Application Regimes Research Articles

Responses of N2O, CO2, and NH3 Emissions to Biochar and Nitrification Inhibitors Under a Delayed Nitrogen Application Regime

Greenhouse gas and NH3 emissions are exacerbated by the inappropriate timing and excessive application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in wheat cultivation in China. In this study, the impacts on N2O, CO2, and NH3 emissions of a delayed and reduced N application regime on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain were investigated. The treatments comprised the control (N0), conventional N at 270 kg N ha−1 (N270) and optimized N application of 180 kg N ha−1 (N180), N180 + biochar at 7.5 t ha−1 (N180B7.5), N180 + biochar at 15 t ha−1 (N180B15), N180 + DMPP (a nitrification inhibitor; N180D), N180D + biochar at 7.5 t ha−1 (N180DB7.5), and N180D + biochar at 15 t ha−1 (N180DB15). Reduced N application (N180) lowered N2O and NH3 emissions. Biochar application resulted in a 4–25% and 12–16% increase in N2O and NH3 emissions, respectively. Application of DMPP significantly decreased N2O emissions by 32% while concurrently inducing a 9% increase in NH3 emissions. Co-application of DMPP and biochar significantly reduced the activity of nitrification enzymes (HAD, NOO), resulting in a reduction of 37–38% in N2O emissions and 13–14% in NH3 emissions. No significant differences in CO2 emissions were observed among the various N treatments except the N0 treatment. Application of DMPP alone did not significantly affect grain yield. However, biochar, in combination with DMPP, effectively increases grain yield. The findings suggest that the N180DB15 treatment has the potential to reduce emissions of N2O and NH3 while concurrently enhancing soil fertility (pH, SOC) and wheat yield.

Invariant regimes of Spencer scaling law for magnetic compression of rotating FRC plasma

Abstract The scaling laws for the magnetic compression of a toroidally rotating field reversed configuration (FRC) have been investigated in this work. The magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations of the magnetic compression on rotating FRCs employing the NIMROD code (Sovinec et al 2004 J. Comput. Phys. 195 355), are compared with the Spencer’s one-dimensional (1D) theory (Spencer et al 1983 Phys. Fluids 26 1564) for a wide range of initial flow speeds and profiles. The toroidal flow can influence the scalings directly through the alteration of the compressional work as also evidenced in the 1D adiabatic model, and indirectly by reshaping the initial equilibrium. However, in comparison to the static initial FRC equilibrium cases, the pressure and the radius scalings remain invariant for the magnetic compression ratio B w 2 / B w 1 up to 6 in presence of the initial equilibrium flow, suggesting a broader applicable regime of the Spencer scaling law for FRC magnetic compression. The invariant scaling has been proven a natural consequence of the conservation of angular momentum of both fluid and magnetic field during the dynamic compression process.

Performance Evaluation of Refractive Index Biosensor in THz Regime for Clinical Applications: A Simulation Approach

In this manuscript, a novel innovative HC-PCF sensor model in THz regime is introduced integrated with an optimization approach. The suggested sensor architecture provides crucial advantages precise identification of healthy and ill tissues in healthcare industry. The HC-PCF, meticulously constructed with specific dimensions, significantly increases the sensor sensitivity and specificity to 99.37% and 99.75% respectively. Healthcare industries are at the core of investigations and are undoubtedly crucial to modernize the prognosis procedures. It is a discipline that is continually expanding and searching for new approaches to raise the standard for efficacy, sensitivity, and accuracy. Recently, THz PCF has emerged with incredible potential in all the areas of biomedical applications. The importance in using THz sensors in this research is to detect the ill tissues, an important component in the categorizing diabetes. The integrated sensor architecture provides higher level of sensitivity, with a confinement loss of 0.05 in 0.23 s processing time for a RI range of 1.28–1.39. This research highlights the capability of combining PCF with optimization to improvise the healthcare industry, offering an economical and efficient diagnostic solution across the fields.

