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The study objective is to evaluate the utilisation and effectiveness of intensive care unit (ICU) in the postoperative period as to its potential benefits to the head and neck reconstruction services.Materials and methods. This is a retrospective study on 143 consecutive patients who underwent 144 major head and neck microvascular reconstructive procedures performed by a single surgeon, that focused on perioperative management and on the relation between admission to ICU and complications/outcomes.Results. Thirty-four (23.6 %) patients were admitted to ICU during the early postoperative period. Admission to ICU was not associated with lower incidence of complications compared to direct admission to the Head and Neck ward: 29.4 % vs 27.3 % (p = 0.807709).Conclusion. Routinely early postoperative admission to ICU seems not to improve outcomes and/or reduce complications, and, as a consequence, ICU admission should be restricted to selected patients only.

Forest is in trouble. The most recent (2015) FAO Forest Resources Assessment shows an encouraging trend towards a decrease in deforestation rates, but it also points out that since 1990 total forest loss corresponds to an area the size of South Africa. Efforts to curtail deforestation require reliable assessments, yet current definitions for what a forest exactly is differ significantly across countries, institutions and epistemic communities. Those differences have implications for forest management efforts: they entail different understandings about where exactly a forest starts and ends, and therefore also engender misunderstandings about where a forest should start and end, and about how forests should be managed. This special issue brings together different perspectives from practitioners and academic disciplines – including linguistics, geographic information science and human geography – around the problem of understanding and characterizing forest. By bringing together different disciplinary viewpoints, we hope to contribute to ongoing interdisciplinary efforts to analyse forest change. In this introduction, we propose that interrogating the relationship between forest definitions, boundaries and ways of valuing forests constitutes a productive way to critically conceptualize the trouble that forest is in.

Recent studies have shown that organisms including humans are exposed to microplastics directly or indirectly. The present study aims to examine the ingestion of these microplastics and the consequences of the same by studying the accumulation behavior of weathered Polyethylene (wPE) microplastics. The Perna viridis were exposed chronically to three different environmentally relevant concentrations of wPE for 30 days, followed by a one-week depuration phase. There was no mortality observed in the control and exposed groups, but the feeding rate was observed to have substantially decreased in the group exposed to higher concentration (3 μgL–1) of wPE. It was also observed that a higher number of wPE particles accumulated in the intestine of exposed organisms. Interestingly, the present study revealed the presence of the substantial number of wPE particles in exposed organisms, which may adversely affect the internal organs as well as growth and reproduction. This study perceived that accumulation is marginally influenced by size of wPE. Similarly, biomarker analysis showed that wPE exposure significantly altered both the metabolism and histology of the internal organs of the exposed organisms. Overall, the study confirmed that the intestine was the most sensitive organ followed by gills, adductor muscles, and foot tissue adding new insights into the adverse effects of wPE in the marine ecosystem.

La teoría de solución de problemas de inventiva (TRIZ), es el resultado del análisis minucioso de patentes a nivel mundial, forma parte de un sistema de principios y algoritmos donde se amplifica la posibilidad de encontrar soluciones innovadoras a problemas científicos, superando la inercia psicológica basada en paradigmas. El presente trabajo propone un análisis biológico utilizando la herramienta analítica TRIZ con el uso del Análisis Campo-Sustancia (Su-Field) originalmente destinado a resolver problemas de ingeniería para determinar el efecto antagónico de Trichoderma asperelloides frente a Fusarium, patógeno presentado en plantas de cítricos encontrando como el resultado final ideal el uso de T. asperelloides como agente de control patógeno en plantas de cítricos (Citrus sinensis) en el norte de Veracruz, México.

Eleven St. Croix ewes (46.9 ± 1.59 kg BW and 3.6 ± 0.67 yr age) were used in a crossover design to evaluate effects of restricted drinking water availability on intake of a 50% concentrate diet, digestion, and energy utilization. After 2 wk to determine ad libitum water consumption, there were two 4-wk periods, with measures in metabolism cages during wk 4. One treatment was water offered at the ad libitum level (CONT) and the other entailed a 25% reduction in wk 1 and 50% thereafter (REST). Although, some water was refused in wk 4, with intake of 2556 and 1707 g/day for CONT and REST, respectively (SEM=170.9). Digestibility of gross energy was greater (P = 0.034) for REST than for CONT (66.5 vs. 62.4%; SEM=1.16); however, because of a numerical difference (P = 0.448) in energy intake (15.79 and 14.66 MJ/day for CONT and REST, respectively; SEM=1.426 MJ/day), digested energy intake was similar between treatments (P = 0.870). Urinary energy was greater (P = 0.023) for CONT vs. REST (0.62 and 0.52 MJ/day; SEM=0.038) and methane energy did not differ (P = 0.213) between treatments (0.76 and 0.89 MJ/day; SEM=0.084), resulting in similar (P = 0.665) ME intake (8.50 and 8.01 MJ/day for CONT and REST, respectively; SEM=0.855). Both heat (8.60 and 8.33 MJ/day; SEM=0.437) and recovered energy (-0.10 and -0.30 MJ/day for CONT and REST, respectively; SEM=0.623) were similar between treatments (P ≥ 0.880). In conclusion, increased digestibility appears an important adaptive response to limited availability of drinking water.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) embarked on an ambitious 5 yr survey in 2021 May to explore the nature of dark energy with spectroscopic measurements of 40 million galaxies and quasars. DESI will determine precise redshifts and employ the baryon acoustic oscillation method to measure distances from the nearby universe to beyond redshift z > 3.5, and employ redshift space distortions to measure the growth of structure and probe potential modifications to general relativity. We describe the significant instrumentation we developed to conduct the DESI survey. This includes: a wide-field, 3.°2 diameter prime-focus corrector; a focal plane system with 5020 fiber positioners on the 0.812 m diameter, aspheric focal surface; 10 continuous, high-efficiency fiber cable bundles that connect the focal plane to the spectrographs; and 10 identical spectrographs. Each spectrograph employs a pair of dichroics to split the light into three channels that together record the light from 360–980 nm with a spectral resolution that ranges from 2000–5000. We describe the science requirements, their connection to the technical requirements, the management of the project, and interfaces between subsystems. DESI was installed at the 4 m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and has achieved all of its performance goals. Some performance highlights include an rms positioner accuracy of better than 0.″1 and a median signal-to-noise ratio of 7 of the [O ii ] doublet at 8 × 10 ^−17 erg s ^−1 cm ^−2 in 1000 s for galaxies at z = 1.4–1.6. We conclude with additional highlights from the on-sky validation and commissioning, key successes, and lessons learned.

