Monthly Mean Number Research Articles

Monitoring of Ambrosia Bark Beetle Through Installation of Sticky Color Traps at Different Heights in Mango Trees

ABSTRACT The present research investigations were carried out on monitoring the population of bark beetle, Hypocryphalus mangiferae(Stebbing) on mango trees through installation of sticky color traps at different heights of mango tree. The results revealed that maximum monthly mean number of adult beetles (507.91) was recorded on green plastic traps followed by 261.75 beetles on black traps, 215.75 beetles on white traps, 109.83 beetles on red traps, 83.75 beetles on blue traps, and 77.75 beetles on yellow traps. With regards to number of bark beetles on color traps at different heights, the maximum monthly mean number of the beetles (429.83) was recorded at height of 1 above ground level followed by 416.00 beetles at 3′level, 334.08 beetles at 6′and 76.83 beetles at 9′level. The results further revealed that the bark beetle population remained higher from February 2006 to June 2006. The mean temperature for that period ranged between 23.12 to 33.46°C with 48.57 to 76.00% RH.

Topiramate for Migraine Prevention in Adolescents: A Pooled Analysis of Efficacy and Safety

To characterize the efficacy and safety of topiramate for migraine prevention in adolescents from 3 randomized, 26-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. Limited information is available regarding the efficacy and safety of prophylactic medications for treatment of adolescent migraine, a significant health problem. In studies that included adults and children, topiramate 100 and 200 mg/day were effective and generally well-tolerated in the prevention of migraine headache. We performed a post hoc subset analysis of the efficacy and safety data from the 51 patients, ages 12-17 years, enrolled in 3 pivotal trials of topiramate for migraine prophylaxis. Daily treatment with topiramate 50, 100, and 200 mg for 26 weeks reduced monthly migraine frequency from baseline 46% (P= .07), 63% (P= .02), and 65% (P= .04), respectively, compared with placebo (16%). Similarly, topiramate reduced both the monthly mean number of migraine days (1, 4, and 5 days for topiramate 50, 100, and 200 mg/day, respectively, vs 1 day for placebo) and percentage of days during which acute migraine medications were administered (59%, 54%, and 67% for topiramate 50, 100, and 200 mg/day, respectively, vs 42% for placebo), although the treatment differences did not reach nominal statistical significance. Topiramate 200 mg/day did not appear to offer greater efficacy than 100 mg/day. Treatment was generally well-tolerated, although adverse events were most frequent in the 200 mg/day dose group. This post hoc subset analysis suggests that topiramate 100 and 200 mg/day, and possibly 50 mg/day, administered prophylactically for 26 weeks may reduce migraine in adolescents.

The Effect of Combination Pharmacotherapy on the Prescription Trends of Glaucoma Medications

To describe prescription trends within a managed care setting for glaucoma medications and to examine the effect of introduction of Cosopt--a fixed combination of dorzolamide and timolol. All prescriptions dispensed to any of the 470,350 members of an Israeli health maintenance organization were monthly scanned for patients treated for glaucoma, between January 2000 and May 2003. The monthly mean number of glaucoma patients was 3899 +/- 104 (mean +/- SD). All topical glaucoma prescriptions were documented, and the monthly prescription rate of each medication was calculated and plotted. The monitored glaucoma medications were: beta-adrenergic antagonists, dorzolamide, latanoprost, pilocarpine, brimonidine, Cosopt, and others. beta-adrenergic antagonists were the top prescribing drug (>35% of all glaucoma prescriptions). The prescription rates of pilocarpine and beta-adrenergic antagonists were in constant decline, while latanoprost and brimonidine increased steadily. The introduction of Cosopt changed the prescription trends of dorzolamide from increasing to rapidly decreasing, and accelerated the long-term decline of beta-adrenergic antagonists. Concomitant with the introduction of Cosopt the prescription rate of beta-adrenergic antagonists temporarily increased. This was due to a total increase in glaucoma prescriptions. When Cosopt was introduced, 37.5% of patients were prescribed Cosopt together with beta-adrenergic antagonists, and 16.5% also received dorzolamide. Thereafter the co-prescription decreased steadily. Introduction of a combination drug should be accompanied by physicians', pharmacists', and patients' education to prevent its inappropriate usage together with its components.

