Cumulative Variances Research Articles

Comparisons of Different Representative Species Selection Schemes for Reduced-Order Modeling and Chemistry Acceleration of Complex Hydrocarbon Fuels

The simulation of engine combustion processes, such as autoignition, an important process in the co-optimization of fuel-engine design, can be computationally expensive due to the large number of thermo-chemical scalars needed to describe the full chemical system. Yet, the inherent correlations between the different chemical species during oxidation can significantly reduce the complexity of representing this system. One strategy is to select a subset of representative species that accurately captures the combustion process at a fraction of the computational cost of the full system. In this study, we compare the performance of four different techniques to select these species. They include the two-step principal component analysis (PCA) approach, directed relation graphs (DRGs), the global pathway selection (GPS) approach, and the manifold-informed species selection method. A parametric study of the representative species selection is carried out on data from the simulation of homogeneous and perfectly stirred reactors by investigating seven cumulative variances and 47 different cut-off percentages for the two-step PCA, and 65 and 51 thresholds for the DRGs and GPS, respectively. Results show that these selection methods capture key important species that can accurately describe the chemical system and track each stage of oxidation. The two-step PCA is sensitive to the cumulative variance, and DRGs and GPS are sensitive to the choice of target variables. By selecting key representative species and reducing the number of thermo-chemical scalars, these three methods can be used to develop computationally efficient hybrid chemistry schemes.

Spatial Air Quality Assessment in Peninsular Malaysia: Insights from Environmetric Analyses and Artificial Neural Networks

The research investigated the spatial distribution of air quality in Peninsular Malaysia to offer crucial insights for mitigating air quality degradation. Utilizing historical data obtained from the Malaysian Department of Environment, eleven years' worth (2011-2021) of daily readings of PM10, O3 , SO2 , NO2 , and CO from thirty-four monitoring stations were subjected to environmetric techniques and Artificial Neural Network analysis. HACA successfully classified seven stations into the High Pollution Cluster (HPC), seven stations into the Moderate Pollution Cluster (MPC), and twenty stations into the Low Pollution Cluster (LPC). The discriminant analysis demonstrated a correct assignment rate of 91.87%, suggesting that all five parameters were able to discriminate with a significance level of p<0.0001. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed two Variance Factors (VFs) across all clusters, with cumulative variances of 69.43% (HPC), 82.32% (MPC), and 62.16% (LPC) respectively. Furthermore, employing a Multi-Layer Perceptron Feed-Forward Artificial Neural Network (MLP-FF-ANN) model to predict API readings yielded a significant and strong correlation, as indicated by R2 =0.7774 and RMSE=9.9048. These findings hold significant potential in informing the adoption of effective preventative and management strategies.

Effect of Germination on Mineral Content Changes in Brown Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Minerals are the essential micronutrients for human health. Brown rice is a whole-grain food rich in minerals, with its bran portion limiting the application of minerals. In the present study, the changes in the contents of 23 different minerals (Na, Mg, K, Ca, B, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Sb, Ba, Li, Al, As, Cd, Sn, Hg, and Pb) in brown rice were evaluated during 17, 24, 30, 35, and 48h of germination. The results showed that germination was associated with the decreased contents of Pb, Cd, As, Al, Li, Ba, Fe, Cr, Co, V, and Hg, and the increased content of Na in brown rice (p < 0.05). In contrast, this process was not significantly influential on the contents of Mg, K, Ca, B, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Sn, Sb, and Mn (p > 0.05). In addition, significant correlations were found among most of the mineral contents. Furthermore, according to the principal component analysis, three principal components of the different mineral contents were extracted to explain 96.60% of the cumulative variances. In summary, these findings demonstrated that germination represented a feasible approach to regulating and controlling the distribution of the mineral elements in brown rice, optimizing the levels of the mineral contents, and thus reducing the potential health risks.

