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.
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been documented as an Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (AES) technique, utilising laser-induced plasma, in order to analyse elements in materials (gases, liquids and solid). The Nd:YAG laser passively Q-switched at 1064nm and 9ns pulse duration focused by convex lens with focal length 100 mm to generates power density 5.5×1012 Mw/mm2 with optical spectrum in the range 320-740 nm. Four soil samples were brought from different northern region of Iraq, northern region (Beiji, Sherkat, Serjnar and Zerkary).
The soil of the Northern region of Beige, Sherkat, Serjnar and Zarkary has abundant ratios of the elements P [0.08, 0.09, 0.18, 0.18] and Ca [0.61, 0.15, 0.92, 0.92] while it lack of Si [0.0
Petroleum is one of the most important substances consumed by man at present times, a major energy source in this century, petroleum oils can cause environmental pollution during various stages of production, transportation, refining and use, petroleum hydrocarbons pollutions ranging from soil, ground water to marine environment, become an inevitable problem in the modern life, current study focused on bioremediation process of hydrocarbons contaminants that remaining in the bottom of gas cylinders and discharged to the soil. Twenty-four bacterial isolates were isolated from contaminated soils all of them gram negative bacteria, bacterial isolates screening to investigate the ability of biodegradation of hydrocarbons, these isolates inocula
... Show MorePathogenic microorganisms from hospitals, communities, and the environment remain great threats to human health. The increasing concern about antibiotic resistance has also necessitated the search for robust alternatives. Therefore, this study aims to isolate, screen and evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a soil sample taken from northern, western and eastern parts of Kelana Jaya Lake against four antibiotics (gentamycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, and penicillin) on a Mueller-Hinton Agar media plate. Pseudomonas identification was done by using API 20 kit. Disc diffusion was employed as well as the oxidase test. From the positive oxidase result, the isolated bacteria were identified as Burkhold
... Show MoreThe launch of the EU’s Eastern Partnership in 2009 intended to signal a new, elevated level of EU engagement with its Eastern neighborhood. Yet there remain several long-simmering and potentially destabilizing conflicts in the region, with which EU engagement thus far has been sporadic at best. The Union’s use of its Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) in the region and to help solve these disputes has been particularly ad hoc and inconsistent, wracked by inter-institutional incoherence and undermined by Member States’ inability to agree on a broad strategic vision for engagement with the area.
The three CSDP missions deployed to the region thus far have all suffered from this incoherence to various extents. In particu
... Show MoreTwo oil wells were tested to find the abnormal pressure zones using sonic log technique. We found that well Abu-Jir-3 and Abu-Jir-5 had an abnormal pressure zones from depth 4340 to 4520 feet and 4200 to 4600 feet, respectively. The maximum difference between obtained results and the field measured results did not exceed 2.4%.
In this paper, the formation pressures were expressed in terms of pressure gradient which sometimes reached up to twice the normal pressure gradient.
Drilling and developing such formations were dangerous and expensive.
The plotted figures showed a clear derivation from the normal trend which confirmed the existence of abnormal pressure zones.
This study utilized low-cost agricultural waste (molasses production waste powder) to extract copper ions from aqueous solutions. The present investigation explored a range of factors that influence the adsorption process, including temperature, pH, ionic strength, contact time, quantity of adsorbent, and particle size. Spectrophotometric analysis was used to determine the solution's absorbance both before and after the adsorption procedure. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were used to match the equilibrium data. The Freundlich model was determined to be the best isotherm model using the linear regression coefficient R2=0.9868. Thermodynamic parameters, including enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy, were calculate
... Show MoreThe aim of the current study was to develop a nanostructured double-layer for hydrophobic molecules delivery system. The developed double-layer consisted of polyethylene glycol-based polymeric (PEG) followed by gelatin sub coating of the core hydrophobic molecules containing sodium citrate. The polymeric composition ratio of PEG and the amount of the sub coating gelatin were optimized using the two-level fractional method. The nanoparticles were characterized using AFM and FT-IR techniques. The size of these nano capsules was in the range of 39-76 nm depending on drug loading concentration. The drug was effectively loaded into PEG-Gelatin nanoparticles (≈47%). The hydrophobic molecules-release characteristics in terms of controlled-releas
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