to no significant effect. In urban space III, there was still no significant effect of the vegetation structure and area on the PM2.5 concentration. For the PM10 concentration, there was no significant effect on time, temperature, wind velocity, vegetation structure, and area .The results showed that the urban green coverage rate had a significant effect on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10. At different scales, the intrinsic properties of the vegetation and external factors worked together to influence the concentration of airborne particulate matter. The green areas in urban space I with the highest green coverage rate (>75%) had the best effect on the reduction of airborne particulate matter, which was consistent with the findings of previous studies . Only inThe monitoring month had a significant effect on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 in the green areas of three urban spaces with different green coverage rates, and the concentrations of airborne particulates followed the same trend with as the monthly changes. The concentrations were lowest in July and August during the summer and the highest in December and January during the winter a,b.Airborne particulate concentrations were subject to a variety of factors that could produce very significant seasonal changes. During the summer, plant growth enters a vigorous period in which the leaves grow completely and the metabolism is higher, so the dust retention capacity is higher and the concentration of particulate matter in the air is lower. During winter, most plant leaves wither, grow slowly, and enter a dormant period, so the dust retention ability is the weakest during this time, and thus, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 reached the highest values in this period ,23,33,34The change in time during the day had no significant effect on PM10 concentration in green areas of urban space III, but had a significant effect on PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in green areas of urban space I and II. As the time of day changed, the airborne matter concentration followed the same trend, which was higher in the morning, highest at noon, lower in the afternoon, and tended to be stable c,d.The concentration of airborne particle changes with the time of day were mainly due to a combination of human factors and meteorological factors . AlthougWind velocity had a negatively significant effect on PM2.5 concentration in the green areas of three different landscape patterns of urban spaces, but had no significant effect on the PM10 concentration a,b. ThisTemperature had no significant effect on the PM10 concentration in green areas of urban space III, but it had a negatively significant effect on the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration in all the other green areas c,d. As tHumidity had a significant effect on the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration in the green areas of three different landscape patterns of urban spaces, but there were some differences between different particulate sizes e,f. FromThe vegetation structure only had a significant effect on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 in green areas of urban space I, but had no significant effect on the other two types of urban spaces . Among tThis study systematically classified urban green area from the three levels of the horizontal structure, forest type, and vertical structure of green areas. According to the results of comprehensive data analysis, it was only in urban space I, which had a high green coverage rate, that the vegetation structure had a significant impact on the concentration of airborne particulate matter. In the other two types of urban space, a large proportion of surrounding gray area may have caused greater interference, and the green area’s purification effect on air particles was reduced. Only in the condition of high vegetation coverage and good vegetation growth can the air particulate concentration be effectively reduced . Among tThe area was also an important factor in measuring the ability of a green area to retain dust. The results of this study showed that the area only had a significant effect on the PM2.5 concentration in green areas of urban space I with the area ranging from 0.1 to 2.3 hectares. The existing research also showed that the higher the green coverage rate and the greater the green area, the better the reduction of particulate matter in urban forests and parks . In the In this study, the green areas of urban spaces with different green coverage rates in Baoji City were used as the research areas. The effects of the month, time, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, vegetation structure, and area on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 were quantitatively compared. A variety of factors worked together to change the concentration of airborne particles in the green areas, but the dominant factors were different in urban spaces under different green coverage ratesThe higher the green coverage rate of the urban space, the more significant the influence of the variables selected in this study on the concentration of airborne particles in green areas, especially the characteristics of green areas, such as the vegetation structure and area. The partly closed green area of one-layered coniferous trees and the closed green area of one-layered mixed tree vegetation structure types had the greatest reduction effect on PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. As the green coverage rates decreased, the airborne matter concentration was more disturbed by the external gray area. The impacts of the characteristics of green areas were weakened to no influence, but the influence of meteorological factors and time factors on the concentration of airborne particulate matter was still significant, especially the impact of humidity and monthly changes.The above results showed that increasing the urban space green coverage rate would help to fully utilize the green area’s ability to reduce of airborne particulate matter, and the study found that green areas with two types of vegetation structures have the best reduction effect. The two planting models could be prioritized in the planning and design of vegetation planting for the purpose of improving air quality in the future. In an urban space with low green coverage, a small proportion of green space may not have the desired ecological benefits. This has important implications for future urban green space planning and design, vegetation planting mix design, and green space ecological benefit research.


