Near-infrared leaf reflectance modeling of Annona emarginata seedlings for early detection of variations in nitrogen concentration

Nitrogen(N)monitoring is essential in nurseries to ensure the production of high-quality seedlings.Nearinfrared spectroscopy(NIRS)is an instantaneous,nondestructive method to monitor N.Spectral data such as NIRS can also provide the basis for developing a new vegetation spectral index(VSI).Here,we evaluated whether NIRS combined with statistical modeling can accurately detect early variations in N concentration in leaves of young plants of Annona emargiaata and developed a new VSI for this task.Plants were grown in a hydroponics system with 0,2.75,5.5or 11 mM N for 45 days.Then we measured gas exchange,chlorophylla fluorescence,and pigments in leaves;analyzed complete leaf nutrients,and recorded spectral data for leaves at 966 to 1685 nm using NIRS.With a statistical learning approach,the dimensionality of the spectral data was reduced,then models were generated using two classes(N deficiency,N)or four classes(0,2.75,5.5,11 mM N).The best combination of techniques for dimensionality reduction and classification,respectively,was stepwise regression(PROC STEPDISC)and linear discriminant function.It was possible to detect N deficiency in seedlings leaves with 100%precision,and the four N concentrations with93.55%accuracy before photosynthetic damage to the plant occurred.Thereby,NIRS combined with statistical modeling of multidimensional data is effective for detecting N variations in seedlings leaves of A.emarginata.

Patient Satisfaction Related to Their Eye Health Examination at Lúrio University Clinic in Nampula, Mozambique during COVID-19

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is defined as the extent of agreement between what a patient expects to receive from his or her health experience and the perception of the level of care he or she actually receive. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many practices have to adapt to provide health ensuring patients’ safety in first instance. Eye care procedures may be delayed during the pandemic, so eye safety is more important than ever, and it doesn’t only focus on the examination room, all the clinic compartments must be adjusted to ensure that no patient is infected by COVID-19 within the clinic. The aim of this study was to assess the satisfaction of patients who attended the Lúrio University Clinic for eye care during COVID-19. Material and Methods: This is a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted from December 30th, 2020 to April 30th, 2021. A systematic random sampling method was used to enrol 173 participants. Data were collected using an identification form and the patient satisfaction survey. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Lúrio University Bioethical Committee review board, and informed consent term was also received from the participants before data collection. Results: 173 participants (84 women, 48.6% and 89 men, 51.4%) completed the survey with the mean age of 31.14 and standard deviation of ±14.6 years. We found that 98.3% of the participants were satisfied (63.6% satisfied and 34.7% extremely satisfied) with the eye care provided in Lúrio University Clinic. Conclusion: Most of the patients were satisfied with the eye health examination provided in Lúrio University clinic, thus the directions for future research of the study are now opened.

Indole Butyric and Boric Acids in the Rooting of Atemoya“Thompson”Stem Cuttings

The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of indole butyric acid(IBA)and boric acid to induce rooting on atemoya“Thompson”cuttings.A randomized block design with 10 treatments and four blocks was laid out.The treatments consisted in the use of different levels of IBA(i.e.,0,500,1,000,2,000 and 4,000 mg/L)with or without boric acid at 150 mg/L.The cuttings were placed to root in expanded polystyrene(EPS)trays with 72 cells and kept in a greenhouse under misting.At 120 d after planting,leaf dry and fresh masses(g),root dry and fresh masses(g),percentage of rooting,live cuttings(LC),live cuttings with callus(LCC),number of roots per cuttings and number of emitted leaves(NEL)were evaluated.Data were submitted to analysis of variance and comparison of means by Tukey test at 5%probability.Results indicated no statistically significant differences in both application methods(separate or associated with boric acid)for all evaluated variables,except for LC,in which boric acid provided higher survival rates.It could be concluded that the propagation method using either separate IBA application or associated with boric acid is unsuitable to induce rooting on atemoya“Thompson”cuttings.