Exploring the Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Phytochemicals from Anvillea radiata: In Vitro Assay, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Abstract This study delves into the comprehensive evaluation of phytochemicals extracted from Anvillea radiata, with a focus on their potential anti-inflammatory applications. High-performance liquid Chromatography analysis reveals the dominance of catechin in the aqueous extract, alongside other compounds such as syringic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and vanillic acid, as well as quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside and rutin in smaller quantities. An in vitro anti-inflammatory assay demonstrates the superior effectiveness of A. radiata aqueous extract at lower concentrations compared to Aspirin, raising possibilities for reduced side effects and enhanced cost-effectiveness. Drug-likeness predictions emphasize the potential of catechin, syringic acid, and vanillic acid for drug development due to their molecular characteristics. Toxicity risk assessment indicates that catechin, quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside, and rutin exhibit low toxicity risks and favorable drug-likeness properties. Molecular docking analysis highlights promising interactions between the identified compounds and crucial anti-inflammatory (COX-2, MPO, IL1β, IL6, and TNFα.) target proteins. Notably, catechin demonstrates a strong binding affinity to these proteins. Molecular dynamics simulations further support catechin’s potential, revealing significant deformability in complexes with COX-2 and MPO, indicating high structural flexibility. The variance map shows higher cumulative variances and the elastic network map yields satisfactory outcomes, further reinforcing the potential of A. radiata aqueous extract compounds, with catechin as a standout candidate for anti-inflammatory drug development.

The Scale of Perceptions and Self-Participation in Hemodialysis: Development and Psychometric Evaluation

Hemodialysis patients undergo hemodialysis two to three times a week and must live together with the dialysis machine. The patient’s self-participation is to combine the patient’s own experience and professional knowledge to influence the care. A successful self-participation experience empowers patients to adapt to living with hemodialysis. However, few studies have been conducted regarding the subjective experiences of such patient participation. There is a lack of a self-participation dialysis life scale for hemodialysis patients. Therefore, this study aims to develop and evaluate a self-participation dialysis life scale for hemodialysis patients. The items for the self-participation dialysis life scale were confirmed through qualitative interviews based on grounded theory. After expert content validity evaluation, 435 hemodialysis patients were purposively sampled from hemodialysis centers in two regional teaching hospitals in Taiwan. Descriptive statistics, principal axis factoring, reliability analysis, Pearson’s correlation, and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. The results show that the item- and scale-content validity indices are 0.96 and 0.73, respectively. This scale is divided into two scales. The first part is “Scale of Perceptions of Hemodialysis”, including two factors. The overall can explain 66.34% of the cumulative variances. The second part is the “Scale of Self-Participation in Hemodialysis”, including four factors. The overall can explain 58.91% of the cumulative variances. The Cronbach’s α is 0.812 for “Perceptions of Hemodialysis” and 0.959 for “Self-Participation in Hemodialysis”, respectively. The self-participation dialysis life scale has good reliability and validity and can be used to evaluate the implementation of a patient’s self-participation in their hemodialysis life. Discussing or consulting with patients based on their characteristics, life priorities, and their desired life on dialysis is essential for a high-quality of clinical care among hemodialysis patients.

Investigation of genotype [formula omitted] environment interactions for the seed mineral composition in Phaseolus vulgaris L.

Common bean is an ancient grain legume crop that has been cultivated in various parts of the world by humankind for centuries. The seeds of this crop contain valuable source of protein, minerals, and vitamins. It has recently gained attention as a functional food due to its potential for preventing human diseases and providing health benefits. Therefore, plant breeders are globally aimed for nutritional development to mitigate mineral deficiencies in developed and developing countries. In this study, the genotypes and cultivars were investigated in relation to the contents of N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Fe and Zn in four different field experiments at the Bolu and Ankara of Turkey. The field experiments were conducted in the years 2018 and 2019 at the Bolu location and in the years 2019 and 2020 at the Ankara location. Genotype × environment interaction was determined statistically significant (P < 0.01) in all mineral traits according to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Across all locations, the correlation analysis revealed positive associations between calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) (r = 0.793 **), as well as between iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) (r = 0.301 **). A total of 89.78% of cumulative variances in mineral traits were explained by the eigenvalues of the four principal components (PC). In the biplot analysis, the length and direction of the Ca, Mg and potassium (K) vectors in PC1 and Fe, and Zn vectors in PC2 effectively distinguished the genotypes. Across all locations, the Blck-7 genotype had high iron (93.76 mg kg−1) and zinc (25.40 mg kg−1) content. The Çnk-4 genotype was found as stable for all mineral traits in locations. Findings revealed that the utilization of the Çnk-4 and Blck-7 genotypes could significantly contribute to the improvement of dietary nutritional quality and positively impact human health. These genotypes also could be utilized as a parent to further biofortification studies to enhance the nutritional traits of common bean seeds.

