Significant Positive Linear Relationship Research Articles

Diversity and Structure of Demersal Fish Community Over the Northern Slope in the South China Sea

Three bottom trawl surveys over the northern continental slope in the South China Sea (18°50′–20°40′N, 112°50′–115°10′E) were carried out, in June 2015, March 2017 and September 2018, to investigate species composition, biodiversity and community structure of demersal fish. Surveys in 2015, 2017 and 2018 captured 97 fish species (representing 77 genera, 52 families, 26 orders), 108 fish species (representing 84 genera, 61 families, 19 orders) and 126 fish species (representing 105 genera, 74 families, 25 orders), respectively. Three surveys captured a total of 252 fish species, representing 164 genera, 97 families, 30 orders. Perciformes dominated. Species richness in station linking shallow continental shelf with deep slope was the lowest among stations. In three surveys, 16 species occurred in the catches of three surveys, accounting for 6.35% of all species. Species replacement rate between stations showed a significant linear relationship with the depth difference and latitude difference. Margalef’s species richness index (D), Shannon–Weiner diversity index (H’) and Pielou’s evenness index (J’) among stations ranged 2.65–6.74, 1.02–4.15 and 0.28–1.14, respectively. Differences of D, H’ and J’ were insignificant among seasons. There were significant positive linear relations between H’ and J’ and latitude. D, H’ and J’ decreased with increasing sampling depth, however the relations were not significant. Based on multivariate statistical analysis, fish community at species level was divided into five groups with average dissimilarities of 95.69%–99.96%. In terms of genus and family, average dissimilarities among groups were more than 88.11% and 82.69%. There were significant differences in species composition between depths, but no significant differences between seasons and temperatures, as well as in genus and family composition.

Anxiety and Coping Stress Strategies in Researchers During COVID-19 Pandemic.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, leading to changes in one's personal and working life. Researchers have undergone extensive changes in their roles, mainly in the area of health care, with research into the virus now the priority.AimTo assess the anxiety, depression, stress, fears, and coping strategies of Portuguese researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants and MethodsA total of 243 researchers, with an average age of 37.9 ± 9.6, participated in an online questionnaire. The study was performed between 1 June 2021 and 11 August 2021. The questionnaire included depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS-21), fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), and coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS).ResultsThe findings suggest being female and younger seem to be related to more significant fears. Singles and younger researchers showed higher values of stress, depression, and anxiety. Research areas, such as medical and health sciences, presented higher levels in the DASS-21 depression and stress scale (p < 0.05). Also, the results showed a moderate or moderate strong significant positive linear relationship between the scales (p < 0.001): DASS-21 stress, DASS-21 anxiety, and DASS-21 depression (r > 0.70); CISS-21 emotional-oriented with DASS-21 stress (r = 0.683), DASS-21 depression (r = 0.622), and DASS-21 anxiety (r = 0.557); and emotional fear and cognitive fear (r = 0.652).ConclusionThe findings of this study support the growing concern for the psychological well-being of researchers and the need for intervention with more extensive and diverse studies.

Fertility Effects on Blueberry Gall Midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium; Ericales: Ericaceae).

Blueberry gall midge, Dasineura oxycoccana (Johnson) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is a pest in American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae) and wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae), and has been observed in areas of high soil and foliar nutrient levels. New management strategies, including fertilization, will need to be altered to sustain wild blueberry production under climate change and, in turn, may impact the occurrence of this pest. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer application on density of infested stems and the combined effects of fertilizer application with and without infestation on wild blueberry systems. This study was conducted at two field sites in Jonesboro and Washington, ME during 2020 and 2021. Despite increases in habitat availability (blueberry cover) for the gall midge and greater infestation density, wild blueberry production benefited from DAP application. This was shown in the number of buds per stem at both sites, as well as in stem height, flowers, green fruit, blue fruit per stem, and total yield at the Washington site. Foliar nitrogen and phosphorus levels had a significant positive linear relationship with infestation density. Growers applying fertilizers should monitor blueberry gall midge field infestation levels due to our findings that DAP fertilizer impacted infestation density and the interaction of DAP fertilizer with infestation impacted wild blueberry production.

