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Nitrogen fertilization is critical to optimize short-term crop yield, but its long-term effect on soil organic C (SOC) is uncertain. Here, we clarify the impact of N fertilization on SOC in typical maize-based (Zea mays L.) Midwest U.S. cropping systems by accounting for site-to-site variability in maize yield response to N fertilization. Within continuous maize and maize-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] systems at four Iowa locations, we evaluated changes in surface SOC over 14 to 16 years across a range of N fertilizer rates empirically determined to be insufficient, optimum, or excessive for maximum maize yield. Soil organic C balances were negative where no N was applied but neutral (maize-soybean) or positive (continuous maize) at the agronomic optimum N rate (AONR). For continuous maize, the rate of SOC storage increased with increasing N rate, reaching a maximum at the AONR and decreasing above the AONR. Greater SOC storage in the optimally fertilized continuous maize system than in the optimally fertilized maize-soybean system was attributed to greater crop residue production and greater SOC storage efficiency in the continuous maize system. Mean annual crop residue production at the AONR was 22% greater in the continuous maize system than in the maize-soybean system and the rate of SOC storage per unit residue C input was 58% greater in the monocrop system. Our results demonstrate that agronomic optimum N fertilization is critical to maintain or increase SOC of Midwest U.S. cropland.

Laser-cooled atoms are a key technology for many calibration-free measurement platforms—including clocks, gyroscopes, and gravimeters—and are a promising system for quantum networking and quantum computing. The optics and vacuum hardware required to prepare these gases are often bulky and not amenable to large-volume manufacturing, limiting the practical realization of devices benefiting from the properties of cold atoms. Planar, lithographically produced optics including photonic integrated circuits, optical metasurfaces (MSs), and gratings offer a pathway to develop chip-scale, manufacturable devices utilizing cold atoms. As a demonstration of this technology, we have realized laser cooling of atomic Rb in a grating-type magneto-optical trap (MOT) using planar optics for beam launching, beam shaping, and polarization control. Efficient use of available light is accomplished using MS-enabled beam shaping, and the performance of the planar optics MOT is competitive with Gaussian-beam illuminated grating MOTs.

Large seamounts and basement relief cause permanent deformation when they collide with the overriding plate at subduction zones. The resulting structural and compositional heterogeneities have been implicated as controlling factors in megathrust slip behaviour. Subducting seamounts may temporarily lock plates, favouring subsequent large earthquakes. Alternatively, seamounts may redistribute stress, reducing seismic slip. Here we present three-dimensional seismic data from the seamount-studded subducting Hikurangi Plateau along New Zealand’s North Island. We find that one well-imaged seamount, the Pāpaku Seamount, locally uplifts the overriding plate and leaves a tube-shaped lens of sediment trailing in its wake. Anomalously low seismic velocities within and below the Pāpaku lens and along the megathrust fault are consistent with the presence of unconsolidated, overpressured fluid-rich sediments. Similar observations from an older sediment lens, which corresponds to the location of a 2014 slow-slip rupture event, suggest that such overpressures can persist along the megathrust due to delayed drainage out of the subducting plate. The collocation of the 2014 slow-slip earthquake with this sediment lens suggests that these fluid-rich regions define zones that enable slow slip. We hypothesize that sediment lenses left behind by subducting seamounts can create low-effective-stress patches within transitionally stable marine sediment along the megathrust that are conducive to slow slip.Sediment lenses trailing subducting seamounts could maintain long-lasting fluid pressures and support slow-slip behaviour at sediment-rich subduction zones, according to three-dimensional seismic surveys of the Hikurangi margin.

We study the forces and optical pumping within grating magneto-optical traps (MOTs) operating on transitions with non-trivial level structure. In contrast to the standard six-beam MOT configuration, rate equation modeling predicts that the asymmetric laser geometry of a grating MOT will produce spin-polarized atomic samples. Furthermore, the Landé g -factors and total angular momenta of the trapping transition strongly influence both the confinement and equilibrium position of the trap. Using the intuition gained from the rate equation model, we realize a grating MOT of fermionic 87 Sr and observe that it forms closer to the center of the trap’s quadrupole magnetic field than its bosonic counterpart. We also explore the application of grating MOTs to molecule laser cooling, where the rate equations suggest that dual-frequency operation is necessary, but not sufficient, for stable confinement for type-II level structures. To test our molecule laser cooling models, we create grating MOTs using the D 1 line of 7 Li and see that only two of the four possible six-beam polarization configurations operate in the grating geometry. Our results will aid the development of portable atom and molecule traps for time keeping, inertial navigation, and precision measurement.

