Comparative evaluation of different reference evapotranspiration models

The study was carried out to select best alternative method for the estimation of reference evapotranspi-ration (ET0). Accurate estimation of potential evapotranspiration is a necessary step in water resource management. Recently, the FAO-56 version of Penman-Monteith equation has been established as a standard for calculating ref-erence evapotranspiration (ET0) which requires measurement of a number of meteorological parameters namely, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed which may not be available in most of the meteoro-logical stations. Still there are different approaches (requiring less data) which estimate ET0 closely to Penman- Monteith (P-M) method for different climatological conditions. The present study is based on analysis of long term of 13 years (2000 to 2012) climatic data to calculate monthly reference evapotranspiration for Capsicum production (September–March) and also to compare the performance of evapotranspiration equations for Jhalawar district of Rajasthan with the standard FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method on the basis of the least root mean square error (RMSE) analysis. Hargreaves method and Pan evaporation (E-Pan) method overestimated the values of ETo when compared with FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method. On the basis of lowest value of RMSE, Pan evaporation method is found best alternative method to FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method in the study area

Assessment of genetic variability, correlation and path analysis for yield and its components in ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi L.)

Genetic variability, heritability, correlation and path analysis were estimated among 28 germplasm for 10 characters in Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi L.). Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the germplasm lines for number of secondary branches plant-1, number of umbels plant-1, number of umbellets umbel-1, seed yield plant-1, harvest index and oil content, suggesting sufficient amount of variability in the experimental material. The estimates of genotypic coefficient variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient variation (PCV) indicated the existence of fairly high degree of variability for seed yield plant-1, oil content, number of umbels plant-1 and harvest index. Lower values of GCV and PCV were recorded in number of umbellets umbel-1 indicating the important role of environment in the expression of the characters. High heritability associated with moderate genetic advance was recorded in traits like harvest index and seed yield plant-1. The association study among characters revealed that seed yield was positively and significantly correlated with number of umbellets plant-1. Path coefficient analysis revealed that number of umbellets plant-1 had maximum positive direct effect on seed yield plant-1. &nbsp

Dexamethasone therapy in COVID-19 patients:implications and guidance for the management of blood glucose in people with and without diabetes

The RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY) trial found that dexamethasone 6 mg once per day for 10 days reduced deaths by one-third in ventilated patients and by one-fifth in other patients, receiving oxygen therapy. This equates to the prevention of one death in around eight ventilated patients, or one in around 25 patients requiring oxygen

A guideline for the outpatient management of glycaemic control in people with cancer

Individuals with cancer are at increased risk of developing new onset diabetes mellitus and hyperglycaemia, and an estimated 20% of people with cancer already have an underlying diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. People with both cancer and diabetes may have an increased risk of toxicities, hospital admissions and morbidity, with hyperglycaemia potentially attenuating the efficacy of chemotherapy often secondary to dose reductions and early cessation. Numerous studies have demonstrated that hyperglycaemia is prognostic of worse overall survival and risk of cancer recurrence. These guidelines aim to provide the oncology/haemato-oncology and diabetes multidisciplinary teams with the tools to manage people with diabetes commencing anti-cancer/ glucocorticoid therapy, as well as identifying individuals without a known diagnosis of diabetes who are at risk of developing hyperglycaemia and new onset diabetes

Enhancing diabetes care for the most vulnerable in the 21st century::Interim findings of the National Advisory Panel on Care Home Diabetes (NAPCHD)

Older adults with diabetes may carry a substantial health burden in Western ageing societies, occupy more than one in four beds in care homes, and are a highly vulnerable group who often require complex nursing and medical care. The global pandemic (COVID-19) had its epicentre in care homes and revealed many shortfalls in diabetes care resulting in hospital admissions and considerable mortality and comorbid illness. The purpose of this work was to develop a national Strategic Document of Diabetes Care for Care Homes which would bring about worthwhile, sustainable and effective quality diabetes care improvements, and address the shortfalls in care provided. A large diverse and multidisciplinary group of stakeholders (NAPCHD) defined 11 areas of interest where recommendations were needed and using a subgroup allocation approach were set tasks to produce a set of primary recommendations. Each subgroup was given 5 starter questions to begin their work and a format to provide responses. During the initial phase, 16 key findings were identified. Overall, after a period of 18 months, 49 primary recommendations were made, and 7 major conclusions were drawn from these. A model of community and integrated diabetes care for care home residents with diabetes was proposed, and a series of 5 ‘quick-wins’ were created to begin implementation of some of the recommendations that would not require significant funding. The work of the NAPCHD is ongoing but we hope that this current resource will help leaders to make these required changes happen

Endocrinologic, neurologic, and visual morbidity after treatment for craniopharyngioma

Craniopharyngiomas are locally aggressive tumors which typically are focused in the sellar and suprasellar region near a number of critical neural and vascular structures mediating endocrinologic, behavioral, and visual functions. The present study aims to summarize and compare the published literature regarding morbidity resulting from treatment of craniopharyngioma. We performed a comprehensive search of the published English language literature to identify studies publishing outcome data of patients undergoing surgery for craniopharyngioma. Comparisons of the rates of endocrine, vascular, neurological, and visual complications were performed using Pearson’s chi-squared test, and covariates of interest were fitted into a multivariate logistic regression model. In our data set, 540 patients underwent surgical resection of their tumor. 138 patients received biopsy alone followed by some form of radiotherapy. Mean overall follow-up for all patients in these studies was 54 ± 1.8 months. The overall rate of new endocrinopathy for all patients undergoing surgical resection of their mass was 37% (95% CI = 33–41). Patients receiving GTR had over 2.5 times the rate of developing at least one endocrinopathy compared to patients receiving STR alone or STR + XRT (52 vs. 19 vs. 20%, χ2P < 0.00001). On multivariate analysis, GTR conferred a significant increase in the risk of endocrinopathy compared to STR + XRT (OR = 3.45, 95% CI = 2.05–5.81, P < 0.00001), after controlling for study size and the presence of significant hypothalamic involvement. There was a statistical trend towards worse visual outcomes in patients receiving XRT after STR compared to GTR or STR alone (GTR = 3.5% vs. STR 2.1% vs. STR + XRT 6.4%, P = 0.11). Given the difficulty in obtaining class 1 data regarding the treatment of this tumor, this study can serve as an estimate of expected outcomes for these patients, and guide decision making until these data are available

The Hard Ellipsoid Potential Model for the Rotational Energy Transfer and its Region in Molecular Systems

The hard ellipsoid potential model for understanding the mechanism of the rotational energy transfer in a diatomic molecule due to collisions with an atom was explored by performing quasi-classical trajectory calculations on N$\text{}_{2}$-He and N$\text{}_{2}$- Ne systems governed by a sum of pairwise atom-atom Morse interactions. It is found that the conversion of the orbital angular momentum into the angular momentum of the molecule takes place when the colliding atom is very close to the classical turning point ellipsoid. The quantitative measures to define such closeness were introduced. Further, it is observed that nearly 50% of the total angular momentum transfer takes place when the colliding atom approaches the classical turning point ellipsoid and the remaining 50% transfer takes place while the atom bounces back

Inhibitive action of 3-Hydroxy-3-(4methylphenyl-1-(4-sulphonato (sodium salt) phenyl triazene on Corrosion of Copper in HCl medium

Abstract Corrosion inhibition of copper in 1N HCl solution b