DESIGN AND PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION OF LAYERED FERTILIZATION OPENER FOR WHEAT, BASED ON EDEM

Applying different types of fertilizers to different depths of soil according to demand is advantageous in that it can optimize the distribution of nutrients in arable soil, adjust the nutrient supply of each growth stage of wheat, and increase grain yield. In the study, a layered fertilization opener that could realize the layered fertilization was developed. The interaction model between the opener, fertilizer and soil was established using EDEM simulation software. A response surface analysis was used to determine the optimal parameters of the opener. Specifically, the horizontal distance between the fertilizer drop openings was 140 mm, the machine speed was 1.05 m/s, and the angle of the opener was 37°. Furthermore, field experiments demonstrated that the average depth of upper layer was 8.39 cm, the average depth of middle layer was 16.465 cm, the average depth of lower layer was 24.025 cm, the average spacing of upper layer was 8.075 cm, and the average spacing of lower layer was 7.6 cm. The corresponding findings demonstrated that the layering effect of the opener met the requirements of the fertilization standard.

Anthropogenic impact on the shores and the bottom of the Jebriyan bay in the Northwestern part of the Black Sea

The Jebriyan Bay is located in the northern part of the Kiliya Danube Delta, at a junction of the delta cone and the indigenous coast. This is a zone of very high anthropogenic impact on the Danube Biosphere Reserve. The two opposite shores of this bay are fundamentally different. Along the northern shore, the Northwest coastal sand sediment flows discharge from the Cape of the Great Fontanne to the Jebriyan Bay. That is why the northern coast of the bay is made up of sandy forms of coastal topography (marine accumulative terrace and spit). The southern coast is deltaic; composed of a mixture of muddy, siltstone and sandy sediments. The area of the bay is limited to isobaths –11 m and is about 80 km2. The bottom of the bay has a gentle relief, made up of smooth outlines, with an average depth of 6.2 m. The shape of the transverse profile of the underwater slope is mostly convex. The natural system of the bay was affected by fishing, recreation, shipping and industrial sand production on coastal accumulative landforms. Coastal fishing uses a system of fixed bottom seines and small motorized floating equipment. Recreational facilities are designed to serve about 350 thousand people during the warm period each year. The impact of shipping was expressed in the construction and operation of the seaport of Ust-Dunaysk, together with suitable canal and the technical canal between the sea and the branch of the delta breakthrough the system of the large Ochakov branch. The ladle port had an area of about 1.5 km2, a maximal depth of 16 m, and an average depth of 13.7 m. The trough was connected to the Ochakov branch of the Danube Delta by a technical canal with a depth of 4 m. Vessels could enter the harbor of Ust-Danube through an access navigation channel with a depth of 11–12 m and a bottom width of 125 m. The port was used for the transshipment of large containers, general forest cargo from ocean vessels (displacement of 60–100 thousand tons) on regular sea lines from the countries of Southeast Asia to the Black Sea, to the Danube and further to the countries of Central Europe and to the ports of the North and the Baltic Seas. But it was unfortunate that the port construction site did not last as expected. Between 1980–2010 the harbor and approach canal of Ust-Dunaysk were filled with Danube river sediments. The example of Jebriyan Bay has shown that when executing any type of sustainable nature management project, it is very important to take into account the natural milieu.

Delineation of Geothermal Energy Potentials in Parts of Calabar Flank, Southeastern Nigeria Using Aeromagnetic Data

In tackling energy-related challenges in Nigeria; the exploration of an alternative source of energy (Geothermal Energy) comes to the limelight as it is generated below the earth subsurface. This work focuses on the delineation of geothermal energy potentials in parts of Calabar Flank, in southeastern Nigeria using Aeromagnetic Data. The aim is to understand the geothermal energy potentials and structural of parts of the Calabar flank by studying the various geothermal, geological, and structural parameters using Aeromagnetic Data. The methodologies applied are quantitative for structural analysis and qualitative using spectral analysis and 3D Euler Deconvolution. The study area lies between within Latitude 5°30ʹ00ʺ N - 6°30ʹ00ʺN and Longitude 7°30ʹ00ʺE - 8°30ʹ0ʺE respectively. Results from the 3D Euler analysis revealed the depth range of 0.25 Km to 4.018 Km. the spectral Analysis revealed a depth range of Magnetic source (Zt) is (-)0.564 Km to (-)0.828 Km, the Zo is (-)4.261 Km to (-)5.999Km and the average depth to basement thickness is (-)4.825 Km. The Curie Point Depth, Geothermal Gradient, and Heat flow yield an average depth of (-)9.452 Km, a value of 61.893CKm-1, and 154.983 mWm-2 from the Spectral Analysis. Some structural features such as trending faults, and fractured basements was observed at the NE-SW of the study area and this correlated to the relatively high heat flow and geothermal gradient at the NNE-SSW part is associated with thermal structures, mineralogical and tectonic history from the NE-SW trending fault in the study area is suitable for geothermal energy exploitation.

