1,762 research outputs found
Yields and qualities of pigeonpea varieties grown under smallholder farmers’ conditions in Eastern and Southern Africa
Pigeonpea is one of the few crops with a high potential for resource-poor farmers due to its complementary resource use when intercropped with maize. A three year comprehensive comparative study on the performance of six pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) varieties on farmers’ fields in Eastern and Southern Africa where intercropping with maize is normal practice, was undertaken. The varieties were tested for accumulation of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in all above-ground organs for three years under farmers’ conditions. The study revealed that the latest introduced ICEAP 00040 outperformed all the other tested varieties (ICP 9145; ICEAP 00020, ICEAP 00053, ICEAP 00068, and a local variety called “Babati White”) under farmer-managed conditions. The harvest indices (HI), ranging from 0.08-0.15 on dry matter (DM) basis, were relatively low and unaffected (P>0.05) by the environmental variation. The N harvest index (NHI) was 0.28 and P harvest index (PHI) was 0.19. The better responses of ICEAP00040 to favourable conditions could however only be realised in a minority of cases as yields generally were low. These low yields are still a major challenge in African smallholder agriculture as pulses play an important role in soil fertility maintenance as well as in the household diets
Examining the nutrient dynamics of willow biomass energy plantations
Non-Peer ReviewedNatural Resources Canada, along with a number of Canadian provinces, considers bioenergy to be a legitimate and sustainable source of energy that will constitute a significant portion of future energy production. Shrub willow (Salix spp.) is a proven viable purpose-grown bioenergy feedstock. The objective of this four-year study was to examine the cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur within several high density willow stands during the first rotation, in order to forecast the long-term sustainability of these woody crop plantations grown on numerous soil types in Saskatchewan. Soil and plant samples were collected throughout the rotation and analyzed for their nutrient content. The results of this study indicate that sites with relatively fertile soils are more capable of sustaining willow productivity for multiple rotations compared to sites with marginal soils, where supplemental fertility will be required to sustain long-term production levels. Ensuring optimal soil fertility will help promote the sustainability of these purpose-grown biomass energy plantations
Scaling behavior of the dipole coupling energy in two-dimensional disordered magnetic nanostructures
Numerical calculations of the average dipole-coupling energy in two-dimensional disordered magnetic nanostructures are
performed as function of the particle coverage . We observe that scales as with an
unusually small exponent --1.0 for coverages
. This behavior is shown to be primarly given by the
contributions of particle pairs at short distances, which is intrinsically
related to the presence of an appreciable degree of disorder. The value of
is found to be sensitive to the magnetic arrangement within the
nanostructure and to the degree of disorder. For large coverages
we obtain with , in agreement
with the straighforward scaling of the dipole coupling as in a periodic
particle setup. Taking into account the effect of single-particle anisotropies,
we show that the scaling exponent can be used as a criterion to distinguish
between weakly interacting () and strongly interacting
() particle ensembles as function of coverage.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.
Transient delamination growth in GFRP laminates with fibre bridging under variable amplitude loading in G-control
Spinal degeneration is associated with lumbar multifidus morphology in secondary care patients with low back or leg pain
Associations between multifidus muscle morphology and degenerative pathologies have been implied in patients with non-specific low back pain, but it is unknown how these are influenced by pathology severity, number, or distribution. MRI measures of pure multifidus muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) were acquired from 522 patients presenting with low back and/or leg symptoms in an outpatient clinic. We explored cross-sectional associations between the presence, distribution, and/or severity of lumbar degenerative pathologies (individually and in aggregate) and muscle outcomes in multivariable analyses (beta coefficients [95% CI]). We identified associations between lower pure multifidus muscle CSA and disc degeneration (at two or more levels): − 4.51 [− 6.72; − 2.3], Modic 2 changes: − 4.06 [− 6.09; − 2.04], endplate defects: − 2.74 [− 4.58; − 0.91], facet arthrosis: − 4.02 [− 6.26; − 1.78], disc herniations: − 3.66 [− 5.8; − 1.52], and when > 5 pathologies were present: − 6.77 [− 9.76; − 3.77], with the last supporting a potential dose–response relationship between number of spinal pathologies and multifidus morphology. Our findings could hypothetically indicate that these spinal and muscle findings: (1) are part of the same degenerative process, (2) result from prior injury or other common antecedent events, or (3) have a directional relationship. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further examine the complex nature of these relationships
Assessing lumbar paraspinal muscle cross-sectional area and fat composition with T1 versus T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging: Reliability and concurrent validity
Purpose
Studies using magnetic resonance imaging to assess lumbar multifidus cross-sectional area frequently utilize T1 or T2-weighted sequences, but seldom provide the rationale for their sequence choice. However, technical considerations between their acquisition protocols could impact on the ability to assess lumbar multifidus anatomy or its fat/muscle distinction. Our objectives were to examine the concurrent validity of lumbar multifidus morphology measures of T2 compared to T1-weighted sequences, and to assess the reliability of repeated lumbar multifidus measures.
