Week Of February Research Articles

Utilizing the Concept of Entropy in the Second Law of Thermodynamics to Determine Risk Levels Associated with Groundwater and Bottled Drinking Water Using Rainwater Quality as a Clean Reference

The concept of entropy as a state function is employed in this paper within a radiation system designed to address the role of atomic disturbance in determining the levels of physical permeability changes in the studied states, comparing the results with those of a clean phase. This investigation begins with samples prepared for characterization tests using a unique technique for electromagnetic irradiation. The samples included: (1) a rainwater sample carefully collected during the first week of February 2024, serving as a high-quality natural reference in its aqueous phase; (2) a sample from a 42-meter-deep drinking water well (GW) in Ghout al-Dees, west of Tripoli, Libya; and (3) a bottled water sample (AA-WS3) commonly available in the Libyan market. The test results focused on the values of the physical property (τC), identified from the relationship between the entropy operator and time, as a physical fingerprint that accurately detects disturbed material permeability. The study concludes with a section linking the properties of the natural reference phase to the fingerprint characteristics of the studied samples, providing an approach to assess the quality of the tested water samples against the ideal chemophysical quality of rainwater. This led to findings that (1) the groundwater quality (QAA-WS2) was 76.92%, and (2) the quality of bottled water available in the Libyan market (QAA-WS3) was 74.57%, highlighting the role of the polymer composition in plastic container packaging as an additional factor, alongside the structures enclosing water sources, as in the case of the groundwater well exposed to contamination. Keywords: atomic disturbance, entropy, chemical identity, atomic irradiation, wave gaps

Optimizing seaweed biomass production - a two kelp solution

Interest in farming kelps has grown beyond using kelp for food, feed or biofuels. There is considerable interest in generating biomass from seaweed for use in bioplastics and other products that would substitute for petroleum-derived products. For these uses to be viable, large amounts of biomass are needed. Very large kelp farms can be expensive to build and maintain, leading to the need to optimize the biomass per unit area. Although close spacing of growlines can lead to poor growth, a viable approach may be to grow two species of kelps together: one that hangs down and one that is buoyant, growing up. This system would increase the spacing in three dimensions. In Alaska, Saccharina latissima is commonly grown hanging down from longlines. One of the buoyant Alaskan kelps is Nereocystis luetkeana. Because there are commercial uses for wild-harvested Nereocystis in Alaska, we undertook a preliminary trial in Kodiak, Alaska, that grew both Saccharina and Nereocystis in the same longline array. Closely spaced lines were seeded the first week of February 2023 and set at 3 m below the surface. The arrays were harvested in late June 2023. Total yields were greatest on the combined arrays, followed by the Nereocystis only and Saccharina only arrays. Despite having 45% fewer grow-lines, the total yield of the Nereocystis on the combined arrays was statistically similar to the Nereocystis only arrays. These results may have significance for large scale macroalgal production.

Population Dynamics of Gram Pod Borer <i>Helicoverpa armigera</i> (Hubner)

The population dynamics of gram pod borer Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) on chickpea was evaluated at the Agricultural Research Farm of B R D P G College, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh during rabi 2022-23. The larval incidence was initially recorded in 6th SMW (first week of February) (2.3 larvae/ plant) with a peak in 11th SMW (third week of March) (10.53 larvae/ plant). Larval incidence on chickpea variety Pusa-261 showed significant positive correlation with maximum temperature (0.837) and minimum temperature (0.804), whereas relative humidity (maximum and minimum) revealed non-significant negative correlation (-0.410), (-0.588), respectively. Correlation between rainfall and larval incidence was found positive and significant (0.734). However, all the weather parameters together contributed 94.18% towards larval incidence.

