The influence of transpiration on foliar accumulation of salt and nutrients under salinity in poplar (Populus × canescens).

Increasing salinity is one of the major drawbacks for plant growth. Besides the ion itself being toxic to plant cells, it greatly interferes with the supply of other macronutrients like potassium, calcium and magnesium. However, little is known about how sodium affects the translocation of these nutrients from the root to the shoot. The major driving force of this translocation process is thought to be the water flow through the xylem driven by transpiration. To dissect the effects of transpiration from those of salinity we compared salt stressed, ABA treated and combined salt- and ABA treated poplars with untreated controls. Salinity reduced the root content of major nutrients like K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. Less Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the roots resulted in reduced leaf Ca2+ and leaf Mg2+ levels due to reduced stomatal conductance and reduced transpiration. Interestingly, leaf K+ levels were positively affected in leaves under salt stress although there was less K+ in the roots under salt. In response to ABA, transpiration was also decreased and Mg2+ and Ca2+ levels decreased comparably to the salt stress treatment, while K+ levels were not affected. Thus, our results suggest that loading and retention of leaf K+ is enhanced under salt stress compared to merely transpiration driven cation supply.

COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories: The need for cognitive inoculation against misinformation to improve vaccine adherence.

INTRODUCTION: Rumors and conspiracy theories, can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Monitoring online data related to COVID-19 vaccine candidates can track vaccine misinformation in real-time and assist in negating its impact. This study aimed to examine COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, understand their context, and then review interventions to manage this misinformation and increase vaccine acceptance. METHOD: In June 2020, a multi-disciplinary team was formed to review and collect online rumors and conspiracy theories between 31 December 2019-30 November 2020. Sources included Google, Google Fact Check, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, fact-checking agency websites, and television and newspaper websites. Quantitative data were extracted, entered in an Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed descriptively using the statistical package R version 4.0.3. We conducted a content analysis of the qualitative information from news articles, online reports and blogs and compared with findings from quantitative data. Based on the fact-checking agency ratings, information was categorized as true, false, misleading, or exaggerated. RESULTS: We identified 637 COVID-19 vaccine-related items: 91% were rumors and 9% were conspiracy theories from 52 countries. Of the 578 rumors, 36% were related to vaccine development, availability, and access, 20% related to morbidity and mortality, 8% to safety, efficacy, and acceptance, and the rest were other categories. Of the 637 items, 5% (30/) were true, 83% (528/637) were false, 10% (66/637) were misleading, and 2% (13/637) were exaggerated. CONCLUSIONS: Rumors and conspiracy theories may lead to mistrust contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Tracking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in real-time and engaging with social media to disseminate correct information could help safeguard the public against misinformation.