Nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate is important for high yield and good quality of potato tubers. In this dissertation, I seek to study the response of different potato cultivars under different N fertilizer rates and how that can impact tuber quality, examine the performance of active optical sensors in improving a potato yield prediction algorithm, and evaluate the ability of active optical sensors (GreenSeeker (GS) and Crop Circle (CC)) to optimize a N recommendation algorithm that can be used by potato growers in Maine. This research was conducted at 11 sites over a period of two years (2018–2019) in Aroostook County, Maine; all sites depended on a rainfed system. Three potato cultivars, Russet Burbank, Superior, and Shepody, were planted under six rates of N (0-280 kg ha-1), ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, and were applied in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Active optical sensor readings (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) were collected weekly after the fourth leaf stage began. The coefficient of determination (R2) between soil organic matter (OM) content and total tuber yield for all sites combined was 0.78**. Sites with ≥ 30 g kg-1 of soil OM produced higher total tuber yield, marketable yield, and tuber weight per plant (39.45%, 45.22%, and 54.94%, respectively) than sites with ≤ 30 g kg-1 of OM. Specific gravity increased by 0.18% in the sites with ≥ 30 g kg-1 of OM. The total tuber yield for the three cultivars was maximized at 168 kg N ha-1. Vegetation indices measurements obtained at stages of 16 or 20 fully expanded leaves were significantly correlated with tuber yield, which can be used in the yield prediction model. Sensor measurements obtained at the 20th leaf stage were significantly correlated with tuber yield, with the exponential model showing the best fit for the regression curve. The recommended N rate calculated based on in-season sensor readings was reduced by approximately 12–14% compared to the total N rate that growers currently apply based on the conventional approach.
The current research aims to analyze the role of participatory budgeting in improving performance, especially during crises such as the Covid-19 crisis. The research used the descriptive analytical method to reach the results by distributing 100 questionnaires to a number of employees in Iraqi joint stock companies and at multiple administrative levels. The research came to several important conclusions, the most important of which is that the bottom-up approach to budgeting produces more achievable budgets than the top-down approach, which is imposed on the company by senior management with much less employee participation. Additionally, there is a better information flow from the lower levels of the organization to the upper management
... Show MoreThis research attempts to shed light on a topic that is considered one of the most important topics of HRMs management, which is the Employee centric approach by examining its philosophy and understanding . To achieve the goal, the research relied on the philosophical analytical method, which is one of the approaches used in theoretical studies. The research reached a set of conclusions, the most important of which are the theoretical studies that addressed this entry in the English language and the lack of it in the Arabic language, according to the researcher's knowledge. The research reached a set of recommendations, the most important of which was that this approach needs more research, analysis and study at the practical and th
... Show MoreBecause of the quick growth of electrical instruments used in noxious gas detection, the importance of gas sensors has increased. X-ray diffraction (XRD) can be used to examine the crystal phase structure of sensing materials, which affects the properties of gas sensing. This contributes to the study of the effect of electrochemical synthesis of titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials with various crystal phase shapes, such as rutile TiO2 (R-TiO2NTs) and anatase TiO2 (A-TiO2NTs). In this work, we have studied the effect of voltage on preparing TiO2 nanotube arrays via the anodization technique for gas sensor applications. The results acquired from XRD, energy dispersion spectro
... Show MoreIn this study the new azo compounds (3compounds) for nitrogen bases (Adenine and Cytosine) are synthesized through two reaction steps (formation of diazonium salt and coupling reaction). The compounds have been characterized by FTIR, melting point, and ultra-violate (UV) spectra. All synthesized compounds have been estimated in vitro for their antimicrobial activities against two species of bacteria(E.coli, S.aureus)and one kind of fungi ( Aspergillus flavus) .The results show that these compounds have very good antibacterial and antifungal activities especially compounds 1 and 3.To study the effect of these compounds were making some physiological tests on rats are made ,the results of hematological study showed decreasing level of
... Show MoreIn this work, an optical fiber biomedical sensor for detecting the ratio of the hemoglobin in the blood is presented. A surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based coreless optical fiber was developed and implemented using single- and multi-mode optical fibers. The sensor is also utilized to evaluate refractive indices and concentrations of hemoglobin in blood samples, with 40 nm thickness of (20 nm Au and 20 nm Ag) to increase the sensitivity. It is found in practice that when the sensitive refractive index increases, the resonant wavelength increases due to the decrease in energy.
In this paper, a new 5G Passive Optical Network (5G-PON) employing all-optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (AO-OFDM) is proposed in hybrid bidirectional standard single mode fiber (SSMF)/free space optical (FSO). Additionally, an optical frequency generator (OFG) source is utilized. The proposed model is simulated using VPI photonics software. Analytical modeling and simulations have been conducted for a new approach to generate OFG by cascaded two-frequency modulators and one electro-absorption modulator. A sinusoidal RF signal source is utilized to drive all these modulators. The results reveal that 64 optical multiplexed carriers with a frequency spacing of 30 GHz are generated. These optical carriers have power variations
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common inflammatory disease that associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to accelerated atherosclerosis. Rosuvastatin is a unique hydroxy methyl glutaryl Co A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitor that has anti inflammatory effects.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rosuvastatin as adjuvant therapy to methotrexate (MTX) on lipid profile and its possible cardioprotective effect in RA patients. A double blinded placebo controlled clinical trial with 8 weeks follow up periods at which 40 patients with active RA using MTX were randomized into 2 groups to receive either rosuvastatin 10mg or placebo as adjuvant therapy to MTX. In addition to twenty healthy subjects as control group.
... Show More