Varying Effects of Organic Waste Products on Yields of Market Garden Crops in a 4-Year Field Experiment under Tropical Conditions

Controlling organic and mineral fertilisation is a major concern in tropical environments. An experiment was conducted on an arenosol in the Dakar region, the main market gardening area of Senegal, to evaluate treatments commonly used by farmers. Seven treatments were repeated three times: A mineral fertilisation (MF) treatment based on N-P2O5-K2O (10-10-20), and three organic treatments at two doses (dried sewage sludge (SS), poultry litter (PL) and a digestate from an anaerobic digestion (AD) of cow manures). Each of the organic treatments were supplemented with a normal dose (1) and a double dose (2) of mineral N and K fertiliser. A lettuce, carrot and tomato rotation was grown in four campaigns (2016–2020) on all of the plots. Yields of all three crops in all of the organic treatments were statistically similar (p > 0.05) to the MF in all four campaigns, except for the yield of the lettuce crop under treatment PL-2 in campaigns 2 and 3. The tomato yields were statistically similar under all of the organic treatments in all four campaigns. In contrast, the yields of the lettuce and carrot crops differed statistically from each other and under the different organic treatments in all four campaigns. The yields of all three crops differed in the campaigns with the fertilisation treatment. In each campaign, the yields of each crop were not correlated with the total amounts of N, P and K applied. These differences or similarities in yields are explained by the nature of the organic waste products, the accumulation of nutrients after several applications, the type of crop and interannual differences in temperature.

Radiation dose reduction with deep-learning image reconstruction for coronary computed tomography angiography

Objectives Deep-learning image reconstruction (DLIR) offers unique opportunities for reducing image noise without degrading image quality or diagnostic accuracy in coronary CT angiography (CCTA). The present study aimed at exploiting the capabilities of DLIR to reduce radiation dose and assess its impact on stenosis severity, plaque composition analysis, and plaque volume quantification. Methods This prospective study includes 50 patients who underwent two sequential CCTA scans at normal-dose (ND) and lower-dose (LD). ND scans were reconstructed with Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction-Veo (ASiR-V) 100%, and LD scans with DLIR. Image noise (in Hounsfield units, HU) and quantitative plaque volumes (in mm3) were assessed quantitatively. Stenosis severity was visually categorized into no stenosis (0%), stenosis (< 20%, 20–50%, 51–70%, 71–90%, 91–99%), and occlusion (100%). Plaque composition was classified as calcified, non-calcified, or mixed. Results Reduction of radiation dose from ND scans with ASiR-V 100% to LD scans with DLIR at the highest level (DLIR-H; 1.4 mSv vs. 0.8 mSv, p < 0.001) had no impact on image noise (28 vs. 27 HU, p = 0.598). Reliability of stenosis severity and plaque composition was excellent between ND scans with ASiR-V 100% and LD scans with DLIR-H (intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.995 and 0.974, respectively). Comparison of plaque volumes using Bland–Altman analysis revealed a mean difference of − 0.8 mm3 (± 2.5 mm3) and limits of agreement between − 5.8 and + 4.1 mm3. Conclusion DLIR enables a reduction in radiation dose from CCTA by 43% without significant impact on image noise, stenosis severity, plaque composition, and quantitative plaque volume. Key Points •Deep-learning image reconstruction (DLIR) enables radiation dose reduction by over 40% for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). •Image noise remains unchanged between a normal-dose CCTA reconstructed by ASiR-V and a lower-dose CCTA reconstructed by DLIR. •There is no impact on the assessment of stenosis severity, plaque composition, and quantitative plaque volume between the two scans.

