Highest Percentage Increase Research Articles

Burden of musculoskeletal disorders in Iran during 1990-2017: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

MSDs comprise most of the top causes of years lived with disability (YLDs) worldwide and are rapidly increasing in lower- and middle-income countries. Here, we present disability and mortality due to MSDs in Iran at the national level from 1990 to 2017. We used Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study data and standard methodology and presented the burden of MSDs in rates of years of life lost (YLLs), YLDs, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) during 1990-2017, for population aged ≥ 5years old. We further explored attributable risk factors and decomposed the changing trend in DALYs to assess underlying causes. In Iran, MSDs were responsible for 1.82 million (95%uncertainty interval [UI] 1.3-2.4) DALYs, in 2017. During the past 28years, with 1.75% annualized percentage change (APC), Iran had the highest percentage increase in the all-ages MSD DALYs rate worldwide, while the age-standardized DALYs APC was negligible. Low back pain was the greatest contributor to DALYs and caused 4.5% of total DALYs. The female population is experiencing considerably higher burden of MSDs, with 115% and 48% higher all-ages YLLs and YLDs rates per 100,000, respectively (YLLs 28.7; YLDs 2629.1), than males (YLLs 13.2; YLDs 1766.1). However, due to wide UIs, difference was not significant. Only 17.6% of MSD YLDs are attributable to assessed risk factors. Despite that MSDs are rising as an important cause of disability in Iran, these conditions are not sufficiently addressed in health policies. There is urgent need for cross-sectoral engagement, especially addressing the MSDs in females.

Neural Respiratory Drive Estimation in Respiratory sEMG with Cardiac Arrhythmias.

Neural respiratory drive as measured by the electromyography allows the study of the imbalance between the load on respiratory muscles and its capacity. Surface respiratory electromyography (sEMG) is a non-invasive tool used for indirectly assessment of NRD. It also provides a way to evaluate the level and pattern of respiratory muscle activation. The prevalence of electrocardiographic activity (ECG) in respiratory sEMG signals hinders its proper evaluation. Moreover, the occurrence of abnormal heartbeats or cardiac arrhythmias in respiratory sEMG measures can make even more challenging the NRD estimation. Respiratory sEMG can be evaluated using the fixed sample entropy (fSampEn), a technique which is less affected by cardiac artefacts. The aim of this work was to investigate the performance of the fSampEn, the root mean square (RMS) and the average rectified value (ARV) on respiratory sEMG signals with supraventricular arrhythmias (SVA) for NRD estimation. fSampEn, ARV and RMS parameters increased as the inspiratory load increased during the test. fSampEn was less influenced by ECG with SVAs for the NRD estimation showing a greater response to respiratory sEMG, reflected with a higher percentage increase with increasing load (228 % total increase, compared to 142 % and 135 % for ARV and RMS, respectively).

Seasonal Abundance of Spotted Pod Borer, Maruca vitrata Fabricius in Early Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] and its Management through Farmscaping in Uttar Pradesh

Field experiments were carried out in pigeonpea during Kharif 2014 to Kharif 2017 for Maruca vitrata Fabricius management through farmscaping approach with 7 different border crops (5 leguminous crops; 2 non-leguminous crops) and a sole crop. The M. vitrata larval webbing per plant was lowest and per cent decrease in webbing/plant over sole crop was highest in sorghum (2.05 and 60.95) as border crop followed by pearl millet (3.29 and 37.39). The highest mean number of Coccinella septumpunctata per plant (0.77), Cheilomenes sexmaculata per plant (0.85/plant) and spiders (0.76/plant) was recorded from sorghum as border crop with pigeonpea. The highest percent increase in above said natural enemies over sole crop was also recorded from sorghum as border crop treatment (755.6, 844.4 and 660). The highest pigeonpea yield (730.72 kg/ha) and per cent yield gain (65.81%) was also recorded with sorghum treatment. Among 5 weather parameters tested, day length (1.53) and relative humidity (-0.12) were found to influence the M. vitrata population significantly and its incidence was recorded from 41st SMW to 47th SMW.

