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Lowland meadows represent aboveground and belowground biodiversity reservoirs in intensive agricultural areas, improving water retention and filtration, ensuring forage production, contrasting erosion and contributing to soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Besides such major ecosystem services, the presence of functionally different plant species improves forage quality, nutritional value and productivity, also limiting the establishment of weeds and alien species. Here, we tested the effectiveness of a commercial seed mixture in restoring a lowland mixed meadow in the presence or absence of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and biostimulation of symbiosis development with the addition of short chain chito-oligosaccharides (CO). Plant community composition, phenology and productivity were regularly monitored alongside AM colonization in control, inoculated and CO-treated inoculated plots. Our analyses revealed that the CO treatment accelerated symbiosis development significantly increasing root colonization by AM fungi. Moreover, the combination of AM fungal inoculation and CO treatment improved plant species evenness and productivity with more balanced composition in forage species. Altogether, our study presented a successful and scalable strategy for the reintroduction of mixed meadows as valuable sources of forage biomass; demonstrated the positive impact of CO treatment on AM development in an agronomic context, extending previous observations developed under controlled laboratory conditions and leading the way to the application in sustainable agricultural practices., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Oddi, Volpe, Carotenuto, Politi, Barni, Crosino, Siniscalco and Genre.)

Artemisia annua L. is a medicinal plant appreciated for the production of artemisinin, a molecule used for malaria treatment. However, the natural concentration of artemisinin in planta is low. Plant nutrition, in particular phosphorus, and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can affect both plant biomass and secondary metabolite production. In this work, A. annua plants were ino- culated or not with the AM fungus Funneliformis mosseae BEG12 and cultivated for 2 months in controlled conditions at three different phosphatic (P) concentrations (32, 96, and 288 µM). Plant growth parameters, leaf photosynthetic pigment concentrations, artemisinin production, and mineral uptake were evaluated. The different P levels significantly affected the plant shoot growth, AM fungal colonization, and mineral acquisition. High P levels negatively influenced mycorrhizal colonization. The artemisinin concentration was inversely correlated to the P level in the substrate. The fungus mainly affected root growth and nutrient uptake and significantly lowered leaf artemisinin concentration. In conclusion, P nutrition can influence plant biomass production and the lowest phosphate level led to the highest artemisinin concentration, irrespective of the plant mineral uptake. Plant responses to AM fungi can be modulated by cost-benefit ratios of the mutualistic exchange between the partners and soil nutrient availability.

High-quality pollen is a prerequisite for plant reproductive success. Pollen viability and sterility can be routinely assessed using common stains and manual microscope examination, but with low overall statistical power. Current automated methods are primarily directed towards the analysis of pollen sterility, and high throughput solutions for both pollen viability and sterility evaluation are needed that will be consistent with emerging biotechnological strategies for crop improvement. Our goal is to refine established labelling procedures for pollen, based on the combination of fluorescein (FDA) and propidium iodide (PI), and to develop automated solutions for accurately assessing pollen grain images and classifying them for quality. We used open-source software programs (CellProfiler, CellProfiler Analyst, Fiji and R) for analysis of images collected from 10 pollen taxa labelled using FDA/PI. After correcting for image background noise, pollen grain images were examined for quality employing thresholding and segmentation. Supervised and unsupervised classification of per-object features was employed for the identification of viable, dead and sterile pollen. The combination of FDA and PI dyes was able to differentiate between viable, dead and sterile pollen in all the analysed taxa. Automated image analysis and classification significantly increased the statistical power of the pollen viability assay, identifying more than 75,000 pollen grains with high accuracy (R 2  = 0.99) when compared to classical manual counting. Overall, we provide a comprehensive set of methodologies as baseline for the automated assessment of pollen viability using fluorescence microscopy, which can be combined with manual and mechanized imaging systems in fundamental and applied research on plant biology. We also supply the complete set of pollen images (the FDA/PI pollen dataset) to the scientific community for future research.

