Conjoint Use Research Articles

Long term effect of integrated nutrient management on yield and economics of rice (Oryza sativaL.)-wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) system in north-western Himalaya

The present investigation was carried out to study the integrated effect of nutrient management on rice and wheat yield and its economics in an on-going long term fertilizer experiment initiated during kharif 1991 at CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur. Eight treatments comprising control, 100% NPK (inorganic) and conjoint use of 50 and 75% NPK with 50 and 25% N substitution either through FYM, wheat straw or green manure Sesbania aculeata to rice (June-October) followed by 100 and 75% NPK through inorganics to wheat (November-May), respectively, were imposed since the inception of the experiment. Grain and straw yields of both the crops were recorded after 20th and 21st cropping cycles (2010–11 and 2011–12). The omission of chemical fertilizers and organics for last 20 years (control) resulted in significantly lower yield in comparison to rest of the treatments. Continuous substitution of 50% N through green manure with 50% NPK produced maximum rice grain (7.37 t/ha) and straw (6.21 t/ha) yield which was 16.8 and 14.8% higher over 100% NPK alone. In case of wheat, highest grain yield (3.64 t/ha) was recorded in treatment where 50% N was substituted through FYM to rice crop every year. The data further revealed that application of (i) 50% NPK+50% N through FYM to rice followed by 100% NPK to wheat, (ii) 100% NPK to both the crops and (iii) 50% NPK+50% N through green manure to rice followed by 100% NPK to wheat gave significantly higher net returns (193, 170 and 163%, respectively) over control. The highest benefit: cost (B: C) ratio of 1.40 was recorded in treatment where 100% NPK was applied to both the crops followed by 1.22 in treatment where 50% NPK+50% N through FYM to rice followed by 100% NPK to wheat was applied.

A Novel Neural Network Based Method Developed for Digit Recognition Applied to Automatic Speed Sign Recognition

This Paper presents a new hybrid technique for digit recognition applied to the speed limit sign recognition task. The complete recognition system consists in the detection and recognition of the speed signs in RGB images. A pretreatment is applied to extract the pictogram from a detected circular road sign, and then the task discussed in this work is employed to recognize digit candidates. To realize a compromise between performances, reduced execution time and optimized memory resources, the developed method is based on a conjoint use of a Neural Network and a Decision Tree. A simple Network is employed firstly to classify the extracted candidates into three classes and secondly a small Decision Tree is charged to determine the exact information. This combination is used to reduce the size of the Network as well as the memory resources utilization. The evaluation of the technique and the comparison with existent methods show the effectiveness.

SUN-PP206: The Relationship Between the Body Mass Index/Age and Arm Circumference in the Nutritional Assessment of Children Aged 2 To 5 Years

Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and, anthropometric, biochemical parameters. Body composition by bioelectrical impedance was used. Subjects were classified into three groups (G): Group I: Well-nourished (MNA 24 points), Group II: at nutritional risk (MNA 23.5 17 points) and PEM (<17 points). Statistical analysis by SPSS v. 19. Results: Prevalence of nutritional risk and PEM were 58.6% and 16.3%, respectively. MNA showed significantly positive correlation with fat and muscle mass, intracellular water and serum albumin (at least, P< 0.05). Only 8.2% of institutionalized elderly subjects had oral nutritional supplement prescription. Linear regression analysis showed that the percentage of standard body weight, Mediterranean diet questionnaire, adipose-muscle index, hemoglobin and serum albumin were predictors of nutritional status (at least, p < 0.05; R = 0.62; R2 = 0.38). Conclusion: Nutritional assessment measured by MNA identifies nutritional at risk or PEM in elders. The conjoint use of clinical, anthropometric and laboratory markers confirm the nutritional diagnose and help to plan personalized nutritional intervention. Further studies in elderly institutionalized people are required.

Changes in vaginal microbiota following antimicrobial and probiotic therapy.