Optimizing Oxalic Acid Application Regime to Maximize Sunflower Remediation Efficacy in Cd-Contaminated Soils

The exogenous application of oxalic acid is a potential approach to amplifying phytoremediation performance on Cd-contaminated soils. However, few studies explore the optimal oxalic acid application regime from a perspective of coupling different concentrations and timings to maximize Cd removal rate. Given this, a pot experiment was conducted using oil sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as the test plant. Oxalic acid was added to the pots at concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mmol/kg at 20, 30, 40, and 50 days after emergence. A control (CK) without exogenous oxalic acid was also included. We examined the discrepancies in various soil Cd forms, sunflower height, plant non-protein thiol (NPT) levels, and soil Cd remediation efficiency under different oxalic acid application regimes. The results showed that applying oxalic acid at a concentration of 4 mmol/kg reduced the proportion of Fe-Mn oxide Cd and organic Cd compared to the control (CK), while increased the proportion of available Cd. The optimal application time is 30 or 40 days after emergence. The addition of exogenous oxalic acid promoted the growth of sunflowers, with the greatest increase in plant height observed when 4 mmol/kg oxalic acid was applied at 30 days after emergence. Exogenous oxalic acid enhanced the absorption of Cd by sunflower roots, with the total Cd accumulation in roots, stems, and leaves being higher than in the control (CK). When 4 mmol/kg oxalic acid was applied at 30 days after emergence, the total Cd accumulation in roots, stems, and leaves was highest. Under different application times and concentration levels of oxalic acid, Cd accumulation was highest in roots, followed by leaves, with stems showing the lowest accumulation. The NPT content in each part is as follows: root > stem > leaf. Applying 5 mmol/kg oxalic acid after 30 days of sunflower emergence resulted in relatively higher total NPT content in roots, stems, and leaves compared to the control (CK). The TOPSIS model was used for comprehensive evaluation, which showed that 4 mmol/kg oxalic acid application at 30 days after emergence could be used as the optimal oxalic acid application regime for phytoremediation. These findings indicate that the addition of oxalic acid effectively promoted the absorption of Cd by sunflower and increased the efficiency of Cd removal from the rhizosphere soil, with the optimal removal of soil Cd achieved by applying oxalic acid at a concentration of 4 mmol/kg 30 days after the emergence of oilseed sunflower seedlings.

Implicit unified gas-kinetic scheme for steady state solution of hypersonic thermodynamic non-equilibrium flows

The unified gas-kinetic scheme (UGKS), designed to solve Boltzmann equation and its model equations, aims to accurately resolve multi-scale flow problems within a single computation framework. In this study, an implicit UGKS is proposed for the steady state solution of diatomic gas flows based on a multiple-temperature Boltzmann model equation with non-equilibrium among translational, rotational and vibrational modes (Zhang et al., 2023), utilizing a novel hybrid Cartesian-unstructured discrete velocity space (DVS) mesh approach. The multiple-temperature macroscopic equations corresponding to the Boltzmann model equation are simultaneously solved implicitly to address the stiffness and nonlinearity of the collision operator encountered when solving the Boltzmann model equation in isolation. Both macroscopic equations and Boltzmann model equation are solved by using the point relaxation symmetric Gauss–Seidel method to achieve a fast convergence rate. The efficiency of the implicit UGKS can be improved by about two orders of magnitude compared to the explicit one. Moreover, the hybrid Cartesian-unstructured DVS achieves a noteworthy reduction in both CPU-hours and memory consumption, requiring only 15%∼23% of the advanced unstructured DVS. It effectively alleviates the dimensional crisis of UGKS in solving three-dimensional hypersonic flows, and can be extended to other DVS-based methods. As a result, UGKS extends its applicable regime to simulations of hypersonic thermodynamic non-equilibrium flows with Mach numbers up to 30, achieving three-dimensional flow simulations of complex geometrical configurations with relatively low computational resources. A series of test cases, including normal shock structures, two-dimensional hypersonic flows around cylinder, blunt wedge and flat plate, and three-dimensional hypersonic flows around a sphere and an X38-like configuration vehicle, are conducted to validate the implicit UGKS with hybrid Cartesian-unstructured DVS. Overall, the proposed method shows advantages of unified multi-scale methods in terms of computational efficiency and capturing multi-scale solution of hypersonic thermodynamic non-equilibrium flows.

