49 research outputs found

    Research on the Efficiency Assessment and Its Key Influencing Factors Analysis of the Investment in the Environment Governance of 15 Sub-Provincial Cities in China

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    Continued the environmental pollution restricts the city's sustainable and healthy development in the future. The public goods characteristics of urban environment need a lot of funds for environmental governance from local finance, so improving the efficiency of fiscal expenditure of environmental governance is an important way to solve the current lack of financial investment. This paper evaluates the fiscal expenditure efficiency of environmental governance in local cities in China and empirically examines the environmental variables that affect the efficiency of fiscal expenditure. Based on this, it puts forward some policy recommendations to further improve the efficiency of fiscal expenditure in environmental governance. This paper focuses on 15 sub-Provincial cities, which includes cities named Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Harbin, Hangzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Xiamen, Shenzhen Shenyang Wuhan Xi'an and Changchun.The innovation of this paper systematically summarizes the investment efficiency of environmental governance, based on the principle of building evaluation index system, taking the total investment in environmental governance as input index and the performance of environmental governance investment in water, gas and solid control as output, establishing 15 sub-Provincial cities of China environmental governance investment efficiency evaluation index system, based on the DEA method of 15 sub-Provincial cities of China environmental governance investment efficiency evaluation model, and then the environmental governance investment efficiency as the mother factor, the evaluation indicators for environmental governance investment efficiency factors, the use of gray correlation Analysis method to construct the key influencing factor analysis model of 15 sub-Provincial cities of China environmental governance investment efficiency and collect the input-output data of 15 sub-Provincial cities of China, autonomous regions and municipalities through 15 sub-Provincial cities of China Environmental Statistical Yearbook 2017 and 15 sub-Provincial cities of China Statistical Yearbook 2017, Investment efficiency and its key influencing factors confirm that the key factor of control the total amount of environmental governance investment, can effectively improve the efficiency of environmental governance investment. Keywords: Governance Investment, Efficiency assessment, Data envelopment analysis, 15 sub-Provincial cities

    Estimation of optimal lifting capacity in annulus

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    The optimum drilling of oil and gas wells are achieved by reduce costs and time, which will be accomplished with an optimal hydraulic cleaning program. Drilling fluid characteristics, drilling parameters, and well geometrics are regarded as major categories for achieving an optimal hydraulic program based on depth, penetration rate, and flow rate. This study was used a set of equations that related directly and indirectly to estimate the optimal cleaning efficiency in annulus. The procedure is applied here using actual data from an Iraqi oil field to determine the limitation of all parameters that affect the lifting capacity. Cutting transform was regarded as a major element of the well cleaning program as a result of constraints such as avoiding high surge pressure during lifting pipes, high swab pressure when downloading pipes, and fluid loss during rotation. An increase in annular space indicates a decrease in the capacity of drilling fluid to lift cuttings to the surface and an increase in dynamic shear stress. Also an increase in cutting size, which has a direct relationship with penetration rate that can be effect for cleaning efficacy in annulus

    Electrochemical study of polymer and ceramic-based nanocomposite coatings for corrosion protection of cast iron pipeline

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    Coating is one of the most effective measures to protect metallic materials from corrosion. Various types of coatings such as metallic, ceramic and polymer coatings have been investigated in a quest to find durable coatings to resist electrochemical decay of metals in industrial applications. Many polymeric composite coatings have proved to be resistant against aggressive environments. Two major applications of ferrous materials consist of their use in marine environment and in oil & gas industry. Knowing the corroding behavior of ferrous based materials during exposure to these aggressive applications, an effort has been made to protect the material by polymeric and ceramic based coatings reinforced with nano materials. Uncoated and coated cast iron pipeline material was investigated during for corrosion resistance by employing EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and electrochemical DC corrosion testing using 'three electrode system'. Cast iron pipeline samples were coated with Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyanline/FLG (Few Layers Graphene) and TiO2/GO (graphene oxide) nanocomposite by dip coating. The EIS data indicated better capacitance and higher impedance values for coated samples compared with the bare metal, depicting enhanced corrosion resistance against seawater and 'produce water' of a crude oil sample from a local oil rig; Tafel scans confirmed a significant decrease in corrosion rate of coated samples