Quantifying yield and economics of improved rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties through frontline demonstrations (FLDs) in Manipur

The study aimed at quantifying yield and economics of the performance of frontline demonstrations (FLDs) in terms of grain yield, extension gap, technological gap and economic gains in six improved varieties of rice in 9 districts of Manipur during 2016-17 to 2018-19. The data on selected parameters of demonstration plots as well as control plots were collected through experimental designs (‘Control-Treatment’) of social research. The results revealed that the average grain yield in demonstration plots of all the selected varieties of rice was higher than farmers practice with highest percent increase over the local check was recorded in var. RC Maniphou-7 (32.67%). The lowest extension gap and technology gap were observed in var. RC Maniphou-11 (7.5q/ha) and CAU-R1 (5q/ha). While the highest technology index was seen in RC Maniphou-7 (14.87%) variety of rice with respect to its potential yield. The study also shown that the highest additional income of Rs. 27325/ha in demonstration over local check was recorded in cultivation of var. RC Maniphou-13 with B:C ratio of 2.38. This was followed by var. RC Maniphou-10 (Rs. 27033/ha), RC Maniphou- 12 (Rs. 23550/ha) and CAU-R1 (Rs. 22153/ha). The results clearly indicate that the adoption of improved varieties of rice and recommended package of cultivation practices with scientific intervention by KVKs under frontline demonstration (FLD) programme contributes to increase the productivity and profitability of rice cultivation at farmers’ fields in Manipur, which may be further improved by reducing the cost of cultivation, extension gap and technology gap.

Geospatial understanding of climate parameters within watershed boundaries of India

We have analyzed the geospatial datasets such as precipitation, runoff, soil moisture, aridity, soil degradation, and future (2050) climate of India and investigated the spatial distribution pattern at the watershed level. Furthermore, we have investigated the long-term TerraClimate present decadal (2006–2015) trend with 20 years back decadal (1976–1985) data for evaluating temporal change in precipitation, runoff, and soil moisture at the watershed level of India. The long term decadal precipitations, as well as soil moisture deficit trend, are found very significant in the watersheds of the Ganga and Brahmaputra basin. The decadal runoff increase (%), when compared with 20 years back decadal runoff showed a high percent (> 50%) increase in the majority of Sabarmati river basin in Gujarat state of India. The three villages Milkipur, Bikapur, and Bantikalan (Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh) have shown a maximum reduction of soil moisture. The analysis of predicted (2050) temperature and precipitation anomaly showed the precipitation deficit in the majority of watersheds of Indus river basin and their sub-basin. Similarly, the temperature increase in the year 2050 is found very significant in almost all watersheds of India with a range of 0.8 to 1.9 °C but it is more crucial for some of the northern parts of Indus river basin and Brahmaputra basin. Such analysis highlights the need for an adequate management plan with robust soil and water conservation at a watershed level for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Efectos de medicamentos homeopáticos en indicadores fisiológicos y del desarrollo inicial del frijol Yorimón (Vigna unguiculata L., Walp.)

Homeopathic medicine is a discipline of universal medical science, with increasing application in humans, animals and plants. The acceptance of agricultural homeopathy is increased by the safety and proven effectiveness of its ultra-diluted and agitated medicines, to stimulate the germination, development, growth and production of various plant species. The present work aimed to evaluate the effect of homeopathic medicines on physiological indicators and the development of Yorimón beans (Vigna unguiculata L., Walp.) var. Paceña. A completely randomized design was used with two homeopathic treatments, Manganum metallicum 31CH (MnM-31CH), Magnesium-manganum phosphoricum 3CH (MaMnP-3CH) and as a control treatment destilled water (DW), with six replicas per treatment. Photosynthetic rate, perspiration, total chlorophyll, leaf area and fresh and dried biomass of root, stem and leaves were evaluated. An analysis of variance was applied and when there was a signif icant difference between treatments, a comparison of means (Tukey HSD, P ≤ 0.05). The results revealed a signif icant increase for all the variables evaluated with respect to the control treatment (DW), in the plants that received treatments (MnM-31CH and MaMnP-3CH). Fresh root biomass was the response variable with the highest percentage increase (111.2%) and was recorded in the plants treated with MnM-31CH, compared to the plants in the control group, without medication (DW). Likewise, in the treated plants (MnM-31CH and MaMnP-3CH) there was an increase greater than 40% in total chlorophyll and in photosynthesis. This conf irms the effectiveness of applied treatments and reveals potential of agricultural homeopathy, as an alternative to achieve greater eff iciency in the cultivation of V. unguiculata.

