Is deep sowing beneficial for dry season cropping without irrigation on sandy soil with shallow water table?

Deep sowing (15 cm) on sands in the dry season is a practice used in post-rice sowing of legumes without irrigation, designed to increase moisture access for germination, growth and crops yield. However, with such deep sowing there can be a penalty for emergence and growth if there is abundant water stored in the upper soil profile during the growing season. Hence, there is a need to define the soil water regimes under which deep sowing is advantageous for different legumes. To investigate the adaptation of legume crop species to deep sowing, we studied their emergence, growth and yield on three deep soils (3-16% clay) with shallow water tables during two years in northeast Thailand. At site 1 and 2, peanut, cowpea, mungbean and soybean were sown shallow (~5 cm) or deep (~15 cm). At site 3, only cowpea and peanut were shallow or deep sown. Shallow water tables maintained soil water content (0-15 cm) above permanent wilting point throughout the growing season. Deep sowing of all legumes delayed emergence by 3-7 days at all locations. Shoot dry weight of legumes after deep sowing was mostly similar or lower than weight after shallow sowing. Yield and harvest index of legumes did not differ meaningfully among sowing depths. Therefore, deep sowing was not beneficial for dry season cropping without irrigation when there was a shallow water table and sufficient water for crop growth throughout soil profiles in the growing season. Taken together with previous studies, we conclude that shallow rather than deep sowing of legumes was preferred when the soil water content at 0-15-cm depth remained higher than permanent wilting point throughout the growing season due to shallow water table

A biological study of the benefits of intercropping in England and India

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Changes in root xylem anatomy of peanut genotypes with different drought resistance levels under early-season drought

During the 2014 and 2015 seasons, peanut root anatomy studies were conducted under well-watered and under drought conditions using three peanut genotypes which are known to differ in their physiological responses to early- and mid-season drought (ICGV 98,305, ICGV 98,324 and Tifton-8). Cross sections of the newly formed roots revealed that the average vessel diameter and total vessel area in the first-order roots were significantly reduced under drought in ICGV 98,305 and ICGV 98,324, yet not in Tifton-8, which had the smallest vessel diameters and total area in both well-watered and drought treatments. The xylem vessel structure in newly formed roots of ICGV 98,324 was very responsive to changes in soil moisture content. This adaptive capacity of ICGV 98,324 to change xylem structure as soil moisture conditions change may provide plant breeders an important trait which will lead to better water-use efficiencies in both moist and drought conditions

Impact of intravenous thrombolysis on length of hospital stay in cases of acute ischemic stroke

Narongrit Kasemsap,1,2 Nisa Vorasoot,1,2 Kannikar Kongbunkiat,1,2 Udomlack Peansukwech,1 Somsak Tiamkao,1,2 Kittisak Sawanyawisuth1,3,4 1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, 2North-Eastern Stroke Research Group, 3Research Center in Back, Neck, Other Joint Pain and Human Performance (BNOJPH), 4Internal Medicine Research Group, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand Background: There are limited data available on factors associated with length of stay (LOS) in cases of acute ischemic stroke according to Poisson analysis, which is more appropriate than other methods.Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical summary charts of patients with acute ischemic stroke in 30 hospitals across northeast Thailand, with the main outcome as LOS. Poisson regression was used to examine factors associated with LOS.Results: We included 898 patients in the analysis; 460 (51.2%) were male. The median age (interquartile; IQR) was 58 (67–75) years and the median LOS was 5 (4–7) days. The median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS [IQR]) was 8 (4–13). Results of the analysis showed that, after controlling for age, stroke severity, atrial fibrillation, and thrombolytic use, significant variables associated with LOS were moderate stroke (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.15 [range 1.01–1.30], P=0.040), severe stroke (IRR [95% CI] =1.27 [1.09–1.47], P=0.002), thrombolytic use (IRR [95% CI] =0.68 [0.60–0.76], P<0.001), and atrial fibrillation (IRR [95% CI] =1.15 [1.02–1.30], P=0.023). After adjusting for complications, thrombolytic use remained significantly associated with decreased LOS (IRR [95% CI] =0.74 [0.67–0.83], P=0.001). Other significant factors were atrial fibrillation (IRR [95% CI] =1.14 [1.02–1.28], P=0.018), pneumonia (IRR [95% CI] =1.48 [1.30–1.68], P<0.001), and urinary tract infection (IRR [95% CI] =1.41 [1.14–1.74], P=0.001).Conclusion: According to Poisson analysis, intravenous thrombolysis, atrial fibrillation, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection are associated with LOS in cases of acute ischemic stroke, regardless of age, stroke severity, comorbidities, or complications. Keywords: acute ischemic stroke, length of stay, thrombolysi

