Effect of process parameters on titanium nitride coatings chemically vapour deposited on high-speed cutting tool inserts

In collaboration with Edgar Allen Tools, Sheffield, a detailed study has been made of the effect of various process parameters on titanium nitride (TiN) coatings chemically vapour deposited on powder metallurgy (PM) BT42 grade high speed steel (HSS) indexable cutting tool inserts. Initially, the characteristics of a TiN coating chemically vapour deposited on the HSS inserts in the Plansee reactor at Edgar Allen Tools, under the standard conditions employed by them, were determined in order to provide a logical starting point for the present study. This was clone using various techniques: X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, optical microscopy, fractography, scanning electron micrscopy, profilometry, micro-hardness testing and scratch-adhesion testing. Whilst sane of the characteristics of this TiN coating were found to be comparable to those of similar coatings presented in the literature, there was clearly scope for improvement. [Continues.

Unggas Organik : Peternakan Ayam Masa Depan

In response to the failure of the Green Revolution which led to leveling off land productivity, damage the environment, and income of farmers who did not turn up, then introduction the sustainable agriculture development, namely how to manage farms to maintain long-term stability of ecology, biodiversity and improving local wisdom through integrated farming, biotechnology, holistic management, organic farming, animal husbandry based on the principles of animal welfare, food safety and other organics. The insistence of global issues concerning animal walfare, back to nature, low fat, low cholesterol, presence of residual effects, antibiotics, hormones and other additives in food, can direct our movement towards organic poultry, especially with the utilization of native chicken, because potential indigenous chicken and maintenance system is suitable for conversion into the provision of organic chicken production in accordance to environmental sustainability without using feed ingredients which are modified gene. Facing the era of organic poultry, local chicken can be relied upon by Indonesia in the future because it has many advantages; great potential and wide spread among the farmers, have the power of adaptation to local environments is high, tolerant of low quality feed, more tolerant to disease, however; productivity is still low, there is no adequate system poultry breeding. Through an integrated farming organic poultry feed ingredients in the environment can take advantage of farmers, non-conventional waste; earthworms, slugs, snails, waste oil, cattle (rumen contents), forestry, and other nutritious enough. Required number of strategies for the development of local and broiler chickens on a small scale as organic poultry in the future, namely; immediately apply Permentan No. 49/2006 regarding poultry breeding, empowerment of farmers will add value compared to traditional organic poultry, lack of regulation and control of organic poultry, there is need for an organic chicken farmer associations as container consultancy, mentoring, education, technological innovation, joint marketing, and protecting the interests of members , as well as empowerment and awareness by consumers willing to pay more to the advantage of organic chicken

Effect of the Levels of the Virgin Coconut Oil Processing Waste (Blondo) on Productive Performance and Egg Quality of Laying Hens

Blondo, a by-product of virgin coconut oil processing, contains a large quantity protein and lactic acid bacteria. The objective of this study was to compare the substituting of Commercial Diet (CD) by Blondo on the performance productions, egg weight as well as yolk cholesterol in laying hens. Completely randomized design was used to analyze the data, one hundred and sixty Isa Brown (19 weeks old) laying hens were observed in this study. Groups were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 5 replications. Treatment diets were prepared by substituting 0, 7, 14 and 21% with Blondo to commercial layer feed. The results showed that the use of Blondo in CD was significantly (P<0.01) improved feed intake, protein intake and yolk cholesterol as well as to hen day, egg mass, feed conversion ratio and egg weight. The diet containing 7% Blondo resulted the best performance in which hen day production 88.92±1.15%, egg mass production 44.47±1.73 g/d, egg weight, 49.71±0.95 g, feed conversion ratio 2.20±0.07 and provided income over feed cost IDR 12, 822±290/head/period, respectively. The higher the blondo use in CD, the lower the yolk cholesterol. The use blondo up to 21% in a commercial diet decreased yolk cholesterol content until 34.50±7.33 mg/dl. We concluded that Blondo could be used as an alternative ingredient for commercial diet of laying hens. Key words: Blondo level, laying hen, performance production, income over feed cost, cholestero

The influence of different row spacing and weed control intervals on weed infestation and yield-related traits of American (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and Desi (Gossypium arboreum) cotton

Narrow row spacing has attracted significant attention due to its beneficial impacts on weed management in cotton. This study compared the effects of normal and ultra-narrow row spacing on critical periods of weed control in American (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and ‘Desi’ (Gossypium arboreum) cotton. Two different row spacings (i.e., recommended (75 cm) and ultra-narrow (30 cm)) and three weed control intervals (i.e., weed control at 30, 60 and 90 days after sowing (DAS)) were included in the study. Weedy-check and weed-free treatments were included in the experiment as controls for comparison. ‘Desi’ cotton grown under ultra-narrow spacing recorded the lowest weed density and individual density of Trianthema portulacastarum L., Cyperus rotundus L., Cynodon dactylon L., Echinochloa colona (L.) Link and Digera muricata (L.) Mart. Moreover, ‘Desi’ cotton sown under ultra-narrow spacing with weed-free and weed control at 30 DAS resulted in the highest leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration (LAD), net assimilation late (NAR), root elongation rate (RER) and root growth rate (RGR) at all sampling dates. Likewise, ‘desi’ cotton sown under recommended row spacing and weed-free conditions produced the highest number of sympodial and monopodial branches, number of flowers and bolls per plant, whereas the highest seed cotton yield of ‘Desi’ cotton was noted under ultra-narrow spacing and weed-free conditions. It is concluded that sowing both cotton types in ultra-narrow row spacing and controlling weeds at 30 DAS will result in lower weed infestation and higher seed cotton yield

Reduction in the Allelopathic Potential of Conocarpus erectus L. through Vermicomposting

The utilization of vermi-technology to reduce allelopathic effects is a cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally appropriate alternative to traditional chemical and mechanical methods. The current investigation was an effort to obtain vermicompost from C. erectus and its binary combination with soil and farmyard manure (FYM) using E. foetida. The pH, EC, organic carbon, macro and micro-nutrients, CO2 emission, the average growth rate of the worms, number of worms, number of cocoons, and weight gained by earthworms were analyzed by standard methods. The present study also investigated the effect of produced vermicompost on the growth and yield of mung beans (Vigna radiata L). The maximum reduction in soil pH was observed (6.47) in vermicompost of C. erectus leaves, among other treatments. The highest N (1.86%), P (0.15%), and K (0.41%) contents were found in the vermicompost of C. erectus leaves + FYM. Similarly, the maximum plant height (36.00 cm) was achieved in vermicompost of C. erectus leaves + FYM compared to other treatments. The highest SPAD value was observed (56.37) when the soil was treated with vermicompost (C. erectus leaves + FYM) @ 5 t ha?1, followed by the treatment where vermicompost (C. erectus leaves + soil) @ 8 t ha?1 was applied. The soil amendment of vermicompost (C. erectus leaves + FYM) @ 5 t ha?1 showed competitive results (in terms of the growth and yield parameters of mung beans) compared to other types of vermicompost and C. erectus biomass. This study has the potential to reduce the phytotoxicity of C. erectus biomass and transform it into a potent organic fertilizer through vermicomposting. © 2022 by the authors.7527/Punjab/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2017, Ph- II-MG-9)/PAKTURK/R&D/HEC/2018Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP-2020/245), Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia. The authors are grateful to HEC for funding this research through the following HEC projects: “Vermicomposting: A resourceful organic fertilizer to improve agriculture production and soil health” (NRPU-HEC project no. 7527/Punjab/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2017) and “Vermicomposting: An Agricultural Waste Management Technology” (project vide letter no. (Ph- II-MG-9)/PAKTURK/R&D/HEC/2018, though Pak-Turk Researchers Mobility Grant Program Phase- 2)

Identifikasi Marka Bioakustik Suara Kokok Ayam Kokok Balenggek di Kandang Penangkaran “Agutalok”, Kabupaten Solok

Kokok Balenggek chicken is a genetic resources from West Sumatra Province, Indonesia, well known as song fowl which has high economic commodity for Minang Kabau tribes. There is an important need to identify bioacoustic marker of Kokok Balenggek song fowl in Solok regency of West Sumatra, Indonesia. This research was aimed to collect basic data of crow characteristics of Kokok Balenggek song fowl. This research was conducted in a captive breeding farm “Agutalok”, Solok Regency, Indonesia. The number of 21 heads of adult male Kokok Balenggek chicken were selected as samples in this project. Song characteristics of Kokok Balenggek chicken was observed using time sampling method. Time observation was performed in three time period; Morning (4-6 a.m), Noon (11 a.m – 1 p.m) and Afternoon (4-6 p.m) for three days consecutively. Some parameters such as number of crows, number of phrase crows, time of crows, duration of crows, and frequency of crows were recorded during the observation. The results showed that the number of crows were ranging 5-11 crows,  number of phrases crow were 8-14 phrases, time of crows were happened more frequent in the morning, duration of crows were 3.22 seconds happened frequently at Noon with frequency of crows were 9.39 times/10 minutes.

CovidCTNet: an open-source deep learning approach to diagnose covid-19 using small cohort of CT images

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is highly contagious with limited treatment options. Early and accurate diagnosis of Covid-19 is crucial in reducing the spread of the disease and its accompanied mortality. Currently, detection by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard of outpatient and inpatient detection of Covid-19. RT-PCR is a rapid method; however, its accuracy in detection is only ~70�75. Another approved strategy is computed tomography (CT) imaging. CT imaging has a much higher sensitivity of ~80�98, but similar accuracy of 70. To enhance the accuracy of CT imaging detection, we developed an open-source framework, CovidCTNet, composed of a set of deep learning algorithms that accurately differentiates Covid-19 from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and other lung diseases. CovidCTNet increases the accuracy of CT imaging detection to 95 compared to radiologists (70). CovidCTNet is designed to work with heterogeneous and small sample sizes independent of the CT imaging hardware. To facilitate the detection of Covid-19 globally and assist radiologists and physicians in the screening process, we are releasing all algorithms and model parameter details as open-source. Open-source sharing of CovidCTNet enables developers to rapidly improve and optimize services while preserving user privacy and data ownership. © 2021, The Author(s)