Mediating role of inner strength in the relationship between medication literacy and medication adherence among kidney transplant patients

Objective:Compared with long-term renal replacement therapy,kidney transplantation is the ideal treatment for end-stage renal disease(ESRD),significantly extending patient life and improving quality of life.Kidney transplant patients need to adhere to lifelong immunosuppressive medication regimens,but their medication adherence is generally poor compared with other organ transplant recipients.Medication adherence is closely related to medication literacy and psychological status,yet related studies are limited.This study aims to investigate the current status of medication adherence,inner strength,and medication literacy in kidney transplant patients,analyze the relationships among these 3 factors,and explore the mediating role of inner strength in the relationship between medication literacy and medication adherence.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to October 2023 involving 421 patients aged≥18 years who visited kidney transplantation outpatient clinics at 4 tertiary hospitals in Hunan Province.The inner strength,medication literacy,and medication adherence of kidney transplant patients were investigated using the Inner Strength Scale(ISS),the Chinese version of the Medication Literacy Assessment in Spanish and English(MedLitRxSE),and the Chinese version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8(C-MMAS-8),respectively.Univariate analysis was performed to examine the effects of demographic and clinical data on medication adherence.Correlation analysis was conducted to explore the relationships among medication literacy,medication adherence,and inner strength.Significant variables from univariate and correlation analyses were further analyzed using multiple linear regression,and the mediating effect of inner strength was explored.Results:Among the 421 questionnaires collected,408 were valid,with an effective rate of 96.91%.The scores of C-MMAS-8,MedLitRxSE,and ISS were 6.64±1.16,100.63±14.67,and 8.47±4.03,respectively.Among the 408 patients,only 86(21.08%)patients had a high level of medication adherence,whereas 230(56.37%)patients had a medium level of medication adherence,and 92(22.55%)patients had poor medication adherence.Univariate analysis indicated that the kidney transplant patients’age,marital status,education levels,years since their kidney transplant operation,number of hospitalizations after the kidney transplant,and adverse drug reactions showed significant differences in medication adherence(all P<0.05).Correlation analysis showed that inner strength positively correlated with both medication literacy(r=0.183,P<0.001)and medication adherence(r=0.201,P<0.001).Additionally,there was a positive correlation between medication adherence and medication literacy(r=0.236,P<0.001).Inner strength accounted for 13.22%of the total effect in the mediating role between medication literacy and medication adherence.Conclusion:The level of medication adherence among kidney transplant patients needs improvement,and targeted intervention measures are essential.Inner strength mediates the relationship between medication literacy and medication adherence in these patients.Healthcare professionals should focus on enhancing medication literacy and supporting patients’inner strength to improve medication adherence.

The application of the necessity-concerns framework in investigating adherence and beliefs about immunosuppressive medication among Chinese liver transplant recipients

Objective： This study aimed to explore adherence to and beliefs about immunosuppressive medication using the Necessity-Concerns Framework（NCF） in liver transplant recipients.Methods： A cross-sectional study performed in recipients who were at least 3 months post liver transplantation. A convenience sample of 243 recipients was recruited. Self-reported medication adherence was measured by the Basel Assessment of Adherence with Immunosuppressive Medication Scale（BAASIS）. The NCF was operationalized using the Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire（BMQ） to assess the beliefs about necessity and concerns with taking immunosuppressive medication.Results： One-hundred-forty-five liver transplant recipients were non-adherent（59.67%）. Compared to adherers, non-adherers had lower beliefs regarding the necessity of taking immunosuppressive medication and lower scores on the necessity-concerns different from adherers.Conclusions： Non-adherence is common in liver transplant recipients. Non-adherers hold beliefs that are different from adherers. Efforts to increase adherence should be made by targeting medication beliefs.