BackgroundThe composition of the vaginal microbiota is known to be important for health. When infections occur, antimicrobial therapy is often poorly efficacious.Objective and designWe used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize changes in the bacterial microbiota following oral antimicrobial and probiotic interventions.ResultsWhile the bacterial vaginal profiles of women with vulvovaginal candidiasis were dominated by lactobacilli as in healthy women, and unchanged by therapy, Gardnerella vaginalis, Prevotella, Atopobium, Sneathia, and Megasphaera dominated the vagina of women with bacterial vaginosis (BV), and treatment with tinidazole plus Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14+L. rhamnosus GR-1 resulted in an increased relative abundance of indigenous L. iners or L. crispatus.ConclusionsThe ability to restore homeostasis provides a rationale for conjoint use of probiotics with antibiotic treatment of BV.

Classification of electromyography signals using relevance vector machines and fractal dimension

Surface electromyography (EMG) signals have been studied extensively in the last years aiming at the automatic classification of hand gestures and movements as well as the early identification of latent neuromuscular disorders. In this paper, we investigate the potentials of the conjoint use of relevance vector machines (RVM) and fractal dimension (FD) for automatically identifying EMG signals related to different classes of limb motion. The adoption of FD as the mechanism for feature extraction is justified by the fact that EMG signals usually show traces of self-similarity. In particular, four well-known FD estimation methods, namely box-counting, Higuchi's, Katz's and Sevcik's methods, have been considered in this study. With respect to RVM, besides the standard formulation for binary classification, we also investigate the performance of two recently proposed variants, namely constructive mRVM and top-down mRVM, that deal specifically with multiclass problems. These classifiers operate solely over the features extracted by the FD estimation methods, and since the number of such features is relatively small, the efficiency of the classifier induction process is ensured. Results of experiments conducted on a publicly available dataset involving seven distinct types of limb motions are reported whereby we assess the performance of different configurations of the proposed RVM+FD approach. Overall, the results evidence that kernel machines equipped with the FD feature values can be useful for achieving good levels of classification performance. In particular, we have empirically observed that the features extracted by the Katz's method is of better quality than the features generated by other methods.

Effect of crop residue and residual zinc on zinc fractions and their contribution to zinc uptake under rice-wheat cropping system in calciorthents

The long term effect of crop residue and residual zinc on Zn fractions in soil and their contribution to Zn uptake in rice-wheat system was studied in calciorthents of the Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur (Bihar) during 2010–11 and 2011–12. Application of zinc and crop residue increased the water soluble+exchangeable, complexed, organically bound, carbonate and amorphous oxide, crystalline oxide, residual and total Zn in the soil. The order of dominance of different fractions in soil was total Zn (164.35 mg/kg)> residual-Zn (156.41 mg/kg) >Zn bound to crystalline oxide (3.06 mg/kg)>complexed Zn (2.27 mg/kg)>organically bound Zn (1.14 mg/kg)> water soluble plus exchangeable Zn (0.84 mg/kg) and Zn bound carbonate and amorphous oxide (0.73 mg/kg). All the soil Zn fractions were significantly correlated among themselves indicating existence of a dynamic equilibrium with each other. Zinc uptake by rice-wheat was improved with zinc along with crop residue plus compost. Among different Zn fractions, Zn bound to crystalline oxide, followed by Zn bound to carbonate and amorphous oxide played a key role in explaining the variation in yield and nutrient uptake by rice and wheat. The highest zinc uptake by rice and wheat was reported with the conjoint use of 100% crop residue and 10 kg Zn/ha.

Effect of Integrated Application of Inorganic and Organic Sources on Soil Properties, Yield and Nutrient Uptake by Rice (Oryza sativaL.) in Intermediate Zone of Jammu and Kashmir

