QUINOA AS A NEW LEAFY VEGETABLE CROP IN EGYPT

The present work was aimed to evaluate Chenopodium quinoa cultivar CICA (Chenopodium quinoa Willd. cv. CICA), in field experiments, as a new and non-traditional leafy crop in Egypt under saline (ECe 17.9 dSm-1) and non-saline (ECe 1.9 dSm-1) soil conditions. Production of biomass, some morphological, physiochemical and yield components traits were estimated at 40 days from sowing date. Biomass production of young quinoa shoot under saline soil was significantly higher by 25% than non-saline soil. Quinoa plants cultivated under saline soil also showed significant high performances for most of morphological traits. Although salinity led to accumulate Na+ concentrations in the leaves by six folds higher than that found in the leaves produced under non-saline soil conditions, but no significant reduction has been observed for K+ concentrations. Moreover, salinity was significantly increased magnesium concentrations in quinoa leaves. On the other hand, no significant increase has been detected of proline or total soluble carbohydrates concentrations in leaves of quinoa grown under saline soil as compared to non-saline soil. This clearly indicated that quinoa plants, during early growth stage, tended to utilize inorganic ions rather than organic solutes to regulate its osmotic potential under saline conditions. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid concentrations were significantly decreased under saline soil. Also, concentrations of crude fiber, crude fat and iron in the leaves of quinoa plants grown under saline soil conditions were significantly decreased. Meanwhile, salinity has no significant influence on crude protein concentrations. These results revealed that the quinoa has the ability to grow and produce considerable high leafy vegetable yield with good quality, in terms of high protein, in land unsuitable for conventional vegetable crops

On the Production of π+π+\pi^+\pi^+ Pairs in pp Collisions at 0.8 GeV

Data accumulated recently for the exclusive measurement of the $pp\to pp\pi^+\pi^-$ reaction at a beam energy of 0.793 GeV using the COSY-TOF spectrometer have been analyzed with respect to possible events from the $pp \to nn\pi^+\pi^+$ reaction channel. The latter is expected to be the only $\pi\pi$ production channel, which contains no major contributions from resonance excitation close to threshold and hence should be a good testing ground for chiral dynamics in the $\pi\pi$ production process. No single event has been found, which meets all conditions for being a candidate for the $pp \to nn \pi^+\pi^+$ reaction. This gives an upper limit for the cross section of 0.16 $\mu$b (90% C.L.), which is more than an order of magnitude smaller than the cross sections of the other two-pion production channels at the same incident energy

On the SigmaN cusp in the pp -> pK+Lambda reaction

Measurements of the $pp \to pK^+\Lambda$ reaction at $T_p$ = 2.28 GeV have been carried out at COSY-TOF. In addition to the $\Lambda p$ FSI and $N^*$ resonance excitation effects a pronounced narrow structure is observed in the Dalitz plot and in its projection on the $p\Lambda$-invariant mass. The structure appears at the $pp \to$N$K^+\Sigma$ threshold and is interpreted as $\Sigma$N cusp effect. The observed width of 20 MeV/$c^2$ is substantially broader than anticipated from previous inclusive measurements. Angular distributions of this cusp structure are shown to be dissimilar to those in the residual $pK^+\Lambda$ channel, but similar to those observed in the $pK^+\Sigma^0$ channel

A techno-economic assessment of waste oil biodiesel blends for automotive applications in urban areas: Case of India

The effects of greenhouse gas emissions, urban air pollution, and rising transport fuel prices, on the low-income capita in India, necessitate appropriate measures to ensure commodities are sustainably available. This paper presents a study whereby biodiesel blends produced from waste cooking oil are optimised for use in urban medium-duty commercial vehicles, accounting for factors of production capacity, economics, and approximated engine characteristics. An artificial neural network model, trained with experimental data, is used to predict performance, combustion, and emission parameters. The results for various biodiesel blends are applied to a standard driving cycle to obtain variations in key factors. A multi objective optimisation is carried out with engine operation parameters to arrive at optimised biodiesel blends varying between 25% and 81% based on different criteria such as minimising fuel cost, enhancing engine efficiency, and reducing emissions. Considerations when choosing blend concentration are discussed in light of different governmental targets

Quinoa in Egypt - plant density effects on seed yield and nutritional quality in marginal regions