Trends in use and costs of prescription medication in patients with type 1 diabetes: 9-year follow-up after kidney transplantation

Aims: Weestimated long-term trends in prescription medication utilization and costs in patients with type 1 diabetes in two different transplant cohorts (Group 1: transplantation 1986-1999,n = 180;Group 2: transplantation 2000-2008, n = 150). Methods: Data obtained from the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study were linked with the Drug Prescription Register (purchases of medications 1995-2009). Generalized linear mixed models under gamma distribution were used to evaluate the medication costs. Results: The total costs of medication decreased (Group 1 from€11,290 to €8760;Group 2 from €12,800 to €9790)during the follow-up (P< 0.0001). The sametrend was observed for immunosuppressive drugcosts (P< 0.0001). Although the cost profiles were similar for the groups (P= 0.9), the cost level in Group 2 was higher than in Group 1 (P< 0.0001). In Group 1 the most common immunosuppressive combination was cyclosporine, azathioprine and corticosteroid, while cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) with/without corticosteroid was the most common in Group 2. The estimated average costs of cyclosporine in combination withMMFwere 84% (€4130) higher than with azathioprine. Conclusions: Since diabetes or other drugs had only marginal impact on the total costs, the decreasing trend wasmainly due to the costs of immunosuppressants.This finding is consistent with the recent guidelines which recommend reducing doses of immunosuppressants over time to minimize sideeffects.The cost levels differed depending on the combinations of immunosuppressive drugs in use. Those who had MMF in the regimen generated higher costs.

Adherence to immunosuppressor medication in renal transplanted patients

Non-adherence is a priority public health concern. Non-adherence means not taking medications, missing medications, taking too much, not taking enough, wrongtiming, wrong dose and/or wrong pill, but may also refer to missing appointments, not booking appointments, not doing blood work, not returning calls and/or refusal to follow the treatment regimen. In renal transplantation, adherence to immunosuppressive medication is a fundamental requisite in order to preserve graft function, since non-adherence is one of the main causes for late acute rejection, incomplete recovery after rejection treatment, chronic graft dysfunction, graft loss, and death. Transplantation failure due to treatment nonadherence is economically, socially, ethically and morally unjustifiable. This is a very prevalent issue: in some studies, its incidence is as high as 70% of patients. The self-reported nonadherence levels found in certain studies, including those performed immediately after transplantation show the need for early and continued intervention after kidney transplantation in order to maximise adherence and consequently clinical outcomes. There is not a single method to assess non adherence, thus combining several measures increases diagnostic accuracy. Electronic monitoring with a microdevice that records each time a pill bottle is opened is considered the "gold standard" for measuring adherence, but selfreport at a confidential interview was the best measure of adherence. Thus non-adherence risk can be effectively assessed using clinically available assessment tools. Medication Adherence Scale, Brief Medical Questionnaire, Immunosuppressant Therapy Adherence Scale, Immunosuppressant Therapy Barrier Scale, Long-Term Medication Behavior Self-Efficacy Scale and Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire are some of the self-reported questionnaires. There are multiple factors associated with non-adherence in immunosuppressant therapy: Younger patients(adolescent, especially), poor health coverage, poor social support, unmarried, no family, non-Caucasian, immigrant, lower income, lower socioeconomic class, greater parental distress and lower family cohesion; complex medical regimens, higher number of drugs, longer time after transplant, toxicity, side effects, poor tolerance to medication, higher number of physicians involved, poor provider-patient rapport; psychological(dependency, high levels of anxiety and hostility, poorer behavioral functioning and greater distress in children) and psychiatric(depression) illnesses, low self-efficacy with medicine intake, perception of immunosuppressive therapy as not been necessary to preserve kidney function, forgetfulness, rebelliousness, poor perception of health, poor satisfaction, low Health-related quality of life, addictions, lack of coping strategies and avoidance behavior; patient morbidity: comorbidity, receiving a transplant from a live donor, retransplantation, and noninsulin-dependent diabetes. The most frequent strategies to promote medication-taking must focus on modifiable risk factors. Reasons for non-adherence are complex and diverse and any successful intervention aimed at improving adherence must be multidimensional. Although effective intervention strategies are needed to improve immunosuppressant therapy adherence, few intervention studies have been conducted in the adult renal transplant population. In this study, we perform an exhaustive review of the different strategies reported in the literature. A number of key reasons for non-adherence are also provided.

Correlation of long-term medication behaviour self-efficacy with social support and medication knowledge of kidney transplant recipients

Aim:This study aimed to explore the correlation of long-term medication behaviour self-efficacy with social support and medication knowledge of kidney transplant recipients.Methods:A convenient sample of kidney transplant recipients in a general hospital in Guangzhou was recruited from November 2016 to January 2017.Self-reported survey data were provided by the kidney transplant recipients using long-term medication behaviour self-efficacy scale(LTMBSES),perceived social support scale(PSSS)and scale for patient-perceived medication knowledge in medication usage.Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation analysis were used for data analysis.Results:A total of 195 kidney transplant recipients(132 men and 63 women)were recruited for this study.The mean scores of all LTMBSES dimensions,namely personal attitudes,environmental and taskrelated and behavioural factors,were 32.49±4.34,60.90±7.56 and 32.32±4.40,respectively.The mean scores of three PSSS dimensions,namely,family,friends and significant others,were 24.91±3.42,22.71±4.66 and 22.15±4.26,correspondingly.The mean scores of two five-item knowledge subscale dimensions,namely,general and interaction knowledge,were 9.56±1.07 and 13.02±2.67,respectively.Spearman's correlation analysis showed that social support(rs=0.232,P<0.01)and medication knowledge(rs=0.352,P<0.01)were positively associated with long-term medication self-efficacy in the kidney transplant recipients.Conclusion:The levels of long-term medication self-efficacy,perceived social support and medication knowledge of the kidney transplant recipients were high.Social support and medication knowledge were correlated with self-efficacy.

Thriving green havens in baking deserts:Plant diversity and species composition of urban plantations in the Sahara Desert

Hot arid zones represent vital reservoirs of unique species and ecosystems,holding significant importance for biodiversity.This study aimed to explore the plant diversity associated with tree plantations in urban ecosystems under hyper-arid climatic conditions in the Sahara Desert of Algeria.In May 2022,30 quadrats measuring 1 m^(2) each were established at the base of Phoenix dactylifera,Leucaena leucocephala,and Tamarix aphylla,corresponding to the dominant tree species in each of three plantations.In each quadrat,the plant quantitative inventory was conducted to measure plant diversity and similarity among the studied plantations.Based on this,we assessed the plant functional traits and rarity/abundance status of the flora.The findings revealed a diverse flora associated with the studied plantations,comprising 29 plant species grouped into 27 genera and 12 families.Notably,Poaceae(accounting for 30.8% of the flora),Asteraceae(25.0%),and Zygophyllaceae(21.6%)were well-represented.With an overall density of approximately 555 individuals/m^(2),Zygophyllum album(120 individuals/m^(2))and Polypogon monspeliensis(87 individuals/m^(2))emerged as the most abundant species.Functional trait analysis underscored the pivotal role of therophytes(constituting over 50.0% of the flora)and anemochorous species(33.0%-62.5%).Phytogeographic analysis emphasized the prevalence of the Saharo-Arabic element(constituting over 31.0% of the flora)and the Mediterranean Saharo-Arabic element(9.5%-21.5%).The Cosmopolitan element thrived under disturbance factors,recording percentages from 13.0% to 20.0% of the plant community.The rarity/abundance status of the flora emphasized the significance of rare,common,and very common species in the studied plantations.These findings could provide fundamental data for the effective control and management of biodiversity in hot hyper-arid urban ecosystems.

Molecular interaction network of plant-herbivorous insects

The interactions between plants and herbivorous insects are complex and involve multiple factors,driving species formation and leading to the beginning of co-evolution and diversification of plant and insect molecules.Various molecular processes regulate the interactions between plants and herbivorous insects.Here,we discuss the molecular patterns of plant perception of herbivorous insect feeding through activation of early signaling components,crosstalk of plant defense network composed of multiple plant hormones,and various adaptive changes in insect responses to plant defenses.Both plant defenses and insect counter-defenses are molecular adaptation processes to each other.Molecular models of plant-herbivorous insect interactions can more intuitively help us to understand the co-evolutionary arms race between plants and herbivorous insects.These results will provide detailed evidence to elucidate and enrich the interaction network of plant-herbivorous insects.

Tomato detection method using domain adaptive learning for dense planting environments

This study aimed to address the challenge of accurately and reliably detecting tomatoes in dense planting environments,a critical prerequisite for the automation implementation of robotic harvesting.However,the heavy reliance on extensive manually annotated datasets for training deep learning models still poses significant limitations to their application in real-world agricultural production environments.To overcome these limitations,we employed domain adaptive learning approach combined with the YOLOv5 model to develop a novel tomato detection model called as TDA-YOLO(tomato detection domain adaptation).We designated the normal illumination scenes in dense planting environments as the source domain and utilized various other illumination scenes as the target domain.To construct bridge mechanism between source and target domains,neural preset for color style transfer is introduced to generate a pseudo-dataset,which served to deal with domain discrepancy.Furthermore,this study combines the semi-supervised learning method to enable the model to extract domain-invariant features more fully,and uses knowledge distillation to improve the model's ability to adapt to the target domain.Additionally,for purpose of promoting inference speed and low computational demand,the lightweight FasterNet network was integrated into the YOLOv5's C3 module,creating a modified C3_Faster module.The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed TDA-YOLO model significantly outperformed original YOLOv5s model,achieving a mAP(mean average precision)of 96.80%for tomato detection across diverse scenarios in dense planting environments,increasing by 7.19 percentage points;Compared with the latest YOLOv8 and YOLOv9,it is also 2.17 and 1.19 percentage points higher,respectively.The model's average detection time per image was an impressive 15 milliseconds,with a FLOPs(floating point operations per second)count of 13.8 G.After acceleration processing,the detection accuracy of the TDA-YOLO model on the Jetson Xavier NX development board is 90.95%,the mAP value is 91.35%,and the detection time of each image is 21 ms,which can still meet the requirements of real-time detection of tomatoes in dense planting environment.The experimental results show that the proposed TDA-YOLO model can accurately and quickly detect tomatoes in dense planting environment,and at the same time avoid the use of a large number of annotated data,which provides technical support for the development of automatic harvesting systems for tomatoes and other fruits.

SPATULA as a Versatile Tool in Plant:The Progress and Perspectives of SPATULA(SPT)Transcriptional Factor

With the rapid development of modern molecular biology and bioinformatics,many studies have proved that transcription factors play an important role in regulating the growth and development of plants.SPATULA(SPT)belongs to the bHLH transcription family and participates in many processes of regulating plant growth and development.This review systemically summarizes the multiple roles of SPT in plant growth,development,and stress response,including seed germination,flowering,leaf size,carpel development,and root elongation,which is helpful for us to better understand the functions of SPT.

Unveiling the adaptation strategies of woody plants in remnant forest patches to spatiotemporal urban expansion through leaf trait networks

Background:With the expansion of urban areas,the remnants of forested areas play a crucial role in preserving biodiversity in urban environments.This study aimed to explore the impact of spatiotemporal urban expansion on the networks of leaf traits in woody plants within remnant forest patches,thereby enhancing our understanding of plant adaptive strategies and contributing to the conservation of urban biodiversity.Methods:Our study examined woody plants within 120 sample plots across 15 remnant forest patches in Guiyang,China.We constructed leaf trait networks (LTNs) based on 26 anatomical,structural,and compositional leaf traits and assessed the effects of the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion on these LTNs.Results and conclusions:Our results indicate that shrubs within these patches have greater average path lengths and diameters than trees.With increasing urban expansion intensity,we observed a rise in the edge density of the LTN-shrubs.Additionally,modularity within the networks of shrubs decreased as road density and urban expansion intensity increased,and increases in the average path length and average clustering coefficient for shrubs were observed with a rise in the composite terrain complexity index.Notably,patches subjected to‘leapfrog’expansion exhibited greater average patch length and diameter than those experiencing edge growth.Stomatal traits were found to have high degree centrality within these networks,signifying their substantial contribution to multiple functions.In urban remnant forests,shrubs bolster their resilience to variable environmental pressures by augmenting the complexity of their leaf trait networks.

Host plant traits play a crucial role in shaping the composition of epiphytic microbiota in the arid desert,Northwest China

