bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transformation of organic micropollutants during river bank filtration: laboratory versus field data
Authors: Bertelkamp C. , Reungoat J. , Botton S. , Cornelissen E. , Ghadiri E. , de Jonge M. , Singhal N. , van der Hoek J. P. , Verliefde A. R. D.
Published: February 2013

This paper investigates the degradation behavior of 14 organic micropollutants (OMPs), selected for their different physico-chemical properties (e.g., molecular weight, hydrophobicity and charge), in soil columns simulating the conditions prevailing in the first meter of river bank filtration (RBF) media. The results from the column system are compared to RBF field data obtained from the Vitens drinking water company in The Netherlands. The study explores the role of sorption media (sand filled columns and polyethylene tubes) as carrier material for the biomass. Polyethylene tubes with the same specific surface area as sand in the columns, were operated under similar conditions to compare OMP removal in the two systems.

Both the column and field data indicate that negatively charged OMPs with Log D ranging from 0.65 to 1.95, positively charged OMPs with Log D ranging from −0.59 to 0.21 and neutral OMPs with Log D (−1.9 to 1.12) were more susceptible to biodegradation. The compounds that persisted (carbamazepine, atrazine, phenytoin, lincomycin) were positively charged with lower Log D (−1.33) or neutral with higher Log D (1.56 to 2.64). Hydrochlorothiazide showed poor biodegradability despite being neutral and having a lower log D (−0.71); it is an exception to the above behavior for reasons that have not yet been identified.

A comparison of OMP removal in a biologically active polyethylene tube with a biologically active column showed that the biomass established in either systems removed the same OMPs and to similar extent for a majority of the OMPs. This finding supports the use of polyethylene tubes as a simple, cheap and quick method for investigating the trends in OMP removal in RBF.
Ceramac®-19 demonstration plant ceramic microfiltration at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks
Authors: Galjaard Gilbert , Clement Jonathan , Ang Wui Seng , Lim Mong Hoo
Published: February 2013

Ceramic membrane technology is used in water treatment due to the robustness of ceramic membranes, but ceramic membrane systems are costly as each membrane module is housed in individual casing. PWNT has developed a ceramic membrane system called the CeraMac which greatly reduced the capital cost of installing the system by housing up to 200 modules in a single stainless steel vessel. PWNT and PUB have jointly started a 18-month operation at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks (CCKWW). In this paper, the results of the optimization runs using settled water as feed has shown that membrane operation at flux of 200 lmh can be sustained with stable transmembrane pressure (TMP) and permeability, and the proposal to apply 0.5 mg/L residual ozone to the feed to investigate the effect of ozonated feed on membrane operational performance and fouling will be discussed.
Composting provides a sustainable solution to the biosolids issues in Shenyang, China
Authors: Man Alan H. L. , Tao Niu , Christina K. Hartinger , Dong Duan Chong , Wu Zhou Yao , Andy Kwok
Published: February 2013

Shenyang Biosolids Composting Plant is a one-of-a-kind facility that is designed to handle and treat up to 1,000 tonnes of 80% moisture content wet biosolids per day from four municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that have a combined capacity of 1,600 MLD in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China. The composting plant covers an area of approximately 130,000 m2. The moisture content of biosolids will be reduced to 35% by biodrying. The main facilities in the plant include the materials handling and mixing system (for wet sludge, raw material and compost), the agitated composting bed system, the ventilation and odor control system, the truck scale unit, the storerooms (for raw material and product), and the other auxiliary facilities. The design has incorporated the necessary environmental considerations for the protection of workers’ health and safety as well as the potential impacts on the neighboring communities. The finished compost product will be sold as soil amendment and/or auxiliary fuel. In comparison with other technologies, this plant is favored for the low capital cost (0.279 million RMB per wet tonne of sludge), the low operating cost (173.13 RMB per wet tonne sludge) and the low energy consumption/carbon footprint. The plant is currently under construction. The installation works of No.3 composting train is scheduled to be carried out in June 2012. When the plant is commissioned in September 2012, it will become a sustainable solution to the sludge problem in Shenyang City.
A decentralised water master plan for the city of Sydney: developing the baseline
Authors: Healey Mike , Tyrrell Shane , Retamal Monique , Mitchell Cynthia , Devi Bhakti
Published: February 2013

