High Significant Negative Correlation Research Articles

Characterization of paddy soil compaction based on soil apparent electrical conductivity zones

Soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) is one of the most common and frequently used measurements to determine field soil variability, especially for precision farming. Soil cone index (CI) is a measure of soil compaction that poses a big challenge for water management in poorly drained soils. The soil compaction affects the root penetration and development of the rice plant. The purpose of this study was to characterize the CI within the ECa zones for a Malaysian paddy soil. The study of soil compaction and ECa was conducted on silty clay paddy soil at Sawah Sempadan, Tanjung Karang, Selangor (latitude 3°35'' N and longitude 101° 05'' E). Measurement of ECa and CI were done using Veris 3100 and hand-operated soil cone penetrometer, respectively. The deep ECa (ECad) was compared to the minimum, mean and maximum CI and also within ECad zone. The maximum CI was found at 0.147 MPa with average maximum at 0.081 MPa. The results indicate that the hardest layer exists at a depth of 10 to 20 cm. ECad in Zone 2 (50 to 100 mS m-1) showed that the CI values have the highest significant negative correlation with ECad. The significant correlation of ECad and soil cone index was found at mid range of the soil ECad. Keywords: Zone delineation, paddy field, cone index, regression.

Attitudes arid Self-care Behavior of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes attending the Emergency Department at Hamad General Hospital

Diabetes is a public health problem and optimal glycemic control requires diligent daily self-management to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes and its complications. By means of a carefully designed questionnaire, 215 patients with Type 2 diabetes who were admitted to the Emergency Department at Hamad General Hospital during the period from 1 May 2008 to 31 August 2008 were selected randomly and interviewed to determine their attitudes and behaviors influencing effective glycemic control and the extent to which they were helped by education and advice from care providers. The mean ± SD of both the total diabetes attitudes with subscales, and the self-care behaviors were measured in addition to the mean ± SD of both hemoglobin A1 c, and the number of admissions to the emergency department over the preceding six months. Participants reported the highest performance following a specific diet which had the highest significant negative correlation (r = -0.181, p = 0.009) with hemoglobin A1c as compared with the other self-care behaviors. The study emphasized the importance of improving the attitude of Type∼2 diabetics and their self-care behaviors because of the association with Emergency Department Admission and Glycemic Control. An appropriate educational approach and follow-up taking into account individual patient characteristics, needs to be implemented.

VARIABILIDADE ESPACIAL DE ATRIBUTOS FÍSICOS E VARIÁVEIS AGRONÔMICAS DE CITROS EM UMA PARCELA EXPERIMENTAL EM JERÔNIMO MONTEIRO (ES)

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a variabilidade espacial de atributos físicos do solo e da produtividade, em um pomar cítrico, usando técnicas geoestatísticas. O experimento foi realizado no ano de 2007, em uma parcela experimental de um pomar cítrico, em um Latossolo Amarelo distrófico, localizado no município de Jerônimo Monteiro (ES). Os solos foram amostrados nos pontos de cruzamento de uma malha, com intervalos de 5 m, na profundidade de 0-0,20 m, totalizando 100 pontos. Os atributos físicos do solo apresentaram variabilidade espacial com razão de dependência moderada para todas variáveis, menos para areia grossa (AG) e areia fina (AF). A distribuição espacial da AG e a AF apresenta um comportamento inverso ao da argila (AR), confirmado pela alta correlação negativa significativa de -0,80 (p≤0,05). A distribuição espacial de areia e argila, em relação ao número de frutos por planta (NFP) e a da massa total de frutos por planta (MFP), apresenta, aparentemente, alguma semelhança, porém, observa-se uma correlação negativa e não significativa entre a distribuição espacial de (AR) com (NFP) e (MFP).