Phyllosphere microorganisms are a crucial component of environmental microorganisms,highly influenced by host characteristics,and play a significant role in plant health and productivity.Nonetheless,the impact of host characteristics on shaping phyllosphere microbial communities of plants with different life forms remains ambiguous.Utilizing high-throughput sequencing technology,this study analyzed the diversity and community composition of phyllosphere epiphytic microorganisms(e.g.,bacteria and fungi)of various plant life forms in the hinterland of the Gurbantunggut Desert,Northwest China.Functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa(FAPROTAX)and fungi function guild(FUNGuild)were employed to assess the ecological functions of microorganisms and to investigate the role of stochastic and deterministic processes in shaping phyllosphere microbial communities.Result showed a diverse array of phyllosphere epiphytic microorganisms in the desert plants,with Proteobacteria,Cyanobacteria,and Actinobacteriota dominating bacterial community,while Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were prevalent in fungal community.Comparison across different plant life forms highlighted distinct microbial communities,indicating strong filtering effects by plant characteristics.FAPROTAX prediction identified intracellular parasites(accounting for 27.44%of bacterial community abundance),chemoheterotrophy(10.12%),and phototrophy(17.41%)as the main functions of epiphytic bacteria on leaves of different life form plants.FUNGuild prediction indicated that phyllosphere epiphytic fungi primarily served as Saprotrophs(81.77%),Pathotrophs(17.41%),and Symbiotrophs(0.82%).Co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated a predominance of positive correlations among different microbial taxa.Raup-Crick dissimilarity index analysis revealed that deterministic processes predominantly influenced phyllosphere bacterial and fungal community assembly.Variance partitioning analysis and random forest modeling suggested that plant leaf functional traits significantly impacted both bacterial and fungal community composition,with fungal community composition showing a closer association with leaf nutrients and physiology compared with bacterial community composition.The distinct responses of bacterial and fungal communities to plant traits were attributed to the differing properties of bacteria and fungi,such as bacteria having higher potential dispersal rates and broader ecological niches than fungi.Overall,the results indicate that phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities undergo similar community assembly processes,with fungi being more influenced by plant characteristics than bacteria.These findings offer novel insights into the ecology of phyllosphere microbial communities of desert plants.

Effects of Plant Extracts Replacing Anticoccidial Drugs on Broiler Performance and Fecal Coccidia Count

[Objective]The paper was to investigate the impact of plant extracts replacing anticoccidial drugs on growth performance and fecal coccidia count in broilers.[Method]A total of 234 one-day-old healthy yellow-feathered broilers were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups,with 6 replicates in each group and 13 broilers in each replicate.The test lasted for a total of 55 d,The control group was fed the basic diet,the anticoccidial group was fed the basic diet+500 g/t dinitolmide,and the plant extract group was fed the basic diet+500 g/t plant extract.[Result]The daily gain of the plant extract group from 1 to 21 days of age was significantly higher than that of the anticoccidial drug group(P<0.05),and the feed/gain ratio was significantly lower than that of the anticoccidial drug group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in daily gain and feed intake between the plant extract group and the anticoccidial drug group from 1 to 55 days of age(P>0.05),and the feed/gain ratio was reduced by 6.30%and the mortality and culling rate was reduced by 10.26%.The number of fecal coccidia at 33 days of age in the plant extract group was found to be significantly lower than that observed in the anticoccidial group and the control group(P<0.05).In conclusion,the administration of plant extracts resulted in a notable enhancement in the growth performance of chicks aged 1-21 days,when compared with the use of anticoccidial drugs.No significant difference was observed in growth performance between the plant extract and the anticoccidial drugs from 1 to 55 days of age.The administration of plant extracts resulted in a notable reduction in the fecal coccidia count.[Conclusion]Plant extracts may serve as viable alternatives to anticoccidial drugs and show promise for application in animal husbandry.

Analysis of Plant Diversity Characteristics in Jiangxia Wetland

[Objectives]This study was conducted to explore the characteristics of plant diversity of Jiangxia Wetland in Lhasa River basin.[Methods]Based on the survey data of 37 plant community in three types of sample plots of Jiangxia Wetland in the Lhasa River basin,this study analyzed the diversity of plant community in different habitats of Jiangxia Wetland from Pielou evenness,Margalef richness,Simpson and Shannon Wiener diversity indexes of different types and levels.[Results]The Pielou index,Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson diversity index of dry land was higher than those of other plots,while the Margalef species richness index of the ecotone of seasonally flooded and dry land was higher than that of other plots.The Pielou index,Shannon-Wiener index,Simpson diversity index and Margalef species richness index of composite plants were higher than those of other herbaceous plants.The Shannon-Wiener index,Simpson diversity index and Margalef species richness index of hygrophytes were higher than those of other plants,while the Pielou index evenness index of aquatic plants was higher than that of other plants.Annual or perennial herbaceous plants occupied the primary position in the study area,and shrub plants occupied a secondary position,and floating plants took the lowest position.[Conclusions]The results of this study can provide theoretical support or reference basis for the scientific management of comprehensive wetland systems such as wetland ecosystem restoration and plant diversity protection in Jiangxia Wetland.

