• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.122-127
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• 2022

Agroforestry in terms of intercropping cow pea as summer forage with Grewia tenax was undertaken under sub -irrigation system in two consecutive seasons of 2017 and 2018 in saline soil of Khartoum State of Sudan. The aims were to find out suitable agro forestry system for saline soils as well as to investigate effect of tree spacing on field summer forage crop under semi -irrigation system. Therefore G. tenax trees that spaced at 4×4 m were used as main factor versus cow pea crop that incorporated at 25×50 cm intervals by using completely randomized block design with 3 replications. Trees and crop parameters were determined in terms of plant growth and yield. In addition to land equivalent ratio and soil chemical and physical properties at different layers were determined. The results revealed that, soil parameters in terms of CaCo₃, SAR, ESP, pH paste and EC ds/m were increased with increasing soil depths. Meanwhile tree growth did not show any significant differences in the first season in 2017. Whereas in the second season in 2018 tree growth namely; tree height, tree collar and canopy diameters were higher under intercropping than in sole trees. Cow pea plant height recorded significant differences under sole crop in the first season in 2017. Unlike the forage fresh yield that was significant under the inter cropped plots. Tree fruit yield was higher under sole trees and land equivalent ratio was more advantageous under GS2 (1.5 m) which amounted to 4. Therefore it is possible to introduce this agroforestry system under saline soils to provide summer forage of highly nutritive value to feed animals and to increase farmers' income as far as to halt desertification and to sequester carbon.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1676-1685
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• 2021

We develop a new high-fidelity multiphysics model to simulate boron chemistry in the porous Chalk River Unidentified Deposit (CRUD) deposits. Heat transfer, capillary flow, solute transport, and chemical reactions are fully coupled. The evaporation of coolant in the deposits is included in governing equations modified by the volume-averaged assumption of wick boiling. The axial offset anomaly (AOA) of the Seabrook nuclear power plant is simulated. The new model reasonably predicts the distributions of temperature, pressure, velocity, volumetric boiling heat density, and chemical concentrations. In the thicker CRUD regions, 60% of the total heat is removed by evaporative heat transfer, causing boron species accumulation. The new model successfully shows the quantitative effect of coolant evaporation on the local distributions of boron. The total amount of boron in the CRUD layer increases by a factor of 1.21 when an evaporation-driven increase of soluble and precipitated boron concentrations is reflected. In addition, the concentrations of B(OH)₃ and LiBO₂ are estimated according to various conditions such as different CRUD thickness and porosity. At the end of the cycle in the AOA case, the total mass of boron incorporated in CRUD deposits of a reference single fuel rod is estimated to be about 0.5 mg.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.377-387
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• 2021

Background and objective: To improve air quality, particulate matter (PM) can be reduced using green infrastructure. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the particulate matter reduction potential of climbing plants used for green walls, an element of vertical green infrastructure. Methods: A sealed chamber with controlled environmental variables was used to assess the PM reduction level caused by climbing plants. PM concentration in the plant chamber was measured after two and four hours of PM exposure, and the reduction potential was assessed based on the leaf area. Results: Compared to the empty chamber (Control), the PM reduction speed per hour was higher in the plant chamber, which confirmed that climbing plants contribute to the reduction of PM in the air. The PM reduction speed immediately after exposure in the plant chamber was high, but this slowed over time. Additionally, PM has been continuously reduced in plants with large leaves. As a result of calculating the particulate matter reduction level based on leaf area, it was found that there was a difference by particle size. Actinidia arguta, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, Trachelospermum asiaticum, and Euonymus fortunei var. radicans showed a high reduction effect. The trichomes on the leaf surface of Trachelospermum asiaticum were found to affect PM reduction. Conclusion: PM adsorption on the leaf surface is an important factor in reducing its concentration. It was possible to compare different plants by quantifying the amount of PM reduction during a fixed time period. These results can be used as the basic data to select the plant species suitable for urban green walls in terms of PM reduction.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.351-374
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• 2022

