Effect of NaCl Salinity on Growth and Mineral Composition of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd.

Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. is a fruit tree species growing wild in arid and semi-arid areas of Asia and Africa where rural populations intensively use its fruits, leaves, bark and wood. However, little is known about the effects of salinity, a widespread problem in these regions, on early growth and mineral composition of this species. This study was conducted under controlled conditions to contribute to filling this gap. Six weeks old seedlings of Z. spina-christi germinated in a full strength Hoagland solution were subjected to 0, 40, 80 and 160 mM NaCl. Compared to the unstressed control salinity levels of 80 and 160 mM reduced plant height, leaf number, leaf chlorophyll, total leaf area and dry matter by 50%. Salinity levels of 40, 80 and 160 mM enhanced leaf water contents by 14, 16 and 17%, respectively and 160 mM NaCl raised the concentration of Na and Cl ions in leaf tissues 81- and 21-fold. The K/Na ratio, in contrast, was hardly affected by increasing salinity indicating adaptation or tolerance of Z. spina-christi to low or moderate NaCl salinity. These results suggest that Z. spina-christi could be an interesting species for re-vegetation of moderately degraded saline lands

Food and nutrition status of households with homegardens in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan

Sudan is one of the least developed countries and many people particularly in South Kordofan suffer from food insecurity. Food production from homegardens (HG) and wild collections are seen as key elements in strategies to overcome nutrient deficiencies. Food intake 24h-recalls were conducted to evaluate the status quo of households (HHs) and the contribution from four HG and wild collection during three seasons in Sama in South Kordofan, Sudan. Dietary diversity as well as nutrient intake was determined and food samples were taken. On average people consumed 16 food items belonging to eight food groups, which is adequate or higher than reported in other studies. Mean daily intake was 1438 kcal energy, 36 g protein, 182 μg vitamin A, 23 mg vitamin C, 9 mg iron and 5 mg zinc. This indicates a nutrient deficiency, especially in vitamins. Differences between traditional and commercial (marketoriented) HGs were small. Households which considered HGs to be important for their daily life had a better nutrient intake, but less diverse diet than those with a reduced importance of HGs. Thus the perceived importance of the HGs seemed to affect HH nutrition more than the level of their commercialization. In total twelve food items from HGs (mostly green leafy vegetables, high in vitamin A) and seven from the wild (mainly Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd, high in vitamin C) were used within the three weeks interview period. The results show the importance of the HG to HH´s nutrition and also indicate the importance of wild collection for the dietary status of HH in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan

A sampling method for detecting buried objects using electromagnetic scattering

We consider a simple (but fully three-dimensional) mathematical model for the electromagnetic exploration of buried, perfect electrically conducting objects within the soil underground. Moving an electric device parallel to the ground at constant height in order to generate a magnetic field, we measure the induced magnetic field within the device, and factor the underlying mathematics into a product of three operations which correspond to the primary excitation, some kind of reflection on the surface of the buried object(s) and the corresponding secondary excitation, respectively. Using this factorization we are able to give a justification of the so-called sampling method from inverse scattering theory for this particular set-up

Evaluation of Open Surgical and Endovascular Treatment Options for Visceral Artery Erosions after Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Surgery

Purpose: To report and compare the results of endovascular and open surgical treatment for erosion bleeding of visceral arteries following pancreatitis and pancreatic surgery. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 65 consecutive patients (46 males, mean age 63 +/- 14 years) presenting with visceral artery erosions between January 2011 and December 2020. Endpoints were technical success, freedom from reintervention, stent-graft-related complications, and 30-day and one-year mortality. Results: The causes of erosion bleeding included complications of surgical treatment for the pancreas and upper gastrointestinal tract (75%), pancreatitis (19%), and spontaneous bleeding (6%). Pancreatectomy was performed in 34 (52%) patients, representing 2% of all pancreatectomy procedures (n = 1645) performed in our hospital during the study period. A total of 37 (57%) patients underwent endovascular treatment (EVT), and 28 (43%) patients had open surgery (OS) as a primary treatment. Eight of 37 (22%) patients in the EVT group underwent stent-graft treatment of the eroded vessels and 28 (78%) coil embolization. Six (9%) patients underwent reintervention with no significant differences between EVT and OS groups (11% vs. 7%, p = 0.692). Postoperative morbidity and complications in 52% of all patients were higher in the OS group than in the EVT group (41% vs. 68%, p = 0.029). The in-hospital 30-days mortality rate for all patients was 25%, and it was higher in the OS group than in the EVT group (14% vs. 39%, p = 0.017). Conclusions: An endovascular-first strategy for treating visceral arteries erosions may be preferred to reduce the complications associated with open surgery if patients are hemodynamically stable and have no anastomotic insufficiency. Endovascular treatment may be associated with better in-hospital survival when compared to primary open surgery. Further studies are required to identify the optimal approach

Interventional Management of a Renal Cell Carcinoma by Radiofrequency Ablation with Tagging and Cooling

Over the last few years, percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation has been successfully established as a viable treatment modality for small peripheral renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This technique is limited by central tumor location and tumor size. We report the interventional management of a 5.3 cm mixed RCC with central and exophytic parts by combining the RF ablation with embolization, tagging, and retrograde, as well as anterograde cooling. The potential pitfalls of complex hybrid interventions for treating RCC are discussed