EVALUATION OF AN ELECTRONIC PERIODONTAL PROBE VERSUS A MANUAL PROBE IN THE PERIODONTAL DIAGNOSIS OF CHILDREN AGED 12-14 YEARS

Objective: The purpose of the trial is to comparatively analyze an electronic, pressure-calibrated probe third generation Parometer (Orange) and a standard, manual measurement probe WHO 621 (C type) in the context of taking periodontal variables when assessing periodontal status in childhood. Materials and methods: The subject of the study were 28 children aged between 12 and 14 years (12 boys and 16 girls). All patients were clinically examined, and the data were recorded on a specially prepared card. The recorded clinical variables contain: Assessment of oral hygiene habits (type of toothbrush, frequency of brushing); OHI as per Green Vermillion; Registration of dental status; Depth of gingival sulcus (on all teeth) with both types of probes; BOP (bleeding on probing), percentage of bleeding units with both types of probes; Taking into account the complete time needed to take the findings and the sensation of pain experienced by a digital rank scale during probing. Results and conclusion: The average depth of gingival sulcus measured with a mechanical periodontal probe was 1.62 mm, and with an electronic one - 1.38 mm (p <0.05). Values ​​for BOP with both types of probes showed an average of 0.30 ± 0.29, which is 30% of all bleeding units examined (p> 0.05). The time for recording the periodontal indices with both probes is, on average, 10 minutes. In both probes, the discomfort of about grade 4 was observed according to the ranking scale used to read sensitivity (p <0.05). There is a more pronounced sensitivity when using an electronic periodontal probe.

ANALYSIS CAPACITY OF WATERWAY IN ANEKA ELOK EAST JAKARTA

The problem of flooding in Aneka Elok, which is located in the city of East Jakarta, is still a matter of concern, because every rainy season it is always routinely flooded. The catchment area in this study is 0,75 km² has a primary waterway that flow along the Aneka Elok area which flows northward to the reservoir and pump house. The reservoir in Aneka Elok area is located on an area of 32.000m², is able to accommodate a flood debit of 225m³ with an average depth of 4m. And has a pump capacity of 1000 liters/second as much as 2 units. With the current capacity of the reservoir and pump capacity, it is still not able to overcome the debit flood existing. This study aims to determine the existing debit in Aneka Elok area according to the return period of 5 years and 25 years, the debit flood existing in the research area, so that it can analyze the required waterway cross section and ideal pump capacity. With a return period of 5 years, the rainfall insensity of I₅ is 91,95 mm/hour to calculate the debit flood due the rain and compared to the debit existing flood, it is found that thecapacity of the existing waterway at C1-C2, C4-C9 and C11 is not sufficient to accommodate the current debit flood, so it is necessary to modify the waterway dimension. With a return period of 25 years, the rainfall insensity I₂₅ is 169,66 mm/hour to calculate the pump capacity, it is found that current capacity is still not sufficient so that it is necessary to increase the pump capacity from 2 m³/s to 3,5 m³/s to accelerate water flow.

Study of State of Interface “Intraocular Lens — Posterior Capsule” Depending on Size of Capsulorhexis in Senile Cataract Phacoemulsification

Purpose. To study the state of interface “intraocular lens (IOL) — posterior capsule (PC)” depending on diameter of capsulorhexis in phacoemulsification of senile cataract.Patients and methods. 227 patients (227 eyes) were examined after phacoemulsification of senile cataract at LenSx femtosecond laser (Alcon, USA). The study did not include patients with corneal opacities, signs of axial displacement of lens, with irido- and phacodonesis, glaucoma, axial length less than 22 mm and more than 26 mm. Depending on diameter of performed capsulorhexis, we formed 3 groups: 1st group — 76 eyes with diameter capsulorexis 5.5 mm; 2nd group — 73 eyes with 5.0 mm; 3rd group — 78 eyes with 4.5 mm. We studied type of interface “IOL — PC”, the maximum value of PC diastasis and the maximum depth of its folds using an RTVue-100 Optical Coherence Tomography (Optovue, USA) on the first day after the operation.Results. The maximum number of eyes with absence of contact between IOL and PC was noted in the 3rd group (62.8 %), the largest number of eyes with full contact between IOL and PC (63.2 %) was in the 1st group. The minimum average depth of the PC folds (111.1 ± 32.7 μm) was noted in the 1st group, and the maximum (165 ± 75.4 μm) — in the 2nd group.Conclusion. The analysis showed that type of interface “IOL — PC” in the first day after phacoemulsification of senile cataract depends on diameter of capsulorhexis. The largest number of eyes (64.6 %) with full contact between IOL and PC was observed in the group of patients with capsulorhexis 5.5 mm, and the smallest (6.4 %) — in eyes with diameter capsulorexis 4.5 mm. Presumably, the main reason for the absence or incomplete contact between IOL and PC is the presence of viscous dispersive between them. The deformation of PC in the form of folds does not directly depend on diameter of capsulorhexis and, obviously, is due to the uneven tension of the capsular bag by the IOL haptics.

