Variation in the achievement of HbA1c, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol targets in type 2 diabetes in general practice and characteristics associated with risk factor control.

Aims To identify population, general practitioner, and practice characteristics associated with the achievement of HbA1c, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol targets, and to describe variation in the achievement of risk factor control. Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of 9342 people with type 2 diabetes, 281 general practitioners and 77 general practices in Norway. Missing values (7.4%) were imputed using multiple imputation by chained equations. We used three‐level logistic regression with the achievement of HbA1c, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol targets as dependent variables, and factors related to population, general practitioners, and practices as independent variables. Results Treatment targets were achieved for HbA1c in 64%, blood pressure in 50%, and LDL cholesterol in 52% of people with type 2 diabetes, and 17% met all three targets. There was substantial heterogeneity in target achievement among general practitioners and among practices; the estimated proportion of a GPs diabetes population at target was 55–73% (10–90 percentiles) for HbA1c, 36–63% for blood pressure, and 47–57% for LDL cholesterol targets. The models explained 11%, 5% and 14%, respectively, of the total variation in the achievement of HbA1c, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol targets. Use among general practitioners of a structured diabetes form was associated with 23% higher odds of achieving the HbA1c target (odds ratio 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.47) and 17% higher odds of achieving the LDL cholesterol target (odds ratio 1.17, 95% CI 1.01–1.35). Conclusions Clinical diabetes management is difficult, and few people meet all three risk factor control targets. The proportion of people reaching target varied among general practitioners and practices. Several population, general practitioner and practice characteristics only explained a small part of the total variation. The use of a structured diabetes form is recommended.publishedVersio

Machine learning outperforms clinical experts in classification of hip fractures

Hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly, and incur high health and social care costs. Given projected population ageing, the number of incident hip fractures is predicted to increase globally. As fracture classification strongly determines the chosen surgical treatment, differences in fracture classification influence patient outcomes and treatment costs. We aimed to create a machine learning method for identifying and classifying hip fractures, and to compare its performance to experienced human observers. We used 3659 hip radiographs, classified by at least two expert clinicians. The machine learning method was able to classify hip fractures with 19% greater accuracy than humans, achieving overall accuracy of 92%

Magnetoelectric Effect in Hydrogen Harvesting: Magnetic Field as a Trigger of Catalytic Reactions (Adv. Mater. 19/2022)

Magnetic fields have been regarded as an additional stimulus for electro- and photocatalytic reactions, but not as a direct trigger for catalytic processes. Multiferroic/magnetoelectric materials, whose electrical polarization and surface charges can be magnetically altered, are especially suitable for triggering and control of catalytic reactions solely with magnetic fields. Here, we demonstrate that magnetic fields can be employed as an independent input energy source for hydrogen harvesting by means of the magnetoelectric effect. Composite multiferroic CoFe2O4-BiFeO3 core-shell nanoparticles act as catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) that is triggered when an alternating magnetic field is applied to an aqueous dispersion of the magnetoelectric nanocatalysts. Based on density functional calculations, we propose that the hydrogen evolution is driven by changes in the ferroelectric polarization direction of BiFeO3 caused by the magnetoelectric coupling. We believe our findings will open new avenues towards magnetically induced renewable energy harvesting

Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

The utility of bulk wood density for tree-ring research

Bulk wood density measurements are recognized for their utility in ecology, industry, and biomass estimations.. In tree-ring research, microdensitometric techniques are widely used, but their ability to determine the correct central tendency has been questioned. Though rarely used, it may be possible to use bulk wood density as a tool to check the accuracy of and even correct microdensitometric measurements. Since measuring bulk wood density in parallel with X-ray densitometry is quickly and easily done, we suspect that its omission is largely due to a lack of awareness of the procedure and/or its importance. In this study, we describe a simple protocol for measuring bulk wood density tailored for tree-ring researchers and demonstrate a few possible applications. To implement real-world examples of the applications, we used a sample of existing X-ray and Blue Intensity (BI) measurements from 127 living and dead Pinus sylvestris trees from northern Sweden to produce new measurements of bulk wood density. We can confirm that the central tendency in this sample material is offset using X-ray densitometry and that the diagnosis and correction of X-ray density is easily done using bulk wood density in linear transfer functions. However, this approach was not suitable for our BI measurements due to heavy discoloration. Nevertheless, we were able to use bulk wood density to diagnose and improve the use of deltaBI (latewood BI – earlywood BI) with regard to its overall trends and multi-centennial variability in a dendroclimatological application. Moreover, we experimented with percent of latewood width, scaled with bulk wood density, as a time- and cost-effective proxy for annual ring density. Although our reconstruction only explains about half of the variation in ring density, it is most likely superior to using fixed literature values of density in allometric equations aimed at biomass estimations. With this study, we hope to raise new awareness regarding the versatility and importance of bulk wood density for dendrochronology by demonstrating its simplicity, relevance, and applicability

