The current paper evaluates the thermal performance of immersion cooling for an Electric Vehicle (EV) battery module comprised of NCA-chemistry based cylindrical 21700 format Lithium-ion cells. ...Efficacy of immersion cooling in improving maximum cell temperature, cell’s temperature gradient, cell-to-cell temperature differential, and pressure drop in the module are investigated by direct comparison with a cold-plate-cooled battery module. Parametric analyses are performed at different module discharge C-rates and coolant flow rates to understand the sensitivity of each cooling strategy to important system performance parameters. The entire numerical analysis is performed using a validated 3D time-accurate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology in STAR-CCM+. Results demonstrate that immersion cooling due its higher thermal conductance leads to a lower maximum cell temperature and lower temperature gradients within the cells at high discharge rates. However, a higher rate of heat rejection and poor thermal properties of the dielectric liquid results in a much higher temperature non-uniformity across the module. At lower discharge rates, the two cooling methods show similar thermal performance. Additionally, owing to the lower viscosity and density of the considered dielectric liquid, an immersion-cooled battery module performs significantly better than the cold-plate-cooled module in terms of both coolant pressure drop.
•We tested eight citrus rootstock genotypes for maximizing the production of quality fruits of lemon cv. Kagzi Kalan.•Rough lemon and RLC-4 (strain of Citrus jambhiri) rootstocks promoted scion ...vigour, fruit juice content, and accumulation of foliar N and K content.•Troyer citrange rootstock inhibited vigour of scion cultivar and foliar Na content of scion but performed poorly in terms of fruiting density and nutrients accumulation.•Sour orange exhibited the highest accumulation of Cu and Zn in leaf tissues, while Karna Khatta, rough lemon and RLC-4 absorbed more foliar Fe content than other rootstocks tested.
The present study aimed to evaluate the horticultural performance of lemon cv ‘Kagzi Kalan’ on eight rootstocks under typical subtropical conditions for maximizing the production and fruit quality. The experiment was conducted on five years old Kagzi Kalan lemon plants budded on eight rootstocks. The variables collected over two successive years included vegetative growth, fruiting density, fruit quality, and leaf nutrient concentrations. Results revealed a significant effect of rootstocks on all the variables studied. Tree height and canopy volume were found higher on rough lemon and RLC-4 rootstocks, while trunk cross sectional area was higher on Billikichlli and RLC-4 rootstocks than other rootstocks. RLC-4 and Attani-2 rootstocks had higher fruiting density, while it was lowest on Troyer citrange. RLC-4 produced heaviest fruits, while trees on rough lemon and RLC-4 had significantly higher juice recovery. RLC-4 and Karna Khatta improved TSS and acid contents in the fruit juice. RLC-4 and Troyer citrange proved their superiority in terms of higher ascorbic acid content. Foliar N concentration in scion cultivars was found higher on RLC-4, rough lemon and Attani-2 rootstocks, while the foliar K content was higher on RLC-4 and rough lemon. Jatti Khatti was more efficient in accumulating Mg in leaf tissues, whereas Troyer citrange restricted accumulation of Na in leaf tissues. Sour orange was more capable of accumulating Cu and Zn in leaf tissues, while other rootstocks had similar uptake of Cu. Karna Khatta, rough lemon and RLC-4 absorbed more Fe, while the foliar Mn content was highest on rough lemon rootstock. Troyer citrange appeared poor performer in terms of fruiting density and nutrient concentration. A positive significant correlation was found between leaf Ca concentration and canopy volume. Hence, considering growth performance, fruit quality and nutrient concentration, RLC-4, rough lemon and Karna Khatta rootstock could be suggested for lemon under alike ecological conditions.
