•A non-linear optimization model for deficit irrigation is proposed and model is applied to Lower Indus Basin.•The deficit levels of irrigation are kept as variables.•Optimal deficit levels, water ...withdrawals and cropping pattern are determined.•Net financial return increased by 93% and cropped area by 110%.•Lower and upper bounds on crop production must be imposed.
A non-linear optimization model for deficit irrigation is proposed in the present study to maximize the net financial return within the available resource constraints. The deficit levels of irrigation are kept as variables in the model with a flexibility to keep the crops either at full irrigation or deficit irrigation in order to maximize the net financial return. The model optimizes the deficit levels, cropping pattern and decade (10 days) optimal water withdrawals for the existing land and water resources. The proposed model is applied to Khairpur East canal command of the Lower Indus Basin. The overall optimal net financial return was increased by 92.5% and the total optimal cropped area was enhanced by 109.7% under deficit irrigation as compared to the existing cropping pattern although the net financial return per hectare of land was reduced under deficit irrigation. The optimal net financial return can further be increased by 17.5% if the existing tube well capacity is augmented by 75% in the command area. The surface water availability was also reduced to work out its impact on the optimal cropped area. Although the net financial returns reduced with a reduction in the surface water availability but the optimal irrigated cropped area remained almost the same under deficit irrigation. However the cropping pattern and optimal deficit levels of different crops changed as the surface water availability is reduced. Further, a balanced optimal production of crops would require imposing upper and lower constraints on the quantity of the production of crops in place of crop areas under deficit irrigation.
Abstract
Extensive efforts made over the past few decades have enhanced the rising performance of High-Strength Low-Alloy steels. Use of thermomechanical processing was considered for this research. ...However, the desired mechanical properties are obtained by formulating alloys. Further, to enhance mechanical properties, impact energy, the subsequent quenching and tempering are used. The metallurgical transformation caused by deformation followed by cooling and/or heat treatment has added influences on steels’ mechanical properties. The rational decrease in impact energy value is complex.
Most metal polluted natural environments are contaminated with multiple metals, and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are among the extracellular strategies to avoid metal toxicity. To understand the ...interaction between Cd, Zn and AM fungi Glomus mosseae, two genotypes (Sel 85N and P792) of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.), differing in their metal tolerance, were chosen for study. Results revealed that root dry weights were more severely affected than shoot dry weights as both the metals were accumulated in roots than in the aerial parts. Mycorrhization promoted biomass yields by decreasing metal content in plant tissues. Exposure to the metals resulted in oxidative burst (high H2O2, malondialdehyde contents and electrolyte leakage), which was accompanied by decreased membrane stability. However, increase in the level of total non‐protein thiols (TNP‐SH) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and glutathione reductase (GR) suggested that all these parameters were synergistic in combating heavy‐metal‐induced oxidative stress. Zn supplementation proved to be inhibitory for Cd‐induced oxidative stress. AM fungi alleviated oxidative stress through enhanced production of TNP‐SH as well as through upregulation of antioxidant enzymes. Sel 85N exhibited lesser oxidative damage and more efficient defence mechanism than P792.
Background and aim: The emergence of resistance against antimicrobial agents has led to the development of more efficient agents and new techniques for treatment of various microbial infections. The ...aim of the present study is to determine the antibacterial and antifungal activity of bare and chitosan coated Fe
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nanoparticles (NPs) against five organisms, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Candida albicans (C. albicans), Aspergillus niger (A. niger) and Fusarium solani (F. solani).
Methods: Fe
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NPs were synthesised by coprecipitation and surface coating was done by chitosan polymer to avoid agglomeration. The antimicrobial property of NPs was tested by agar well diffusion and analysed by measuring the diameter of the inhibition zone.
Results: Average particle size of Fe
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and chitosan coated Fe
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NPs was 10.4 ± 4.9 and 11.4 ± 5.2 nm, respectively. Mean diameter of inhibition zone of synthesised chitosan coated Fe
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NPs was in the range 14.5 to 18.5 mm. The effect of chitosan coated Iron oxide nanoparticles was F. solani/A. niger < C. albicans < E. coli/B. subtilis (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Chitosan coated Fe
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NPs are effective antimicrobial agents and so may be developed as a microbial resistant coating for biomedical devices.
•Ambient noise levels in seven Indian cities is analyzed for lockdown period.•Noise scenario during the lock down and pre-lockdown period is presented.•A pronounced reduction in ambient noise levels ...was observed.•Strategy for noise control in residential and silence zone sites is suggested.
The paper analyzed the impact of lockdown on the ambient noise levels in the seventy sites in the seven major cities of India and ascertained the noise scenario in lockdown period, and on the Janta Curfew day in comparison to the pre-lock down period and year 2019 annual average values. It was observed that the majority of the noise monitoring sites exhibited a decrement in ambient day and night equivalent noise levels on the national Janta Curfew day and Lockdown period as compared with the normal working days attributed to the restricted social, economical, industrial, urbanization activity and reduced human mobility. A mixed pattern was observed at a few sites, wherein the ambient day and night equivalent noise levels during Janta curfew day and Lockdown period had been reported to be higher than that on the normal working days. The study depicts the noise scenario during the lockdown and pre-lockdown period for seventy sites in India and shall be instrumental in analyzing the consequences and implications of imposing lockdowns in future on the environmental noise pollution in Indian cities.
