Effects of natural and inorganic management practices on the soil properties of sandy regosols during Yala season in Batticaloa district

Quality of soil is critical for plant growth, and hence, important to agriculture. Management practices that are appropriate to improve soil characteristics and climate can enhance soil quality and its fertility. Natural soil management is a sustainable way of managing soil that benefits from recycling of natural resources. A field experiment was conducted at the Crop Farm, Eastern University, Sri Lanka to study the effects of natural and inorganic soil management practices during Yala 2010. Two separate plots having 50 square meter extent were selected for this experiment. One plot was managed naturally (natural soil) with mulching, green manuring and application of soil amendments (Jiwamirta and Amutha karaisal) whereas other plot (inorganic soil) was managed based on the recommendations of Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka including chemical fertilizers. Five soil samples from each plot were analyzed for soil properties namely moisture content (MC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen, available potassium and phosphorus and organic matter (OM). Statistical analysis was carried out using SAS. Natural soil consisted significantly (P < 0.05) higher MC than the inorganic soil. The natural soil had a neutral pH while the inorganic soil was acidic. OM content, EC, total nitrogen and available potassium were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in natural soil. However, available phosphorus was significantly lower in natural soil. Therefore, it could be concluded that natural soil management practices improved soil properties better than inorganic practices which could be environmental friendly and economically beneficial for the farmers

Effect of exogenously applied l-tryptophan and chemical fertilizer on tuber formation of radish

A pot experiment was carried out from August to September 2015 at the Crop Farm, Eastern University Sri Lanka to find out the effect of concentration of L-Tryptophan (LTRP) on tuber formation in radishunder different fertilizer treatments. There were six treatments with three replicates laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with factorial arrangement. The treatment combinations were rates of fertilizer (recommended fertilizer rate by the Department of Agriculture and half of their recommendation) and concentration of L-TRP (0 M, 10-3 M, 10-4 M). Measurements were taken at 45 days after sowing of radish. There was a significant interaction (p<0.05) between the concentration of L-TRP and fertilizer rate on tuber length, tuber diameter and tuber yield per plant of radish. At recommended fertilizer rate and LTRP of 10-4 M, the tuber yield per plant (1.57 fold)alongwith length (1.12 fold) and diameter (0.76 fold) significantly increased over the control. Simultaneously, at half of recommended fertilizer rate, all the parameters such as tuber length (1.31 fold), tuber diameter (0.66 fold) and tuber yield per plant (1.89 fold) were significantly high at 10-3 M of L-TRP over the control. The results indicated that as recommended fertilizer reduced to half of the rate, the concentration of L-TRP increased by 10 foldin order to improve the tuber formation of radish. Therefore, it can be concluded that the application of L-TRP as a phytohormone precursor can be used to increase the tuber formation in radish at different fertilizer rate

Pesticide usage pattern for vegetable cultivation in Manmunai South & Eruvilpattu divisional secretariat Division of Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka

Batticaloa, is a coastal district in Sri Lanka. Vegetables except up-country vegetables sold in Batticaloa District are mainly grown in villages. Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu divisional secretariat (DS) division is a predominantly vegetable cultivating area in the Batticaloa district. Farmers in this region use variety of synthetic pesticides to protect vegetables. Recently public concern related to health risks associated with pesticide residues has been increased, substantially. Therefore, a study was conducted to find out pesticide usage practices of farmers on vegetable cultivation in Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu DS division. Stratified random sampling method was used to select respondents for the survey and the collected data were analyzed statistically. It was observed that, the usage of pesticides was higher in the study area. Vegetable farmers use more than 14 Insecticides to control pest infestation. Farmers in the study area apply pesticides more frequently. Highly pesticide sprayed crop is Brinjal. About 66% of the Chilli producing farmers and 84% of the Brinjal producing farmers apply pesticide more than 22 times per cropping season. Around 90% of the farmers apply more than the recommended dosage and frequency of the pesticides. It was noticed that more than 89% of the farmers harvest the produce before the recommended pre harvest interval. It was found out that farmers in the study area are not following recommended pesticide usage practices. Hence, it is essential to educate the farmers on recommended pesticide usage practices, reduced usage of synthetic pesticides and use of organic farming practices to reduce the ill effects of synthetic pesticides. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v4i1.21092 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. &amp; Tech. 4 (1): 53-56, June, 201

Pesticide storage, disposal and protective methods adapted by the vegetable farmers in the Manmunai south and Eruvilpattu divisional secretariat division of Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka

Batticaloa district is in the Eastern Part of Sri Lanka. Vegetables except up-country vegetables sold in Batticaloa district are mainly grown in villages in the district. Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu divisional secretariat (DS) division is a predominantly vegetable cultivating area in the Batticaloa district. Farmers in this region use variety of synthetic pesticides to protect vegetables. Recently public concern related to health risks associated with pesticide residues in the vegetables has been increased substantially. Therefore, a study was conducted to find out pesticide storage, disposal and protective methods adapted by the farmers on vegetable cultivation in Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu DS division. Stratified random sampling method was used to select respondents for the survey and collected data were analyzed statistically. It was observed that the usage of pesticides is higher in the study area. There are no any proper storage methods practices by farmers and they are highly negligent in proper disposal of empty containers. The farmers in the survey area never use any protective measures before or during the spraying operations of pesticides. It was found that awareness related to pesticide usage, storage and disposal methods by farmers were very low. Further, they are unaware of the ill effects of pesticides on human beings as well as the environment itself. Awareness programmes are essential and recommended to change the attitudes of farmers to shift them from traditional to environmental friendly pest control methods

Development of edible chitosan based packaging film with improved physicochemical and biological properties

Chitosan is a promising material for making edible, active and biodegradable packaging films for foods; however, pure chitosan films have poor mechanical and barrier properties. This Master of Philosophy study was conducted with the aim to improve the physicochemical and biological properties of chitosan films by incorporating epoxy activated agarose (EAA) and three flavonoids, namely catechin, quercetin and luteolin into the film. Chitosan films were prepared with chitosan of three molecular weights (low, medium and high) and by drying at 21 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C. EAA and the flavonoids were incorporated into chitosan, both at 1-10%. With increased MW of chitosan, the film thickness, tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB), and swelling ability increased while the moisture content, solubility, water vapor permeability (WVP) and the melting temperature declined. Higher drying temperatures led to greater TS and higher melting temperature for the films. Incorporation of the EAA significantly improved the moisture related properties and flexibility of the chitosan films. Moreover, with higher amounts of EAA, the film thickness and opacity increased while the TS and thermal stability declined. Incorporation of flavonoids had significant (type and concentration dependent) impact on the physicochemical and biological properties of chitosan films. Addition of flavonoids up to 5% resulted in films with greater TS, EAB and thermal stability, whereas at concentrations of up to 3%, the films produced had improved WVP. All the chitosan-flavonoid composite films exhibited antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Beef samples wrapped with pure chitosan or chitosan-flavonoid composite films had significantly lower microbial counts and a more reddish color after two weeks of storage at 4 °C than those packaged with cling wrap. Storage of the chitosan films at 21 °C and 4 °C for six weeks resulted in significant reductions in the TPC, TFC, antioxidant activity and the flexibility of the films, which occurred at a faster rate at 21 °C. Overall, this study demonstrated that incorporation of EAA and flavonoids at appropriate levels can significantly improve some of the physicochemical and biological properties of chitosan films

Simulations expérimentale et numérique des phénomènes de ruissellement et d'atomisation lors d'une procédure de lavage à l'eau

Celui-ci a pour objectif de valider l'ensemble des modèles physiques utilisés dans un code de simulation numérique pour simuler un écoulement de type annulaire dispersé en conduite rencontré lors d'une procédure de lavage à eau utilisé dans les raffineries. Pour ce faire une banque de données expérimentale est mise en place sur des configurations représentatives de celles utilisées en condition industrielle. La géométrie retenue comporte une zone horizontale d'injection rectiligne avec un injecteur central, suivi d'un coude à 90 situé dans un plan vertical. Différentes conditions expérimentales permettent d'étudier l'influence de la vitesse du gaz, de la condition d'injection du brouillard et de la pression sur les différents processus physiques. Ces résultats comprenant des visualisations du brouillard et du film pariétale, des mesures de taille et de distribution de gouttes,des mesures de débit et d'épaisseur de film, sont analysés pour faire ressortir les principaux mécanismes d'interaction entre le gaz et la phase dispersée, le gaz et le film liquide pariétal et la phase dispersée et le film pariétal. En parallèle, des premières simulations, avec une approche RANS, sont réalisées avec le code CEDRE de l'ONERA et les résultats sont confrontés aux mesures.This work has been realised within a CIFRE contract with TOTAL. Its aim was to validate all the physical models used in a computation, which simulates an annular dispersed flow through a pipe used in a water washing process in refinery plants. That is why, a whole set of data has been gathered using experimental boundary conditions which are representative to those used in industrial configurations. The geometry is made of a horizontal pipe with a centred nozzle followed by a 90 elbow in the vertical plane. Several experimental boundary conditions enable one to study the influence of the gas velocity, the type of the spray injection and the pressure on the different physical phenomena. These results including spray and liquid film visualisations, droplets distribution and size measurements as well as liquid film thickness and mass flow measurements were analysed in order to extract the main interaction mechanism between the gas and the dispersed phase, the gas and the liquid film, and the dispersed phase and the annular liquid film. Meanwhile, simulations using a RANS approach were realized with the ONERA code named CEDRE and its results were compared to the gathered measurements.TOULOUSE-ISAE (315552318) / SudocSudocFranceF