Spatiotemporal variation of physicochemical parameters in Aripal and Watalara streams of Kashmir Himalaya using multivariate statistical techniques.

The sustainability and management of ecological services provided by the stream ecosystem requires regular assessment of its physicochemical parameters. The anthropogenic pressure in terms of deforestation, urbanization, use of fertilizers and pesticides, land use, and climate change are the major factors responsible for the deterioration of water quality. In the present study, we monitored 14 physicochemical parameters at three different sites from June 2018 to May 2020 in both the Aripal and Watalara streams of Kashmir Himalaya. The data was analyzed through one-way ANOVA, Duncan's multiple range test, two-tailed Pearson's correlation, and multivariate statistical techniques like principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). A significant variation (p < 0.05) was observed in all the physicochemical parameters on both spatial (except AT, WT, and DO) and seasonal (except TP and NO3-N) scales. Pearson's correlation revealed a significantly strong positive correlation for AT, WT, EC, Alk, TDS, TP, NO3-N, and NO2-N. PCA's first four principal components were considered significant as they represented the highest cumulative percent variances of 76.49% and 74.72% in Aripal and Watalara streams, respectively. The loading and scatter plots revealed that AT, WT, TP, NO3-N, and NO2-N influence water quality. The strong loading of these parameters indicates the anthropogenic activities in the streams. CA depicted two well-defined clusters, wherein cluster-I is comprised of sites A3 and W3 which indicate poor water quality. In contrast, cluster-II is comprised of sites A1, W1, A2, and W2 which indicate good water quality. The present study could be helpful to ecologists, limnologists, policymakers, and other stakeholders in developing long-term management programs and conservation strategies for water resources.

Long-term storage affects on the phenolic, mineral, color and cooking traits of chickpea seed

This study was carried out to investigate the changes in some phenolic, mineral, color and cooking traits of chickpea seeds stored at different temperatures (5, 10, 15 and 20 °C) and duration (0–540 days). Significant variations in the investigated traits were found statistically before and after storage. The investigation revealed that gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, protein, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, manganese, and copper concentrations reduced at the end of the storage. Significant fluctuations in seed moisture content were observed depending on storage temperature and duration. Storage duration affected all color parameters except L* value, but storage interaction only influenced the a* value. According to correlation analysis, cooking time significantly correlated with hydration capacity and hydration index increased at the end of the storage. The eigenvalues of the first three principal components explained 80% and 75.1% of cumulative variances of mineral composition and cooking traits, respectively. In the biplot analysis, the Ca, Zn, Cu and Mg vectors revealed a high positive correlation with each other. The results of this study clearly revealed that 5 or 10 °C low storage temperature and 300-day storage period were the most suitable to maintain the quality of chickpea seeds. These findings could assist in providing information for the seed industry in maintaining nutritional composition for indication of storability and quality of chickpea seed, which in turn benefit the postharvest decisions for storage, distribution, and marketing.

Characteristics and Relationships between Total Polyphenol and Flavonoid Contents, Antioxidant Capacities, and the Content of Caffeine, Gallic Acid, and Major Catechins in Wild/Ancient and Cultivated Teas in Vietnam.

Vietnam has diverse and long-established tea plantations but scientific data on the characteristics of Vietnamese teas are still limited. Chemical and biological properties including total polyphenol and flavonoid contents (TPCs and TFCs), antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC), as well as the contents of caffeine, gallic acid, and major catechins, were evaluated for 28 Vietnamese teas from North and South Vietnam. Higher values of TPCs and TFCs were found for green (non-oxidised) and raw Pu'erh (low-oxidised) teas from wild/ancient tea trees in North Vietnam and green teas from cultivated trees in South Vietnam, as compared to oolong teas (partly oxidised) from South Vietnam and black teas (fully oxidised) from North Vietnam. The caffeine, gallic acid, and major catechin contents depended on the processing, geographical origin, and the tea variety. Several good Pearson's correlations were found (r2 > 0.9) between TPCs, TFCs, the four antioxidant capacities, and the content of major catechins such as (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Results from principal component analysis showed good discriminations with cumulative variances of the first two principal components varying from 85.3% to 93.7% among non-/low-oxidised and partly/fully oxidised teas, and with respect to the tea origin.

Adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the COVID-19 anxiety scale

Background: Marked dysfunctional psychological consequences of COVID-19 necessitate an invention of new tailored scales that can assess and monitor these manifestations. Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is new reliable and validated scale constructed to measure COVID-19-related anxiety. Objectives were to make a well-structured CAS Arabic version and to assess its validity. Methods: Sousa and Rojjanasriratw scale adaptation guidelines were followed for CAS translation to Arabic language and a survey of sociodemographic data, CAS and validated COVID-19 fear scale Arabic-version distributed to cross-sectional university students’ sample. Internal consistency, factor analysis, average variable extracted composite reliability, Pearson correlation, and mean differences were calculated. Results: 233 students responded to the survey, and 44.6% were female. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94, item-total correlations 0.891-0.905 and inter-item correlations 0.722-0.805. The factor analysis test showed one factor that explains 80.76% of the cumulative variances, average variance extracted 0.80 and composite reliability 0.95, and the two scales’ correlation r-value was 0.472. No significant difference between the scales regarding the score means when compared. The independent t-test showed no differences in means within each identified sociodemographic group. Conclusions: The translated Arabic version of CAS has high internal consistency reliability and convergent validity values, and factor analysis addressed unidimensional measures. So, the Arabic CAS version is a reliable and valid version that maintains the original English scale reliability and validity properties.

Arabic language version of the obsession with COVID-19 scale adaptation and validity evaluation in Saudi sample

BackgroundThe obsession with COVID-19 scale is a reliable and validated scale developed to assess obsessions related to coronavirus infection (COVID-2019) and because of its usefulness, this paper is aiming to develop an Arabic version of the obsession with COVID-19 scale and evaluate its validity. Firstly, scale translated to Arabic through the guidelines of Sousa and Rojjanasriratw for scale translation and adaptation. Then we distributed the final version with some sociodemographic questions and an Arabic version of the COVID-19 fear scale to a convenient sample of college students. Internal consistency, factor analysis, average variable extraction, composite reliability, Pearson correlation, and mean differences has been measured.ResultsOut of 253 students, 233 responded to the survey, where 44.6% of them were female. Calculated Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82, item-total correlations were 0.891–0.905, and inter-item correlations were 0.722–0.805. Factor analysis identified one factor which reflects 80.76% of the cumulative variances. The average variance extracted was 0.80, and the composite reliability was 0.95. The correlation coefficient between the two scales was 0.472.ConclusionsThe Arabic version of obsession with COVID-19 scale has high values of internal consistency, and convergent validity, and has a unidimensional factor that reflects its reliability and validity.

The Hybrid Model of Radial Basis Function Neural Network and Principal Component Analysis for Classification Problems

This paper presents a hybrid model of radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) and principal component analysis (PCA) named RBFNN-PCA. The principal component analysis aims to resolve the multicollinearity in the inputs of the RBFNN-PCA model. The RBFNN-PCA model proceeds the principal component of the inputs instead of the original inputs. All principal components with eigenvalues greater than 1 or the cumulative variance proportion of more than 90 % are involved in RBFNN-PCA modelling. The parameters of the radial basis function and the weights to produce the output neuron are estimated using fuzzy C means clustering and ordinary least squares. The proposed model is implemented in two classification problems to detect breast and brain cancer. Model performance is evaluated in three different sets of training and testing data with the proportions of 60%-40%, 75%-25%, and 80%-20%. The experiment results indicate that the addition of a principal component with an eigenvalue less than one does not significantly increase the accuracy. The data which yield principal components with a higher proportion of component cumulative variances provide higher accuracy results as well.

The use of Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics for the discrimination of lab-produced, commercial, and adulterated cold-pressed oils

In this study, lab-produced cold-pressed oil samples of black cumin (CPBCO), almond (CPAO), and walnut (CPWO) were compared with their commercial substitutes. Additionally, adulteration of cold-pressed oils with corn and sunflower oils was determined. Chemical information and fatty acid composition of the samples were obtained using Raman spectroscopy and gas chromatography, respectively. Raman spectra were analyzed with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The developed PCA models for the discrimination of CPBCO, CPAO, and CPWO from the adulterated samples explained 93.35%, 96.24, and 94.25% of the cumulative variances, respectively. Root mean squared error of calibration (RMSEC), root mean squared error of cross-validation (RMSECV), and root mean squared error of cross-prediction (RMSEP) values were found to be between 0.06 and 0.21, 0.03–0.11, and 0.05–0.21; 0.08–0.24, 0.06–0.15, and 0.08–0.25; and 0.05–0.18, 0.03–0.10, and 0.09–0.20 for the PLS-DA models of CPBCO, CPAO, and CPWO adulterations. The developed PCA models for the discrimination of CPBCO, CPAO, and CPWO from commercial samples explained 99.64%, 91.27, and 92.11% of the cumulative variances, respectively. These results indicate that Raman spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics could be potentially useful both for the discrimination of cold-pressed oils and for the rapid determination of adulteration with cheaper oils.

