bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tecnologia da sobrevivência: saberes e novos usos na ocupação Cidade Locomotiva em Ribeirão Preto/SP
Authors: Rizzatti Helena
Published: May 2022

No artigo propõe-se um diálogo com a teoria do espaço geográfico elaborada por Milton Santos incorporando a ideia, discutida pela autora, de tecnologia da sobrevivência como uma junção entre saberes ancestrais, conhecimentos, técnica e tecnologia para a construção cotidiana da periferia urbana. Compreendida como espaço opaco, a periferia é concomitantemente rugosidade, resistência e atualização da modernização seletiva do espaço urbano. Sugere-se, a partir disso, que a sobrevivência nesses lugares exige uma racionalidade alternativa para sua construção diária. A partir da ocupação denominada Cidade Locomotiva, construída na cidade de Ribeirão Preto, interior do estado de São Paulo, analisa-se como a população que nela reside construiu e constrói esse lugar por meio da tecnologia da sobrevivência. A metodologia aplicada para a realização dessa pesquisa foi revisão bibliográfica, consulta a fonte de dados secundários e acesso a dados primários por meio de visitas técnicas com o poder público local, as lideranças e moradores/as da ocupação, além de trabalhos de campo durante o período de dois anos. Busca-se, assim, demonstrar o conhecimento que essa população possui sobre os vetores da modernização e os limites impostos à sua vida diariamente. Além de compreender como a tecnologia da sobrevivência, uma modernidade alternativa constituída no cotidiano do lugar, é resistente, ainda que também reprodutora, da urbanização corporativa brasileira.
O novo e o velho na organização da mídia no território brasileiro: contribuições para a leitura da conjuntura atual a partir de Milton Santos
Authors: Pasti André
Published: May 2022

Este artigo busca, a partir de um diálogo com a obra legada por Milton Santos, trazer contribuições para a leitura da atual conjuntura brasileira, no contexto da chamada “onda conservadora” e da ascensão da extrema-direita. Pretende-se, assim, compreender o que o território usado nos revela para interpretarmos o papel da comunicação na conjuntura atual e investigar como a organização da comunicação no território condiciona as possibilidades de debater outros projetos de futuro para o território. Pretende-se dar subsídios para leituras da conjuntura que considere a tensão entre as inovações e o preexistente nos arranjos espaciais, mobilizando os conceitos de psicosfera-tecnosfera, eventos e formação socioespacial.
Conferência “Nuevas concepciones de la Geografía” Milton Santos
Authors: Santos Milton
Published: May 2022

Esta conferência foi proferida por Milton Santos no V Encontro de Geógrafos da América Latina, realizado em Havana (Cuba) em 1995. Foi transcrita e publicada originalmente em 2005, junto a uma compilação das falas dos participantes de uma homenagem feita a memória do professor na Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade da República (Montevidéu – Uruguai) em 2001. Tal edição foi coordenada pelo Professor Alvaro López Gallero, a quem agradecemos a autorização para a presente publicação, bem como a Professora Raquel Alvarado, do Departamento de Geografia da Universidade da República, que estabeleceu contato com o professor, atualmente jubilado. Agradecemos também a Marie-Hélène Tiercelin, por igualmente autorizar esta publicação. Por fim, agradecemos a Professora Mónica Arroyo, que nos enviou o original impresso que serviu de base para esta nova publicação.
Egypt in U.S. policy in the Middle East in the early 1950s.
Authors: Kryzhko Lidiya Anatol'evna , Kryzhko Evgeniy Vladimirovich , Pashkovsky Petr Igorevich
Published: May 2022

The author considers the problem of the role of Egypt in the US policy in the Middle East in the early 1950s. It is shown that a new political circumstances in the regions of the Middle and Near East forced the United States to act as a competitor to Great Britain. The United States understood the importance of gradually ousting Great Britain from the region, trying to prevent the increase of Soviet influence there using various methods. At the same time, the implementation of US's plan to form a controlled military-political bloc of Middle Eastern states in 1950-1953 proved to be untenable for various reasons. The decisive role in this regard was played by the position held by Egypt. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the focus on the project "Middle East Command", as the first failed plan of the military bloc of Western countries in the region. It was revealed that the US stake on Egypt as a conductor of its interests turned out to be unjustified. The US administration objectively saw in the anti-British movement, which was gaining momentum in Egypt during this period, an opportunity to strengthen its influence. However, with the approval of G. A. Nasser in power in Egypt, a new foreign policy strategy was being developed, which was based on efforts to raise the patriotism of the Arab countries and unite the Arabs in the fight against the colonial past. Also, US's efforts to achieve coexistence of Egypt and Israel in a single policy not brought the desired results. In the context of the unresolved Palestinian issue and the aggravation of the Arab-Israeli confrontation in Egypt's foreign policy, tendencies towards rapprochement with the Arab countries in the form of a number of military-political alliances were gaining momentum.
An improved two-stage label propagation algorithm based on LeaderRank
Authors: Liu Miaomiao , Yang Jinyun , Guo Jingfeng , Chen Jing , Zhang Yongsheng
Published: May 2022