Experimental investigations were carried out with an Optimol SRV5 tribological tester in a flat-on-sphere scheme. The balls co-acted with the discs in a gross sliding fretting regime. The balls and discs were made from the same steel with a very similar hardness. Tests were conducted at 25–35% relative humidity, 30 °C, and a constant normal load and number of cycles . The discs had different textures after various machining treatments. It was found that the total wear level of the tribological assembly was proportional to the disc surface amplitude. The influence of the disc roughness on the coefficient of friction was evident only for the smallest stroke of 0.1 mm, and the frequency of oscillation affected this dependency. Fretting is the motion between two contacting parts when the sliding amplitude is small. When the amplitude of oscillation is larger than the radius of elastic contact, reciprocating sliding occurs . DependiIn fretting, wear oxide debris is formed. Wear particles can have two contrary influences on wear loss; beneficial or harmful ,10. VareMany variables (about 50) affect fretting wear ,15; a stFretting wear is proportional to the stroke ,17. It wSeveral researchers studied the impact of frequency on fretting. When the frequency of oscillation (0.01–60 Hz) was higher, the fretting damage of steel samples was lower . HoweverThe relationship between hardness of co-acting parts and fretting wear was found to be complex. Kayaba and Iwabuchi  found thThe surface topography of sliding parts probably has a substantial effect on wear particle occurrence in the contact zone because these particles can escape to neighboring valleys when the surface is rough. Therefore increasing the surface roughness height seems to be a method of improving fretting wear resistance ,34. HoweOne can see from this review that the effect of the surface topography of contacting elements on the tribological performances of sliding pairs in gross sliding fretting regimes is still unclear. Tests were conducted using an Optimol SRV5 tribological tester  in a flat-on-ball configuration. The previous versions of this tester were used in other fretting experiments ,18,36. B2, and sampling intervals in perpendicular directions were 3.2 μm. The average value of the Ra parameter of machined balls was 0.15 µm. Discs were prepared by various methods including polishing (P), lapping (L), milling (M), grinding (G) and vapour blasting (VB). Tribological tests of anisotropic disc topographies (M and G) were conducted perpendicularly to lays (main directions). The wear volume Vtot of the whole tribological system was computed as Equations (1)–(3):disc+) and  were buildups or materials transferred; volumes (Vdisc−) and  were lost materials [Surface topographies of machined and worn counterparts were measured by a Talysurf CCI Lite scanning coherent interferometer . The measured areas were 3.3 × 3.3 mmaterials ,32.The wear levels of discs were assessed only after surface leveling, and a digital filtration was not used. Before the calculation of wear levels of the balls, their curvatures were eliminated using spheres.The heights (Sq) and slopes (Sdq) of isotropic (the Str parameter in the range: 0.85–0.87) vapour-blasted surfaces VB1 and VB2 were the biggest. The surface height of the sample VB2 after finish vapour blasting was smaller. Anisotropic samples after finish milling M1 and M2 had radial structures, but after grinding G1 and G2, they had one-directional structures. Amongst the anisotropic surfaces, the M1 sample was the roughest and had the largest autocorrelation length Sal. The height of the finish ground surface G2 was smaller than that of the rough ground G1 texture. The heights of the milled M2 and ground G1 samples G1 were similar. The correlation lengths of samples after finish milling were larger than those of discs after grinding. The roughness heights of polished P and lapped L samples were the lowest. The surfaces after milling had deterministic characters, while other surfaces had random characters.The surfaces of worn counterparts were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) fitted out with an energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analyser. 50-900) was estimated after removal of the early parts of the results (rapid growths of the coefficient of friction) before 50 s of the test, while the final value (COF600-900) was assessed as the mean from the last five minutes of the test. When the frequency was set to 50 Hz, COF50-360 characterized the mean and COF300-360 characterized the final friction coefficient.op was calculated by Equation (4) [The maximum surface elastic contact pressure tion (4) :(4)p0=(6a was computed by the following Equations (5) and (6) [The radius of elastic contact length  and (6) :(5)a=, and therefore fretting occurred. In this case, the maximum elastic contact pressure 0p was 1652 MPa.When the normal force was 45 N, the Hertzian radius of contact The variation of the friction coefficient was typically not higher than 0.03. Scatters of total volumetric wear were usually not higher than 14% for assemblies with the same disc samples. 