bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding of the farmers’ privilege concept by smallholder farmers in South Africa
Authors: Netnou-Nkoana Noluthando C. , Jaftha Julian B. , Dibiloane Mabjang A. , Eloff Jacobus
Published: February 2015

Legislation on plant breeders’ rights – the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 1976 (Act No. 15 of 1976) – currently is being reviewed by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. This legislation provides for farmers’ privilege, which is one of the exceptions to plant breeders’ rights. It allows farmers to save seed of protected varieties for their own use. Farmers’ privilege, and particularly its impact on smallholder farmers in developing countries, is a widely debated issue. During the public consultation process, several comments proposing amendments to the farmers’ privilege provision were received from various stakeholders. However, no comments were received from the smallholder farmers who may be directly impacted by this provision. This pilot study was undertaken to assess the understanding of the farmers’ privilege concept by smallholder farmers from the historically disadvantaged communities and their current practices with regard to seed saving. The results showed that the majority of the smallholder farmers were not aware of the existence of the legislation on plant breeders’ rights and therefore do not understand the farmers’ privilege concept and its implications. They also did not know whether the varieties they were using were protected by plant breeders’ rights or not. Little information has been published on the impact of plant breeders’ rights in South Africa in general. We hope that this study might inform policy decisions on matters related to plant breeders’ rights and the farmers’ privilege.
Mother tongue as the medium of instruction at developing country universities in a global context
Authors: Nyika Aceme
Published: February 2015

One of the factors attributed to poor performance of some indigenous students at universities in developing countries is the use of a second language – mainly English and to some extent French – as the language of instruction at the universities. Consequently, policymakers in some developing countries have introduced, or are debating the idea of introducing, local vernacular languages as the official languages of instruction at their respective universities. Indeed, learning the official language of instruction as a second language is an additional hurdle, which to some extent hinders some students from performing well in their university studies. Thus students whose mother tongue is used as the language of instruction at their universities have an advantage over students whose mother tongue is not the language of instruction at their universities. Policies regarding the medium of instruction at universities have a range of short-term and long-term implications, some of which may be easily overlooked yet they may have far reaching repercussions for current and future generations. In this paper, a repertoire of pertinent issues surrounding the use of vernacular languages at universities is explored. These issues include performance of students, quality of graduates produced in terms of employability, university overall productivity, innovation, university competitiveness in the wake of globalisation, preservation of the vernacular languages and contribution towards national as well as global socio-economic development.
Keystone species: toward an operational concept for marine biodiversity conservation
Authors: Valls Audrey , Coll Marta , Christensen Villy
Published: February 2015

Various definitions and indices have been proposed in the literature to identify keystone species. In this study, we intended to make the concept of keystone species operational for marine biodiversity conservation. We used an exclusive definition of keystone species, based on the original concept of keystone predator, and derived a new functional index of keystoneness (KS) from an ecosystem‐modeling approach. First, several KS indices were formulated, by combining measures of the mixed‐trophic impact (MTI) and biomass of species. Then, a meta‐analysis was performed, based on 101 published Ecopath food‐web models, selected with a scoring method, and representative of the variety of marine ecosystems worldwide. The indices were applied to the models, and two statistical methods were compared to select the most promising KS index. Rank correlation tests were performed to assess the balance between the contribution of the impact and biomass components to the different KS indices. In addition, a classification tree was implemented, based on ecosystem‐specific thresholds applied to the latter species traits, and used to confirm the identified keystone species. The selected index obtained the highest number of models with positive results from both the rank correlation tests and the classification tree. We also demonstrated the limitations of existing KS indices previously applied in the literature. Species were ranked according to their estimates of keystoneness with the selected KS index, so that potential keystone species were quantitatively identified in the 101 modeled food webs. The standardized modeling approach allowed for a comparison of the identified keystone species across models: cartilaginous fishes and toothed whales obtained the highest occurrences. Finally, the selected KS index was applied to the well‐known case study of Prince William Sound (Alaska, USA). Potentially significant anthropogenic (fishing) impacts on keystone species were also considered and discussed. The operational methodology presented is directly applicable to marine food webs, and may be adapted to other (freshwater or terrestrial) systems.
Periodontal Regeneration – Intrabony Defects: A Systematic Review From the AAP Regeneration Workshop
Authors: Kao Richard T. , Nares Salvador , Reynolds Mark A.
Published: February 2015

Background: Previous systematic reviews of periodontal regeneration with bone replacement grafts and guided tissue regeneration (GTR) were defined as state of the art for clinical periodontal regeneration as of 2002.

Methods: The purpose of this systematic review is to update those consensus reports by reviewing periodontal regeneration approaches developed for the correction of intrabony defects with the focus on patient‐, tooth‐, and site‐centered factors, surgical approaches, surgical determinants, and biologics. This review adheres to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) guidelines for systematic reviews.

A computerized search of the PubMed and Cochrane databases was performed to evaluate the clinically available regenerative approaches for intrabony defects. The search included screening of original reports, review articles, and reference lists of retrieved articles and hand searches of selected journals.