Regulatory gaps in India’s medical device framework:The case of Johnson and Johnson’s faulty hip implants

The Johnson and Johnson faulty hip implant case represents one of the most significant crises in medical device history,impacting nearly 93000 patients worldwide.In response to alarming failure rates and a global recall in August 2010,countries such as Australia,the United States,and the United Kingdom quickly implemented revision surgeries and reimbursement programs to protect patient safety.In stark contrast,India's response was alarmingly delayed;defective implants continued to be sold even after the global recall.By the time the import license was revoked,and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization issued a recall notice,these implants had already been involved in 4700 surgeries across India.This paper explores the systemic weaknesses in India’s medical device regulatory framework that contributed to this delayed action,resulting in many patients suffering from serious health complications.It highlights deficiencies in monitoring and reporting mechanisms,inadequate regulatory oversight,and insufficient approval processes.Furthermore,the inability to trace affected patients and provide necessary compensation underscores significant gaps in regulation.Although subsequent legislative reforms were introduced,this paper argues that substantial loopholes remain,posing risks for future incidents.Thus,urgent,comprehensive,and enforceable regulatory measures are needed to increase patient safety.

Review of Plant Essential Oils for Plant Pests Management

This paper reviews the origins and classification of plant essential oil resources,along with prevalent extraction techniques for their active constituents.By integrating insights on the utilization of plant essential oils for plant pest management,the comprehensive analysis reveals multiple functionalities exhibited by plant essential oils,including fumigation,contact toxicity,repellent action,antifeedant activity,and growth inhibition.Furthermore,the paper highlights the challenges associated with plant essential oils in plant protection and outlines future research directions,aiming to offer valuable insights for the advancement of botanical insecticides.

An Efficient Plant Regeneration System for Different Explants of Rare and Endangered Plants in Mussaenda anomala

To establish an efficient regeneration method for the rare and endangered plant Mussaenda anomala to address problems regarding its reproductive obstacles and scarce populations.In this study,the terminal buds,axillary buds,stem segments with two axillary buds,stem segments with two axillary buds and one terminal bud,and leaves of M.anomala were used as explants.The effects of different explants and disinfection methods,plant growth regulators and substrates on plant regeneration were explored.The following results were obtained:(1)The terminal bud was a suitable explant for M.anomala tissue culture,and the disinfection method utilized was treatment with 0.2%HgCl2 for 8 min.(2)Initiate medium:MS basic medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 6-BA and 0.2 mg/L IBA for the high germination rate(100%)and the maximum bud height(1.70 cm)of the terminal bud.(3)Proliferation medium:MS basic medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/L 6-BA and 0.2 mg/L IBA for a high proliferation rate(96%)and proliferation time(6.0)of terminal buds.(4)Proliferation medium supplemented with 0.7 mg/L GA3 significantly increased the bud heights of multiple buds.(5)Rooting medium:MS basic medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L IBA and 0.5 mg/L IAA for a high rooting rate(88%),root number(12.0)and root length(5.07 cm).(6)The optimal substrate for seedling acclimation and transplanting was perlite:vermiculite(1:1),which resulted in the highest survival rate(97%)and plant height(5.89 cm),as well as better growth potential for seedlings.The surfaces of M.anomala explants are densely covered with trichome,which increased the difficulty of disinfection;the plant growth regulators directly affected the growth and development in the regeneration process of M.anomala,and the substrate significantly affected the survival rate and height growth for seedling acclimation.

