Effects of soil amendment treatments on growth, yield and fruit quality of selected banana (Musa AAA) cultivars

       Banana cultivation in Sudan is restricted to the narrow strip of silt deposits along the banks of the Blue Nile and the River Nile. Hence, there is a need to expand banana cultivation in the high terrace, heavy clay soils. Banana performance in heavy clay soils is very poor, unless soil amendments are applied. Therefore, the objective of this research was to study the effects of soil amendment treatments on growth, yield and fruit quality of selected banana cultivars. The experiment was conducted in the Research Farm of the National Institute for the Promotion of Horticultural Exports, University of Gezira, during 2009-2011. Treatments consisted of three selected banana cultivars : Two introduced cultivars, namely, Grand Nain 1824 (GN) and William’s Hybrid 172 (WH) and the local cultivar Dwarf Cavendish (DC). Soil amendment treatments were : 1, 50% heavy clay (HC) + 50% loam (L); 2, 50% HC + 50% chicken manure (CM); 3, 50% HC + 25% L + 25% CM; 4, 33% HC + 33% L + 34% CM; 5, 100% HC (control). Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Results showed that the introduced cultivars GN and WH had more vigorous vegetative growth, higher yield components, total yield and better fruit quality than the local cultivar DC. Soil amendment treatments of 50% HC + 25% L + 25% CM and 33% HC + 33% L + 34% CM resulted in the most vigorous vegetative growth, the highest yield components and total yield and the best fruit quality, followed by 50% HC + 50% L and 50% HC +50%CM, whereas the least vegetative growth, the lowest yield components, total yield and the worst fruit quality were produced by bananas grown in 100% HC (control). In order to expand banana production for the local market and export, it is recommended to amend heavy clay soils with loams and chicken manure at 33% each and grow the introduced cultivars GN and WH.      تنحصر زراعة الموز في السودان على الشريط الضيق للتربة الغرينية على ضفاف النيل الأزرق ونهر النيل. هنالك حاجة ماسة للتوسع في زراعة الموز في السودان ولذلك لا بد من محاولة زراعته في الاراضي الطينية الثقيلة و التي لا تصلح لزراعة الموز إلا إذا تمت بعض المعالجات. لذلك فإن الهدف من هذا البحث هو دراسة تأثير بعض مستصلحات التربة على النمو ومكونات الإنتاج والإنتاج الكلي لثلاثة أصناف منتخبة من الموز في هذا النوع من الأراضي. أجريت التجربة في مزرعة بحوث المعهد القومي لتنمية الصادرات البستانية بجامعة الجزيرة خلال الفترة 2009-2011. اشتملت المعاملات على ثلاثة أصناف منتخبة من الموز: صنفان مستجلبان من خارج السودان وهما جراندنين 1824 (GN) وهجين وليامز172 (WH) بالإضافة إلى الصنف المحلي الكافندش القزم (DC). إشتملت مستصلحات التربة على: (1) 50% تربة طينية ثقيلة + 50% تربة غرينية ، (2) 50% تربة طينية + 50% ماروق دواجن ، (3) 50% تربة طينية + 25% تربة غرينية + 25% ماروق دواجن، (4) 33% تربة طينية + 33% تربة غرينية + 34% ماروق دواجن ، (5) 100% تربة طينية (شاهد). أستخدم تصميم القطع العشوائية الكاملة  بثلاثة مكررات . أظهرت النتائج أن الأصناف المستجلبة من الخارج GN وWH كانت أفضل في النمو الخضري وأعلى إنتاجية وأفضل جودة للثمار من الصنف المحلي DC. معاملات مستصلحات التربة 50% تربة طينية + 25% تربة غرينية + 25% ماروق دواجن و 33% تربة طينية و33% تربة غرينية و34% ماروق دواجن أعطت أفضل نمو خضري وأعلى إنتاجية وأفضل نوعية للثمار ، تليها المعاملات 50% تربة طينية + 50% تربة غرينية و50% تربة طينية + 50% ماروق دواجن. أما زراعة الموز في الأراضي الطينية الثقيلة بدون مستصلحات أدت  إلى أقل نمو خضري وأقل إنتاجية وأدنى نوعية للثمار. لذلك لكي يتم التوسع في زراعة الموز فى الاراضى الطينية الثقيلة للسوق المحلي والتصدير ، فإنه يوصى بإضافة  التربة الغرينية و ماروق الدواجن بنسبة 33% لكل منهما وزراعة الأصناف المستجلبة GN و WH. &nbsp