The City of Sydney is working to realise its vision to be a GREEN, GLOBAL and CONNECTED city, a vision articulated in their strategy Sustainable Sydney 2030 by undertaking a bold and ambitious project. The project will showcase how inner suburban areas can be retrofitted with innovative water systems to achieve integrated, resilient and sustainable water cycle outcomes. The baselining process is a major step in the development of a suite of plans that constitute the Decentralised Water Master Plan, including: a Water Efficiency Plan, a Stormwater Infrastructure Improvement Plan, a Water Sensitive Urban Design Plan and a Decentralised Non-Potable Water Network Plan. Significant community consultation is being undertaken to ensure the community and stakeholders have opportunities to input into the project. The final plan will not be a fixed document but will be an evolving document to take into account changing contexts and additional data as it becomes available.
Implementation of an innovative sensor technology for effective online water quality monitoring in the distribution network
Authors: de Graaf B. R. , Williamson F. , Koerkamp Marcel Klein , Verhoef J. W. , Wuestman R. , Bajema B. , Trietsch E. , van Delft W.
Published: February 2013

For safe supply of drinking water, water quality needs to be monitored online in real time. The consequence of inadequate monitoring can result in substantial health risks, and economic and reputational damages. Therefore, Vitens N.V., the largest drinking water company of the Netherlands, set a goal to explore and invest in the development of intelligent water supply. In order to do this Vitens N.V. has set up a demonstration network for online water quality monitoring, the Vitens Innovation Playground (VIP). With the recent innovative developments in the field of online sensoring Vitens kicked off, in 2011, its first major online sensoring program by implementing a sensor grid based on EventLab systems from Optiqua Technologies Pte Ltd in the distribution network. EventLab utilizes bulk refractive index as a generic parameter for continuous real time monitoring of changes in water quality. Key characteristics of this innovative optical sensor technology, high sensitivity generic sensors at low cost, make it ideal for deployment as an early warning system.

This paper describes different components of the system, the technological challenges that were overcome, and presents performance data and conclusions from deployment of Optiqua's EventLab systems in the VIP.
Lyapunov-type inequalities for planar linear dynamic Hamiltonian systems
Authors: Bohner Martin , Zafer Ağacik
Published: February 2013

We give new Lyapunov-type inequalities for linear Hamiltonian systems on
arbitrary time scales, which improve recently published results and hence all
the related ones in the literature. As an application, we obtain new
diconjugacy criteria for linear Hamiltonian systems.
Long-term care of the elderly: Current status, policies and dilemmas
Authors: Matkovic Gordana
Published: February 2013

In Serbia, the long-term care as a system does not actually exist. One part
of the system is regulated through cash benefits, one part through
institutional social care and community-based social services, and one part
is just being established under the health care system. The linkages among
these segments are not strong and there is insufficient awareness of the need
to regard the different parts of the system as being interdependent and
interconnected. According to the different surveys, home care is needed for
the daily functioning of more than 80,000 elderly people, especially for
around 27,000 of those who are completely immobile. More than 300 thousand
elderly persons have indicated that they are in need of some type of
self-care support. By tradition, elderly people in Serbia rely primarily on
family support. Some are getting the state support as well. Research shows
that 62 thousand elderly persons (5 percent) receive attendance allowance;
9,000 elderly are accommodated in institutions (0.7 percent), while 11.7
thousand (1 percent) persons received some type of support through home care
community based services. In addition, in Belgrade there are also 2,000
elderly who are beneficiaries of medical and palliative care at home. The
government expenditures for these purposes can be very roughly estimated at
0.55 percent of GDP, largely for cash benefits (0.37 percent). Considered
over a medium and longer term, the government expenditures on longterm care
in Serbia will inevitably increase significantly, primarily due to an
increase in the number and share of elderly people and the increase in
additional life years spent in ill health or in need of assistance. An
increase in the expenditures will also be influenced by a change in the
family models and the increasing number of elderly that will be living alone,
as well as the diminishing possibilities for reliance on the closest family
members, especially due to emigration flows both at local and national
levels. Finally, it is important not to neglect the effect of emulating more
developed countries, as well as the EU?s pressure to adequately respond to
the needs of the elderly. Therefore, the state and society must promptly
prepare a systematic, comprehensive, timely and fiscally responsible
response. This response must recognize the capacities of all stakeholders,
from family to state and non-state and match the capacities with the
appropriate roles in the system of long-term care provision.
Ontology-Driven Business Rule Specification
Authors: Gailly Frederik , Geerts Guido L.
Published: February 2013

