Understanding the reasons for the yield gap between potential and actual yield can provide insights for enhancing canola production by adapting measures for ensuring food security. The canola yield gap under different management practices (e.g. water, nitrogen, N- and sowing dates) was quantified using research trials that were conducted at on-station and historical data (1980–2016) and the CROPGRO-Canola model for Punjab, Pakistan. The integrated approach revealed that low inputs of N, the amount of irrigation, sowing date and the use of seeds from home stocks were the principal causes for a low yield. The CROPGRO-Canola model was able to simulate the canola yield from research trials (R2 = >0.90) and farm survey data (R2 = 0.63). The average yield gap between potential (YP), N-limited (YNL), water-limited (YWL), N- and water-limited (YNWL), and overall farmer field yield (YOFF) was 50, 46, 62 and 72%, respectively. The yield-gap with achievable yield (YA) for YNL, YWL, YNWL and YOFF was 34, 28, 49 and 63%, respectively. Overall, the results showed that a high canola yield for farmers’ fields can be obtained by selecting appropriate varieties and sowing dates with N rate of 120 kg/ha and efficient irrigation management. However, further studies are necessary to fully comprehend the underlying causes for the low actual yield and the high yield variability of farmers’ fields.

This study establishes the relationship between a manager’s Machiavellian personality and unethical behavior. It also tests the cross-level interaction effects of collectivism and power distance on the relationship between a Machiavellian personality and unethical behavior. The multi-level and multi-source data are collected from 22 public sector organizations from which 202 responses from managers about their personalities, power distance, and collectivism, and 626 subordinates’ ratings of the managers’ unethical behavior were received and used. The results show that Machiavellian personality has a positive relationship with unethical behavior. The cross-level interaction effects also show that cultural dimensions such as power distance, and collectivism—significantly and positively moderate the relationship between Machiavellian personality and unethical behavior. Based on the study’s findings, implications for theory and practice are offered.

Although previous studies provide diverse perspectives on subordinate's deviant behavior as a reaction to abusive supervision (ABS), the influence of ABS on subordinates’ inter-personal relations received little attention. Grounded on social exchange theory, this study proposes that subordinates who are being abused by the same supervisor develop a bond among each other. That further provides strength to each of the abused group member to exhibit deviant behaviors against supervisor and non-abused peer group. Data were collected and analyzed through mediation analysis using AMOS. Using a sample of 920 employees from multi-sector organizations it was found that abused employees show citizenship behavior toward other abused peer-group members and counter-productive behavior toward supervisor and non-abused peer-group members. Moreover, citizenship behaviors created among the abused peer-group members partially mediate the relationship of ABS and counter-productive work behavior.

In the current work, the effects of design (groove depth and groove width) and operational (temperature and velocity) parameters on aerodynamic performance parameters (coefficient of drag and coefficient of lift) of an isolated passenger car tire have been investigated. The study is conducted by using neural network-based Monte-Carlo analysis on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The computer experiments are designed to obtain the causal relationship between tire design, operational, and aerodynamic performance parameters. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations-based Realizable K-ε model has been employed to analyze the variations in flow patterns around an isolated tire. The design parameters are varied over wide range and full factorial design, while considering temperature and velocity is completely explored to draw conclusive results. The multi-layer perceptron type neural network with the back-propagation algorithm is trained to map any non-linearity in causal relationships. The sensitivity analysis is performed to find the relationship between control variables and performance indicators. The importance of control variable is determined by both sensitivity and significance analyses and the paired interaction analysis is performed between selected control variables to find the interactive behavior of corresponding variables. The design parameter of groove width with 6.8% and 41% reduction in drag and lift coefficient, respectively, and conventionally overlooked operational parameter of velocity with 4% and 35% impact on drag and lift coefficient, respectively, are found to be the most significant variables. The air trapped between the longitudinal grooves and the road is found to follow the beam theory. The interaction of the groove depth and width is found to be significant with respect to coefficient of lift based on the air beam concept. The interaction of groove width and velocity is found to be significant with respect to both coefficients of lifts and drag.

Lactoperoxidase (LPO) is an antimicrobial protein present in milk that plays an important role in natural defence mechanisms during neonatal and adult life. The antimicrobial activity of LPO has been commercially adapted for increasing the shelf life of dairy products. Immobilization of LPO on silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is a promising way to enhance the antimicrobial activity of LPO. In the current study, LPO was immobilized on AgNPs to form LPO/AgNP conjugate. The immobilized LPO/AgNP conjugate was characterized by various biophysical techniques. The enhanced antibacterial activity of the conjugate was tested against E. coli in culture at 2 h intervals for 10 h. The results showed successful synthesis of spherical AgNPs. LPO was immobilized on AgNPs with agglomerate sizes averaging approximately 50 nm. The immobilized conjugate exhibited stronger antibacterial activity against E. coli in comparison to free LPO. This study may help in increasing the efficiency of lactoperoxidase system and will assist in identifying novel avenues to enhance the stability and antimicrobial function of LPO system in dairy and other industries.

Extensive work has been done on the modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to improve their characteristics. Here, polystyrene (PS) was adsorbed on the surface of MWCNTs by dispersion process, using toluene as medium. PS modified MWCNTs (PS-MWCNTs) have been dispersed in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix to prepare composite, PS-MWCNTs/PMMA. It is expected that PS adsorbed at the surface of the MWCNTs will help in improving the interaction between MWCNTs and PMMA which results uniform and homogeneous dispersion of the former in later. Thus, synthesized composites were characterized by UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy to monitor the functionality of developed product. Electrical parameters including conductivity and dielectric properties were measured with the help of LCR meter. Electrical characters of the composites were explored by investigating the effect of contents of PS-MWCNTs on conductivity and dielectric properties. Percolation behaviour was examined and calculated value of percolation threshold was 0.1wt%.

Nitrogen, a vitally important plant nutrient, is subject to various losses that affect its efficiency. We tested prilled urea (PU), urea supergranules (USG), green manures (GM) and farmyard manure (FYM) in a rice-wheat cropping system to determine which were the most efficient and economical N sources. The maximum rice growth, yield and N-uptake occurred with USG and with GM (Sesbania rostrata) plus PU. Incorporation of GM saved 60 kg N/ha. On the following wheat crop, GM (S. aculeata) plus PU and FYM plus PU had the highest residual effect on the number of tillers per m2, and straw and grain yield. An increase in N recovery efficiency occurred with combined use of PUand organic Igreen manures compared with PU alone. In areas where USG is costly or unavailable and FYM is scarce, green manures can be a cheap N source that allows small-scale farmers to get sustainable yields in a rice-wheat rotation.