600-900 was similar for various assemblies; however, the average friction coefficient COF50-900 was the smallest for the sliding pair containing the polished disc P of the lowest roughness height. The friction coefficient initially increased and then obtained a stable value typically after 15,000 cycles . A reduction in the stroke from 0.15 (test B) to 0.1 mm led to smaller volumetric wear without a change in the final coefficient of friction.In test D, contrary to the results analysed previously, the average wear rates of the balls were similar to those of the discs. The assembly with the roughest disc VB1 led to the biggest, while the smoothest disc P, led to the smallest wear volume of the tribological system. The wear of the balls and the total wear were proportional to the disc roughness height. The highest coefficient of friction was obtained for the roughest sample VB1, while the smallest was obtained for sample M2 after milling. The friction forces increased during tests and obtained steady values typically after 9000 cycles a. A reduIn test E, the wear of the balls was typically lower than the wear of the discs, but assemblies with VB1 and G1 discs were the exceptions. Similar to other tests, the volumetric wear was proportional to the disc roughness height. The total wear of the sliding pair with the roughest disc sample VB1 was the biggest, but with the smoothest disc P, it was the lowest. The wear of the balls was inversely related to the wear of the discs. The highest mean friction coefficient was obtained for the sliding pair with the polished sample of the smallest height P, while the smallest was obtained for the assemblies with ground samples G1 and G2. It is interesting that the M2 sample after milling led to comparatively high frictional resistance, contrary to test D carried out at the same load and smaller frequency of oscillation. Similar to test D, the friction coefficient after early fluctuations typically obtained stable values after 9000 cycles b. A growIn test F, except for assembly with the vapour-blasted VB1 sample, the wear rates of the discs were larger than the wear rates of the balls. The wear of the balls was inversely proportional to the wear of the discs. In most cases, the negative wear levels of the balls were obtained, which means that build-ups or material transfers were formed. The total wear level of the assembly with the roughest VB1 sample after vapour blasting was the largest, but with the smoothest P sample after polishing, it was the smallest. As a result, the total wear and wear rates of the balls were proportional to the Sq parameter of the disc textures. It is also interesting that the roughest disc sample VB1 yielded the smallest coefficient of friction from all analysed assemblies. In this case, the scatter of the average friction coefficient did not coincide with scatters corresponding to the other sliding pairs, except for the assembly containing the milled M1 specimen. Disc sample M2 after milling led to the highest mean friction coefficient. The influence of the disc surface texture on the frictional resistance was evident mainly at the lowest amplitude of motion (0.05 mm), when wear of the disc was comparatively low. The effect of the disc surface texture on the friction coefficient depended on the frequency of oscillation. For the normal force of 45 N and the frequency of 20 Hz (test C), the highest disc roughness (VB1 sample) led to the largest mean coefficient of friction; however, the opposed tendency occurred for the same load and the frequency of 50 Hz (test F). For the lower normal force of 15 N, a similar effect of frequency on friction force was not as apparent; however, in test E (frequency of 50 Hz), the highest mean friction coefficient was obtained for the assembly containing the disc P with the smallest height. The total wear rate was proportional to the height of the disc surface, determined by the value of the Sq parameter, independently of the operating conditions. In tests A, C, D, E and F, the total wear of assembly with the roughest vapour-blasted VB1 sample was the highest, it was the smallest with the smoothest polished specimen P. This performance probably resulted from the fact that rougher surfaces, of higher plasticity indices ,49, havePreviously, experiments were conducted using the same tester . Steel bA decrease in the stroke led to wear reduction. A reduction in the contact pressure led to growth in the