Crop rotational diversity can mitigate climate-induced grain yield losses.

Diversified crop rotations have been suggested to reduce grain yield losses from the adverse climatic conditions increasingly common under climate change. Nevertheless, the potential for climate change adaptation of different crop rotational diversity (CRD) remains undetermined. We quantified how climatic conditions affect small grain and maize yields under different CRDs in 32 long-term (10-63 years) field experiments across Europe and North America. Species-diverse and functionally rich rotations more than compensated yield losses from anomalous warm conditions, long and warm dry spells, as well as from anomalous wet (for small grains) or dry (for maize) conditions. Adding a single functional group or crop species to monocultures counteracted yield losses from substantial changes in climatic conditions. The benefits of a further increase in CRD are comparable with those of improved climatic conditions. For instance, the maize yield benefits of adding three crop species to monocultures under detrimental climatic conditions exceeded the average yield of monocultures by up to 553 kg/ha under non-detrimental climatic conditions. Increased crop functional richness improved yields under high temperature, irrespective of precipitation. Conversely, yield benefits peaked at between two and four crop species in the rotation, depending on climatic conditions and crop, and declined at higher species diversity. Thus, crop species diversity could be adjusted to maximize yield benefits. Diversifying rotations with functionally distinct crops is an adaptation of cropping systems to global warming and changes in precipitation.

Feasibility and acceptability of a digital parent group chat intervention to prevent child and adolescent maltreatment in the Philippines.

This study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of MaPaChat, a parent support intervention delivered using Viber group chat to caregivers in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty caregivers of children aged 4-17 from predominantly low-income households participated in a culturally adapted version of the Parenting for Lifelong Health ParentChat programme. Feasibility was assessed by enrolment, attendance, and dropout rates. Semi-structured interviews with caregivers and programme facilitators explored programme acceptability. A single-group pre-post design was used to explore changes in child maltreatment, positive parenting, parenting stress, and other secondary outcomes. The mean attendance rate was 82% and the dropout rate was 10%. Caregivers and facilitators found the programme helpful in enhancing parenting knowledge and skills and were satisfied with the programme delivery using Viber group chat but also reported experiencing technological challenges. Pre-post comparisons suggested that the intervention has potential in reducing physical and emotional abuse and associated risk factors. The findings suggest that a parenting intervention delivered over digital group chat by trained community service providers may be a feasible and acceptable way to support caregivers in low-resource settings.

The causal axioms of algebraic quantum field theory: A diagnostic.

Algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT) puts forward three "causal axioms" that aim to characterize the theory as one that implements relativistic causation: the spectrum condition, microcausality, and primitive causality. In this paper, I aim to show, in a minimally technical way, that none of them fully explains the notion of causation appropriate for AQFT because they only capture some of the desiderata for relativistic causation I state or because it is often unclear how each axiom implements its respective desideratum. After this diagnostic, I will show that a fourth condition, local primitive causality (LPC), fully characterizes relativistic causation in the sense of fulfilling all the relevant desiderata. However, it only encompasses the virtues of the other axioms because it is implied by them, as I will show from a construction by Haag and Schroer (1962). Since the conjunction of the three causal axioms implies LPC and other important results in QFT that LPC does not imply, and since LPC helps clarify some of the shortcomings of the three axioms, I advocate for a holistic interpretation of how the axioms characterize the causal structure of AQFT against the strategy in the literature to rivalize the axioms and privilege one among them.

