Hexaconazole-Micelle Nanodelivery System Prepared Using Different Surfactants for Ganoderma Antifungal Application

Reports on fungicide-based agronanochemicals in combating disastrous basal stem rot disease in the oil palm industry are scant. Herein, we describe the potential of fungicide nanodelivery agents based on hexaconazole-micelle systems produced using three different surfactants; sodium dodecylbenze sulfonate (SDBS), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Tween 80 (T80). The resulting nanodelivery systems were characterized and the results supported the encapsulation of the fungicide into the micelles of the surfactants. We have investigated in detail the size-dependent effects of the as-synthesized micelles towards the inhibition growth of Ganoderma Boninense fungi. All the nanodelivery systems indicate that their size decreased as the surfactant concentration was increased, and it directly affects the fungal inhibition. It was also found that Tween 80, a non-ionic surfactant gave the lowest effective concentration, the EC₅₀ value of 2, on the pathogenic fungus Ganoderma boninense compared to the other anionic surfactants; SDBS and SDS. This study opens up a new generation of agronanofungicide of better efficacy for Ganoderma disease treatment.     

Ramanspektroskopische Untersuchungen an festem Vanadiumoxidtrichlorid VOCl3

A high resolution Raman spectrum of polycrystalline VOCl₃ at –196 °C has been recorded. Besides the chlorine isotope splitting a further splitting of 3 of the 6 fundamentals has been observed. The number of the Raman lines in the ₄ and ₆ region and the intensity ratios in the ₂ region will be explained by a factor group splitting of 2 VOCl₃ molecules in the unit cell.     

Assessment of the origin and geothermal potential of the thermal waters by hydro-isotope geochemistry: Eskisehir province,Turkey

The thermal fluids vented over Eskisehir province have been investigated for their origin and to estimate the geothermal potential of the area. Thermal waters as well as bubbling and dissolved gases were collected and analysed for their chemical and isotopic features. Their isotopic composition varies in the range from ?11.5 to ?7.7?‰ for δ¹⁸O, ?84 and ?57?‰ for δ²H, and 0–7.2 TU for tritium. The gases (bubbling and dissolved) are mostly N₂-dominated with a significant amount of CO₂. The helium isotopic ratios are in the range of 0.2–0.66?R/Rac, indicate remarkable mantle-He contribution ranging between 2 and 10?% in the whole study area. Considering the estimated geothermal gradient about three times higher than the normal gradient, and the reservoir temperatures estimated to be between 50 and 100?°C using quartz and chalcedony geothermometers, a circulation model was built where possible mixing with shallow waters cool down the uprising geothermal fluids.     

Homogenisation of elasto-plastic open-celled foams

The effective yield behaviour of open-celled metal foams is studied by a micro-mechanical model. As a surrogate model for the sponge-like microstructure the simplified Kelvin foam is used. The yield loci in strain space and stress space are constructed by conducting numerical experiments. For the determination of the effective stresses a strain-energy based homogenisation procedure is adopted. The numerical examples show that the initial yield surface in the normal strain space is similar to a polyhedron with sharp corners. The further evolution of the yield surface is characterized by kinematic and isotropic hardening effects. In addition, the stress yield surface may rotate under certain loading conditions. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Comparative study on the performance of co-extruded hollow fiber solid oxide fuel cell fuelled with hydrogen and methane

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this study, the effects of two fuel types, i.e., hydrogen and methane on the electrochemical performance of the co-extruded triple layer hollow fiber,...     

On the Quaternionic B 2-Slant Helices in the Euclidean Space E 4

In this paper we give a new definition of harmonic curvature functions in terms of B ₂ and we define a new kind of slant helix which we call quaternionic B ₂–slant helix in 4–dimensional Euclidean space E ⁴ by using the new harmonic curvature functions. Also we define a vector field D which we call Darboux quaternion of the real quaternionic B ₂–slant helix in 4–dimensional Euclidean space E ⁴ and we give a new characterization such as: "a: I ì \mathbb R ? E⁴{``\alpha : I \subset {\mathbb R} \rightarrow E^4} is a quaternionic B ₂–slant helix ${\Leftrightarrow H^\prime_2 -KH_{1} = 0"}${\Leftrightarrow H^\prime_2 -KH_{1} = 0"} where H ₂, H ₁ are harmonic curvature functions and K is the principal curvature function of the curve α.     

Creation of vector bosons by an electric field in curved spacetime

We investigate the creation rate of massive spin-1 bosons in the de Sitter universe by a time-dependent electric field via the Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau (DKP) equation. Complete solutions are given by the Whittaker functions and particle creation rate is computed by using the Bogoliubov transformation technique. We analyze the influence of the electric field on the particle creation rate for the strong and vanishing electric fields. We show that the electric field amplifies the creation rate of charged, massive spin-1 particles. This effect is analyzed by considering similar calculations performed for scalar and spin-1/2$1/2$ particles.     

Three-dimensional study of planar optical antennas made of split-ring architecture outperforming dipole antennas for increased field localization

Optical antennas are of fundamental importance for the strongly localizing field beyond the diffraction limit. We report that planar optical antennas made of split-ring architecture are numerically found in three-dimensional simulations to outperform dipole antennas for the enhancement of localized field intensity inside their gap regions. The computational results (finite-difference time-domain) indicate that the resulting field localization, which is of the order of many thousandfold, in the case of the split-ring resonators is at least 2 times stronger than the one in the dipole antennas resonant at the same operating wavelength, while the two antenna types feature the same gap size and tip sharpness.