*Edited by Jianyuan Chai*

We have realized that this is a rather light book by weight, but the subject is quite heavy. The stomach is not just a digestive organ. In fact, it carries many important duties far beyond digestion. No matter whether you are an educator, or a medical practitioner, or just a regular reader with a lot of curiosities, we hope after reading you will learn to appreciate this precious organ and take good care of it. Next time when you are eating, please think about what you are doing to your stomach.

Photo by Dr\_Microbe / iStock


*4.1. Materials and Reagents*

Organic chemicals and solvents, mycotoxin ZON and its derivatives, goat antirabbit immunoglobulin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as secondary antibody, and salts for buffers were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Inc. (St. Louise, MO, USA). The purity of standard solutions was ≥98%. Immunoassays were carried out in high-capacity 96-well microplates (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark) for colorimetric assay and in low profile 96-well microplates with white wells for increased fluorescence (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA). QuantaRed Enhanced Chemifluorescent HRP Substrate Kit was used as the last step in immunoassays. Surface water samples were obtained from river Danube at Budapest and lakes Velencei at Agárd and Balaton at Tihany (sampling site GPS latitude and longitude and coordinates—Danube: 47.517519, 19.045519; lake Velencei: 47.200922, 18.578361; lake Balaton: 46.914043, 17.893401).


*5.1.3. Conclusions about numerical results for LCRs*

We approximate the Basel III standard, LCR, that is a measure of asset liquidity for global EMERG banking data mentioned earlier This is a challenging task given the nature of the data available and the ever-changing nature of Basel III liquidity regulation. In the light of the determined results, our analysis gives us a new understanding of the problem of approximating liquidity risk measures. From Table 1, we observe that from Q209 to Q412 there was a steady increase in the LCR. This is probably due to banks holding more liquid assets and restricting cash outflows and risky activities.

In this paragraph, we highlight how our research on approximating Basel III and traditional liquidity risk measures has advanced the knowledge in this field of endeavor. For both Class I and II banks, our research approximates LCRs for a large diversity of banks for an extended *that amounts to determining the value J*∗, *given by*

$$J^\* = \inf\_{\mathcal{g} \in \mathcal{G}\_A} J(\mathcal{g})\_{\prime\prime}$$

availability of more suitable data of sufficient granularity as well as improved extrapolation

Optimizing Basel III Liquidity Coverage Ratios

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58395

89

We have already made several contributions in support of the endeavors outlined in the previous paragraph. For instance, our journal article [12] deals with issues related to liquidity risk and the financial crisis. Also, the role of information asymmetry in a subprime context

[1] Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (January 2013). Basel III: The liquidity coverage ratio and liquidity risk monitoring tools. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Publications. Retrieved Monday, 25 March 2013

[2] Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (October 2011). Progress report on Basel III implementation. Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel, Switzerland. Retrieved

[3] Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). (June 2011). Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems – A revised version June 2011. June 2011. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Publications. Retrieved

[4] Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (December 2010). Basel III: International framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring. Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel, Switzerland. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

[5] Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (September 2008). Principles for sound liquidity risk management and supervision. Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel, Switzerland. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

[6] Demyanyk Y, van Hemert O. Understanding the subprime mortgage crisis. *Review of*

[7] Elyasiani E, Mester LJ, Pagano MS, Large Capital Infusions, Investor Reactions, and the Return and Risk-Performance of Financial Institutions Over the Business Cycle (May 3,

and interpolation techniques.

**Author details**

**References**

is related to the main hypothesis of the book [14].

\*Address all corespodence to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
(http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs238.htm).

http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs188.htm.

http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs144.htm.

*Financial Studies*, 2011; 24(6), 1848-1880.

J. Mukuddem-Petersen1, M.A. Petersen1 and MP. Mulaudzi\*2

Department of Decision Sciences, University of South Africa

April 25, 2012, from http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs193.htm.

Monday, 25 March 2013 (http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs189.htm).

Faculty of Commerce and Administration, North West University, South Africa

*and the optimal control law g*∗, *if it exists,*

$$\mathcal{g}^\* = \arg\min\_{\mathcal{g}\in\mathcal{G}\_A} J(\mathcal{g}) \in \mathcal{G}\_A.$$


**1. Introduction**

For a patient with cancer, prognosis, the prediction, or estimation of the likely course, has profound effects: preparing to face mortality, making decisions regarding treatments, and hoping for ideal outcomes for the future. Communicating prognosis is central to shared decision-making and autonomy [1, 2], and understanding prognostic information can influence patients' decisions on whether to receive life extending care [3, 4]. Poor communication therefore can lead to poor outcomes.

Prognostic disclosure in oncology care has been shown to be an essential component of good clinical practice for children [5], adolescent and young adults [6] and on up to the very elderly [7]. Despite the acknowledged importance of communicating prognosis in cancer care, this task has remained a challenge with multiple barriers: physician discomfort in discussing prognosis, patient diversity and other barriers to receiving prognostic information, and patient's family raising barriers of their own in their belief and acceptance of prognosis. Oncologist's skills and experiences and

comfort level in managing patients' reactions to prognostic information has emerged as a principal barrier to high-quality prognostic communication [8]. Adding to all these factors are the significant challenges brought about by the rapid advances bringing an array of new and effective treatment for many advanced cancers.

This review will briefly discuss communicating prognosis in the era of progress in cancer treatment ushered in by the identification of molecular targets leading to effective targeted therapy, and the control of advanced cancers by checkpoint inhibitors and immunotherapy. Brief discussion of patient examples to highlight the current profound complexity of discussing prognosis will help appreciate the impact of changes brought about by newer therapy on this communication task. We will provide an overview of prognostic communication preferences and barriers. We will conclude with a discussion of helpful tools and techniques to enable effective prognostic conversation.


**High-Fat and Cholesterol Intake Affects Brain Homeostasis and Could Accelerate the Development of Dementia: A Systemic View**

Marco Antonio Meraz-Ríos and Perla Leal-Galicia

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64357

#### **Abstract**

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia in occidental countries. The majority of the cases develop the disease for no genetic reasons; therefore, it is crucial to establish which environmental factors trigger the development of the disease. It has been proposed that nutritional habits, especially main components of Western countries' diet such as saturated fat or cholesterol, increase the risk for development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and/or accelerate the onset of the disease, which is a big concern in countries where obesity is a public health problem. It is crucial to understand the links between alimentary habits and the development of AD and other types of dementia. A possible mechanism is the disruption of blood–brain barrier (BBB), which is the protection of the brain from circulating blood. Such disruptions can result from consuming high-fat diet (HFD) or high-cholesterol diet (HCD) and inflammation produced by alteration in brain vasculature resulted for chronic consumption of such type of diets. What has named a "Systemic view" comprises the idea that; what happens outside of the brain environ‐ ment does affect brain functioning and the modifications experienced in the brain environment resulted from the influence of external factors will affect the entire body. In the current chapter, we will review the state of the art in the studies of the impact of a diet rich in fat or cholesterol on the brain and how the alterations induced in other organs can impact brain functioning increasing the susceptibility of development of dementia.

**Keywords:** high-fat diet, high-cholesterol diet, Alzheimer's disease, blood–brain barri‐ er, brain plasticity, cognition

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


*4.5.3 Bio-fertilizers*

*Slope Engineering*

transplanted in the field [10].

*4.4.7 Crop scheduling*

*4.4.8 Crop geometry*

generally coincides with peak rate of runoff. The splash erosion loss in fallow land is 44.2 Mg/ha while it is 26.3 Mg/ha in Green gram and Black gram plots. In a study at Gujarat in Western India it was found that *Bidi* Tobacco, being a clean cultivated crop, allows higher runoff and soil loss and these losses can be reduced by introducing cover cum green manure crops during the early monsoon before Tobacco is

Sowing date and optimum seed rate are pillars for good stand and crop cover. The sowing date must be so adjusted that by the time intensive rainfall take place, there is enough of vegetation cover on the land. This can be done by advancing the date of sowing or even dry sowing in rainfed areas is always recommended. A study conducted at Dehradun in Northern India reported that sowing of Maize at the start of last week of June month produced higher and dense canopy at peak rainfall period, which in turn reduced the splash erosion considerably as compared to crop sown on first week of July. Similarly, the canopy coverage and crop yields were higher under early sowing in Maize + Cowpea intercropping system [28].

