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The construction industry had approached a critical limit which led to the increase of cement production. The production of cement would cause a broader environmental implication. Cement production is a major source of carbon dioxide emission. Carbon dioxide gas contributes about 63.33% of global warming since the production of one ton of cement would emit about one ton of carbon dioxide to the environment. To mitigate this issue, the research community has investigated the use of waste materials that possess similar chemical properties with cement content as a material for partial cement replacement. The use of rice husk ash has shown to be a contending candidate in the literature. Therefore, this paper attempts at reviewing the performance of rice husk ash as partial cement replacement. It could be observed from the literature that concrete with 5% up to 15% of rice husk ash showed an equivalent performance to ordinary concrete in compressive, flexural, and tensile strength. Thus, rice husk ash can be used as a material replacement in concrete and reduces pollution that originates from cement production and open burning of rice husk.

Relevance. The scientific community and agricultural producers are looking for a solution to the problem of how to protect consumers from the effects of hazardous mycotoxins in agricultural products. One of the tools, which will be considered in this article, is a screening system that allows determining the quan-titative indicators of wheat grain infection by toxin-producing fungi in a short time.Methods. The method of quantitative PCR with the detection of fungal DNA and the method of enzyme immunoassay with the detection of Fusarium antigens were used to characterize the grain infection.Results. We established the lower critical limit of DNA content which is 3955·10-4 pg/ng and the lower critical limit of Fusarium antigens which is 596 U/g based on the analyzes of grain fungi contamination in model experiments. Grain should be subjected to mycotoxins analysis upon detection of these critical lim-its. All batches of grain can be used in production without additional analyzes if their values determined by analytical methods are below that critical points. The obtained values can be quantitative benchmarks corresponding to the standard visual analysis of grain contamination currently described in GOST 31646-2012

In order to identify critical limit of copper (Cu) in soil, grain, and straw of rice plant, soil samples were collected from twenty; 12, 5, and 3 soil locations of low, medium, and high Cu status f...

A survey was undertaken during 2018 to assess silicon (Si) status of soils and to determine its critical limits in soils and plants. A total of 100 surface soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected fro...

Plutonium(VI) spectrophotometry is a precise analytical method for determining the concentration of plutonium solutions. It is simple and cost-effective to implement in nuclear environments such as glove boxes and hot-cells. Uncertainties were assessed at 0.64% (k = 1) for solutions of 0.150 mg g−1 initially prepared in a glove box. The critical limit of the method was estimated at 0.002 mg g−1 at 99% confidence. The good performances of the technique in the present work are due to a rigorous spectra processing as well as preparation steps conducted by weight control.

The critical limit of nitrogen in soil and plant (CAU R-1) was determined through a pot culture experiment with twenty five soils of Imphal West district of Manipur, India for predicting the response of rice to nitrogen application. All the soil samples were clayey in texture and acidic in reaction with the mean pH value of 5.16, electrical conductivity ranged from 0.06 to 0.14 dSm-1 with an average of 0.1 dSm-1, organic carbon content from 1.06 to 2.62 % with mean value of 2.03%, cation exchange capacity of the soils from 12.20 to 20.20 meq/100g with mean value of 16.06 meq/100g. Available nitrogen content in soils varied from 185.00 to 331.06 kg N/ha with an average value of 267.24 kg N/ha. Available nitrogen in the soils was positively and significantly correlated with plant N content (r=0.653**), dry matter yield (r=0.556**), plant N uptake (r=0.726**) in control pots. There was also a positive and significant correlation between available N and bray’s per cent yield (r = 0.519**). The critical limit of available N was established at 257 kg N/ha for soil and 1.04 % for 45 days old rice plants. Soil containing N below this critical limit may respond economically to N fertilization for growing rice.

Critical limit (CL) determination of zinc (Zn) is very important for predicting response of maize crop to its application in soils and for the crop’s actual fertilizer requirement. This stu...

To better determine the lower limit of titanium content for the formation of acicular ferrite, C–Mn steel welds varying the titanium concentration at a minimal level from nearly zero to about 30 ppm have been investigated. Optical and SEM observations of as-deposited weld microstructures showed that when the titanium content increased from 1 to 9 ppm or higher, a dramatic change in weld microstructure from one dominant with ferrite with second phase to one with acicular ferrite takes place, being attributed to a concurrent increase in nucleation potency of inclusions for acicular ferrite plates. These results suggest that the critical limit of titanium required is about 9 ppm or even lower for the present weld system. In TEM, the inclusions of titanium-containing welds were found to be partly covered with a titanium-rich phase, indicating that this phase plays an important role in promoting the nucleation ability of inclusions and thus in developing a weld microstructure composed of a high proportion of acicular ferrite.

