► NPK Fertilizer applied with organics improved the SOC and its fractions and their sequestration rate in rice-wheat system. ► Application of NPK or NPK partially substituted with organics has ...increased or maintained the system productivity. ► Application of NPK fertilizer with or without organics can sequester carbon in soils of Indo Gangetic Plains of India.
Rice–wheat rotation is the most important cropping system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and is responsible for the food security of the region. The effect of different integrated nutrient management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and its fractions, SOC sequestration potential as well as the sustainability of the rice–wheat system were evaluated in long term experiments at different agro-climatic zones of IGP. Application of NPK either through inorganic fertilizers or through combination of inorganic fertilizer and organics such as farm yard manure (FYM) or crop residue or green manure improved the SOC, particulate organic carbon (POC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) concentration and their sequestration rate. Application of 50% NPK+50%N through FYM in rice and 100% NPK in wheat, sequestered 0.39, 0.50, 0.51 and 0.62MgCha−1yr−1 over control (no N–P–K fertilizers or organics), respectively at Ludhiana, Kanpur, Sabour and Kalyani using the mass of SOC in the control treatment as reference point. Soil carbon sequestration with response to application of fertilizer partially substituted (50% on N basis) with organics were higher in Kalyani and Sabour lying in humid climate than Ludhiana and Kanpur lying in semiarid climate. The rice yield recorded a significant declining trend in Ludhiana and Kanpur where as the yield trend was stable at Sabour and Kalyani under unfertilized control. The system productivity in N–P–K fertilized plots and NPK along with organics showed either an increasing trend or remained stable at all locations during last two and half decades of the experiment.
Rice-based integrated farming system improves the productivity and profitability by recycling resources efficiently. In the sub-humid tropics, rice production without sufficient nutrient ...replenishment often leads to soil health and fertility degradation. There has been very limited research on soil health and fertility after adopting a multi-enterprising rice-based integrated farming system (IFS), notably in the rice-fish-livestock and agroforestry system, when compared to a conventional farming system (CS). Therefore, the present study analyzed the dynamics of soil properties, soil bacterial community structure and their possible interaction mechanisms, as well as their effect on regulating soil quality and production in IFS, IFSw (water stagnant area of IFS) and CS. The results indicated that soil nutrient dynamics, bacterial diversity indices (Shannon index, Simpson index, Chao 1, ACE and Fisher index) and system productivity were higher in IFSw and IFS compared to CS. Moreover, relative operational taxonomic units of dominant bacterial genera (
Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, Cyanobacteria, Crenarchaeota
and
Gemmatimonadetes
) were also higher in IFSw and IFS compared to CS. Mean soil quality index (SQI) was highest in IFSw (0.780 ± 0.201) followed by IFS (0.770 ± 0.080) and CS (0.595 ± 0.244). Moreover, rice equivalent yields (REY) and rice yields were well correlated with the higher levels of soil biological indices (SQI
Biol
) in IFS. Overall, our results revealed that rice-based IFS improved the soil health and fertility and ensuing crop productivity through positive interaction with soil bacterial communities and nutrient stoichiometry leading to agroecosystem sustainability.
Radio frequency identification and wireless sensor networks are two important wireless technologies that have a wide variety of applications in current and future systems. RFID facilitates detection ...and identification of objects that are not easily detectable or distinguishable by using conventional sensor technologies. However, it does not provide information about the condition of the objects it detects. WSN, on the other hand, not only provides information about the condition of the objects and environment but also enables multihop wireless communications. Hence, the integration of these technologies expands their overall functionality and capacity. This article investigates recent research work and applications that integrate RFID with sensor networks. Four classes of integration are discussed: integrating tags with sensors, integrating tags with WSN nodes and wireless devices, integrating readers with WSN nodes and wireless devices, and a mix of RFID and WSNs. Finally, a discussion of new challenges and future work is presented.