To solve the problems of poor stability and low modularity (Q) of community division results caused by the randomness of node selection and label update in the traditional label propagation algorithm, an improved two-stage label propagation algorithm based on LeaderRank was proposed in this study. In the first stage, the order of node updating was determined by the participation coefficient (PC). Then, a new similarity measure was defined to improve the label selection mechanism so as to solve the problem of label oscillation caused by multiple labels of the node with the most similarity to the node. Moreover, the influence of the nodes was comprehensively used to find the initial community structure. In the second stage, the rough communities obtained in the first stage were regarded as nodes, and their merging sequence was determined by the PC. Next, the non-weak community and the community with the largest number of connected edges were combined. Finally, the community structure was further optimized to improve the modularity so as to obtain the final partition result. Experiments were performed on nine classic realistic networks and 19 artificial datasets with different scales, complexities, and densities. The modularity and normalized mutual information (NMI) were used as evaluation indexes for comparing the improved algorithm with dozens of relevant classic algorithms. The results showed that the proposed algorithm yields superior performance, and the results of community partitioning obtained using the improved algorithm were stable and more accurate than those obtained using other algorithms. In addition, the proposed algorithm always performs well in nine large-scale artificial data sets with 6,000 to 50,000 nodes and three large realistic network datasets, which verifies its computational performance and utility in community detection for large-scale networks.
Hospital-level characteristics of the standardised mortality ratio for ischemic heart disease: a retrospective observational study using Japanese administrative claim data from 2012 to 2019
Authors: Onishi Ryo , Hatakeyama Yosuke , Matsumoto Kunichika , Seto Kanako , Hirata Koki , Wu Yinghui , Hasegawa Tomonori
Published: May 2022

Background

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide and imposes a heavy burden on patients. Previous studies have indicated that the optimal care for IHD during hospitalisation may reduce the risk of in-hospital mortality. The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) is an indicator for assessing the risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality ratio based on case-mix. This indicator can crucially identify hospitals that can be changed to improve patient safety and the quality of care. This study aimed to determine the hospital-level characteristics of the SMR for IHD in Japan.

Methods

This study was designed as a retrospective observational study using the Japanese administrative claim data from 2012 to 2019. The data of all hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of IHD (ICD-10, I20-I25) were used. Patients with complete variables data were included in this study. Hospitals with less than 200 IHD inpatients in each 2-year period were excluded. The SMR was defined as the ratio of the observed number of in-hospital deaths to the expected number of in-hospital deaths multiplied by 100.The observed number of in-hospital deaths was the sum of the actual number of in-hospital deaths at that hospital, and the expected number of in-hospital deaths was the sum of the probabilities of in-hospital deaths. Ratios of in-hospital mortality was risk-adjusted using multivariable logistic regression analyses. The c-statistic and Hosmer-Lemeshow test were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the logistic models. Changes in SMRs in each consecutive period were assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient.

Results

A total of 64,831 were admitted patients with IHD in 27 hospitals as complete submission data. The SMRs showed wide variation among hospitals, ranging from 35.4 to 197.6, and analysis models indicated good predictive ability with a c-statistic of 0.93 (95% CI [0.92–0.94]) and Hosmer-Lemeshow test of 0.30. The results of chi-square tests and t-tests for all variables to assess the association with in-hospital mortality were P < 0.001. In the analysis of trends in each consecutive period, the SMRs showed positive correlations.

Conclusions

This study denoted that the SMRs for IHD could be calculated using Japanese administrative claim data. The SMR for IHD might contribute to the development of more appropriate benchmarking systems for hospitals to improve quality of care.
Melatonin increases growth properties in human dermal papilla spheroids by activating AKT/GSK3β/β-Catenin signaling pathway
Authors: Bae Sowon , Yoon Yoo Gyeong , Kim Ji Yea , Park In-Chul , An Sungkwan , Lee Jae Ho , Bae Seunghee
Published: May 2022

Background

Melatonin, a neurohormone, maybe involved in physiological processes, such as antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and hair growth. In the present study, we investigated the effects of melatonin on proliferation and intracellular signaling in DP cells using a three-dimensional (3D) spheroid culture system that mimics thein vivohair follicle system.

Methods

DP cells were incubated in monolayer (2D) and 3D spheroid culture systems. The expression levels of melatonin receptors in DP cells were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. The effect of melatonin on the hair-inductive property of DP cells was analyzed using a WST-1-based proliferation assay, determination of DP spheroid size, expression analysis of DP signature genes, and determination of β-catenin stabilization in DP cells. The AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway associated with melatonin-induced β-catenin stabilization in DP cells was investigated by analyzing changes in upstream regulator proteins, including AKT, GSK3β, and their phosphorylated forms.

Results

The expression levels of the melatonin receptors were higher in human DP cells than in human epidermal keratinocytes and human dermal fibroblast cells. Comparing the expression level according to the human DP cell culture condition, melatonin receptor expression was upregulated in the 3D culture system compared to the traditional two-dimensional monolayer culture system. Cell viability analysis showed that melatonin concentrations up to 1 mM did not affect cell viability. Moreover, melatonin increased the diameter of DP cell 3D spheroids in a dose-dependent manner. Immunoblotting and qRT-PCR analysis revealed that melatonin upregulated the expression of hair growth-related genes, including alkaline phosphatase, bone morphogenetic protein 2, versican, and wingless-int 5A, in a melatonin receptor-dependent manner. Cell fractionation analysis showed that melatonin increased the nuclear localization of β-catenin. This result correlated with the increased transcriptional activation of T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor-responsive luciferase induced by melatonin treatment. Interestingly, melatonin induced the phosphorylation of protein kinase B/AKT at serine 473 residue and GSK-3β at serine 9 residue. To determine whether AKT phosphorylation at serine 473 induced β-catenin nuclear translocation through GSK3β phosphorylation at serine 9, the PI3K/AKT inhibitor LY294002 was cotreated with melatonin. Immunoblotting showed that LY294002 inhibited melatonin-induced phosphorylation of GSK3β at serine 9 residue and β-catenin activation.