Toxicity Profile of Chemotherapeutic Agents among Cancer Patients Receiving Care in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Care Facility.

Background: Chemotherapeutic agents are among the mainstay of managing cancer patients. However, they are associated with various degrees of toxicity. Objectives: To evaluate the toxicity profile of chemotherapeutic agents among cancer patients receiving care in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria. Method: Retrospective cross-sectional design and systematic random sampling were used in selecting the records of patients that met the eligibility criteria for the study. Five-year records (2014–2018) of Full Blood Count (FBC), Serum Electrolyte Urea and Creatinine (SrEUCr) and Liver Function Test (LFT) were evaluated for changes from baseline to the end of chemotherapy. The data were compared with standards and analysed using descriptive, t-test and correlation analyses at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the 260 patients evaluated was 47.1±16.3 years. T-test analysis showed that the percentage changes in the patients’ parameters under FBC and SrEUCr tests were normal while the ones under LFT were abnormal. Patients on platinum-based combinations especially Cisplatin+Fluorouracil+Paclitaxel (87.5±87.4%) and Carboplatin+Paclitaxel (68.4±114.5%) had the highest percentage increase in their overall LFT results while those on Doxorubicin+Cyclophosphamide+Vincristine (4.8±18.7%) and Doxorubicin+ Cyclophosphamide+ Paclitaxel (12.3±27.9%) had the least. The number of chemotherapy cycles was weakly correlated with Hepatotoxicity (r=0.165, p=0.046). Conclusion: The patients had essentially normal FBC and SrEUCr results, however, LFT was abnormal due to the elevation of liver enzymes. Platinum-based combinations especially Cisplatin + Fluorouracil + Paclitaxel and Carboplatin + Paclitaxel had the highest elevation in liver enzymes while Doxorubicin+Cyclophosphamide+Vincristine and Doxorubicin+Cyclophosphamide+Paclitaxel had the least. These findings should be considered by clinicians in managing cancer patients to minimise their medication-related toxicities.

Investigating the flavor compounds in the cocoa powder production process.

Flavor is one of the most important quality properties of cacao beans, playing a key role in the admissibility of cocoa products, such as cocoa powder. This study examined the industrial processes influencing the flavor of cacao beans. The Ivory Coast cacao beans were used after their alkaline treatment with potassium carbonate (up to pH 7.5–8) and being roasted at 115–120°C for 60–70 min. The volatile components were extracted using Likens–Nickerson simultaneous distillation–extraction (SDE) apparatus. The volatile compound profiles were identified by means of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), as a result of which several compounds (alcohols, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and pyrazines) were recognized. Alkalization and roasting were shown to be two important steps in the cacao beans processing that can affect the final cocoa powder flavor. In addition, pyrazines and esters were two major groups of flavor compounds formed during the roasting stage by the Maillard reaction. The percentage of 2,3,5,6‐tetramethylpyrazine was detected in the cacao beans equal to 0.5%. After the liquor pressing stage, tetramethylpyrazine increased to its highest amount (3%) in cocoa powder. It was found that the cocoa powder contained 2.69% of tetramethylpyrazine, 3.22% isobutyl benzoate, and 1.38% linalool. The highest percentage of increase in the mean amounts of 2,3,5,6‐tetramethylpyrazine, isobutyl benzoate, and linalool were observed in the roasting stage, after which the percentages diminished.

551 Comparing Advanced Adenoma Detection Rate of Water Exchange, Cap, and Endocuff Colonoscopy: Pooled Data of Randomized Controlled Trials With Air Insufflation as the Common Comparator