The current research aims to investigate the effect of nickel doping on the structural and opto-electrical characteristics of zinc oxide thin films. Sol-gel spin coating technique has been utilized to deposit Zn _1-x Ni _x O (x = 0, 0.005, 0.010, and 0.015) films on glass substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the formation of crystalline zinc oxide thin films with hexagonal wurtzite structure. Williamson-Hall analysis has been performed to study the individual contribution of lattice strain and crystallite size to the peak broadening in the XRD pattern. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Photoluminescence spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopic techniques have been used to examine the surface morphology and optical properties of the deposited films. Transient photocurrent measurements have been performed on all the films under the exposure of ultraviolet (UV) light of wavelengths 365 and 254 nm with on/off cycle of 100 s, and various device key parameters such as sensitivity, responsivity, and quantum efficiency, etc have been determined. Sensitivities of the fabricated photodetectors (PDs) are found to be 5463%, 3809%, 3100%, and 831% for pristine ZnO, Zn _0.995 Ni _0.005 O, Zn _0.99 Ni _0.01 O, and Zn _0.985 Ni _0.015 O, respectively. The UV photodetection mechanism, which is based on the interaction between chemisorbed oxygen on the surface of ZnO and photo-generated holes, has been thoroughly discussed.

The acceptance and adoption level of transgenic crops among farmers and consumers is increasing at unprecedented rates making it the fastest adopted technology in the history of agriculture. Emerging trends in transgenic research and field trials also indicate expression of second generation output traits such as omega-3 oil or pro-Vitamin A, drought & salt tolerance and Nitrogen intake efficiency in large number of the crops. Further recent success of third generation transgenic traits related to non-food, high value industrial and pharmaceutical products are expected to create new avenues of opportunities and challenges for industrial crops, for “biopharming’. Last two decades biotechnology work in sugarcane resulted in partial sequencing of complex polyploidy genome, identifying large number of developmental genes and production of transgenic plants for large number of traits. However, no transgenic sugarcane has been commercialized so far. The lack of reliable transformation system, efficient gene promoters, transgene silencing, limited knowledge of polyploidy genome architecture and field instability are the major scientific or technological limiting factors. Multiple utilities of sugarcane as a feed stock for production of sugar, power, alcohol, bio-fuels, biopolymers and biopharmaceuticals are creating new competitive landscape for sugarcane transgenic across the world. To capture these emerging opportunities major biotech companies are entering into strategic partnerships and alliances with traditional sugar research institutes and sugar companies at national and international level. But there are many challenges ahead for regulatory authorities and governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, and food labeling to obtain public acceptance and usher benefits of sugarcane transgenic to larger sections of the society.

The primary aim of this study is to develop a biocomposite by using biopolymer and natural fibers/particles from renewable resources. With the aid of poly-condensation process, the cardanol thermoset biopolymer resin from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) was synthesized. The abundantly available, bagasse fiber (20 mm of length) and coconut shell particle (50 μm) were applied as reinforcement material to produce a new ecological hybrid biocomposite. The prepared fiber and particles are treated chemically. Hybrid composites of Cardanol (C) reinforced with bagasse fiber (BF), Coconut shell powder (CP) and Bagasse fiber/Coconut shell powder (BC) were manufactured using a compression moulding process. This four different kinds of composites, though the sequences are done to have C, C/BF, C/CP, and C/BC. The mechanical properties of the prepared biocomposites were evaluated through tensile, flexural and impact test. These evaluation predicts that C/BF possess comparatively more strength with other hybrid composites. The presence of fiber and particle are attributed in all the biocomposites using FT-IR spectroscopy analysis. Similarly during thermal analysis, C/BF corroborate with higher thermal stability than other biocomposites by thermal gravimetric analysis.

Plant selections with desirable root characters have been a major objective in breeding drought resistant variety of rice. Present study was therefore conducted to study the performance of rice varieties for yield, yield contributing characters, root characters and their association with drought tolerance. Drought resistant entries had recorded higher root thickness, root volume and deep root system than the susceptible genotypes. Correlation studies revealed that, all the characters showed positive and significant correlation with single plant yield. Drought score on the other hand exhibited significant negative correlation with yield. Spikelet fertility positively correlated with 1000 grain weight and yield but negatively correlated with drought score. Root depth was found positively correlated with root volume, root thickness, fresh weight of shoot and root and dry weight of shoot and root and exhibited significant negative correlation with drought score. This means that deep rooted varieties tend to be drought tolerant and have thick roots. Strong association between drought score and root thickness suggested that this character to be an important trait in identifying varieties for use in upland rice improvement for drought tolerance. Hence the characters to be given importance in selection are panicle/m2, spikelet fertility and 1000 grain weight as they exhibited highly positive correlation with grain yield and also a positive inter-correlation among themselves. Selection based on root thickness and root depth is highly suitable for identifying varieties for use in upland rice improvement for drought tolerance.

Background: The high prevalence of tooth decay is a major oral health problem in Indonesia. We aimed to determine the relationship between tooth decay and quality of life in children living in rural and urban areas in Indonesia. Methods: A pilot survey was carried out with 2550 students in rural, peri-urban and urban sites in 14 provinces in Indonesia. Age groups included 6-7 years old and 11-12 years old, and we used the pathfinder survey technique. Data collected were based on the WHO STEPS-wise framework using a dental examination by the WHO form (Annex 7) and quality of life questionnaire (Annex 8, Q10). Results: Tooth decay prevalence in 6-7 years old was 88.01%, and 70.27% in the 11-12 years old age group. Children aged 6-7 years old was reported that tooth decay affected their appearance (p=0.013), caused them to avoid smiling and laughing (p=0.003), caused other children to make fun of their teeth (p=0.002) and caused them to miss school hours (p=0.005). Among 11-12 years old children, tooth decay reportedly affected their appearance (p=0.001), caused them to avoid smiling and laughing (p=0.041) and caused them to have chewing difficulty chewing (p=0.031). Conclusions: Tooth decay affects children's quality of life, especially with regard to psychological health.

The assessment of stable genotypes to a wide range of environments is important for recommending cultivars in plant breeding programme. Therefore, twenty four genotypes of soybean were tested over three environments in Tamil Nadu. The stability analysis of GxE interaction observed data is mostly handled by parametric methods. If any assumptions of parametric methods are violated, the result of these methods may be questionable. The nonparametric measures are easy to analyse and simple to interpret which have more advantages than parametric methods. In this paper, nine nonparametric methods were used for identification of stable genotype and association among these measures were checked by correlation. According to Principle component analysis, nonparametric measures were divided into three groups Group 1 included Kang ranksum, NPi(1), NPi(2), NPi(3) and NPi(4), Group 2 included Si(3) and Si(6). Group 3 included Si(1) and Si(2). According to nonparametric measures, G17 is the stable one.