Integrating intimate partner violence prevention content into a digital parenting chatbot intervention during COVID-19: Intervention development and remote data collection.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health issue which experienced a sharp incline during the onset of COVID-19. Increases in other forms of violence, such as violence against children (VAC), have also been linked to the pandemic, and there have been calls for greater prevention efforts that tackle both forms of violence concurrently. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based and scalable violence prevention interventions that target multiple forms of family violence. Parenting programmes have shown promising results in preventing various forms of family violence, including IPV and VAC, and have recently experienced an expansion in delivery, with digital intervention formats growing. This paper describes the development and evaluation of the IPV prevention content designed and integrated into ParentText, a chatbot parenting intervention adapted from Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes. METHODS: The ParentText IPV prevention content was developed using the Six Steps in Quality Intervention Development (6SQuID) framework. This involved targeted literature searches for key studies to identify causal factors associated with IPV and determining those with greatest scope for change. Findings were used to develop the intervention content and theory of change. Consultations were held with academic researchers (n = 5), practitioners (n = 5), and local community organisations (n = 7), who reviewed the content. A formative evaluation was conducted with parents in relationships (n = 96) in Jamaica to better understand patterns in user engagement with the intervention and identify strategies to further improve engagement. RESULTS: Using the 6SQuID model, five topics on IPV prevention were integrated into the ParentText chatbot. Text-messages covering each topic, including additional materials such as cartoons and videos, were also developed. The formative evaluation revealed an average user-engagement length of 14 days, 0.50 chatbot interactions per day, and over half of participants selected to view additional relationship content. CONCLUSIONS: This article provides a unique contribution as the first to integrate IPV prevention content into a remotely delivered, digital parenting intervention for low-resource settings. The findings from this research and formative evaluation shed light on the promising potential of chatbots as scalable and accessible forms of violence prevention, targeting multiple types of family violence.

Neurotoxicidad en trabajadores petroquímicos con bajos índices de exposición a disolventes orgánicos.

OBJETIVO: Estimar el desempeño neuropsicológico y su asociación con la exposición a disolventes orgánicos (DO) en trabajadores petroquímicos en México. Material y méto-dos. Estudio transversal en 203 trabajadores: 102 expuestos a DO y 101 no expuestos. Se evaluó el desempeño neuropsi-cológico con Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery y la exposición a DO con la medición de metabolitos de exposición para tolueno, xilenos y benceno. RESULTADOS: Los trabajadores expuestos presentaron un peor desempeño en todas las pruebas (p<0.05), excepto en la prueba de Santa Ana. Esto se corroboró con modelos de regresión; los trabajadores expuestos a DO tuvieron un mayor número de errores y realizaron las pruebas en mayor tiempo (p<0.05), además de presentar mayores probabilidades de padecer síntomas de neurotoxicidad (OR: 2.93; IC95%: 0.96, 8.96). Conclusio-nes. La exposición ocupacional a disolventes orgánicos, aun a niveles permitidos por la normatividad mexicana vigente, se relacionó con un menor desempeño neuropsicológico.

Novel Feature-Extraction Methods for the Estimation of Above-Ground Biomass in Rice Crops.

Traditional methods to measure spatio-temporal variations in above-ground biomass dynamics (AGBD) predominantly rely on the extraction of several vegetation-index features highly associated with AGBD variations through the phenological crop cycle. This work presents a comprehensive comparison between two different approaches for feature extraction for non-destructive biomass estimation using aerial multispectral imagery. The first method is called GFKuts, an approach that optimally labels the plot canopy based on a Gaussian mixture model, a Montecarlo-based K-means, and a guided image filtering for the extraction of canopy vegetation indices associated with biomass yield. The second method is based on a Graph-Based Data Fusion (GBF) approach that does not depend on calculating vegetation-index image reflectances. Both methods are experimentally tested and compared through rice growth stages: vegetative, reproductive, and ripening. Biomass estimation correlations are calculated and compared against an assembled ground-truth biomass measurements taken by destructive sampling. The proposed GBF-Sm-Bs approach outperformed competing methods by obtaining biomass estimation correlation of 0.995 with R2=0.991 and RMSE=45.358 g. This result increases the precision in the biomass estimation by around 62.43% compared to previous works.

Adaptive multi-paddock grazing enhances soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and stabilization through mineral association in southeastern U.S. grazing lands.