Epidemic dengue transmission in southern Sumatra, Indonesia

An outbreak of dengue fever (DF), dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) in the city of Palembang, south Sumatra, Indonesia was investigated to (i) validate epidemic occurrence, (ii) confirm dengue virus aetiology and associated serotype(s), (iii) provide a demonstrable measure of community impact, and (iv) identify causative relationship (if any) with climatic El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences. Trend analysis based on a 6-year retrospective review of hospital records demonstrates a 3-fold increase in clinical cases for the outbreak period (January–April 1998), relative to historical records. In the 2 hospitals surveyed, the monthly mean number of outbreak-related dengue cases over 4 months was 833 (range 650–995 cases/month); the mean monthly value for the previous 72 months was 107 (range 14–779 cases/month). An apparent trend in epidemic transmission was observed, evolving from a 5-year cyclic phenomenon to an annual occurrence, often indistinguishable from one year to the next. The proportional distribution of clinical outbreak cases into DF, DHF and DSS diagnostic categories was 24%, 66%, and 10%, respectively. The population aged 10–19 years accounted for the largest (35%) proportion of hospitalized DHF cases, followed by children aged 5–9 years (25%) and children aged 4 years (16%). Serum samples obtained during acute illness from 221 hospitalized patients were examined using serology, RT-PCR, and virus isolation in cell culture: 59% of samples had laboratory evidence of a dengue infection. All 4 dengue virus serotypes (DEN 1–4) were identified in epidemic circulation, with DEN 3 predominating (43%). DEN 1 was the principal serotype associated with less severe dengue illness, suggesting that virulence may be, in part, a function of infecting serotype. The climatic influence of ENSO on rainfall and temperature in the months leading up to and during the outbreak was dramatic, and is likely to contribute to favourable outbreak conditions.

Reproductive phenology of sympatric taxa of Chamaecrista (Leguminosae) in Serra do Cipó, Brazil

Reproductive phenology of 13 sympatric taxa of Chamaecrista in three sections was surveyed at Serra do Cipó, south-east Brazil. Mean abundance of flowers and fruits per plant and mean number of aborted, predated, and surviving seeds per fruit were estimated. Monthly average number of developed seeds per fruit multiplied by the monthly mean number of fruits per plant gave the monthly average number of seeds produced by a plant of each taxon. Five types of phenological behaviour were differentiated by cluster analyses according to the season during which each species produced most of its mature seeds. This behaviour was related to the taxonomic section to which the taxa belong, to plant architecture, to geographical range, to seed predation and to local climatic seasonality. Herbs were more affected by variation in rainfall than shrubs and trees. Two species did not show any clear seasonal behaviour. Widespread taxa produced most of their mature seeds in the rainy season or immediately after it, and all but one of the narrowly distributed species produced most of their mature seeds in the dry season or in the transition from dry to rainy season. Seed predation is probably not an important selective force affecting reproductive phenology of larger taxa, while the smaller taxa seemed too constrained by abiotic factors for biotic factors to influence their phenology significantly.

Abundance of Gulls and Other Birds at Landfills in Northern Ohio

-^^ estimated the abundance of birds at three landfills in northern Ohio from May 1991-July 1992 recording 699,350 individuals of 42 species. Gulls (Larus spp.) comprised 94.5% of the birds recorded followed by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris, 5.0%) and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura, 0.3%). Gulls were primarily of two species, ring-billed (L. delawarensis, 74.49%) and herring ( L . argentatus, 25.50%). The mean number of gulls per observation during July-January was at least five times the mean number observed during other months. The combined monthly mean number of gulls at the three landfills peaked in August (>4000 birds), with gulls virtually absent in February. Total numbers, species composition and age composition of gulls varied seasonally in response to breeding, foraging and migratory behavior of local and regional populations. More than 98% of gulls observed were recorded on or within 30 m of the ground. A mean of one ? 17 (SD) gulls per observation were observed soaring at >300 m elevation over the landfills. Species composition and seasonal abundance of birds varied considerably among the three landfills, even though they were operated similarly and were in close proximity to each other. To adequately assess the use of landfills by gulls and other birds, studies lasting 2 1 year are required. Furthermore, the results from one landfill cannot necessarily be extrapolated to other landfills in