Field experiment was conducted for three consecutive kharif seasons (2009 to 2011) at the Crop Research Farm, RARS, SKUAST-Jammu, Rajouri to study the effect of integrated application of inorganic and organic sources on soil properties, yield and nutrient uptake by rice in intermediate zone of Jammu and Kashmir. Three years of conjoint use of 10 t FYM ha−1 with 100% NPK significantly improved the organic carbon and available N, P and K contents over the chemical fertilizers alone. Significantly higher grain yield of 5.36 t ha−1 and total NPK uptake by rice (96.3, 20.4 and 109.5 kg ha−1, respectively) with the application of 100% NPK+10 t FYM ha−1 as compared to the grain yield of 4.96 t ha−1 and total NPK uptake (86.5,18.1 and 96.8 kg ha−1, respectively) with the 100% NPK alone. The yield and nutrient uptake by rice were significantly lower with the sub-optimal doses of NPK. Addition of Zn did not improve rice yield significantly. Thus, integrated application of inorganic and organic sources (100% NPK + 10 t FYM ha−1) maximized yields of rice crop and improved the soil fertility in the intermediate zone of Jammu and Kashmir.

Capacity Issues and Efficiency Drivers in Brazilian Bulk Terminals

This paper presents an efficiency analysis of Brazilian bulk terminals built upon the conjoint use of Data Envelopment Analysis and the bootstrapping technique. Confidence intervals and bias corrected central estimates were used as cornerstone tools, not only to test for significant differences on efficiency scores and their reciprocals, but also on returns to scale indicators provided by different DEA models. The results of the study suggest that most Brazilian bulk terminals present increasing returns-to-scale, that is, they are too small in size comparatively to the tasks performed, indicating a capacity shortfall. Results also suggest paths for improving efficiency levels in a scenario of low investments and capacity constraints: privatization and cargo specialization. A final contribution to the literature lays on the development a simple methodology to assess returns-to-scale based on bootstrap results.

Soil boron status: impact of lime and fertilizers in an Indian long-term field experiment on a Typic Paleustalf

In Indian agriculture, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizers are predominantly used by the farmers, often ignoring secondary and micronutrients. Significance of boron (B) in nutrient management studies has been increasingly underlined under intensive cropping systems particularly in acid soils. In order to understand the distribution of soil native B in different fractions and their contribution to plant B uptake as influenced by nutrient management, soil samples collected after wheat (2009–2010) from a long-term experiment (LTE) continuing since 1972–1973 on Typic Paleustalf of Ranchi were subjected to sequential fractionation of soil B. Treatments included N alone, NP, NPK, 150% of recommended NPK, NPK + farmyard manure (FYM), NPK + lime, and an unfertilized-control. Five soil B fractions were determined along with hot CaCl2-extractable (available) B. Averaged across the treatments, the soil had low organic carbon (C), pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and high free sesquioxides. Total B content was 21.7 mg kg−1. Among different B fractions, residual B was the major contributor to total B and other fractions collectively shared 7% of total B only. Application of N alone depleted readily soluble, specifically adsorbed and organically bound B bringing the contents even below unfertilized-control. Conjoint use of lime or FYM with NPK increased significantly these fractions, whereas a decrease in oxide bound B was noticed under these treatments. Available B was positively correlated with these fractions indicating their significance in controlling B availability in the soil. The study revealed that use of lime or FYM helped modifying the distribution of soil B in different fractions by way of changing soil pH and organic C content, resulting in enrichment of plant available pool. A drastically low available B content in different treatments receiving fertilizers alone, however, suggested the necessity of B fertilization at prescribed rates for maintaining soil B fertility as also high crop yields.

The retrosplenial cortex is necessary for path integration in the dark

An increasing amount of data indicates that the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) plays a role in navigation and spatial memory. Moreover, it has been suggested that the RSC integrates mnemonic spatial features of the environment with self-motion information therefore enabling accurate path integration in darkness. This hypothesis rests on data obtained from animals trained in spatial memory tasks involving the conjoint use of allothetic and idiothetic information [8]. We examined the contribution of the RSC when animals are submitted to a path integration task with minimal memory requirement in light and dark. We found that RSC-lesioned rats exhibited a path integration deficit in the dark but not in the light. This suggests that the RSC is important for path integration and incorporates visuospatial information to maintain path integration accuracy.