Con el objetivo de diseñar una estrategia para revertir la baja productividad y rentabilidad que presenta el cultivo de maíz en el municipio de Villaflores, se estudiaron las características químicas y físicas de los suelos en 236 parcelas mecanizables distribuidas en 13 ejidos y siete tipos de suelos. Las determinaciones se interpretaron tomando como base la Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-021-SEMARNAT-2000. Los resultados indican una acidez generalizada en los suelos, con pH promedio de 5.2 (±0.9), 52% de los sitios con pH menores a 5; 208 casos presentaron acidez intercambiable en 64.4% de ellos, el valor fue mayor a 0.5 meq 100 g-1, considerado límite crítico para las plantas. En promedio la materia orgánica (MO) fue de 1.7% (±1.3) y en ningún caso el contenido superó a 2.5%. La capacidad de intercambio catiónica (CIC) fue 11.4 (±16.8) meq 100 g-1, e influenciada por el pH (R2= 0.65), MO (R2= 0.32) y contenido de arcilla (R2 =0.68). En 94% de los sitios con baja MO, la CIC depende significativamente del contenido de arcilla. En cuanto al porcentaje de saturación de la CIC, 59% de los casos son deficientes en Ca, 18% en Mg y 58% en K 40% de los sitios están por debajo del límite crítico de 15 ppm de P. El 90 y 46% de los casos presentó deficiencias de Boro y Zinc. Bajo estas condiciones se hace patente la necesidad de una estrategia que permita aumentar la calidad del suelo y las prácticas de agricultura puedan ser sostenibles.

A Monte Carlo simulation based sequence design method is proposed to investigate the role of site-directed point mutations in protein misfolding. Site-directed point mutations are incorporated in the designed sequences of selected proteins. While most mutated sequences correctly fold to their native conformation, some of them stabilize in other nonnative conformations and thus misfold/unfold. The results suggest that a critical number of hydrophobic amino acid residues must be present in the core of the correctly folded proteins, whereas proteins misfold/unfold if this number of hydrophobic residues falls below the critical limit. A protein can accommodate only a particular number of hydrophobic residues at the surface, provided a large number of hydrophilic residues are present at the surface and critical hydrophobicity of the core is preserved. Some surface sites are observed to be equally sensitive toward site-directed point mutations as the core sites. Point mutations with highly polar and charged amino acids increases the misfold/unfold propensity of proteins. Substitution of natural amino acids at sites with different number of nonbonded contacts suggests that both amino acid identity and its respective site-specificity determine the stability of a protein. A clash-match method is developed to calculate the number of matching and clashing interactions in the mutated protein sequences. While misfolded/unfolded sequences have a higher number of clashing and a lower number of matching interactions, the correctly folded sequences have a lower number of clashing and a higher number of matching interactions. These results are valid for different SCOP classes of proteins.

The use of silica fertilizer still has been included in cultivation technology: however, nutrient status for paddy soil is rarely reported in Indonesia. It is necessary to carry out a research on the determination of nutrient status and the influence of silica fertilizer on rice production. The aims of this research are to investigate the effect trass on soil chemical properties, discover of silica fertilizer on rice production and determine the nutrient status of Si by Cate Nelson and Contiunous Curves. The results showed that the effect of trass has a significant on soil chemical properties such as pH H 2 O and available Si. The nutrient status of Si was estimated by using several different extractants namely H 2 O; CaCl 2 ; Ammonium Acetate pH 4.8; and Acetate Buffer pH 4 gives a critical limit value of 13, 17, 34, and 37 mg kg -1 , equivalent to 28 mg kg -1 , 36 mg kg -1 , 73 mg kg -1 , and 79 mg kg -1 SiO 2 , respectively. Meanwhile, the Si availability in the medium class based on Continuous Curves Method extracted by H 2 O; 0.01 M CaCl 2 ; NH 4 OAc pH 4.8; and Na-acetate pH 4 were 18-34, 33-41, 44-79, and 42-81 mg SiO2 kg -1 , espectively. Burned trass with dose of 10 g kg -1 gives the highest rice production of 44.19 g pot -1 equivalent to 7.07 ton ha -1 .

Pasteurized milk (PM) is a perishable product requiring storage at cold temperatures to maintain its shelf life. However, the temperature fluctuations during transportation, handling, and storage could affect the number of microbial counts of the product. A time-temperature indicator (TTI) can be used to monitor product conditions in real time, so consumers know the condition of the product during transportation and storage. This study aims to determine the ability of a mixed vegetable oil (VOB) as a TTI indicator and evaluate the validity of TTI as an indicator of PM microbiological degradation. The VOB was produced from a mixture of palm oil (PO), canola oil (CA), and olive oil (OV) at ratios of 50:40:10 (C1), 50:25:25 (C2), and 50:10:40% (v/v) (C3), with the addition of 0.25% (m/v) of red dye (C.I. 16255). The VOBs were tested its for diffusion length, diffusion kinetics, and the accuracy of the prediction model of each indicator at isother-mal temperatures. The VOB indicator can be applied to monitor the total growth of microbes in PM. The value of the activation energy (Ea) of each indicator was 34.289 (C1), 35.294 (C2) and 40.646 kJ/mol (C3), while the Ea value of the microbial spoilage in PM was 58.105 kJ/mol. The difference between the Ea PM value and each indicator was less than 25 kJ/mol. Indicating that the accuracy of the prediction model was good. At storage temperature of 29°C, the critical limit for PM spoilage occurs after 24 hours of storage which correlated with the diffusion length indicator of 6.50 (C1), 6.25 (C2), and 5.5 cm (C3). Overall, the indicators observed can be used to monitor the microbiological spoilage of PM, so that the actual quality of PM before consumption can be estimated.

