Allelopathic Effects of Sweet Basil (Ocimumbasilicum L.) on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of some Poaceous Crops

Laboratory and greenhouse experiments werecarried out at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, Sudan in season 2014/15 to study the allelopathic effectsof aboveground parts ofsweet basil (Ocimumbasilicum L.) on seed germination and seedling growth of some poaceous crops.Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the allelopathic effects of aqueous extract of aboveground parts ofsweet basilon seed germination of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench), millet (Pennisetumglaucum [L.]R. Br.), maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (TriticumvulgareL.).Six concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) of the aqueous extract of the aboveground parts of sweet basilwere prepared from the stock solution(50 g / l). Treatments, for each crop, were arranged in completely randomized design with four replicates. The seeds were examined for germination at three days after initial germination.Greenhouse experimentswere conducted to study the allelopathic effects of powder of aboveground parts ofsweet basil on seedling growth of the same poaceous crops. The powder of aboveground parts was incorporated into the soil at rate of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% on w/w bases in pots. Treatments, for each crop, were arranged in completely randomized design with four replicates. The experiments were terminated at 30 days after sowing and the plant height, number of leaves and root length of crop seedlings were measured as well as plant fresh and dry weight.Data were collected and subjected to analysis of variance procedure. Means were separated for significance using Duncan`s Multiple Range Test at p 0.5. The results showed that the aqueous extract of aboveground parts of sweet basil significantly reduced seed germination of the tested poaceous crops and there was direct negative relationship between concentration seed germination. Also, the results showed that incorporating powder of aboveground parts into the soil significantly decreased plant height and root length of crop seedlings as well as seedling fresh and dry weight. In addition, the reduction in seedling growth was increased as the powder increased in the soil. Based on results supported by different studies, it was concluded that sweet basil has allelopathic affects on seed germination and seedling growth of the poaceous crops

Developing Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curves From Satellite-Based Precipitation: Methodology and Evaluation

Given the continuous advancement in the retrieval of precipitation from satellites, it is important to develop methods that incorporate satellite-based precipitation data sets in the design and planning of infrastructure. This is because in many regions around the world, in situ rainfall observations are sparse and have insufficient record length. A handful of studies examined the use of satellite-based precipitation to develop intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves; however, they have mostly focused on small spatial domains and relied on combining satellite-based with ground-based precipitation data sets. In this study, we explore this issue by providing a methodological framework with the potential to be applied in ungauged regions. This framework is based on accounting for the characteristics of satellite-based precipitation products, namely, adjustment of bias and transformation of areal to point rainfall. The latter method is based on previous studies on the reverse transformation (point to areal) commonly used to obtain catchment-scale IDF curves. The paper proceeds by applying this framework to develop IDF curves over the contiguous United States (CONUS); the data set used is Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks – Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR). IDFs are then evaluated against National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14 to provide a quantitative estimate of their accuracy. Results show that median errors are in the range of (17–22%), (6–12%), and (3–8%) for one-day, two-day and three-day IDFs, respectively, and return periods in the range (2–100) years. Furthermore, a considerable percentage of satellite-based IDFs lie within the confidence interval of NOAA Atlas 14

Bartholin's gland cyst and abscess treatment

This issue of eMedRef provides information to clinicians on resolving Bartholin's gland cysts and treatment of Bartholin's gland abscess

Reaction of nitrilimines and nitrile oxides with hydrazines, hydrazones and oximes

This review article discusses the reaction of nitrilimines and nitrile oxides with hydrazines, hydrazones, and oximes. Three reaction modes were observed. The article mainly covers our work published over the last fifteen years, in which interesting heterocyles such as oxadiazoles, triazoles, and tetrazines were synthesized and fully characterized. View Full-Text Keywords

