The influence of storage time on ponazuril concentrations in feline plasma

Background The pharmacokinetics of ponazuril have been determined in several species; however, there is very little information on the stability of the drug after storage for long periods of time. This study was undertaken to determine the stability of ponazuril in plasma samples stored at −80 °C, which is the temperature most commonly used in the author’s laboratory. Method Spiked plasma samples (0.3, 7.5, and 15 µg/mL) were stored at −80 °C for three months. Analysis occurred on the first day and then once a week for the following twelve weeks. The drug was extracted using a chloroform extraction and separated by high performance liquid chromatography using ultraviolet detection. Results There was no loss of drug for any concentration for the first four weeks of storage. There was an average loss of less than 5% from day 35 through day 70 and an average loss of 6% on day 77 and 84. The data suggest that ponazuril is stable for 4 weeks when stored at −80 °C and undergoes minimal loss in the remaining 8 weeks.

Honey bee colony losses in Brazil in 2018-2019

A research was conducted to assess honey bee colony losses in Brazil, including their likely causes. Beekeepers responded to two complete annual questionnaires (n=268 in 2018 and n=254 in 2019). There was a total of 175,003 hives of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus), (µ=335 hives per beekeeper, min=9 and Max=3,600), of which 27.2% were lost. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) for total loss (TL) and a Wald method for average loss (AL) were used to estimate 95% confidence intervals (CI) for loss rates based on year: 2018, TL=30.5%, CI (28.5-32.4), AL=39.5, CI (37.0-41.9); and 2019, TL=23.8%, CI (22.5-25.2), AL=31.3%, CI (29.5-33.1). Pesticides were speculated to be the leading cause of colony losses (47.3%), followed by climate (drought, flood, rain: 11.6%), malnutrition (lack of flowering, lack of energy and/or protein source, wrong nutrition: 9.7%), absconding (10.2%), mismanagement (wrong migratory activity, migration to mangrove, beekeeper’s personal problems: 7.9%), predators (3.9%), queen problems (2.8%), and varroa (1.6%). Other parasites, theft, toxic pollen (Brazilian sacbrood) and bushfires accounted for the remaining 5% of losses. Due to tropical temperatures, there is no substantial winter loss. In contrast, the highest incidence of losses occurred from September to January, coinciding with the intense agricultural activity. In summary, according to participants, there were significantly higher losses in 2018 compared to 2019, with pesticides alleged to be the main cause of honey bee colony losses in Brazil. However, beekeepers usually multiply colonies during the following season, sustaining pollination and honey production, thereby supporting agricultural activity.

Technical Efficiency and Output Losses in Shrimp Farming: A Case in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The conversion from black tiger shrimp farming and crop farming to white leg shrimp production is widespread in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta provinces. However, this conversion trend also contains many risks related to the technical aspects of the production process. The study mainly aims to estimate the technical efficiency of white leg shrimp farming. It also compares the technical efficiency of white leg shrimp farming between the traditional group that historically has cultivated white leg shrimp and the group that recently converted from black tiger shrimp and crops to white leg shrimp, in order to evaluate the efficiency and adaptability of shrimp farming. Primary data were collected by directly interviewing 99 farmers in traditional areas and 101 farmers in recently converted areas in the study sites and analyzed by using the stochastic frontier method. The calculated technical efficiency was around 72.9 percent, suggesting that farmers could increase their output level by about 27.1%, given constant inputs. There was no difference in the technical efficiency of the two groups, indicating that the converted farms have sufficient adaptability when switching to white leg shrimp farming. The output loss in farmers’ production is still very high, with an average loss of 1973 kg/hectare.

