Species diversity and forage value of herbage in a neglected coconut land proposed for livestock integration

The proposed coconut land is situated in the southern province. belongs to the land suitability class S4which is moderately suitable for coconut. Therefore, managing coconut as rnonoculture is unprofitableand steps have been taken to optimize the land use through livestock integration. Therefore, objectiveof this study was to investigate the species diversity and forage value of understory vegetation in thecoconut land before introducing cattle. Stratified quadrate sampling technique was adopted and 4samples each from 6 paddocks (approx 0.4 ha) were randomly taken. Each stratum contained morethan 80% of edible species while the non edible species found in all strata were common uplandweeds Axonopus affinus (carpet grass), Axonopus compressus (narrow carpet grass) andDesmodium trifolium were dominant prostate grass and legume species found in 0-5 em strataabove ground level. In addition to above species Pueraria phasioloides (Centro) was found to bedominant in 5-15 em strata. Crysopogen ariculatus and Pueraria phasioloides were dominant in15-25 cm strata while Seteria anceps (fox tail grass) found to be dominant above 25 em height. Thecommon non-edible species found in the lower two strata's were Urena lobota, Hemidcsmus indicumand Ocimum tenuiflorum while Lantana camara and Ocimum tenuiflorum were dominant in uppertwo strata's. The dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) content of edible herbage increased frombottom to top layers ranged from 390 gkg' to 480 gkg' and 75 gkg' to 100 gkg' respectively.The results of this study reveal that the species diversity and forage value are in an acceptablestandard to initiate cattle grazing. However, crop and cattle management strategies are important inorder to improve coconut and livestock performance.

Antenatal care service delivery and factors affecting effective tetanus vaccine coverage in low- and middle-income countries: results of the Maternal Immunisation and Antenatal Care Situational Analysis (MIACSA) project

Objectives:To map the integration of existing maternal tetanus immunization programmes within ante-natal care (ANC) services for pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to identify and understand the challenges, barriers and facilitators associated with high performance maternal vaccine service delivery.Design:A mixed methods, cross sectional study with four data collection phases including a desk review,online survey, telephone and face-to-face interviews and in country visits was undertaken between 2016 and 2018. Associations of different service delivery process components with protection at birth (PAB) andwithcountrygroupswereestablished.PABwasdefinedastheproportionofneonatesprotectedatbirthagainstneonataltetanus. Regression analysis and structural equation modelling was used to assess associations of different variables with maternal tetanus immunization coverage. Latent class analysis (LCA), was used to group country performance for maternal immunization, and to address the problem of multicollinearity.Setting:LMICs.Results: The majority of LMICs had a policy on recommended number of ANC visits, however most were yet toimplementtheWHOguidelinesrecommendingeightANCcontacts.Countriesthatrecommended>4ANC contacts were more likely to have high PAB > 90%. Passive disease surveillance was the most common form of dis-ease surveillance performed but the maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality indicators recorded differed between countries. The presence of user fees for antenatal care and maternal immunization was significantly associated with lower PAB (<90%).Conclusions:Recommendations include implementing the current WHO ANC guideline to facilitate increased opportunities for vaccination during each pregnancy. Improved utilisation of ANC services by increasing the demand side by increasing the quality of services, reducing any associated costs and supporting user fee exemptions, or the supply side can also enhance utilisation of ANC services which are positioned as an ideal platform for delivery of maternal vaccine

Why a clearer ‘green industrial policy’ matters for India: Reconciling growth, climate change and inequality

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. To ensure a healthy growth of the economy particularly in the manufacturing sector, the Indian Government is more than ever focussed on promoting the use of sustainable and affordable energy resources. Recent initiatives such as the Solar Cities Development Programme are a good example. However, in order for these initiatives to gain legitimacy as part of a new ‘green industrial policy’, the Indian Government needs to do more, especially by bringing on board strategies for combating poverty within the gamut of this emerging ‘green industrial policy’ as well as to re-think India’s position on global conventions on climate change

Cost per responder for ixekizumab and other biologic drugs approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Italy