Efficacy and motor complications of original and generic levodopa in Parkinson's disease treatment

Narongrit Kasemsap,1 Satrirat Onsanit,2 Piyawan Chiewthanakul,3 Kannikar Kongbunkiat,1 Chonthicha Tanking,1 Nisa Vorasoot,1 Kittisak Sawanyawisuth,1,4 Somsak Tiamkao1,5 1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 2Department of Medicine, Udonthani Hospital, Udonthani, 3Department of Medicine, Khon Kaen Hospital, 4Research Center in Back, Neck, Other Joint Pain and Human Performance (BNOJPH), 5Neuroscience Research and Development Group (NRDG), Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand Background: In general, a generic drug is considered interchangeable with the original formulated drug. In Parkinson’s disease (PD), generic drug use remains debated. This study was aimed to investigate whether the generic drug was as effective as the original in improving the symptoms of PD and the prevalence of motor complications.Methods: This study was a multicenter cohort study of patients with PD enrolled from three northeast hospitals in Thailand between February 2013 and February 2014. The patients were categorized into original and generic levodopa groups. The clinical characteristics, efficacy, and motor complications were compared between the groups.Results: There were 400 eligible patients. Of these, 327 patients (81.75%) met the study criteria and were classified as the original levodopa group (200 patients, 61.16%) and the generic levodopa group (127 patients, 38.84%). The average age of all patients with PD was 65 years. The duration of PD and the modified Hoehn–Yahr stages were not different between the groups. The total doses of original and generic levodopa-equivalent doses were significantly different (199.97±127.08 versus 305.58±138.27 mg; P-value <0.001) and the actual doses were 198.10±117.92 versus 308.85±139.40 mg (P-value <0.001). Approximately 80% of patients with PD in both groups had good responses (P-value >0.999), but the development of motor complications was significantly greater in the original than in the generic group.Conclusion: Generic levodopa was effective in improving the symptoms of PD. The prevalence of motor complications in the original compound group, at a lower dose of levodopa equivalent, was higher than in the generic group. Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, original, generic, levodopa, efficacy, motor complicatio

Association between aflatoxin contamination and drought tolerance traits in peanut

The current study investigates the association between drought tolerance traits and aflatoxin contamination in peanut grown under long-term drought. Two field experiments were conducted at Khon Kaen University, Thailand using a split-split plot design with three drought stress levels as main plots, 11 genotypes as sub-plots, and two soil inoculations of Aspergillus flavus treatments as sub-sub-plots. The effects of temperature, soil moisture and A. flavus population on kernel colonization and aflatoxin contamination, and drought tolerance traits viz. specific leaf area (SLA) and root length density (RLD) were measured. The results demonstrated that elevated soil temperatures and reduced soil moisture, favored aflatoxin production. Drought in combination with higher levels of A. flavus inoculum load in the soil resulted in an increase in the fungal populations in the soil which in turn resulted in increased kernel colonization and subsequent aflatoxin contamination. A combination of SLA and RLD, and kernel colonization had a significant influence on aflatoxin contamination under drought conditions in both seasons (r = 0.73** and 0.76**). The results revealed that drought tolerance traits (SLA and RLD) could be contributing to resistance to aflatoxin contamination suggesting that a combination of SLA, RLD and kernel colonization could be used as selection criteria in selecting parents for aflatoxin resistance

Association of root dry weight and transpiration efficiency of peanut genotypes under early season drought

Root characters have been well established as drought resistance traits in peanut. However, the relationships of root characters with transpiration efficiency (TE) have not been well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between root traits and TE under early season drought. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted during February-May 2004 and November 2004-March 2005 at the Field Crop Research Station of Khon Kaen University, in Khon Kaen province of Thailand. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with 2 factorial set-up with four replications. Factor A consisted of two water regimes, i.e. irrigated control (FC) and 1/3 available soil water (1/3 AW) from emergence to 40 days after emergence followed by adequate water supply, and factor B comprised of 11 peanut genotypes. Data were recorded for specific leaf area (SLA) and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR) at 40 and 60 days after emergence (DAE) and TE and root dry weight (RDW) at harvest. Early season drought increased SCMR, TE and RDW but it reduced SLA. Strong and more consistent variation for TE were observed among 11 peanut genotypes across seasons. Across both seasons, ICGV 98300, KK 60-3 and Tifton-8 had high TE and also had large root systems under drought conditions. KK 60-3 and Tifton-8 had low SLA and high SCMR under early season drought conditions. Root dry weight had a contribution to TE under well-watered and drought conditions, especially under drought condition. SCMR and SLA had smaller contributions to TE under well-watered and ESD conditions. From this study it was apparent that root dry weight was an important trait for TE under early season drought