Equivalence of RABBITT and streaking delays in attosecond-time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy at solid surfaces

Gebauer A, Neb S, Enns W, Stadtmüller B, Aeschlimann M, Pfeiffer W. Equivalence of RABBITT and streaking delays in attosecond-time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy at solid surfaces. Applied Sciences. 2019;9(3): 592.The dynamics of the photoelectric effect in solid-state systems can be investigated via attosecond-time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. This article provides a comparison of delay information accessible by the two most important techniques, attosecond streaking spectroscopy and reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions (RABBITT) at solid surfaces, respectively. The analysis is based on simulated time-resolved photoemission spectra obtained by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in a single-active-electron approximation. We show a continuous transition from the few-cycle RABBITT regime to the streaking regime as two special cases of laser-assisted photoemission. The absolute delay times obtained by both methods agree with each other, within the uncertainty limits for kinetic energies >10 eV. Moreover, for kinetic energies >10 eV, both streaking delay time and RABBITT delay time coincide with the classical time of flight for an electron propagating from the emitter atom to the bulk-vacuum interface, with only small deviations of less than 4 as due to quantum mechanical interference effects

CT fluoroscopy‐guided pancreas transplant biopsies: a retrospective evaluation of predictors of complications and success rates

To identify predictors of biopsy success and complications in CT-guided pancreas transplant (PTX) core biopsy. We retrospectively identified all CT fluoroscopy-guided PTX biopsies performed at our institution (2000-2017) and included 187 biopsies in 99 patients. Potential predictors related to patient characteristics (age, gender, body mass index (BMI), PTX age, PTX volume) and procedure characteristics (biopsy depth, needle size, access path, number of samples, interventionalist's experience) were correlated with biopsy success (sufficient tissue for histologic diagnosis) and the occurrence of complications. Biopsy success (72.2%) was more likely to be obtained in men [+25.3% (10.9, 39.7)] and when the intervention was performed by an experienced interventionalist [+27.2% (8.1, 46.2)]. Complications (5.9%) occurred more frequently in patients with higher PTX age [OR: 1.014 (1.002, 1.026)] and when many (3-4) tissue samples were obtained [+8.7% (-2.3, 19.7)]. Multivariable regression analysis confirmed male gender [OR: 3.741 (1.736, 8.059)] and high experience [OR: 2.923 (1.255, 6.808)] (biopsy success) as well as older PTX age [OR: 1.019 (1.002, 1.035)] and obtaining many samples [OR: 4.880 (1.240, 19.203)] (complications) as independent predictors. Our results suggest that CT-guided PTX biopsy should be performed by an experienced interventionalist to achieve higher success rates, and not more than two tissue samples should be obtained to reduce complications. Caution is in order in patients with older transplants because of higher complication rates

Calixpyrroles, calixpyridinopyrroles and calixpyridines

The present invention provides calixpyrrole, calixpyridinopyrrole, and calixpyridine macrocycles, having 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 heterocyclic rings, as well as syntheses, derivatives, conjugates, multimers, and solid supports thereof. Such macrocycles have proved to be effective and selective ion- and neutral molecule-binding agents forming supramolecular ensembles, and ion- and neutral molecule-separation agents. The macrocycles are fully meso-non-hydrogen-substituted porphyrinogens, a few molecules of which were previously known but not recognized as possessing anion- or molecule-binding properties. The binding mode is noncovalent, primarily that of hydrogen-bonding, thereby providing a new mode for liquid chromatography, that of Hydrogen Bonding Liquid Chromatography. Further useful applications of the macrocycles provided herein include environmental remediation by removal of undesired ions or neutral molecules, and removal of phosphate for kidney dialysis.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

The MASCOT Magnetometer

The Mobile Asteroid Scout (MASCOT) is a small lander on board the Hayabusa2 mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. Among the instruments on MASCOT is a fluxgate magnetometer, the MASCOT Magnetometer (MasMag). The magnetometer is a lightweight ( ∼280 g∼280 g ) and low power ( ∼0.5 W∼0.5 W ) triaxial fluxgate magnetometer. Magnetic field measurements during the landing period and during the surface operational phase shall provide information about any intrinsic magnetic field of the asteroid and its remanent magnetization. This could provide important constraints on planet formation and the thermal and aqueous evolution of primitive asteroids.Thomas F. PetersonUnited States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Emerging Worlds Progra

Wirkungsanalyse bestehender Klimaschutzmaßnahmen und -programme sowie Identifizierung möglicher weiterer Maßnahmen eines Energie- und Klimaschutzprogramms der Bundesregierung

Eine Analyse der deutschen Energie- und Klimapolitik hat ergeben: Nur im Maßnahmenfeld "Ausbau der Erneuerbaren Energien im Strombereich" wird voraussichtlich das Ziel ereicht. Dagegen wird in allen anderen Maßnahmenfeldern das Ziel verfehlt oder es bestehen Wirkungsdefizite der eingesetzten Politikinstrumente. Das betrifft insbesondere die Energieeffizienz auf der Nachfrageseite, aber auch die Kraft-Wärme-Kopplung und Erneuerbare Energien-Wärme. Für die Maßnahmenfelder "Fluorierte Treibhausgase", "Industrieprozesse" und "Landwirtschaft" müssen überhaupt erst verbindliche Reduktionsziele festgelegt und Politikinstrumente eingeführt werden