Breeding Potentials of Bambara Groundnut for Food and Nutrition Security in the Face of Climate Change

Constant production of quality food should be a norm in any community, but climate change, increasing population, and unavailability of land for farming affect food production. As a result, food scarcity is affecting some communities, especially in the developing world. Finding a stable solution to this problem is a major cause of concern for researchers. Synergistic application of molecular marker techniques with next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies can unlock the potentials hidden in most crop genomes for improving yield and food availability. Most crops such as Bambara groundnut (BGN), Winged bean, and African yam bean are underutilized. These underutilized crops can compete with the major crops such as cowpea, soybean, maize, and rice, in areas of nutrition, ability to withstand drought stress, economic importance, and food production. One of these underutilized crops, BGN [Vigna subterranea (L.), Verdc.], is an indigenous African legume and can survive in tropical climates and marginal soils. In this review, we focus on the roles of BGN and the opportunities it possesses in tackling food insecurity and its benefits to local farmers. We will discuss BGN’s potential impact on global food production and how the advances in NGS technologies can enhance its production.

Simple Strategies Deployed for Developing Efficient and Stable Solution Processed Quantum Dot Solar Cells

Inorganic quantum dot (QD) semiconductors offer tailorable bandgaps thus rendering them to be attractive as photosensitizers for solar cells. The currently evolving strategies employed for developing low-cost quantum dot solar...

Modelling of the reflectance profile of axisymmetrical radiolocation objects using the integral equation method

Based on the first-kind integral equation method for the electric field, the procedure and software for calculating the radar cross-section of axisymmetrical objects, bodies of revolution, are developed. Algorithms are proposed for computation of the matrix of mutual impedances and Green's function of a ring source providing the computation accuracy required for obtaining a stable solution. The method of solution approximation accuracy evaluation by azimuthal harmonics is proposed. Comparison with test examples is carried out and the applicability for solving real-world problems is shown.

Averaging method and two-sided bounded solutions on the axis of systems with impulsive effects at non-fixed times

The averaging method, originally offered by Krylov and Bogolyubov for ordinary differential equations, is one of the most widespread and effective methods for the analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems. Further, the averaging method was developed and applied for investigating of various problems. Impulsive systems of differential equations supply as mathematical models of objects that, during their evolution, they are subjected to the action of short-term forces. Many researches have been devoted to non-fixed impulse problems. For these problems, the existence, stability, and other asymptotic properties of solutions were studied and boundary value problems for impulsive systems were considered. Questions of the existence of periodic and almost periodic solutions to impulsive systems also were examined. In this paper, the averaging method is used to study the existence of two-sided solutions bounding on the axis of impulse systems of differential equations with non-fixed times. It is shown that a one-sided, bounding, asymptotically stable solution to the averaged system generates a two-sided solution to the exact system. The closeness of the corresponding solutions of the exact and averaged systems both on finite and infinite time intervals is substantiated by the first and second theorems of N.N. Bogolyubov.

Development of a combined solution of pyrimidine nucleotides with vitamin B6

Pyrimidine nucleotides, namely uridine monophosphate and cytidine monophosphate, play an important role in the cellular metabolism of nerve fibers. The combination of these nucleotides with pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin В6) in one dosage form will allow us to fully implement the strategy of the complex neurotropic pharmacotherapy in neuropathies of various origins. To develop a stable solution, an important step at the stage of the composition development is to study the compatibility of active substances (active pharmaceutical ingredients - APIs) in solution. Samples of binary solutions and solutions containing all active substances were prepared and examined. The API interaction was determined by various parameters – changes in color, transparency, рН, the total impurity content, etc. Based on a comprehensive study of the processes of the API dissolution the optimal pH limits of the solution required for the stable existence of a combination of substances with different pH values of the medium have been substantiated and experimentally confirmed. As a result of the research, the optimal pH value of the solution recommended is 4.0-4.8. In the composition of substances the amount of water can be in an adsorbed or crystallized, or combined form. This fact should be taken into account in order to correctly calculate the actual amounts of initial ingredients when preparing the solution. The nature of the water component of APIs was clarified when studying the phase composition of samples on a powder diffractometer. The studies conducted have allowed us to determine the directions of further research for developing the composition of an injection drug. This research is in choosing the optimal buffer system and excipients-antioxidants.