Population Dynamics of <i>Mustard aphid</i> and Its Natural Enemies

Mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach) appeared as a major pest in Jobner and its incidence is highly influenced by weather parameters and natural enemies. Therefore, a study was conducted to understand their population dynamics. The commencement of the aphid incidence was recorded in the fourth week of December (52th SMW) which gained a peak in the 6th SMW i.e., second week of February and declined thereafter and reached its lowest during 9th SMW i.e., first week of March. Among the natural predators Coccinella septempunctata (L) and Xanthograma scutellarae (F) were found predating on L. erysimi and showed significant positive relationship (r= 0.997* and r = 0.883*). The population of X. scutellarae showed a significant negative correlation (r=-0.658*) with minimum temperature.

Seasonal Correlation in Prevalence of Termite on Wheat Crop and Weather Parameters

The field experiment were conducted at instructional farm, S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23 to know the seasonal incidence of termite in wheat and their relation to weather parameters. The incidence of the termite in wheat field was observed throughout the crop season however, the maximum population of termite i.e. 88.20 and 98.68 per stick was recorded in the second week of March and last week of February during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively. The infestation of termite in wheat crop was recorded from seedling stage (50th SMW) to till maturity stage (10th SMW) which was ranged from 2.78 to 27.10 and 3.67 to 28.32 per cent plant damage during both the years of study. The termite population per stick and per cent plant damage by termite had significant positive correlation with maximum and minimum temperatures and evaporation during both the years while, with bright sunshine hours only during first year and non-significant correlation during second year. Whereas, with the morning and evening relative humidity it had significant negative correlation during both the years. The multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis explained that alone evaporation accounted about 84.60 and 92.70 per cent variation in termite population and 89.00 and 89.30 per cent variation in per cent plant damage by termite during both the years.

Sleep duration and social jetlag in healthy adolescents. Association with anxiety, depression, and chronotype: a pilot study.

Misalignment between sleep opportunity and chronotype preference during adolescence may affect sleep and mental health. The aim of this study was to objectively evaluate sleep duration and social jetlag (SJL) to observe if there is a relationship with anxiety, depression, or chronotype. Communitybased cohort study (n = 65) was conducted in Northern Europe. Participants recorded their sleep during the regular school schedule for 3 school nightsand 2 free nights with FDA-cleared/EU Medical Device Directive (CE-02862) compliant home sleep test. They also completed validated questionnaires to assess (MorningnessEveningness Questionnaire; MEQ), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale; ESS), and insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index; ISI), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7; GAD-7), and depression symptoms (Beck's Depression Inventory-II; BDI-II). Data werecollected during the last week of February and the first 2weeks of March, 2023. Average sleep duration on school nights was 7h, 15min, with 18% of participants on average sleeping ≥ 8h. Average sleep onset was significantly later on freenights (1hour, 47minutes; p < 0.0001) causing a high prevalence of moderate-severe SJL, in71%of participants. Evening chronotypes (prevalence 15.4%) fellasleep later on free nights, causing them to have significantly more SJL (2hours, 58minutes) than morningchronotypes (1hour, 32minutes) and intermediary chronotypes (1hour, 36minutes). Evening chronotypes also had more severeinsomnia (ISI + 4.4, p = 0.006; + 4.0, p = 0.001) and greater depressivesymptoms (BDI-II + 21.6, p < 0.0001; + 17.1, p < 0.0001). A significant negative correlation was observed between MEQ scores and ESS (r = - 0.287; p = 0.001), ISI (r = - 0.343, p < 0.0001), GAD-7 (r = - 0.185, p < 0.0001), BDI-II (r = - 0.501, p = 0.0001), and suicidal thoughts (r = - 0.294, p = 0.017). Adolescents are sleep-deprived and have a high prevalence of SJL that is positively correlatedwith depressive symptoms andeveningchronotype. That evening chronotypes have shorter sleep duration, more severe SJL, and significantly more sleepiness and insomnia, anxiety, and depressive symptoms may indicate possible benefits in identifying this group with the aim to assist them in improving their sleep habits with potentially positive effects on mental health.