Conclusion

Collectively, this report suggests that melatonin promotes growth properties by activating the AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway through melatonin receptors.
Effect of Admission Hypothermia on Short- term and Long-term Outcomes in Neonates Admitted at a Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Choudhary Sunita , Goyal Dileep , Diwaakar Dheeraj , Praser Vivek , Sareen Devendra , Mittal Hemlata
Published: May 2022

Introduction: Neonatal hypothermia is an abnormal thermal state in which body temperature drops below 36.5°C leading to adverse clinical outcomes caused due to prematurity of the neonate or severe infection. Since, the outcome of hypothermia is not immediately detected, it relatively gets neglected by the health care provider. Aim: To investigate the effect of admission hypothermia on short-term and long-term outcomes in neonates admitted at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: The descriptive study was conducted on 189 neonates with admission hypothermia which were further grouped into various grades of hypothermia and were followed-up to determine the outcome. The study population was subjected to routine investigations as per protocol. All neonates were screened by Ultrasonography (USG) cranium, 2D Echocardiogram (2D ECHO) and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) screening. At each follow-up they underwent various neurological examination at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age, neurodevelopment assessment using DAS II at one year of age, growth assessment (detailed anthropometry) and developmental milestones, nutritional assessment (breastfeeding or weaning), retinopathy of prematurity screening at three weeks. At 12 months of age, all the babies were assessed using Developmental Assessment scale for Indian infants. The data was analysed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21.0 for data computation, p=value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Two third (63.5%) of the neonates admitted in the NICU with admission hypothermia were males. Overall, 63% of admitted neonates with hypothermia were low-birth weight. Among the short-term outcome in neonates the most common was the Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS,81%). Most common combination of the short-term outcome were RDS+Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)+Sepsis (n=6) and RDS+PDA+ROP Grade II (n=4), and RDS+Intraventricular Haemorrhage (IVH)+Sepsis (n=2). All the neonates 4(100%) who were extremely preterm developed RDS compared to other neonates. RDS was cause of death in 4 hypothermic neonates. The mean development age using DAS II was 11.8 months. The mean development quotient was 94. Conclusion: The present observational study demonstrates a relationship between admission hypothermia and the type of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Gestational age carried a significant relationship with the short-term outcome like RDS in terms of developing co-morbidities and their survivability but had a limited role in development of long-term outcome. Routine screening of temperature and early intervention prevents the development of hypothermia thus preventing short-term complications. There is a need to create awareness among health professionals about the dangers of hypothermia so that early intervention could be undertaken to reduce its complications.
Significance of Serum Inflammatory Markers in Predicting Bacterial Meningitis amongst Neonates with Sepsis
Authors: Raghav Aparajita , Kumar Ajay , Anand Pratima , Yadav Garima , Gera Rani
Published: May 2022

Introduction: Neonatal meningitis in developing countries is 0.8- 6.1 per 1000 live births with mortality of 40-85% had morbidity. Since, the clinical signs and symptoms of meningitis are non- specific and like those seen in sepsis, Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) examination via Lumbar Puncture (LP) is essential to establish the diagnosis of meningitis. Performing a LP has its own set of complications. The need for lumbar puncture can be averted and early optimal antibiotic can be instituted if serum inflammatory markers are found to be a good predictor of meningitis in suspected neonatal sepsis. Aim: To investigate the role of serum inflammatory markers, to predict bacterial meningitis amongst neonates with sepsis and to determine the cut-off values for these markers to predict bacterial meningitis amongst neonates with sepsis. Materials and Methods:Thiswasacross-sectionalobservational study done over a period of 17 months in the paediatric wards in a tertiary care centre. All neonates presenting with clinical suspicion of sepsis were enrolled. The blood samples were collected for serum inflammatory markers and CSF examination was done as indicated (American Academy of Paediatrics, AAP guidelines). CSF examination findings and serum inflammatory markers were then statistically analysed to determine the significance in predicting bacterial meningitis in neonatal sepsis. A total of 234 neonates were selected as per laboratory investigations for enrollment in the study. Categorical variables were presented in number and percentage (%) and continuous variables were presented as mean±Standard deviation (SD) and median. Diagnostic tests were used to calculate sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and Negative Predictive Value (NPV). Results: A total 234 neonates with features suggestive of sepsis and in whom C-Reactive Protein (CRP) >10 mg/L, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) >15 mm, White Blood Cell (WBC) <4000 cells/mm³, Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) <1800/mm3 and in whom LP was recommended as per the AAP guidelines were included in the study. A 222 (94.87%) neonates were in the age group 1-10 days. A total of 134 (57.3%) study subjects were males. No significant association of ANC, WBC, ESR and CRP was seen with meningitis (p-value >0.05). Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) for all the four parameters were constructed, they showed performance was non-significant. Conclusion: Based on the current single site study results, it is implicated that diagnosis and management of neonatal meningitis should be solely based on LP since serum inflammatory markers are poor discriminators for meningitis. Future studies should evaluate the diagnostic parameters from other inflammatory markers like Immature to Total Neutrophil (IT) ratio and micro ESR, which, if proven to be of diagnostic value, can reduce the time to initiate management and avert the need for LP in neonatal meningitis.
Role of Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein in the Early Diagnosis of Neonatal Sepsis
Authors: Yadav Sumedha , Sharif Mumtaz , Saxena Amit , Kolhe Shital , Dhole Divyani
Published: May 2022

