Characterization of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) collection using quantitative and qualitative traits in the Mediterranean Basin

Abstract This study was conducted to determine the genetic diversity and relationship among 256 groundnut genotypes of which 132 belong to subspecies (Subsp.) Arachis hypogaea L. and 124 to Subsp. Arachis fastigiata L. The collection was evaluated for eight quantitative and five qualitative traits during three consecutive years under Mediterranean climate conditions. Coefficient of variation (CV) significantly differed among the genotypes for all the studied quantitative traits ranged from 9.10 to 33.98%, while the highest CV was recorded for seed yield. The subspecies, A. hypogaea L. and A. fastigiata L., displayed significant differences for quantitative traits except for numbers of pods per plant and seed yield. Principal component analyses showed that the first three principal components accounted for 68.14% variation for quantitative traits. Major traits that accounted for the variation by the three PCs include days to the first flowering, days to 50% flowering, number of pods per plant and shelling percentage. The groundnut collection also offers wide seed coat color diversity which affects the crop marketability. The information on variations in quantitative and qualitative traits identified in the present investigation provided useful genotypes which would be serving parents. These parental genotypes can be used in groundnut breeding programs to develop desirable cultivars in Mediterranean basin and globally

Topological 2-form Gravity in Four Dimensions

A kind of topological field theory is proposed as a candidate to describe the global structure of the 2-form Einstein gravity with or without a cosmological constant. Indeed in the former case, we show that a quantum state in the candidate gives an exact solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. The BRST quantization based on the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky (BFV) formalism is carried out for this topological version of the 2-form Einstein gravity.Comment: 15 page

Bezoar in gastro-jejunostomy presenting with symptoms of gastric outlet obstruction: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Gastric outlet obstruction usually presents with non-bilious vomiting, colicky epigastric pain, loss of appetite and occasionally, upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Causes can be classified as benign or malignant, or as extra- or intraluminal. Gastrojejunostomy is a well-recognised surgical procedure performed to bypass gastric outlet obstruction. A bezoar occurs most commonly in patients with impaired gastrointestinal motility or with a history of gastric surgery. It is an intestinal concretion, which fails to pass along the alimentary canal.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 62-year-old Asian woman with a history of gastrojejunostomy for peptic ulcer disease was admitted to hospital with epigastric pain, vomiting and dehydration. All investigations concluded gastric outlet obstruction secondary to a "stricture" at the site of gastrojejunostomy. Subsequent laparotomy revealed that the cause of the obstruction was a bezoar.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Many bezoars can be removed endoscopically, but some will require operative intervention. Once removed, emphasis must be placed upon prevention of recurrence. Surgeons must learn to recognise and classify bezoars in order to provide the most effective therapy.</p

Awareness of vaccination status and its predictors among working people in Switzerland

BACKGROUND: Adult vaccination status may be difficult to obtain, often requiring providers to rely on individual patient recall. To determine vaccination status awareness and the sociodemographic predictors of awareness for tetanus, hepatitis A and B, tick born encephalitis (TBE) and influenza vaccination. METHODS: Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate a questionnaire survey of 10 321 employees (4070 women and 6251 men aged 15–72 years) of two companies in Switzerland. RESULTS: Among 10 321 respondents, 75.5% reported knowing their tetanus vaccination status, 64.1% hepatitis A, 61.1% hepatitis B, 64.3% TBE and 71.9% influenza. Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 employees were not aware of their vaccination status. Differences in awareness for the five vaccinations considered correlated with gender and language. These differences persisted in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION: Women employees, German-speaking employees and employees who paid more attention to their diet were more often aware of their vaccination status. A more reliable and readily accessible data source for vaccination status is needed in order to capitalize on opportunities to update vaccinations among Swiss employees

Supply chain sustainability performance measurement of small and medium sized enterprises using structural equation modeling

Sustainability of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is significant as SMEs contribute to GDP substantially in every economy. This research develops an innovative sustainable supply chain performance measurement model for SMEs. Prior researches predominantly use balanced score card (BSC) approach that presume causal relationship of criteria and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which derive efficiency of units from a few input and output criteria. While DEA is effective for policymakers, BSC is more suitable for individual SME. The proposed method that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to derive the relationship of criteria and criteria weights formulates regression-type models for a specific region as well as for specific SME. The SEM-based supply chain sustainability performance measurement model is beneficial to policymakers as they can determine means for improvement at a regional level. The proposed method could also facilitate managers/owners of individual SMEs with measures for improving their supply chain sustainability performance. The method has been applied to three varied geographical locations in the UK, France and India in order to demonstrate its effectiveness

Increasing abdominal pressure with and without PEEP: effects on intra-peritoneal, intra-organ and intra-vascular pressures

Intra-organ and intra-vascular pressures can be used to estimate intra-abdominal pressure. The aim of this prospective, interventional study was to assess the effect of PEEP on the accuracy of pressure estimation at different measurement sites in a model of increased abdominal pressure

Increasing abdominal pressure with and without PEEP: effects on intra-peritoneal, intra-organ and intra-vascular pressures

Intra-organ and intra-vascular pressures can be used to estimate intra-abdominal pressure. The aim of this prospective, interventional study was to assess the effect of PEEP on the accuracy of pressure estimation at different measurement sites in a model of increased abdominal pressure

Europe and the political: from axiological monism to pluralistic dialogism

“The political” represents a moment in which actors recognise autonomy and equality as constitutive values in the agonistic search for appropriate open-ended political outcomes. The tutelary, pedagogical and disciplinary practices of the depoliticised European Union (EU) undermine the foundations of equality in diplomatic and political engagement between continental actors. The relationship becomes axiological, where issues are deemed to have been resolved through some sort of anterior pre-political arrangement. This is a type of ahistorical political monism that ultimately claims to speak for all of Europe. The return of “the political” allows a more generous and pluralistic politics to emerge based on genuine dialogical foundations in which self and other engage as equals and are mutually transformed by that engagement

An automated, cost-effective and scalable, flood-and-drain based root phenotyping system for cereals

Background: Genetic studies on the molecular mechanisms of the regulation of root growth require the characterisation of a specific root phenotype to be linked with a certain genotype. Such studies using classical labour-intensive methods are severely hindered due to the technical limitations that are associated with the impeded observation of the root system of a plant during its growth. The aim of the research presented here was to develop a reliable, cost-effective method for the analysis of a plant root phenotype that would enable the precise characterisation of the root system architecture of cereals. Results: The presented method describes a complete system for automatic supplementation and continuous sensing of culture solution supplied to plants that are grown in transparent tubes containing a solid substrate. The presented system comprises the comprehensive pipeline consisting of a modular-based and remotely-controlled plant growth system and customized imaging setup for root and shoot phenotyping. The system enables an easy extension of the experimental capacity in order to form a combined platform that is comprised of parallel modules, each holding up to 48 plants. The conducted experiments focused on the selection of the most suitable conditions for phenotyping studies in barley: an optimal size of the glass beads, diameters of the acrylic tubes, composition of a medium, and a rate of the medium flow. Conclusions: The developed system enables an efficient, accurate and highly repeatable analysis of the morphological features of the root system of cereals. Because a simple and fully-automated control system is used, the experimental conditions can easily be normalised for different species of cereals. The scalability of the module-based system allows its capacity to be adjusted in order to meet the requirements of a particular experiment