Background: The intracellular accommodation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi involves a profound molecular reprogramming of the host cell architecture and metabolism, based on the activation of a symbiotic signaling pathway. In analogy with other plant biotrophs, AM fungi are reported to trigger cell cycle reactivation in their host tissues, possibly in support of the enhanced metabolic demand required for the symbiosis., Results: We here compare the efficiency of three Fiji/ImageJ image analysis plugins in localizing and quantifying the increase in nuclear size - a hallmark of recursive events of endoreduplication - in M. truncatula roots colonized by the AM fungus Gigaspora margarita. All three approaches proved to be versatile and upgradeable, allowing the investigation of nuclear changes in a complex tissue; 3D Object Counter provided more detailed information than both TrackMate and Round Surface Detector plugins. On this base we challenged 3D Object Counter with two case studies: verifying the lack of endoreduplication-triggering responses in Medicago truncatula mutants with a known non-symbiotic phenotype; and analysing the correlation in space and time between the induction of cortical cell division and endoreduplication upon AM colonization. Both case studies revealed important biological aspects. Mutant phenotype analyses have demonstrated that the knock-out mutation of different key genes in the symbiotic signaling pathway block AM-associated endoreduplication. Furthermore, our data show that cell divisions occur during initial stages of root colonization and are followed by recursive activation of the endocycle in preparation for arbuscule accommodation., Conclusions: In conclusion, our results indicate 3D Object Counter as the best performing Fiji/ImageJ image analysis script in plant root thick sections and its application highlighted endoreduplication as a major feature of the AM pre-penetration response in root cortical cells.

We studied the behavioural response of European starlings to a socially mediated predation event. Adult starlings were exposed to either a video of a flock attacked by a peregrine falcon or a video of a flock not under attack. We investigated whether the social condition affected the anti-predator response under the hypothesis that in such a gregarious species singletons would increase their anti-predator behaviour more than individuals in groups, to compensate for potential increased risk. The video of the flock under attack caused an increase in immobility and vigilance, more marked in singletons, both during and after the exposure. The video of the non-threatened flock caused an increase in activity levels, especially during the exposure. Furthermore, we observed a marked increase in comfort activities in singletons as well as in social interactions and vocalizations in mini-flocks. Only birds in mini-flocks vocalized, which may be explained by an audience effect, a process of social cognition mediated by the social context, and not only by the stimulus. The results are in line with previous field studies, which showed that isolated starlings are exposed to a higher risk of predation compared to individuals in flocks., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although faculty mentoring through joint authorship with students offers benefits to both, the claim of joint authorship of students' works by faculty members may raise ethical and legal concerns. Whether based on institutional policies, faculty members' mandates or suggestions, or even students' invitations, such claims may violate principles of autonomy, fidelity, veracity, and justice. Moreover, such claims may be contrary to basic requirements of copyright law relating to joint authorship and derivative works. Unjustified claims to authorship may have adverse effects on the student-faculty relationship, give rise to professional embarrassment for the individual faculty and the institution, or lead to legal liability. The responsibility to address ethical and legal concerns inherent in such joint authorship rests with the administration and faculty of the individual nursing education department.

The nursing profession advocates development of theoretical knowledge as a basis for nursing practice and promotes preparation of graduate students as nursing scholars. This study explored the influence of selected factors on the publishing efforts of student authors who published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research during a 5-year period. Assignments, particularly for a dissertation, provided a significant impetus for publishing. Self-selection of a topic of interest also was an important factor. Approximately one third of the student authors had collaborated with faculty as coauthors. Graduate students make a significant contribution to the creation and dissemination of nursing knowledge. The influence of collaboration with faculty, the defining elements of collaborative mentorship, and inherent ethical issues should be investigated in future studies.

The major findings of the Study to Understand Prognosis and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatment (SUPPORT), a multimillion dollar, multisite investigation of the process of dying in American hospitals, were extremely disappointing to the medical community. The major conclusion of this intervention study was that increased efforts to improve communication about patients' preferences for end-of-life care to physicians did not have a significant impact on the care that is provided in hospitals. In a commissioned series of papers to examine the conclusions of the study, numerous factors were identified as the possible reasons for the SUPPORT findings. Among the factors was the role of nurses in communicating patients' preferences to physicians. Nurses, however, were not participants in the design and conduct of this study nor were they among those who were respondents to the conclusions of SUPPORT. In this manuscript, an analysis of the report of the SUPPORT study itself and the commentaries commissioned by its funding agency are reported. Numerous issues about the scientific rigor of SUPPORT, the perceived roles of nurses in end-of-life decision making, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in health care and health care research are presented in an effort to ensure that nurses' contributions to the quality of patient care are recognized, acknowledged, and valued in the future.

