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Background and aimsNitrogen (N) distribution in plants is intricately linked to key physiological functions, including respiration, photosynthesis, structural development, and nitrogen storage. However, the specific effects of different N morphologies on N accumulation and plant growth are poorly understood. Our research specifically focused on determining how different N morphologies affect N absorption and biomass accumulation.MethodsThis study elucidated the impact of different application rates (CK: 0 g N/plant; T1: 4 g N/plant; T2: 8 g N/plant) of N fertilizer on N and biomass accumulation in tobacco cultivars Hongda and K326 at different growth stages.ResultsOur findings emphasize the critical role of N distribution in various plant parts, including leaves, stems, and roots, in determining the complex mechanisms of N and biomass accumulation in tobacco. We found that in relation to total N, a greater ratio of water-soluble N (Nw) in leaves facilitated N accumulation in leaves. In contrast, an increased ratio of SDS (detergent)-insoluble N (Nin-SDS) in leaves and non-protein N (Nnp) in roots hindered this increase. Additionally, our results indicate that a greater proportion of Nnp in leaves has a negative impact on biomass accumulation in leaves. Furthermore, elevated levels of Nin-SDS, Nw, and Nnp in roots, and Nnp in leaves adversely affected biomass accumulation in tobacco leaves. The Hongda cultivar exhibited greater biomass and N accumulation abilities as compared to K326.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the significant role of distribution of N morphologies on plant growth, as well as N and biomass accumulation in tobacco plants. Understanding N distribution allows farmers to optimize N application, minimizing environmental losses and maximizing yield for specific cultivars. These insights advance sustainable agriculture by promoting efficient resource use and reducing environmental impact.

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) often leads to an impaired Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in many patients. Moreover, psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and illness perception have been found to significantly correlate with HRQoL. This study aims to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in enhancing HRQoL and mitigating psychological distress among AF patients. Methods Employing a prospective, open design with pseudo-randomization, this study encompassed pre-tests, post-treatment evaluations, and a 6-month follow-up. A total of 102 consecutive patients diagnosed with paroxysmal AF were initially enrolled. Out of these, 90 were assigned to two groups; one to receive a 10-week CBT treatment specifically focusing on anxiety, and the other to receive standard care. Outcome measures were evaluated using tools such as the Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), University of Toronto Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale (AFSS), and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ). These assessments were conducted at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at the 6-month follow-up mark. We explored the effectiveness of CBT using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). Results Our analysis revealed a notable improvement in the CBT group relative to the control group. All metrics displayed consistent improvement across a 6-month duration. At the 6-month checkpoint, the CBT group exhibited a more favorable SF-12 Mental Component Score (MCS) (50.261 ± 0.758 vs. 45.208 ± 0.887, p

BackgroundBurnout is common among nurses and can lead to negative outcomes of medical care. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of Balint groups to reduce burnout in head nurses in a Chinese hospital.MethodsThis was a randomized controlled trial with a pre- and post-test. A total of 80 head nurses were randomly assigned to either a Balint group (n = 40) or a control group (n = 40). Participants participated in Balint group for a period of 3 months. Participants in both groups completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey and the General Self-Efficacy Scale at the beginning and end of the study. Balint group members also completed the Group Climate Questionnaire-Short Form.ResultsIn the Balint group, 33 participants attended all Balint groups, while the 40 participants in the control group had no intervention. Analysis of variance with repeated measures demonstrated a statistically significant difference on the Maslach Burnout Inventory subscale of sense of personal achievement (F = 9.598, p = 0.003) between the Balint and control groups. However, there were no significant differences between the groups on the subscales of emotional exhaustion (F = 0.110, p = 0.740) and depersonalization (F = 0.75, p = 0.387), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (F = 0.709, p = 0.403).ConclusionsBalint groups helped reduce burnout among head nurses in terms of personal achievement.