All searches were focused on clinically available regenerative approaches with histologic evidence of periodontal regeneration in humans published in English. For topics in which the literature is lacking, non‐randomized observational and experimental animal model studies were used.

Therapeutic endpoints examined included changes in clinical attachment level, changes in bone level/fill, and probing depth. For purposes of analysis, change in bone fill was used as the primary outcome measure, except in cases in which this information was not available. The SORT (Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy) grading scale was used in evaluating the body of knowledge.

Results: 1) Fifty‐eight studies provided data on patient, tooth, and surgical‐site considerations in the treatment of intrabony defects. 2) Forty‐five controlled studies provided outcome analysis on the use of biologics for the treatment of intrabony defects.

Conclusions: 1) Biologics (enamel matrix derivative and recombinant human platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB plus β‐tricalcium phosphate) are generally comparable with demineralized freeze‐dried bone allograft and GTR and superior to open flap debridement procedures in improving clinical parameters in the treatment of intrabony defects. 2) Histologic evidence of regeneration has been demonstrated with laser therapy; however, data are limited on clinical predictability and effectiveness. 3) Clinical outcomes appear most appreciably influenced by patient behaviors and surgical approach rather than by tooth and defect characteristics. 4) Long‐term studies indicate that improvements in clinical parameters are maintainable up to 10 years, even in severely compromised teeth, consistent with a favorable/good long‐term prognosis.
Optimizing Well Trajectories in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Reservoir Development
Authors: Dehdari Vahid , Deutsch Clayton V.
Published: February 2015

An important task before starting a steam-assisted-gravity-drainage operation is optimizing the location of the well trajectories. There are shale barriers and other heterogeneous features at different positions in these reservoirs. Steam cannot pass a thick shale barrier. Also, if there is a shale barrier between the injector and producer, oil cannot drain to the producer. For these reasons, optimizing the injector- and producer-well trajectories is important. Running the reservoir simulator is time-consuming, and running trial-and-error cases to optimize the producer and injector trajectories is not practical. On the other hand, robust well-trajectory optimization must consider uncertainty in the reservoir parameters. This optimization problem cannot be solved by calling the simulator for many possible trajectories and geostatistical realizations. To tackle this problem, a new semianalytical approximate thermal simulator modeled after Butler's theory (a proxy) has been developed and tested on different synthetic and realistic history-matched 2D and 3D models (Dehdari and Deutsch 2013; Dehdari 2014). Many modifications, extensions, and improvements have been made to Butler's original model. This proxy can be used as a substitute to the reservoir simulator.

In this paper, two methods are tested for well-trajectory optimization. The first method is based on random sampling from a 3D box that has been selected for drilling wells. Then, the differential-evolution-optimization algorithm has been used for automatically improving the trajectory location. The second method is based on parameterizing the trajectory by use of a Hermite spline, then optimizing the parameters of the spline. The producer and injector trajectories of a realistic model with a single realization and a synthetic model with 100 realizations have been optimized by use of these methods.
Flowering Stage Resistance to Bacterial Fruit Blotch in the Watermelon Germplasm Collection
Authors: Ma Shen , Wehner Todd C.
Published: February 2015

Cucurbit bacterial fruit blotch caused by Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli is a significant threat to watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. and Nakai] production worldwide. In the United States, seedless cultivars are primarily used in watermelon production, which now relies largely on transplant production in greenhouses to ensure a high germination rate. Unfortunately, the warm and humid greenhouse environment provides ideal conditions for the spread of bacterial fruit blotch. Treatments designed to remove bacteria from the surface of the seed coat were investigated previously, but none eliminated the bacteria despite significant reductions reported in research studies. Resistant cultivars offer a solution to the problem if genetic resistance can be identified. The objectives of this study were to (i) identify germplasm resistant to bacterial fruit blotch using the available PI accessions in the USDA germplasm collection and (ii) improve the methods for screening in the field. Field evaluations on the basis of foliar disease symptoms at the flowering stage were conducted at Clinton, NC in 2011 to 2013. The field experiment was a randomized complete block with 1699 cultigens, 3 yr, and two replications of single‐plant plots. Disease rating was on a 0 to 9 scale when the disease was uniformly distributed throughout the field (0 = no symptoms, 1–2 = trace, 3–4 = slight, 5–6 = moderate, 7–8 = severe, and 9 = dead). Plots were rated multiple times each year. Significant differences were found for disease resistance among accessions (P = 0.05). Rating dates having the greatest F ratio for differences among accessions were identified as best ratings for each year–block combination. Resistant accessions have the best ratings (<4.5), low standard deviation across replications, and multiple replication (≥4). The 23 most resistant cultigens originated from Africa, mainly Zimbabwe, Zambia, Republic of South Africa, and Nigeria, and they were either cultivated watermelon (C. lanatus var. lanatus) or citron (C. lanatus var. citroides).
Overexpressing a FungalCeGDHGene Improves Nitrogen Utilization and Growth in Rice
Authors: Zhou Xiangcheng , Lin Jianzhong , Zhou Yanbiao , Yang Yuanzhu , Liu Hong , Zhang Caisheng , Tang Dongying , Zhao Xiaoying , Zhu Yonghua , Liu Xuanming
Published: February 2015

