Improvement of crop and soil management practices through mulching for enhancement of soil fertility and environmental sustainability: A review

The logarithmic phase of the human population creates high food demand near the future throughout the world. On the flip side, improved crop production requires uninterrupted water irrigation. Therefore, sensible agricultural inputs are needed to overcome these concerns. New technology-based innovative agronomic research steps will boost the contemporary agriculture practices in developed and developing countries. Agricultural cropping systems could follow mulching practices as one of the best crop management practices for its water and nutrient management potential. It is primarily to accomplish healthy economic and environmental bonds. By covering the soil's surface with biodegradable resources such as organic and inorganic materials, mulching improves the physicochemical characteristics of the soil. This approach provides a favorable environment for the development of plant growth and fosters the activities of microbial communities. Additionally, it reduces the growth of weeds, manages erosion, gets rid of pesticide residue, and increases soil fertility. Mulching the soil surface has profound benefits in improving the soil moisture levels due to a reduced evaporation rate. This method is a practical agronomic entrance to reduce water scarcity and raise the chance of water conservation, notably in arid and semiarid regions. It can also boost crop security and production to meet the global food requirements. This review significantly focuses on the current influence and advantages of organic mulches for crop establishment in the agriculture sector, which can close the production gap between achievable and actual yield

Impact of Memory Frequency Scaling on User-centric Smartphone Workloads

Improving battery life in mobile phones has become a top concern with the increase in memory and computing requirements of applications with tough quality-of-service needs. Many energy-efficient mobile solutions vary the CPU and GPU voltage/frequency to save power consumption. However, energy-aware control over the memory bus connecting the various on-chip subsystems has had much less interest. This measurement-based study first analyse the CPU, GPU and memory cost (i.e. product of utilisation and frequency) of user-centric smartphone workloads. The impact of memory frequency scaling on power consumption and quality-of-service is also measured. We also present a preliminary analysis into the frequency levels selected by the different default governors of the CPU/GPU/memory components.We show that an interdependency exists between the CPU and memory governors and that it may cause unnecessary increase in power consumption, due to interference with the CPU frequency governor. The observations made in this measurement-based study can also reveal some design insights to system designers

LOW POWER AND IMPROVED SPEED 1T DRAM USING DYNAMIC LOGIC

The new trend of the DRAM design is to characterize by its reliability, delay, low power dissipation, and area. This paper dealt with the design of 1-bit DRAM and efficient implementation of a sense amplifier. The proposed 1-bit DRAM designed using dynamic logic design. The proposed circuit consists of buffers, 1 transistor, and capacitor. The circuit is schematized by DSCH2 and layout designs are generated by Microwind CAD tool. The designed and proposed circuits are considered bypass logic and Boolean reduction technique that reduced number of transistors per designed cell logic. The circuits are simulated in various feature sizes namely CMOS 70 nm, CMOS 90 nm, CMOS 120nm and corresponding voltages 0.7 V, 1 V, 1.2 V respectively. Our proposed dynamic logic DRAM circuit has compared with the designed circuit and other existing circuits. Our proposed and designed circuit gives better results in terms of power dissipation, speed, and Area. (R-2) The projected 1-bit DRAM has an outcome and achieved low power 0.229 µW, the area of 22×13µm, the propagation delay of 21 ps and a speed of 0.17 GHz

CD152 (CTLA-4) Determines the Unequal Resistance of Th1 and Th2 Cells against Activation-induced Cell Death by a Mechanism Requiring PI3 Kinase Function

Survival of antigen-experienced T cells is essential for the generation of adaptive immune responses. Here, we show that the genetic and antibody-mediated inactivation of CD152 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4) in T helper (Th) effector cells reduced the frequency of nonapoptotic cells in a completely Fas/Fas ligand (FasL)–dependent manner. CD152 cross-linking together with stimulation of CD3 and CD28 on activated Th2 cells prevented activation-induced cell death (AICD) as a result of reduced Fas and FasL expression. Apoptosis protection conferred by CD152 correlated with the up-regulation of Bcl-2 and was mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase, which prevented FasL expression through the inhibitory phosphorylation of Forkhead transcription factor FKHRL1. We show that signals induced by CD152 act directly on activated T lymphocytes and, due to its differential surface expression on activated Th1 and Th2 cells, induce resistance to AICD mainly in Th2 cells

Plasma activated electrolysis for cogeneration of nitric oxide and hydrogen from water and nitrogen

With increasing global interest in renewable energy technology given the backdrop of climate change, storage of electrical energy has become particularly relevant. Most sustainable technologies (e.g., wind and solar) produce electricity intermittently. Thus, converting electrical energy and base molecules (i.e., H2O, N2) into energy-rich ones (e.g., H2, NH3) or chemical feedstock (e.g., NO) is of paramount importance. While H2O splitting is compatible with renewable electricity, N2 fixation is currently dominated by thermally activated processes. In this work, we demonstrate an all-electric route for simultaneous NO and H2 production. In our approach, H2O is reduced to H2 in the cathode of a solid oxide electrolyzer while NO is produced in the anode by the reaction of O2– species (transported via the electrolyte) and plasma-activated N2 species. High faradaic efficiencies up to 93% are achieved for NO production at 650 °C, and NO concentration is &gt;1000 times greater than the equilibrium concentration at the same temperature and pressure.</p

Enhancing the Electrocatalytic Activity of Redox Stable Perovskite Fuel Electrodes in Solid Oxide Cells by Atomic Layer-Deposited Pt Nanoparticles

The carbon dioxide and steam co-electrolysis in solid oxide cells offers an efficient way to store the intermittent renewable electricity in the form of syngas (CO + H2), which constitutes a key intermediate for the chemical industry. The co-electrolysis process, however, is challenging in terms of materials selection. The cell composites, and particularly the fuel electrode, are required to exhibit adequate stability in redox environments and coking that rules out the conventional Ni cermets. La0.75Sr0.25Cr0.5Mn0.5O3 (LSCrM) perovskite oxides represent a promising alternative solution, but with electrocatalytic activity inferior to the conventional Ni-based cermets. Here, we report on how the electrochemical properties of a state-of-the-art LSCrM electrode can be significantly enhanced by introducing uniformly distributed Pt nanoparticles (18 nm) on its surface via the atomic layer deposition (ALD). At 850 °C, Pt nanoparticle deposition resulted in a ∼62% increase of the syngas production rate during electrolysis mode (at 1.5 V), whereas the power output was improved by ∼84% at fuel cell mode. Our results exemplify how the powerful ALD approach can be employed to uniformly disperse small amounts (∼50 μg·cm–2) of highly active metals to boost the limited electrocatalytic properties of redox stable perovskite fuel electrodes with efficient material utilization.</p

EFFECT OF INCORPORATION OF WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE ON QUALITY OF ICE CREAM

ABSTRACT Ice cream was prepared by replacing skimmed milk powder (SMP) wit

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MMP-9 GENE IN CYSTIC FLUID OF CYSTICERCUS TENUICOLLIS BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (RT-PCR)

ABSTRACT The present study was carried out to confirm the presence of MMP-9 gene in the cystic fluid of Cysticercus tenuicollis. Collection of cyst was made from goats slaughtered at local abattoirs and washed thoroughly with PBS (pH 7.4). The cystic fluid was aspirated, centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 15 minutes at 4°C and the supernatants were used for further study. Total RNA was isolated from the cystic fluid of Cysticercus tenuicollis. The total cellular RNA was obtained from 400 µL of cystic fluid was 0.214 µg and the concentration of the RNA was 0.535 µg/mL. The RT-PCR product, 204 bp propeptide domain of MMP-9 was detected through agarose gel electrophoresis, which confirmed the presence of MMP-9 in the cystic fluid of Cysticercus tenuicolli