A gauge model for quantum mechanics on a stratified space

In the Hamiltonian approach on a single spatial plaquette, we construct a quantum (lattice) gauge theory which incorporates the classical singularities. The reduced phase space is a stratified K\"ahler space, and we make explicit the requisite singular holomorphic quantization procedure on this space. On the quantum level, this procedure furnishes a costratified Hilbert space, that is, a Hilbert space together with a system which consists of the subspaces associated with the strata of the reduced phase space and of the corresponding orthoprojectors. The costratified Hilbert space structure reflects the stratification of the reduced phase space. For the special case where the structure group is $\mathrm{SU}(2)$, we discuss the tunneling probabilities between the strata, determine the energy eigenstates and study the corresponding expectation values of the orthoprojectors onto the subspaces associated with the strata in the strong and weak coupling approximations.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figures. Changes: comments on the heat kernel and coherent states have been adde

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Identification of genetic variant in buffalo genome using ddRAD sequence

Bubalus bubalis (water buffalo) is an agro-economically important livestock species due to its multipurpose use in India and other Asian countries. Among the total of 13 recognized breeds of water buffalo, majority are milch breeds in India and some of them have been listed on a state-level conservation plan by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. As buffalo milk occupies the highest share in Indian dairy sector, the future improvement in traits of economic importance is dependent on genetic variation present within and between the breeds. Even though they have an important role in Indian agricultural economy, most of the breeds have not been exploited for their full genetic potential. Molecular markers like single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can play a significant role in livestock improvement through conventional breeding programmes. The aim of this study is to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from buffalo genome using ddRAD sequencing through STACKS pipeline. Here we have used double digest restriction-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD) for identification and annotation of genetic variant from three traits of buffalo such as Milk yield, Lactation period, Age at first calving. The Stacks pipeline is used to create genetic maps and conduct population analysis. It assembles loci from an individual’s sequence reads by using a reference sequence. The total SNPs found in buffalo for three important traits Milk yield, Lactation period and Age at first calving are 25802, 9218 and 17914, respectively. The total genotypes, genotype frequencies and genotype map has been calculated in the population. For computation of population genetic measures (The inbreeding coefficient of an individual) FIS and (An estimate of nucleotide diversity) π within populations and (A measure of population differentiation) FST between populations has been found

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Not AvailableTillage practices involve physical manipulation of soil for crop establishment. Optimization of tillage practices under a particular environment enhances soil health.Conventional crop production technologies are not much cost effective, less water efficient and deteriorates soil health (Parihar et al., 2016). Most of these impeding factors can be substantially mitigated by adopting conservation tillage practices in place of conventional tillage practices as conservation agriculture minimizes the soil disturbance, provide soil cover through crop residues, mulch or cover crops, and crop rotations for attaining higher productivity and minimizing adverse environmental impacts.Nitrogenous fertilizer is one of the most important inputs for wheat crop growthNot Availabl