Influence of Different Sowing Times and Nutrient Management on Growthand Yield of Summer Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

A field experiment was conducted during the summer season of 2019 at College Farm, N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. The experiment was laid out in split plot designit included three sowing dates viz.D1:2nd week of February, D2:4th week of February,D3:2nd week of Marchas main plot as well as five nutrient management practices, including N1:100% RDN, N2:100% RDN + Sap (1%), N3:75% RDN + Sap (1%), N4:100% RDN + Urea (1%) , N5:75% RDN + Urea (1%) as sub plot and replicated in four times. The results of this study showed that sesame sown on second week of march recorded higher growth parameters, viz, plant height (cm), dry matter accumulation (g/plant) as well as seed yield, stalk yield and harvest index while remaining noticeably on par with 4thweek of February. Among the nutrient management treatments, the significantly improved the growth parameters like plant height (cm), dry accumulation (g/plant) and yield of stalk was observed with crop fertilize 100% RDN along with Urea spray 1% which was statistically at par with 100% RDN and Sap spray 1%. Highest seed yield was recorded when the application of 100% RDN with Urea spray 1%.

Seasonal Incidence and Infestation Pattern of Sunflower Head Borer (Helicoverpa armigera) and Leaf Eating Caterpillar (Spodoptera litura) under the Influence of Climatic Factors

Field experiments were conducted at Regional Research and Technology Transfer Station (RRTTS), Ranital, Bhadrak, OUAT during the summer seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21 to study the seasonal incidence of sunflower head borer and leaf-eating caterpillar in sunflower in relation to the abiotic factor. The seasonal incidence of the target insects, Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera, was investigated using pheromone traps installed in the unprotected sunflower plots (10 m x 5 m) at the research block. The trap catches of male adults were expressed as a number of males trapped per trap per week. In the observation plots, the sunflower hybrid Aruna was cultivated with the approved agronomic package of techniques without any plant protection measures. Weekwise larval populations of Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera were counted from 10 randomly selected tagged plants starting from the initiation of damage and expressed as larval intensity i.e. average larval population per plant. Besides, weekwise incidence of the pest (leaf damage by tobacco caterpillar and head damage by head borer) were also recorded. The findings of the investigation indicated that tobacco caterpillars' adult activity commenced from the 5th to 6th standard weeks (1st and 2nd week of February) and peak activity in the 11th standard week (3rd week of March). Similarly, the larval population began to appear in the 6th to 7th standard weeks in 2020 and 2021, respectively with a peak population build-up stage during the 12th standard week and their activity steadily decreased as the cropping season progressed. The peak infestation stage coincided with the period of maximum larval activity and the pest caused sizable damage from the early vegetative stage to the peak flowering stage of the crop. The sunflower head borer (Helicoverpa armigera) infested sunflower crops throughout the reproductive stage of the plant with adult activity beginning in the 9th to 10th standard weeks (last week of February-first week of March) and attaining the peak in the 12th to 13th standard weeks (3rd-4th week of March). Similarly, the larval population began to appear in the 10th to 11th standard week and reached the peak in the 13th to 14th standard week (last week of March to first week of April). Various environmental parameters viz. temperature, relative humidity and rainfall were collected from the automated weather station of Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) located at RRTTS, Ranital., These abiotic factors were correlated with trap catch, larval intensity, leaf damage head damage to study the influence of ecological parameters on pest incidence and infestation. The findings of the investigation indicated that among the abiotic factors temperature had a positive influence and relative humidity exhibited a negative effect on the population and damage of Spodoptera litura. All the temperature variables and bright sunshine hour (BSH) exhibited a significant positive correlation and relative humidity (afternoon) had a significant negative correlation with the head damage Helicoverpa armigera.

