The effect of zinc application methods on seed cotton yield, lint and seed quality of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in east Mediterranean region of Turkey

The effect of different zinc application methods on seed cotton yield, yield components, lint and seed quality of cotton was investigated under east Mediterranean region conditions (Kahramanmaras, Turkey) in 2008. Experimental design was split plots with three replications. The cotton varieties: Agdas-3, Agdas-17 and Maras-92 (Gossypium hirsutum L.) were plant materials. Zinc application treatments were seed, soil surface, foliar application and untreated control. A commercial preparation of chelated zinc (EDTA Zn-17 %) was used as zinc fertilizer. It was determined that zinc application methods did not affect yield and yield components except plant height. While zinc application methods had no effect on lint quality traits except spinning consistency index (SCI), elongation and yellowness (+b), which are the best values, were taken from the soil surface and foliar application of zinc and control for spinning consistency index, and from the foliar application of zinc for yellowness. On the other hand, zinc application methods did not affect raw oil and protein ratio of cotton seeds, as well as the zinc content of cotton seeds and leaves. When the pH, organic matter, lime content and soil texture were taken into consideration, decreasing of pH value and lime content of soil and increasing of organic matter together with zinc fertilization in the experimental field were suggested.Key words: Cotton, zinc (Zn) fertilizer, application methods, seed cotton yield, lint quality, seed quality

Effect of heat on laterised concrete

This study presents the results of investigation of the effects of temperature variation on the compressive strength of laterised concrete. Cube specimens were cast, cured in water at ambient laboratory temperature and subjected to different temperature regimes before testing. A concrete mix ratio of 2:3:6 (cement: laterite/sand: granite) with water/cement ratio of 0.65 was adopted for this investigation. The laterite content in the fine aggregate was varied from 0 to 100% at 25% interval. Specimens cured for 7 and 28 days were subjected to uniaxial compressive loading tests at room and elevated temperatures of 250, 500 and 750oC. The results show that normal concrete cannot withstand appreciable load above 250oC while laterised concrete with 25% laterite in the fine aggregate is able to resist higher load with increase in age and at temperature up to 500oC. It is also observed that there is no appreciable increase in strength at higher temperatures. The peak compressive strength value of 30.44 N/mm2 is recorded for the mix with 25% laterite-75% sand at 500oC. This is an indication that the strength of laterised concrete is generally sufficient for use at elevated temperature not exceeding 500oC

Effect of heat treatment on in situ rumen degradability and in vitro gas production of full-fat soyabeans and soyabean meal

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the heat treatment of full-fat soyabean (FFSB) and solvent extracted soyabean meal (SBM) on the in situ dry matter (DM) and protein degradability, and in vitro gas production kinetics of the protein sources. Ruminal disappearance of DM and crude protein (CP), and in vitro gas production were determined after 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 72 h incubation using the in situ ruminal degradation and in vitro gas production techniques, respectively. In situ DM and CP disappearances were fitted to the exponential equation p = a + b (1-e-ct), where a is the rapid degradable fraction and b is the slow degradable fraction. In vitro gas production data were fitted to the equation, y = A {1 – exp [- b (t-T) – c (√t - √T)]}. Where b and c are the initial gas production rate constant (h-1) and later gas production rate constant (h-1/2), respectively. The two protein sources were heat treated both with steam pressure in an autoclave at 120 °C and in an oven at 150 °C for 20 min. Heat treatment had a significant effect on effective DM degradability (EDMD), effective CP degradability (ECPD) and in vitro gas production. Although the heat treatments reduced the EDMD, ECPD and the amount of gas produced, the results were inconsistent between protein sources. The heat treatments applied in the autoclave and the oven reduced the ECPD0.02 of FFSB by 12.5% and 10.9%, respectively. On the other hand, heat treatment applied through the autoclave decreased the ECPD0.02 of SBM by 13.9%, but by 18.7% when heat was applied through the oven. Heat treatment of SBM using the oven seemed to be more effective than using autoclaving. Heat treatments in the autoclave and oven reduced the total gas production from FFSB by 7.25 and 7.32%, respectively, and from SBM by 12.69 and 7.91%, respectively. It was concluded that heat treatment is an effective method of altering the rumen degradation characteristics of DM and CP in SBM and FFSB. Both methods could be used to increase the proportion of the rumen non-degradable protein fraction in protein sources which would then reach the small intestines unaffected by ruminal fermentation. Keywords: Full-fat soyabean; soyabean meal; heat treatment; in situ protein degradation; in vitro gas production South African Journal of Animal Sciences Vol. 35 (3) 2005: pp.186-19

Collections and Collection Development Exercise in Libraries: A Perspective in View

This paper examines what collection is all about and the concept collection development exercise in libraries stating the methods used in actualizing the collection development which are community need assessment, selection, and placing order, receiving/checking. This study also outlines some procedures for acquiring information resources in the collection development department which are: purchase, exchange, legal deposit, gift/donation, subscription, photocopies, inter-library loan and weeding. It also states some problems associated with the collection development department as: relegation of the library to the background; poor numeration of the library staff; glory driven consciousness of the library staff; lack of required information resources and lack of financial resources. This paper pointed out some relevant impact that collection development department can accrue to any of the libraries practicing it. The study thus concluded by proffering some recommendations that will help to make the library and the collection development department vibrant

Alpha-induced cross sections of 106Cd for the astrophysical p-process

The 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn reaction cross section has been measured in the energy range of the Gamow window for the astrophysical p-process scenario. The cross sections for 106Cd(alpha,n)109Sn and for 106Cd(alpha,p)109In below the (alpha,n) threshold have also been determined. The results are compared with predictions of the statistical model code NON-SMOKER using different input parameters. The comparison shows that a discrepancy for 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn when using the standard optical potentials can be removed with a different alpha+106Cd potential. Some astrophysical implications are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev

Global Existence of Bi-Hamiltonian Structures on Orientable Three-Dimensional Manifolds

In this work, we show that an autonomous dynamical system defined by a nonvanishing vector field on an orientable three-dimensional manifold is globally bi-Hamiltonian if and only if the first Chern class of the normal bundle of the given vector field vanishes. Furthermore, the bi-Hamiltonian structure is globally compatible if and only if the Bott class of the complex codimension one foliation defined by the given vector field vanishes

High-salt intake affects retinal vascular tortuosity in healthy males: an exploratory randomized cross-over trial.

The retinal microcirculation is increasingly receiving credit as a relatively easily accessible microcirculatory bed that correlates closely with clinical cardiovascular outcomes. The effect of high salt (NaCl) intake on the retinal microcirculation is currently unknown. Therefore, we performed an exploratory randomized cross-over dietary intervention study in 18 healthy males. All subjects adhered to a two-week high-salt diet and low-salt diet, in randomized order, after which fundus photographs were taken and assessed using a semi-automated computer-assisted program (SIVA, version 4.0). Outcome parameters involved retinal venular and arteriolar tortuosity, vessel diameter, branching angle and fractal dimension. At baseline, participants had a mean (SD) age of 29.8 (4.4) years and blood pressure of 117 (9)/73 (5) mmHg. Overall, high-salt diet significantly increased venular tortuosity (12.2%, p = 0.001). Other retinal parameters were not significantly different between diets. Changes in arteriolar tortuosity correlated with changes in ambulatory systolic blood pressure (r = - 0.513; p = 0.04). In conclusion, high-salt diet increases retinal venular tortuosity, and salt-induced increases in ambulatory systolic blood pressure associate with decreases in retinal arteriolar tortuosity. Besides potential eye-specific consequences, both phenomena have previously been associated with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, underlining the deleterious microcirculatory effects of high salt intake

Safety of Ionizing Radiation in Selected Conventional X-ray Diagnostic Centres in Calabar and Uyo metropolises, Nigeria

Background: Humans are inevitably exposed to background radiation in work and public environments. The aim of this work is to assess the effectiveness of the secondary barriers in conventional x-ray diagnostic centers in Calabar and Uyo metropolises. This is by determining the weekly and annual effective dose in their respective uncontrolled areas and comparing them with the international recommendations. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three x-ray diagnostic centers in Calabar, represented as C1, C2, and C3 respectively, and in four xray diagnostic centers in Uyo, represented as U1, U2, U3, and U4 respectively. Background radiation was measured using Radex 1212 A-A battery-powered survey meter, at a distance of 2.5meters away from the xray units. Radiation measurement was taken at three different spots, and the recorded data were analyzed. Results: The mean calculated effective dose per week in mSv/week for each diagnostic center was given as 0.130 ± 0.0068mSv/week. Also, the mean calculated effective dose per year in mSv/year for each center was given as 0.66 ± 0.35mSv/year. These values are below the National Commission on Radiation Protection (NCRP) recommendations of 0.02mSv/week and 1mSv/year respectively. From the results, the mean calculated chance of developing cancer was 2.33 ×10-3% which was lower than the NCRP recommendation for continuous public exposure of 5.5×10-3 %. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the integrity of the shielding designs and their dimensions assessed are safe

[Moscú 1980] [Material gráfico]

Contiene fotografías pertenecientes al archivo fotográfico del diario "Región", publicadas entre 1978 y 1980, aunque la mayoría en 1980Todas las fotografías firmadas por EFE, Foto E. Gar (Oviedo), y Europa Pres