Higher Relative Growth Research Articles

Weather Associated with Rapid-Growth California Wildfires

Abstract California is vulnerable to large, rapidly growing wildfires that can threaten human lives and damage physical infrastructure. This study analyzes the daily growth of all satellite-observed California fires from 2003 through 2020 and relates that growth to local meteorological and environmental conditions. Fire growth is defined using both absolute and relative metrics (absolute growth—the daily burned area, relative growth—the daily percent increase in burned area). Near-surface environmental conditions are evaluated before, during, and after periods of fire growth for individual fires of varying sizes and spread rates across events with both high and low relative growth. Regional spatial patterns and distributions of near-surface dryness and winds during large absolute-growth events are examined and compared to climatological conditions. Overall, large absolute-growth events generally occur when dead fuels are driest, trailing short periods of increased atmospheric dryness. For large absolute-growth events, high relative growth is usually associated with strong winds while low relative-growth is generally associated with quiescent to climatological winds. Winds during high relative-growth events are greatest in autumn, surpassing the 95th percentile on average. For these autumnal events, atmospheric dryness is less than during other seasons, but atmospheric and fuel dryness are still sufficient for fire. Irrespective of season, winds during particularly rapid-growth events (high absolute and relative growth) are frequently downslope and influenced by local terrain regardless of the climatological conditions.

High Relative Humidity-Induced Growth of Perovskite Nanowires from Glass toward Single-Mode Photonic Nanolasers at Sub-100-nm Scale.

Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have achieved substantial progress in their applications; however, their ionic crystal character and low formation energy result in poor structural stability and limited morphological tunability. In particular, high relative humidity (RH) commonly causes severe MHP degradation, which poses a major obstacle to long-term device operation. Herein, high RH-induced growth of anisotropic MHP structures on glass surfaces is reported under 25°C and atmospheric conditions on a basis of glass corrosion by moisture. Nanowires (NWs) with tunable length and composition are obtained under 85% RH air, and water molecule-induced facet engineering of perovskite is established for anisotropic growth. Importantly, single-mode photonic lasing in these MHP NWs with thickness at sub-100-nm scale (down to 75 nm ∼ 1/7 lasing wavelength) is achieved via both one-photon and multiphoton pumping. These nanowire lasers exhibited high quality factor (>3000), high degree of polarization (≈0.9), and excellent stability under laser irradiation. The work not only presents a distinctive technique for the growth of MHPs but also endows MHP NWs with new opportunities for nonlinear optics, strong light-matter interactions, and active photonic integrated devices.

The golden rule for prioritisation of treatment for substance use and mental health care – a qualitative study

For many years there has been broad political agreement on prioritising substance use treatment and mental health care in the specialist health service. Between 2014 and 2021, the 'golden rule' applied, meaning that there should be higher relative growth in mental health care and interdisciplinary specialised substance use treatment compared to somatic healthcare services. This study aimed to investigate the understanding among Norwegian health leaders and bureaucrats of the golden rule's role in the prioritisation of resources to the field of substance use and psychiatry in the specialist health service. The study is based on a one-year ethnographic study of priority-setting in Norwegian health trusts and bureaucracy. Documents, observations of meetings and twelve qualitative in-depth interviews were analysed using a qualitative discourse method. The golden rule contributed to an increased investment in substance use treatment and mental health care in the health trusts, according to health leaders. However, the golden rule was only one of many competing and at times conflicting guidelines they had to take into account. Many factors impeded higher growth in substance use treatment and mental health care compared to somatic health care. Several participants argued that it was impossible to follow the golden rule. The inability to achieve the goal was explained by demographic trends, funding arrangements and lack of follow-up of the rule. Healthcare priorities are set in institutions that have to consider numerous political interests and social mandates. The study's findings illustrate the complexity of practical implementation of political priorities.

