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Effects of organic-inorganic complex fertilizer on the growth and physiological characteristics of ‘Qi-Nan’ agarwood from Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.)
This paper is to study the effects of different levels of fertilization on the growth, physiological characteristic of ‘Qi-Nan’ agarwood seedlings. The experiment was conducted under potted conditions using a single factor experiment. Organic-inorganic complex fertilizer was used as the basal fertilizers, and 7 fertilizer gradients ranging from 0 g/plant to 23 g/plant were set up. The result showed that: (1) within a certain range, with the increase of organic-inorganic complex fertilizer application, the growth and physiological activity of ‘Qi-Nan’ had an incremental effect, but this effect would be inhibited when the fertilizer application was too high. (2) After fertilization, the contents of free proline (FP) and malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased, while the contents of osmotic regulatory substances and chlorophyll increased. (3) The correlation analysis showed that seedling height and ground diameter of ‘Qi-Nan’ seedlings were significantly positively correlated with soluble sugar content, peroxidase activity and chlorophyll content. (4) Membership function analysis showed that organic-inorganic complex fertilizer had a significant effect on the growth of ‘Qi-Nan’ seedlings, and the optimal fertilizer level of single application of organic-inorganic complex fertilizer was 7-11g/plant. Therefore, the optimal application level of organic-inorganic complex fertilizer for the seedling cultivation of ‘Qi-Nan’ was 7g/ plant.
PCL scaffold with well-defined hierarchical pores effectively controls cell migration and alignment of human mesenchymal stem cells
Correction: Best-worst scaling preferences among patients with well-controlled epilepsy: Pilot results
LncRNA 4933431K23Rik modulate microglial phenotype via inhibiting miR-10a-5p in spinal cord injury induced neuropathic pain
Correction: Cost comparison of nine-month treatment regimens with 20-month standardized care for the treatment of rifampicin-resistant/multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in Nigeria
Fractional-order computational modeling of pediculosis disease dynamics with predictor–corrector approach
Findings from a qualitative analysis: Social media influencers of color as trusted messengers of HPV vaccination messages
Background Despite HPV vaccination reducing the prevalence of cervical cancer by 90%, vaccination rates remain lower among communities of color due to vaccine hesitancy and mistrust in traditional public health messengers. The emergence of social media influencers, a newer kind of messenger, presents a unique opportunity to share immunization messages in new ways with a variety of communities. This paper reviews the qualitative findings from a study aimed at assessing influencers’ perceptions of and approaches to sharing messaging about the HPV vaccine. Methods Guided by several theories (Theory of Planned Behavior, Narrative Theory, and Opinion Leader Theory), the study team designed an intervention-based study consisting of qualitative interviews and social media influencer-designed and disseminated messaging. We worked closely with an influencer marketing firm to recruit 10 influencers of color who had children aged 9-14 – to write about the vaccine with their followers. Influencers used a provided factsheet to draft social media posts about vaccinating their children against HPV. Influencers were interviewed about their post and posts and interview transcripts were analyzed for key themes. Results Most influencers were hesitant to talk about vaccinations for fear of backlash. Most committed to writing, however, because they were compelled to support important health topics. All used the power of storytelling to convey the messages and highlighted their personal journeys of vaccine decision making. Influencers also highlighted the struggles of parenting and talked emotionally about how making decisions about this vaccine prompted feelings about their child growing up. Influencers also believed that they could help people make the decision to vaccinate. Conclusions The findings from this study elucidates the emotional context within which parents are being asked to vaccinate their children and thus, how personal the decision to vaccinate is. Most influencers noted that they had received a doctor’s recommendation but were taking the time to do their own research. Insights from this study can help inform current and future public health communication programs aimed at supporting immunization efforts. It also can provide lessons for other health topics.
Association between lipid accumulation products and relative handgrip strength: a large population-based study
Correction: Analysis of internet of things implementation barriers in the cold supply chain: An integrated ISM-MICMAC and DEMATEL approach
Controlling Mie scattering response to refractive index variations via light field manipulation
Complementarity in mixed farming systems enhances the smallholders income: Evidence from Punjab, Pakistan
Mixed cropping and livestock production is a widespread farming system in less developed countries. The literature has mainly highlighted the synergistic effects between crop and livestock systems from an agronomic and environmental point of view, but has never investigated the (economic) complementarity that may exist between the two activities. Complementarity exists when mixed farming allows smallholders to earn higher incomes than in specialized systems, i.e., crop-only or livestock-only. Our paper is the first to test for complementarity in mixed farming by deriving empirical predictions from the theory of supermodularity, which are tested econometrically using a database of 360 farming households in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Our estimation results confirm the existence of a significant and positive complementary effect between crop and livestock activities, and also provide a direct measure of this effect. The smallholder can earn an average additional income of 791 rupees (out of an average total income of 12,010 rupees) by choosing mixed farming. This implies that smallholders adopt mixed farming not only for its agronomic and environmental benefits, but also because it can generate higher incomes than specialized farming systems to alleviate smallholder poverty. Apart from the choice of activity, our estimation results show that the other variables that significantly increase smallholder incomes are the education level of the household head, as well as access to urban markets, herd size, and land size. We also find that the positive impact of land expansion does not depend on the property rights regime, i.e., the additional land can be owned or rented (sharecropping). A specific public policy aimed at reducing smallholder poverty must prioritize the improvement of these key factors, especially access to urban markets and sharecropping.