Introduction: Neonatal Sepsis (NS) is responsible for 30-50% of total neonatal deaths in developing countries. Blood culture is gold standard diagnostic test but has a low yield and is the time consuming. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (PCT) are commonly used for diagnosis of sepsis. Aim: To study the role of CRP and PCT in the screening of NS and to compare PCT and CRP in relation to sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted inatertiarycareNeonatalIntensiveCareUnit(NICU)fromFebruary 2018 and November 2019. Neonates with signs and symptoms of sepsis or born to mothers with risk factors for sepsis were included. Those who received antibiotic before admission or had co-morbidities such as meconium aspiration, birth asphyxia, etc., were excluded. Investigations for sepsis including Complete Blood Count (CBC), CRP, PCT and Blood Culture were done. They were classified into three groups as group 1 clinical sepsis, group 2 suspected sepsis and group 3 confirmed sepsis. The statistical test used was Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test and tests for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value were also used. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of CRP and PCT versus culture report were evaluated. The sensitivity was 61.90% and 90.47%, specificity was 72.45% and 82.75%, PPV was 61.90% and 79.16% and NPV was 72.45% and 92.30% for CRP and PCT, respectively. The accuracy of the test was 68.00% and 86.00% for CRP and PCT, respectively. Conclusion: PCT is a better septic marker than CRP in relation to sensitivity, specificity and accuracy and correlates positively with blood culture.
A Cohort Study on Survival Predictors of Low Birth Weight Newborns
Authors: Themyaola Ningshen , Navale Rakesh Amruth , Bairwa Amrit Lal
Published: May 2022

Introduction: Low Birth Weight (LBW) represent a vulnerable group of newborns associated with high risk of complications thus have a high mortality rate. There are many factors affecting the early survival of LBW neonates. There are limited studies providing the evidence on survival predictors in the newborns in western Indian region. Aim: To identify the various factors determining the survival of LBW newborns. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Department of Paediatrics, Jay Kay Lon Mother and Child Hospital, a neonatal and paediatric tertiary care centre attached to Government Medical College, Kota, India over a period from January 2011 to December 2011. Three hundred and sixty two newborns, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with birth weight <2500 gm within 24 hours of birth, were included in the study. Data were interpreted by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software for windows version 20.0. Those babies that were transferred and directly discharged to home were pooled as survivors and for the purpose of analysis were compared to babies that died during hospital stay. Associations between categorical variables and survival and death outcome were performed using the Chi-Square test. The p-value less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant. Results: This study of total sample of 362 newborns, reported a survival rate of 76.52% (277) and a mortality of 23.48% (85). Single gestation birth had better survival (78.69%) than multiple births (64.91%) (p=0.024). The survival improved as the birth weight increased (p<0.001). The survival in female was better (82.31%) as compared to males (72.56%) (p=0.032). The survival in Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) newborns was better (79.85%) than Small for Gestational Age (SGA) (67.68%) (p=0.0149). Neonates delivered to mothers who received antenatal steroids had a survival rate of 76.14% as compared to 68.13% in those who had not received steroids (p<0.02). Main cause of mortality in the study group was Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) (86.36%) followed by Birth Asphyxia (BA) (33.33%) and Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) (33.33%). Conclusion: The BA and RDS were the most common cause of neonatal mortality among various other complications related to prematurity and LBW. However, there are several factors that interplay and it is not possible to single out any particular factor influencing LBW survival. Reducing perinatal mortality requires a multidimensional approach with timely identification and appropriate management of the issues related to potential complications of prematurity as RDS, LBW and BA.
Impact of Neonatal Counselling on Parental Stress in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Quasi-experimental Study
Authors: Dwivedi Manish , Singh Anita , Naranje Kirti
Published: May 2022

