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Pseudoestrogene bisphenol A (BPA) can be important ingredient of thermochromic inks, increasingly used materials in thermal printing paper, security printing, advertising, design and as temperature indicators in medicine and food industry. BPA mass fraction in thermochromic inks can be up to several percent. Hence, disposal of items with thermochromic prints pose a risk of environmental pollution. In this work BPA mass fraction was monitored during anaerobic degradation of papers with thermochromic prints in soil in both matrices: papers and soil. The degradation conditions simulated deeper layers of waste at a landfill site. Six types of papers with prints of thermochromic ink containing 2% of BPA were subjected to anaerobic degradation over up to 150 days. Initial mass fractions of BPA in papers decreased form (126-460) μg/g to (

Antiseptic paper soap is convenient because it is flexible, safe for the skin, easily foams, and relatively affordable. Measuring the ratio between the concentrations of NaOH, cooking oil, citronella oil, and aloe vera additives is needed to improve the quality of antiseptic paper soap. Testing the saponification rate, density, pH, water content, fatty acid (FA) level, and free alkali content is critical to determine the characteristics of antiseptic paper soap so that it meets the standards for solid bath soap according to SNI 3532-2021 which is closest to the characteristics of paper soap because SNI for paper soap is not yet available. The weight ratio of citronella oil to cooking oil used is 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3. The NaOH concentrations used were 30%, 40%, and 50% w/v. The natural additives used are 0%, 5%, and up to 10% of the total mass. The research results showed that saponification value of the antiseptic paper soap produced was 197.724 milligrams KOH/gram up to 206.138 milligrams KOH/gram, the pH of the antiseptic paper soap was 9.1-10.6, the water content value was 10.940%-23.863%, the alkali content value free is 0.044%-0.104%, total fatty acid (FA) content is 29.688%-45.734%. The best antiseptic paper soap is produced using 30% w/v NaOH with a weight ratio of citronella oil to cooking oil used of 1:1 and natural additives (aloe vera) 5% of the total mass.

Art paper made of betel nut husk fibre and paper waste is one example of an innovative product. Therefore, an analysis of the technical and financial feasibility of this innovation needed to be conducted. This research aimed to determine the technical and financial feasibility of the production business of art paper from betel nut husk fibre and paper waste. The technical aspect will focus on the technology utilized, primary raw material and additional raw material, production capacity, and any workforce involved in the business. Meanwhile, the financial aspect will emphasize the calculation of the Main Production Cost (MPC), Break Even Point (BEP), Business Efficiency (R/C Ratio), Payback Period (PP), Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The calculation result of the feasibility analysis shows that Production Cost (HPP) is IDR 12,786.00, BEPunit is 9,271 paper sheet, BEP (IDR) is IDR 148,326,906.00, R/C Ratio is 1.56, PP will be for 2.2 years, NPV is IDR 2,078,713,958.00, and IRR is 68.36%. Based on this result, this business on betel nut husk fibre and paper-based waste art paper is considered worth running.

Abstract Background Paper mulberry has been regarded as a potential protein resource for relieving the forage supply crisis, and ensiling has become the most important method for preserving it. An in-depth analysis of the fermentation characteristics of paper mulberry silage could provide a theoretical basis for producing high-quality silage. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dynamic fermentation quality and bacterial community of paper mulberry silages harvested from different regions in China. Results The results showed an increased trend in ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration, despite a decrease in pH with prolonged ensiling days. Furthermore, fermentation patterns varied among paper mulberry silages from three regions. Paper mulberry from Zhuozhou, Hebei (HZ) showed the highest dry matter (DM) content and a slight decrease in pH during ensiling. While the lowest DM content was observed in Hechi, Guangxi (GH), which exhibited abnormal fermentation in the silage. In particular, silage from Lankao, Henan (HL) exhibited the best fermentation quality, with lower pH and NH3-N concentration, and higher lactic acid concentration than others (P

[Purpose/Significance] Interdisciplinary research can creatively solve complex problems in natural environment and human society through knowledge integration and penetration. With the increase of interdisciplinary research results, the evaluation of interdisciplinarity becomes increasingly necessary. How to establish an effective method for interdisciplinarity measurement and achieve a comprehensive measurement of scientific research papers is an urgent problem to be solved. [Method/Process] Based on the above background, this study takes the data of scientific research papers as the analysis source, deconstructs the interdisciplinarity of scientific research papers from multiple dimensions, constructs the feature set of interdisciplinarity of scientific research papers, and on this basis proposes the method for measuring interdisciplinarity based on the adaptive method of machine learning, and conducts a comprehensive measurement of interdisciplinarity. This study has certain positive significance for researchers to understand the interdisciplinary papers in the field. The work process is as follows: First of all, the basic concepts of interdisciplinarity are sorted out and related concepts are discriminated, and the index of interdisciplinarity of different dimensions is analyzed. Based on the connotation and characteristics of interdisciplinary research, the characteristic index of interdisciplinarity of scientific research papers is extracted from three dimensions: subject attribute, knowledge network topology and knowledge integration text content. Secondly, an interdisciplinarity measurement method based on machine learning is constructed. By analyzing information gain and feature similarity of input indexes and data in feature sets, a feature selection calculation method based on adaptive feature selection is proposed, and the accuracy of feature classification is maximized by machine learning classifier. At the same time, the feature subset that can best express the interdisciplinary is selected based on the adaptive selection of the minimum number of features, and the selected adaptive feature set is used in the calculation of the interdisciplinary of the paper, and the results of the calculation of the original feature set are analyzed comprehensively. Finally, an empirical study was carried out in the field of plant nanobiotechnology to verify the effectiveness of the index system and adaptive feature selection listed above, identify and screen papers with high interdisciplinarity in the field, measure the interdisciplinarity of papers and identify key influencing factors based on the calculation of subject attributes, knowledge network topology and knowledge integration text content features. [Results/Conclusions] The main empirical results show that, among the subject attributes, the balance degree and the difference degree have a greater effect on the interdisciplinary evaluation. The overall effect of knowledge network topology structure features is satisfactory, the distribution breadth of knowledge integration text content features has a greater effect on interdisciplinary evaluation, and the calculation effect is further improved by fitness weighted summation of each feature. The results demonstrate that the adaptive feature selection proposed in this paper can effectively screen the interdisciplinary related feature indexes, improve the reliability of the results, and achieve a comprehensive and in-depth measurement of the interdisciplinary of scientific research papers. This measure method avoids the subjective defects that may occur in qualitative evaluation and the problems that different measure indicators may produce contradictory results. It provides a new idea and direction for interdisciplinary measurement.

Barrier properties are very important in food packaging; the better the properties, the longer the product can stay fresh in the packaging, which prolongs the shelf life of the product. One way of improving barrier properties is to modifying the existing coatings with the addition of metal oxides, nanoparticles, or natural extracts. The aim of the study was to compare the barrier properties between paper coated with starch and paper coated with starch and black cherry extract mix. Prunus serotina extracts were prepared by ultrasonic extraction in 60°C water. The extracts were then filtrated and evaporated to obtain a constant mass. The reference coatings were prepared by dissolving starch in hot water to obtain a solution of 30%. The experimental coatings were prepared by substituting 10% starch for black cherry extract. Coatings were applied on the paper by laboratory coater in two thicknesses: c.a. 7 and 15 g/m2. The papers were characterised by grammage, coating weight, porosity, and roughness. Barrier properties were tested by following methods: Cobb-Unger, KIT, water vapour transmission rate, and heptane vapour transmission rate. Papers coated with formulations including extract had better barrier properties against oils and waxes, better results in KIT, Cobb-Unger, and heptane vapour transmission rate tests. The results of the water vapour transmission rate test as well as porosity and roughness were the same for papers coated with and without extract addition, they were influenced by the thickness of the coating, not the extract addition. The addition of black cherry extract influenced the barrier properties of the coated paper, and the extract improved the properties against oils and waxes.

First paragraph: Our spring-summer 2024 issue is devoted largely to a set of commentaries prepared by more than two dozen participants in the U.S. Agroecology Summit 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Their indivi­dual and collective voices challenge the hegemony of the dominant global industrial food system. However, they acknowledge that there are significant philosophical and pragmatic divisions between progressives in the agroecology “movement” that need to be openly addressed before significant progress can be made in build­ing a cohesive movement. . . .

Livestock dung, discarded crop straws, and residual plastic film are the primary agricultural non-point sources of pollution. For livestock dung and discarded crop straw, the general treatment focuses on compost, animal fodder, industrial raw material, and new energy. The development of degradable mulch film is the main way to solve pollution from residual plastic film. However, an effective way to solve the above three types of pollution simultaneously and use them for ecological circular agriculture has been less studied. In this study, using cow dung and flax straw wastes as raw materials, we prepared natural, fibre-based paper mulch using the rapid-Kothen method and analysed the film-forming mechanism. Based on the Van Soest method, the cow dung and flax straw waste contain abundant cellulose fibres: 36.75% and 54.69%, respectively. The tensile strength and tear strength of fibre paper mulch are 1.87 kN/m and 19.91 N/mm, respectively. To enhance the adaptability of the fibre paper mulch in humid environments, the surface of the mulch was treated with alkyl ketene dimer (AKD). The AKD-coated fibre paper mulch displays hydrophobic properties, indicated by a contact angle of 128° ± 2°. It has a wet tensile strength of 0.64 kN/m and a wet tear strength of 8.23 N/mm. Additionally, it exhibits a dry tensile strength and a tear strength of 2.13 kN/m and 16.43 N/mm, respectively. Notably, the dry tensile strength is increased by 16.31%. In this way, the livestock dung and discarded crop straw can be reused, reducing dung pollution and straw burning in livestock farms, and the final products can alleviate the residual film pollution simultaneously.

Mulch has been considered effective for saving water and promoting plant growth. However, little has been investigated about the effect of mulch from recycled shredded paper under different soil moisture conditions on spinach growth. A pot-grown Komatsuna spinach experiment with a factorial design was conducted under two main conditions, with and without shredded paper mulch. Each of these conditions was treated with three different soil moisture levels (SWC) 20%, 25%, and 30%. The smallest evapotranspiration amount was in the mulch-only, no-plant treatment with SWC 20% (92.88 mm), and the largest was in the plant-only, no-mulch treatment (226.19 mm). All biomass yield attributions were negatively influenced by increasing the frequency of irrigation and SWC levels. SWC 20% with shredded mulch resulted in the largest dry matter, although it was statistically non-significant. But it resulted in taller plant heights and a larger leaf area index (LAI) compared to soil with no shredded mulch (p < 0.05). For SWC 25% and 30% treatments, Komatsuna spinach with no shredded mulch resulted in slightly superior plant dry matter and plant height, compared to mulched plants. These results suggest that SWC 20% with shredded paper mulch has the highest potential for saving water among all treatments for growing spinach under limited water availability.

Agro-based pulp and paper mills in India are one of the most polluting industries; in addition, they are high consumers of raw water. Growing scarcity of high quality freshwater as well as stringent regulatory standards is compelling these units to explore appropriate water management options. Based on data obtained through a questionnaire survey and plant visits, this work provides an overview of the water use and effluent treatment status in Indian agro-residue and recycled pulp and paper mills. The challenges faced by this sector are reviewed and practices adopted by progressive units to minimize freshwater use are illustrated through case studies.

[Purpose/Significance] "The Belt and Road" is an initiative proposed by China in recent years to cooperate and develop a community with a shared future for mankind, which has been continuously highly concerned by all circles at home and abroad. From the perspective of the citation of highly cited papers, the academic exchange of countries along the Belt and Road initiative can provide a quantitative reference for future international academic and technological exchanges, collaborative innovation and development. [Method/Process] Based on the highly cited papers among the countries along the “The Belt and Road” in the WoS database from 2013 to 2018, this paper constructed a reference matrix and analyzed the network structure, and drew a national citation network map for cluster division. Furthermore, it explored the current state of academic exchange along the “The Belt and Road” and the direction of Chinese academic output, and further analyzed the correlation between Chinese academic exchanges and trade cooperation with other 64 countries along the route. [Results/Conclusions] The research results show that the countries along "The Belt and Road" have close academic exchange and obvious "small world" characteristics. China is the core of academic exchange and the highly cited papers in many research directions in China are cited by many countries along "The Belt and Road". Besides, academic exchange and trade cooperation between China and countries along “The Belt and Road” are strongly related.

[Purpose/Significance] Science funding provides financial support for academic institutions, researchers and research projects, and at the same time plays a guiding role in the development of scientific innovation. The research of funded papers contributes to the development of the discipline and is of great significance to the encouragement and support of researchers. [Method/Process] Based on the funded papers published in Chinese journals and foreign journals in the field of library and information science (LIS) during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, this paper analyzes from the perspectives of the time distribution of papers issued, research output of different types foundations and the research topics. [Results/Conclusions] The number of funded papers published in Chinese journals in LIS from 2016 to 2020 has decreased year by year, but the number of funded papers published in foreign journals has slowly increased year by year; for funded papers published in Chinese journal during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, provincial (municipal) foundations funded papers are more outstanding, and National Natural Science Foundation funded papers are more notable for the number and effects of the funded papers in foreign journals; the funded papers in Chinese journals show a great impact on library services, changes and data, digital resource construction and university libraries; while funded papers in foreign journals pay more attention to social media, theme models, scientometrics and library construction.

Landscapes can be seen as important socio-ecological systems [...]