Improved prediction of optimal N fertilizer rates for corn ( ) can reduce N losses and increase profits. We tested the ability of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate corn and soybean ( ) yields, the economic optimum N rate (EONR) using a 16-year field-experiment dataset from central Iowa, USA that included two crop sequences (continuous corn and soybean-corn) and five N fertilizer rates (0, 67, 134, 201, and 268 kg N ha ) applied to corn. Our objectives were to: (a) quantify model prediction accuracy before and after calibration, and report calibration steps; (b) compare crop model-based techniques in estimating optimal N rate for corn; and (c) utilize the calibrated model to explain factors causing year to year variability in yield and optimal N. Results indicated that the model simulated well long-term crop yields response to N (relative root mean square error, RRMSE of 19.6% before and 12.3% after calibration), which provided strong evidence that important soil and crop processes were accounted for in the model. The prediction of EONR was more complex and had greater uncertainty than the prediction of crop yield (RRMSE of 44.5% before and 36.6% after calibration). For long-term site mean EONR predictions, both calibrated and uncalibrated versions can be used as the 16-year mean differences in EONR's were within the historical N rate error range (40-50 kg N ha ). However, for accurate year-by-year simulation of EONR the calibrated version should be used. Model analysis revealed that higher EONR values in years with above normal spring precipitation were caused by an exponential increase in N loss (denitrification and leaching) with precipitation. We concluded that long-term experimental data were valuable in testing and refining APSIM predictions. The model can be used as a tool to assist N management guidelines in the US Midwest and we identified five avenues on how the model can add value toward agronomic, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Some studies in developing countries have shown that infant mortality is highly associated with maternal education, implying that maternal education might play an important role in the reduction of infant mortality. However, other research has shown that lower levels of maternal education does not have any significant contribution to infant survival. In this systematic review, we focus on the effect of different levels of maternal education on infant mortality in Ethiopia. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Maternity and Infant Care databases were searched between November 15, 2017 and February 20, 2018. All articles published until February 20, 2018 were included in the study. The data extraction was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2009) guidelines. An I2 test was used to assess heterogeneity and a funnel plot was used to check publication bias. We retrieved 441 records after removing duplications. During screening, 31 articles were fully accessed for data extraction. Finally, five articles were included for analysis. The overall pooled estimate indicated that attending primary education was associated with a 28% reduction in the odds of infant mortality compared to those infants born to mothers who were illiterate, OR: 0.72 (95% CI = 0.66, 0.78). Another pooled estimate indicated that attending secondary education and above was associated with a 45% reduction in the odds of infant mortality compared to those infants born to mothers who were illiterate, OR: 0.55 (95% CI = 0.47, 0.64). From this study, understanding the long-term impact of maternal education may contribute to reduce infant mortality. Therefore, policy makers should give more attention in promoting the role of women through removing institutional and cultural barriers, which hinder women from access to education in order to reduce infant mortality in Ethiopia.

Biologists frequently attempt to infer the character states at ancestral nodes of a phylogeny from the distribution of traits observed in contemporary organisms. Because phylogenies are normally inferences from data, it is desirable to account for the uncertainty in estimates of the tree and its branch lengths when making inferences about ancestral states or other comparative parameters. Here we present a general Bayesian approach for testing comparative hypotheses across statistically justified samples of phylogenies, focusing on the specific issue of reconstructing ancestral states. The method uses Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques for sampling phylogenetic trees and for investigating the parameters of a statistical model of trait evolution. We describe how to combine information about the uncertainty of the phylogeny with uncertainty in the estimate of the ancestral state. Our approach does not constrain the sample of trees only to those that contain the ancestral node or nodes of interest, and we show how to reconstruct ancestral states of uncertain nodes using a most-recent-common-ancestor approach. We illustrate the methods with data on ribonuclease evolution in the Artiodactyla. Software implementing the methods (BayesMultiState) is available from the authors.

