Information seeking behaviour of Indonesian agriculturalists working in government research institutes

Information seeking behaviour of Indonesian agriculturalists working in government research institute

Quality of life in total knee replacement (TKR) patients – A review

Worldwide, severe pain and disability are caused to patients by Osteoarthritis, which is a common condition of the joints. A need for knee replacement had become a great option for patients when conventional treatment fails in granting appropriate relief in them, especially in elderly patients. Like all joint replacement surgeries, a total knee replacement procedure is also a quite painful and risky procedure that requires sufficient postoperative rehabilitation and therapies to prevent further complications. Post-surgical pain had a great influence on the patients' quality of life and a need to measure pain intensity had become a basic requirement. Measuring pain intensity can be done using traditional pain scales like a visual analogue scale (VAS), and a numerical rating scale (NRS). A risk assessment and predictor tool (RAPT) determines the discharge accuracy in patients. The WOMAC scale which is the abbreviated form of the questionnaire for checking the health status of the patients known as the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index.  This questionnaire is used to assess the quality of life of the osteoarthritis patients after a surgery for the total knee replacement. The results of the assessment show that pain had become a significant factor in the reduction in quality of life. In conclusion, a well-designed multimodal analgesic regimen should be incorporated into the patient's rehabilitation care, which in turn will intensify the patient's quality of life, lessen the hospital stay, and minimize the socio-economic burde

Meteoric 10Be as a tracer of subglacial processes and interglacial surface exposure in Greenland

In order to test whether sediment emerging from presently glaciated areas of Greenland was exposed near or at Earth's surface during previous interglacial periods, we measured the rare isotope 10Be contained in grain coatings of sediment collected at five ice marginal sites. Such grain coatings contain meteoric 10Be (10Bemet), which forms in the atmosphere and is deposited onto Earth's surface. Samples include sediment entrained in ice, glaciofluvial sediment collected at the ice margin, and subglacial sediment extracted during hot water drilling in the ablation zone. Due to burial by ice, contemporary subglacial sediment could only have acquired substantial 10Bemet concentrations during periods in the past when the Greenland Ice Sheet was less extensive than present. The highest measured 10Bemet concentrations are comparable to those found in well-developed, long-exposed soils, suggesting subglacial preservation and glacial transport of sediment exposed during preglacial or interglacial periods. Ice-bound sediment has significantly higher 10Bemet concentrations than glaciofluvial sediment, suggesting that glaciofluvial processes are sufficiently erosive to remove tracers of previous interglacial exposures. Northern Greenland sites where ice and sediment are supplied from the ice sheet's central main dome have significantly higher 10Bemet concentrations than sites in southern Greenland, indicating greater preglacial or interglacial landscape preservation in central Greenland than in the south. Because southern Greenland has more frequent and spatially extensive periods of glacial retreat but nevertheless has less evidence of past subaerial exposure, we suggest that 10Bemet measurements in glacial sediment are primarily controlled by erosional efficiency rather than interglacial exposure length

Preservation of a Preglacial Landscape Under the Center of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Continental ice sheets typically sculpt landscapes via erosion; under certain conditions, ancient landscapes can be preserved beneath ice and can survive extensive and repeated glaciation. We used concentrations of atmospherically produced cosmogenic beryllium-10, carbon, and nitrogen to show that ancient soil has been preserved in basal ice for millions of years at the center of the ice sheet at Summit, Greenland. This finding suggests ice sheet stability through the Pleistocene (i.e., the past 2.7 million years). The preservation of this soil implies that the ice has been non-erosive and frozen to the bed for much of that time, that there was no substantial exposure of central Greenland once the ice sheet became fully established, and that preglacial landscapes can remain preserved for long periods under continental ice sheet

Framework for rapid country-level analysis of AFOLU mitigation options

Mitigation in the agricultural sector is critical to meeting the 2 ̊C target set by the Paris Agreement. Recent analysis indicates that land-based mitigation can potentially contribute about 30% of the reduction is needed to reach the 2030 target. However, action to reduce emissions from the agricultural sector has lagged behind other sectors. Action and investment in agriculture have been constrained by a lack of policy-relevant and science-based methods estimating GHG emissions and mitigation potential that contribute to decision making. In this paper, we present a framework for a rapid country-level scientific assessment of emissions and mitigation potential from the agricultural, forestry and other land-use (AFOLU) sector. The framework sets targets for AFOLU mitigation based on local agro- environmental conditions, mitigation options best fitted for those conditions and stakeholder input. It relies on the use of simple models or tools to estimate emissions at the farm gate using a mix of Tier 1, Tier 2 and simple Tier 3 methods under baseline, business-as-usual (BAU) and mitigation scenarios. The mitigation potential of low-emissions agriculture options is determined relative to a baseline or BAU scenario. The framework also enables examining the likely level of implementation of low-emission options. This includes assessing the cost and additional benefits of applying the identified low- emission options across different jurisdictions of interest. The feasibility of these options, assessment of institutional capacity for scaling and identification of barriers and risks of adoption to identify priorities are also determined. This information is used by stakeholders and experts to develop a road map for implementation. Rapid assessment of national mitigation potentials can help countries to assess their Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDC) targets and prioritize mitigation options for achieving the targets and monitor progress towards their achievement. Spatially explicit information helps countries plan implementation at subnational levels

X-Ray-Induced Modification of the Photophysical Properties of MAPbBr3Single Crystals

Methylammonium lead tribromide (MAPbBr3) perovskite single crystals demonstrate to be excellent direct X-ray and gamma-ray detectors with outstanding sensitivity and low limit of detection. Despite this, thorough studies on the photophysical effects of exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation on this material are still lacking. In this work, we present our findings regarding the effects of controlled X-ray irradiation on the optoelectronic properties of MAPbBr3 single crystals. Irradiation is carried out in air with an imaging X-ray tube, simulating real-life application in a medical facility. By means of surface photovoltage spectroscopy, we find that X-ray exposure quenches free excitons in the material and introduces new bound excitonic species. Despite this drastic effect, the crystals recover after 1 week of storage in dark and low humidity conditions. By means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the origin of the new bound excitonic species is the formation of bromine vacancies, leading to local changes in the dielectric response of the material. The recovery effect is attributed to vacancy filling by atmospheric oxygen and water

Rapid analysis of country-level mitigation potential from agriculture, forestry and other land uses in Mexico

- Total mitigation potential from the AFOLU sector was the highest in Chiapas (~13 Mt CO2eq) followed by Campeche (~ 8 Mt CO2eq). - 11 states (i.e. Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Jalisco, Sonora, Veracruz, Durango, Chihuahua, Puebla, Michoacán and Guerrero) had a total AFOLU mitigation potential between 2.5 to 6.5 Mt CO2eq, other states had AFOLU mitigation potentials of less than 2 Mt CO2eq. - Crop mitigation potential was the highest in Veracruz, Jalisco and Michoacán; it was intermediate (between 0.4 to 0.6 Mt CO2eq) in the states of Chiapas, Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Mexico and Guerrero. Other states had crop mitigation potential less than 0.4 Mt CO2eq. - Livestock mitigation potential was the highest in Jalisco and Sonora and intermediate (between 0.4 to 0.8 Mt CO2eq) in the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Guanajuato, and Yucatan. Other states had livestock mitigation potentials of less than 0.3 Mt CO2eq. - The state-wide and total magnitude of mitigation was the highest from the FOLU sector. Per unit abatement, cost was also the highest in this sector. - If properly implemented, mitigation potentials on cropland can be realized with net benefits, compared to livestock and FOLU options, which involve net costs