Mechanics and thermodynamics of multivalent-binding induced shrinkage of hydrogels

Understanding the fundamental mechanism of shrink hydrogel sensors necessitates a complete comprehension of analyte-centered multivalent binding that occurs within their salt-rich microenvironments. However, the mechanics and thermodynamics governing this phenomenon remain insufficiently understood. Here, we aim to derive a theoretical framework that examines the impact of temporary cross-link formation on the hydrogel shrinkage due to specific binding interaction between the fixed receptors and the multivalent analytes. As a highlight of our theory, we mathematically quantify the hydrogels’ permanent and temporary cross-links using statistical thermodynamics to describe the multivalent complexation with different binding degrees while accounting for molecular-level transport factors when predicting the sensor’s shrinking characteristics. Consequently, our theory unveils the upper bounds set by the external analyte concentration and analyte binding valency onto the actuation sensitivity of these sensors, whereby tuning the receptor density permits further modulation of their performances. These findings tightly correlate the microscopic properties of the analyte and hydrogel to the macroscopic behaviors of shrink sensors, facilitating a structured design regime for advanced biomedical applications.

The shoulder effect in the stagnation zone for temperature-controlled jet impingement transition boiling of submerged dielectric fluid

Two-phase jet impingement is capable of high heat transfer coefficients and high boiling critical heat flux (CHF) limits, making it a suitable technology for electronics immersion cooling applications. Previous studies have focused on the heat-flux-controlled nucleate boiling performance of an impingement jet up to the CHF. Exploration of other boiling regimes that occur under temperature-controlled surfaces is of equal fundamental importance. It has been shown for free jets that a high and consistent heat flux can be dissipated over a wide range of surface superheats in the transition boiling regime when the surface is temperature-controlled. This so-called “shoulder effect”, or heat flux shoulder, is strongest in the stagnation zone, directly beneath the jet. It has only observed using free jets of water as the cooling for interest in metals processing applications. To exploit operation in this unique boiling regime for potential applications in immersion cooling of electronics, the occurrence of this shoulder effect, as well as means for estimating the shoulder heat flux across different operating conditions, must be investigated for submerged jets and dielectric coolants. In this work, temperature-controlled submerged jet impingement is experimentally characterized using HFE-7100. A copper heater sized to be completely covered by the jet stagnation zone is increased in surface temperature via a PID controller, which allows for steady-state, temperature-controlled data to be acquired. The boiling curves, including CHF and shoulder heat flux, are measured for 0.5–3 m/s jet velocities and 5–30 K inlet subcooling. The shoulder effect is shown to exist in these conditions and high-speed imaging reveals that the shoulder heat flux effect is an enhanced film-like mode of transition boiling. It is observed that there is a proportionality between the CHF and the shoulder heat flux for the conditions investigated. The measured trends and dependencies of the shoulder heat flux on inlet subcooling and jet velocity are used to assess available predictive tools.

Evaluating the Performance of Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation Technology: An On-farm Rice Case Study in An Giang Province, the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

Alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWD) is a promising technique that has been tried across Southeast Asia to reduce water consumption and methane emissions in irrigated rice cultivation. The study conducted in the upper Vietnamese Mekong Delta compared the effectiveness of plant growth, yield components, and yield under three different water application regimes: the treatments of community AWD (AWD_C), household individually (AWD_H), and continuous flooding (CF) with the expectation to explore the ability to use water effectively in rice cultivation. The results showed no significant difference in water use between the three treatments. However, there was a considerable difference in coefficient of variation value (CV); the CV value of the water column in the AWD_C (1.32%) was a significant difference from that of AWD_H (0.87%) and CF (0.89%). The mean chlorophyll content, the yield, and the weight of 1,000 grains of the AWD_H treatment were significantly higher than that of the other two treatments. In another aspect, the water productivity of the AWD_H treatment was the highest (0.66 kg/m3), a statistically significant difference compared to the AWD_C and CF (0.37; 0.33 kg/m3). In conclusion, the AWD_H shows efficiency in leaf chlorophyll content, 1,000-grain weight, yield, and water productivity. The AWD_C is inferior to the AWD_H due to the large variation of field elevation. It is noted that field elevation is critical to the technique’s success in being applied on a large scale.