PH-triggered dynamic erosive small molecule chlorambucil nano-prodrugs mediate robust oral chemotherapy

Currently, the dynamic erosive small molecule nano-prodrug is of great demand for oral chemotherapy, owing to its precise structure, high drug loading and improved oral bioavailability via overcoming various physiologic barriers in gastrointestinal tract, blood circulation and tumor tissues compared to other oral nanomedicines. Herein, this work highlights the successful development of pH-triggered dynamic erosive small molecule nano-prodrugs based on in vivo significant pH changes, which are synthesized via amide reaction between chlorambucil and star-shaped ortho esters. The precise nano-prodrugs exhibit extraordinarily high drug loading (68.16%), electric neutrality, strong hydrophobicity, and dynamic large-to-small size transition from gastrointestinal pH to tumoral pH. These favorable physicochemical properties can effectively facilitate gastrointestinal absorption, blood circulation stability, tumor accumulation, cellular uptake, and cytotoxicity, therefore achieving high oral relative bioavailability (358.72%) and significant tumor growth inhibition while decreasing side effects. Thus, this work may open a new avenue for robust oral chemotherapy attractive for clinical translation.

Extremely high relative growth rate makes the cabbage white, Pieris rapae, a global pest with highly abundant and migratory nature

The small cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is an extraordinarily abundant migratory pest of cabbage that causes severe damage worldwide without known reasons. I here show that the average relative growth rate (RGR: the ratio of the daily increase of biomass to total biomass) of herbivore (Gh; an indicator of the growth speed of herbivore) of P. rapae on cabbage during the larval period is larger by far than those of all other insect–plant pairs tested. It exceeds 1.15 (/day),—meaning that the biomass more than doubles each day—compared to 0.1–0.7 for most insect–plant pairs, including that of Pieris melete, a sibling of P. rapae which never becomes a pest of cabbage. My data further showed the RGR in the larval stage (larval Gh), positively correlates with abundance and/or migratoriness of insect herbivores. These results together with my mathematical food web model suggest that the extraordinarily high larval Gh of P. rapae is the primary reason for its ubiquitously severe pest status accompanied with its abundance and migratoriness, and that the RGR of herbivores, Gh, characterizing the plant–herbivore interface at the bottom of the food webs is an important factor affecting whole ecosystems, including animal abundance, fauna size, plant damage levels, competitiveness among herbivorous species, determination of hostplant, invasiveness, and the evolution of animal traits involved in the so-called r/K strategy, such as migratoriness. Knowledge about Gh will be crucial to controlling pests and improving the negative effects of human activity on ecosystems including faunal decline (or defaunation).

Digestibility of Feed Supplemented with Common Pleco Meal and Its Impact on The Growth of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.)

Common pleco is a wild fish whose habitat occupies a lot of reservoir areas and public waters in Indonesia. The amount is abundant and not consumed by humans, is a great potential to be used as a source of animal protein in fish feed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the digestibility of common pleco fish meal in artificial feed for nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus.) The study was carried out at the Aquaculture Laboratory Hatchery, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, while the manufacture of common pleco meal, proximate analysis of feed ingredients and the test feed was carried out by the Laboratory of Chemistry and Animal Feed, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Universitas Padjadjaran. The design used in this study was a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of 5 (five) treatments and 3 (three) replications. The treatment given was the addition of common pleco flour in artificial feed at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. The parameters observed in this study consisted of digestibility, growth rate, and water quality. The results of the research on some of these parameters indicate that the addition of common pleco meal can still be used in artificial feed up to 10%. The tilapia studied had the highest relative growth with a value of 0.218%. The digestibility level of the studied feed reached a value of 85.256%, and the water quality studied was still within the safe tolerance limits for fish farming. Based on the results of this study, the negative effect on the survival rate of tilapia did not occur until the addition of common pleco flour to artificial feed reached 10%. Thus, the fish meal has the potential as an alternative to fish meal in fish feed formulations.