INTRODUCTION: Advanced adenomas, defined as adenomas ≥10mm, significant villous features (>25%), or high-grade dysplasia, are important targets for colorectal cancer screening. They represent the subpopulation of adenomas that are most likely to progress into carcinoma and are associated with increased risk for future CRC incidence. Advanced adenoma detection rate (AADR) is therefore an important measure in assessing new screening methods. Water exchange (WE) colonoscopy has been shown to improve AADR consistently while modern accessories, such as cap and endocuff, have variable impacts on AADR. We assessed the impact on AADR between WE, cap and Endocuff by indirect comparison with standard air insufflation (AI) as the common comparator. METHODS: A literature search was done to identify all relevant RCTs comparing WE, Cap and Endocuff with AI colonoscopy published since 2000 as full text in English and included AADR among the outcomes. EMBASE, Medline, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Library were searched systematically using the following terms in their titles, abstracts, or keyword lists: colonoscopy, and water exchange, cap, or Endocuff. Two investigators screened the articles manually and separately. The results were compared, and a discussion was held with a third investigator to resolve any discrepancies. RESULTS: 1,453 articles resulted from keywords search and were manually screened. 14 RCTs met criteria and were included in the analysis. A total of 12,085 subjects underwent AI, WE, cap (CC) or Endocuff-assisted (EC) colonoscopy. AADR of WE, CC, and EC were compared against AI. Table 1 shows that WE significantly increases AADR compared to AI (8.1% vs 6.0%, P = 0.0001, Fisher exact test). CC does not significantly change AADR compared to AI (8.7% vs 8.2%, P = 0.585). No significant difference in AADR exists between EC and AI (16.6% vs 17.0%, P = 0.815). AADR in WE, CC, and EC as a percentage change of AI are 35.0%, 6.1% and -2.4%, respectively. While WE significantly increases AADR, CC and EC do not significantly impact AADR. Compared to CC and EC, WE has a higher percentage increase in AADR (vs the common comparator of AI). This may be related to the low AADR in the AI group in the WE trials. CONCLUSION: WE appears to significantly increase AADR, especially in patient cohort with lower AADR. Cap and Endocuff does not have significant impact on AADR.

525 Impact of Water Exchange, Cap and Endocuff on Adenoma Detection Rate: An Indirect Comparison With Air Insufflation as the Common Comparator

INTRODUCTION: Adenoma detection rate (ADR) is an important quality indicator for colonoscopy. Interval cancer (IC) is associated with low ADR. Every 1% increase in ADR is associated with a 3% and 5% reduction of the risk of IC and fatal IC, respectively. Water exchange (WE) colonoscopy is considered the best insertion method for improving ADR when compared with water immersion and air insufflation (AI). Attachment devices such as cap and Endocuff also improve ADR. We assessed the effectiveness of improving ADR between WE, cap and Endocuff colonoscopy by indirect comparison with AI as the common comparator. METHODS: A literature search was done to identify all relevant RCTs comparing WE, cap and Endocuff with AI colonoscopy published since 2000 as full text in English and including ADR among the outcomes. EMBASE, Medline, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Library were searched systematically for all RCTs that included the following terms in their titles, abstracts, or keyword lists: colonoscopy, and water exchange, cap, or Endocuff. Two investigators screened the articles manually and separately. The results were compared; and a discussion was held with a third investigator to resolve any discrepancies. RESULTS: A total of 1,453 articles resulted from initial keywords search. 37 articles were identified based on titles and abstracts alone. After thorough review of full texts, and discussion between the investigators, 21 RCTs were included in the analysis. A total of 16,572 subjects underwent AI, WE, cap (CC) or Endocuff (EC) colonoscopy. ADR of WE, CC, and EC were compared to AI. Table 1 shows that there is a significant difference in ADR between AI and WE (24.2%, 30.8%, P = 0.0001). ADR in AI and EC were significantly different (41.7%, 48.0%, P = 0.0001). No significant difference in ADR exists between AI and CC, (36.8%, 36.6%, P = 0.92). ADR as a percentage change of AI in WE, EC and CC were 27.4%, 15.1% and -0.42%, respectively. We found that WE and EC significantly improved ADR while CC does not significantly change ADR. Compared to EC and CC, WE has a higher percentage increase in ADR. This greater increase in ADR by WE may be related to the low ADR in the AI group. CONCLUSION: The impact of the study method in enhancing overall ADR is more prominent with the WE method, especially in patient cohort with lower ADR.

