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A plot of one fed an (4200 m2 ), in a ranching system of the Southern Darfur savanna grassland – Gazala Gawazat, Animal and Range Research Station, was selected and fenced for artificial grazing experiment for a couple of seasons . The total forage mean yield (Kg/ha) at three different clipping heights (5cm, 15cm and 35cm) varied significantly (P < 0.05). The clipping,(harvesting) at a height of 5cm level produced a better harvest yield of forage for maintaining grazing animals at a certain grazing management system when applied. Higher forage yield (1588.68Kg/ha) and carrying capacity (211.82 AU/ha/d) for 5cm clipping height then followed by the 15 cm clipping height in terms of forage yield (641.18 Kg/ha) and carrying capacity (85.84 AU/ha/d).Based on the argument that cattle consumes about 2.5 Kgs DM /day/100Kg L.wt. On the other hand, 35 cm clipping height produced lower yield (488.56Kg/ha) and low carrying capacity (81.41 AU/ha/d), revealing that smaller number of grazing animals can be allowed to graze for shorter period. On average seasonal basis, season 2019 was much better than grazing season 2018 on 5cm clipping height in terms of forage yield (414.99Kg/ha & 390.17 Kg/ha ) respectively . As such, continual harvest with particular management system, gives more chance offered for grasses to regenerate vigorously to increase the total forage (harvest) yield, with the optimum allocation of grazing animals to utilize the range site. Accordingly, more animal’s units accommodated per unit area of that type of management.

BackgroundAdvanced cell therapeutics are emerging as potentially effective treatments for chronic neurological diseases, including secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Here we report the results of a phase I trial in which good manufacturing practice-grade foetal allogeneic human neural stem cells (hNSCs) were implanted via intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection in 15 individuals with active and non-active SPMS.MethodsThis is a phase I, open-label, multicentre, dose-escalation, international study. The primary objective was to assess the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of ICV injections of allogeneic hNSCs in patients affected by SPMS over a study follow up of 12 months. We also evaluated the number and type of adverse events (AEs) leading to a maximum tolerated dose, the general health status, and mortality. The secondary objectives were the therapeutic benefit of allogeneic hNSCs using assessment scales, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and laboratory and neurophysiologic parameters.FindingsFifteen unrelated SPMS patients were enrolled and treated between 2018 and 2020. The participants had a median age of 49.8 years. Their mean extended disability status scale (EDSS) at enrolment was 7.6, the mean disease duration was 22 years, and mean time from diagnosis to progression was 10.1 years. Neither treatment-related deaths nor serious AEs were reported during the study (1 year follow up after treatment). All the other AEs were classified as non-serious and were associated to non-study concomitant therapy or other medical conditions not connected to the experimental treatment. During the study, none of the participants worsened in the progression of their SPMS as shown by the evaluation scales implemented to assess their progress. Laboratory and neurophysiologic parameters showed no clinically significant variations. MRI follow-up showed non-clinically significant type 1, 2, and 3 changes.InterpretationThe intracerebroventricular injection of foetal allogeneic hNSCs in people with SPMS is feasible, tolerated and safe. Study participants displayed a substantial clinical stability during the 12-month follow-up. The absence of relevant adverse reactions (Ars) arising from the transplantation of hNSCs indicates a short-term neutral balance between benefits and risks and suggests a concrete, though perspective therapeutic possibility for SPMS patients. Further studies are needed to confirm and extend the findings herein and evaluate the actual therapeutic potential of advanced cell therapeutics for a condition where the lack of effective disease modifying therapies is a major unmet clinical need.

Glypican-3 (GPC-3) is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan overexpressed by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Several studies highlighted the diagnostic and prognostic value of GPC-3 expression in liver tissue, while data on the reliability of serum GPC-3 are limited and conflicting. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of serum GPC-3 in patients with HCC.A total of 449 patients (91 F and 358 M; median age 65 [38-86] years) with a new diagnosis of HCC and available serum samples collected at tumor diagnosis were retrospectively analyzed. All patients had cirrhosis and the main underlying etiology was viral (N.=323, 72%). Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system was adopted for patients' classification (BCLC 0/A, N.=293, 65% vs. B/C/D, N.=156, 35%) and treatment allocation. Response to therapy was assessed by modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST).Median overall survival (OS) after HCC diagnosis was 30 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27-34). Patients with serum GPC-3150 pg/mL showed lower overall survival (16; 95%CI: 13-24 months) compared to those with GPC-3≤150 pg/mL (36; 95%CI: 30-56 months) (Log-rank test, P0.001). At multivariate Cox proportional-hazard regression analysis, presence of ascites (adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR]=1.84; 95%CI: 1.23-2.74, P=0.003), BCLC stage (aHR=1.65; 95%CI: 1.39-1.97, P0.001), mRECIST (aHR=0.33; 95%CI: 0.21-0.51, P0.001) and GPC-3150 pg/mL (aHR=2.02; 95%CI: 1.47-2.78, P0.001) resulted significantly associated to overall survival.Serum GPC-3 resulted an independent prognostic factor for patients with HCC irrespectively from tumor stage and response to therapy.

Background Volatiles organic metabolites (VOMs) are a large group of carbon-bound chemicals elements, gaseous at room temperature that are the products of metabolism. There is increasing evidence that variations in faecal VOMs indicate gastroenterological diseases. No study assessed VOMs in the setting of predicting therapeutic response in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods We conducted a prospective study in which we consecutively recruited IBD patients with indications for treatment with biologics. The primary outcome of our study was the evaluation of prediction ability of VOMs of clinical response at 12 months of adalimumab or vedolizumab therapy. Secondary outcomes included correlations of VOM with clinical features of IBD. Results We recruited 50 patients with IBD whose stools were analysed with gold standard technique mass spectrometer (MS) / gas chromatography (GC). Thirty-one patients were treated with adalimumab (of which 30 Crohn’s disease, and 1 ulcerative colitis, UC), 19 patients with vedolizumab (of which 12 CD and 7 UC). VOMs were not influenced by age, disease duration, sex, smoking habit. Two VOMs, octenol and, in particular, methyl indole were able to distinguish ulcerative colitis (UC) from Crohn’s disease (CD) (AUC = 0.72 and 0.85, respectively) and correlate with higher inflammation markers (C-reactive protein, CRP and calprotectin, respectively). Methylbutanal, instead, was a marker of CD and, in particular, of ileal location (p = 0.01). These results were confirmed at principal component analysis (PCA). Lower levels of ethanol and methyl butanoate correlated with disease remission. Methyl butanoate was able to distinguish remission from active clinical disease, with an accuracy at least equal to that of calprotectin (AUC = 0.69 and AUC = 0.62, respectively). We furthermore demonstrated pre-biologics methyl butyrate prediction ability of clinical response after 12 months of therapy (AUC = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.53-0.81, p = 0.02). Lower levels of methyl indole or of octenol or higher levels of indole were able to predict calprotectin Conclusion The characterization of the intestinal metabolome, using VOMs technology, seems to be a promising method for better characterizing IBD and better speculating on their etiopathogenesis.

Researchers have demonstrated that tutoring is an effective instructional model that relies upon the relationships among the tutor, the tutee, and the curriculum and not merely instructional skills...

Objectives: To assess the prevalence, characteristics, and referral to health care of emergency department (ED) patients with elevated blood pressure (BP) and to compare those without a history of hypertension (HTN) with suboptimally controlled, known-hypertensive patients. Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted in non–critically ill adults with a triage systolic blood pressure (sBP) of R140 or with a diastolic blood pressure (dBP) of R90 mmHg. Two additional measurements were obtained, and a standardized questionnaire recorded demographics, medical history, and ED staff referrals. Results: Of 1,719 nonpregnant adults, 991 agreed to participate, of whom 455 had elevated triage BP values. Using the mean of three measurements, 305 (67%) had an sBP of R140 or a dBP of R90 mm Hg (mean sBP = 157 and mean dBP = 89 mm Hg). Subjects with no prior history of HTN (n = 105) were predominantly male, younger, and more likely to smoke and consume alcohol than were known-hypertensive patients (n = 200). Three quarters of all subjects had access to primary health care; however, time elapsed since the last BP assessment was greater (155 vs. 53 d, p = 0.03) in subjects with no previous history. These subjects were also less likely to be informed of their elevated BP (33% vs. 50%, p = 0.02) or to be instructed by ED staff to obtain a repeat measurement (13% vs. 31%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Of ED patients with elevated BP, one third had no prior history, and the remainder were suboptimally controlled hypertensive patients. Both groups were inadequately informed of their elevated BPs, and the group with no prior history of HTN, the population likely to obtain the greatest health benefit, had the lowest referral rate. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2007; 14:779–784 a 2007 by the Society for Academic Emergency