Discovering business rules is a complex task for which many approaches have been proposed including analysis, extraction from code, and data mining. In this paper, a novel approach is presented in which business rules for an enterprise model are generated based on the semantics of a domain ontology. Starting from an enterprise model for which the business rules need to be defined, the approach consists of four steps: (1) classification of the enterprise model in terms of the domain ontology (semantic annotation), (2) matching of the enterprise model constructs with ontology-based Enterprise Model Configurations (EMCs), (3) determination of Business Rule Patterns (BRPs) associated with the EMCs, and (4) use of the semantic annotations to instantiate the business rule patterns; that is, to specify the actual business rules. The success of this approach depends on two factors: (1) the existence of a semantically rich domain ontology, and (2) the strength of the knowledge base consisting of EMC-BRP associations. The focus of this paper is on defining and illustrating the new business rule discovery approach: Ontology-Driven Business Rule Specification (ODBRS). The domain of interest is enterprise systems, and an extended version of the Resource-Event-Agent Enterprise Ontology (REA-EO) is used as the domain ontology. A small set of EMC-BRP associations—i.e., an example knowledge base—is developed for illustration purposes. The new approach is demonstrated with an example.
Behavioral multi-criteria decision analysis: further elaborations on the todim method
Authors: Autran Monteiro Gomes Luiz Flavio , González Xavier Ignacio
Published: February 2013

This short communication reviews the role of the TODIM method within behavioral decision theory and presents its genesis. Two important aspects of the method such as generalizing that method towards cumulative prospect theory and the choice of a reference point are further clarified.
A Petri net based model of oxidative stress in atherosclerosis
Authors: Formanowicz Dorota , Kozak Adam , Formanowicz Piotr
Published: February 2013

In this paper a Petri net based model of the process of oxidative stress in atherosclerosis is presented and analyzed. Model expressed in the language of Petri net theory have, on one hand, an intuitive graphical representation, and on the other hand their formal properties can be analyzed using rigorous mathematical methods. Moreover, the behavior of a net can be simulated what supports the process of model development and an interpretation of the results of the analysis. Both the analysis and the simulation can be supported by many freely available software tools. In the case of biological systems an analysis the t-invariants is especially important since they correspond to some elementary biological subprocesses. In this paper the results of such an analysis are presented. In particular, minimal t-invariants, MCT-sets and t-clusters are calculated, their biological meaning is determined and some biological conclusions are drawn.
Conflicts in legal knowledge base
Authors: Zurek Tomasz
Published: February 2013

The simulation of inference processes performed by lawyers can be seen as one way to create advisory legal system. In order to simulate such a process as accurately as possible, it is indispensable to make a clear-cut distinction between the provision itself, and its interpretation and inference mechanisms. This distinction would allow for preserving both the universal character of the provision and its applicability to various legal problems. The authors main objective was to model a selected legal act, together with the inference rules applied, and to represent them in an advisory system, focusing on the most accurate representation of both the content and inference rules. Given that the laws which stand in contradiction prove to be the major challenge, they will constitute the primary focus of this study.
Content-based load shedding in multimedia data stream management system
Authors: Maison Rafal , Zakrzewicz Maciej
Published: February 2013

Overload management has become very important in public safety systems that analyse high performance multimedia data streams, especially in the case of detection of terrorist and criminal dangers. Efficient overload management improves the accuracy of automatic identification of persons suspected of terrorist or criminal activity without requiring interaction with them. We argue that in order to improve the quality of multimedia data stream processing in the public safety arena, the innovative concept of a Multimedia Data Stream Management System (MMDSMS) using load-shedding techniques should be introduced into the infrastructure to monitor and optimize the execution of multimedia data stream queries. In this paper, we present a novel content-centered load shedding framework, based on searching and matching algorithms, for analysing video tuples arriving within multimedia data streams. The framework tracks and registers all symptoms of overload, and either prevents overload before it occurs, or minimizes its effects. We have extended our Continuous Query Language (CQL) syntax to enable this load shedding technique. The effectiveness of the framework has been verified using both artificial and real data video streams collected from monitoring devices.
Evolutionary multi-objective optimization for inferring outranking model’s parameters under scarce reference information and effects of reinforced preference
Authors: Fernandez Eduardo , Navarro Jorge , Mazcorro Gustavo
Published: February 2013

Methods based on fuzzy outranking relations constitute one of the main approaches to multiple criteria decision problems. The use of ELECTRE methods require the elicitation of a large number of parameters (weights and different thresholds); but direct eliciting is often a demanding task for the decision-maker (DM). For handling intensity-ofpreference effects on concordance levels, a generalized concordance model was proposed by Roy and Slowinski which is more complex than previous outranking models. In this paper, an evolutionary multi-objective-based indirect elicitation of the complete ELECTRE III model-parameter set is proposed. The evolutionary multi-objective inference method is successfully extended to inferring reinforced-preference model parameters. Wide experimental evidence is provided to support the proposal, which performs well even working on small size reference sets.
A survey of graph coloring - its types, methods and applications
Authors: Formanowicz Piotr , Tanaś Krzysztof
Published: February 2013