Effect of partial substitution of raw gypsum with thermally treated phosphogypsum on the properties of Portland Pozzolanic Cement

For many years of production of phosphate fertilizer very large amounts of phosphogypsum (PG) occupied large area, causing chemical and radiological environmental. Using of PG in building materials represents a good method for lowering the cost of cement production and dispose of phosphogypsum as chemical and radioactive waste. Fresh wet hemihydrate phosphogypsum, cement and pozzolana additive were mechanically activated together and from mixing Portland pozzolanic cement (PPC) with PG, these mixes were prepared at different replacements (by weight) of raw gypsum (RG)with purified PG ranging from 1–5% . The purified PG was obtained by calcining PG at temperatures of 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ᵒC. The compressive strength, bulk density, total porosity, combined water and free lime of different hardened mortars were obtained following 3, 7, 28 and 90 days of curing. In addition, the setting time of cement pastes. The highest percentage increase in strength was found to be for PG calcined at temperatures of 800 and 1000 ᵒC. The incorporation of PG in the cement paste has dramatically increased its initial and final setting times. FTIR spectroscopic analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for investigate the change in structure of mortars after curing and change in morphology and microstructure of some hardened pastes.

The Australian labour market in 2018

In 2018, the Australian labour market continued to see only very moderate wages growth despite strong employment growth and low unemployment. This remains an international phenomenon with underlying economic and legal structural causes. Employment growth was concentrated in part-time jobs for both males and females, and in both manufacturing and white-collar industries. The Fair Work Commission increased the National Minimum Wage by 3.5%, a higher percentage increase than previous years but one that reflected higher growth in average earnings and inflation. The climate surrounding agreement making was less febrile than in recent years, with fewer high-profile attempts to terminate existing enterprise agreements. However, collective bargaining coverage in the private sector continues to decline to historic lows. Changes to skilled migration were the most significant shift in labour market policy in 2018, with a significant reduction in the number of permanent skilled migrants and a new temporary skilled migrant visa category with much stricter eligibility requirements. If sustained, this reduction may contribute to increasing pressure on wages in the years to come.

How do road grade, road type and driving aggressiveness impact vehicle fuel consumption? Assessing potential fuel savings in Lisbon, Portugal

The transportation sector contributes significantly to energy consumption with inherent consequences in terms of emission of local pollutants, which is associated with air quality deterioration. Considering that driving behavior significantly influences fuel consumption, this work goal was to assess how driving aggressiveness is influenced by the type of road and by the road grade, and consequently their impacts on fuel consumption. For that purpose, 47 drivers were monitored in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area during 6 months, allowing building an extensive 1 Hz real world driving database (∼33,000 trips, totalizing 28.9 million seconds). This database provided distinctive and representative data, allowing assessing the impacts on fuel consumption rates. Results showed that both road context and aggressive driving behavior impact fuel consumption rates significantly. However, for non-aggressive driving behavior fuel consumption rates increased more with road grade increments (up to 3 times) than for aggressive driving behavior (up to 2.3 times). Furthermore, this study results demonstrated that aggressiveness influences fuel consumption differently across road grades. Aggressiveness impacts are higher for lower road grades, with increased fuel consumption rates by up to 255%. The key findings associated to this research work are that aggressiveness on roads with lower grades tends to correlate with higher percent increase on fuel consumption for all speed ranges. Moreover, aggressiveness seems to correlate with higher fuel consumption on urban streets. Consequently, a reduction in driving under these conditions can offer significant savings in fuel consumption.

Biodegradation by composting of municipal organic solid waste into organic fertilizer using the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae

PurposeThe objectives of this study were to assess the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) composting potential and to analyse the quality of organic fertilizer produced for agricultural purposes.MethodsThe waste biodegradation was determined by varying waste feed treatment (2, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, to 4 kg) and control treatment of (2 kg) of heterogeneous mixture of municipal organic solid waste from market, restaurant and households. Each of the setups received equal number of viable larvae (i.e. 2000) which were 5–6 days old. To analyse the nutrient concentration of the compost residues with BSFL, the substrate and final compost were evaluated based on the levels of NPK as well as the C:N ratio. To evaluate the toxic levels of the final compost in terms of heavy metals, the presence and levels of As, Cd, Fe, Pb and Ni were investigated.ResultsThe analysis showed that there was high percentage increase of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels, i.e. 41.2% (SD ± 0.71%), 32.4% (SE ± 0.2%) and 77.1% (SE ± 0.19%), respectively. It was found that the larvae degraded more than half of the total substrate within 2 weeks. The study showed a decrease in heavy metal concentrations after larvae composting.ConclusionThe study revealed that the concentration of NPK increased significantly among the treatment groups. The study further revealed that some of the heavy metals under investigation had reduced to an acceptable level according to the standards of both local and international regulatory bodies.

Ability of mini-fluid challenge to predict fluid responsiveness in obese patients undergoing surgery in the prone position.

Pulse pressure variation (PPV) and stroke volume variation (SVV) can predict fluid responsiveness effectively. However, high Body Mass Index (BMI) can restrict their use due to changes in respiratory system compliance (CS), intra-abdominal pressure, and stroke volume (SV) in the prone position. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mini-fluid challenge (MFC) in predicting fluid responsiveness in obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) patients in the prone position. A total of 33 patients undergoing neurosurgery were included. After standardized anesthesia induction, patients' PPV, SVV, stroke volume index (SVI) and CS values were recorded in the prone position (T1), after the infusion of 100 mL of crystalloid named as MFC (T2) and after fluid loading was completed with additional 400 mL of crystalloid. Patients whose SVI increased more than 15% after the fluid loading were defined as volume responders. Fifteen (45%) patients were responders to 500 mL fluid loading. After the 100 mL fluid load, a higher percentage increase in SVI was observed among responders (P<0.001), with values of 6.6% (6.2-8.6%) and 3.5% (1.7-4.8%) in responders and non-responders, respectively. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of MFC, PPV, and SVV were 0.967 (95% CI: 0.838-0.999), 0.683 (95% CI: 0.499-0.834), and 0.709 (95% CI: 0.526-0.853), respectively. The area under the curve of MFC was significantly higher than that of PPV (P=0.003) and SVV (P=0.005). The increase in SVI after a rapid infusion of 100 mL crystalloid could predict fluid responsiveness in patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 in the prone position.

Healthy life expectancy vs health expenditure by sullivan method in Malaysia

&lt;span lang="EN-MY"&gt;The improvement of mortality rates in many countries over the world has a major impact on cost associated with living longer due to mortality and morbidity risk. In particular, the trend in life expectancy of Malaysian population has steadily increased for many years where in 2017, Malaysian are expected to live up to 74.8 years compared to 74.3 years in 2011. Life expectancy can be defined as the average period of a person may expect to live, while the definition of disability-free life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live without health disability. If a person takes a good care and services through the advancement of medical technology, it may expend the period of life expectancy for a person. Thus, longevity may have a positive relationship with health expenditure. United State for instance spends more on health across years, however United State becomes the outlier as compared to other countries with higher percentage of increase in life expectancy per dollar spent on health expenditure. Disability or disability-free life expectancy can rise at certain degree among Malaysian. The general public do not know whether longevity will expose a person to a greater period spend in disability state or not. Therefore, this paper presents healthy life expectancy vs. health expenditure by Sullivan method in Malaysia to provide further understanding of morbidity rate for Malaysian population due to longevity. This paper calculates the disability-free life expectancy for Malaysian population which then will be used in country comparison. Relationship between disability-free life expectancy and health expenditure will be studied. Sullivan method will be applied in the calculation by using a period life table based on age and gender groups.&lt;/span&gt;

Porous Concrete as an Anti–Aquaplaning Building Material

The paper considers the use of porous concrete for the needs of communication construction. For comparison, two sets of concrete, ordinary blend have been developed, which is currently used in Poland as road and porous concrete, which is used by Americans in the United States. After concrete testing, moulding and care of the samples under laboratory conditions, compressive strength tests were started after 7, 14, 28, 56 and 90 days. Absorption and capillarity were investigated after 28, 56 and 90 days. In addition, fragments of cubic samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Samples measuring 10x10x10 cm were ripened in water at + 18 degrees Celsius. Plain concrete has a higher percentage increase in compressive strength than porous concrete. After 90 days, plain concrete had 60.8 MPa strength and porous concrete 22.8 MPa. The carried out tests on absorbability show that the mass increase of porous concrete samples is larger compared to ordinary concrete. It can be concluded from the capillary rising tests that ordinary concrete absorbs less water than porous concrete. Based on the laboratory tests carried out, it was found that porous concrete has a lower compressive strength compared to ordinary road concrete. It is too low due to the use of concrete in the top layer of the road surface. Concrete used for the lowest category of roads, which are municipal roads have a strength of 25-30 MPa after 28 days, while the strength of porous concrete after such time is only 12.5 MPa. In the case of domestic roads, it is 35 MPa, so the only solution is to redesign the composition of the concrete mix. Despite the fact that porous concrete has excellent features for draining water from the surface and can be used as a drainage system in road surfaces (where there is the so-called aquaplaning phenomenon), on parking lots, large flat surfaces it cannot be used due to the very low durability at squeezing, which does not meet the requirements of municipal roads.