Laboratory Evaluation of Select Methods of Corrosion Prevention in Reinforced Concrete Bridges

Sixteen reinforced concrete laboratory specimens were used to evaluate a number of corrosion prevention methods under an accelerated (6 months) testing program. The use of galvanic thermal sprayed zinc, galvanic embedded anodes, a tri-silane sealer, an acrylic coating, and an epoxy/polyurethane coating was evaluated. The specimens received various treatments prior to exposure to accelerated corrosion. The performance of the treatments was evaluated with respect to corrosion currents, chloride ingress, extent of cracking, severity of rust staining, and visual inspection of the reinforcing steel after the conclusion of testing and dissection. Results indicated that the tri-silane sealer, the conjoint use of galvanic thermal sprayed zinc and epoxy/polyurethane coating, the epoxy/polyurethane coating, and acrylic coating performed better than the other methods tested. Higher chloride concentrations were measured in the vicinity of embedded zinc anodes.

Drug-induced conformational population shifts in topoisomerase-DNA ternary complexes.

Type II topoisomerases (TOP2) are enzymes that resolve the topological problems during DNA replication and transcription by transiently cleaving both strands and forming a cleavage complex with the DNA. Several prominent anti-cancer agents inhibit TOP2 by stabilizing the cleavage complex and engendering permanent DNA breakage. To discriminate drug binding modes in TOP2-α and TOP2-β, we applied our newly developed scoring function, dubbed AutoDock4RAP, to evaluate the binding modes of VP-16, m-AMSA, and mitoxantrone to the cleavage complexes. Docking reproduced crystallographic binding mode of VP-16 in a ternary complex of TOP2-β with root-mean-square deviation of 0.65 Å. Molecular dynamics simulation of the complex confirmed the crystallographic binding mode of VP-16 and the conformation of the residue R503. Drug-related conformational changes in R503 have been observed in ternary complexes with m-AMSA and mitoxantrone. However, the R503 rotamers in these two simulations deviate from their crystallographic conformations, indicating a relaxation dynamics from the conformations determined with the drug replacement procedure. The binding mode of VP-16 in the cleavage complex of TOP2-α was determined by the conjoint use of docking and molecular dynamics simulations, which fell within a similar binding pocket of TOP2-β cleavage complex. Our findings may facilitate more efficient design efforts targeting TOP2-α specific drugs.

Development of different spatial frames of reference for orientation in small-scale environments

Previous studies show that there is a developmental transition in the frames of reference children use to orientate from a body-centered to an allocentric strategy. However, there is no agreement concerning the age at which they begin to integrate and flexibly use both strategies in small-scale environments. 6-10-year-old children and adults were trained to locate a hidden object in an arm-maze placed within a small-scale model, which maintained stable relationships with the frames of reference provided by the experimental room and by the subject (Experiment 1), and in a situation of inconsistency between the frame provided by the small-scale model and the other two (Experiment 2). When the frames of reference provided by the room and by the subject conflict with that of the manipulative space, the performance deteriorates compared to the situation when multiple frames of reference can be used cooperatively to locate the goal. The flexible use of the information provided by the model (i.e., the cues surrounding the maze and the geometrical features) emerged at 10 years. Through development, children acquire new spatial abilities and increasing flexibility in the conjoint use of egocentric and allocentric frames of reference in small-scale environments.

Effect of induced defoliation in pigeonpea, farmyard manure and sulphitation pressmud on soil organic carbon fractions, mineral nitrogen and crop yields in a pigeonpea–wheat cropping system

Soils of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region are inherently low in organic matter and N contents, hence studying changes in these parameters consequent to nutrient management practices is of great significance with the viewpoint of sustaining agricultural productivity. We, therefore, studied the effects of fertilizer NPK applied alone or in combination with organic inputs of varying nature and composition on soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions and mineral-N under the pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system on a Typic Haplustept at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. The organic inputs included farmyard manure (FYM), sulphitation pressmud (SPM), and induced defoliation (ID) imposed by foliar spray of urea solution (10%, w/v) on pigeonpea at physiological maturity. The total organic carbon (TOC) and its different fractions, and mineral-N (NH4-N and NO3-N) in 0–15cm soil layer increased significantly with conjoint use of fertilizers and organics compared with fertilizers alone, but the extent of increase differed in accordance with the nature of organic inputs. Compared with fertilizer NPK, IPNS involving FYM or SPM brought greater increase in Walkley-Black C (WBC), particulate organic C (POC) and TOC, whereas the magnitude of increase in microbial biomass C (MBC) and labile C (LBC) over NPK was greater under ID treatments. Contribution of WBC, MBC and LBC towards TOC across the treatments was in the range of 17–22%, 1.0–1.8% and 6.7–11.8%, respectively. Fractionation of oxidizable organic C into different lability pools helped detecting even smaller changes in SOC due to nutrient management. Different SOC fractions were significantly correlated with each other, and also with mineral-N and crop yields. Grain yields of pigeonpea and wheat were significantly (p<0.05) greater in the treatments that received FYM, SPM or ID along with NPK, compared to sole NPK treatments. Yields with organics (FYM or SPM) alone were, however, invariably smaller than those obtained with fertilizer NPK.

Quali–quant analysis of the statistical content in Italian primary school general books

The conjoint use of multi-method techniques puts into action the methodological triangulation that can produce interesting results about the evaluation of textbook contents. In this perspective we analyze a random sample of fourth- and fifth-grade Italian primary mathematics general books. By using a mixed methods research approach, we conducted a content analysis of these textbooks, starting from an ex ante conceptual grid that allowed us to observe the contents of the pages dedicated to the subject. Initially, we used the computer software package ATLAS.ti to describe accurately the relationships between structural and content aspects. The codes obtained from the computerized content analysis were transformed into a matrix of statistical data, in which the cases and the variables (each category) were analyzed via the PASW Statistics package. The application of canonical non-linear correlation analysis to the set of these textbook characteristics (in particular statistical graphic representation) yielded a content typology.

Project Reduce: Reducing alcohol and marijuana misuse: Effects of a brief intervention in the emergency department

Study objectiveBrief interventions (BI) for alcohol misuse and recently for marijuana use for emergency department patients have demonstrated effectiveness. We report a 12-month outcome data of a randomized controlled trial of emergency department (ED) patients using a novel model of BI that addresses both alcohol and marijuana use. MethodsED research assistants recruited adult patients who admitted alcohol use in the last month, and marijuana use in the last year. In the ED, patients received an assessment of alcohol and marijuana use and were randomized to treatment (n=249) or standard care (n=266). Treatment consisted of two sessions of BI. At 3 and 12months, both groups had an assessment of alcohol and marijuana use and negative consequences of use. Results515 patients were randomized. We completed a 12-month follow-up assessments on 83% of those randomized. Measures of binge drinking and conjoint marijuana and alcohol use significantly decreased for the treatment group compared to the standard care group. At 12-month binge alcohol use days per month in the treatment group were (M=0.72:95% CI=0.36–1.12) compared to standard care group (M=1.77:95% CI=1.19–1.57) Conjoint use days in the treatment group (M=1.25.1:95% CI=0.81–1.54) compared to standard care group (M=2.16:95% CI=1.56–2.86). No differences in negative consequences or injuries were seen between the treatment and standard care groups. ConclusionsBI for alcohol and marijuana decreased binge drinking and conjoint use in our treatment group. BI appears to offer a mechanism to reduce risky alcohol and marijuana use among ED patients but expected reductions in consequences of use such as injury were not found 12months after the ED visit.

Monitoring Quality of Care at Dialysis Facilities

With the issuance of the new Conditions for Coverage in 2008 and the implementation of the Prospective Payment System in 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has fundamentally altered the regulatory landscape of quality in the ESRD program. Although these changes-largely through use of tools comparing individual facility performance to regional and national quality expectations-have increased facility accountability for the quality of patient care in many quarters, they have also complicated both substance and process of facility adherence to quality rules in that component of the program. This editorial critically assesses the main quality tools now in use for dialysis facilities and reviews the issues arising from their conjoint use. A scheme for improving the effectiveness of each quality tool is proposed, and an assessment of their future value and effectiveness in quality improvement is offered.

