Higher order antibunching is not a rare phenomenon

Since the introduction of higher order nonclassical effects, higher order squeezing has been reported in a number of different physical systems but higher order antibunching is predicted only in three particular cases. In the present work, we have shown that the higher order antibunching is not a rare phenomenon rather it can be seen in many simple optical processes. To establish our claim, we have shown it in six wave mixing process, four wave mixing process and in second harmonic generation process.Comment: 6 pages, no figure, Latex 2

FOOD CONSUMPTION AND NUTRITIONAL INDICES OF OAK TASAR WORM ANTHERAEA PROYLEI (JOLLY) FED ON QUERCUS GLAUCA

Studies were conducted under laboratory conditions to evaluate the food consumption and nutritional indices for the development of Antheraea proylei larvae fed on Quercus glauca. Larval duration was 5.4±0.489, 6.4±0.48, 7.2±0.4, 9.8±0.74 and 14.2±0.74 days in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th instars, respectively. Larvae consumed a total of 28.85 g insect– ¹ day– ¹, egested 4.164 g insect– ¹ day– ¹ and assimilated 24.69 g insect– ¹ day– ¹ of food  provided. 82.3% of tissue growth was observed in the 4th and 5th instar larvae. Approximate digestibility (AD) decreased from 91.94% in the first instar larva to 80.79% in the 5th instar larva. Efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) into body tissue and efficiency of conversion of ingested food into growth (ECI) increased from 1st instar larva to 5th instar larva. The result obtained in the present study indicate that Q. glauca could serve as an alternate host plant for rearing A. proylei in areas where the main host plant Q. serrata is not found

Potential and cost of carbon sequestration in Indian agriculture: Estimates from long-term field experiments

Carbon sequestration in tropical soils has potential for mitigating global warming and increasing agricultural productivity. We analyzed 26 long-term experiments (LTEs) in different agro-climatic zones (ACZs) of India to assess the potential and cost of C sequestration. Data on initial and final soil organic C (SOC) concentration in the recommended N, P and K (NPK); recommended N, P and K plus farmyard manure (NPK + FYM) and unfertilized (control) treatments were used to calculate carbon sequestration potential (CSP) i.e., capacity to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by increasing SOC stock, under different nutrient management scenarios. In most of the LTEs wheat equivalent yields were higher in the NPK + FYM treatment than the NPK treatment. However, partial factor productivity (PFP) was more with the NPK treatment. Average SOC concentration of the control treatment was 0.54%, which increased to 0.65% in the NPK treatment and 0.82% in the NPK + FYM treatment. Compared to the control treatment the NPK + FYM treatment sequestered 0.33 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 whereas the NPK treatment sequestered 0.16 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. The CSP in different nutrient management scenarios ranged from 2.1 to 4.8 Mg C ha−1 during the study period (average 16.9 yr) of the LTEs. In 17 out of 26 LTEs, the NPK + FYM treatment had higher SOC and also higher net return than that of the NPK treatment. In the remaining 9 LTEs SOC sequestration in the NPK + FYM treatment was accomplished with decreased net return suggesting that these are economically not attractive and farmers have to incur into additional cost to achieve C sequestration. The feasibility of SOC sequestration in terms of availability of FYM and other organic sources has been discussed in the paper

Čvrsta disperzija meloksikama: faktorijalno dizajnirani dozirani pripravak za gerijatrijsku populaciju

The objective of the present work was to improve the dissolution properties of the poorly water-soluble drug meloxicam by preparing solid dispersions with hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), mannitol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 and to develop a dosage form for geriatric population. Differential scanning calorimetry, X–ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the solid-state physical structure of the prepared solid dispersions. Higher in vitro dissolution of solid dispersions was recorded compared to their corresponding physical mixtures and the pure drug. PEG 4000 in 1:9 drug to carrier ratio exhibited the highest drug release (100.2%), followed by mannitol (98.2%) and HEC (89.5%) in the same ratio. Meloxicam-PEG 4000 solid dispersion was formulated into suspension and optimization was carried out by 23 factorial design. Formulations containing higher levels of methyl cellulose and higher levels of either sodium citrate or Tween 80 exhibited the highest drug release.Cilj rada bio je poboljšati topljivost meloksikama u vodi pripravom čvrstih disperzija s hidroksietilcelulozom (HEC), manitolom i polietilen glikolom 4000 (PEG 4000) te razviti dozirani pripravaka za gerijatrijsku populaciju. Za ispitivanje fizičke strukture pripravljenih čvrstih disperzija korištene su diferencijalna pretražna kalorimetrija, difraktometrija rentgentskim zrakama, FTIR i pretražna elektronska mikroskopija. Čvrste disperzije su u in vitro uvjetima pokazale bolju topljivost u odnosu na fizičku smjesu i čistu ljekovitu tvar. Najbolje oslobađanje lijeka (100,2%). postignuto je iz disperzija s PEG 4000 (omjer ljekovite tvari i nosača 1:9). Slijede manitol (98,2%) i HEC (89,5%) (isti omjer meloksikama i polimera). Čvrsta disperzija meloksikama s PEG 4000 prevedena je u suspenziju te optimirana 23 faktorijalnim dizajnom. Najbolje oslobađanje ljekovite tvari postignuto je iz pripravaka koji sadrže veći udio etilceluloze i natrijevog citrata, odnosno Tween 80