Multidimensional Representation of Semantic Relations between Physical Theories, Fundamental Constants and Units of Measurement with Formal Concept Analysis

We propose several hierarchical graphs that represent the semantic relations between physical theories, their fundamental constants and units of measurement. We begin with an alternative representation of Zel’manov’s cube of fundamental constants as a concept lattice. We then propose the inclusion of a new fundamental constant, Milgrom’s critical acceleration, and discuss the implications of such analysis. We then look for the same fundamental constants in a graph that relates magnitudes and units of measurement in the International System of Units. This exercise shows the potential of visualizing hierarchical networks as a tool to better comprehend the symmetries, interrelations and dependencies of physical magnitudes, units and theories. New regimes of application may be deduced, as well as an interesting reflection on our ontologies and corresponding theoretical objects.

Effect of foliar fungicide application timing on corn yield across different water regimes

ABSTRACT Corn (Zea mays L.) is a major irrigated crop in the Texas High Plains (THP). Inadequate precipitation, declining groundwater resources, and inevitable seasonal drought in the area have led to a greater number of studies on crop hybrids, water regimes, and other yield-enhancing techniques. A four-year field study was conducted to investigate the effect of foliar fungicide timing on corn grain yield, grain moisture, and grain test weight under different irrigation regimes. A fungicide containing QoI + DMI was applied to four to six corn hybrids each year at various growth stages (V5, R1, and V5 + R1). For all years, corn plants were grown under three irrigation regimes to meet the seasonal evapotranspiration (ET) requirements of 50% (I50), 75% (I75), and 100% (I100). Hybrid response to the timing of fungicide application and irrigation regime was not consistent over the years. However, in 2 of the 4 years, timing of fungicide application resulted in yield differences among the hybrids, especially at I75 and L100. For those years, the fungicide applied at R1 resulted in a higher grain yield, grain moisture, and grain test weight followed by the fungicide applied at V5 + R1. Results showed that hybrids reacted differently to the foliar fungicide based on the availability of water under disease-free conditions. This study further revealed that irrigation water could be reduced from I100 to I75 with a limited (5.6% in 2011, 11.3% in 2012, 1.3% in 2013, and 0.3% in 2014) yield penalty in the THP region.

Polymer-composite triboelectric nanogenerators with hook-shaped electrode for wind energy harvesting

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) based on the composite of polystyrene (PS) and silver nanowires (Ag-nWs) have been investigated. With open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current and power density of ∼200 V, ∼15 μA and ∼395 mW/m2 respectively in the contact separation mode, these TENGs exhibit highly reliable performance. To harvest the wind energy, a novel hook-shape geometry of the top fluttering electrode is demonstrated which is constructed using light-weight rectangular aluminum foil and is fixed at both ends. With PS:Ag-nW composite film, the hook-shaped-electrode TENG (HSE-TENG) provided an average VOC of 15 V, ISC of 0.75 μA and a power density of 18.33 mW/m2 at a wind speed of 5.5 m/s. Under high outdoor temperature and humidity levels, HSE-TENG demonstrated a high degree of response stability. In addition, the proposed TENG is affixed on the top surface of a moving vehicle, where it has been demonstrated to scavenge the energy from the experienced wind force. This study indicates that material strategies and device design approaches can be amalgamated to achieve high performance and operational robustness together for a specific application regime.

Effect of preharvest biofilm application regimes on cracking and fruit quality traits in ‘0900 Ziraat’ sweet cherry cultivar