In lower organisms, NADP(H)‐dependent glutamate dehydrogenases (GDHs) have high affinities to ammonium and play important roles in nitrogen assimilation. Glutamate dehydrogenases in higher plants have lower affinities for ammonium so their nitrogen is mainly assimilated as ammonium by the glutamine synthetase (GS)/glutamate synthase (GOGAT) pathway. In present study, an NADP(H)‐dependent glutamate dehydrogenase gene (CeGDH) was cloned from the fungusCylindrocarpon ehrenbergii(Ce) and ectopically expressed in rice (Oryza sativaL. ‘Kitaake’). Meanwhile, the enzyme activity ofCeGDH was detected and the effects ofCeGDH in transgenic rice were analyzed. The determination of enzymatic activity in vitro showed thatCeGDH's aminating activity is higher than its deaminating activity, which was also confirmed by the results of enzymatic activity in vivo inCeGDHtransgenic rice. These results suggested that theCeGDH is inclined to convert 2‐Oxoglutarate to glutamate. Additionally, the nitrogen assimilation ability and grain yield were analyzed inCeGDHtransgenic plants. The hydroponic experiments revealed that the shoot and root lengths and nitrogen contents were improved obviously in transgenic plants compared with the wild‐type under low‐nitrogen conditions at seedling stage. In field conditions, the agronomic traits analysis showed that panicle numbers and grain yields of the transgenic plants also increased significantly under low‐nitrogen conditions. These results demonstrated that the introduction ofCeGDHinto rice could enhance nitrogen utilization, improve growth, and increase grain yields, especially in low nitrogen fertility.
Membrane Proteins Associated with Heat‐Induced Leaf Senescence in a Cool‐Season Grass Species
Authors: Jespersen David , Xu Chenping , Huang Bingru
Published: February 2015

Heat‐induced leaf senescence is a major symptom of heat stress in cool‐season plant species. The objective of this study was to identify membrane proteins associated with leaf senescence for a cool‐season grass species subjected to heat stress. Two lines (ColxCB169 and COLXCB190) of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) × colonial bentgrass (A. capilaris L.) hybrids were exposed to heat stress (38 and 35°C day and night) for 28 d in growth chambers. Leaf senescence was evaluated by turf quality rating, leaf chlorophyll content, and leaf electrolyte leakage, and the data demonstrated that COLXCB169 exhibited a significantly lesser degree of leaf senescence than COLXCB190 under prolonged heat stress. Membrane proteins analyzed using two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis showed significant differences in abundance between lines, which were mainly classified into three functional categories: energy production, metabolism, and stress defense. The majority of membrane proteins in leaves were downregulated due to heat stress but the abundance of proteins involved in energy metabolism including ATP‐synthase, Cytochrome b6f, chloroplast oxygen‐evolving enhancer protein, and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, as well as antioxidant proteins such as catalase and peroxidase, decreased later and to a lesser extent in leaves of ColxCB169. Transcript levels of ATP‐synthase, Cytochrome b6f, and peroxidase were downregulated to a greater degree in ColxCB190 than in COLXCB169. The results suggested that membrane proteins involved in ATP metabolism, light harvesting, and photosynthetic photochemical reactions as well as proteins for efficient processing of photorespiratory products and reactive oxygen species may serve important roles in regulating leaf senescence in bentgrass (Agrostis spp.) under heat stress.
Distribution pattern of ABO and Rh blood groups and their allelic frequencies among different ethnic groups in Malaysia
Authors: Amin Md. Ruhul , Susanto Dwi , Naher Laila
Published: February 2015

Background: The experiment involved 4 different racial populations such as Malay (M), Chinese (C), Indian Tamil (I) and confounded population termed as Others (O) from 13 states and 1 federal territory in Malaysia.Methods: A total of 1101 students in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan were surveyed for ABO blood type and Rh factor.Results: Phenotypic frequencies were 0.24, 0.27, 0.09 and 0.40 in M; 0.26, 0.21, 0.06 and 0.38 in C; 0.27, 0.31, 0.09 and 0.33 in I and 0.11, 0.29, 0.09 and 0.51 in O for A, B, AB and O blood group, respectively. Rh+ve cases were found to be abundant and distributed as 0.92, 0.94, 0.89 and 0.79 among M, C, I and O race, respectively. Allele frequencies of IA, IB and i were estimated at 0.17, 0.20 and 0.63 in M; 0.19, 0.16 and 0.65 in C; 0.20, 0.23 and 0.57 in O, respectively. Insignificant χ2 (0.05, 2 = 5.991) interprets that ABO allele frequencies exist in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all races. However, high magnitude of χ2 in M (5.463) signifies continued admixture in the M genetic population or the population is less stable than C and I. C and I are in more stabilized condition in this regard that might be because of closed breeding within them.Conclusion: Results of this study might be useful to blood transfusion services in Malaysia apart from human population geneticists. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i4.11257 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(4) 2015 25-29
Effects of Topical Honey Dressing in Decubitus Ulcer
Authors: Khadanga S. , Dugar D. , Karuna T. , Khetri R. , Tim H. , Ghata S. , Thatoi P. K.
Published: February 2015