From koppunuru study area totally 58 samples were collected in 7 different boreholes, minimum depth of 28 m and Maximum depth of 157.7 m. The borehole samples geochemical analysis (major and trace elements) was carried out at Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration & Research (AMD), Hyderabad, India. Major and trace element studies have been conducted on the Neoproterozoic Palnad sub-basin Andhra Pradesh, South India, to determine their Geochemistry, Uranium mineralization and provenance characteristics. Geochemically, this sedimentary basin has a different litho – unit like as gritty quartzite, conglomerate, and Shale. This study area mainly dominated by Uranium deposited and radioactive elements are predominately deposit. Strong positive correlation between Uranium and Lead (r = 0.887) suggested radiogenic nature of this system. Keywords: Palnad sub-basin, Koppunuru, Geochemistry, Provenance, Uranium mineralization

Abstract Background Some older people who find standard exercise programmes too strenuous may be encouraged to exercise while remaining seated - chair based exercises (CBE). We previously developed a consensus CBE programme (CCBE) following a modified Delphi process. We firstly needed to test the feasibility and acceptability of this treatment approach and explore how best to evaluate it before undertaking a definitive trial. Methods A feasibility study with a cluster randomised controlled trial component was undertaken to 1. Examine the acceptability, feasibility and tolerability of the intervention and 2. Assess the feasibility of running a trial across 12 community settings (4 day centres, 4 care homes, 4 community groups). Centres were randomised to either CCBE, group reminiscence or usual care. Outcomes were collected to assess the feasibility of the trial parameters: level of recruitment interest and eligibility, randomisation, adverse events, retention, completion of health outcomes, missing data and delivery of the CCBE. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with participants and care staff following the intervention to explore acceptability. Results 48% (89 out of 184 contacted) of eligible centres were interested in participating with 12 recruited purposively. 73% (94) of the 128 older people screened consented to take part with 83 older people then randomised following mobility testing. Recruitment required greater staffing levels and resources due to 49% of participants requiring a consultee declaration. There was a high dropout rate (40%) primarily due to participants no longer attending the centres. The CCBE intervention was delivered once a week in day centres and community groups and twice a week in care homes. Older people and care staff found the CCBE intervention largely acceptable. Conclusion There was a good level of interest from centres and older people and the CCBE intervention was largely welcomed. The trial design and governance procedures would need to be revised to maximise recruitment and retention. If the motivation for a future trial is physical health then this study has identified that further work to develop the CCBE delivery model is warranted to ensure it can be delivered at a frequency to elicit physiological change. If the motivation for a future trial is psychological outcomes then this study has identified that the current delivery model is feasible. Trial registration ISRCTN27271501. Date registered: 30/01/2018.

Background: Oral health surveys conducted on a very large population involve many examiners who must be consistent in scoring different levels of an oral disease. Prior to the oral health survey implementation, a measurement of inter-rater reliability (IRR) is needed to know the level of agreement among examiners or raters. Purpose: This study aimed to assess the IRR using consensus and consistency estimates in large population oral health surveys. Methods: A total of 58 dentists participated as raters. The benchmarker showed the clinical sample for dental caries and community periodontal index (CPI) score, with the raters being trained to carry out a calibration exercise in dental phantom. The consensus estimate was measured by means of a percent agreement and Cohen’s Kappa statistic. The consistency estimate of IRR was measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation. Results: The percent agreement is 65.50% for photographic slides of dental caries, 73.13% for photographic slides of CPI and 78.78% for calibration of dental caries using phantom. There were statistically significant differences between dental caries calibration using photographic slides and phantom (p0.9). Conclusion: A percent agreement across multiple raters is acceptable for the diagnosis of dental caries. Consistency between multiple raters is reliable when diagnosing dental caries and CPI.

The present study investigated the effect of hydrothermic maize processing and supplementation of amino acids (AA) in two experiments. In total, 60 barrows and 384 broilers were fed four diets including either unprocessed (T1), or hydrothermically processed maize, that is short- (T2), or long-term conditioned (LC) (T3), and subsequently expanded maize of the same batch. Assuming a higher metabolizable energy (ME) content after processing, the fourth diet (T4) contains maize processed as treatment T3, but AA were supplemented to maintain the ideal protein value. Performance, digestibility and product quality in both species were assessed. Results show that in pigs receiving T4 the average daily feed intake was lower compared with the other treatments, whereas no difference was observed in broilers. The T3 improved the feed conversion rate compared with T1 (P

I pazienti sottoposti ad intervento chirurgico di parotidectomia per lesioni benigne e maligne possono presentare disfunzioni temporanee o permanenti del nervo facciale. Il monitoraggio intraoperatorio della motilità facciale è uno strumento ampiamente riconosciuto per la sua utilità nella preservazione del nervo, mentre lefficacia del microscopio operatorio è stata raramente discussa. Gli autori riportano la loro esperienza su 198 parotidectomie consecutive eseguite su 196 pazienti con lausilio del microscopio operatorio e del monitoraggio intraoperatorio del nervo facciale. Centoqurantacinque interventi sono stati eseguiti per lesioni benigne e 53 per neoplasie maligne. Tredici pazienti operati per lesioni benigne hanno presentato un deficit della funzionalità del nervo facciale: 11 hanno sofferto di paralisi temporanea e 2 di paralisi permanente (entrambe di secondo grado). Dieci pazienti affetti da patologia maligna presentavano un interessamento preoperatorio del nervo facciale. Cinque e sei pazienti affetti da patologia maligna senza interessamento preoperatorio del nervo hanno presentato un deficit rispettivamente temporaneo e definitivo (in 2 casi il sacrificio di un ramo del nervo macroscopicamente infiltrato dalla neoplasia fu deciso solo durante la procedura chirurgica). Lincidenza di paralisi definitiva di una singola branca del nervo facciale dopo interventi eseguiti per lesioni che non originavano dal nervo facciale o che non lo infiltravano macroscopicamente (n = 185) è stata del 2,7%. I pazienti trattati per tumori benigni non flogistici del lobo superficiale della ghiandola parotide (n = 91) hanno presentato una paralisi facciale postoperatoria temporanea nel 4,4% dei casi e nessun deficit permanente. Luso combinato del microscopio operatorio e del monitoraggio intraoperatorio del nervo sembra garantire la preservazione del nervo facciale nei pazienti sottoposti a parotidectomia.

