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Management of phosphorus (P) inputs to agroecosystems is often evaluated by phosphorus use efficiency (PUE), but different calculation approaches may yield discrepancies in estimated PUE values. We evaluated PUE (i) indirectly calculated by difference in crop P uptake between a P‐fertilized versus a P‐unfertilized control (PUEdiff) and (ii) directly measured by tracing radioisotopically labeled fertilizer P (PUEisotope). Using two ammonium phosphate fertilizers of high (monoammonium phosphate [MAP]) and low (struvite) water solubility in three soils with non‐limiting extractable soil P concentrations (Mehlich‐3 P > 25 mg kg−1), we find dissimilar PUEisotope versus PUEdiff. PUEdiff often yielded negative values (77% of observations), whereas PUEisotope was (i) positive and (ii) higher (two‐ to fourfold) for MAP than struvite, and (iii) unassociated with soil Mehlich‐3 P concentrations. Thus, PUEdiff appears to underestimate PUE and miss differences in PUE among fertilizerss. Our results raise the need to reconsider calculation of PUE and to address practical challenges to in situ measurement of PUEisotope. Core Ideas Comparison of phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) calculated by difference (PUEdiff) versus radioisotopic labeling (PUEisotope). Similar and often negative PUEdiff across soils (Mehlich‐3 P 30–83 mg kg−1) and P fertilizers (MAP versus struvite). PUEisotope was always positive and reflected higher water solubility of MAP versus struvite. Soil Mehlich‐3 P concentrations were (negatively) related to PUEdiff for MAP only. PUEisotope is more sensitive and accurate than PUEdiff but faces challenges to upscaling to the field.

Purpose Struvite is a wastewater-derived P mineral that offers a means to redirect wastestream P flows to agroecosystems. The low water solubility of struvite (< 3%) has been reported to limit early-season crop P uptake. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) could enhance dissolution of struvite and thereby increase crop utilization of struvite-P. We tested the hypothesis that AM would increase struvite dissolution and thereby enhance plant P uptake and biomass in a P-deficient soil. Methods We employed a tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) genotype model with a wild-type mycorrhizal tomato (MYC) and a reduced mycorrhizal mutant ( rmc ). Monoammonium phosphate (MAP) was used as a highly water soluble P fertilizer for comparison with struvite. Results Struvite granules underwent 4-fold less dissolution (% mass remaining) than MAP granules, and apparent struvite dissolution was similar under MYC and rmc . However, scanning electron microscopy revealed qualitative differences in surface morphology of residual struvite between MYC and rmc . Under struvite fertilization, biomass of MYC was 22% greater than rmc, and P and N shoot uptake (mg plant −1 ) were 32% and 34% greater than rmc . Shoot biomass was 24% greater for MYC fertilized with struvite than with MAP, and shoot P and N uptake were 26% and 34% greater, respectively. Conclusion Increased N and P uptake by AM-associated tomato plants fertilized with struvite suggests AM as a strategy to surmount solubility constraints to the use of struvite as a fertilizer.

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a major cause of lower limb amputations. Many treatment recommendations have been proposed. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of topical sucralfate when combined with mupirocin ointment, in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer in comparison to topical mupirocin alone, in terms of healing rates. This open-labeled randomized study was conducted on 108 patients to evaluate the effectiveness of topical sucralfate and mupirocin combination, compared to topical mupirocin alone. The patients were administered the same parenteral antibiotic, and wounds were subjected to daily dressing. The healing rates (determined by the percentage reduction in wound area) in the two groups were calculated. The mean healing rates in both groups were expressed in percentage and compared using the Student's t-test. A total of 108 patients were included in the study. Male-to-female ratio was 3:1. The incidence of diabetic foot was the highest (50.9%) in the age group of 50-59 years. The mean age of the study population was 51 years. The incidence of diabetic foot ulcers was highest in the months of July-August (42%). A total of 71.2% patients had random blood sugar levels between 150-200 mg/dL, and 72.2% patients had diabetes for five to 10 years. The mean±standard deviation (SD) of the healing rates in the sucralfate and mupirocin combination group and the control group were 16.2±7.3% and 14.5±6.6%, respectively. Comparison of the means by Student's t-test failed to show a statistical difference in healing rates between the two groups (p=0.201). We concluded that the addition of topical sucralfate does not show any obvious benefits in terms of healing rates in diabetic foot ulcers as compared to mupirocin alone.

Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are thought to improve crop growth by enhancing phosphorus (P) uptake via scavenging and enhancing dissolution. However, AM-mediated crop growth responses to P forms of varying solubility are often crop-species and soil-context dependent. The relative importance of AM associations and P source solubility on crop growth is not conclusively understood, and requires controlled factorial experiments to test their relative and interactive effects. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate how AM impact crop growth responses to rock phosphate relative to soluble phosphates across diverse crop species and soil characteristics. A total of 83 observations utilizing a 2 × 2 factorial design of relative presence or absence of AM and fertilization with rock phosphate vs. soluble phosphates were identified. We found that AM similarly improved crop growth with rock phosphate and soluble phosphates. A distinguishable crop growth benefit from AM coupled with rock phosphate was observed for soils with a low degree of weathering, at soil pH < 6.5 and > 7.5, and when soils were heat-sterilized prior to inoculation with AM. Shoot biomass of legumes was uniquely greater than non-legumes with rock phosphates and AM as compared to soluble phosphates and AM. However, crop growth under rock phosphate fertilization relative to soluble phosphates was still lower irrespective of AM. This meta-analysis reveals that crop growth is more dependent on P fertilizer solubility than AM. Moreover, AM do not appear to close the solubility gap of rock phosphate vs. soluble phosphate fertilizers to support similar crop growth under rock phosphate relative to soluble phosphates. Studies assessing crop growth responses to AM-crop associations effect on contrasting solubility P fertilizers should expand to the field, and greenhouse experiments should be conducted under realistic field growing conditions, such as agronomically appropriate P application rates.

Reducing COVID-19 burden for populations will require equitable and effective risk-based allocations of scarce preventive resources, including vaccinations 1 . To aid in this effort, we developed a general population risk calculator for COVID-19 mortality based on various sociodemographic factors and pre-existing conditions for the US population, combining information from the UK-based OpenSAFELY study with mortality rates by age and ethnicity across US states. We tailored the tool to produce absolute risk estimates in future time frames by incorporating information on pandemic dynamics at the community level. We applied the model to data on risk factor distribution from a variety of sources to project risk for the general adult population across 477 US cities and for the Medicare population aged 65 years and older across 3,113 US counties, respectively. Validation analyses using 54,444 deaths from 7 June to 1 October 2020 show that the model is well calibrated for the US population. Projections show that the model can identify relatively small fractions of the population (for example 4.3%) that might experience a disproportionately large number of deaths (for example 48.7%), but there is wide variation in risk across communities. We provide a web-based risk calculator and interactive maps for viewing community-level risks. A new risk calculator calibrated specifically for the US population provides estimates of risk for COVID-19 for individuals and at the community level, using socioeconomic factors, demography, pre-existing conditions and mortality rates by age and ethnicity.