Methods
The lumbar multifidus total cross-sectional area of 45 patients was measured bilaterally at L4 and L5, with histogram analysis determining the muscle/fat threshold values per muscle. Images were later re-randomized and re-assessed for intra-rater reliability. Matched images were visually rated for consistency of outlining between both image sequences. Bland-Altman bias, limits of agreement, and plots were calculated for differences in total cross-sectional area and percentage fat between and within sequences, and intra-rater reliability analysed.
Results
T1-weighted total cross-sectional area measures were systematically larger than T2 (0.2 cm2), with limits of agreement <±10% at both spinal levels. For percentage fat, no systematic bias occurred, but limits of agreement approached ±15%. Visually, muscle outlining was consistent between sequences, with substantial mismatches occurring in <5% of cases. Intra-rater reliability was excellent (ICC: 0.981–0.998); with bias and limits of agreement less than 1% and ±5%, respectively.
Conclusion
Total cross-sectional area measures and outlining of muscle boundaries were consistent between sequences, and intra-rater reliability for total cross-sectional area and percentage fat was high indicating that either MRI sequence could be used interchangeably for this purpose. However, further studies comparing the accuracy of various methods for distinguishing fat from muscle are recommended
The effect of melt-homogenization and heat-treatment on the optical properties of the rare earth doped oxyfluoride glass-ceramics
Modeling water waves beyond perturbations
In this chapter, we illustrate the advantage of variational principles for
modeling water waves from an elementary practical viewpoint. The method is
based on a `relaxed' variational principle, i.e., on a Lagrangian involving as
many variables as possible, and imposing some suitable subordinate constraints.
This approach allows the construction of approximations without necessarily
relying on a small parameter. This is illustrated via simple examples, namely
the Serre equations in shallow water, a generalization of the Klein-Gordon
equation in deep water and how to unify these equations in arbitrary depth. The
chapter ends with a discussion and caution on how this approach should be used
in practice.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, 39 references. This document is a contributed
chapter to an upcoming volume to be published by Springer in Lecture Notes in
Physics Series. Other author's papers can be downloaded at
http://www.denys-dutykh.com
Phase transition between synchronous and asynchronous updating algorithms
We update a one-dimensional chain of Ising spins of length with
algorithms which are parameterized by the probability for a certain site to
get updated in one time step. The result of the update event itself is
determined by the energy change due to the local change in the configuration.
In this way we interpolate between the Metropolis algorithm at zero temperature
for of the order of 1/L and for large , and a synchronous deterministic
updating procedure for . As function of we observe a phase transition
between the stationary states to which the algorithm drives the system. These
are non-absorbing stationary states with antiferromagnetic domains for ,
and absorbing states with ferromagnetic domains for . This means
that above this transition the stationary states have lost any remnants to the
ferromagnetic Ising interaction. A measurement of the critical exponents shows
that this transition belongs to the universality class of parity conservation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Logarithmic Corrections in Dynamic Isotropic Percolation
Based on the field theoretic formulation of the general epidemic process we
study logarithmic corrections to scaling in dynamic isotropic percolation at
the upper critical dimension d=6. Employing renormalization group methods we
determine these corrections for some of the most interesting time dependent
observables in dynamic percolation at the critical point up to and including
the next to leading correction. For clusters emanating from a local seed at the
origin we calculate the number of active sites, the survival probability as
well as the radius of gyration.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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