Solubility analysis of homologous series of amino acids and solvation energetics in aqueous potassium sulfate solution

In this study we estimated the solubilities of glycine, D,L-alanine, D,L-nor-valine and D,L-serine in aqueous mixtures of potassium sulfate (K2SO4) at 298.15 K using analytical ‘gravimetric method’. The experimental solubilities of homologous series of amino acids in aqueous K2SO4 mixture were discussed in terms of relative solubility, salting-in and salting-out effect by evaluating the influential constants. The effect of physicochemical and chemical factors on solubility were discussed briefly and correlated with the thermodynamics. Initially, the study of solvation energetics such as transfer Gibbs energies were evaluated based on the calculations from solubility data and relative stability of the experimental molecules was discussed under the experimental condition. © 2019 The Author(s

Quantum phase transition in few-layer NbSe2_2 probed through quantized conductance fluctuations

We present the first observation of dynamically modulated quantum phase transition (QPT) between two distinct charge density wave (CDW) phases in 2-dimensional 2H-NbSe$_2$. There is recent spectroscopic evidence for the presence of these two quantum phases, but its evidence in bulk measurements remained elusive. We studied suspended, ultra-thin \nbse devices fabricated on piezoelectric substrates - with tunable flakes thickness, disorder level and strain. We find a surprising evolution of the conductance fluctuation spectra across the CDW temperature: the conductance fluctuates between two precise values, separated by a quantum of conductance. These quantized fluctuations disappear for disordered and on-substrate devices. With the help of mean-field calculations, these observations can be explained as to arise from dynamical phase transition between the two CDW states. To affirm this idea, we vary the lateral strain across the device via piezoelectric medium and map out the phase diagram near the quantum critical point (QCP). The results resolve a long-standing mystery of the anomalously large spectroscopic gap in NbSe$_2$

Evaluation of an Organic Package of Practice Towards Green Gram Cultivation and Assessment of its Effectiveness in Terms of Crop Sustainability and Soil Quality Development

Restoration of soil has been identified as the option; to ensure crop sustainability. However, as per Trophobiosis Theory of French Scientist F. Chaboussou, focus on development of healthy plants is necessary to abate pest and disease invasion so as to ensure sustained crop performance, even under unfavorable environmental conditions. The present study, in randomized block design with green gram as test crop; was undertaken in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Howrah, West Bengal) to evaluate the effectiveness of Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology towards crop yield and soil quality development under different sustainable models viz. organic cultivation, integrated soil with organic crop management and non- chemical crop management; as compared to conventional farming practice. Highest yield was recorded under organic (933 kg ha-1) followed by integrated (921 kg ha-1) and non- chemical plant management (902 kg ha-1). The results were well corroborated with the plant development index obtained under these treatments. Favorable trend of soil quality under sustainable models especially in terms of microbial properties indicated the role of quality compost towards speedy rejuvenation of soil dynamics. The study indicated that reduction of synthetic fertilizers and qualitative management of soil is essential to restrict yield decline. However, plant management shall be prerequisite for ensuring crop sustainability without any time lag and under the changing climatic patterns. In this respect the potential of IRF Technology has been well accounted

Evaluation of On- farm produced Novcom Compost Quality and its Post Soil Application Effectivity in Acid Tea Soils – A Case Study from West Jalinga Tea Estate, the Largest Organic Tea Estate in Assam, India.

A new composting process known as Novcom composting method is being used for on-farm production of compost at West Jalinga Tea Estate (presently largest certified organic tea estate in Assam, India). The method has been developed by Dr. P. Das Biswas, an Indian Scientist who has been associated with organic research for the last decade. Novcom compost produced under this method is being used for soil management in the garden. The composting process enables production of mature compost within a period of 21 days. Quality of Novcom compost and its post soil application effectivity in terms of soil development were studied during the period 2006-7 to 2012-13. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties, nutrient content, ready nutrient supplying potential, microbial status, stability, maturity and phytotoxicity status; and the values obtained for the different parameters were within the standard suggested reference range. Soil microbial population increased by 1,000 to 10,000 times, apart from significant increase recorded in case of soil organic carbon (49.4%) and soil fertility (Available-N: 13.6%, P2O5: 5.8% and K2O: 9.5%). Post soil application effectivity of Novcom compost was documented both in terms of significant soil quality development as well as yield sustenance at West Jalinga T.E. which had been applying the compost @ 3 ton/ha/year; over a period of seven years. The study revealed that Novcom composting method could serve as an alternate option for production of good quality on-farm compost in order to enable effective soil management