Efficacy of Bio-Intensive integrated pest management against brinjal shoot and fruit borer &lt;i&gt;Leucinides orbonalis&lt;/i&gt; (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Brinjal (Solanum melongena) plays a vital role in the food of South-Asian people, thus the production of brinjal in these countries is quite high. However the production of brinjal does not satisfy the whole demand of people owing to the severe infestation by L. orbonalis. In order to get maximum yield from the cultivation farmers rely on over and indiscriminate use of chemical insecticides. Due to the side effects of over and indiscriminate use of toxic insecticides, now the trend moves towards Bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management (BIPM). The present study conducted to find the efficacy of BIPM over farmer’s practices and untreated control in controlling the L. orbonalis. The study evidenced the superiority of BIPM in all aspects viz., lesser shoot infestation (15.82 percent), greatest yield (17,170.22 kg/ha) and higher natural enemies activities (5.25 no./10plants), which was equivalent to untreated control. Besides the treatment BIPM proved its efficacy over farmer’s practice and untreated control especially with high percent increase of yield (63.90%), percent reduction of shoot (64.01%) and fruit infestation (80.58%), and less percent reduction of natural enemies’ population (8.70%). Apart from this the benefit cost ratio (BCR) ranked in the order of superiority as BIPM module (1:5.75), which was greater than the farmer practice (1:4.96) on brinjal.

Time trend of breast cancer mortality in BRAZILIAN men: 10-year data analysis from 2005 to 2015

BackgroundMale Breast Cancer (MBC) is rare, which makes its understanding and treatment be extrapolated from what is known about the occurrence in women, with few epidemiological studies. Therefore, the aim of the present paper was to study breast cancer mortality in adult males in Brazil and its administrative regions between 2005 and 2015.MethodsEcological study with data on MBC mortality in adults between 2005 and 2015. Data were obtained from the Mortality Information System of the Department of Informatics of SUS (the Unified Health System of the country). Descriptive statistics were used for MBC mortality and linear regression to analyze the relationship between mortality and the country’s administrative regions. Percentage Change (PC) and Annual Percentage Change (APC) were the trend measures used for MBC mortality for the period.ResultsBetween 2005 and 2015, there were 1521 deaths due to MBC in adults in Brazil. Regarding mortality by region, there was great oscillation in the rates of the country as a whole (PC = 113,87; β = 0,009 (IC95% 0,000 – 0,018); r2 = 0,381; P = 0,043). The highest increase in MBC mortality occurred in patients aged 80 years or older (PC = 161,04; β = 0,201 (IC95% 0,640 - 0,339); r2 = 0,550; P = 0,009) and there was significant increase in deaths for the 50–54-year age group (PC = 224,01; β = 0,135 (CI95% 0,052; 0,218); r2 = 0,601; P = 0,005).ConclusionMortality in adults due to MBC increased in Brazil during the study period with the highest percentage increase occurring for individuals aged 80 years or older.

Predicting the future urban growth and it's impacts on the surrounding environment using urban simulation models: Case study of Ibb city – Yemen

This paper aims at predicting the future urban growth and its impact on the Yemeni city of Ibb. It adopts a combined urban simulation model using both Cellular Automata (CA) and Fuzzy Set, integrated in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) platform. The research methodology includes three main stages: (1) preparation of historical data on land uses (2003, 2013), (2) simulation of data using urban simulation models (CA & Fuzzy set) in LanduseSim software environment, and (3) visualizing data. The model was validated using the pixel matching method for both the simulation map and actual map for the year of 2013. The match ratio was 93.76% for all layers and 89.40% for the urban layer. Accordingly, the final simulation was completed to the year 2033. The results show a horizontal distribution of urban growth with a high percentage of increase in urban areas; from 28.41% in 2013 to 43.11% in 2033. This increase occurs at the expense of agricultural and natural land. The study recommends a reconsideration of the the city expansion strategies by decision makers in government in order to ensure ecological balance.