Insect Pest Complex of Field Pea Crop

A study on diverse insect pest complex of field pea was made in both the years of experimentation i.e. during Rabi, 2021-22 and 2022-23 at Crop Research Centre, College of Agriculture, SVPUA&amp;T, Meerut. As many as 15 insect species were recorded during the study period which belongs to different orders viz. Orthoptera (one species), Hemiptera (four species), Lepidoptera (seven species), Isoptera (one species) and Diptera (two species). All the major parts of this legume plant viz., pod/seed, leaf, root and stem were found to be infested by the insect pests. Sucking insect pests appear during the seedling and vegetative stage of crop i.e. 1st week of December to 2nd week of January. Gram pod borer, pea pod borer and blue butterfly are the pod borer complex that appeared from flowering to maturity stage i.e. 1st week of January to 2nd week of February. Among all the fifteen insect pests, only two pod borers, Etiella zinckenella (Treitschke) and Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) were found as major pests of field pea with severe economic status to this area during successive Rabi, seasons.

Population Dynamics of Mustard Aphid &lt;i&gt;Lipaphis erysimi&lt;/i&gt; (Kalt) and its Coccinellid Predators

Field experiments were conducted during 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 to determine the population dynamics of mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt) and its coccinellid predators on two mustard varieties viz. Rohini (highly susceptible) and RH0749 (least susceptible) in relation with different abiotic factors. The infestation was observed in last week of December to the first week of March, the overall mean indicates the incidence was at its peak in the second week of February. Maximum incidence of 160-120/ five plants was recorded on Rohini while 160-100/five plants on RH0749. The predatory activities of coccinellids viz., Cheilomenes sexmaculata (L), Coccinella septempunctata (F) and Coccinella transversalis (F) revealed significant positive correlation with aphid incidence.

Population Dynamics of Pod Borer &lt;i&gt;Helicoverpa armigera&lt;/i&gt; (Hubner) on Chickpea

A field experiment was carried out to study the population dynamics of pod borer Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) on chickpea at the Agronomy Farm, College of Agriculture, Swami Keshwanad Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner during two consecutive seasons i.e. rabi 2021-22 and 2022-23. The incidence commenced from first and second week of December i.e. 49th and 50th Standard Metrological Week (SMW) and disappeared in the first fortnight of January. Incidence again started from the third week of January (3rd SMW) which increased gradually and reached peak (6.4 and 5.2 larvae/ m row) in the third and second week of February (8th and 9th SMW) during first and second season. These peaks coincided with the vegetative, flowering, and podding stages. The correlation studies showed that incidence has a positive significant correlation with temperatures (p&lt;0.01) while, morning (r = -0.609 and -0.640, p&lt;0.05) and evening relative humidity (r = -0.728, p&lt;0.01 &amp; -0.666, p&lt;0.05) showed negative significant correlation. Further, stepwise linear regression model indicated that maximum temperature as single predicator independent variable had the strongest relationship with incidence based on high R2 value (61% and 63.40%). This forewarning regression model may help the farmers to take advance decision so as to minimize the damage caused by pod borer on chickpea.

Studies on population dynamics of major pests of okra

Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] is known tobe infested by many insect pest among them the most important onesare sucking pests like aphids, leafhopper, whitefly and fruit borerslike Earias vitella and Helicoverpa armigera. Controlling these pestsis very much important to obtain good yield, hence knowledge aboutthese pest incidence needed for taking up management practices. Inthis context, okra was sown during last week of November (rabi2020-21) and observations were recorded at weekly interval. Peakincidence of aphid (23.44 aphids/3 leaves) and leafhopper (16.97leafhopper/3 leaves) noticed during last week of December, whitefly(12.70 whiteflies/3 leaves) during second week of March. Fruit borersduring third week of February and second week of March with percent fruit damage of 44.9 (Earias vitella) and 13.59 (Helicoverpaarmigera).Sucking pests incidence more up to 10th week old crop,there after the population declined. In case of fruit borers, theypersisted upto end of the season

Effect of Dates of Sowing and Nutrient Levels on Yield and Yield Attributes of Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea)