[Purpose/Significance] Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a rapid increase in the number of studies related to COVID-19 at home and abroad. Review of relevant literature on COVID-19 provides data resources for related research on the emergence and transmission mechanism of SARS-CoV-2. However, the current COVID-19 related dataset is a collection of the literature, without classifying the data for each subfield, and the coarse-grained information such as the title and author fails to provide an in-depth understanding of the progress of COVID-19 research. Therefore, this paper created a dataset for the COVID-19 sub-domain and a fine-grained entity dataset. [Method/Process] Firstly, this paper proposed a literature screening method based on active learning model, which can obtain more valuable marker samples with less labor cost, so that the classifier has better generalization performance. We considered three base classifiers: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Logistic Regression (LR), and Random Forest (RF), while considering four query strategies: uncertainty sampling, expected error reduction, committee-based query, and random sampling. Taking the origin of SARS-CoV-2, one of the sub-fields related to SARS-CoV-2, as an example, articles related to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 were efficiently and accurately located from the literature. At the same time, this paper designed a labeling scheme covering 18 types of entities, including not only genes, proteins, compounds and other entities that are universal in the biological field, but also corona viruses and wild animals that are unique to the field of SARS-CoV-2. In this paper, visual annotation tool BRAT was used for entity annotation. The tagging team consisted of an administrator and six annotators, and the entity tagging consisted of two rounds. What's more, multi-k consistency index was used to calculate the consistency score of annotation results. [Results/Conclusions] The results of the active learning model show that the uncertain sampling query strategy has the best performance. SVM, LR and RF based on uncertain sampling can correctly screen 425, 465 and 489 articles, respectively. After the removal of overlapping articles, a dataset related to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 was constructed, containing a total of 885 articles. Secondly, based on the proposed entity labeling scheme, 6 annotators completed 99 papers. Based on the results of fine marking, this paper constructed an entity dataset containing 39,118 entities, which is the largest and most comprehensive entity corpus in the field of COVID-19.

European paper mills are currently facing the question of whether recovered paper, their main raw material, will be available in sufficient quantities and an acceptable quality in the future. An alternative to recovered paper or wood fiber is the use of agricultural residues such as wheat straw. Sodium carbonate-based straw pulping processes have the advantage of not requiring recausticizing for chemical recovery, which reduces investment and operating costs. With the addition of oxygen, delignification can be significantly improved to provide pulps suitable for bleaching. This study compares the pulping of wheat straw using sodium carbonate, sodium carbonate + oxygen, and sodium carbonate + sodium hydroxide + oxygen. Pulping parameters such as temperature, retention time, and chemical charge were varied, and their influence on pulp properties was studied. The use of sodium carbonate alone produced pulps with high yields of up to 72% and comparably high burst and compressive strength. The addition of oxygen and small amounts of sodium hydroxide produced pulps with a high initial brightness of 42 %ISO and a low kappa number (18), still at high pulp yields of 62%. These pulps were two-stage bleached to achieve brightness levels of up to 73 %ISO.

Strawberry is a popular and nutritious fruit. However, its improper post-harvest handling leads to quality degradation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of active paper packaging placements methods on strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) quality during refrigerated storage. Strawberry quality was determined based on the physical (weight loss, hardness, color), chemical (pH, total titratable acid, total soluble solids and vitamin C content) and microbiological (total plate count) properties. The results of this study indicated that different placement methods of active paper packaging had no significant effect on the physical and chemical qualities; but it did affect the microbiological quality of the strawberries. At the end of the experiment (12 days), the microbial content of C (the bottom and walls), D (covering all surfaces) and E (cut into pieces) samples were significantly lower than the A (without active paper packaging) and B (the bottom) samples. The Total Plate Count (TPC) values of the control and B samples were higher than the maximum acceptable limit of 6 log10 colony-forming units (CFU) g-1, while the other samples remained below the limit. These results indicated that a larger surface area of active paper that had contact with the strawberries provided better protection against microbes. Due to their microbial properties, C, D and E treatments maintained the strawberry quality for up to 12 days, compared with 9 days for control and B treatments. Active paper packaging containing oleoresin from solid waste of pressed Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. can be applied to extend the shelf life of strawberries during refrigerated storage.

[Purpose/Significance] This paper investigates the research on author name disambiguation published in recent years, and reviews the development context of relevant research from the perspective of the impact of data on author name disambiguation methods, so as to provide reference for further research. [Method/Process] The papers related to author name disambiguation were collected from English research databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Academic, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Springer Link, and Chinese research databases such as CNKI, CQVIP and WANFANG. The search results cover the relevant papers published from 1998 to 2021. On the premise of giving consideration to authority, influence and novelty, 46 publicationswere selected for review. There are many types and structures of author name disambiguation data. For example, literature feature information is generally presented in unstructured text, and the extracted features can be stored and represented in two-dimensional tables; Citation information and interpersonal relationship are network relational data, which can be stored and represented by graphs, key value pairs or two-dimensional tables. The fundamental reason for different data structures lies in their semantic differences, but the data structure itself determines its applicable algorithm. According to the structure of characteristic data used in the author name disambiguation task and the different corresponding data processing algorithms, the relevant research is divided into three categories: 1) disambiguation method based on literature characteristics, 2) disambiguation method based on social network and 3) disambiguation method by integrating external knowledge. The impact of data on the author name disambiguation method is examined from the data level. [Results/Conclusions] The analysis found that with the progress of technology, deep learning methods have been widely used. Compared with the improvement of the model, the feature learning and representation based on deep learning can significantly improve the effect of the author name disambiguation algorithm. In addition, in order to overcome the problem of insufficient data utilization by a single method and improve the utilization efficiency of data, the three methods show the trend of mutual combination and complementary gain. From the literature research results, there are few related studies on incremental author name disambiguation and multi-language author name disambiguation, which could be one of the directions for further research.

[Purpose/Significance] This paper clarifies the concept of novelty, reviews different novelty measurements, and summarizes different types and research progress of novelty detection at home and abroad. It is of great significance to the development of science and scientific technological planning. [Method/Process] By summarizing existing relevant Chinese and English literature, this paper reviews the definitions of novelty, different novelty measurements such as content analysis and citation analysis, as well as their evaluation methods. [Result/Conclusion] Most of the existing methods measure the novelty from a single perspective, and few used combined methods. Therefore, both qualitative and quantitative methods should be taken into consideration to form a comprehensive analysis in the future.

Abstract Accurate maps of subsurface tile drainage lines are needed for agronomic and environmental research studies and the maintenance of current tile drainage systems. In this study, tile lines at the Purdue University Agronomy Center for Research and Education near West Lafayette, Indiana were located using a combination of visual aerial photo interpretation, expert knowledge, and paper construction drawings. The mapping accuracy was assessed at 27 locations where tile lines were located physically using a tile probe. Tile lines were correctly predicted 89% of the time with an average spatial accuracy of ±1.23 m of the true tile locations. This approach was better than a previous tile line location map prepared using an automated remote sensing method, which had an average spatial accuracy of ±2.12 m.

[Purpose / Signficance] The current competition of comprehensive national strength relies more on fundamental research, and highly cited papers have important significance in the evaluation and analysis of fundamental research. Revealing the differences between China and USA in leading basic research from the perspective of highly cited papers, we provide basic data support for national scientific research management decision-making and institution building. [Method / Process] Based on ESI highly cited papers of China and USA, this article uses bibliometric methods and Y index to analyze the specific features and differences of China and USA among three dimensions—trends of publication, country cooperation and institutional output.[Results / Conclusions] The study shows that: (1) Overall, the highly cited papers of China is 2.99 times that of the American highly cited papers, but the gap is narrowing yearly. At the same time, the low citation frequency and the low proportion of highly cited papers are still the shortcomings that limit Chinese international influence. (2) China and USA are closely cooperating with each other. USA dominates scientific research cooperation, as the proportion of first authors and corresponding authors and leading papers is significantly higher than that in China. (3) Chinese high-output institutions have obvious advantages of corresponding authors, but the output gap between institutions is large. And the American high-output institutions are evenly distributed, and they are characterized by deeper and broader international cooperation and inter-agency cooperation.

Abstract Silage quality remains an important issue in farming, as do limitations in the range of products suitable for animal fodder. We therefore explored the microorganisms that are critical for the fermentation quality of paper mulberry silage. Low (unwilted) and high (wilted) dry matter (DM) paper mulberry were harvested at two cutting times. These were ensiled for 0, 3, 7, 14, and 56 days, respectively. Compared with unwilted silages, wilting significantly decreased (p

The paper presents the research results on the properties of the pulp coniferous and deciduous wood composition in its original state and paper made from it, proposes a mechanism to increase the waterfast and waterproof food packaging paper by surface treatment with a composition based on polyamidepichlorohydrin with polyvinyl alcohol and urea. The study was conducted in order to ensure an increase in the consumer properties of packaging paper, since when packaging materials encounter food products, their structure can change under the influence of moisture, steam, and gas. Polyamidaminepichlorohydrin was used as the main component of the composition for paper processing, as functional additives: polyvinyl alcohol and urea. The above-mentioned starting materials are environmentally friendly, since foreign inclusions in food packaging materials would pose a serious danger to human health and life, as well as to the brand image of the product in which they would be detected. It was proved that high waterfastness and waterproofness, as well as the necessary level of barrier, protective and operational properties of packaging material for food products cannot always be obtained by introducing a significant amount of polyamidaminepichlorohydrin, so the paper investigated the mechanism of interacting cellulose fibers of paper with polyamidaminepichlorohydrin, and also proved the possibility of its use to obtain packaging paper with a given set of properties. It was found that the consumption of up to 4–6% polyamidaminepichlorohydrin provides the main increase in the mechanical strength of packaging paper, both in wet and dry conditions. The resulting waterfast and waterproof material can be used for food packaging.