Sector‐specific scenarios for future stocks and flows of aluminum: An analysis based on shared socioeconomic pathways

Aluminum is an energy-intensive material that is typically used as an alloy. The environmental impacts caused by its production can potentially be spread out over multiple uses through repeated recycling loops. However, inter-alloy contamination can limit the circularity of aluminum, which highlights the importance of analyzing prospective stock dynamics of aluminum at an alloy and alloying element level to inform a more sustainable management of this resource. A dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) of aluminum alloys was developed in line with the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP) framework to generate consistent scenarios of the evolution of aluminum stocks and flows from 2015 to 2100 covering 11 economic sectors in 5 world regions. A sector-specific and bottom-up modeling approach was developed. Results show no saturation of global stock per capita before 2100, reaching a range between 200 and 400 kg per capita according to different socioeconomic scenarios. For the business-as-usual scenario, the global annual inflow rises to 100 Mt in 2050 and peaks at 130 Mt in 2090, showing a saturation in total stock. Electricity-sector demand has the highest relative growth over the century, while building and construction demand saturates and decreases from 2090. No major mismatch between inflows and outflows of aluminum alloy is observed. This means that with appropriate dismantling and sorting, changes in alloy demand would not limit the implementation of a closed-loop aluminum industry. This study demonstrates the advantages of combining detailed MFAs and SSPs, both for greater consistency in circular economy modeling and for furthering scenario development efforts. This article met the requirements for a gold-gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges

The Effectiveness of Using Two Sustainable Night Heating Modes on Greenhouse Cultivation

The main purpose of this paper is to study the efficiency of the deployment in Tunisia of the Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) system and of a solar air heater with latent storage (SAHLS) for heating mode application. A pilot GSHP system using conic ground heat exchanger and a SAHLS were installed and experimented in the Research and Technology Center of Energy (CRTEn), Borj Cédria, northern Tunisia. The status of geothermal and the solar air collector energies and their utilization are pointed out, the evaluation of both systems is examined for air heating. Their effect in the growth rate and yield of tomato are also studied. The main results show that the SAHLS gives the appropriate microclimate for plants under greenhouse in comparison with GSHP: high night temperature and low relative humidity. This leads to earliness of 2 weeks and a good quality and quantity of fruits represented by high relative growth rate, high phenolic compounds and a high quantity of marketable fruits.

Global Publication Trends and Research Hotspots of Revision Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A 21-Year Bibliometric Approach.

As the number of primary hip and knee arthroplasties increases, revision cases correspondingly demonstrate high relative growth, gaining increasing attention. The present research aimed to investigate subject characteristics in revision hip and knee arthroplasty (RHKA) research using a bibliometric approach. Publications related to RHKA from 2000 to 2020 were searched in the Web of Science database. WPS Office, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrix were used to analyze the results. Bibliometric analysis revealed 3290 records. Fifty-nine countries published manuscripts on RHKA. The United States contributed most and also had the highest number of international collaborations. The most relevant institution was the Mayo Clinic. Berry DJ and Parvizi J were the most productive and academic influential authors in RHKA, respectively. The most productive journal was the Journal of Arthroplasty. Co-occurrence analysis demonstrated "infection" to be the trend in RHKA. Thematic analysis displayed 16 keywords in hip arthroplasty and 14 keywords in knee arthroplasty. The present study observed an increasing trend of research papers in RHKA. Institutions and scholars from the United States were found to dominate the field. Periprosthetic joint infection was likely a potential development trend and hotspot of RHKA.

Pontederia sagittata and Cyperus papyrus contribution to carbon storage in floating treatment wetlands established in subtropical urban ponds

Carbon sequestration is considered an ecosystem service of regulation provided by diverse ecosystems, including wetlands. It has been widely evaluated in the soil of natural wetlands while in constructed wetlands, there is scanty information. In Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTW) there is none. Previously, our research group reported the efficient performance of FTW in an urban polluted pond for two years. As a follow up, the aim of this work was to investigate the contribution of Cyperus papyrus and Pontederia sagittata to carbon storage (CS) in four FTW established in eutrophic urban ponds in a subtropical region. Plant growth, productivity, and CS were assessed in the aboveground biomass of C. papyrus and P. sagittata and the belowground biomass (root mix from C. papyrus and P. sagittata), throughout 26 months in 2 FTW with an area of 17.5 m2 (FTW1) and 33 m2 (FTW2) and throughout 19 months in 2 FTW with an area of 25 m2 (FTW3) and 33 m2 (FTW4), respectively. The macrophyte growth depended on various factors, such as the season, the plant species, and the location of the FTW. High relative growth rate values were found for both species (0.125 and 0.142 d−1 for P. sagittata and C. papyrus, respectively), especially during summer and early autumn. The highest values of productivity were 337 ± 125 gdw m−2d−1 for the aboveground biomass of C. papyrus in FTW2, 311 ± 96.90 gdwm−2d−1 for the aboveground of P. sagittata in FTW1, and 270 ± 107 gdw m−2d−1 for the belowground biomass in FTW2. The mean values of CS for P. sagittata found in FTW1 were 1.90 ± 0.94 kg m−2, while for C. papyrus in FTW2 they were 4.09 ± 0.73 kg m−2. The contribution of the belowground biomass to CS was also significant in FTW2 (4.58 ± 0.59 kg m−2).