friction coefficient and a reduction in the wear volume. An increase in the frequency of oscillation led to an increase in the coefficient of friction and a reduction in volumetric wear only when a lower normal force was applied (15 N). Similar results were obtained for different hardness of counterparts .For equal-hardness pairs, the wear of the disc was typically higher than that of the ball. Total wear of the tribological system was proportional to the disc roughness height. The influence of the disc surface texture on the friction coefficient was substantial only for the smallest stroke of 0.1 mm. The frequency of oscillation had an effect on this dependence. For the normal load of 45 N and the frequency of 20 Hz, the highest disc roughness corresponded to the largest mean coefficient of friction; however, after increasing the frequency to 50 Hz, the biggest disc amplitude led to the smallest frictional resistance. A reduction in the amplitude of oscillation decreased wear but had marginal influence on the coefficient of friction. The friction coefficient increased and total wear decreased due to a reduction in the normal load. When the frequency increased, wear decreased and the friction coefficient increased. These effects were visible only when a lower normal load was applied.


The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) has multiple roles in the normal nervous system, including the development of synaptic connections and synaptic plasticity. Research over the past several years has indicated a role for the UPP in aging without any overt pathology in the brain. In addition, malfunction of the UPP is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia associated with it. In this mini review article, we assess the literature on the role of protein degradation by the UPP in aging and in AD with special emphasis on dysregulation of the UPP and its contribution to cognitive decline and impairment. Ubiquitin has long been known to be associated with pathologies of the brain, including that of Alzheimer’s disease  and 24-month (old) rats and found no impairment in degradative capacity with aging. Additionally, despite age-dependent augmentation in overall cellular protein content, there were no increases in the quantity of the proteasome as measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis Walker, . TherefoDrosophila, however, found a decrease in 26S proteasome function with increasing age as measured in whole flies or fly heads. This study was based on the identification of Rpn11 (a subunit of the proteasome) as a suppressor of age-related neurodegeneration. The amount of Rpn11 was decreased at an age where memory impairment is seen in flies  is mostly cytoplasmic in hippocampal neurons. With aging, much of Mgrn1 is found in the nucleus, where it associates with transcriptionally active regions to induce expression of genes critical for coping with a reduction in proteolytic activity , the basal level of Arc is increased, and this was thought to be the result of decreased degradation. Consistent with this idea, levels of Ube3a, the ubiquitin ligase that targets Arc for degradation, is decreased in the hippocampus of aged rats , the clumps of which lead to the development of plaques. The second is the accumulation of phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau, which ultimately forms tangles. The UPP is linked to both of these pathways of AD pathogenesis .In AD, ubiquitinated proteins accumulate, and it is believed that the proteolytic system in neurons is overwhelmed by aggregating proteins. Based on this logic, investigations were made of the proteasome in both postmortem human AD brains and in the brains of AD model mice. To help understand the results of these experiments, a brief description of the structure of the proteasome is necessary.The main proteolytic complex that degrades the polyubiquitinated proteins is the 26S proteasome, comprising a cylindrical 20S catalytic core and a 19S regulatory particle (RP) attached on either side of the 20S cylinder. The function of the 19S RP is to recognize and bind the polyubiquitinated substrate proteins, unfold them, and channel them into the narrow opening (13 Å) of the catalytic core for degradation. The catalytic core consists of seven α subunits in two outer rings and seven β subunits in the two inner rings of the cylindrical shape. The 20S core has trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like, and postglutamyl peptidase activities Hegde, .Some of the studies of postmortem AD brains measured the catalytic activities of the 20S proteasome. One study that obtained postmortem brains within ~2.5 h of autopsy found a decrease in chymotrypsin-like and postglutamyl peptidase activities in the parahippocampal gyrus, superior and middle