A positive effect of pulp and paper mill sludges as a rich source of organic substrates on soil properties was previously found for some types of sludge and soil. In this study, the effect of secondary pulp and paper sludge on water characteristics and thermal properties of Retisol, as well as the growth parameters of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), was tested on the basis of a pot experiment when watering plants with a 20 or 40% sludge solution. The sludge application enhanced plant growth with an increase in biomass accumulation of 21 and 53%, respectively, for 20 and 40% sludge treatments. When the sludge dose was increased from 0 to 40%, the number of leaves increased by 25%, and the leaf mass per area value increased by 42%. Due to the accumulation of more biomass in the shoots than in the roots, sludge causes a change in the allocation of plant biomass. A significant effect of the sludge application on soil particle and microaggregate sized compositions, as well as on the saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, was not found in this study. However, fitted soil water retention curves showed an increased soil water content in sludge-treated soil at all water content values exceeding field capacity. Secondary sludge application led to an increase in the saturated water content from 0.50 to 0.56 cm3 cm−3. The 40% sludge solution increased soil thermal conductivity from 0.92 to 0.98 W m−1 K−1 under saturated water content and from 0.83 to 0.92 W m−1 K−1 under field capacity. The thermal conductivity was higher in the sludge-treated than untreated soil due to a more pronounced positive effect of increased saturated water content than the negative effect of the increased organic matter content on heat transfer. The positive impact of secondary sludge application on both plant growth parameters and physical properties of Retisol, such as increased soil water-holding capacity and thermal conductivity coefficient confirms the possibility of using it to improve soil characteristics and plant productivity.

Field experiment was conducted during rabi 2013-14 and 2014-15 to study the effect of paper mill waste integrated nutrition on yield, economics and soil health of garden pea varieties at ICAR-Research Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland Centre, Jharnapani, Nagaland. The experiment was laid out in split plot design and replicated thrice. Maximum seed yields (905 kg/ha), green pod yields (3454 kg/ha), gross return (₹ 108372/ha), net return (₹ 60260/ha) and B: C ratio (2.25) had recorded with Azad pea. Application of paper mill waste @ 1.0 t/ha gave higher yield attributes of garden pea than to its lowers levels. Highest gross return (₹109189/ha) and net return (₹ 57977/ha) was obtained with paper mill waste @ 1.0 t/ha, however the maximum B: C ratio (2.20) was noted in 0.5 t/ha. Significantly higher seed yield (926 kg/ha) and green pod yield (3449 kg/ha) were recorded with application of 100% RDF+25% RDF (ON), which was 53, 13, and 45% higher, respectively over control. Among integrated nutrition, maximum seed yield (977 kg/ha), green pod yield (3646), gross return (₹ 115328/ha), net return (₹ 64616/ha) and B:C ratio (2.28) was noted with 100% RDF + 25% RDF (ON). Soil health attributes, i.e. pH, EC, soil organic carbon; available NPK had improved significantly due to integrated nutrition. Thus, Azad pea could be grown with application of paper mill waste @ 1.0 t/ha along with 100% RDF+25% RDF(ON) for better productivity, profitability and soil health in Eastern Himalayas.

The study attempted to evaluate the agricultural soil quality using the Soil Quality Index (SQI) model in two Community Development Blocks, Ausgram-II and Memari-II of Purba Bardhaman District. Total 104 soil samples were collected (0-20 cm depth) from each Block to analyse 13 parameters (bulk density, soil porosity, soil aggregate stability, water holding capacity, infiltration rate, available nitrogen, available phosphorous, available potassium, soil pH, soil organic carbon, electrical conductivity, soil respiration and microbial biomass carbon) in this study. The Integrated Quality Index (IQI) was applied using the weighted additive approach and non-linear scoring technique to retain the Minimum Data Set (MDS). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified that SAS, BD, available K, pH, available N, and available P were the key contributing parameters to SQI in Ausgram-II. In contrast, WHC, SR, available N, pH, and SAS contributed the most to SQI in Memari-II. Results revealed that Ausgram-II (0.97) is notably higher SQI than Memari-II (0.69). In Ausgram-II, 99.72% of agricultural lands showed very high SQI (Grade I), whereas, in Memari-II, 49.95% of lands exhibited a moderate SQI (Grade III) and 49.90% showed a high SQI (Grade II). Sustainable Yield Index (SYI), Sensitivity Index (SI) and Efficiency Ratio (ER) were used to validate the SQIs. A positive correlation was observed between SQI and paddy ( R 2  = 0.82 & 0.72) and potato yield (R 2  = 0.71 & 0.78) in Ausgram-II and Memari-II Block, respectively. This study could evaluate the agricultural soil quality and provide insights for decision-making in fertiliser management practices to promote agricultural sustainability., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

