Effect of biochar and plastic mulch on growth, yield, and yield attributing characteristics of spring maize (Zea mays L.)

Spring maize is an important crop to meet the growing demand for maize. Moisture stress is an important yield limiting factor during the dry spring period. Biochar and plastic mulch help in soil moisture conservation and might contribute to the growth and yield of maize. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of biochar application and plastic mulch on growth, yield, and yield attributing characteristics of spring maize (Zea mays L.) in a sandy loam soil at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal in 2018. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design (SPD) with three replications. The Main plots were allocated to the mulching (mulching, and no mulching) while the Subplot was to the biochar rates of 0 t/ha, 5 t/ha, 15 t/ha, and 25 t/ha. There were twenty-four plots of each plot size 4.8 × 1.5 m2. The grounded biochar passed through a 1 mm sieve and was applied in the well-prepared plots two weeks before seed sowing. The maize seeds were sown at 60 cm row to row and 25 cm plant to plant distance. There were no significant effects due to both factors on maize seed emergence, plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf area index, root length, dry matter content, stover yield, and yield attributes. But the yield was significantly influenced by their interactions. Significantly highest grain yield (2.58 t/ha) was obtained from 25 t/ha with plastic mulch followed by plastic mulch with 15 t/ha biochar (2.06 t/ha) and the least was recorded from control plots (1.19 t/ha). From the result, it can be concluded that the application of a higher biochar rate of 25 t/ha with plastic mulch contributes to a higher yield of spring maize

Collision energy dependence of state-to-state differential cross sections for rotationally inelastic scattering of H2O by He

The inelastic scattering of H2O by He as a function of collision energy in the range 381 cm−1 to 763 cm−1 at an energy interval of approximately 100 cm−1 has been investigated in a crossed beam experiment using velocity map imaging. Change in collision energy was achieved by varying the collision angle between the H2O and He beam. We measured the state-to-state differential cross section (DCS) of scattered H2O products for the final rotational states JKaKc = 110, 111, 221 and 414. Rotational excitation of H2O is probed by (2 + 1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy. DCS measurements over a wide range of collision energies allowed us to probe the H2O–He potential energy surface (PES) with greater detail than in previous work. We found that a classical approximation of rotational rainbows can predict the collision energy dependence of the DCS. Close-coupling quantum mechanical calculations were used to produce DCS and partial cross sections. The forward–backward ratio (FBR), is introduced here to compare the experimental and theoretical DCS. Both theory and experiments suggest that an increase in the collision energy is accompanied with more forward scattering

Long-acting bronchodilators with or without inhaled corticosteroids and 30-day readmission in patients hospitalized for COPD

Raju Bishwakarma,1 Wei Zhang,1 Yong-Fang Kuo,2,3 Gulshan Sharma1,3 1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, 2Office of Biostatistics, 3Sealy Center of Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA Background: The ability of a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) and long-acting beta 2 agonists (LABAs; long-acting bronchodilators, LABDs) with or without inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) to reduce early readmission in hospitalized patients with COPD is unknown.Methods: We studied a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare parts A, B and D and hospitalized for COPD in 2011. We examined prescriptions filled for LABDs with or without ICSs (LABDs±ICSs) within 90 days prior to and 30 days after hospitalization. Primary outcome was the 30-day readmission rate between “users” and “nonusers” of LABDs±ICSs. Propensity score matching and sensitivity analysis were performed by limiting analysis to patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). Among 6,066 patients hospitalized for COPD, 3,747 (61.8%) used LABDs±ICSs during the specified period. The “user” and “nonuser” groups had similar rates of all-cause emergency room (ER) visits and readmissions within 30 days of discharge date (22.4% vs 20.7%, P-value 0.11; 18.0% vs 17.8%, P-value 0.85, respectively). However, the “users” had higher rates of COPD-related ER visits (5.3% vs 3.4%, P-value 0.0006), higher adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.47 (95% CI, 1.11–1.93) and readmission (7.8% vs 5.0%, P-value <0.0001 and aOR 1.48 [95% CI, 1.18–1.86]) than “nonusers”. After propensity score matching, the aOR of COPD-related ER visits was 1.45 (95% CI, 1.07–1.96) and that of readmission was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.04–1.73). The results were similar when restricted to patients hospitalized for AECOPD.Conclusion: Use of LABDs±ICSs did not reduce 30-day readmissions in patients hospitalized for COPD. Keywords: COPD, readmission, long-acting bronchodilators, Medicar

Metformin use and health care utilization in patients with coexisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes mellitus

Raju Bishwakarma,1 Wei Zhang,1 Yu-Li Lin,2 Yong-Fang Kuo,2,3 Victor J Cardenas,1 Gulshan Sharma1,3 1Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 2Office of Biostatistics, 3Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with persistent systemic inflammation. Anti-inflammatory therapies have been shown to decrease acute exacerbations of COPD. The antidiabetic medication metformin decreases oxidative stress and inflammation and may benefit patients with COPD. We aimed at investigating the effect of metformin on health care utilizations in patients with coexisting COPD and diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: We studied 5% Medicare beneficiaries with coexisting COPD and DM prescribed metformin or other antidiabetics during the period 2007–2010. The primary outcome was COPD-specific emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations; the secondary outcome was all-cause ER visits and hospitalizations over the 2-year follow-up after the index antidiabetic prescription. The effects of metformin were examined by COPD complexity and compared with the effects of other antidiabetic medications. Results: Among 11,260 patients, 3,193 were metformin users and 8,067 were nonusers. Metformin users were younger, were less sick, were less likely to be on oxygen, and had fewer hospitalizations in the prior year compared with the nonusers. Over a 2-year period, metformin users had lower COPD-specific and all-cause ER visits and hospitalizations (7.11% vs 9.61%, p<0.0001; and 61.63% vs 71.27%, p<0.0001, respectively). In a stratified multivariable analysis, the odds of COPD-specific ER visits and hospitalizations were lower in patients with low-complexity COPD (adjusted odds ratio =0.66, 95% confidence interval =0.52–0.85). However, patients with all COPD complexities get benefits of metformin on all-cause ER visits and hospitalizations. Conclusion: The use of metformin in patients with coexisting COPD and DM was associated with fewer COPD-specific ER visits and hospitalizations, especially in low-complexity COPD. Keywords: COPD, diabetes, metformin, ER visits, hospitalization, Medicar