OPERATIONAL RESEARCH TOOLS IN IRRIGATION - A REVIEW

Operational research optimization is an old method for allocating scarce resources with maximum benefits and efficiency. With increasing global water scarcity, earliness and tiredness in demand base water supply, economical issues, maximizing crop per drop of water, OR is getting popular in irrigation and agriculture sector as well. This paper is intended to review different optimization techniques used so far in the field of irrigation.Key Words: Operation research, optimization, irrigation, water delivery, genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, fuzzy sets, swarm optimization

Redefining indications and evaluation of dissection versus diathermy method of tonsillectomy

The current availability of randomized clinical trials have assessed the efficacy of the most common presumed indications for tonsillectomy, but the controversery still exists So, the present study was conducted to assess (1) Whether tonsillectomy leads to any significant benefits as compared to watchful waiting (2) evaluating the two most commonly used techniques for tonsillectomy i.e; cold dissection & diathermy. 170 patients were included,104 were assigned to the surgical group (Group A) & 66 patients acted as control (Group B).The surgical group underwent tonsillectomy.The efficacy of tonsillectomy viz-a-viz chronic tonsillitis related morbidity, school absenteeism, & work absenteeism, Group A beta hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis, otitis media, Rhinosinusitis, obstructive sleep apnea & psoriasis was studied.The results of our study were as; Majority among children (7-15 years)& the mean age of adult population was 23.02 years.Tonsillectomy definitely provided benefit in case of chronic tonsillitis, mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea on polysomnographic findings where as the Patients who had been included in this study to redefine otitis media & rhinosinusitis as an indication for tonsillectomy did not benefit much when compared to the watchful waiting groupThe three most commonly used techniques of tonsillectomy i.e; cold steel using ties & packs, cold steel using monopolar diathermy for hemostasis & using monopolar diathermy exclusively were evaluated.The operating time was least for the diathermy alone method. The intraoperative blood loss was minimal for the monopolar diathermy method. The primary hemorrhage rate was maximum in technique of cold steel with ties & packs as hemostasis.The secondary hemorrhage rate was maximum in monopolar diathermy method. The postoperative pain measured by using the verbal rating scale was considerable after using monopolar diathermy alone with 33% complaining of severe pain & 67% complaining of moderate pain

A clinical study on association between hearing loss and inflammatory bowel disease in a population attending a hospital

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease usually presents with gastrointestinal stigmata of weight loss, anaemia, and rectal bleeding, but may exhibit prominent extra-intestinal manifestations also such as joint symptoms, skin signs and some other auto-immune manifestations. During the last few years many authors have reported serious complications of IBD manifesting in the Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) and influencing disease morbidity.Methods: Twenty four patients with active ulcerative colitis (mean age 45 years) were recruited prospectively along with 24 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Otoscopy, tympanometry and pure tone audiometry were performed. Otoscopy and tympanometry were normal in all patients and controls. Pure tone audiometry showed sensorineural hearing loss over all frequencies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and compared with controls. The otologic data including age of onset, family history of otologic problems, exposure to noise and audiometric findings were also reviewed.Results: Out of 48 patients with a history of IBD, 24 had documented SNHL, 17 of these patients had a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and 7 had Crohn’s disease. 22 patients had bilateral SNHL, and 2 patients had unilateral SNHL. Tinnitis were the most common associated aural complaint.Conclusion: Sensorineural hearing loss is very unusual finding, possibly of auto-immune aetiology. We recommend steroid or immunosuppressive therapy in such a patient. Evidence for an autoimmune basis for this condition is reviewed and the potential benefit of systemic corticosteroids emphasized.