The concentration of seven heavy metals in water samples was analyzed along the southwest coast of Ghana in the wet and dry seasons using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Some physicochemical properties of the water samples were also determined to assess the quality of the water. The ranges of metal concentration in water in the wet season were; As (1.23–7.84 µg/L), Cu (4.10–24.09 µg/L), Pb (4.08–57.98 µg/L), Se (BDL-0.38 µg/L), Zn (2.86–17.75 µg/L) and Hg (0.023–0.068 µg/L), whereas the ranges of metal concentration in the dry season were; As (2.30–5.78 µg/L), Pb (25.47–70.73 µg/L), Se (0.081–0.158 µg/L), Zn (0.79–22.80 µg/L) and Hg (0.004–0.047 µg/L). The results of physicochemical properties of water in the wet season were pH (6.83 to 7.52), EC (291.15–780.64 µS/cm), TDS (195.07–523.02 mg/L), DO (2.98–4.39 mg/L), BOD (3.33 to 6.84 mg/L), salinity (0.01 to 0.30 ppt) and temperature (27.06–30.94 °C), whereas the dry season recorded the ranges of pH (6.84–6.95), EC (516.83 to 660.67 µS/cm), TDS (307.07–442.65 mg/L), DO (1.71–3.04 mg/L), BOD (4.25–13.38 mg/L), salinity (0.22–0.28ppt) and temperature (28.46–30.44 °C). The results showed that the concentration of heavy metals in water was below the WHO standard except Pb which exceeded the limit. The mean heavy metal pollution index (HPI) were 130 and 143 for wet and dry seasons, respectively, indicating that the water HPI was above the critical limit (HPI > 100), hence unfit for drinking. All the physicochemical properties analyzed were within the WHO permissible limits except BOD.

Dilution of the water chemistry caused by reduced acidification has lately received increased attention, both in Europe and North America. There has also been a declining trend in the supply of sea salts. Several studies have predicted detrimental effects on aquatic life due to dilution. A population of brook trout living in River Hunnedal in southwestern Norway was studied for 14 years (2006–2019).Despite acceptable water chemistry with respect to pH and inorganic Al, limited reproduction was found. With median conductivity, Ca and Na of 7.1– 8.6 μScm−1, and 0.17–0.19 and 0.9–1.0 mgL−1, respectively, the water at the study sites was found to be extremely dilute. We detected a significant positive effect of Na on the densities of brook trout fry, while a less distinct effect of Ca was found. However, due to the correlation between Ca and Na we cannot conclude that Ca is unimportant. For all samplings without catch of fry (n = 13), Na was 0.86 ± 0.15 mgL−1, suggesting a critical limit for Na slightly below 1 mgL−1.We suggest that the reproduction of brook trout was restricted by the highly dilute water and the subsequent scarcity of essential ions. Acidification recovery . Water chemistry . Dilution . Calcium. Sodium. Mountain streams . Brook trout

To establish a critical limit in soils and plant, an experiment was conducted in red and lateritic soil (Alfisols) of farmer’s field in tribal-dominated Panchayat Kurum, Palkot block, Gumla distric...

Critical values of boron (B) for wheat nutrition in soil and plant were determined through a pot experiment with twenty-one surface soils of Alluvial flood plain and Red-latertic belt comprising th...

The soils developed from the Ganges sediments in the coastal area of Bangladesh and India extend several thousand hectares and important from the view point of rice cultivation. Phosphorus, one of the important environmental and agricultural element, retention behavior of the Ganges floodplain soils is poorly reported. The objective of this study was to determine maximum phosphorus adsorption capacity (MPAC) and to develop Psat for 13 Ganges Tidal Floodplain soils of Bangladesh. The MPAC value and Psat based on Mehlich-3 extractions were determined. The conventional adsorption equations, such as the Langmuir, Freudlich and Temkin equations were used to describe the P sorption of the studied soils. The MPAC value varied from 1250 to 2000 mg/kg and correlated with EC (r = 0.59, p

One of the common causes of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation ageing and finally cable failure is the presence of a cavity within cable insulation. Gas filled cavities can be initiated in XLPE cables during its manufacturing, installing and operating conditions. Once the size of the cavity reaches the critical limit, noticeable partial discharge (PD) activity develops. Therefore, the size of the cavity is one of the important factors that considered when investigating the PD activity in power cable. This work studies the effect of cavity size on PD behaviour within insulation layer of an 18/30 kV XLPE cable specimen; the changing in an artificial spherical cavity depths and diameters is investigated in the laboratory. In addition, 2D model geometry of a cable insulation having an artificial cavity is also developed using COMSOL software and MATLAB program to simulate the PD measurements from the laboratory experiments to imitate the conditions found during measurements, hence interpreting the obtained experimental results and determining the significant parameters influencing PD activity; hence, more a fuller understanding of PD phenomena within a cavity. The results show good coincidence between experimental and simulated data, in terms of PD magnitude and PD inception voltage.

High-performance CO2 sorbents typically contain both alkaline compounds and inert supporting materials. The convention is broken by TiO(OH)2. The CO2 sorption capacity of nanostructured TiO(OH)2 reaches 6.1 mmol g-1, while its CO2 sorption selectivity for CO2/N2 mixtures is much higher than that of state-of-the-art sorbents, activated carbon and zeolite, which is another surprise.

Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is inevitable in many industrial applications. Yttrium additions in ZrO2 system induces either tetragonal (t-ZrO2) or cubic (c-ZrO2) phase stabilization that predominantly depends on the yttrium content. Here, the structural changes in ZrO2 system upon a wide range of yttrium additions are investigated. Powder synthesis is carried out through citrate-nitrate assisted sol-gel technique and analytical techniques involving XRD, Raman spectra and structural analysis through Rietveld refinement were utilized to investigate the structural changes in ZrO2 upon progressive yttrium additions. The critical limit of yttrium content to retain unique t-ZrO2, mixtures of t-ZrO2 and c-ZrO2 and discrete c-ZrO2 is determined.

Discoloration of sliced packaged salami is contributing to rejection of the product, food waste and economical loss. A combination of residual O2 in the headspace of packages and light is causing photooxidation and deterioration of colour. The aim of this study was to establish maximum tolerable concentrations of residual O2 in packages of salami slices with 100% N2 under light display at 4 and 20 °C. Salami sausages had variable inherent O2 consumption rate. Storage of salami in 1% O2 in darkness did not induce discoloration. The upper limits for O2 for avoiding discoloration under light were variable in the range 0.1–1.0%, depending on temperature and type of salami. Display at 20 °C increased the rate of O2 depletion compared to 4 °C. To minimize discoloration, sliced and packaged salami should be stored in darkness at approximately 20 °C until the level of residual O2 is reduced below a critical limit.

The critical limit of boron (B) in soils and plant (berseem, Trifolium alexandrinum) was determined through a pot culture experiment with 10 soils of Kashmir, representing 10 major districts of the valley falling under three altitudinal locations viz. low, medium and high. Hot water soluble (HWS) B in these soils was positively and significantly correlated with the dry matter yield of berseem, B concentration in plant tissues and B uptake. A positive significant correlation was also observed between pH and HWS B. The critical concentration of soil available B and plant tissues B was 0.48 ppm and 23.0 ppm for first cutting and 0.49 ppm and 19.0 ppm, respectively. Almost 50% of the soils studied were found to be deficient in B.

In this communication, we would like to discuss the advantages of adaptive mutation simulated annealing (AMSA) over standard simulated annealing (SA) in studying the Coulombic explosion of (CO2)n2+ clusters for n = 20–68, where ‘n’ is the size of the cluster. We have demonstrated how AMSA itself can overcome the predicaments which can arise in conventional SA and carry out the search for better results by adapting the parameters (only when needed) dynamically during the simulations so that the search process can come out of high energy basins and not go astray for better exploration and convergence, respectively. This technique also has in-built properties for getting more than one minimum in a single run. For a (CO2)n2+ cluster system we have found the critical limit to be n = 43, above which the attractive forces between individual units become greater in value than that of the large repulsive forces and the clusters stay intact as the energetically favoured isomers. This result is in good concurrence with earlier studies. Moreover, we have studied the fragmentation patterns for the entire size range and we have found fission type fragmentation as the favoured mechanism nearly for all sizes.

Heavy metals pollution in agricultural land needs to be considered. One of the heavy metals that have the potential to pollute the soil and plants is cadmium. Therefore it is necessary to anticipate the effects of cadmium pollution. The aims of this research are to obtain information on the critical limit of cadmium heavy metals in light, medium and heavy soils texture in horticultural fields, with shallots as an indicator plant. The stages of this research are adsorption studies in the laboratory and continued with pot experiment in the screen house for calibration of cadmium metals. Adsorption studies were carried out using the Langmuir Adsorption Model with the Cd concentration series. The experimental design was a complete randomized design with 7 treatments and three replications. Each pot is filled with 9 kg of soil and planted with shallots for 2 months. The results showed that the buffering capacity of light texture (Magelang), medium texture (Jaken) and heavy texture (Demak) soils of cadmium metal were 384.62 mg/kg, 120.48 mg/kg and 1,557.69 mg/kg respectively. The critical limit of cadmium metal in light textured soils is 5.33 mg/kg, medium textured 6.33 mg/kg, and heavy textured 9.29 mg/kg. Soils with high clay content have higher the critical limit values compared to soils with low clay content.