Grassland soils are a large reservoir of soil carbon (C) at risk of loss due to overgrazing in conventional grazing systems. By promoting regenerative grazing management practices that aim to increase soil C storage and soil health, grasslands have the potential to help alleviate rising atmospheric CO2 as well as sustain grass productivity across a vast area of land. Previous research has shown that rotational grazing, specifically adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing that utilizes short-duration rotational grazing at high stocking densities, can increase soil C stocks in grassland ecosystems, but the extent and mechanisms are unknown. We conducted a large-scale on-farm study on five "across the fence" pairs of AMP and conventional grazing (CG) grasslands covering a spectrum of southeast United States grazing lands. We quantified soil C and nitrogen (N) stocks, their isotopic and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy signatures as well as their distribution among soil organic matter (SOM) physical fractions characterized by contrasting mechanisms of formation and persistence in soils. Our findings show that the AMP grazing sites had on average 13% (i.e., 9 Mg C ha-1) more soil C and 9% (i.e., 1 Mg N ha-1) more soil N compared to the CG sites over a 1 m depth. Additionally, the stocks' difference was mostly in the mineral-associated organic matter fraction in the A-horizon, suggesting long-term persistence of soil C in AMP grazing farms. The higher N stocks and lower 15N abundance of AMP soils also point to higher N retention in these systems. These findings provide evidence that AMP grazing is a management strategy to sequester C in the soil and retain N in the system, thus contributing to climate change mitigation.

Mid-Term and Long-Term Impact of Permanent Hypoparathyroidism After Total Thyroidectomy.

BACKGROUND: Permanent hypoparathyroidism (PH) is the most frequent long-term complication after total thyroidectomy. PH is related to many short-term and long-term complications, including clinical manifestations of hypocalcemia, hypercalcemia due to overtreatment, hyperphosphatemia, gastrointestinal, neuropsychiatric symptoms, decrease in renal function and infectious complications. The aim of this study was to identify the most frequent effects of PH and its associated risk factors. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a single institutional series of patients who developed PH after total thyroidectomy between 2000 and 2016. PH was defined as hypoparathormonemia (≤12 pg/mL) or the need for calcium/vitamin D supplementation to achieve normal calcium levels for more than 12 months. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed based on the natural scaling of each included variable. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients fulfilled the criteria for PH. Mean ± SD age was 46.26 ± 13.4 years; 6 (15.4%) were males and 33 (84.6%) females. Mean follow-up was 6.13 ± 3.25 years. Mean calcium carbonate supplementation doses per day were 18.95 ± 17.5 g and 21.4 ± 19.3 g at 1 year and last follow-up, respectively. Hypocalcemic crisis was the most common complication (66.7%), followed by neuropsychiatric (38.5%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (33.3%). Ten patients showed a decrease in renal function (eGFR drop ≥25%) and 4 developed chronic kidney disease. The amount of calcium supplementation was the most relevant related risk factor. CONCLUSIONS: PH is associated with multiple complications, including renal function impairment, gastrointestinal, neuropsychiatric and infectious complications. Lower calcium supplementation doses are related to lower complications rates.

The bidirectional temporal relationship between parenting stress and child maltreatment: A cross-lagged study based on intervention and cohort data.

BACKGROUND: Parenting stress has long been proposed as a major risk factor for child maltreatment. However, there is a lack of evidence from existing studies on the temporal sequence to establish a causal relationship. This study aims to examine bidirectional temporal relationships between parenting stress and child maltreatment. METHODS: Longitudinal data from two different sources were analysed: a pre-post study of an online parenting programme conducted across six countries - the ePLH Evaluation Study, and a prospective cohort study in the United States - LONGSCAN. Cross-lagged panel model on parenting stress and child maltreatment was used in each dataset. RESULTS: Based on repeatedly measured data of 484 caregivers in the ePLH study across five time points (every two weeks), we found that parenting stress at an earlier time point predicted later child maltreatment (IRR = 1.14, 95 % CI: 1.10,1.18). In addition, the occurrence of child maltreatment was associated with higher subsequent short-term parenting stress (IRR = 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.01,1.08) and thus could form a vicious circle. In the LONGSCAN analysis with 772 caregivers who were followed up from child age of 6 to child age of 16, we also found parenting stress at an earlier time point predicted later child maltreatment (ß = 0.11, 95 % CI: 0.01,0.20), but did not observe an association between child maltreatment and subsequent long-term parenting stress. LIMITATIONS: Potential information bias on the measurements. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for a bidirectional temporal relationship between parenting stress and child maltreatment, which should be considered in parenting intervention programmes.