Identification of Colletotrichum species associated with anthracnose disease of coffee in Vietnam

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. acutatum, C. capsici and C. boninense associated with anthracnose disease on coffee (Coffea spp.) in Vietnam were identified based on morphology and DNA analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region of nuclear rDNA and a portion of mitochondrial small subunit rRNA were concordant and allowed good separation of the taxa. We found several Colletotrichum isolates of unknown species and their taxonomic position remains unresolved. The majority of Vietnamese isolates belonged to C. gloeosporioides and they grouped together with the coffee berry disease (CBD) fungus, C. kahawae. However, C. kahawae could be distinguished from the Vietnamese C. gloeosporioides isolates based on ammonium tartrate utilization, growth rate and pathogenictity. C. gloeosporioides isolates were more pathogenic on detached green berries than isolates of the other species, i.e. C. acutatum, C capsici and C. boninense. Some of the C. gloeosporioides isolates produced slightly sunken lesion on green berries resembling CBD symptoms but it did not destroy the bean. We did not find any evidence of the presence of C. kahawae in Vietnam

Intraspecific Combinations of Flower and Leaf Volatiles Act Together in Attracting Hawkmoth Pollinators

Insects pinpoint mates, food and oviposition sites by olfactory cues. Recognizing and localizing a suitable target by olfaction is demanding. Odor sources emit characteristic blends of compounds that have to be identified against an environmentally derived olfactory background. This background, however, does not necessarily disturb the localization of a source. Rather, the contrary. Sex pheromones become more attractive to male moths when being presented against a relevant plant background. Here we asked whether such olfactory coaction also characterizes foraging cues. The tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta feeds on nectar from wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata and sacred datura Datura wrightii flowers. We tested how leaf-derived volatile blends as a background affect the moths' approach to flower blends. We found coaction when a flower blend was presented against a conspecific leaf volatile background but not when the blend was presented against volatiles emitted by the other host plant or by a non-host plant. Hence, our results reveal a species-specific coaction between flower blend and leaf volatile background. The ability to integrate information from different odor sources on one plant might provide the moth with a fine-grained analysis of food site quality

Genomic patterns in the widespread Eurasian lynx shaped by Late Quaternary climatic fluctuations and anthropogenic impacts.

Disentangling the contribution of long-term evolutionary processes and recent anthropogenic impacts to current genetic patterns of wildlife species is key for assessing genetic risks and designing conservation strategies. Here, we used 80 whole nuclear genomes and 96 mitogenomes from populations of the Eurasian lynx covering a range of conservation statuses, climatic zones and subspecies across Eurasia to infer the demographic history, reconstruct genetic patterns and discuss the influence of long-term isolation and/or more recent human-driven changes. Our results show that Eurasian lynx populations shared a common history until 100 kya, when Asian and European populations started to diverge and both entered a period of continuous and widespread decline, with western populations, except Kirov, maintaining lower effective sizes than eastern populations. Population declines and increased isolation in more recent times likely drove the genetic differentiation between geographically and ecologically close westernmost European populations. By contrast, and despite the wide range of habitats covered, populations are quite homogeneous genetically across the Asian range, showing a pattern of isolation by distance and providing little genetic support for the several proposed subspecies. Mitogenomic and nuclear divergences and population declines starting during the Late Pleistocene can be mostly attributed to climatic fluctuations and early human influence, but the widespread and sustained decline since the Holocene is more probably the consequence of anthropogenic impacts which intensified during the last centuries, especially in western Europe. Genetic erosion in isolated European populations and lack of evidence for long-term isolation argue for the restoration of lost population connectivity