Response of seed germination and seedling emergence of Haloxylon ammodendron to rain frequency and temperature change from four desert ecosystems, Northwest China.

Climate change will result in variation of rain frequency and amount and warming in arid zones, which is expected to affect seed germination and seedling emergence in desert ecosystems. However, the effects of unpredictable rainfall and increasing temperature on seed germination and seedling emergence of dominant desert plants remain unclear across different deserts, which are important for population regeneration and community succession in desert ecosystems. Seed germination and seedling emergence of Haloxylon ammodendron across four deserts in Northwest China were examined at different rain frequencies with same total amount, and constant and alternating temperatures, to investigate their response to climate change. Rain frequency determined seed germination and seedling emergence of H. ammodendron in the Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert, Gurbantonggut Desert and Mutthar Desert, which was maximal at rain frequency of 10 times per month and decreased with a decrease of rain frequency. Temperature was not a restricting factor for seed germination of H. ammodendron in the Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert and Gurbantonggut Desert, varying from 10 °C to 25 °C and from 20/10 °C to 30/15 °C, respectively. However, the highest temperature of 25 °C and 30/15 °C inhibited seed germination of H. ammodendron in the Mutthar Desert. Thus, H. ammodendron has an opportunistic germination strategy. Under climate change in the future, seed germination and seedling emergence of H. ammodendron would be restricted by the combination of less frequent rainfall and increased temperature in desert ecosystems. The regeneration of the H. ammodendron community should be promoted by irrigation and seedling transplant.

Effect of High-Quality Whole-Course Care on Psychological Status and Postoperative Pharyngeal Complications in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Hyperparathyroidism Secondary to Chronic Rrenal Failure.

Objective: To observe the effects of high-quality whole-course care on the psychological status and postoperative pharyngeal complications in patients undergoing surgery for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) to chronic rrenal failure (CRF). Methods: The clinical data of 62 patients who underwent surgical treatment for CRF-SHPT from April 2018 to October 2021 in our department were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different nursing methods after admission, they were divided into two groups, of which 33 patients who received high-quality whole-course care were the high-quality group, and 29 patients who received routine nursing were the regular group. Compliance, occurrence of pharyngeal complications, improvement of preoperative and postoperative psychological status [Assessed by self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS)], nursing satisfaction scores, and serum hormone levels [intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), calcium (Ca), Phosphorus (P)] were compared between the two groups. Results: The differences between the general conditions and clinical characteristics of the two groups were not significant (p > 0.05). After care, the number of cases with good compliance in the high-quality group was higher than that in the regular group, and the number of cases with non-compliance was lower than that in the regular group (p < 0.05); the difference in the number of cases with partial compliance after care between the two groups was not significant (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of pharyngeal complications such as sore throat, nausea and vomiting, dry throat and hoarseness between the two groups (p > 0.05); however, the 24-h postoperative sore throat and dry throat scores in the high-quality group were significantly lower than those in the regular group (p < 0.05). Patients in the high-quality group had higher nursing attitude, nursing skills, nursing safety, nursing quality, and overall nursing satisfaction scores than the regular group (p < 0.05). Compared with the pre-care period, SAS and SDS scores decreased in both groups after care, and SAS and SDS scores decreased more in the high-quality group than in the regular group (p < 0.05). Serum iPTH, Ca, and P levels decreased in both groups at 1 week after surgery, and iPTH, Ca, and P levels decreased more in the high-quality group than in the regular group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Through the high-quality whole-course care, full informed participation and active cooperation of CRF-SHPT patients, close medical and nursing collaboration, attention to detail and overall level of treatment can effectively improve patient compliance, psychological status and postoperative serum indicators, promote patient recovery and improve nursing satisfaction.