A Hybrid Digital Parenting Program Delivered Within the Malaysian Preschool System: Protocol for a Feasibility Study of a Small-Scale Factorial Cluster Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4, and particularly target 4.2, which seeks to ensure that, by 2030, all children have access to quality early childhood development, care, and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education, is far from being achieved. The COVID-19 pandemic compromised progress by disrupting education, reducing access to well-being resources, and increasing family violence. Evidence from low- and middle-income countries suggests that in-person parenting interventions are effective at improving child learning and preventing family violence. However, scaling up these programs is challenging because of resource constraints. Integrating digital and human-delivered intervention components is a potential solution to these challenges. There is a need to understand the feasibility and effectiveness of such interventions in low-resource settings. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a digital parenting program (called Naungan Kasih in Bahasa Melayu [Protection through Love]) delivered in Malaysia, with varying combinations of 2 components included to encourage engagement. The study is framed around the following objectives: (1) to determine the recruitment, retention, and engagement rates in each intervention condition; (2) to document implementation fidelity; (3) to explore program acceptability among key stakeholders; (4) to estimate intervention costs; and (5) to provide indications of the effectiveness of the 2 components. METHODS: This 10-week factorial cluster randomized trial compares ParentText, a chatbot that delivers parenting and family violence prevention content to caregivers of preschool-aged children in combination with 2 engagement components: (1) a WhatsApp support group and (2) either 1 or 2 in-person sessions. The trial aims to recruit 160 primary and 160 secondary caregivers of children aged 4-6 years from 8 schools split equally across 2 locations: Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan. The primary outcomes concern the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and its components, including recruitment, retention, and engagement. The effectiveness outcomes include caregiver parenting practices, mental health and relationship quality, and child development. The evaluation involves mixed methods: quantitative caregiver surveys, digitally tracked engagement data of caregivers' use of the digital intervention components, direct assessments of children, and focus group discussions with caregivers and key stakeholders. RESULTS: Overall, 208 parents were recruited at baseline December 2023: 151 (72.6%) primary caregivers and 57 (27.4%) secondary caregivers. In January 2024, of these 208 parents, 168 (80.8%) enrolled in the program, which was completed in February. Postintervention data collection was completed in March 2024. Findings will be reported in the second half of 2024. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first factorial cluster randomized trial to assess the feasibility of a hybrid human-digital playful parenting program in Southeast Asia. The results will inform a large-scale optimization trial to establish the most effective, cost-effective, and scalable version of the intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: OSF Registries; https://osf.io/f32ky. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/55491.

A Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial to Optimize User Engagement With a Chatbot-Led Parenting Intervention: Protocol for the ParentText Optimisation Trial.

BACKGROUND: Violence against children (VAC) is a serious public health concern with long-lasting adverse effects. Evidence-based parenting programs are one effective means to prevent VAC; however, these interventions are not scalable in their typical in-person group format, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the need is greatest. While digital delivery, including via chatbots, offers a scalable and cost-effective means to scale up parenting programs within these settings, it is crucial to understand the key pillars of user engagement to ensure their effective implementation. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the most effective and cost-effective combination of external components to optimize user engagement with ParentText, an open-source chatbot-led parenting intervention to prevent VAC in Mpumalanga, South Africa. METHODS: This study will use a mixed methods design incorporating a 2 × 2 factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial and qualitative interviews. Parents of adolescent girls (32 clusters, 120 participants [60 parents and 60 girls aged 10 to 17 years] per cluster; N=3840 total participants) will be recruited from the Ehlanzeni and Nkangala districts of Mpumalanga. Clusters will be randomly assigned to receive 1 of the 4 engagement packages that include ParentText alone or combined with in-person sessions and a facilitated WhatsApp support group. Quantitative data collected will include pretest-posttest parent- and adolescent-reported surveys, facilitator-reported implementation data, and digitally tracked engagement data. Qualitative data will be collected from parents and facilitators through in-person or over-the-phone individual semistructured interviews and used to expand the interpretation and understanding of the quantitative findings. RESULTS: Recruitment and data collection started in August 2023 and were finalized in November 2023. The total number of participants enrolled in the study is 1009, with 744 caregivers having completed onboarding to the chatbot-led intervention. Female participants represent 92.96% (938/1009) of the sample population, whereas male participants represent 7.03% (71/1009). The average participant age is 43 (SD 9) years. CONCLUSIONS: The ParentText Optimisation Trial is the first study to rigorously test engagement with a chatbot-led parenting intervention in a low- or middle-income country. The results of this study will inform the final selection of external delivery components to support engagement with ParentText in preparation for further evaluation in a randomized controlled trial in 2024. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework (OSF); https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/WFXNE. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/52145.