DTPA (Diethelene-triamine pentaacetic acid) extractable micronutrients of surface soil samples from six different locations of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong districts were studied. All the soils under study were sufficient in DTPA extractable Fe, Mn and Cu contents. The available Zn contents in soils of Dulhazara, Chengchhari and Faissakhali under study were also above the critical limit while soils at Fulchhari, Hasnabad and CU were deficient in available Zn. The study also showed that DTPA extractable Fe content had the significant and positive relationships with clay and soil organic carbon. On the hand, negative and significant relationship was observed between extractable Mn and soil pH while DTPA extractable Zn and Cu were positively and significantly correlated with soil organic carbon of the studied area.Key Words: hill forest soils, DTPA extractable micronutrients status, correlation Received: September 23, 2015. Revised: November 7, 2015. Accept ed: November 20, 2015.Corresponding author: Md. AkhtaruzzamanDepartment of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Chittagon g-4331, BangladeshTel: 880-1711471838, Fax: 88-031-2606014, E-mail: akhtarsoilcu@ gmail.com, akhtarcu@yahoo.com

In a market-basket study conducted in Cairo, Egypt, the most commonly consumed milk products were sampled and the contents of 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed using gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer detector. The obtained data showed that the total amount of 13 PAHs was within the range of 1.3&ndash, 8.2 &micro, g/g. The results proved that the, highest mean levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in powdered milk (8.2 &mu, g/g) followed by ultra-heat treatment milk and milk beverages (6.07 &mu, g/g). The lowest level was detected in unsmoked cheese and yogurt (1.3 &mu, g/g). Estimated daily intake (EDI) was used to estimate the carcinogenic risk. The total mean estimated daily intake for children in different age categories (1&ndash, 10 years) was calculated with respect to benzo[a]pyrene, which ranged from 0.058 to 0.31 mg/day. The total mean value of EDI for the sum of seven carcinogenic PAHs in terms of benzo[a]pyrene ranged from 0.61 to 1.22 mg/day in all age categories. These results were higher than the critical limit set by the European Food Safety Authority. Therefore, there should be concerns regarding the effects of the consumption of different milk products on the local population.

We evaluated the critical limits of P, K, S, B and Zn in Inceptisols and Alfisols for nutrition of rice (Oryza sativa L.) using Mehlich 3 as an extractant. Three levels, each of P (0, 14 and 23 mg kg-1 soil), K (0, 23 and 36 mg kg-1 soil), S (0, 4.5 and 9.0 mg kg-1 soil), B (0, 0.5 and 1.0 mg kg1 soil) and Zn (0, 2.3 and 4.5 mg kg-1 soil) were applied separately to 20 Alfisols and Inceptisols each for growing rice in greenhouse. Biomass yield, concentration and uptake of those nutrients by rice were significantly influenced (P ≤ 0.01) by the soil and rate of each of the nutrients (P, K, S, B and Zn), but not by their interactions in both the soil orders. The amount of these five nutrients as extracted from soils by Mehlich 3, alike conventional extractants, showed significant positive correlations (P≤ 0.01) with biomass yield, nutrients concentration and their uptake by rice plant, which indicated suitability of Mehlich 3 in predicting plant available nutrients in soil. The critical levels of Mehlich 3 extractable P, K, S, B and Zn for rice in Inceptisols were 14.7, 51.2, 22.9, 0.65 and 1.27 mg kg-1; while in Alfisols those values were 8.2, 117.3, 21.9, 0.40 and 2.15 mg kg-1, respectively.

This study investigated Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst deposition onto biofilms as a function of shear stress under laminar or turbulent flow. Annular rotating bioreactors were used to grow stabilized stream biofilms at shear stresses ranging from 0.038 to 0.46 Pa. These steady-state biofilms were then used to assess the impact of hydrodynamic conditions on C. parvum oocyst attachment. C. parvum deposition onto biofilms followed a pseudo-second-order model under both laminar (after a lag phase) and turbulent flows. The total number of oocysts attached to the biofilm at steady state decreased as the hydrodynamic wall shear stress increased. The oocyst deposition rate constant increased with shear stress but decreased at high shear, suggesting that increasing wall shear stress results in faster attachment of Cryptosporidium due to higher mass transport until the shear forces exceed a critical limit that prevents oocyst attachment. These data show that oocyst attachment in the short and long term are impacted differently by shear: higher shear (to a certain limit) may be associated with faster initial oocyst attachment, but lower shear is associated with greater numbers of oocysts attached at equilibrium. IMPORTANCE This research provides experimental evidence to demonstrate that shear stress plays a critical role in protozoan-pathogen transport and deposition in environmental waters. The data presented in this work expand scientific understanding of Cryptosporidium attachment and fate, which will further influence the development of timely and accurate sampling strategies, as well as advanced water treatment technologies, to target protozoan pathogens in surface waters that serve as municipal drinking water sources.

