A Guide to Legal and Genetic Terminology Used in the Sale of Hardwood Seeds and Planting Stock

Paying a premium for better genetics is not new to agriculture or to forestry in some parts of the United States, but paying a premium for genetically improved hardwood trees is new for most consumers. Genetic improvement efforts for hardwoods, especially in the Midwest, have been relatively modest and slow to produce marketable products. However, both public and private nurseries are beginning to sell limited quantities of hardwood seeds, seedlings, and grafted trees variously labeled as “genetically improved,” “improved,” “genetically enhanced,” “superior,” and “select.” Items labeled with these terms usually command higher prices than common planting stock. Landowners in Indiana plant millions of hardwood seedlings each year. Most of these seedlings are planted as 1-0 bare-root stock (Fig. 1). Landowners thinking of investing in planting stock that is sold with an implied assurance of superior performance need information to make informed decisions about the value of these products. This publication describes the laws that apply to those who purchase seeds and nursery stock and explains the methods used by tree breeders to improve trees. This information should help consumers judge the value of the trees they purchase

Development of Improved Drainage System for Storm Water flow at Isale koko Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Among areas prone to flood disaster yearly in Ilorin is Isale koko.  The study involved the reconnaissance survey to ascertain the current capacity of the existing drainage in the flood disaster prone area of Isale Koko, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The dimension of the drainage network of the area was taken at eight (8) various points and the average area of the drainage was obtained to be 0.44m². The already existing drainage in the area was divided into 3 sections for easy computations of flow value, length, depth and width. The rainfall intensity for the study area was found to be 98.49mm/hr. The rational method and Manning’s equation were used for the surface runoff and the proposed drainage respectively. The peak flow of the area and maximum flow velocity in the drains were determined to be 48.46mᶟ/s and 2.21mᶟ/s respectively. The best hydraulic section method was employed to obtain new drainage dimensions for both rectangular and trapezoidal channels. The new designed rectangular channel had dimensions of 1.16m × 0.812m while the trapezoidal channel had dimensions of 1.43m×0.72m×0.87m. The area of both channels was obtained to be 0.67m². A comparative analysis was carried against the average area of the pre-existing drainage that showed a 53.3% increase in drainage area; proving that the current drainage infrastructure of the area is grossly inadequate. Sequel to the analysis, the trapezoidal shaped drainage was recommended for the study area. Keywords—Drainage, Flood, Infrastructure, Runoff, Storm wate

Exploring patients’ viewpoints on uncomplicated malaria and its management in primary healthcare facilities of Plateau State, Nigeria: a qualitative study

Malaria infection is a major public health problem in Nigeria. The present study explored patients’ thoughts and feelings on uncomplicated malaria and its management practices in some primary healthcare (PHC) facilities of Plateau state, Nigeria. An in-depth interview was conducted on patients receiving treatment in some of the facilities in the state, who were recruited through purposive sampling method up to saturation point. All the information was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim before analysis using the principles of thematic content analysis of inductive method. Generally, their views on malaria-related issues were categorised into four main themes based on their relevancies as: patients’ perceptions on malaria infection and anti-malarial drugs, the role of healthcare workers and family during treatment, medications taken and socio-economic-related factors, as well as their general views on healthcare facilities-related factors. The study showed patients’ perceptions of the aforementioned factors as influencing their treatment and management practices of the disease in the study area. Necessary interventions that would improve patients’ quality of management of the disease toward achieving the desired outcome of therapy are recommended

The Vlasov limit and its fluctuations for a system of particles which interact by means of a wave field

In two recent publications [Commun. PDE, vol.22, p.307--335 (1997), Commun. Math. Phys., vol.203, p.1--19 (1999)], A. Komech, M. Kunze and H. Spohn studied the joint dynamics of a classical point particle and a wave type generalization of the Newtonian gravity potential, coupled in a regularized way. In the present paper the many-body dynamics of this model is studied. The Vlasov continuum limit is obtained in form equivalent to a weak law of large numbers. We also establish a central limit theorem for the fluctuations around this limit.Comment: 68 pages. Smaller corrections: two inequalities in sections 3 and two inequalities in section 4, and definition of a Banach space in appendix A1. Presentation of LLN and CLT in section 4.3 improved. Notation improve

Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonists for atrial fibrillation in clinical practice: GLORIA-AF Registry

Background and purpose: Prospectively collected data comparing the safety and effectiveness of individual non-vitamin K antagonists (NOACs) are lacking. Our objective was to directly compare the effectiveness and safety of NOACs in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: In GLORIA-AF, a large, prospective, global registry program, consecutive patients with newly diagnosed AF were followed for 3 years. The comparative analyses for (1) dabigatran vs rivaroxaban or apixaban and (2) rivaroxaban vs apixaban were performed on propensity score (PS)-matched patient sets. Proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for outcomes of interest. Results: The GLORIA-AF Phase III registry enrolled 21,300 patients between January 2014 and December 2016. Of these, 3839 were prescribed dabigatran, 4015 rivaroxaban and 4505 apixaban, with median ages of 71.0, 71.0, and 73.0 years, respectively. In the PS-matched set, the adjusted HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dabigatran vs rivaroxaban were, for stroke: 1.27 (0.79–2.03), major bleeding 0.59 (0.40–0.88), myocardial infarction 0.68 (0.40–1.16), and all-cause death 0.86 (0.67–1.10). For the comparison of dabigatran vs apixaban, in the PS-matched set, the adjusted HRs were, for stroke 1.16 (0.76–1.78), myocardial infarction 0.84 (0.48–1.46), major bleeding 0.98 (0.63–1.52) and all-cause death 1.01 (0.79–1.29). For the comparison of rivaroxaban vs apixaban, in the PS-matched set, the adjusted HRs were, for stroke 0.78 (0.52–1.19), myocardial infarction 0.96 (0.63–1.45), major bleeding 1.54 (1.14–2.08), and all-cause death 0.97 (0.80–1.19). Conclusions: Patients treated with dabigatran had a 41% lower risk of major bleeding compared with rivaroxaban, but similar risks of stroke, MI, and death. Relative to apixaban, patients treated with dabigatran had similar risks of stroke, major bleeding, MI, and death. Rivaroxaban relative to apixaban had increased risk for major bleeding, but similar risks for stroke, MI, and death. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifiers: NCT01468701, NCT01671007. Date of registration: September 2013

Anticoagulant selection in relation to the SAMe-TT2R2 score in patients with atrial fibrillation. the GLORIA-AF registry

Aim: The SAMe-TT2R2 score helps identify patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) likely to have poor anticoagulation control during anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and those with scores >2 might be better managed with a target-specific oral anticoagulant (NOAC). We hypothesized that in clinical practice, VKAs may be prescribed less frequently to patients with AF and SAMe-TT2R2 scores >2 than to patients with lower scores. Methods and results: We analyzed the Phase III dataset of the Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (GLORIA-AF), a large, global, prospective global registry of patients with newly diagnosed AF and ≥1 stroke risk factor. We compared baseline clinical characteristics and antithrombotic prescriptions to determine the probability of the VKA prescription among anticoagulated patients with the baseline SAMe-TT2R2 score >2 and ≤ 2. Among 17,465 anticoagulated patients with AF, 4,828 (27.6%) patients were prescribed VKA and 12,637 (72.4%) patients an NOAC: 11,884 (68.0%) patients had SAMe-TT2R2 scores 0-2 and 5,581 (32.0%) patients had scores >2. The proportion of patients prescribed VKA was 28.0% among patients with SAMe-TT2R2 scores >2 and 27.5% in those with scores ≤2. Conclusions: The lack of a clear association between the SAMe-TT2R2 score and anticoagulant selection may be attributed to the relative efficacy and safety profiles between NOACs and VKAs as well as to the absence of trial evidence that an SAMe-TT2R2-guided strategy for the selection of the type of anticoagulation in NVAF patients has an impact on clinical outcomes of efficacy and safety. The latter hypothesis is currently being tested in a randomized controlled trial. Clinical trial registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov//Unique identifier: NCT01937377, NCT01468701, and NCT01671007