Graph coloring is one of the best known, popular and extensively researched subject in the field of graph theory, having many applications and conjectures, which are still open and studied by various mathematicians and computer scientists along the world. In this paper we present a survey of graph coloring as an important subfield of graph theory, describing various methods of the coloring, and a list of problems and conjectures associated with them. Lastly, we turn our attention to cubic graphs, a class of graphs, which has been found to be very interesting to study and color. A brief review of graph coloring methods (in Polish) was given by Kubale in [32] and a more detailed one in a book by the same author. We extend this review and explore the field of graph coloring further, describing various results obtained by other authors and show some interesting applications of this field of graph theory.
Review of the Extraction Methods of DNA Microarray Features Based on Central Decision Class Separation vs Rough Set Classifier
Authors: Artiemjew Piotr
Published: February 2013

The study of DNA microarray gene extraction methods is an important and current area of research. Many researchers study gene ontological character, which contain significant information about symptoms of illnesses in tissues, types of organisms, and the distinguishing of some organisms’ features. DNA microarray gene extraction methods allow us to choose the most significant genes for a given problem and some ways of their extraction. In this article, we aim to compare three methods of gene extraction. The first and second types are based on, respectively, the modified Fisher and F statistics methods. The last one is based on the novel experimental statistics called A. A common element of those three methods is the way in which we choose genes after the calculation of decision classes’ separation ratio. Additionally, all three algorithms are based on the idea of central class separation from other decision concepts. We use our best 8v1.4 granular weighted voting classier as the basic element of comparison of our gene selection methods. The results of the research show that A statistics are better than other methods in all cases. In this article the best one is the SAM10 method, which works well for a small number of genes - less than one hundred. For a higher number of separated genes the SAM5 method is better - its effectiveness has been proven in recent published works.
Google Books Ngrams Recompressed and Searchable
Authors: Grabowski Szymon , Swacha Jakub
Published: February 2013

One of the research fields significantly affected by the emergence of “big data” is computational linguistics. A prominent example of a large dataset targeting this domain is the collection of Google Books Ngrams, made freely available, for several languages, in July 2009. There are two problems with Google Books Ngrams; the textual format (compressed with Deflate) in which they are distributed is highly inefficient; we are not aware of any tool facilitating search over those data, apart from the Google viewer, which, as a Web tool, has seriously limited use. In this paper we present a simple preprocessing scheme for Google Books Ngrams, enabling also search for an arbitrary n-gram (i.e., its associated statistics) in average time below 0.2 ms. The obtained compression ratio, with Deflate (zip) left as the backend coder, is over 3 times higher than in the original distribution.
Area And Diversity Of A Crop Reflects The Diversity Of Others
Authors: Joshi Bal Krishna , Upadhyay Madhusudan Prasad , Baniya Bimal Kumar , Gauchan Devendra
Published: February 2013

This study was carried out to relate the diversity of one crop in terms of number of landraces and farm area with the diversity of other crop. Information collected during baseline survey of in-situ global project (1999) on three crops namely rice, finger millet and sponge gourd in Jumla, Kaski and Bara of Nepal were used. Farm area of each variety and number of landraces grown by sampled household were used for F-test, regression and chi-square analyses to test the diversity of one crop with respect to other. Households having large number of landraces of finger millet maintained large number of rice landraces. Households maintaining different landraces of sponge gourd and finger millet showed a relation with their farm area allotted to rice landraces. Households having large area for rice cultivation maintained a large number of rice landraces in all the sites. The analyses showed that the farmers growing diversity in one crop are more likely to grow diversity in other crops. Similarly, if area in a household allotted to a particular crop species is large, there is chance of growing high diversity of the crop species. Households having large farm size and maintaining high diversity of a crop species may be target farmers for genetic resources management. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 5-8 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7581
Climate Change And Food Security In Nepal
Authors: Pant Krishna Prasad
Published: February 2013

Climate change is posing a threat on present and future food security in low income countries. But, the actual effect of the climate change on food security is not known. Using secondary data reported by the government, the paper examines the effects of climate change on food security in Nepal in the context of policies of commercialization of farm production. Statistical analysis is used to delineate the situation of food security in the country and regression analysis for exploring the effects of global warming on domestic production of major cereals. The results are discussed at global, national, household and individual levels empirically and qualitatively. The results suggest that a rise in minimum temperature decreases the productivity of rice increasing threat of food insecurity. The paper suggests some policy measures for improving food security situation in the country and open up some areas for further research. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 9-19 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7582
IPM-FFS Institutionalization In Nepal: A Case Study
Authors: Tiwari Kul Prasad
Published: February 2013

