Calculation of Energy Levels and Reduced Electric Quadrupole Transition Probability for 22F Isotope Using Oxbash Code

A study on the calculation of energy levels and reduced electric quadrupole transition probability for fluorine-22 isotope using Oxbash Code has been carried out. The shell model and OXBASH was used to calculate the energy levels and probability of quadratic transition B(E2) of the 22F isotope in the SD region through PW, CWH active interactions. A comparison was made between the calculation results and the experimental data. The comparison shows considerable consistency with the experimental results. The total angular momentum of the ground level 4+1 was confirmed when comparing with the experimental values. A significant consistency was obtained for the calculated energy values MeV (1.734, 2.387, 2.946) with the available experimental values of the same angular momentum (1+1,12+,4+2). It can be concluded that the reduced transition probabilities B(E2) can be  calculated using the PW, CWH reactions and OXBASH code

Calculation of Energy Levels for Nuclei 34S,34Ar,34Cl by using Surface Delta Interaction

The energy levels have been calculated by using the nuclear shell model and adopting the surface delta interaction for the nuclei 34S, 34Ar and 34Cl with two additional nucleons which are located outside close core 32S. A comparison had been made between our theoretical predictions and the recent  available experimental data .  A reasonable agreement were obtained from these comparisons . Key words: shell model, energy levels, Surface delta interaction

Physiological parameters and yield differ in rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars with variable water management systems

Yield reduction of rice is a severe problem due to the advent of increasing water scarcity and efficiency is relatively low. Physiological attributes and yield performance of high yielding (HYV) rice cultivars need to be assessed by minimizing water loss. Therefore, a glasshouse experiment was conducted in Bangladesh to investigate the impact of cultivars and water management on growth dynamics, biomass production, and yield and water productivity. Ten HYV boro (dry season irrigated) rice cultivars along with fivewater management systems were included in the study. The study revealed that cultivars Binadhan-10 had higher value of leaf area index (LAI), root dry weight along with moderate panicle length. Accordingly, the cultivar Binadhan-10 had a higher yield than all other cultivars because of the highest total dry matter (TDM), number of effective tillers hill-1, and number of grains panicle-1. Growth, TDM, and yield were increased with water application up to 8 DAD after which these factors declined with increasing water stress at 10 DAD. The crop grown at CS condition did not increase the yield, rather caused the wastage of irrigation water. The water productivity was the highest (0.252 t ha-1cm-1) in 10 DAD treatments, obviously due to minimum water use but highest yield was observed in 8 DAD because of optimum use of water and non stress condition. Therefore, the present study was useful in the screening of the most efficient cultivars, which could be strongly recommended to rice growers to improve crop yield and reduce the use of water

Nutrient release from Vermicompost under anaerobic conditions in two contrasting soils of Bangladesh and its effect on wetland rice crop

Although its mechanism of action, particularly under wetland condition, is not clearly understood, vermicompost, a good source of humus and plant nutrients, has been used as organic manure in many parts of the world in order to increase crop production. Here, an anaerobic incubation study and a field study were conducted to observe the nutrient release pattern from vermicompost and its influence on performance and nutrient uptake in wetland rice. Two contrasting soils, viz. highly weathered terrace soil and very young floodplain soil, were subjected to anaerobic incubation, while the field trial was conducted in the terrace soil with control (no amendments), mineral fertilizer, vermicompost (10 t ha−1) + mineral fertilizer, cow dung (10 t ha−1) + mineral fertilizer, vermicompost (20 t ha−1) + mineral fertilizer and vermicompost (local farmer’s practice) + mineral fertilizer treatments. Results showed that there were significant increases in nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) release in floodplain soil but not in terrace soil, suggesting that nutrient release from vermicompost is soil-dependent. The performance of Boro rice in terms of yield and yield attributes improved significantly in the case of the integrated application of vermicompost with mineral fertilizer. Specifically, combined application of mineral nutrients and vermicompost (10 t ha−1) significantly increased grain yield by 25% compared to the control treatment. We believe that this occurred due to an improvement in supply and subsequent uptake of nutrients, especially N and P. Altogether, our results suggest that vermicompost could increase crop performance under field conditions, and, although these effects may not be significant in short-term incubation studies, they may be even larger in floodplain soil