A fractal study on sunspot relative number

In this paper, the theory of nonlinear dynamical system was used to investigate the dynamical behaviour and predictability of monthly mean sunspot relative number in modern epochs (January 1850 – May 1992). A fractal dimension D = 2.8 ± 0.1 was obtained. The results show that the monthly mean number is a complex chaotic system of low dimension, describable by a finite number (between 3 and 7) of parameter variables. Average time scale of predictability of the monthly mean was found to be 150 months. It is proposed that the scale-free region is best determined on the basis of residuals in least-squares linear fit. The effect of data size and noise on the computed fractal dimension is briefly discussed.

Observations on Fasciola hepatica in donkeys from Morocco.

Regular monthly examination of a total of 422 donkey livers revealed Fasciola hepatica infection throughout most of the year, with an annual prevalence of 5.9% (range 0-20%). The monthly mean number of worms per animal varied from 0 to 6.4 (annual average 1.6). Of the infected animals 40% had less than ten worms, 28% between ten and 40, 24% between 41 and 70, and 8% over 71. The maximum number of flukes recovered from a single animal was 87. There were two peaks of infection, one in July (from the spring snail infection) and the other in December-February (from the snail infection of late summer-autumn).

Correlation between relative sunshine and state of the sky

It is possible to construct a sunshine map referring to a large zone, lacking in a widespread network of recording stations, correlating the relative sunshine with the “state of the sky”, defined by the monthly mean number of the clear, mixed and overcast days, whose data are more largely available. In the correlation here proposed climatological and meteorological factors are introduced in order to express the helioclimatic characteristics of every location. The application to Italy, using the data of the period 1973–1977 provided by the 31 stations of ITAV, has suggested the classification of these stations in seven “helioclimatic groups” characterized by different values of the above factors, mainly representative of the position and typology of the surrounding surfaces and of the atmospheric transparence in a cloudy or cloudless sky. The positive results of the comparison between the experimental and computed relative sunshine values are shown in the tables.

Epidemiological observations on lungworm, Dictyocaulus arnfieldi, in donkeys from Morocco.

Regular monthly examination of lungs of donkeys, with a total of 423 in a year, revealed that in Morocco Dictyocaulus arnfieldi infection is present throughout the year with an annual incidence of 47.8% (range 30 to 62.2%). The monthly mean number of worms per animal varied from 19.4 to 69.6 (annual average 39.5) with a maximum of 1000 worms in a donkey. October, February and June are the months when peaks of infections were observed. The ratio of worms in lungs to larvae per g in faeces (L.P.G.) ratio varied from 1:0.57 to 1:1.33 (average 1:0.97) and although this relation was significant, cases with high worm burden and no larvae in faeces were observed.

Progress report of the committee on relations between terrestrial magnetism, terrestrial electricity, and solar activity

Measures of Solar, Magnetic, and Electric Activity.—The compilation and computation of measures of solar activity, magnetic activity, and electric activity, based on all available data, have been continued by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Thanks to the cooperation of Professor Wolfer of Zurich, we are promptly supplied with his relative sun‐spot numbers, which are published as soon as possible in the Journal of Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity in order to make the data available to others. We have at present the final sun‐spot numbers through 1918 and the provisional ones complete from 1919 to March 1923, inclusive. From these data, it appears that for the present cycle, the minimum sun‐spot activity occurred in 1913, and an extraordinarily large maximum (103.9 for the mean of the year) in 1917; it is not yet possible to say whether the minimum has again been reached. The mean number for 1922 was 14.7, and the mean monthly numbers for January to March 1923 are, respectively: 5.3, 1.6, and 4.0. There has been no such high maximum as that of 1917 since 1870, when the mean number for the year was 139.1. For the first time since 1871 has the monthly mean number exceeded 150, as it did in August 1917, viz, 154.5.