There is wide concern that fluid injection in the subsurface, such as for the stimulation of shale reservoirs or for geological CO2 sequestration (GCS), has the potential to induce seismicity that may change reservoir permeability due to fault slip. However, the impact of induced seismicity on fracture permeability evolution remains unclear due to the spectrum of modes of fault reactivation (e.g., stable versus unstable). As seismicity is controlled by the frictional response of fractures, we explore friction‐stability‐permeability relationships through the concurrent measurement of frictional and hydraulic properties of artificial fractures in Green River shale (GRS) and Opalinus shale (OPS). We observe that carbonate‐rich GRS shows higher frictional strength but weak neutral frictional stability. The GRS fracture permeability declines during shearing while an increased sliding velocity reduces the rate of permeability decline. By comparison, the phyllosilicate‐rich OPS has lower friction and strong stability while the fracture permeability is reduced due to the swelling behavior that dominates over the shearing induced permeability reduction. Hence, we conclude that the friction‐stability‐permeability relationship of a fracture is largely controlled by mineral composition and that shale mineral compositions with strong frictional stability may be particularly subject to permanent permeability reduction during fluid infiltration.

Before we draw a definitive conclusion relating to Baduanjin for health benefits, more methodologically rigorous studies with a long-term follow-up assessment should be further conducted to examine the effects of Baduanjin on health-related parameters and disease-specific measures in different health conditions. This review lends insight for future studies on Baduanjin and its potential application in preventive medicine and rehabilitation science.

Objectives: we used a quantitative method to systematically synthesize the emerging literature and critically evaluate the effects of Baduanjin on depression and anxiety in people with physical or mental illnesses. Additionally, we determined if the number of total Baduanjin training sessions is associated with decreased anxiety and depression levels. Methods: both English and Chinese databases were searched for potential studies published between January 1982 and October 2017. The eligible randomized controlled trials were considered for meta-analysis. Effect size (Hedge’s g) was computed for the pooled effects while the random-effect model was set. For moderator analysis; Subgroup meta-analysis for categorical variables and meta-regression for continuous variables were performed. Results: the aggregated result has shown a significant benefit in favour of Baduanjin on anxiety (Hedge’s g = −0.99; CI −1.63 to −0.74) and depression (Hedge’s g = −1.07; CI −1.3 to −0.83). For continuous potential moderators; meta-regression indicated a significant effect for total hours in Baduanjin practice (β = −0.0053; 95% CI −0.009 to −0.0014; p = 0.008). With regard to depression; meta-regression indicated a significant effect for total sessions of Baduanjin practice (β = −0.0023; 95% CI −0.006 to −0.0004; p = 0.028). Conclusions: the encouraging findings indicate the efficacy of Baduanjin exercise in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in people with physical or mental illnesses. However; the results should be interpreted with caution because of existing methodological limitations (e.g., high risk of bias; Baduanjin combined with other behavioral interventions; and heterogeneity of control groups).

Three fish species (Carassius auratus, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, and Squaliobarbus curriculus) were collected from Xiang River near Changsha City, Southern China. The concentrations of heavy metals including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in the muscle, gill, and liver of three species were determined by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was introduced to determine the significant variations (p < 0.05) of heavy metals. Livers were found to accumulate Cd and Cu due to the metallothionein proteins. High levels of Mn and Pb in the gills indicated that the main uptake pathway of these heavy metals was from the water. The carnivorous species, P. fulvidraco, was found to accumulate the highest levels of toxic elements (As, Cd, and Pb), while relatively high concentrations of nutrient elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) were accumulated in omnivorous species (C. auratus and S. curriculus). According to the results of Pearson's correlation analysis, there were few significant relationships at p < 0.01 level between the concentrations of the analyzed elements and the fish sizes. The results of risk assessment indicated that exposure to the toxic heavy metals from fish muscle consumption posed no non-carcinogenic health risk to local inhabitants.