ABSTRACT: The growing worldwide demand in the pulp market has fostered research that evaluates alternative fiber sources with specific characteristics that attend the needs of the consumer market, with a view to add value to the final product and reduce production costs. Acacia mearnsii De Wild wood is a by-product of the extraction of tannin from the trunk bark, used for firewood, charcoal and pellets. However, its wood is still poorly studied, especially its anatomical characteristics, which can provide important information about its industrial potential. This study evaluated the anatomical characteristics of Acacia mearnsii wood for the production of pulp and paper. Ten trees at approximately seven years old were cut down, five from the seed production area (SPA) and five from the clonal population area (CPA). From each tree, one trunk disc was sectioned at the diameter at breast height (DBH), resulting in 10 (ten) wood samples. From each disc, a sapwood specimen was made oriented in the tangential longitudinal, radial longitudinal and transversal planes, for later obtaining the anatomical cuts and the macerates. The anatomical description of the wood followed the recommendations of the International Association of Wood Anatomists-IAWA. From the dimensions of the fibers, their quality evaluation ratios for the production of pulp and paper were calculated. Results obtained from the anatomical characterization allowed to conclude that the Acacia mearnsii woods from SPA and CPA are indicated as a source of raw material for the pulp and paper production.

Target and off-target spray depositions determine the spray’s effectiveness and impact on the environment. A decisive stage in the measurement of spray deposition and drift is selecting an appropriate sampling approach under field conditions. There are various approaches available for sampling spray deposition and drift, during the evaluation of ground sprayers used for the UAV sprayer assessment, under field conditions. In this study, two sampling approaches (water-sensitive paper, and glass strip collectors) were compared to analyze spray deposition in target and off-target zones. The results showed a variation in the estimation of the spray deposits among the two applied sampling methods. The results showed that the water-sensitive paper recorded the droplet deposition in the target zone with a range from 0.049 to 4.866 µLcm−2, whereas the glass strip recorded from 0.11 to 0.793 µLcm−2. The results also showed the water sensitive paper recorded an 80.3% higher deposition than that of the glass strip at zero position during the driving flight height 2 m and flight speed 2 ms−1 (T1 treatment). It can be concluded that variation in recorded depositing is due to the sampling material. It is recommended that the confident deposition results, measurement methods and sampling approaches must be standardized for UAV sprayers according to the field conditions and controlled within artificial assessments.

Biodegradable plastic mulch is potentially a suitable alternative to conventional polyethylene mulch because of the limited disposal options of the latter. However, biodegradable plastic mulch must perform better or comparably to polyethylene mulch to be widely adopted. Gas exchange and soil microclimate are important factors impacted by the use of plastic mulch, which in turn have implications on crop productivity. A controlled-environment study was established in a greenhouse to assess gas exchange and soil microclimate dynamics under biodegradable plastic, polyethylene, and paper mulches with and without planting holes, as well as the impact of the mulches on the growth of sweet corn (Zea mays). A no-mulch condition was included as control. In addition, we monitored CO2 concentrations in the vicinity of planting holes (chimney effect) in a greenhouse and agricultural field conditions under sweet corn production. The plastic mulches (both biodegradable plastic and polyethylene mulches) decreased the soil O2concentration to a minimum of 181–183 mmol mol-1, and when compared to the no-mulch, the plastic mulches reduced water loss within 50 days by 35–68 mm. The paper mulch inhibited light penetration more than did the plastic mulches. There was an increase in the CO2 concentration at 2.5 cm above the planting holes in the plastic mulches compared to that under the no-mulch. However, the differences were not discernible at 15 cm above the ground. Consequently, we did not observe significant impacts on the growth of sweet corn, possibly, because the canopy height of sweet corn was more than 15 cm within a few days after planting. Overall, the plastic mulches did not reduce O2 concentration below 100 mmol mol-1, the minimum level in which plant growth becomes impaired. Also, the often reported improved growth of sweet corn from plastic mulching could be attributable to other factors, such as weed control, reduced water loss, and early season soil warming, rather than elevated CO2 concentrations and fluxes in the vicinity of planting holes. Highlights - Gas exchange and soil microclimate dynamics under biodegradable plastic, polyethylene, and paper mulches were assessed - Elevated CO2 levels were observed near planting holes of plastic mulches (both biodegradable and polyethylene) - The plastic mulches inhibited O2 exchange, but not to a level that could impair plant growth - Polyethylene mulch conserved soil water better than biodegradable plastic and paper mulches - Paper mulch inhibited light penetration better than plastic mulches