Effect of farmyard manure and conjoint application of farmyard manure and microbial consortium on lindane residues in soil, drainage water, and crops in lysimeters

The efficacies of farmyard manure (FYM) application alone and the conjoint use of FYM and microbial consortiums (Gordonia sp.) were evaluated for reducing lindane residues in soil, plants and percolated water in lysimeters cropped with maize and rice. At the normal application rate of lindane (0.6 kg ha−1), the concentration of lindane residues in drainage water was well above the United States EPA limit for drinking water (0.2 µg L−1); however, no detectable residues of lindane were observed in plant samples of both maize and rice crops. The residue level of lindane in the percolated water under rice was higher than under maize crop. Application of FYM at 5 t ha−1 decreased the pesticide residues both in percolated water and soil. The conjoint use of FYM at 5 t ha−1 and scheduled application of a microbial consortium of Gordonia sp. soon after the pest control was more effective than the application of FYM alone in reducing the level of lindane residues in soil and percolated water.

Characterization and feasibility of a miniaturized stirred tank bioreactor to perform E. coli high cell density fed‐batch fermentations

The use of small scale bioreactors that are mechanically and functionally similar to large scale reactors is highly desirable to accelerate bioprocess development because they enable well-defined scale translations. In this study, a 25-mL miniaturized stirred tank bioreactor (MSBR) has been characterized in terms of its power input, hydrodynamics, and volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (k(L)a) to assess its potential to grow high cell density (HCD) cultures using adequate scale-down criteria. Engineering characterization results show scale down, based on matched specific power input (P(G)/V), is feasible from a 20-L pilot scale stirred tank bioreactor. Results from fed-batch fermentations performed using Fab' producing E. coli W3110 at matched (P(G)/V) in the MSBR and 20-L STR demonstrated that the MSBR can accurately scale down the 20-L fermentation performance in terms of growth and Fab' production. Successful implementation of a fed-batch strategy in the MSBR resulted in maximum optical density of ca. 114 and total Fab' concentration of 940 μg/mL compared with ca. 118 and 990 μg/mL in 20-L STR. Furthermore, the use of the MSBR in conjunction with primary recovery scale-down tools to assess the harvest material of both reactors showed comparable shear sensitivity and centrifugation performance. The conjoint use of the MSBR with ultra scale-down (USD) centrifugation mimics can provide a cost-efficient manner in which to design and develop bioprocesses that account for good upstream performance as well as their manufacturability downstream.

Effect of conjoint use of bio-organics and chemical fertilizers on yield, soil properties under French bean–cauliflower-based cropping system

This study investigates the effect of conjoint use of bio-organics (biofertilizers + crop residues + FYM) and chemical fertilizers on yield, physical–chemical and microbial properties of soil in a ‘French bean–cauliflower’-based cropping system of mid hills of the north-western Himalayan Region (NWHR) of India. Conjoint bio-organics at varied levels of NPK chemical fertilizers increased yield of ‘cauliflower’ over corresponding single application. Incorporation of crop residues with 75% of the recommended NPK application resulted in the highest yield (19 t ha−1). Conjoint use of bio-organics produced a yield (15.65 t ha−1), which was statistically on a par with 75% of the recommended NPK application alone. This indicated a saving of 75% NPK chemical fertilizers. In the case of ‘French bean’, the effect was non-significant. The results also showed significant higher soil available N (351.3 kg ha−1) under 75% NPK + biofertilizers, whereas the highest soil available K (268.3 kg ha−1) was recorded under 75% NPK + crop residues. Lowest bulk density (1.03 Mg m−3), highest water holding capacity (36.5%), soil organic matter (10.6 g kg−1), bacterial (4.13 × 107 cfu g−1) and fungal (6.3 × 107 cfu g−1) counts were recorded under sole application of bio-organics. According to our study, we concluded that the combination of NPK fertilizers and bio-organics increased yield except French bean, soil available N, K and saved chemical fertilizers under ‘French bean–cauliflower’-based cropping system.