Search

Financial ratios are a valuable tool for analyzing an organization's financial condition. While the 10-point ratios and their extensions continue to provide the foundation for much of the discussion on [...]

The use of synthetic fertilizers for garlic production is hazardous, hence utilizing weeds as a source of organic fertilizers is a novel and organic approach to improve yield and quality of garlic. This research aimed to determine the potential of major weeds as a source of fertilizers and their effect on garlic growth. Garlic cloves were planted in pots (4 kg soil) in completely randomized design. The treatments were five different weeds applied at 25 and 50 g kg soil−1and compared with diammonium phosphate and farmyard manure. Results showed the higher and lower values of 13.75 (9.1% increase) and 10.75 (16.3% decrease) days to 50% germination was recorded in M. coromandelianumand C. arvensisused at 50 g kg−1soil, respectively. Maximum plant height of 70.12 cm (0.48% increase) was noted in P. hysterophorusand minimum height of 55.62 cm (25.47% decrease) inC. arvensis, maximum bulb weight (22.29 g, 0.19% increase) was recorded in X. strumariumand the minimum bulb weight (14.39 g) was recorded in C. arvensis. The maximum bulb diameter (39.47 mm) and fresh weight (23.49 g: 12.13% decrease) were found in control and farmyard manure. Meanwhile, minimum bulb diameter (30.72 mm: 28.48% decrease) in C. arvensisat 50 g kg−1soil, fresh weight (16.71 g: 40.63% decrease) was recorded in Parthenium(50 g kg soil−1). In addition, the maximum yield (13.37 tons ha−1) was noted in the X. strumariumused (50 g kg soil−1), while least garlic yield (8.63 tons ha−1) was recorded in C. arvensis (50 g kg−1soil). The overall data showed that X. strumariumcould be a good source of organic fertilizers in garlic while C. arvensisnegatively affected the garlic growth probably due to allelopathic effects.

Background and purpose Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in scrub typhus meningoencephalitis is non-specific, and in the majority of the cases, conventional MRI fails to detect any abnormality. However, autopsy reports depict central nervous system involvement in almost all patients. There is therefore a need for research on the quantitative assessment of brain parenchyma that can detect microstructural abnormalities. The study aimed to assess the microstructural integrity changes of scrub typhus meningoencephalitis by using different diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters.Methods This was a retrospective analysis of scrub typhus meningoencephalitis. Seven patients and seven age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Different DTI parameters such as apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), relative anisotropy (RA), trace, volume ratio (VR) and geodesic anisotropy (GA) were obtained from six different regions of subcortical white matter at the level of the centrum semiovale. Intergroup significant difference was determined by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to determine the accuracy of the DTI matrices.Results There was a significant decrease in FA, RA and GA as well as an increase in ADC and VR in the subcortical white matter in patients with scrub typhus meningoencephalitis compared to controls (p< 0.001). The maximum sensitivity of the DTI parameters was 85.7%, and the maximum specificity was 81%.Conclusion There was an alteration of subcortical white-matter integrity in scrub typhus meningoencephalitis that represents the axonal degeneration, myelin breakdown and neuronal degeneration. DTI may be a useful tool to detect white-matter abnormalities in scrub typhus meningoencephalitis in clinical practice, particularly in patients with negative conventional MRI.

AimsIliopsoas pathology is a relatively uncommon cause of pain following total hip arthroplasty (THA), typically presenting with symptoms of groin pain on active flexion and/or extension of the hip. A variety of conservative and surgical treatment options have been reported. In this retrospective cohort study, we report the incidence of iliopsoas pathology and treatment outcomes.MethodsA retrospective review of 1,000 patients who underwent THA over a five-year period was conducted, to determine the incidence of patients diagnosed with iliopsoas pathology. Outcome following non-surgical and surgical management was assessed.ResultsIn all, 24 patients were diagnosed as having developed symptomatic iliopsoas pathology giving an incidence of 2.4%. While the mean age for receiving a THA was 65 years, the mean age for developing iliopsoas pathology was 54 years (28 to 67). Younger patients and those receiving THA for conditions other than primary osteoarthritis were at a higher risk of developing this complication. Ultrasound-guided steroid injection/physiotherapy resulted in complete resolution of symptoms in 61% of cases, partial resolution in 13%, and no benefit in 26%. Eight out of 24 patients (who initially responded to injection) subsequently underwent surgical intervention including tenotomy (n = 7) and revision of the acetabular component (n = 1).ConclusionThis is the largest case series to estimate the incidence of iliopsoas pathology to date. There is a higher incidence of this condition in younger patients, possibly due to the differing surgical indications. Arthoplasty for Perthes' disease or developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) often results in leg length and horizontal offset being increased. This, in turn, may increase tension on the iliopsoas tendon, possibly resulting in a higher risk of psoas irritation. Image-guided steroid injection is a low-risk, relatively effective treatment. In refractory cases, tendon release may be considered. Patients should be counselled of the risk of persisting groin pain when undergoing THA.Cite this article: Bone Joint J2021;103-B(2):305–308.

Mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) larvae can degrade both plastics and lignocellulose through synergistic biological activities of their gut microbiota because they share similarities in chemical and physical properties. Here, a total of 428 genes encoding lignocellulose-degrading enzymes were screened from the gut microbiome of T. molitorlarvae to identify poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)-degrading activities. Five genes were successfully expressed in E. coli, among which a feruloyl esterase-like enzyme named TmFae-PETase demonstrated the highest PET degradation activity, converting PET into MHET (0.7 mgMHETeq·h–1·mgenzyme–1) and TPA (0.2 mgTPAeq·h–1·mgenzyme–1) at 50 °C. TmFae-PETase showed a preference for the hydrolysis of ferulic acid methyl ester (MFA) in the presence of both PET and MFA. Site-directed mutagenesis and molecular dynamics simulations of TmFae-PETase revealed similar catalytic mechanisms for both PET and MFA. TmFae-PETase effectively depolymerized commercial PET, making it a promising candidate for application. Additionally, the known PET hydrolases IsPETase, FsC, and LCC also hydrolyzed MFA, indicating a potential origin of PET hydrolytic activity from its lignocellulosic-degrading abilities. This study provides an innovative strategy for screening PET-degrading enzymes identified from lignocellulose degradation-related enzymes within the gut microbiome of plastic-degrading mealworms. This discovery expands the existing pool of plastic-degrading enzymes available for resource recovery and bioremediation applications.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) was shown as a promising alternative for oil sands tailings treatment with economical and environmental benefits. This study aims to understand the role of CO2addition in densification of oil sands tailings. In this study, CO2was pressurized into two industrial whole tailings provided by Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Canadian Natural Resource Ltd. The optimal initial settling rate, supernatant clarity and solids content of sediment were achieved at a CO2partial pressure of about 100 kPa. The improvement on densification of oil sands tailings by CO2was mainly attributed to pH reduction under various CO2partial pressures. The zeta potential of fines became less negative with decreasing pH, enhancing coagulation of fine solids. On the other hand, CO2bubbles formed by dissolved gas under supersaturation pressure led to a less clear supernatant by disturbing the formed sediments. Supersaturation with nitrogen was applied to the oil sands tailings to verify the influence of dissolved gas on solids sedimentation. The limit to CO2sequestration by oil sands tailings was experimentally evaluated.

Abstract: Temperature differences within a city are called Intra-Urban Heat Islands (IUHI) and are important to estimate as they directly affect human health conditions. Monitoring the air temperature (Tair) throughout the city helps identify the places prone to extreme heat conditions, and such places require immediate warnings to mitigate extreme weather conditions like heat waves. The present study attempts to investigate intra-urban thermal variability within Ahmedabad city, India, by measuring near-surface Tairof different places representing diverse types of roads, vegetation, build-up areas like commercial or residential, water bodies like small ponds, lakes and rivers at different time of the day. Tairdata is collected using HOBO thermo-hygrometer coupled with an automatic data logger mounted on a mobile vehicle (for every 1 second) and at stationary sites (for every 2 minutes). The Indian regional navigation satellite system (IRNSS), with the operational name of NAVIC (acronym for Navigation with Indian constellation) and global positioning system (GPS) receiver, is used to record vehicle location, speed and altitude for every second. The results show that there are significant differences in temperature responses at different places in urban areas. Surface properties and surroundings significantly influence spatial and temporal variability in Tairwithin a city. The temperature in residential areas is found to be lower than the nearest market places. Transect data analysis suggests that IUHI are more intense during night (ΔT= 6°C) than in day (ΔT= 0.5°C), which is mainly due to differences in cooling rate of the surfaces. Research highlights:

The diurnal variability in the air temperature at different places of Ahmedabad city during summer months has been studied using mobile vehicle transects experiments.

It is found that this form of mobile transect methodology is a quick and relatively economical approach in comparison to stationary automatic weather stations to investigate intra-urban thermal variability in Ahmedabad city.