Would high-dose corticosteroid addition to multimodal cocktail periarticular injection contribute to prolonged pain control and better recovery following total knee arthroplasty?: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Enhanced recovery following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been advocated to enhance postoperative recovery. Multimodal cocktail periarticular injection (MCPI) use for pain control in TKA has gained wide acceptance. MCPI-containing corticosteroids are believed to be an effective solution owing to their local anti-inflammatory effects and ability to reduce the local stress response postoperatively. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding its benefits. This trial aims to compare MCPI with a high dose of corticosteroid, normal dose of corticosteroid, and non-corticosteroid during TKA, to assess the effectiveness of MCPI containing corticosteroids in postoperative pain relief, functional improvement, rescue analgesia, and side effects and provide evidence that high-dose corticosteroids result in prolonged pain control and better recovery following TKA. Methods This is a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study. A total of 234 patients scheduled for TKA will be recruited. During surgery, before wound closure, 80 ml of the cocktail analgesic will be injected into the muscle and joint capsule for local infiltration analgesia; the participants will be randomly assigned to three groups to receive a high dose of betamethasone MCPI (group H), normal dose of betamethasone MCPI (group N), and non-betamethasone MCPI (group C). The following indices will be recorded and analyzed: the strongest knee pain experienced during 90° flexion at 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 5 days, 14 days, and 30 days after surgery; 1 min walking ability; and circumference around the patella at 2, 5, 14, and 30 days after surgery; Knee Society knee score at 14 days and 30 days after surgery; C-reactive protein and blood sedimentation; blood sugar 2, 5, 14, and 30 days following surgery; rescue analgesic consumption; and adverse events. If any participant withdraws from the trial, an intention-to-treat analysis will be performed. Discussion The results of this study will provide clinical evidence on the effectiveness of MCPI-containing corticosteroids in postoperative pain relief, functional improvement, rescue analgesia, and adverse events, as well as provide evidence on the efficacy of high-dose corticosteroids in prolonged pain control and better recovery following TKA. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000038671. Registered on September 27, 2020.

Impact of the Herbicide Oxyfluorfen on the Activities of Some Enzymes Found in Soil and on the Populations of Soil Microorganisms

This study assesses the effects of the herbicide oxyfluorfen on the activities of enzymes and on the populations of soil microorganisms by considering experiments on soil samples maintained in both laboratory and in field conditions. Furthermore, the molecular docking approach was used to evaluate the interactions of oxyfluorfen with enzymes found in soil. There was a dose dependent inhibitory effect of oxyfluorfen against the activities of dehydrogenase, phosphatase, protease and urease. The enzymes activities obtained for the soil samples maintained under field conditions usually reflected a different trend than those obtained under laboratory conditions, emphasizing the influence of the soil physicochemical properties. For soil samples maintained in field conditions and for the normal dose of oxyfluorfen, dehydrogenase activity recovered after 14 days and a minimum of 21 days was necessary for the recovery of phosphatase, urease and protease activity, respectively. The most important parameters of soil influencing the activities of enzymes and the populations of microorganisms were the pH, N-NO3 and N-NH4 contents. A dose dependent behavior of populations of microorganisms found in soil treated with oxyfluorfen has been shown. There was a slight grows of the colonies of microorganisms when oxyfluorfen was applied, but this growth decreased with increasing the oxyfluorfen concentration.

Diminazene aceturate-concentrations in tissues of dogs co-treated with oxtetracycline long acting

Diminizene aceturate (DA) is the drug of choice for treating Canine Trypanosomosis and Canine Babesiosis in many countries of the world. However, co-administration of the drug with long acting Oxytetracycline (OXY-LA) has been associated with nervous signs suggestive of its toxicity, in treated dogs, even at the normal dose. To investigate what causes this toxicity, fourteen Nigerian indigenous dogs were randomly selected into two groups that comprised six dogs each and the remaining untreated two dogs were used for preparation of tissue standards. One group was treated with DA (3.5mg/kg) alone while the other was, additionally, treated with OXY-LA, 10 minutes post treatment (PT) with DA. Two dogs from each group were sacrificed at 240, 360 and 480 hours, PT and their livers, brains, kidneys, hearts and skeletal muscles were harvested and assayed for DA. Mean DA-concentrations in brains of the DA-OXY-LA group (19.71± 1.31a; 15.86± 2.96a; 9.11± 3.31a) were higher (P≤ 0.05) than 1.39 ± 0.45b; 1.05± 0.29b; 0.71 ± 0.30b of the DA-alone group at 240, 360 and 480 hours, PT, respectively. Also, mean-DA concentration in kidneys (8.00 ±0.46a) of the DA-OXY-LA group was significantly (P≤ 0.05) higher than 3.76±0.32b of the DA-alone group at 360 hours PT. These results suggest that OXY-LA enhances DA-accumulation in the brain and reduces its kidney-elimination, thus making the normal dose to act as overdose, which causes the nervous signs often manifested by treated dogs.