A wildfire-mapping algorithm is proposed based on fire dynamics, called the dynamic algorithm. It is applied to daily NOAA/AVHRR/HRPT data for wildland areas (scrub, chaparral, grassland, marsh, riparian forest, woodland, rangeland and forests) in California for September and October 1999. Daily AVHRR images acquired from two successive days are compared for active fire detection and burn scar mapping. The algorithm consists of four stages: data preparation; hotspot detection; burn scar mapping; and final confirmation of potential burn scar pixels. Preliminary comparisons between the result mapped by the dynamic algorithm and the fire polygons collected by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through ground survey indicate that the algorithm can track burn scars at different developmental stages at a daily level. The comparisons between wildfire mapping results produced by a modified version of an existing algorithm and the dynamic algorithm also indicate this point. This is the major contribution of this algorithm to wildfire detection methods. The dynamic algorithm requires highly precise registration between consecutive images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Models for light dark matter particles with masses below 1 GeV/c $$^2$$ 2 are a natural and well-motivated alternative to so-far unobserved weakly interacting massive particles. Gram-scale cryogenic calorimeters provide the required detector performance to detect these particles and extend the direct dark matter search program of CRESST. A prototype 0.5 g sapphire detector developed for the $$\nu $$ ν -cleus experiment has achieved an energy threshold of $$E_{th}=(19.7\pm 0.9)$$ E t h = ( 19.7 ± 0.9 ) eV. This is one order of magnitude lower than for previous devices and independent of the type of particle interaction. The result presented here is obtained in a setup above ground without significant shielding against ambient and cosmogenic radiation. Although operated in a high-background environment, the detector probes a new range of light-mass dark matter particles previously not accessible by direct searches. We report the first limit on the spin-independent dark matter particle-nucleon cross section for masses between 140 and 500 MeV/c $$^2$$ 2 .

A high yielding blackgram variety KKM 1 (KKB 05011 culture) is a cross derivative of COBG 653 x VBN 3 and matures in 65-70 days. This culture recorded a mean grain yield of 645 and 570 Kg/ha in station trials which is 16.2 and 12.4 per cent increased yield over check variety ADT 3 under irrigated and rice fallow condition respectively. It has bold seeds with a mean 100 seed weight of 4.47 grams. It is determinate and has synchronized maturity. The protein content of KKB 05011 is 20.8 per cent and has good batter qualities like high initial batter volume and volume after fermentation. The blackgram KKB 05011 culture is moderately resistant to Yellow mosaic virus, Powdery mildew and Pod borer but resistant to root knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica). The blackgram KKB 05011 was released as TNAU blackgram KKM 1 in the year 2017 for large scale cultivation in Tamil Nadu.

Abstract Identifying the nature and origin of dark matter is one of the major challenges for modern astro and particle physics. Direct dark-matter searches aim at an observation of dark-matter particles interacting within detectors. The focus of several such searches is on interactions with nuclei as provided e.g. by weakly interacting massive particles. However, there is a variety of dark-matter candidates favoring interactions with electrons rather than with nuclei. One example are dark photons, i.e., long-lived vector particles with a kinetic mixing to standard-model photons. In this work we present constraints on this kinetic mixing based on data from CRESST-II Phase 2 corresponding to an exposure before cuts of 52 kg-days. These constraints improve the existing ones for dark-photon masses between 0.3 and 0.7 keV/c $$^2$$ 2 .

La scialoadenite cronica ostruttiva rappresenta una delle più frequenti patologie non-neoplastiche delle ghiandole salivari e la scialoendoscopia è sempre più utilizzata nella sua diagnosi e nel suo trattamento, associata o meno con la litotripsia laser. La scialoendoscopia può essere inoltre associata ad approcci esterni mini-invasivi nelle litiasi troppo voluminose per essere rimosse con un approccio unicamente endoscopico. Il presente articolo riporta lesperienza delle Cliniche Otorinolaringoiatriche dellOspedale SantOrsola-Malpighi di Bologna e dellAzienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Cagliari, Italia. È stata eseguita unanalisi retrospettiva su 48 pazienti (26 femmine, 22 maschi; età media di 45,3 anni; range 8-83 anni) trattati per patologia cronica ostruttiva delle ghiandole salivari maggiori mediante procedure chirurgiche endoscopiche o combinate da novembre 2010 ad aprile 2016 presso lAzienda-Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Cagliari. I risultati dellOspedale SantOrsola-Malpighi di Bologna erano stati precedentemente pubblicati. Gli aspetti tecnici della scialoendoscopia sono stati accuratamente descritti. I pazienti trattati presso lAzienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Cagliari presentavano una patologia unilaterale in 40 casi e bilaterale in 8 casi; sono state trattate 56 ghiandole salivari maggiori (22 sottomandibolari e 34 parotidi). 5 pazienti sono stati sottoposti a scialoendoscopia bilaterale per parotite ricorrente giovanile, 10 per patologia ostruttiva non litiasica e 33 (68,75%) presentavano calcoli salivari (1 paziente presentava una litiasi parotidea bilaterale). Solo 8 pazienti sono stati sottoposti a scialectomia radicale per via esterna (5 scialectomie sottomandibolare e 3 parotidectomie). La chirurgia conservativa nei pazienti con scialoadenite cronica ostruttiva appare efficace e può essere realizzata mediante un approccio puramente endoscopico o combinato, con unalta percentuale di successo. La procedura richiede una strumentazione adeguata e deve essere eseguita da un chirurgo esperto, che abbia svolto un training specifico scialoendoscopico, in modo da evitare le possibili complicanze maggiori e minori. La scialectomia tradizionale rappresenta la extrema ratio, limitata nei casi in cui un approccio conservativo sia risultato inefficace o controindicato.