FFS is a form of adult education based on the philosophy of experiential learning method aimed at building farmers’ expertise and capacity of analysis, critical thinking and decision-making. The objective of this paper is to assess the institutionalization status of IPM-FFS at the local level. The study is a case study and qualitative in nature. The research was conducted in Kathmandu and Tanahun districts. Hundred farmers from ten FFS, five in each of the district, were interviewed with semi-structured questionnaire. The result showed a seventy-five percent majority of FFS-graduates not having understanding and capacity of conducting experimental learning session in their own initiative. Additionally a majority of sixty percent did not use the knowledge learnt from the FFS learning session. Nevertheless, majority of the graduates acquired a lot of awareness about harmful effects of pesticides to human health, animal and environment. Likewise, eighty percent of the IPM-FFS groups did not repeat learning activities at the local level. Their majority did not share learnt skill to the non-participant farmers for its horizontal dissemination, and have a sense of ownership that empowered them to sustain the process at local level. All exhibited that IPM-FFS approach has not been institutionalized adequately for environment friendly promotion of cultivation. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 20-26 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7583
Marketing Margin Assesment Of Off-Season Vegetables Value Chain In Surkhetdailekh Road Corridor
Authors: Poudel Prabin
Published: February 2013

A study was carried out to identify structural causes of marketing margin for off-season vegetables value chain in a part of Surkhet-Dailekh road corridor during July to August 2011. Cost of production and producer's price were calculated at collection point of Bubairakhe in Goganpani VDC of Surket, and consumer's price observed at 30km far end market in Birndranagar municipalty of Surkhet. From the result of study, the marketing margin found doubled in all types of off-season vegetables value chain. The share of postharvest loss observed first most important factor for higher marketing margin, in tomato 42 percent and cauliflower 37 percent. However, it found third important factor in cabbage 28 percent. The profit margin kept by value chain actors, with contrasting in common perception, observed second important factor for increasing marketing margin in tomato 31 percent, cauliflower 28 percent and cabbage 44 percent. Hence, apposite attempts to reduce post-harvest loss in off-season vegetables value chain might be an important way for reducing marketing margin in off-season vegetables value chain. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 27-31 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7584
Participation Of Women In Marketing: Economic Empowerment Of Farm Women
Authors: Thapa Roahani
Published: February 2013

Cash income in hand is a necessary condition for overall empowerment of women. For this purpose, women need to be involved in marketing. There are several projects implemented for the economic empowerment of women. However, the interrelatedness of involving women in marketing for overall empowerment of women has not been studied for policy purposes. Hence, this study has attempted to address this research gap. The objective of this study was to analyse the importance of involving women in marketing for their overall empowerment. In order to analyse the factors affecting decision making of the producers' group, a regression model was used. The findings of this study have clearly shown a linkage that when more women become the members of the producers group, then there is increased participation of women in the decision making process of the producers groups. When women are able to influence the decisions of the group, then they take-up market oriented production and start participating in the marketing activity. The study has concluded that women's involvement in marketing can be increased by increasing women's participation in producers' groups and promoting market oriented production. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 32-39 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7585
Distribution Of White Grubs In Three Ecological Domains Of Nepal
Authors: Khanal Dipak , GC Yubak Dhoj , Sporleder Marc , Thapa Resham B
Published: February 2013

A survey was conducted to study the abundance and distribution of white grubs in three districts representing different ecological domines in the country during June-July 2010. Two light traps were installed for two nights in two locations each of Makawanpur, Tanahu and Chitwan districts, and a season long light trap was installed at Mangalpur of Chitwan district from April to September 2010 for assessing scarab beetles flight activity. The ‘simple matching coefficient' revealed high similarity >70% between two sites in each of the districts, while a similarity of 29-50% was observed between sites of different districts. The Jaccard coefficient revealed the same trend. However, coefficients were much lower, above 40% when comparing sites within a district, and below 20% when compared sites among the districts. The dominant species in Chitwan were Anomala dimidiata Hope (24%) followed by Maladera affinis Blanchard (23.75%), Anomala varicolor (Gyllenhal) Rutelinae (23%), Heteronychus lioderus Redtenbacher (14%) and Holotrichia sp (7%). The flight activity and species composition of scarab beetles in the three districts appeared to be different. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 40-46 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7586
Factors Affecting Price Spread Of Rice In Nepal
Authors: Shrestha Rudra Bahadur
Published: February 2013

