Boxicity of graphs on surfaces

The boxicity of a graph $G=(V,E)$ is the least integer $k$ for which there exist $k$ interval graphs $G_i=(V,E_i)$, $1 \le i \le k$, such that $E=E_1 \cap ... \cap E_k$. Scheinerman proved in 1984 that outerplanar graphs have boxicity at most two and Thomassen proved in 1986 that planar graphs have boxicity at most three. In this note we prove that the boxicity of toroidal graphs is at most 7, and that the boxicity of graphs embeddable in a surface $\Sigma$ of genus $g$ is at most $5g+3$. This result yields improved bounds on the dimension of the adjacency poset of graphs on surfaces.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Biodiesel production from waste soybean oil biomass as renewable energy and environmental recycled process

Alternative fuel is currently an important issue all over the world due to the efforts on reducing global warming which is contributed by the combustion of petroleum or petrol diesel. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable, produced from renewable sources and contributes a minimal amount of net green house gases, such as CO2, SO2 and NO emissions to the atmosphere. The study was carried out to produce biodiesel from waste/recycled oils to reduce the cost of biodiesel, waste and pollution. Some important variables such as volumetric ratio, types of reactants and catalytic activities were selected to obtain a high quality biodiesel fuel within the specifications of the American Standard for Biodiesel TestingMethod (ASTM D 6751) and European Norm (EN 14214). The highest biodiesel yield was obtained (71.2%) under the conditions of 1:1 volumetric oil-to-methanol weight ratio, 0.5% NaOH catalyst at 50°Creaction temperature and 320 rpm stirring speed. The results showed that biodiesel produced from different oil to methanol ratios, alcohol types and shaking time exhibited considerable differences. There was also a considerable difference of biodiesel yield produced by using methanol, ethanol and 1- butanol. The biodiesel yield increased in the order of 1-butanol < ethanol <methanol. There was a little difference in viscosity, acid value and chemical elements (Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, P etc.) at different parameters. The research showed that biodiesel obtained under optimum conditions from completely waste oil was of good quality and could be used as a diesel fuel which is considered as potential use of waste cookingoil. In addition, bioenergy could be renewed and environmental recycling process could be maintained potentially using waste soybean cooking oil

Diagnostic pitfalls of urogenital tuberculosis

Objectives: To describe characteristics, details of diagnosis and outcomes of urogenital tuberculosis (UGTB) in a low-prevalence country. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of 37 consecutive patients diagnosed with UGTB between 1st January 2014 and 31st October 2019 in an East London hospital. Results: 68% (25/37) of patients were male and the median age was 42 years (IQR 34–55). 89% (33/37) of patients were born outside the United Kingdom with 65% (24/37) born in the South Asian region. Renal (32.4%), epididymal (24.3%) and endometrial TB (21.6%) were the most prevalent forms of UGTB. Only 13.5% of UGTB patients had concurrent pulmonary TB. The median length of time from symptom onset to treatment was 163 days, while endometrial TB had an average delay to diagnosis of 564 days. Approximately half of patients with UGTB were culture positive (51.4%). However, 70% of early morning urines (EMUs) sent in urinary TB were culture positive. 11 patients (30.6%) underwent two or more invasive procedures, such as biopsy to obtain specimen samples. The mean treatment length for all UGTB cases was 7.3 months (SD 3.1). Notably, 25% of patients with endometrial TB required surgery despite antituberculous treatment. Conclusions: UGTB is challenging to diagnose as early disease is often asymptomatic. Clinicians faced with non-specific symptoms, or features suggestive of urogenital malignancy amongst patients from TB-endemic areas, should maintain a high suspicion of UGTB

Exploring combined stress incited disease dynamics of chickpea x dry root rot interation