Mindset and Achievement: A Secondary School Perspective in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

This descriptive research study aimed to determine the impact of students' mindsets on their academic achievement. The population comprised students enrolled at the government secondary school level in the districts Peshawar and Charsadda of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A sample of 400 boys and 398 girl students was selected through a Multi-stage random sampling technique. The self-theory version of the implicit theories of intelligence scale developed by De Castella and Byrne (2015) was used for the study. Students' achievement scores were obtained from the annual examination 2021 result of the BISE Peshawar. It was found that Students' fixed mindset had significant and strong negative, while students' growth mindset had a significant and strong positive linear relationship with students' achievement. Both students' fixed and growth mindsets significantly and strongly predicted but students' fixed mindset negatively, while students' growth mindset positively contributed towards students' achievement. The study also revealed some gender differences.

Liver Fibrosis Scores and Hospitalization, Mechanical Ventilation, Severity, and Death in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.

Methods We identified relevant cohort studies that assessed the relationship between liver fibrosis scores (e.g., FIB-4, NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), and aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI)) and associated prognosis outcomes by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, and medRxiv databases. The potential dose-response effect was performed using a stage robust error meta-regression. Results Sixteen studies with 8,736 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were included. One-point score in FIB-4 increase was significantly associated with increased mechanical ventilation (RR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.37–3.65, P=0.001), severe COVID-19 (RR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.53–2.16, P < 0.001), and death (RR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.31–1.65, P < 0.001), rather than hospitalization (RR: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.72–2.56, P=0.35). Furthermore, there is a significant positive linear relationship between FIB-4 and severe COVID-19 (Pnonlinearity=0.12) and mortality (Pnonlinearity=0.18). Regarding other liver scores, one unit elevation in APRI increased the risk of death by 178% (RR: 2.78, 95% CI: 1.10–6.99, P=0.03). Higher NFS (≥−1.5) and Forns index were associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 and COVID-19-associated death. Conclusion Our dose-response meta-analysis suggests high liver fibrosis scores are associated with worse prognosis in patients with COVID-19. For patients with COVID-19 at admission, especially for those with coexisting chronic liver diseases, assessment of liver fibrosis scores might be useful for identifying high risk of developing severe COVID-19 cases and worse outcomes.

Factors Associated with Thickening of the Ligamentum Flavum on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis.

Experimental study of the ligamentum flavum (LF) thickness among patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS). To elucidate the factors associated with thickening of the LF on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Thickening of the LF is a major contributor to LSCS. This thickening is attributed to tissue hypertrophy or buckling of the ligament, and there may be several associated factors on MRI; however, these factors remain unclear. We studied the LF in 56 patients (a total of 106 ligaments) with LSCS, who underwent decompressive surgery; among them, 23 were receiving haemodialysis. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess relationships between the thickness of the LF on MRI and the thickness of the LF tissue, age, disc height, disc degeneration, and disc level. Patients were also categorised into 2 groups based on whether they were undergoing haemodialysis, and the relationships were assessed similarly. Among patients with LSCS, the thickness of the LF on MRI showed a significant positive linear relationship with the thickness of the LF tissue, and no association with disc height. Except for in those receiving haemodialysis, the thickness of the LF on MRI showed a significant positive relationship with age, disc degeneration, and disc level among patients with LSCS. In patients with LSCS, thickening of the LF on MRI appears to represent tissue hypertrophy. The association between the thickness of the LF on MRI and age, disc degeneration, and disc level may indicate simultaneous alterations of spine components along with aging that was cancelled by the effects of haemodialysis.

Assessment of the Effect of Re-organization Strategy on Performance of Department of Immigration and Citizen Services in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between reorganization strategies and the performance of department of immigration and citizen services in Kenya. The study was anchored under Contingency Theory of Structural Adaptation to Regain Fit Theory, it adopted an exploration configuration approach targeting a population of 124 representatives of the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services. The specialist utilized a straightforward separated arbitrary examining technique to choose a sample size of 74 respondents. Polls were utilized which had open finished and shut finished inquiries to gather information which were then investigated utilizing descriptive analysis, correlation and regression model to establish the relationship between the variables. The study established a positive correlation between the reorganization strategies and organizational performance (ρ = 0.638, p- value=0.000) at 0.01 level of significance, the study further revealed a statistically significant strong positive linear relationship between Reorganization strategies and organizational Performance (β = 0.687, P- value = 0.000).