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Not AvailableImprovement in the LAI of wheat was noticed with the increase in nitrogen level but the effect of tillage and residue was not significant on the LAI. The total intercepted photosynthetically active radiation was not influenced by tillage and residue treatments but increased with N levels. Grain and biomass yield of wheat were not significantly affected by tillage and residue treatments but increased significantly with N levels. However, there was no significant difference between 120 and 180 kg Nha-1 with respect to grain and biomass yield of wheat. The radiation use efficiency of wheat was not significantly affected by tillage, residues and nitrogen treatments. So wheat may be grown with the recommended dose of N (120 kg Nha-1) under No tillage with residue retention to obtain higher grain yield, radiation interception and radiation use efficiency under irrigated condition in the semiarid climate of the Indo-Gangetic plain region.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableDifferent land use management practices e.g. native forest vegetation, pastures and the agricultural management practices (e.g. tillage, cropping system, crop residue mulching and fertilizer and manure application) influence the soil organic carbon pools, which has short term and long term implications on soil carbon dynamics. Field experiments were conducted in a sandy loam soil of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi research farm during the kharif season (July to October) of 2012 and 2013 with the objective to study the short-term (2 years) impact of irrigation, crop residue mulch and nitrogen management in maize on soil organic carbon pools and to identify the best management practice in terms of Carbon Management Index (CMI). Maize (cv. HQPM 1) was grown in a split-split plot design with two levels of irrigation (irrigated and rainfed) as main factor, two levels of mulch (No mulch and wheat residue at a rate of 10 Mg/ha as mulch) as sub factor and three levels of nitrogen (0, 75 and 150 kg N/ha) as sub sub factor. The results showed that total organic carbon (TOC) increased by 40.5% in irrigation treatment compared to the rainfed treatment for the 0–5 cm soil depth after 2nd year of cropping. Application of crop residue mulch significantly increased the TOC concentration by 14.9% at 0–5 cm soil depth compared to the no mulch treatment. Crop residue mulch also significantly increased carbon stratification ratio (SR) by 9.2% compared to no mulch treatment for the same depth. Nitrogen application at 150 kg/ha significantly increased TOC concentration at 0–5 cm soil depth by 22.2% and 7.8% over control and 75 kg/ha, respectively. Water stable aggregate associated carbon concentration in large macro-aggregates and micro-aggregates increased significantly by 16.7% and 11.8%, respectively due to crop residue mulching. Application of crop residue mulch resulted in significant increase in labile and non-labile pools of carbon at 0–5 cm soil depth compared to the no mulch treatment, and among the labile pools of carbon, the maximum increase was recorded in very labile (VL) pools. The Carbon Lability Index (CLI) decreased whereas Carbon Pool Index (CPI) and Carbon Management Index (CMI) increased due to irrigation and crop residue mulch application. Application of 75 kg N/ha resulted in significantly higher CMI than that of 150 kg N/ha at 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. So maize may be grown under irrigated condition with wheat residue mulch at a rate of 10 Mg/ha and 75 kg N/ha to achieve higher total organic carbon pool and labile pools of carbon, better Carbon Management Index.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableImprovement in soil structure is a prerequisite for maintaining soil physical health/quality and for sustaining agricultural productivity at higher level. Field experiments were conducted during the kharif season of 2012 and 2013 on maize crop in a sandy loam soil to study the impact of different management practices viz., irrigation, crop residue mulch and nitrogen (N) fertilization on soil physical quality indices like least limiting water range (LLWR), S index, mean weight diameter (MWD), water stable aggregates (%WSA) and whole soil stability index (WSSI), and their impact on crop growth and yield. Maize (cv HQPM 1) was grown in a split-split plot design with two levels of irrigation (irrigated and rainfed), two levels of mulch (no mulch and wheat residue mulch @ 10 t ha−1) and three levels of N (0, 75 and 150 kg N ha−1). Soil physical quality parameters such as S index, LLWR, MWD, %WSA and WSSI increased due to irrigation, crop residue mulching and N application. Application of irrigation, mulch and N @ 150 kg ha−1 significantly increased the S index by 3.5, 9.9 and 4.3 per cent, respectively compared to the respective control treatments (rainfed, no mulch and no N treatments). Crop residue mulching significantly increased LLWR by 48.3, 11.4 and 31.6 per cent over no-mulch treatment at 0–15 cm soil depth at 67 days after sowing (DAS), 95 DAS and harvest, respectively. Application of irrigation registered significantly higher MWD by 21.4 per cent after maize harvest over the rainfed treatment, whereas, mulching increased MWD by 6.7 per cent after maize harvest than no-mulch treatment. After maize harvest, mulching registered significantly higher WSA by 7.8 per cent over the no-mulch treatment. The root growth, grain and biomass yield of maize was significantly correlated with the saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil at 0–15 cm soil depth. Therefore, growing maize crop with need based irrigation at critical growth stages, N application @ 150 kg ha−1 and crop residue mulching @ 10 t ha−1 resulted in better soil physical quality and maize yield in sandy loam soil of Delhi region.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableField experiment was conducted during the rabi 2009-10 and 2010-11 on a sandy loam soil of New Delhi to study the effect of irrigation levels on yield, water and radiation use efficiency of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars. The treatments comprised of two wheat cultivars (PBW 502 and DBW 17) and three irrigation levels (I1: irrigation at CRI, I2: irrigations at CRI and flowering and I4: irrigations at CRI, tillering, flowering and grain formation stage) laid out in factorial randomized block design (RBD). The results showed that the cultivar DBW 17 (3320 kg/ha) registered significantly higher yield compared to PBW 502 (2980 kg/ha). The grain yield with I4 treatment (4004 kg/ha) was significantly higher than that of I2 (3330 kg/ha), which in turn significantly out yielded I1 treatment (2116 kg/ha). The water and radiation use efficiency (WUE) were significantly lower in I1 treatment (8.39 kg/ha/mm, 1.79 g/MJ) compared to the I2 treatment (10.61 kg/ha/mm, 1.99 g/MJ). I2 and I4 treatments were at par with respect to WUE. Among the irrigation treatments, the highest RUE was obtained with I4 (2.23 g/MJ).Not Availabl