BackgroundFruit cracking impacts the quality of sweet cherry, significantly affecting its marketability due to increased susceptibility to injury, aesthetic flaws, and susceptibility to pathogens. The effect of 1% biofilm (Parka™) application regimes on fruit cracking and other quality parameters in the ‘0900 Ziraat’ cherry cultivar was investigated in this study. Fruit sprayed with water were served as control (U1). Fruit treated only once with biofilm three, two and one week before the commercial harvest were considered as U2, U3 and U4, respectively. Fruit treated with biofilm three, two, and one week before harvest were considered as U5; three and two week before harvest as U6; two and one week before harvest as U7; and fruit treated three and one week before harvest as U8.ResultsIn both measurement periods, the lower cracking index was obtained in biofilm-treated sweet cherry fruit. However, the firmness of biofilm-treated fruit was higher than that of the control fruit. The lowest respiration rate was observed in U7, while the highest weight was recorded in U4 and U5 than the control. The biofilm application decreased fruit coloration. The biofilm application also increased the soluble solids content of the fruit. The U2, U3 and U4 applications at harvest showed higher titratable acidity than the control. In both measurement periods, the vitamin C content of the U2, U5, U6, U7 and U8 applications was found to be higher than that of the control. The total monomeric anthocyanin of the U3 and U8 applications was higher than that of the control. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the U2, U3 and U5 in the DPPH, and the U7 and U8 in FRAP were measured higher thanthat of the control.ConclusionsThe application of biofilms has the potential to mitigate fruit cracking, prolong postharvest life of sweet cherries, and enhance fruit firmness.

Effect of Fungicide Application and Corn Hybrid Class on the Presence of Fusarium graminearum and the Concentration of Deoxynivalenol in Ear and Stalk Parts of Corn (Zea mays) Used for Silage.

In Wisconsin, the use of brown midrib (BMR) corn (Zea mays) hybrids for ensiling and subsequent feeding to dairy cows is quite common. The overall milk production from cows fed silage from BMR hybrids is typically higher than those fed silage made from dual-purpose hybrids. Gibberella diseases (ear and stalk rot) caused by Gibberella zeae (anamorph; Fusarium graminearum) and the accompanying accumulation of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) can be significant issues during the field production of BMR hybrids. The work presented here aimed to understand the role of hybrid class on the distribution of F. graminearum DNA and DON in the ear and stalk parts of corn for silage. An ear and stalk partitioned sample experiment was conducted on silage corn from field trials in Arlington, Wisconsin, in 2020 and 2021. The trials were arranged in a randomized complete block design in both years, including one BMR hybrid, one dual-purpose hybrid, and seven fungicide application regimes. Paired ear and stalk samples were physically separated, dried, and ground at harvest before determining the concentration of F. graminearum DNA and DON in each sample. Across both years, the main effects of hybrid, treatment, and plant part were not significant (P > 0.1) on DON concentration. However, the hybrid-by-plant part interaction effect was significant (P < 0.01). Ears of the BMR hybrid accumulated the most DON, whereas the dual-purpose hybrid ears had the lowest DON concentration. The concentrations of DON and F. graminearum DNA were significantly (P < 0.01) and highly correlated in the ear (r = 0.73) but not in the stalk (r = 0.09, P = 0.33). These findings suggest that DON accumulation in the corn ear is a major contributor in the difference observed in the total DON between the hybrid classes. Therefore, growers and researchers are encouraged to focus production and breeding on hybrids in both classes that accumulate less DON in ears, resulting in lower total DON in corn chopped for silage.

Generalized gluon distribution for quarkonium dynamics in strongly coupled N=4 Yang-Mills theory

We study the generalized gluon distribution that governs the dynamics of quarkonium inside a non-Abelian thermal plasma characterizing its dissociation and recombination rates. This gluon distribution can be written in terms of a correlation function of two chromoelectric fields connected by an adjoint Wilson line. We formulate and calculate this object in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling using the AdS/CFT correspondence, allowing for a nonzero center-of-mass velocity v of the heavy quark pair relative to the medium. The effect of a moving medium on the dynamics of the heavy quark pair is described by the simple substitution T→γT in agreement with previous calculations of other observables at strong coupling, where T is the temperature of the plasma in its rest frame, and γ=(1−v2)−1/2 is the Lorentz boost factor. Such a velocity dependence can be important when the quarkonium momentum is larger than its mass. Contrary to general expectations for open quantum systems weakly coupled with large thermal environments, the contributions to the transition rates that are usually thought of as the leading ones in Markovian descriptions vanish in this strongly coupled plasma. This calls for new theoretical developments to assess the effects of strongly coupled non-Abelian plasmas on in-medium quarkonium dynamics. Finally, we compare our results with those from weakly coupled QCD, and find that the QCD result moves toward the N=4 strongly coupled result as the coupling constant is increased within the regime of applicability of perturbation theory. This behavior makes it even more pressing to develop a non-Markovian description of quarkonium in-medium dynamics. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

