RESPONSE OF MORINGA OLEIFERA TO ORGANIC BIOFERTILIZERS AND MINERAL NPK FERTILIZATIONS

This investigation was conducted to investigate the response of Moringa oleifera to compost fertilization at four levels (0, 5, 10 and 15 ton/fed) and bio. and/or mineral NPK treatments [(control, 100% NPK, 75% NPK + phosphorein + Minia Azotein, 50% NPK + phosphorein + Minia Azotein and phosphorein + Minia Azotein (Bio)] on vegetative growth traits, yield and pigments. The obtained results indicate that, plant height, stem diameter, number of branches, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod and seed yield/plant, as well as, pigments were gradually increased by increasing the levels of compost fertilizer. All bio. and/or mineral NPK fertilization treatments significantly increased all the previous parameters. Bio. + 75% NPK dose followed by mineral NPK (full dose) treatments were more effective in this concern. The highest values for vegetative growth traits, yield and yield components and pigments were obtained due to compost at 15 ton/fed in combination with bio. + 75% NPK dose

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Parameter Identification of Switched Reluctance Motor SRM Using Exponential Swept-Sine Signal

Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) received major interest in several domains, e.g., in electric vehicles. This interest is due to the many advantages of SRMs, including operation at a wide range of speeds, high performances, low cost, robustness to run under degraded conditions, and controllability. One of the major aspects in the design and implementation of controllers for SRMs is the estimation of the motor parameters. An accurate estimate of these parameters is a challenge due to the highly nonlinear behavior of SRMs in addition to their magnetic saturated operating mode to maximize the energy transfer. This paper aims at estimating the parameters of SRM by developing a new SRM model using an analytical technique. The proposed technique is based on a parallel connection of several Hammerstein models that have polynomial nonlinearity. The model is driven by a swept-sine signal, and then finite element method analysis is performed to estimate the SRM parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed method is highlighted by numerical simulation. All these simulations were performed using MATLAB/SIMULINK

Enhancing biodiesel production efficiency with industrial waste-derived catalysts: techno-economic analysis of microwave and ultrasonic transesterification methods

Biodiesel is a low-emission, environmentally friendly, and renewable alternative to diesel fuel. Conventional transesterification, the most common method for biodiesel production, has several drawbacks, including high temperature, high reactant consumption, and extended reaction times. Homogeneous alkaline catalysts, frequently used in biodiesel synthesis, present issues such as high cost, limited recyclability, and efficiency concerns. Herein, we technically and economically evaluate new transesterification approaches, such as ultrasonic and microwave methods, utilizing a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst derived from industrial waste. Our findings indicate that the biodiesel produced meets high technical specifications and demonstrates the high efficiency of the low-cost heterogeneous catalyst in the new transesterification methods. The yield quantity for the three methods, microwave, ultrasonic, and conventional, was 97.4%, 96.9%, and 96.6%, respectively, and the produced biodiesel standards had excellent quality and meet international standards (ASTM-6751). The microwave and ultrasonic methods reduced reaction time by 99.5 and 83.3%, respectively, as well as the amount of methanol by 50% and the amount of catalyst by 50 and 75%, respectively, proving the high positive impact of new techniques on biodiesel production. Financial indicators such as net income, return on investment, net present value (NPV), and profitability index showed higher values for microwave and ultrasonic methods compared to conventional transesterification, highlighting the significant profitability of these methods.<br/

Improvement in Physiochemical Characteristics of ‘Prime Seedless’ Grapes by Basal Defoliation with Foliar-Sprayed Low-Biuret Urea and Cyanocobalamin under Mediterranean Climate

In viticulture, the main target is to achieve high yield and good fruit quality without compromising vine growth. Methods to achieve this balance will vary with regard to climate and cultivar. A two-year study was conducted on five-year-old ‘Prime Seedless’ grapevines to evaluate the effect of leaf defoliation and the foliar application of low-biuret urea (LBU) and cyanocobalamin (CCA) on berry set percentage, the compactness coefficient of the clusters and the overall quality of clusters and berries. The removal of the first four basal leaves was conducted at the full-bloom (FB) stage, while LBU (5 g·L−1) and CCA (40 mg·L−1) were sprayed at three phenological stages: (1) when the cluster length reached ~10 cm long, (2) at FB and (3) one week after the fruit set. The results demonstrated that the sole application of basal leaf removal (BLR) or in combination with LBU and/or CCA improved the vegetative growth, total yield and physiochemical characteristics of clusters and berries, whereas the same treatments decreased berry set and shot berry percentages and the compactness coefficient of the clusters, which in turn led to looser clusters compared to the control. The most pronounced effect was recorded for the combined application of BLR, LBU and CCA, which revealed the highest values of shoot length, leaf area and the contents of chlorophyll, proline, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn. The same treatment recorded the lowest berry set and shot berry percentages, compactness coefficient of clusters and decay percentage. Overall, this treatment was the best in terms of total yield, cluster weight, berry firmness, soluble solid content (SSC), the SSC/acid ratio, total sugars, total carotenoids, total phenols, phenylalanine ammonialyase and polyphenol oxidase