Peculiarities of tillage in the conditions of dry farming in the cultivation of soybeans

Soy is a multipurpose oilseed crop. It is highly nutritious and improves soil fertility. Rainfed agriculture needs to improve crop cultivation technologies and focuses on various methods of soil cultivation that contribute to the formation of an optimal agrophysical structure that contributes to a consistently high soybean yield. Therefore, it is expedient and relevant to study the influence of various methods of tillage on the density and hardness of the soil in two phases of soybean development (beginning of soybean vegetation and before harvesting) with the identification of its yield. The following methods of tillage have been studied: flat-cutting, layer-by-layer, mouldboard and without tillage (direct sowing). The highest soil density in both phases of soybean development on the agrobackground without tillage was 1.34 g/cm3 and 1.27 g/cm3. The decrease in soil density was revealed by 13.43-16.53% with flat-cut tillage; by 6.71-16.53% with layer-by-layer tillage; by 5.22-5.51% during moldboard tillage. The highest soil hardness in both phases of soybean development, 1.15 MPa and 2.65 MPa, was established on the agrobackground without tillage. A decrease in soil hardness by 1.53-1.92 times was revealed during flat-cut processing; 1.77-2.77 times with layer-by-layer processing; in 1.64-2.07 at dump. The highest soybean yield was obtained on the agrobackground with flat-cut tillage – 1.90 t/ha. A decrease in yield was established by 15.82% with the layer-by-layer method, by 3.44% with the moldboard method of tillage, by 7.11% on the agrobackground without tillage

Results of determining the agrotechnical indicators of a flat cutter for fine tillage

In modern conditions, most soils are exposed to erosion processes. In this regard, it is necessary to control the amount of dust particles in the surface layer of the soil. Fine tillage with flat-cutting working bodies solves this issue by creating a finely cloddy soil structure of the upper fertile layer. The article considers the developed original design of a flat cutter for fine tillage. The results of experimental studies on the determination of agrotechnical indicators for the treated background and untreated stubble background are presented. In the course of the research, such indicators were established as: the average actual working depth, the standard deviation of the working depth from the given one, the coefficient of variation in the working depth, crumbling of the soil by the working bodies, the moisture content inside the reservoir, the number of erosion-dangerous particles in the surface soil layer. As a result of the research, it was found that the flat cutter qualitatively performs the specified depth of tillage with an acceptable deviation, the ridge size is in the range of 3.6-3.9 cm, which is allowed by agrotechnical requirements, the number of lumps up to 25 mm in size after the passage of the working body is 82-85% . With shallow tillage with a flat cutter, the removal of wet layers to the soil surface is not observed. The flat cutter can function qualitatively on an untreated stubble background as part of a combined unit that is not equipped with disk working bodies

Excitation and Injury of Adult Ventricular Cardiomyocytes by Nano- to Millisecond Electric Shocks

Intense electric shocks of nanosecond (ns) duration can become a new modality for more efficient but safer defibrillation. We extended strength-duration curves for excitation of cardiomyocytes down to 200 ns, and compared electroporative damage by proportionally more intense shocks of different duration. Enzymatically isolated murine, rabbit, and swine adult ventricular cardiomyocytes (VCM) were loaded with a Ca2+ indicator Fluo-4 or Fluo-5N and subjected to shocks of increasing amplitude until a Ca2+ transient was optically detected. Then, the voltage was increased 5-fold, and the electric cell injury was quantified by the uptake of a membrane permeability marker dye, propidium iodide. We established that: (1) Stimuli down to 200-ns duration can elicit Ca2+ transients, although repeated ns shocks often evoke abnormal responses, (2) Stimulation thresholds expectedly increase as the shock duration decreases, similarly for VCMs from different species, (3) Stimulation threshold energy is minimal for the shortest shocks, (4) VCM orientation with respect to the electric field does not affect the threshold for ns shocks, and (5) The shortest shocks cause the least electroporation injury. These findings support further exploration of ns defibrillation, although abnormal response patterns to repetitive ns stimuli are of a concern and require mechanistic analysis

Electrosensitization Increases Antitumor Effectiveness of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields In Vivo

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields are emerging as a new modality for tissue and tumor ablation. We previously reported that cells exposed to pulsed electric fields develop hypersensitivity to subsequent pulsed electric field applications. This phenomenon, named electrosensitization, is evoked by splitting the pulsed electric field treatment in fractions (split-dose treatments) and causes in vitro a 2- to 3-fold increase in cytotoxicity. The aim of this study was to show the benefit of split-dose treatments for in vivo tumor ablation by nanosecond pulsed electric field. KLN 205 squamous carcinoma cells were embedded in an agarose gel or grown subcutaneously as tumors in mice. Nanosecond pulsed electric field ablations were produced using a 2-needle probe with a 6.5-mm interelectrode distance. In agarose gel, splitting a pulsed electric field dose of 300, 300-ns pulses (20 Hz, 4.4-6.4 kV) in 2 equal fractions increased cell death up to 3-fold compared to single-train treatments. We then compared the antitumor effectiveness of these treatments in vivo. At 24 hours after treatment, sensitizing tumors by a split-dose pulsed electric field exposure (150 + 150, 300-ns pulses, 20 Hz, 6.4 kV) caused a 4- and 2-fold tumor volume reduction as compared to sham and single-train treatments, respectively. Tumor volume reduction that exceeds 75% was 43% for split-dose-treated animals compared to only 12% for single-dose treatments. The difference between the 2 experimental groups remained statistically significant for at least 1 week after the treatment. The results show that electrosensitization occurs in vivo and can be exploited to assist in vivo cancer ablation