The Abuse of Right Principle in Japan and Germany

The article “The abuse of right principle between legal certainty and case-by-case justice deals with the application practice of the abuse of rights principle in Germany and Japan. As an instrument for resolving tensions between written law and the cultural and moral ideas of Japanese judges, the concept was imported to Japan in the 19th century in the course of the westernisation of the legal system. In the beginning, German and Japanese application practices were naturally very similar, but as time and historical development progressed, the two application regimes increasingly diverged. The Japanese judiciary has retained the free and little-controlled application practice of the 19th century, while the German judiciary today controls the concept much more tightly. In practice, this means that the Japanese Supreme Court does not give the lower courts any formal guidelines on application, but rather seeks to prevent grossly arbitrary applications by classifying possible arguments. The German judiciary, on the other hand, developed a complex structure of so-called case groups. Case grouping means that arguments are not classified as in Japan, but rather the actual factual constellations are conclusively determined as admissible or inadmissible. Thus, after approx. 120 years of independent development in Japan and Germany, there are considerable differences between the application practice of the prohibition of abuse of rights, despite the same starting point. The reasons for these differences are multifaceted in nature; within the framework of this paper, it was primarily possible to identify historical factors in the form of experience with arbitrary justice, cultural influences in the form of community orientation in Japan and institutional reasons in the form of court organisation.

Effect of sowing management and herbicides application on weeds and yield of berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum)

A field experiment was conducted during winter (rabi) seasons of 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 at research farm of College of Agriculture, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh to study the impact of planting time and herbicides application on weeds and berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) yield. Experiment was conducted in a split plot design with 20 treatments comprising of 4 dates of sowing, viz. October 15th, October 30th, November 15th and November 30th in main plots and these were superimposed with 5 weed control treatments i.e. Pyroxasulfone 125 g/ha as pre emergence; Pyroxasulfone 125 g/ha at 14 DAS; Oxyfluorfen 100 g/ ha + Imazethapyr 15 g/ha after first cutting; Oxyfluorfen 100 g/ha + Imazethapyr 15 g/ha after first and second cutting, replicated thrice. Berseem variety JB 05-9 was sown in the experimental field with recommended package of practices. There was predominance of dicot weeds as compared to monocot in berseem at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Among the dicot weeds, Medicago truncatula Gaertn. (37.48%) and Cichorium intybus (L.) (27.74%) were predominant. However, other weeds like Cyperus rotundus (L.) (13.79%), Anagallis arvensis (L.) (11.21%) and Chenopodium album (L.) (9.78%) were also present in good numbers. Sowing of berseem in the thermal regimes of 15th October and application of Oxyfluorfen 100 g/ha + Imazethapyr 15 g/ha after first and second cutting was most effective treatment for curbing the growth of weeds as it attained the minimum density and dry weight of weeds during both the years. However, sowing of 15th October with application of Oxyfluorfen 100 g/ha + Imazethapyr 15 g/ha after first cutting recorded the superior values of growth parameters, yield attributing traits, green fodder yield, dry matter yield and seed yield and found more remunerative as it fetched the higher NMR and B:C ratio as compared to other combinations.

Integrated Nutrient Management in Muskmelon: A Comprehensive Field Study

The present study aims to describe the effects of integrated nutrient management (INM) on Madhumita variety of muskmelon cultivation in terms of plant growth, fruit yield, and quality. The experiment has been carried out in the crop field located in the North Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. This case study involved seven different treatments (T1 to T7), each with varying nutrient application regimes. Certain observational data, such as vine length, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, days to 50% flowering, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, and fruit yield, were recorded for three replications over the course of the experiment. The results of statistical analysis revealed significant differences, with specific treatments demonstrating T6, which included Vermicompost at 5 tons/ha, 75% of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF), and 1% NOVEL prime organic liquid nutrient, consistently outperformed the other treatments groups. The findings highlight the utility of integrated nutrient management. It helps in understanding and optimizing the application of nutrients to boost crop productivity and promote sustainability.

