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Since the world's population is rising continuously, more cultivable land is being utilized for their dwellings. As a result, the amount of food supply is decreasing day by day. In order to address the food shortage, a proper plan and technological breakthroughs is must. Tomato is a kind of vegetable which has the healthy ingredients and essential for our daily food list. The proposed system suggests an IoT based tomato cultivation and pest management system, with the help of deep learning methods. In the IoT implementation, camera module and moisture sensor are used to collect images of tomato plant, soil condition respectively. Based on the moisture content, the water pump will supply the water when it necessary. Besides, the real-time images of tomato leaf will be sent to the server to identify and classify natural enemies like various insect species. In the proposed system seven types of pests are identified with the help of ten deep learning models like InceptionV3, Xception, InceptionResNetV2, MobileNet, MobileNetV2, MobileNetV3Large, MobileNetV3Small, DenseNet121, DenseNet169, DenseNet201. This study has trained with leaves and insects separately to identify whether an image from a tomato plant is insectoid or not. 458 images of pests and 912 images of leaves are utilized in the proposed architecture. The accuracy of classifying insects or leaves using DenseNet201 is 100 ​%. The highest accuracy of 94 ​% is obtained to classify the different insects using the DenseNet201 model.

The innovative utilization of sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) in producing lightweight concrete (LWC) needs to be explored experimentally and quantification with machine learning approaches. Therefore, this study aims to investigate fresh, mechanical and microstructural characteristics and machine learning modeling of incorporating SCBA as a partial substitute of cement. In this investigation, OPC was replaced partially by the weight of SCBA in the proportion of 0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, and 20 %. The influences of SCBA on the fresh characteristics of concrete were investigated through tests of the slump, compacting factor, Kelly ball, k-slump, density, and air content. In addition, for hardened properties compressive, splitting tensile, flexural strength, and static modulus of elasticity were tested at 7 and 28 days. Furthermore, a microstructural characteristic was carried out for varying content of SCBA. Different machine learning (ML) predictive models were performed utilizing artificial neural network (ANN) and random forest (RF), to predict the fresh and mechanical attributes of the LWC. It was noticed that the workability value of fresh concrete was enhanced almost by 40 % to 50 % with the incorporation of SCBA content. The hardened test results revealed that a mixture having SCBA up to 10 % content SCBA resulted in nearly 10 % to 30 % better performance to satisfy the requirement of LWC. Regarding the sustainability assessment, the less embodied CO2 (eCO2) is produced in SCBA mixes, whereas it is also economically beneficial to produce SCBA mixes. Models' efficacy was evaluated including mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and coefficient of determination (R2). The maximum R2 and minimum RMSE came across for RF (0.989 and 1.393, respectively) which provides the well estimation of the model.

Abstract Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully synthesized and functionalized by chemical vapour deposition and acid reflux methods, respectively. Chitosan (CTS) was prepared by a chemical extraction method from waste prawn shells. Various weight fractions of functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (f‐MWCNTs) have been used as reinforcing agent in CTS biopolymer matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis was done, which confirms the presence of absorption bands of the various functional groups of chitin, CTS, and MWCNTs. Raman spectra revealed the quality of MWCNTs, the extent of their functionalization, and the quality of nanocomposites. The X‐ray diffraction analysis showed the distinctive peaks for f‐MWCNTs’ and also revealed the formation of CTS/f‐MWCNTs nanocomposites. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis also exhibited that the CTS/f‐MWCNTs nanoparticles have a well‐defined crystalline structure. The highest coercivity and magnetization (Ms) of the CTS/5%f‐MWCNTs nanocomposite are 602 Oe and 0.1202 emu/g, respectively that have been enhanced by 3.83 and 5.27 times compared to the pure CTS respectively. It showed that the conductivity is getting higher with the addition of f‐MWCNTs in the CTS matrix. CTS/5% f‐MWCNTs composites exhibit the highest conductivity than other composites and the conductivity of CTS/5% f‐MWCNTs composite is 4.0×10−4 S/m.

