Medicare, a major healthcare program under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended telemedicine services within several states in the US for different specialties for which it reimburses in order to establish a qualitative and accessible healthcare system. In parallel, it has been seen that teleradiology services by American Board Certified radiologists based offshore can significantly supplement healthcare delivery in the US by mitigating the shortage of radiologists and enhance outcomes of patient care especially for after-hours emergency work. Teleradiology can help workflow by improving workload distribution, lowering the cost of reporting, shortening turn-around-time for reports, and improving quality of life for staff. The aim of the article is to provide perspective on Medicare reimbursement of offshore telereporting services. We submit that due to its value proposition and contribution to healthcare, offshore telereporting by American Board Certified Radiologists is worthy of Medicare reimbursement and should be re-evaluated for its credits.

Payment for forest ecosystem services (PFES) policy is a prevalent strategy designed to establish a marketplace where users compensate providers for forest ecosystem services. This research endeavours to scrutinise the impact of PFES on households’ perceptions of forest values and their behaviour towards forest conservation, in conjunction with their socio-economic circumstances and their communal involvement in forest management. By incorporating the social-ecological system framework and the theory of human behaviours in environmental conservation, this study employs a structural equations model to analyse the factors influencing individuals’ perceptions and behaviours towards forest conservation. The findings indicate that the payment of PFES significantly increases forest protection behaviour at the household level and has achieved partial success in activating community mechanisms to guide human behaviour towards forest conservation. Furthermore, it has effectively leveraged the role of state-led social organisations to alter local individuals’ perceptions and behaviours towards forest protection.

Studies to evaluate the response of passion fruit seedlings in terms of emergence, nursery, and early field growth to growing media and mulching were carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi between July and December 2018. Treatments consisted of five media, composted from readily available substrates. The five nursery media were; medium 1:1:2:3 (SB) composed of top soil + poultry manure + river sand; medium 2:1:2:3 (RHB) – rice hull + poultry manure + river sand; medium 3:2:3:1 (RHB) – rice hull + poultry manure + river sand; medium 4:1:4:3 (SDB) – sawdust + poultry manure + river sand and medium 5:1:2:3 (SDB) – sawdust + poultry manure + river sand. For the nursery experiment, treatments were the five potting media, while the field trial was a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of the five growing media and mulching status (mulch and no mulch). In both cases, treatments were laid out in randomized designs that were replicated three times. Results showed that there were no significant differences in all the emergence traits evaluated. However, medium M5 (sawdust based) showed superior performance in most of the seedling characters evaluated. Under field conditions, the sawdust based media (M4 and M5) gave the best growth of passion fruit seedlings compared to the other potting media. Application of mulch, however, did not elicit any significant response in plant growth. It is therefore conclusive that sawdust based growing media could be used to produce high quality passion fruit seedlings with the prospect of excellent performance under field conditions.

This article explores the application of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework in the context of integrating self-driving tractors into agricultural practices. With a focus on understanding the factors influencing the acceptance and adoption of this transformative technology, we delve into the implications for farmers, industry stakeholders, and the future of sustainable agriculture and rural tourism.

Facing the digital economy era, considerable attention is paid to the importance of understanding the fundamental impact on the information and development of blended teaching methods regarding the higher education. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to answer the challenges brought by the digital economy era, identify the effective teaching methods which would be used in English Correspondence course in the era of digital economy, aiming to form the patterns of learning, provide high motivation, strength and knowledge, and most importantly contribute to the complex competences of future working. For further research, it is expected to be able to prove that using the blended teaching methods will effectively improve students’ communication skills and learning efficiency, enhance students’ learning experience and critical thinking skills.

We reviewed the research on super-hydrophobic materials. Firstly, we introduced the basic principles of super-hydrophobic materials, including the Young equation, Wenzel model, and Cassie model. Then, we summarized the main preparation methods and research results of super-hydrophobic materials, such as the template method, soft etching method, electrospinning method, and sol-gel method. Among them, the electrospinning method that has developed in recent years is a new technology for preparing micro/nanofibers. Finally, the applications of super-hydrophobic materials in the field of coatings, fabric and filter material, anti-fogging, and antibacterial were introduced, and the problems existing in the preparation of super-hydrophobic materials were pointed out, such as unavailable industrialized production, high cost, and poor durability of the materials. Therefore, it is necessary to make a further study on the application of the materials in the selection, preparation, and post-treatment.