AIMS: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of Cry1Ac gene expressing brinjal (VRBT‐8) on the rhizospheric fungal community structure. METHODS AND RESULTS: qPCR indicated ...variations in the fungal ITS rRNA copy numbers of non‐Bt (1·43–4·43) × 10⁹ g⁻¹dws and Bt (1·43–3·32) × 10⁹ g⁻¹dws plots. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS rRNA clones indicated fungal‐related group majority of being Ascomycota compared to that of Basidiomycota and Zygomycota in non‐Bt‐ and Bt‐planted soils. Sordariomycetes was the dominant class detected in all the stages. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the variations in the population size and the distribution pattern observed across the non‐Bt and Bt brinjal, plant‐growth‐dependent variability was more prominent compared with genetic modification. Therefore, this study concludes that genetic modification of brinjal crop has minor effect on the fungal community. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Brinjal, the important solanaceous crop, is also prone to attack by many insect pests, especially by Leucinoides orbonalis, resulting in significant losses in the crop yield. However, the reports on the effect of transgenic crops and the associated microbial community are inconsistent. The present communication takes into account for the first time the possible interactions between Bt brinjal and the associated fungal community; the latter playing a significant role in maintaining soil fertility. As this study is limited to the structural diversity of fungal community, additional information regarding the functional diversity of the group seems imperative before recommending the commercialization of GM crops.
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•Soil physicochemical and biological properties were used for SQI development.•Major parameters studied were FDA, DHA, MBC, SOC, Av. NPK, AWC, MAS and SPR.•Highest SQI value of 0.90 ...was found in ZTDSR-ZTW at 0-10 cm soil depth.
Rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) is the most important system occupying around 26 M ha spread over the Indo Gangetic Plains in South Asia and China. Many long-term trials were led to assess the agronomic productivity and economic profitability of various combinations of conservation agricultural (CA) practices (zero tillage, residue management and crop establishment) in RWCS of Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP) of India. The purpose of this study was to investigate the best management practices involving different tillage-based crop establishment and residue retention techniques and their contribution to agricultural system sustainability through improvement in soil health by developing soil quality index (SQI). We have used SQI as an instrument based on physical macro aggregate stability (MAS), available water capacity (AWC) and soil penetration resistance (SPR), chemical soil organic carbon (OC), available N, available P and available K and biological microbial biomass carbon (MBC), fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) properties of soil, because these are very useful indicators of soil’s functions for agronomic productivity and soil fertility. Soil properties like MAS, OC, MBC, FDA and DHA were higher by 47, 18, 56, 48 and 53%, respectively, under ZTDSR-ZTW (T7: Zero-till direct seeded rice - Zero-till wheat) than RPTR-CTW (T1: Random puddled transplanted rice - Conventional till broadcasted wheat), at 0-10 cm. CA based treatment T7 also recorded lower SPR (126 N cm-1). SQI for different treatments were calculated by performing principal component analysis based on the total data set method. The higher system rice equivalent yield of 12.41 t ha-1 was observed at SQI value of 0.90 at 0-10 cm and 0.86 at 10-20 cm in T7. It can be concluded that crop residue retention on the surface with zero tillage is beneficial for the sustainability and productivity of the RWCS in EIGP of India.
This study reports copolymer composition tailored wrapping of carbon nanotubes, leading to a gigantic dielectric permittivity and peculiar nonlinear rheological response in a nonfluoro ...copolymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid system. Specifically, we observed a strong interfacial polarization effect in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVAc) copolymer/CNT nanocomposites, resulting in a dielectric permittivity of approximately 4000 at 10 Hz and 450 (dielectric loss <1) at 1 kHz, with only 1% volume fraction of CNTs and 40% vinyl acetate (VAc) content. No such effect was observed in EVAc with 12% VAc. Extensive amplitude oscillatory rheology studies prompted us to propose a novel hook‐wrap‐type mechanism, wherein polar interactions act as hooks and nonpolar segments allow wrapping, depending on the optimal interactions between the CNT and copolymer. Raman spectroscopy, small‐angle x‐ray scattering, and relaxation studies also revealed a significant change in segmental dynamics and mass fractal compactness with a change in the VAc content. This work provides a melt processing‐based scalable route to develop polymer dielectrics while advancing the fundamental understanding of polymer‐CNT interactions and the underlying mechanisms of dielectric behavior in nanocomposites.
