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bassiana.Germination and seedling establishment are two critical processes in the life cycle of plants. Seeds and seedlings must pass through a series of abiotic and biotic filters in order to recruit as members of their communities. These processes are part of the regeneration niche of the species. In arid regions, the regeneration niche is frequently associated to facilitation by shade. Facilitation is a positive interaction between plants, in which one of them acts as a benefactor (the nurse) of the other (the beneficiary). The result of this interaction can be reflected in the increased growth, survival, and/or reproduction of the beneficiary plant. In this study, we determined experimentally the effect of shade and irrigation on the germination and early survival of dominant species of a semi-arid Andean region, the Bolivian Prepuna. An experiment with Acacia feddeana, Prosopis ferox, Cercidium andicola (woody species), Parodia maassii, and Oreocereus celsianus (cactus species) was carried out at an experimental garden in La Paz, Bolivia, with a bifactorial design, considering shaded and unshaded pots, subjected to two irrigation treatments (≈50 and 80 mm of rainfall during the whole study period). Microenvironmental conditions did not affect the seed germination of the woody species. However, they showed differences in seedling survival A. feddeana survived better under shade, whereas P. ferox and C. andicola survived better without shade. Cercidium andicola, compared to P. ferox, was more affected by shade and low irrigation. Although germination success of cacti was low, both species germinated better under shade and with high irrigation. These results showed differences in the regeneration niche of dominant species of the Prepuna which may favor their coexistence and which may be characteristic of other dry Andean regions.The present paper investigates factors contributing to the home advantage, by using the exceptional opportunity to study professional football matches played in the absence of spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. More than 40,000 matches before and during the pandemic, including more than 1,000 professional matches without spectators across the main European football leagues, have been analyzed. Results support the notion of a crowd-induced referee bias as the increased sanctioning of away teams disappears in the absence of spectators with regard to fouls (p less then .001), yellow cards (p less then .001), and red cards (p less then .05). Moreover, the match dominance of home teams decreases significantly as indicated by shots (p less then .001) and shots on target (p less then .01). In terms of the home advantage itself, surprisingly, only a non-significant decrease is found. While the present paper supports prior research with regard to a crowd-induced referee bias, spectators thus do not seem to be the main driving factor of the home advantage. Results from amateur football, being naturally played in absence of a crowd, provide further evidence that the home advantage is predominantly caused by factors not directly or indirectly attributable to a noteworthy number of spectators.

Deprivation can perpetuate across generations; however, the causative pathways are not well understood. Directed acyclic graphs (DAG) with mediation analysis can help elucidate and quantify complex pathways in order to identify modifiable factors at which to target interventions.

We linked ten Scotland-wide databases (six health and four education) to produce a cohort of 217,226 pupils who attended Scottish schools between 2009 and 2013. The DAG comprised 23 potential mediators of the association between area deprivation at birth and subsequent offspring ‘not in education, employment or training’ status, covering maternal, antenatal, perinatal and child health, school engagement, and educational factors. Analyses were performed using modified g-computation. Deprivation at birth was associated with a 7.3% increase in offspring ‘not in education, employment or training’. The principal mediators of this association were smoking during pregnancy (natural indirect effect of 0·016, 95% CI 0·013, 0·019) and schotanding complex public health problems.

Community participation in the governance of health services is an important component in engaging stakeholders (patients, public and partners) in decision-making and related activities in health care. Community participation is assumed to contribute to quality improvement and goal attainment but remains elusive. We examined the implementation of community participation, through collaborative governance in primary health care facilities in Uasin Gishu County, Western Kenya, under the policy of devolved governance of 2013.

Utilizing a multiple case study methodology, five primary health care facilities were purposively selected. Study participants were individuals involved in the collaborative governance of primary health care facilities (from health service providers and community members), including in decision-making, management, oversight, service provision and problem solving. Data were collected through document review, key informant interviews and observations undertaken from 2017 to 2018. Audio recand how these worked were unclear. Drug stock outs, funding delays and unclear operational guidelines affected collaborative governance performance.

Implementing collaborative governance effectively requires that the scope of focus for collaboration include both specific projects and the routine functioning of the primary health care facility by the health facility committee. In the study area, structures are required to manage effective stakeholder engagement.

Implementing collaborative governance effectively requires that the scope of focus for collaboration include both specific projects and the routine functioning of the primary health care facility by the health facility committee. In the study area, structures are required to manage effective stakeholder engagement.A systematic chart review was performed to estimate the frequency of pregnancy outcomes, pregnancy complications and neonatal outcomes at facilities in Blantyre, Malawi; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; and Chitungwiza and Harare, Zimbabwe to provide comparisons with estimates from an ongoing clinical trial evaluating the safety of two biomedical HIV prevention interventions in pregnancy. A multi-site, cross-sectional chart review was conducted at Maternal Obstetric Units and hospitals where women participating in the ongoing clinical trial would be expected to deliver. buy GANT61 All individuals delivering at the designated facilities or admitted for postpartum care within seven days of a delivery elsewhere (home, health clinic, etc.) were included in the review. Data were abstracted for pregnancy outcomes, pregnancy complications, maternal and neonatal death, and congenital anomalies. Data from 10,138 records were abstracted across all four sites (Blantyre n = 2,384; Johannesburg n = 1,888; Kampala n = 3,708; Chitungwiza and Harare n = 2,158), which included 10,426 pregnancy outcomes.