Effects of High and Normal Dose Fluid Therapy on Nausea and Vomiting after Pediatric Tonsillectomy: A Comparative Study

Background: Nausea, vomiting, and postoperative pain are common and undesirable complications after anesthesia and tonsillectomy surgery especially in children. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of high and normal dose lactated Ringer infusion on nausea, vomiting, and pain intensity after pediatric tonsillectomy. Methods: A total number of 100 tonsillectomy surgery candidates at the age range of 1-12 years were selected for this randomized clinical trial. The subjects were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group after signing of their informed consent. The intervention group received high-dose fluid therapy (lactated Ringer 30cc/kg) and the control group received the normal dose (lactated Ringer 10cc/kg) during the perioperative period. The amounts of consumed adjuvant antiemetic drugs, incidence of nausea and vomiting, and pain severity were evaluated in both groups in the recovery room, at 12 and 24 hours after tonsillectomy. Results: The incidence of nausea and vomiting and the use of rescue antiemetic drugs in the intervention group compared to the control group, were always lower in the recovery room, 12 and 24 hours after surgery; but only the difference in incidence of nausea and vomiting at 24 hours after surgery was statistically significant (P = 0.027). Conclusion: High-dose fluid therapy significantly reduces the late incidence (24 hours after surgery) of post- tonsillectomy nausea and vomiting in children.

Low-dose CT reconstruction method based on prior information of normal-dose image

BACKGROUND: Radiation risk from computed tomography (CT) is always an issue for patients, especially those in clinical conditions in which repeated CT scanning is required. For patients undergoing repeated CT scanning, a low-dose protocol, such as sparse scanning, is often used, and consequently, an advanced reconstruction algorithm is also needed. OBJECTIVE: To develop a novel algorithm used for sparse-view CT reconstruction associated with the prior image. METHODS: A low-dose CT reconstruction method based on prior information of normal-dose image (PI-NDI) involving a transformed model for attenuation coefficients of the object to be reconstructed and prior information application in the forward-projection process was used to reconstruct CT images from sparse-view projection data. A digital extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) ventral phantom and a diagnostic head phantom were employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed PI-NDI method. The root-mean-square error (RMSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and mean percent absolute error (MPAE) of the reconstructed images were measured for quantitative evaluation of the proposed PI-NDI method. RESULTS: The reconstructed images with sparse-view projection data via the proposed PI-NDI method have higher quality by visual inspection than that via the compared methods. In terms of quantitative evaluations, the RMSE measured on the images reconstructed by the PI-NDI method with sparse projection data is comparable to that by MLEM-TV, PWLS-TV and PWLS-PICCS with fully sampled projection data. When the projection data are very sparse, images reconstructed by the PI-NDI method have higher PSNR values and lower MPAE values than those from the compared algorithms. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a new low-dose CT reconstruction method based on prior information of normal-dose image (PI-NDI) for sparse-view CT image reconstruction. The experimental results validate that the new method has superior performance over other state-of-art methods.

Effect of PTH and corticotomy on implant movement under mechanical force

Background Osseointegrated implants are considered as clinically non-movable. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is known to play a significant role in the regulation of bone remodeling and in intermittent, low doses, result in osteoanabolic effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PTH and corticotomy, both under traction force, on osseointegrated implants.MethodsFour implants—two in each hemimandible—were placed in each of the three study mongrels. Each mongrels were designated as control, normal dose PTH (PTH-1), and high dose PTH (PTH-2) groups, with each groups further subdivided into non-surgery implant and surgery implant. After osseointegration, mechanical force with NiTi closed coil springs (500g) was applied around each implants. Corticotomy was performed around one of four implants in each mongrels. Parathyroid hormone was administered locally on a weekly basis for 20 weeks. Clinical movement of the implants were evaluated with the superimposed 3D- scanned data, bone- microarchitectural and histologic examinations. ResultsSuperimposition analysis showed continuous movement of the non-surgery implant of PTH-1 group. Movement was further justified with lowest bone implant contact (adjusted BIC; 44.77%) in histomorphometric analysis. Upregulation of bone remodeling around the implant was observed in the normal dose PTH group. In the surgery implants, the remarkably higher adjusted BIC compared to the non-surgery implants indicated increased bone formation around the implant surface. ConclusionThe results indicate that the catabolic and anabolic balance of osseointegrated implants in terms of bone remodeling can be shifted via various interventions including pharmacological, surgical and mechanical force. Clinical RelevanceUpregulated bone remodeling by PTH and corticotomy under continuous mechanical force showed the possible implications for the movement of osseointegrated dental implant.