In recent years, the development of rice industry has been highly valued by the state. In hubei area, due to the development of the modernization and the shortage of labor, traditional way of rice cultivation methods is facing serious challenges, and economic benefits have become the decisive factor for the effective promotion and application of rice cultivation methods. According to the research results, first, in the input-side analysis, in the CCR model, D5, D12, D26, D28, D32, D36 farmers with high efficiency appear. The analysis result shows that among the 60 farmers, the average efficiency is 89%, and there is an inefficiency of 11%. In the BCC model, 14 farmers were identified as high-efficiency farmers, with an average efficiency of 0.9453. Second, in direct seeding cultivation of rice, the average scale efficiency is 0.9227, while the average pure technical efficiency is 0.9644. This shows that the effect of scale efficiency is greater than that of purely technical factors, ignoring the reasons for the low operational efficiency of direct seeding cultivation farmers. It can be predicted that with the further deepening of farmers' understanding of this planting mode, the proportion of rice direct seeding may be further expanded in the future. Relevant agricultural departments should further promote this technology to farmers, study the direct seeding technology using scientific methods, and evaluate the changes of this cultivation mode. The agricultural departments of government should concern about the climate risk assessment of direct seeding rice, the environmental impact assessment caused by the extensive use of herbicides, the application of mechanical technology in the process of direct seeding, the lodging of direct seeding rice, and other related issues.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.519-527
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• 2022

Shear failure in soil is the primary cause of most geotechnical structure failures or instability. Soil water content is a significant factor affecting soil shear strength. In this study, the shear strength of samples with different water contents was tested. The shear strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle decreased with increasing water content. Based on the variation of cohesion and internal friction angle, the water content zone was divided into a high-water content zone and low-water content zone with a threshold water content of 15.05%. Cohesion and internal friction angle have a good linear relationship with water content in both zones. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) test presented that the aggregates size of the compacted loess gradually increases with increasing water content. Meanwhile, the clay in the compacted loess forms a matric that envelops around the surface of the aggregates and fills the inter-aggregates pores. A quantitative analysis of bound water and free water under different water contents using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) test was carried out. The threshold water content between bound water and free water was slightly below the plastic limit, which is consistent with the results of shear strength parameters. Combined with the T2 distributions obtained by NMR, one can define a T2 relaxation time of 1.58 ms as the boundary point for bound water distribution without free water. Finally, the effects of bound water and free water on shear strength parameters were analyzed using linear regression analysis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.420-429
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• 2023

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in elderly individuals. However, the currently used intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor are invasive, and repetitive injections are also accompanied by a risk of intraocular infection. The pathogenic mechanism of AMD is still not completely understood, but a multifactorial mechanism that combines genetic predisposition and environmental factors, including cellular senescence, has been suggested. Cellular senescence refers to the accumulation of cells that stop dividing due to the presence of free radicals and DNA damage. Characteristics of senescent cells include nuclear hypertrophy, increased levels of cell cycle inhibitors such as p16 and p21, and resistance to apoptosis. Senolytic drugs remove senescent cells by targeting the main characteristics of these cells. One of the senolytic drugs, ABT-263, which inhibits the antiapoptotic functions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, may be a new treatment for AMD patients because it targets senescent retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. We proved that it selectively kills doxorubicin (Dox)-induced senescent ARPE-19 cells by activating apoptosis. By removing senescent cells, the expression of inflammatory cytokines was reduced, and the proliferation of the remaining cells was increased. When ABT-263 was orally administered to the mouse model of senescent RPE cells induced by Dox, we confirmed that senescent RPE cells were selectively removed and retinal degeneration was alleviated. Therefore, we suggest that ABT-263, which removes senescent RPE cells through its senolytic effect, has the potential to be the first orally administered senolytic drug for the treatment of AMD.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2023