Bacteriophage Indie resensitizes multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii to antibiotics in vitro
Validity and reliability of the Dietary Sodium Restriction Questionnaire in peritoneal dialysis patients
Objective The Chinese version of Dietary Sodium Restriction Questionnaire (DSRQ) was adapted to evaluate its reliability and validity for measuring adherence to a sodium-restricted diet in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods Specific items related to peritoneal dialysis were added to create a PD version of the DSRQ (PD-DSRQ), which was administered to 135 patients undergoing PD. Item analysis was performed using the critical ratio and homogeneity tests. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by assessing the internal consistency. Content validity was evaluated using the expert evaluation method, and construct validity was assessed via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results The item analysis revealed correlation coefficients (R-values) ranging from 0.311 to 0.745 for each item, with statistically significant differences between the high and low subgroups for all items. The Cronbach’s α coefficients for the overall PD-DSRQ and the attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control subscales were 0.805, 0.892, 0.794, and 0.889, respectively. The item-level content validity index ranged from 0.83 to 1.00, and the scale-level content validity index/universal agreement was 0.9894. Exploratory factor analysis identified a three-factor structure consistent with the original DSRQ, except for Question 18. The three factors had eigenvalues of 5.302, 4.179, and 1.290, which explained 64.32% of the variance. The average variance extracted for each dimension was 0.5777, 0.5654, and 0.5259, and the composite reliability values were 0.8864, 0.7956, and 0.8802, respectively, demonstrating good convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusion The PD-DSRQ encompasses general information and three dimensions: attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The questionnaire demonstrated strong reliability and validity, making it a reliable tool for assessing adherence to sodium-restricted diets in patients undergoing PD.
Trans pixelate substitution scheme for denoising computed tomography images towards high diagnosis accuracy
Correction: The impact of climatic factors on tick-related hospital visits and borreliosis incidence rates in European Russia
Changes in the immune index before and after surgery in urinary malignancy patients with AIDS
Urinary tract infections and antimicrobial susceptibility: A retrospective trend analysis of uropathogens in women in Accra, Ghana (2019–2022)
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain a significant public health concern, with evolving patterns in prevalence and antimicrobial resistance. This retrospective study, conducted at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Accra, Ghana, analyzed 11,280 urine cultures obtained exclusively from female patients from 2019 to 2022 to assess trends in UTI burden, prevalence stratified by age and month, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. In all, urine pathogens were isolated in 4475 (39.67%) of the samples tested. Of the total number of uropathogens isolated, majority of them were bacterial pathogens (94.21%), with an increasing proportion of fungal infections, specifically candida species (5.79%). Irrespective of the year, the highest prevalence of uropathogens were consistently recorded in the month of May, while individuals aged ≥ 90 years exhibited the greatest odds of infection in 2020 (aOR: 1.88, p = 0.039). Escherichia coli (30.51%) and Staphylococcus aureus (15.16%) were the most prevalent Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed declining antibiotic effectiveness over time, with notable exceptions for gentamicin (97.4% effectiveness against Enterococcus spp.) and ofloxacin (82.9% against Enterococcus spp.). Alarmingly, most antibiotics exhibited effectiveness rates below 20% by 2022, underscoring the growing resistance challenge. These findings, drawn from a key healthcare facility in Ghana’s capital, highlight the dynamic nature of UTIs and the urgent need for targeted interventions, optimized antimicrobial stewardship, and continuous monitoring of resistance patterns to improve patient outcomes.
Clinical and polysomnographic characteristics of Asian patients with comorbid insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea
Non-parametric spatiotemporal trends in fire: An approach to identify fire regimes variations and predict seasonal effects of fire in Iran
Analyzing wildfire complexity provides valuable insights into fire regimes and occurrence patterns within landscapes, enabling targeted land management efforts for sensitive and vulnerable areas. Fire density is a key component of wildfire regimes. In recent years, Iran has experienced significant changes in wildfire activity. This study aims to assess trends in fire density and the probability of wildfire occurrence during summer and autumn using active fire data. Seasonal fire point density (per km2) from 2001 to 2023 was calculated using a kernel function. The Mann-Kendall (MK) test identified areas with significant fire density trends (at the 90% confidence level) for prediction analysis. Environmental variables and points with significant trends were entered into a MaxEnt model to predict fire risk in summer and autumn. Environmental variables included average temperature, human modification of terrestrial systems, annual precipitation, precipitation of the driest month, elevation, land use/land cover (LULC), land surface temperature (LST), soil organic carbon (SOC), and wind exposure index (WEI). Spatial variations in significant fire density trends for summer and autumn were analyzed using gap analysis and the Kappa index. Influence zone analysis identified zones impacted by increasing wildfire trends within the landscape. Results showed that areas with significant increasing fire density trends covered 326,739.56 km2 in summer and 102,668.85 km2 in autumn. There was minimal overlap between increasing and decreasing fire density trends across seasons, indicating wildfires disproportionately affect natural and agricultural areas in Iran. Influence zone analysis identified 15 fire-prone zones in summer and 3 in autumn, with a significant portion located in the Zagros Mountain forest steppes. The MaxEnt model, based on the area under the curve (AUC) metric, successfully identified high-risk wildfire areas in both seasons. Jackknife analysis indicated that human modification and SOC were crucial indicators of human activities and available fuel for wildfires in both seasons. Predictions showed diverging wildfire risk patterns in summer and autumn. In summer, wildfire risk is high across all regions except deserts and Hyrcanian forests, while in autumn, Hyrcanian mixed forests are also classified as high-risk zones. These findings can help land managers identify influence zones and understand the land uses and vegetation types associated with wildfires, enabling more informed and effective management decisions based on the spatial extent and distribution of fire trends.