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A remote sensing strategy was investigated to evaluate how temperature and rainfall affect the deforestation of economically important tree species in Wudil, Kano Nigeria. The research was carried out in Wudil. To assess the vulnerability of the study area to desertification and the abundance of economic tree species. Landsat satellite products (Landsat 5, 7, 8. were used as the sources of remote sensing imageries. These products were sourced for intervals of ten years, from 1986 to 1999, 2006 to 2016, and 2020. Standardized temperature anomaly and precipitation index from 1986 to 2020 were analyzed using primary and secondary data obtained for information on temperature and rainfall, a hundred questionnaires were used to analyze how much anthropogenic activity has contributed to desertification in the area by looking at their socioeconomic activities, roads, and infrastructural development. To determine the quantity, distribution, growth, and yield of all the species, a transect of one square kilometer was surveyed using regional techniques in each of the four cardinal directions. Principal component analysis revealed that the activity variables and activity observations for 1999, 2006, 2016, and 2016 were all negative, while the years 1986 and 2020 were positive. Increased trends in temperature and decreasing trends in rainfall are evident using the Mann-Kendall analysis, with P-values of 0.0 and 0.003, respectively, which are smaller than the alpha value of 0.05. The main causes of drought and desertification vulnerability according to the findings include variations in the characteristics of rainfall, human activities, and overgrazing. More tree-planting initiatives should be encouraged, ideally making them an annual event in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Currently, woody invasive species cause for environmental and economic impacts and effect on country gross domestic product. This is observed in Borana rangeland where several woody invasive species infestation happened. This paper aimed to estimate environmental and economic cost of woody invasive species focusing on its distribution and abundance using participatory survey approaches. This approach estimates an average cost for each species by a ratio of management costs, and the annually expenditures incurred by a variety of households. Twelve (12) dominating woody invasive species were recorded in Borana rangeland that are encroached major part of grazing area and Acacia species are the most dominant one. Annually, from each household an estimated total of $29.9 million or 1.1 billion Ethiopian birr economic cost was recorded due to encroachment of woody invasive species and annual economic cost per person was around $424 or 15,137 Ethiopian birr. Cost estimates are the highest for Acacia species (Acacia drepanolobium, Acacia bussei and Acacia mellifera) accounting for 66% of the total estimated economic cost, followed by Capparis tomentosa, which also adversely impacts on ecological services. Such economic cost assessment of woody invasive species used as a monetary basis for ranking the species based on their impact and take prioritizing management actions. Further, the cost estimate approach used in this study could help as a model for woody invasive species economic impact assessments in other part of the rangeland area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NH4+ and Zn2+ are the most abundant cations detected in contaminated groundwater near municipal landfill sites. Remediation strategies were developed accordingly, such as permeable reactive barrier (PRB) that was reported as effective for single contaminant removal with porous reactive materials, including zeolite and activated carbon. However, considering the fact that multiple contaminants coexist in the groundwater, the removal effect of these porous materials and the competitive retention mechanisms between contaminants are unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the removal contributions of zeolite and activated carbon on NH4+ and Zn2+ under single and coexisting conditions. The priorities and competition mechanisms were clarified through batch and column transport tests, microscopic analyses, as well as geochemical reactive transport modeling by PHREEQC. The results indicated that zeolite performed well in removing both contaminants through ion exchange, while activated carbon was only effective in adsorbing Zn2+ through surface complexation. Mixed zeolite and activated carbon promoted each other in NH4+ removal, but inhibited the removal of Zn2+. With the increase of Zn2+ concentration, competitive adsorption occurred that influenced the breakthrough behaviors of both cations. Considering field applications as PRB reactive materials, it is suggested that pure zeolite will be appropriate if NH4+ is the main contaminant, and a mixture of adsorbents with zeolite content larger than 40% can be effective if considerable amounts of heavy metals coexist with NH4+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Lynch Syndrome (LS) carriers have a significantly increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) during their lifetimes. Further stratification of this patient population may help in identifying additional risk factors that predispose to colorectal carcinogenesis. In most LS patients CRC may arise from adenomas, although an alternative non-polypoid carcinogenesis pathway has been proposed for PMS2 carriers. Using data from our institutional LS cohort, our aim was to describe our current colorectal screening outcomes with a focus on the incidence of adenomas in the context of different MMR genotypes and patient demographics such as gender, race, and ethnicity. Design: We collected demographics, genetic, colonoscopy, and pathology results from a total of 163 LS carriers who obtained regular screening care at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Data were extracted from the electronic health records into a REDCap database for analysis. Logistic regressions were performed to measure the association between MMR variants and the likelihood of adenomas, advanced adenomas, and CRC. Then, we analyzed the cumulative incidences of these outcomes for the first 36 months following enrollment using Kaplan-Meier incidence curves, and Cox proportional hazard regressions. Results: On multivariate analysis, age (=45 years old) was associated with an increased risk of developing adenomas (P=0.034). Patients with a prior or active cancer status were less likely to develop adenomas (P=0.015), despite of the lack of association between surgical history with this outcome (P=0.868). We found no statistically significant difference in likelihood of adenoma development between MLH1 and MSH2/EPCAM, MSH6, and PMS2 carriers. Moreover, we observed no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of advanced adenomas or CRC for any measured covariates. On Cox proportional hazard, compared to MLH1 carriers, the incidence of adenomas was highest among MSH2/EPCAM carriers during for the first 36-months of follow-up (P<0.001). We observed a non-statistically significant trend for Hispanics having a higher and earlier cumulative incidence of adenomas compared to non-Hispanics (P=0.073). No MMR carrier was more likely to develop advanced adenomas. No difference in the incidence of CRC by MMR gene (P=0.198). Conclusion: Screening recommendations for CRC in LS patients should be based on specific MMR variants and should also be tailored to consider patient demographics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was set to investigate the prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) among college students and the possible factors related to this disorder. About 4400 college students, ranging from freshmen to juniors, from eight different universities in Wuhan, China were surveyed. Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction (YDQ) and the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale were used to define PIU and depression accordingly. Data was analysed with "chi-squared" testing and logistic regression. Out of the 3496 participants, 9.58% (male 13.54%, female 4.88%) met the criteria of PIU. Factors such as heavy internet use habits, poor academic achievement, lack of love from the family, etc. were found to be significantly associated with PIU. About 48.51% (1696) of the students were light internet users, who use the internet less than 5 h/week, while 16.36% (572) were heavy users who use it more than 15 h/week, though heavy users were more likely to develop PIU. Also, 25.53% of the students with depression developed PIU, in comparison with 8.91% of PIU among those without depression (p less than 0.001). Being male, frequent internet use, poor academic achievement, poor family atmosphere and lack of love from parents were predictors of PIU among college students. The habit and purpose of using the internet is diverse, which influences the susceptibility of PIU as well. There was a correlation between depression and the development of PIU as well. (Contains 4 tables.)