Introduction: There are various reasons for stress in the parents of infants admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) e.g., sickness, environment and communication with healthcare staff. An effective communication and structured counselling may help in alleviating the parental stress. Aim: To determine the impact of counselling in alleviating parental stress of the sick babies admitted in the NICU. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in NICU of a tertiary care hospital during April- September 2020. The babies with a Score for Neonatal Acute physiology with Perinatal Extension II (SNAPE II) score ≥7 at the time of admission were included. Either parent was counselled daily by physician in charge of the unit for at least one counselling session and more so depending on the clinical condition of the baby. The parental stress was evaluated on Parental Stressor Scale: NICU (PSS: NICU) scale at two time points: 24 hours after admission and subsequently after three to five days of counselling. This scale uses the stressor points in four domains (Physical environment, Infant behaviour and appearance, Parental role alteration and Parental relationships with the staff of the unit). Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale; 0 being least stress and 5 being maximum stress. The overall pre and post counselling scores were compared using t-test. Results: There were total 61 study subjects. The mean±SD gestational age and birth weight was 343/7±41/7 weeks and 2225±598 grams respectively for the neonates. The mean SNAPE II score was 27.7±18.76. There was significant reduction in cumulative score on PSS: NICU scale after counselling (7.41 to 3.55, p<0.001). The results were also significant for individual domains. Conclusion: The structured daily counselling helps in ameliorating the parentral stress of sick babies admitted in NICU.
Effect of Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on Yield Attributes and Yield of Maize in Aerobic Rice- Zero Till Maize Cropping System Under Sandy Clay Loam Soils in Southern Telangana Agro-Climatic Zone
Authors: Rani J. S. Sudha , Sreedevi B. , Vani K. P. , Latha P.C. , Ramana M. Venkata , Babu P. Surendra , Naganjali K.
Published: May 2022

Continuous growing of rice –rice mono-cropping over the years and excessive dependence on chemical fertilizers alone has led to decrease in soil fertility and productivity. Rice–maize double cropping is gaining popularity in many Asian countries including India. fertilizer need of a crop in a system is strongly influenced by the preceding crops and the amount of fertilizers applied to them. Cropping with two nutrient intensive cereals like rice-maize would remove a substantial quantity of plant nutrients from soil during continued agriculture round the year, envisaging the need for adoption of efficient nutrient management practices for sustained soil health and improving system productivity. A field experimentt was carried out to study the residual effect of organic nutrient sources and inorganic fertilizer levels on yield attributes and yield of zero till maize. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four organic sources of nutrients applied to preceding rice as main plots viz: M1: Neem leaf manure @ 6 t ha-1; M2: Vermicompost @ 2 t ha-1; M3: Goat manure @ 5 t ha-1; M4: Microbial consortia [seed treatment @ 4 g kg-1 + soil application @ 4 kg ha-1] and four subplots with graded doses of fertilizers viz: S1: Control; S2: 50% RDF; S3: 75% RDF and S4: 100% RDF (180:60:60). The study revealed that various organic nutrient sources and graded fertilizer doses exerted a remarkable effect on plant height, LAI, dry matter production and Days to 50% silking which resulted in significantly higher grain, stover yield and harvest index of zero till maize.
Influence of Nitrogen and Zinc on Yield Components and Economics of Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica)
Authors: Tejaswi Addanki , Singh Shikha , Akhil Guggilla , Ganesh Mannepu Venkata Sai
Published: May 2022

Background: Foxtail millet crop has interesting characteristic features i.e., fairly tolerant to drought, and can escape terminal drought because of early maturity. Foxtail millet is comparable to that of super cereals like rice and wheat due to its capacity to withstand drought, adaptable to adverse climatic condition and input management.

Objectives:  Effect of nitrogen and zinc on yield attributes and economics of foxtail millet.

Methods: With the goal of studying the effect of nitrogen and zinc on yield and economics of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) One variety of Foxtail millet i.e., DHFt 109-3 was used with different doses of Nitrogen at 40, 50, 60 kg/ha and Zinc at 10, 15, 20 kg/ha was used. There were 9 treatments each replicated thrice. The result showed that the yield parameters viz, length of Ear (21.19 cm), seed yield (2.11 t/ha), test weight (3.36 g) straw yield (5.48 t/ha), gross return (73,850.00 INR/ha), net return (51,508.00 INR/ha), B:C ratio (2.30) were recorded superior with application of nitrogen at 60 kg/ha along with zinc 20 kg/ha.

Conclusion: Maximum Gross returns (73,850.00 INR/ha), Net return (51,508.00 INR/ha), B:C ratio (2.30) was obtained with application of 60 N kg/ha + 20 kg Zn/ha.
Direct and Indirect Macroeconomic Effects of Malaria in Senegal
Authors: Thiongane Mamaye
Published: May 2022

Malaria constitutes, beyond a public health problem, a major challenge for the development of endemic countries. The objective of this study is to estimate the economic cost of malaria in Senegal. A logarithmic double model with interaction effect is used and estimated, using a time series data from 1995 to 2019, by Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. At the macroeconomic level, when malaria morbidity increases by 1%, GDP per capita falls by 0.00467. Applied to total GDP, this corresponds to an average annual loss of US $ 108 million. In addition, the study shows a decrease of the labour factor impact when taking into account the interaction effect of malaria. In fact, in the case of a 1% increase in malaria, the contribution resulting from a 1% increase in the labour force decreases by 0.48 point. Such consequences due to malaria can lead in the long run to adverse effects on economic growth and on efforts to fight poverty in Senegal.
Fermentation of Cassava Skin as Additional Octan Value of Fuel
Authors: Azzahra Salsabila , Halkis Mhd
Published: May 2022

