EFFECT OF PLANTING GEOMETRY AND MULCHING ON MOISTURE CONSERVATION, WEED CONTROL AND WHEAT GROWTH UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS

Abstract The investigation to evaluate the effect of planting geometry and mulching on soil moisture, weed control and growth parameters of wheat under rainfed conditions was carried out at the University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi during rabi [2001][2002]. The experiment comprised of three types of planting geometries i.e., 25 cm apart single rows, 40 and 55 cm apart double and triple row strips, respectively. Wheat straw mulch i.e., 1, 2, 3 and 4 t ha -1 was compared against control. The results obtained indicated that mulching treatments had significantly increased soil moisture contents at tillering (6-21 %), booting (4-16 %) and grain (2-24 %) formation stage when mulch rate increased from 1 to 4 t ha -1 compared to control treatment. Similarly, the increase in mulch rate from 1 to 4 t ha -1 wheat straw when compared with control, progressively increased the emergence count (24-42 %), number of tillers (26-52 %), plant height (10 -37 %) and reduced the weed biomass (3-17 %). This indicated that emergence counts, plant height, number of tillers were directly proportional to the mulching material while weed biomass was inversely proportional to it. The planting geometry and interaction between mulching and planting geometry had nonsignificant effect on moisture contents through out the crop growth period except at tillering stage where maximum moisture contents recorded 16.80 % when 4 tones wheat straw mulch was applied in combination with 40 cm apart double row strip planting

HUBUNGAN IKLAN POLITIK KANDIDAT PRESIDEN TERHADAP TINGKAT KOGNISI DAN SIKAP POLITIK PEMILIH PEMULA

Abstract The research is motivated by the ability of political advertising on television in shaping the image and increase the popularity of a figure and the large number voters which amounts to 30% -40% of the total voters nationally. This study aims to determine the relationship of political advertising with the level of cognition and political attitudes voters. The method used is the method quantitative descriptive correlational approach. This study is located in Southeast Sulawesi Baubau City with a sample of 377 respondents of whom are first-time voters. To collect the necessary data, used questionnaires distributed to all respondents. Some of the statistical test used is the statistical terms and tests the hypothesis that political ads are used as research subjects Abu Rizal Bakrie political advertising, Prabowo and Wiranto. The results showed that political advertising on television is more effective in conveying the message to the respondent because the television is able to provide audio and visual display together. Political ad also contribute effectively to the improvement of cognition and political attitudes of the respondents. Respondents felt the benefit of political advertising because respondents generally gain knowledge of the candidate's vision and mission. Visible changes in the attitude of the respondents which is the accumulation of information and the level of cognition or knowledge gained from the respondents who watch political ads. The higher level of cognition of respondents to the presidential candidates will increasingly affect the political attitudes of the respondents. In this study also found that environmental factors (political support parents and attitudes about environmental politics) did influence the level of cognition and political attitudes of the respondents. In conclusion the study that political ads on television presidential candidate than as a powerful strategy for shaping the image and increase the popularity of a presidential candidate, is also very helpful for the voters to know the Indonesian presidential candidates.Abstrak Penelitian dilatarbelakangi oleh kemampuan iklan politik di televisi dalam membentuk citra dan menaikkan popularitas seorang figur serta besarnya angka pemilih pemula yang jumlahnya mencapai 30%-40% dari total wajib pilih secara nasional. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan iklan politik dengan tingkat kognisi dan sikap politik pemilih pemula. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode deskriptif korelasional melalui pendekatan kuantitatif. Penelitian ini berlokasi di Kota Baubau Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara dengan jumlah sampel 377 responden yang kesemuanya merupakan pemilih pemula. Untuk mengumpulkan data yang diperlukan, digunakan kuesioner yang disebarkan kepada seluruh responden. Beberapa uji statistik yang digunakan adalah uji syarat statistik dan uji hipotesis Iklan politik yang dijadikan subyek penelitian ini adalah iklan politik Abu Rizal Bakrie, Prabowo Subianto, dan Wiranto. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa iklan politik di televisi lebih efektif dalam menyampaikan pesan kepada responden karena televisi mampu memberikan tampilan audio dan visual secara bersama-sama. Iklan politiknya juga memberikan sumbangan yang efektif terhadap peningkatan kognisi dan sikap politik responden. Responden merasakan manfaat dari iklan politik karena responden umumnya mendapatkan pengetahuan tentang visi dan misi kandidat. Terlihat perubahan sikap responden yang merupakan akumulasi dari informasi dan tingkat kognisi atau pengetahuan yang diperoleh responden dari iklan politik yang ditonton. Semakin tinggi tingkat kognisi responden terhadap kandidat presiden maka akan semakin memengaruhi sikap politik responden. Dalam penelitian ini juga ditemukan bahwa faktor lingkungan (dukungan politik orang tua dan sikap politik lingkungan sekitar) ikut memengaruhi tingkat kognisi dan sikap politik responden. Sebagai kesimpulan penelitian bahwa penayangan iklan politik kandidat presiden di televisi selain sebagai salah satu strategi ampuh untuk membentuk citra dan menaikkan popularitas seorang kandidat presiden, juga sangat membantu pemilih pemula untuk mengenal para kandidat presiden Republik Indonesia.