Background: The medicinal properties of honey have been recognized since antiquity. Although used as an adjuvant method for accelerating wound healing from ancient times, honey has been sporadically used in the treatment of wounds. Many researchers have shown that honey exerts antibacterial activity against various organisms, including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This study was done to compare the effectiveness of honey and Povidone iodine in wound healing in Decubitus ulcers. Material & Methods: We conducted a prospective hospital based study of 40 patients with bed sore. Patients were selected considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria.  20 patients (Group A) had honey dressing and another 20 patients (Group B) had Povidone iodine dressing. We compared the wound healing status and bacteriological profile between day 1 and day 10 in both the groups. Result: The pain score decrement was significant in honey dressing group but the reduction in size of the wound was not significant. The bacteriological profile was more or less similar in both the groups.  Conclusion: The antibacterial properties of honey, the cost effectiveness, easy availability, reduction in size of wound and more so the significant reduction in pain reveal that honey can be a safe, satisfying, cost effective topical dressing material for decubitus ulcers in general medical and surgical words. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i4.11616 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(4) 2015 99-101
Myocardial bridge in a child without hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A case report
Authors: Yadav Shiv Kumar , Zhou Xue , He Ling , Yi Qi-jian
Published: February 2015

In children, myocardial bridge is an inborn coronary anomaly and is usually found in the patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or left ventricular hypertrophy. Myocardial bridges were long thought to be a benign anatomical variant, even in patients with obstructive and non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However some patients suffer from myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and even sudden cardiac death. In the present report, we describe a 7-year-old girl with the manifestation of recurrent precordial discomfort, and subsequently diagnosed as having an isolated myocardial bridge in the distal segment of left anterior descending coronary artery using 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i4.11785 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(4) 2015 80-82
Evaluation of effectiveness of kinesiotaping in supporting of rehabilitation of patients after meniscus injury. Preliminary report
Authors: Boguszewski Dariusz , Tomaszewska Iwona , Adamczyk Jakub Grzegorz , Białoszewski Dariusz
Published: February 2015

Objective: Kinesiotaping (KT) is a method being increasingly more often applied in rehabilitation of movement system. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of kinesiotaping on the rehabilitation result in patients with damaged meniscus.Material and methods: The study enrolled 23 patients (14 women and 9 men) aged between 20 to 41 years. The patients were at random divided into two groups: Group 1 (the experimental group) which received kinesiotaping application, and Group 2 (the control group), which had similar rehabilitation protocol except for the KT application.Results: All participants demonstrated a significant improvement in the range of knee flexion and extension of the injured limb as soon as the end of the first week of the rehabilitation (p<0.001).  This tendency persisted in the following weeks until 28th day. Significant swelling reduction was found at patients from the experimental group in all consecutive measurements. The greatest difference (p<0.001) was noted at the beginning of the rehabilitation. After 28 days of rehabilitation, pain intensity and frequency had significantly decreased at all patients (p<0.001). Patients from the control group used analgesics significantly more often.Conclusions: The used KT application contributed to a faster improvement of the range of joint motion and reduction of oedema. A similar reduction in pain intensity was observed at all research participants. However, pain considerably less often forced patients from the experimental group to use analgesics.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i4.11809 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(4) 2015 61-66
A case of single ventricular heart, pulmonary atresia, patent ductus arteriosus, major aortopulmonary collateral arteries
Authors: Nair Rema V , Nair Velayudhan , Mookambika RV , Rao RG Mohandas , Somayaji SN
Published: February 2015

We report a case of multiple congenital anomalies in a female newborn infant, born to themother from a hill tribe. The Doppler echocardiography of the baby showed large atrial septaldefect amounting to single atrium, atretic left atrioventricular valve, large single right sidedventricle, aorta shifted to the left arising from single ventricle and diminutive hypoplasticleft ventricle. Right atrioventricular valve was normal forming single inlet into the ventricle.Pulmonary artery was small and hypoplastic and no antegrade fl ow was observed in it. Thepatient was diagnosed as having single ventricle, pulmonary atresia, patent ductus arteriosus(PDA) and major aortopulmonary collateral artery (MAPCA).DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i4.7660Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(4) 2015 96-98
Effectiveness of a sexual assault awareness and prevention workshop for youth: A 3-month follow-up pragmatic cluster randomization study
Authors: Daigneault Isabelle , Hébert Martine , McDuff Pierre , Michaud Francine , Vézina-Gagnon Pascale , Henry Anne , Porter-Vignola Élyse
Published: February 2015

