Critical evaluation of measures to mitigate phosphorus losses from agricultural land to surface waters in Sweden

The aim of this paper is to collate information on potential measures to reduce phosphorus (P) losses, with particular reference to Sweden. In Sweden, three dominant types of soils or soil profiles are at risk of suffering from high P losses through different pathways: clay soils with a naturally poor structure, usually situated on the large central plains, are prone to lose P through drain tiles; silty soils, usually situated on hilly terrain, are prone to erosion; and sandy soils with a low P sorption capacity in both topsoil and subsoil and that have had heavy applications of fertilisers, are prone to high leaching losses. Fields with such soils and landscape position with connectivity to surface waters may lose more than 0.5 kg P ha year-1 and often more than 1 kg P ha year-1. Losses of soluble reactive P (SRP) are commonly 30-50% of the total P losses. Improved soil tillage together with other measures aimed at improving soil structure are suggested to have the best potential to reduce losses, with short-term and long-term effects, for the clayey and silty soil profiles. For the silty soils, keeping the surface densely vegetated in winter and liming backfill of the drainage systems are suggested to be important ways to reduce the losses of particulate P (PartP). For sandy soils prone to P leaching, appropriate application of fertiliser and improved contact between fertiliser and the soil may be one of the few effective ways to reduce SRP losses.     

Chapatti sensory and textural quality in relation to whole meal flour and dough characteristics

Food Science and Biotechnology - Current study was designed to evaluate sensory and textural quality characteristics of chapatti, a commonly consumed flat bread in South-Asia in relation to flour...     

MHD mixed convection flow along a vertically heated sheet

Main objective of this frame work is to establish the modeling and simulation of mix convection flow along a vertically heated sheet filled with water. Two important mechanisms: magneto-hydrodynamics and porous medium are also considered within the restricted domain of the fluid flow. Temperature is controlled with the wall temperature and then mathematical model is constructed in the form of PDEs. To determine the similarity solution results are obtained via two different techniques. Numerically solutions are obtained with the help of shooting technique and then validate with the help of optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM). Obtained analytical and numerical results are validated graphically. Effect of emerging parameters are plotted for velocity and temperature profiles. It is found that for mixed convection parameter $(\xi <0)\text{,}$ velocity profile depicts the increasing behavior for various values of power index m. However, for $\xi >0\text{,}$ velocity profile shows the decreasing behavior with respect the parameter m. Temperature distribution in the restricted domain depicts the decreasing behavior for both m and $\xi$.     

Solid-state reactions upon mechanical alloying of an Fe32Al68 binary mixture

The sequence of solid-state reactions that occur upon mechanical alloying of powder mixtures of Al and Fe taken in an atomic ratio of 68: 32 has been studied by the methods of X-ray diffraction analysis, M?ssbauer spectrometry, and Auger spectrometry. Upon the formation of a nanocrystalline state (<10 nm), there takes place a mutual penetration of Al atoms into Fe and Fe atoms into Al particles. The rate of consumption of the fcc Al is substantially higher than that of the bcc Fe. The process of the mechanical alloying (MA) was found to be two-stage. At the first stage, up to 2 at % Fe is dissolved in the fcc Al, and an amorphous Fe₂₅Al₇₅ phase is formed in the interfaces, whose amount reaches 70 at % at the finish of the initial stage. In the interfaces of the ??-Fe phase, a disordered bcc phase of composition Fe₆₆Al₃₄ is formed, which contains up to 12 at % Al segregates. At the second stage, the amorphous phase crystallizes into an orthorhombic intermetallic compound Fe₂Al₅. The residual ??-Fe, bcc Fe₆₆Al₃₄, and segregated Al form a bcc phase of composition Fe₃₅Al₆₅.     

Structural and phase transformations during heat treatment of the Fe(71.4)Si(14.3)C(14.3) amorphous alloy prepared by mechanical alloying

Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy of ⁵⁷Fe nuclei, magnetic measurements, and different heat treatments have been used to study the sequence and mechanisms of solid-state reactions in the Fe-Si-C amorphous alloy in the course of the structure transition to equilibrium. Three stages of structural and phase transformations have been found; these are the structural relaxation, formation of an Fe₅SiC silicocarbide, and its decomposition. It has been shown that the second and third stages occur during isochronous annealing within sufficiently narrow temperature ranges of 380–405 and 530–555°C, respectively. The kinetics of the decomposition of the metastable Fe₅SiC silicocarbide and the formation of the ordered Fe-Si alloy during isothermal annealing has been studied.     

Structure and electromagnetic properties of ZhGr-type powder steel deformed by rolling with different porosity and temper

The results of studying the structure and electromagnetic properties of powder construction steels of the ZhGr type with different temper (0.03, 0.45, and 0.95 wt %) and porosity (8, 12, and 18%) after deformation by rolling to the degree of strain ɛ = 30% and a step of 0.5–6.0% are presented. The data of microstructure studies that indicate anisotropy of the structural elements in the direction of rolling are presented, and typical types of pores are identified and described. The porosity value of steels with any composition is halved when the strain is about 30%; here, the maximal magnetization monotonically increases because the volumetric portion of pores decreases.     

A theoretical study of the impact of magnetic field of Hall current on the parameters of a high-current vacuum-arc discharge

It is demonstrated that the magnetic field of Hall current in a short high-current vacuum-arc discharge significantly distorts the external axial magnetic field and affects the distribution of current density in the discharge gap. This effect decreases with increasing external magnetic field, with decreasing arc current, and with decreasing ratio of the length of discharge gap to its transverse dimension. A 2D magnetohydrodynamic mathematical model is used to calculate the discharge parameters for different values of induction of external magnetic field. The calculation results are compared with similar results obtained using a 1.5D model in which the impact made by magnetic field of Hall current is ignored. It is inferred that the simpler 1.5D model may be employed in calculations of parameters of vacuum arc in a wide range of variation of arc current and of induction of external magnetic field.     

PRP4 Promotes Skin Cancer by Inhibiting Production of Melanin,Blocking Influx of Extracellular Calcium,and Remodeling Cell Actin Cytoskeleton

Pre-mRNA processing factor 4B (PRP4) has previously been shown to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and drug resistance in cancer cell lines. As melanin plays an important photoprotective role in the risk of sun-induced skin cancers, we have investigated whether PRP4 can induce drug resistance and regulate melanin biosynthesis in a murine melanoma (B16F10) cell line. Cells were incubated with a crucial melanogenesis stimulator, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, followed by transfection with PRP4. This resulted in the inhibition of the production of melanin via the downregulation of adenylyl cyclase-cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (AC)–(cAMP)–tyrosinase synthesis signaling pathway. Inhibition of melanin production by PRP4 leads to the promotion of carcinogenesis and induced drug resistance in B16F10 cells. Additionally, PRP4 overexpression upregulated the expression of β-arrestin 1 and desensitized the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), which in turn, inhibited the influx of extracellular Ca²⁺ ions. The decreased influx of Ca²⁺ was confirmed by a decreased expression level of calmodulin. We have demonstrated that transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 1 was involved in the influx of CaSR-induced Ca²⁺ via a decreasing level of its expression. Furthermore, PRP4 overexpression downregulated the expression of AC, decreased the synthesis of cAMP, and modulated the actin cytoskeleton by inhibiting the expression of Ras homolog family member A (RhoA). Our investigation suggests that PRP4 inhibits the production of melanin in B16F10 cells, blocks the influx of Ca²⁺ through desensitization of CaSR, and modulates the actin cytoskeleton through downregulating the AC–cAMP pathway; taken together, these observations collectively lead to the promotion of skin carcinogenesis.     

Effect of chemical modification of oil fly ash and compatibilization on the rheological and morphological properties of low‐density polyethylene composites

In this study, the effect of oil fly ash (OFA), a by‐product of oil fuel power plants, on the rheological and morphological behavior of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) is investigated. As received and acid‐functionalized OFA (COOH‐OFA) are used to examine the effect of surface modification of OFA on polymer–filler composites. LDPE/OFA composites were prepared by melt mixing with filler loading in the range 1–10 wt %. The results are compared with pure LDPE. The effect of polyethylene‐grafted‐maleic anhydride (PE‐g‐MA) as a compatibilizer was also studied. Both viscous and elastic properties of composites increased with OFA loading especially at low frequency. The surface modification of OFA has influenced the properties of OFA. As‐received OFA showed some agglomeration at high loading that resulted in two‐phase system as described by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Cole–Cole plot. Field emission‐SEM (FE‐SEM) images showed improvement in the dispersion of COOH‐LDPE/OFA composites. In addition, the surface modification reduced the size of agglomeration. In general, the COOH modification of OFA improved both the dispersion and rheological properties of OFA. With chemical modification, the concentration of the filler can be increased to 10% without compromising the properties of the composites. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.