    Molecular characterization of Pakistani wheat cultivars using random markers

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    The genetic diversity among fifteen varieties of wheat was studied by random amplified polymorphic DNA  (RAPD) analysis. By applying 20 RAPD primers, 182 fragments were amplified, out of which 118 were  polymorphic (64.84%). The number of fragments amplified per primer ranged from 10 to 24 with an average of  17 fragments per primer. Primer K-17 produced the maximum number of fragments (24) and all the fragments  were polymorphic. Range of polymorphism percentage was from as low as 0% (I to 15) to as high as 100%  (K-11). The number of fragments produced per wheat genotype varied from 36 to 56 with an average of 47.2  fragments per genotype. The variety Shahkar-95 produced maximum number of fragments (56). Cluster  analysis classified fifteen varieties of wheat into two main groups; three varieties were placed in group I and  the rest of the varieties were placed in group II. Second group (group II) was further divided into three  subgroups; IIA, IIB and IIC. The pair wise similarity values ranged from 54.88 to 82.93% and showed that  genotypes Kohinoor-83 and Pak-81 were the closest with highest similarity value (82.93%), while genotypes Kohinoor-83 and Kohistan-97 were most distinct with minimum similarity value (54.88%).Key words: Cultivar, polymorphism, random amplification of polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acid (RAPD), cluster analysis, genotype

    Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for Pairwise Test Generation

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    Our dependence on software applications has become dramatic in many activities of our daily life as they help to increase the efficiency of our tasks. These software applications have many sets of input values, parameters, software/hardware environments and system conditions, which need to be tested to ensure software reliability and quality. However, the whole comprehensive software testing is virtually not possible due to marketing pressure and resource constraints. In an attempt to solve this problem, there has been a development of a number of sampling and pairwise strategies in the literature. In this paper, we evaluated and proposed a pairwise strategy named Pairwise Artificial Bee Colony algorithm (PABC). According to the benchmarking results, the PABC strategies outdo some existing strategies to generate a test case in many of the system configurations taken into consideration. In a case where PABC is not at its optimal stage or its best performance, the experiments of a test case are effectively competitive. PABC progresses as a means to achieve the effective use of the artificial bee colony algorithm for pairwise testing reduction

    A Kidney Algorithm for Pairwise Test Suite Generation

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    Pairwise testing can greatly minimize the cost of software testing and also increase the ability of fault detection. Nevertheless, generating the most optimal test suite is an NP-complete problem and still an open area for research. The test case generation is the most active area of the pairwise testing research. Metaheuristic algorithms have been broadly used for solving difficult optimization problems as well as proving their effectiveness to get most optimal solutions. Kidney algorithm (KA) is a recent metaheuristic algorithm. This study introduces a new pairwise strategy by adapting KA; which is the first time to adapt KA in generating the test suite. The proposed strategy is called Pairwise Kidney Strategy (PKS). This study also highlights the PKS design; in addition, compare its performance with other reported strategies in the literature in terms of test suite size. Experiment results show that PKS has very competitive results as compared with other strategies

    RADIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF THE COURSE AND VISIBILITY OF THE MANDIBULAR CANAL BY PANORAMIC RADIOGRAPHY

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    Background and Objectives:  The mandibular canal is a canal inside the mandible that contains the inferior alveolar artery, the inferior alveolar nerve and the inferior alveolar vein. The anatomy and variations of the human mandible are very important for planning various surgical measures such as extraction of the third molar, dental implants and mandibular reconstruction. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of the different courses of the mandibular canal  and to investigate the visibility of the mandibular canal by panoramic radiography, among a sample of Yemeni adults. Subjects and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Sana'a city on a sample of Yemeni adults. The study consisted of panoramic radiographs of 928 patients; the number of males was 340 (36.6%) and 588 females (63.4%). The mandibular canal course, as shown in the panoramic radiographs, was classified into four types: elliptical, linear, turning curves and spoon-shaped. The visibility of this canal from the first to the third molar region was assessed through visual determination of whether the lower canal was clearly visible, possibly visible, or invisible. Results:   Elliptical curves were the most observed along the mandibular canal course at 62.2% of the total, followed by the linear curve (24.8%) while the lower rate curve spoon (7.9%) and the turning curve (5.2%). There were no statistically considerable differences between the distribution of the mandibular canal courses between males and females except in the spoon curve where the ratio was 10.8% in males versus 6.1% in females (p <0.05). The percentage of clearly visible mandibular canals was the highest among the spoon-shaped curves (49.9% in the first molar, 63% in the second, 78.1% in the third molar) and the lowest among the linear curves (10.9% in the first, 18.7% in the second and 33.5% in the third molar). On panoramic radiographs, the invisible mandibular canals are found in 198 (21.3%) of the examined sites in the first molar region, in 85 (11%) in the second molar region, and in only 6 (0.64%) in the third molar region. Conclusion:  It was observed that elliptical curves along the path of the mandibular canal were the most present, while a decrease in the ratio of the two types of spoon curve and turning curve was observed. It was found that spoon curve was significantly more common among males than females. It was also found that the visibility of  madibular canal is fewer in the first molar region than in the third molar region.                Peer Review History: Received: 21 September 2020; Revised: 8 October; Accepted: 29 October, Available online: 15 November 2020 Academic Editor: Dr. Sally A. El-Zahaby, Pharos University in Alexandria, Egypt, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Sunita Singh, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA, [email protected] Dr. Ali Abdullah A. Al-Mehdar, Thamar University, Yemen,  [email protected] Similar Articles: BIOFILM FORMATION AND ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF UROPATHOGENS IN PATIENTS WITH CATHETER ASSOCIATED URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN IBB CITY -YEME