Application Value of a Deep Convolutional Neural Network Model for Cytological Assessment of Thyroid Nodules

Objective. To investigate the application value of a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) model for cytological assessment of thyroid nodules. Methods. 117 patients with thyroid nodules who underwent thyroid cytology examination in the Affiliated People’s Hospital of Ningbo University between January 2017 and December 2019 were included in this study. 100 papillary thyroid cancer samples and 100 nonmalignant samples were collected respectively. The sample images were translated vertically and horizontally. Thus, 900 images were separately created in the vertical and horizontal directions. The sample images were randomly divided into training samples (n = 1260) and test samples (n = 540) at the ratio of 7 : 3 per the training sample to test sample. According to the training samples, the pretrained deep convolutional neural network architecture Resnet50 was trained and fine-tuned. A convolutional neural network-based computer-aided detection (CNN-CAD) system was constructed to perform full-length scan of the test sample slices. The ability of CNN-CAD to screen malignant tumors was analyzed using the threshold setting method. Eighty pathological images were collected from patients who received treatment between January 2020 and May 2020 and used to verify the value of CNN in the screening of malignant thyroid nodules as verification set. Results. With the number of iterations increasing, the training and verification loss of CNN model gradually decreased and tended to be stable, and the training and verification accuracy of CNN model gradually increased and tended to be stable. The average loss rate of training samples determined by the CNN model was (22.35 ± 0.62) %, and the average loss rate of test samples determined by the CNN model was (26.41 ± 3.37) %. The average accuracy rate of training samples determined by the CNN model was (91.04 ± 2.11) %, and the average accuracy rate of test samples determined by the CNN model was (91.26 ± 1.02)%. Conclusion. A CNN model exhibits a high value in the cytological diagnosis of thyroid diseases which can be used for the cytological diagnosis of malignant thyroid tumor in the clinic.

Types of biologically active substances, methods of their application as factors of increasing resistance of varieties of various potatoes in an effort to realize greater productivity when exposed to pathogenic organisms

All countries in the world strive not to repeat the potato famine of Ireland. Potatoes infect more than 100 pathogens, one of the most serious is late blight. In the world, the average loss of potato yield from late blight is 10-15% per year. This article briefly discusses various safe, effective and environmentally friendly methods of preventing and controlling late blight of potatoes.

The Impact of Natural Disasters on Economic Growth

This paper estimates the impact of catastrophic natural disasters on economic growth using an event study methodology on a country panel dataset from 1970 to 2019. The severity of the events is determined by the associated mortality. We find that affected economies which, given the way natural disasters are ranked, comprise mainly developing countries, suffer an average loss between 2.1 and 3.7 percentage points (p.p.). The estimated loss is not offset by above-average growth rates in the disasters aftermath. In contrast, when the severity of the events is determined by physical intensity rather than by mortality, which implies a more balanced estimating sample of developed and developing economies, the estimated effects on growth are negligible. Thus, the negative impacts of natural disasters on economic growth are larger for poorer countries, suggesting that the impact of natural disasters on growth is an economic development issue.

Pediatric laparoscopic partial cystectomy for the treatment of benign bladder tumors and urachal cysts

Objective To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of carrying out pediatric laparoscopic partial cystectomies (LPC) when treating benign bladder tumors and urachal cysts. Methods Retrospectivey analyzing 4 clinical cases involving children with bladder tumors, which were collected from October 2017 to December 2018. In these clinical cases, there were 3 male children and 1 female child, aged from 4.5 to 9.4 years old, with an average age of 6.5 years. An intraperitoneal laparoscopic partial cystectomy was performed in the treatment of 3 of these patients with benign bladder tumors and in 1 patient with an urachal cyst. The surgical procedures included a partial cystectomy and a complete intracavitary bladder suture. Results All 4 cases were successful and no operation was transferred to opensurgery. The operation time was 100–120 min, with an average time of 108 min. The intraoperative blood loss was 10–20 ml, with an average loss of 15 ml. 6 h after the operation, the patients still maintained a fluid diet and 1 case of hematuria had occurred, with the catheter removed 12 days after the operation. No postoperative urine leakage, intestinal adhesion or intestinal obstruction occurred, and the average postoperative hospitalization time was 14 days. Conclusion Laparoscopic partial cystectomy is a safe and feasible method to be used for the treatment of benign bladder tumors and urachal cysts. It presents the advantages of being minimally invasive, and having a quick recovery and short hospitalization time. It is an alternative surgical method for the treatment of pediatric benign bladder tumors.