The lack of fossil energy sources requires us to look for alternative energy sources. This study uses cassava peel as a renewable energy source. The experimental method of the fermentation process shows that the smaller the density produced, the greater the percentage of ethanol content. Bioethanol from cassava peel initially still contains water, and the fermentation process improves the quality of the fuel mix. The highest percentage of alcohol occurred on the fourth day of fermentation, which was 60%, each variation of ethanol can be seen as the highest ethanol content with fermentation time. Gasoline has a low octane rating and will produce pollutants such as CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, and Pb. These chemicals can be reduced by increasing the octane rating using ethanol. Fermented cassava peel may be an alternative to bioethanol.
Detection of a sub‐set of polysomal mRNAs associated with modulation of hypusine formation at the G1‐S boundary Proposal of a role for eIF‐5A in onset of DNA replication
Authors: Hanauske-Abel H.M. , Slowinska B. , Zagulska S. , Wilson R.C. , Staiano-Coico L. , Hanauske A.-R. , McCaffrey T. , Szabo P.
Published: July 2002

S phase entry, i.e. start of DNA replication, is a crucial step in proliferation. Inhibition of S phase entry correlates with inhibition of hyposine formation, an event affecting only the eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF‐5A). Its hyposine‐containing sequence was postulated to authorize polysomal utilization of specific transcripts for proteins necessary to enable DNA replication. Using mimosine to reversibly suppress the hypusine‐forming deoxyhypusyl hydroxylase (E.C. 1.14.99.29) in cells while differentially displaying their polysomal versus non‐polysomal mRNA populations, we report the detection and classification of several mRNA species that indeed disappear from and reappear at polysomes in concert with inhibition and disinhibition, respectively, of hypusine formation. Based on initial sequence data, two translationally controlled enzymes, both critical for proliferation, are identified as candicate products of such mRNAs, methionine adenosyltransferase (E.C. 2.5.1.6) and cytochrome‐c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) subunit I. The existence of such putative hypusine‐dependent messenger nucleic acids (kymns) provides the basis for a proposal on their molecular function in onset of multiplication.
Cation‐ and peptide‐binding properties of human centrin 2
Authors: Durussel Isabelle , Blouquit Yves , Middendorp Sandrine , Craescu Constantin T. , Cox Jos A.
Published: July 2002

Centrin and calmodulin (CaM) are closely related four‐EF‐hand Ca2+‐binding proteins. While CaM is monomeric, centrin 2 is dimeric and binds only two Ca2+ per dimer, likely to site IV in each monomer. Ca2+ binding to centrin 2 displays pronounced negative cooperativity and a [Ca2+]0.5 of 30 μM. As in CaM, Ca2+ binding leads to the exposure of a hydrophobic probe‐accessible patch on the surface of centrin 2. Provided Ca2+ is present, centrin 2 forms a 1:1 peptide:monomer complex with melittin with an affinity of 100 nM. The complex binds four instead of two Ca2+. Our data point to surprising differences in the mode of activation of these homologous proteins.
Catalases and thioredoxin peroxidase protect Saccharomyces cerevisiae against Ca2+‐induced mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and cell death
Authors: Kowaltowski Alicia J. , Vercesi Anibal E. , Rhee Sue Goo , Netto Luis E.S.
Published: July 2002

The involvement of reactive oxygen species in Ca2+‐induced mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and cell viability was studied using yeast cells in which the thioredoxin peroxidase (TPx) gene was disrupted and/or catalase was inhibited by 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole (ATZ) treatment. Wild‐type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were very resistant to Ca2+ and inorganic phosphate or t‐butyl hydroperoxide‐induced mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, but suffered an immediate decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential when treated with Ca2+ and the dithiol binding reagent phenylarsine oxide. In contrast, S. cerevisiae spheroblasts lacking the TPx gene and/or treated with ATZ suffered a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, generated higher amounts of hydrogen peroxide and had decreased viability under these conditions. In all cases, the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential could be inhibited by ethylene glycol‐bis(β‐aminoethyl ether) N,N,N′,N′‐tetraacetic acid, dithiothreitol or ADP, but not by cyclosporin A. We conclude that TPx and catalase act together, maintaining cell viability and protecting S. cerevisiae mitochondria against Ca2+‐promoted membrane permeabilization, which presents similar characteristics to mammalian permeability transition.
Futures and realized cash or settle prices for gold, silver, and copper
Authors: Varela Oscar
Published: July 2002

This article examines the relation between 15‐, 30‐, 45‐, and 60‐day gold, silver, and copper futures, and their realized cash or delivery settle prices, for deliveries on the first, middle, and last business day (FD, MD, and LD, respectively) of the delivery month. Samples of futures prices for gold, silver, and copper, and the realized cash or delivery settle prices, based on fixed maturities for a cross‐section of contracts are used, because time‐series over fixed maturities are unfeasible owing to the restrictive maturity periods in these contracts. This study contrasts with similar studies for forwards, which are not hampered by this problem (e.g., Baillie and Bollerslev in 1989), studies that use contemporaneous time‐series of futures and cash prices to obtain optimal hedge ratios (e.g., Ghosh and Clayton in 1996), and studies that examine for parity between different futures prices (e.g., Franses and Kofman in 1991). Near‐term gold, closest to delivery silver and all copper futures (the latter only with settle prices at delivery) are good predictors of the future cash price, except for silver and copper deliveries on the last day of delivery months. These results are consistent with previous studies on short‐term cash (Ma in 1985) and futures (Ma and Soenen in 1988) parity between gold and silver, and with Gross's (1988) results for copper. The longer‐term gold (45‐ and 60‐day) and silver (30‐, 45‐, and 60‐day) futures reject an unbiased expectations hypothesis. This result is consistent with Leistikow (1990) because cash prices respond less than futures prices in these instances.
Regioselective Enzymatic Diol Esterification in Batch and Fixed‐Bed Adsorptive Reactors: Experiments and Modeling
Authors: Migliorini Cristiano , Meissner Jonathan Paul , Mazzotti Marco , Carta Giorgio
Published: July 2002