Chili Consumption and Risk of Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

Chili peppers are loved by people all over the world and have been indispensable vegetable for three meals a day. However, reports about the association between chili consumption and gastric cancer (GC) risk have been conflicting. So, we carried out this meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of chili consumption on the risk of GC. Medline, PubMed, Web of science, Embase, Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched until May 2019. Heterogeneity among studies was examined using Q and I2 statistics. Combined odds ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random- or fixed-effects model. All data were analyzed using STATA 15.1 software. 13 studies (3,095 cases and 4,761 controls) were included in the meta-analysis. A 1.96-fold increased risk of GC was shown for the moderate-high chili consumption (OR = 1.96, 95%CI =1.59-2.42). Dose-response analysis showed a significant nonlinear association of GC risk with capsaicin intake (pnon-linearity <0.05) and suggested a significant positive association between high chili consumption and GC risk (OR = 2.28, 95%CI = 1.76-2.96) but not moderate chili consumption (OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.36-1.41). Sensitivity analysis and publication bias test results indicated that no publication bias and the results were reliable (Egger's: P = 0.288). Evidence from this meta-analysis suggested that a higher level of chili consumption may be associated with an increased incidence of GC. More studies are warranted to confirm the association between chili consumption and the risk of GC.

Effect of coffee consumption on dyslipidemia: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Dyslipidemia is a common metabolic disease worldwide and also an important predisposing factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Coffee is loved by people all over the world; however, the association between coffee consumption and blood lipids has yielded inconsistent results. So we carried this meta-analysis to explore the effects of coffee consumption on blood lipids. METHODS AND RESULTS: Medline, PubMed, Web of science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched until April 2020. Combined weighted mean differences (WMD) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using random-effects models, and between-study heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran's Q test and I2 statistics. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis were also conducted to explore the potential heterogeneity. A total of 12 RCT studies involving the association between coffee consumption and blood lipid levels were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that coffee consumption significantly increased total cholesterol (TC) (WMD: 0.21 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.04; 0.39, P = 0.017), triglyceride (TG) (WMD: 0.12 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.03; 0.20, P = 0.006) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) (WMD: 0.14 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.05; 0.24, P = 0.003) while had no significant effect on high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) (WMD: -0.01 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.06; 0.04, P = 0.707). Dose-response analysis results revealed significant positive nonlinear associations between coffee consumption and the increase in TC, LDL-C, and TG levels. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from this meta-analysis suggested that coffee consumption may be associated with an elevated risk for dyslipidemia and CVDs. So a reasonable habit of coffee consumption (<3 cups/d) is essential for the prevention of dyslipidemia.

The study on the early warning period of varicella outbreaks based on logistic differential equation model.

Chickenpox is a common acute and highly contagious disease in childhood; moreover, there is currently no targeted treatment. Carrying out an early warning on chickenpox plays an important role in taking targeted measures in advance as well as preventing the outbreak of the disease. In recent years, the infectious disease dynamic model has been widely used in the research of various infectious diseases. The logistic differential equation model can well demonstrate the epidemic characteristics of epidemic outbreaks, gives the point at which the early epidemic rate changes from slow to fast. Therefore, our study aims to use the logistic differential equation model to explore the epidemic characteristics and early-warning time of varicella. Meanwhile, the data of varicella cases were collected from first week of 2008 to 52nd week of 2017 in Changsha. Finally, our study found that the logistic model can be well fitted with varicella data, besides the model illustrated that there are two peaks of varicella at each year in Changsha City. One is the peak in summer-autumn corresponding to the 8th-38th week; the other is in winter-spring corresponding to the time from the 38th to the seventh week next year. The 'epidemic acceleration week' average value of summer-autumn and winter-spring are about the 16th week (ranging from the 15th to 17th week) and 45th week (ranging from the 44th to 47th week), respectively. What is more, taking warning measures during the acceleration week, the preventive effect will be delayed; thus, we recommend intervene during recommended warning weeks which are the 15th and 44th weeks instead.

[Effects of high temperature stress on photosynthetic parameters and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of Xinjiang hybrid hazels].

With five temperature gradient treatments, this paper studied the effects of high temperature stress on the photosynthetic parameters and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of four Xinjiang hybrid hazels. When the temperature gradually raised from 25 degrees C to 45 degrees C, the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, water use efficiency and light use efficiency of the hybrid hazels decreased gradually, and the decrement was the largest at 35 degrees C - 45 degrees C. The actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, electron transport rate, and photochemical quenching coefficient increased slowly with increasing temperature, but decreased sharply when the temperature was raised to >35 degrees C. The water consumption for transpiration and the heat dissipation also increased with increasing temperature. Among the four hybrid hazels, Xinzhen No. 3 had higher tolerance against high temperature in photosynthesis, belonging to heat-resistant cultivar.