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Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to quantify growth responses of Jatropha curcas to a range of salt and drought stresses. Typical symptoms of salinity stress such as leaf edge yellowing were observed in all elevated salinity treatments and the degree of the foliar salt damage increased with the salinity of irrigation water. Total dry weight (DW) of Jatropha plants was reduced by 30%, 30%, and 50%, respectively, when irrigated with saline solutions at electrical conductivity of 3.0, 6.0, and 9.0 dS m−1 compared to that in the control. Leaf Na+ concentration was much higher than that observed in most glycophytes. Leaf Cl− concentrations were also high. In the drought stress experiment, plants were irrigated daily with nutrient solution at 100%, 70%, 50%, or 30% daily water use (DWU). Deficit irrigation reduced plant growth and leaf development. The DW of leaves, roots, and total were reduced in the 70%, 50%, and 30% DWU compared to the 100% DWU control treatment. In summary, salinity stress and deficit irrigation significantly reduced the growth and leaf development of greenhouse-grown Jatropha plants.

eBooks can be an essential tool in bringing in technology-enriched education, just-in-time resources, and enduring material for staff in the health care setting. eBooks provide the most relevant information and can serve as the central hub for links to important documents, such as policies and/or video demonstrations. The use of eBooks will improve training and educational efficiency and can result in cost savings and improvements in standardized clinical practice. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(9):394–397.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The health consequences of tobacco smoking disproportionately affect African Americans, but research on whether efficacious interventions can be generalized to this population is limited. This study examined the efficacy of group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation among African Americans. Method: Participants (N = 154; 65% female, M = 44 years old, mean cigarettes/day = 13) were randomly assigned to either (a) group CBT or (b) group general health education (GHE). Participants in both conditions received 6 sessions of counseling and 8 weeks of transdermal nicotine patches. The primary outcome variable was 7-day point prevalence abstinence (ppa), assessed at the end of counseling (2 weeks) and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Secondary outcomes included 24-hr ppa and 28-day continuous abstinence (assessed at 3 and 6 months). Results: Intent-to-treat analyses demonstrated the hypothesized effects, such that 7-day ppa was significantly greater in the CBT than the GHE condition at the end of counseling (51% vs. 27%), at 3 months (34% vs. 20%), and at 6 months (31% vs. 14%). Results of a generalized linear mixed model demonstrated a significant effect of CBT versus GHE on 7-day ppa (odds ratio = 2.57, 95% CI [1.40, 4.71] and also an effect of time (p less than 0.002). The Condition x Time interaction was not significant. Similar patterns of results emerged for 24-hour ppa and 28-day continuous abstinence. Results from per protocol analyses (i.e., participants who completed all aspects of the study) corroborate the intent-to-treat findings. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that intensive, group CBT smoking cessation interventions are efficacious among African American smokers. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 2 footnotes.)

The speed of change in health care dictates that information and education must be rapidly disseminated. One-page tip sheets summarize and highlight the most important information at the point of care and provide links to further resources. The nursing professional development specialist plays a key role in facilitating and enabling rapid organizational change. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(1):11–15.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A virtual learning center is the hub for storing enterprise teaching material where the information is immediately accessible and available to staff. Building and maintaining a virtual learning center requires collaboration with information technology staff, creative leaders, and tech-savvy nursing professional development specialists willing to innovate. Outcomes include cost savings, more standardized practice, and improved patient outcomes. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(6):250–252.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which analyzes the effects of message content and culturally specific training of adult smokers. African American smokers were divided into four conditions including culturally specific and standards smoking messages, culturally and standard specific weight messages. Results indicated that culturally specific messages produced risk perceptions and intentions to quit.