The role of three different contrast-enhanced, abbreviated MRI protocols as a screening tool of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Purpose: Our study aims to assess the role and diagnostic performance of 3 different contrast-enhanced, abbreviated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols as a screening tool of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Material and methods: Our retrospective study included 80 patients who were screened for HCC: 47 patients revealed 138 focal hepatic lesions. MRI examinations were performed including full CE-MRI protocols. The MRI was done on a 1.5 T machine. Then 3 different abbreviated contrast-enhanced MRI protocols were analysed separately. The standard dynamic contrast MRI and abbreviated protocols were evaluated following the LI-RADS 2018 lexicon diagnostic features. Results: A considerable overall kappa (k) agreement between the abbreviated 1, 2, and 3 protocols on LI-RADS classification was noted with k = 0.865. There was almost perfect agreement between all abbreviated protocols and full standard protocol on LI-RADS classification, with k = 0.890. As regards the k agreement on LI-RADS classification, there was a considerable highest agreement between the abbreviated 1 protocol and the full standard protocol, with k = 0.980. The abbreviated 1 and 2 protocols showed high diagnostic performance on LI-RADS classification of lesions, with 100% sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy, while the abbreviated 3 protocol showed a lesser but comparable sensitivity 96.9%, NPV 99.4, and accuracy 99.4%. Conclusions: Abbreviated contrast-enhanced MRI protocols can be used as a screening tool for the detection of HCC, with high sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy close to the full protocol. There was a considerable highest agreement between the abbreviated 1 protocol and the full standard protocol. Subsequently, this protocol can be used as a standard protocol for screening high-risk patients

Sufficiency and Efficiency of Field Training for Radiology Students During Internship Experience in Najran University, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The study was design to evaluate the effectiveness and adequacy of the internship period employing quantitative study descriptive survey approach.   Theoretical framework: Internship is requirement of every student of radiology program of Radiological Sciences patch for the award of bachelor's degree at Najran University, Saudi Arabia. The competency level would demonstrate influence the sufficiency and efficiency of clinical training during internship period which represent six months after completing nine levels of radiology program.   Design\Methodology\Approach: The survey was distributed to the tow levels of the last year of radiological sciences which composed of 81 male and female students which gathered seventy-seven (77) participants. Data collected through a questionnaire and summarized as percentages, frequencies, means and standard deviations using SPSS version 20.0.   Findings: The study revealed un adequacy of the internship period and showed low efficiency due to its short duration.   Research, Practical, Social Implication:The research construct and variables are identified the effectiveness and adequacy of the internship period.this  study will be the modele of internship with a new qualitative change related to a period of time acceptable to students, similar to other universities.   Originality/Value: The originality and value in this study are the framework conceptance and questionnaire that prepared and proved for evaluating the effectiveness and adequacy of the internship period for student of radiology program.   Conclusion: In general internship period must be efficient and adequate to enhance sufficiency and efficiency experience by intern trainees

Hybrid LLM: Cost-Efficient and Quality-Aware Query Routing

Large language models (LLMs) excel in most NLP tasks but also require expensive cloud servers for deployment due to their size, while smaller models that can be deployed on lower cost (e.g., edge) devices, tend to lag behind in terms of response quality. Therefore in this work we propose a hybrid inference approach which combines their respective strengths to save cost and maintain quality. Our approach uses a router that assigns queries to the small or large model based on the predicted query difficulty and the desired quality level. The desired quality level can be tuned dynamically at test time to seamlessly trade quality for cost as per the scenario requirements. In experiments our approach allows us to make up to 40% fewer calls to the large model, with no drop in response quality.Comment: Accepted to ICLR 2024 (main conference

Composition and Distribution of Aquatic Weeds in some Minor Canals, Gezira Scheme, Sudan (2018)

Excessive growth of aquatic weeds in irrigation systems is a worldwide problem. In Sudan, many irrigation schemes have been greatly affected by aquatic weeds such as Gezira scheme. The objective of the study was to evaluate the community composition and distribution of aquatic weeds in some minor canals in the Gezira scheme in 2018. The study area covered six minor canals at Centre Group at Gezira Scheme. Each minor canal was divided into three sections%253B head, middle and tail (18 sampling sites). The sites were surveyed once in every month for a period of three months during summer and winter seasons. The community composition of aquatic weeds was detected by visual observation, whereas the distribution of aquatic weeds was determined by calculation of percentage of relative frequency. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis and to analysis of variance. The results indicated that the community composition in the six minor canals consists of four groups of aquatic weeds as follows%253B floating, emergent, submergent and bank aquatic weeds and consisted of 12 species belonging to nine families. Results showed considerable differences in distribution throughout the year. The most dominant species within the groups were%253B Vossia cuspidata (33%25 - 41%25) within the group of floating weeds, Cyperus alopecuroides (87%25 - 55%25) within the group of emergent weeds and Cynodon dactylon (75%25 - 83%25) within the group of bank aquatic weeds during both summer and winter seasons. Submergent weeds present only in winter season in one species Najas pectinata. Also, results of relative frequency within all aquatic species showed that Vossia cuspidata and Cynodon dactylon were the most dominant species. These finding gives many insights about the problems of aquatic weeds in minor canals and would be useful in the management and control of aquatic weeds