scholarly journals A Reevaluation of Superior Tree Performance After 48 Years for a Loblolly Pine Progeny Test in Southern Arkansas

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don C. Bragg
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Progeny Test ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Volume Yield ◽  
Biomass Yields ◽  
Plus Tree ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Performance Gains

A plus-tree progeny test of full- and half-sib “superior” loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) was installed in 1969 on the Crossett Experimental Forest (CEF) to consider the performance of 28 improved families with unimproved planting stock from the CEF (family W29). Performance was evaluated using data from young (3-year-old; early 1970s), maturing (25-year-old; 1994), and mature (48-year-old; 2017) trees. With the exception of a single improved family, early survival was high (>80%), with most families exceeding 90%. Three years post-planting, fusiform rust infection rates were also low, with most families having less than 1% of seedlings infected. At this early stage, the unimproved CEF family W29 only slightly underperformed the best full- and half-sib superior families. By 1994, W29 had slightly higher than average merchantable volume. This trend continued for W29 when remeasured in 2017, with the average merchantable volume yield for W29 statistically similar to the most productive families. This study found only limited volume performance gains from crossing plus-trees. However, it was important to note that several of the best height growth-performing families in 1972 were not the highest merchantable volume producers at 25 or 48 years, and some of the worst early performers moved into the upper tiers by the later remeasurements. These outcomes suggest that depending solely on early height performance to select families for long-term (>50 year) volume (especially if adjusted for wood density) or biomass yields may not be the best approach for forest managers seeking to increase carbon sequestration.

Information Seeding and Knowledge Production in Online Communities: Evidence from OpenStreetMap

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Nagaraj
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Baseline Knowledge ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The U.S

The wild success of a few online communities (such as Wikipedia) has obscured the fact that most attempts at forming such communities fail. This study evaluates information seeding, an early-stage intervention to bootstrap online communities that enables contributors to build on externally sourced information rather than have them start from scratch. I analyze the effects of information seeding on follow-on contributions using data on more than 350 million contributions made by more than 577,000 contributors to OpenStreetMap, a crowd-sourced map-making community seeded with data from the U.S. Census. I estimate the effect of seeding using a natural experiment in which an oversight caused about 60% of U.S. counties to be seeded with a complete census map, while the rest were seeded with less complete versions. Although access to basic knowledge generally encourages downstream knowledge production, I find that a higher level of information seeding significantly lowered follow-on contributions and contributor activity on OpenStreetMap, and was associated with lower levels of long-term quality. However, seeding did benefit densely populated urban areas and did not discourage more committed users. To explain these patterns, I argue that information seeding can crowd out contributors’ ability to develop ownership over baseline knowledge and thereby disincentivize follow-on contributions. This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.

ASSESSMENT OF KIDNEY FUNCTIONAL RESERVE ON THE BACKGROUND OF ANTI-AGGREGATE THERAPY IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE II-III STAGE

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54
Author(s):  
Khabib Barnoev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Kidney Disease ◽  
Kidney Disease ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Functional Reserve ◽  
Functional Reserves ◽  
Term Administration ◽  
Antiaggregant Therapy

The article presents the results of a study to assess the functional reserve of the kidneys against the background of a comparative study of antiaggregant therapy dipyridamole and allthrombosepin in 50 patients with a relatively early stage of chronic kidney disease. Studies have shown that long-term administration of allthrombosepin to patients has resulted in better maintenance of kidney functional reserves. Therefore, our research has once again confirmed that diphtheridamol, which is widely used as an antiaggregant drug in chronic kidney disease, does not lag behind the domestic raw material allthrombosepin

Diagnostics of metal samples using the results of experimental and theoretical study of positively charged microparticles formed upon sample destruction

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
D. A. Golentsov ◽  
A. G. Gulin ◽  
Vladimir A. Likhter ◽  
K. E. Ulybyshev
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Material Model ◽  
Total Charge ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Mechanical And Electrical Properties ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Using Data

Destruction of bodies is accompanied by formation of both large and microscopic fragments. Numerous experiments on the rupture of different samples show that those fragments carry a positive electric charge. his phenomenon is of interest from the viewpoint of its potential application to contactless diagnostics of the early stage of destruction of the elements in various technical devices. However, the lack of understanding the nature of this phenomenon restricts the possibility of its practical applications. Experimental studies were carried out using an apparatus that allowed direct measurements of the total charge of the microparticles formed upon sample rupture and determination of their size and quantity. The results of rupture tests of duralumin and electrical steel showed that the size of microparticles is several tens of microns, the particle charge per particle is on the order of 10–14 C, and their amount can be estimated as the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the sample at the point of discontinuity to the square of the microparticle size. A model of charge formation on the microparticles is developed proceeding from the experimental data and current concept of the electron gas in metals. The model makes it possible to determine the charge of the microparticle using data on the particle size and mechanical and electrical properties of the material. Model estimates of the total charge of particles show order-of-magnitude agreement with the experimental data.