The dynamic behavior of batch and fixed‐bed adsorptive reactors is studied for the enzyme‐catalyzed regioselective esterification of propionic acid and 2‐ethyl‐1,3‐hexanediol in hexane. The reaction is equilibrium‐limited with an apparent equilibrium constant of 0.6 ± 0.1 at 22 °C. Moreover, accumulation of water produced in the reaction onto the biocatalyst causes a decrease in the catalytic activity. As a result, improvements in both reaction rate and final conversion can be achieved by operating in an adsorptive‐reactor mode. Control of water in the reactor is achieved with a catalytically inert ion‐exchange resin in Na‐form. The resin prevents an excessive accumulation of water on the biocatalyst and reduces equilibrium limitations. The thermodynamic activity of water is identified as a key parameter for the design of such reactors. A mathematical model capable of predicting the water activity as a function of the varying concentrations of reactants and products is thus developed and found to successfully predict the experimental behavior observed in laboratory reactors. Substantial improvements in performance predicted by the model are seen experimentally in batch reactions and during the transient operation of continuous‐flow fixed‐bed reactors combining adsorptive and catalytic functions.
Simultaneous Measurement of 19 Components in Serum‐Containing Animal Cell Culture Media by Fourier Transform Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Riley Mark R. , Crider Heather M. , Nite Megan E. , Garcia Rafael A. , Woo Jennifer , Wegge Rachel M.
Published: July 2002

Animal cell cultures generate maximal amounts of desired products when maintained in a controlled environment with low and constant concentrations of nutrients and wastes. Traditionally this has involved slow addition of glucose and glutamine; however, recent studies have indicated that a number of low concentration amino acids are required to prevent initiation of apoptosis. Therefore, optimal control of animal cell cultures will likely require measurement of a large number of chemical components. We present here the evaluation of a near‐infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) monitoring scheme to quantify 19 cellular nutrients and wastes in culture medium with and without serum. The components include glucose, lactate, ammonia, pyruvate, glutamine, and 14 other amino acids. Spectroscopic calibrations were generated for a synthetic version of a standard culture medium (DMEM) in which the concentrations of 17 DMEM components and ammonia and lactate were varied in a random fashion. This randomization provides a stringent evaluation of the measurement scheme. Reasonably accurate measurements of these 19 components could be accomplished in the absence or presence of 10% horse serum by volume with percent errors ranging from 3% to 37%. Analytes with concentrations as low as 0.3 mM could be reliably quantified. The presence of serum, when properly included in the calibration, has little effect on measurement error. These results provide an important step toward application of NIRS for monitoring the large number of varying components of animal cell cultivations.
Phenotypic changes of T‐lymphocyte subsets induced by interleukin‐12 and interleukin‐15 in umbilical cord vs. adult peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Authors: Lin Syh‐Jae , Chao Hsun‐Chin , Yan Dah‐Chin
Published: July 2002

The decreased incidence of graft‐vs.‐host disease found following umbilical cord blood (CB) transplantation, and the increased susceptibility of newborns to infections, have been attributed, in part, to functional and phenotypic immaturity of neonatal T cells. We investigated the phenotypic changes of CB T cells induced by two immunoregulary cytokines, interleukin (IL)‐12 and IL‐15, alone or in combination. Adult peripheral blood (APB) mononuclear cells (MNCs) were also tested for comparison. Prior to culture, the percentages of CD3+ CD8+, CD3+ CD25+, and CD3+ CD56+ cells were significantly lower in CB MNCs than in APB MNCs. IL‐15, but not IL‐12, significantly increased CD3+ CD8+ expression among the CB MNCs after 1 week of culture. Combining IL‐12 and IL‐15, however, resulted in decreased CB CD3+ CD8+ expression compared with IL‐15 alone. The percentage of CD3+ CD25+ cells in CB MNCs spontaneously increased in the absence of cytokines, while that of CD3+ CD56+ cells in CB MNCs could not be enhanced with cytokines. In contrast, the percentages of CD3+ CD25+ and CD3+ CD56+ cells among the APB MNCs could be increased with IL‐12, IL‐15, and further with IL‐12 and IL‐15 combined. Thus, different patterns of T‐cell subset changes were demonstrated between CB MNCs and APB MNCs in response to IL‐12 and/or IL‐15. These data may serve as a foundation for using cytokine therapy in newborns and children receiving CB transplants.
Flow ratios to express results obtained with the human in vivo‘perfused forearm technique’
Authors: Rongen G. A. , Lambrou G. , Smits P.
Published: July 2002

Aims
 To determine the accuracy of forearm blood flow (FBF) ratio (flow in infused arm/flow in control arm) to detect unilateral increases in forearm blood flow.

Methods
 In nine healthy male volunteers, we measured the effect of infusion of saline into the brachial artery at a rate of 2 ml/100 ml forearm min−1 on FBF ratio during control, mental arithmetic (MAR) and lower body negative pressure (LBNP) at −40 mmHg.