    PREVALENCE OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS IN DENTAL INFECTIONS AND THE OCCURRENCE OF MRSA IN ISOLATES

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    Objectives:  Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunist that causes systemic infections and dental infections in the human being body. This organism increases its resistance to many categories of antibiotics all day and turn out to be more resistant, and this led to a growing feeling of concern in this era. Given this fact, the aims of this study were to determine the frequency of S. aureus in oral infections and to determine the prevalence of MRSA strains and the sensitivity of isolated S. aureus to antibiotics, in patients who attended dental clinics in major public hospitals and private clinics in the city of Sana'a-Yemen. Subjects and methods:  The study was conducted for a year, early in December 2018 and ending in November 2019. The study included 296 patients, 153 male and 143 female, ages 5 to 65, with an average age of 36.2 years. Demographic and clinical data were collected in questionnaire, then pus or oral swabs were collected from patients, cultivated, isolated and identified by standard laboratory techniques. MRSA was ascertained by means of the method of disc diffusion to 1µg of oxicillin disc and 5 µg of methacillin disc; an antimicrobial sensitivity test was carried out by disc diffusion method of selected antibiotics.The oral  infections include  dental abscesses,  periodontal abscesses, gingivitis, periodentitis, dental caries,  pulpitis and oral thrush. Results:  Of a total of 296 cultured pus and swabs, only 217 produced a positive culture (73.3%). Gram-positive bacteria formed 67.4% of the total isolates where S. aureus was the predominant pathogen (43.1%).  The prevalence of MRSA was 23.5%. There was a higher rate of antibiotic resistance tested in MRSA isolates compared to a lower rate of resistance in MSSA as well as 22.2% of MRSA isolates were vancomycin resistant, while only 11.4% of MSSA were vancomycin resistant. Conclusion:  It can be concluded, S. aureus was the most widespread isolate in dental infections, high rate of  MRSA,  the appearance of S. aureus isolates resistant to vancomycin and other broad choice of antibiotics have raised MRSA in oral infections into a multi-drug-resistant, making it more and more hazardous in oral infections. Consistent assessment of oral associated infections and observing the pattern of antibiotic sensitivity and strict drug policy for antibiotics are recommended.                        Peer Review History: Received 16 April 2020; Revised 2 May; Accepted 12 May, Available online 15 May 2020 Academic Editor:Ahmad Najib, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Makassar, Indonesia, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Mohamed Awad Mousnad, Faculty of Pharmacy, International University of Africa (IUA), Khartoum, Sudan, [email protected] Dr. George Zhu, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, [email protected] Similar Articles: PREVALENCE OF METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA) AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERNS AT A PRIVATE HOSPITAL IN SANA'A, YEMEN PREVALENCE, ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN AND RISK FACTORS OF MRSA ISOLATED FROM CLINICAL SPECIMENS AMONG MILITARY PATIENTS AT 48 MEDICAL COMPOUND IN SANA'A CITY-YEME

    Characterization of greater middle eastern genetic variation for enhanced disease gene discovery

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    The Greater Middle East (GME) has been a central hub of human migration and population admixture. The tradition of consanguinity, variably practiced in the Persian Gulf region, North Africa, and Central Asia1-3, has resulted in an elevated burden of recessive disease4. Here we generated a whole-exome GME variome from 1,111 unrelated subjects. We detected substantial diversity and admixture in continental and subregional populations, corresponding to several ancient founder populations with little evidence of bottlenecks. Measured consanguinity rates were an order of magnitude above those in other sampled populations, and the GME population exhibited an increased burden of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) but showed no evidence for reduced burden of deleterious variation due to classically theorized ‘genetic purging’. Applying this database to unsolved recessive conditions in the GME population reduced the number of potential disease-causing variants by four- to sevenfold. These results show variegated genetic architecture in GME populations and support future human genetic discoveries in Mendelian and population genetics

    Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

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    BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112
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