High rates of early HBeAg seroconversion and relapse in Indian patients of chronic hepatitis B treated with Lamivudine: results of an open labeled trial

BACKGROUND: The use of Lamivudine in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is well known, however the reported rate of HBeAg sero-conversion and its durability post-treatment have varied considerably. We undertook the present study to study the effect of Lamivudine on HBeAg loss and seroconversion rates in Indian patients of CHB in relation to frequency, predictors and durability. METHODS: We treated 60 patients of e antigen positive CHB (with active viral replication and ongoing necro-inflammatory activity) with Lamivudine. They were followed up by monthly aminotransferases, and 3 monthly HBeAg and anti-HBe. Those who attained HBeAg sero-conversion were advised to discontinue Lamivudine after 6 months and followed up every 3 months thereafter, to see for relapse. Treatment was given for maximum of 3 years if not sero-converted. RESULTS: The annual incremental loss of HBeAg in patients receiving Lamivudine was 25 (41.6%) at end of 1(st )year, 33 (55%) at 2(nd )year and 35 (58.3%) at 3(rd )year. The corresponding rates for full sero-conversion were 17/60 (28.6%), 22/60 (36.6%) and 24/60 (40%) in the 3 years. HBeAg loss correlated with increased pre-therapy ALT levels (p = 0.002) and decreased pretreatment HBV-DNA levels (p = 0.004). The presence of cirrhosis had no influence on the rate of HBeAg loss. Relapse occurred in 35% (7/20) post-treatment at median time of 6 months. CONCLUSION: Indian patients showed a higher rate of HBeAg sero-conversion in the first year of Lamivudine treatment. This correlated with baseline ALT and inversely with HBV-DNA levels. Relapse rate after treatment was high and occurred soon after stopping treatment

Design and Characteristic Investigation of Novel Dual Stator Pseudo-Pole Five-Phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator for Wind Power Application

The main focus of this paper is to design and assess the characteristics investigation of Novel Dual Stator Pseudo-Pole Five Phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (NDSPPFP-PMSG) for wind power application. The proposed generator has a dual stator and two sets of five phase windings which enhance its power density and fault tolerant capability. The novelty of this generator is based on the fact that, eight magnetic poles are formed using only four poles of actual magnets on both the surfaces of the rotor. For the designing and optimal electromagnetic performance of the proposed generator, a Dynamic Magnetic Circuit Model (DMCM) is reported. To validate the results obtained from DMCM, Finite Element Method (FEM) has been opted owing to its high accuracy. For showing the performance superiority, the proposed generator is compared with two conventional generators namely, Dual Stator Embedded-Pole Five Phase (DSEPFP) and Single Stator Single Rotor Five Phase (SSSRFP) PMSG. To compare their performances, FEM results are considered. The electromagnetic performance namely, generated Electromotive Force(EMF), percentage(%) Total Harmonic Distortion(THD) of generated EMF, generated EMF vs speed, terminal voltage vs load current, electromagnetic torque developed on rotor vs time, %ripple content in the torque, and %efficiency vs load current are investigated for all the three generators. From these investigations, it is found that the power density (power to weight ratio) of the proposed generator is maximum.publishedVersio

Magnetic Flux Expulsion in Superconducting Radio-Frequency Niobium Cavities Made From Cold Worked Niobium

Trapped residual magnetic field during the cooldown of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities is one of the primary source of RF residual losses leading to lower quality factor. Historically, SRF cavities have been fabricated from high purity fine grain niobium with grain size ~50 - 100 μm as well as large grain with grain size of the order of few centimeters. Non-uniform recrystallization of fine-grain Nb cavities after the post fabrication heat treatment leads to higher flux trapping during cooldown, hence the lower quality factor. We fabricated two 1.3 GHz single cell cavities from cold-worked niobium from different vendors and processed along with cavities made from SRF grade Nb. The flux expulsion and flux trapping sensitivity were measured after successive heat treatments in the range 800 – 1000°C. The flux expulsion from cold-worked fine-grain Nb cavities improves after 800°C/3 hours heat treatments and it becomes similar to that of standard fine-grain Nb cavities when the heat treatment temperature is higher than 900°C

Adjuvant treatment for elderly patients with colon cancer. An observational study

Background: Adjuvant. 5-fluoruracil-based chemotherapysignificantly reduces mortality in. patients with: stage II-III colon cancer, but is less prescribed with rising age. In this study we were interested in the pattern of adjuvant treatment and possible effects on survival among elderly patients. Patients and methods: From January to December 2004, 63 questionnaires on the management of stage II-III resected colon cancer patients aged over 70 years, collected from 10 Italian Centres, were retrospectively examined. Determinants of receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy and their relation to survival were considered. Results: The proportion of elderly patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy was 79.4%, distinct of age, gender, educational level and comorbidities. Grade 3-4 toxicities were the following: haematological in 4 (8.5.%) patients, mucositis in 4 (8.5%), diarrhoea in 2 (4.2%) and nausea in 1 (2.1%). The disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) at two years were 79.9% and 95.6%, respectively. Due to the paucity of events, the impact of prognostic factors (patient's age and comorbidity, tumour stage and grade) on DFS and OS could not be assessed. Conclusion: An increasing proportion of elderly patients with colon cancer may be treated with a tolerability and OS similar to those observed in the younger population. Development of age-based guidelines and increased awareness of both physicians and patients through education is important to prevent undertreatment of those elderly patients who are eligible for chemotherapy

Rangelands, conflicts, and society in the Upper Mustang Region, Nepal

Rangelands are considered critical ecosystems in the Nepal Himalayas and provide multiple ecosystem services that support local livelihoods. However, these rangelands are under threat from various anthropogenic stresses. This study analyzes an example of conflict over the use of rangeland, involving two villages in the Mustang district of Nepal. This prolonged conflict over the use of rangeland rests on how use rights are defined by the parties, that is, whether they are based on traditional use or property ownership. Traditionally, such conflicts in remote areas were managed under the Mukhiya (village chief) system, but this became dysfunctional after the political change of 1990. The continuing conflict suggests that excessive demand for limited rangelands motivates local villagers to gain absolute control of the resources. In such contexts, external support should focus on enhancing the management and production of forage resources locally, which requires the establishment of local common property institutions to facilitate sustainable rangeland management.<br /

Estimating the Global Distribution of Field Size using Crowdsourcing

There is increasing evidence that smallholder farms contribute substantially to food production globally yet spatially explicit data on agricultural field sizes are currently lacking. Automated field size delineation using remote sensing or the estimation of average farm size at subnational level using census data are two approaches that have been used. However, both have limitations, e.g. automatic field size delineation using remote sensing has not yet been implemented at a global scale while the spatial resolution is very coarse when using census data. This paper demonstrates a unique approach to quantifying and mapping agricultural field size globally using crowdsourcing. A campaign was run in June 2017 where participants were asked to visually interpret very high resolution satellite imagery from Google Maps and Bing using the Geo-Wiki application. During the campaign, participants collected field size data for 130K unique locations around the globe. Using this sample, we have produced the most accurate global field size map to date and estimated the percentage of different field sizes, ranging from very small to very large, in agricultural areas at global, continental and national levels. The results show that smallholder farms occupy up to 40% of agricultural areas globally, which means that, potentially, there are many more smallholder farms in comparison with the two different current global estimates of 12% and 24%. The global field size map and the crowdsourced data set are openly available and can be used for integrated assessment modelling, comparative studies of agricultural dynamics across different contexts, for training and validation of remote sensing field size delineation, and potential contributions to the Sustainable Development Goal of Ending hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Estimating the Global Distribution of Field Size using Crowdsourcing

There is increasing evidence that smallholder farms contribute substantially to food production globally yet spatially explicit data on agricultural field sizes are currently lacking. Automated field size delineation using remote sensing or the estimation of average farm size at subnational level using census data are two approaches that have been used. However, both have limitations, e.g. automatic field size delineation using remote sensing has not yet been implemented at a global scale while the spatial resolution is very coarse when using census data. This paper demonstrates a unique approach to quantifying and mapping agricultural field size globally using crowdsourcing. A campaign was run in June 2017 where participants were asked to visually interpret very high resolution satellite imagery from Google Maps and Bing using the Geo-Wiki application. During the campaign, participants collected field size data for 130K unique locations around the globe. Using this sample, we have produced the most accurate global field size map to date and estimated the percentage of different field sizes, ranging from very small to very large, in agricultural areas at global, continental and national levels. The results show that smallholder farms occupy up to 40% of agricultural areas globally, which means that, potentially, there are many more smallholder farms in comparison with the two different current global estimates of 12% and 24%. The global field size map and the crowdsourced data set are openly available and can be used for integrated assessment modelling, comparative studies of agricultural dynamics across different contexts, for training and validation of remote sensing field size delineation, and potential contributions to the Sustainable Development Goal of Ending hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

ATHENA detector proposal - a totally hermetic electron nucleus apparatus proposed for IP6 at the Electron-Ion Collider

ATHENA has been designed as a general purpose detector capable of delivering the full scientific scope of the Electron-Ion Collider. Careful technology choices provide fine tracking and momentum resolution, high performance electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry, hadron identification over a wide kinematic range, and near-complete hermeticity.This article describes the detector design and its expected performance in the most relevant physics channels. It includes an evaluation of detector technology choices, the technical challenges to realizing the detector and the R&D required to meet those challenges