Agricultural research findings are required to reach soon to the farmers, extensionists, media, researchers, policy makers, businessperson, students, teachers and so many other stakeholders. Among different types of publications, research paper is generally published in journal considered as standard type of publication in term of quality and recognition. Most of the journals follow similar pattern and framework; however, the style, format and process may be different with each other. A research (scientific) paper is a written describing original research result using standard methods and materials. The major sections in a journal paper are abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. Accordingly Journal of Nepal Agricultural Research Council has its own style and format. Author needs to follow guidelines strictly on the use of punctuation marks such as comma (,), period (.), space, justification etc; otherwise submitted manuscripts could be immediately return to author without considering in review process. In general, we received manuscripts with many errors on citation and references, poor elaboration of results of experiments, weak discussion, missing to acknowledge funding agencies, submitting non-editable figures, very few numbers of citations of Nepalese researchers, statements not in logical order, etc. In general, the scientific papers should be written in simple way with new but sufficient justification backed up by data in the form of tables, graphs, flow diagrams etc so that readers can understand easily with high readability. The submitted manuscript in the journal office are sent to two to three reviewers for specific recommendation on the originality of the work, appropriateness of the approach and experimental design, adequacy of experimental techniques, soundness of conclusions and interpretations, relevance of discussion and importance of the research. The language clarity and organization of the article are also asked with the reviewers. In response to reviewer's comments all authors are expected to reply each and every comments and suggestions of reviewers, if such comments and suggestion are not acceptable, the author/s can argue for their points, if genuine. Here in this paper we described detail contents of each section along with style and format for a research paper writing targeted to Journal of Nepal Agricultural Research Council.

In northern Laos, shortened fallows in the slash-and-burn upland rice system are not sustainable either from a production or economic standpoint. This paper evaluates the potential for using the indigenous fast-growing tree, Broussonetia papyrifera L. Vent. (paper mulberry) as an economic fallow crop. The objectives of this study are to assess the inner bark yield of paper mulberry, and to evaluate rice productivity following paper mulberry cultivation. In addition, allometric models for estimating the inner bark yield of paper mulberry are developed. Inner bark yield of paper mulberry stands ranging in age from 9 to 48 months ranged from 10 to 208 g m−2, and increased with age. The models using diameter at breast height and stem height, or diameter at breast height only as independent variables explained well the variation in inner bark yield. When paper mulberry was completely removed during the rice growing season, rice yields in these areas were similar to those following weedy bush fallow. When paper mulberry was allowed to grow, rice yields were negatively correlated to paper mulberry stem density. When paper mulberry lateral branches were pruned back, rice yields could be maintained if the paper mulberry stem density was

Actinomycetes are a suitable microbial group for the synthesis of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Enzymes that may degrade organic material, including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, are released by actinomycetes. The aim of this research was to isolate actinomycetes from Rajkot, Gujarat, India’s soil and evaluate the activity of their cellulase and Xylanase enzymes. Starch Casein Agar (SCA) was used to identify a total of 30 isolates of actinomycetes. A qualitative plate assay (CMC-Na, Congo red) revealed that the highest zone of catalysis for MMD1 was 36 mm. Five strains were discovered to be effective for quantitative quantification of endoglucanase utilising filter paper and CMC as substrates: MMD1, MMD2, MMD3, MMD4, and MMD8. Following MMD 1 (endoglucanase 5.4 IU; FPase 4.4 IU), MMD 2 (endoglucanase 4.5 IU; FPase 3.4 IU) has demonstrated considerable endoglucanase and FPase activity. Beechwood xylan was used to treat sugarcane bagasse in order to test Xylanase, and 45% of the xylan (hemicellulose) fraction was obtained. MMD1 and MMD2 measured the xylanase enzyme activity (4.8IU and 4.2IU) in quantitative and qualitative assays (34 mm and 22 mm for BWX and 32 mm and 14 mm for agro-waste xylan). The strain MMD1 was identified as Streptomyces chartreusis through morphological, biochemical, and finally molecular characterization by 16S rRNA sequencing. It was then submitted to NCBI GenBank with the accession number MT254830. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]