BackgroundAF Patients with depression resulted in a markedly reduced quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL).MethodsIt was A longitudinal randomized controlled trial with a pre and 12-weeks post-test. Ninety persons were randomly assigned to either a CBT group (CBT) (n = 45) or a treatment as usual (TAU) group (n = 45). The outcome were changes in the HRQoL [12-item Short Form Health Survey, SF12, divided into two domains: the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS)], changes in psychological distress [Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)], and Illness Perception [Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ)].ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in score reduction for PHQ-9 (t = 3.186, P = 0.002), HAMD (t = 2.611, P = 0.011), BIPQ (t = 7.660, P < 0.001), and MCS (t = 4.301, P < 0.001) between CBT group and TAU group.ConclusionsCBT improved HRQoL, Illness Perception and reduced Depressive symptoms in atrial fibrillation.

Background: The overall impact of social connectedness on health outcomes in older adults living in nursing homes and assisted living settings is unknown. Given the unclear health impact of social connectedness for older adults in congregate long‐term care settings worldwide, a comprehensive systematic review is required to evaluate the overall relationship between social connectedness and health outcomes for them. Objectives: The purpose of this article was to synthesize the literature regarding the health impact of social connectedness among older adults living in nursing homes or assisted living settings. Methods: Using PRISMA guidelines, we identified eligible studies from Scopus, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane databases (1990–2021). Bias and quality reporting assessment was performed using standardized criteria for cohort, cross sectional and qualitative studies. At each stage, ≥ 2 researchers conducted independent evaluations. Results: Of the 7350 articles identified, 25 cohort (follow‐up range: 1 month–11 years; with two also contributing to cross sectional), 86 cross sectional, eight qualitative and two mixed methods were eligible. Despite different instruments used, many residents living in nursing homes and assisted living settings had reduced social engagement. Quantitative evidence supports a link between higher social engagement and health outcomes most studied (e.g. depression, quality of life). Few studies evaluated important health outcomes (e.g. cognitive and functional decline). Most cohort studies showed that lack of social connectedness accelerated time to death. Conclusions: Social connectedness may be an important modifiable risk factor for adverse health outcomes for older adults living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Most studies were cross sectional and focused on quality of life and mental health outcomes. Longitudinal studies suggest that higher social engagement delays time to death. Evidence regarding other health outcomes important to older adults was scant and requires further longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional full‐waveform inversion is a non‐linear and ill‐posed inversion problem. To reduce the non‐linearity of it, joint migration inversion (joint migration inversion) was proposed as an alternative. Joint migration inversion tries to minimize the mismatch between measured and modelled reflection data. One key feature of joint migration inversion is its parameterization: two separate parameters, reflectivity (for the amplitudes of reflected events) and propagation velocity (for the phase effects). This separation helps to reduce the non‐linearity of the inversion. During joint migration inversion, with the velocity being updated, the reflectors in the updated image are also shifting in depth accordingly, this phenomenon is called depth–velocity ambiguity. This interaction between the two parameters during inversion is desired to keep the image time consistent with the measured data but may lead to non‐robustness of joint migration inversion due to the presence of local minima. Therefore, we propose a more robust joint migration inversion scheme, which parameterizes the models with vertical time, termed pseudo‐time joint migration inversion. In pseudo‐time, the updates of velocity will not result in the associated vertical location changes of reflectors in the estimated image. Instead, the reflectors are mainly getting more focused. One limitation is that the depth‐pseudo‐time conversion process assumes a simple linear relationship between depth and pseudo‐time, which might cause some artefacts in the converted models when there exist strong lateral velocity variations. One subsequent round of depth joint migration inversion is recommended to resolve this issue. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method with a two‐dimensional synthetic example in an extreme scenario, where the initial velocity model is homogeneous, a realistic offshore two‐dimensional synthetic example, a two‐dimensional field example from the Vøring basin in Norway and a simple three‐dimensional synthetic example. In all examples, pseudo‐time joint migration inversion manages to recover more reasonable updates in the inverted velocity and invert more focused reflectors in the inverted image, compared to depth joint migration inversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]