This analysis was aimed at estimating the cost per responder as measured by number needed to treat of ixekizumab as compared with other biologic drugs approved in Italy for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The clinical efficacy was assessed in terms of number needed to treat, based on a network meta-analysis of published efficacy data as measured by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index response (PASI75, PASI90, and PASI100) for relevant biologic comparators. The cost was based on the number of administrations dispensed in the first (induction plus maintenance period) and the second (maintenance period only) year of treatment and the ex-factory price net of discounts of each biologic drug. The cost per responder was adopted as a cost-effectiveness indicator. Independent of the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index response (PASI75, PASI90, and PASI100) used and the year of treatment considered, the cost per number needed to treat for ixekizumab appeared consistently to be the lowest. For example, considering first-year costs and PASI75, the cost per responder for ixekizumab was €16,388, compared to adalimumab (€22,574), etanercept (branded original: €32,420; biosimilar: €21,432), secukinumab (€17,937), and ustekinumab (€20,014). The differences in the cost per responder between ixekizumab and the comparators increased when higher Psoriasis Area and Severity Index response levels were considered. This economic assessment confirmed that ixekizumab is a cost-efficient option from the perspective of the Italian National Health Service for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis

Application of phasor measurement units for monitoring power system dynamic performance

This Working Group is a sequel to a previous working group on Wide Area Monitoring and Control for Transmission Capability Enhancement, which published the Technical Brochure 330 in 2007. Since then the synchrophasor technology has advanced rapidly and many utilities around the world have installed hundreds of PMUs in their networks. In this Technical Brochure, we look at the current state of the technology and the extent to which it has been used in the industry. As the technology has matured, it is also important to understand the communication protocols used in synchrophasor networks and their relevant cyber-security issues. These concerns are briefly discussed in the brochure. The applications of Phasor Measurement Units (PMU) measurements reported here are divided into three categories: (a) applications already installed in utility networks, (b) applications that are well-tested, but not yet installed, and (c) applications that are beneficial to the industry, but not fully developed yet. The most common and mature applications are wide area monitoring, state estimation, and model validation. Out of these three applications, wide area monitoring is well established in the industry. The protection and control applications are emerging as evident from the reported examples. The experience of using remote synchrophasor measurements as feedback control signals is not widely reported by the industry. In parallel to this Working Group, Study Committee B5 had a Working Group on “Wide area protection and control technologies.” The Technical Brochure 664 published by this Working Group in September 2016 reviews synchrophasor technology and discusses the industry experience with wide area protection and control. The North American synchrophasor Initiative (NASPI) is another technical group that has gathered and reported a wide range of PMU experiences of industry and researchers. In summary, the field-tested applications presented in this Technical Brochure are a testimony to the confidence of utilities in the synchrophasor technology. The progress in state estimation techniques indicates that synchrophasor measurements will become a standard part of energy management and security assessment systems in the near future

Assessment of the efficacy and toxicity of 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine therapy for metastatic neuroendocrine tumours

131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) is a licensed palliative treatment for patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours. We have retrospectively assessed the consequences of 131I-MIBG therapy in 48 patients (30 gastroenteropancreatic, 6 pulmonary, 12 unknown primary site) with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours attending Royal Liverpool University Hospital between 1996 and 2006. Mean age at diagnosis was 57.6 years (range 34–81). 131I-MIBG was administered on 88 occasions (mean 1.8 treatments, range 1–4). Twenty-nine patients had biochemical markers measured before and after 131I-MIBG, of whom 11 (36.7%) showed >50% reduction in levels post-therapy. Forty patients had radiological investigations performed after 131I-MIBG, of whom 11(27.5%) showed reduction in tumour size post-therapy. Twenty-seven (56.3%) patients reported improved symptoms after 131I-MIBG therapy. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed significantly increased survival (P=0.01) from the date of first 131I-MIBG in patients who reported symptomatic benefit from therapy. Patients with biochemical and radiological responses did not show any statistically significant alteration in survival compared to non-responders. Eleven (22.9%) patients required hospitalisation as a consequence of complications, mostly due to mild bone marrow suppression. 131I-MIBG therefore improved symptoms in more than half of the patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours and survival was increased in those patients who reported a symptomatic response to therapy

Environmental chemicals impact dog semen quality in vitro and may be associated with a temporal decline in sperm motility and increased cryptorchidism

Adverse temporal trends in human semen quality and cryptorchidism in infants have been associated with exposure to environmental chemicals (ECs) during development. Here we report that a population of breeding dogs exhibit a 26 year (1988–2014) decline in sperm quality and a concurrent increased incidence of cryptorchidism in male offspring (1995–2014). A decline in the number of males born relative to the number of females was also observed. ECs, including diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB153), were detected in adult dog testes and commercial dog foods at concentrations reported to perturb reproductive function in other species. Testicular concentrations of DEHP and PCB153 perturbed sperm viability, motility and DNA integrity in vitro but did not affect LH stimulated testosterone secretion from adult testis explants. The direct effects of chemicals on sperm may therefore contribute to the decline in canine semen quality that parallels that reported in the human