Income and distance elasticities of values of travel time savings: New Swiss results

This paper presents the findings of a study looking into the valuation of travel time savings (VTTS) in Switzerland, across modes as well as across purpose groups. The study makes several departures from the usual practice in VTTS studies, with the main one being a direct representation of the income and distance elasticity of the VTTS measures. Here, important gains in model performance and significantly different results are obtained through this approach. Additionally, the analysis shows that the estimation of robust coefficients for congested car travel time is hampered by the low share of congested time in the overall travel time, and the use of an additional rate-of-congestion coefficient, in addition to a generic car travel time coefficient, is preferable. Finally, the analysis demonstrates that the population mean of the indicators calculated is quite different from the sample means and presents methods to calculate those, along with the associated variances. These variances are of great interest as they allow the generation of confidence intervals, which can be extremely useful in cost-benefit analyses

Agronomic performance of some haricot bean varieties (haseolus vulgaris L.) with and without phosphorus fertilizer under irrigated and rain fed conditions in the Tigray and Afar regional states, northern Ethiopia

Haricot bean is an important source of protein, calories and cash for small holder farmers of Ethiopia. Five genotypes of haricot bean were grown with and without phosphorous fertilizer application, under irrigation and rain fed growing conditions in randomized complete block design with three replications in three locations of the Tigray and Afar regional states, northern Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to examine the performance and select the best and well adapted varieties, as well as to determine the role of phosphorus on yield response of varieties and on root nodulation. Varieties like Awash-1 and Mexican-142 were better in terms of earliness to maturity. Variety Chore exhibits high mean grain yield (24.5 qt/ha under irrigation and 19.6 qt/ha under rainfed) followed by Awash-Melka (20.7qt/ha under irrigation and 19 qt/ha under rainfed). Phosphorus application did not significantly affect various parameters examined and its effect was erratic and inconsistent. Significant variations were observed among haricot bean varieties for number of nodules per plant. It is recommended to grow early maturing varieties Awash-1 and Mexican 142 under rain-fed and the intermediate to late maturing and better yielding varieties such as Awash-Melka and Chore under irrigation.Keywords: Haricot bean varieties, Fertilizer-P, growing season, Northern Ethiopia

Mismatch between soil nutrient requirements and fertilizer applications: Implications for yield responses in Ethiopia

Lack of accurate information about soil nutrient requirements coupled with limited access to appropriate fertilizers could lead to mismatch between soil nutrient requirements and fertilizer applications. Such anomalies and mismatches are likely to have important implications for agricultural productivity. In this paper we use experimental (spectral soil analysis) data from Ethiopia to examine farmers’ response to soil nutrient deficiencies and its implications for yield responses. We find that farmers’ response to macronutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) deficiencies is not always consistent with agronomic recommendations. For instance, we find that farmers in our sample are applying nitrogen fertilizers to soils lacking phosphorus, potentially due to lack of information on soil nutrient deficiencies or lack of access to appropriate fertilizers in rural markets. On the other hand, farmers respond to perceivably poor-quality soils and acidic soils by applying higher amount of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers per unit of land. We further show that such mismatches between fertilizer applications and soil macronutrient requirements are potentially yield-reducing. Those farmers matching their soil nutrient requirements and fertilizer application are likely to enjoy additional yield gains and the vice versa. Marginal yield responses associated with nitrogen (phosphorus) application increases with soil nitrogen (phosphorus) deficiency. Similarly, we find that farmers’ response to acidic soils is not yield-enhancing. These findings suggest that such mismatches may explain heterogeneities in marginal returns to chemical fertilizers and the observed low adoption rates of chemical fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa. As such, these findings have important implications for improving input management practices and fertilizer diffusion strategies

Comparison of NIRS, laser Doppler flowmetry, photoplethysmography, and pulse oximetry during vascular occlusion challenges

