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In Indian subcontinent, pineapple (Ananas Comosus) leaves are left unused after fruits are harvested resulting in a waste of natural resources that contain textile-graded fibers. The present study intended to develop a pineapple leaf fiber extractor to chip off the waxy layer of the leaf. The machine comprised feeding conveyor, feed rollers, scratching roller, combing roller, frame and motor as a power source with a transmission unit. The performance was evaluated under different independent variables, i.e. rpm of the scratching roller (100, 150 and 200 rpm), types of secondary roller (combing, serration and without secondary roller) and moisture content of leaf (85 ± 3, 78 ± 3 and 71 ± 2%). Response surface method of optimization was employed to optimize the operational parameters. Best combination of operating parameters was found to be 150 rpm scratching rollers, combing type secondary rollers and moisture content of 85 ± 3%. It was found that the retting duration, processing efficiency, and fiber yield were 4 days, 88.9%, and 2.41% at optimized parameters, respectively. Further, throughput capacity and power requirement were found to be 33 ± 2 kg/hand 1.5 kWh respectively. The developed machine found to be effective in extracting waxy layer on leaves with minimal damage to useable fiber.

Jute-based non-woven was engineered using 50 % pure jute with 50 % caddis (mill waste of jute) on a weight basis. Jute non-woven mulch with 100 % jute (100:0) of 250, 450, and 650 g per square meter (GSM), the blend non-woven of pure jute with caddis (50:50) of 250, 450, and 650 GSM, plastic (50 μm) and rice straw mulch were evaluated on summer tomato crop at the ICAR-CISH regional station in Malda, West Bengal, India. Jute non-woven fabrics of higher thickness with lower water flow and transmissivity increase soil moisture content over no mulch (∼70 %) and plastic mulch (∼9.3 %). The temperature throughout the soil depths for all mulch treatments was lower over no mulch, and for 650 GSM, it was the lowest. Various soil parameters, plant growth parameters, microbial growth, nutrient uptake, and water use efficiency (WUE) under jute non-woven have been improved significantly over no mulch and also over plastic mulch. Jute mulch of 650 GSM, 100:0, followed by 250 GSM, 50:50, and 450 GSM, 100:0, outperformed other mulching materials for tomato yield and fruit quality parameters. The yield of summer tomato crops under jute non-woven (650 GSM, 100:0) has increased significantly by 84 % over no mulch and 28 % over plastic mulch. Therefore, jute non-woven mulch can be a potential alternative to plastic mulch for eco-friendly and sustainable tomato production., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interestsThe authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ravinder Kumar is working as an associate editor in the Journal. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2025 The Authors.)

Sex determination or sex estimation from a single or fragment of bone is always difficult in the absence of other bones from the same individual. The current study was an attempt to estimate the sex of an individual from the posterior ramus of mandible or the mandibular ramus flexure. A retrospective study was conducted using orthopantomographs (OPGs) of 200 males and 200 females between the age group of 20 - 70 years. Each radiographic image was examined for the presence of a flexure or notching on the posterior border of the ramus in relation to occlusal plane as the method followed by Loth & Henneberg 1996.The study resulted in samples that were correctly classified as females 59.5% and males 57.5 %. The overall correct sex estimation was achieved in 58.5% of the cases. The predictive accuracy or assessment was higher for females compared to males. Consequently, the posterior ramus of mandible or mandibular ramus flexure can be considered as supplementary rather than a definitive means of sex determination. Hence, it is preferable to include as many parameters as possible to attain optimal accuracy.