Simple Summary: While anti-PD1 antibodies have demonstrated efficacy in some patients with metastatic anal cancer, these agents have no proven benefit for those with localized disease treated with chemoradiation. Difficulty procuring fresh tumor tissue required for RNA and protein expression analysis has limited extensive molecular profiling for this rare cancer. Our team utilized a novel digital spatial profiling technology on pretreatment anal cancer specimens to identify biomarkers associated with recurrence after chemoradiation. We observed that recurrent tumors had higher baseline expression of immune checkpoint biomarkers, higher MAPK signaling activation and higher PI3K/Akt signaling activation. These findings provide a rationale that supports future clinical trials with immunotherapy that seek to improve survival beyond chemoradiation for patients with localized squamous cell cancer of the anus. The identification of transcriptomic and protein biomarkers prognosticating recurrence risk after chemoradiation of localized squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) has been limited by a lack of available fresh tissue at initial presentation. We analyzed archival FFPE SCCA specimens from pretreatment biopsies prior to chemoradiation for protein and RNA biomarkers from patients with localized SCCA who recurred (N = 23) and who did not recur (N = 25). Tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) were analyzed separately to identify biomarkers with significantly different expression between the recurrent and non-recurrent groups. Recurrent patients had higher mean protein expression of FoxP3, MAPK-activation markers (BRAF, p38-MAPK) and PI3K/Akt activation (phospho-Akt) within the tumor regions. The TME was characterized by the higher protein expression of immune checkpoint biomarkers such as PD-1, OX40L and LAG3. For patients with recurrent SCCA, the higher mean protein expression of fibronectin was observed in the tumor and TME compartments. No significant differences in RNA expression were observed. The higher baseline expression of immune checkpoint biomarkers, together with markers of MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling, are associated with recurrence following chemoradiation for patients with localized SCCA. These data provide a rationale towards the application of immune-based therapeutic strategies to improve curative-intent outcomes beyond conventional therapies for patients with SCCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aging society and the empty nest of the elderly have become issues that cannot be ignored by the Chinese government. Not only does the physical function of the empty-nest elderly (ENE) decline, and the incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases increase significantly, but they are also more likely to have loneliness, low life satisfaction, mental health problems, and even a much greater possibility of suffering from depression than the nonempty-nest elderly, besides the possibility of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) which is also greatly increased. This paper aims to evaluate the status quo of dilemma and determinants of a vast sample of subjects based on the national level. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the latest 2018's data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Under the guidance of Andersen's model of health services utilization, this study clarified the overall and different demographic characteristics and prevalence of CHE among ENE and further built the Logit and Tobit model to explore the determinants of CHE occurrence and its intensity. RESULTS: A total of 7,602 ENE were included in the analysis, and the overall incidence of CHE among them was 21.20%. Poor self-reported health status (OR=2.03, 95% CI: 1.71-2.35), suffering from three or more chronic diseases simultaneously (OR=1.79, 95% CI: 1.42-2.15), low life satisfaction (OR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.20-1.68) and advanced age played the leading role in accounting for its high risk, and its intensity increased 0.0311 (SE=0.005), 0.0234 (SE=0.007), and 0.0178 (SE=0.005), respectively. In contrast, the leading drop in the probability of CHE among ENE was those whose monthly income was over 20,000 CNY (OR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.38-0.55), whose intensity declined 0.0399 (SE=0.005), whose monthly income was between 2,000 and 20,000 CNY (OR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.66-0.90) and whose intensity declined 0.021 (SE=0.005), and who were married during the survey period (OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.70-0.94). Simultaneously, rural ENE showed more vulnerability and higher risk of CHE when confronted with these factors compared with the urban ones. CONCLUSIONS: More attention should be paid for ENE in China. The priority, including the relevant health insurance or social security measurements, should be further strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]