Abiotic stresses, including drought, detrimentally affect the growth and productivity of many economically important crop plants, leading to significant yield losses, which can result in food shortages and threaten the sustainability of agriculture. Balancing between plant growth and stress responses is one of the most important characters for agricultural application to maximize plant production. In this study, we initially report that copper nanoparticle priming positively regulates drought stress responses in maize. The copper nanoparticle priming plants displayed enhanced drought tolerance indicated by their higher leaf water content and plant biomass under drought as compared with water-treated plants. Moreover, our data showed that the treatment of copper nanoparticle on plants increased anthocyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents compared to water-treated plants under drought stress conditions. Additionally, histochemical analyses with nitro blue tetrazolium and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine revealed that reactive oxygen species accumulation of priming plants was decreased as a result of enhancement of reactive oxygen species scavenging enzyme activities under drought. Furthermore, our comparative yield analysis data indicated applying copper nanoparticle to plant increased total seed number and grain yield under drought stress conditions. Our data provided the evidences that copper nanoparticle regulates plant protective mechanisms associated with drought tolerance, which is a promising approach for the production of drought tolerant crop plants.

Abiotic stresses, including drought, detrimentally affect the growth and productivity of many economically important crop plants, leading to significant yield losses, which can result in food shortages and threaten the sustainability of agriculture. Balancing between plant growth and stress responses is one of the most important characters for agricultural application to maximize plant production. In this study, we initially report that copper nanoparticle priming positively regulates drought stress responses in maize. The copper nanoparticle priming plants displayed enhanced drought tolerance indicated by their higher leaf water content and plant biomass under drought as compared with water-treated plants. Moreover, our data showed that the treatment of copper nanoparticle on plants increased anthocyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents compared to water-treated plants under drought stress conditions. Additionally, histochemical analyses with nitro blue tetrazolium and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine revealed that reactive oxygen species accumulation of priming plants was decreased as a result of enhancement of reactive oxygen species scavenging enzyme activities under drought. Furthermore, our comparative yield analysis data indicated applying copper nanoparticle to plant increased total seed number and grain yield under drought stress conditions. Our data provided the evidences that copper nanoparticle regulates plant protective mechanisms associated with drought tolerance, which is a promising approach for the production of drought tolerant crop plants.

Aims To quantify the incremental direct medical costs in people with diabetes from the healthcare system perspective; and to identify trends in the incremental costs. Methods This was a matched retrospective cohort study based on a linked data set developed for investigating chronic kidney disease in Tasmania, Australia. Using propensity score matching, 51,324 people with diabetes were matched on age, sex and residential area with 102,648 people without diabetes. Direct medical costs (Australian dollars 2020–2021) due to hospitalisation, Emergency Department visits and pathology tests were included. The incremental costs and cost ratios between mean annual costs of people with diabetes and their controls were calculated. Results On average, people with diabetes had healthcare costs that were almost double their controls ($2427 [95% CI 2322–2543]; ratio 1.87 [95% CI 1.85–1.91]; pooled from 2007–2017). While in the first year of follow‐up, the costs of a person with diabetes were $1643 (95% CI 1489–1806); ratio 1.83 (95% CI 1.76–1.92) more than their control, this increased to $2480 (95% CI 2265–2680); ratio 1.69 (95% CI 1.62–1.77) in the final year. Although the incremental costs were higher in older age groups (e.g., ≥70: $2498 [95% CI 2265–2754]; 40–49: $2117 [95% CI 1887–2384]), the cost ratios were higher in younger age groups (≥70: 1.52 [95% CI 1.48–1.56]; 40–49: 2.37 [95% CI 2.25–2.61]). Conclusions Given the increasing burden that diabetes imposes, our findings will support policymakers in future planning for diabetes and enable targeting sub‐groups with higher long‐term costs for possible cost savings for the Tasmanian healthcare system.

AimsOur study aimed to identify the common themes, knowledge gaps and to evaluate the quality of data linkage research on diabetes in Australia.MethodsThis systematic review was developed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (the PRISMA Statement). Six biomedical databases and the Australian Population Health Research Network (PHRN) website were searched. A narrative synthesis was conducted to comprehensively identify the common themes and knowledge gaps. The guidelines for studies involving data linkage were used to appraise methodological quality of included studies.ResultsAfter screening and hand-searching, 118 studies were included in the final analysis. Data linkage publications confirmed negative health outcomes in people with diabetes, reported risk factors for diabetes and its complications, and found an inverse association between primary care use and hospitalization. Linked data were used to validate data sources and diabetes instruments. There were limited publications investigating healthcare expenditure and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in people with diabetes. Regarding methodological assessment, important information about the linkage performed was under-reported in included studies.ConclusionsIn the future, more up to date data linkage research addressing costs of diabetes and its complications in a contemporary Australian setting, as well as research assessing ADRs of recently approved antidiabetic medications, are required.