Herbicidal effects of aqueous extracts of three Chenopodium species on Avena fatua

Herbicidal effects of aqueous leaf extracts of three Chenopodium species; Chenopodium album L., Chenopodium murale L. and Chenopodium ambrosioides were evaluated on wild oat (Avena fatua L.), one of the problematic weeds of wheat. Among the aqueous extracts of 0, 2, 4 and 6% (w/v) employed in bioassays, 6% of C. album and 2% of C. murale caused significant inhibition in germination of A. fatua resulting in 66 and 34% decline in germination, respectively. Lower concentration of 2% of all the three Chenopodium species enhanced seedling growth of A. fatua. The highest extract concentration of C. album (6%) markedly suppressed both length and biomass of shoot of test weed species. The highest herbicidal effect was exhibited by 6% C. album leaf extract, resulting in 88, 89, 70 and 92% reduction in maximum and total root length, number of roots and root biomass, respectively. This study concludes that the aqueous leaf extracts of C. album contain herbicidal constituents for the management of A. fatua.Key words: Aqueous extracts, Avena fatua, Chenopodium, natural herbicides

Sepsis-induced long-term immune paralysis – results of a descriptive, explorative study

Background: Long-lasting impairment of the immune system is believed to be the underlying reason for delayed deaths after surviving sepsis. We tested the hypothesis of persisting changes to the immune system in survivors of sepsis for the first time. Methods: In our prospective, cross-sectional pilot study, eight former patients who survived catecholamine-dependent sepsis and eight control individuals matched for age, sex, diabetes and renal insufficiency were enrolled. Each participant completed a questionnaire concerning morbidities, medications and infection history. Peripheral blood was collected for determination of i) immune cell subsets (CD4+, CD8+ T cells; CD25+ CD127- regulatory T cells; CD14+ monocytes), ii) cell surface receptor expression (PD-1, BTLA, TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, Dectin-1, PD-1 L), iii) HLA-DR expression, and iv) cytokine secretion (IL-6, IL10, TNF-α, IFN-γ) of whole blood stimulated with either α-CD3/28, LPS or zymosan. Results: After surviving sepsis, former patients presented with increased numbers of clinical apparent infections, including those typically associated with an impaired immune system. Standard inflammatory markers indicated a low-level inflammatory situation in former sepsis patients. CD8+ cell surface receptor as well as monocytic HLA-DR density measurements showed no major differences between the groups, while CD4+ T cells tended towards two opposed mechanisms of negative immune cell regulation via PD-1 and BTLA. Moreover, the post-sepsis group showed alterations in monocyte surface expression of distinct pattern recognition receptors; most pronouncedly seen in a decrease of TLR5 expression. Cytokine secretion in response to important activators of both the innate (LPS, zymosan) and the adaptive immune system (α-CD3/28) seemed to be weakened in former septic patients. Conclusions: Cytokine secretion as a reaction to different activators of the immune system seemed to be comprehensively impaired in survivors of sepsis. Among others, this could be based on trends in the downregulation of distinct cell surface receptors. Based on our results, the conduct of larger validation studies seems feasible, aiming to characterize alterations and to find potential therapeutic targets to engage

CFD ANALYSES OF THE TN-24P PWR SPENT FUEL STORAGE CASK

ABSTRACT Dry storage casks are used to store spent nuclear fuel after removal from the reactor spent fuel pool. Even prior to the Fukushima earthquake of March 2011, dry storage of spent fuel was receiving increased attention as many reactor spent fuel pools near their capacity. Many different types of cask designs are used, and one representative design is the TN-24P spent fuel cask, a nonventilated steel cask with a shielded exterior shell and lid. The cask is typically filled with an inert gas such as helium, argon or nitrogen. In this paper, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculation results for the thermal performance of the TN-24P cask using the commercial CFD software STAR-CCM+ are presented. Initial calculations employ a common approach of treating the fuel assemblies as conducting porous media with calibrated volume-averaged properties, and comparison to existing measured temperature data shows good agreement. One of the fuel assemblies is then replaced with a more accurate representation that includes the full geometric detail of the fuel rods, guide tubes, spacer grids and end fittings (flow nozzles), and the results shown are consistent with the initial analysis, but without the need for the assumptions inherent in the porous media approach. This hybrid modeling approach also permits the direct determination of important results, such as the precise location of peak fuel cladding temperatures (PCTs), which is not possible using the more traditional porous media approach

