Characterization of Small-Scale Farmers and Assessment of Their Access to Crop Production Information in Selected Counties of Kenya

Small-scale farming accounts for 78% of total agricultural production in Kenya and contributes to 23.5% of the country’s GDP. Their crop production activities are mostly rainfed subsistence with any surplus being sold to bring in some income. Timely decisions on farm practices such as farm preparation and planting are critical determinants of the seasonal outcomes. In Kenya, most small-scale farmers have no reliable source of information that would help them make timely and accurate decisions. County governments have extension officers who are mandated with giving farmers advisory services to farmers but they are not able to reach most farmers due to facilitation constraints. The mode and format of sharing information is also critical since it’s important to ensure that it’s timely, well-understood and usable. This study sought to assess access to geospatial derived and other crop production information by farmers in four selected counties of Kenya. Specific objectives were to determine the profile of small-scale farmers in terms of age, education and farm size;to determine the type of information that is made available to them by County and Sub-County extension officers including the format and mode of provision;and to determine if the information provided was useful in terms of accuracy, timeliness and adequacy. The results indicated that over 80% of the farmers were over 35 years of age and over 56% were male. Majority had attained primary education (34%) or secondary education (29%) and most farmers in all the counties grew maize (71%). Notably, fellow farmers were a source of information (71%) with the frequency of sharing information being mostly seasonal (37%) and when information was available (43%). Over 66% of interviewed farmers indicating that they faced challenges while using provided information. The results from the study are insightful and helpful in determining effective ways of providing farmers with useful information to ensure maximum benefits.

基于Small-World网络的非结构化DHT算法

目前,非结构化的P2P路由算法面临着搜索效率低下的严峻问题,这严重影响了非结构算法的应用领域.提出一种基于关键字聚类的分布式哈希表算法,主要思路是将环状关键字空间分成上下两层,下层(AUT层)负责关键字管理,上层(HUB层)负责节点路由.每个节点用一个随机数值作为它的聚类中心,从过往的路由消息中本地节点将抽取文件关键字和节点聚类中心,以聚类原则将这些数据记录到本地路由表中.除了改进非结构化算法的数据组织无序性,另一个目标是提高搜索效率.于是,上述算法的增强算法利用了small-world理论,在HUB层中加入远距离节点的聚类中心,将确定性聚类转化为概率性聚类,故能保证路由长度为O(log2N).

校园足球教学与训练方法--基于国外足球Small-Sided Games的解读

教学与训练方法的落后已经成为我国校园足球高质量发展和高效率普及的瓶颈。基于丰富我国足球教学与训练方法,提高校园足球普及质量与效率的现实需要,对国外足球小场训练赛(SSGs)的概念、特点、理论基础、训练效果影响因素及实践操作过程等进行解读。以期增进广大中小学足球专项教师和教练对该方法的理解和掌握,同时,引导和提高他们对该方法的科学使用。

Small-worldness of brain networks after brachial plexus injury: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Research on brain function after brachial plexus injury focuses on local cortical functional reorganization,and few studies have focused on brain networks after brachial plexus injury.Changes in brain networks may help understanding of brain plasticity at the global level.We hypothesized that topology of the global cerebral resting-state functional network changes after unilateral brachial plexus injury.Thus,in this cross-sectional study,we recruited eight male patients with unilateral brachial plexus injury（right handedness,mean age of 27.9±5.4years old）and eight male healthy controls（right handedness,mean age of 28.6±3.2）.After acquiring and preprocessing resting-state magnetic resonance imaging data,the cerebrum was divided into 90 regions and Pearson’s correlation coefficient calculated between regions.These correlation matrices were then converted into a binary matrix with affixed sparsity values of 0.1–0.46.Under sparsity conditions,both groups satisfied this small-world property.The clustering coefficient was markedly lower,while average shortest path remarkably higher in patients compared with healthy controls.These findings confirm that cerebral functional networks in patients still show smallworld characteristics,which are highly effective in information transmission in the brain,as well as normal controls.Alternatively,varied small-worldness suggests that capacity of information transmission and integration in different brain regions in brachial plexus injury patients is damaged.

small-内射模的某些研究

主要研究small-内射模及其内射包络的一些性质.证明了:(1)设R是LPID环,且左R-模序列0→A→B→C→0是正合的,若A是左small-内射模,则B是左small-内射模当且仅当C是左small-内射模;(2)R是左(右)S-V-环当且仅当R是半本原环.

用Small-World设计无组织P2P系统的路由算法

由于peer-to-peer系统在文件共享方面有着巨大的应用前景,peer-to-peer搜索问题已成为目前学术界重点的研究问题之一.对于缺乏缓存机制的无组织P2P系统,已有的分布式路由算法缺乏全局导航能力,属于无序搜索.为此,提出一种key clustering算法,将路由空间分为HUB和AUT两层,从全局角度进行有序搜索.为提高key clustering算法的可扩展性,借鉴Small-world领域的研究成果,在路由表中以一定概率插入连接远距离节点的快捷连接,以缩短平均路径长度.初步仿真实验表明,引入快捷连接的key clustering算法具有良好的搜索能力和扩展性.

Source mechanism of small-moderate earth- quakes and tectonic stress field in Yunnan Province

In the paper, source mechanisms of 33 small-moderate earthquakes occurred in Yunnan are determined by modeling of regional waveforms from Yunnan digital seismic network. The result shows that most earthquakes occurred within or near the Chuandian rhombic block have strike-slip mechanism. The orientations of maximum compressive stresses obtained from source mechanism are changed from NNW-SSN to NS in the areas from north to south of the block, and tensile stresses are mainly in ENE-WSW or NE-SE. In the eastern Tibetan Plateau, the orientations of maximum compressive stress radiate toward outside from the plateau, and the tensile stress orientations mostly parallel to arc structures. Near 28N the orientations of both maximum compressive stress and tensile stress changed greatly, and the boundary seems to correspond to the southwestern extended line of Longmenshan fault. Outside of the Chuandian rhombic block, the orientations of P and T axes are some different from those within the block. The comparison shows that the source mechanism of small-moderate events presented in the paper is consistence with that of moderate-strong earthquakes determined by Harvard University, which means the source mechanism of small-moderate events can be used to study the tectonic stress field in this region.

Review of small-bowel cleansing scales in capsule endoscopy: A panoply of choices

Evaluation of the quality of small-bowel cleansing is required to assess the reliability of findings in capsule endoscopy(CE). Moreover, consensus regarding the need of intestinal preparation for CE remains to be achieved. The presence of multiple grading scales for smallbowel preparation in CE, which are time-consuming and complicated, adds difficulty to the comparison of different small-bowel cleansing regimens and their application in clinical practice. Nowadays, a validated scale universally accepted for grading small-bowel cleansing is lacking. In fact, there are numerous grading systems with very different technical characteristics, namely, the parameters and the portion of the CE video that are analyzed, the objectivity of the analysis, the lesser or greater dependency on the operator, and the validation of the score. The authors performed a review which aims to systematize and summarize currently available smallbowel grading scales in CE.

Source mechanism of small-moderate earthquakes and tectonic stress field in Yunnan Province

In the paper, source mechanisms of 33 small-moderate earthquakes occurred in Yunnan are determined by modeling of regional waveforms from Yunnan digital seismic network. The result shows that most earthquakes occurred within or near the Chuandian rhombic block have strike-slip mechanism. The orientations of maximum compressive stresses obtained from source mechanism are changed from NNW-SSN to NS in the areas from north to south of the block, and tensile stresses are mainly in ENE-WSW or NE-SE. In the eastern Tibetan Plateau, the orientations of maximum compressive stress radiate toward outside from the plateau, and the tensile stress orientations mostly parallel to arc structures. Near 28N the orientations of both maximum compressive stress and tensile stress changed greatly, and the boundary seems to correspond to the southwestern extended line of Longmenshan fault. Outside of the Chuandian rhombic block, the orientations of P and T axes are some different from those within the block. The comparison shows that the source mechanism of small-moderate events presented in the paper is consistence with that of moderate-strong earthquakes determined by Harvard University, which means the source mechanism of small-moderate events can be used to study the tectonic stress field in this region.

An analytical model for estimating rock strength parameters from small-scale drilling data

The small-scale drilling technique can be a fast and reliable method to estimate rock strength parameters. It needs to link the operational drilling parameters and strength properties of rock. The parameters such as bit geometry, bit movement, contact frictions and crushed zone affect the estimated parameters.An analytical model considering operational drilling data and effective parameters can be used for these purposes. In this research, an analytical model was developed based on limit equilibrium of forces in a Tshaped drag bit considering the effective parameters such as bit geometry, crushed zone and contact frictions in drilling process. Based on the model, a method was used to estimate rock strength parameters such as cohesion, internal friction angle and uniaxial compressive strength of different rock types from operational drilling data. Some drilling tests were conducted by a portable and powerful drilling machine which was developed for this work. The obtained results for strength properties of different rock types from the drilling experiments based on the proposed model are in good agreement with the results of standard tests. Experimental results show that the contact friction between the cutting face and rock is close to that between bit end wearing face and rock due to the same bit material. In this case,the strength parameters, especially internal friction angle and cohesion, are estimated only by using a blunt bit drilling data and the bit bluntness does not affect the estimated results.

Impact of small-for-size liver grafts on medium-term and long-term graft survival in living donor liver transplantation: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Small-for-size grafts (SFSGs) in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) could optimize donor postoperative outcomes and also expand the potential donor pool. Evidence on whether SFSGs would affect medium-term and long-term recipient graft survival is lacking. AIM To evaluate the impact of small-for-size liver grafts on medium-term and longterm graft survival in adult to adult LDLT. METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed by searching eligible studies published before January 24, 2019 on PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. The primary outcomes were 3-year and 5-year graft survival. Incidence of small-for-size syndrome and short term mortality were also extracted. RESULTS This meta-analysis is reported according to the guidelines of the PRISMA 2009 Statement. Seven retrospective observational studies with a total of 1821 LDLT recipients were included in the meta-analysis. SFSG is associated with significantly poorer medium-term graft survival. The pooled odds ratio for 3-year graft survival was 1.58 [95% confidence interval 1.10-2.29, P = 0.014]. On the other hand, pooled results of the studies showed that SFSG had no significant discriminatory effect on 5-year graft survival with an odds ratio of 1.31 (95% confidence interval 0.87-1.97, P = 0.199). Furthermore, incidence of small-for-size syndrome detected in recipients of SFSG ranged from 0-11.4% in the included studies. CONCLUSION SFSG is associated with inferior medium-term but not long-term graft survival. Comparable long-term graft survival based on liver graft size shows that smaller grafts could be accepted for LDLT with appropriate flow modulatory measures. Close follow-up for graft function is warranted within 3 years after liver transplantation.

General limited information diffusion method of small-sample information analysis in insurance

When analyzing and evaluating risks in insurance, people are often confronted with the situation of incomplete information and insufficient data, which is known as a small-sample problem. In this paper, a one-dimensional small-sample problem in insurance was investigated using the kernel density estimation method （KerM） and general limited information diffusion method （GIDM）. In particular, MacCormack technique was applied to get the solutions of GIDM equations and then the optimal diffusion solution was acquired based on the two optimization principles. Finally, the analysis introduced in this paper was verified by treating some examples and satisfying results were obtained.

Nab-paclitaxel(abraxane)-based chemotherapy to treat elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer:a single center,randomized and open-label clinical trial

Background： The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of abraxane-based chemotherapy with/without nedaplatin in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Materials and methods： From October 2009 to January 2013, 48 elderly patients （≥65 years） with NSCLC were investigated in this clinical trial. The patients were randomized and equally allocated into arms A and AP- （A） abraxane （130 mg/m2, days 1, 8）; （B） abraxane ＋ nedaplatin （20 mg/m2 days 1-3, q3w）. The parameters of objective response rate （ORR）, disease control rate （DCR）, progression-free survival （PFS）, overall survival （OS） and side effects were evaluated between two arms. Results： Over 80% of the patients completed four cycles of chemotherapy. The total ORR was 21.3 %, DCR was 55.3%, PFS 4.5 months and OS 12.6 months. No significant difference was found between arms A and AP in terms of ORR （16.7% vs. 26.1%, P=0.665） or DCR （55.3% vs. 56.5%, P=0.871）. The median PFS in arm A was 3.3 months [25-75% confidence interval （CI）： 3.1-7.2] and 5.5 months （25-75% CI： 3.2-7.0） in arm AP with no statistical significance （P=0.640）. The median OS in arm A was 12.6 months （25-75% CI： 5.7-26.2） and 15.1 months （25-75% CI： 6.4-35.3） in arm AP with no statistical significance （P=0.770）. The side effects were mainly grade 1-2. The incidence of grade 3-4 toxicities was 29.1% in arm A and 62.5% in arm AP with a statistical significance （P=0.020）. Conclusions： Compared with combined therapy, abraxane alone chemotherapy was beneficial for elderly NSCLC patients with better tolerability and less adverse events, whereas did not significantly differ in terms of ORR, DCR, PFS or OS.

Sequential therapy according to distinct disease progression patterns in advanced ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer after crizotinib treatment

Objective: Crizotinib is recommended as the first-line therapy for advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase(ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Despite its initial efficacy, patients ultimately acquire resistance to crizotinib within 1 year. In such patients, the optimal sequential therapy after crizotinib treatment remains unknown. This study explored which sequential therapy option confers the greatest benefit.Methods: A total of 138 patients with advanced ALK-positive NSCLC resistant to crizotinib were studied. Based on patterns of disease progression of metastases, patients were divided into 3 groups: brain progression, non-liver progression, and liver progression. Sequential therapies included crizotinib continuation plus local therapy, nextgeneration ALK inhibitors(ALKi's), and chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival(OS) from the time of crizotinib resistance to death or last follow-up.Results: The 138 patients included 64 cases with progression in brain, 57 cases in non-liver sites and 17 cases in liver. A significant difference in OS was observed among the distinct progression pattern(median OS, 25.4 months in brain, 15.8 months in non-liver, and 10.8 months in liver, respectively, P=0.020). The difference in OS among sequential therapies was statistically significant in the non-liver progression group(median OS, 27.6 months with next-generation ALKi's, 13.3 months with crizotinib continuation, and 10.8 months with chemotherapy,respectively, P=0.019). However, crizotinib continuation plus local therapy seems to provide non-inferior median OS compared with next-generation ALKi's for patients with brain progression(median OS, 28.9 months vs.32.8 months, P=0.204). And no significant differences in OS were found in patients with progression in liver(P=0.061).Conclusions: Crizotinib continuation together with local therapy might be a feasible strategy for patients with progression in brain beyond crizotinib resistance, as well as next-generation ALKi's. Next-generation ALKi's tended to provide a survival benefit in patients with non-liver progression.

Should temporary extracorporeal continuous portal diversion replace meso/porta-caval shunts in “small-for-size” syndrome in porcine hepatectomy?

AIM:To investigate the feasibility of temporary extracorporeal continuous porta-caval diversion(ECPD) to relieve portal hyperperfusion in "small-for-size" syndrome following massive hepatectomy in pigs.METHODS:Fourteen pigs underwent 85%-90% liver resection and were then randomly divided into thecontrol group(n = 7) and diversion group(n = 7).In the diversion group,portal venous blood was aspirated through the portal catheter and into a tube connected to a centrifugal pump.After filtration,the blood was returned to the pig through a double-lumen catheter inserted into the internal jugular or subclavian vein.With the conversion pump,portal venous inflow was partially diverted to the inferior vena cava through a catheter inserted via the gastroduodenal vein at 100-130 m L/min.Portal hemodynamics,injury,and regeneration in the liver remnant were compared between the two groups.RESULTS:Compared to the control group,porta-caval diversion via ECPD significantly mitigated excessive portal venous flow and portal vein pressure(PVP); the portal vein flow(PVF),hepatic artery flow(HAF),and PVP in the two groups were not significantly different at baseline; however,the PVF(431.8 ± 36.6 vs 238.8 ± 29.3,P < 0.01; 210.3 ± 23.4 vs 122.3 ± 20.6,P < 0.01) and PVP(13.8 ± 2.6 vs 8.7 ± 1.4,P < 0.01; 15.6 ± 2.1 vs 10.1 ± 1.3,P < 0.05) in the control group were significantly higher than those in the diversion group,respectively.The HAF in the control group was significantly lower than that in the diversion group at 2 h and 48 h post hepatectomy,and ECPD significantly attenuated injury to the sinusoidal lining and hepatocytes,increased the regeneration index of the liver remnant,and relieved damage that the liver remnant suffered due to endotoxin and bacterial translocation.CONCLUSION:ECPD,which can dynamically modulate portal inflow,can reduce injury to the liver remnant and facilitate liver regeneration,and therefore should replace permanent meso/porta-caval shunts in "smallfor-size" syndrome.

Cataract surgery in aged patients:phacoemul-sification or small-incision extracapsular cataract surgery

AIM: To evaluate the effects and safety of phacoemulsification (Phaco) or small-incision extracapsular cataract surgery (SICS) and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation for aged patients. METHODS: Totally 137 aged patients (149 eyes) underwent cataract operation in the case of stable systemic condition, the blood pressure less than 160/95mmHg, blood glucose less than 8mmol/L, and under the help of electrocardiogram surveillance by anesthesiologists during the operation. 106 aged patients (114 eyes) underwent Phaco while 31 aged patients (35 eyes) underwent SICS. The postoperative visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell loss, surgery time and major complications were observed and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of >= 0.6 was achieved in 135 eyes (92.6%) at 1 month postoperatively (chi(2)=259.730, P<0.001). For aged patients, both Phaco and SICS could significantly improve visual acuity with no significant difference (chi(2)=4.535, P > 0.05). Postoperative corneal endothelial cell loss was 18.6%, in PHACO group, the rate was 18.5%; in SICS group, the rate was 19.0%, the difference of which was no significant (chi(2)=0.102, P>0.05). The surgery time was different in two groups. No severe complications occurred. CONCLUSION: Both Phaco and SICS combined with IOL implantation for aged patients are effective and safe. Before surgery, detailed physical examination should be performed. When the systemic condition is stable, cataract surgery for aged patients is safe.

Small-for-size syndrome in adult-to-adult living-related liver transplantation

Small-for-size syndrome (SFSS) in adult-to-adult living-related donor liver transplantation (LRLT) remains the greatest limiting factor for the expansion of segmental liver transplantation from either cadaveric or living donors. Portal hyperperfusion, venous pathology, and the arterial buffer response signif icantly contribute to clinical and histopathological manifestations of SFSS. Here, we review the technical aspects of surgical and radiological procedures developed to treat SFSS in LRLT, along with the pathophysiology of this condition.

Weekly albumin-bound paclitaxel/cisplatin versus gemcitabine/cisplatin as first-line therapy for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer:A phase II open-label clinical study

Objective: The aim of this trial was to compare both the efficacy and the safety of a weekly nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel(nab-paclitaxel) plus cisplatin vs. gemcitabine plus cisplatin in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods: A total of 84 participants received either 100 mg/m^2 nab-paclitaxel each week on d 1, 8 and 15 of a 28 day cycle, as well as cisplatin 75 mg/m^2 on d 1 every three weeks(nab-TP arm); or gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m^2 on d 1 and 8, plus cisplatin 75 mg/m^2 on d 1 every three weeks(GP arm). The primary end point was progression-free survival(PFS). The secondary end points were overall response rate(ORR) and overall survival(OS).Results: According to our analysis, the median PFS was 4.8 months for the nab-TP arm vs. 5.2 months for the GP arm(P=0.55). Analysis showed the median OS was 14.6 months for participants who were in the nab-TP arm vs. 15.1 months for those in the GP arm(P=0.94). Besides, nab-TP showed OS advantages over GP in patients harboring epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) mutation(26.7 vs. 15.3 months, P=0.046) and patients with a performance status of 0(23.5 vs. 14.7 months, P=0.020). It was found that incidences of drug-related grade 3 or 4 toxicities were comparable between the two treatment arms.Conclusions: Therefore, it can be seen that weekly nab-TP treatment has a similar efficacy and tolerability to GP treatment for patients who are undergoing their first-line treatment for NSCLC. It could be that survival differences among platinum doublets in the context of both EGFR mutation and performance status have the potential to be the basis for our further clinical trials.

Chaos in complex motor networks induced by Newman-Watts small-world connections

We investigate how dynamical behaviours of complex motor networks depend on the Newman-Watts small-world （NWSW） connections. Network elements are described by the permanent magnet synchronous motor （PMSM） with the values of parameters at which each individual PMSM is stable. It is found that with the increase of connection probability p, the motor in networks becomes periodic and falls into chaotic motion as p further increases. These phenomena imply that NWSW connections can induce and enhance chaos in motor networks. The possible mechanism behind the action of NWSW connections is addressed based on stability theory.

Small-for-size syndrome in living donor liver transplantation

When the graft volume is too small to satisfy the recipient’s metabolic demand, the recipient may thus experience small-for-size syndrome (SFSS). Because the occurrence of SFSS is determined by not only the liver graft volume but also a combination of multiple negative factors, the definitions of small-for-size graft (SFSG) and SFSS are different in each institute and at each time. In the clinical setting, surgical inflow modulation and maximizing the graft outflow are keys to overcoming SFSS. Accordingly, relatively smaller-sized grafts can be used with surgical modification and pharmacological manipulation targeting portal circulation and liver graft quality. Therefore, the focus of the SFSG issue is now shifting from how to obtain a larger graft from the living donor to how to manage the use of a smaller graft to save the recipient, considering donor safety to be a priority.