Abstract Background Pharmacological inhibition of B cell receptor (BCR) signaling has recently emerged as an effective approach in a wide range of B lymphoid neoplasms. However, despite promising clinical activity of the first Bruton’s kinase (Btk) and spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitors, a small fraction of patients tend to develop progressive disease after initial response to these agents. Methods We evaluated the antitumor activity of IQS019, a new BCR kinase inhibitor with increased affinity for Btk, Syk, and Lck/Yes novel tyrosine kinase (Lyn), in a set of 34 B lymphoid cell lines and primary cultures, including samples with acquired resistance to the first-in-class Btk inhibitor ibrutinib. Safety and efficacy of the compound were then evaluated in two xenograft mouse models of B cell lymphoma. Results IQS019 simultaneously engaged a rapid and dose-dependent de-phosphorylation of both constitutive and IgM-activated Syk, Lyn, and Btk, leading to impaired cell proliferation, reduced CXCL12-dependent cell migration, and induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis. Accordingly, B cell lymphoma-bearing mice receiving IQS019 presented a reduced tumor outgrowth characterized by a decreased mitotic index and a lower infiltration of malignant cells in the spleen, in tight correlation with downregulation of phospho-Syk, phospho-Lyn, and phospho-Btk. More interestingly, IQS019 showed improved efficacy in vitro and in vivo when compared to the first-in-class Btk inhibitor ibrutinib, and was active in cells with acquired resistance to this latest. Conclusions These results define IQS019 as a potential drug candidate for a variety of B lymphoid neoplasms, including cases with acquired resistance to current BCR-targeting therapies.

Sebbene le tecniche scialoendoscopiche abbiano assunto un ruolo fondamentale nel trattamento delle patologie ostruttive dei dotti salivari, in letteratura sono riportati pochi studi multicentrici sullargomento. Questo studio basato sullesperienza di 9 centri italiani è stato condotto su 1152 pazienti (553 donne, età media di 50 anni) per un totale di 1342 procedure scialoendoscopiche, il 44,6% delle quali a carico della ghiandola parotide. Il 12% dei pazienti è stato sottoposto a più interventi. I calcoli salivari sono risultati essere la principale causa di ostruzione (55%), seguiti dalle stenosi e altre malformazioni duttali (16%), dai tappi mucosi (14,5%) e dalla scialodochite (4,7%). La procedura endoscopica è stata portata a termine in 1309 casi mentre in 33 casi è stata interrotta, principalmente a causa della presenza di stenosi duttali complete (21 casi). Dopo una o più procedure il successo terapeutico è stato ottenuto nel 92,5% dei pazienti. Complicanze peri-operatorie e post-operatorie sono state riscontrate nel 5,4% dei casi trattati. La scialoendoscopia rappresenta quindi una procedura efficace e sicura nella diagnosi e nel trattamento delle principali patologie ostruttive dei dotti salivari.

Bird related hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is becoming more common than other forms of HP around the world. We present two cases of HP, associated with exposure to visiting birds which had nested within their homes in semi urban areas of Colombo, Sri Lanka. A 65-year-old female (case 1) and a 61-year-old male (case 2) presented to the chest clinic complaining of gradually progressive and persistent chronic dry cough and dyspnoea during the year 2018. Both were found to have close contact with red-vented bulbuls (Konda kurulla) in their homes for more than 6 months prior to onset of symptoms and denied any other risk exposures in detail history taking. In both patients, high-resolution computed tomography chest (HRCT) showed centrilobular nodules of ground glass density with significant lobular air trapping. Video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATs) lung biopsy of case 1 showed patchy and focal interstitial thickening with lymphocytic infiltrate, minimal fibrosis, and few noncaseating granulomata within the interstitium. Transbronchial lung biopsy of case 2 showed thickened alveolar septae with lympho-histiocytic infiltrate and occasional neutrophils and eosinopils. Both showed severe reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC) at presentation. Multidisciplinary diagnosis of HP associated with red-vented bulbuls was made. Both achieved good improvement in clinical, lung function, and radiological assessment following removal of offending antigen exposure and treatment with oral corticosteroids.

Tropical peat swamp forest (PSF) stores large quantities of carbon. To estimate how much organic C is released from this type of landscape we determined organic carbon (C) concentrations, loads and yields in two contrasting watercourses draining from PSF in Riau Province, Sumatra (Indonesia). Meranti Ditch (MD) is an artificial watercourse whose small catchment (estimated area 4.8 km2) is in semi-intact condition, whereas Turip River (TR) has a large natural catchment (estimated area 458 km2) covered with fairly intact PSF where > 75 % of the original canopy trees remain. The organic C load (Gg C yr-1) of each watercourse was calculated by combining TOC concentration with water discharge rate to give organic C yield (g C m-2 yr-1). Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was the dominant (95.0–99.8 %) component of total organic carbon (TOC) in the water. TOC concentration was 85–94 mg C L-1 in MD and 50–58 mg C L-1 in TR. The high concentration in MD was not surprising because this catchment had been disturbed by repeated phases of logging and a dense network of ditches was excavated ten years ago. The TOC loads were 0.23 Gg C yr-1 in MD and 14.0 Gg C yr-1 in TR. TOC yields (i.e. TOC fluxes through the fluvial system) were 41.6–55.5 g C m-2 yr-1 in MD and 26.2–34.9 g C m-2 yr-1 in TR.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite recognized as a causal agent of toxoplasmosis; zoonotic disease endemic in many countries worldwide, including Mexico. Different species of animals participate in the wild cycle infection, including opossums of the species Didelphis virginiana. Thirteen D. virginiana were captured in Yucatan, Mexico. Detection of T. gondii was achieved by Polymerase Chain Reaction, which determined an infection of 76.9% (10/13) in brains. Positive amplicons were sequenced for analysis, this produced results similar to T. gondii with identity and coverage values of 98% and 96-100%, respectively. This study presents the first molecular evidence of the circulation of T. gondii in D. virginiana from Mexico.

We demonstrate a passively Q-switched erbium fiber laser using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a saturable absorber. The TiO2 saturable absorber was fabricated as a polymer composite film and sandwiched between fiber ferrules. Q-switched pulsing starts with the assistance of physical disturbance of the laser cavity (by lightly tapping the cavity to induce instability) at 140 mW and lasts until 240 mW. The repetition rate increases with the pump power from 80.28 to 120.48 kHz. On the other hand, the pulsewidth decreases from 2.054 μs until it reaches a plateau at 1.84 μs. The Q-switched fiber laser exhibits two competing modes: at 1558.1 and 1558.9 nm as the pump power increases. A high signal-tonoise ratio of 49.65 dB is obtained.

Calpastatin (CAST) gene is well known as an inhibitor of muscle protein degradation and relates to muscle growth and meat tenderness. The objective of this study was to determine the association of CAST gene with growth traits and carcass characteristics in Bali cattle. A number of data from 35 Bali bulls were collected from BPTU Bali Cattle to obtain growth traits, carcass characteristics, and blood samples. Polymorphism of CAST gene in Bali bulls was analyzed by using PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing. The association of CAST gene with growth traits and carcass characteristics were analyzed by using General Linear Model (GLM). The result showed that there were two genotypes (GG and AG) of CAST gene with allele frequencies of 0.857 and 0.143, respectively, for G and A. Notably, mutation A to G occurred in 253 bp CAST fragment gene in Bali Cattle. Genotypes GG and AG of CAST gene significantly affected (P

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation in Sri Lanka is restricted by limited water availability. Increased variability of seasonal rainfall as a result of climate change will further exacerbate risk in rice cultivation. Knowing the onset of rainfall through forecasts, adjusting planting date based on the predicted rainfall onset, and efficient irrigation management are important determinants to reduce the risk in rice farming. In this study, a modelling approach was used to assess the yield advantage of changing planting dates according to the onset of seasonal rainfall compared to a fixed planting date in the major rainy season (Maha), and evaluated the efficiency of irrigation management. The model, Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), was parameterized using data from the literature, and the model could simulate the observed yield of rice varieties Bg300 and Bg359 with a good fit (CV Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (3): 277-286 (2014)

Increasing child vaccination coverage to 85% or more in rural India from the current level of 50% holds great promise for reducing infant and child mortality and improving health of children. We have tested a novel strategy called Rural Effective Affordable Comprehensive Health Care (REACH) in a rural population of more than 300 000 in Rajasthan and succeeded in achieving full immunization coverage of 88.7% among children aged 12 to 23 months in a short span of less than 2 years. The REACH strategy was first developed and successfully implemented in a demonstration project by SHARE INDIA in Medchal region of Andhra Pradesh, and was then replicated in Rajgarh block of Rajasthan in cooperation with Bhoruka Charitable Trust (private partners of Integrated Child Development Services and National Rural Health Mission health workers in Rajgarh). The success of the REACH strategy in both Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan suggests that it could be successfully adopted as a model to enhance vaccination coverage dramatically in other areas of rural India.

Ten Gossypium hirsutum lines tolerant to jassids were selected as donors along with three standard varieties viz., MCU 5, MCU 7, MCU 12 for crossing programme. This study indicated the predominance of non additive gene effects for all the yield and yield contributing characters which signifies the scope for exploitation of heterosis. Among the lines, DHY 286, Badnawar 1 and SVPR 2 were found to be good general combiners for single plant yield. Among the jassid resistant parents, DHY 286 was found to possess more favourable genes for number of bolls per plant, boll weight, single plant yield and seed index. The highly resistant parent KC 2 was observed as good general combiner for bolls per plant and this parent can be used in breeding programme for improving yield coupled with resistance. The tester MCU 5 is a good general combiner for yield contributing traits. By hybridizing the resistant genotypes with MCU 5, favourable gene combinations could be accomplished for the yield and yield contributing characters. The hybrids showing high per se performance for yield, DHY 286 x MCU 5, Badnawar 1 x MCU 5, Badnawar 1 x MCU 7 and Badnawar 1 x MCU 12 also showed resistance to jassids and deserve further exploitation.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of vitamin E (vit E) and black tea extract (BTE) as antioxidant sources in high poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) rations on blood malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and the performance of reproduction and lactation of Garut ewes. Twelve ewes on late pregnancy periods were divided into completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 treatments and 4 replicates. The treatments were control: basal diet without antioxidant, vit E: basal diet supplemented with vit E, and BTE: basal diet supplemented with BTE. The results showed that vit E and BTE supplementation did not affect blood MDA concentration of ewes on late pregnancy, lactation periods, and weaning periods. Antioxidant sources supplementation had no effect on ewe’s nutrient intake, pre-lambing live weight change (LWC), and post-lambing average daily gain (ADG). Vit E supplementation had decreased the milk production, but both of antioxidant sources give positive effect on the milk composition. Nevertheless, the supplementation of vit E and BTE increased the twin type of birth. The vit E supplementation resulted higher lambing rate than BTE, although it had the highest mortality rate of twin lamb. BTE also had better lamb weaning weight than vit E. BTE and vit E gave similar results in ewes productivity on lactation period. In conclusion, this study confirmed that BTE was more effective used as antioxidant source than vit E to prevent the oxidative reaction of PUFA. Vit E supplementation on high PUFA ration reduced ewes milk production but it had similar reproduction performance with BTE.

In this work various microphysical properties including mass concentration, size distribution and morphology of aerosol particles generated by laser ablation of a high purity graphite sample were investigated in detail. Supplementary chemical analysis of the generated particles including microstructure investigation by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Raman spectroscopy were also made. These measurements proved that the proposed method can be used to model the real atmospheric carbonaceous particulate under various climate relevant conditions regarding its specific properties investigated here. However, to introduce the presented methodology as a novel BC surrogate, further improvement and investigation including simplification in experimental setup, comprehensive analysis of thermochemical refractiveness and optical responses of the generated particles as well as comparative study with the presently available concurrent surrogates are required. The related results of these issues are planned to be demonstrated in other studies.

Crossbreeding of indigenous tropical and improved western dairy cattle breeds as tool to improve dairy cattle performance on smallholder farms has been widely advocated, criticised and yet applied. The government of Ethiopia supported this technology for decades but adoption rate is low. Constraints are documented but there is little information about farm level introduction and development of crossbreeding. A total 122 smallholders with mixed crop livestock farms and at least 8 years of successful crossbreeding were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire in two contexts in Amhara Regional state in north-western Ethiopia. Crossbreeding initiator was either uncoordinated government extension or a coordinated development project, also implemented with governmental support. Qualitative and quantitative data on farmers’ motivations, crossbreeding introduction, initiator support, breeding adaptation and impacts at farm level were analysed. Results show that even though motives vary between contexts the underlying reason to introduce crossbreeding was economic profit. To be able to introduce crossbreeding support of initiators (e.g. extension) and other farmers was essential. The crossbreeding introduction context had some influence. Governmental actors were the main source of support and supplier of exotic genetics but the farmer network acted as safety net filling gaps of government support. Breeding strategies focused on performance increase. A lack of basic understanding of crossbreeding has been identified. A surprising, probably biased, result was general satisfaction with initiator support and with breeding services. It was challenged by the high proportion of farmers unable to follow a breeding strategy due to insufficient bull and/or semen supply. Crossbreeding changed the smallholder production system to a high input – high output system. Except for crossbred adaptation problems, challenges were ranked context specific and influenced by the initiator. Farmers perceived crossbreeding as success and recommended it. We conclude that farmers can realize income increase with crossbreeding. The complexity of this technology, high initial investment and the need for support services and external production inputs are probable reasons why crossbreeding uptake is low. Improving the availability of semen and/or bulls must be the top priority for breeding service providers to enable farmers to follow a breeding strategy and reach a suitable and sustainable herd performance. Access to investment capital, input supply, strong technical support and market linkages are crucial for successful crossbreeding.