A study was conducted with 24 piedmont soils of Arunachal Pradesh (India) to estimate the critical limit of available boron (B) in soil and cowpea plant for predicting the response of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) to B application. The critical concentration of available B in these soils was established by graphical procedure at 0.48 mg kg−1 for soil and at 24.5 mg kg−1 in the plant tissues. Soil containing available B below the critical limit responded appreciably to B fertilization. A negative response to B application was also observed in soils at higher level of available B. The average dry matter yield increased with the increasing level of B application up to 1.5 mg kg−1. The yield response to B application in cowpea on B deficient soils was 34.5%. Based on the critical value of 0.48 mg kg−1, 10 soils were rated to be adequate and 20.0% soils belonging to this category responding to B application, whereas 85.7% soils below the critical value showed a positive response to B application. The hot...

Evaluation of nutrient status in soil is important for nutritional, environmental and economical aspects. Phosphorus is a very important nutrient for leguminous crops. In order to evaluate the phosphorus availability, six soil test methods were carried out for predicting response of soybean to phosphorus application on twenty surface soils (0 - 15 cm) of Imphal East District, Manipur were studied. The suitability of these extractants was in the descending order: Bray P1 > Mehlich P1 > Bray P2 > Troug P > Olsen P > Morgan P. Bray’s P1 extractable phosphorus showed the highest and positive correlations with phosphorus content (control), phosphorus uptake (control), Bray’s percent yield and uptake. Therefore, this extractant may be used as an index of available phosphorus for soybean (JS-335) grown on acid soils of Imphal East District, Manipur, the critical level being 13 ppm (mg kg-1). The critical limit of phosphorus concentration in plant at 40 days of planting was 0.22%. Key words: Phosphorus, acid soils, Bray’s percent yield, soybean, critical limit.

This paper aims to investigate the magnitude of minimum blank holder gap to prevent wrinkles and cracks defects of the rectangular cup with T4 material Tin Plate CA. Punch-die domensions are determined based on the standard tool designed. The methods of this research are an analytic, finite element (FE), and experimental approach, respectively. Each method in this study had been mutually compared to other methods. According to the research, minimum blank holder gap is recommended by 120% to 130% of the thickness of the initial material (about 0.24 A· 0.26 mm). By using the value of this gap, the height of wrinkles is very small, and the magnitude of the drawing force is still below the critical limit, so the product does not occur wrinkles and cracks.

a b s t r a c t This study investigated the effects of packaging on physicochemical properties, bioactive components (anthocyanins, ascorbic acid and b-carotene) and shelf life of pomegranate arils (cvs. Arakta, Bahgwa and Ruby) obtained from fruit stored for a long-term (between 10 and 14 weeks). Headspace-volume-to-mass ratio of packaged arils had a significant impact on gas composition inside the packages, O2 concentrations was not below the critical limit (2%). Arils weight loss did not exceed 0.2%, while juice leakage ranged from 0.17 to 4.17 mL 100 g � 1 across all treatments. Physicochemical parameters were not significantly affected by packaging. However, there were significant differences in bioactive component amongst the cultivars, with cv. Bahgwa having the highest level of anthocyanin (112.50 mg L � 1 ) and b-carotene (6.20 mg L � 1 ). Based on visual quality and development of

The present study entitled "Georeferenced Status of cobalt in soils ofYavatmal district of Maharashtra" was conducted during 2012-13 at Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Dr. PDKV, Akola with objective to assess the cobaltstatus in soils of Yavatmal district and to study relationship of cobalt with soil properties and preparation of GIS based soil fertility maps of micronutrients. In the Yavatmal district, the cobalt ranged 0.02-1.80 mg kg -1 . Based on critical limit of cobalt (0.25mg kg -1 ) the deficiency was noticed 61.97 percent. The nutrient indices of DTPA-Co were 1.67 respectively. DTPA-cobalt showed negative and significant correlation with soil pH (-0.142**).The calcium carbonate content of soil showed negative and significant correlation with DPTA-cobalt (r=-0.104*). It could be concluded that, in Yavatmal district the soils were found deficient in cobalt (61.97%).

We present the field measurements of surface ozone (O3) made across the coast in five locations at three stations Poombuhar (11.14° N, 79.9° E), Tranquebar (11° N, 79.9° E) and TR Pattinam (10.46° N, 79.9° E) along the west coast of the Bay of Bengal, India in December 2000 and 2002 and in April 2001 and 2003. Measurements show a higher concentration of surface O3 up to 4.0-6.9 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) at the coastline as compared to the concentration of surface O3 at a distance 20 km inland. The higher coastline O3 concentration is attributed to the short-lived chlorine species with a lifetime of less than 10 minutes generated from the chemical reaction of sea salt particles. Mean O3 concentration decreases inland with distance from the coastline. Furthermore, the greatest difference between the coastline surface O3 concentration and O3 concentration 20 km inland was 4.8-6.4 ppbv, observed at 10 h in the morning, which is related to the morning peak of chlorine molecule (Cl2) concentration. Measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) show concentrations between 4 and 10 ppbv, which are substantially higher than the critical limit of surface O3 production.