A tachyonic scalar field with mutually interacting components

We investigate the tachyonic cosmological potential $V(\phi)$ in two different cases of the quasi-exponential expansion of universe and discuss various forms of interaction between the two components---matter and the cosmological constant--- of the tachyonic scalar field, which leads to the viable solutions of their respective energy densities. The distinction among the interaction forms is shown to appear in the $O_{m}(x)$ diagnostic. Further, the role of the high- and low-redshift observations of the Hubble parameter is discussed to determine the proportionality constants and hence the correct form of matter--cosmological constant interaction.Comment: 14 page

Transverse Electronic Transport through DNA Nucleotides with Functionalized Graphene Electrodes

Graphene nanogaps and nanopores show potential for the purpose of electrical DNA sequencing, in particular because single-base resolution appears to be readily achievable. Here, we evaluated from first principles the advantages of a nanogap setup with functionalized graphene edges. To this end, we employed density functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function method to investigate the transverse conductance properties of the four nucleotides occurring in DNA when located between the opposing functionalized graphene electrodes. In particular, we determined the electrical tunneling current variation as a function of the applied bias and the associated differential conductance at a voltage which appears suitable to distinguish between the four nucleotides. Intriguingly, we observe for one of the nucleotides a negative differential resistance effect.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Compressive Response of Polycrystalline NiCoMnGa High-Temperature Meta-magnetic Shape Memory Alloys

The effects of the addition of quaternary element, Co, to polycrystalline NiMnGa alloys on their magnetic and shape memory properties have been investigated. NiCoMnGa polycrystalline alloys have been found to demonstrate good shape memory and superelasticity behavior under compression at temperatures greater than 100 °C with about 3% transformation strain and low-temperature hysteresis. It is also possible to train the material to demonstrate a large two-way shape memory effect

Generalized Huygens principle with pulsed-beam wavelets

Huygens' principle has a well-known problem with back-propagation due to the spherical nature of the secondary wavelets. We solve this by analytically continuing the surface of integration. If the surface is a sphere of radius $R$, this is done by complexifying $R$ to $R+ia$. The resulting complex sphere is shown to be a real bundle of disks with radius $a$ tangent to the sphere. Huygens' "secondary source points" are thus replaced by disks, and his spherical wavelets by well-focused pulsed beams propagating outward. This solves the back-propagation problem. The extended Huygens principle is a completeness relation for pulsed beams, giving a representation of a general radiation field as a superposition of such beams. Furthermore, it naturally yields a very efficient way to compute radiation fields because all pulsed beams missing a given observer can be ignored. Increasing $a$ sharpens the focus of the pulsed beams, which in turn raises the compression of the representation.Comment: 49 pages, 14 figure

A review on biochar modulated soil condition improvements and nutrient dynamics concerning crop yields: pathways to climate change mitigation and global food security

The beneficial role of biochar on improvement of soil quality, C sequestration, and enhancing crop yield is widely reported. As such we could not find a compiled source of information linking biochar modulated soil condition improvement and soil nutrient availability on crop yields. The present review paper addresses the above issues by compilation of world literatures on biochar and a new dimension is introduced in this review by performing a meta-analysis of published data by using multivariate statistical analysis. Hence this review is a new in its kind and is useful to the broad spectrum of readers. Generally, alkalinity in biochar increases with increase in pyrolysis temperature and majority of the biochar is alkaline in nature except a few which are acidic. The N content in many biochar was reported to be more than 4% as well as less than 0.5%. Poultry litter biochar is a rich in P (3.12%) and K (7.40%), while paper mill sludge biochar is highest in Ca content (31.1%) and swine solids biochar in Zn (49810 mg kg-1), and Fe (74800 mg kg-1) contents. The effect of biochar on enhancing soil pH was highest in Alfisol, Ferrosol and Acrisol. Soil application of biochar could on an average increase (78%), decrease (16%), or show no effect on crop yields under different soil types. Biochar produced at a lower pyrolysis temperature could deliver greater soil nutrient availabilities than that prepared at higher temperature. Principal component analysis (PCA) of available data shows an inverse relationship between pyrolysis temperature and soil pH, and biochar application rate and soil cation exchange capacity.The PCA also suggests that the original soil properties and application rate strongly control crop yield stimulations via biochar amendments. Finally, biochar application shows net soil C gains while also serving for increased plant biomass production that strongly recommends biochar as a useful soil amendment. Therefore, the application of biochar to soils emerges as a ‘win-win strategy’ for sustainable waste management, climate change mitigation and food security