Investigation of an Inductor Generator in the ANSYS Maxwell Package

Вопрос исследования магнитного поля электрических машин часто затруднён задачей точного описания геометрии магнитной системы. Для изучения индукторного генератора был использован программный пакет ANSYS Maxwell. Этот набор программ предназначен для моделирования электромагнитных полей при проектировании и исследовании моделей двигателей. По завершении расчетов пользователь может оценить результат по зависимостям коэффициента полезного действия, электрического тока, величин потерь, а также провести анализ расчета распределения магнитной индукции в объёме индукторного генератора с помощью карт эффективности. Каждая точка на такой карте является результатом запуска оптимизации по нескольким допустимым условиям работы генератора. Все фактические точки, которые используются при создании карт эффективности, определяются при решении большой параметрической таблицы со всеми жизнеспособными и реализуемыми на практике условиями работы машиныThe question of studying the magnetic field of electric machines is often complicated by the task of accurately describing the geometry of a magnetic system. The ANSYS Maxwell software package was used to study the inductor generator. This set of programs is designed for modeling electromagnetic fields in the design and study of engine models. Upon completion of the calculations, the user can evaluate the result according to the dependencies of the efficiency coefficient, electric current, loss values, as well as analyze the calculation of the distribution of magnetic induction in the volume of the inductor generator using efficiency maps. Each point on the efficiency map is the result of running optimization for several acceptable operating conditions of the generator. All the actual points that are used to create efficiency maps are determined by solving a large parametric table with all the viable and practical operating conditions of the machin

Study of Changes in the Amino Acid Composition of Spiked Cereals during the Ripening Process

Introduction. The amino acid composition of compound feed is of great importance in feeding all kinds of animals. The lack of one or another amino acid limits the assimilation of other amino acids, resulting in excessive compound feed consumption, deterioration of the metabolism in the bodies of animals and increasing of their susceptibility to diseases. The use of grain heaps of wheat in the early ripening stages as feed raw materials is a promising direction for the development of the fodder base that will provide a balanced amino acid composition of compound feed with a lower content of expensive fish meal, which is the main source of protein in compound feeds. Aim of the Article. The article is aimed at determining the optimal ripening stage of spiked cereals, at which a high content of protein and proteinogenic amino acids is observed. The proposed technology and technological tools for early harvesting of spiked cereals will reduce agrotechnical terms of harvesting, reducing losses from shatter losses, and get grain of enhanced nutritive value. Materials and Methods. To study the amino acid composition, 4 samples of a winter wheat grain heap were taken: the winter wheat varieties Admiral and Luchezar, the perennial winter wheat (trititrigia) variety Pamyati Lyubimovoy and the gray wheatgrass variety Sova. Harvesting the wheat of these varieties was carried out by a combing-threshing unit in 5 phenological stages (growth stages are presented on the BBCH scale): 77 – late milk ripeness, 83 – early phase of wax ripeness, 87 – gold wax ripeness, 89 – full ripeness, 92 – overripeness. Results. The results of analyzing amino acid composition of 4 samples of wheat grain heap showed a high content of almost all the amino acids studied in the phase of gold wax ripeness, except of aspartic acid and asparagine, glutamic acid and glutamine, and tryptophan. Discussion and Conclusion. Grain heap of waxy ripeness wheat is a promising grain raw material for the production of compound feeds, which will reduce the amount of expensive components, such as fishmeal

Forecast model for estimating the service life of a diagnosed object based on the Neyman–Pearson method

The paper is aimed at developing a forecast model for estimating the service life of a diagnosed object based on the Neyman–Pearson method. It presents a procedure for selecting necessary and sufficient number of diagnostic indicators using the forecast model. The technique has been tested on the basis of a power transformer with a liquid dielectric. A condition-based operation strategy has been proposed for the transformer. According to this strategy, the iron impurity content in the dielectric liquid (oil) of the transformer should be measured every year of operation. Based on the forecast model, it is possible to calculate the variation of average risk (R) and a threshold value of iron impurity content in the transformer oil (k0) for each year of operation. Using these parameters, a reliable forecast model can be constructed to estimate the remaining service life of the transformer. The obtained relationships make it possible to identify a scientifically grounded stage in the service life of a diagnosed object, at which the number of measurable diagnostic indicators (indicators that are necessary for assessing the real technical condition of equipment) can be minimized