Objective: The purpose of this review was to objectively evaluate the effects of Baduanjin exercise on rehabilitative outcomes in stroke patients. Methods: Both Chinese and English electronic databases were searched for potentially relevant trials. Two review authors independently screened eligible trials against the inclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality by using the revised PEDro scale. Meta-analysis was only performed for balance function. Results: In total, there were eight randomized controlled trials selected in this systematic review. The aggregated result of four trials has shown a significant benefit in favor of Baduanjin on balance function (Hedges’ g = 2.39, 95% CI 2.14 to 2.65, p < 0.001, I2 = 61.54). Additionally, Baduanjin exercise effectively improved sensorimotor function of lower extremities and ability of daily activities as well as reduced depressive level, leading to improved quality of life. Conclusion: Baduanjin exercise as an adjunctive and safe method may be conducive to help stroke patients achieve the best possible short-term outcome and should be integrated with mainstream rehabilitation programs. More rigorous randomized controlled trials with long-term intervention periods among a large sample size of stroke patients are needed to draw a firm conclusion regarding the rehabilitative effects for this population.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of Yang-style Tai chi (TC) on gait parameters and musculoskeletal flexibility in healthy Chinese female adults. Sixty-six female adults aged >65 years were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (67.9 ± 3.2 years of age) receiving three 90-min simplified 24-form TC sessions for eight weeks, or a control group (67.4 ± 2.9 years of age) who maintained their daily lifestyles. All study participants were instructed to perform a selected pace walking for recording gait parameters (stride length, gait speed, swing cycle time, stance phase, and double support times) at both baseline and after the experiment. Low-limb flexibility and range of motion at specific musculoskeletal regions (hip flexion, hip extension, and plantar flexion, as well as anterior and lateral pelvic tilts, pelvic rotation, and joint range of motion (hip, knee, and ankle)) were also assessed in the present study. Multiple separate 2 × 2 Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were used to examine the effects of TC on the abovementioned outcomes between baseline and posttest in the two groups. When compared to those in the control group, older female adults who experienced the 8-week Tai chi intervention demonstrated significant improvements in most of the outcome measures. More specifically, positive changes in the TC group were found, including gait parameter (p < 0.001 for all; stride length (1.12 to 1.24, +8.6%), gait speed (1.06 to 1.21, +13.9%), stance phase (66.3 to 61.8, −5.5%), swing phase (33.7 to 38.4, +10.1%), double support time (0.33 to 0.26, −21.1%)), flexibility-related outcomes (hip flexion (90.0 to 91.9, 22.6%, p < 0.0001), single hip flexor (6.0 to 2.0, −61.5%, p = 0.0386), and plantar flexion (41.6 to 49.7, +17.5%, p < 0.0001)), and range of motion (anterior pelvic tilt (9.5 to 6.2, −34.7%, p < 0.0001), lateral pelvic tilt (6.6 to 8.3, +23.8%, p = 0.0102), pelvic rotation (10.3 to 14.7, 28.2%, p < 0.0001), hip range of motion (29.8 to 32.9, +13.5%, p = 0.001), and ankle range of motion (28.0 to 32.6, +11.1%, p < 0.0001)). The present study supports the notion that the practice of TC has a positive effect on healthy older female adults in improving gait parameters and flexibility, counteracting the normal functional degeneration due to age.

Massive fluid injection into the subsurface can induce microearthquakes by reactivating preexisting faults or fractures as seismic or aseismic slip. Such seismic or aseismic shear deformations may result in different modes of permeability evolution. Previous experimental studies have explored frictional stability-permeability relationships of carbonate-rich and phyllosilicate-rich samples under shear, suggesting that friction-permeability relationship may be primarily controlled by fracture minerals. We examine this relationship and identify the role of mineralogy (i.e., tectosilicate, carbonate, and phyllosilicate content) using direct-shear experiments on smooth saw-cut fractures of natural rocks and sintered fractures with distinct mineralogical compositions. These results indicate that the friction-permeability relationship is controlled by mineralogy. Frictional strength and permeability change upon reactivation decrease with phyllosilicate content but increase with tectosilicate content. In contrast, the reverse trend is observed for frictional stability (a-b). However, the permeability change decreases with carbonate content while both frictional strength and stability increase. The permeability change always decreases with an increase in frictional stability. This relationship implies a new mechanical-hydrochemical coupling loop via a linkage of frictional properties, mineralogy, and permeability. FANG ET AL.3549

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of practicing Taichi on attenuating bone mineral density (BMD) loss. Methods: Both electronic and manual searches were performed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining Taichi for bone health. Two review authors independently performed study selection and data extraction according to inclusion criteria. A third party (Lin Luo) emerged to discuss with the two review authors and resolve a disagreement. Results: Twenty RCTs were found to meet the inclusion criteria and used for meta-analysis with a total effective sample of 1604. The aggregated results from this systematic review have shown significant benefits in favour of Taichi on BMD at lumbar spine (Standard Mean Difference, SMD) = 0.29; 95% CI 0.15 to 0.43; p < 0.0001), femur neck (SMD = 0.56; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.75; p < 0.00001), femur trochanter (SMD = 0.04; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.07; p = 0.007), total hip BMD (SMD = 0.46; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.76; p = 0.003). Conclusions: The aggregated results from this systematic review suggests that Taichi is effective on attenuating BMD loss at the regions of lumbar spine and proximal femur neck in special populations (e.g., older adults, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, people with osteoarthritis, and cancer survivors). Researchers should further examine the effect of Taichi on the proximal femur trochanter and total hip so that a more definitive claim can be made regarding the beneficial effects for attenuating BMD loss in these musculoskeletal regions.