PP018-SUN NUTRITION IN DYSPHAGIA: COMPARISON BETWEEN FIBEROPTIC ENDOSCOPIC EVALUATION OF SWALLOWING (FEES) AND CLINICAL EXAMINATION

Fiberoptic endoscopic examination of swallowing (FEES) is used as functional evaluation of the pharyngeal stage of swallowing and was first reported by Langmore, Schatz and Olson (1988). FEES is aimed to identify normal and abnormal anatomy and physiology of the swallow and to evaluate the risk of aspiration and the effectiveness of postures, swallow maneuvers, bolus modifications and sensory enhancements in improving swallowing safety and efficiency. The examination leads to recommendations regarding the optimum delivery and maintenance of nutrition and hydration (e.g. per oral, non-oral or combination of the two, special preparation of food). In a centre for geriatric early rehabilitation (Ev. Geriatriezentrum Berlin) a retrospective study was undertaken to investigate if there are differences between FEES and clinical examination in determining adequate nutrition and diet modifications. Patients with dysphagia were examined clinically by speech-language therapists to assess swallowing function. All patients with pharyngeal disorders of swallowing received also FEES. The oral intake was evaluated using the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) (Crary et al., 2004) as repeated measurement (clinical examination and FEES). Furthermore the Penetration-Aspiration-Scale (PAS) (Rosenbek et al., 1988) was used to evaluate the risk of aspiration (only with FEES). Preliminary analysis (N=19) shows no significant differences in feeding status but the mean-score of FOIS tends to be higher after FEES. Furthermore there is a high significant negative correlation between FOIS and PAS (r=.75; p< .001). These preliminary findings suggest that FEES is a useful aid to evaluate the swallowing safety and to specify nutritional recommendations for patients with dysphagia.

PP020-SUN BODY MASS INDEX AND MORTALITY IN INSTITUTIONALISED ELDERLY

of postures, sensory and compensatory interventions. The examination leads to recommendations regarding the optimum delivery and maintenance of nutrition and hydration (e.g. per oral, non-oral or combination of the two, special preparation of food). Methods: A retrospective study was undertaken to investigate differences between FEES and clinical examination in determining adequate nutrition and diet modifications. Patients with dysphagia were examined clinically by speech-language therapists to assess swallowing function. Additionally all patients with pharyngeal disorders of swallowing were tested with FEES. The oral intake was evaluated using the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) (Crary et al., 2004). These data were collected in the clinical examination and FEES. Laryngeal penetration and aspiration of saliva, food and liquid were identified with FEES. The Penetration-Aspiration-Scale (PAS) (Rosenbek et al., 1988) was used to determine the risk of aspiration. Results: Preliminary analysis (N = 19) shows no significant differences in feeding status but the mean-score of FOIS tends to be higher after FEES. Furthermore there is a high significant negative correlation between FOIS and PAS (r = 0.75; p < 0.001). Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggest that FEES is a useful aid to evaluate the swallowing safety and to specify nutritional recommendations for patients with dysphagia.

Skin barrier structure and function and their relationship to pruritus in end-stage renal disease

The relationship between dry skin and uraemic pruritus remains controversial. In addition, there is a lack of published data describing the structure and function of the stratum corneum (SC) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The purpose of the present study was to assess the function and structure of the skin barrier in patients with ESRD and to correlate any abnormalities with uraemic pruritus. Thirty-eight subjects participated in the study; 20 with ESRD and 18 healthy controls. Subjects underwent evaluation of SC integrity and permeability barrier recovery, SC surface pH, pruritus and dry skin. The content of glycerol, an important endogenous humectant, was assessed in D-squame tape strips from seven patients with ESRD. Skin biopsies from six of these patients were examined by electron microscopy using ruthenium tetroxide (Ru04)-post-fixation. Although SC integrity was impaired in ESRD patients (P = 0.001), there were no significant differences in permeability barrier recovery rates between ESRD subjects and controls. However, there was a high significant negative correlation between SC glycerol content and dry skin in the arms of ESRD subjects (r = -0.866, P = 0.01). Yet, there was no consistent correlation between pruritus and either dry skin, SC integrity, glycerol content or surface pH. Electron microscopy revealed no significant ultra-structural abnormalities, with particular reference to the lipid bi-layer. SC integrity, but not permeability barrier recovery, is impaired in dialysis patients. Although dry skin in ESRD is associated with reduced SC glycerol levels, the ultra-structure appears to be unaffected.