A hybrid digital parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in Tanzania: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based parenting programmes have strong evidence in preventing and mitigating violence, but in-person programmes are challenging to deliver at scale. ParentApp is an open-source, offline-first app-based adaptation of the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Parents and Teens programme to promote playful and positive parenting, reduce risks for sexual violence victimisation, and prevent violence against adolescents. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ParentApp compared to an attention-control group. METHODS: This study is a two-arm pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial to test whether ParentApp reduces adolescent physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual violence risks and victimisation at 1 month and 12 months post-intervention. Caregivers of adolescents aged 10-17 years and their adolescent children (N = 2400 caregiver-adolescent dyads) will be recruited in urban and peri-urban communities in the Mwanza region of Tanzania. A total of 80 study clusters will be stratified and randomised (1:1) to the intervention group, who will receive ParentApp with support through a WhatsApp group, or to an attention-control group, who will receive a water, sanitation, and hygiene app. Quantitative data will be collected through outcomes questionnaires with caregivers and adolescents, administered at baseline, 4 months post-baseline, and 16 months post-baseline, as well as through routine implementation data and ParentApp engagement data. Qualitative data will be collected through individual interviews and focus groups with caregivers, adolescents, and implementing partner staff. DISCUSSION: App-based interventions have the potential to expand access to evidence-based parenting support, but currently lack rigorous evidence in low- and middle-income countries. This is the first known randomised control trial of a hybrid digital parenting programme to prevent the abuse of adolescents in low- and middle-income settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered on the Open Science Framework on 14 March 2023, registration: OSF.IO/T9FXZ .

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape.

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human-wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.

Checklist of the inland fishes of El Salvador.

The inland fish fauna of El Salvador and its distribution was originally described in 1925 by Samuel Hildebrand. That work has been the main source of information for freshwater fishes of El Salvador up to today. Based on the combination of an intensive literature review, electronic database searches, re-identification of museum specimens, and fieldwork, we hereby provide an updated checklist of the inland fishes of El Salvador. This checklist provides distributional data at the Salvadoran hydrographical and political (by department) levels. The checklist is systematically arranged at the ordinal and familial level and then alphabetically therein. The freshwater fish fauna of El Salvador includes 101 species divided into 64 genera, 29 families, and 14 orders. According to their supposed tolerance to salinity, 73% of these species are peripheral, 23% secondary, and only 4% are primary freshwater fishes. One species is endemic to the country, Amatitlania coatepeque. The low number of primary freshwater fishes and endemics is comparable to the Central American Pacific slope in particular, as well as northern Central America in general.

Long-term agro-management strategies shape soil bacterial community structure in dryland wheat systems.

Soil microbes play a crucial role in soil organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling and are influenced by management practices. Therefore, quantifying the impacts of various agricultural management practices on soil microbiomes and their activity is crucial for making informed management decisions. This study aimed to assess the impact of various management systems on soil bacterial abundance and diversity, soil enzyme activities and carbon mineralization potential in wheat-based systems. To accomplish this, soil samples from 0 to 15 cm depth were collected from ongoing long-term field trials in eastern Oregon region under wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow (WF), WF with different tillage (WT), wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L.) (WP), WF under different crop residue management (CR) and natural undisturbed/unmanaged grassland pasture (GP). These trials consisted of an array of treatments like tillage intensities, nitrogen rates, organic amendments, and seasonal residue burning. This study was a part of the Soil Health Institute's North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health measurements (NAPESHM). Bacterial community structure was determined using amplicon sequencing of the V4 region of 16SrRNA genes and followed the protocols of the Earth Microbiome Project. In addition, extracellular enzyme activities, and carbon mineralization potential (1d-CO2) were measured. Among different trials, 1d-CO2 in WT, WP, and CR studies averaged 53%, 51% and 87% lower than GP systems, respectively. Enzyme activities were significantly greater in GP compared to the other managements and followed similar trend as respiration. We observed higher evenness in GP and higher richness in spring residue burning treatment of CR study. Our results indicated that species evenness is perhaps a better indicator of soil health in comparison to other indices in dryland wheat systems.

