Does Solar Radiation Affect the Distribution of Dubas Bug (Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin) Infestation

The Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus is a serious pest of date palms. The infestation level of the Dubas bug varies from location to location, as well as from one season to the next. Climate factors are considered to be the main drivers for fluctuations in infestation levels. Few studies have examined the effects of solar radiation on O. lybicus infestation. This study was undertaken to examine the effect of solar radiation on O. lybicus infestation levels in Oman. Infestation data were collected during the spring infestation seasons of 2009 and 2016 from 49 and 69 locations, respectively, from seven governorates of North Oman. The monthly clear-sky potential solar radiation was calculated from a digital elevation model (DEM) with 20-m resolution in the ArcGIS environment, and the average daily solar radiation was calculated for each month. Ordinary least square regression (OLS) and geographic weight regression (GWR) models were run to find the relationship between infestation levels and solar radiation. The infestation level ranged from 0.02 insect/leaflet to 32.98 insects/leaflet, with an averageof 7.50 insects/leaflet in 2009 and 0.17 insect/leaflet to 17.52 insects/leaflet, with an average of 4.38 insects/leaflet in 2016. The highest solar radiation was recorded in June, with an average of 27.7 MJ/m2/day, and the minimum was in December, with an average of 14.1 MJ/m2/day. The higher infestation rate showed a weak correlation with solar radiation

Effectiveness of Mediterranean diet on diabetic control and cardiovascular risk modification among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Oman: a study protocol

Introduction: In the recent years, there is remarkable increased in the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in Middle East countries including Oman. There is good evidence that Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) is effective over diabetes control and several cardiovascular risk factors in different populations, with little compelling evidence among Omanis. This paper describes the protocol of a wait-list, open labelled, randomized control trial, with its main objective aimed to determine the effectiveness of Mediterranean Diet intervention on glycaemic control and cardiovascular risks among T2DM patients in Oman. Methods: A total of 140 eligible T2DM patients will be recruited. Participants in the intervention group will undergo a six-month MedDiet program comprising of different activities (individual dietary counseling, cooking classes, phone calls and social media messages) while the control group will continue with standard diabetes care. Data collection will be conducted at baseline, after three and six months. The 2 x 3 mixed-design ANOVA will be used to determine the mean changes in outcome variables over the full study period between the two groups. Discussion: Epidemiology studies on nutrition and health had focused on dietary pattern, which provides an opportunity to account for nutrient-nutrient interactions lately. Mediterranean Diet has produced consistent findings on its protective role in diabetes management, with little information on its effectiveness in population outside of Mediterranean basin, including Oman. The outcomes of current study will be used to inform community and health care professionals on the effectiveness and practically of MedDiet on diabetes management

An experimental study of a falling liquid film in a vertical pipe

The majority of the experimental and theoretical studies in literature on the falling liquid film focus on either small diameter pipes or flat plates. Almost, all these studies provide time series data of the film thickness at a single point on the pipe wall. In this paper, a unique Multiple Pin Film Sensor (MPFS, which comprises of 10 axial planes and 64 circumferential electrodes at each plane, i.e. 640 measurement points in total) was used in a large diameter pipe (127 mm). This sensor is capable of providing film thickness measurements around the circumference of the pipe with a spatial resolution of 6.2 mm. Further, it makes measurements at 10 planes normal to the pipe axis giving the axial evolution of the film along the pipe wall (the axial spatial resolution is 15.4 mm). 3D interfacial wave structures were reconstructed from the measured film thickness data. One of the advantages of using MPFS over the single point conductance measurement technique is the capability of capturing the detailed interfacial wave structures of the liquid film. Such detailed information is of interest to many modellers who need to validate their models and simulations. Parameters, such as film thicknesses, wave amplitudes, velocities, spacing and frequencies were extracted and analysed. Unlike smaller diameter pipes wher e the waves are characterised as coherent rings, the waves found in this study using larger pipe diameter were much localised. The mean film thicknesses are in good agreement with published models. The mean film thickness obtained from MPFS was also compared with the output of two other sensors, Ultrasound and conductance ring pairs. There is good agreement between the three methods, particularly when the fact that the ring pair technique provides a circumferentially averaged value. It was also found that the axial liquid velocity moves approximately with constant velocity and evolved with time

Loxoprofen Sodium Versus Diclofenac Potassium for Post-Dental Extraction Pain Relief: A Randomized, Triple-Blind, Clinical Trial

One of the most common post-operative complications of tooth extraction is pain. Oral analgesics, namely loxoprofen sodium and diclofenac potassium, are often prescribed; however, the efficacy of these drugs irrespective of gender and type of extraction has not been tested. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the efficacy of these two drugs in post-dental extraction pain relief among male and female patients in cases of simple and surgical tooth extraction. A single-center, triple-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted among 100 male and female patients who underwent tooth extraction at Taibah University Dental College and Hospital in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The patients reported their pain post-operatively after 6 hours and every 12 h for 3 days using the Verbal Descriptor Scale (e.g., “no pain”, “mild pain”). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were run to analyze the data. An equal number of patients received either the drug loxoprofen sodium or diclofenac potassium and completed the study follow-up. Patients allocated to the diclofenac potassium drug group after 36 h were statistically significantly in their reporting of “no pain” and “mild pain” compared to patients allocated to the loxoprofen sodium group (86% vs. 66%, respectively; p = 0.019), irrespective of gender or type of tooth extraction. However, both groups demonstrated comparable (p > 0.05) post-operative pain relief over the other aforementioned allocated time intervals. In conclusion, the diclofenac potassium group had slightly better control over post-operative pain than the group receiving loxoprofen sodium