In this paper, a stage structured predator-prey model with Holling type II functional response is formulated, considering the juvenile prey as the favorite food for the generalist predator. Further, ...the existence of predators is ensured by the sufficient amount of alternative food available in the habitat. The proportional harvesting of the adult prey is incorporated with the assumption that only the adult prey are of economic worth. The existence and local stability of the distinct equilibrium points of the system are investigated. The bifurcation from origin to predator free equilibrium state is obtained for the bifurcation parameter-effort on harvesting. The occurrence of Hopf bifurcation about the interior equilibrium state is established for arbitrary model parameters and the supercritical nature of this bifurcation is proved by fixing these parametric values. An algebraic equation is included to this modified model to analyze the economic benefits resulted from the harvesting of adult prey. The singularity-induced bifurcation (SIB) about the coexisting equilibrium state of differential-algebraic system is deduced along the parameter
v
at
v
=
0
,
v
being the profit/loss due to harvesting. The state feedback controller is recommended to eliminate the SIB about the coexisting equilibrium state for the differential algebraic system. Adopting an appropriate feedback control would ensure the stability of co-existence interior equilibrium state along with economic profit from harvesting. Numerical examples are used to elaborate the analytical results obtained.
Microencapsulation of anthocyanin pigment present in Garcinia indica Choisy was carried out with maltodextrin of various dextrose equivalents (DE 06, 19, 21, and 33) and other additives such as gum ...acacia and tricalcium phosphate to enhance the stability of the pigment. The microencapsulated pigment containing 5.0% maltodextrin DE 21, 0.25% gum acacia, and 0.25% tricalcium phosphate was found to have lowest hygroscopic moisture content (4.38%), highest antioxidant activity (69.90%), and highest anthocyanin content (485 mg/100 g). The glass transition temperature was 44.59°C. The sorption isotherms for microencapsulated powder showed that the samples were stable up to water activity less than 0.43. The scanning electron microscope structures depicted that the particle size ranged from 5 to 50 μm with smooth spheres. Storage at 4°C increased the half-life twofold compared to that of the spray-dried product kept at ambient temperature (25°C).
Two non-identical Mg/ZnSnP2 and ZnSnP2/Sn Schottky diodes connected in coplanar back-to-back configuration are fabricated on p-type silicon (100) substrate for photodetection in the UV-VIS-NIR ...spectral region. A detailed study of the power and bias dependent responsivity, detectivity, and response and recovery speed of the devices is reported. The responsivity and detectivity were found to be 0.2 A W-1 and 4.62 × 1012 Jones for the Mg/ZnSnP2 and 0.03 A W-1 and 1.62 × 1011 Jones for the Sn/ZnSnP2 junctions, respectively when they were operated without bias. However, under a reverse bias of 2.5 V, these values changed to 4.7 A W-1 and 1.19 × 1012 Jones in the case of Mg/ZnSnP2 and 12.7 A W-1 and 4.78 × 1011 Jones for Sn/ZnSnP2 junctions, respectively. The photocurrents associated with both the junctions were increased superlinearly with illumination power which is correlated to the conversion of the existing traps within the forbidden energy gap to the recombination centers. The response and recovery speed of the photodetectors were also studied under variable bias and illumination power. Under an incident power of 0.34 mW, the rise and decay times for the Mg/ZnSnP2 and Sn/ZnSnP2 junctions were 200 μs, 2300 μs and 390 μs, 240 μs, respectively at 2.5 V. The Mg/ZnSnP2 showed an anomalous bias dependent secondary decay channel which disappeared at self-powered configuration. The frequency-dependent capacitance in the dark and illumination power-dependent capacitance of the structure were also performed to understand the presence of defect states and the capture of photogenerated carriers by the traps and recombination centers.
Display omitted
•Back-to-back connected Mg/ZnSnP2/Sn structures are fabricated.•The devices are sensitive to 325–780 nm spectral region.•Both Schottky diodes show superliner increment of photocurrent with optical power.•The switching speed for both the junctions enhances with optical power.•Mg/ZnSnP2 shows an anomalous bias dependent recovery time.
Conventional rice production techniques are less economical and more vulnerable to sustainable utilization of farm resources as well as significantly contributed GHGs to atmosphere.
