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Manuscript copy with application. A musical afterpiece in two acts. The plot follows Philip's efforts to help his employer realise happiness with his love, Janet.

This interactive, role-playing case book is an enormously rich and stimulating way of challenging students to think about the problems of development and how development experts go about trying to alleviate them. One of the most innovative and eloquent anthropologists of development, A. F. Robertson has drawn from his extensive field experience to construct a hypothetical scenario of the sort typically encountered by those who are making development decisions.

Summer catch crops can reduce soil soluble nitrogen (N) during the summer fallow period in Chinese greenhouse vegetable production. However, the influence of growing fast-growing leafy vegetables as catch crops on soil organic N pools remain insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of growing Chinese cabbage (Kuaicai) on soil N pools in the top 0.3 m soil layer during a one-month fallow period in two years. Treatments included Kuaicai cultivation and a fallow treatment for comparison. Results show that soil soluble N pools and non-hydrolysable N (NHN) in the top 0.3 m soil layer were increased during the summer fallow period in the fallow treatment. Kuaicai accumulated 40–114 kg N ha−1 each year, improving N use efficiency by 9.2–26.3%. Growing Kuaicai with drip irrigation to 90% field capacity reduced soil total N (TN) by 12–16% and total soluble N (TSN) by 37–83%. Growing Kuaicai reduced labile N fractions, specifically ammonium N (AN) in the top 0.2 m soil layer by 13–26% and amino acid N (AAN) in the 0.1–0.2 m soil layer by 5–17%. The partial least squares path modelling (a goodness of fit = 0.67) revealed that fallow period management had direct effects on TSN, NHN, and TN, and an indirect effect on labile organic N fractions. The AN and AAN were direct contributors to TSN. These findings suggest that growing Kuaicai as a catch crop is an effective strategy for reducing soluble N pools and labile organic N fractions, thereby lowering the risk of N loss in the next growing season.

Background Weekend catch-up sleep (WCS) may alleviate weekday sleep deprivation, but its relationship with depression risk remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to explore the association between WCS and depression risk.Methods A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus for observational studies published up to June 1, 2024. Data extraction and bias assessment were independently performed by two reviewers. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, with model selection based on the I2 statistic. Sensitivity analyses and publication bias tests were also conducted.Results A total of ten cross-sectional studies (326,871 participants) were included. Meta-analysis showed that WCS was significantly associated with a reduced risk of depression (OR = 0.80, 95 % CI: 0.68–0.90). Subgroup analyses showed moderate amounts of WCS (0–2 h) may be protective, but WCS beyond 2 h had limited protective effects against depression. Qualitative analyses showed that the protective effect of WCS against depression was more pronounced in men and middle-aged adults, and was particularly applicable to those who were sleep-deprived on weekdays.Limitations The cross-sectional design of included studies limits causality inference, and the sample primarily represents populations from the United States and South Korea, potentially affecting generalizability.Conclusions Moderate WCS is associated with lower depression risk in those with weekday sleep deficits, while excessive WCS may have diminishing or adverse effects. Further research should examine optimal WCS duration and underlying mechanisms.

Context/problem Growing catch crops in autumn after the main crop is known to reduce nitrate leaching and improve soil fertility. Residual effects of growing catch crops repeatedly for several years on the grain yield and grain nitrogen (N) of the following main crop, and nitrate leaching are less known.Methods We conducted field experiments with spring barley and catch crops, including an herbicide treated bare treatment, from 2015 to 2022 at two sites in Denmark, differing in soil type and climatic conditions. The spring barley was fertilized at four N levels (0–150 % of the recommended amount). The residual effect of the repeated catch crops was measured in 2021 for barley grain yield and grain N, and for nitrate leaching in the percolation periods of 2020–21 and 2021–22.Results During the repeated catch crop periods the average aboveground biomass N ranged between 20 and 61 kg N ha−1 yr−1. A residual effect of the repeated catch crops on grain yield and grain N was only observed in unfertilized barley. Catch crops significantly reduced nitrate leaching compared to the bare soil, with a reduction of 38–91 % per percolation period. After discontinuing the catch crops, there was no residual effect on nitrate leaching.Conclusion Repeated catch crops for four percolation periods did not have measurable residual effects on the following main crop, nor on nitrate leaching after their discontinuation.Implications or significance More research is needed on N immobilization and mineralization processes, and the factors that influence them to better understand the residual effects of catch crops.

Fish populations in estuaries are declining due to the changes in environmental conditions and fishing pressures. The estuarine fish behaviour is highly variable, influenced by both upstream fluvial and downstream tidal conditions. This study aims to predict the catch per unit effort (CPUE) of the Japanese Grenadier Anchovy (Coilia nasus) in the Chikugo River estuary by analyzing an extensive dataset of hourly fish catches and environmental variables through Random Forest (RF) models. The fish catch data for C. nasus, collected at 14.6–16 km upstream from the river mouth during the spawning season of every year from 2009 to 2020 using traditional fishing methods, was used. Along with these catch records, hydro-environmental variables such as salinity, turbidity, and temperature were monitored during the same period. The longitudinal variation of these environmental variables along the estuary (0–16 km) was measured during a fortnightly tidal cycle in September 2010. A total of 32 models (M1-M32) were developed to identify the optimal set of environmental variables influencing CPUE. The analysis highlights the significant impact of variables such as salinity, suspended sediment concentration (SSC), temperature, river discharge, and mean tidal range on CPUE. The results revealed that model M19, which incorporated salinity, SSC, and discharge, achieved the highest predictive accuracy (R2 = 0.89) and closely matched actual field conditions. Further, the results agree with previous research, as spatial distribution plots showed a preference for mature C. nasus habitats 15–16 km upstream from the river mouth. Additionally, the study found that temperature had a negligible effect on short-term CPUE predictions, likely due to its pronounced seasonal variability, suggesting that temperature may not be a critical factor for short-term CPUE predictions. This study highlights the significance of utilizing environmental variables to predict CPUE, emphasizing their role in understanding fish catch dynamics across spatiotemporal variations. The findings provide valuable insights for fisheries management, particularly in optimizing fishing zones based on environmental conditions to improve catch efficiency.