Grain quinoa is a halophyte crop with potentially increasing cultivation area. Yet, no standards exist for optimum plant density in arid-regions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of planting density on Peruvian valley type of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. cv. CICA from the standpoint of yield and seed quality in marginal area. Two Field experiments were conducted over two consecutive seasons viz., 2015-2016 in a marginal land at El-Fayoum oasis, Egypt with one quinoa cultivar and two planting densities namely, 56.000 plant ha-1(Low) and 167.000 plant ha(High). A complete randomized block design with six replicates was used. Seed yield increased by 34.7% with increase of plant density from 56.000 plant ha-1 to 167.000 plant ha-1. The increase of plant density significantly decreased weight of 1000-seeds and weight of hectoliter. Protein and ash concentrations in seeds increased at low planting density, whereas carbohydrate concentration decreased. However, there were no significant differences between the two planting densities on the seed concentration of the crude fiber or total fat. Regarding effects of plant density on mineral content in quinoa seeds, the calcium and magnesium contents significantly increased at low density compared with high planting density. Meanwhile, no significant effects of plant density on phosphorus, potassium, iron and zinc content in quinoa seeds were detected. Thus, the present study concludes that the plant density that gives higher seed yield is associated with significant reduction in seed quality in terms of protein content. On the other hand, low plant density significantly increased weight of 1000-seeds and hectoliter, which is reflected on the grain size. The latter is considered as a very important parameter for quinoa global market preference.Fil: Eisa, Sayed S.. Faculty Of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo; EgiptoFil: Abd El Samad, Emad H.. National Research Centre, Egypt; EgiptoFil: Hussin, Sayed A.. Faculty Of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo; EgiptoFil: Ali, Essam A.. Desert Research Center, Egypt; EgiptoFil: Ebrahim, Mohamed. Faculty Of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo; EgiptoFil: González, Juan Antonio. Fundación Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Ordano, Mariano Andrés. Fundación Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Erazzú, Luis Ernesto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: El Bordeny, Nasr E.. Faculty Of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo; EgiptoFil: Abdel-Ati, Ahmed A.. Desert Research Center, Egypt; Egipt

Cross section of the pp→K+Σ+npp\to K^+\Sigma^+n reaction close to threshold

We have measured inclusive data on $K^+$-meson production in $pp$ collisions at COSY J\"ulich close to the hyperon production threshold and determined the hyperon-nucleon invariant mass spectra. The spectra were decomposed into three parts: $\Lambda p$, $\Sigma^0p$ and $\Sigma^+n$. The cross section for the $\Sigma^+n$ channel was found to be much smaller than a previous measurement in that excess energy region. The data together with previous results at higher energies are compatible with a phase space dependence.Comment: accepted by Phys. lett. B some typos correcte

The study of the negative pion production in neutron-proton collisions at beam momenta below 1.8 GeV/c

A detailed investigation of the reaction np -> pp\pi^{-} has been carried out using the data obtained with the continuous neutron beam produced by charge exchange scattering of protons off a deuterium target. A partial wave event-by-event based maximum likelihood analysis was applied to determine contributions of different partial waves to the pion production process. The combined analysis of the np -> pp\pi^{-} and pp -> pp\pi^{0} data measured in the same energy region allows us to determine the contribution of isoscalar partial waves (I=0) in the momentum range from 1.1 up to 1.8 GeV/c. The decay of isoscalar partial waves into (^1S_0)_{pp}\pi$ channel provides a good tool for a determination of the pp S-wave scalar scattering length in the final state which was found to be a_{pp}=-7.5\pm 0.3 fm.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

High resolution study of the Lambda p final state interaction in the reaction p + p -> K+ + (Lambda p)

The reaction pp -> K+ + (Lambda p) was measured at Tp=1.953 GeV and Theta = 0 deg with a high missing mass resolution in order to study the Lambda p final state interaction. The large final state enhancement near the Lambda p threshold can be described using the standard Jost-function approach. The singlet and triplet scattering lengths and effective ranges are deduced by fitting simultaneously the Lambda p invariant mass spectrum and the total cross section data of the free Lambda p scattering.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters B, 10 pages, 3 figure

A Study on the Market Potential of Biomass-Based Micro Gas Turbines in SubSaharan Africa

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th Int. Conf. on Applied Energy (ICAE2021).Biomass can be used as an alternative fuel in micro gas turbines to produce electricity, heat and/ or cooling. This is an affordable carbon-neutral renewable energy source which is widely available in most African countries. In this project the main aim is to gather information and data to evaluate the feasibility and the market potential of this technology in three sub-Saharan African countries. This includes data about the energy market, information on feedstock availability in different regions, statistics on the electricity grid, the demand profiles of different consumers, as well as insight on the national policies and regulation. The information is used to help understand the needs of the energy market in the partner countries and the potential of the proposed technology.Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), provided by Research England