Objective Early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) has been shown to decrease mortality in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Consensus guidelines now advocate EGDT for the first 6 h of sepsis resuscitation. However, EGDT has not yet been widely adopted in practice. A need for effective collaboration between emergency medicine and critical care medicine services has been identified as an obstacle for implementation. We aimed to determine if EGDT end points could reliably be achieved in real-world clinical practice. Methods EGDT was implemented as a collaborative emergency medicine/critical care quality improvement initiative. EGDT included the following: IV fluids (IVF) targeting central venous pressure ≥ 8 mm Hg, vasopressors targeting mean arterial pressure ≥ 65 mm Hg, and (if necessary) packed RBCs (PRBCs) and/or dobutamine targeting central venous oxygen saturation ≥ 70%. A retrospective analysis was performed of emergency department (ED) patients with persistent sepsis-induced hypotension (systolic BP Results All end points were achieved in 20 of 22 cases (91%). The median time to reach each end point was ≤ 6 h. In the secondary analysis, patients (n = 38; EGDT, n=22; pre-EGDT, n=16) had similar age, do-not-resuscitate status, severity scores, hypotension duration, and vasopressor requirement (p = not significant). In the ED, EGDT used more IVF and included PRBC/dobutamine utilization, without any impact on the overall use of these therapies through the first 24 h in the ICU. EGDT was associated with decreased ICU pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) utilization (9.1% vs 43.7%, p=0.01). Conclusions With effective emergency medicine/critical care collaboration, we demonstrate that EGDT end points can reliably be achieved in real-world sepsis resuscitation. ED-based EGDT appears to decrease ICU PAC utilization.

This exploratory review of 25 years of part-time professional practice with individuals, couples, and families, evaluated the number of face-to-face psychotherapy sessions with and without written homework assignments. Contrary to predictions from the literature, administration of a workbook lengthened significantly the number of face-to-face psychotherapy sessions for all groups. The exploratory nature of this review and its inability to deal with a host of uncontrolled variables made it impossible to deal with the issue of effectiveness. These results, nonetheless, raise questions about the claimed cost-effectiveness of written homework assignments. Future research will need to concentrate on variables that could not be controlled in this review.

This paper is aimed at showing the organization of the national soil information system managed by the Agriculture Research Council of Italy (Soil Information System of Italy, SISI). The available soil geodatabases for the whole of Italy are those of the soil regions (1:5,000,000), subregions (1:1,000,000), and systems (1:500,000), while the soil subsystems geodatabase (1:250,000) is available for most part of Italy.

We have developed a technique and a prototype for /spl beta/-rays and /spl gamma/-rays quantitative imaging of biological samples which have been radioactively labeled. The prototype is based on a solid state pixel detector, bump-bonded to a low threshold, single particle counting chip: the detector we used is 200-/spl mu/m thick GaAs, with pixel size 170 /spl mu/m. In this paper we describe an experiment that shows the capability of monitoring a dynamic process. Specifically, [/sup 14/C]L-Leucine uptake by eggs of mollusk cephalopod Octopus vulgaris and the consequent migration of marker into the ooplasm was followed.

Solid cadmium and mercury(II) phenoxyacetates were prepared and investigated by DSC and TG techniques. The cadmium salt decomposed in two steps with the loss of 1.5 water molecules at first and the successive formation of CdCO 3 as final product. Δ deh H * associated with the loss of one water molecule was compared with the corresponding values obtained for other phenoxyacetates previously studied and the obtained results were discussed. Anhydrous mercury(II) phenoxyacetate gave, on heating, HgCO 3 which successively decomposed with the formation of gaseous products and a little amount of solid residue.