Clinical impact of myositis-specific autoantibodies on long-term prognosis of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: multicentre study

Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichi Yamasaki ◽  
Norimoto Kobayashi ◽  
Shinji Akioka ◽  
Kazuko Yamazaki ◽  
Shunichiro Takezaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Matrix Protein ◽  
Multiple Drug ◽  
Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies ◽  
Inflammatory Myopathies ◽  
Gamma Subunits ◽  
Specific Autoantibody ◽  
Long Term Prognosis ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Drug Free

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) in Japan for each myositis-specific autoantibody (MSA) profile. Methods A multicentre, retrospective study was conducted using data of patients with JIIM at nine paediatric rheumatology centres in Japan. Patients with MSA profiles, determined by immunoprecipitation using stored serum from the active stage, were included. Results MSA were detected in 85 of 96 cases eligible for the analyses. Over 90% of the patients in this study had one of the following three MSA types: anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) (n = 31), anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 alpha and/or gamma subunits (TIF1γ) (n = 25) and anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (NXP2) (n = 25) antibodies. Gottron papules and periungual capillary abnormalities were the most common signs of every MSA group in the initial phase. The presence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) was the highest risk factor for patients with anti-MDA5 antibodies. Most patients were administered multiple drug therapies: glucocorticoids and MTX were administered to patients with anti-TIF1γ or anti-NXP2 antibodies. Half of the patients with anti-MDA5 antibodies received more than three medications including i.v. CYC, especially patients with ILD. Patients with anti-MDA5 antibodies were more likely to achieve drug-free remission (29 vs 21%) and less likely to relapse (26 vs 44%) than others. Conclusion Anti-MDA5 antibodies are the most common MSA type in Japan, and patients with this antibody are characterized by ILD at onset, multiple medications including i.v. CYC, drug-free remission, and a lower frequency of relapse. New therapeutic strategies are required for other MSA types.

Increase associated risk of gynaecological cancer due to long-term exposure to high concentration of atmospheric SO2 industrial pollutant

2021 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2110036
Author(s):  
Qian Xu ◽  
Chan Lu ◽  
Rachael Gakii Murithi ◽  
Lanqin Cao
Keyword(s):  
Time Windows ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Gynaecological Cancer ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
The Past ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽  
Control Study

A cohort case–control study was conducted in XiangYa Hospital, Changsha, China, which involved 305 patients and 399 healthy women, from June 2010 to December 2018, to evaluate the association between Chinese women’s short- and long-term exposure to industrial air pollutant, SO2 and gynaecological cancer (GC). We obtained personal and family information from the XiangYa Hospital electronic computer medical records. Using data obtained from the air quality monitoring stations in Changsha, we estimated each woman’s exposure to the industrial air pollutant, sulphur dioxide (SO2), for different time windows, including the past 1, 5, 10 and 15 years before diagnosis of the disease. A multiple logistic regression model was used to assess the association between GC and SO2 exposure. GC was significantly associated with long-term SO2 exposure, with adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.56 (1.10–2.21) and 1.81 (1.07–3.06) for a per interquartile range increase in the past 10 and 15 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that different groups reacted in different ways to long-term SO2 exposure. We concluded that long-term exposure to high concentration of industrial pollutant, SO2 is associated with the development of GC. This finding has implications for the prevention and reduction of GC.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Response in Thailand and Its Implications on Future Preparedness

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1089
Author(s):  
Wijitbusaba Marome ◽  
Rajib Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Multilateral Cooperation ◽  
First Case ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Economic And Social Impacts

Thailand has been affected by COVID-19, like other countries in the Asian region at an early stage, and the first case was reported as early as mid-January 2020. Thailand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been guided by the “Integrated Plan for Multilateral Cooperation for Safety and Mitigation of COVID-19”. This paper analyses the health resources in the country and focuses on the response through community-level public health system and legislative measures. The paper draws some lessons on future preparedness, especially with respect to the four priorities of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. At the end, the paper puts some key learning for future preparedness. While Thailand’s response to COVID-19 has been effective in limiting the spread of the disease, it falls short at being able to address the multiple dimensions of the crisis such as the economic and social impacts. The socioeconomic sectors have been hardest hit, with significant impact on tourism sectors. Sociopolitical system also plays an important role in governance and decision-making for pandemic responses. The analysis suggests that one opportunity for enhancing resilience in Thailand is to strive for more multilevel governance that engages with various stakeholders and to support grassroots and community-level networks. The COVID-19 pandemic recovery is a chance to recover better while leaving no one behind. An inclusive long-term recovery plan for the various impacted countries needs to take a holistic approach to address existing gaps and work towards a sustainable society. Furthering the Health Emergency Disaster Risk Management (HEDRM) Framework may support a coordinated response across various linked sectors rather than straining one particular sector.

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