We propose that several different reactor irradiation times followed by assaying of activity for differential counting periods may be employed for quality control (QC) of neutron activation analysis ...(NAA) data of biological samples. It is also recommended that three to four reference materials (RMs) of similar matrix but from different agencies such as National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, Vienna), Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (INCT, Poland), and National Institute of Environmental Studies (NIES, Japan) including a synthetic multielemental primary standard should always be analyzed simultaneously along with the samples. Finally, the mean ±
σ
values so obtained may be considered as more reliable after statistical analysis. Our analytical data for Na and K in three RMs (SRM 1572, CRM H-9, and Bowen’s Kale) using different irradiation periods of 15 m, 2 h, 6 h, and 1 day were comparable with the certified values within error range of + 0.2 to − 2.7%. We report our data for 20 elements in two candidate RMs corn flour (INCT-CF-3) and soya bean flour (INCT-SBF-4) from the INCT, Poland, where Z-score values for most elements are in reasonable range of certified values.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been shown to acquire RAS and EGFR ectodomain mutations as mechanisms of resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition (anti-EGFR). After anti-EGFR ...withdrawal, RAS and EGFR mutant clones lack a growth advantage relative to other clones and decay; however, the kinetics of decay remain unclear. We sought to determine the kinetics of acquired RAS/EGFR mutations after discontinuation of anti-EGFR therapy.
We present the post-progression circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiles of 135 patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic CRC treated with anti-EGFR who acquired RAS and/or EGFR mutations during therapy. Our validation cohort consisted of an external dataset of 73 patients with a ctDNA profile suggestive of prior anti-EGFR exposure and serial sampling. A separate retrospective cohort of 80 patients was used to evaluate overall response rate and progression free survival during re-challenge therapies.
Our analysis showed that RAS and EGFR relative mutant allele frequency decays exponentially (r2=0.93 for RAS; r2=0.94 for EGFR) with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 months. We validated our findings using an external dataset of 73 patients with a ctDNA profile suggestive of prior anti-EGFR exposure and serial sampling, confirming exponential decay with an estimated half-life of 4.3 months. A separate retrospective cohort of 80 patients showed that patients had a higher overall response rate during re-challenge therapies after increasing time intervals, as predicted by our model.
These results provide scientific support for anti-EGFR re-challenge and guide the optimal timing of re-challenge initiation.
Mulching is one of the important agronomic practices in conserving the soil moisture and modifying the soil physical environment. Wheat, the second most important cereal crop in India, is sensitive ...to soil moisture stress. Field experiments were conducted during winter seasons of 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 in a sandy loam soil to evaluate the soil and plant water status in wheat under synthetic (transparent and black polyethylene) and organic (rice husk) mulches with limited irrigation and compared with adequate irrigation with no mulch (conventional practices by the farmers). Though all the mulch treatments improved the soil moisture status, rice husk was found to be superior in maintaining optimum soil moisture condition for crop use. The residual soil moisture was also minimum, indicating effective utilization of moisture by the crop under RH. The plant water status, as evaluated by relative water content and leaf water potential were favourable under RH. Specific leaf weight, root length density and dry biomass were also greater in this treatment. Optimum soil and canopy thermal environment of wheat with limited fluctuations were observed under RH, even during dry periods. This produced comparable yield with less water use, enhancing the water use efficiency. Therefore, it may be concluded that under limited irrigation condition, RH mulching will be beneficial for wheat as it is able to maintain better soil and plant water status, leading to higher grain yield and enhanced water use efficiency.
Salinity stress causes ion toxicity and osmotic imbalances, leading to oxidative stress in plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are considered bio-ameliorators of saline soils and could develop ...salinity tolerance in crop plants. Pigeonpea exhibits strong mycorrhizal development and has a high mycorrhizal dependency. The role of AM in enhancing salt tolerance of pigeonpea in terms of shoot and root dry weights, phosphorus and nitrogen contents, K⁺ : Na⁺, Ca²⁺ : Na⁺ ratios, lipid peroxidation, compatible solutes (proline and glycine betaine) and antioxidant enzyme activities was examined. Plants were grown and maintained at three levels of salt (4, 6 and 8 dSm⁻¹). Stress impeded the growth of plants, led to weight gain reductions in shoots as well as roots and hindered phosphorus and nitrogen uptake. However, salt-stressed mycorrhizal plants produced greater root and shoot biomass, had higher phosphorus and nitrogen content than the corresponding uninoculated stressed plants. Salt stress resulted in higher lipid peroxidation and membrane stability was reduced in non-AM plants. The presence of fungal endophyte significantly reduced lipid peroxidation and membrane damage caused by salt stress. AM plants maintained higher K⁺ : Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ : Na⁺ ratios than non-AM plants under stressed and unstressed conditions. Salinity induced the accumulation of both proline and glycine betaine in AM and non-AM plants. The quantum of increase in synthesis and accumulation of osmolytes was higher in mycorrhizal plants. Antioxidant enzyme activities increased significantly with salinity in both mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants. In conclusion, pigeonpea plants responded to an increased ion influx in their cells by increasing the osmolyte synthesis and accumulation under salt stress, which further increased with AM inoculation and helped in maintaining the osmotic balance. Increase in the antioxidant enzyme activities in AM plants under salt stress could be involved in the beneficial effects of mycorrhizal colonization.
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