Primary Production and Fish Yield Estimation in the Meghna River System, Bangladesh

This study was carried out in four selected stations (Mohonpur, Kaligonj, Charludua and Daulatkhan) in the Meghna river system, Bangladesh between the latitude 22°35.494Ñ N - 23°23.987 N and longitude 90°35.793 E - 90°49.061Ñ E. Average net primary production (NPP) and gross primary production (GPP) (gC·m3 ·h) in the euphotic zone of the Meghna river were 0.089 ± 0.021 and 0.161 ± 0.025 respectively. The rate of conversion of GPP into NPP ranged between 48.17 and 62.63% with an average of 54.72%. The mean ratio of NPP to GPP (NPP:GPP), NPP:Respiration and average percent respiration rate to GPP were 0.549 ± 0.060, 1.251 ± 0.320 and 45.04 ± 6.02% respectively. The mean photosynthetic production for the day (gC·m3 ·day) and year (gC·m3 ·yr) were 1.930 and 704.45 respectively. Annual computed fish yield in relation to gross carbon synthesis was 7.0 kg fish·m3 ·year. The actual production of fish from the Meghna river is accounted about 0.21% of the estimated production. The gross energy production (Kcal energy·m3 ·day) by the producers was estimated about 18.0. The NPP of phytoplankton established a high significant negative correlation (r = -0.975; p &lt; 0.01) with water temperature and low, but a definite negative correlation existed (r = -0.767) between GPP and water temperature.

Correlation analysis of the skull and long bone measurements of the dog

In this study, a heterogeneous population of 42 dogs was examined for correlation between skull and long bone measurements. For this purpose, 17 craniometric measurements were carried out and used to calculate 12 indices and ratios. These indices and ratios were then subjected to a correlation analysis with long bone measurements. While a high significant negative correlation of p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively was found for skull, cranial and facial I1, I2, LLI-2, BI and BI-1 indices, and the CFO and CFO-1 ratios respectively with respect to the non-indexed long bone measurements, a high positive correlation was found to exist between those indices and ratios, and the long bone indices (p < 0.01). The correlation coefficients for the skull indices and ratios to long bone measurements proved to be very similar for the long bones of front and hind legs. As a result of the correlation analysis, it was found that with an increase in skull tendency towards the dolichocephalic type, the long bone parameters also increase, while with the skull tending towards the brachycephalic type, the long bone parameters decrease. This finding of a long bone-related increase in dimensions and morphological skull expression favours the assumption of a close relation to the skull typology.

Trends of Minimum and Maximum Daily Temperatures in Italy from 1865 to 1996

Annual and seasonal changes in maximum and minimum temperatures (Tmax and Tmin) and in daily temperature range (DTR) in Italy are investigated. Monthly average series for northern and southern Italy are analysed for evidence of trend. Tmax and Tmin show a positive trend over the period 1865–1996 which is greater in southern Italy than in northern Italy. DTR shows a positive trend, but greater in the North than in the South. There is a positive correlation between DTR and mean monthly temperature especially in spring and in summer, while there is a high significant negative correlation between DTR and monthly precipitation. Analysis of temperature, precipitation and DTR during the period 1865–1996 suggests that a general relationship between the very warm last 15–20 years and an increase in the frequency of sub-tropical anticyclones over the Central-Western Mediterranean. This relationship is based on the hypothesis that in Italy more frequent sub-tropical anticyclones could have been the most characteristic feature of the warm periods during the last 130 years.

Plasmodium vivax malaria in children and adolescents - epidemiological, clinical and laboratory features

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of epidemiological, clinical and laboratory features of Plasmodium vivax malaria in children and adolescents. METHODS: This study was carried out in the Malaria Program of the Evandro Chagas Institute (Belém, Pará), from January 1995 to November 1996. 100 children and adolescents with the diagnosis of P. vivax malaria (thick blood film) were randomly enrolled. A protocol was created to assess epidemiological, clinical and laboratory parameters of this pathology. RESULTS: Malaria occurred in both sexes, and had a prevailing incidence among adolescents (37%). Most of the children and adolescents (92%) had been infected in the State of Pará. Autochthonous cases in the metropolitan area of Belém accounted for 34 % of the sample. Primary infection was seen in 80% of the patients. Fever was the major onset clinical symptom (88%). A history of typical febrile paroxysm was recorded in only 25% of the casuistic. In the first day of treatment (D0) fever (97%), chills (91%), pallor (85%), splenomegaly (46%) and hepatomegaly (29%) were some of the clinical features observed. Pallor (clinical signal) was found to be significantly (p=0.0004) associated with anemia (hemoglobin rate). There was a high significant negative correlation (p=0.0001) between delay of diagnosis (mean 12,5 days) and hemoglobin values. Regarding parasitological examination, just children and adolescents with positive results to hookworms were significantly (p=0.0133, p=0.0075) more anemic than those who had a positive parasitological examination to other helminths and/or protozoa species. CONCLUSIONS: Malaria affected children and adolescents from both sexes. An emphasis on epidemiological and clinical data is an important tool to the precocious diagnosis of the disease. Delay on diagnosis made anemia worse.

Chemical composition and content of antinutritional factors in Polish cultivars of peas.

The seeds of 15 Polish pea varieties contained from 221 to 281 g/kg crude protein with a mean of 240.2 +/- 3.5 g/kg dry matter (DM). The weight of 1000 pea seeds, depending on cultivar, ranged from 209.4 to 280.4 g. No interactive effect between the seed mass and the crude protein content was detected. The highest significant negative correlation between weight of seeds and dietary fiber content was r = -0.815XX. The content of dietary fiber ranged from 161.5 to 209.9 g/kg with a mean of 187.9 +/- 3.8 g/kg. The mean gross energy of seeds was 18.1 +/- 0.28 MJ/kg. Amino acid composition of all the cultivars was similar, which was indicated by a similar index of essential amino acids (EAAI) of about 69.7 +/- 0.25. Trypsin inhibitor content in seeds was from 2.83 to 7.32 TIU/mg and the content of phytates ranged from 6.32 to 13.36 mg/g DM. The mean content of polyphenols and flavanols in analysed pea cultivars was 0.92 and 0.46 mg/g, respectively. In the seeds of most cultivars little or no pyrimidine glucosides, i.e. vicine and convicine, were found. The overall mean oligosaccharide content was 64.3 +/- 1.8 g/kg, of which alpha-galactosides were 46.8 +/- 2.0 g/kg. The antinutritional factor content was not significantly correlated with protein content. No statistical relationship was found between crude protein and dietary fiber content. It was observed that pea cultivars with higher trypsin inhibitor activity contained significantly less flavanols (r = -0.607X) and alpha-galactosides (r = -0.617X). The varieties with higher seed content of dietary fiber contained the highest amount of alpha-galactosides (r = 0.514X).

Evaluation of Brassica genotypes for resistance to shatter. I. Development of a laboratory test

A new test procedure for measuring shatter-resistance of siliquae of Brassica spp. is described. A siliqua with its proximal end clamped is loaded as a cantilever in a testing machine. The maximum bending moment, the corresponding stiffness and the energy to cause the siliqua to rupture were taken as measures of the resistance of the siliqua to shatter. Studies showed that ranking of accessions based on either bending moment or energy closely approximated the rankings based on observations of field shatter. A reasonably high significant negative correlation was found between percentage of shattered siliquae and both bending moment and energy (r=−0.595 and −0.531 respecitvely, P=0.001). The above results indicated that bending moment and energy could be used as criteria in evaluating rapeseed genotypes for shatter-resistance in breeding programmes.

Relationships between Flexibility, Anthropometry, and the Somatotype of College Men

Abstract Fourteen flexibility measurements, 63 direct and derived anthropometric measurements, and the somatotypes of 63 college men, mean age of 19.0 years, were obtained in order to assess the relationships between flexibility and anthropometric measurements, anthropometric measurements and somatotypes, and flexibility and somatotype. The correlations between the flexibility measurements and the anthropometric measurements were low and mostly insignificant. Body fat, as measured by skinfold calipers, yielded fairly high significant negative correlations with the flexibility measurements. The correlations between the flexibility measurements and somatotype were insignificant. Generally high correlation coefficients were obtained between the anthropometric measurements and somatotype.