Efficiency of exogenous zinc sulfate application reduced fruit drop and improved antioxidant activity of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin fruit

‘ Kinnow’ mandarin (Citrus nobilis L.× Citrus deliciosa T.) is an important marketable fruit of the world. It is mainstay of citrus industry in Pakistan, having great export potential. But out of total production of the country only 10% of the produce meets the international quality standard for export. Pre-harvest fruit drop and poor fruit quality could be associated with various issues including the plant nutrition. Most of the farmers do not pay attention to the supply of micro nutrients which are already deficient in the soil. Furthermore, their mobility within plants is also a question. Zinc (Zn) is amongst those micronutrients which affect the quality and postharvest life of the fruit and its deficiency in Pakistani soils is already reported by many researchers. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the influence of pre-harvest applications of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4; 0, 0.4%, 0.6% or 0.8%) on pre-harvest fruit drop, yield and fruit quality of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin at harvest. The treatments were applied during the month of October i.e. 4 months prior to harvest. The applied Zn sprays had significant effect on yield and quality of the “Kinnow” fruit. Amongst different foliar applications of ZnSO4applied four months before harvest, 0.6% ZnSO4 significantly reduced pre-harvest fruit drop (10.08%) as compared to untreated control trees (46.45%). Similarly, the maximum number of fruits harvested per tree (627), fruit weight (192.9 g), juice percentage (42.2%), total soluble solids (9.5 °Brix), ascorbic acid content (35.5 mg 100 g-1) and sugar contents (17.4) were also found significantly higher with 0.6% ZnSO4 treatment as compared to rest of treatments and control. Foliar application of 0.6% ZnSO4 also significantly improved total antioxidants (TAO) and total phenolic contents (TPC) in fruit. In conclusion, foliar spray of ZnSO4 (0.6%) four months prior to harvest reduced pre-harvest fruit drop, increase yield with improved quality of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin fruit.

The Effect of Pristine and Pegylated Graphene Oxide Nanosheets on the Functions of Human Neutrophils

Graphene oxide (GO) is very useful for biomedicine, due to its physicochemical properties; therefore, its interaction with cells of the immune system has beenextensively studied. Many studies have aimed toreduce the undesirable effects of GO through chemical modification, including through polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating. Neutrophils are the first to respond to foreign object invasion in the body. Their main functions are the uptake and destruction of foreign particles, including with the help of reactive oxygen species (ROS).Our study aimed to investigate theengulfment of unmodified graphene oxide (GO) and graphene oxide coated with polyethylene glycol (GO-PEG) by human neutrophils and the effect of nanosheets on the production of ROS.We used sheets of GO (Ossila, Great Britain, average plate size 1-5 μm) and GO-PEG (569 ± 14 nm, PEG coating≈ 20%) at concentrations of 12.5μg/mL, 25μg/mL, and 50 μg/mL. The uptake of nanosheets was assessed by flow cytometry, taking into account the level of background adhesion of nanoparticles. ROS production was evaluated by luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (LCL).It was found that GO (12.5μg/mL, 25μg/mL, and 50 μg/mL) was actively internalized by neutrophils, while the uptake of GO-PEG was not detected. GO and GO-PEG particles (25 μg/mLand 50 μg/mL) reduced the total production of ROS by human leukocytes.Thus, the modifying of GOnanosheets with PEG resulted in the abolishment of their active uptake by neutrophils but did not affect the GO inhibitory effect on their oxidative activity. Keywords: graphene oxide surface modification, pegylated graphene oxide nanosheets, nanoparticle uptake, human neutrophils, of reactive oxygen species

The Rehydration Ability of Whey Ingredients

The purpose of this research was to studythe ability of whey protein concentrates (WPC) and whey permeate produced with ultrafiltration of cheese whey to rehydrate. The products studied were cheese whey concentrate witha PDM percentage of 80% (WPC-80), and cheese whey permeate, both produced under the conditions of the PJSC Dairy “Voronezhsky”.WPC-80 and the whey permeate dissolution processes were studied using microscopy. Water-impermeable hydrophobic layers were formed at the boundary, preventing water penetration into dry particles. The result was a higher dissolution timeforWPC-80 compared with whey permeate. When WPC-80 came into contact with water,it initially formed an obtuse wetting angle with a slow change over time. Whey permeate reached the equilibrium wetting angle more quickly. Quickreconditioning of WPC moisture content required avoiding capillary penetration of water, which created a turbulent liquid flow. The application of these ingredients in different food industry areas can reduce the costs for finished products, contribute to cost-effectiveness, increase the total production, and reduce environmental risks. Keywords: whey protein concentrate, whey permeate powder, water-wetting, dissolution

Effects of Different Mold Materials and Coolant Media on the Cooling Performance of Epoxy-Based Injection Molds

Metal additive manufacturing techniques are frequently applied to the manufacturing of injection molds with a conformal cooling channel (CCC) in order to shorten the cooling time in the injection molding process. Reducing the cooling time in the cooling stage is essential to reducing the energy consumption in mass production. However, the distinct disadvantages include higher manufacturing costs and longer processing time in the fabrication of injection mold with CCC. Rapid tooling technology (RTT) is a widely utilized technology to shorten mold development time in the mold industry. In principle, the cooling time of injection molded products is affected by both injection mold material and coolant medium. However, little work has been carried out to investigate the effects of different mold materials and coolant media on the cooling performance of epoxy-based injection molds quantitatively. In this study, the effects of four different coolant media on the cooling performance of ten sets of injection molds fabricated with different mixtures were investigated experimentally. It was found that cooling water with ultrafine bubble is the best cooling medium based on the cooling efficiency of the injection molded parts (since the cooling efficiency is increased further by about 12.4% compared to the conventional cooling water). Mold material has a greater influence on the cooling efficiency than the cooling medium, since cooling time range of different mold materials is 99 s while the cooling time range for different cooling media is 92 s. Based on the total production cost of injection mold and cooling efficiency, the epoxy resin filled with 41 vol.% aluminum powder is the optimal formula for making an injection mold since saving in the total production cost about 24% is obtained compared to injection mold made with commercially available materials.

Peanut Rotation and Flooding Induce Rhizobacteriome Variation With Opposing Influences on the Growth and Medicinal Yield of Corydalis yanhusuo

Corydalis yanhusuo, a precious herb of the Papaveraceae family, is widely used in multiple traditional Chinese medicines for the treatment of many painful conditions, and its medicinal part is the dried tuber. Yet how to improve this plant’s medicinal yield as well as its economic efficiency remains a key problem in its cultivation. The planting of C. yanhusuo in rotation with peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) aims to improve land utilization efficiency, but the total production of tubers is severely reduced relative to fields without rotation. However, an increased yield was observed in C. yanhusuo plants grown in previously flooded fields (HR field) compared to the ones grown in the fields that had been used to cultivate peanut (PL field) or in fields without rotation or flooding (N field). Based on these phenomena, in this study, we explored the potential factors responsible for the altered growth/yield of C. yanhusuo under different field conditions. Soil physicochemical properties and the diversity and community of rhizobacteriome of C. yanhusuo were both analyzed. By testing several soil physicochemical properties, we found that the cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), and pH value differed significantly among these three types of fields. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed stark differences in the composition, diversity, and potential functions of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere of C. yanhusuo plants grown in field with the peanut rotation or flooding. Notably, the Acidobacteria were enriched in the HR field, while Actinobacteria were enriched in the PL field. More importantly, further analysis showed that changed soil physicochemical properties could be one reason for why the rhizospheric bacterial community has changed; hence, soil physicochemical properties might also be affecting plant performance indirectly by regulating the rhizospheric bacterial community. The RDA analysis distinguished CEC as the most important soil physicochemical property influencing the structure and composition of the C. yanhusuo rhizobacteriome. In summary, our results suggest peanut rotation- and flooding-induced soil physicochemical properties changes would further impact the rhizobacteriome of C. yanhusuo albeit differentially, culminating in opposite effects upon the plant growth and medicinal yield of C. yanhusuo.

Feasibility Analysis of Household Industry Tape Timber in Bale Hakim Kampung, Lut Tawar District, Central Aceh Regency

This study is a quantitative descriptive study to determine the costs, revenues, income and profits of a business and to determine the feasibility of cassava tape business in Bale Hakim village, Lut Tawar district, Central Aceh district. The methodology of this research is descriptive quantitative. Data analysis using R/C formula and Break Event Point. The results showed that the total cost of producing cassava tape for 3 months was RP. 5,007,000, with a total revenue of 13,730,000, income Rp. 9.520.000 and Profit Rp. 8,723,000. The result of the calculation of R/C is greater than 1, namely 2.742, then the cassava tape industry is feasible to operate. The calculation results of BEP production = 5,007 and Total Production = 13,730, then BEP Production < Total Production, then the cassava tape business is in a profitable position. The results of the calculation of BEP receipts = Rp. 5.007.000 and Revenue = 13.73 million, then, BEP Revenue < Acceptance, then the cassava tape business is in a profitable position. And the results of the calculation of BEP Price = 364.676 and selling price = Rp. 1000, then BEP Price < Selling Price, then the cassava tape business is in a profitable position. Keywords: Analysis, Business Feasibility, Home Industry, Cassava Tape.

Isolation and Identification of taxonomically diverse bacterial endophytes from citrus in Punjab Pakistan

<pre style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Courier New"; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; line-height: 26.666664123535156px;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Citrus is an economically important fruit crop grown in all provinces of Pakistan, while Punjab accounting for 95 percent of total production due to its favorable climate for citrus production. Commercially grown varieties in Pakistan include sweet oranges, grapefruits, Mandarine, Lime, and lemon. The goal of this research was to see how diverse the cultivable bacterial populations are found in citrus cultivars. Out of 90 isolated cultures, 37 endophytic bacterial species and 15 </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">different genera of bacteria were characterized</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular methods from citrus leaves. All the isolated bacteria were subjected to PCR amplification through 16S rDNA followed by sequencing. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">RDP base classification revealed that class Bacilli has the largest percentage of isolates, whereas class Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Proteobacteria have the lowest percentage among all genotypes used. According to the findings, the phylum Firmicutes contains a common genus (Brevibacterium, 1%; Enterococcus, 6%; Staphylococcus, 7% and Bacillus, 60%). Alpha (Rhizobium) beta (Burkholderia cepacia; Comamonas terigena) gamma Proteobacteria (Enterobacter hermachei (1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (1%), Proteus mirabilis (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5%), Psychrobacter pulmonis and Yersinia molalretti (1%) respectively. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">These results revealed that cultivars of the plants might contribute to the structure and endophytic bacterial communities associated with citrus. Endophytes extracted from leaf samples of different citrus cultivars in Pakistan are reported for the first time. The idea of employing endophytes bacteria to produce enzymes stimulate plant growth, and its purpose as a biological control agent will be investigated in the future.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre>

Current state, prospects and problems of the gold mining industry of the Trans-Baikal Territory

The article considers the current state, problems and prospects of gold mining in the Trans-Baikal Territory. There has been an increase in the volume of gold production from ore and placer deposits over the past 5 years. Placer deposits make up a significant part of the total production volume. The reduction of reserves in placers and the decrease in the quality of minerals in them open up new prospects for the extraction of precious metals, namely in ore gold mining. The extraction of placer gold, even with the best existing technologies, remains a sector of high environmental risk, in many settlements there is a gradual decline in the population and the “extinction” of settlements, as well as illegal gold mining is gaining momentum. Neither regional nor federal environmental supervision bodies have the opportunity to resist the destruction and degradation of nature from the extraction of placer gold. In general, this leads to an increase in the negative impact of placer gold mining on natural complexes and socio-economic sustainable development of regions and municipalities on the territory of which this type of activity is carried out, an increase in accumulated environmental damage.

Replacement level of rubber seed cake for soybean meal on the growth of Japanese quail

A four-week feeding trial on the simultaneous replacement of 0 to 50% of soybean meal and 0 to 100% of soybean oil on the growth performance, carcass composition and profitability was conducted using 45 randomly chosen one-week-old growing Japanese quail. The five experimental diets were; D0= Diet containing 20% soybean meal and 4% soybean oil (control diet), D1= Diet, where 12.5% of soybean meal and 25% of soybean oil has been replaced by RSC; T2 = Diet, where 25% of soybean meal and 50% of soybean oil has been replaced by RSC; T3 = Diet, where 37.5% of soybean meal and 75% of soybean oil has been replaced by RSC; T4 = Diet, where 50% of soybean meal and 100% of soybean oil has been replaced by RSC. Results demonstrated that in raw rubber seed the proportion of kernel to hull is 64: 36. Proximate components of the boiled and sundried full fat rubber seed kernel (RS) were, moisture = 96.6%, ME = 5305 kcal / kg DM, CP = 17.6%, EE = 51.05%, CF = 8.5%, NFE = 18.25% and Ash = 4.6%. The body weights of the birds at 35 days of age in all dietary treatments were statistically similar. The feed intake of the quail among different dietary groups was varied significantly (p < 0.05) and there was a tendency of decreasing the feed intake at 25% and above inclusion level of RSC. The body weight gain and FCR were also statistically similar in all dietary groups. The feed cost and total production cost /kg BW of quail was also found to become steadily higher (p> 0.05) at higher RSC inclusion level. The muscle development was found to better at lower (%) RSC level, whereas the organs were enlarged at higher RSC inclusion. Results on the majority of the production parameters, and economics and carcass yield parameters suggested that the simultaneous replacement of maximum 50% soybean oil 25% soybean meal by processed RSC might be suggested, particularly, there will be a crisis in the availability of these two ingredients.

Restructuring of coal mining in Romania between the climate crisis and the energy transition

The Romanian energy market is dependent on about a third of total production on the use of fossil fuels, hard coal and lignite and natural gas, especially in the winter months or dry summers, coal still being of strategic importance in producing electricity and ensuring energetic security. However, the sharp changes in climate in recent years have led to the conclusion of environmental agreements, with objectives aimed at long-term strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and which clearly require a reduction in the capacity to produce one kilowatt of thermal energy and identify solutions for transition to clean energy. Where will the Hunedoara Energy Complex and the Oltenia Energy Complex be located in this context? This paper aims to analyze the process of restructuring coal mining, the competitiveness of coal in the electricity mix and possibly the future prospects of restructured mining areas.