This research aims to quantify fracture limits of hollow silicon microneedles due to axial and shear forces, and validate their use on human skin. Needle failure due to axial and shear loads may be due to heterogeneous peak stresses within the bulk material. Analytical determination of physical usage limits of microneedles can be misleading, as beam fracture models do not translate well to the micro-scale. In this research, various sizes of hollow silicon microneedles were fabricated. Their point of failure due to fracture was tested via application of axial and shear forces. Axial fracture of 36 gauge silicon microneedles took place at about 740 gram-force. It was determined that the axial force experienced by microneedles during insertion into human cadaver skin, is much lower than this critical limit, and thus needle failure due to breakage can thus be generally attributed to shear forces. Fracture limits of microneedles due to shear forces were quantified; ranging from about 36 gram-force for 36 gauge needles to about 275 gram-force for 33 gauge needles.

Pot culture experiment was conducted with twenty five georeferenced bulk surface soil samples (0–30 cm) having variable zinc status and with four levels of zinc viz., 0, 2, 4 and 6 kg Znha−1. The dry matter yield of rice (var-Ranjit) increased significantly over control with rates of zinc application. The highest dry matter yield was recorded in 4 kg Znha−1. Bray's percent yield ranged from 57.18 to 95.7 and the highest Bray's percent yield of 95.7 was observed in the soil having DTPA-Zn of 0.4mgkg −1 and the lowest value of 57.18 was observed in the soil with DTPA-Zn of 2.49 mgkg−1. The soils were also extracted by different extractants viz., DTPA, 0.5N HCl, 0.1N HCl, NH4OAC, EDTA-(NH4)2CO3, AB-DTPA, 0.04M EDTA and 2M MgCl2 solution for available Zn, where DTPA showed the highest correlation with all the plant parameters followed by AB-DTPA, 0.05 N HCl and EDTA-(NH4)2CO3, 0.04 EDTA and NH4OAC. The critical limits of DTPA, AB-DTPA 0.5N HCl, EDTA-(NH4)2CO3, 0.04 M EDTA and NH4OAC in soil were found to be 1.24, 1.74, 1.25, 2.8, 0.74, 0.9 mg/kg respectively. The critical limit of Zn for rice was 40 mgkg−1.

Latitudinal comparisons of the Southern Ocean limpet, Nacella concinna, and clam, Laternula elliptica, acclimated to 0.0 degrees C, were used to assess differences in thermal response to two regimes, 0.0, 5.1 to 10.0 degrees C and 2.5, 7.5 to 12.5 degrees C, raised at 5.0 degrees C per week. At each temperature, tissue energy status was measured through a combination of O(2) consumption, intracellular pH, cCO(2), citrate synthase (CS) activity, organic acids (succinate, acetate, propionate), adenylates (ATP, ADP, AMP, ITP, PLA (phospho-L-arginine)) and heart rate. L. elliptica from Signy (60 degrees S) and Rothera (67 degrees S), which experience a similar thermal regime (-2 to +1 degrees C) had the same lethal (7.5-10.0 degrees C), critical (5.1-7.5 degrees C) and pejus (

This paper experimentally investigates the effect of time and pressure on the condition of polishing pads and the material removal rate (MRR) of single crystal silicon. It was found that as the pad deteriorates with time, MRR decreases. Surfaces with a required quality can only be achieved before the texture deterioration reaches a critical limit. At a higher pressure, 25 kPa, deterioration is slower, and the effective life of pads and MRR is enhanced.

Greenhouse and laboratory studies were undertaken to evaluate the suitability of extractants for determining the boron (B) status of arid soils of Rajasthan (India) using mustard (Brassica juncea L.) as a test crop. Mustard is an important oilseed crop of northern India, which is widely grown in Rajasthan. This crop is sensitive to B deficiency. For predicting response of mustard to B application, several extractants have been tried with variable results. Seven extractants, commonly used for estimating the availability of B, were evaluated and B in soil extract and in plant tissue were assayed using the azomethine-H colorimetric method. The suitability of seven extractants for determining available soil B was assessed by correlating the amount of extractable B in untreated soils with Bray's percent yield, plant tissue B concentration and B uptake by mustard. The results indicate that hot 0.01 M CaCl2 and hot water extracted comparatively more B than other extractants. The amount of B extracted by...

Experiment was carried out to evaluate the, efficiency of different iron sources including polyolefin resin coated slow release Fe fertilizer (PRCCFe) and its methods of application on the performance of rice var. Swarna during rainy seasons of 2001 and 2002 under calcareous soil at Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. The pots were filled with 10 kg calcareous soil having high CaCO3 (36.32%) and low iron contents (1.45 pp—less than critical limit). The experimental treatments comprised five iron sources (NPK + 100% pyrite, NPK + 100% polyolefin resin coated slow release Fe (PRCSRFe), NPK + 50% pyrite + 50% PRCSRFe, NPK + 75% pyrite + 25% PCRSRFe, and NPK + 25% pyrite + 75% PCRSRFe and two methods of application (uniform and co-situs) including one control (NPK only). These 11 treatment combinations were laid out in Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) replicated thrice. The two methods of iron application did not differ significantly ...

