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ABSTRACT To improve the picking rate and reduce the wrong picking rate of the existing wolfberry harvesting machinery, in this study, the binding force and physical appearance of the immature fruit stalk, mature fruit stalk, flower, and leaf were studied to guide the designing of new-generation wolfberry harvesting machinery and lay theoretical foundation for further studies on biomechanical properties of wolfberry. By preprocessing the experimental data with the Pauta criterion, the distribution range of the binding force and physical appearance of stalk were obtained; the binding force was not influenced by the picking temperature, mass of the fruit, and location of the branch of the fruit. The length-diameter ratio of mature fruit was confirmed by image processing. The constitutive equations for immature fruit stalks and mature fruit stalks were established. The breaking strength of the mature fruit stalk was obviously higher than that of the immature fruit stalk; moreover, the breaking strength of the mature and immature fruit stalk of the four wolfberry varieties differed obviously. The experimental results obtained in this study can provide detailed data for the parameter design of a new-generation wolfberry harvesting machinery.

ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate the efficacy of nursing interventions to increase the level of hope in cancer patients, in a meta-analysis. Methods: electronic databases were searched. Two of the authors independently extracted data from the eligible studies, and Stata 13.0 software was used to pool the data. Results: nine randomized controlled trials were included, and methodological quality of each randomized controlled trial (RCT) was evaluated using Cochrane handbook recommendations. A random effects model was used to combine results from eligible studies. The pooled results using the fixed effects model showed that scores to first effects increase significantly after the use of nursing intervention between the groups. Heterogeneity was observed among the studies for posttest (df = 8, P = 0.000; I2 =76.1 %). The results indicated significant heterogeneity across the nine selected studies. The test for heterogeneity showed no homogeneity among studies for follow-up (df = 8, P = 0.328; I2 = 12.9 %), and there was no statistical significance. Conclusion: the current evidence suggests that nursing intervention has a positive effect on hope in cancer patients. However, more large-scale and high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.

Objective: Studies have shown that both cystatin C and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are associated with inflammation. We set out to investigate the correlation between serum cystatin C levels and MetS in the elderly. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in 380 elderly individuals, including 135 patients with MetS, 142 patients with metabolic disturbance (MetD), and 103 healthy elderly individuals (control group). Waist–hip ratio, waist circumference, waist–height ratio, body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure and cystatin C were measured and their mutual relations were analyzed. Results: The higher the MetS scores, the higher the serum cystatin C concentration in these patients. Serum cystatin C concentration was closely related to waist–hip ratio, waist circumference, waist–height ratio, BMI, TG, FPG, and blood pressure, not related to LDL-C levels, and negatively correlated with HDL-C levels. Logistic regression analysis indicated that cystatin C, waist–height ratio, waist circumference, FPG, TG, SBP and pulse pressure were significantly associated with MetS (OR between cystatin C and MetS 2.164, 95% CI 1.136–8.259). Conclusion: Cystatin C was significantly associated with MetS in the elderly. As MetS scores rose, serum cystatin C levels increased. Resumo: Objetivo: Alguns estudos demonstraram que tanto a cistatina C como a síndrome metabólica (SM) estão associadas à inflamação. Procuramos investigar a correlação entre os níveis séricos da cistatina C e a SM nos idosos. Métodos: Este estudo prospetivo foi realizado em 380 idosos, incluindo 135 doentes com SM, 142 doentes com alterações metabólicas (AM) e 103 idosos saudáveis num grupo de controlo corrente. Foram medidos a relação cintura-quadril, o perímetro abdominal, a razão cintura-estatura, o índice da massa corporal (IMC), glicemia em jejum, a hemoglobina glicada (HbA1c), o colesterol de lipoproteína de baixa densidade (colesterol-DL), os triglicéridos (TG),o colesterol de lipoproteína de alta densidade (colesterol-HDL), a pressão arterial sistólica (PAS), a pressão arterial diastólica (PAD), a pressão do pulso e a cistatina C e foram avaliadas as suas relações mútuas. Resultados: 1. Como os scores dos componentes da SM aumentaram, os níveis da cistatina C subiram nestes doentes. Quanto mais elevados foram os scores da SM, mais elevada foi a concentração sérica de cistatina C nestes doentes. 2. A concentração sérica de cistatina C foi estreitamente relacionada com a razão cintura-quadril, com o perímetro abdominal, com a razão cintura-estatura, com o IMC, com os TG, com a glicemia em jejum e com a pressão arterial, mas não associada aos níveis de colesterol-LDL e negativamente correlacionada com os níveis de colesterol-HDL. 3. A análise de regressão logística indicou que a cistatina C, a razão cintura-estatura, o perímetro abdominal, a glicemia em jejum, os TG, a PAS e a pressão do pulso foram significativamente associados à SM, ao valor da OR entre a cistatina C e a SM foi de 2,164 (95% IC=1,136-8,259). Conclusão: A cistatina C foi significativamente associada com a SM nos idosos. Como os scores da SM subiram, os níveis séricos de cistatina C aumentaram. Keywords: Metabolic syndrome, Cystatin C, Elderly, Inflammation, Obesity, Palavras-chave: Síndrome metabólica, Cistatina C, Idosos, Inflamação, Obesidade

It was found that cinnamic acid can react with potassium permanganate in the acidic medium and produce chemiluminescence, which was greatly enhanced by glyoxal. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range for the determination of cinnamic acid was 1.0×10-8 to 1.0×10-4 mol L-1 with a detection limit of 8.0×10-9 mol L-1, the relative standard deviation was 1.7% for 2.0×10-6 mol L-1 cinnamic acid solution in nine repeated measurements. This method was found to be novel0simple0fast and sensitive, it was successfully applied to the determination of cinnamic acid in human urine. Furthermore, the possible reaction mechanism was also discussed.

ABSTRACT: The influences of byproduct amendments, containing silicon, calcium, magnesium and potassium, on acidic soil quality in Jiaodong Peninsula of China had been studied and compared with that of lime through monitoring physicochemical properties and enzyme activities of acidic soil over a 120-day period. Byproduct amendments (1125, 2250, 4500 and 9000 kg ha-1) and lime 2250 kg ha-1 was applied in the acidic soil. Results showed that both byproduct amendments and lime significantly increased the pH, EC and enzyme activities of soil. The by-product amendments inhibited microbial biomass carbon and soil respiration. Nevertheless, the lime-treated soil had a much more higher level of CO2 emission than the by-product amendments-treated soil. Compared to the by-product amendments-treated soil, the lime-treated soil had the higher pH, peroxidase activity, phenol oxidase activity and invertase activity. Therefore, lime might be a better choice over by-product amendments to improve chemical and biological properties of the acidic soil in Jiaodong Peninsula of China. For soils lacking available calcium and magnesium, the mixture of 4500 kg ha-1 amendments and 2250 kg ha-1 lime was recommend to treat the soil.