Optimum plant population and crop geometry are equally important to have good crop cover on the land. Narrow intra-spacing (within rows) across the slope offers tolerance to runoff and ultimately reduces the soil erosion. Narrow spacing is always better for soil and water conservation, but it may cause severe competition for nutrient, water, light and space resulting in in lower yield of crops. A study carried out Chandigarh in Northern India reported that growing of Maize at 60 cm × 22.5 cm with minimum tillage reduced the runoff from 281 to 253 mm, soil

In order to meet the nutrient requirements of the crops in ravines, the soil fertility loss due to extreme erosion needs to be compensated accordingly as per specific site. The steep decline in soil fertility in the absence of proper measures to check erosion will cause reduction in the crop yields. This can be achieved in the following manner.

The soil fertility in ravine land varies from gully head to gully bed, therefore fertilizer recommendation for crops and cropping system should be site specific based on soil test. The recommended dose of fertilizers, method of application and proper scheduling is required to achieve sustainable yield from ravine lands. The nitrogen fertilizers should be applied in splits basal dose at the time of sowing and as top dressing during crop growth to the crops. The phosphate and potash fertilizers are given only as basal doses. Spraying of liquid Urea and micronutrients should be done on the standing crop, as and when deficiencies are noticed in the crop. The selection of appropriate fertilizers and their accurate combinations are necessary

Organic manures such as FYM (Farm Yard Manure), composts and green manures improve the physical condition, micro-flora of the soil and have a

loss from 5.7 to 4.4 Mg/ha as compared to conventional crop geometry [29].

**4.5 Soil management measures for ravines**

for maintaining the soil fertility in ravines.

*4.5.1 Judicious use of fertilizers*

*4.5.2 Organic manures*

**190**

Bio-fertilizers in the context of present day organic farming can play a key role in sustainable agriculture because of their potential to restore soil health. They are derived from the living organisms and include nitrogen fixing microorganisms i.e. *Rhizobium* spp., *Azospirillum* spp., *Bradyrhizobium* spp., *Azotobactor* spp., *Frankia* spp., Phospho-microorganisms, i.e., phosphate solubilizing bacteria, *Glonus* spp., phosphate solubilizing fungi compost inoculant i.e., *Cellolotic* or *Lignolytic* fungi etc., bio-fertilizers provide better crop yields and are ecofriendly. Bio-fertilizers can be applied through seedling treatments; tuber set treatment or oil treatment. For 10 kg of medium size seeds 483 g of culture is required for one hectare of land. In case of seedlings 1–2 kg of bio-fertilizers may be dissolved in 10 liters of water in a bucket and a suspension/slurry can be prepared for application in soil. The roots of the seedlings are dipped for 15 minutes in the slurry and then transplanted in the field. For treatment of tubers or sets slurry of 2–4 kg bio-fertilizers is prepared in 40–80 liters of water. Before sowing, tubers or sets are dipped in the slurry for 15 minutes. Soil treatment with the bio-fertilizers can also be done in the standing crop at critical stages [29].

## *4.5.4 Vermicomposting*

Vermicomposting is technique of using different species of earthworms to convert the decomposable farm, urban and domestic waste into nutrient rich compost. It is eco-friendly, sustainable, cheaper and easy technique to obtain compost of high quality using biologically decomposable organic waste and crop residue generated from the farmers field.

## *4.5.5 Integrated nutrient management*

The chemical fertilizers are nowadays becoming costly and may not be timely available to the farmers in remote areas. Though chemical fertilizers increase yields quickly, yet their effects on soil is visible for a short period of time and requires frequent application to maintain the soil fertility. These chemical fertilizers have a toxic and residual effect in soil, water and plants system. In order to overcome these constraints, a conjunctive use of organic and inorganic sources to maintain soil fertility has been suggested. This is generally referred to as Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM). Under this scheme, the some portions of crop nutrient requirement are met by organic manures and the remaining need is fulfilled by the chemical fertilizers. In one of the studies, 20 kg N ha−1 by *Azolla* (a fern) + 20 kg N by ammonium sulfate applied to rice registered a grain yield of 4435 kg ha−1 in comparison to 40 kg N ha−1 with ammonium sulfate giving a yield of 4132 kg ha−1 which explains the role and efficacy of nitrogen fixation in the soil and its use by rice crop. *Rhyzobium* inoculation of the seeds of legumes is being promoted for building up soil nitrogen through nitrogen fixation by increasing the efficiency of legume crop. At the farm level, domestic farm and agro-industrial wastes arising out of the food grain, crop residue and fruit processing can be diverted into the soil. This will add to soil fertility as well as biological waste management [29].