Effect of mulching and organic manure on growth and yield performance of wheat

An experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh in Rabi season (dry season) of 2014 to study the effect of mulching and organic manure on growth and yield performance of wheat. Five mulching practices viz. M1=1 irrigation at 17-21 days after sowing (DAS), M2=2 irrigations at 17-21 and 55-60 DAS, M3=3 irrigations at 17-21, 55-60 and 75-80 DAS, M4=control, M5=straw mulch (6 t ha-1) and five organic manure managements viz. O1=recommended chemical fertilizer (NPKS @ 100-23-20-16 kg ha-1), O2=poultry manure @ 6 t ha-1 (100% PM), O3=vermicompost @ 8 t ha-1 (100% VC), O4=50% chemical fertilizer+50% VC and O5=50% chemical fertilizer+50% PM were used as experimental variables. The experiment was conducted in split-plot design with three replications. The results showed that mulching had significant influence on all attributes. The highest values of all attributes were found in straw mulch treatment. It was observed that organic manure had significant influences on all characters. The highest values of yield and yield attributes were found in O5 (50% chemical fertilizer+50% PM) treatment. It was observed that effective tillers hill-1, grain yield and straw yield were significantly affected by combined effect of mulching and organic manure. The highest values obtained from mulching and O5 (50% chemical fertilizer+50% PM) treatment. Therefore, it can be inferred from the results of the study that highest production could be obtained from mulching and O5 (50% chemical fertilizer+50% PM) treatment

Data describing the eco-physiological responses of Elaeagnus angustifolia grown under contrasting regime of water and fertilizer in coal-mined spoils

To improve our understanding of how coal mining areas can be re-vegetated and ecosystem function restored, we examined the potential effects of five water (W) regimes (40, 50, 60, 70 and 80% of field capacity), five nitrogen (N) (0, 24, 60, 96 and 120 mg kg‒1 soil) and five phosphorus (P) fertilizer doses (0, 36, 90, 144 and 180 mg kg‒1 soil), which control the growth and development of Elaeagnus angustifolia under adverse environmental conditions. To optimize the W-N-P application rate, three factors and five levels of central composite design along with an optimization technique named response surface methodology were utilized. Here we provide data on root-shoot biomass ratio, leaf dry matter content, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b, membrane stability index and soluble protein content of E. angustifolia. The data described in this article are available in Mendeley Data, DOI: 10.17632/2vfbrdxyf2.2 [1]. These data could be used to evaluate the improvement in growth performance of E. angustifolia subjected to various regimes of W, N and P. This dataset showed that E. angustifolia grew optimally in coal-mine spoils when irrigated at 66% of field capacity and supplemented with 74.0 mg N and 36.0 mg P kg‒1 soil. This could considerably help the success of revegetation in coal-mined degraded arid areas where W is scarce. This article contains data complementary to the main research entitled "Fine-tuning of soil water and nutrient fertilizer levels for the ecological restoration of coal-mined spoils using Elaeagnus angustifolia" in the Journal of Environmental Management (Roy et al., 2020)

Numerical Simulations of Magnetoacoustic-Gravity Waves in the Solar Atmosphere

We investigate the excitation of magnetoacoustic-gravity waves generated from localized pulses in the gas pressure as well as in vertical component of velocity. These pulses are initially launched at the top of the solar photosphere that is permeated by a weak magnetic field. We investigate three different configurations of the background magnetic field lines: horizontal, vertical and oblique to the gravitational force. We numerically model magnetoacoustic-gravity waves by implementing a realistic (VAL-C) model of solar temperature. We solve two-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations numerically with the use of the FLASH code to simulate the dynamics of the lower solar atmosphere. The initial pulses result in shocks at higher altitudes. Our numerical simulations reveal that a small-amplitude initial pulse can produce magnetoacoustic-gravity waves, which are later reflected from the transition region due to the large temperature gradient. The atmospheric cavities in the lower solar atmosphere are found to be the ideal places that may act as a resonator for various oscillations, including their trapping and leakage into the higher atmosphere. Our numerical simulations successfully model the excitation of such wave modes, their reflection and trapping, as well as the associated plasma dynamics

ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURE, FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY, OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL WVB JORDANIAN CREDIT RISK ASSESSMENTS

UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH UK School of Business Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics ABSTRACT Doctor of Philosophy Accounting disclosure, financial transparency, ownership structure and corporate governance: implications for internal and external WVB Jordanian credit risk assessments By Abdullah A.K. Al-Khawaaldah Bani Hasan (Ash-Shu’ayree As-Salafi) Creditworthiness is a quality that is important to all stakeholders of an organisation, especially bondholders. It is posited that good corporate governance practices assist the confidence that stakeholders have in an organization’s ability to generate the strong cash flows that are needed to meet financial obligations, which in turn should enhance credit risk assessments. Much research has been conducted into rating assessments, but these have largely been directed at developed markets and they have not generally been focused on the impact of good corporate governance practices and procedures. The primary focus of this research is to address this issue through an investigation into the impact of key factors upon the credit risk assessments of listed companies on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) in Jordan, as assessed by World'vest Base Inc. (WVB) credit risk assessment scores for Jordanian companies between 2005 and 2007 inclusively. Drawing upon insights from agency (including management disciplining and wealth redistribution hypotheses), stewardship, stakeholder, signalling, legitimacy and the diffusion of innovation theories, this thesis investigates the determinants of WVB credit risk assessments of Jordanian firms under five headings: accounting and financial aspects, market and regulatory perspectives, influence of ownership structure, financial transparency/disclosure and corporate governance factors. To achieve this, an array of modelling techniques is used in order to provide a more comprehensive picture. They include bivariate analysis, one-way analysis of variance, ordinary least square regressions for numerical scores, binary logistic regressions, and ordinal logistic regression. The results demonstrate that accounting and financial factors have a significant impact on credit risk assessments but not capital intensity. Profitability is positively associated with credit risk assessments, while leverage and loss propensity have a negative association. With respect to market and regulatory factors, size and Tobin’s Q are positively associated with credit risk assessments. By contrast type of sector and audit are not related to credit risk assessments. Foreign ownership enhances ratings, whilst institutional ownership has a negative impact. Also, insider ownership and family ownership have some importance. It was surprising to find that whilst financial transparency and disclosure variables are significantly associated positively with credit risk assessments in some models, they were generally not significant across other models. Nevertheless, the study finds empirical evidence to support a degree of association between credit risk assessments and corporate governance factors. There is also a positive association between board size and credit risk assessments, but the most important aspect of corporate governance for Jordanian firms is board expertise. The originality of this thesis also embraces the inclusion not only of externally published WVB risk assessments in the Jordanian context, but also internal numerical ratings that were made available with kind permission from the WVB agency for the purposes of this research. The question is whether there are insights that can be gained from such internal ratings that have not hitherto been made available to other researchers. The answer is in the affirmative, for role duality on the board of directors is evidently more important to WVB’s own internal numerical rating assessments than is evidenced by the WVB externally published credit risk assessments. Specifically, the significance of corporate governance (role duality) is missed by multivariate models that are based solely on externally published data. Furthermore, financial transparency and disclosure variables reveal more (albeit moderate) support for the more refined internal scores of WVB than for the external assessment ratings. Finally, family ownership is also important to WVB’s internal scores. Thus, this research has enabled deeper insights to be gained into credit risk assessment determinants within the Jordanian context.THE HASHEMIET UNIVERSITY- JORDA

The structure and dynamics of young star clusters: King 16, NGC 1931, NGC 637 and NGC 189

In this paper, using 2MASS photometry, we study the structural and dynamical properties of four young star clusters viz. King 16, NGC 1931, NGC 637 and NGC 189. For the clusters King 16, NGC 1931, NGC 637 and NGC 189, we obtain the limiting radii of 7', 12', 6' and 5' which correspond to linear radii of 3.6 pc, 8.85 pc, 3.96 pc and 2.8 pc respectively. The reddening values $E(B-V)$ obtained for the clusters are 0.85, 0.65--0.85, 0.6 and 0.53 and their true distances are 1786 pc, 3062 pc, 2270 pc and 912 pc respectively. Ages of the clusters are 6 Myr, 4 Myr, 4 Myr and 10 Myr respectively. We compare their structures, luminosity functions and mass functions ($\phi(M) = dN/dM \propto M^{-(1+\chi)}$) to the parameter $\tau = t_{age}/t_{relax}$ to study the star formation process and the dynamical evolution of these clusters. We find that, for our sample, mass seggregation is observed in clusters or their cores only when the ages of the clusters are comparable to their relaxation times ($\tau \geq 1$). These results suggest mass seggregation due to dynamical effects. The values of $\chi$, which characterise the overall mass functions for the clusters are 0.96 $\pm$ 0.11, 1.16 $\pm$ 0.18, 0.55 $\pm$ 0.14 and 0.66 $\pm$ 0.31 respectively. The change in $\chi$ as a function of radius is a good indicator of the dynamical state of clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc