World trends in fertilizer use and projections to 2020

Fertilizers have played an important role in increased crop production, especially in cereal yields, and will continue to be a cornerstone of the science-based agriculture required to feed the expanding world population. Fertilizers replenish the nutrients removed from soils by harvested crops, encourage adoption of high-yielding varieties, and increase biomass in the nutrient-poor soils of the tropics. Bumb and Baanante trace fertilizer use until the 1990s as well as production and price trends. Finally they propose projected trends in use, requirements, and production. The authors conclude that, overall, a conducive and stable policy environment, including macroeconomic stability, price incentives, credit availability, efficient organizational arrangements, research and extension support, regulatory frameworks, and environmental monitoring, will be essential to promote environmentally friendly growth in fertilizer use and supply to 2020.Fertilizers. ,Crops Economic aspects. ,Cereal crops. ,Environmental protection. ,

Policy options for improving regional fertilizer markets in West Africa:

A primary motivation for this study is to identify a key set of policy options for improving fertilizer markets in West Africa (among Economic Community of West African States member countries) in ways that ultimately will help improve the efficiency of regional markets and lower the transaction costs and fiscal burdens of increasing fertilizer use in the region. Guided by the 2008 fertilizer crisis, many governments are tempted to impose fertilizer subsidies to reduce fertilizer prices. Yet, in an environment riddled with inefficiencies that contribute to the high costs of using fertilizers, the introduction of subsidies only adds more fiscal burden.To carry out the study, we undertook four country case studies to review the key constraints and bottlenecks along the fertilizer supply chain. The countries were Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal, and the research included field visits in 2009 and 2010. The current paper is based on the country case study results, complemented by a literature review and analysis of secondary data sources.common fertilizer market, fertilizer use and supply, harmonization of products and regulations, improved technology, policy environment, regional market integration, structure and performance of markets, supply chain,

“Study of Quality Assurance and Quality Management System in Multistroyed RCC Building”

Quality is one of the important aspects for construction projects. The level of success of construction projects depends upon the quality performance. Quality management provides the environment within related tools, techniques, procedures that can be deployed effectively leading to success of construction project. Though quality management is important at every stage of the project but quality management at execution stage contribute significantly on final quality outcome of construction projects. The QMS (Quality Management System) in construction refers to quality planning, quality assurance and Quality control

The role of fertilizer in sustaining food security and protecting the environment to 2020.:

"In this discussion paper ... [the authors] ... review past trends in fertilizer use, estimate future needs, and assess technical and policy measures for dealing with environmental and energy concerns related to fertilizer use" P. v.Food security., Fertilizers.,

Screening and comparison of remedial alternatives for the South Field and flyash piles at the Fernald site

The South Field, the Inactive Flyash Pile, and the Active Flyash Pile are in close proximity to each other and are part of Operable Unit 2 (OU2) at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP). The baseline risk assessment indicated that the exposure pathways which pose the most significant risk are external radiation from radionuclides in surface soils and use of uranium contaminated groundwater. This paper presents screening and comparison of various remedial alternatives considered to mitigate risks from the groundwater pathway. Eight remedial alternatives were developed which consisted of consolidation and capping, excavation and off-site disposal with or without treatment, excavation and on-site disposal with or without treatment and combinations of these. Risk-based source (soil) preliminary remediation levels (PRLs) and waste acceptance criteria (WACs) were developed for consolidation and capping, excavation, and on-site disposal cell. The PRLs and WACs were developed using an integrated modeling tool consisting of an infiltration model, a surface water model, a vadose zone model, and a three-dimensional contaminant migration model in saturated media. The PRLs and WACs were then used to determine need for soil treatment, determine excavation volumes, and screen remedial alternatives. The selected remedial alternative consisted of excavation and on-site disposal with off-site disposal of the fraction exceeding the WAC

Lanthanopolyoxotungstates in silica nanoparticles: multi-wavelength photoluminescent core/shell materials

We thank Dr Marc Willinger and the RNME (National Electronic Microscopy Network, Portugal) for HRTEM images. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra, additional HRTEM images and complementary photoluminescence spectra details, see DOI: 10.1039/b919691a.Photoluminescent lanthanopolyoxotungstate core/shell nanoparticles are prepared by the encapsulation of lanthanide-containing polyoxometalates (POMs) with amorphous silica shells. The preparation of morphological well-defined core/shell nanoparticles is achieved by the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane in the presence of POMs using a reverse microemulsion method. The POMs used are decatungstolanthanoates of [Ln(W(5)O(18))(2)](9-) type (Ln(III) = Eu, Gd and Tb). Photoluminescence studies show that there is efficient emission from the POM located inside the SiO(2) shells, through excitation paths that involve O --> Eu/Tb and O --> W ligand-to-metal charge transfer. It is also shown that the excitation of the POM containing europium(III) may be tuned towards longer wavelengths via an antenna effect, by coordination of an organic ligand such as 3-hydroxypicolinate. The POM/SiO(2) nanoparticles form stable suspensions in aqueous solution having the advantage of POM stabilization inside the core and the possibility of further surface grafting of chemical moieties via well known derivatization procedures for silica surfaces. These features together with the possibility of tuning the excitation wavelength by modifying the coordination sphere in the lanthanopolyoxometalate, make this strategy promising to develop a new class of optical bio-tags composed of silica nanobeads with multi-wavelength photoluminescent lanthanopolyoxometalate cores.FCT- POCI/QUI/58887/2004FCT- PTDC/ QUI/67712/2006FCT- SFRH/BD/30137/2006FCT- SFRH/BPD/14954/200

Nanomedicine: development of a tri-imageable nanoparticle for diagnostics

Targeted, controlled, and noninvasive delivery of therapeutics is a major goal of pharmaceutical development. However, few techniques allow imaging and controlled drug release at the cellular level. Herein, a potential targeted drug delivery platform with three imaging reporters has been developed by coupling the magnetic properties of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (USPIOs) with near infrared fluorescence of Cy5.5 and γ-emissions of 111In that is chelated to a conjugated antibody. This silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticle (SCION) allows for verification of localization, characterization of nearby physiology, and quantification. During each phase of development, the nanoparticles have been characterized for surface charge, structure, optical response, and magnetic properties. Although the size is an advantage for passive delivery, to actively direct SCIONs to a specific location (i.e. epithelial cancers or multiple sclerosis inflammatory foci), various antibodies have been attached to the particle surface. The chelator CHXA”-DTPA was conjugated to antibody for radioisotope labeling. Cell viability, biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, MR, optical, and nuclear imaging studies were conducted. The results presented demonstrate SCION‟s potential for application in cell tracking and liver imaging, as well as its promise in the area of sentinel node imaging. In vivo optical and magnetic resonance imaging of athymic mice given intracutaneous injection of multimodal SCION in the foot pad reveal visualization of the primary draining lymph nodes. Unlike previous techniques, the particle could first be used to characterize lymph nodes by MR, followed by fluorescence identification during surgery, and further histology using its fluorescence and iron content. As currently synthesized, the nanoparticles can be used for diagnostics; however, they can also be developed into a method of thermotherapy. Once the delivery construct is traced to its target location, its superparamagnetic properties can be exploited by the application of an AC magnetic field to heat tissue or activate a drug. Thus, with conjugates of this nanoparticle, it should be possible to target specific tissues, verify localization and then non-invasively activate multimodal therapies using extrinsic fields