Citrus peel extract and powder attenuate hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia using rodent experimental modeling

Objective: To investigate hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic potential of citrus peel extract and powder using rodent experimental modeling. Methods: Considering the fact, rat feeding trial was carried out for a period of 56 d to access the prophylaxis of citrus peel flavonoids by employing normal (study I), hyperglycemic (study II) and hypercholesterolemic (study III) rats. Each study was further divided into three groups to ensure the provision of selected diets, i.e., control, functional and nutraceutical diets. Each study was further divided into three groups to ensure the provision of selected diets, i.e., control, functional and nutraceutical diets. Results: Declining trend for total cholesterol was observed in all studies with maximum reduction (8.55%) in rat group fed on nutraceutical diet in study III. Likewise, levels of low density lipoproteins and triglycerides reduced 11.39% and 7.89% respectively in hypercholesterolemic rats. Moreover, nutraceutical diet alleviated the sera glucose level by 8.96% in study II. Conclusions: Conclusively, inclusion of citrus peel bioflavonoids in dietary therapies is a promising strategy to modulate lipidemic and glycemic attributes without imparting any deleterious effect on hematological parameters

Selenium and Salt Interactions in Black Gram (Vigna mungo L.): Ion Uptake, Antioxidant Defense System, and Photochemistry Efficiency

Salinity is a major abiotic stress which limits crop production, especially under rainfed conditions. Selenium (Se), as an important micronutrient, plays a vital role in mitigating detrimental effects of different abiotic stresses. The objective of this research was to examine the effect of Se fertilization on black gram (Vigna mungo) under salt stress. Our results showed that salt stress (100 mM NaCl) in leaves significantly induced oxidative damage and caused a decline in relative water content, chlorophyll (Chl), stomatal conductance (gs), photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), sucrose, and reducing sugars. A low dose of Se (1.5 ppm) significantly reduced hydrogen peroxide content, malondialdehyde formation, cell membrane damage, and also improved antioxidative enzyme activities, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase under salt stress. Se-treated plants exhibited higher Chl, gs, Fv/Fm, sucrose, and reducing sugars than untreated plants in response to salt stress. In addition, Se application enhanced Se uptake and reduced Na+ uptake, but Cl remained unaffected. Our results indicated that a low dose of Se effectively alleviated salt damage via inhibition of Na+ uptake and enhanced antioxidant defense resulting in a significant decrease in oxidative damage, and maintained gaseous exchange and PS II function for sucrose and reducing sugars accumulation in black gram

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980-2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1

Background Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dosespecific observations of routine childhood vaccination coverage between 1980 and 2019. Using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, we produced location-specific and year-specific estimates of 11 routine childhood vaccine coverage indicators for 204 countries and territories from 1980 to 2019, adjusting for biases in countryreported data and reflecting reported stockouts and supply disruptions. We analysed global and regional trends in coverage and numbers of zero-dose children (defined as those who never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] vaccine dose), progress towards GVAP targets, and the relationship between vaccine coverage and sociodemographic development. Findings By 2019, global coverage of third-dose DTP (DTP3; 81.6% [95% uncertainty interval 80.4-82 .7]) more than doubled from levels estimated in 1980 (39.9% [37.5-42.1]), as did global coverage of the first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1; from 38.5% [35.4-41.3] in 1980 to 83.6% [82.3-84.8] in 2019). Third- dose polio vaccine (Pol3) coverage also increased, from 42.6% (41.4-44.1) in 1980 to 79.8% (78.4-81.1) in 2019, and global coverage of newer vaccines increased rapidly between 2000 and 2019. The global number of zero-dose children fell by nearly 75% between 1980 and 2019, from 56.8 million (52.6-60. 9) to 14.5 million (13.4-15.9). However, over the past decade, global vaccine coverage broadly plateaued; 94 countries and territories recorded decreasing DTP3 coverage since 2010. Only 11 countries and territories were estimated to have reached the national GVAP target of at least 90% coverage for all assessed vaccines in 2019. Interpretation After achieving large gains in childhood vaccine coverage worldwide, in much of the world this progress was stalled or reversed from 2010 to 2019. These findings underscore the importance of revisiting routine immunisation strategies and programmatic approaches, recentring service delivery around equity and underserved populations. Strengthening vaccine data and monitoring systems is crucial to these pursuits, now and through to 2030, to ensure that all children have access to, and can benefit from, lifesaving vaccines. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