temporal gyri, and inferior parietal lobule. This study found no change in the overall quantities of the α and the β subunits of the 20S proteasome  accumulate in neurons, which adversely affects the sorting of membrane receptors [such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and TrkB receptor] through the multivesicular body (MVB). The MVB pathway is critical for the degradation of the endocytosed plasma membrane receptors, which can occur through the lysosome or the proteasome. Investigation of the EGFR, using cortical and hippocampal neuronal cultures from Tg2576 mice and wildtype littermates, found that both ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated degradation of the receptor are impaired in neurons of APP mutant mice. The study also showed that proteasome activity in the neurons of mutant mice was reduced by about 50%  transgene (Tg2576), Aβ(1–42). When cultured neurons were treated with Aβ(1–42), the peptide was found to enter the cells and inhibit proteasome activity as measured by the amount of a GFP-fused reporter construct. The same study also found decreased chymotrypsin-like activity of the proteasome in the hippocampus and cortex of AD model (Tg2576) mice , which in turn causes a rise in the levels of Aβ, as has been shown with experiments using AD model mice  inhibitor—decreased tau levels and improved cognition. Subsequently, an FDA-approved PDE3 inhibitor called cilostazol was tested on double transgenic rTg4510 mice overexpressing human mutant (P301L) tau. Experimental mice received intraperitoneal injections of cilostazol twice a day for 30 days, which significantly reduced disease-associated phosphorylated tau forms and the insoluble tau forms , it was found that cilostazol administration significantly improved the cognitive performance as manifested by reduced escape latency in the MWM . Enhanced activity of STEP61 causes decreased surface expression of NR1 and NR2B subunits. STEP61 dephosphorylates a critical tyrosine residue (Tyr-1472) in NR2B subunits, leading to increased endocytosis of NR subunits. Normally, ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated degradation of STEP61 keeps the internalization of NR subunits in check. An increase in Aβ increases STEP61 activity and inhibits the degradation of STEP61. Thus, the overall effect is greatly enhanced STEP61 activity and augmented endocytosis of NMDAR, which leads to synaptic deficits . The UBB+1 protein has 20 extra amino acids at the C-terminus compared to normal ubiquitin. Cells can tolerate low levels of UBB+1 protein, but at high levels, UBB+1 inhibits the proteasome. Dysfunction of the proteasome in UBB+1 transgenic mice results in a proteomic profile that is similar to that of human AD brains and brains of several AD mouse models  reduced the expression of BACE1 and decreased Aβ production. When Fbx2 was overexpressed in the hippocampus of the Tg2576 mice at 12–14 months of age, LTP significantly improved relative to controls. Therefore, reducing BACE1 can potentially improve synaptic dysfunction caused by Aβ  that degrades BACE1 . This caBased on the research thus far, there is no clear-cut relationship between aging and impairment of the proteasome function. When individual molecules are studied , however, a clearer picture emerges.In investigating the connections between the UPP and AD, many studies have focused on transgenic mouse models of AD based on the familial form of the human disease. These models were mainly based on the “Aβ hypothesis” of AD (Mullane and Williams, AH, SS, LD, AP and SV contributed to the search and assessment of the available literature. AH wrote the manuscript and other authors helped revise the text to the final form.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


This study aimed to observe the effect of fine nursing on pain and postpartum recovery during natural delivery of pregnant women.The clinical data of 192 primiparas who were expecting labor in Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China from 2015–2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 100 cases were treated with fine nursing before and after delivery, and 92 cases were treated with routine nursing. The pain rate, the second stage of labor, the amount of bleeding 2 hours postpartum, and postpartum recovery were compared between the two groups.P<0.01). The second stage of labor and the 2h postpartum hemorrhage in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.001). The number of maternal cases with good postpartum sleep, good lactation and good mental health in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05).The number of cases of grade 0 and 1 pain and the good rate of pain were significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group, the number of cases with