Results
 Saline infusion increased FBF ratio from baseline by 115.9±17.4, 82.0±19.0 and 159.6±53.3% for control, MAR and LBNP, respectively (P<0.05 for MAR vs control).

Conclusions
 FBF ratio may underestimate unilateral increases in forearm blood flow during simultaneous mental arousal.
GASTRIC FOREIGN BODIES: NO LONGER A CROSS TO BEAR
Authors: Chu Peter , Crosthwaite Gary L.
Published: July 2002

Flexible video gastroscopy can be combined with laparoscopic techniques to aid extraction of difficult gastric foreign bodies. A case is presented describing this technique.
CHANGING PATTERNS OF SEVERE CRANIOMAXILLOFACIAL TRAUMA IN AUCKLAND OVER EIGHT YEARS
Authors: Adams Christopher D. , Januszkiewicz Janek S. , Judson James
Published: July 2002

Background: This study was performed to review the changing pattern of incidence of severe craniomaxillofacial (CMF) trauma in Auckland over 8 years (1989–1997) and to audit the involvement of the regional plastic surgery service.

Methods: A review of prospectively collected admission data of patients admitted to the Auckland Hospital Department of Critical Care Medicine (DCCM) with severe CMF trauma during 1997. A comparison is made with similar data from 1989. Injury severity was defined using the Injury Severity Score (ISS).

Results: Twenty‐six patients with severe CMF trauma were admitted to Auckland Hospital DCCM in 1997. Their average ISS was 35. Eighty per cent had a significant head injury. Sixty‐two per cent had injuries due to road traffic accidents (RTA) and 42% had positive blood alcohol levels, including 37% of the RTA victims. Twenty‐three per cent had their surgical care provided by the regional plastic surgery service. In 1989, 55 patients were admitted to DCCM with severe CMF trauma. The average ISS was 36. Ninety‐five per cent had a significant head injury. Seventy‐three per cent had injuries due to RTA and 55% had positive blood alcohol, including 60% of the RTA group.

Conclusions: Patients with severe CMF trauma make up a significant proportion of trauma admissions to DCCM and have a high incidence of life‐threatening injuries. A multidisciplinary approach is essential. The nature and severity of these injuries has not changed over the last decade. There has been a clear decrease in the incidence of these injuries. This seems to be due to a profound decrease in the rate of RTA associated with alcohol intoxication.
The clinical and pathological characteristics of Chinese patients with pauci‐immune crescentic glomerulonephritis
Authors: Tang Zheng , Wu Yan , Yao Xiao‐Dan , Hu Wei‐Xin , Chen Hui‐Ping , Li Lei‐Shi
Published: July 2002

SUMMARY In the present study, we investigated pauci‐immune crescentic glomerulonephritis (PICGN) in Chinese patients. During 13 years (1985–98), 6400 patients underwent non‐transplanting renal biopsy in the Nanjing Jinling Hospital. Twenty‐four patients were diagnosed as having PICGN. They were 16 women and eight men with a median age of 33 (range 10–76 years). Microscopic polyarteritis (33.3%) and polyarteritis nodosa (8.3%) were the secondary diseases. The incidence of PICGN was 0.37% in renal biopsies and 22.9% in crescentic glomerulonephritis. Clinically, most patients (75.0%) showed rapidly progressive nephritis with enlarged kidneys. Onset gross haematuria was noted in 58.3% of the patients, hypertension 45.8%, nephrotic syndrome 41.7%, and oliguria 25.0%. However, systemic symptoms were rare except anaemia. Pathologically, we observed necrosis of glomerular capillaries (62.5%), infiltration of monocytes and neutrophil cells in glomeruli (66.7%), and vasculitis in interstitium (53.3%), in addition to glomerulosclerosis more than 50% (45.8%), severe tubular atrophy (83.3%) and interstitial fibrosis (75.0%). Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were positive in 52.2%. All patients except two received intensively immunosuppressive therapy. Sixteen patients were subjected to long‐term follow up (median 29.8, range 8–92 months), 12 of them had life‐sustaining renal function, four had normal range of serum creatinine (< 124 μmol/L), only four patients were dialysis dependent.
Natural logarithmic formula: Not an alternative method for estimating Kt/V in paediatric haemodialysis
Authors: Jiravuttipong Apichat , Jones Colin L
Published: July 2002

Many methods have been used to measure urea kinetic modelling (UKM) in haemodialysis patients. Formal UKM has been recommended as the best method to calculate Kt/V in adult and paediatric patients. The natural logarithmic formula for Kt/V was established as the best alternative for adult patients but there is no data comparing the two methods of determining UKM in children and adolescents. We compared Kt/V derived from formal UKM with that derived from the natural logarithmic formula in seven patients having 74 episodes of treatment with haemodialysis. The patients' ages ranged from 7 to 16 years. The mean percent difference between the two methods was 11.4 ± 9.0% and the total percent error was 29.3%. When compared for different means of vascular access, the mean percent difference between the two methods for arteriovenous (AV) vascular access ranged from 3.7% in a 7 year old to 9.6% in a 10 year old, and the mean percent difference in the venovenous (VV) vascular access subgroup ranged from 16.5% in a 7 year old to 25.5% in a 10 year old. These results show that the natural logarithmic formula consistently overestimates Kt/V in both AV and VV vascular access, suggesting it may not be adequate for a paediatric haemodialysis population.