Nano-enabled Zn fertilization against conventional Zn analogues in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.)

The comparative performance of nano-enabled Zn fertilization against conventional Zn analogues was carried out in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Sweet Charlie between late September to mid-October until June for two consecutive years of 2019 and 2020. Four foliar Zn fertilizer sources viz., nano-ZnO, Zn-EDTA, ZnO and ZnSO4 were included in the trial procedure. The treatments were laid out in Randomized Block Design and replicated thrice. The treatments were comprised of T1: nano-ZnO at 200 μg g−1, nano-Zn (200), T2: nano-ZnO at 400 μg g−1, nano-Zn (400), T3: nano-ZnO at 600 μg g−1, nano-Zn (600), T4: ZnSO4 at 200 μg g−1, ZnSO4 (200), T5: ZnSO4 at 400 μg g−1, ZnSO4 (400), T6: Zn-EDTA at 100 μg g−1, Zn-EDTA (100), T7: Zn-EDTA at 200 μg g−1, Zn-EDTA (200), T8: ZnO at 200 μg g−1, ZnO (200), T9: ZnO at 400 μg g−1, ZnO (400) and T10: ZnO at 600 μg g−1, ZnO (600). Observations on vegetative growth traits, flowering, fruit yield, quality attributes and rhizosphere stoichiometry flexibility were recorded. The results indicated that foliar application of nano-Zn at 200 μg g−1 improved vegetative growth traits and earliest flowering (within 41.5 days after transplanting) in strawberry plantlets. This superior treatment also registered significant increase in fruit set (16.9%), yield (48.3%) and metabolic content of strawberry fruits compared to other Zn nutrient analogues. Microbial biomass in terms of total bacterial population, soil fungi and actinobacterial count was increased by 2.17, 1.57 and 1.54 times, respectively. Maximum leaf N (3.97%), leaf P (0.36%), leaf K (1.97%) and fruit N (3.49%), fruit P (0.28%) and fruit K (1.67%) content were also recorded through nano-Zn application compared to other Zn analogues. Both in leaf and fruit samples, Zn content was directly correlated to nano-Zn fertilization. Principal component analysis induced the differences at nano-Zn and conventional Zn sources has identified maximum of the total variance based on the Eigen value (>1), which explained 92.51% (PC1), 97.23% (PC2), 99.04% (PC3) and 99.56% (PC4) of the cumulative variance. PC4 accounted for highest total cumulative variances for vegetative growth, flowering, yield related traits, soil properties, leaf and fruit nutrient content of strawberry. In our study, foliar application of nano-Zn has shown promising effects to improve the cropping behavior of strawberry which can be used as an alternative to traditional Zn fertilizer sources. The study also inferred that use of nano-Zn have shown promising effects to improve cropping behavior of strawberry which could be an alternative to conventional Zn nutrient sources.

Comparison of ecophysiological and leaf anatomical traits of native and invasive plant species

BackgroundTo address the lack of evidence supporting invasion by three invasive plant species (Imperata cylindrica, Lantana camara, and Chromolaena odorata) in tropical ecosystems, we compared the ecophysiological and leaf anatomical traits of these three invasive alien species with those of species native to Sempu Island, Indonesia. Data on four plant traits were obtained from the TRY Plant Trait Database, and leaf anatomical traits were measured using transverse leaf sections.ResultsTwo ecophysiological traits including specific leaf area (SLA) and seed dry weight showed significant association with plant invasion in the Sempu Island Nature Reserve. Invasive species showed higher SLA and lower seed dry weight than non-invasive species. Moreover, invasive species showed superior leaf anatomical traits including sclerenchymatous tissue thickness, vascular bundle area, chlorophyll content, and bundle sheath area. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that leaf anatomical traits strongly influenced with cumulative variances (100% in grass and 88.92% in shrubs), where I. cylindrica and C. odorata outperformed non-invasive species in these traits.ConclusionsThese data suggest that the traits studied are important for plant invasiveness since ecophysiological traits influence of light capture, plant growth, and reproduction while leaf anatomical traits affect herbivory, photosynthetic assimilate transport, and photosynthetic activity.

