Sustainable grain production growth of farmland-A role of agricultural socialized services.

The main aim of this study is to examine the evolving landscape of agricultural socialized services and their impact on the consistent growth of grain production in China. Using panel data from 2007 to 2020, we employ the Entropy Method to gauge the dynamic changes in agricultural socialized services that have contributed to the steady increase in grain production. The research methods include static panel, mediator, and threshold regression models to investigate the effects and mechanisms underpinning the improvement of agricultural socialized services on grain production growth. The empirical findings demonstrate a significantly positive correlation between enhanced agricultural socialized services, such as means of production services, sci-tech information services, and social public services, and increased grain production. This positive impact persists even with limited grain production resources. A mediating effect was identified, whereby agricultural socialized services indirectly stimulate grain production growth by encouraging large-scale agricultural land management. Furthermore, threshold analysis indicates the presence of a single threshold effect linked to the level of agricultural socialization services. This threshold effect plays a pivotal role in the relationship between large-scale agricultural management and steady grain production growth. The study suggests an enhancement of agricultural socialized services can promote sustained growth in grain production.

Environmental Governance Goals of Local Governments and Technological Innovation of Enterprises under Green Performance Assessment.

The current study empirically estimates the impact of local government environmental governance on enterprise technological innovation from the perspective of a green political performance assessment of local governments with Chinese characteristics. Fourteen years of data (from 2006 to 2019) on pollutant emissions, and the patents of A-share listed companies were collected from 230 cities in China. A fixed effect model and tool variable method were applied to empirically analyze the objectives of the study. The results show that the environmental governance formulated by the local government has regional differences, which are shown as lower governance indicators for underdeveloped areas and higher governance indicators for developed areas. Environmental governance has a greater promotion effect on technological innovation in enterprises in developed regions, as well as in large and private enterprises. Moreover, mechanism analysis showed that the local governments preferred the path of financial subsidies to promote the level of technological innovation in enterprises. This study provides a foundation for attaining the "win-win" scenario of local government environmental stewardship and high-quality green economic growth.

Conductive Polymers and Their Nanocomposites as Adsorbents in Environmental Applications.

Proper treatment and disposal of industrial pollutants of all kinds are a global issue that presents significant techno-economical challenges. The presence of pollutants such as heavy metal ions (HMIs) and organic dyes (ODs) in wastewater is considered a significant problem owing to their carcinogenic and toxic nature. Additionally, industrial gaseous pollutants (GPs) are considered to be harmful to human health and may cause various environmental issues such as global warming, acid rain, smog and air pollution, etc. Conductive polymer-based nanomaterials have gained significant interest in recent years, compared with ceramics and metal-based nanomaterials. The objective of this review is to provide detailed insights into different conductive polymers (CPs) and their nanocomposites that are used as adsorbents for environmental remediation applications. The dominant types of CPs that are being used as adsorbent materials include polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (Ppy), and polythiophene (PTh). The various adsorption mechanisms proposed for the removal of ODs, HMIs, and other GPs by the different CPs are presented, together with their maximum adsorption capacities, experimental conditions, adsorption, and kinetic models reported.

Genome Profiling of SARS-CoV-2 in Indonesia, ASEAN and the Neighbouring East Asian Countries: Features, Challenges and Achievements

A year after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, much has been learned regarding SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology, vaccine production, and disease treatment. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has played a significant role in contributing to our understanding of the epidemiology and biology of this virus. In this paper, we investigate the use of SARS-CoV-2 WGS in Southeast and East Asia and the impact of technological development, access to resources, and demography of individual countries on its uptake. Using Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT), Nottingham-Indonesia Collaboration for Clinical Research and Training (NICCRAT) initiative has facilitated collaboration between the University of Nottingham and a team in Research Centre for Biotechnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia/LIPI) to carry out a small number of SARS-CoV-2 WGS in Indonesia. The ONT offers sequencing advantages that fit within the Indonesian context. Analyses of SARS-CoV-2 genomes deposited on GISAID from Southeast and East Asian countries reveal the importance of collecting clinical and demographic metadata and the importance of open access and data sharing. Lineage and phylogenetic analyses per 1 June 2021 found that: 1) B.1.466.2 variants were the most predominant in Indonesia, with mutations in the spike protein including D614G at 100%, N439K at 99.1%, and P681R at 69.7% frequency, 2) The variants of concern (VoCs) B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), and B.1.617.2 (Delta) were first detected in Indonesia in January 2021, 3) B.1.470 was first detected in Indonesia and spread to the neighbouring regions, and 4) The highest rate of virus transmissions between Indonesia and the rest of the world appears to be through interactions with Singapore and Japan, two neighbouring countries with a high degree of access and travels to and from Indonesia.

Percutaneous needle peritoneal biopsy in the diagnosis of exudative ascites.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous needle peritoneal biopsy in diagnosis of exudative ascites has gained wide acceptance and many workers have utilized it with a high diagnostic yield and no significant complications. Present study has been carried out to determine the efficacy of percutaneous needle peritoneal biopsy in the diagnosis of exudative ascites of unknown aetiology. METHODS: It is a descriptive case study conducted in Medical 'C' Unit, Lady Reading Hospital, Postgraduate Medical Institute, Khyber Medical University Peshawar over a period of 2 years, i.e., from Nov, 2003 to December 2005. A total of 45 patients having unexplained exudative ascites underwent blind needle peritoneal biopsy. The biopsy specimen was subjected to histopathology. Ascitic fluid was also obtained for analysis. Post biopsy patients were observed for 24 hours for any untoward complications. RESULTS: A total of 45 patients (17 male and 28 female) with age range from 20 to 65 years and having exudative ascites were studied. The commonest presentation of our patients was abdominal distension (93.3%), pain abdomen (46.67%), fever (44.4%) and weight loss (33.3%). Histopathology of the peritoneal biopsies was reported as follows. Eighteen cases (40%) showed non specific chronic inflammation, 10 (22.2%) cases showed caseating granulomatous inflammation suggestive of tuberculosis and 6 (13.3%) cases showed metastatic adenocarcinoma. In one patient peritoneal mesothelioma was reported. In the remaining 10 patients (22.2%) biopsies were either non representative or inconclusive. The ascitic fluid showed predominantly lymphocytes in 86.6% of cases. Only three patients were reported to be having atypical cells on fluid cytology. The procedure was found safe. No patient was lost due to complications related to the procedure. Only one patient had evidence of intra peritoneal bleed. The commonest problem post biopsy was pain (91.1%) and mild swelling (53.3%) at biopsy site. CONCLUSION: Peritoneal biopsy is fairly safe and inexpensive procedure with good diagnostic efficacy in patients with undiagnosed exudative ascites.

Frequency and clinical course of hepatitis E in tertiary care hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the frequency of hepatitis E virus as a cause of acute hepatitis and its clinical course in hospitalized patients. DESIGN: Cross-sectional hospital-based study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The study was conducted in two tertiary care teaching hospitals i.e., Khyber Teaching Hospital and PGMI Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar (Pakistan) from January to December 2002. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Amongst the total number of 1922 admitted patients, 148 had history of nausea, vomiting and jaundice and raised serum bilirubin with raised hepatic transaminases (ALT), were screened for HBV (hepatitis B virus), HCV (hepatitis C virus) and subsequently for HEV (hepatitis E virus). Acute hepatitis A, autoimmune hepatitis and Wilson's disease were excluded by doing appropriate test as and when required. The patients with hepatitis E were then monitored by checking their serial transaminases on day 1,4,8 and day 18 or until their transaminases dropped to normal. They were also clinically assessed and followed-up. RESULTS: Amongst the total admission of 1922 patients during one year period, 148 had acute hepatitis and out of these, 21 patients (14.189%) suffered from hepatitis E. Seventeen patients were below the age of 40. There were increased number of cases during the late summer and early winter seasons. Majority of the hepatitis E patients recovered during the short follow-up period of two weeks. Two patients had fulminant hepatitis. A four months pregnant young female died of her illness despite intensive treatment. CONCLUSION: Hepatitis E virus is fairly common cause of acute hepatitis in hospitalized patients. Most of the patients are having a benign self-limiting illness.

Signaling mechanisms mediated by G-protein coupled receptors in human platelets.

AIM: The present study deals with the investigation of mechanisms involved in the synergistic interaction between epinephrine and arachidonic acid (AA). METHODS: Venous blood was taken from healthy human volunteers reported to be free of medications for one week. Platelet aggregation was monitored at 37 degree using Dual-channel Lumi-aggregometer. The resulting aggregation was recorded for 5 min by the measurement of light transmission as a function of time. RESULTS: The data show that a synergism in platelet aggregation mediated by subthreshold concentrations of epinephrine (1 micromol/L) and AA (0.2 micromol/L) was inhibited by the alpha2-receptor antagonist (yohimbine, IC50)=0.6 micromol/L) and an inhibitor of AA-cyclooxygenase (COX), indomethacin (IC50=0.25 micromol/L). In examining receptor influence on intraplatelet signalling pathways, it was found that the synergistic effect was inhibited by calcium channel blockers, verapamil (IC50=0.4 micromol/L) and diltiazem (IC50=2.5 micromol/L), as well as by low concentrations of inhibitors of phospholipase C (PLC) (U73122; IC50=0.2 micromol/L) and mitogens activated protein kinase (MAPK) (PD 98059; IC50=3.8 micromol/L). Herbimycin A, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine light chain kinase (TLCK), showed inhibition at IC50 value of 15 micromol/L, whereas chelerythrine, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, had no effect up to 20 micromol/L. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that synergism between epinephrine and AA in platelet aggregation is triggered through receptors coupled to G-protein, which in turn, activate PLC, COX, and MAP kinase-signaling pathways.