The effects of extract of Azadirachta indica (Neem) oil and Imidacloprid (IRON 30SC) on the population dynamics of Brevicoryne brassicae, Lipaphis pseudobrassicae and Plutella xylostella on white cabbage

Article PurchasedThe effects of neem seeds oil and Imidacloprid (Iron 30SC) systemic insecticide on the populations of three cabbage pests, Brevicoryne brassicae, Lipaphis pseudobrassicae and Plutella xylostella were studied. The study was conducted between June and September 2015. Oil extracts of neem were sprayed on cabbage plants to control these pests. A standard systemic chemical insecticide (IRON 30SC) was used as comparative product. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design and each treatment was replicated four times. The effects of plant extracts on the population dynamics of the pests’ species, the loss level and yield were assessed. Significantly more pests infested the control plants compared to treated plants (P ≤0.05). The mean weight of cabbage heads on the sprayed plots was not significantly heavier than that of the control unsprayed plots. The use of A. indica seeds oil and Imidacloprid systemic insecticide reduced the loss level by 6.06% and 9.92%, respectively. So, the use of this neem extracts can be ameliorated by spraying at a weekly basis and can be incorporated into an overall control programme of these pests

Improving medication safety in the Intensive Care by identifying relevant drug-drug interactions - Results of a multicenter Delphi study

Purpose: Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) may cause adverse outcomes in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Computerized decision support systems (CDSSs) may help prevent DDIs by timely showing relevant warning alerts, but knowledge on which DDIs are clinically relevant in the ICU setting is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify DDIs relevant for the ICU. Materials and methods: We conducted a modified Delphi procedure with a Dutch multidisciplinary expert panel consisting of intensivists and hospital pharmacists to assess the clinical relevance of DDIs for the ICU. The procedure consisted of two rounds, each included a questionnaire followed by a live consensus meeting. Results: In total the clinical relevance of 148 DDIs was assessed, of which agreement regarding the relevance was reached for 139 DDIs (94%). Of these 139 DDIs, 53 (38%) were considered not clinically relevant for the ICU setting. Conclusions: A list of clinically relevant DDIs for the ICU setting was established on a national level. The clinical value of CDSSs for medication safety could be improved by focusing on the identified clinically relevant DDIs, thereby avoiding alert fatigue

Bird communities in African cocoa agroforestry are diverse but lack specialised insectivores

Forests are being converted to agriculture throughout the Afrotropics, driving declines in sensitive rainforest taxa such as understorey birds. The ongoing expansion of cocoa agriculture, a common small‐scale farming commodity, has contributed to the loss of 80% rainforest cover in some African countries. African cocoa farms may provide habitat for biodiversity, yet little is known about their suitability for vertebrate fauna, or the effect of farm management on animal communities. Here, we report the first in‐depth investigation into avian diversity and community composition in African cocoa, by assembling a dataset of 9,566 individual birds caught across 83 sites over 30 years in Southern Cameroon. We compared bird diversity in mature forest and cocoa using measures of alpha, beta and gamma diversity, and we investigated the effect of cocoa farm shade and forest cover on bird communities. Gamma diversity was higher in cocoa than forest, though alpha diversity was similar, indicating a higher dissimilarity (beta diversity) between cocoa farms. Cocoa farms differed from forest in community composition, with a distinctive decrease in relative abundance of insectivores, forest specialists and ant‐followers and an increase in frugivores. Within cocoa farms, we found that farms with high shade cover in forested landscapes resulted in higher relative abundance and richness of sensitive forest species; shady farms contained up to five times the proportion of forest specialists than sunny farms. Synthesis and applications. Sunny African cocoa farms were less able to support sensitive bird guilds compared with shaded farms in forested landscapes. Our findings support the notion that certain ecological and dietary guilds, such as ant‐followers and forest specialists are disproportionately affected by land‐use change. In light of the current push to increase cocoa production in sub‐Saharan Africa, our results provide policymakers opportunities for more wildlife‐friendly cocoa schemes that maximize avian diversity

Bird communities in African cocoa agroforestry are diverse but lack specialised insectivores

