Effects of sowing date and intercropping on yield, yield components and oil content of sunflower and groundnut in a desert environment in northern Sudan

    The summer season in the Northern State, Sudan, is characterized by its limited field activities. The present and future expansion of agricultural production is targeted in desert plain soils away from the River Nile bank. This study was conducted during seasons 2014/15 and 2015/16 with the objectives of determining the effects of sowing date and intercropping system on yield, yield components and oil content of sunflower and groundnut. Split-plot design with randomized complete arrangement with four replicates was used. The main plots were assigned to the three sowing date namely: 1st June, 1st July and 1st August. The sub-plots were assigned to intercropping system: viz: sole cropped and intercropping (two rows of groundnut alternate with two rows of sunflower). The interaction between sowing date and intercropping had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on yield component, total yield and oil content of both crops in both seasons. The highest seed yield was obtained by intercropped sunflower and sole groundnut for 1st June and 1st August, respectively. The highest oil content was attained by intercropped groundnut and sole sunflower, respectively, for 1st August.  First June sowing date resulted in the best land equivalent ratio in both seasons. Based on these results, to obtain high seed yield of high oil content, it could be recommended that 1st of June and 1st of August were optimum sowing dates for sunflower and groundnut, respectively in the desert environment of north Sudan. It was also recommended to intercrop sunflower with groundnut and sow them on the first of June for the highest LER.   النشاط الزراعي محدود جدا في الموسم الصيفي بالولاية الشمالية في السودان.  وأن التوسع الحالي والمستقبلي في الرقعة الزراعية يستهدف أراضي السهل الصحراوي والتروس العليا البعيدة عن حوض نهر النيل. نفذت هذه التجربة في المناخ الجاف علي تربة السهل الصحراوي في الولاية الشمالية في الموسم الصيفي 2014/15 و2015/16 بهدف تحديد أثر تاريخ الزراعة ونظام الزراعة البينية علي الإنتاجية ومكوناتها وكمية الزيت لمحصولي زهرة الشمس والفول السوداني. نظمت المعاملات إحصائيا باستخدام تصميم القطع المنشقة مع القطاعات العشوائية الكاملة بأربعة مكررات. حيث وضع في القطع الرئيسية ثلاثة تواريخ زراعة (1/6 و1/ 7 و1/8) وفي القطع الثانوية نظام الزراعة البينية: حيث زرع المحصول الواحد بمفرده والمحصولين مع بعض في زراعة بينية (صفان من الفول السوداني يَتناوبانِ مع صفين من زهرة الشمس). أظهرت النتائج أن التداخل بين تاريخ الزراعة والزراعة البينية كان له تأثير معنوي على مكونات الإنتاج والإنتاجية وكمية الزيت لكلا المحصولين في كلا الموسمين. أعلى إنتاجية بذور تحققت للزراعة البينية لزهرة الشمس ولمحصول الفول السوداني منفردا عند زراعتهما في تواريخ الأول من يونيو والأول من أغسطس على التوالي. أعلى نسبة زيت تحققت لمحصولي زهرة الشمس منفردا وللزراعة البينية للفول السوداني عند ما نفذت الزراعة بتاريخ الأول من أغسطس. قيمة مؤشر نسبة الأرض المكافئ أعلي من الرقم واحد في كل تواريخ الزراعة، وتاريخ أول يونيو أعطي أفضل مكافئ في الموسمين علي التوالي. للحصول على أعلى إنتاجية بذور ونسبة زيت لمحصولي زهرة الشمس والفول السوداني توصي الدراسة بأن الأول من يونيو  والأول  من أغسطس هي الأمثل لزراعة محصولي زهرة الشمس والفول السوداني علي التوالي في البيئة الصحراوية بشمال السودان, كما توصي أيضا بأن الزراعة البينية لزهرة الشمس والفول السوداني في أول يونيو هي الأفضل في استغلال الأرض. &nbsp

A robust adaptive wavelet-based method for classification of meningioma histology images

Intra-class variability in the texture of samples is an important problem in the domain of histological image classification. This issue is inherent to the field due to the high complexity of histology image data. A technique that provides good results in one trial may fail in another when the test and training data are changed and therefore, the technique needs to be adapted for intra-class texture variation. In this paper, we present a novel wavelet based multiresolution analysis approach to meningioma subtype classification in response to the challenge of data variation.We analyze the stability of Adaptive Discriminant Wavelet Packet Transform (ADWPT) and present a solution to the issue of variation in the ADWPT decomposition when texture in data changes. A feature selection approach is proposed that provides high classification accuracy

Sharpening the A→Z(∗)hA\to Z^{(*)}h Signature of the Type-II 2HDM at the LHC through Advanced Machine Learning

The $A\to Z^{(*)}h$ decay signature has been highlighted as possibly being the first testable probe of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson discovered in 2012 ($h$) interacting with Higgs companion states, such as those existing in a 2-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM), chiefly, a CP-odd one ($A$). The production mechanism of the latter at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) takes place via $b\bar b$-annihilation and/or $gg$-fusion, depending on the 2HDM parameters, in turn dictated by the Yukawa structure of this Beyond the SM (BSM) scenario. Among the possible incarnations of the 2HDM, we test here the so-called Type-II, for a twofold reason. On the one hand, it intriguingly offers two very distinct parameter regions compliant with the SM-like Higgs measurements, i.e., where the so-called `SM limit' of the 2HDM can be achieved. On the other hand, in both configurations, the $AZh$ coupling is generally small, hence the signal is strongly polluted by backgrounds, so that the exploitation of Machine Learning (ML) techniques becomes extremely useful. In this paper, we show that the application of advanced ML implementations can be decisive in establishing such a signal. This is true for all distinctive kinematical configurations involving the $A\to Z^{(*)}h$ decay, i.e., below threshold ($m_A<m_Z+m_h$), at its maximum ($m_Z+m_h<m_A<2m_t$) and near the onset of $t\bar t$ pair production ($m_A \approx 2m_t$), for which we propose Benchmark Points (BPs) for future phenomenological analyses.Comment: JHEP accepted version., 33 pages, 15 figures, 2 table

Searching for Charged Higgs Bosons in the B−LB-L Supersymmetric Standard Model at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider

Upon assuming the $B-L$ Supersymmetric Standard Model (BLSSM) as theoretical framework accommodating a multi-Higgs sector, we assess the scope of the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) in accessing charged Higgs bosons ($H^\pm$) produced in pairs from $Z'$ decays. We show that, by pursuing both di-jet and tau-neutrino decays, several signals can be established for $H^\pm$ masses ranging from about $M_{W}$ to above $m_t$ and $Z'$ masses between 2.5 TeV and 3.5 TeV. The discovery can be attained, even in a background free environment in some cases, owing to the fact that the very massive resonating $Z'$ ejects the charged Higgs bosons at very high transverse momentum, a kinematic region where any SM noise is hugely depleted.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, matches published versio

Ultrastructural Changes in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes in α-Synuclein Knockout Mice

Effects of α-synuclein deficiency on cellular blood components have not been extensively investigated. This study evaluated ultrastructural changes of leukocytes in α-synuclein knockout (KO) mice using electron microscopy (EM). The following ultrastructural characteristics were quantified in leukocytes: mitochondria, primary granules, specific granules (SG), Golgi apparatus (GA), inclusions, rough-endoplasmic reticulum (RER), smooth-endoplasmic reticulum (SER), and cellular projections (CP). EM showed increased numbers or amounts of SG, inclusions, and SER in KO group (5.3 ± 4.5 in WT vs. 14.1 ± 10.3 in KO, p = 0.02; 0.4 ± 0.9 in WT vs. 3.2 ± 2.8 in KO, p = 0.007; and 7.7 ± 6.7 in WT vs. 17.7 ± 12.2 in KO, p = 0.03, respectively). Although CP number was not significantly different between the two groups (13.4 ± 5.3 in WT vs. 16.3 ± 7.5 in KO, p = 0.32), their size and shapes were altered in KO mice. Notably, findings occurred in the setting of significant lymphopenia. α-Synuclein deficiency leads to changes in size and shape of secretory particles and increases in SER, SG, and inclusions, indicating a potential role for α-synuclein in vesicular trafficking in leukocytes. Further studies are needed to elucidate functions mediated by α-synuclein

Extended Einstein-Cartan theory a la Diakonov: the field equations

Diakonov formulated a model of a primordial Dirac spinor field interacting gravitationally within the geometric framework of the Poincar\'e gauge theory (PGT). Thus, the gravitational field variables are the orthonormal coframe (tetrad) and the Lorentz connection. A simple gravitational gauge Lagrangian is the Einstein-Cartan choice proportional to the curvature scalar plus a cosmological term. In Diakonov's model the coframe is eliminated by expressing it in terms of the primordial spinor. We derive the corresponding field equations for the first time. We extend the Diakonov model by additionally eliminating the Lorentz connection, but keeping local Lorentz covariance intact. Then, if we drop the Einstein-Cartan term in the Lagrangian, a nonlinear Heisenberg type spinor equation is recovered in the lowest approximation.Comment: 13 pages, no figure