Measuring universal health coverage based on an index of effective coverage of health services in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019 : A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Measuring effective coverage at the health-system level is important for understanding whether health services are aligned with countries' health profiles and are of sufficient quality to produce health gains for populations of all ages. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we assessed UHC effective coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Drawing from a measurement framework developed through WHO's GPW13 consultation, we mapped 23 effective coverage indicators to a matrix representing health service types (eg, promotion, prevention, and treatment) and five population-age groups spanning from reproductive and newborn to older adults (≥65 years). Effective coverage indicators were based on intervention coverage or outcome-based measures such as mortality-to-incidence ratios to approximate access to quality care; outcome-based measures were transformed to values on a scale of 0–100 based on the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile of location-year values. We constructed the UHC effective coverage index by weighting each effective coverage indicator relative to its associated potential health gains, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years for each location-year and population-age group. For three tests of validity (content, known-groups, and convergent), UHC effective coverage index performance was generally better than that of other UHC service coverage indices from WHO (ie, the current metric for SDG indicator 3.8.1 on UHC service coverage), the World Bank, and GBD 2017. We quantified frontiers of UHC effective coverage performance on the basis of pooled health spending per capita, representing UHC effective coverage index levels achieved in 2019 relative to country-level government health spending, prepaid private expenditures, and development assistance for health. To assess current trajectories towards the GPW13 UHC billion target—1 billion more people benefiting from UHC by 2023—we estimated additional population equivalents with UHC effective coverage from 2018 to 2023. Findings Globally, performance on the UHC effective coverage index improved from 45·8 (95% uncertainty interval 44·2–47·5) in 1990 to 60·3 (58·7–61·9) in 2019, yet country-level UHC effective coverage in 2019 still spanned from 95 or higher in Japan and Iceland to lower than 25 in Somalia and the Central African Republic. Since 2010, sub-Saharan Africa showed accelerated gains on the UHC effective coverage index (at an average increase of 2·6% [1·9–3·3] per year up to 2019); by contrast, most other GBD super-regions had slowed rates of progress in 2010–2019 relative to 1990–2010. Many countries showed lagging performance on effective coverage indicators for non-communicable diseases relative to those for communicable diseases and maternal and child health, despite non-communicable diseases accounting for a greater proportion of potential health gains in 2019, suggesting that many health systems are not keeping pace with the rising non-communicable disease burden and associated population health needs. In 2019, the UHC effective coverage index was associated with pooled health spending per capita (r=0·79), although countries across the development spectrum had much lower UHC effective coverage than is potentially achievable relative to their health spending. Under maximum efficiency of translating health spending into UHC effective coverage performance, countries would need to reach $1398 pooled health spending per capita (US$ adjusted for purchasing power parity) in order to achieve 80 on the UHC effective coverage index. From 2018 to 2023, an estimated 388·9 million (358·6–421·3) more population equivalents would have UHC effective coverage, falling well short of the GPW13 target of 1 billion more people benefiting from UHC during this time. Current projections point to an estimated 3·1 billion (3·0–3·2) population equivalents still lacking UHC effective coverage in 2023, with nearly a third (968·1 million [903·5–1040·3]) residing in south Asia. Interpretation The present study demonstrates the utility of measuring effective coverage and its role in supporting improved health outcomes for all people—the ultimate goal of UHC and its achievement. Global ambitions to accelerate progress on UHC service coverage are increasingly unlikely unless concerted action on non-communicable diseases occurs and countries can better translate health spending into improved performance. Focusing on effective coverage and accounting for the world's evolving health needs lays the groundwork for better understanding how close—or how far—all populations are in benefiting from UHC