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.
This research presents a method of using MATLAB in analyzing a nonhomogeneous soil (Gibson-type) by
estimating the displacements and stresses under the strip footing during applied incremental loading
sequences. This paper presents a two-dimensional finite element method. In this method, the soil is divided into a number of triangle elements. A model soil (Gibson-type) with linearly increasing modulus of elasticity with depth is presented. The influences of modulus of elasticity, incremental loading, width of footing, and depth of footing are considered in this paper. The results are compared with authors' conclusions of previous studies.
The study included isolate and diagnose fungus Fusarium solani of the local soil and purified and development in the PDB medium and the filtrate extracted using a solvent (Ethyl acetate) to obtain the fungal secondary metabolites extract. This extract has shown bioactivity against both reference isolates (E.coli (ATCC25922) and S.aureus(NCTC6571)) and pathogenic isolates S.pyogenes, K. pneumonia and S.typhimurium using agar disk diffusion technique , The diameters of the inhibition zones of fungal secondary metabolites24.0 mm against E.coli and 31.5 mm against S.aureus,and 34.0 mm against K.pneumoniae and 18.0 mm against S.pyogenes and 33.5mm against S.typhimurium. The test revealed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the fungal
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary fat on carcass traits in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). A total of 168 7-week-old Japanese quail (48 males and 120 females) were used in this study. They were evenly distributed into 4 treatment groups, with 3 replicates per group containing 4 males and 10 females each. The birds were fed a basal diet with different fats (sunflower, flax, corn, and fish oils) at a 3% level for 13 weeks. On the last day of the experiment, 12 birds were randomly selected from each treatment group (6 males and 6 females) and slaughtered to determine carcass characteristics included in this study, which were carcass weight, dressing percentage with or without giblets, and the r
... Show MoreZSM-5 zeolite was synthesis under hydrothermal conditions at 175oC. The synthesis parameters have been investigated to find optimum synthesis method. Firstly, the crystallization time has been investigated to find the optimum crystallization time. Also, the ageing time was studied. The morphology, structure, and composition of the synthesized ZSM-5 zeolite were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pH meter, viscometer, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The bulk Si/Al ratio of ZSM-5 zeolite was in the range of 9.5—11.7. The synthesized ZSM-5 zeolite with appropriate ageing time could adjust crystal size and degree of the crystallinity. The crystal size of ZSM-5 zeolite obtained at an agei
... Show MoreNiO0.99Cu0.01 films have been deposited using thermal evaporation
technique on glass substrates under vacuum 10-5mbar. The thickness
of the films was 220nm. The as -deposited films were annealed to
different annealing temperatures (373, 423, and 473) K under
vacuum 10-3mbar for 1 h. The structural properties of the films were
examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that no
clear diffraction peaks in the range 2θ= (20-50)o for the as deposited
films. On the other hand, by annealing the films to 423K in vacuum
for 1 h, a weak reflection peak attributable to cubic NiO was
detected. On heating the films at 473K for 1 h, this peak was
observed to be stronger. The most intense peak is at 2θ = 37
In this work, results of a mathematical analysis of the role of workpiece preheating in laser keyhole welding were presented. This analysis considered the steady-state welding as well as certain range of boundary conditions over which preheating effect would be indicated. This work is an attempt to interpret the role of preheating to increase welding depth and perform keyhole welding with high quality using physical and thermal properties of steel alloys.
In the present work a modification was made on three equations to represent the
experiment data which results for Iraqi petroleum and natural asphalt. The equations
have been developed for estimating the chemical composition and physical properties
of asphalt cement at different temperature and aging time. The standard deviations of
all equations were calculated.
The modified correlation related to the aging time and temperature with penetration
index and durability index of aged petroleum and natural asphalts were developed.
The first equation represents the relationship between the durability index with aging
time and temperature.
loge(DI)=a1+0.0123(2loge T
... Show MoreBackground: The quality of drinking water is directly related to community health. Therefore, improving the quality of drinking reflects positively on the health situation in general. The studies that deal with the quality of drinking water in the city of Baghdad in terms of chemical or microbial content are very scanty. Objective: The current review highlights the most important studies and research articles that concern the quality of drinking water, both bottled water and tap water, in terms of chemical and biological contamination and chemophysical specifications for drinking water. Abstract: Studies have shown that drinking water in the city of Baghdad, especially tap water, contains certain levels of heavy metals,
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