Root zone salinity management using fractional skimming wells with pressurized irrigation: Inception report

Wells / Aquifers / Pumping / Groundwater irrigation / Water quality / Salinity control / Irrigation programs / Climate / Waterlogging / Drainage / Soils / Land use / Cropping systems / Farm income

Simulation study of stiffeners on composite plate

The present communication highlights a computational model to analyze the behavior of stiffened plates of such composite materials that is subjected to low velocity impact. The commercial explicit finite element software LS-Dyna has been used. The contact force is calculated in conjunction with the loading and unloading processes. The time history of the impact process such as target plate deflection, due to an impact force acting at the center of the plate, is obtained. Analysis shows the effect of number of stiffener on response of composite plate. In particular the displacement and contact force curve with respect to time were investigated, as the stiffness of the composite plate and contact force variation with time were analyzed without failure of composite structure with single and double stiffener

Production of lignin peroxidase by Ganoderma leucidum using solid state fermentation

The main objectives of this study were to optimize the culture conditions for the production of lignin peroxidase by Ganoderma leucidum, economic utilization of waste corn cobs as inducers substrate by pollution free fermentation technology and to optimize the solid state fermentation (SSF) process for lignin peroxidase (LiP) production. Growth medium employed for the culture of G. leucidum for the production of LiP was supplied with fermentation conditions that were optimized before selection like incubation period, inoculum size, temperature, pH, substrate to water ratio, nitrogen source, yeast extract and cane molasses. Culture was harvested on the fourth day and diluted five times with distilled water and filtrate was stored in Eppendoff tubes for enzyme assay using 310 nm wave lengths in the spectrophotometer. Lignin peroxidase production was enhanced and maximum LiP activity (2807 U/ml) was found in the growth medium after 96 h, inoculum size 3 ml, pH 4.5 and temperature 35°C with substrate to water ratio of 20 ml/5 g, yeast extract 4%, (NH4)2SO4, 2% and cane molasses 3%. Results indicate the excellent scope of corn cobs as solid state substrate for the production of lignin peroxidase by G. leucidum.Key words: Lignin peroxidase (LiP), Ganoderma leucidum, fermentation, corn cobs, cane molasses

Lorey's height regression for ICESAT-GLAS waveforms in hyrcanian deciduous forests of Iran

IGARSS 2015, Milan, ITA, 26-/07/2015 - 31/07/2015International audienceSince Lidar technology provides the most direct measurements of 3D of phenomena, it plays a critical role in a variety of applications. Forest canopy height as a main factor in forest biomass estimation is costly and time consuming to be measured on the ground. This study aims to estimate Lorey's height “Hlorey” using GLAS data based on regression models. Different metrics like waveform extent “Wext”, trail-edge extent “Htrail” and lead-edge extent “Hlead” were extracted from waveforms and a terrain index “TI” was also calculated using a digital elevation model. Hlorey estimated using multiple regression models were compared to field measurements data. A 5-fold cross validation method was used to validate the results. Best model with lowest AIC (297.440) was resulted using combination of Wext and TI (R_a^2=0.72; RMSE= 5.04m). The results show capability of ICESat-GLAS to estimate Lorey's height in sloped area with a simple regression model. It is prospected to reach better result using other statistical methods and also improvement of processing techniques for LiDAR waveforms in the case of sloped terrai

Association between nucleotide mutation of eNOS gene and serum level of vessel expansion factor (VEF) in non-smoker patients with vascular heart disease

Various mutation on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOs) gene cause reduced production of NO, the expansion factor (VEF) and may accelerate the process of atherosclerosis. The study was designed to investigate the frequency of T-786C polymorphism of the gene or nucleotide mutation of eNOS gene in patients suffering from vascular heart disease (VHD) or coronary artery disease (CAD) in North West of Iran. 120 subjects including 60 patients with angiographically diagnosed CAD and 60 age and sex matched CAD-free subjects as control were studied. The levels of Nitric oxide in the samples were measured with the Griess method. The genotype studies were carried out using allele specific PCR. Comparing with the control reduced levels of NO were noticed in the patient group (P<0.05) and significantly high frequency of eNOs -786C genotype was found in CAD patients (P<0.05). The low levels of NO and increased frequency of T-786C polymorphism might be a risk factor in progression of coronary artery disease in the studied subjects.Keywords: Vascular heart disease, endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene, TC 786 SNP, vessel expansion factor (VEF), non-smokerAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(20), pp. 3023-302

Capability of GLAS/ICESat data to estimate forest canopy height and volume in mountainous forests of Iran

International audienceThe importance of measuring biophysical properties of forest for ecosystem health monitoring and forest management encourages researchers to find precise, yet low cost methods especially in mountainous and large area. In the present study Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on board ICESat was used to estimate three biophysical characteristics of forests located in north of Iran: 1) maximum canopy height (Hmax), 2) Lorey's height (HLorey), and 3) Forest volume (V). A large number of Multiple Linear Regressions (MLR) and also Random Forest (RF) regressions were developed using different set of variables: waveform metrics, Principal Components (PCs) produced from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Wavelet Coefficients (WCs) generated from wavelet transformation. To validate and compare different models, statistical criteria were calculated based on a five-fold cross validation. The best model concerning the maximum canopy height was an MLR with an RMSE of 5.0 m which combined two metrics extracted from waveforms (waveform extent "Wext" and height at 50% of waveform energy "H50"), and one from the Digital Elevation Model (Terrain Index: TI). The mean absolute error (MAPE) of maximum canopy height estimates is about 16.4%. For Lorey's height, a simple MLR model including two metrics (Wext and TI) represents the highest performance (RMSE=5.1 m, MAPE=24.0%). Totally, MLR models showed better performance rather than RF models, and accuracy of height estimations using waveform metrics was greater than those based on PCs or WCs. Concerning forest volume, employing regression models to estimate volume directly from GLAS data led to a better result (RMSE=128.8 m3/ha) rather than volume-HLorey relationship (RMSE=167.8 m3/ha)

An innovation for organic crop production by compost fertilizer of Isfahan municipal’s waste as bionematicide and biofertilizer

Sugar beet cyst nematode (SBCN), Hederodera schachtii Schmidt. 1871, marked as one of the most damaging disease of sugar beet fields worldwide. Non chemical controls measures were carried out, using organic fertilizers including farm, poultry and green manure (waste cabbage leaves), compost (municipal’s waste products, 0.15 and 0.08 mm in size) and vermicomposting as the soil treatments at various rates against control (no treatments) in glass house and field highly infested with the nematode, SBCN in Isfahan, Iran. The related data on cysts final population, number of eggs and second larvae per cyst and per gram of soil were subjected to statistical analysis. The reproduction factor and the percent reduction and or increasing in population of nematode, SBCN were taken into consideration in comparison to initial populations. The results revealed that, poultry manure at the rate of 40 t ha-1 had the most and highly significant effects on the final population reduction in contrast to other ones, including controls. Followed by 0.15mm (60 t ha-1), compost 0.08 (60 t ha-1), poultry manure at the rate of 20 t ha-1, with no significant differences respectively. Vermicomposting, cabbage leaves and form manure treatments had the least effects on the final population reduction in sugar beet cyst nematode populations.Keywords: compost municipality wastes, cyst nematodes, organic matters, Isfahan, Ira

Biological interactions between carreau fluid and micro-swimmers in a complex wavy canal with MHD effects

The efficient magnetic swimming of actual or mechanically designed micro-swimmers within bounded regions is reliant on several factors. Few of which are: the actuation of these swimmers via magnetic field, rheology of surrounding liquid (with dominant viscous forces), nature of medium (either porous or non-porous), position (either straight, inclined or declined) and state (either active or passive) of the narrow passage. To witness these interactions, we utilize Carreau fluid with Taylor swimming sheet model under magnetic and porous effects. Moreover, the cervical canal is approximated as a two-dimensional complex wavy channel inclined at certain angle with the horizontal. The momentum equations are reduced by means of lubrication assumption, which finally leads to a fourth order differential equation. MATLAB's built-in bvp4c function is employed to solve the resulting boundary value problem (BVP). The solution obtained via bvp4c is further verified by finite difference method (FDM). In both these methods, the refined values of flow rate and cell speed are computed by utilizing modified Newton-Raphson method. These realistic pairs are further utilized, to calculate the energy delivered by the micro-swimmer. The numerical results are plotted and discussed at the end of the article. Our study explains that the optimum speed of the micro-organism can be achieved by means of exploiting the fluid rheology and with the suitable application of the magnetic field. The peristaltic nature of the channel walls and porous medium may also serve as alternative factors to control the speed of the propeller

Magnetic micro-swimmers propelling through bio-rheological liquid bounded within an active channel

The dynamics of a micro-organism swimming through a channel with undulating walls subject to constant transverse applied magnetic field is investigated. The micro-organism is modeled as self-propelling undulating sheet which is out of phase with the channel waves while the electrically conducting biofluid (through which micro-swimmers propel) is characterized by the non-Newtonian shear-rate dependent Carreau fluid model. Creeping flow is mobilized in the channel due to the self-propulsion of the micro-organism and the undulatory motion of narrow gapped walls. Under these conditions the conservation equations are formulated under the long wavelength and low Reynolds number assumptions. The speed of the self-propelling sheet and the rate of work done at higher values of rheological parameters are obtained by using a hybrid numerical technique (MATLAB routine bvp-4c combined with a modified Newton-Raphson method). The results are validated through an alternative hybrid numerical scheme (implicit finite difference method (FDM) in conjunction with a modified Newton-Raphson method). The assisting role of magnetic field and rheological effects of the surrounding biofluid on the swimming mode are shown graphically and interpreted at length. The global behavior of biofluid is also expounded via visualization of the streamlines in both regions (above and below the swimming sheet) for realistic micro-organism speeds. The computations reveal that optimal swimming conditions for the micro-organism (i.e., greater speed with lower energy losses) are achievable in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) environments including magnetic field-assisted cervical treatments. Keywords: Micro-organism; peristaltic (active) channel; Carreau fluid; Swimming speed; biomagnetohydrodynamics (bioMHD); Rate of work done; Hybrid numerical method, Newton-Raphson method; Cervical magnetic therap