Influence of Planting methods and Pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam).

Field trials were conducted during the 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons at Federal College of Forestry Mechanization farm, Afaka located (10o 371N and 74o 71E) in the Northern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria to study the influence of planting method and pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam). The experiment consisted of six treatments, viz direct sowing+ pinching at 2 weeks after sowing (WAS); direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS; direct sowing+ no pinching; transplanting at 2 WAS +pinching at 2 weeks after transplanting (WAT); transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT; transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2WAT; transplanting at 4 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT. The treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design replicated three times. The plant had significantly vigorous plant with stem diameter at 3 and 9 WAS. However, numbers of leaves, canopy spread and number of branches were not significantly affected by planting methods. Fresh vegetative yield were obtained with direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS and transplanting at 2 WAT and pinching at 2 WAT respectively

Railway foreign body vibration signal detection based on wavelet analysis

Based on the wavelet packet analysis method with time-frequency analysis characteristics, the measurement signal of the vibration system is processed for noise reduction, the soft-hard threshold compromise wavelet denoising method used has the advantages of soft threshold and hard threshold denoising, and through the introduction of compromise factors, signal processing can be performed more flexibly in signal analysis. For the denoised signal, the fundamental wavelet time-energy spectrum analysis, the main components of the signal can be clearly displayed, and according to the distribution of its energy in each frequency band, the signal characteristics can be displayed intuitively. Experimental results show: It can be determined that there is a foreign body intrusion incident at a position 520 m away from the monitoring point, rather than a normal train travel incident. In fact, we are walking back and forth at a distance of about 520 m from the monitoring point, simulating the intrusion of illegal foreign objects such as pedestrians and livestock beside the railroad tracks prove that analysis and judgment can be known, the wavelet analysis proposed by the author can realize the monitoring and judgment of some illegal foreign body intrusion incidents such as pedestrians and livestock

Unveiling the Local Atomic Arrangements in the Shear Band Regions of Metallic Glass

The prospective applications of metallic glasses are limited by their lack of ductility, attributed to shear banding inducing catastrophic failure. A concise depiction of the local atomic arrangement (local atomic packing and chemical short‐range order), induced by shear banding, is quintessential to understand the deformation mechanism, however still not clear. An explicit view of the complex interplay of local atomic structure and chemical environment is presented by mapping the atomic arrangements in shear bands (SBs) and in their vicinity in a deformed Vitreloy 105 metallic glass, using the scanning electron diffraction pair distribution function and atom probe tomography. The results experimentally prove that plastic deformation causes a reduction of geometrically favored polyhedral motifs. Localized motifs variations and antisymmetric (bond and chemical) segregation extend for several hundred nanometers from the SB, forming the shear band affected zones. Moreover, the variations within the SB are found both perpendicular and parallel to the SB plane, also observable in the oxidation activity. The knowledge of the structural–chemical changes provides a deeper understanding of the plastic deformation of metallic glasses especially for their functional applications and future improvements

First-time synthesis of a magnetoelectric core-shell composite via conventional solid-state reaction

In recent years, multiferroics and magnetoelectrics have demonstrated their potential for a variety of applications. However, no magnetoelectric material has been translated to a real application yet. Here, we report for the first time that a magnetoelectric core–shell ceramic, is synthesized via a conventional solid-state reaction, where core–shell grains form during a single sintering step. The core consists of ferrimagnetic $CoFe_{2}O_{4}$, which is surrounded by a ferroelectric shell consisting of $(BiFeO_{3})_{x}–(Bi_{1/2}K_{1/2}TiO_{3})_{1−x}$. We establish the core–shell nature of these grains by transmission-electron microscopy (TEM) and find an epitaxial crystallographic relation between core and shell, with a lattice mismatch of 6 ± 0.7%. The core–shell grains exhibit exceptional magnetoelectric coupling effects that we attribute to the epitaxial connection between the magnetic and ferroelectric phase, which also leads to magnetic exchange coupling as demonstrated by neutron diffraction. Apparently, ferrimagnetic $CoFe_{2}O_{4}$ cores undergo a non-centrosymmetric distortion of the crystal structure upon epitaxial strain from the shell, which leads to simultaneous ferrimagnetism and piezoelectricity. We conclude that in situ core–shell ceramics offer a number of advantages over other magnetoelectric composites, such as lower leakage current, higher density and absence of substrate clamping effects. At the same time, the material is predestined for application, since its preparation is cost-effective and only requires a single sintering step. This discovery adds a promising new perspective for the application of magnetoelectric materials

Unveiling the Local Atomic Arrangements in the Shear Band Regions of Metallic Glass

The prospective applications of metallic glasses are limited by their lack of ductility, attributed to shear banding inducing catastrophic failure. A concise depiction of the local atomic arrangement (local atomic packing and chemical short‐range order), induced by shear banding, is quintessential to understand the deformation mechanism, however still not clear. An explicit view of the complex interplay of local atomic structure and chemical environment is presented by mapping the atomic arrangements in shear bands (SBs) and in their vicinity in a deformed Vitreloy 105 metallic glass, using the scanning electron diffraction pair distribution function and atom probe tomography. The results experimentally prove that plastic deformation causes a reduction of geometrically favored polyhedral motifs. Localized motifs variations and antisymmetric (bond and chemical) segregation extend for several hundred nanometers from the SB, forming the shear band affected zones. Moreover, the variations within the SB are found both perpendicular and parallel to the SB plane, also observable in the oxidation activity. The knowledge of the structural–chemical changes provides a deeper understanding of the plastic deformation of metallic glasses especially for their functional applications and future improvements

Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes and their Polymer Nanocomposites: A Review

Thermally conductive polymer composites offer new possibilities for replacing metal parts in several applications, including power electronics, electric motors and generators, heat exchangers, etc., thanks to the polymer advantages such as light weight, corrosion resistance and ease of processing. Current interest to improve the thermal conductivity of polymers is focused on the selective addition of nanofillers with high thermal conductivity. Unusually high thermal conductivity makes carbon nanotube (CNT) the best promising candidate material for thermally conductive composites. However, the thermal conductivities of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are relatively low compared with expectations from the intrinsic thermal conductivity of CNTs. The challenge primarily comes from the large interfacial thermal resistance between the CNT and the surrounding polymer matrix, which hinders the transfer of phonon dominating heat conduction in polymer and CNT. This article reviews the status of worldwide research in the thermal conductivity of CNTs and their polymer nanocomposites. The dependence of thermal conductivity of nanotubes on the atomic structure, the tube size, the morphology, the defect and the purification is reviewed. The roles of particle/polymer and particle/particle interfaces on the thermal conductivity of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are discussed in detail, as well as the relationship between the thermal conductivity and the micro- and nano-structure of the composite

Isolation, Partial Purification and Characterization of Proteases from Aspergillus niger under Solid-State Fermentation

Proteases are enzymes with highly specialized proteolytic functions. They are ubiquitous, being found in all living organisms, they are essential for cell growth and differentiation. Besides their physiological functions and roles in living organisms, they also show great importance in various industries. The shortage of plant and animal proteases to meet the present world demand of industrial enzymes has directed increased interest in microbial proteases. Several researchers have reported on protease production from various sources. However, little is known about protease production using A. niger under solid-state fermentation. This present investigation was carried out to isolate and screen fungi from soil samples for the production, optimization, and characterization of protease. A. niger was identified morphologically and screened for protease production. Soli-state fermentation was carried out and crude protease was harvested. The effect of pH on protease activity was assayed, and different temperatures were used to test for protease activity. Also, the kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax) of the crude enzyme were also determined. The results of this investigation revealed that the optimal pH and temperature of the enzyme were 8.0 and 40°C, respectively. The enzyme was found to be more stable at alkaline pH than acidic pH. It also retained 80% of its activity at 50 o C for 60 minutes. Protease activity was revealed to be highest at substrate concentration 1.0 mM. All these data suggest that the selected strain of A. niger can significantly produce protease enzyme under solid-state fermentation

Removal of nutrients from pulp and paper biorefinery effluent : operation, kinetic modelling and optimization by response surface methodology

This study investigated the effectiveness of extended aeration system (EAS) and rice straw activated carbon-extended aeration system (RAC-EAS) in the treatment of pulp and paper biorefinery effluent (PPBE). RAC-EAS focused on the efficient utilization of lignocellulosic biomass waste (rice straw) as a biosorbent in the treatment process. The experiment was designed by response surface methodology (RSM) and conducted using a bioreactor that operated at 1–3 days hydraulic retention times (HRT) with PPBE concentrations at 20, 60 and 100%. The bioreactor was fed with real PPBE having initial ammonia-N and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations that varied between 11.74 and 59.02 mg/L and 31–161 mg/L, respectively. Findings from the optimized approach by RSM indicated 84.51% and 91.71% ammonia-N and 77.62% and 84.64% total phosphorus reduction in concentration for EAS and RAC-EAS, respectively, with high nitrification rate observed in both bioreactors. Kinetic model optimization indicated that modified stover models was the best suited and were statistically significant (R 2 ≥ 0.98) in the analysis of substrate removal rates for ammonia-N and total phosphorus. Maximum nutrients elimination was attained at 60% PPBE and 48 h HRT. Therefore, the model can be utilized in the design and optimization of EAS and RAC-EAS systems and consequently in the prediction of bioreactor behavior

Order through Disorder: Hyper-Mobile C-Terminal Residues Stabilize the Folded State of a Helical Peptide. A Molecular Dynamics Study

Conventional wisdom has it that the presence of disordered regions in the three-dimensional structures of polypeptides not only does not contribute significantly to the thermodynamic stability of their folded state, but, on the contrary, that the presence of disorder leads to a decrease of the corresponding proteins' stability. We have performed extensive 3.4 µs long folding simulations (in explicit solvent and with full electrostatics) of an undecamer peptide of experimentally known helical structure, both with and without its disordered (four residue long) C-terminal tail. Our simulations clearly indicate that the presence of the apparently disordered (in structural terms) C-terminal tail, increases the thermodynamic stability of the peptide's folded (helical) state. These results show that at least for the case of relatively short peptides, the interplay between thermodynamic stability and the apparent structural stability can be rather subtle, with even disordered regions contributing significantly to the stability of the folded state. Our results have clear implications for the understanding of peptide energetics and the design of foldable peptides