The inter-comparison of air temperature observed by transect, rural and urban reference sites shows high thermal variabilities within a 1 km distance in the city. The sharp temperature gradients (4–6°C) ensure a significant intra-urban heat island.

The study is able to identify locations in the city where temperature is found higher during day and night hours, and this will provide some guidance to the concerned government authorities responsible for taking adequate mitigation measures.

This paper describe a numerical analysis of the effects of numerical simulation geometry on fluid solid particles interaction using multi-relaxation time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). A point force scheme was applied for particles-fluid interactionand with MRT-LBM for fluid flow over a cavity to study the effects of various Aspect Ratio (AR) on the efficiency of particles removal. The results show that change in Aspect ratio causes a dramatic different in the flow pattern and particles removal efficiency. +

This paper provides numerical study of the effects of mixed convection on particles removal from a cavity using multi-relaxation time thermal lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for compute the flow and isotherm characteristics in the bottom heated cavity located on a floor of horizontal channel. A point force scheme was applied for particles-fluid interactionand double-distribution function (DFF) was coupled with MRT thermal LBM to study the effects of various grashof number (Gr) and Aspect Ratio (AR) on the efficiency of particles removal. The results show that change in Grashof number and Aspect ratio causes a dramatic different in the flow pattern and particles removal efficiency.

A review of mixing elements and devices for microscale fluidic devices is presented. The application, principles and characterisation of these devices is discussed, and the classifications based on these factors highlighted. A review of published works relating both experimental and simulation profiling of both passive and active mixing systems is presented. Each mixing principle upon which a design is based is discussed with regard to the fundamental physics that governs fluid behaviour. Passive systems covered include multi-lamination, split/recombination, chaotic advection, jet based, recirculation and droplet internal convection. Active systems covered include longitudinal and transverse pulsing, micro-stirrers, electro-kinetic methods, and acoustic/ultrasonic excitation. The review shows that the majority of devices have been designed within the past five years. Furthermore, at present, devices based on the multi-laminate method appear to outperform most other systems.

Eighty‐four adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 were investigated with the help of dexamethasone suppression test (DST), thyrotropin releasing hormone stimulation test (TRH), and 24‐hour urinary content of 3‐methoxy‐4 hydroxy‐phenethylene glycol (MHPG). This group included 33 depressed (major depression) and 51 nondepressed adolescents who were hospitalized in a psychiatric inpatient unit. DST was found to be a highly sensitive and fairly specific test (69.9% of the depressed group was DST positive, whereas 82% of the nondepressed group was DST negative). TRH stimulation test and urinary MHPG tests did not show significant sensitivity or specificity for major depression. Thirty‐three percent of the major depression and 17.6% of the nondepressed group showed blunted response on TRH stimulation test. Similarly, 56.6% of the major depression group and 41% of the nondepressed group had MHPG values beyond the normal range.

Regional tissue hypoxia often goes unrecognized in critically ill patients. Tonometry is a relatively noninvasive technique that helps monitor the adequacy of cellular energy balance by assessing elevations in tissue CO2. This information provides an assessment of aerobic energy balance in the gut mucosa, a tissue that is exquisitely sensitive to alterations in perfusion and oxygenation. Tonometry measures gastric or intestinal mucosal Pco2by allowing the equilibration of CO2partial pressure in a fluid-filled balloon with the Pco2of the mucosal interstitial fluid. There is sufficient information in the clinical literature to support the prognostic utility of gastric tonometry. Moreover, the information obtained with gastric tonometry comes at relatively low cost and with minimal risk to the patient. At present, gastric tonometry has the drawback of being a relatively cumbersome technique that is labor intensive and prone to errors. New technologic advances should improve the timeliness of the information and minimize measurement errors.

Twenty asthmatic children between the ages of 8 and 16 were given a counterconditioning treatment. The treatment involved the instigation of bronchial constriction followed by training in bronchial dilation through biofeedback reinforcement. The results of a follow-up for one year indicated that the improvement in the experimental group was significantly greater than that in the control group with regard to the frequency of asthmatic attack, emergency room visits and the amount of medication during that period.

Capital budgeting is an important aspect of decision-making in governments. Recent years have witnessed significant developments in the use of capital budgeting techniques which range from simple cost-benefit analysis to more complex decision-making models. The purpose of this paper is to survey the extent to which the various U.S. cities currently employ some of these techniques in developing and implementing their capital projects and programs.