Abstract: We extend the concept of *-derivations of rings to a certain class of semirings called MA-semirings and establish some results on commutativity forced by the *-derivations satisfying different criteria. We specially focus on the results on certain conditions under which additive mappings become Jordan *-derivations.

Abstract Background: Waste-land weeds present around the fields exert their allelopathic influence on crops through their leaf leachates and rhizospheric soils. Objective: A study was conducted to investigate the phytotoxic action of four common waste-land weeds Parthenium hysterophorus L., Achyranthes aspera L., Lantana camara L. and Withania somnifera L. through their aqueous extracts and rhizospheric soils against winter crops Avena sativa L., Cicer arietinum L., Hordeum vulgare L. and Triticum aestivum L. Methods: Experiments were conducted in Agronomy laboratory in College of Agriculture at the University of Sargodha. In first experiment, 5% (w/v) water extract from entire plant of each weed was applied to germinating seeds of crops whereas in second experiment, crop seeds were subjected to the rhizospheric soil of each weed for germination test. Results: Results revealed that aqueous extracts of weeds were more phyto-inhibitory compared to their rhizospheric soils. Minimum germination percentage (42.5%), germination index (7.4), seedling vigor index (665.3), root length (3.27 cm), seedling length (14.15 cm) and seedling biomass (74.2 mg) of crops were recorded in response to aqueous extract of P. hysterophorus. Root growth of the crops was affected more compared to the shoot growth. Minimum germination percentage was observed in A. sativa (13.3) by the action of L. camara aqueous extract. Rhizospheric soil of L. camara and P. hysterophorus resulted in minimum germination percentages (57.5 and 58.3, respectively) and seedling vigor indices (1472.5 and 2008.4, respectively) of crops. The lowest germination (30%) and germination index (3.7) was observed for T. aestivum seeds germinated in the rhizospheric soil of W. somnifera. Among crops, A. sativa and C. arietinum were more susceptible to the aqueous extracts whereas T. aestivum to rhizospheric soils of weeds. Conclusions: It can be concluded that waste-land weeds especially P. hysterophorus and L. camara negatively affect the crops by their allelopathy.

Antireflection coatings (ARC), not only reduce the reflection of the incident radiation but also protect the surface from environmental degradations. In present study, three- layer design was theoretically calculated and experimentally realized on the surface of lead chalcogenide, which had high refractive characteristics. First the theoretical designs of three- layers of different dielectric materials (i.e., ZnSe, SnO2, SiO and MgF2) were simulated using optical matrix approach. Subsequently, the developed designs were experimentally produced on lead sulfide thin films using thermal evaporation technique. The efficiency of the designs was evaluated for 1500-2400 nm spectral range and found that the design comprising ZnSe-SiO-MgF2 had 23% better performance than ZnSe-SnO2-MgF2, besides consistent coating adhesion and morphology. The difference between theoretical and experimental results was less than 10 and 16 % for ZnSe-SiO-MgF2 and ZnSe-SnO2-MgF2, respectively.