Evaluation of Different Organic ‘Packages of Practice’ in Young Tea Plantation: A case study under FAO-CFC-TBI Project at Maud Tea Estate, Assam, India

Maintenance of young tea under organic package of practice is a challenging task and needs a proper intervention. The present study under FAO-CFC-TBI project was done at Maud Tea Estate, Assam, India to find out an effective pathway for growing healthy and productive young tea plants. Seven different organic packages of practice were chosen to evaluate their potential in terms of crop efficiency as well as soil quality rejuvenation. Crop yield was recorded of highest value under Inhana Rational Farming (IRF-2: made tea 807 kgha-1) package of practice. Yield under the treatment was 55.2 percent higher than control and about 25.6 percent higher than the next best performing package of practice i.e. VMI (653 kgha-1). The third highest yield was obtained under IRF-1 and VCO, which recorded almost similar crop (made tea: 619 & 618 kgha-1 resp.) followed by BD (593 kgha-1), Co (567 kgha-1) and MI (556 kgha-1) packages. Value cost ratio (VCR), which is excess revenue generated per unit rupee invested; followed similar trend as observed in case of New Plantation experiment indicating highest economic sustainability under IRF-2 (4.37) followed by IRF-1 (2.33) package. Value cost ratio in case of other organic packages varied between 0.25 and 1.02, indicating economic vulnerability considering that VCR < 2.00 has been indicated by Agricultural economists as the critical mark below which there is no necessary risk coverage against investment towards input cost

Enkephalon - technological platform to support the diagnosis of alzheimer’s disease through the analysis of resonance images using data mining techniques

Dementia can be considered as a decrease in the cognitive function of the person. The main diseases that appear are Alzheimer and vascular dementia. Today, 47 million people live with dementia around the world. The estimated total cost of dementia worldwide is US $ 818 billion, and it will become a trilliondollar disease by 2019 The vast majority of people with dementia not received a diagnosis, so they are unable to access care and treatment. In Colombia, two out of every five people presented a mental disorder at some point in their lives and 90% of these have not accessed a health service. Here it´s proposed a technological platform so early detection of Alzheimer. This tool complements and validates the diagnosis made by the health professional, based on the application of Machine Learning techniques for the analysis of a dataset, constructed from magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological test and the result of a radiological test. A comparative analysis of quality metrics was made, evaluating the performance of different classifier methods: Random subspace, Decorate, BFTree, LMT, Ordinal class classifier, ADTree and Random forest. This allowed us to identify the technique with the highest prediction rate, that was implemented in ENKEPHALON platform

Tuning the metal-insulator transition in NdNiO3{\mathrm{NdNiO}}_{3} heterostructures via Fermi surface instability and spin fluctuations

We employed in situ pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the mechanism of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in NdNiO3 (NNO) thin films, grown on NdGaO3(110) and LaAlO3(100) substrates. In the metallic phase, we observe three-dimensional hole and electron Fermi surface (FS) pockets formed from strongly renormalized bands with well-defined quasiparticles. Upon cooling across the MIT in NNO/NGO sample, the quasiparticles lose coherence via a spectral weight transfer from near the Fermi level to localized states forming at higher binding energies. In the case of NNO/LAO, the bands are apparently shifted upward with an additional holelike pocket forming at the corner of the Brillouin zone. We find that the renormalization effects are strongly anisotropic and are stronger in NNO/NGO than NNO/LAO. Our study reveals that substrate-induced strain tunes the crystal field splitting, which changes the FS properties, nesting conditions, and spin-fluctuation strength, and thereby controls the MIT via the formation of an electronic order parameter with QAF∼(1/4,1/4,1/4±δ)