EFFECT OF LEVELLING ON THE ENERGY BALANCE OF MAIZE CROP FOR GRAINS

        Maize is recognized as a plant that greatly harnesses the allocated factors-the insurance with water and mineral fertilization-, bringing a substantial energy intake especially in the context of rational crop revolutions. From the point of view of fertilization, maize producing a large amount of plant substance at the surface unit, consumes high amounts of the main nutrients, which is a plant ,, voracious by excellence "and which responds promt to applied, but necessary water should be ensured at the appropriate time. The energy analysis in the case of maize for grains has shown high energy values produced in both cases concerning the location of culture-non-ivelate and even on ground level

Vertical Heating Structures Associated with the MJO as Characterized by TRMM Estimates, ECMWF Reanalyses, and Forecasts: A Case Study during 1998/99 Winter

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is a fundamental mode of the tropical atmosphere variability that exerts significant influence on global climate and weather systems. Current global circulation models, unfortunately, are incapable of robustly representing this form of variability. Meanwhile, a well-accepted and comprehensive theory for the MJO is still elusive. To help address this challenge, recent emphasis has been placed on characterizing the vertical structures of the MJO. In this study, the authors analyze vertical heating structures by utilizing recently updated heating estimates based on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) from two different latent heating estimates and one radiative heating estimate. Heating structures from two different versions of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses/forecasts are also examined. Because of the limited period of available datasets at the time of this study, the authors focus on the winter season from October 1998 to March 1999. The results suggest that diabatic heating associated with the MJO convection in the ECMWF outputs exhibits much stronger amplitude and deeper structures than that in the TRMM estimates over the equatorial eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific. Further analysis illustrates that this difference might be due to stronger convective and weaker stratiform components in the ECMWF estimates relative to the TRMM estimates, with the latter suggesting a comparable contribution by the stratiform and convective counterparts in contributing to the total rain rate. Based on the TRMM estimates, it is also illustrated that the stratiform fraction of total rain rate varies with the evolution of the MJO. Stratiform rain ratio over the Indian Ocean is found to be 5% above (below) average for the disturbed (suppressed) phase of the MJO. The results are discussed with respect to whether these heating estimates provide enough convergent information to have implications on theories of the MJO and whether they can help validate global weather and climate models

Transport properties of copper phthalocyanine based organic electronic devices

Ambipolar charge carrier transport in Copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) is studied experimentally in field-effect transistors and metal-insulator-semiconductor diodes at various temperatures. The electronic structure and the transport properties of CuPc attached to leads are calculated using density functional theory and scattering theory at the non-equilibrium Green's function level. We discuss, in particular, the electronic structure of CuPc molecules attached to gold chains in different geometries to mimic the different experimental setups. The combined experimental and theoretical analysis explains the dependence of the mobilityand the transmission coefficient on the charge carrier type (electrons or holes) and on the contact geometry. We demonstrate the correspondence between our experimental results on thick films and our theoretical studies of single molecule contacts. Preliminary results for fluorinated CuPc are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures; to be published in Eur. Phys. J. Special Topic

InterGEO: a digital platform for university education on geomorphological heritage

The project InterGEO was carried out with the objective to disseminate knowledge on geomorphological heritage by developing a digital learning platform. It aims at improving students' autonomy by the reduction of face-to-face teaching and increasing autonomous learning as well as promoting international interactions between students interested in geomorphological heritage. A completely free-access virtual course on geomorphosites was developed with the Learning Management System Moodle. The course is divided into 24 thematic chapters, each of them containing a short description, a list of references and selected publications, as well as other educational material (videos, virtual fieldtrips, etc.). In particular, several videos allow presenting in a dynamic way concepts and examples. The paper presents the tool and its use in academic programmes in six European universities, where it was tested, in various contexts (Bachelors' and Masters' programmes; students in geography or geology; general courses in geomorphology and specific courses on geoheritage and geoconservation), before discussing the advantages and challenges the tool is facing. The InterGEO platform is an easy-to-use and friendly educational tool, which allows developing blended learning activities; it is flexible and adaptable in various learning contexts.The coordination tasks (appointment of an assistant) and two workshops in Lausanne were financed by the University of Lausanne (Teaching Innovation Fund and Investment Fund of the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, FGSE). The videos were designed and created with support of the universities of Lausanne (TIF) and Savoie Mont Blanc (IDEFI Promising and ReflexPro; LabEx ITEM)

Cocrystals of spironolactone and griseofulvin based on an in silico screening method

Cocrystal formation is considered as one of the most effective solid-state methods to alter the physicochemical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In silico methods for cocrystal prediction are mostly based on structural and energetic considerations. We have developed a computational method that ranks the probability of cocrystal formation of APIs with large databases of crystal coformers (CCFs). This approach is based on using molecular electrostatic potential surfaces to assess molecular complementarity between two cocrystal components. The screening tool was applied to two low solubility drugs, namely griseofulvin and spironolactone. Promising coformer candidates were selected from a database of 310 pharmaceutically acceptable CCFs, and experimental screening was carried out. Novel solid forms were obtained by liquid-assisted grinding and were characterised by XRPD, DSC, TGA and IR. One new cocrystal of griseofulvin and two new cocrystals of spironolactone were identified, and the crystal structures were determined from the XRPD patterns. For these systems, phenols tend to act as successful H-bond donors in forming cocrystals, while carboxylic acids only give rise to physical mixtures of the two components

Using haloperidol as an anti-emetic in palliative care: informing practice through evidence from cancer treatment and post-operative contexts

YesNausea and vomiting are common symptoms in palliative care. Haloperidol is often used as an antiemetic in this context, although direct evidence supporting this practice is limited. To evaluate the efficacy and clinical use of haloperidol as an antiemetic in nonpalliative care contexts to inform practice, the authors conducted a rapid review of (i) published evidence to supplement existing systematic reviews, and (ii) practical aspects affecting the use of haloperidol including formulations and doses that are commonly available internationally. In nausea and vomiting related to cancer treatment, haloperidol was superior to control in two small studies. In postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), two randomized controlledtrials found treatment with haloperidol comparable to ondansetron. In palliative care, an observational study found a complete response rate of 24% with haloperidol (one in four patients) which would be consistent with a number needed to treat (NNT) of 3 to 5 derived from PONV. There remains insufficient direct evidence to definitively support the use of haloperidol for the management of nausea and vomiting in palliative care. However, generalizing evidence from other clinical contexts may have some validity

The incommensurate charge-density-wave instability in the extended three-band Hubbard model

The infinite-U three-band Hubbard model is considered in order to describe the CuO_2 planes of the high temperature superconducting cuprates. The charge instabilities are investigated when the model is extended with a nearest-neighbor repulsion between holes on copper d and oxygen p orbitals and in the presence of a long-range Coulombic repulsion. It is found that a first-order valence instability line ending with a critical point is present like in the previously investigated model without long-range forces. However, the dominant critical instability is the formation of incommensurate charge-density-waves, which always occur before the valence-instability critical point is reached. An effective singular attraction arises in the proximity of the charge-density wave instability, accounting for both a strong pairing mechanism and for the anomalous normal state properties.Comment: 15 pages in RevteX. Figures available from M. Grill

An Innovative System for Monitoring Radon and Indoor Air Quality

Nowadays, a global trend towards increasing the performance of a building is the reduction in energy consumption. In this respect, for existing residential buildings the most common techniques are the application of a thermal insulation layer to the exterior wall of the building and / or window replacements. Unfortunately, their application without proper education of those involved may have a negative effect on the indoor air quality. The use of a continuous monitoring device can give the owner the ability to understand the impact of his behaviour on indoor air quality and, as such, to adjust his routine in order to maintain the indoor air quality at the desired level. This paper introduces a prototype, called ICA system, for continuous, real-time indoor air quality monitoring. The ICA system presents sensors for monitoring the concentration of radon, CO2, CO, VOCs, as well as meteorological parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. Experiments were performed both in laboratory and in situ conditions for testing and validating the proposed system.This work was supported by the project ID P_37_229, Contract No. 22/01.09.2016, with the title “Smart Systems for Public Safety through Control and Mitigation of Residential Radon linked with Energy Efficiency Optimization of Buildings in Romanian Major Urban Agglomerations SMART-RAD-EN” of the POC Programme

Measurement of the mass and lifetime of the Ωb−\Omega_b^- baryon

A proton-proton collision data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$ collected by LHCb at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV, is used to reconstruct $63\pm9$ $\Omega_b^-\to\Omega_c^0\pi^-$, $\Omega_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decays. Using the $\Xi_b^-\to\Xi_c^0\pi^-$, $\Xi_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decay mode for calibration, the lifetime ratio and absolute lifetime of the $\Omega_b^-$ baryon are measured to be \begin{align*} \frac{\tau_{\Omega_b^-}}{\tau_{\Xi_b^-}} &= 1.11\pm0.16\pm0.03, \\ \tau_{\Omega_b^-} &= 1.78\pm0.26\pm0.05\pm0.06~{\rm ps}, \end{align*} where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the calibration mode (for $\tau_{\Omega_b^-}$ only). A measurement is also made of the mass difference, $m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-}$, and the corresponding $\Omega_b^-$ mass, which yields \begin{align*} m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-} &= 247.4\pm3.2\pm0.5~{\rm MeV}/c^2, \\ m_{\Omega_b^-} &= 6045.1\pm3.2\pm 0.5\pm0.6~{\rm MeV}/c^2. \end{align*} These results are consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-008.htm