Sexual violence and other forms of sexual assault and coercion have a pervasive presence in the lives of many young people. School and community services and programs that are geared toward sexual assault awareness and prevention of sexual violence have thus been offered to youth in high-school settings. The goal of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of one such sexual assault awareness and prevention workshop designed and presented specifically for male and female youth aged 15 to 17 over a three month follow-up. A sample of 794 youth recruited from two schools were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions. Participants completed self-report outcome measures that assessed their knowledge of sexual assault, awareness of available resources, attitudes toward sexual assault, ability to identify sexual assault and to respond appropriately to a disclosure of sexual assault as well as sexual victimization. The data were analyzed using random coefficient analyses, which revealed that the workshop was effective in improving general knowledge regarding sexual assault, awareness of resources in the event of experiencing sexual assault, and attitudes regarding sexual assault. Participation in the program was also shown to enhance youth's ability to recognize sexual assault in a dating context and to diminish hypothetical responses that deny or minimize sexual assault in a dating situation disclosed by a peer. With one exception, these improvements were similar for male and female youth. The results indicate that the workshop was effective and that revision of some aspects of the implementation could further maximize its impact.
Destabilization of Gas Condensate Oil-Water Emulsion by Dissolved Air Flotation Using New Non Ionic Surfactants
Authors: Al-sabagh Ahmed M. , Sharaky A. M. , Noor El-din Mahmoud R. , Hussein Khaled M.
Published: February 2015

This paper focuses on the synthesis of new demulsifiers based on oleic acid monoamide to treat gas condensate-in-water emulsions. The chemical structure of the prepared ethoxylated demulsifier was confirmed by FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The treatment of gas condensate-in-water emulsions was investigated by means of dissolved-air flotation jar-tests. The effect of several parameters on the flotation efficiency for separation of the emulsified oil was investigated such as: effect of pH value, demulsifiers concentration, feed rate (L/min) and saturator working pressure (psi). Also, the surface and interfacial tensions, and the thermodynamic properties of the prepared surfactants have been studied. The results show that the optimum oil removal (99.9%) was obtained for OT3 at the concentration of 150 ppm, pH = 2, feed rate = 0.1 L/min and the saturation pressure 10 psi.
Concept of Film Thickness Applied to a New Approach for Polymer Concrete Mix Design for Airport Pavement Repair
Authors: Jung Yooseok , Lee Hosin (David) , Lee Min-Jae , Choi Seongcheol , Cho Yoon-Ho
Published: February 2015

Because of its superior ability to bond to substrate materials and its good resistance to freezing and thawing cycles, polymer concrete has been widely used for repairing airfield pavements. However, polymer concretes used in repairing airport pavements in South Korea have not lasted as long as originally predicted; this premature failure may be attributable to the incompatibility of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the polymer concrete and the substrate concrete material. To lower the CTE of the polymer concrete, the amount of polymer must be decreased and the amount of coarse aggregates increased. To determine the optimum amounts of polymer and coarse aggregates, a new concept of film thickness is proposed. In this research, the laboratory evaluation was performed on the mixtures of polymer concrete to measure compressive strength and CTE. On the basis of these test results, it was discovered that a larger amount of coarse aggregates lowered the CTE value and increased the film thickness; these changes resulted in a higher compressive strength than that of a typical polymer concrete with fine aggregates. As expected, the CTE of the polymer concrete decreased as the amount of polymer decreased. On the basis of limited laboratory test results, a film thickness of 33.5 Μm is recommended to satisfy the minimum requirement of compressive strength (21 MPa) for repair material in South Korea. This minimum film thickness can be achieved with a mix of 8.2% polymer and 91.8% sand. However, if coarse aggregates are substituted for 40% of the sand, the same film thickness can be maintained if the amount of polymer is reduced to 6.35%.
Advancing Urban Mobility with National Programs
Authors: Hidalgo Dario , Díaz Rodrigo
Published: February 2015

Urban mobility is not merely a local concern. National governments in developing countries are increasingly investing in urban transport infrastructure. Although the body of knowledge on the topic is growing, further understanding and improvement are necessary. This paper contributes to the topic by providing an assessment and formulating recommendations for the Colombian national urban transport program. The program has increased the number of cities with mass transit from two to eight over the past 10 years. New bus systems, with a total length of 194 km of bus corridors, serve 2.5 million passengers per day. The policy supports smaller cities in transforming their public transport systems citywide. Projects have resulted in positive socioeconomic impacts through reductions in operational costs, travel times, air pollutant emissions, and traffic fatalities and injuries—with a socioeconomic internal rate of return of up to 45%. Two critical aspects for improvement are identified: (a) the competition between semiformal public transport and motorcycles and organized public transport and (b) the principle of self-sustainability of transit systems. Suggestions on policy responses, such as stronger focus on quality, subsidies—funded from transport demand management and land use value capture—and enhancement of institutional coordination and control, are presented. Lessons from Colombia are relevant to other emerging countries that are considering and upgrading national urban mobility policies.
Analysis of Traffic Injury Severity in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Kamruzzaman M. , Haque M. Mazharul , Washington Simon
Published: February 2015