In order to ...assess the best rice production system for coastal areas, six rice production techniques were evaluated, including SRI-AWD (system of rice intensification with alternate wetting and drying (AWD)), DSR-CF (direct seeded rice with continuous flooding (CF)), DSR-AWD (direct seeded rice with AWD), TPR-CF (transplanted rice with CF), TPR-AWD (transplanted rice with AWD), and FPR-CF (farmer practice with CF). The performance of these technologies was assessed using indicators such as rice productivity, energy balance, GWP (global warming potential), soil health indicators, and profitability. Finally, using these indicators, a climate smartness index (CSI) was calculated.
Rice grown with SRI-AWD method had 54.8 % higher CSI over FPR-CF, and also give 24.5 to 28.3% higher CSI for DSR and TPR as well. There evaluations based on the climate smartness index can provide cleaner and more sustainable rice production and can be used as guiding principle for policy makers.
Summary
Background
Personal exposure to fungal bioaerosols derived from contaminated building materials or agricultural commodities may induce or exacerbate a variety of adverse health effects. The ...genomic mechanisms that underlie pulmonary immune responses to fungal bioaerosols have remained unclear.
Objective
The impact of fungal viability on the pulmonary microRNA and messenger RNA profiles that regulate murine immune responses was evaluated following subchronic inhalation exposure to Aspergillus fumigatus conidia.
Methods
Three groups of naïve B6C3F1/N mice were exposed via nose‐only inhalation to A. fumigatus viable conidia, heat‐inactivated conidia (HIC), or HEPA‐filtered air twice a week for 13 weeks. Total RNA was isolated from whole lung 24 and 48 h postfinal exposure and was further processed for gene expression and microRNA array analysis. The molecular network pathways between viable and HIC groups were evaluated.
Results
Comparison of data sets revealed increased Il4, Il13 and Il33 expression in mice exposed to viable vs. HIC. Of 415 microRNAs detected, approximately 50% were altered in mice exposed to viable vs. HIC 48 h postexposure. Significantly down‐regulated (P ≤ 0.05) miR‐29a‐3p was predicted to regulate TGF‐β3 and Clec7a, genes involved in innate responses to viable A. fumigatus. Also significantly down‐regulated (P ≤ 0.05), miR‐23b‐3p regulates genes involved in pulmonary IL‐13 and IL‐33 responses and SMAD2, downstream of TGF‐β signalling. Using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, a novel interaction was identified between viable conidia and SMAD2/3.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
Examination of the pulmonary genetic profiles revealed differentially expressed genes and microRNAs following subchronic inhalation exposure to A. fumigatus. MicroRNAs regulating genes involved in the pulmonary immune responses were those with the greatest fold change. Specifically, germinating A. fumigatus conidia were associated with Clec7a and were predicted to interact with Il13 and Il33. Furthermore, altered microRNAs may serve as potential biomarkers to evaluate fungal exposure.
Integrated farming system (IFS), comprising various enterprises such as crop, horticulture, dairy, poultry and fishery optimally, uses farm resources to suit small and medium farms of India. In this ...study, 55 IFSs with different sizes and several enterprises were assessed in terms of their environment impact, eco-efficiency and technical efficiency (TE). The households, which own these IFS, were grouped into four major categories based on farm size viz., marginal (<0.8 ha), small (0.8-1.2 ha), medium (1.2-2.0 ha) and large (>2.0 ha). Among the farm size category, the highest eco-efficiency was recorded for marginal farms, whereas the lowest eco-efficiency was observed for small farms. The highest eco-efficiency was recorded for farm having five enterprises (INR195 kg CO
2
eq. ha
−1
) followed by four enterprises (INR190 kg CO
2
eq.ha
−1
). Among the enterprises, the highest eco-efficiency was recorded in fruits, whereas the lowest eco-efficiency was observed in dairy. The TE scores estimated using stochastic frontier analysis decreased with increasing farm size and the highest TE score was recorded for marginal farms, whereas medium and large farms recorded the lowest TE scores. The findings indicated the necessity for imparting training and demonstrations and funding support as well as subsidy for larger adoption of IFS to reap higher returns.
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