The Nitrogen Fertilizer Value of Baled Broiler Litter for Cotton Production in the Arkansas Delta

The export of poultry litter by baling efficiently packages litter for long-term storage and transportation. Use of baled poultry litter to supply the recommended rates of P and K and a portion of the N rate appears to be a feasible nutrient management strategy for cotton.poultry waste management, cotton production, fertilizer, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q53,

Potassium supplying power of an alluvial soil in Massachusetts /

Thesis (M.S.

Heat dissipation in Sm3+ and Zn2+ co-substituted magnetite (Zn0.1SmxFe2.9-xO4) nanoparticles coated with citric acid and pluronic F127 for hyperthermia application

In this work, Sm3+ and Zn2+ co-substituted magnetite Zn0.1SmxFe2.9-xO4 (x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05) nanoparticles, have been prepared via co-precipitation method and were electrostatically and sterically stabilized by citric acid and pluronic F127 coatings. The coated nanoparticles were well dispersed in an aqueous solution (pH 5.5). Magnetic and structural properties of the nanoparticles and their ferrofluids were studied by different methods. XRD studies illustrated that all as-prepared nanoparticles have a single phase spinel structure, with lattice constants affected by samarium cations substitution. The temperature dependence of the magnetization showed that Curie temperatures of the uncoated samples monotonically increased from 430 to 480 °C as Sm3+ content increased, due to increase in A-B super-exchange interactions. Room temperature magnetic measurements exhibited a decrease in saturation magnetization of the uncoated samples from 98.8 to 71.9 emu/g as the Sm3+ content increased, which is attributed to substitution of Sm3+ (1.5 µB) ions for Fe3+ (5 µB) ones in B sublattices. FTIR spectra confirmed that Sm3+ substituted Zn0.1SmxFe2.9-xO4 nanoparticles were coated with both citric acid and pluronic F127 properly. The mean particle size of the coated nanoparticles was 40 nm. Calorimetric measurements showed that the maximum SLP and ILP values obtained for Sm3+ substituted nanoparticles were 259 W/g and 3.49 nHm2/kg (1.08 mg/ml, measured at f = 290 kHz and H = 16kA/m), respectively, that are related to the sample with x = 0.01. Magnetic measurements revealed coercivity, which indicated that hysteresis loss may represent a substantial portion in heat generation. Our results show that these ferrofluids are potential candidates for magnetic hyperthermia applications

Prevalence of Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Buffaloes in East Azerbaijan, Northwestern Iran

Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) has a worldwide distribution, but its prevalence in different regions of Iran is unknown. In this study, for the first time, the presence of BIV infections is detected by using the PCR method in Iranian water buffalo in East Azerbaijan. For this matter, blood samples were taken from 83 randomly selected buffaloes slaughtered in Tabriz industrial slaughterhouse from June to October 2012. All of the animals were clinically examined before sampling. Viral Gene-spin™ Viral DNA/RNA Extraction Kit was used to extract the DNA, and PCR was performed on the extracted DNA using oligonucleotiode primers specific for the gag gene region of the BIV virus. The prevalence of BIV in buffaloes was 2.4% (2 of 83), which is less than the prevalence of BIV in Pakistan (10.3%) and India (19%). The low prevalence observed in this study may be due to our small sample size

Performance Evaluation of sustainable supply chain of perishable products in the food industry

There is a growing concern about the social and environmental impact of the food supply chain, and the food industry faces numerous challenges. This has created significant pressure from various stakeholders to enhance the sustainable performance of the life cycle of perishable products. In this study, we aim to assess the sustainability of the supply chain for perishable products in the food industry. After examining both external and internal factors and identifying a research gap, the structure of the present study involves a four-stage supply chain. Input and output variables were selected based on perishable products and the three dimensions of sustainability. To achieve this goal, we conducted field and library studies to identify and extract relevant input, output, and intermediary indicators for evaluating the relative efficiency of supply chains in various sectors. Subsequently, we examined the supply chain's efficiency and ranked the efficient units. Given the primary focus on perishable materials, our study involved 18 dairy and meat factories in Fars province as the statistical population. We utilized WinQSB software to analyze network downtime and to model and solve the data. The results highlight that the most significant challenges faced by the companies are in the supply sector. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for companies to enhance their performance.IntroductionIn the food industry, there are numerous inventory systems that deal with perishable items, which have a limited shelf life. These perishable items encompass a wide range of products, including food, fruits, and medicine. Given the extensive use of these products, it is crucial to model perishable products within a supply chain context. Furthermore, reviewing the contracts and regulations among the supply chain members is of great importance for decision-making in interactive conditions. This study aims to determine the most effective ordering policies at different levels of the perishable food supply chain. The goal is to maximize the overall profit of the chain while minimizing social and environmental negative impacts. Our supply chain consists of four levels, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. We have thoroughly investigated the dimensions of sustainable development, ultimately leading to an assessment of the overall performance of the chain. The primary research question we seek to answer is: 'How does the performance of the perishable product supply chain align with a sustainable development approach?MethodologyIn this section, we employed the network data overlay analysis model to assess the performance of the research supply chain and determine the efficiency of the research units, with a particular focus on perishable products. Conventional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models typically overlook the steps and internal processes within Decision-Making Units (DMUs). These conventional DEA models treat each company as a DMU and limit their calculations to initial inputs and final outputs. Given that DEA has been increasingly used in recent years for buyer-seller relationships, production-distribution processes, and performance evaluations in supply chains, and recognizing that a supply chain is a unique decision-making unit with not only input and output indicators but also intermediary indicators that flow from one stage to the next, traditional data envelopment analysis models may fall short in accurately and comprehensively evaluating supply chain performance due to the network or multi-stage nature of the supply chain. Hence, this study adopts the NDEA model with a fresh approach, calculating efficiency based on sustainability indicators related to perishable products in 18 manufacturing supply chains of dairy, meat, and protein products. Conducting an in-depth study to identify the significant parameters in the research field is a prerequisite for any applied research. To this end, we conducted extensive field and library research to investigate variables and indicators across various supply chain activities. This allowed us to identify and extract meaningful input, output, and intermediate indicators for evaluating supply chain performance in the supplier's sector. After reviewing existing literature, we identified 51 specific indicators that play a crucial role in the research.ResultsAccording to research findings, it is shown that the average efficiency of the supply chain for the production and distribution of perishable products in the financial year studied by the research was 0.9634% in the suppliers' sector. This average was 0.9899 in the producers' sector, 0.9903 in the distributors' sector, and 0.9707 in the retailers' sector. Therefore, the average efficiency indicates that the most significant inefficiency problems of the studied companies are related to the supplier sector. Furthermore, the overall average efficiency is 0.9950. According to the results obtained from the Anderson-Piterson Method for Employer Units Ranking, DMU3's Supply Chain demonstrates strong efficiency, and the supply chains of DMU7, DMU2, and DMU4 followed in the subsequent rankings. All supply chains were rated based on efficiency.ConclusionAmong the supply chains of the 18 companies studied in the research that deal with perishable products, the supplier process exhibits lower efficiency scores compared to the production, distribution, and sales processes. Consequently, it is recommended that inefficient companies at each stage take action to identify the factors causing inefficiency in the production, distribution, and sale processes of perishable products. This can be achieved by modeling the performance of efficient companies, with the goal of improving the efficiency at each stage and overall efficiency. Based on the model and research results, the following topics are suggested for future research: Given that most of the inefficiency is associated with the first stage of the model, it is advisable to pay greater attention to the supply of raw materials and transportation, or to select different input indicators. The supply of raw materials for factories emerged as one of the major challenges in this research, highlighting the inefficiency at the first stage. It is recommended that separate modeling be conducted to address the supply of raw materials in the food industry. The highest inefficiency in the fourth stage of the model is attributed to the limited consideration of the social dimension in sustainable development. For future research, it is suggested to focus more on social dimension indicators, such as satisfaction, motivation, empowerment, respect, mutual trust, social commitment, and the creation of suitable working conditions, as well as workers' health and safety. Regarding the inefficiency in the second stage (manufacturers), future research could explore strategies to enhance the freshness of raw materials and the shelf life of perishable products. For the inefficiency in the third stage (distributors), future research should concentrate on modeling and designing innovative distribution systems and routing for perishable products

Fluctuation induced conductivity and pseudogap state studies of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor added with ZnO nanoparticles

AbstractThe major limitations of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor are weak flux pinning capability and weak inter-grains coupling that lead to a low critical current density and low critical magnetic field which impedes the suppleness of this material towards practical applications. The addition of nanoscales impurities can create artificial pining centers that may improve flux pinning capability and intergranular coupling. In this work, the influences of ZnO nanoparticles on the superconducting parameters and pseudogap properties of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor are investigated using fluctuation induced conductivity analyses. Results demonstrate that the ZnO nanoparticles addition improves the formation of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ phase significantly. Various superconducting parameters include coherence length along c-axis (ξc(0)), penetration depth (λpd(0)), Fermi velocity (vF), Fermi energy (EF), lower and upper critical magnetic fields (Bc1(0) and Bc2(0) respectively) and critical current density (Jc(0)), are estimated for samples with different amounts of ZnO nanoparticles. It is found that the values of the Bc1(0), Bc2(0), and Jc(0) are improved significantly in the 0.2 wt% ZnO added sample in comparison to the ZnO-free sample. The magnitude and temperature dependence of the pseudogap Δ*(T) is calculated using the local pairs model. The obtained values of Tpair, the temperature at which local pairs are transformed from strongly coupled bosons into the fluctuating Cooper pairs, increases as the added ZnO nanoparticles concentration enhances up to 0.2 wt%. Also, the estimated values for the superconducting gap at T = 0 K (Δ(0)) are decreased from about 26 meV in ZnO-free sample to about 22 meV in 0.2 wt% ZnO added sample and then increases for higher values of additive.</jats:p

Fluctuation induced conductivity and pseudogap state studies of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor added with ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract The major limitations of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor are weak flux pinning capability and weak inter-grains coupling that lead to a low critical current density and low critical magnetic field which impedes the suppleness of this material towards practical applications. The addition of nanoscales impurities can create artificial pining centers that may improve flux pinning capability and intergranular coupling. In this work, the influences of ZnO nanoparticles on the superconducting parameters and pseudogap properties of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor are investigated using fluctuation induced conductivity analyses. Results demonstrate that the ZnO nanoparticles addition improves the formation of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ phase significantly. Various superconducting parameters include coherence length along c-axis (ξc(0)), penetration depth (λpd(0)), Fermi velocity (vF), Fermi energy (EF), lower and upper critical magnetic fields (Bc1(0) and Bc2(0) respectively) and critical current density (Jc(0)), are estimated for samples with different amounts of ZnO nanoparticles. It is found that the values of the Bc1(0), Bc2(0), and Jc(0) are improved significantly in the 0.2 wt% ZnO added sample in comparison to the ZnO-free sample. The magnitude and temperature dependence of the pseudogap Δ*(T) is calculated using the local pairs model. The obtained values of Tpair, the temperature at which local pairs are transformed from strongly coupled bosons into the fluctuating Cooper pairs, increases as the added ZnO nanoparticles concentration enhances up to 0.2 wt%. Also, the estimated values for the superconducting gap at T = 0 K (Δ(0)) are decreased from about 26 meV in ZnO-free sample to about 22 meV in 0.2 wt% ZnO added sample and then increases for higher values of additive

Thermally activated flux flow and inter-granular coupling properties in (Bi, Pb)-2223 superconductor added with ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract In high-temperature ceramic superconductors, vortices motion is caused by the strong thermal fluctuations due to the thermally activated flux flow (TAFF). The TAFF impedes the transport properties and critical current density of superconductors. It has been reported that the addition of nanoscale impurities can create artificial pining centers that may improve flux pinning capability and inter-granular coupling in ceramic superconductors. Here, the effects of different amounts (0.0 to 1.0 wt%) of ZnO nanoparticles on the TAFF behavior and zero temperature activation energy of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconducting phase have been studied using the modified TAFF model. Moreover, the impacts of the additive on the inter-granular traits and the Josephson coupling energy of the superconducting phase have been investigated using AC susceptibility measurements. Results indicate that the vortex phases for all composites are divided into three vortex regions, but the temperature ranges in each region are different for various amounts of the additives. A vortex glass to vortex liquid transition at Tg was obtained from the analysis. The vortex liquid region is divided into the critical and TAFF ones. It was found that the TAFF region is shifted to the higher temperatures and gets narrower by adding the ZnO nanoparticles up to 0.2 wt%. The Tg increases from 93.8 K for the ZnO free sample to 101.0 K for the sample with 0.2 wt% ZnO nanoparticles. In addition, the zero temperature activation energy (U0/KB) increases from ~ 0.4×105 K for the ZnO free sample to ~ 1.4×105 K for the sample with 0.2 wt% ZnO nanoparticles and then decreases for higher values of additive. Moreover, it was found that the Josephson coupling energy Ej increases from ~ 0.037 eV for ZnO free sample to ~ 0.130 eV for the sample with 0.2 wt% additives. These results point out the significant improvement of the flux pinning capability and inter-granular coupling of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconducting phase with the addition of the 0.2 wt% ZnO nanoparticles.</jats:p