© 2016 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. Monitoring changes in blood volume, blood flow, and oxygenation in tissues is of vital importance in fields such as reconstructive surgery and trauma medicine. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), laser Doppler (LDF) flowmetry, photoplethysmography (PPG), and pulse oximetry (PO) contribute to such fields due to their safe and noninvasive nature. However, the techniques have been rarely investigated simultaneously or altogether. The aim of this study was to investigate all the techniques simultaneously on healthy subjects during vascular occlusion challenges. Sensors were attached on the forearm (NIRS and LDF) and fingers (PPG and PO) of 19 healthy volunteers. Different degrees of vascular occlusion were induced by inflating a pressure cuff on the upper arm. The responses of tissue oxygenation index (NIRS), tissue haemoglobin index (NIRS), flux (LDF), perfusion index (PPG), and arterial oxygen saturation (PO) have been recorded and analyzed. Moreover, the optical densities were calculated from slow varying dc PPG, in order to distinguish changes in venous blood volumes. The indexes showed significant changes (p < 0.05) in almost all occlusions, either venous or over-systolic occlusions. However, differentiation between venous and arterial occlusion by LDF may be challenging and the perfusion index (PI) may not be adequate to indicate venous occlusions. Optical densities may be an additional tool to detect venous occlusions by PPG

STUDY OF THE VITAMIN COMPOSITION OF CARROT SUPPLEMENTS TO ENRICH DAIRY PRODUCTS FOR FUNCTIONAL PURPOSES

Upon receipt of the dietary supplement used in the production of dairy products, carrot cake obtained after repeated grinding was subjected to ultrasonic treatment to soften the fibers, giving them an easily digestible form and reducing microbial contamination, were subjected to ultrasonic treatment. In the course of experimental studies, the vitamin composition of biologically active additives from carrot cake was determined. According to the data obtained, the degree of preservation of vitamins in the supplements of experimental and control samples is different, the initial amount of vitamins decreases as the frequency of ultrasound increases. The content of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) significantly increased to 0,00049 mg when treated with ultrasound at a frequency of 40 Hz. Ultrasonic treatment at 60 Hz revealed a small amount of vitamin B1 (thiamine chloride) in an amount of 0.000025. According to the study, we believe it is advisable to apply ultrasonic processing of a frequency of 40 Hz

THE EFFECT OF ULTRАSOUND TREАTMENT ON THE QUАLITАTED INDICАTORS OF BIOGREINS ON THE BАSIS OF JERUSАLEM АRTICHOKE FLOUR FOR USE CHEESE PRODUCTS

The influence of the ultrаsonic treаtment on the quаlity indicаtors of bioаdditives bаsed on Jerusаlem аrtichoke for use in cheesemаking is investigаted. The аrticle presents а scientific аnd technicаl rаtionаle for the use of Jerusаlem аrtichoke аs а dietаry supplement to improve the quаlity аnd nutritionаl vаlue of dаiry products. When using ultrаsonic treаtment, there is not only а significаnt аccelerаtion of the production process, but аlso аn increаse compаred with other methods of extrаcting the yield of the mаin product. Аs а result of the reseаrch, it wаs found thаt the ultrаsonic vibrаtions of 65 Hz frequency аnd intensity of 9 cycles for 2 minutes not only increаse the shelf life, but аlso improve the quаlity of dietаry supplements from Jerusаlem аrtichoke tubers. Considered the possibility of using new technology in the food industry

Ion track template technique for fabrication of ZnSe2O5 nanocrystals

The work was performed under the grant of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan AP05134367 and Latvian grant lzpZnSe2O5 nanocrystals with an orthorhombic structure were synthesized by electrochemical deposition into a-SiO2/n-Si ion track template formed by 200 MeV Xe ion irradiation with the fluence of 107 ions/cm2. The lattice parameters determined by the X-ray diffraction and calculated by the CRYSTAL computer program package are very close to each other. It was shown that ZnSe2O5 has a direct band gap of 2.8 eV at the Γ-point. In addition, the calculated charge distribution and chemical bonds show that the crystal has an ion-covalent nature. The photoluminescence excited by photons at 300 nm has a low intensity arising mainly due to zinc and oxygen vacancies.Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan AP05134367; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Impact of repeated NeemAzal®-treated blood meals on the fitness of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes

Background: Herbal remedies are widely used in many malaria endemic countries to treat patients, in particular in the absence of anti-malarial drugs and in some settings to prevent the disease. Herbal medicines may be specifically designed for prophylaxis and/or for blocking malaria transmission to benefit both, the individual consumer and the community at large. Neem represents a good candidate for this purpose due to its inhibitory effects on the parasite stages that cause the clinical manifestations of malaria and on those responsible for infection in the vector. Furthermore, neem secondary metabolites have been shown to interfere with various physiological processes in insect vectors. This study was undertaken to assess the impact of the standardised neem extract NeemAzal® on the fitness of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi following repeated exposure to the product through consecutive blood meals on treated mice. Methods: Batches of An. stephensi mosquitoes were offered 5 consecutive blood meals on female BALB/c mice treated with NeemAzal® at an azadirachtin A concentration of 60, 105 or 150 mg/kg. The blood feeding capacity was estimated by measuring the haematin content of the rectal fluid excreted by the mosquitoes during feeding. The number of eggs laid was estimated by image analysis and their hatchability assessed by direct observations. Results: A dose and frequency dependent impact of NeemAzal® treatment on the mosquito feeding capacity, oviposition and egg hatchability was demonstrated. In the 150 mg/kg treatment group, the mosquito feeding capacity was reduced by 50% already at the second blood meal and by 50 to 80% in all treatment groups at the fifth blood meal. Consequently, a 50 – 65% reduction in the number of eggs laid per female mosquito was observed after the fifth blood meal in all treatment groups. Similarly, after the fifth treated blood meal exposure, hatchability was found to be reduced by 62% and 70% in the 105 and 150 mg/kg group respectively. Conclusions: The findings of this study, taken together with the accumulated knowledge on neem open the challenging prospects of designing neem-based formulations as multi-target phytomedicines exhibiting preventive, parasite transmission-blocking as well as anti-vectorial properties. Keywords: Malaria, Vectors, Neem, Azadirachtin, Transmission-blocking, Anti-vectoria

Evaluation of the effect of locally produced biological pesticide (AқKөbelek ™) on biodiversity and abundance of beneficial insects in four forage crops in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan

Using a non-replicated plot design, we experimentally assessed the effects of a locally produced biological pesticide on the abundance, species richness and Shannon diversity of beneficial insects in four forage crops (alfalfa, soybeans, corn, and triticale) in southeastern Kazakhstan. 2-way ANOV tests detected no effect of the biological pesticide treatment on the abundance (N) of either predators or pollinators. However, there were significant differences in pollinator and predator abundances among crops. Pairwise t-tests between the experiment and control plots for each crop detected no significant differences in predator or pollinator Shannon diversity index values (H). Paired t-tests revealed significant differences in diversity index values for both predator and pollinator functional groups among crops within each treatment (experiment, control). Corn and triticale plots had notably similar predator abundance (N), species richness (S) and Shannon diversity index (H) values. Corn, alfalfa and soy-triticale differed in pollinator Shannon H, N and S values, suggesting each contained a distinct pollinator assemblage. A trial rapid assessment for differences using a point-based system for indicator species showed only small difference among crops and between treatment and control plots. This method may be more applicable in situations sampling disturbance needs to be minimized and a rapid but less thorough assessment is required

Non-invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure changes: healthy volunteers study

Objective: This research aims to evaluate the possible association between pulsatile near infrared spectroscopic waveform features and induced changes in intracranial pressure in healthy volunteers. Methods: An optical intracranial pressure sensor was attached to the forehead of 16 healthy volunteers. Pulsatile near infrared spectroscopic signals were acquired from the forehead during body position changes and Valsalva manoeuvers. Features were extracted from the pulsatile signals and analyses were carried out to investigate the presence of statistical differences in the features when intracranial pressure changes were induced. Classification models were developed utilizing the features extracted from the pulsatile near-infrared spectroscopic signals to classify between different body positions and Valsalva manoeuvre. Results: The presence of significant differences in the majority of the analyzed features (p < 0.05) indicates the technique’s ability to distinguish between variations in intracranial pressure. Furthermore, the disparities observed in the optical signal features captured by the proximal and distal photodetectors support the hypothesis that alterations in back-scattered light directly correspond to brain-related changes. Further research is required to subtract distal and proximal signals and construct predictive models employing a gold standard measurement for non-invasive, continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure. Conclusion: The study investigated the use of pulsatile near infrared spectroscopic signals to detect changes in intracranial pressure in healthy volunteers. The results revealed significant differences in the features extracted from these signals, demonstrating a correlation with ICP changes induced by positional changes and Valsalva manoeuvre. Classification models were capable of identifying changes in ICP using features from optical signals from the brain, with a sensitivity ranging from 63.07% to 80% and specificity ranging from 60.23% to 70% respectively. These findings underscored the potential of these features to effectively identify alterations in ICP. Significance: The study’s results demonstrate the feasibility of using features extracted from optical signals from the brain to detect changes in ICP induced by positional changes and Valsalva manoeuvre in healthy volunteers. This represents a first step towards the non-invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure