A CROP WATERING SYSTEM BY PREDICTING SOIL MOISTURE

Within this paper, Raspberry Pi can be used being an embedded Linux board that is designed in line with the arm 11 microcontroller architecture. Embedded Linux board helps make the communication with all of distributed sensor nodes put into the farm through ZigBee protocol and itself behave as a coordinated node within the wireless sensor network. The ZigBee protocol can be used for wireless communication it'll create network easily and mixture of Arduino, Xbee and sensor produce a low power affordable sensor node. The Apache server crated on Raspberry Pi easily displaying the items in sensor data. Raspberry Pi stores collected data within the database and analyzes the stored data. The machine works based on the formula produced for watering the crop. The module includes, recognition probe, and sensor board. It's getting triple output mode, digital, analog, and serial with exact readings. More water contained in the soil helps make the soil conduct electrical current easier indicate less resistance, while dry soil getting less water conducts electricity poorly indicate more resistance. The board comes with an Ethernet interface and runs the straightforward data server. The aim of coordinator node would be to collect the parameters like soil moisture and soil temperature wirelessly. Each sensor node includes soil moisture and soil temperature sensor and something ZigBee RF antenna device for communication using the coordinator node

ANAESTHETIC MANAGEMENT OF A PATIENT WITH PREVIOUS LOBECTOMY POSTED FOR EMERGENCY MODIFIED RADICAL MASTOIDECTOMY

Pulmonary disease can be considered as a risk factor for several respiratory complications occurring during the perioperative period. Here we present a case of a middle-aged man who underwent modified radical mastoidectomy 23 y after left-sided lobectomy in order to illustrate the salient anesthetic considerations of this scenario.Keywords: Lobectomy, Mastoidectomy, Anaesthesia

PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY STUDIES OF ANNONA SQUAMOSA FRUIT

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of lyophilized powder of Annona squamosa fruit. Phytochemical screening was carried out to detect the presence of major phytoconstituents. Methods: Annona squamosa fruit pulps were lyophilized and made into powder, which was diluted with 0.1% DMF. This extract was tested against gram positive and gram negative bacteria employing Agar well diffusion method. Results: The results showed that fruit extract possess antimicrobial activity against microbial isolates. The antibacterial activity increased with increase in mass of fruit extract, which was evidenced through zone of inhibition. The fruit extract showed significant activity when compared with standard positive antibiotic viz. Chloramphenicol (10 µg /disc). The preliminary phytochemical screening tests confirmed the presence of compounds such as alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins and glycosides as major constituents. Conclusion: Based on the results it is concluded that Annona squamosa has good antimicrobial activity against human pathogens and is also rich in phytochemical constituents

Jhaya and Bariya: A Case in the Early BrÁhmÍ Inscriptions of Sri Lanka

Jhaya and bariya are two terms in early BrÁhmÍ inscriptions in Sri Lanka that had been used to denote the next of kin of privileged persons. Its prestigious usage suggests that the duality was not a hasty expression. Present variation does not correspond to any geographical or linguistic anomaly notably the differences held in the syntactic morphology of the contemporary language. In the perspective of social semiotics, it could be argued that the regular occurrence of this inconsistency may signify a sensible disparity corresponding to the contemporary social fabric. Theory of social semiotics considered as the ‘codes’ of language and communication are formed by social processes shaped by relations of power. Therefore giving a meaning is a social practice. This essay attempts to investigate the probable social circumstances which resulted in this duality of lexicon in the early BrÁhmÍ inscriptions in Sri Lanka.Key words: social semiotics, historical linguistics, social archaeolog

Predicting role of mindfulness and procrastination on psychological well-being among university students in Malaysia

This study aimed to investigate the predicting role of mindfulness and procrastination on psychological well-being among university students. A total of 449 university students from both public and private universities were recruited using convenience sampling method. This quantitative correlational research used Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) to measure mindfulness whereas General Procrastination Scalewas used to measure procrastination. Psychological well-being, the dependent variable, was tested using the Ryff’s Scale of Psychological Well-being. The study showed a significant relationship between mindfulness, procrastination and psychological well-being among university students. Besides, the results also revealed that procrastination was the strongest predict or of students’ psychological well-being. The findings of this study may be beneficial to practitioners, universities, parents and individuals in order to further comprehend the current status of psychological well-being among university students. Programs and implementations should endorse the circumstance that certain form of procrastination indeed enhances performance and well-being of students