Background Chronic sleep deprivation is widespread and associated with detrimental health outcomes, including inflammation. A common strategy to address weekday sleep deficits is weekend catch-up sleep (WCS). However, the relevance of the WCS on systemic inflammation, as quantified by the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), remains inadequately understood.Methods This cross-sectional analysis examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2020 cohort. To explore the relationship between the WCS and the SII, we employed univariate analysis, weighted linear regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS) techniques, and subgroup analyses.Results The final sample included 4849 adults. Weighted linear regression confirmed a negative association between the WCS and the SII after adjusting for potential confounders (β = −16.72, 95 % CI: −34.29 to 0.85, P = 0.04). Subgroup analyses revealed that this association varied by obesity, gender, and age. Additionally, the association between the WCS duration and the SII was non-linear (P = 0.006) in adults with a weekday sleep duration of 7–8 h.Conclusion WCS can help mitigate the inflammatory burden associated with chronic sleep deprivation. WCS durations of 3 h and longer are particularly beneficial for adults who experience sleep deprivation on weekdays. The association between WCS and SII appears to be moderated by factors such as obesity, gender, and smoking status.

Commercial fisheries constitute a valuable source of high-resolution information that can aid in assessing stocks and establishing management schemes. Especially, multi-gear and multi-species fisheries can provide fine-scale insights in space and time with regards to the patterns in species distribution and abundance as well as to the comparative behavior of the fishing gears deployed. In this work we propose a Generalized Additive Modeling framework to standardize catch data collected through observer monitoring programs using a 2018–2021 dataset from the eastern Ionian (Mediterranean Sea, FAO GFCM GSA20) as a case study of data-poor mixed fisheries. Our framework extends the standardization procedures by accounting for preferential sampling, integrating effort from multiple gears and jointly modeling species. We show that such an integration leads to more robust estimations of abundance for both target and by-catch species as well as decreases inference uncertainty. Regarding single stocks, the identification of the independent effect of factors (e.g. spatial, temporal, fishing effort, gear, skipper effect) can aid in monitoring and management decisions; furthermore, an objective index of abundance is estimated that can be used to infer inter-annual trends from more extended time-series useful for stock assessments. Using standardized catch values, we have generated seasonal maps of species distribution and multiple-species persistence hotspots that are useful for designing spatiotemporal management restrictions and also informative of species ecology. We also address the effect of the technical (selectivity) and behavioral aspects of the fishing gears to inform gear-based management. Finally, we demonstrate how this broad inferential process can be condensed to form species assemblages (based on their shared responses on drivers of catch and abundance) as well as fishing gear assemblages (based on their catch profiles and the apparent heterogeneity between vessels deploying common gears) that can act as units of reference for management. Apart from an objective estimation of stock abundance in time and space, our standardization framework illustrates how ecological, technical and behavioral aspects of mixed fisheries can be collectively evaluated to inform stock assessment and management.

The ability of children to recover from linear growth retardation, often referred to as catch-up growth, has intrigued researchers for many decades. Whether adoption from a low-income to a high-income setting, which provides a comprehensive improvement in the conditions that cause children to not grow well, leads to catch-up growth is unknown. We estimated the association of adoption (or placement in foster care) with catch-up in linear growth and child development before 5 y of age. We conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis using individual participant data for linear growth. We obtained study-specific and subgroup estimates and pooled the estimates using random-effects models. Sensitivity analyses were used to assess the robustness of our findings. A review of child-development outcomes was conducted. We included 485 children under 5 y of age from 9 adoption studies. At baseline, children had a mean age of 15.8 mo and a length deficit of 3.9 cm. Adoption reduced this gap by 77% or 3.0 cm (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9, 4.1 cm; mean age: 32.3 mo). Catch-up growth was found in both girls (3.6 cm; 95% CI: 2.9, 4.2 cm) and boys (2.5 cm; 95% CI: 1.9, 3.1 cm) and in children adopted after the age of 24 mo (2.2 cm; 95% CI: 0.6, 3.7 cm). The sensitivity analyses did not change any of the substantive findings. The magnitude of catch-up in child development (mean reduction in deficit of 46%) was smaller than that in linear growth. Catch-up in linear growth in children under 5 is biologically possible when the environment is improved profoundly and comprehensively. Partial reversal of the accumulated height deficit is more likely than recovery in developmental outcomes, which highlights the need to ensure all children grow and develop in environments that prevent deficits from occurring rather than trying to correct them.This review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42022298715 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPEROFILES/298715_PROTOCOL_20220429.pdf).

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