Sexual dimorphism in the Spotted Stinger Inimicus sinensis (Valenciennes, 1833) and notes on pore structures on the body

Spotted stinger individuals, Inimicus sinensis, collected from Carles, Iloilo, Philippines exhibited previously-unreported sexual dimorphism. Thirty-three morphological measurements, including standard length, and fourteen meristic counts from 99 specimens (47 males and 52 females) were analyzed for sexual dimorphism. Most morphometric characters differed significantly between the sexes, whereas no differences were found in meristic counts. Dorsal and anal-fin and free pectoral-fin ray lengths were greater in male specimens. On the other hand, the head and body region were relatively larger in female specimens. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extracted two principal components from significantly different parameters, which explained 62.29 % of the cumulative variances. Variations in the two major components resulted from: head width, upper jaw, lower jaw, snout, pre-dorsal, pre-anal-fin, and anal-fin base lengths in PC1 (45.65 %); and orbit diameter and anal-fin base length in PC2 (16.64 %). Additionally, a single anterolateral pore on the body and pores above the lateral-line are described, although no evidence of association with other organs was found.

Rhizosphere stochiometry, fruit yield, quality attributes and growth response to PGPR transplant amendments in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) growing on solarized soils

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizosphere microorganisms transplant amedements were tested for improving growth, yield, quality traits, runner production and rhizosphere stochiometry of strawberry cv. Chandler. The plants were grown on solarized and non-solarized organic matter rich soil. Exogenous root inoculation of six PGPR inoculants viz., Pseudomonas florescence, Bacillus subtilis, Azotobacter chroococcum, K-mobilizing bacteria and AM fungi were carried out in different combinations in a randomized completely block design with three replicates. The solarization was done with transparent plastic sheet. Application of 250 g PGPRs consourtium along with soil solarization significantly improved vegetative growth traits, rhizosphere microbial count, fruit number, cumulative yield, fruit quality traits as compared to non-solarized (natural) conditions. Root soil ratio of resident microbes at 15 cm depth was also worked out in the rhizosphere zone and non-rhizosphere zone. The data suggested an increased rhizosphere acid- and alkaline phosphate and dehydrogenase enzyme activity can be used as a good indicator of phosphorus nutrition in solarized organic soils compared to non-solarized (natural) soils. The results suggested that PGPR inoculations could alleviate the deleterious effects of soil borne microbial population on the phenological and pomological attributes of strawberry plants under organic growing solarized soils. Root inoculation with PGPR probiotics significantly affected leaf nutrient concentration in terms of DOP and ΣDOP indexes which showed an increase in N, P, K and Mg concentration in the leaves in solarized plots compared to natural plots. Principal component analysis induced the differences at various PGPR probiotics applied has identified maximum of the total variance based on the Eigen value (>1) and explained 65.38% (PC1), 79.68% (PC2), 88.05% (PC3) and 92.67% (PC4) of the cumulative variance. PC4 accounted for highest total cumulative variances among fruit phenological, morphometric and generative potential strawberry traits. The study indicated PGPR probiotics coupled with soil solarization as a promising technology to maintain healthy rhizosphere, and as an alternative to chemicalised farming of strawberry to enhance quality production in calcareous soils of Shiwalik foothills of north-west Himalayas.

Design, methodology, and preliminary results of the follow-up of a population-based cohort study in rural area of northern China: Handan Eye Study.

Background:Handan Eye Study (HES), a large population-based cohort study in rural area of northern China, was one of the few studies focusing on the major eye diseases of rural Chinese population. The aim of this study was to introduce the design, methodology and to assess the data quality of the follow-up phase of HES.Methods:All participants were recruited in Yongnian county of Handan city between 2012 and 2013. Main outcomes were measured by visual quality scales and ocular examinations. We performed the Chi-square test to make comparison of categorical data among groups, One-way analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to make comparison of continuous data among groups, a post-hoc test was done to make further pairwise comparison. Inter-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Kappa coefficients were used to evaluate the consistency between different operators. Logistic regression was used to explore the influence factors of death, odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate the effect size of each influence factor.Results:The follow-up rate was 85.3%. Subjects were classified into three groups: the follow-up group (n = 5394), the loss to follow-up group (n = 929), and the dead group (n = 507), comparison of their baseline information was done. Compared with the other two groups, age of the dead group (66.52 ± 10.31 years) was the oldest (Z = 651.293, P < 0.001), male proportion was the highest (59.0%) (χ2 = 42.351, P < 0.001), only 65.9% of the dead finished middle school education (Z = 205.354, P < 0.001). The marriage percentage, body mass index (BMI), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and intra-ocular pressure of the dead group was the lowest either. Spherical equivalent error (SER) of the dead group was the highest. Besides, history of smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease were more common in the dead group. Multivariate analysis showed that age (OR = 1.901, 95% CI: 1.074–1.108), gender (OR = 0.317, 95% CI: 0.224–0.448), and BCVA (OR = 0.282, 95% CI: 0.158–0.503) were associated with death. While between the follow-up group and the loss to follow-up group, there was only difference on age, gender, BMI, systolic blood pressure and SER. The Cronbach coefficients of all scales used in the follow-up were ≥0.63 and the cumulative variances were ≥0.61, indicating good reliability and validity. The ICCs and Kappa coefficients between different operators were ≥0.69.Conclusions:HES has a high follow-up rate and a low risk of loss to follow-up bias. Age, gender, and BCVA are influence factors of death. Specifically, male subjects are at a higher risk of death than female, age is a risk factor of death while BCVA is a protective factor for death.

Sequential analysis and design of fixed-precision sampling of Lake Kariba fishes using Taylor’s power law

Taylor’s power law (TPL), which states that the variance of abundance is a power function of mean abundance, has been used to design sampling of agricultural pests and fish species. We show that TPL holds for means and variances of abundance of accumulated fish samples in the fished and unfished areas separately of Lake Kariba (between Zambia and Zimbabwe), measuring abundance indices by number and weight separately. We use TPL parameters estimated from sequentially accumulated samples to update a stopping line of fixed precision 0.1 after each new sample from a sampling day. In these Lake Kariba data, depending on the sampling area and abundance measure, our updated stopping-line method requires 21% to 41% of the number of sampling days and 19% to 40% of the number of samples that are planned a priori and performed under systematic sampling. Our novel method yields mean abundance estimates similar to those from systematic sampling and provides a conservative approach to reaching a fixed sampling precision level with reduced sampling labor and time. Using mixed-effect modeling for cumulative means and variances with either number or weight from both fished and unfished areas, we find that fishing increases the slope of TPL. This study provides the conceptual framework and an empirical case study for implementing a sequential sampling method for fish assemblages of an inland lake. The possible limitations and applications of our method for sampling in other environments are discussed.

Response of sap flow rate of apple trees to environmental factors in Loess Platea of Western Shanxi Province, China.

To clarify the effects of environmental factors on transpiration process of apple trees in rain-fed ecosystem, the dynamics of sap flow in apple trees from Loess Plateau area in western Shanxi Province of China were monitored using the thermal diffusion technique. Meanwhile, environmental factors including meteorological elements and soil moisture content were measured. The results showed that both net solar radiation (Rn) and atmospheric vapor deficit (VPD) were closely correlated with sap flow rate (Js), as the main ones among all the measured environmental factors. At both hourly and daily scales, the cumulative variances of the three principal components of the environmental factor were above 86%. The first principal component contained VPD and Rn, and explained the variance of over 52% (at hour scale) and 63% (at daily scale), which could be classified as the evaporation demand index (EDI) and as the key comprehensive environmental varia-bles affecting tree sap flow. The second principal component mainly included soil moisture content (SWC) and other factors, which were referred to the soil water and heat supply index. The third principal component mainly included wind speed and other factors, and could be classified into the hydrothermal dissipation index. At the scale of hourly or daily, the response of Js to EDI showed a significant exponential growth relationship. At the hourly time scale, Js of apple trees could be accurately modelled based on the first principal component EDI (R2=0.72). At the daily scale, Js of apple trees could be better modelled based on potential evapotranspiration (ET0) (R2=0.88). Our results were of great significance for clarifying the responses of water transport in apple tree to environmental factors, estimating water consumption of apple tree based on meteorological factors, as well as directing orchard water management.