DETERMINANT FACTORS FOR FERTILITY. CASE OF ALBANIA

Fertility Rates in Albania have suffered a great change over the past 20 years. Starting from this fact the main objective of this study is to investigate the relation between fertility rate and its determinant factors. In this study as a determinant factor are obtained: lifespan of women, their location and their involvement in work force. The study aims to determine empirically which of these factors is more significant in the impact of fertility rate. Interpretation of data and performance over the years of this indicator are explained based on the theory of demographic transition. The data are in time for the period from 1990 to 2008. Results of model show that a strong negative correlation exists between fertility rate and lifespan of women.fertility rate, status of women, level of development, demographic transition.

Effect of compost and soil properties on the availability of compost phosphate for white clover ( Trifolium repens L.)

Wide variation in results exists in the literature on the effectiveness of composts to sustain the phosphorus (P) nutrition of crops. The aim of this work was to assess the importance of some soil and composts properties on the utilization of compost-P by white clover (Trifolium repens L.). This study was carried out with samples collected from four composts made from solid kitchen and garden wastes, and with two soil samples taken from the A horizon of a P-rich sandy acidic Dystrochrept and of a P-limited clayey calcareous Eutrochrept. Changes in the amount of inorganic P (Pi) isotopically exchangeable within 1 min (E1min) were measured during 32 weeks in incubated soil-composts or soil-KH2PO4mixtures where P sources had been added at the rate of 50 mg P kg−1 soil. Uptake of compost-P or KH2PO4-P by white clover was measured on the same amended soils during 16 weeks. In both soils, the application of composts resulted after 32 weeks of incubation in E1min values ranging between those observed in the control without P and those observed in the KH2PO4treatment, i.e., in values ranging between 4.2 and 5.9 mg P kg−1 in the sandy acidic soil and between from 1.6 to 4.3 mg P kg−1 in the clayey calcareous soil. The total coefficient of utilization of compost-P (CU-P) by white clover reached values in both soils for the four composts ranging between 6.5% and 11.6% of the added P while in the presence of KH2PO4 the CU-P reached values ranging between 14.5% in the clayey calcareous soil and 18.5% in the sandy acidic soil. Results obtained in the sandy acidic soil suggest, that white clover initially used a fraction of the rapidly exchangeable compost P, while at a latter stage plant roots enhanced the mineralisation of compost organic P and took up a fraction of the mineralized P. These relations were not observed in the clayey calcareous soil probably because of its high sorbing capacity for P. In the sandy acidic soil, composts application increased the uptake of soil P by the plant from 31.4 mg P kg−1 soil in the control without P to values ranging between 37.9 to 42.7 mg P kg−1 soil in the presence of composts. This indirect effect was related to a general improvement of plant growth conditions in this soil induced by compost addition (from 9.9 g DM kg−1 soil in the control without P to values ranging between 14.0 to 16.1 g DM kg−1 soil in the presence of composts) and/or to the release of Al- or Fe bound soil P to the solution due to soil pH increase following compost application. Finally the total coefficient of utilization of P (CU-P) derived from KH2PO4 and composts was related to the total amount of N exported by white clover in the P-limited clayey calcareous soil but not in the P-rich sandy acidic soil. This suggests that in a soil where N2 biological fixation is limited by low P availability, the CU-P of a compost by white clover is not only related to the forms of P present in the compost but also to its effect on N nutrition. However, it is not clear whether this improved N nutrition was due to compost mineralisation, or to an indirect compost effect on the N2 biological fixatio

electrochemical properties, electronic structures and catalysis

A mesoionic carbene with a ferrocene backbone is used as a metalloligand to generate the first example of their Fe–Au heterobimetallic complexes. The details of geometric and electronic structures in different redox states and preliminary catalytic results are presented

Forms and exchangeability of inorganic phosphate in composted solid organic wastes

Switzerland yearly produces more than 260,000 Mg of compost, two thirds of which is recycled in agriculture and horticulture. This research was undertaken to examine the forms and availability of inorganic P (Pi) in Swiss composts made from solid kitchen and garden wastes using the isotopic exchange kinetic technique, a sequential Pi extraction and magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The different approaches described in this paper demonstrate the presence of a complex mixture of Pi species in the studied composts. Isotopic exchange experiments and sequential extraction showed that these composts contained relatively large concentrations of rapidly available Pi. Significant correlations were observed between the concentration of water-soluble Pi (Cp), and the total N, C and P content of composts suggesting that organic substances partly controlled the amount of rapidly available Pi. Significant correlations were observed in alkaline composts between the amount of Pi which can not be exchanged within 3 months and the total P and Ca content. In alkaline composts solid-state MAS 31P NMR results suggested the presence of a range of slightly soluble and poorly crystallized Ca-P compounds such as apatites or octacalcium phosphates and of organic P compounds. The slowly or non-exchangeable Pi present in these composts could therefore be bound to Ca in the form of apatites or octacalcium phosphate

Accumulation of biologically fixed nitrogen by legumes cultivated as cover crops in Switzerland