Changes in I3/1 for EVAc12 and EVAc40 at different ϕCNT and strain amplitude at 1 rad/s.
A new whitefly species,
Pealius gallae
sp. nov.
forming pit galls on
Celtis philippensis
Blanco discovered in the Andaman Islands, is described and illustrated. Leaf pit galls were formed in the ...microhabitat of the puparia, each pit was observed with a single puparium, the opposite side of the galls was convex, easily recognizable by chlorotic spots; older galls turn brown and brittle. This is the first authentic record with illustrations of any leaf pit gall forming whitefly. The specialised gall inducing insects may pose extinction risks with limited host range. The new whitefly differs from
Pealius cinnamomi
David and Sundararaj in the habitus, gall forming nature, number of submarginal setae, vasiform orifice shape, broad tracheal folds and pattern of tubercles in it.
A series of doped CeF₃: RE³⁺ (RE³⁺: Tb³⁺, Eu³⁺ and Dy³⁺) nanoparticles were synthesized, with the aim of obtaining a white light emitting composition, by a simple polyol route at 160°C and ...characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and photoluminescence. Uniformly distributed and highly water-dispersible rectangular nanoparticles (length ∼15–20nm, breadth ∼5–10nm) were obtained. The steady state and time resolved luminescence studies confirmed efficient energy transfer from the host to activator ions. Lifetime studies revealed that optimum luminescence is observed for 2.5mol% Dy³⁺ and 7.5mol%Tb³⁺. The energy transfer efficiencies (Ce³⁺ to activators) were found to be 89% for CeF₃: Tb³⁺ (7.5mol%) nanoparticles and 60% for CeF₃: Dy³⁺ (2.5mol%) nanoparticles. Different concentrations of Tb³⁺, Eu³⁺ and Dy³⁺ were doped to achieve a white light emitting phosphor for UV-based LEDs (light emitting diodes). Finally CeF₃, triply doped with 2.0mol%Tb³⁺, 4.5mol% Eu³⁺ and 3.5mol% Dy³⁺, was found to have impressive chromaticity co-ordinates, close to broad day light. The colloidal solutions of doped CeF₃ nanoparticles emitted bright green (Tb³⁺), blue (Dy³⁺) and white (triply doped) luminescence upon host excitation. Composites of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) were made with CeF₃: 5.0mol%Tb³⁺, CeF₃: 5.0mol% Dy³⁺ and triply doped white light emitting composition. The CeF₃/PMMA (PVA) nanocomposite films, so obtained, are highly transparent (in the visible spectral range) and exhibit strong photoluminescence upon UV excitation.
India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, ...spanning the last ~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.
Retrospective detection and identification of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is important from the verification point of view of the Chemical Weapons Convention. In the present work, a novel method ...for determination of CWAs and their markers in water has been described. It is based on a single drop micro extraction (SDME) of analytes and gas chromatography/mass spectrometric identification. Extraction conditions, such as solvent selection, agitation, extraction time, and salt content, were found to have significant influence on SDME. The conditions optimized for extraction of CWAs were 1 μL CH2Cl2/CCl4 (3:1 v/v), 30-min extraction time, 300-rpm stirring rate, and with or without NaCl addition. Under optimized conditions, comparison of SDME, solid-phase microextraction, and liquid−liquid extraction was also made. The limit of detection by SDME ranged from 75 to 10 μg L-1 at a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1.
An invasive whitefly,
Paraleyrodes minei
Iaccarino is newly recorded from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and found infesting
Callophylum inophyllum
,
Morinda citrifolia
and
Psidium guajava
. ...The plant family Calophyllaceae is recorded as new host for
P. minei
. The puparial and adults identification characteristics and pest impact of
Paraleyrodes minei
in India are discussed. Biological information and natural enemies so far recorded are provided.
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