This research identifies roadway, traffic, and environmental factors that influence the injury severity of road traffic crashes in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dhaka provides a rather unusual driving-risk environment to study because virtually anyone in Dhaka can obtain a driver's license, traffic enforcement is lax, and few fines are given when drivers violate traffic rules. To examine this city with presumed heightened crash severity risk, the authors collected police-reported crash data from 2007 to 2011 containing about 2,714 road traffic crashes. The injury severity of traffic crashes—recorded as fatal injury, serious injury, or property damage only—was modeled with an ordered probit model. Significant factors increasing the probability of fatal injuries included crashes along highways (65%), absence of a road divider (80%), crashes during night time (54%), and vehicle–pedestrian collisions (367%); two-way traffic configuration (21%) and traffic police–controlled schemes (41%) decreased the probability of fatalities. Both similarities and differences of the findings between crash risk in Dhaka and that in developed countries are discussed in policy-relevant terms.
Computer assisted human karyotyping  an analysis of 131 cases
Authors: Rahman Md Mizanur , Giti Susane , Islam Md Saiful , Shaha Debashish , Yousuf AKM Abu , Bhuyain Mohammad Nuruzaman , Khatun Nasima , Kawsar Narjis Maliha
Published: February 2015

Introduction: Karyotyping is the process of pairing and ordering all the chromosomes of an organism, thus providing a genome-wide snapshot of an individuals chromosome. G-banded karyograms are routinely used to diagnose a wide range of chromosomal abnormalities in individuals. Although the resolution of chromosomal changes detectable by G-banded karyotyping is typically a few megabases, this can be sufficient to diagnose certain categories of abnormalities. Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the different types of chromosomal aberrations and their relative frequencies in a group of referred patients with suspected genetic disorders. Methods: This observational study was carried out at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) for a period of two years from January 2011 to December 2012. A total of 131 patients were included in this study. These patients were referred to AFIP from different Combined Military Hospitals (CMH) of Bangladesh Army and also from civil medical installations. All the patients were subjected to full genetic study; complete genetic examination and pedigree construction was done to exclude nonchromosomal causes of anomaly. Detailed history and physical findings were also noted in a prescribed format. The study included peripheral lymphocyte culture by a standard method using the Gbanding technique. 32 JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 9, No 2 (December) 2013 Results: Out of 131 patients, 54 (42.2%) were male and 77 (57.8%) were female with male to female ratio 0.7:1. The age limit of the patient ranges from 04 days to 70 years. Most of the patients (32.1%) were in the age group of 010 years followed by 2130 year age group (30.5%). Consanguineous marriage was found in 15 (11.5%) cases in which 3 (2.3%) cases had chromosomal aberrations. Recurrent abortion was the main clinical indication (18.3%) followed by infertility (15.3%). Chromosomal aberrations were detected in 26 patients (19.8%); of these, 20 (15.2%) involved autosomes, while only 6 (4.6%) involved gonosomes. Trisomy 21 was detected in 12 (9.1%) patients and Philadelphia chromosome was found in 8 (6.1%) patients. Turner syndrome was detected in 5 (3.8%) patients and Klinefelter syndrome was found in 1 (0.8%) patient. Conclusion: The precise delineation of different types of chromosomal aberrations is only possible using clinical examination and advanced cytogenetic tools by experienced cytogeneticists. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v9i2.21823 Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.9(2) 2013
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and its outcome in a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Uddin A Wahid , Nessa Sharifun , Chowdhury Selina , Banu Morsheda
Published: February 2015

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy seem to be one of the major causes of maternal morbidity and mortality leading to 10-15% of maternal deaths specially in developing world. Pregnancies complicated with hypertensive disorders are associated with increased risk of adverse foetal, neonatal and maternal outcome including preterm birth, Intrauterine Growth Retardation (IUGR) and perinatal death. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the hypertensive disorders and its outcome. Methods: The observational study was conducted on 63 randomly selected patients admitted in the inpatients department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the Institute of Child and Mother Health, Matuail, Dhaka from 1st November 2010 to 30th January 2011. Results: Among the study subjects 46% were within 19-25 years of age. 79.4% had preeclampsia, 14.3% had eclampsia and 6.3% were found to be as gestational hypertension. Among the study patients 50.8% were of single parity and 61.9% had no antenatal checkups, 25.4% were delivered before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy and 50.8% were delivered by Caesarean section. Regarding pregnancy outcome there was one case of still birth. Intra-uterine growth retardation had 33.3% and 44.4% had low birth weight (<2.2 kg). 38 JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 9, No 2 (December) 2013 The study found significant association between booking status and convulsion (p=0.03). Patients who were not booked had higher rates of convulsion. There was also significant association between hypertensive disorders and mode of delivery (p=0.015). Conclusion: Caesarean section is the applicable mode of delivery in most of the patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v9i2.21824 Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.9(2) 2013
Recurrence of hernia after mesh hernioplasty  a study of 100 cases
Authors: Hossain SM Shakhwat , Rahman Md Mahbubur , Hasan Masroor
Published: February 2015

