A field experiment was conducted on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) for assessing the sustainability of yield with optimum irrigation schedule based on soil moisture depletion. Four irrigation ...treatments: Irrigation at I1:20%, I2:30%, I3:40% and I4:50% of soil moisture depletion rate in main plots and three fertilizer treatments: Fertigation at F1:100%, F2:80% and F3:60% of recommended NPK (100:25:40 kg/ha) in subplots were tested. Soil matric potential was recorded continuously using electronic tensiometers. The soil moisture characteristics curve was derived for various soil matric potential value sand the soil water content. The irrigation controller triggered solenoid valves for irrigation when soil moisture depletion reached a prespecified level in each treatment. Soil moisture depletion values were significantly predicted based on a regression model calibrated for each treatment over the crop growing period. The model gave minimum prediction error (PE) for I1, followed by I2, I3 and I4, respectively. Plant growth and yield parameters were significantly influenced by the soil moisture availability under each treatment. It is recommended that irrigation be scheduled at 20% soil moisture depletion rate together with 100% NPK fertilizer application for attaining sustainable yield of okra (12.3 t/ha), apart from maximum WUE (3.5 kg/m3) and plant growth parameters under semiarid inceptisols.
Essential oils extracted from 10 medicinal plants were evaluated for larvicidal, adulticidal, ovicidal, oviposition-deterrent and repellent activities towards three mosquito species;
Anopheles ...stephensi,
Aedes aegypti and
Culex quinquefasciatus. The essential oils of
Juniperus macropoda and
Pimpinella anisum were highly effective as both larvicidal and ovicidal. The essential oil of
P. anisum showed toxicity against 4th instar larvae of
A. stephensi and
A. aegypti with equivalent LD
95 values of 115.7
μg/ml, whereas it was 149.7
μg/ml against
C. quinquefasciatus larvae. Essential oils of
Zingiber officinale and
Rosmarinus officinalis were found to be ovicidal and repellent, respectively towards the three mosquito species. The essential oil of
Cinnamomum zeylanicum resulted into highest repellent (RD
95) values of 49.6, 53.9 and 44.2
mg/mat against
A. stephensi,
A. aegypti and
C. quinquefasciatus, respectively apart from oviposition-deterrent potential.
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•Oxidovanadium(IV/V) complexes with NNO donor ligand was synthesized and characterized.•Molecular Docking was used to study the molecular binding behaviour of all complexes.•The ...complexes were screened for the anti-diabetic activity.
Reaction of NNO donor Schiff bases with vanadyl sulphate afforded the complexes viz., VO(L1)(H2O)NO31, VO(L2)(H2O)NO32, VO(L2)(ImH)2SO4·H2O 3 and VO(L1)ImHNO34 (where, L1 = Acetic acid (2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzylidene)-hydrazide and L2 = 5-bromo-2-(E)-(pyridine-2-ylhydrazono)methylphenol). In complex 3 the oxidation state of vanadium was found to be +5, while in rest all complexes it was +4. The crystal structure of complex 3 was solved by single crystal X-ray analysis. In addition to synthesis, optical, infrared and electrochemical properties of these complexes were also carried out. Electron paramagnetic spectra of oxidovanadium(IV/V) complexes is reported as well. Docking experiments were performed to study the molecular binding behaviour of all complexes with α-glucosidase enzyme. An antidiabetic feature like α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition studies made them promising candidates as inhibitors of insulin enzyme.
In the present paper, we calculated the elastic, mechanical, and thermophysical properties of NbN/MgO(001) layers in the temperature range 600–900°C using higher order elastic constants. With two ...fundamental factors, nearest-neighbour distance as well as hardness parameter, the second and third order elastic constants are estimated using the Born–Mayer potential approaches. The computed values of second order elastic constant are used to calculate Young modulus, thermal conductivity, Zener anisotropy, bulk modulus, thermal energy density, shear modulus as well as Poisson ratio in order to assess the thermal and mechanical properties of NbN/MgO(001) layers. Additionally, the second order elastic constant is also used to calculate the wave velocities for shear and longitudinal modes of propagation along crystalline orientations 100, 110, 111. Temperature dependent Debye average velocity, hardness, and ultrasonic Grüneisen parameters are evaluated. The fracture/toughness
B
/
G
ratio in the current investigation is more than 1.75, indicating that the NbN/MgO(001) nanostructured layer is ductile in nature in this temperature range. The selected materials are fully satisfying the Born mechanical stability requirement. The time required for thermal relaxation is calculated and how ultrasonic waves are attenuated by thermo-elastic relaxation and phonon–phonon interaction mechanisms. The findings with other well-known physical features are helpful for industrial applications.