In routine mastitis diagnostic S. aureus strains are often identified using DNAse reaction. However, this enzyme activity is not limited only to S. aureus strains. Furthermore, the strength of the DNAse reaction between different strains varies strongly. These factors lead to the fact that the results are often not comparable between laboratories. The aim of these investigations was to validate the DNAse reaction for routine identification of S. aureus in mastitis diagnostic and to set a critical limit for interpretation of DNAse reaction. The results of 189 strains isolated from bovine mastitis milk samples show that colonies with beta delta or delta-haemolysis and DNAse reactions of > or = 2 mm can reliably be identified (sensitivity 91.2%, specificity 96.9%) as S. aureus.

We reviewed the current methods for calculatingcritical loads of acidity for forest soils. The consequencesof four sets of assumptions concerning the soil modelstructure, parameter values and the critical loads criterionwere explored by comparing the values of the averageaccumulated exceedance (AAE) calculated for Finland withdeposition values for the year 1995. The AAE index is given inthe unit of deposition and is a measure of how far a region isfrom being protected in terms of fulfilling a certaincriterion, taking into account the size of the ecosystem areas.Using a critical limit for the molar ratio of theconcentrations of base cations to aluminium in soil solutiongave the lowest average accumulated exceedance. Assumingorgano-aluminium complexes and leaching of organic anions gaveAAE = 4 eq ha-1 a-1, which was close to the valueobtained with the standard approach used in Finland, assuminggibbsite equilibrium and no leaching of organic anions,yielding AAE = 5 eq ha-1 a-1. With a critical basesaturation limit, instead of the concentrations criterion, theAAE index was 17 eq ha-1 a-1. The highest averageaccumulated exceedance (AAE = 25 eq ha-1 a-1),corresponding to the lowest critical load, was obtained whenthe effects-based criterion (critical concentration or criticalbase saturation) was substituted with one restricting thedeterioration of the neutralizing capacity of the soil, ANCle(crit) = 0. These tests illustrate the variabilityof the critical load values for acidity that can be introducedby changing the criterion or by varying the calculation method,without, however, representing the extreme values of criticalloads that could be derived.

Buoyancy-driven motion of viscous drops and air bubbles through a vertical capillary with periodic constrictions is studied. Experimental measurements of the average rise velocity of buoyant drops are reported for a range of drop sizes in a variety of two-phase systems. The instantaneous drop shapes at various axial positions within the capillary are also quantitatively characterized using digital image analysis. Periodic corrugations of the capillary wall are found to have a substantial retarding effect on the mobility of drops in comparison with previous experimental results in a straight cylindrical capillary. For systems characterized by small Bond numbers, drop deformations are found to be periodic. In large Bond number systems, however, drop breakup eventually occurs as the drop size is increased beyond a critical limit. The observed mode of breakup is a tail-pinching process similar to that observed by Oibricht and Leal (1983) for pressure-driven motion of low viscosity ratio drops through a sinuso...

We argue that the autocatalytic surface reaction 2CO+O2→2CO2 on Pt(110) may show self-organized critical behavior if the appropriate range of parameter values is investigated. Such a self-organized critical state is characterized by a power-law distribution of reconstructed surface regions.

Characterization of major soil groups of Kerala with respect to their boron (B) supplying power has been done using azomethine-H method. Fractionation study was conducted to quantify the major fractions contributing to B fertility. Adsorption studies were also conducted to find out B adsorption pattern of selected soils by using quantity/intensity factors. Fifteen soils out of the 25 soils under study had hot water extractable B content less than the critical limit (0.5 mg kg-1). Non-specifically adsorbed plus water soluble fraction (NSA-B) and Mn-oxy hydroxide fraction (MOH-B) contributed to the plant available pool. Adsorption of B for 22 soils could be described by Freundlich equation.

The median total mercury concentration in 898 UK rural topsoils, sampled between 1998 and 2008, was 0.095 μg g(-1). Approximate adjustment for unreactive metal produced an estimate of 0.052 μg g(-1) for reactive Hg. The highest concentrations were in the north and west, where organic-rich soils with low bulk densities dominate, but the spatial pattern was quite different if soil Hg pools (mg m(-2)) were considered, the highest values being near to the industrial north of England and London. Possible toxic effects of Hg were best evaluated by comparison with soil Critical Limits expressed as ratios of Hg to soil organic matter, or soil solution Hg(2+) concentrations, estimated by chemical speciation modelling. Only a few percent of the rural UK soils showed exceedance, and this also applied to rural soils from the whole of Europe. UK urban and industrial soils had higher Hg concentrations and more cases of exceedance.