Statistical Analysis of SO2 and NO2 with Respect to Meteorological Parameters (Gwalior, India)

The present study is carried out in Gwalior to know the level of pollutants viz sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In this study, both NO2 and SO2 were collected during different seasons, and estimation was done using chemical methods. The methods used for the determination of SO2 and NO2 in the ambient air of Gwalior was (Modified West and Geake method) and (Modified Jacob and Hochheisier). The SO2 from the air stream was absorbed in a sodium tetramer curate solution. NO2 was collected by bubbling air through a sodium hydroxide solution to form a stable solution of sodium nitrate. Meteorological parameters like temperature, relative humidity were recorded by thermometers and hygrometry during the sampling. Rainfall data was taken from Indian Meteorological Department, New Delhi, for four sampling years. The statistical analysis was carried out between the level of pollutants SO2 and NO2 measured and meteorological parameters recorded during the sampling. This study observed that pollutants were very high in winter and summer compared to monsoon and post-monsoon periods due to the heavy transport movement and favourable meteorological conditions like temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind speed and directions.

3D crack identification using the Nelder-Mead Simplex algorithm combined with a random generation of crack positions

In this paper, we present a scheme for cracks identification in three-dimensional linear elastic mechanical components. The scheme uses a boundary element method for solving the forward problem and the Nelder-Mead simplex numerical optimization algorithm coupled with a low discrepancy sequence in order to identify an embedded crack. The crack detection process is achieved through minimizing an objective function defined as the difference between measured strains and computed ones, at some specific sensors on the domain boundaries. Through the optimization procedure, the crack surface is modelled by geometrical parameters, which serve as identity variables. Numerical simulations are conducted to determine the identity parameters of an embedded elliptical crack, with measures randomly perturbed and the residual norm regularized in order to provide an efficient and numerically stable solution to measurement noise. The accuracy of this method is investigated in the identification of cracks over two examples. Through the treated examples, we showed that the method exhibits good stability with respect to measurement noise and convergent results could be achieved without restrictions on the selected initial values of the crack parameters.

Stability analysis of heat transfer in nanomaterial flow of boundary layer towards a shrinking surface: Hybrid nanofluid versus nanofluid

Many boundary value problems (BVPs) have dual solutions in some cases containing one stable solution (upper branch) while other unstable (lower branch). In this paper, MHD flow and heat transfer past a shrinking sheet is studied for three distinct fluids: kerosene hybrid nanofluid, kerosene nanofluid, and kerosene nanofluid. The partial differential equations (PDEs) are turned into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) using an appropriate transformation and then dual solutions are obtained analytically by employing the Least Square method (LSM). Moreover, stability analysis is implemented on the time-dependent case by calculating the least eigenvalues using Matlab routine bvp4c. It is noticed that negative eigenvalue is related to unstable solution i.e., it provides initial progress of disturbance and positive eigenvalue is related to stable solution i.e., the disturbance in solution decline initially. The impacts of various parameters, skin friction coefficient, and local Nusselt number for dual solutions are presented graphically. It is also noted that the results obtained for hybrid nanofluids are better than ordinary nanofluids.

The behaviors of the solutions of the quark gap equation in the NJL model with the self-consistent mean field approximation

In this paper, we use the self-consistent mean field approximation to study the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) phase transition. In the self-consistent mean field approximation of the Nambu–Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model, a parameter [Formula: see text] is introduced, which reflects the weight of “direct” channel and the “exchange” channel and needs to be determined by experiments (as mentioned in a recent work [T. Zhao, W. Zheng, F. Wang, C.-M. Li, Y. Yan, Y.-F. Huang and H.-S. Zong, Phys. Rev. D 100, 043018 (2019)], the results with [Formula: see text] are in good agreement with astronomical observation data on the latest binary neutron star merging. This indicates that the contribution of “exchange” channel should be considered, and [Formula: see text] is a possible choice). By comparing the results with different parameter [Formula: see text]’s ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]), we study the influence of “exchange” channel on the behavior of the solutions of the quark gap equation and the critical point of chiral phase transition. Our results show that the second-order chiral phase turns to the crossover from the chiral limit to the non-chiral limit around [Formula: see text] in the case of [Formula: see text]. The difference of the quark mass with different [Formula: see text]’s mainly occurs in the intermediate temperatures for the different fixed chemical potentials. At zero temperature and the chemical potential [Formula: see text] there will be two solutions (including a meta-stable solution) of gap equation with [Formula: see text], and as [Formula: see text] increases it will be only one solution left (the meta-stable solution will disappear until [Formula: see text]). Besides, the discrepancy of the critical temperature (above which the pseudo-Wigner solution and negative Nambu solution will disappear) in the three cases of [Formula: see text] will become large when the chemical potential increases.