PRO RE NATA (PRN) PRESCRIPTION IN AN INPATIENT LOW SECURE LEARNING DISABILITY UNIT

Introduction: Pro Re Nata (PRN) prescribing in psychiatry is a common and valuable facility to be used in acutely distressed patients. It is open to misuse and PRN prescribing may be unnecessary/inappropriate. Aim: The aim of the audit is to ensure safe and effective prescription of PRN medication. Audit Standards: The standards were set in congruence with the guidance from the local trust policy. Methodology: All of the inpatient records at Wood Lea clinic were studied over a 2 month period. Conclusions: Most of the standards against which the clinical notes were assessed gave evidence of good medical practice. Patient demographics demonstrated a 100% record of the NHS number but the patient’s name and ward fell short. Recommendations: This was presented locally and measures put in place to address gaps. Re-audit should be performed within a year in order to complete the audit cycle and to ensure that recommendations/action plan have been followed through

Necessidades de cuidados do utente

As instituições de saúde devem ser vistas como respostas completas, multidisciplinares e multifacetadas. A Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados integra o conceito de atenção integral ao doente/cuidador biopsicossocial, pelo que surge a expectativa da existência de objetivos atingíveis e mensuráveis, se na realidade o profissional integra a globalidade do ser hwnano mesmo quando os objetivos não atingidos são de áreas que não lhe dizem respeito, sem ignorá-lo e tomá-lo importante aos olhos de toda a equipa. Neste estudo, pretendemos identificar as necessidades de cuidados no utente, percecionadas pelo próprio, pelo profissional de enfermagem que o cuida e pelo seu cuidador informal, bem como encaixar o papel da comWlÍcação doente/profissional de saúde/cuidador na avaliação biopsicossocial do doente. Num estudo descritivo, simples de plano transversal, com uma vertente exploratória, foram aplicados 102 questionários, cada qual com 3 secções de preenchimento autónomo pelo utente, pelo profissional de saúde e pelo cuidador, nas Unidades de Cuidados Continuados de Longa Duração e Manutenção selecionadas. Verificou-se que as necessidades biológicas são as mais referidas pelos utentes e pelos enfermeiros, sendo que o cuidador privilegia todas as necessidades (biológicas, psicológicas e sociais)

Gifsy-1 Prophage IsrK with Dual Function as Small and Messenger RNA Modulates Vital Bacterial Machineries

While an increasing number of conserved small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are known to function in general bacterial physiology, the roles and modes of action of sRNAs from horizontally acquired genomic regions remain little understood. The IsrK sRNA of Gifsy-1 prophage of Salmonella belongs to the latter class. This regulatory RNA exists in two isoforms. The first forms, when a portion of transcripts originating from isrK promoter reads-through the IsrK transcription-terminator producing a translationally inactive mRNA target. Acting in trans, the second isoform, short IsrK RNA, binds the inactive transcript rendering it translationally active. By switching on translation of the first isoform, short IsrK indirectly activates the production of AntQ, an antiterminator protein located upstream of isrK. Expression of antQ globally interferes with transcription termination resulting in bacterial growth arrest and ultimately cell death. Escherichia coli and Salmonella cells expressing AntQ display condensed chromatin morphology and localization of UvrD to the nucleoid. The toxic phenotype of AntQ can be rescued by co-expression of the transcription termination factor, Rho, or RNase H, which protects genomic DNA from breaks by resolving R-loops. We propose that AntQ causes conflicts between transcription and replication machineries and thus promotes DNA damage. The isrK locus represents a unique example of an island-encoded sRNA that exerts a highly complex regulatory mechanism to tune the expression of a toxic protein

A direct-hybrid CFD/CAA method based on lattice Boltzmann and acoustic perturbation equations

The accuracy of two direct coupled two-step CFD/CAA methods is discussed. For the flow field either a finite-volume (FV) method for the solution of the Navier–Stokes equations or a lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is coupled to a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method for the solution of the acoustic perturbation equations. The coupling takes advantage of a joint Cartesian mesh allowing for the exchange of the acoustic sources without MPI communication. An immersed boundary treatment of the acoustic scattering from solid bodies by a novel solid wall formulation is implemented and validated in the DG method. Results for the case of a spinning vortex pair and the low Reynolds number unsteady flow around a circular cylinder show that a solution with comparable accuracy is obtained for the two direct-hybrid methods when using identical mesh resolution