This document is a correction notice for a journal article titled "Role of L-Carnitine supplementation on rate of weight gain and biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction in children with severe acute malnutrition: A protocol for a double-blinded randomized controlled trial." The correction addresses an error in the equation in the Sample size and power subsection of the Materials and methods section. The corrected equation is provided in the document. The authors of the article are Jinat Alam, Md. Ridwan Islam, Shah Mohammad Fahim, Md. Amran Gazi, and Tahmeed Ahmed. [Extracted from the article]

This research aims to assess the rheological and mechanical characteristics of Self-compacting concrete (SCC) incorporating waste tire rubber aggregates (WRTA) as an interim substitute for coarse aggregates. However, the standard experimental modeling approach has significant obstacles when it comes to overcoming the nonlinearity and environmental susceptibility of concrete parts. Therefore, linear regression (LR) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were used as two standard single machine learning (ML) models to predict the aforementioned rubberized SCC features. In this study, conventional coarse aggregates were supplanted with WRTA at 0%, 5%, 10%, and 20% to uncover the optimal proportion of coarse aggregates substituting rubber. To find the optimum amount of WRTA to use as a substitute, the study follows the impacts of rubber on the self-compacting rubberized concrete's (SCRC) rheological and mechanical characteristics. The consequences on fresh properties were investigated by the slump flow, J-ring, and V-funnel tests, while compressive and splitting tensile strengths tests were conducted to assess mechanical properties. Increasing WRTA test outputs indicated a deterioration in workability and hardened qualities. While a 10% swapping ratio is deemed feasible for producing SCRC, optimal results were achieved by reducing environmental impacts and efficiently managing a significant volume of rubber tire waste with a 5% substitution of rubber within the coarse aggregates. The research findings indicated a noticeable decrease in fresh properties as the WRTA content increased. Notably, after 28 days, a 10% WRTA substitution led to a 34% reduction in compressive strength and a 28% decrease in splitting tensile strength, satisfying ACI standards. Furthermore, XGBoost demonstrated superior predictive performance with the highest R2 values, outperforming the LR model and affirming its efficacy in delivering more accurate predictions.

Objective: Chronic aflatoxin exposure has been associated with childhood stunting (length-for-age/height-for-age < -2 sd), while data lacks for Bangladesh, a country with substantial burden of childhood stunting. This paper examined the association between aflatoxin exposure and childhood stunting in a slum setting of Dhaka city.Design: In this MAL-ED aflatoxin birth cohort study, plasma samples were assayed for aflatoxin B1-lysine adduct (AFB1-lys) by MS at 7, 15, 24 and 36 months of age for 208, 196, 173 and 167 children to assess chronic aflatoxin exposure. Relationship between aflatoxin exposure and anthropometric measures was examined by mixed-effects logistic regression models.Setting and Participants: The study was conducted in Mirpur, Dhaka, where children were followed from birth to 36 months.Results: Prevalence of stunting increased from 21 % at 7 months to 49 % at 36 months of age. Mean AFB1-lys concentrations at 7, 15, 24 and 36 months were 1·30 (range 0·09-5·79), 1·52 (range 0·06-6·35), 3·43 (range 0·15-65·60) and 3·70 (range 0·09-126·54) pg/mg albumin, respectively, and the percentage of children with detectable AFB1-lys was 10, 21, 18 and 62 %, respectively. No association was observed between aflatoxin exposure and stunting in multivariable analyses. Factors associated with childhood stunting were age, low birth weight, maternal height, stool myeloperoxidase and number of people sleeping in one room.Conclusions: A relatively lower exposure to aflatoxin may not influence the linear growth of children. This finding indicates a threshold level of exposure for linear growth deficit and further investigation in other areas where higher concentrations of aflatoxin exposure exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable practices in the construction sector have become a major issue due to the overuse of natural raw materials. Industrial by-products like fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and marble powder (MP) incorporation in concrete production will be assessed in this paper in terms of fresh, mechanical, and microstructural states. Consequently, this study proposes an in-depth investigation of SCMs applied with varied substitute cement amounts, looking at components like MP, SF, and FA. The impacts on fresh characteristics of HSSCC were assessed using slump flow, V-funnel time, T50 time, L-box ratio, and J-ring slump flow. Compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength tests were performed to analyze the mechanical properties. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques were used for the microstructural examination of HSSCC. It has been found that SCMs, including MP, FA, and SF, may enhance the characteristics of concrete. The slump flow values, which indicate the flowability and filling ability of HSSCC, were improved by a maximum of 9.6 % for 20 % SF and 10 % for both FA and MP replacement. The most promising outcomes on the basis of mechanical operation were gained by using SF, MP, and FA in HSSCC at respective percentages of 20 %, 10 %, and 10 %. This mixture revealed an increase in compressive strength of a maximum of 15 % at 56 days compared to the control mixture, which contained 10 % MP. However, the excessive addition of MP negatively impacted the strength of the concrete. The EDS examination illustrated that the ‘Ca’ to ‘Si’ proportion in HSSCC significantly affects the emergence of strength. This study will enlighten users during the preparation of high-strength self-compacting concrete (HSSCC) by replacing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with different available supplementary cementitious material (SCM) combinations.

