Combined zinc and nitrogen fertilization in different bread wheat genotypes grown under mediterranean conditions

The combined application of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) appears to be a promising agronomic strategy for the biofortification with Zn. To evaluate such efficiency, a field experiment was conducted in south-eastern Portugal under Zn-deficient soil. Four advanced breeding lines and two commercial varieties of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were fertilized with five treatments: i) control, ii) two foliar Zn applications, iii) one foliar Zn+N application, iv) soil and two foliar Zn applications, and v) soil and one foliar Zn+N application. Grain Zn content varied greatly across treatments and INIAV-1 and the commercial varieties were the most interesting cultivars in all the treatments. Grain Zn concentrations higher than the target level of 38 mg Zn kg−1 were obtained only when two foliar Zn applications were applied, alone or in combination with soil Zn applications, and grain Zn bioavailability also was more adequate (phytate:Zn ratios similar to 15). Soil Zn application resulted in grain yield increases between 7–10%, which virtually offset the extra application cost. The combined soil and two foliar treatment could be a good option for biofortifying bread wheat under Zn-deficient soils

Perception of the primary health care response capacity by patients with and without mental health problems, and health professionals: qualitative study

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to deepen our understanding of perceptions towards Primary Health Care Response Capacity by specifically using patients with and without mental disorders, as well as family doctors and a manager, in order to compare and endorse perspectives. For it, a qualitative study was performed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 patients with and without mental health disorders and focus groups were held with 21 professionals and a manager. An inductive thematic content analysis was performed in order to explore, develop and define the emergent categories of analysis. RESULTS: The fundamental domains for patients are dignity, communication, and rapid service. People with mental health problems also highlight the domain of confidentiality as relevant, while patients who do not have a mental health problem prioritize the domain of autonomy. Patients with mental health disorders report a greater number of negative experiences in relation to the domain of dignity. Patients do not consider their negative experiences to be a structural problem of the system. These findings are also endorsed by health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to take these results into account as responsive systems can improve service uptake, ensure adherence to treatment, and ultimately enhance patient welfare

Mental Health Patients' Expectations about the Non-Medical Care They Receive in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

A health system's responsiveness is the result of patient expectations for the non-medical care they receive. The objective of this study was to assess mental patients' responsiveness to the health system in primary care, as related to the domains of dignity, autonomy, confidentiality, and communication. Data were collected from 215 people over the age of 18 with mental disorders, using the Multi-Country Survey Study (MCSS) developed by the World Health Organization. Of them, 95% reported a good experience regarding the dignity, confidentiality, communication, and autonomy domains. Regarding responsiveness, patients valued the dignity domain as the most important one (25.1%). Among the patients who experienced poor confidentiality, five out of seven earned less than 900 euros per month (X-2 = 10.8, p = 0.004). Among those who experienced good autonomy, 85 out of 156 belonged to the working social class (90.4%), and among those who valued it as poor (16.1%), the highest proportion was for middle class people (X-2 = 13.1, p = 0.028). The two students and 87.5% of retirees experienced this dimension as good, and most patients who valued it as poor were unemployed (43.5%) (X-2 = 13.0, p = 0.011). Patients with a household income higher than 900 euros more frequently valued responsiveness as good, regarding those domains related to communication, with OR = 3.84, 95% CI = 1.05-14.09, and confidentiality, with OR = 10.48, 95% CI = 1.94-56.59. To conclude, as regards responsiveness in primary care, the dignity domain always obtained the best scores by people with mental disorders. Low economic income is related to a poor assessment of confidentiality. Working class patients, students, and retirees value autonomy as good

One-step nucleic acid amplification (Osna) of sentinel lymph node in early-stage endometrial cancer: Spanish multicenter study (endo-osna)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) for the detection of sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis compared to standard pathological ultrastaging in patients with early-stage endometrial cancer (EC). A total of 526 SLNs from 191 patients with EC were included in the study, and 379 SLNs (147 patients) were evaluated by both methods, OSNA and standard pathological ultrastaging. The central 1 mm portion of each lymph node was subjected to semi-serial sectioning at 200 µm intervals and examined by hematoxylin–eosin and immunohistochemistry with CK19; the remaining tissue was analyzed by OSNA for CK19 mRNA. The OSNA assay detected metastases in 19.7% of patients (14.9% micrometastasis and 4.8% macrometastasis), whereas pathological ultrastaging detected metastasis in 8.8% of patients (3.4% micrometastasis and 5.4% macrometastasis). Using the established cut-off value for detecting SLN metastasis by OSNA in EC (250 copies/µL), the sensitivity of the OSNA assay was 92%, specificity was 82%, diagnostic accuracy was 83%, and the negative predictive value was 99%. Discordant results between both methods were recorded in 20 patients (13.6%). OSNA resulted in an upstaging in 12 patients (8.2%). OSNA could aid in the identification of patients requiring adjuvant treatment at the time of diagnosis. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Spin dynamics in the single-ion magnet [Er(W5O18)2]9−