Risk Performance on Financial Assessment of Insurance Firms in Egypt

The subject matter of this study is the analysis of the relationship between risk assessment and firm size on financial performance. The population encompasses thirty-nine listed insurance firms in Egypt during the period 1999 – 2019, whereas a sample of nineteen insurance companies was selected. The financial assessment is a dependent variable, while the independent variable is risk assessment. This study used general linear multivariate analysis and descriptive statistics. The article is an attempt to investigate the relationship between risk assessment and firm size on financial assessment of insurance sector in Egypt. The results indicate that there is significant positive linear relationship between standard deviation of return on equity, standard deviation of return on asset, and natural logarithm of total assets with return on equity. Moreover, there is significant positive linear relationship between standard deviation of return on equity, standard deviation of return on asset and natural logarithm of total assets where on return on asset. Therefore, there is significant positive linear relationship between standard deviation of return on equity and standard deviation of return on asset on liquidity. Nevertheless, there is a negative relationship between natural logarithm of total assets.

Peripheral blood transcriptomic clusters uncovered immune phenotypes of asthma

BackgroundTranscriptomic analysis has been used to elucidate the complex pathogenesis of heterogeneous disease and may also contribute to identify potential therapeutic targets by delineating the hub genes. This study aimed to investigate whether blood transcriptomic clustering can distinguish clinical and immune phenotypes of asthmatics, and microbiome in asthmatics.MethodsTranscriptomic expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 47 asthmatics and 21 non-asthmatics was measured using RNA sequencing. A hierarchical clustering algorithm was used to classify asthmatics. Differentially expressed genes, clinical phenotypes, immune phenotypes, and microbiome of each transcriptomic cluster were assessed.ResultsIn asthmatics, three distinct transcriptomic clusters with numerously different transcriptomic expressions were identified. The proportion of severe asthmatics was highest in cluster 3 as 73.3%, followed by cluster 2 (45.5%) and cluster 1 (28.6%). While cluster 1 represented clinically non-severe T2 asthma, cluster 3 tended to include severe non-T2 asthma. Cluster 2 had features of both T2 and non-T2 asthmatics characterized by the highest serum IgE level and neutrophil-dominant sputum cell population. Compared to non-asthmatics, cluster 1 showed higher CCL23 and IL1RL1 expression while the expression of TREML4 was suppressed in cluster 3. CTSD and ALDH2 showed a significant positive linear relationship across three clusters in the order of cluster 1 to 3. No significant differences in the diversities of lung and gut microbiomes were observed among transcriptomic clusters of asthmatics and non-asthmatics. However, our study has limitations in that small sample size data were analyzed with unmeasured confounding factors and causal relationships or function pathways were not verified.ConclusionsGenetic clustering based on the blood transcriptome may provide novel immunological insight, which can be biomarkers of asthma immune phenotypes.Trial registration Retrospectively registered

Responses of soil bacterial community structure and function to dry–wet cycles more stable in paddy than in dryland agricultural ecosystems