Inefficient marketing service increases price spread, which is a common feature in developing countries. The study aimed to analyze factors affecting retail-price spread of rice in Nepal using the Relative Price Spread (RPS) model with cross section data collected from four districts namely Jhapa, Morang, Chitwan, and Rupandehi in 2008. The flow of the product was traced forward and backward from the selected wholesaler respondents for selecting the farmer and the retailor respondents randomly. The marketing margin is higher in the farm to wholesale market as compared to the wholesale to retail market. The result revealed that the marketing cost, wholesale price of rice, retail prices of rice, and market information to the farmer significantly influence the marketing margin. Reduction in the transportation cost, improving the market information system, and improving the role of farmer in price determination help reduce the marketing margin. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 47-52 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7587
Use Of Pesticides In Nepal And Impacts On Human Health And Environment
Authors: Sharma DR , Thapa RB , Manandhar HK , Shrestha SM , Pradhan SB
Published: February 2013

Majority of the farmers are unaware of pesticide types, level of poisoning, safety precautions and potential hazards on health and environment. According to the latest estimate, the annual import of pesticides in Nepal is about 211t a.i. with 29.19% insecticides, 61.38% fungicides, 7.43% herbicides and 2% others. The gross sale value accounts US $ 3.05 million per year. Average pesticides use in Nepal is 142 g a.i./ha, which is very low as compared to other Asian counties. The focus of this paper is to analyze the use and application status of pesticides in Nepal to aware the society about adverse effects of chemical pesticides in the environment . Pesticidal misuse is being a serious concern mainly in the commercial pocket areas of agricultural production, where farmers are suffering from environmental pollution. Incidence of poisoning is also increasing because of intentional, incidental and occupational exposure. Toxic and environmentally persistent chemicals are being used as pesticides. Many studies showed that the chemical pollution of the environment has long-term effects on human life. It is therefore essential that manufacture, use, storage, transport and disposal of chemical pesticides be strictly regulated. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 67-72 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7590
Writing an academic paper for publication
Authors: Simkhada PP , Van Teijlingen E , Hundley V
Published: February 2013

Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 1-5 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7592
Levels of T4 and TSH in mother's blood and in cord blood at the time of delivery
Authors: Agrawal K , Paudel BH , Singh PN , Majhi S , Pokhrel H , Upadhayay N
Published: February 2013

Background: In conditions of maternal iodine deficiency, the frequency distribution of neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is shifted towards elevated values. Elevated serum TSH in the neonates indicates insufficient supply of thyroid hormones to the neonates, a major complication of iodine deficiency. Objectives: To determine the cord blood serum T4 and TSH levels and interrelationships with maternal thyroid hormones. Method: cord blood serum T4 and TSH levels of 45 consecutive newborns born at BPKIHS, Dharan, Nepal and maternal T4 and TSH levels were analyzed using ELISA based kits. Results: The mean age of mothers was 23.73± 3.86 years and average weight of the neonates was 3.038±0.45 Kg. The median levels of maternal and neonatal T4 were 1.09 ng/dl and 1.26 ng/ dl respectively. The corresponding median TSH levels were 3.71 mIU/L and 11.9 mIU/L. The maternal and neonatal levels of T4 were positively correlated. In 36 mothers who had TSH level within euthyroid range (0.3-6.2 mIU/L, Thyroid lab of BPKIHS), 22 neonates (61.11%) had TSH levels above 10 mIU/L. Among 9 mothers having TSH levels above 6.2 mIU/L, 7 (77.77%) neonates had TSH levels above 10 mIU/L. Conclusion: Overall 29 (64.44%) neonates had TSH level above 10 mIU/L which indicates mild degree of iodine deficiency. Iodine supplementation is required before pregnancy in majority of women of reproductive age. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 6-10 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7593
Evidences of stress and its consequences among Nepalese adolescents
Authors: Adhikari SR , Bhattarai S
Published: February 2013

