Nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate is important for high yield and good quality of potato tubers. In this dissertation, I seek to study the response of different potato cultivars under different N fertilizer rates and how that can impact tuber quality, examine the performance of active optical sensors in improving a potato yield prediction algorithm, and evaluate the ability of active optical sensors (GreenSeeker (GS) and Crop Circle (CC)) to optimize a N recommendation algorithm that can be used by potato growers in Maine. This research was conducted at 11 sites over a period of two years (2018–2019) in Aroostook County, Maine; all sites depended on a rainfed system. Three potato cultivars, Russet Burbank, Superior, and Shepody, were planted under six rates of N (0-280 kg ha-1), ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, and were applied in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Active optical sensor readings (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) were collected weekly after the fourth leaf stage began. The coefficient of determination (R2) between soil organic matter (OM) content and total tuber yield for all sites combined was 0.78**. Sites with ≥ 30 g kg-1 of soil OM produced higher total tuber yield, marketable yield, and tuber weight per plant (39.45%, 45.22%, and 54.94%, respectively) than sites with ≤ 30 g kg-1 of OM. Specific gravity increased by 0.18% in the sites with ≥ 30 g kg-1 of OM. The total tuber yield for the three cultivars was maximized at 168 kg N ha-1. Vegetation indices measurements obtained at stages of 16 or 20 fully expanded leaves were significantly correlated with tuber yield, which can be used in the yield prediction model. Sensor measurements obtained at the 20th leaf stage were significantly correlated with tuber yield, with the exponential model showing the best fit for the regression curve. The recommended N rate calculated based on in-season sensor readings was reduced by approximately 12–14% compared to the total N rate that growers currently apply based on the conventional approach.
Electrochemical method was used to prepare carbon quantum dots (CQDs). Size of matter was nature when evaluate via X-ray diffraction (XRD). A distinct peak at 2θ equal to 31.6° and three other small peaks at 38.28°, 56.41° and 66.12° were observed. The measures of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) showed the bonds in the transmittance spectrum are manufactured with carbon nanostructures in view. The first peaks are the O–H stretching vibration bands at (3417 and 2922) cm−1, (C–O–H at 1400, and 1317) cm−1, (C–H), (C=C), (C–O–H), (C=O), and (C–O) bonds at 2850, 1668, 1101, and 1026 cm−1 sequentially. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results presented that the spherical CQDs are in shape and on a
... Show MoreThin films of CuPc of various thicknesses (150,300 and 450) nm have been deposited using pulsed laser deposition technique at room temperature. The study showed that the spectra of the optical absorption of the thin films of the CuPc are two bands of absorption one in the visible region at about 635 nm, referred to as Q-band, and the second in ultra-violet region where B-band is located at 330 nm. CuPc thin films were found to have direct band gap with values around (1.81 and 3.14 (eV respectively. The vibrational studies were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Finally, From open and closed aperture Z-scan data non-linear absorption coefficient and non-linear refractive index have been calculated res
... Show MoreCerium oxide (CeO2), or ceria, has gained increasing interest owing to its excellent catalytic applications. Under the framework of density functional theory (DFT), this contribution demonstrates the eect that introducing the element nickel (Ni) into the ceria lattice has on its electronic, structural, and optical characteristics. Electronic density of states (DOSs) analysis shows that Ni integration leads to a shrinkage of Ce 4f states and improvement of Ni 3d states in the bottom of the conduction band. Furthermore, the calculated optical absorption spectra of an Ni-doped CeO2 system shifts towards longer visible light and infrared regions. Results indicate that Ni-doping a CeO2 system would result in a decrease of the band gap. Finally,
... Show MoreIn this work, (ZnO)1-x(MnO2)x compounds were synthesized with composition (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) of manganese oxide content using solid state reaction. Thin films were prepared from these compounds on glass substrates at room temperature using pulsed laser deposition method. The structure of the prepared compounds and thin films were analyzed using x-ray diffraction while the optical properties was measured using UV-visible spectrophotometry. It was found that the synthesized composites declared many peaks in the diffraction pattern which indicate polycrystalline structure with hexagonal wurtzite hexagonal structure of ZnO, and MnO2 and Mn2O3 secondary phases. A narrowing in the optical energy gap was found as Mn content increas
... Show MoreThose interested in the educational process and lesson management sought to invest the information experience with industrial intelligence and technology because of its importance in increasing the effectiveness of lesson management and developing the creative capabilities of the teacher in directing and managing his lesson. Field research for sports educational institutions that are interested in managing the lesson and preparing mathematical teaching cadres is an important issue and necessary means for identifying the most important phenomena that accompany the process of managing the educational process, as the teacher's success in providing the appropriate conditions to provide rich and influencing experiences in managing and directing
... Show MoreOne of the recent significant but challenging research studies in computational biology and bioinformatics is to unveil protein complexes from protein-protein interaction networks (PPINs). However, the development of a reliable algorithm to detect more complexes with high quality is still ongoing in many studies. The main contribution of this paper is to improve the effectiveness of the well-known modularity density ( ) model when used as a single objective optimization function in the framework of the canonical evolutionary algorithm (EA). To this end, the design of the EA is modified with a gene ontology-based mutation operator, where the aim is to make a positive collaboration between the modularity density model and the proposed
... Show MoreKlebsilla pneumoniae is one of must opportunistic pathogens that causes nosocomial infection, UTI, respiratory tract infections and blood infections. ZrO2 nanoparticles have antimicrobial activity against some pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Ceftazidime is one of third generation cephalosporins groups of antibiotecs, characterized by its broad spectrum on bacteria in general and particularly on Enterobacteriaceae family like Klebsiella spp. Method: Diverse clinical samples of Klebsilla pneumoniae were isolated from several hospitals in Baghdad – Iraq and ZrO2 nanoparticles was investigated against it. Ceftazidime was also investigated against K. pneumoniae. Both of ZrO2 nanoparticles and ceftazidime were mixed together and investigated aga
... Show MoreThe current study deals with the performance of constructed wetland (CW) incorporating a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The whole unit is referred to as CW-MFC. This technique involves two treatments; the first is an aerobic treatment which occurs in the upper layer of the system (cathode section) and the second is anaerobic biological treatment in the lower layer of the system (anode section). Two types of electrode material were tested; stainless steel and graphite. Three configurations for electrodes arrangement CW-MFC were used. In the first unit of CW-MFC, the anode was graphite plate (GPa) and cathode was also graphite plate (GPc), in the second CW-MFC unit, the anode was stainless st
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