The Lennard-Jones potential approach is used to investigate the effect of pressure on the ultrasonic and elastic properties of the rare-earth ternary TbNiAl intermetallic compound. The second- and ...third-order elastic constants of TbNiAl are considered using the potential model. The pressure-dependent higher-order elastic constants are studied, and it is observed that the elastic constants of the TbNiAl compound increased monotonously with pressure. The hexagonal TbNiAl compound is mechanically stable up to the pressure 20 GPa according to the Born elastic stability criteria. The Voigt–Reuss–Hill approach is used to compute such elastic parameters as Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and shear modulus in the pressure range 0–45 GPa. Hardness, melting temperature, and anisotropy are also determined for the intermetallic TbNiAl compound. The pressure-dependent velocities and attenuation of ultrasonic waves in this ternary compound are evaluated. The computation results are also satisfactory in estimating the Debye temperature and thermal conductivity
K
min
under different pressure. It is observed that TbNiAl has a significant anisotropy at zero pressure, which becomes stronger as the pressure increased. This ternary compound behaves as its purest form at higher pressure and is more ductile, which is demonstrated by the minimum attenuation.
One new homologous series of liquid crystalline λ-shaped tris azo trimers containing azobenzene moiety as a rigid core and ether linkages were synthesized by the reaction of various n-butylazobenzene ...having bromoalkoxy tail with magneson-I dye respectively. Their right structure was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. On the polarising optical microscope (POM), their thermotropic properties were examined, and additional studies were conducted using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All the trimers with an even number of flexible spacers (n = 2 and 4) show excellent liquid crystalline properties as an enantiotropic nematic phase with greater mesophase length and good thermal stability. The introduction of odd-membered methylene disrupts the orderly stacking of layers and results in a change in mesogenic behaviour. Their structure-property relationships, the influence of different flexible spacers, the mesophase ranges and the photo-isomerisation of liquid crystalline trimers were described. A view of their photochromic behaviour was gained by UV–Visible spectroscopy. The 6-31G (d, p) basis set is combined with the B3LYP functional, which is used for computational studies of λ-shaped tris azo trimers. This approach allows for the determination of various quantum mechanical descriptors that can help us comprehend the mesogenic nature of molecules in computational studies. The results of the Gaussian calculation showed that the target compounds have low energy differences between HOMO-LUMO levels and good chemical reactivity. The examination of ESP and optical characteristics also yielded important information about the electronic structure and potential uses of these compounds.
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•New series of λ-Shape Tris azo liquid crystalline trimers with azobenzene core were synthesized.•DSC and POM techniques were used to examine liquid crystalline properties.•Trimers with an even number of flexible spacer (n = 2 and 4) show enantiotropic mesophase.•Odd membered trimers (n = 3 and 5) show monotropic mesophase.•DFT calculations were used to conduct theoretical studies on these molecules.
New homologous series of Schiff's base of 4-n-Alkoxy-2-hydroxy benzaldehyde (n = 2 to 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18) with 4-amino acetophenone and their Cu(II) metal complexes have been synthesized. The ...compounds were characterized using various spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR,
1
H-NMR,
13
C-NMR. Mesomorphic properties of these compounds have been investigated with polarizing optical microscope and differential scanning calorimeter. These compounds exhibit wide range SmA phase as confirmed by their typical optical texture under polarizing microscope.