Photodegradation of 5-flurouracil, carvedilol, para-chlorophenol and methimazole with 3D MnWO4 nanoflower modified Ag2WO4 nanorods: A non-genotoxic nanomaterial for water treatment

The present study focused on the photocatalytic degradation of 5-Flurouracil (FU), carvedilol (Car), para-chlorophenol (PCP) and methimazole (Met) under visible light irradiation by MnWO4/Ag2WO4 (MWO/AWO) nanohybrid. Here, MWO/AWO nanohybrid was characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS, XPS, ESR, EIS, BET and DRS. The band gap energy of the MWO/AWO nanohybrid was found to be 2.75 eV, which enables effective photocatalytic activity of nanohybrid under visible light. The photocatalytic degradation of various PhACs such as Fu, Car, PCP and Met was found to be 98.8, 100, 98 and 98.1% respectively. The degradation efficiency of the MWO/AWO nanohybrid on various PhACs was higher than the pure MWO and AWO nanoparticle. The effective formation of OH• and •O2 by MWO/AWO nanohybrid played an important role in degradation of PhACs and it was determined by radical scavenging experiment. Further, the intermediates formed during the photocatalytic process were analyzed by GC-MS/MS to elucidate the photodegradation pathway and the results reveal the complete mineralization of the PhACs. The toxicity of the degraded product was performed against on Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli where it shows that the nanohybrid possesses high relative growth inhibition than AWO and MWO nanoparticles. In addition, the genotoxicity of the nanohybrid against Allium cepa was performed and it exhibited lower toxicity. The synthesized nanohybrid proves to be an excellent photocatalyst with good stability, reusability, eco-friendly, and cost-effective material for implementation in practical applications.

Dhurrin increases but does not mitigate oxidative stress in droughted Sorghum bicolor

Main conclusionDroughted sorghum had higher concentrations of ROS in both wildtype and dhurrin-lacking mutants. Dhurrin increased in wildtype genotypes with drought. Dhurrin does not appear to mitigate oxidative stress in sorghum.Sorghum bicolor is tolerant of high temperatures and prolonged droughts. During droughts, concentrations of dhurrin, a cyanogenic glucoside, increase posing a risk to livestock of hydrogen cyanide poisoning. Dhurrin can also be recycled without the release of hydrogen cyanide presenting the possibility that it may have functions other than defence. It has been hypothesised that dhurrin may be able to mitigate oxidative stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) during biosynthesis and recycling. To test this, we compared the growth and chemical composition of S. bicolor in total cyanide deficient sorghum mutants (tcd1) with wild-type plants that were either well-watered or left unwatered for 2 weeks. Plants from the adult cyanide deficient class of mutant (acdc1) were also included. Foliar dhurrin increased in response to drought in all lines except tcd1 and acdc1, but not in the roots or leaf sheaths. Foliar ROS concentration increased in drought-stressed plants in all genotypes. Phenolic concentrations were also measured but no differences were detected. The total amounts of dhurrin, ROS and phenolics on a whole plant basis were lower in droughted plants due to their smaller biomass, but there were no significant genotypic differences. Up until treatments began at the 3-leaf stage, tcd1 mutants grew more slowly than the other genotypes but after that they had higher relative growth rates, even when droughted. The findings presented here do not support the hypothesis that the increase in dhurrin commonly seen in drought-stressed sorghum plays a role in reducing oxidative stress by scavenging ROS.

The Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Variant Omicron with a Doubling Time of 2.0-3.3 Days Can Be Explained by Immune Evasion.