The viscoelasticity and deformation mechanism of Taxodium hybrid ‘Zhongshanshan’ wood by dynamic mechanical analysis

The viscoelasticity of Taxodium hybrid ‘Zhongshanshan’ wood, while undergoing hydrothermal processing, was investigated via dynamic thermomechanical analysis. The results showed that the elastic deformation and viscous deformation of the Taxodium hybrid ‘Zhongshanshan’ heartwood were greater than the sapwood. The heartwood average storage modulus and average loss modulus were greater than the sapwood. The difference between the heartwood and sapwood had little effect on the average glass transition temperature of their hemicellulose, which was approximately 74 °C. The radial average storage modulus was greater than the tangential, and the difference between the average loss modulus in the radial and tangential directions was negligible. The average glass transition temperature in the radial direction was slightly lower than the tangential direction. As the moisture content increased, the average storage modulus and its average hemicellulose glass transition temperature decreased. The average glass transition temperature tended to be lower as the moisture content increased. This study revealed the structural deformation and molecular movement of Taxodium hybrid ‘Zhongshanshan’ wood, while undergoing hydrothermal processing; this has important theoretical value for understanding its characteristics as well as its rational and efficient usage.

Individual-level loss aversion in riskless and risky choices

Loss aversion can occur in riskless and risky choices. We present novel evidence on both in a non-student sample (660 randomly selected customers of a car manufacturer). We measure loss aversion in riskless choice in endowment effect experiments within and between subjects and find similar levels of average loss aversion in both. The subjects of the within study also participate in a simple lottery choice task which arguably measures loss aversion in risky choices. We find substantial heterogeneity in both measures of loss aversion. Loss aversion in riskless choice and loss aversion in risky choice are strongly positively correlated, but on average riskless loss aversion is higher than risky loss aversion. We find that in both choice tasks, loss aversion increases in age, income, and wealth, and decreases in education. Our results provide novel supportive input to the debate about the reality of loss aversion.

Incidence, Spatial Pattern and Temporal Progress of Fusarium Wilt of Bananas

The effective management of Fusarium wilt of bananas (FWB) depends on the knowledge of the disease dynamics in time and space. The objectives of this work were: to estimate disease intensity and impact, and to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of FWB. Fields planted with Silk (n = 10), Pome (n = 17), or Cavendish (n = 3) banana subgroups were surveyed in Brazil, totaling 95 ha. In each field, all plants were visually assessed, and diseased plants were georeferenced. The incidence of FWB and the impact of the disease on the yield on a regional scale were estimated. Spatial patterns were analyzed using quadrat- and distance-based methods. FWB incidence ranged from 0.09% to 41.42%, being higher in Silk fields (median = 14.26%). Impacts of epidemics on yield ranged from 18.4 to 8192.5 kg ha−1 year−1, with an average of 1856.7 kg ha−1 year−1. The higher economic impact of the disease was observed on Silk cultivar with an average loss of USD 1974.2 ha−1 year−1. Overall, estimated losses increased on average by USD 109.8 ha−1 year−1 at each 1% of incidence. Aggregation of FWB was detected by all analytical methods in 13 fields (1 of Cavendish, 11 of Pome, and 1 of Silk). In the other 17 fields, at least one analytical method did not reject the null hypothesis of randomness. One field (5 ha), composed of six plots, was selected for spatial and temporal studies during two years with bi-monthly assessments. A sigmoidal curve represented the FWB progress and the Gompertz model best-fitted disease progress. The level of aggregation varied over time, and evidence of secondary infection to neighboring and distant plants was detected. FWB is a widespread problem in Brazil and yield losses can be of high magnitude. Epidemiology-based management strategies can now be better established.