Thermo Condition Determines the Uptake of Autumn and Winter Applied Nitrogen and Subsequent Utilization in Spring Tea (Camellia sinensis L.)

The effect of thermal condition on the uptake of autumn and winter applied N and its subsequent utilization in spring tea (Camellia sinensis) was investigated by applying 15N enriched urea as single or split applications between October and February in two commercial plantations at Xingyang of Henan province and Yongchuan of Chongqing with different thermal conditions. The proportion of N derived from 15N-labeled urea (Ndff%) in fibrous root and mature leaves 15 days after application at Xingyang and the Ndff% of mature leaves on the day of the first spring tea harvest at both sites were the highest in the single October application. The Ndff% of the following spring tea was also the highest in the single October application at both sites. The results showed that application of N fertilizer in October relative to other later months most significantly improves the accumulation of plant N reserves and consequently contributes more significantly to the early spring tea. Such timing effect was related to the thermal condition, i.e., the growing degree days (°C•d, T > 8 °C) between the dates of fertilization and harvest of young shoots, which represents the combining effect of the temperature and the residence time of N fertilizer in the soil.

Do Social Timing and Gender Matter to Parental Depression Aroused by Traumatic Experience of Child Bereavement? Evidence from China

Child loss is a rare but traumatic life event that often has a detrimental effect on parental wellbeing. However, parents’ resources and strategies in coping with the stressful child bereavement event may depend on timing of the event. This study intends to examine how parental depression could be aroused by the occurrence and timing of child bereavement, and how the influences vary by child gender. Drawing on the theoretical framework of the stress and life course, and using three waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find that both the occurrence and timing of child bereavement are significantly associated with parental depression in later life. Bereaved parents are more likely to report depression than non-bereaved parents. Child bereavement in children’s young adulthood is more likely to spark off parental depression than that occurring in children’s midlife or later. Further analysis confirms that the timing effect of child bereavement differs by child gender. Parents whose son died during young adulthood are more likely to report depression than their counterparts whose daughter died. Future studies need to address how to build up a specific social welfare program targeting child bereavement groups in different life stages.

Factors Associated with Medicine Timing Effects: A Meta-analysis

Importance Clinical evidence suggests that the time of day of treatment can affect outcomes in many different diseases, but this information is dispersed, imprecise, and heterogeneous. Consequently, practice guidelines and clinical care recommendations seldom specify intervention time. Objective To understand the sources of variability and summarize clinical findings on the time of day effects of medicine. Data Sources A systematic search of Pubmed, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov for chronotherapy OR time of administration. Study Selection Any clinical study since 2000, randomized or observational, that compared the effects of treatment at different times of day. We included pharmacologic or surgical interventions having at least one continuous outcome. Data Extraction and Synthesis For selected studies, we extracted the mean and variance of each time-of-day treatment group. From these, we computed the standardized mean difference (SMD) as the measure of timing effect. Where a study reported multiple outcomes, we selected a single outcome based on a defined order of priority. Main Outcomes and Measures We estimated overall pooled effect size and heterogeneity by a random effects model, followed by outlier detection and subgroup analyses to evaluate how study factors, including drug, design, outcome, and source, associate with timing effect. Results 78 studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 48 distinct interventions over many therapeutic areas. We found an overall effect of time on clinical outcomes but with substantial heterogeneity between studies. Predicted effects range from none to large depending on the study context. Study size, registration status, and source are associated with the magnitude of effect. Larger trials and those that were pre-registered have markedly smaller effects, suggesting that the published record overstates the effects of the timing of medicine on clinical outcomes. In particular, the notion that antihypertensives are more effective if taken at bedtime draws disproportionately from one source in the field, which consistently detects larger effects than the community average. Lastly, among the most highly studied drug timing relationships, the aspirin anti-clotting effect stands out, consistently favoring evening over morning dosing. Conclusions and Relevance While accounts of drug timing effects have focused on yes/no, appreciating the range of probable effects may help clarify where circadian medicine meets the threshold for clinical benefit.

L’incidence d’un enseignement centré sur la forme sur la performance orale

The present study examines the timing effect of form-focused instruction within a task on language performance. One hundred and ten university-level, French as a second language students of B1 and B2 proficiency performed a ranking task. Two groups received instruction on the subjunctive prior to completing the task, two groups received instruction during the task, and two groups received instruction after the task. Performance was analyzed along the lines of structural complexity, accuracy, fluidity, and lexical complexity. The group receiving instruction prior to task completion displayed the most structural complexity, overall accuracy, and fluidity. Instruction during the task resulted in the greatest degree of lexical complexity and accuracy with respect to the use of the subjunctive. The post-task instruction group did not stand out in any respect. The results of the study demonstrate that form-focus instruction given prior to task completion does not necessarily yield negative effects on performance, contrary to some theoretical predictions or pedagogical recommendations regarding Task-Based Language Teaching.

The Impact of Market Timing on European Firms’ Capital Structure: RLBOs vs. IPOs

Our study compares the impact of market timing on the capital structure of reverse leveraged buyouts (RLBOs) and initial public offerings (IPOs). Our sample is made up of 210 RLBOs and 210 public companies listed between 1995 and 2015 and linked by size (turnover) and industry (based on the first two digits of the SIC code). Our results show that the impact of market timing measures on capital structure is different between RLBOs and public companies. In accordance with Baker and Wurgler (2002) and others, these measures have a negative and significant effect on the capital structure of the two types of companies. This significance is persistent ten years after the IPO for public companies and only three years after the IPO for RLBOs. RLBOs rebalance the market timing effect on their capital structures much more quickly and therefore move toward the target debt ratio more quickly than their counterparts. These results challenge the robustness and generality of Baker and Wurgler’s (2002) market timing theory. The capital structure of RLBOs seems to be better explained by the characteristic variables of companies suggested by the theory of trade-off.