Background: Changing emotional and physical status along with increasing social, family and academic pressure lead to various impairments in mental health of adolescents. Objective: To examine the level of stress and its consequences in school going adolescences and examine adolescent’s adjustment at various places- home, school, peers, teachers and general matters. Methods: A descriptive and a single stage study were done at one of the school in Kathmandu Metropolitan. Every section of the class of the selected school was visited to explain the students about semi-structured pro forma, Student Stress Scale (SSS) and Pre-Adolescent Adjustment Scale (PAAS). The SSS was used to measure stresses faced by adolescents during last on year and PAAS measured their adjustments at places like home, school, peers, teachers and general matters. Results: 104 students participated in the study, male- 45, female- 59. Children with joint family type showed highest level of stress (mean 424.67; p=0.002). Among females, it is the broken family type which showed the highest level of stress (p=0.002). Among boys, second birth order showed highest level of stress (mean 382.31; p=0.005). Similarly among girls, it was first birth order (Mean 537.67; p=0.009). Among top 10 stressors labeled by students, highest stressor is death of a close family members followed by death of a close friend.Conclusion: Children during adolescent period undergo various stresses and adjustment and it depend upon their ability to cope with stress in various places like home, school, peers and teachers. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 11-16 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7594
Characterization and antimicrobial resistance of clinical isolates of enterococci in tertiary care hospital in eastern Nepal
Authors: Nepal Hari Prasad , Khanal B , Acharya A
Published: February 2013

Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 17-22 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7595
Prevalence of anaemia among the male population aged 60 years and above in rural area of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India
Authors: Maiti S , Ghosh A , Ali KM , Ghosh D , Paul S
Published: February 2013

Background: Anaemia is one of the most common public health problems of older population especially in developing countries. Objective: To determine the prevalence and type of anaemia present among the older people in rural area of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken on 544 older male, Subject aged 60 to 84 years from Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal. Personal details were collected in each case, after which height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and blood haemoglobin level were measured according to the standard protocol. Anaemia was classified as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) grading criteria.Results: The overall prevalence of anaemia among the older male was 89.52%. The majority (256) (47.05%) showed mild anaemia, while moderate anaemia was recorded in 212 (38.97%) and 19 (3.49%) subjects, had severe anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia was more (65.62%) in individuals, having low BMI than normal. Conclusion: The results showed high frequency of anemia in the studied population. There is a need for immediate nutritional intervention programs to be implemented among the rural older male subjects. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 23-26 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7597
Descriptive study of breast problems in women who present to the general outpatient of a tertiary hospital in eastern region of Nepal
Authors: Giri Rajani , Bhandari R , Mahato I , Poudel M , Kumari S , Yadav AK
Published: February 2013

Background: Breast problems are common among female patient attending general outpatient. Although the problem is expected to have significant morbidity, patients usually hide or present late for breast related problems in Nepal. Objective: To measure the pattern of breast diseases and its frequency and distribution in different age groups among patients attending general outpatient department at BPKIHS, Nepal. Methods: A crosssectional study was conducted in general outpatient department (GOPD) of B.P.Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) during a period of six months. Women of all age groups presenting with breast problem were included. Clinical assessment, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and radiology were done. Mammography being unavailable at the hospital, ultrasonography was the preferred method of imaging. Results: Hundred cases of breast diseases were assessed. The benign breast disease (BBD) was the commonest finding (96%). Among BBD, fibroadenoma was the commonest (32%) followed by breast abscess (26%) and mastalgia (22%) including cyclic and non cyclic. The common age groups of involvement were 30-39 years for fibroadenoma, 20-29 years for breast abscess, 30-39 years for cyclic mastalgia, 40- 49 years for non cyclic mastalgia and 70-79 years for breast cancer. Conclusion: BBD is the most common breast problem in women. Among BBD, fibroadenoma was the most common. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 33-37 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7599
Tobacco related cancers at a tertiary care hospital in Western India
Authors: Agrawal K , Rajderkar SS , Tuljapurkar V
Published: February 2013

Background: Tobacco related cancers represent the most preventable form of cancer in our society. Objective: To determine the proportion of tobacco related cancers among male and female cancer patients at a tertiary cancer care hospital in Western India. Methods: This is a retrospective patient record based retrieval type of study which was conducted at a leading tertiary cancer care hospital of Western India. Analysis of case records of all cancer patients admitted at the Shri Siddhivinayak Ganapati Cancer Hospital, Miraj, Maharashtra, (India) over a 24-month period was done. The case records of total three thousand five hundred and two (3502) cancer patients were retreived and analysed to know the proportion of tobacco related cancers. Data obtained ware analysed using SPSS version 16.0 and presented in the form of percentages and proportions. Chi square test of significance was used.Results: The total proportions of tobacco related cancers (TRCs) among male and female subjects combined togethe was 22.8%. The proportion of TRCs in male was 33.1%, while in female it was 12.5%. Oral cancers and oesophageal cancers were the leading sites among the TRCs in male and female respectively. Conclusion: One third of all cancers in men occurred in the sites associated with tobacco use (TRCs). In women, one eighth of cancers occurred at these sites. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 43-46 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7601
Alcohol abuse in eastern Nepal: a review of studies
Authors: Shakya Dhana Ratna
Published: February 2013