Zeolite application coupled with film mulched drip irrigation enhances crop yield with less N2O emissions in peanut field

Zeolite has been previously reported to increase nitrogen (N) use efficiency in lowland paddy fields. However, few results are available regarding its effect on N2O emissions from upland field, especially with mulched drip irrigation. In present study, two-year peanut field experiments were conducted utilizing a split-plot design to assess the impact of zeolite application and irrigation regimes on plant dry weight and N accumulation, soil inorganic N content, peanut yield, N2O emissions, and soil physicochemical properties. Different irrigation regimes (MD, mulched drip irrigation; RF, rain-fed) as well as zeolite application rates (0 t ha−1 (Z0, control), 5 t ha−1 (Z5), and 10 t ha−1 (Z10)) were applied. Results showed that the MD treatment increased plant dry weight, N accumulation, soil NH4+-N, NO3−-N content and mean soil temperature compared to the RF control. Furthermore, cumulative N2O emissions and peanut yield were raised by 24.3% and 15.8%, respectively, with the MD treatment. The increased peanut yield by mulched drip irrigation might be resulted from the promoted soil inorganic N, soil temperature, and plant N accumulation. Regardless of irrigation, zeolite addition increased dry weight and N accumulation during all measured stages except seedling, mean soil NH4+-N, NO3−-N content, mean soil pH, and peanut yield. In contrast, cumulative N2O emissions were decreased compared to the non-zeolite control. Moreover, findings showed that Z10 performed better in increasing peanut yield by 12.7% and decreasing N2O emissions by 35.7% than Z5. Increasing soil inorganic N content with zeolite addition contributed to improve plant N accumulation and promote dry weight and peanut yield. Furthermore, the reduction of N2O emissions by zeolite was related to improved soil inorganic N and pH. Though MD increased N2O emissions, the MDZ10 treatment had 20.6% of cumulative N2O emissions lower than the conventional practice (RFZ0), indicating that zeolite application alleviated the adverse effect of mulched drip irrigation on N2O emissions. It was concluded that zeolite dose at 10 t ha−1 coupled with mulched drip irrigation gave a high peanut yield with less N2O emissions. Our findings could be adopted in arid areas to enhance peanut production and mitigate environmental risk induced by N2O emissions.

Externalisation of Migration Control: Impunity or Accountability for Human Rights Violations?

Externalisation and the human rights violations it entails have received much attention in recent years from both advocates and academics. Since a key aspect of externalisation consists in people on the move staying in the Global South, the locus of litigation has broadened from externalising states in the Global North to also include accountability mechanisms in the Global South. Therefore, this article seeks to answer the following question: to what extent do the international and regional human rights regimes provide accountability mechanisms for violations of the human rights of people on the move in the context of externalisation? It does so through a comparison of externalisation policies in three different regions: the Mediterranean, North America and the Pacific. In each region, the analysis focuses on cooperation between an externalising state in the Global North and a neighbouring state in the Global South to illustrate the differences and similarities between the various contexts: Australia and Indonesia, the United States and Mexico, and Italy and Libya. For each context, the analysis examines the policies implemented by externalising states and their effect on the human rights of people on the move as well as states’ substantive and procedural human rights commitments under the applicable international and regional human rights regimes. While there is no ‘one size fits all’, it shows that there are only limited accountability mechanisms available to people on the move affected by the externalisation of migration control.

Tuning Optical Properties of Plasmonic Aerosols through Ligand-Solvent Interactions.

Plasmonic nanoparticles are highly tunable light-harvesting materials with a wide array of applications in photonics and catalysis. More recently, there has been interest in using aerosolized plasmonic nanoparticles for cloud formation, airborne photocatalysts, and molecular sensors, all of which take advantage of the large scattering cross sections and the ability of these particles to support intense local field enhancement ("hot spots"). While extensive research has investigated properties of plasmonic particles in the solution phase, surfaces, and films, aerosolized plasmonics are relatively unexplored. Here, we demonstrate how the capping ligand, suspension solvent, and atomization conditions used for aerosol generation control the steady-state optical properties of aerosolized Silica@Au plasmonic nanoshells. Our experimental results, supported with spectral simulations, illustrate that ligand coverage and atomization conditions control the degree of solvent retention and thus the spectral characteristics and potential access to surfaces for catalysis in the aerosol phase, opening a new regime for tunable applications of plasmonic metamaterials.