Academic training in oral and maxillofacial surgery - when and how to enter the pathway

Entering into surgical academia can seem a daunting prospect for an oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) trainee. However, the streamlining of academic training by the NIHR to create the integrated academic training (IAT) pathway has simplified academic training and more clearly defined academic positions and entry points for trainees. In this article we review the current NIHR IAT pathway and the various grades and entry points available to OMF surgeons, both pre- and post-doctoral. We highlight the unique challenges facing OMF trainees and provide advice and insight from both junior and senior OMFS academics. Finally, we focus on the planning and application for a doctoral research fellowship - discussing funding streams available to OMF surgeons

Effect of IoT capabilities and energy consumption behavior on green supply chain integration

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the next generation of internet-connected information communication technologies (ICT). IoT typically integrates supply chain activities to enhance green supply chain performance (GSCP). Since every organization has different IoT capabilities in comparison with other organizations, GSCP can enable supply chain integration activities for enhanced performance. The implementation of an IoT system can reduce the consumption of organizational resources like energy, electricity, and time and can increase the operational speed to gain better logistics and, ultimately, improved supply chain performance. This study has developed and empirically tested the relationship between IoT capabilities, energy consumption behavior (ECB), supply chain integration, green training (GT), and supply chain practices. Such a multidisciplinary relationship has not previously been established in the literature. The proposed study can fulfill the literature gap and opens new horizons for interdisciplinary research. Data used in this study are collected through offline and online survey methods. A total number of 250 out of 400 respondents participated in the survey. Data has been analyzed through partial least square-structure equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results of this study empirically test the developed model. IoT has a positive effect on supplier integration (SI), and customer integration (CI). Furthermore, SI and CI have a mediating role between IoT and GSCP, and GT has a positive impact on GSCP. It is concluded that the implementation of IoT can integrate CI and SI to increase GSCP. GT and ECB can ultimately improve GSCP. Additionally, the use of technology and GT can motivate employees to save energy and protect the environment to increase GSCP

Swift Heavy Ion Induced Modification Studies of C60 Thin Films

Modification induced by 110 MeV Ni ion irradiated thin film samples of C60 on Si and quartz substrates were studied at various fluences. The pristine and irradiated samples were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, electrical conductivity and optical absorption spectroscopy. The Raman data and band gap measurements indicate that swift ions at low fluences result in formations that involve multiple molecular units like dimer or polymer. High fluence irradiation resulted in sub-molecular formations and amorphous semiconducting carbon, indicating overall damage of the fullerene molecules. These sub-molecular units have been identified with nanocrystalline diamond and nanocrystalline graphite like formations.Comment: 7 pages, 29 references and 9 figures submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Cabergoline therapy for macroprolactinoma during pregnancy: a case report.

Background: We assessed the safety of Cabergoline therapy during pregnancy in a lady with hyperprolactinemia intolerant to Bromocriptine. Case presentation: We report the case of a 31 year old lady who presented to us with uncontrolled hyperprolactinemia. A pituitary Macroadenoma was demonstrated by MRI. Due to intolerance to Bromocriptine, Cabergoline was started. The patient improved and subsequently conceived. MRI in the second trimester demonstrated further reduction in the tumor size. It was decided to continue Cabergoline throughout pregnancy to ensure further reduction in tumor size until delivery and to hold Cabergoline during postpartum period to allow for an adequate interval of breastfeeding. At 37 weeks of gestation, the patient delivered a healthy baby. Conclusion: We were able to safely treat macroprolactinemia in our patient during pregnancy with cabergoline. This case report contributes to the relatively meager data available which advocates the safety of cabergoline therapy in pregnant hyperprolactinemic patients