COMPARISON OF OUTCOMES OF ENDOSCOPIC MICRODISCECTOMY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL DISCECTOMY FOR LUMBER DISC DISEASES

Introduction: Chronic lumbosacral pain is a communal and difficult clinical condition at the center of pain management. The most common surgical indication is back pain or intractable and severe functional impairment that does not respond to conservative measures. In this study we have compared the results of endoscopic d microdiscectomy and conventional discectomy procedure. Material and Methods: We included 54 patients with severe lower back pain who did not improve after long-term conservative treatment and who had level 3 disc prolapse, radiating to one or both lower limbs. Oswestry Disability Index (For Low Back Pain) was documented with questionnaire comeback and applied as a clinical tool for valuation. Results: The average age of the 54 patients was 46 years and 75% of patients have paracentral disc protrusion. The mean endoscopic microdiscectomy surgery time was 110 minutes; was longer than conventional discectomy (82 minutes). However, blood loss was very small compared to conventional discectomy. According to the ODI result, both conventional and endoscopic discectomy gave same outcomes in all classes. Conclusion: Endoscopic microdiscectomy is a new, effective and safe procedure that reduces the invasiveness of the surgical approach. The results obtained by this approach are comparable with those obtained with open discectomy to alleviate symptoms during prolonged observation, and because the tissue has minimal trauma, it is much better in early mobilization and morbidity

Digestive cellulose hydrolyzing enzyme activity (endo- β–1, 4- D-glucanase) in the gut and salivary glands of blister beetle, Mylabris pustulata

Abstract.-Mylabris pustulata (blister beetle) was studied for the enzymes involved in hydrolysis of cellulose. Carboxy methyl cellulose hydrolyzing activity (endo-β-1, 4-D-glucanase) was detected in the salivary glands and fore gut, very little activity was present in the hind gut. The multiple forms of the enzyme activity were detected on zymogram after non-denaturing PAGE. One of the fractions was purified by gel filtration and preparative native PAGE. The purified protein appeared as single band on SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight of 150 kilo Dalton. The characteristics of the enzyme showed two optimum pH values, one acidic and one neutral 2.0 and 7. The optimum temperature for endo-β -D-1, 4-glucanase was 50 °C. The enzyme was maximum activity against carboxy methyl cellulose. Km and Vmax of the enzyme was determined as 0.6g/l and 0.3, respectively. To our knowledge this is first report on the digestive cellulose hydrolyzing activity of Mylabris pustulata

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH TOOLS IN IRRIGATION - A REVIEW

Operational research optimization is an old method for allocating scarce resources with maximum benefits and efficiency. With increasing global water scarcity, earliness and tiredness in demand base water supply, economical issues, maximizing crop per drop of water, OR is getting popular in irrigation and agriculture sector as well. This paper is intended to review different optimization techniques used so far in the field of irrigation.Key Words: Operation research, optimization, irrigation, water delivery, genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, fuzzy sets, swarm optimization

Inhibitory effect of Polyram DF and Capsicum annum on leaf spot of rose caused by Curvularia lunata in vitro and in planta

Rose plants are affected by several diseases caused by fungi, nematode, bacteria, viruses, and other pests. Among all of these, Curvularia lunata causes significant losses to Roses. Present study was focused on In-vitro and In-vivo management of the “Curvularia leaf spot of Rose” caused by Curvularia lunata by using different fungicides and phyto-extracts. Diseased samples were collected from floriculture area of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad for isolation of pathogen. Five fungicides i.e., Cabrio-Top, Curzate-M, Aliette, Polyram-DF and Recado @ (50ppm, 100ppm and 150ppm) and five plant extracts i.e., Allium cepa, Capsicum annuum, Aloe vera, Menthaand Calotropis gigantean with three concentrations @ (5%, 10% and 15%) were evaluated under lab conditions through poisoned food technique by using Complete Randomized Design (CRD), where C. annuum gave best results (9.129mm) followed by Calotropis gigantea (13.003mm), and Polyram-DF was effective (2.218mm) followed by Curzate-M (6.542mm). Best performing fungicides and plant-extracts were subjected to In-vivo management trials. Under green-house conditions, combination of Capsicum annuum + Calotropis gigantean and Polyram-DF + Curzate-M were shown least disease incidence (14.517 and 3.224%). LSD was used for comparing variations between treatments at 5% probability. The results of these experiments were to aid in the evaluation of fungicides and Phyto-extracts, which are the most effective chemicals and phyto-extracts against leaf Spot disease of Rose