Preclinical assessment of ulixertinib, a novel ERK1/2 inhibitor

Ulixertinib (BVD-523) is a novel and selective reversible inhibitor of ERK1/ERK2. In xenograft studies it inhibited tumor growth in BRAF-mutant melanoma and colorectal xenografts as well as KRAS-mutant colorectal and pancreatic models. Ulixertinib is currently in Phase I clinical development for the treatment of advance solid tumors. The objective of the study is to assess the metabolic stability (in various pre-clinical and human liver microsomes/hepatocytes), permeability, protein binding, CYP inhibition, CYP induction and CYP phenotyping of ulixertinib. We have also studied the oral and intravenous pharmacokinetics of ulixertinib in mice, rats and dogs. Ulixertinib was found to be moderately to highly stable in various liver microsomes/hepatocytes tested. It is a medium permeable (2.67 x 10-6 cm /sec) drug and a substrate for efflux (efflux ratio: 3.02) in Caco-2 model. Ulixertinib was highly bound to plasma proteins. CYPs involved in its limited metabolism and it is CYP inhibition IC50 ranged between 10-20 μM. Post oral administration ulixertinib exhibited early Tmax (0.50-0.75 h) in mice and rats indicating absorption was rapid, however in dogs Tmax attained at 2 h. The half-life (t½) of ulixertinib by intravenous and oral routes ranged between 1.0-2.5 h across the species. Clearance and volume of distribution by intravenous route for ulixertinib were found to be 6.24 mL/min/kg and 0.56 L/kg; 1.67 mL/min/kg and 0.36 L/kg and 15.5 mL/min/kg and 1.61 L/kg in mice, rats and dogs, respectively. Absolute oral bioavailability in mice and rats was > 92 %, however in dogs it was 34 %

Preclinical assessment of ulixertinib, a novel ERK1/2 inhibitor

Ulixertinib (BVD-523) is a novel and selective reversible inhibitor of ERK1/ERK2. In xenograft studies it inhibited tumor growth in BRAF-mutant melanoma and colorectal xenografts as well as KRAS-mutant colorectal and pancreatic models. Ulixertinib is currently in Phase I clinical development for the treatment of advance solid tumors. The objective of the study is to assess the metabolic stability (in various pre-clinical and human liver microsomes/hepatocytes), permeability, protein binding, CYP inhibition, CYP induction and CYP phenotyping of ulixertinib. We have also studied the oral and intravenous pharmacokinetics of ulixertinib in mice, rats and dogs. Ulixertinib was found to be moderately to highly stable in various liver microsomes/hepatocytes tested. It is a medium permeable (2.67 x 10-6 cm /sec) drug and a substrate for efflux (efflux ratio: 3.02) in Caco-2 model. Ulixertinib was highly bound to plasma proteins. CYPs involved in its limited metabolism and it is CYP inhibition IC50 ranged between 10-20 µM. Post oral administration ulixertinib exhibited early Tmax (0.50-0.75 h) in mice and rats indicating absorption was rapid, however in dogs Tmax attained at 2 h. The half-life (t½) of ulixertinib by intravenous and oral routes ranged between 1.0-2.5 h across the species. Clearance and volume of distribution by intravenous route for ulixertinib were found to be 6.24 mL/min/kg and 0.56 L/kg; 1.67 mL/min/kg and 0.36 L/kg and 15.5 mL/min/kg and 1.61 L/kg in mice, rats and dogs, respectively. Absolute oral bioavailability in mice and rats was > 92 %, however in dogs it was 34 %

Gene expression profiling of mucinous ovarian tumors and comparison with upper and lower gastrointestinal tumors identifies markers associated with adverse outcomes.

PURPOSE: Advanced-stage mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) has poor chemotherapy response and prognosis and lacks biomarkers to aid stage I adjuvant treatment. Differentiating primary MOC from gastrointestinal (GI) metastases to the ovary is also challenging due to phenotypic similarities. Clinicopathologic and gene-expression data were analyzed to identify prognostic and diagnostic features. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Discovery analyses selected 19 genes with prognostic/diagnostic potential. Validation was performed through the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium and GI cancer biobanks comprising 604 patients with MOC (n = 333), mucinous borderline ovarian tumors (MBOT, n = 151), and upper GI (n = 65) and lower GI tumors (n = 55). RESULTS: Infiltrative pattern of invasion was associated with decreased overall survival (OS) within 2 years from diagnosis, compared with expansile pattern in stage I MOC [hazard ratio (HR), 2.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–7.41, P = 0.042]. Increased expression of THBS2 and TAGLN was associated with shorter OS in MOC patients (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.51, P = 0.016) and (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.01–1.45, P = 0.043), respectively. ERBB2 (HER2) amplification or high mRNA expression was evident in 64 of 243 (26%) of MOCs, but only 8 of 243 (3%) were also infiltrative (4/39, 10%) or stage III/IV (4/31, 13%). CONCLUSIONS: An infiltrative growth pattern infers poor prognosis within 2 years from diagnosis and may help select stage I patients for adjuvant therapy. High expression of THBS2 and TAGLN in MOC confers an adverse prognosis and is upregulated in the infiltrative subtype, which warrants further investigation. Anti-HER2 therapy should be investigated in a subset of patients. MOC samples clustered with upper GI, yet markers to differentiate these entities remain elusive, suggesting similar underlying biology and shared treatment strategies

Measuring universal health coverage based on an index of effective coverage of health services in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019 : A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Measuring effective coverage at the health-system level is important for understanding whether health services are aligned with countries' health profiles and are of sufficient quality to produce health gains for populations of all ages. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we assessed UHC effective coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Drawing from a measurement framework developed through WHO's GPW13 consultation, we mapped 23 effective coverage indicators to a matrix representing health service types (eg, promotion, prevention, and treatment) and five population-age groups spanning from reproductive and newborn to older adults (≥65 years). Effective coverage indicators were based on intervention coverage or outcome-based measures such as mortality-to-incidence ratios to approximate access to quality care; outcome-based measures were transformed to values on a scale of 0–100 based on the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile of location-year values. We constructed the UHC effective coverage index by weighting each effective coverage indicator relative to its associated potential health gains, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years for each location-year and population-age group. For three tests of validity (content, known-groups, and convergent), UHC effective coverage index performance was generally better than that of other UHC service coverage indices from WHO (ie, the current metric for SDG indicator 3.8.1 on UHC service coverage), the World Bank, and GBD 2017. We quantified frontiers of UHC effective coverage performance on the basis of pooled health spending per capita, representing UHC effective coverage index levels achieved in 2019 relative to country-level government health spending, prepaid private expenditures, and development assistance for health. To assess current trajectories towards the GPW13 UHC billion target—1 billion more people benefiting from UHC by 2023—we estimated additional population equivalents with UHC effective coverage from 2018 to 2023. Findings Globally, performance on the UHC effective coverage index improved from 45·8 (95% uncertainty interval 44·2–47·5) in 1990 to 60·3 (58·7–61·9) in 2019, yet country-level UHC effective coverage in 2019 still spanned from 95 or higher in Japan and Iceland to lower than 25 in Somalia and the Central African Republic. Since 2010, sub-Saharan Africa showed accelerated gains on the UHC effective coverage index (at an average increase of 2·6% [1·9–3·3] per year up to 2019); by contrast, most other GBD super-regions had slowed rates of progress in 2010–2019 relative to 1990–2010. Many countries showed lagging performance on effective coverage indicators for non-communicable diseases relative to those for communicable diseases and maternal and child health, despite non-communicable diseases accounting for a greater proportion of potential health gains in 2019, suggesting that many health systems are not keeping pace with the rising non-communicable disease burden and associated population health needs. In 2019, the UHC effective coverage index was associated with pooled health spending per capita (r=0·79), although countries across the development spectrum had much lower UHC effective coverage than is potentially achievable relative to their health spending. Under maximum efficiency of translating health spending into UHC effective coverage performance, countries would need to reach $1398 pooled health spending per capita (US$ adjusted for purchasing power parity) in order to achieve 80 on the UHC effective coverage index. From 2018 to 2023, an estimated 388·9 million (358·6–421·3) more population equivalents would have UHC effective coverage, falling well short of the GPW13 target of 1 billion more people benefiting from UHC during this time. Current projections point to an estimated 3·1 billion (3·0–3·2) population equivalents still lacking UHC effective coverage in 2023, with nearly a third (968·1 million [903·5–1040·3]) residing in south Asia. Interpretation The present study demonstrates the utility of measuring effective coverage and its role in supporting improved health outcomes for all people—the ultimate goal of UHC and its achievement. Global ambitions to accelerate progress on UHC service coverage are increasingly unlikely unless concerted action on non-communicable diseases occurs and countries can better translate health spending into improved performance. Focusing on effective coverage and accounting for the world's evolving health needs lays the groundwork for better understanding how close—or how far—all populations are in benefiting from UHC