Aims Biological nitrogen fixation by legumes is expected to play a greater role in future cropping systems. Our study evaluated 19 legume species grown as cover crops in Swiss agroecosystems. Methods Two field experiments were set up to monitor the biomass production and nitrogen content of 19 legumes and two non-legumes. The proportion of nitrogen derived from atmospheric N2 (%Ndfa) was assessed using the 15N natural abundance method. In parallel, a pot experiment was set up to determine the species-specific B values necessary to apply this method. Results Some species produced an important amount of biomass in 3 months, up to 6.86 t/ha for Vicia faba. Five species, Lathyrus sativus, Pisum sativum, Vicia sativa, Vicia villosa, and V. faba, acquired more than 100 kg/ha of N through biological fixation. Important amounts of nitrogen were also derived from the soil. %Ndfa values showed high variability between and within species, ranging from 0 % to almost 100 %. Conclusions Some legumes showed high N accumulation even in a short growing period, and could play an important role in fixing renewable nitrogen in crop rotation

Measurement of isotopically-exchangeable Zn in Zn-deficient paddy soil

The changes in soil chemistry following submergence of a soil for rice production result in zinc (Zn) being immobilized in very insoluble forms. Consequently, Zn deficiency is widespread in rice crops and in human populations that subsist on rice. We explored the use of stable isotopic dilution assays for assessing Zn dynamics in submerged paddy soil with two types of strongly Zn-deficient soil for rice cultivation in the Philippines. We optimized the isotope enrichment, electrolyte and equilibration time to measure isotopically-exchangeable Zn (E-values) without changing redox conditions. Available Zn was rapidly and strongly immobilized following submergence, which was controlled by CO2 accumulation. Addition of the isotopic tracer before submergence produced unreliable E-values because irreversible immobilization of the tracer progressed faster than isotopic exchange. Addition of the tracer to already reduced soil produced stable E-values for tracer–soil contact of up to 1 week. Longer periods produced unreliable E-values because of continuing irreversible fixation of the tracer. We discuss the implications for applications of isotopic dilution methods to measure trace-element dynamics in submerged soil

Impact of concentration on banking stability in Albania

The article examines the empirical nature of relationship between bank concentration and banking stability using unique datasets of Albanian banking sector. Test of banking stability is attaining through linear and probit models to reflect the effect of banking concentration. Empirical results prove the trade – off between concentration and non – performing loans and the probability of bank crisis. These results support the concentration – banking stability view and the significance of structural features of banking sector to determine its stability. Albanian empirical results rely on several theoretical and empirical results which they showed that the banking crises would occur probably in a weak macroeconomic environment characterized by slow GDP growth

THE EFFECTS OF TAPING NEUROMUSCULAR COMPARE TO PHYSICAL THERAPIES MODALITIES IN PATIENTS WITH ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS OF THE SHOULDER

Adhesive capsulitis is a common painful condition characterized by severe loss of mobility and shoulder pain. Patients with this disease have a painful restriction of both active and passive mobility and an overall loss of shoulder movement in all planes. This experimental design study investigated the effect of combination of taping neuromuscular and stretching exercises program compared to ultrasounds and stretching exercises program. A total of 40 patients aged between 40 and 60 years were involved in the study. Patients were divided in two groups: first group subjected of neuromuscular taping +stretching exercises program for 4 weeks (experimental group 20 patients) and a second group subjected of a daily program of physical therapy + stretching exercises (control group 20 patients). They were evaluated using visual analogue scales for pain, goniometric measure for passive and active range of motion, SPADI index for shoulder function and patient satisfaction. Analysis showed statistically significant improvement in both the experimental and control groups. In addition, the mean improvement in VAS was significantly greater after first week in the experimental group than in the control group. The study showed that the combination of taping with stretching exercises program leads to better outcomes in rehabilitation of patients with frozen shoulder especially when an immediate effect is needed

THE EFFECTS OF TAPING NEUROMUSCULAR COMPARE TO PHYSICAL THERAPIES MODALITIES IN PATIENTS WITH ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS OF THE SHOULDER

Adhesive capsulitis is a common painful condition characterized by severe loss of mobility and shoulder pain. Patients with this disease have a painful restriction of both active and passive mobility and an overall loss of shoulder movement in all planes. This experimental design study investigated the effect of combination of taping neuromuscular and stretching exercises program compared to ultrasounds and stretching exercises program. A total of 40 patients aged between 40 and 60 years were involved in the study. Patients were divided in two groups: first group subjected of neuromuscular taping +stretching exercises program for 4 weeks (experimental group 20 patients) and a second group subjected of a daily program of physical therapy + stretching exercises (control group 20 patients). They were evaluated using visual analogue scales for pain, goniometric measure for passive and active range of motion, SPADI index for shoulder function and patient satisfaction. Analysis showed statistically significant improvement in both the experimental and control groups. In addition, the mean improvement in VAS was significantly greater after first week in the experimental group than in the control group. The study showed that the combination of taping with stretching exercises program leads to better outcomes in rehabilitation of patients with frozen shoulder especially when an immediate effect is needed

Price Forecasting using Artificial Neural Network

Artificial Intelligence, the oldest and best known research area which has the goal of creating intelligent systems, is revolutionizing every field. It is the key technology in many of today's applications. There are a lot of intelligent techniques which have different functions in real life. One of the main functions of these techniques is prediction. In this paper we see some of the artificial intelligence based methods which are adequate for prediction. One of them is neural network. It can be used for prediction with various levels of success. It is able to predict various types of data based on automatic learning of dependencies only from measured data without any further information. It is important to know how and when they are well suited for the problem. So we will take a look to this concept and we will concretize it with a real-life application. This application consists in a neural network used to predict prices of a market in our city. It shows one possible approach how one of the intelligent technique can be used for this kind of prediction