Background Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) among healthcare workers encompasses both positive aspects such as compassion satisfaction and negative dimensions including burnout and compassion fatigue. Emotional intelligence, self-care, workplace social support, and occupational role are critical factors influencing ProQOL outcomes, yet their interrelationships require further investigation within ecological frameworks. Objective This study examined the direct and indirect effects of emotional intelligence on ProQOL in healthcare workers, with self-care as a mediator, and workplace social support and type of work as moderators, grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, the Theory of Salutogenesis, and the Job Demands-Resources model. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 343 healthcare workers from a single health district was conducted in New South Wales, Australia. Measures included emotional intelligence, personal and professional self-care (perception and practice), workplace social support, type of work, and ProQOL components. Data were analysed using SPSS and Process MACRO. Results Emotional intelligence positively influenced compassion satisfaction, reduced burnout, and mitigated compassion fatigue both directly and indirectly via self‑care. Notably, professional self‑care was a stronger buffer against work‑related stress than personal self‑care. Effects varied by work type and workplace social support: stronger protective effects were observed among direct care providers, whereas non‑direct care providers showed attenuated or reversed associations for high emotional intelligence. Component‑specific effects were identified, with “self‑focus” elements emotional intelligence components linked to higher compassion fatigue, “use of emotions” to greater compassion satisfaction, and “regulation of emotions” to reduced burnout. Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of targeted, context-sensitive interventions that strengthen professional self-care strategies, develop role-relevant emotional intelligence skills, and optimise workplace social support. Such approaches have the potential to enhance the professional quality of life of healthcare workers across diverse roles and organisational settings. Limitations of findings and recommendations for research and practice are discussed.

People living in the same area share similar determinants of infant mortality, such as access to healthcare. The community's prevailing norms and attitudes about health behaviours could also influence the health care decisions made by individuals. In diversified communities like Ethiopia, differences in child health outcomes might not be due to variation in individual and family characteristics alone, but also due to differences in the socioeconomic characteristics of the community where the child lives. While individual level characteristics have been examined to some extent, almost all studies into infant mortality conducted in Ethiopia have failed to consider the impact of community-level characteristics. Therefore, this study aims to identify individual and community level determinants of infant mortality in Ethiopia. Data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey in 2016 were used for this study. A total of 10641 live births were included in this analysis. A multi-level logistic regression analysis was used to examine both individual and community level determinants while accounting for the hierarchal structure of the data. Individual-level characteristics such as infant sex have a statistically significant association with infant mortality. The odds of infant death before one year was 50% higher for males than females (AOR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.25-2.20; p-value <0.001). At the community level, infants from pastoralist areas (Somali and Afar regions) were 1.4 more likely die compared with infants living in the Agrarian area such as Amhara, Tigray, and Oromia regions; AOR = 1.44; 95% CI; 1.02-2.06; p-value = 0.039). Individual, household and community level characteristics have a statistically significant association with infant mortality. In addition to the individual based interventions already in place, household and community-based interventions such as focusing on socially and economically disadvantaged regions in Ethiopia could help to reduce infant mortality.

In this study, a microgel composed of chitosan and inorganic phosphates was used to deliver poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) microspheres loaded with sphingolipid growth factor FTY720 to critical size cranial defects in Sprague Dawley rats. We show that sustained release of FTY720 from injected microspheres used alone or in combination with recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-2 (rhBMP2) improves defect vascularization and bone formation in the presence and absence of rhBMP2 as evaluated by quantitative microCT and histological measurements. Moreover, sustained delivery of FTY720 from PLAGA and local targeting of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptors reduces CD45+ inflammatory cell infiltration, promotes endogenous recruitment of CD29+CD90+ bone progenitor cells and enhances the efficacy of rhBMP2 from chitosan microgels. Companion in vitro studies suggest that selective activation of sphingosine receptor subtype-3 (S1P3) via FTY720 treatment induces smad-1 phosphorylation in bone-marrow stromal cells. Additionally, FTY720 enhances stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) mediated chemotaxis of CD90+CD11B-CD45- bone progenitor cells in vitro after stimulation with rhBMP2. We believe that use of such small molecule delivery formulations to recruit endogenous bone progenitors may be an attractive alternative to exogenous cell-based therapy.