Responses of plant diversity and soil microorganism diversity to nitrogen addition in the desert steppe,China

Nitrogen(N)deposition is a significant aspect of global change and poses a threat to terrestrial biodiversity.The impact of plant-soil microbe relationships to N deposition has recently attracted considerable attention.Soil microorganisms have been proven to provide nutrients for specific plant growth,especially in nutrient-poor desert steppe ecosystems.However,the effects of N deposition on plant-soil microbial community interactions in such ecosystems remain poorly understood.To investigate these effects,we conducted a 6-year N-addition field experiment in a Stipa breviflora Griseb.desert steppe in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China.Four N treatment levels(N0,N30,N50,and N100,corresponding to 0,30,50,and 100 kg N/(hm2•a),respectively)were applied to simulate atmospheric N deposition.The results showed that N deposition did not significantly affect the aboveground biomass of desert steppe plants.N deposition did not significantly reduce the alfa-diversity of plant and microbial communities in the desert steppe,and low and mediate N additions(N30 and N50)had a promoting effect on them.The variation pattern of plant Shannon index was consistent with that of the soil bacterial Chao1 index.N deposition significantly affected the beta-diversity of plants and soil bacteria,but did not significantly affect fungal communities.In conclusion,N deposition led to co-evolution between desert steppe plants and soil bacterial communities,while fungal communities exhibited strong stability and did not undergo significant changes.These findings help clarify atmospheric N deposition effects on the ecological health and function of the desert steppe.

Exploring the limited use of transdermal medications in psychiatry:Challenges and potential solutions

Transdermal medications are an useful yet underutilized tool in the field of psychiatry.Despite numerous advantages of using this route of medication delivery,transdermal medications remain less popular compared to other routes of medication administration such as oral and intramuscular routes in the management of various psychiatric conditions.In this editorial,we examine the advantages of transdermal medications with a brief overview of transdermal being used in psychiatry and other medical specialties.We discuss the factors that play a role in their limited usage in psychiatry.We highlight certain patient categories who can specifically benefit from them and discuss potential solutions that can broaden the perspective of treating clinicians making this an intriguing avenue in the field of psychiatry.

Aging Mongolian pine plantations face high risks of drought-induced growth decline:evidence from both individual tree and forest stand measurements

Discerning vulnerability differences among different aged trees to drought-driven growth decline or to mortality is critical to implement age-specific countermeasures for forest management in water-limited areas.An important species for afforestation in dry environments of northern China,Mongolian pine(Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica Litv.)has recently exhibited growth decline and dieback on many sites,particularly pronounced in old-growth plantations.However,changes in response to drought stress by this species with age as well as the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.In this study,tree-ring data and remotely sensed vegetation data were combined to investigate variations in growth at individual tree and stand scales for young(9-13 years)and aging(35-52 years)plantations of Mongolian pine in a water-limited area of northern China.A recent decline in tree-ring width in the older plantation also had lower values in satellited-derived normalized difference vegetation indices and normalized difference water indices relative to the younger plantations.In addition,all measured growth-related metrics were strongly correlated with the self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index during the growing season in the older plantation.Sensitivity of growth to drought of the older plantation might be attributed to more severe hydraulic limitations,as reflected by their lower sapwood-and leaf-specific hydraulic conductivities.Our study presents a comprehensive view on changes of growth with age by integrating multiple methods and provides an explanation from the perspective of plant hydraulics for growth decline with age.The results indicate that old-growth Mongolian pine plantations in water-limited environments may face increased growth declines under the context of climate warming and drying.

Large-scale interplant exchange of macromolecules between soybean and dodder under nutrient stresses

Parasitic plants and their hosts communicate through haustorial connections.Nutrient deficiency is a common stress for plants,yet little is known about whether and how host plants and parasites communicate during adaptation to such nutrient stresses.In this study,we used transcriptomics and proteomics to analyze how soybean(Glycine max)and its parasitizing dodder(Cuscuta australis)respond to nitrate and phosphate deficiency(-N and-P).After-N and-P treatment,the soybean and dodder plants exhibited substantial changes of transcriptome and proteome,although soybean plants showed very few transcriptional responses to-P and dodder did not show any transcriptional changes to either-N or-P.Importantly,large-scale interplant transport of mRNAs and proteins was detected.Although the mobile mRNAs only comprised at most 0.2%of the transcriptomes,the foreign mobile proteins could reach 6.8%of the total proteins,suggesting that proteins may be the major forms of interplant communications.Furthermore,the interplant mobility of macromolecules was specifically affected by the nutrient regimes and the transport of these macromolecules was very likely independently regulated.This study provides new insight into the communication between host plants and parasites under stress conditions.