Rising natural resource consumption leads to increased hazardous gas emissions, necessitating the concrete industry's focus on sustainable alternatives like palm oil fuel ash (POFA) to replace cement. Also, advanced machine learning (ML) techniques can uncover previously unreported insights about the effects of POFA that may be missing from the literature. Hence, this study investigates the influence of varying concentrations of POFA on fresh and mechanical characteristics with quantifying ML approaches and microstructural performance, as well as the environmental impact of structural concrete. For this, cement substitutions of 5 %, 15 %, 25 %, 35 %, and 45 % (by weight of cement) were utilized. POFA enhanced the overall concrete workability, with slump increments ranging from approximately 9 %–55 % and compacting factor increments of 4 %–12 %. Mechanical performance of POFA concrete improved up to 25 % replacement levels, with the highest enhancements observed in compressive (4.5 %), splitting tensile (36 %), and flexural (31 %) strength, for the mix containing 15 % POFA. The finer particle size of POFA improved microstructural performance by reducing porosity, aligning with the enhanced mechanical strength. The environmental impact of POFA was assessed by measuring eCO2 emissions, revealing a potential reduction of up to 44 %. Incorporating 5 %–15 % POFA yielded ideal mechanical performance results, significantly enhancing sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Regarding the ML approach, it can be observed that a low regression coefficient (R2) contrasts sharply with the higher R2 values for the random forest (RF) and the ensemble model, indicating satisfactory precision prediction with experimental results.