grade 2 pain in the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (Fine nursing before and after delivery can reduce maternal pain rate, shorten the second stage of labor, reduce the amount of bleeding after 2 hours postpartum, promote good sleep, lactation, psychological conditions, reduce postpartum infection rate, which is conducive to maternal body recovery, worthy of clinical promotion. Childbirth is a natural physiological phenomenon of women, but it is also a strong source of stress because it affects women’s own physical and psychological conditions, and even family functions , 2. TherMaintaining a good relationship between the mother and the daily caregivers can reduce the pain caused by contractions and promote the postpartum recovery of the mother, making maternity more positive in life . Fine caWe aimed to study the effect of pre-delivery fine nursing on the pain rate of pregnant women during natural childbirth and the postpartum recovery of maternal, and provided a theoretical basis for the choice of clinical nursing work mode.P>0.05). All women were primipara, no history of drug allergy, normal liver and kidney function, all excluded pregnancy complications, cesarean section indications, multipara  years old, and the observation group was treated with fine nursing before delivery, 100 cases in total. A total of 92 cases in the control group were treated with routine care. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the general data of maternal  was used for statistical analysis. The enumeration data were expressed as [n(%)], and the ratio was compared using the χP<0.01)  .P<0.001) (The second stage of labor and the 2h postpartum hemorrhage in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.001) .P<0.001). The number of infection cases in the observation group was slightly less than that of the control group, but no significant difference  have been completely observed by the authors.


A synergistic effect between the nanoparticles and SWCNT is achieved with the composite structures, leading to the enhanced sensing response in ammonia detection. Thorough studies about the correlation between the electric properties and sensing performance confirm the independent operation of the receptor and transducer in the sensor structure by nanoparticles and SWCNT, respectively. Nanoparticles with a large specific surface area provide adsorption sites for the NH3 gas molecules, whereas hole carriers are supplied by the SWCNT to complete the chemisorption process. A new chemo-resistive sensor concept and its operating mechanism is proposed in our work. Furthermore, the separated receptor and transducer sensor scheme allows us more freedom in the design of sensor materials and structures, thereby enabling the design of high-performance gas sensors.Nanocomposite structures, where the Fe, Fe Metal oxides have been extensively studied for chemoresistive gas sensors because of their high reactivity with various gas molecules as well as their adoptability to modern microfabrication technologies . It is wSince the sensor operating principle is strongly affected by the structure of the sensor, both ‘nanosize effect’ and ‘nanosize limit effect’ have been reported in conduction-type gas sensors. The nanosize effect is a well-known observation in chemoresistive gas sensors, which describes the increase in the sensing response as the dimension of the sensor structure decreases to a nanosize ,7,8,9,103 at room temperature  . T. T10]. Tdt < Nad). Only part of the steady-state adsorption sites can be occupied. The completely depleted state in the transducer before and after the gas adsorption is depicted in However, in the case of t < 2d, the total charges in the transducer structure are smaller than the steady-state adsorption molecules (n3 in CNT-based sensors at RT has been reported [3 [g = ~Ro in Equation (1)), indicating that the resistance modulation in the SWCNT by the NH3 adsorption is very small. The small response is attributed to the relatively high hole carrier concentration  compared with the small adsorption site density of the SWCNTs (ndt >> Nad). This case corresponds to the condition schemed in To discuss the synergetic effect of the composite sensors, we need to understand the origin of zero and negligible response levels from the H-p and CNT-p sensors, respectively, as shown in reported ,15,16,17orted [3 . Howeveroxt << Nad as presented in 3 molecules followed by the release of electrons into the hematite could not lead to any detectable resistance change in the H-p sensor, as manifested by the nearly zero response. Meanwhile, the origin of the no response (S = ~0) in the H-p sensor a is diff2O3) nanoparticles with great surface area work as receptors for the NH3 adsorption, and (2) the nanoparticle/SWCNT heterojunctions decrease the conductance of the SWCNT transducer. Both effects cooperatively push to the condition of Contrary to the poor sensing responses of the SWCNT and hematite, the enhanced response in their composite structures can be understood by investigation about their electronic and morphological structures. Namely, the resistance of the Fe:SWCNT composite is comprised by competition between the high-resistance Schottky contact between the Fe and SWCNT and low-resistance ohmic contact among the SWCNTs. Therefore, the resistances of the composites are located in between that of CNT-p and H-p b, which 2O3 nanoparticles on the sensor response of composites were examined as well. The Fe2O3 concentration in the Fe2O3:SWCNT composites could be increased by adding more Fe wires into the graphite rod during the co-arc-discharge process. The synthesis using the more Fe wires produced the composite with the higher carbon-encapsulated Fe2O3 concentration. The response to 500 ppm NH3 of the structures are shown in 3 adsorb on SWCNT as shown by the response of the CNT-p sensor, the high distribution of carbon-encapsulated hematite particles will increase the specific adsorption sites for NH3.The effect of concentration and distribution of Fe2O3 nanoparticles agglomeration without the carbon shell layer. The sputter-based composite will show a morphology of thin film Fe2O3 nanoparticle receptor piled up on the mat-like SWCNT transducer. The cross-section views of the structures are shown in 2O3 thickness . From this perspective, an enhanced sensor response, i.e., far increased resistance modulation of the SWCNT transducer, is available by increase in the adsorption site density for the NH3 molecules. The higher adsorption can be achieved by the higher concentration of nanoparticle receptors. The microscopic view about the ammonia adsorption on the carbon-encapsulated hematite nanoparticle is presented in 2O3:SWCNT as the p-type-oxide:SWCNT composite structure by the same method used for the preparation of the Fe2O3:SWCNT composite sensor. The temperature dependence of sensing responses to 100 ppm NH3 is presented in 2O3:SWCNT composite. This indicates that the enhanced SWCNT sensor performance can be achieved by adding any type of receptor if it can provide adsorption sites for NH3. We also fabricated the Ni2O3:CNT composite) at RT are summarized in 2S sensor at high temperatures with good selectivity.The various ammonia sensing properties of the HT sensor . Since SWCNTs also respond to water molecules [3 gas in a ppm concentration range competitively adsorb on the surface in the humidity as indicative by sensing signals. Note that the ionic conduction by the adsorption of water molecules is not significant. Therefore, the ammonia sensing signal of HT in the humid condition still can result from the hole conduction mechanism in the SWCNT transducer. As observed, the ammonia gas concentration cannot be precisely determined in humidity unless the humidity is measured separately. The simplest solution is the monitoring of the humidity at the same location. Many semiconductor type humidity sensors have been developed to be mounted together with the chemoresistive sensor [Whereas, the behaviour of the p-type Feolecules , the oppe sensor . In this2O3:SWCNT, and Ni2O3:SWCNT nanocomposite structures, in which carbon-encapsulated metals or metal oxide nanoparticles are finely distributed among the SWCNT bundles. The much higher sensing response of the composites than that of the pure hematite and SWCNT structures could be obtained by the greater charge modulation in the sensor structure. Such condition could be motivated by the increase in the number of molecules adsorbed on nanoparticles that formed the intimate contact with SWCNTs. The distribution of fine nanoparticles of Fe, Fe2O3, and Ni2O3 in the composites increases the specific adsorption sites for NH3. In turn, the more adsorption of NH3 molecules accordingly leads to the wider depletion depth in the SWCNT structure. The synergetic effect that enhanced the sensing performance was elaborated by our new sensor scheme, in which the physically separated but electrically connected nanoparticles and SWCNTs function simultaneously as receptors and transducers, respectively, during the sensor operation. This understanding allows us to propose the new concept of a separated receptor and transducer scheme in the conduction-type gas sensors, which enable the optimization of the receptor and the transducer as independent materials and structures. Our study provides the guidance to choose the best receptor and transducer materials toward the development of the high-performance sensor that cannot be achieved in the existing design scheme. An ammonia sensing response was thoroughly studied in the Fe:SWCNT, Fe