The free vibration of temperature-dependent functionally graded plates (FGPs) resting on a viscoelastic foundation is investigated in this paper using a newly developed simple first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). Unlike other first order shear deformation (FSDT) theories, the proposed model contains only four variables' unknowns in which the transverse shear stress and strain follow a parabolic distribution along the plates' thickness, and they vanish at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate by considering a new shape function. For this reason, the present theory requires no shear correction factor. Linear steady-state thermal loads and power-law material properties are supposed to be graded across the plate's thickness. Uniform, linear, non-linear, and sinusoidal thermal rises are applied at the two surfaces for simply supported FGP. Hamilton's principle and Navier's approach are utilized to develop motion equations and analytical solutions. The developed theory shows progress in predicting the frequencies of temperature-dependent FGP. Numerical research is conducted to explain the effect of the power law index, temperature fields, and damping coefficient on the dynamic behavior of temperature-dependent FGPs. It can be concluded that the equation and transformation of the proposed model are as simple as the FSDT.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.81-88
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• 2008

In this study, to determine the priority of the effect factors and the preferences of commonly used reinforcing methods for the cut-slope, the reasonable analysis using AHP technique was performed. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique is the most widely used method out of all existing decision making methods. On choosing the methods, the most important factor is analyzed to be the stability and durability. Stability, durability and environmental compatibility took up over 50% of the total contributing factors. Cut-slope reinforced method preference with increasing stability method confirmed that concrete retaining wall, reinforced-soil wall and cutting method showed the highest preference rate. Also, in practical field conditions, the cutting method out of four methods was chosen to be the most effective method. This reflected that the methods that are equally superior in all aspects of evaluation factors are more important than the methods with superiority in highly prioritized evaluation factors.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.51-64
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• 2023

The sustainable management of rice straw is essential for protection of human health and environment. This study assesses the impact of stock density of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) and Neem leaves (Azadirachta indica) on the quality of the final vermicompost. The vermicompost is produced using different combinations of rice straw, Neem leaves, and cow dung (bulking agent) by varying stock density of earthworms. The vermicomposting experiments are performed in plastic containers (32 cm × 28 cm × 28 cm) in open for 90 days under laboratory conditions. The stock density of the earthworm is found to be an important factor to influence nutritional quality of the final vermicompost. There is observed significant improvement in the total nitrogen (91.8%), phosphate (73.4%), potassium (38.8%), and calcium (59.05%) content of the vermicompost produced with the highest stock density of the earthworms. All the treatments showed decrease in TOC and C:N content after 90 days of vermicomposting. The treatment with Neem leaves showed maximum growth of earthworms (2.65 fold). Neem leaves brought positive changes in the quality of final vermicompost by enhancing the growth and reproduction of the earthworms. The calcium content increased by 39% in the final vermicompost with the addition of Neem leaves at the same stock density of the earthworms. The stock density of the earthworms and Neem leaves are found to significantly improve quality of the final vermicompost as compared with the compost (control). The surface morphology in SEM images showed high degree of fragmentation in the vermicompost as compared with the compost. The combined action of microbes and earthworms resulted in high degree of disintegration in the vermicompost.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.443-459
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• 2023

This study investigates the theoretical thermal buckling analyses of thick porous rectangular functionally graded (FG) plates with different geometrical boundary conditions resting on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation using a new higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). This new theory has only four unknowns and involves indeterminate integral variables in which no shear correction factor is required. The variation of material properties across the plate's thickness is considered continuous and varied following a simple power law as a function of volume fractions of the constituents. The effect of porosity with two different types of distribution is also included. The current formulation considers the Von Karman nonlinearity, and the stability equations are developed using the virtual works principle. The thermal gradients are involved and assumed to change across the FG plate's thickness according to nonlinear, linear, and uniform distributions. The accuracy of the newly proposed theory has been validated by comparing the present results with the results obtained from the previously published theories. The effects of porosity, boundary conditions, foundation parameters, power index, plate aspect ratio, and side-to-thickness ratio on the critical buckling temperature are studied and discussed in detail.