Direct sequencing of measles virus complete genomes in the midst of a large-scale outbreak

Measles outbreaks escalated globally despite worldwide elimination efforts. Molecular epidemiological investigations utilizing partial measles virus (MeV) genomes are challenged by reduction in global genotypes and low evolutionary rates. Greater resolution was reached using MeV complete genomes, however time and costs limit the application to numerous samples. We developed an approach to unbiasedly sequence complete MeV genomes directly from patient urine samples. Samples were enriched for MeV using filtration or nucleases and the minimal number of sequence reads to allocate per sample based on its MeV content was assessed using in-silico reduction of sequencing depth. Application of limited-resource sequencing to treated MeV-positive samples demonstrated that 1–5 million sequences for samples with high/medium MeV quantities and 10–15 million sequences for samples with lower MeV quantities are sufficient to obtain >98% MeV genome coverage and over X50 average depth. This approach enables real-time high-resolution molecular epidemiological investigations of large-scale MeV outbreaks.

PERMEABILITY AND MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF MICROWAVE PRE-TREATED NORWAY SPRUCE RIPEWOOD

This is a studyofthe influence of microwave (MW) pre-treatment on the permeabilityof Norway spruceripewood(Picea abiesL. Karst)as it affects its mechanical properties. Specimens weretreated under variable moisture content,MW intensity,and impregnation processes. According to the results,thespecimens withaninitial moisture contentof 45–65% exhibited the highest permeabilityvaluescompared to referencesamples. Aninsignificant difference was found between MW pre-treatments at2 and3kW.Statistically significant results were found afterlong-time (24h) vacuum-pressureimpregnation(LP). Theaverage retention value followingLP was 132 kg.m-3, which isalmost threetimes greater thanthe MW-treatedgroupsimpregnated in ashort-time vacuum-pressure process. The average depth of penetration after LP was 2.0mm and the proportion of the impregnation area followingLP was 17.6%. MW pre-treatment had no effect on the impregnability or the mechanical propertiesof the wood; other MW regimes are open for further examination.

Occurrence of the Histioteuthis reversa (Verrill 1880), (Cephalopoda/Histioteuthidae) in the Gulf of Mersin/ Turkey

A different species of squid was caught during trawling (36°01’390’’N; 033°44’220’’E and 36°07’080’’N; 034°00’920’’E) in the Gulf of Mersin at average depth of 300-400 m. It was determined that this squid was Histioteuthis reversa (Verrill 1880). This is the first record of Histioteuthis reversa both for the Gulf of Mersin and Turkey's Mediterranean coast.Keywords: Coast of Turkey, Mediterranean, Priacanthus sagittarius, Spread.

A Quantitative Graph-Based Approach to Monitoring Ice-Wedge Trough Dynamics in Polygonal Permafrost Landscapes

In response to increasing Arctic temperatures, ice-rich permafrost landscapes are undergoing rapid changes. In permafrost lowlands, polygonal ice wedges are especially prone to degradation. Melting of ice wedges results in deepening troughs and the transition from low-centered to high-centered ice-wedge polygons. This process has important implications for surface hydrology, as the connectivity of such troughs determines the rate of drainage for these lowland landscapes. In this study, we present a comprehensive, modular, and highly automated workflow to extract, to represent, and to analyze remotely sensed ice-wedge polygonal trough networks as a graph (i.e., network structure). With computer vision methods, we efficiently extract the trough locations as well as their geomorphometric information on trough depth and width from high-resolution digital elevation models and link these data within the graph. Further, we present and discuss the benefits of graph analysis algorithms for characterizing the erosional development of such thaw-affected landscapes. Based on our graph analysis, we show how thaw subsidence has progressed between 2009 and 2019 following burning at the Anaktuvuk River fire scar in northern Alaska, USA. We observed a considerable increase in the number of discernible troughs within the study area, while simultaneously the number of disconnected networks decreased from 54 small networks in 2009 to only six considerably larger disconnected networks in 2019. On average, the width of the troughs has increased by 13.86%, while the average depth has slightly decreased by 10.31%. Overall, our new automated approach allows for monitoring ice-wedge dynamics in unprecedented spatial detail, while simultaneously reducing the data to quantifiable geometric measures and spatial relationships.