In this work we present a detailed NMR and \u3bc+SR investigation of the spin dynamics in the new hydrated sodium salt containing the single-ion magnet [Er(W5O18)2]9-. The H1NMR absorption spectra at various applied magnetic fields present a line broadening on decreasing temperature which indicates a progressive spin freezing of the single-molecule magnetic moments. The onset of quasistatic local magnetic fields, due to spin freezing, is observed also in the muon relaxation curves at low temperature. Both techniques yield a local field distribution of the order of 0.1-0.2 T, which appears to be of dipolar origin. On decreasing the temperature, a gradual loss of the H1NMR signal intensity is observed, a phenomenon known as wipe-out effect. The effect is analyzed quantitatively on the basis of a simple model which relies on the enhancement of the NMR spin-spin, T2-1, relaxation rate due to the slowing down of the magnetic fluctuations. Measurements of spin-lattice relaxation rate T1-1 for H1NMR and of the muon longitudinal relaxation rate \u3bb show an increase as the temperature is lowered. However, while for the NMR case the signal is lost before reaching the very slow fluctuation region, the muon spin-lattice relaxation \u3bb can be followed until very low temperatures and the characteristic maximum, reached when the electronic spin fluctuation frequency becomes of the order of the muon Larmor frequency, can be observed. At high temperatures, the data can be well reproduced with a simple model based on a single correlation time \u3c4=\u3c40exp(\u394/T) for the magnetic fluctuations. However, to fit the relaxation data for both NMR and \u3bc+SR over the whole temperature and magnetic field range, one has to use a more detailed model that takes into account spin-phonon transitions among the Er3+ magnetic sublevels. A good agreement for both proton NMR and \u3bc+SR relaxation is obtained, which confirms the validity of the energy level scheme previously calculated from an effective crystal field Hamiltonian

Routing of Kv7.1 to endoplasmic reticulum plasma membrane junctions

AIM: The voltage-gated Kv7.1 channel, in association with the regulatory subunit KCNE1, contributes to the I(Ks) current in the heart. However, both proteins travel to the plasma membrane using different routes. While KCNE1 follows a classical Golgi-mediated anterograde pathway, Kv7.1 is located in endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane junctions (ER-PMjs), where it associates with KCNE1 before being delivered to the plasma membrane. METHODS: To characterize the channel routing to these spots we used a wide repertoire of methodologies, such as protein expression analysis (i.e. protein association and biotin labeling), confocal (i.e. immunocytochemistry, FRET, and FRAP), and dSTORM microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, proteomics, and electrophysiology. RESULTS: We demonstrated that Kv7.1 targeted ER-PMjs regardless of the origin or architecture of these structures. Kv2.1, a neuronal channel that also contributes to a cardiac action potential, and JPHs, involved in cardiac dyads, increased the number of ER-PMjs in nonexcitable cells, driving and increasing the level of Kv7.1 at the cell surface. Both ER-PMj inducers influenced channel function and dynamics, suggesting that different protein structures are formed. Although exhibiting no physical interaction, Kv7.1 resided in more condensed clusters (ring-shaped) with Kv2.1 than with JPH4. Moreover, we found that VAMPs and AMIGO, which are Kv2.1 ancillary proteins also associated with Kv7.1. Specially, VAP B, showed higher interaction with the channel when ER-PMjs were stimulated by Kv2.1. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that Kv7.1 may bind to different structures of ER-PMjs that are induced by different mechanisms. This variable architecture can differentially affect the fate of cardiac Kv7.1 channels

Optical properties of dust

http://arxiv.org/abs/0808.4123Except in a few cases cosmic dust can be studied in situ or in terrestrial laboratories, essentially all of our information concerning the nature of cosmic dust depends upon its interaction with electromagnetic radiation. This chapter presents the theoretical basis for describing the optical properties of dust -- how it absorbs and scatters starlight and reradiates the absorbed energy at longer wavelengths.Partial support by a Chandra Theory program and HST Theory Programs is gratefully acknowledged

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution