At the cut-off value of 1505 pg/mL NT-proBNP could be used as a diagnostic marker for LVSD in acute exacerbation of COPD.

Recent European Union regulations aim at reducing the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. In sunflower production in Serbia, the use of synthetic insecticides for soil and seed treatments has become a prevailing practice for wireworm (Coleoptera: Elateridae) control. However, a number of compounds efficiently used as seed treatments have been phased out. This work aimed at assessing the potential of an environmentally friendly “Attract and Kill” strategy (A&K) for controlling wireworms in sunflower in comparison to conventional insecticides. The experiments were carried out in 2018, 2019 and 2021 involving (a) soil treatments with ATTRACAP® and a Force 1.5 G; (b) seed treatments with Sonido, Force 20 CS, Lumiposa and Buteo Start 480 FS; (c) controls (i.e., untreated seeds). The efficacy of the treatments was assessed based on the plant density and emerging plant damage (%). A damage rating scale (levels 0–5) was created, aiming for a more reliable and concrete interpretation of the results. Data were processed using binomial and multinomial regressions, followed by modelling of the damage and calculating the odds of damage occurrence, depending on the applied insecticide. In all experimental years and at all localities, the Force 20 CS and/or Force 1.5 G treatments resulted in the highest plant density and the lowest percentage of plant damage. ATTRACAP® showed good effectiveness, since plant density and percentage of damaged plants were at the same level of significance as the commonly used conventional insecticides in sunflower production (Sonido for seed treatment and Force 1.5 G for soil treatment). Thus, the A&K strategy was efficient in controlling wireworms at conditions of low abundance, based on three-year experimental results. Although the damage rating scale enabled a clear differentiation of plant damage caused by wireworms responsible for reduced plant density, more reliable models were obtained by binomial regressions, classifying plants as damaged or undamaged.

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In the setting of generalized metric spaces, so called G-metric spaced introduced by Z. Mustafa and B. Sims in 2006, some fixed point results for mappings with contractive iterate at a point and common fixed point results for infinite family of self mappings will be presented. The results are generalizations of well known results in the metric space.

Asphalt pavements form an integral part of any transportation system. The structural capacity of the hot mix asphalt concrete layers depends on many factors including its temperature. Moreover, temperature can be a major contributor to several types of distresses. Therefore, temperature is a significant factor that affects the performance and life span of a pavement. The Libyan road network expanded at a phenomenal pace from approximately 1500 km of paved roads in 1970 to morethan 100,000 km in 2008. Ghat region is located on the southern east of Libya at latitude (24 59' N) in the desert. With the recent SHRP and LTTP research findings, it was necessary to investigate the applicability of the models developed from these research studies to Ghat's environmental conditions and more generally to the rest of Libyan desert reigions. This paper presents the research undertaken to develop models to predict high and low asphalt pavement temperatures in the Ghat region . A pavement monitoring station was set-up in Ghat to monitor air and pavement temperatures in different depth, wind speed and solar radiation. Data were collected for 365days. Daily minimum and maximum temperatures were recorded. A regression analysis was used to develop the minimum and maximum pavement temperature models, using air temperature, wind speed and solar radiation. This paper presents a new model for predicting maximum and minimum surface pavement temperature based on data collected by installed pavement monitoring station set-up at the Ghat region.