Introduction: Recurrences have been a significant problem following hernia repair. Prosthetic materials are increasingly used in hernia repair to prevent recurrences. Their use has been associated with several advantages, such as less postoperative pain, rapid recovery and low recurrence rates. Objectives: This study has been done to find out the early and late morbidity specially the recurrence rates of Hernia after mesh hernioplasty. Methods: This retrospective study, was performed on 100 patients between the periods of October 2007 to October 2012 at Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka, on whom tension free open repair were performed by Rives (Inlay), Lichtenstein (onlay) or Stoppa (GPRVS) technique. Stoppa technique was applied in bilateral cases. Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair was done by TAPP (Trans Abdominal Pre Peritoneal) approach. All data concerning age, sex, history, and symptoms of patients, as well as the post operative condition of the patients were recorded in predesigned data sheet. Results: Out of 100 cases 90 (90%) were male and 10 (10%) were female. The overall age ranged between 30  80 years with an increased incidence between 5th and 6th decades (50%). Most of the patients were having inguinal Hernia (75%), 83 JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 9, No 2 (December) 2013 followed by incisional hernia in 15 (15%) and paraumbilical hernia in 10 (10%) patients. Among inguinal hernia, direct variety were 53 (58.2%), indirect 29 (31.9%), recurrent 9 (9.9%), right sided 44 (48.3%), left sided 31 (34.1%) and bilateral 16 (17.6%). Fifteen (15%) cases had diabetes mellitus, 10 (10%) cases had hypertension, 12 (12%) cases had been suffering from bronchial asthma and 2 (2%) cases had features of prostatism. Ninety two (92%) patients underwent open surgery and 8 (8%) cases laparoscopic hernioplasty. Among the open procedure done (83 procedures) in inguinal hernias unilateral inlay inguinal hernioplasty (Rives) was done in 47 (56.6%), onlay (Lichtenstein) in 20 (24.1%) and Stoppa procedure was done in 16 (19.3%) bilateral cases. In all 100 cases, a sheet of Polypropyelene mesh was given as prosthetic material. Post operatively a few patients developed complication. Ecchymosis of skin in 2 (2%), testicular swelling and orchitis in 4 (4%), wound infection in 3 (3%), retention of urine in 10 (10%) cases. All were treated and improved. 2 (2%) cases developed recurrence after operation as found in follow-up where onlay mesh were given and who had features of prostatism. Conclusion: Tension-free mesh hernia repair is a simple, safe, comfortable and effective method, with extremely low early and late morbidity and remarkably low recurrence rate and therefore it is a preferred method for hernia repair. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v9i2.21842 Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.9(2) 2013
Acute Haemoperitoneum: an unusual presentation of choriocarcinoma
Authors: Nargis Nazlima , Karim Md Iqbal , Khuldhon Abu M
Published: February 2015

Introduction: Choriocarcinoma is a highly malignant epithelial tumour arising from the trophoblastic tissue. It commonly occurs in women of reproductive age, rarely in post-menopausal women and in women under 20 years of age. Methods: The case was initially diagnosed as an unusual presentation of choriocarcinoma with acute haemoperitoneum due to perforation of uterus with lung metastasis. The patient an 18 yr old woman came with acute abdominal pain and signs of haemoperitoneum. Emergency laparotomy followed by hysterectomy was done. Subsequently patient took chemotherapy and improved. Conclusion: Acute haemoperitoneum is a medical emergency. So this case report emphasizes the need of sophisticated diagnostic technology for early diagnosis and successful management of the patient. Clinician should give more attention to unusal presentation of choriocarcinoma. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v9i2.21850 Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.9(2) 2013
Application of Entropy Measures on Intrinsic Mode Functions for the Automated Identification of Focal Electroencephalogram Signals
Authors: Sharma Rajeev , Pachori Ram , Acharya U.
Published: February 2015

The brain is a complex structure made up of interconnected neurons, and its electrical activities can be evaluated using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The characteristics of the brain area affected by partial epilepsy can be studied using focal and non-focal EEG signals. In this work, a method for the classification of focal and non-focal EEG signals is presented using entropy measures. These entropy measures can be useful in assessing the nonlinear interrelation and complexity of focal and non-focal EEG signals. These EEG signals are first decomposed using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method to extract intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The entropy features, namely, average Shannon entropy (ShEnAvg), average Renyi’s entropy (RenEnAvg ), average approximate entropy (ApEnAvg), average sample entropy (SpEnAvg) and average phase entropies (S1Avg and S2Avg), are computed from different IMFs of focal and non-focal EEG signals. These entropies are used as the input feature set for the least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) classifier to classify into focal and non-focal EEG signals. Experimental results show that our proposed method is able to differentiate the focal and non-focal EEG signals with an average classification accuracy of 87% correct.
Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation-Based Disaster Risk Assessment of Desertification in Horqin Sand Land, China
Authors: Wang Yongfang , Zhang Jiquan , Guo Enliang , Sun Zhongyi
Published: February 2015

Desertification is a typical disaster risk event in which human settlements and living environments are destroyed. Desertification Disaster Risk Assessment can control and prevent the occurrence and development of desertification disasters and reduce their adverse influence on human society. This study presents the methodology and procedure for risk assessment and zoning of desertification disasters in Horqin Sand Land. Based on natural disaster risk theory and the desertification disaster formation mechanism, the Desertification Disaster Risk Index (DDRI) combined hazard, exposure, vulnerability and restorability factors and was developed mainly by using multi-source data and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results showed that high risk and middle risk areas account for 28% and 23% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed with an “S” type in the study area. Low risk and very low risk areas account for 21% and 10% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed in the west-central and southwestern parts. Very high risk areas account for 18% of the study area and are distributed in the northeastern parts. The results can be used to know the desertification disaster risk level. It has important theoretical and practical significance to prevention and control of desertification in Horqin Sand Land and even in Northern China.
Investigating Within-Field Variability of Rice from High Resolution Satellite Imagery in Qixing Farm County, Northeast China
Authors: Zhao Quanying , Lenz-Wiedemann Victoria , Yuan Fei , Jiang Rongfeng , Miao Yuxin , Zhang Fusuo , Bareth Georg
Published: February 2015

Rice is a primary staple food for the world population and there is a strong need to map its cultivation area and monitor its crop status on regional scales. This study was conducted in the Qixing Farm County of the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. First, the rice cultivation areas were identified by integrating the remote sensing (RS) classification maps from three dates and the Geographic Information System (GIS) data obtained from a local agency. Specifically, three FORMOSAT-2 (FS-2) images captured during the growing season in 2009 and a GIS topographic map were combined using a knowledge-based classification method. A highly accurate classification map (overall accuracy = 91.6%) was generated based on this Multi-Data-Approach (MDA). Secondly, measured agronomic variables that include biomass, leaf area index (LAI), plant nitrogen (N) concentration and plant N uptake were correlated with the date-specific FS-2 image spectra using stepwise multiple linear regression models. The best model validation results with a relative error (RE) of 8.9% were found in the biomass regression model at the phenological stage of heading. The best index of agreement (IA) value of 0.85 with an RE of 13.6% was found in the LAI model, also at the heading stage. For plant N uptake estimation, the most accurate model was again achieved at the heading stage with an RE of 11% and an IA value of 0.77; however, for plant N concentration estimation, the model performance was best at the booting stage. Finally, the regression models were applied to the identified rice areas to map the within-field variability of the four agronomic variables at different growth stages for the Qixing Farm County. The results provide detailed spatial information on the within-field variability on a regional scale, which is critical for effective field management in precision agriculture.
Public Trust in Health Information Sharing: Implications for Biobanking and Electronic Health Record Systems
Authors: Platt Jodyn , Kardia Sharon
Published: February 2015

Biobanks are made all the more valuable when the biological samples they hold can be linked to health information collected in research, electronic health records, or public health practice. Public trust in such systems that share health information for research and health care practice is understudied. Our research examines characteristics of the general public that predict trust in a health system that includes researchers, health care providers, insurance companies and public health departments. We created a 119-item survey of predictors and attributes of system trust and fielded it using Amazon’s MTurk system (n = 447). We found that seeing one’s primary care provider, having a favorable view of data sharing and believing that data sharing will improve the quality of health care, as well as psychosocial factors (altruism and generalized trust) were positively and significantly associated with system trust. As expected, privacy concern, but counterintuitively, knowledge about health information sharing were negatively associated with system trust. We conclude that, in order to assure the public’s trust, policy makers charged with setting best practices for governance of biobanks and access to electronic health records should leverage critical access points to engage a diverse public in joint decision making.
Multifunctional Nanofibers towards Active Biomedical Therapeutics
Authors: Sharma Jaishri , Lizu Monira , Stewart Mark , Zygula Kyle , Lu Yang , Chauhan Rajat , Yan Xingru , Guo Zhanhu , Wujcik Evan , Wei Suying
Published: February 2015

One-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures have attracted enormous research interest due to their unique physicochemical properties and wide application potential. These 1-D nanofibers are being increasingly applied to biomedical fields owing to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, high porosity, and the ease of tuning their structures, functionalities, and properties. Many biomedical nanofiber reviews have focused on tissue engineering and drug delivery applications but have very rarely discussed their use as wound dressings. However, nanofibers have enormous potential as wound dressings and other clinical applications that could have wide impacts on the treatment of wounds. Herein, the authors review the main fabrication methods of nanofibers as well as requirements, strategies, and recent applications of nanofibers, and provide perspectives of the challenges and opportunities that face multifunctional nanofibers for active therapeutic applications.