Nutrition and physical activity programs for obesity treatment (PRONAF study): methodological approach of the project.

BACKGROUND: At present, scientific consensus exists on the multifactorial etiopatogenia of obesity. Both professionals and researchers agree that treatment must also have a multifactorial approach, including diet, physical activity, pharmacology and/or surgical treatment. These two last ones should be reserved for those cases of morbid obesities or in case of failure of the previous ones. The aim of the PRONAF study is to determine what type of exercise combined with caloric restriction is the most appropriate to be included in overweigth and obesity intervention programs, and the aim of this paper is to describe the design and the evaluation methods used to carry out the PRONAF study. METHODS/DESIGN: One-hundred nineteen overweight (46 males) and 120 obese (61 males) subjects aged 18-50 years were randomly assigned to a strength training group, an endurance training group, a combined strength + endurance training group or a diet and physical activity recommendations group. The intervention period was 22 weeks (in all cases 3 times/wk of training for 22 weeks and 2 weeks for pre and post evaluation). All subjects followed a hypocaloric diet (25-30% less energy intake than the daily energy expenditure estimated by accelerometry). 29-34% of the total energy intake came from fat, 14-20% from protein, and 50-55% from carbohydrates. The mayor outcome variables assesed were, biochemical and inflamatory markers, body composition, energy balance, physical fitness, nutritional habits, genetic profile and quality of life. 180 (75.3%) subjects finished the study, with a dropout rate of 24.7%. Dropout reasons included: personal reasons 17 (28.8%), low adherence to exercise 3 (5.1%), low adherence to diet 6 (10.2%), job change 6 (10.2%), and lost interest 27 (45.8%). DISCUSSION: Feasibility of the study has been proven, with a low dropout rate which corresponds to the estimated sample size. Transfer of knowledge is foreseen as a spin-off, in order that overweight and obese subjects can benefit from the results. The aim is to transfer it to sports centres. Effectiveness on individual health-related parameter in order to determine the most effective training programme will be analysed in forthcoming publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01116856.

Pyrosequencing reveals bacteria carried in different wind-eroded sediments.

Little is known about the microbial communities carried in wind-eroded sediments from various soil types and land management systems. The novel technique of pyrosequencing promises to expand our understanding of the microbial diversity of soils and eroded sediments because it can sequence 10 to 100 times more DNA fragments than previous techniques, providing enhanced exploration into what microbes are being lost from soil due to wind erosion. Our study evaluated the bacterial diversity of two types of wind-eroded sediments collected from three different organic-rich soils in Michigan using a portable field wind tunnel. The wind-eroded sediments evaluated were a coarse sized fraction with 66% of particles >106 µm (coarse eroded sediment) and a finer eroded sediment with 72% of particles <106 µm. Our findings suggested that (i) bacteria carried in the coarser sediment and fine dust were effective fingerprints of the source soil, although their distribution may vary depending on the soil characteristics because certain bacteria may be more protected in soil surfaces than others; (ii) coarser wind-eroded sediment showed higher bacterial diversity than fine dust in two of the three soils evaluated; and (iii) certain bacteria were more predominant in fine dust (, , and ) than coarse sediment ( and ), revealing different locations and niches of bacteria in soil, which, depending on wind erosion processes, can have important implications on the soil sustainability and functioning. Infrared spectroscopy showed that wind erosion preferentially removes particular kinds of C from the soil that are lost via fine dust. Our study shows that eroded sediments remove the active labile organic soil particulates containing key microorganisms involved in soil biogeochemical processes, which can have a negative impact on the quality and functioning of the source soil.

Longitudinal changes in response to a cycle-run field test of young male national "talent identification" and senior elite triathlon squads.