An investigation was carried out with three newly developed temperature sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) lines for their floral traits, seed production potential and outcrossing ability in ten cross combinations. In the TGMS lines, fertile pollens had an average diameter of 0.89 mm while the sterile pollens was with 0.02 mm diameter.TS-29-150GY produced the biggest fertile pollens with 0.92 mm and other two lines produced relatively smaller pollens with 0.91 and 0.85 mm. Pollen fertility during the fertility reversion period was an average of 60.7%. TS-29-150GY had the maximum of 66.9% spikelet fertility whereas other two lines (TNAU18S and TNAU60S) had relatively lower spikelet fertility of 27.8% and 26.7%, respectively. Average of 17.00 g of seed yield was obtained in the TGMS lines during the fertility reversion period. TS-29-150GY had the highest value of 21.20 g of seed yield while TNAU18S and TNAU60S produced 16.6 g and 13.2 g of seed yield, respectively. The low seed production ability of these three TGMS lines was attributed only to the environmental conditions prevailing during the period. All three TGMS lines had considerable outcrossing potential of 41.2%, 24.6% and 25.0%, respectively. The cross combinations viz. TNAU18S/IET21508 (36 g/plant), TNAU18S/IET21044 (13 g/plant), TNAU18S/IET21009 (26.5 g/plant), TNAU60S/CB-09-106 (26.2 g/plant), TNAU60S/IET21009 (14 g/plant) and TS29-150-GY/DRR 3306 (39.2 g/plant) showed perfect synchronization with acceptable hybrid seed yield, indicating suitability of TGMS system under Indian condition. Based on the outcrossing related traits viz. panicle exertion, angle of glume opening, stigma length and pollen size, TNAU18S was identified as the best, followed by TS-29-150GY.

Advances in forest carbon mapping have the potential to greatly reduce uncertainties in the global carbon budget and to facilitate effective emissions mitigation strategies such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Though broad-scale mapping is based primarily on remote sensing data, the accuracy of resulting forest carbon stock estimates depends critically on the quality of field measurements and calibration procedures. The mismatch in spatial scales between field inventory plots and larger pixels of current and planned remote sensing products for forest biomass mapping is of particular concern, as it has the potential to introduce errors, especially if forest biomass shows strong local spatial variation. Here, we used 30 large (8–50 ha) globally distributed permanent forest plots to quantify the spatial variability in aboveground biomass density (AGBD in Mg ha–1) at spatial scales ranging from 5 to 250 m (0.025–6.25 ha), and to evaluate the implications of this variability for calibrating remote sensing products using simulated remote sensing footprints. We found that local spatial variability in AGBD is large for standard plot sizes, averaging 46.3% for replicate 0.1 ha subplots within a single large plot, and 16.6% for 1 ha subplots. AGBD showed weak spatial autocorrelation at distances of 20–400 m, with autocorrelation higher in sites with higher topographic variability and statistically significant in half of the sites. We further show that when field calibration plots are smaller than the remote sensing pixels, the high local spatial variability in AGBD leads to a substantial "dilution" bias in calibration parameters, a bias that cannot be removed with standard statistical methods. Our results suggest that topography should be explicitly accounted for in future sampling strategies and that much care must be taken in designing calibration schemes if remote sensing of forest carbon is to achieve its promise.

Exchange bias effect in CaMn1-xRexO3 (x ≤ 0.1) has been investigated. The effect is very small in the samples doped at x = 0.02 and 0.04, but increases monotonously with further increase in Re doping. For x = 0.1, both vertical and horizontal shifts in hysteresis loop of field cooled sample decrease monotonously with increasing temperature and vanish above 70 K, while coercivity disappears only above 90 K upon approaching the Néel temperature. Exchange bias field, coercivity, and remanence asymmetry depend sensitively on temperature and maximal measuring field. Magnetic training effect has been studied for x = 0.06, 0.08, 0.1 samples and analyzed using a spin relaxation model. The observed exchange bias is attributed to the low-temperature phase separation into ferromagnetic clusters and the G-type and/or C-type antiferromagnetic matrix.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Anrederacordifolia (Ten.) Steenissupplementation on uterine involution process in rabbit. The research design applied was completelyrandomized design with 4 treatments and 3 replications (T0 = without Anredera cordifoliasupplementation; TI = Anredera cordifolia supplemented two days before parturition; T2 = Anrederacordifolia supplemented two days after parturition; T3 = Anredera cordifolia supplemented two daysbefore until two days after parturition). The results showed that Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenissupplementation could accelerate post partum oestrus in does that were characterized by post partumoestrus behavior, ferning of saliva and cervical mucus. The best treatment was T3, that was four daysAnredera cordifolia supplementation that was administered at 0.45 g/kg of body weight/day. Furtherresearch was needed to find an optimal dose of Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis on uterine involution.

Low-flow simulation and forecasting remains a difficult issue for hydrological modellers, and intercomparisons can be extremely instructive for assessing existing low-flow prediction models and for developing more efficient operational tools. This research presents the results of a collaborative experiment conducted to compare low-flow simulation and forecasting models on 21 unregulated catchments in France. Five hydrological models (four lumped storage-type models – Gardenia, GR6J, Mordor and Presages – and one distributed physically oriented model – SIM) were applied within a common evaluation framework and assessed using a common set of criteria. Two simple benchmarks describing the average streamflow variability were used to set minimum levels of acceptability for model performance in simulation and forecasting modes. Results showed that, in simulation as well as in forecasting modes, all hydrological models performed almost systematically better than the benchmarks. Although no single model outperformed all the others for all catchments and criteria, a few models appeared to be more satisfactory than the others on average. In simulation mode, all attempts to relate model efficiency to catchment or streamflow characteristics remained inconclusive. In forecasting mode, we defined maximum useful forecasting lead times beyond which the model does not bring useful information compared to the benchmark. This maximum useful lead time logically varies between catchments, but also depends on the model used. Simple multi-model approaches that combine the outputs of the five hydrological models were tested to improve simulation and forecasting efficiency. We found that the multi-model approach was more robust and could provide better performance than individual models on average.

