Scientific Research Publishing

Run-off-road (ROR) crashes in the United States have become a major cause of serious injuries and fatalities. A significant portion of run-off-road crashes are single vehicle crashes that occur due to collisions with fixed objects and overturning. These crashes typically tend to be more severe than other types of crashes. And the economic costs associated with this type of crashes are significantly high. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the factors that are associated with single vehicle ROR crashes so that effective remedies can be developed to reduce the severity of ROR crashes. In this study, single vehicle run-off-road crashes that occurred between 2004 and 2008 were extracted from Kansas Accident Reporting System (KARS) database to identify the important factors that affected their severity. Different driver, vehicle, road, crash, and environment related factors that influenced crash severity were identified by using binary logit models. Three models were developed to t

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is one of the most commonly performed operations on the spine. While complication rates are relatively low, ACDF can be associated with specific risks, including dysphagia, leading to aspiration risk, dietary modification, and even nasogastric feeds or gastrostomy in the severest of cases. However, the incidence of dysphagia following ACDF reported in the literature varies due to differences in measures and time intervals applied, ranging from nearly 3/4 at 2 weeks to 13% at 12 months. And the most commonly used dysphagia scales remain subjective, non-validated, and do not capture functional impact. Various risk factors have been identified though few consistently reproduced and none studied in an Australasian context. The aims of this study were to use objective and validated measures, assess both traditional and novel risk factors, and determine the impact of dysphagia on dietary status, length of stay and complications. Twenty-nine

Wind energy is a clean renewable and its benefits are considered greater than the disadvantages. It has had the fastest growth rate among the renewable sources of energy over the past few decades due to its competitive price and mature technology, which has resulted in the widespread deployment of wind turbines in rural communities. However, even though wind farms represent environmentally friendly projects, they frequently generate public resistance. Wind turbines are socially controversial because of their visual and acoustic impacts. The aim of this work was to design a methodology for the preliminary evaluation of potential acoustic impact of wind farms. For this aim, three steps have been proposed: identification, characterization and assessment of the acoustic impact during the construction, operation and decommissioning phase. The studied wind farm was located in Murcia Region, with a surface of 171 hectares and 16 wind turbines with a rated power of 32 MW and 2480 equi

Immunization is a medical procedure many children frequently undergo. As it involves pain, it is important to develop effective pain relief methods that are applicable from infancy. And the methods to reduce immunization-related pain in children are usually classified into pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. The latter include: musical interventions, distraction using videos, breathing techniques, sucrose administration, and so on. In this study, the authors aimed to clarify the pain-relieving effect of music from speakers on preschoolers during immunization. A randomized controlled trial using sex-based stratified randomization was conducted at a Japanese pediatric clinic between October and December 2016, involving 48 preschoolers aged 5 - 6. Among these, 25 listened to music (“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” played by a music box) from speakers before, during, and after influenza immunization (Music group), while the other 23 were not treated with musical intervent

The globalization of trade has increased the chances that the food produced in one place can affect the health and diet of people living in another. And the rapid increase of knowledge on nutrition, medicine and plant biotechnology has dramatically changed the concepts about food. The NACCP process involves a sequence of analysis and controls that depart from raw material production to the evaluation of the effect of nutrition on health. It is articulated through the following points: 1) identification of nutrient level in the food; 2) identification of critical control points (environmental, genetic data, chemical and physical data, production technology, distribution and administration); 3) establishing critical limits that can impoverish and damage the nutrient; 4) establishing measures to monitor; 5) establishing corrective actions. The aim of this study was to apply the Nutrient Analysis Critical Control Point (NACCP) process to ensure that the highest nutrient levels in

Arthroscopic or open shoulder surgeries are often performed in the beach chair position (BCP) or the lateral decubitus position. Regional or general anesthesia may be utilized in conjunction with the BCP; however, under general anesthesia, the BCP is associated with an increased risk of neurological complications, including stroke, spinal cord ischemia, and transient loss of vision. The pathophysiology of these events has not been completely determined, but it has been suggested to be related to cerebral or upper spinal cord hypoperfusion due to improper blood pressure (BP) management. Then, the systemic arterial blood pressure (BP) must be increased to prevent cerebral hypoperfusion. However, it is not clear how the cardiac function is affected when BP is increased to maintain cerebral perfusion pressure in anesthetized patients. In this study, an analysis was performed using the data from 13 patients. The authors prepared a parallel circuit using a FloTrac Sensor transducer and

In Japan, the cyclic irrigation system is encouraged through the national subsidy for system installation and pump operation and has been practiced for reducing pollutant outflow loadings from paddy fields. The cyclic irrigation pumps drainage water and reuses it as irrigation water to the farmland. Quantification and assessment of the effects of the cyclic irrigation are needed to identify management options for maximizing the benefits of cyclic irrigation. The study was aimed at assessing loading characteristics from paddy field area under the cyclic irrigation and developing a model for simulating water and material flow in paddy field area that can be used as a management tool. The study was carried out in a paddy field in the Asagoi District, Oumihatiman city in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The field data were collected from April 2010 to September 2012. And during the monitoring period, four sampling points were set up; three in the main drainage canal and one at the Biwa Lake

Modafinil is a central nerve stimulant (CNS) eugeroic that directly increases cortical catecholamine levels, indirectly upregulates cerebral serotonin, glutamate, orexin, and histamine levels, and indirectly decreases cerebral gamma-aminobutyric acid levels. It can also enhance attention, executive functions, and learning, and enhance task enjoyment and performance on cognitive tests of planning and working memory in healthy non-sleep deprived individuals. Besides, modafinil can also maintain wakefulness, memory and executive functions in sleep deprived healthy individuals. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to understand reality. Its causes include environmental and genetic factors. And cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, it persists during symptomatic remissions and cognitive impairment can predict functional outcome in chronic schizophrenia. This review sought to describe the use and effects of the d

In North America, among the wildlife species, deer, particularly white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), damage row crops such as soybean ( Glycine max  L.) and are a perceived problem. Currently, the widely used technique to control deer from crop browsing is establishment of fences and application of repellents. In general, fencing is expensive, labor intensive, and most of the time ineffective and effectiveness of repellents depends on numerous factors, such as rainfall, which may dissolve repellents thus requiring reapplication. Sicklepod ( Senna obtusifolia L.) is among the ten most troublesome weeds in the southern US. Studies have shown that sicklepod,  Senna obtusifolia  (L.), contains anthraquinone derivatives, which in separate studies were shown to be toxic to cattle, rats, rabbits, and horses, and repel herbivores primarily birds. However, information of the deer-repelling property of anthraquinone in sicklepod is lacking. In this study, the authors aimed

The reniform nematode ( Rotylenchulus reniformis ) is among the most economically damaging plant pathogens in the United States. This nematode is mostly known for its damage to cotton, but tomato is also well-within its vast host range that includes 314 plant species across 77 plant families.  Nematode-resistant genotypes offer an effective, environmentally safe alternative to agro-chemicals for reniform nematode management. Resistance genes can be introgressed into cultivars through plant improvement efforts. Tomato is a diploid species which is more amenable to identification of resistance genes in contrast to cotton where cultivars are either tetraploid or hexaploid. This greenhouse study examined cultivated and wild  Solanum  species  represented by  40 tomato accessions,  to identify resistance and susceptibility responses to  R. reniformis.  And the experimental design was a randomized complete block design with six blocks. Seeds of the 40 accessions were obtained from th

The Argentinian Yungas ecosystem, the more extensive of the two richest biodiversity ecoregions of the country, is subject to rapid deforestation and fragmentation. Because these fragments are the future biodiversity reserves of this ecosystem, it’s interesting to know if they constitute small-scale replicas of the forest from which they were detached. The objective of this study was to characterize the fragments and compare them with sectors of continuous forest by studying the aboveground tree biomass (for the five most representative forest species), microclimate (three variables) and edaphic factors (three) as a function of distance from forest edge at 15, 25, 50, 100 and 200 meters. The authors selected two size categories for fragments: 5 - 10 ha and 100 - 150 ha, located in the lower Yungas forest (LYF). They did sampling during the dry and wet seasons. As a result, in the larger fragments, the distance exerted a significant effect on the records of the microclimate and eda

The declining Ogallala Aquifer beneath the Southern High Plains may necessitate dryland crop production and cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum  L.) is a well-adapted and potentially profitable alternative crop. The limited growing season duration of the Texas Panhandle and southwestern Kansas, however, imposes significant production risk due to incomplete boll maturation. Emphasizing earlier boll production that is usually confined to sites on lower fruiting branches may reduce risk, but offsetting high planting densities are needed to maintain desirable lint yield. In this study, the authors aimed to quantify planting: 1) row width and 2) in-row spacing effects on growth, yield, and fiber quality of dryland cotton. The authors carried out a field experiment and a crop growth simulation. The field tests of row widths from 0.25 to 0.76 m and plant densities with in-row spacing ranging from 0.075 to 0.15 m were conducted from 1999 to 2005 on a nearly level Pullman clay loam (fine, mixed, s

Allelopathy is a mechanism in which the plant produces allelochemical(s) to survive in nature, by inhibiting the growth of neighboring plants in the field. Dried leaves of  Prunus yedoensis  and  P. lannesiana  (50 mg) showed strong inhibitory allelopathic activities. Coumarin in the leaves of P. lannesiana is known and used for its anti-bacterial activity and specific flavor. It is also known as a strong allelochemical in the leaves of a leguminous tree, Gliricidia sepium . However, its role as an allelochemical in Prunus species has not been well investigated. Inhibitory activities of abscisic acid (ABA), a plant hormone, are on the growth of plant protoplasts. The role of ABA on protoplast cultures as an allelochemical in Prunus species has also not been studied. In this study, the authors first examined the allelopathic activities of young leaves of P. yedoensis and P. lannesiana using the sandwich method; then they reported the effects of both ABA and coumarin on both

Hemiplegic stroke patients often experience gait disturbance, such as spastic gait, due to motor paralysis. Gait disturbance affects activities of daily living (ADL) and the quality of life of patients. Thus, early walking training is essential. This study aimed to clarify the factors affecting the walking ability of hemiplegic stroke patients. Eighty hospitalized patients with a first chemic or hemorrhagic stroke within 1 year but not less than 1 month after stroke onset were included in this study. The dependent variable was walking ability (Functional Independence Measure [FIM] locomotion score), and the independent variables were spirituality(Spirituality Rating Scale-A [SRS-A]), amount of social support (Japanese version of the Abbreviated Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, frequency of family visit), stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS]), degree of motor paralysis (lower extremity Brunnstrom stage), the lower limb loading force

A standardized Macleaya cordata extract preparation (MCEP; trade name Sangrovit ®) can increase feed intake and therefore promote animal growth, meat quality and yield. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of Sangrovit® on the health status and egg laying parameters of layer chickens. Layer chickens (N = 360) were randomly divided into four groups (90 birds/treatment, 10 birds/pen) and fed either a standard basal feed (T1) or a basal diet that was supplemented with 100 mg/kg (T2), 500 mg/kg (T3) or 1000 mg/kg (T4) Sangrovit® (providing 0, 3.7, 18.5, and 37.0 mg MCE/kg feed, respectively) for 56 consecutive days. Live Weight (LW), Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI) and the Feed Conversion Ratios (FCR) were calculated during the study, and biochemical and hematological endpoints were obtained at the end of the study (Day 56). Eggs were analyzed for the isoquinoline alkaloids sanguinarine and chelerythrine. No statistically significant (P > 0.05) differences w

Caregivers are an essential component of any community. Advances in medical care have brought about an increasing population which is reliant on care, and communities deal with most of the burdens and practicalities of public health issues. In order to provide efficient support services, we need to know the challenges of caregivers so that we can address what types of support they require. The current study examined whether those who had a mental health difficulty and were either engaged in caregiving duties or perceive family burden might be less adherent to their medications in comparison with those who also had a mental health difficulty but did not perceive family burden or perform caregiving. Data used was from the National Comorbidity Study Replication (NCS-R), which examined the mental health profile of the American population. The group examined were those who received the family burden interview, and indicated that they were taking a prescription medication for a mental h

Since Smartphones became popular, many messaging services have been launched. WhatsApp, which is a free messaging service owned by Facebook Inc., has emerged as one of the most popular messaging apps on mobile devices today. And as more and more people use WhatsApp as a means of communication, the importance of securing its users’ business or private communications has become more imperative. Users of the app expect a reasonable amount of privacy for all their communications. To meet this expectation, WhatsApp in 2014 introduced End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) technology. This allows for data between communicating parties to be secure, free from eavesdropping, and hard to crack. This technology offers peace of mind to end users because their data are safe in transit, and third parties or even WhatsApp itself cannot access them; thus messages can only be decrypted by the recipient. However, the ubiquity of instant messaging services on mobile devices and their use of end-to-end encry

High blood pressure (HBP) is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and also one of the leading causes of death in the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, few people know their blood pressure status and few hypertensive patients are under treatment. This may be due to inadequacies in the availability and accessibility of basic technologies and essential medicines in the health facilities, coupled with beliefs, low educational level and low economic status of some patients. The aim of this work was to determine the prevalence, associated factors and quality of high blood pressure (HBP) management in three regions of Benin in 2015.  The authors carried out a cross-sectional study, with two components. The first component included adults aged from 18 to 69 years old, selected using a three-stage random sampling within the households. Data were collected thanks to the French version of the WHO STEPS instrument. Anthropometric data, including blood pressure, capil