This study investigated the changes in cardiorespiratory response and running performance of 9 male "Talent Identification" (TID) and 6 male Senior Elite (SE) Spanish National Squad triathletes during a specific cycle-run (C-R) test. The TID and SE triathletes (initial age 15.2 ± 0.7 vs. 23.8 ± 5.6 years, p = 0.03; V(O2)max 77.0 ± 5.6 vs. 77.8 ± 3.6 ml · kg(-1) · min(-1), nonsignificant) underwent 3 tests through the competitive period and the preparatory period, respectively, of 2 consecutive seasons: test 1 was an incremental cycle test to determine the ventilatory threshold (Th(vent)); test 2 (C-R) was 30-minute constant load cycling at the Th(vent) power output followed by a 3-km time-trial run; and test 3 (isolated control run [R]) was an isolated 3-km time-trial control run, in randomized counterbalanced order. In both seasons, the time required to complete the C-R 3-km run was greater than for R in TID (11:09 ± 00:24 vs. 10:45 ± 00:16 min:ss, p < 0.01 and 10:24 ± 00:22 vs. 10:04 ± 00:14, p = 0.006, for season 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, respectively) and SE (10:15 ± 00:19 vs. 09:45 ± 00:30, p < 0.001 and 09:51 ± 00:26 vs. 09:46 ± 00:06, p = 0.02 for season 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, respectively). Compared with the first season, the completion of the time-trial run was faster in the second season (6.6%, p < 0.01 and 6.4%, p < 0.01, for C-R and R tests, respectively) only in TID. Changes in post cycling run performance were accompanied by changes in pacing strategy, but there were only slight or nonsignificant changes in the cardiorespiratory response. Thus, the negative effect of cycling on performance may persist, independently of the period, over 2 consecutive seasons in TID and SE triathletes; however, improvements over time suggests that monitoring running pacing strategy after cycling may be a useful tool to control performance and training adaptations in TID.

Do changes in inflammatory markers predict hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence and survival after liver transplantation?

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: The role of inflammation in malignant cell proliferation has been well described. High values of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as markers of systemic inflammation have shown associations with unfavorable long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine values of NLR and PLR evaluated prior to and after surgery and their associations with mortality and recurrence rates of liver transplant patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A total of 105 patients with HCC who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) were retrospectively reviewed. NLR and PLR values were obtained from complete blood counts prior to and after surgery. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in relation with delta NLR and PLR were estimated. RESULTS: Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels > 100 ng/mL (p = 0.014) and lymphovascular emboli in the specimen (p = 0.048) were identified to be significant predictors of RFS. Child-Pugh score (p = 0.016) was found to be an independent factor associated with poorer OS. An increasing delta PLR was associated with worse RFS, although it showed no significant association with OS. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of PLR as a continuous variable may predict recurrence outcomes in patients undergoing OLT for HCC. It is more representative than isolated values.

Bicarbonate ingestion has no ergogenic effect on consecutive all out sprint tests in BMX elite cyclists.

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on consecutive "all out" sprint tests, analyzing the acid-base status and its influence on performance and perceived effort. Ten elite bicycle motocross (BMX) riders (20.7 ± 1.4 years, training experience 8-12 years) participated in this study which consisted of two trials. Each trial consisted of three consecutive Wingate tests (WTs) separated by 15 min recovery. Ninety minutes prior to exercise subjects ingested either NaHCO(3) (-) (0.3 g kg(-1) body weight) or placebo. Blood samples were collected for the assessment of blood acid-base status: bicarbonate concentration ([HCO(3) (-)]), pH, base excess (BE) and blood lactate concentration ([La(-)]). Performance variables of peak power (PP), mean power (MP), time to peak power and fatigue index were calculated for each sprint. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in acid-base variables [pH before WT1: 7.47 ± 0.05 vs. 7.41 ± 0.03; [HCO(3) (-)] before WT1: 29.08 ± 2.27 vs. 22.85 ± 0.24 mmol L(-1) (bicarbonate vs. placebo conditions, respectively)], but there were not significant differences in performance variables between trials [PP WT1: 1,610 ± 373 vs. 1,599 ± 370 W; PP WT2: 1,548 ± 460 vs. 1,570 ± 428 W; PP WT3: 1,463 ± 361 vs. 1,519 ± 364 W. MP WT1: 809 ± 113 vs. 812 ± 108 W; MP WT2: 799 ± 135 vs. 799 ± 124 W; MP WT3: 762 ± 165 vs. 782 ± 118 W (bicarbonate vs. placebo conditions, respectively)]. Rating of perceived effort (RPE) was not influenced nor ratings of perceived readiness. Sodium bicarbonate ingestion modified significantly the blood acid-base balance, although the induced alkalosis did not improve the Wingate test performance, RPE and perceived readiness across three consecutive WTs in elite BMX cyclists.