Alcohol abuse is common in eastern Nepal, rather reported remarkably high. Hence, various aspects of this problem have been the topic of search, study, survey and research in this part of the country, both in community and clinical settings. This article aims to review the journal articles published, research projects presented in scientific forum or conferences, thesis articles submitted and other research works related to alcohol from eastern Nepal coming into the knowledge of the author. The basis of this review were medical journals including Health Renaissance (HR), abstract books of various medical meets, internet search and personal communication with various departments of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), a prominent centre for the research projects carried out both by students and faculty members in this area. Overarching the objective would be to point out some important needs and areas for future research studies in next article. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 74-82 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7607
Management of retained placenta in patient with valvular heart disease with pulmonary edema
Authors: Agrawal Ajay , Thakur A , Rijal P , Basnet P , Ghimire A , Uprety DK
Published: February 2013

A case of retained placenta following full-term vaginal delivery with an unscarred uterus where surgical management of delivering the placenta was not attempted due to unfavorable cardiac condition is presented. Although she was planned for hysterectomy, she was successfully managed medically with injection methotrexate. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 83-85 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7608
Crown dilaceration
Authors: Ghimire N , Rao A
Published: February 2013

Dilaceration of teeth can occur as a result of trauma to its primary predecessors. Root dilaceration is more common than crown dilacerations. A rare case of crown dilaceration of maxillary permanent central incisor has been reported in this article. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 86-88 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7609
C-shaped canal, an endodontic challenge
Authors: Vikram Mannu
Published: February 2013

Recognition of unusual variations in the canal configuration is critical because it has been established that the root with a single tapering canal and apical foramen is the exception rather than the rule. C-shaped canals are anatomic features that present the clinician with both diagnostic and operational challenges. The early recognition of these configurations facilitates cleaning, shaping, and obturation of the root canal system. .C. configuration, which is an important anatomic variation, presents a thin fin connecting the root canals.The C-shaped root canal system is an anatomical variant of the root canal structure in which a continuous slit or web connects individual root canals. These C-shaped canals present a challenge to the clinician, both at the diagnostic and treatment level. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 89-91 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7610
Short QT interval
Authors: Rai Bijondra Kumar
Published: February 2013

Introduction: Short QT Interval (Short QT Syndrome) is a very rare clinical condition. An individual with short QT interval frequently presents with chest pain, palpitation, fainting attack and sometimes cardiac death. Objective: To report a case of Short QT Syndrome. Case: A 27 year old man presented with the complaint of frequent attack of chest pain, palpitation and fainting attack for last one and half years. The ECG revealed short QT interval of 300ms without any cardiac abnormalities. Conclusion: The short QT interval (Short QT Syndrome) is one of the causes of palpitation, chest pain, dizziness and syncope in a young person. Early detection is possible by doing ECG. So ECG is advised to all adults complaining of frequent chest pain, unexplained fainting attack. Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 92-94 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7611
Acknowledgement
Authors: Board Editorial
Published: February 2013

Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 95 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7612
Call for Papers
Authors: Board Editorial
Published: February 2013

Health Renaissance, January-April 2013; Vol. 11 No.1; 96-97 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i1.7613
MicroRNA Expression in Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelium
Authors: Greene Catherine
Published: February 2013

MicroRNAs (miRs) have emerged as major regulators of the protein content of a cell. In the most part, miRs negatively regulate target mRNA expression, with sets of miRs predicted to regulate certain signaling pathways. The miR expression profile of endobronchial brushings is altered in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) compared to those without CF. How this impacts on CF has important implications for our growing understanding of the pathophysiology of CF lung disease and the development of new therapeutics to treat its pulmonary manifestations. Herein we discuss the potential consequences of altered miR expression in CF airway epithelium particularly with respect to cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) expression, innate immunity and toll-like receptor signalling and explore how best to exploit these changes for therapeutic benefit.
Soybean Hydrophobic Protein Response to External Electric Field: A Molecular Modeling Approach
Authors: Singh Ashutosh , Orsat Valérie , Raghavan Vijaya
Published: February 2013

The molecular dynamic (MD) modeling approach was applied to evaluate the effect of an external electric field on soybean hydrophobic protein and surface properties. Nominal electric field strengths of 0.002 V/nm and 0.004 V/nm had no major effect on the structure and surface properties of the protein isolate but the higher electric field strength of 3 V/nm significantly affected the protein conformation and solvent accessible surface area. The response of protein isolate to various external field stresses demonstrated that it is necessary to gain insight into protein dynamics under electromagnetic fields in order to be able to develop the techniques utilizing them for food processing and other biological applications.