A field trial was done to determine the optimum sowing date and nutrient levels on yield and yield parameters of Sunn hemp during summer (January - May) 2022 at Eastern Block Farm, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The field trial was laid out with 12 treatments in a split-plot design and every treatment was replicated thrice. Three sowing dates (the last week of January, the first and second weeks of February) were performed in the main plot, and four different nutrient levels (20:40:20 kg NPK ha-1, 25:50:25 kg NPK ha-1, 30:60:30 kg NPK ha-1 and 12.5 tons FYM ha-1) in the subplot. Yield attributes such as the number of pods per plant, Seeds per pod, seed index, pod setting percentile, pod filling percentile, and seed yield were noted. Sunn hemp sown during the second week of February along with 30:60:30 kg NPK ha-1 was noted with higher yield attributes and seed yield of Sunn hemp

Express-analysis of quasi-periodic oxidation-reduction potential pulses in Baikal Coastal Groundwater during real-time monitoring (February 07–14, 2024)

Real-time groundwater monitoring on a shore of Lake Baikal reveals peculiar effects in the form of quasi-periodic negative ORP pulses with varying time intervals and a decrease in ORP relative to the background during the week of February 2024. We perform an express analysis of the observed effects and pay attention to their occurrence during increasing air temperature. At the beginning of the observation interval, we determine the regime of initial ORP pulses, which occur in conditions of a slightly increasing air temperature, then the middle one in a conventionally-optimal regime in conditions of significant warming, and the final regime of retrograde evolution in cooling conditions. The revealed regularities in changes of pauses between pulses and amplitudes of ORP reductions relative to the background form the basis for the analysis of ongoing effects.

Impact of Date of Sowing and Weather Parameters on Insect Pests Infesting Summer Mungbean

An experiment was conducted at Pulses Research Station, SDAU, Sardarkrushinagar during summer 2021 and 2022 to find out the insect pests attacking mungbean crop sowing at different dates to determine the optimum date(s) of sowing. It is seen that the incidence and population fluctuation of various insect pests was very much dependent on the prevailed climatic conditions of the cropping season. Study on the impact of date of sowing on sucking pests revealed that the sucking pest populations of whitefly, leafhopper and thrips were significantly high during the crop sown on February 15 and March 8 during both years, and high pod borer damage and low yield were also recorded on this date of sowing. Sucking pest population and percent pod borer damage were comparatively low on the date of sowing on February 26th, and the highest yield was also recorded on this date of sowing. The last week of February is advisable for sowing summer mungbean to get a higher yield and the lowest sucking pest and pod borer populations

On return to school: disorder symptoms, stress at home and evaluations of school COVID-19 measures

Background: Social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the mental health of children. Yet, analyses on the mental health of younger children in the later course of the pandemic are scarce. The present study assessed 8- to 11-year-olds’ internalising disorder symptoms during the last three weeks, from the third week of February through to the first week of March, of the 2021 national lockdown. Method: One hundred and forty-five pupils, including a subset of keyworkers’ children who had face-toface schooling, completed the validated Revised Child Anxiety and Depression scales, items on COVID-related stress at home, and evaluations of home-learning and school’s measures for reopening. Results: Symptoms increased with age in months and/or number of siblings. Girls reported more symptoms and home stress than boys did. Pupils who had face-to-face schooling were more satisfied with school measures and less satisfied with home learning compared with those who only had home learning. Hierarchical regression analyses corroborated the contributions of sociodemographic characteristics and found that home stress and school measures evaluations were associated most with major depression, generalised anxiety, and social phobia. Conclusion: Findings can contribute to mental health practice by promoting school communications and family and educator awareness of stressors, vulnerabilities and symptoms to boost pupils’ readiness for school returns.

Multi-scale analysis of the effects of hysteresis on the hydrothermal behaviour of bio-based materials: Application to hemp concrete