Sugarcane is a significant crop for production of sugar and ethanol in the world. In present perspective, drought is one of the frequently occurring abiotic stresses hampering the productivity of ...sugarcane causing heavy losses in sugar recovery. Post-harvest sugarcane deterioration attains more importance. Measures have been recommended in harvested canes to prevent these losses in general and under drought conditions but application of chemical formulation has not yet been tested over drought effected ones. Thus, we tried to investigate the efficacy of chemical formulation Benzalkonium chloride (BKC) + Sodium metasilicate (SMS) on sucrose losses occurring in harvested canes grown under drought and normal conditions. Results showed that application of chemical formulation had higher effect on drought canes in comparison to normal grown canes. Loss in cane weight was reduced to 8.25% and 11% in drought treated and normal treated grown canes, respectively, after 240 h of harvest in comparison to their respective control. In sucrose content and Commercial cane sugars %, drought treated canes showed an effect of BKC + SMS by reducing the losses to 1.26 units and 1.42 units, respectively, whereas in normal ones, reduction was of 0.38 units and 0.10 units, respectively. Biochemical analysis revealed that in reducing sugars, reduction in increase were of 44.51% and 25.50% in drought and normal grown canes, respectively, after 240 h of harvest. Dextran and soluble acid invertase estimations revealed that after application of BKC + SMS, reduction of dextran and invertase activity were of 49.74%, 66.84%, respectively, and 33.92%, 42.75%, respectively, in drought and normal grown canes, respectively. Total microbial load, showed effectiveness of 25.01% in drought grown canes while 14.41% in normal grown ones after 240 h of harvest. Our study was planned to use the anti-bacterial efficiency of both the chemicals over harvested canes so that the major sucrose losses occurring due to microbial deterioration could be inhibited. The use of this chemical formulation proves to be an effective one over post-harvest sucrose losses, particularly in drought grown canes.
Recovery of citric acid from biotechnologically produced low concentration aqueous solution has attracted several separation techniques for the downstream processing. Amongst them, reactive ...extraction is a convenient, cheap, and effective method. Three different extractants are used in this study, namely tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP), tri-n-octylamine (TOA), and Aliquat 336 (A336), all diluted in methyl-iso-butyl ketone (MIBK). The isothermal batch experiments were performed for the equilibrium and kinetic studies at T = 300.15 + or - 1 K. Around 92 % extraction efficiency (E %) was obtained using 20 % (v/v) TOA in MIBK. Based on the overloading of amine (Z > 0.5), (2:1) acid:extractant complex in TOA+MIBK phase was proposed. Kinetics of extraction of citric acid (0.2-0.8 kmol m.sup.-3) was also performed in a Lewis-type stirred cell, using TOA in MIBK. The extraction reaction was occurring in the diffusion film. The second order rate constant was calculated as k.sub.2 = 0.0351 m.sup.3 kmol.sup.-1 s.sup.-1. The extraction parameters were estimated by differential evolution optimization technique. Optimal value of equilibrium constant, K.sub.E, was found to be 3.6 x 10.sup.-3 (m.sup.3 kmol.sup.-1).sup.2, for the reactive extraction of citric acid using 20 % TOA in MIBK, and was found in close agreement with experimental values.Keywords:reactive extraction, citric acid, differential evolution, modeling, equilibrium, kinetics
One of the most significant challenges of construction of underground large size structures is to determine the effect of the geological discontinuities. Fault is a natural discontinuity which allows ...significant displacement of the rock mass along the fault plane and increases the plastic zones around the underground structure. For instance, an underground hydropower plant comprising more than two underground caverns and large distance between the underground cavern incurs the higher cost because of connecting tunnels or transfer of electricity from powerhouse cavern to transformer cavern. However, presence of the fault would result in the increase of the plastic zone and shear displacement along the fault. Thus, with regards to the effect of the fault on the stability of the two parallel caverns, in this paper different numerical models were simulated to study the effect of the fault on plastic zone around the cavern group and pillar between the caverns, and shear displacement along the fault plane under different scenarios such as fault location, fault dip angle, fault friction angle and in-situ stress conditions. The results are produced graphically and discussed. These results offer advance guidelines in construction of the two parallel large size caverns.
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