Classical open lumbar laminectomy and discectomy for disc herniations among manual labourers in India

Background: Lumbar disc herniations are most common at L4/5 and L5/S1 levels and this is most prevalent condition among manual laborers. The aim of the study to analyze the clinical presentation, age and sex distribution, immediate postoperative complications and long-term complications/recurrence of symptoms and to formulate recommendations to avoid complications and recurrence of symptoms.Methods: This is a retrospective study which includes 250 patients operated for lumbar disc herniations at L4/5 and L5/S1 levels. A detailed history of presenting complaints, clinical examination and corresponding findings on imaging are correlated. In all these patients, there was severe symptomatology with failed conservative management which necessitated classical open lumbar laminectomy and discectomy. These patients were followed for a period of 5 to 10 years.Results: Assessment of outcome was done using the modified Macnab criteria. The overall success rate was 96% in our series. Post operatively, 9.2% of them experienced localized low back pain which is mild to moderate and being treated with NSAIDS and exercises. 2.4% developed residual disc herniation or hypertrophic fibrotic scar at the operated site which needed surgical intervention. 2% developed spondylolysis and spondylolesthesis at the level of previous surgery, and 4.4% developed adjacent disc herniations.Conclusions: The overall success rate was 96% in our series. In addition to removal of herniated disc other compressing elements like hypertrophied Ligamentumflavum, facet arthropathy and narrowed spinal canal diameter are also addressed with open procedure. To prevent later complications, these patients are supposed to avoid strenuous work, lifting weights, torsion and jerky movements, faulty posture at work and rest, gait training, crouching, sitting on the floor and haunches

How Relevant is High-Cadence Earth Observation for Maize Crop Phenology Classification?

Crop phenology can be defined as the study of biological processes such as emergence, flowering, and senescence that are associated with and affected by environmental growing conditions. The ability to reliably detect crop phenology and its spatial-temporal variability is critical for farmers, policymakers, and government agencies, since it has implications for the entire food chain. Currently, two methods are the most used to report crop phenology. Land surface phenology provides insight into the overall trend, whereas USDA-NASS weekly reports provide insight into the development of specific crops at the regional level. High-cadence earth observations may be able to improve the accuracy of these estimations and bring more precise crop phenology classifications closer to what farmers need. The use of robust classifiers (e.g., random forest, RF) to manage large data sets is required to successfully achieve this goal. This study compared the output of an RF classifier model using weather, two different satellite sources (Planet Fusion; PF and Sentinel-2; S-2), and ground truth data to improve maize (Zea mays L.) crop phenology classification during the 2017 growing season in Kansas. Our findings indicate that high-cadence (PF) data can enhance crop classification metrics (f1-score = 0.94) as compared to S-2 (f1-score = 0.86). This study emphasizes the significance of very high temporal resolution (daily) earth observation data for agricultural crop monitoring and decision-making tools

Drought or/and Heat-Stress Effects on Seed Filling in Food Crops: Impacts on Functional Biochemistry, Seed Yields, and Nutritional Quality

Drought (water deficits) and heat (high temperatures) stress are the prime abiotic constraints, under the current and climate change scenario in future. Any further increase in the occurrence, and extremity of these stresses, either individually or in combination, would severely reduce the crop productivity and food security, globally. Although, they obstruct productivity at all crop growth stages, the extent of damage at reproductive phase of crop growth, mainly the seed filling phase, is critical and causes considerable yield losses. Drought and heat stress substantially affect the seed yields by reducing seed size and number, eventually affecting the commercial trait ‘100 seed weight’ and seed quality. Seed filling is influenced by various metabolic processes occurring in the leaves, especially production and translocation of photoassimilates, importing precursors for biosynthesis of seed reserves, minerals and other functional constituents. These processes are highly sensitive to drought and heat, due to involvement of array of diverse enzymes and transporters, located in the leaves and seeds. We highlight here the findings in various food crops showing how their seed composition is drastically impacted at various cellular levels due to drought and heat stresses, applied separately, or in combination. The combined stresses are extremely detrimental for seed yield and its quality, and thus need more attention. Understanding the precise target sites regulating seed filling events in leaves and seeds, and how they are affected by abiotic stresses, is imperative to enhance the seed quality. It is vital to know the physiological, biochemical and genetic mechanisms, which govern the various seed filling events under stress environments, to devise strategies to improve stress tolerance. Converging modern advances in physiology, biochemistry and biotechnology, especially the “omics” technologies might provide a strong impetus to research on this aspect. Such application, along with effective agronomic management system would pave the way in developing crop genotypes/varieties with improved productivity under drought and/or heat stresses