Measuring universal health coverage based on an index of effective coverage of health services in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Measuring effective coverage at the health-system level is important for understanding whether health services are aligned with countries' health profiles and are of sufficient quality to produce health gains for populations of all ages. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we assessed UHC effective coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Drawing from a measurement framework developed through WHO's GPW13 consultation, we mapped 23 effective coverage indicators to a matrix representing health service types (eg, promotion, prevention, and treatment) and five population-age groups spanning from reproductive and newborn to older adults (≥65 years). Effective coverage indicators were based on intervention coverage or outcome-based measures such as mortality-to-incidence ratios to approximate access to quality care; outcome-based measures were transformed to values on a scale of 0–100 based on the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile of location-year values. We constructed the UHC effective coverage index by weighting each effective coverage indicator relative to its associated potential health gains, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years for each location-year and population-age group. For three tests of validity (content, known-groups, and convergent), UHC effective coverage index performance was generally better than that of other UHC service coverage indices from WHO (ie, the current metric for SDG indicator 3.8.1 on UHC service coverage), the World Bank, and GBD 2017. We quantified frontiers of UHC effective coverage performance on the basis of pooled health spending per capita, representing UHC effective coverage index levels achieved in 2019 relative to country-level government health spending, prepaid private expenditures, and development assistance for health. To assess current trajectories towards the GPW13 UHC billion target—1 billion more people benefiting from UHC by 2023—we estimated additional population equivalents with UHC effective coverage from 2018 to 2023. Findings Globally, performance on the UHC effective coverage index improved from 45·8 (95% uncertainty interval 44·2–47·5) in 1990 to 60·3 (58·7–61·9) in 2019, yet country-level UHC effective coverage in 2019 still spanned from 95 or higher in Japan and Iceland to lower than 25 in Somalia and the Central African Republic. Since 2010, sub-Saharan Africa showed accelerated gains on the UHC effective coverage index (at an average increase of 2·6% [1·9–3·3] per year up to 2019); by contrast, most other GBD super-regions had slowed rates of progress in 2010–2019 relative to 1990–2010. Many countries showed lagging performance on effective coverage indicators for non-communicable diseases relative to those for communicable diseases and maternal and child health, despite non-communicable diseases accounting for a greater proportion of potential health gains in 2019, suggesting that many health systems are not keeping pace with the rising non-communicable disease burden and associated population health needs. In 2019, the UHC effective coverage index was associated with pooled health spending per capita (r=0·79), although countries across the development spectrum had much lower UHC effective coverage than is potentially achievable relative to their health spending. Under maximum efficiency of translating health spending into UHC effective coverage performance, countries would need to reach $1398 pooled health spending per capita (US$ adjusted for purchasing power parity) in order to achieve 80 on the UHC effective coverage index. From 2018 to 2023, an estimated 388·9 million (358·6–421·3) more population equivalents would have UHC effective coverage, falling well short of the GPW13 target of 1 billion more people benefiting from UHC during this time. Current projections point to an estimated 3·1 billion (3·0–3·2) population equivalents still lacking UHC effective coverage in 2023, with nearly a third (968·1 million [903·5–1040·3]) residing in south Asia. Interpretation The present study demonstrates the utility of measuring effective coverage and its role in supporting improved health outcomes for all people—the ultimate goal of UHC and its achievement. Global ambitions to accelerate progress on UHC service coverage are increasingly unlikely unless concerted action on non-communicable diseases occurs and countries can better translate health spending into improved performance. Focusing on effective coverage and accounting for the world's evolving health needs lays the groundwork for better understanding how close—or how far—all populations are in benefiting from UHC