AbstractAimClimate change is the foremost cause of terrestrial biodiversity decline, but the microbial communities from different habitats do not respond equally to environmental change. However, our understanding of the response patterns of microbial diversity to climate change remains limited in distinct agriculture ecosystems across large spatial scales. Here, we explore the response patterns of soil bacterial community structure and function to dry–wet cycles in dryland (maize) and paddy (rice) agricultural ecosystems throughout eastern China.LocationEastern China.Time periodNovember 2019 to May 2020.Major taxa studiedBacterial communities.MethodsIncubation experiments with dry–wet cycles were carried out on the soil samples collected from 25 paired maize and rice fields across eastern China. Bacterial community structure was estimated via high‐throughput sequencing techniques. We applied quantitative polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the effect of the dry–wet cycle on the change of functional genes. Phylogenetic signals were examined based on Blomberg’s K to test the phylogenetic conservatism of maize and rice bacterial communities during dry–wet cycles.ResultsDry–wet cycles significantly decreased bacterial alpha diversity in both maize and rice soils, and bacterial communities from warmer regions were more sensitive to dry–wet cycles. The bacterial responses to dry–wet cycles were phylogenetically conserved, with greater phylogenetic conservation in the former. The abundance of functional genes that were related to carbon decomposition, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification and organophosphorus mineralization decreased during dry–wet cycles, and the resistances of such functional genes to disturbance were stronger in rice soils than in maize soils. In addition, the relative abundances of stable amplicon sequence variants during dry–wet cycles had a significant positive linear relationship with functional gene abundance in the maize and rice soils, indicating their essential roles in the stability of microbial function.Main conclusionsWe conclude that soil bacterial community structure and function in dryland agricultural ecosystems are less stable and exhibit greater phylogenetic conservation in response to dry–wet cycles when compared with paddy fields. In addition, our study reveals, for the first time, the response patterns of bacterial communities to dry–wet cycles in dryland and wetland agroecosystems.

Characteristics of Pore Structure and Gas Content of the Lower Paleozoic Shale from the Upper Yangtze Plate, South China

This study is predominantly about the differences in shale pore structure and the controlling factors of shale gas content between Lower Silurian and Lower Cambrian from the upper Yangtze plate, which are of great significance to the occurrence mechanism of shale gas. The field emission scanning electron microscopy combined with Particles (Pores) and Cracks Analysis System software, CO2/N2 adsorption and the high-pressure mercury injection porosimetry, and methane adsorption were used to investigate characteristics of overall shale pore structure and organic matter pore, heterogeneity and gas content of the Lower Paleozoic in southern Sichuan Basin and northern Guizhou province from the upper Yangtze plate. Results show that porosity and the development of organic matter pores of the Lower Silurian are better than that of the Lower Cambrian, and there are four main types of pore, including interparticle pore, intraparticle pore, organic matter pore and micro-fracture. The micropores of the Lower Cambrian shale provide major pore volume and specific surface areas. In the Lower Silurian shale, there are mesopores besides micropores. Fractal dimensions representing pore structure complexity and heterogeneity gradually increase with the increase in pore volume and specific surface areas. There is a significant positive linear relationship between total organic carbon content and micropores volume and specific surface areas of the Lower Paleozoic shale, and the correlation of the Lower Silurian is more obvious than that of the Lower Cambrian. The plane porosity of organic matter increases with the increase in total organic carbon when it is less than 5%. The plane porosity of organic matter pores is positively correlated with clay minerals content and negatively correlated with brittle minerals content. The adsorption gas content of Lower Silurian and Lower Cambrian shale are 1.51–3.86 m3/t (average, 2.31 m3/t) and 0.35–2.38 m3/t (average, 1.36 m3/t). Total organic carbon, clay minerals and porosity are the main controlling factors for the differences in shale gas content between Lower Cambrian and Lower Silurian from the upper Yangtze plate. Probability entropy and organic matter plane porosity of the Lower Silurian are higher than those of Lower Cambrian shale, but form factor and roundness is smaller.

Manifestation of Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia in Pediatric and Young Adult Population Is Distinct from Older Adult Cohorts

Introduction: Large Granular Lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder usually manifested in elderly individuals, with mean age of onset at 65. However, LGL leukemia cases in pediatric and young adult (age <30) populations are occasionally observed. Severity of disease, response to routine LGL treatments (methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine), and molecular profiling of this cohort is largely unknown, with only a few case reports describing the occurrence. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of pediatric and young adult LGL leukemia patients, where we compare demographic and hematologic parameters, frequency of STAT3 mutations, whole exome and transcriptomic profile, and treatment responses to the older adult (age >50) cohort.Methods: We retrospectively collected clinical data from 23 young adult (age <30), 105 adult (age 30-50), and 89 older adult (age >50) LGL leukemia patients. All participants signed informed consent to provide biospecimens and clinical records to the LGL Leukemia Registry. Whole exome (PBMC and saliva) and RNA sequencing (PBMC) was conducted on 115 patients. Sanger sequencing was utilized to determine STAT3 mutational status in the remaining 102 patients.Results: STAT3 is the most frequently mutated gene in LGL leukemia, and the mutation is associated with lower absolute neutrophil counts (ANC). We observed no differences in the frequency of STAT3 somatic mutations in young adult, adult, and older adult LGL leukemia (p=0.143). However, we detected a significant positive linear relationship between age of the patient and ANC values (p=0.002) for STAT3 mutant patients (Figure 1A). STAT3 wild-type (WT) patients did not display this relationship (p=0.756). No age associated trends were detected for hemoglobin values, although we detected decreasing red blood cell (RBC) values with increasing age for both STAT3 mutated and WT patients (p= 0.031, 0.010, respectively). No difference in sex (male vs female) balance was found within the young adult cohort (p=0.190). As rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is observed in ~30% of LGL leukemia patients, we asked if this prevalence also holds in the younger cohort. RA was observed in similar proportion in all young, adult, and older adult groups (p=1).To compare the severity of disease manifestation between the age groups, we first asked how many patients ever initiated LGL-related treatments in each age group. We found that patients under 50 are more likely to be on LGL related treatments compared to patients over the age of 50 (p=0.016) (Figure 1B). Next, we examined length of survival between age groups. Despite increased initiation of LGL related treatments, no statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS) was observed between patients under 50 and patients over the age of 50 (p=0.33) (Figure 1C). Therefore, we asked if the treatment response in younger patients is better compared to older patients. We observed no statistically significant differences in the routine LGL treatment responses between patients under 50 and patients over the age of 50 (p=0.732).Interestingly, epigenetic and chromatin modifier mutations are equally common in patients 50 years old and under relative to older adult patients (p= 0.271) (Figure 1D). Transcriptomic analysis of the PBMC data revealed enrichment of TNFα signaling in patients older than 50, while IFNα and IFNγ signaling was enriched in patients 50 years old and younger.Conclusions: We report the clinical and molecular analysis of LGL leukemia in pediatric/young adult and adult patients compared to the older adult patients that comprise the majority of LGL cases. We show that while STAT3 mutation frequency is similar across all age groups, younger patients with STAT3 mutation show lower ANC values compared to older patients. Importantly, we show that younger patients exhibit a more severe disease, as indicated by increased initiation of LGL treatment. However, overall survival in younger groups compared to older patients is not impacted. Finally, we show that younger patients display similar proportions of epigenetic and chromatin modifying mutations that are a prominent feature of older patients, and feature enrichment of IFNα and IFNγ signaling distinct from older patients. [Display omitted] DisclosuresFeith: Kymera Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Loughran: Dren Bio: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Keystone Nano: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bioniz Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kymera Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Impact of Age and Biological Sex on Cerebrovascular Reactivity in Adult Moderate/Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Analysis.

Age and biological sex are two potential important modifiers of cerebrovascular reactivity post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) requiring close evaluation for potential subgroup responses. The goal of this study was to provide a preliminary exploratory analysis of the impact of age and biological sex on measures of cerebrovascular function in moderate/severe TBI. Forty-nine patients from the prospectively maintained TBI database at the University of Manitoba with archived high-frequency digital cerebral physiology were evaluated. Cerebrovascular reactivity indices were derived as follows: PRx (correlation between intracranial pressure [ICP] and mean arterial pressure [MAP]), PAx (correlation between pulse amplitude of ICP [AMP] and MAP), and RAC (correlation between AMP and cerebral perfusion pressure [CPP]). Time above clinically significant thresholds for each index was calculated over different periods of the acute intensive care unit stay. The association between PRx, PAx, and RAC measures with age was assessed using linear regression, and an age trichotomization scheme (<40, 40–60, >60) using Kruskal-Wallis testing. Similarly, association with biological sex was tested using Mann-Whitney U testing. Biological sex did not demonstrate an impact on any measures of cerebrovascular reactivity. Linear regression between age and PAx and RAC demonstrated a statistically significant positive linear relationship. Median PAx and RAC measures between trichotomized age categories demonstrated statistically significant increases with advancing age. The PRx failed to demonstrate any statistically significant relationship with age in this cohort, suggesting that in elderly patients with controlled ICP, PAx and RAC may be better metrics for detecting impaired cerebrovascular reactivity. Biological sex appears to not be associated with differences in cerebrovascular reactivity in this cohort. The PRx performed the worst in detecting impaired cerebrovascular reactivity in those with advanced age, where PAx and RAC appear to have excelled. Future work is required to validate these findings and explore the utility of different cerebrovascular reactivity indices.

Le CAP (Controlled attenuation parameter), un indicateur de risque et de sévérité du syndrome métabolique ?

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between CAP (Controlled Attenuation Parameter) values and the different components of the metabolic syndrome. Materials and methodsThis is a cross-sectional study including all patients over 18 years of age with chronic liver disease who were referred to our center for a non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis. The measurement of hepatic elasticity and CAP was carried out concomitantly using the M or XL probe of Fibroscan® by trained operators. ResultsThe prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with CAP ≥238dB/m was higher than in patients with CAP<238dB/m, and significantly increased with the severity of hepatic steatosis (p<0.001). CAP values were higher in patients with metabolic syndrome and significantly increased with the increase in the number of metabolic syndrome components (p<0.001). In univariate analysis, there was a statistically significant positive linear relationship between CAP values and components of metabolic syndrome except for blood glucose and HDLc level. In multivariate analysis, only waist circumference and triglycerides level were significantly related to CAP values. ConclusionThis study shows that there is a significant correlation between CAP and the different components of the metabolic syndrome. CAP could be an indicator of risk and severity of metabolic syndrome.

The relationship between grade 11 learners’ procedural and conceptual knowledge of algebra

The acquisition of procedural and conceptual knowledge is imperative for the development of problem solving skills in mathematics. However, while there are mixed research findings on the relationship between the two domains of knowledge in some branches of mathematics, the relationship between learners’ procedural and conceptual knowledge of algebra has not been well explored. This research paper examined the relationship between Grade 11 learners’ procedural and conceptual knowledge of algebra. Data for the study was collected using an algebra test administered to 181 grade 11 learners in Gauteng province, South Africa. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to analyse the data in SPSS. The study revealed that the learners have low levels of both procedural and conceptual knowledge of algebra. However, they displayed better procedural knowledge than the conceptual knowledge of algebra. In addition, a statistically significant moderate positive linear relationship was found between the learners’ procedural and conceptual knowledge of algebra.

The Responses of Leaf Litter Calcium, Magnesium, and Manganese Dynamics to Simulated Nitrogen Deposition and Reduced Precipitation Vary with Different Decomposition Stages

Litter decomposition is a vital link between material circulation and energy flow in forest ecosystems and is intensely affected by global change factors, such as increased nitrogen (N) deposition and altered precipitation regimes. As essential nutrients, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn) play crucial roles in plant energy metabolism, photosynthesis, and membrane transport of plants, and the major source of these nutrients is litter decomposition. However, the dynamics of Ca, Mg, and Mn during decomposition have been largely ignored. Thus, to better understand Ca, Mg, and Mn dynamics during leaf litter decomposition in the scenario of increasing N deposition and decreasing precipitation, we carried out a two-year field litterbag experiment in a natural evergreen broad-leaved forest in the central area of the rainy area of Western China. Two levels of N deposition (ambient N deposition and 150 kg·N·ha−1·y−1) and precipitation reduction (no throughfall reduction and 10% throughfall reduction) were set, i.e., control (Ctr: without nitrogen deposition or throughfall reduction), N deposition (N, 150 kg·N·ha−1·y−1), throughfall reduction (T, 10% throughfall reduction), and N deposition and throughfall reduction (NT, 150 kg·N·ha−1·y−1 and 10% throughfall reduction). We found that leaf litter Ca concentration increased in the early decomposition stage and then decreased, while Mg and Mn concentrations generally decreased during the whole period of decomposition. The amount of Ca showed an accumulation pattern, while Mg and Mn generally showed a release pattern. N deposition and throughfall reduction affected the Ca, Mg, and Mn dynamics, varying with different decomposition stages; i.e., N deposition significantly affected the concentration and amount of Ca, regardless of the decomposition stages, while throughfall reduction significantly affected the Ca concentration in the whole and early decomposition stages. N deposition significantly affected the concentration and amount of Mg in the whole and early decomposition stages, while throughfall reduction had no significant effects. Throughfall reduction significantly affected the concentration and amount of Mn in the whole and late decomposition stages, while N deposition had no significant effects. Ca concentration generally showed a significant positive linear relationship with mass loss in the early decomposition stage; Mg concentration showed a significant positive linear relationship with mass loss in the Ctr and N treatments in the early and late decomposition stages; Mn generally showed a significant negative linear relationship with mass loss, regardless of the decomposition stage. Overall, the results suggest that Ca accumulation is more likely affected by N deposition, while Mg and Mn releases are more likely affected by N deposition combined with throughfall reduction, particularly in the early decomposition stage.

The effect of etching techniques on cement penetration into dentinal tubules on fiber post cementation

ObjectiveA combination of self-etch and additional etch techniques as pre-cementation procedures for fiber post restoration was reported able to increase the bonding of adhesive material. This research aimed to determine the effects of different etching techniques on resin cement penetration into dentinal tubules. Materials and methodsThirty-two endodontic treated premolars were prepared for 10 mm fiber posts and were divided into two groups (n = 16). Group one was treated with self-etch only, and the second was treated with a combination of self-etch and additional etching. The fiber posts were cemented using fluorescent rhodamine B 0.1%-colored resin cement. The samples were cut to a 2 mm thickness in the middle third of the root and were evaluated with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Statistical analysis measurements were analyzed by an independent t-test and Pearson correlation test. ResultsThere were statistically different in densities hybrid layer and resin tag penetration lengths. Statistically strong linear positive correlations between the hybrid layer density and resin tag penetration length in both groups were also observed. Hybrid layer density (9.68 μm), resin tag penetration depth (32.51 μm) in the self-etch group with additional etching were higher than in the other group. The Pearson correlation test results between hybrid bond density and resin tag penetration depth in the self-etch treatment group showed a value of r = 0.634 and p-value = 0.008 and in the etching group self-treatment with additional etching a value of r = 0.516 and p-value = 0.041 (p ≤ 0.05). ConclusionThere is a statistically significant positive correlation or linear relationship between hybrid bond density and the penetration depth of resin tags in both treatment groups: the thicker the hybrid layer density, the deeper the penetration of the resin tags. This phenomenon may increase mechanical strength regarding stronger binding of resin cement to a tooth’s substrate.

The aging-related decrease in cVEMP amplitude cannot be accounted for by normalization.

Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMP) is an electromyogenic measure commonly used in clinic to assess saccule function. The main parameters are peak-peak amplitude and interaural asymmetry ratio (IAR). Several non-vestibular factors may influence these parameters. Notably, a greater EMG contraction level prior to stimulation leads to an increased amplitude. As aging impacts both vestibular structures and muscle propreties, it is still a matter of debate whether the decrease in cVEMP amplitude observed in normal aging is due to EMG differences prior to stimulation or to the effect of aging on the sacculo-collic reflex pathway. At the clinical level, understanding the effect of aging on the relationship between EMG activity and cVEMP response (amplitude, asymmetry ratio) and the effect of normalization is crucial to improving the categorization of healthy versus pathological responses. To investigate whether normalization modifies cVEMP amplitude and asymmetry ratios differently in younger and older heatlhy adults. cVEMP recordings were conducted in 42 normal healthy participants divided in two age groups: younger (n = 29): mean = 22.79 years old SD = 1.66; and older (n = 13): mean = 69.00 years old SD = 3.61. Air-conducted cVEMP were recorded using Eclipse (Interacoustics, Denmark). The stimulus was a 95 dBnHL tone burst (500 Hz) with rise, plateau and fall time of 1 ms. cVEMP were recorded only when EMG levels were between 50μV and 150μV, using the Eclipse (Interacoustic, Denmark) monitoring system. No significant differences were observed for prestimulus EMG levels between younger and older participants (F(1,83) = 1.13, p = 0.291). However, significant differences between groups were observed for raw cVEMP amplitude (F(1,83) = 14.78; p < 0.001) and corrected cVEMP amplitude (F(1,83) = 21.85; p < 0.0001). A significant positive linear relationship between prestimulus EMG contraction level (RMS) and raw cVEMP amplitude was observed in younger participants (r2 = 0.234; p < 0.001), but not in older adults (r2 = -0.0144; p = 0.056). Finally, no significant differences between younger and older participants were observed for raw amplitude asymmetry ratios (F(1,41) = 0.124, p = 0.726) or normalized asymmetry ratios (F(1,41) = 0.726, p = 0.508). Our results suggest that when EMG is monitored and activation of the SCM is sufficient, the observed decline in cVEMP amplitude with normal aging does not seem to be caused by EMG differences and is therefore likely due to the known histopathological modifications of the vestibular system that occurs with normal aging.

Sources Allocation on Risk Performance of Egyptian Insurance Companies

The main objective of current paper was to investigate the relationship between sources allocations measured by (external sources to total assets- free investment and allocated investment to total assets) on risk performance measured by financial risk (standard deviation of return on equity) business risk (standard deviation of return on assets) using ARDL and GARCH model, using a sample of 19 Egyptian insurance companies over a 21 year period form 1999 – 2019, the findings indicate that There is a significant negative linear relationships between the independent variable in terms of capital structure and assets structure on dependent variable standard deviation of return on equity (Y1) at a Significant level less than (0.05). Also there is a significant positive linear relationship between the independent variable in terms of assets structure and dependent variable standard deviation of return on assets (Y2) at a significant level less than (0.001). with regard to ARCH and GARCH result shows the There is a significant positive effect of the ARCH term, measured as the lag of the squared residual from the mean equation, and the GARCH term, Last period’s forecast variance, at a significant level less than (0.05). It means that the high volatility in the conditional variance of standard deviation of return on assets y2. also The sum of the two parameters of: (α+β) in the GARCH model (1, 1) whether the random error are distributed according to normal distribution approaches the positive one, which indicates that the two conditions of non-negative variance, and the variance is not inflated are satisfied, and that Indication of the continuity of volatility shocks in the standard deviation of return on assets (Y2).

Plants are a natural source of nitrous oxide even in field conditions as explained by 15N site preference

Plants are either recognized to produce nitrous oxide (N2O) or considered as a medium to transport soil-produced N2O. To date, it is not clear whether in their habitat plants conduit N2O produced in soil or are a natural source. We aimed to understand role of plants in N2O emissions in field conditions. Therefore, rubber plants (Ficus elastica) were planted in the field; then plant and soil chambers were deployed simultaneously to collect gas samples, and 15N site preference (SP) of N2O was evaluated. The mean SP values of plant and soil emitted N2O were −20.85 ± 2.8‰ and −8.85 ± 1.08‰, respectively, and were significantly different (p < 0.0001); while bulk 15N of plant and soil emitted N2O were −10.83 ± 3.33‰ and −22.56 ± 3.37‰, respectively and were similar (p = 0.06). In the current study, soil always acted as a source of N2O, while plants were both source and sink. Plant and soil N2O fluxes had significant positive exponential relationship with both soil and air temperature. Soil water-filled pore space (WFPS) had significant negative linear relationship with only soil N2O fluxes. Plant N2O fluxes had significant positive linear relationship with plant respiration rates and negative linear relationship with plant surface areas. Based on the relationship between plant respiration rates and N2O fluxes, we suggest that mitochondria are the possible sites of N2O formation in plant cells while the relationship between plant surface areas and N2O fluxes suggests that roots are the parts of its formation in natural and field conditions. Our results suggest that plants are a natural source of N2O even at field conditions and challenge a view that plants are a medium to transport soil-produced N2O into the atmosphere.