Omicron, the novel highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC, Pango lineage B.1.1.529) was first collected in early November 2021 in South Africa. By the end of November 2021, it had spread and approached fixation in South Africa, and had been detected on all continents. We analyzed the exponential growth of Omicron over four-week periods in the two most populated of South Africa’s provinces, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, arriving at the doubling time estimates of, respectively, 3.3 days (95% CI: 3.2–3.4 days) and 2.7 days (95% CI: 2.3–3.3 days). Similar or even shorter doubling times were observed in other locations: Australia (3.0 days), New York State (2.5 days), UK (2.4 days), and Denmark (2.0 days). Log–linear regression suggests that the spread began in Gauteng around 11 October 2021; however, due to presumable stochasticity in the initial spread, this estimate can be inaccurate. Phylogenetics-based analysis indicates that the Omicron strain started to diverge between 6 October and 29 October 2021. We estimated that the weekly growth of the ratio of Omicron to Delta is in the range of 7.2–10.2, considerably higher than the growth of the ratio of Delta to Alpha (estimated to be in in the range of 2.5–4.2), and Alpha to pre-existing strains (estimated to be in the range of 1.8–2.7). High relative growth does not necessarily imply higher Omicron infectivity. A two-strain SEIR model suggests that the growth advantage of Omicron may stem from immune evasion, which permits this VOC to infect both recovered and fully vaccinated individuals. As we demonstrated within the model, immune evasion is more concerning than increased transmissibility, because it can facilitate larger epidemic outbreaks.

Variations in the Growth of Cotyledons and Initial True Leaves as Affected by Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density at Individual Seedlings and Nutrients

Plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs), with well-insulated and airtight structures, enable the production of large quantities of high-quality plants year-round while achieving high resource use efficiency. However, despite the controlled environment in PFALs, variations in plant individuals have been found, which affect productivity in PFAL operations. Plant phenotyping plays a crucial role in understanding how the surrounding microenvironment affects variations in plant phenotypes. In the current study, a modular phenotyping system for seedling production was developed, focusing on practicality and scalability in commercial PFALs. Experiments on seedlings, which strongly affect productivity, were conducted to obtain cotyledon unfolding time and the time series projected area of cotyledons and true leaves of individual seedlings of romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia), using RGB images. This was also undertaken to analyze how the surrounding microenvironment of photosynthetic photon flux densities and nutrients affect growth variations for plant cohort research. In agreement with the actual measurements, variations in seedling growth were identified even under similar microenvironments. Furthermore, the results demonstrated larger variations in seedlings with higher relative growth. Aiming for simplified interactions of phenotypes with the microenvironment, management, and genotype, seedling selection and breeding with plant production in PFALs may enable plant uniformity and higher productivity.

Effects of dietary protein levels on the growth of Luciobarbus xanthopterus juveniles (Heckel, 1843)

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of four fish dietary protein levels (30%, 35%, 40% and 45%) on the growth of Luciobarbus xanthopterus juveniles. About 240 fish of average weight of 18.4 g were kept in eight small letter tanks for 8 weeks at the Marine Science Center aquaculture room. Two replicates for each treatment with 30 fish for each replicate were used. A number of growth parameters were estimated during the experiment. The environmental factors measured were; water temperature, DO, salinity and pH. The highest average weight gained was 21.14 g ± 0.33 with the 40% dietary protein level, while the lowest average weight was 19.68 g ± 0.50. The highest weight gained was recorded at 40% dietary protein level. The highest weight gain and weight increase were significantly different (p<0.05) at 40% dietary protein level. Their values were 21.14 g ± 0.33 and 2.11 ± 0.06, respectively. The lowest weight gain and weight increase were at 45% protein level, with values of 19.68 g ± 0.50 and 1.09 ± 0.05, respectively. The weight increase was 2.11 ± 0.06. Significant differences (p<0.05) have been noticed in this protein level, however, the other dietary levels showed no significant increase. The highest rate of daily weight increase were recorded at the 30%, 35% and 40% levels and the significant differences (p<0.05) among these levels were in apparent. However, the weight increase rate of 2.12 was dropped at 45% level to 1.41 ± 0.033. The highest rate of specific growth was recorded at the 35% protein level with value of 0.31 g/day with no significant differences (p<0.05) between the various levels. Finally, it could be concluded from this study that the lowest specific growth 5.64% was recorded at the 45% protein level and the highest relative growth 11.06% was recorded at the dietary protein level of 35%.