Purpose – This chapter provides the reader with an overview of a reflective video pedagogy for use within a literacy center or within professional development contexts. The conceptual overview is followed by two-case examples that reveal how literacy centers can serve as rich, productive research sites for the use and study of reflective video pedagogy. Methodology/approach – The authors describe their ongoing work to develop and integrate a reflective video pedagogy within a literacy center during a 15-week practicum for literacy-specialists-in-training. The reflective video pedagogy is not only used by the clinicians who work with struggling readers twice a week, but it is also used by the researchers at the literacy center who study the reflective video pedagogy through the same video the clinicians use. Practical implications – Literacy centers are dynamic sites where children, families, pre/in-service teachers, and teacher educators work together around literacy development. Reflective video pedagogies can be used to closely examine learning and teaching for adult students (i.e., clinicians) and for youth (i.e., children in elementary, middle, and high school) and also for parents who want their children to find success with literacy. Research implications – In recent years “scaling up” and “scientific research” have come to dominate much of the literacy research landscape. While we see the value and necessity of large-scale experimental studies, we also posit that literacy centers have a unique role to play. Given that resources are scarce, literacy scholars must maximize the affordances of literacy centers as rich, productive research sites for the use and study of a reflective video pedagogy.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the term used to describe children who are inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive. The cause is unknown and is thought to be multifactorial. Based on the work of others, we hypothesized that some children with ADHD have altered fatty acid metabolism. The present study found that 53 subjects with ADHD had significantly lower concentrations of key fatty acids in the plasma polar lipids (20:4n-6, 20:5n-3, and 22:6n-3) and in red blood cell total lipids (20:4n-6 and 22:4n-6) than did the 43 control subjects. Also, a subgroup of 21 subjects with ADHD exhibiting many symptoms of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency had significantly lower plasma concentrations of 20:4n-6 and 22:6n-3 than did 32 subjects with ADHD with few EFA-deficiency symptoms. The data are discussed with respect to cause, but the precise reason for lower fatty acid concentrations in some children with ADHD is not clear.

We present an autoradiography system (BETAview) for a quantitative analysis of radioactive markers in biological samples; this system is also able to monitor a dynamic process. It is based on a solid-state pixel array detector, bump bonded to low threshold, integrated electronics developed for medical applications (Medipix). The present assembly is equipped with a 200 μm thick GaAs square detector, about 1 cm side, segmented into 64×64 170-μm size square pixels; simulation and experimental studies show good linearity and high sensitivity to β sources. Imaging tests with β sources of medical and biological interest such as 14C, 35S, 32P are reported.

In the framework of the development of a digital radiography/autoradiography system using solid state detectors, we studied the performance of GaAs pixellated detectors regarding noise level and detection behavior of interpixel space. The detector is a 64×64 pixel array, 200 μm thick GaAs, 150 μm contact size and 20 μm interpixel space. Studies involve I – V curves, detector behavior for long-period biasing, noise as a function of temperature, and possible detection efficiency loss due to interpixel dead spaces.

Sepsis mortality is closely linked to multi-organ failure, and impaired microcirculatory blood flow is thought to be pivotal in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced organ failure. We hypothesized that changes in microcirculatory flow during resuscitation are associated with changes in organ failure over the first 24 h of sepsis therapy. Prospective observational study. Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit. Septic patients with systolic blood pressure

Two solid copper(II) phenoxyacetates (anhydrous and dihydrate) were prepared and investigated by DSC and TG techniques. The results obtained indicated that the water molecules of the dihydrate compounds were weakly and differently bonded; also, both anhydrous and dihydrate compound decomposed with formation of CuO as final product, but by different steps. Some thermodynamic parameters associated with the observed thermal processes were evaluated and the results obtained were discussed and interpreted. Phenoxyalkanoic acids are very important compounds because some of them are used as herbicides, so that their metabolism, mode of action and use and the physicochemical aspects of their formulation have been investigated [1]. Also, their physical properties, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters and spectroscopic behaviour have been reported [2]. The salts of phenoxyalkanoic acids with some bivalent transition metals have great theoretical importance because they are formed when the acids react with the metals present in the soil or in the plants; some of these salts, for example copper(II) phenoxyaeetate, are important also because of their antimicrobial activity [3]. The formation equilibria in solution of some salts of phenoxyalkanoic acids have been investigated [4, 5], but very few authors studied these salts in the solid state [6-9]; in particular, it was reported that the salts of phenoxyacetic acid and bivalent transition metals are dihydrate in the solid state and that their water molecules are both released at 120 ~ (or at 105~ but no thermodynamic parameters associated with the dehydration and decomposition processes were evaluated [10].

Molar heatcapacities at constant pressure of solidN-acetylamides of glycine,l-alanine,l-valine,l-leucine,l-isoleucine, and cyclic anhydrides of glycine (2,5-piperazinedione), glycine, andl-alanine (3-methyl-2,5-piperazinedione),l-alanine (3,6-dimethyl-2,5-piperazinedione), and sarcosine (1,4-dimethyl-2,5-piperazinedione) were measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Calibration methods and experimental procedures adopted are described. Measurements were made from ambient temperature to below the melting temperatures, and values atT=298.15 K were derived by extrapolating the smoothed fitting equations. The molar heatcapacitiesCp,matT=298.15 K increase linearly as a function of molar mass, with an increment of (26±1) J · K−1 · mol−1for CH2group, for both series of linear and cyclic compounds. Temperatures, enthalpies, and entropies of fusion of both groups of compounds were also determined. They are discussed on the basis of crystal structures given in the literature.

Objective This study examined the variability of blood pressure measurements and prevalence estimates of elevated blood pressure in emergency department (ED) patients using 4 different methods of categorization. Methods A prospective, observational study was conducted on adult ED patients with elevated triage blood pressures (systolic ≥140 or diastolic ≥90 mm Hg). Three blood pressure measurements were obtained on all subjects and categorized as follows: (1) triage measurement only, (2) the mean of the triage and second measurement, (3) the mean of the 3 measurements, and (4) the mean of the second and third measurements. Results Of 2192 screened patients, 326 were included in the final analysis with mean triage systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 160 and 90 mm Hg, respectively. Prevalence estimates of elevated blood pressure in this sample ranged from 100% (reference standard: mean triage blood pressure) to the most conservative estimate of 67% (fourth method). Conclusion Determination of elevated blood pressure in ED patients is largely dependent on the method of blood pressure categorization.

Early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) has been shown to decrease mortality in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Consensus guidelines now advocate EGDT for the first 6 h of sepsis resuscitation. However, EGDT has not yet been widely adopted in practice. A need for effective collaboration between emergency medicine and critical care medicine services has been identified as an obstacle for implementation. We aimed to determine if EGDT end points could reliably be achieved in real-world clinical practice.EGDT was implemented as a collaborative emergency medicine/critical care quality improvement initiative. EGDT included the following: i.v. fluids (IVF) targeting central venous pressureor = 8 mm Hg, vasopressors targeting mean arterial pressureor = 65 mm Hg, and (if necessary) packed RBCs (PRBCs) and/or dobutamine targeting central venous oxygen saturationor = 70%. A retrospective analysis was performed of emergency department (ED) patients with persistent sepsis-induced hypotension (systolic BP90 mm Hg despite 1.5 L of IVF) treated with EGDT during the first year of the initiative. Primary outcome measures included successful achievement of EGDT end points and time to achievement. A secondary analysis was performed comparing EGDT cases to historical control cases (nonprotocolized control subjects without invasive monitoring).All end points were achieved in 20 of 22 cases (91%). The median time to reach each end point wasor = 6 h. In the secondary analysis, patients (n = 38; EGDT, n = 22; pre-EGDT, n = 16) had similar age, do-not-resuscitate status, severity scores, hypotension duration, and vasopressor requirement (p = not significant). In the ED, EGDT used more IVF and included PRBC/dobutamine utilization, without any impact on the overall use of these therapies through the first 24 h in the ICU. EGDT was associated with decreased ICU pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) utilization (9.1% vs 43.7%, p = 0.01).With effective emergency medicine/critical care collaboration, we demonstrate that EGDT end points can reliably be achieved in real-world sepsis resuscitation. ED-based EGDT appears to decrease ICU PAC utilization.

The use of writing, alone or in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, has increased substantially in recent years. The most widespread use of writing has been for single-shot ad hoc purposes or to log behavior. The purpose of this review is to summarize a decade of research demonstrating the efficacy of writing about past traumatic experiences on mental and physical health outcomes. It is widely acknowledged in our culture that putting upsetting experiences into words can be healthy. Research from several domains indicates that talking with friends, confiding to a therapist, praying, and even writing about one's thoughts and feelings can be physically and mentally beneficial. This review highlights advances in written disclosure that determine some therapeutic outcomes. In addition, we attempt to explore the mechanisms that predict improved psychological and physical health. Finally, limitations of previous studies are highlighted, and suggestions for future research and application are made.