Dry root rot (DRR) of chickpea caused by Rhizoctonia bataticola (Rb) has become an emerging threat to chickpea production. Under field conditions, the disease becomes highly aggressive, coincides with higher temperatures and decrease in soil moisture content (SMC). Thus establishing a sound relation between various climatic factors and DRR is necessary to design a rational strategy for combating this disease. Hence, the present study aims to quantify the roles of temperature, soil moisture and Rb as combined stress for causing infection and subsequent disease progression in chickpea. The results proved that a significant relationship exists between the biotic and abiotic elements in predisposing chickpea to DRR. Out of two temperatures (25°C and 35°C) and two soil moisture content (60% and 80% SMC) tested, the combination of high temperature (35°C) and low SMC (60%) was successful in inciting early disease symptoms in the chickpea cultivars tested. The disease severity based on percent susceptibility index (derived from modified 0-9 rating scale) and percent loss in root biomass also provided similar insights, where plants grown under the above combination displayed higher degree of root rot than the combination of low temperature (25°C) and high SMC (80%). A high positive correlation was observed between disease severity, temperature at 35°C and SMC at 60%, whereas, a negative correlation was realized for temperature at 25°C and SMC at80%. Results of the real-time qPCR based absolute quantification for fungal propagules present in the root tissues sampled at different time points also corroborated with the above finding

Prevalence of Eye Diseases of Cattle in Bihar, India

The Bihar state of India is having 12.56 million of cattle population and about 15.73% crossbred animals. But, poor management and harsh weather condition make animals vulnerable to various eye diseases. The present investigation was carried out in different districts of Bihar to find the incidences of eye ailments of cattle irrespective of age, breed, sex, season and types of diseases that causes a great economic loss to the farmers. Out of 2832 surveyed animals 15.22% animals were found to be sufferer of various eye diseases. Among the eye ailments 8.93% were corneal opacity, 2.01% Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis, 1.91% corneal ulcers, 0.81% cataracts, 0.67% glaucoma, 0.46% staphyloma, 0.25% micro cornea and 0.18% were corneal dermoid. Statistical analyses revealed that there were significant (P<0.01)differences among breeds, sexes, age groups and seasons with respect to the occurrence of eye diseases. The crossbred animals (17.74%) were found to be more susceptible than the zebu cattle (13.45%). The male animals (20.96%) and younger age groups (19.00%) found to be more sufferers than the female (12.08%) and adult animals (13.33%). Seasonal variation with the highest incidences in pre–monsoon (4.66%), followed by monsoon (3.57%), post–monsoon (3.53%) and lowest in winter (3.46%) months were noticed. Unilateral eye infections (13.67%) were more than the bilateral (1.55%). The eye diseases could be prevented through better management practices like housing, feeding and timely health care of animals. This record was migrated from the OpenDepot repository service in June, 2017 before shutting down

Torted and Ruptured Wandering Spleen Presenting as a Surgical Emergency in Pregnancy

Wandering spleen (WS) is characterised by incomplete fixation of the spleen to its supporting linorenal and gastrosplenic ligaments. It can predispose to life-threatening complications due to torsion of its vascular pedicle, splenic infarction, portal hypertension, and haemorrhage. A 27-year-old, 36-week prima gravida underwent emergency caesarean section for tachycardia and hypotension. A healthy baby girl was delivered. However, she remained shocked despite aggressive fluid therapy and intraoperatively it was noted that there was significant intraperitoneal bleeding and the on-call surgical team was summoned. Midline laparotomy revealed a lacerated, infarcted, hypermobile spleen found with free intraperitoneal bleeding. The unsalvageable spleen was resected and the patient went on to make an excellent recovery. The aetiology of WS is contentious. With an increased frequency among multiparous females of reproductive age, some suggest the hormonal effects of pregnancy as contributing factors. Clinical presentations range from an asymptomatic abdominal mass to acute abdominal pain with hypovolaemic shock. WS poses a serious threat to life due to thrombosis, bleeding, or infarction. Ultrasound scan and CT scan are equally effective in the diagnosis. Patients with asymptomatic WS should be treated with elective splenopexy, however, in the acute presentation, splenectomy is the procedure of choice