Two new species of Boesenbergia (Zingiberaceae), from Sabah, Malaysia

Two new species of Boesenbergia, B.sugudensis sp. nov. and B.truncata sp. nov. were discovered in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Boesenbergiasugudensis resembles B.imbakensis in that the leaf sheath of the plant is not thickened and in the anther thecae dehiscing by longitudinal slits, but differs in having a longer petiole and tubular calyx. Boesenbergiatruncata resembles B.orbiculata by the short petiole and a bilobed calyx, but differs by the truncate leaf base, the acute leaf apex, opposite leaves with a narrower lamina parallel to the ground and anther thecae dehiscing by pores. The new species are described and illustrated in detail.

Socio-Demography, Working Conditions, and Musculoskeletal Ailments among Pineapple Farmers in Northeast India

This study was conducted to examine the socio-demography, working conditions, and consequential musculoskeletal ailments of pineapple farmers in northeast India. A total of 152 pineapple farmers (92 males and 60 females) participated in the study. Data were collected using a pre-tested structured schedule and a standard Nordic questionnaire through personal interviews followed by direct observation. Chi-square (χ²) analysis and multiple logistic regression were conducted using SPSS software 16.0 to explore the association of various independent factors and their influences on the musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) scores. The study revealed that a majority (>85%) of the pineapple farmers in northeast India had low to medium annual income, with more than 95% of the farmers belonging to small and marginal categories. Moreover, MSS were highly prevalent among the farmers (79.61%), and the low-back (76.32%) was the most affected body part. The results of the Chi-square (χ²) analysis highlighted that age, education level, and farming experience were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the prevalence of overall MSS among the pineapple farmers. Among the factors, only age and gender significantly influenced the risk of complaints for the farmers' neck (OR = 6.62, 95% CI: 1.29-34.02, p ≤ 0.05) and low back (OR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.00-6.47, p ≤ 0.05). This study's findings demonstrated the need for the urgent exploration of sustainable and innovative interventions to reduce the occurrence of MSS and improve the working conditions of the pineapple farmers in northeast India.

A method for modelling the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve at the level of the cerebral capillary in humans

NEW FINDINGS

What is the central question of this study? Can the change in haemoglobin's affinity for oxygen in the human cerebral circulation be modelled in vivo? What is the main finding and its importance? We provide a novel method for modelling the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve at the cerebral capillary level in humans, so that the cerebral capillary and mitochondrial oxygen tensions can reliably be estimated. This may be useful in future human-experimental studies on cerebral oxygen transport.

ABSTRACT

We provide a method for modelling the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve (ODC) in the cerebral capillary in humans. In contrast to most previous approaches, our method involves the construction of an averaged ODC based on paired arterial-jugular venous blood gas values, which enables the estimation of oxygen parameters in cerebral capillary blood. The method was used to determine the mean cerebral capillary oxygen saturation and tension from data previously collected from 30 healthy volunteers. The averaged ODC provided systematically higher capillary oxygen tensions than when assuming a 'fixed' standard arterial ODC. When the averaged and measured arterial ODC were used for constructing the capillary ODC, similar values were obtained during resting breathing, but not when the arterial ODC was modulated by hypocapnia. The findings suggest that our method for modelling the cerebral capillary ODC provides robust and physiologically reliable estimates of the cerebral capillary oxygen tension, which may be of use in future studies of cerebral oxygen transport in humans.