WASEF: Web Acceleration Solutions Evaluation Framework

The World Wide Web has become increasingly complex in recent years. This complexity severely affects users in the developing regions due to slow cellular data connectivity and usage of low-end smartphone devices. Existing solutions to simplify the Web are generally evaluated using several different metrics and settings, which hinders the comparison of these solutions against each other. Hence, it is difficult to select the appropriate solution for a specific context and use case. This paper presents Wasef, a framework that uses a comprehensive set of timing, saving, and quality metrics to evaluate and compare different web complexity solutions in a reproducible manner and under realistic settings. The framework integrates a set of existing state-of-the-art solutions and facilitates the addition of newer solutions down the line. Wasef first creates a cache of web pages by crawling both landing and internal ones. Each page in the cache is then passed through a web complexity solution to generate an optimized version of the page. Finally, each optimized version is evaluated in a consistent manner using a uniform environment and metrics. We demonstrate how the framework can be used to compare and contrast the performance characteristics of different web complexity solutions under realistic conditions. We also show that the accessibility to pages in developing regions can be significantly improved, by evaluating the top 100 global pages in the developed world against the top 100 pages in the lowest 50 developing countries. Results show a significant difference in terms of complexity and a potential benefit for our framework in improving web accessibility in these countries.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among nurses in Pakistan towards diabetic foot

Introduction: Diabetic foot ulcers are a pressing complication of diabetes mellitus. Wound care requires a significant proportion of healthcare resources. It is imperative, therefore, for healthcare professionals to possess sound knowledge of the disease along with a positive attitude to ensure better clinical practice. Our literature search revealed a scarcity of data pertaining to diabetic foot ulcers. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of nurses regarding diabetic foot care. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed, a pre-validated and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample size of 250 nurses working at two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. The study was conducted over a period of three months (January to March 2018) and included all nurses who possessed at least one year of clinical experience in diabetic ulcer care. The statistical software employed was SPSS version 19 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, US). Non-parametric tests and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis and statistical significance was assumed at a p-value of less than 0.5. Results: Only 54% of the nurses in our study possessed adequate knowledge of diabetic foot ulcers. The mean score of knowledge was 74.9 (±9.5). Macdonald’s standard criteria for learning outcomes was used to gauge the knowledge levels of our study population. Nurses performed best in the domain of ulcer care with 65.3% of the participants possessing good knowledge of the topic. The overall attitude of nurses towards patients with diabetic ulcers was positive. Conclusion: This study highlights important gaps in nurses’ knowledge and sheds light on the lack of evidence-based practice. Poor knowledge can compromise healthcare standards, even with the presence of positive attitudes. Hence, a comprehensive revision of nursing curricula across local tertiary hospitals for allowing nurses to update their knowledge is warrante

Physico-chemical, Microbiological Parameters and Adulteration in Processed Dairy Products in Pakistan

Adulteration of dairy products with chemicals such as Caustic soda, Urea, Antibiotics and Microbiological contamination (high Total plate count, Coliform count and S. aureus) in processed dairy products samples constitute a potential public health hazard. A study was carried out to determine the microbiological quality and adulteration in various processed dairy products from various brands prevalent in the market.Samples of different dairy products including: (i) Yogurt, (ii) Cheese, (iii) Butter, (iv) Ice cream and v) Milk powder were collected from various places and processed in the laboratory for physic-chemical, microbiological and adultration analysis was carried out. (i)Yogurt samples from different Brands showed non-significant (P>0.05) difference in Total Plate Count (TPC), Coliform Count (CC) whereas significant (P<0.05) difference was observed in Streptococcus aureus Count (SAC), (ii) Cheese samples showed non-significant (P>0.05) difference in TPC whereas significant (P<0.05) difference was observed in SAC, (iii) Butter samples showed significant (P<0.05) difference in TPC, CC and SAC, (iv) Ice cream samples showed significant (P<0.05) difference in TPC, CC and SAC; and (v) Milk powder from various brands showed non-significant (P>0.05) difference in CC and SAC. All dairy products were negative for chemical adulterants tests i.e. urea, formaldehyde, neutralizers, starch, boric acid, quaternary ammonium compounds, while H2O2 was slightly positive in yogurt, milk powder and Ice cream samples of different brands. It is concluded that the dairy product in the market are safe from adulterants. Further butter and ice cream are showing a significant TPC, CC, and SAC.