NUMERAIRE CHOICE IN AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY ANALYSIS

Economic theory provides little guidance for selecting a numeraire in estimating dual function profit functions. In this study, we examine the choice of numeraire price (equation) for profit function models of Iowa agriculture. The choice of numeraire is evaluated by forecasting accuracy and with a non-nested specification test.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

ECONOMICS OF POULTRY LITTER UTILIZATION AND OPTIMAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY FOR PHOSPHORUS DISPOSAL IN GEORGIA

Poultry litter can be used as plant nutrients or cattle feed. Both of these alternatives may increase phosphorus concentration in the nearby watershed. Use of phosphorus consistent litter application rule in nutrient management combined with permit system has potential to curtail the over production of litter and prevent the possible contamination of water.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Study of Thyroid Lesions by Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology and its Correlation with Thyroid Function Test

  Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the thyroid gland has been widely and successfully utilized for diagnosis. Assessment of thyroid pathology is even more informative if correlated with thyroid function tests (TFT). This study aims to compare the efficacy of fine needle aspiration cytology with thyroid function tests in different thyroid lesions.   Methods: A descriptive study was carried out among the patients who presented with thyroid swellingvisiting Department of Ear Nose Throat (ENT) of Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital (LMCTH) fromJune 2012 to February 2013. The study population were selected on random basis. A total of fifty patients involved in the study and were sent to Department of Pathology for FNAC and TFT.   Results: Most of the cases (44%) of thyroid swelling were from 21 to 40 years of age. Among them, 86% were females. Out of total respondents, 48% were found to be colloid goiter. 70% findings of FNAC and TFT were in accordance.   Conclusions: The findings of FNAC and TFT were found to be significantly associated (P value <0.05)

AN APPLICATION OF THE PHOSPHORUS CONSISTENT RULE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY ACCEPTABLE COST-EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF BROILER LITTER IN CROP PRODUCTION

We calculated the profitability of using broiler litter as a source of plant nutrients using the phosphorus consistent litter application rule. The cost saving by using litter is 37% over the use of chemical fertilizer alone to meet the nutrient needs of major crops grown in Alabama. In the optimal solution, only a few routes of all the possible routes developed were used for inter- and intra- county litter hauling. If litter is not adopted as the sole source of crop nutrients, the best environmental policy may be to pair the phosphorus consistent rule with taxes, marketable permits, and subsidies.Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics,

Measurement of the Homogeneous Contact of a Unitary Fermi gas

By selectively probing the center of a trapped gas, we measure the local, or homogeneous, contact of a unitary Fermi gas as a function of temperature. Tan's contact, C, is proportional to the derivative of the energy with respect to the interaction strength, and is thus an essential thermodynamic quantity for a gas with short-range correlations. Theoretical predictions for the temperature dependence of C differ substantially, especially near the superfluid transition, Tc, where C is predicted to either sharply decrease, sharply increase, or change very little. For T/T_F>0.4, our measurements of the homogeneous gas contact show a gradual decrease of C with increasing temperature, as predicted by theory. We observe a sharp decrease in C at T/T_F=0.16, which may be due to the superfluid phase transition. While a sharp decrease in C below Tc is predicted by some many-body theories, we find that none of the predictions fully accounts for the data.Comment: 5 pages, including a supplementary material section (10 pages). Rewriting of the introduction and discussion section

Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital

Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy includes visualization of the oropharynx, esophagus, stomach, and proximal duodenum, with real time assessment and interpretation of the findings encountered. An upper endoscopy is indicated in the diagnostic evaluation of signs and symptoms of a wide variety of gastrointestinal disorders. Besides there are some therapeutic implication of the endoscopy. This study was conducted to study the spectrum of diseases found during the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in patient presenting in Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital (LMCTH).   Methods: This was a retrospective observational study carried out in LMCTH. The endoscopic record book of the patients who underwent UGI endoscopy for various reasons from February 2011 to 2013 was analysed. The risk factor of smoking and alcohol was also included and analysed in the study.   Results: All together 550 upper GI endoscopy was performed in the two years. There were 290 males (52.72%) and females were 260 (47.38%). The mean age was 45.7 years (SD=17.9). Most of the patient belonged to the age group 41 to 80 years (71%). Among total patients, 209 (38%) of them were found to be macroscopically normal. Of those who had positive endoscopic findings; 165 (48.4%) had gastritis and 36 (10.6%) had duodenal ulcer, esophageal varices was in 30 (8.8%), gastric carcinoma in nine (2.6%) of cases. Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with the presence of peptic ulcer disease (p=0.01) and malignancy of gastrointestinal tract (p=0.03). Alcohol intake was non-significantly related to peptic ulceration (p=0.07) and malignancy of gastrointestinal tract (p=0.09).   Conclusion: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a safe and useful procedure for investigating patients with gastrointestinal complains. Gastritis was the most common finding among the patients who had abnormal endoscopy followed by duodenal ulcer and esophageal varices

Prediction of motif-mediated viral mimicry through the integration of host-pathogen interactions.

One of the mechanisms viruses use in hijacking host cellular machinery is mimicking Short Linear Motifs (SLiMs) in host proteins to maintain their life cycle inside host cells. In the face of the escalating volume of virus-host protein-protein interactions (vhPPIs) documented in databases; the accurate prediction of molecular mimicry remains a formidable challenge due to the inherent degeneracy of SLiMs. Consequently, there is a pressing need for computational methodologies to predict new instances of viral mimicry. Our present study introduces a DMI-de-novo pipeline, revealing that vhPPIs catalogued in the VirHostNet3.0 database effectively capture domain-motif interactions (DMIs). Notably, both affinity purification coupled mass spectrometry and yeast two-hybrid assays emerged as good approaches for delineating DMIs. Furthermore, we have identified new vhPPIs mediated by SLiMs across different viruses. Importantly, the de-novo prediction strategy facilitated the recognition of several potential mimicry candidates implicated in the subversion of host cellular proteins. The insights gleaned from this research not only enhance our comprehension of the mechanisms by which viruses co-opt host cellular machinery but also pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic interventions