Preparing seedlings for dry spells: Drought acclimation in the seedlings of two tree species of a seasonal tropical dry forest

The effect of two drought acclimation treatments—high (HS) or moderated (MS) drought stress—on seedling growth was assessed in the two tree species Caesalpinia platyloba S.Watson (Fabaceae) and Ipomoea wolcottiana Rose (Convolvulaceae) in order to prepare them for dry spells. These species are mainly distributed in mature and disturbed sites, respectively, in a seasonal tropical dry forest in Jalisco, Mexico. Without acclimation, the seedlings of C. platyloba showed low values in both Specific Leaf Area (SLA) and Net Assimilation Rate (NAR), suggesting a conservative biomass allocation, while in I. wolcottiana, the high Relative Growth Rate (RGR), Root:Shoot ratio (R:S), and low SLA suggested seedling drought evasion. After the acclimation period, the seedlings of both species showed reduced biomass allocation to leaves, as indicated by the decrease in Leaf Mass Ratio (LMR). Additionally, increases in R:S suggested greater allocation to water capture during the short growth season. After the dry spell simulation, the control seedlings of C. platyloba showed negative NAR, but the relatively high NAR observed in the seedlings subjected to HS and MS suggested that these treatments were sufficient to endure drought stress. In I. wolcottiana, a sigmoid relationship described that seedlings’ RGR rapidly increased when NAR was raised. Contrastingly, in C. platyloba seedlings, the constant RGR increase related to the raise in NAR suggested a conservative use of water. In the I. wolcottiana seedlings, the HS treatment induced leaf abscission. Both species were plastic enough to acclimate to short periods of drought, but different levels of drought stress were necessary to acclimate the seedlings of each species. Suggested drought-acclimation treatments are to water the C. platyloba seedlings at 25% (HS) and I. wolcottiana seedlings at 50% (MS) of field capacity.

Induction and submerged cultivation of Valeriana jatamansi adventitious root cultures for production of valerenic acids and its derivatives

In vitro adventitious roots were induced from leaves of Valeriana jatamansi to assess their potential as a sustainable alternative to extract pharmaceutically important phytoconstituents. Among the different media used, a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) high root induction (90%) was achieved on Schenk and Hildebrandt (SH) medium fortified with 9.84 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). In addition, various process parameters i.e. IBA concentration, sucrose and medium strength were also optimized under submerged cultivation. The maximum fresh root biomass (144.09 ± 11.36 g/L) with a high relative growth rate (2.01 ± 0.04) and growth index (13.41) was achieved in half-strength SH medium having 2% sucrose and 4.92 µM IBA. Further, a significantly high yield of total valerenic acid derivatives [1525.14 µg/g dry weight (DW)] was recorded in adventitious roots as compared to donor plant parts. Individually, valerenic acid (506.27 µg/g DW) was accumulated higher in plant rhizomes, while acetoxyvalerenic (534.91 µg/g DW) and hydroxyl valerenic acid (919.57 µg/g DW) in adventitious roots. Interestingly, hydroxy valerenic acid was unmeasurable in donor plant parts. The phenolic compounds were also found maximum in adventitious roots (451.85 µg/g DW) with the dominance of pharmaceutically important kaempferol and rutin. A substantial increase in phytochemicals was evident at subsequent culture stages with shortened in vitro cultivation cycle (2 months) than field-grown plants (24 months). Moreover, adventitious roots also accumulated 0.059% essential oil with patchouli alcohol (24%) as a key constituent. Conclusively, an enriched metabolic profile and substantially shorter growth cycle under submerged cultivation undoubtedly demonstrated the potential of induced V. jatamansi adventitious roots as a feasible source of phytoconstituents. In vitro adventitious roots induced leaf of Valeriana jatamansi showed improved metabolic profile and shorter cultivation cycle, thereby exhibiting potential as a sustainable alternative for extraction of industrially important phytoconstituents.

The Role of the Activator Additives Introduction Method in the Cold Sintering Process of ZnO Ceramics: CSP/SPS Approach.

The great prospects for introducing the cold sintering process (CSP) into industry determine the importance of finding approaches to reduce the processing time and mechanical pressure required to obtain dense ceramics using CSP. The introducing zinc acetate into the initial ZnO powder of methods, such as impregnation, thermovapor autoclave treatment (TVT), and direct injection of an aqueous solution into a die followed by cold sintering process using a spark plasma sintering unit, was studied. The effect of the introduction methods on the density and grain size of sintered ceramics was analyzed using SEM, dynamic light scattering, IR spectroscopy, and XRD. The impregnation method provides sintered samples with high relative density (over 0.90) and significant grain growth when sintered at 250 °C with a high heating rate of 100 °C/min, under a uniaxial pressure of 80 MPa in a vacuum, and a short isothermic dwell time (5 min). The TVT and aqueous solution direct injection methods showed lower relative densities (0.87 and 0.76, respectively) of CSP ZnO samples. Finally, the development of ideas about the processes occurring in an aqueous medium with CSP and TVT, which are subject to mechanical pressure, is presented.

Determinants of Domestic Value Added in Exports: Empirical Evidence from India’s Manufacturing Sectors

Over the last decade, trade policy reforms have significantly influenced the internationalization of Indian manufacturing firms, leading to deeper participation of the country in global value chains (GVCs) and international production networks (IPNs). With the growing participation of foreign firms in the value chain, the domestic value-added (DVA) content embodied in Indian exports have displayed a declining trend. Recently, in 2020, India has decided to launch the ‘Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat Abhiyan’, which, in principle, aims to consolidate the manufacturing sector, leading to increasing DVA embodied in exports (DVA-content), apart from employment generation. The current article attempts to analyse the drivers of India’s DVA in exports for select manufacturing industries over 2000–15 by using the OECD trade in value added (TiVA) database. The empirical results reveal that sectoral DVA content is positively influenced by both domestic capital and foreign direct investment (FDI), and labour skill intensity, but negatively influenced by the presence of unskilled workers. Moreover, FDI inflows in sectors characterized by high skill-intensity and high-relative growth rate play a crucial role in influencing DVA content. Finally, the presence of larger and more capital-intensive firms is found to be a major driver of DVA. On the policy front, therefore, the empirical results underline that export promotion policies alone will not be able to resolve employment worries, a major concern in India, as vast numbers of unskilled and low-skilled workers trapped in the agricultural sector or working in unorganized and micro-industries fail to figure in the country’s export value addition. A concerted effort towards labour skill enhancement as well as technology transfer is necessary for exports to play a more positive role.

INITIAL GROWTH AND NUTRIENT ACCUMULATION IN PITAYA PLANTS AT DIFFERENT PHENOLOGICAL STAGES1

ABSTRACT Information on nutritional management of pitaya crops are scarce. However, understanding the growth and nutrient accumulation in these plants at different developmental stages can assist in the development of rational soil fertilizer application programs for pitaya crops and decrease production costs. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the growth and nutrient accumulation in pitaya plants throughout the crop cycle. Cladodes of pitaya plants of the Hylocereus setaceus species were grown in polyethylene pots containing a Typic Hapludult (Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo Eutrófico) under full sun. The treatments consisted of six sampling times: 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 days after planting (DAP). A randomized block experimental design with four replications was used. Four plants were sampled and evaluated for growth and nutrient accumulation at each sampling time. The pitaya plants presented an exponential growth up to 360 DAP and high nutrient absorption between 300 and 360 DAP. The nutrient and Na accumulations in the cladodes, in decreasing order, were: 3.91 (K), 2.56 (Ca), 1.95 (N), 1.24 (P), 0.45 (Mg), 0.30 (S), and 0.06 (Na) g plant-1, and 14.86 (Zn), 12.72 (Fe), 12.37 (Mn), 5.37 (B), and 1.04 (Cu) mg plant-1. The highest relative growth rate and relative nutrient absorption rate were found between 60 and 120 DAP.