The purposes of this study were to identify factors influencing publication efforts of graduate students in nursing and determine the extent to which graduate students' scholarly activities contribute to the creation and dissemination of knowledge in nursing, as evidenced by publication in a professional journal. Authors of articles in Nursing Research were surveyed to assess their status as graduate students during the conceptualization, development, and publication of nursing research studies. The sample consisted of 633 authors of manuscripts published in Nursing Research from 1987 to 1991. The study design was descriptive. A survey questionnaire elicited data on graduate student status and factors that influenced the initiation and completion of the project. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques. The results of the study suggest that graduate students in nursing make important contributions to the advancement and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Factors that influence graduate students to engage in the process include academic requirements (e.g., thesis, dissertation, coursework), faculty involvement and support, and the ability to self-select the research topic.

The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which nurses perceive the ethical dimensions of clinical practice situations involving patients, families and health care professionals. Using the composite theory of basic moral principles and the professional standard of care established by legal custom as a framework, situations involving ethical dilemmas were gleaned from the nursing literature. They were reviewed for content validity, clarity and representativeness in a two-stage process by expert panels. The situations were presented in a written format to a convenience sample of nurses (n = 125), who were primarily staff nurses (65.6%). Respondents' judgements about whether the main issue of each situation concerned ethics ranged from a low of 0.8% to a high of 40%. From analyses of the categories into which the majority of subjects placed each situation, it was concluded that these nurses generally perceived ethics as the main issue in situations that directly involve patients' autonomy. Analysis yielded unanticipated findings about the themes in ethical situations to which nurses in practice may respond.

Although beneficence was the ethical principle applied most frequently in health care situations in the past, the principle of autonomy has gained importance recently. The current application of autonomy over beneficence results in a reconsideration of past "accepted" situations such as assuming informed consent is without coercion, students practicing on patients, and the use of cadavers for practicing techniques. The critical care nurse is in a unique position to assess and balance these two principles for the patient's ultimate benefit.

As knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease increases, society's attitudes toward disclosure of seropositivity are reverting to a traditional public health approach. Both patients and healthcare professionals fear HIV infection (although the risks of transmission in healthcare are small), and broadly support disclosure. In this article, the disclosure issue is examined within a framework of the ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice, which suggests that patients and healthcare professionals should be required to disclose known seropositivity before exposure-prone procedures are performed. Because of the risk of stigmatization, renewed effort to prevent unwarranted disclosure by healthcare professionals also is required.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which graduate students' research and scholarly activities, as evidenced by publication, contribute to the creation and dissemination of knowledge in nursing. Authors of articles published in IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship were surveyed to assess their status as graduate students during the conceptualization, development and publication of research or scholarly papers. The sample consisted of 332 authors of manuscripts published in IMAGE from 1986 through 1990. The study design was descriptive. A survey questionnaire elicited data on graduate student status and factors that influenced the initiation and completion of the published work. Descriptive statistical techniques were employed to analyze the data. The results of this study suggest that graduate education in nursing makes an important contribution to the advancement and dissemination of nursing knowledge.

A comprehensive review of research using the Judgment About Nursing Decisions (JAND) as a measure of nurses' ethical decision making raises numerous concerns about the conceptual basis, reliability, and validity of this widely used instrument. These concerns promoted the present study, which raised specific issues about the JAND. Among these issues are the representatives of ethical dilemmas contained in the JAND, the validity of its scoring scheme, the persistence of low-to-marginal reliability across studies, and questionable validity. Findings from studies using the JAND should be interpreted with caution until the instrument is further refined.

The nature and extent of nurses' participation on hospital institutional review boards (IRBs) has not previously been investigated. This descriptive study provides some insights into the characteristics of nurses serving on IRBs and describes the IRBs on which they serve. The nurses are typically master's-prepared nurse managers who have served as volunteer or appointed members of the IRB for an average of 2.67 years. The IRBs have an interdisciplinary membership, and differ widely in structure and procedure, but generally, they conform to the requirements specified in the National Research Act for IRBs. The findings of this study have implications for nursing administration, practice, research, and education.

Nurses historically have accepted the risk of contagion while caring for patients with infectious diseases. The duty to care for patients is directly related to the care the patient requires, the nurse's knowledge, and the extraordinary risk to the nurse. The current infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) highlights other factors, such as fear, ignorance, and homophobia, that influence a nurse's decision to refuse to provide care. Professional associations, nurse administrators, and educators must assist nurses to gain the knowledge and skill necessary to provide care as well as explore feelings about different life-styles.

The purpose of this study was to validate the findings of a previous investigation of differences in perceptions of idealistic and realistic moral behavior and attitudes toward autonomy, patients' rights, and traditional role limitations among four groups of nursing students. A sample of 147 associate, generic baccalaureate, degree completion, and master's students anonymously completed the Judgments About Nursing Decisions (JAND) and the Nursing Autonomy and Patient Rights Scale (NAPRS). Only three findings from the original study were validated: that both age and ethics education have effects on attitudes toward autonomy as measured by the NAPRS and that, overall, there is a consistent lack of significant findings on JAND scores among groups studied.

Census fluctuations and the failure to develop appropriate guidelines for admitting and transferring patients have made the staffing of critical care units extremely difficult, sometimes with serious ethical and physical consequences to patients. In this report, a case is analyzed to explore some of the ramifications of the use of beds in the critical care unit.

While many developing countries have endorsed primary health care (PHC) as a means of reaching Alma Ata's goal of health for all, effective implementation has been difficult. The major obstacle has been the historic emphasis on curative medicine in the training, licensing and job responsibilities of health care personnel and in the distribution of scarce resources. Moreover, few programmes have been geared to preparing the rural villager and the health delivery team--the two essential components of PHC--to work together to identify and solve problems. Too often health workers fear that the unrealistic expectations of community members will mean losing control of scarce resources. Clearly, central to any PHC programme is deciding where and how to begin developing the trust and interaction necessary to implement PHC beyound its curative aspects. In East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, nurses were the logical resource to reorient the rural health extension changeover to the noncurative aspects of PHC. Below, a report on this successful project.

In the United States the protection of the rights of human subjects in experimentation has evolved at three levels: professional, public, and private. At the professional level, codes, guidelines and the Patient's Bill of Rights address the issues of protecting the dignity, privacy and autonomy of individuals who serve as research subjects. At the public level, regulations promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services have become the standard for protecting human subjects. At the private level, United States common law regulates the conduct of individual researchers by requiring them to act in a manner consistent with generally accepted standards of care. As professionals, nurses must be actively involved in the formation of public policy regarding the conduct of research and strive to formulate a research agenda that will ensure that the ethics of research in nursing is above question.

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in perceptions of ethical dilemmas and attitudes toward autonomy among four groups of nursing students. A randomly selected sample (n = 130) of students enrolled in associate degree, generic baccalaureate, degree completion, and master's study completed the Judgments About Nursing Decisions (JAND), the Nursing Autonomy and Patient's Rights Scale (NAPRS), and a demographic data sheet. Using one-way analysis of variance procedures, significant differences were found among groups on autonomy, patients' rights, and rejection of traditional role limitations. No significant differences were found on perceptions of idealistic and realistic moral behavior. Additional analysis produced significant findings when student groups were compared by age, RN status, and participation in ethics courses and seminars. Lack of significant differences on perceptions of ethical dilemmas may have resulted from the relatively low level of reliability of the JAND with the groups studied. Differences in attitudes are attributed to experience as a registered nurse, participation in an educational offering, and exposure to the bureaucratic environment of the health-care system.

This study indicated that hospital nurses learn through a variety of modes and that part-time nurses participated less frequently in certain learning activities than full-time nurses. Findings will be used to identify and expand resources for learning in this setting, devise strategies for enhancing participation of nurses in a variety of educational activities, and broaden the perspective of the administration and staff in relation to what constitutes continuing learning among professionals.