•The article reviews sex estimation methods used in forensic anthropology casework.•It also discusses the reliability of morphological, metric, molecular and radiographic methods.•Direct methods of sex estimation are found to be more reliable than the other methods.•GM and DSP methods are emerging as valid and widely used techniques in forensic anthropology. Sex estimation is considered as one of the essential parameters in forensic anthropology casework, and requires foremost consideration in the examination of skeletal remains. Forensic anthropologists frequently employ morphologic and metric methods for sex estimation of human remains. These methods are still very imperative in identification process in spite of the advent and accomplishment of molecular techniques. A constant boost in the use of imaging techniques in forensic anthropology research has facilitated to derive as well as revise the available population data. These methods however, are less reliable owing to high variance and indistinct landmark details. The present review discusses the reliability and reproducibility of various analytical approaches; morphological, metric, molecular and radiographic methods in sex estimation of skeletal remains. Numerous studies have shown a higher reliability and reproducibility of measurements taken directly on the bones and hence, such direct methods of sex estimation are considered to be more reliable than the other methods. Geometric morphometric (GM) method and Diagnose Sexuelle Probabiliste (DSP) method are emerging as valid methods and widely used techniques in forensic anthropology in terms of accuracy and reliability. Besides, the newer 3D methods are shown to exhibit specific sexual dimorphism patterns not readily revealed by traditional methods. Development of newer and better methodologies for sex estimation as well as re-evaluation of the existing ones will continue in the endeavour of forensic researchers for more accurate results.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), caused by altered hemostasis, remains the third most common cause of mortality among all cardiovascular conditions. In addition to established genetic and acquired risk factors, low-oxygen environments also predispose otherwise healthy individuals to VTE. Although disease etiology appears to entail perturbation of hemostasis pathways, the key molecular determinants during immediate early response remain elusive. Using an established model of venous thrombosis, we here show that systemic hypoxia accelerates thromboembolic events, functionally stimulated by the activation of nucleotide binding domain, leucine-rich-containing family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome complex and increased IL-1β secretion. Interestingly, we also show that the expression of NLRP3 is mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) during these conditions. The pharmacological inhibition of caspase-1, in vivo knockdown of NLRP3, or HIF-1α other than IL-1β-neutralizing antibodies attenuated inflammasome activation and curtailed thrombosis under hypoxic conditions. We extend the significance of these preclinical findings by studying modulation of this pathway in patients with altitude-induced venous thrombosis. Our results demonstrate distinctive, increased expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, and IL-1β in individuals with clinically established venous thrombosis. We therefore propose that an early proinflammatory state in the venous milieu, orchestrated by the HIF-induced NLRP3 inflammasome complex, is a key determinant of acute thrombotic events during hypoxic conditions.

The utility of exome sequencing for most constitutional disorders in adults is unclear. In this study, exome sequencing in 3315 patients with chronic kidney disease yielded a genetic diagnosis in 307 cases (9.3%), with clinically important management implications for 89% of those reviewed.

The integrity of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is essential for normal central nervous system (CNS) functioning. Considering the significance of BBB in maintaining homeostasis and the neural environment, we aim to provide an overview of significant aspects of BBB. Worldwide, the treatment of neurological diseases caused by BBB disruption has been a major challenge. BBB also restricts entry of neuro-therapeutic drugs and hinders treatment modalities. Hence, currently nanotechnology-based approaches are being explored on large scale as alternatives to conventional methodologies. It is necessary to investigate the in-depth characteristic features of BBB to facilitate the discovery of novel drugs that can successfully cross the barrier and target the disease effectively. It is imperative to discover novel strategies to treat life-threatening CNS diseases in humans. Therefore, insights regarding building blocks of BBB, activation of immune response on breach of this barrier, and various autoimmune neurological disorders caused due to BBB dysfunction are discussed. Further, special emphasis is given on delineating BBB disruption leading to CNS disorders. Moreover, various mechanisms of transport pathways across BBB, several novel strategies, and alternative routes by which drugs can be properly delivered into CNS are also discussed.

With the expansion of smart device users, the security mechanism of these devices in terms of user authentication has been advanced a lot. These mechanisms consist of a pattern based authentication, biometric based authentication, etc. For security purpose whenever a user fails to authenticate themselves, these devices get locked. But as these devices consist of numerous applications (document creator, pdf viewer, e-banking, Social networking app, etc.), locking of the whole devices prevents the user from using any of the applications. Since the variety of applications provided by the devices have different security needs, we feel it is better to have application level security rather than device level. Here, in this paper, we have proposed a behavioral biometric based user authentication mechanism for application level security. First, we have performed a risk assessment of different applications. Then for complete protection, static multi-modal (keystroke and mouse dynamics) authentication at the start of an interactive session, and a continuous keystroke authentication during this session is performed. An analysis of the proposed authentication mechanism has been conducted on the basis of false acceptance rate (FAR), false rejection rate (FRR) and equal error rate (EER). The static multi-modal authentication achieved a FAR of 0.89%, FRR of 1.2% and EER of 1.04% using J48 classification algorithm. Whereas the continuous keystroke authentication has been analyzed by the time (no. of keystrokes pressed) taken to capture an intruder.