Forests are being converted to agriculture throughout the Afrotropics, driving declines in sensitive rainforest taxa such as understorey birds. The ongoing expansion of cocoa agriculture, a common small‐scale farming commodity, has contributed to the loss of 80% rainforest cover in some African countries. African cocoa farms may provide habitat for biodiversity, yet little is known about their suitability for vertebrate fauna, or the effect of farm management on animal communities. Here, we report the first in‐depth investigation into avian diversity and community composition in African cocoa, by assembling a dataset of 9,566 individual birds caught across 83 sites over 30 years in Southern Cameroon. We compared bird diversity in mature forest and cocoa using measures of alpha, beta and gamma diversity, and we investigated the effect of cocoa farm shade and forest cover on bird communities. Gamma diversity was higher in cocoa than forest, though alpha diversity was similar, indicating a higher dissimilarity (beta diversity) between cocoa farms. Cocoa farms differed from forest in community composition, with a distinctive decrease in relative abundance of insectivores, forest specialists and ant‐followers and an increase in frugivores. Within cocoa farms, we found that farms with high shade cover in forested landscapes resulted in higher relative abundance and richness of sensitive forest species; shady farms contained up to five times the proportion of forest specialists than sunny farms. Synthesis and applications. Sunny African cocoa farms were less able to support sensitive bird guilds compared with shaded farms in forested landscapes. Our findings support the notion that certain ecological and dietary guilds, such as ant‐followers and forest specialists are disproportionately affected by land‐use change. In light of the current push to increase cocoa production in sub‐Saharan Africa, our results provide policymakers opportunities for more wildlife‐friendly cocoa schemes that maximize avian diversity

The effect of ICU-tailored drug-drug interaction alerts on medication prescribing and monitoring: Protocol for a cluster randomized stepped-wedge trial

Background: Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can cause patient harm. Between 46 and 90% of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are exposed to potential DDIs (pDDIs). This rate is twice as high as patients on general wards. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) have shown their potential to prevent pDDIs. However, the literature shows that there is considerable room for improvement of CDSSs, in particular by increasing the clinical relevance of the pDDI alerts they generate and thereby reducing alert fatigue. However, consensus on which pDDIs are clinically relevant in the ICU setting is lacking. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of alerts based on only clinically relevant interactions for the ICU setting on the prevention of pDDIs among Dutch ICUs. Methods: To define the clinically relevant pDDIs, we will follow a rigorous two-step Delphi procedure in which a national expert panel will assess which pDDIs are perceived clinically relevant for the Dutch ICU setting. The intervention is the CDSS that generates alerts based on the clinically relevant pDDIs. The intervention will be evaluated in a stepped-wedge trial. A total of 12 Dutch adult ICUs using the same patient data management system, in which the CDSS will operate, were invited to participate in the trial. Of the 12 ICUs, 9 agreed to participate and will be enrolled in the trial. Our primary outcome measure is the incidence of clinically relevant pDDIs per 1000 medication administrations. Discussion: This study will identify pDDIs relevant for the ICU setting. It will also enhance our understanding of the effectiveness of alerts confined to clinically relevant pDDIs. Both of these contributions can facilitate the successful implementation of CDSSs in the ICU and in other domains as well. Trial registration: Nederlands Trial register Identifier: NL6762. Registered November 26, 2018

Clinically relevant potential drug-drug interactions in intensive care patients: a large retrospective observational multicenter study

Purpose: Potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) may harm patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Due to the patient's critical condition and continuous monitoring on the ICU, not all pDDIs are clinically relevant. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) warning for irrelevant pDDIs could result in alert fatigue and overlooking important signals. Therefore, our aim was to describe the frequency of clinically relevant pDDIs (crpDDIs) to enable tailoring of CDSSs to the ICU setting. Materials & methods: In this multicenter retrospective observational study, we used medication administration data to identify pDDIs in ICU admissions from 13 ICUs. Clinical relevance was based on a Delphi study in which intensivists and hospital pharmacists assessed the clinical relevance of pDDIs for the ICU setting. Results: The mean number of pDDIs per 1000 medication administrations was 70.1, dropping to 31.0 when con -sidering only crpDDIs. Of 103,871 ICU patients, 38% was exposed to a crpDDI. The most frequently occurring crpDDIs involve QT-prolonging agents, digoxin, or NSAIDs. Conclusions: Considering clinical relevance of pDDIs in the ICU setting is important, as only half of the detected pDDIs were crpDDIs. Therefore, tailoring CDSSs to the ICU may reduce alert fatigue and improve medication safety in ICU patients. ? 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Perioperative Medicine: Efficacy, Safety and Outcome (Anesthesiology/Intensive Care

Measurement of the View the tt production cross-section using eμ events with b-tagged jets in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (σtt¯) with a data sample of 3.2 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron–muon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously σtt¯ and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: σtt¯ = 818 ± 8 (stat) ± 27 (syst) ± 19 (lumi) ± 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented