Effect of nitrogen and phosphorus on growth and yield of irrigated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)*

     Experiments were conducted in winter (2000 2001) and summer (2001) seasons at Elrahad Research Station to investigate the influe- nce of four levels of nitrogen and two levels of phosphorus on growth characters and seed yield of two sunflower cultivars, viz Rodio and Hysun 33. Experiments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Rodio and Hysun 33 varied in their growth characters. Differences between the two cultivars. Were highly significant for plant height, leaf area index, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, head diameter, number of seeds per head, 1000-seed weight and empty seeds percentage. The two cultivars were siY1ificantly different in their seed yield. Nitrogen application significantly increased all growth characters and seed yield of the two cultivars, in both seasons, however, it decreased days to 50% flowering and days to maturity. Nitrogen fertilizer had no significant effect on empty seeds percentage. Phosphorus application signific- antly increased leaf area index, head diameter, number of seeds per head and 1000-seed weight. However, plant height, days to maturity and percentage of empty seeds were not affected. Application of phosphorus had no significant effect on seed yield

Femtosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition of Indium on Si (100)

Deposition of indium on Si(100) substrates is performed under ultrahigh vacuum with an amplified Ti:sapphire laser (130 fs) at wavelength of 800 nm and laser fluence of 0.5 J/cm2. Indium films are grown at room temperature and at higher substrate temperatures with a deposition rate of similar to 0.05 ML/pulse. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is used during the deposition to study the growth dynamics and the surface structure of the grown films. The morphology of the grown films is examined by ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). At room temperature indium is found to form epitaxial two-dimensional layers on the Si(100)-(2x1) surface followed by three-dimensional islands. AFM images show different indium island morphologies such as hexagonal and elongated shapes. At substrate temperatures of 400-420 °C, RHEED intensity oscillations are observed during film growth indicating that the indium film grows in the layer-by-layer mode

MAT-717: MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF HYBRID FIBRE-REINFORCED ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITE INCORPORATING NITISMA SHORT FIBRES

A new high-strength, high-tensile ductility hybrid fibre-reinforced engineered cementitious composite (HECCSMAF) incorporating randomly dispersed nickel-titanium shape memory alloy short fibres (NiTi-SMA) has been pioneered in this study. The mechanical properties of the HECC-SMAF produced with a combination of 2% polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) and 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% NiTi-SMA fibres by volume fraction have been explored. The experimental results indicate that utilizing a combination of those fibres can enhance the tensile capacity of ECC by up to 39% with a slight to no increase in compressive strength. An overall reduction in workability was observed compared to that of ECC made with only 2% PVA by volume fraction, which is typical of metallic fibre-reinforced cementitious systems. Among the tested ECC mixtures, HECC-SMAF made with 2% PVA and 1% NiTi-SMA presents the best mechanical performance

Optimization of growth and extracellular glucoamylase production by Candida famata isolate

Candida famata was isolated from traditional Moroccan sourdough. It exhibited high glucoamylase and biomass production. Starch induces high glucoamylase production C. famata with maximum glucoamylase activity at 5 g/L. Glucose stimulates good production in biomass but strongly inhibitsglucoamylase production. Among the sources of nitrogen tested, yeast extract and the (NH4)2HPO4 gave maximum glucoamylase and biomass after 72 h of incubation in liquid medium at 30°C, pH 5 and 105 rpm

Energy Efficient Buildings in Smart Cities: Biomimicry Approach

Smart cities are those using technologies to make life easier for their citizens and enhancing the quality of life and urban service in order to reduce consumption, especially of energy. Biomimicry is one of the tools of the 21st century toachieve an emotional smart city that has its own spirit and identity. Biomimicryhas three main levels: organism, behaviour and ecosystem level, in terms of form generation, material selection,construction process, and function establishing.A subcategory of biomimicry is building skin which forms the entire exterior envelope of the building. It is the boundary through which buildings interact with the environment and the whole city. The aim of this paper isto discussbiomimicry as a tool to reduce energy consumption in cities through buildingskins. It also discusses concepts of smart cities. It provides an overviewof biomimicry as a tool of achieving a perfect biomimetic skin of buildings in smart cities. In addition it analysescase studies of energy conservationusing concepts of biomimicry. Finally it would conclude guidelines for biomimicry design of building skinsas a tool for reducing energy consumption in smart citie

Morphological Variation between Life and Death Gastropod Populations in the Nile Delta: A Pollution-Induced Evolution

Wetland ecosystems of the Nile Delta face severe threats due to natural climatic changes and anthropogenic activities. Life and death assemblage comparisons can be implemented as a historical record to detect anthropogenic-induced environmental changes in the past few decades. A geometric morphometric approach was applied to quantify the pollution-induced morphological variation between life and death populations of the gastropod Melanoides tuberculata. The results indicated that life populations differ significantly from the death ones, where the first tend to be much smaller, more globular, and with a depressed aperture and whorl section. In addition, the phenetic diversity of the life populations was also decreased, and the allometric growth was shifted. These morphological changes in the life populations are well-known adaptations for reducing the cost of shell maintenance in polluted water. No distinct morphospace was found between life populations from different habitats, suggesting that habitats have no significant role in the current pollution-induced evolution.This work is funded by the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R455), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Effect of adenine sulfate, benzylaminopurine and media forms on propagation of banana (Musa AAA) cv. Gros Michel and plantain (Musa ABB) cv. Cardaba

     This study was initiated to test the effect of adenine sulfate, benzylaminopurine (BAP) and media forms on in vitro morphogenesis of banana cv. Gros Michel and plantain cv; Cardaba during the period January, 2001 to May, 2002. The number of plantlets per explant increased significantly on both cultivars cultured on liquid prop- agation medium with filter paper bridge compared to other forms of media. However, the percentage of explants with shoot regeneration was comparable on all treatments. Comparable percentage of shoot tip explants with shoots were induced from cv. Gros Michel culture on different concentrations of adenine sulfate and the propagation medium which represented the control. However, the number of shoots per explant decreased significantly except that on 100mg/l which was comparable with the propagation medium. The percentage of explants with roots and number of roots per explant increased significantly on cv. Gros Michel on adenine sulfate compared with the propagation medium. The different concentrations of adenine sulfate induced comparable percentage of explants with roots and shoots on cv. Cardaba. However, the number of explants with shoots induced on Cardaba decreased significantly when adenine sulfate was added to the propagation medium and the number of roots per explant increased significantly compared with the control. Benzylaminopurine induced similar percentages of explants with shoot regeneration on cvs. Gros Michel and Cardaba. Significantly higher number of shoots per explants of banana cv. Gros Michel was induced on mediun supplemented with BAP at 5 or 7.5 mg/l. However, the highest nurnber of shoots regenerated from plantain cv. Cardaba was induced by higher concentrations of BAP (7.5 and 10.0 mg/l). There were genotypic differences in the response of the two cultivars to BAP. &nbsp

Effect of Nitrophoska® and irrigation interval on root and sugar yield of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), Gezira State, Sudan

Sugar beet is one of the promising crops in the Sudan due to its high root, sugar yield and by-products as an industrial crop. The crop is also a promising alternative energy crop for the production of ethanol. An experiment was conducted at the experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan, during seasons 2012/13 and 2013/14. The objective was to investigate the effects of irrigation intervals (7, 14 and 21 days) and Nitrophoska (NPK compound fertilizer) rates (0, 100, 150 and 200 kg/ha) on root and sugar yield of sugar beet (Ballade cultivar) under Gezira conditions. Split-plot design with three replicates was used. Irrigation intervals were allotted to the main plots and Nitrophoska rates to the subplots. Results showed that shortening irrigation intervals from 21 to 14 and 7 days increased root diameter, root weight and root and sugar yields in both seasons. In addition, Nitrophoska rate of 150 kg/ha substantially improved most of the studied root characters and sugar yield in both seasons. Depending on the results of this study, to obtain high root and sugar yields from sugar beet Ballade cultivar, it could be recommended  to apply 150 kg/ha of  Nitrophoska  and  irrigate every 7 to14 days.   بنجر السكر من المحاصيل الواعدة في السودان وذلك نسبة لإنتاجيته العالية من الجذور والسكر ومنتجاته كمحصول صناعي. بنجر السكر من محاصيل الطاقة البديلة الواعدة لإنتاج الإيثانول. أجريت التجربة في المزرعة التجريبية، كلية العلوم الزراعية، جامعة الجزيرة، وادمدني، السودان في الموسمين 2012/ 13 و 2013/14م على التوالي. الهدف من التجربة هو دراسة تأثير فترات الري (7 و14 و21 يوم) ومعدلات سماد النيتروفوسكا المركب (0 و100 و150 و200 كجم للهكتار) على إنتاجية الجذور والسكر لبنجر السكر (صنف بلدي) تحت ظروف الجزيرة. تم إستخدام تصميم القطع المنشقة بثلاث تكرارات. أوضحت النتائج أن تقليل فترات الري من 21 الي 14 و7 زاد قطر الجذر ووزن الجذر وإنتاجية الجذور والسكر في كلا الموسمين. زيادة معدلات سماد النيتروفوسكا المركب من 0 الى أكثر 150 كجم للهكتار حسن بشكل كبير أغلب الصفات المدروسة للجذر وإنتاجية السكر في كلا الموسمين. إعتماداً على نتائج هذه الدراسة للحصول على أعلى إنتاجية من الجذور والسكر لمحصول بنجر السكر نوصي بإضافة سماد النيتروفوسكا بمعدل 150 كجم/هكتار على أن يروى المحصول كل 7 إلى 14 يو