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an autosomal recessive disease associated with high levels of branched-chain amino acids. Children with MSUD can present severe neurological damage, but liver transplantation (LT) allows the patient to resume a normal diet and avoid further neurological damage. The use of living related donors has been controversial because parents are obligatory heterozygotes. We report a case of a 2-year-old child with MSUD who underwent a living donor LT. The donor was the patient's mother, and his liver was then used as a domino graft. The postoperative course was uneventful in all three subjects. DNA analysis performed after the transplantation (sequencing of the coding regions of BCKDHA, BCKDHB, and DBT genes) showed that the MSUD patient was heterozygous for a pathogenic mutation in the BCKDHB gene. This mutation was not found in his mother, who is an obligatory carrier for MSUD according to the family history and, as expected, presented both normal clinical phenotype and levels of branched-chain amino acids. In conclusion, our data suggest that the use of a related donor in LT for MSUD was effective, and the liver of the MSUD patient was successfully used in domino transplantation. Routine donor genotyping may not be feasible, because the test is not widely available, and, most importantly, the disease is associated with both the presence of allelic and locus heterogeneity. Further studies with this population of patients are required to expand the use of related donors in MSUD.

Variability and diversity was assessed among 78 rice genotypes for various morphological traits including grain Fe and Zn content. Grain Fe and Zn content exhibited high genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation coupled with high heritability and genetic advance as per cent of mean. In general, the overall composition of the clustering pattern showed that genotypes collected from the same geographic origin were included in same cluster. It was observed that Zinc content contributed maximum towards divergence followed by number of grains per panicle, grain length and grain breadth. The present study revealed that the clusters XV (T550), XIV (T366) and I (ADT 36, ADT 37, ADT 38, ADT 39, ADT 43, ADT 44, ADT 45, ADT 46, ADT 47, ADT 48, Local Aduthurai and T401) possessing the high mean values for most of the desirable traits could be crossed with clusters V (CO 47 and W.Ponni), VIII (GIZA 178 and T272) and XII (IR 68144-3B- 2-2-3-3B-2-2-3) for simultaneous improvement of yield, grain Fe content and grain Zn content. Highest inter cluster distance was noticed between cluster XVI (T289) and cluster XV (T550) followed by cluster VIII (Giza 178 and T272) and cluster XVI (T289) indicating wide genetic diversity among these clusters. Intercrossing of these genotypes may create wide segregation in the segregating populations and promising progenies can be selected for yield improvement.

Modern communication and identification products impose demanding constraints on reliability of components. Due to this statistical constraints more and more enter optimization formulations of electronic products. Yield constraints often require efficient sampling techniques to obtain uncertainty quantification also at the tails of the distributions. These sampling techniques should outperform standard Monte Carlo techniques, since these latter ones are normally not efficient enough to deal with tail probabilities. One such a technique, Importance Sampling, has successfully been applied to optimize Static Random Access Memories (SRAMs) while guaranteeing very small failure probabilities, even going beyond 6-sigma variations of parameters involved. Apart from this, emerging uncertainty quantifications techniques offer expansions of the solution that serve as a response surface facility when doing statistics and optimization. To efficiently derive the coefficients in the expansions one either has to solve a large number of problems or a huge combined problem. Here parameterized Model Order Reduction (MOR) techniques can be used to reduce the work load. To also reduce the amount of parameters we identify those that only affect the variance in a minor way. These parameters can simply be set to a fixed value. The remaining parameters can be viewed as dominant. Preservation of the variation also allows to make statements about the approximation accuracy obtained by the parameter-reduced problem. This is illustrated on an RLC circuit. Additionally, the MOR technique used should not affect the variance significantly. Finally we consider a methodology for reliable RFIC isolation using floor-plan modeling and isolation grounding. Simulations show good comparison with measurements.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using apple extract as a reducing agent and aqueous silver nitrate as the precursor. The AgNPs formation was observed as a color change of the mixture from colorless to dark-brownish. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the presence of only Ag crystallites, and the dynamic light scattering estimates the average sizes of the AgNPs to be 30.25 ± 5.26 nm. Furthermore, Fourier Transform Infrared as well as UV-vis spectroscopy identifies ethylene groups as the reducing agent and capping agent for the formation of the AgNPs. This green synthesis provides an economic, eco-friendly, and clean synthesis route to AgNPs. AgNPs in suspension showed activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) to be in the range from 125 μg/mL to 1000 μg/mL.

It has been recently observed that aircrafts tend to be replaced by light, simple structure unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or mini unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV) with the purpose of updating the field of aerial photogrammetry. The built-in digital photo camera takes images of the Earth’s surface. To satisfy the photogrammetric requirements of the photographic images, it is necessary to carry out the terrestrial project planning of the flight path before the flight, to select the appropriate flying height, the time for acquiring images, the speed of the UAV, and other parameters. The paper presents the results of project calculations concerning the UAV flights and the analysis of the terrestrial images acquired during the field-testing flights. The experience carried out so far in the Lithuanian landscape is shown. The taken images have been processed by PhotoMod photogrammetric system. The paper presents the results of calculation of the project values of the UAV flights taking the images by digital camera Canon S100 and the analysis of the possibilities of the UAV orthophoto images’ mode.

This study was undertaken in order to test whether the development of nodule density over the vegetation period is different in lucerne stands grown for 1, 2 or 3 years continuously. For rapidly assessing nodule density in the field, a modified profile wall method was applied. Nodules were counted on a vertical profile wall, after spraying away a 2 cm layer of soil. For validating this method nodule density was determined on roots washed from monolith samples. Field data indicate that there is a shift of nodulation towards deeper soil layers with increasing maturity of lucerne stands. In 1-year lucerne nodulation was limited virtually to the top 15 cm of soil. In the 15-30 cm soil layer and in the subsoil (30-80 cm), nodule density increased with the cropping duration (1 year < 2 years < 3 years). Temporal decreases in nodule density during the vegetation period associated with dry spells were more pronounced for 2-years as compared with 3-years lucerne.

In this paper, a new lossy to lossless image coding scheme combined with Orthogonal Polynomials Transform and Integer Wavelet Transform is proposed. The Lifting Scheme based Integer Wavelet Transform (LS-IWT) is first applied on the image in order to reduce the blocking artifact and memory demand. The Embedded Zero tree Wavelet (EZW) subband coding algorithm is used in this proposed work for progressive image coding which achieves efficient bit rate reduction. The computational complexity of lower subband coding of EZW algorithm is reduced in this proposed work with a new integer based Orthogonal Polynomials transform coding. The normalization and mapping are done on the subband of the image for exploiting the subjective redundancy and the zero tree structure is obtained for EZW coding and so the computation complexity is greatly reduced in this proposed work. The experimental results of the proposed technique also show that the efficient bit rate reduction is achieved for both lossy and lossless compression when compared with existing techniques.