Cover crops (CC) improve soil quality, including soil microbial enzymatic activities and soil chemical parameters. Scientific studies conducted in research centers have shown positive effects of CC on soil enzymatic activities; however, studies conducted in farmer fields are lacking in the literature. The objective of this study was to quantify CC effects on soil microbial enzymatic activities (β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, and dehydrogenase) under a corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation. The study was conducted in 2016 and 2018 in Chariton County, Missouri, where CC were first established in 2012. All tested soil enzyme levels were significantly different between 2016 and 2018, irrespective of CC and no cover crop (NCC) treatments. In CC treatment, β-glucosaminidase activity was significantly greater at 0–10 cm depth in 2016 and at 10–20 and 20–30 cm in 2018. In contrast, dehydrogenase activity was significantly greater in NCC in 2018. Soil pH and organic matter (OM) content were found to be significantly greater in CC. Overall, CC have mixed effects on soil enzyme activities and positive effects on soil OM compared to NCC. This study highlights the short-term influence of CC and illustrates the high spatial and temporal variability of soil enzymes under farmer-managed fields.
The result revealed that the peak of population density of cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae was 523.20 individuals/plant on 21 March in edges of rapeseed field and was 1141.67 individuals/plant in center of the field. Results revealed that population density of cabbage aphid in rapeseed fields surrounded by cover crops significantly were low compared with that of monoculture rapeseed. The location of rapeseed plants (in edges or in center) significantly affected (p<0.05) the tested pest density, e.g. optimum density was 146.69 individuals/plant in the center of the field. Whereas was 93.32 in the edges. Effect of the interaction between location and surrounding vegetation was significant on aphid density, which their population densit
... Show Morethis research is to identify the level of information awareness of the chemistry students in their fourth year studying at Ibn Al-Haytham Education College of pure sciences at the University of Baghdad. The research sample consisted of (107) male and female students out of the total number of (153) students studying during the (2017-2018) academic year, The sample therefore represents 71% of the total students. The research methodology used consisted of two parts. The first part is concerned with measuring information awareness using a multiple choice type of test related to (40) issues. The students were required to select the between (5) alternative answers for each issue. The objectives of the test and the issues used are to measure the
... Show MoreOne of the most important parameters determining structural members' durability and strength is the fire flame's influence and hazard. Some engineers have advocated using advanced analytical models to predict fire spread impact within a compartment and considering finite element models of structural components to estimate the temperatures within a component using heat transfer analysis. This paper presented a numerical simulation for a reinforced concrete beam’s structural response in a case containing Water Absorbing Polymer Spheres (WAPS) subjected to fire flame effect. The commercial finite element package ABAQUS was considered. The relevant geometrical and material parameters of the reinforced concrete beam model at elevated t
... Show MoreOne of the most important parameters determining structural members' durability and strength is the fire flame's influence and hazard. Some engineers have advocated using advanced analytical models to predict fire spread impact within a compartment and considering finite element models of structural components to estimate the temperatures within a component using heat transfer analysis. This paper presented a numerical simulation for a reinforced concrete beam’s structural response in a case containing Water Absorbing Polymer Spheres (WAPS) subjected to fire flame effect. The commercial finite element package ABAQUS was considered. The relevant geometrical and material parameters of the reinforced concrete beam model a
... Show MoreThe low-pressure sprinklers have been widely used to replace the high-pressure impact sprinklers in the lateral move sprinkler irrigation system due to its low operating cost and high efficiency. However, runoff losses under the low-pressure sprinkler irrigation machine can be significant. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the variable pulsed irrigation algorithm (VPIA) in reducing the runoff losses under low-pressure lateral move sprinkler irrigation machine for three different soil types. The VPIA uses the ON-OFF pulsing technique to reduce the runoff losses by controlling the number and width of the pulses considering the soil and the irrigation machine properties. Als
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding diets containing different levels of parsley on the hematological traits of local Iraqi geese. A total of twenty-four local geese, one year old, were used in this experiment. The birds were allocated into four treatment groups, consisting of six geese each. Treatment groups were: control diet (C) (free from parsley); T1: control diet + 80 g/d parsley; T2: control diet + 160 g/d parsley; and T3: control diet + 240 g/d parsley. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were obtained from all geese from the brachial vein by venipuncture. Hematological traits included in this study were red blood cells count (RBC), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean cell
... Show MoreAccurate description of thermodynamic, structural, and electronic properties for bulk and surfaces of ceria (CeO2) necessitates the inclusion of the Hubbard parameter (U) in the density functional theory (DFT) calculations to precisely account for the strongly correlated 4f electrons. Such treatment is a daunting task when attempting to draw a potential energy surface for CeO2-catalyzed reaction. This is due to the inconsistent change in thermo-kinetics parameters of the reaction in reference to the variation in the U values. As an illustrative example, we investigate herein the discrepancy in activation and reaction energies for steps underlying the partial and full hydrogenation of acetylene over the CeO2(111) surface. Overall, we find th
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