Experimental measurements of sorption isotherms show a difference between the water contents in the adsorption phase and the desorption one. This is mainly due to the hysteresis phenomenon. Not considering this phenomenon in hygrothermal behaviour models impacts the reliability of the latter. In this paper, we have studied the effects of hysteresis on the hygrothermal behaviour at the building scale. For this purpose, a new implementation method of a hysteresis model was proposed and validated at the material and wall scales using a bi-climatic chamber which controlled the indoor and outdoor climate conditions. Then, the effect of the hysteresis phenomenon at the building scale was evaluated following a COMSOL/TRNSYS co-simulation approach to consider the gains and losses in the hydric fluxes going through walls. The results showed significant differences in terms of the relative humidity of the living environment. However, no difference was noticed in the temperature variations. On the other hand, the total heat fluxes were also affected by the hysteresis phenomenon due to latent heat parts, that were driven by variations in relative humidity. The maximum gain and loss discrepancies (with and without hysteresis) in total heat fluxes of 1121 kJ/h and 1086 kJ/h, respectively, were obtained during the first week of February (winter period). The results also revealed that these discrepancies are sensitive to the number of persons in the living environment.

Population Dynamics of Mustard Aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach) on Cauliflower in Relation to Biotic and Abiotic Factors

The field experiment was conducted at Horticulture Farm, S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner during Rabi 2021/22 to know the population dynamics of mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach). The incidence of aphid started in the first week of December and second week of December remained active throughout the crop season during both years. The population of aphid gradually increased and reached to its peak in the second week of February and first week of February in Rabi, 2021/22, respectively. The correlation studies indicated that the aphid population had non-significant correlation with temperature, relative humidity and sunshine hours in both the years. Both the predators, ladybird beetle and syrphid fly had significant positive relationship with aphid population during both the years.

Seasonal Incidence and Population Dynamics of Aulacophora foveicollis on Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria M.) and Their Correlation with Abiotic Factors

The present Investigation carried out at Students’ Instructional Farm, A. N. D. U. A. &amp; T., Kumarganj, Ayodhya (U.P.) during Zaid, 2022. Red pumpkin beetle was first recorded during incidence initiated in the 7th SMW (3rd week of February) with a mean population 1.4 beetles per five plants which reached its peak to maximum (21.20 beetles/five plants) during 14th SMW (1st week of April). There was a weakly positive association between the red pumpkin beetle population and the minimum and maximum temperature (0.067 &amp; 0.40), maximum rainfall and relative humidity displayed an insignificant inverse relationship (-0.467 &amp; -0.129) while significant negative correlation with minimum relative humidity (-0.506*).

Impact of weather on population dynamics and infestation of Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee on brinjal

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of weather parameters on the infestations of shoot and fruit caused by brinjal shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis) (Lepidoptera; Pyralidae) during Kharif and Rabi seasons of two consecutive years. The findings showed that the shoot infestation began (5.35%) in 1st week of January and severed (30.85%) in 3rd week of February and 1st week of March in the first and second years. The shoot infestation was associated positively (r=0.267) with temperature but negatively with relative humidity and rainfall (r=-0.182 and -0.235). The fruit infestation (26.57% and 21.74%) began in the 1st week of February and gradually peaked (52.69 and 46.36%) in the 1st week of March. However, it was associated negatively with relative humidity (r=-0.773 and 0.747) and rainfall (r=-0.204 and -0.202) while positively with temperature during the rabi season of the first year. The same patterns of infestations were recorded in the next year. Compared to the Kharif seasons, shoot infestation started (7.65%) in 1st week of July and the highest (31.21%) in 3rd week of August. Additionally, it was associated negatively with temperature (r=-0.235) while positively with relative humidity and rainfall (r=0.060 and 0.677). The infestation of the fruit started (27.35 and 21.25%) in 1st week of August and steadily increased, reaching to peak (53.26 and 47.22%) in 1st week of September. Moreover, it was associated negatively with temperature (r=-0.500 and -0483) and positively with relative humidity (r=0.426 and 0.443). However, a negative association (r=-0.187 and -0.180) was found with rainfall. While in the second year, the same infestation patterns were recorded as the previous year, except rainfall was positively (r=0.0283 and 0.287) associated with fruit infestation. In conclusion, the weather affects the BSFB infestation significantly or non-significantly. This finding could be helpful for farmers in planning their cultivation practices for brinjal and pest management strategies to reduce the infestation caused by BSFB.