Objectives: To measure the role of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices on recovery from stunting and assess the role of timing of stunting on the reversal of this phenomenon.Design: Data from the MAL-ED multi-country birth cohort study was used for the current analysis. Generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the probability of reversal of stunting with WASH practice and timing of stunting as the exposures of interest.Setting: Seven different countries across three continents.Participants: A total of 612 children <2 years of age.Results: We found that not WASH practice but timing of stunting had statistically significant association with recovery from stunting. In comparison with the children who were stunted at 6 months, children who were stunted at 12 months had 1·9 times (β = 0·63, P = 0·03) more chance of recovery at 24 months of age. And, children who were stunted at 18 months of age even had higher odds (adjusted OR = 3·01, β = 1·10, P < 0·001) of recovery than children who were stunted at 6 months. Additionally, mother's height (β = 0·59, P = 0·04) and household income (β = 0·02, P < 0·05) showed statistically significant associations with the outcome.Conclusions: The study provided evidence for the role of timing of stunting on the recovery from the phenomenon. This novel finding indicates that the programmes to promote linear growth should be directed at the earliest possible timepoints in the course of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The changes of plasma retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) level after a nutrition intervention can indicate the metabolic changes associated with the delivered intervention. Objective: We investigated the changes in plasma RBP4 level among 12- to 18-month-old children after a nutrition intervention and measured its association with subcutaneous adiposity, maternal characteristics, and inflammation. Methods: Data of 520 undernourished children (250 of them had length-for-age Z score [LAZ] <−1 to −2 and 270 had LAZ score <−2) were collected from the Bangladesh Environmental Enteric Dysfunction study conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Multivariable linear regression and generalized estimation equations (GEE) modeling techniques were used to measure the association. Results: At baseline, median RBP4 level was 19.9 mg/L (interquartile range [IQR]: 7.96), and at the end of the intervention, it was 20.6 mg/L (IQR: 9.06). Percentage changes in plasma RBP4 level were not significantly associated (P >.05) with the percentage changes in child's height, weight, and subcutaneous adiposity. But maternal height (regression coefficient, β = −1.62, P =.002) and milk intake (β = −0.05, P =.01) were negatively and maternal weight was positively associated (β = 0.56, P =.03) with the changes in RBP4 levels. The GEE models revealed negative association of RBP4 levels with C-reactive protein (CRP; β = −0.14, P <.05) and α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP; β = −0.03, P <.05). Conclusion: Children whose mothers were taller experienced less increase in plasma RBP4 level, and children whose mothers had a higher weight experienced more increase in the RBP4 level from baseline. We have also found that CRP and AGP levels and intake of whole milk were negatively associated with the plasma RBP4 level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Appropriate rehydration has always been significant in treating diarrhoeal diseases in children. Irrational antibiotic use among diarrhoeal children has remained a major public health concern. Information regarding antibiotic use in young infants suffering from diarrhoea is very limited and a unique aspect of research. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of antibiotic use in the community among 2–6 months infants with diarrhoeal illnesses and having different nutritional status. Methods: We investigated a total of 5279 infants aged 2–6 months at Dhaka hospital, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, between September 2018 and June 2019. Among them, 257 infants were suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). History of taking antibiotics was ascertained by direct observation of a prescription by a physician, the bottle of antibiotic or asking the caregiver about the name of antibiotic or its price that is very close to the usual market price of an antibiotic. Results: Overall, 52% of infants received antibiotics before hospital admission. Non‐SAM infants had higher odds of receiving antibiotics (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.18, 1.97, P value = 0.003) compared to infants with SAM and use of antibiotics increased with age (aOR = 1.11, 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.17, P value<0.001). Commonly used antibiotics were azithromycin (13.3%), ciprofloxacin (7.7%), erythromycin (7.7%) and metronidazole (2.6%). The proportion of receiving ciprofloxacin was significantly lower in infants with SAM compared to their non‐SAM counterparts (2.7% vs. 7.97%, P value = 0.004). Conclusions: The study underscores the excessive use of antibiotics among diarrhoeal infants, which is already a major public health concern in low‐ and middle‐income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: There is insufficient knowledge on the * duodenal histology and Helicobacter pylori infection in malnourished Bangladeshi children. Therefore, we attempted to explore the prevalence of H. pylori infection and duodenal histopathology in 2-year-old chronic malnourished Bangladeshi slum-dwelling children and investigate their association with dyspeptic symptoms.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the data of the Bangladesh Environmental Enteric Dysfunction study in an urban slum of Dhaka, Bangladesh. With a view to address the association of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) with stunting, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed on 54 chronic malnourished children {31 stunted [length-for-age Z-scores (LAZ) <-2] and 23 at risk of stunting (LAZ <-1 to -2)} aged between 12-24 months and the mucosal biopsies were subjected to histopathological examination after obtaining proper clinical history. Stool antigen for H. pylori (HpSA) was assessed to determine H. pylori status.Results: In all, 83.3% (45/54) of the children had histopathological evidence of duodenitis. Chronic mild duodenitis was found to be the most prevalent form of duodenitis (53.7%) in the children. Only 8.9% (4/45) of the children with duodenitis had dyspepsia (p < 0.05). The 14.8% (8/54) of the children were found positive for H. pylori infection. Logistic regression analysis revealed children positive for HpSA had significant association with dyspepsia (OR 9.34; 95% CI 1.54-56.80).Conclusions: The number of chronic malnourished children suffering from duodenitis was found to be very high. Majority of these children was asymptomatic. Children positive for HpSA had significant association with dyspeptic symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]