BackgroundIt is becoming increasingly necessary for community health centers to make rehabilitation services available to patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. However, for a number of reasons, including a lack of expertise, the small size of community health centers and the availability of only simple medical equipment, conventional rehabilitation therapy has not been widely used in China. Consequently, most patients with knee osteoarthritis seek treatment in high-grade hospitals. However, many patients cannot manage the techniques that they were taught in the hospital. Methods such as acupuncture, tuina, Chinese medical herb fumigation-washing and t’ai chi are easy to do and have been reported to have curative effects in those with knee osteoarthritis. To date, there have been no randomized controlled trials validating comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine for the rehabilitation of knee osteoarthritis in a community health center. Furthermore, there is no standard rehabilitation protocol using traditional Chinese medicine for knee osteoarthritis. The aim of the current study is to develop a comprehensive rehabilitation protocol using traditional Chinese medicine for the management of knee osteoarthritis in a community health center.Method/designThis will be a randomized controlled clinical trial with blinded assessment. There will be a 4-week intervention utilizing rehabilitation protocols from traditional Chinese medicine and conventional therapy. Follow-up will be conducted for a period of 12 weeks. A total of 722 participants with knee osteoarthritis will be recruited. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. Primary outcomes will include range of motion, girth measurement, the visual analogue scale, and results from the manual muscle, six-minute walking and stair-climbing tests. Secondary outcomes will include average daily consumption of pain medication, ability to perform daily tasks and health-related quality-of-life assessments. Other outcomes will include rate of adverse events and economic effects. Relative cost-effectiveness will be determined from health service usage and outcome data.DiscussionThe primary aim of this trial is to develop a standard protocol for traditional Chinese medicine, which can be adopted by community health centers in China and worldwide, for the rehabilitation of patients with knee osteoarthritis.Trial registrationClinical Trials Registration: ChiCTR-TRC-12002538

ZGJXD can prevent CDs degeneration via inhibition of caveolin-p38 MAPK signal pathway, which might be one of the mechanisms that ZGJXD treats osteoarthritis.

Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.) is widely used for soil and water conservation, and land management. In practice, all vetiver seedlings are propagated via ramets or tillers, which cannot meet the market demand and would also destroy the original habitat. Most vetiver genotypes flower but do not produce seeds. A wild ecotype of vetiver grass originated in southern China is fertile, but the rate of seed germination is very low. This study aimed to develop a novel method to improve its seed germination and seedling establishment. In the field, the inflorescences of wild vetiver were wrapped using a transparent plastic bag with a pot containing wet soils. The effects of inflorescence bagging and Tween 80 application on seed germination and seedling growth were examined. The results showed that seed development was characterized by low seed setting rate (19.2%), uneven maturity time, easy shedding (more than 95% of spikelets shed off 20 days after flowering), therefore difficult harvest of viable seeds. Bagging the inflorescence with moist soils in pot ensured the mature seeds falling onto the nursery soil surface and absorbing water for germination while the immature seeds continued to grow on the inflorescence. Bigging not only improved seed development and maturity, saved the procedure of seed collection and storage, but also provided a humid micro-environment for seed germination and seedling growth. Tween 80 as a surfactant promoted seed water absorption, germination and seedling growth. This simple and novel method has integrated the procedures of seed collection, storage, germination and seedling establishment, and enables the production of a large number of healthy seedlings. The possible reasons for the degeneration and disappearance of the original population were also discussed from the perspective of the disadvantages of vetiver propagation.

Since 2019, a series of documents have been issued, including the National Implementation Plan for Vocational Education Reform, the Implementation Measures for Building Enterprises with Integrated Production and Education (Trial), and the Opinions on Implementing the Plan for Building High-level Vocational Schools and Specialties with Chinese Characteristics, pointing out that vocational education is an important force supporting the national strategy and local economic and social development. The Ministry of Education has piloted the integrated development of vocational education and the private economy in Wentai, carried out the project of cultivating artisans in the new era and the action of "golden blue-collar" vocational skills improvement, and encouraged vocational colleges in the region to carry out professional reform. Vocational education should also change with the development of The Times to break the barriers of narrow vocational training. Under the background of digital economy, students should be taught digital technical skills to provide vocational undergraduate level education comparable to the dominant academic model. Vocational education at the undergraduate level will deepen the integration of industry and education, strengthen the collaboration between schools and enterprises, and cultivate "quality (outstanding)" talents with digital technology skills who are qualified for new jobs and have distinct and outstanding professional abilities based on the real talent needs of enterprises, so as to help solve the problems of shortage of digital talents in enterprises and industries and insufficient digital technology skills of employees.