Experimental characterization of interfacial wave structure of a falling liquid film in a vertical large pipe diameter

There is considerable literature on the thicknesses of falling liquid films, much of which is focussed on either flat plates or small diameter pipes. Many studies provide time series data of the film thickness at one or two points on the pipe wall. This paper reports on an investigation of the interfacial structure of falling liquid films (liquid Reynolds numbers, ReL=618-1670) in a large diameter pipe (127 mm) using a Multiple Pin Film Sensor (MPFS) which is capable of providing measurements of film thickness and interfacial waves with excellent resolution in time and in the circumferential and axial directions. Parameters, such as film thicknesses, wave velocities and frequencies were extracted. 3D interfacial wave structures were reconstructed from the film thickness data. The waves seen were much localized unlike those in smaller diameter pipes which are characterised as coherent rings. The mean film thicknesses are generally in good agreement with published models. The mean film thickness obtained from MPFS was also compared with the output of two other sensors, Ultrasound and conductance ring pairs. There is good agreement between the three methods particularly when the fact that the ring pair technique provides a circumferentially averaged value

Relationship of Date Palm Tree Density to Dubas Bug Ommatissus lybicus Infestation in Omani Orchards

Date palm trees, Phoenix dactylifera, are the primary crop in Oman. Most date palm cultivation is under the traditional agricultural system. The plants are usually under dense planting, which makes them prone to pest infestation. The main pest attacking date palm crops in Oman is the Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus. This study integrated modern technology, remote sensing and geographic information systems to determine the number of date palm trees in traditional agriculture locations to find the relationship between date palm tree density and O. lybicus infestation. A local maxima method for tree identification was used to determine the number of date palm trees from high spatial resolution satellite imagery captured byWorldView-3 satellite. Window scale sizes of 3, 5 and 7 m were tested and the results showed that the best window size for date palm trees number detection was 7 m, with an overall estimation accuracy 88.2%. Global regression ordinary least square (OLS) and local geographic weighted regression (GWR) were used to test the relationship between infestation intensity and tree density. The GWR model showed a good positive significant relationship between infestation and tree density in the spring season with R2 = 0.59 and medium positive significant relationship in the autumn season with R2 = 0.30. In contrast, the OLS model results showed a weak positive significant relationship in the spring season with R2 = 0.02, p 0.05. The results indicated that there was a geographic effect on the infestation of O. lybicus, which had a greater impact on infestation severity, and that the impact of tree density was higher in the spring season than in autumn season

Application of Mediterranean diet in cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 diabetes mellitus: motivations and challenges

Objective: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of disability and death in many countries. Together with CVD, Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for more than 80% of all premature non-communicable disease deaths. The protective effect of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) on CVD and its risk factors, including T2DM, has been a constant topic of interest. Notwithstanding, despite the large body of evidence, scientists are concerned about the challenges and difficulties of the application of MedDiet. This review aims to explore the motivations and challenges for using MedDiet in patients with CVD and T2DM. Design: An electronic search was conducted for articles about MedDiet published in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science up to December 2021, particularly on CVD and T2DM patients. From a total of 1536 studies, the final eligible set of 108 studies was selected. Study selection involved three iterations of filtering. Results: Motivation to apply MedDiet was driven by the importance of studying the entire food pattern rather than just one nutrient, the health benefits, and the distinct characteristics of MedDiet. Challenges of the application of MedDiet include lacking universal definition and scoring of MedDiet. Influences of nutritional transition that promote shifting of traditional diets to Westernized diets further complicate the adherence of MedDiet. The challenges also cover the research aspects, including ambiguous and inconsistent findings, the inexistence of positive results, limited evidence, and generalization in previous studies. The review revealed that most of the studies recommended that future studies are needed in terms of health benefits, describing the potential benefits of MedDiet, identifying the barriers, and mainly discussing the effect of MedDiet in different populations. Conclusions: In general, there is consistent and strong evidence that MedDiet is associated inversely with CVD risk factors and directly with glycemic control. MedDiet is the subject of active and diverse research despite the existing challenges. This review informs the health benefits conferred by this centuries-old dietary pattern and highlights MedDiet could possibly be revolutionary, practical, and non-invasive approach for the prevention and treatment CVD and T2DM

Does Solar Radiation Affect the Distribution of Dubas Bug (Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin) Infestation

The Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus is a serious pest of date palms. The infestation level of the Dubas bug varies from location to location, as well as from one season to the next. Climate factors are considered to be the main drivers for fluctuations in infestation levels. Few studies have examined the effects of solar radiation on O. lybicus infestation. This study was undertaken to examine the effect of solar radiation on O. lybicus infestation levels in Oman. Infestation data were collected during the spring infestation seasons of 2009 and 2016 from 49 and 69 locations, respectively, from seven governorates of North Oman. The monthly clear-sky potential solar radiation was calculated from a digital elevation model (DEM) with 20-m resolution in the ArcGIS environment, and the average daily solar radiation was calculated for each month. Ordinary least square regression (OLS) and geographic weight regression (GWR) models were run to find the relationship between infestation levels and solar radiation. The infestation level ranged from 0.02 insect/leaflet to 32.98 insects/leaflet, with an average of 7.50 insects/leaflet in 2009 and 0.17 insect/leaflet to 17.52 insects/leaflet, with an average of 4.38 insects/leaflet in 2016. The highest solar radiation was recorded in June, with an average of 27.7 MJ/m2/day, and the minimum was in December, with an average of 14.1 MJ/m2/day. The higher infestation rate showed a weak correlation with solar radiation