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

TQM implementation barriers in academe: a framework for further investigation

Many academics and practitioners believe that Total Quality Management philosophy is the panacea of the 1990s for many industries in all segments of the economy, including education. Many others have argued that TQM is a fad, and like many of its predecessors such as Management By Objectives (MBO), is going to fade away. Existing cases of successful implementation of TQM in business enterprises, which outnumber the failures, have made it easier for us to refute these claims. It is our belief that TQM is here to stay and, without it, organizations will not be able to survive in the turbulent and ever-changing environment of the 1990s. Although many of TQM applications found in literature were in the health care industry, TQM principles are applicable to other settings as well. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we will examine the barriers for TQM implementations in academia. Secondly, we will propose a framework for studying TQM in an academic setting. ©1998 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Modulation of genotoxicity and endocrine disruptive effects of malathion by dietary honeybee pollen and propolis in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

The present study aimed at verifying the usefulness of dietary 2.5% bee-pollen (BP) or propolis (PROP) to overcome the genotoxic and endocrine disruptive effects of malathion polluted water in Oreochromis niloticus (O. niloticus). The acute toxicity test was conducted in O. niloticus in various concentrations (0–8 ppm); mortality rate was assessed daily for 96 h. The 96 h-LC50 was 5 ppm and therefore 1/5 of the median lethal concentration (1 ppm) was used for chronic toxicity assessment. In experiment (1), fish (n = 8/group) were kept on a diet (BP/PROP or without additive (control)) and exposed daily to malathion in water at concentration of 5 ppm for 96 h “acute toxicity experiment”. Protective efficiency against the malathion was verified through chromosomal aberrations (CA), micronucleus (MN) and DNA-fragmentation assessment. Survival rate in control, BP and PROP groups was 37.5%, 50.0% and 100.0%, respectively. Fish in BP and PROP groups showed a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the frequency of CA (57.14% and 40.66%), MN (53.13% and 40.63%) and DNA-fragmentation (53.08% and 30.00%). In experiment (2), fish (10 males and 5 females/group) were kept on a diet with/without BP for 21 days before malathion-exposure in water at concentration of 0 ppm (control) or 1 ppm (Exposed) for further 10 days “chronic toxicity experiment”. BP significantly (P < 0.05) reduced CA (86.33%), MN (82.22%) and DNA-fragmentation (93.11%), prolonged the sperm motility when exposed to 0.01 ppm of pollutant in vitro and increased the estradiol level in females comparing to control. In conclusion, BP can be used as a feed additive for fish prone to be raised in integrated fish farms or cage culture due to its potency to chemo-protect against genotoxicity and sperm-teratogenicity persuaded by malathion-exposure

Custom Hyperspectral Imaging System Reveals Unique Spectral Signatures of Heart, Kidney, and Liver Tissues

: The rapid advancement of diagnostic and therapeutic optical techniques for oncology demands a good understanding of the optical properties of biological tissues. This study explores the capabilities of hyperspectral (HS) cameras as a non-invasive and non-contact optical imaging system to distinguish and highlight spectral differences inbiological soft tissuesof three structures (kidney, heart, and liver) for use inendoscopic interventionoropen surgery. The study presents an optical system consisting of two individual setups, the transmission setup, and the reflection setup, both incorporating anHS camerawith apolychromatic light sourcewithin the range of 380 to 1050&nbsp;nm to measure tissue's light transmission (Tr) and diffuse light reflectance (Rd), respectively. The optical system was calibrated with a customizedliquid optical phantom, then 30 samples from various organs were investigated fortissue characterizationby measuring both Tr and Rd at the visible and near infrared (VIS-NIR) band. We exploited the ANOVA test, subsequently by a Tukey's test on the created three independent clusters (kidney vs. heart: group I / kidney vs. liver: group II / heart vs. liver: group III) to identify the optimum wavelength for each tissue regarding their spectroscopic optical properties in the VIS-NIR spectrum. The optimum spectral span for the determined light Tr of the three groups was 640&nbsp;∼&nbsp;680&nbsp;nm, and the ideal range was 720&nbsp;∼&nbsp;760&nbsp;nm for the measured light Rd for mutual group I and group II. However, the group III range was different at a range of 520&nbsp;∼&nbsp;560&nbsp;nm. Therefore, the investigation provides vital information concerning theoptimum spectral scalefor the computed light Tr and Rd of the investigatedbiological tissues(kidney, liver, and heart) to be employed in diagnostic andtherapeutic medical applications