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Abstract The mechanical, thermal, and morphological characteristics of epoxy resin composites reinforced using repurposed textiles are examined in this work. This study investigates reusing textile waste to produce composite materials using sustainable alternatives. This study shows how epoxy resin may be improved by mixing recycled materials with powdered coconut shells. 10% of the total weight, or the powdered coconut shell, was combined with fabric and epoxy resin in a 2:1 ratio with hardener. After the mixture was put into molds, it was given a 72‐h cure. Two samples were then ready to be tested for their mechanical, morphological, and thermal characteristics. Tensile, bending, impact, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were used to evaluate performance. The force obtained in the tensile test was 1236.705 N, the bending test produced 86.76 N, and the impact test produced 3.33 J. The fabric and resin were found to have strong binding by SEM examination, and the TGA investigation indicated a notable heat absorption capability. The study offers insightful information on improving material performance through sustainable methods, which benefits the building, automobile, and aerospace sectors—industries where durability and environmental responsibility are critical. Highlights Used textiles enhance epoxy resin in composite materials. Tensile tests reveal structural integrity and longevity. Impact tests show resistance to dynamic loads. TGA and SEM analyses clarify thermal stability and bonding.

Abstract One of the main abiotic stresses that affect plant development and lower agricultural productivity globally is salt in the soil. Organic amendments, such as compost and biochar can mitigate the opposing effects of soil salinity (SS) stress. The purpose of this experiment was to look at how tomato growth and yield on salty soil were affected by mineral fertilization and manure-biochar compost (MBC). Furthermore, the study looked at how biochar (organic amendments) work to help tomato plants that are stressed by salt and also a mechanism by which biochar addresses the salt stress on tomato plants. Tomato yield and vegetative growth were negatively impacted by untreated saline soil, indicating that tomatoes are salt-sensitive. MBC with mineral fertilization increased vegetative growth, biomass yield, fruit yield, chlorophyll, and nutrient contents, Na/K ratio of salt-stressed tomato plants signifies the ameliorating effects on tomato plant growth and yield, under salt stress. Furthermore, the application of MBC with mineral fertilizer decreased H2O2, but increased leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf proline, total soluble sugar, and ascorbic acid content and improved leaf membrane damage, in comparison with untreated plants, in response to salt stress. Among the composting substances, T7 [poultry manure-biochar composting (PBC) (1:2) @ 3 t/ha + soil-based test fertilizer (SBTF)] dose exhibited better-improving effects on salt stress and had maintained an order of T7 > T9 > T8 > T6 in total biomass and fruit yield of tomato. These results suggested that MBC might mitigate the antagonistic effects of salt stress on plant growth and yield of tomatoes by improving osmotic adjustment, antioxidant capacity, nutrient accumulation, protecting photosynthetic pigments, and reducing ROS production and leaf damage in tomato plant leaves.

Abstract Field pea (Pisum sativum L.) needs improvement to increase productivity due to its high price and demand. However, the incidence of powdery mildew (PM) disease limits its production. This study aimed to analyze the diversity of qualitative and quantitative traits against powdery mildew resistance by utilizing cluster and principal component analysis to explore PM resistance high-yield potential field peas. Shannon–Weaver's diversity index (Hʹ) displayed high intra-genotype diversity for quantitative and qualitative aspects. Heterogeneity was identified for resistance against powdery mildew infections. Eighty-five genotypes were divided into five groups using Mohalanobis generalized distance (D2) statistics. The highest inter-cluster D2 value was observed between clusters 2 and 3 (11.89) while the lowest value was found between clusters 3 and 4 (2.06). Most of the genotypes had noticeable differences, so these could be employed in a crossing scheme. Twelve genotypes were extremely resistant, 29 genotypes were resistant, 25 genotypes were moderately resistant, 18 genotypes were fairly susceptible, and 1 genotype was susceptible to powdery mildew disease. Among 29 resistant genotypes, BFP77, BFP74, BFP63, BFP62, BFP43, and BFP80 were high yielders and, could be used directly and/or transferred through hybridization to high-yielding disease-susceptible genotypes. Among the 25 moderately resistant genotypes, BFP78, BFP45, BFP79, and BFP48 were found to be high yielders. In principal component analysis (PCA), the first four PCs with Eigen values > 1 accounted for 88.4% variability for quantitative traits. Clustering sorted genotypes into five groups, where groups 1 to 5 assembled 37, 28, 1, 8, and 11 genotypes, respectively. Genotypes of cluster 4 were identified as high yielders with its attributes. Pearson correlation significantly and positively correlated across all traits except for PM. This variation suggested that there is a mechanism to select promising genotypes for field pea breeding. Considering all features, BFP78, BFP77, BFP74, BFP63, BFP62, BFP45, BFP79, and BFP80 could be preferred as high yielders and PM resistance owing to longer pod lengths, seeds per pod and pods per plant.

This study focuses on the probable use of carbonized char prepared from PET plastic bottles for heavy metals (HMs) adsorption (Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+). The prepared adsorbent is characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Batch adsorption experiments were conducted with the influencing of different operational conditions: contact time (1–180 min), adsorbate concentration (25–300 mg/L), adsorbent dose (0.5–6 g/L), pH (3–7), and temperature (25–60 ºC). High coefficient value [Cd2+ (R2 = 0.99), Pb2+ (R2 = 0.97), Cu2+ (R2 = 0.94), and Zn2+ (R2 = 0.98)] of process optimization model suggest that this model was significant, where pH and adsorbent dose expressively stimulus removal efficiency including 86.68, 73.66, 67.10, and 57.04% for Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ at pH (7), respectively. Furthermore, ANN and BB-RSM revealed a good association between the tested and projected values. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ was 263.157, 78.740, 196.078, and 84.745 mg/g, respectively. Pseudo-second-order was the well-suited kinetics, where Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm could explain better for equilibrium adsorption data. Thermodynamic study shows HMs adsorption is favorable, exothermic, and spontaneous. HIGHLIGHTS Carbonized adsorbent was prepared from PET bottle waste by a simple thermal dissociation method.; Response surface methodology and artificial neural network express a strong correlation between the experimental and projected heavy metal removal efficiency.; Carbonized adsorbents reveal satisfactory results for experimental (Cd = 86.68%, Pb = 73.66%, Cu = 67.10%, and Zn = 57.04%) and real wastewater applications (Cd = 99.2%, Pb = 62.20%, Cu = 97.63%, and Zn = 64.47%).;

Abstract Climate change has brought an alarming situation in the scarcity of fresh water for irrigation due to the present global water crisis, climate variability, drought, increasing demands of water from the industrial sectors, and contamination of water resources. Accurately evaluating the potential of future rice genotypes in large-scale, multi-environment experiments may be challenging. A key component of the accurate assessment is the examination of stability in growth contexts and genotype-environment interaction. Using a split-plot design with three replications, the study was carried out in nine locations with five genotypes under continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wet and dry (AWD) conditions. Utilizing the web-based warehouse inventory search tool (WIST), the water status was determined. To evaluate yield performance for stability and adaptability, AMMI and GGE biplots were used. The genotypes clearly reacted inversely to the various environments, and substantial interactions were identified. Out of all the environments, G3 (BRRI dhan29) had the greatest grain production, whereas G2 (Binadhan-8) had the lowest. The range between the greatest and lowest mean values of rice grain output (4.95 to 4.62 t ha-1) was consistent across five distinct rice genotypes. The genotype means varied from 5.03 to 4.73 t ha-1 depending on the environment. In AWD, all genotypes out performed in the CF system. With just a little interaction effect, the score was almost zero for several genotypes (E1, E2, E6, and E7 for the AWD technique, and E5, E6, E8, and E9 for the CF method) because they performed better in particular settings. The GGE biplot provided more evidence in support of the AMMI study results. The study's findings made it clear that the AMMI model provides a substantial amount of information when evaluating varietal performance across many environments. Out of the five accessions that were analyzed, one was found to be top-ranking by the multi-trait genotype ideotype distance index, meaning that it may be investigated for validation stability measures. The study's findings provide helpful information on the variety selection for the settings in which BRRI dhan47 and BRRI dhan29, respectively, performed effectively in AWD and CF systems. Plant breeders might use this knowledge to choose newer kinds and to design breeding initiatives. In conclusion, intermittent irrigation could be an effective adaptation technique for simultaneously saving water and mitigating GHG while maintaining high rice grain yields in rice cultivation systems.

Introduction Bangladesh has 22 million adult users of smokeless tobacco (ST). The prevalence among women is higher (24.8%). Health-related quality of life outcome (HRQoL) for ST use is little known. We investigated the association between HRQoL and daily ST use among adult women in Bangladesh. Methods Using multi-stage design, a cross-sectional survey was conducted. Adult women (randomly selected) were surveyed from 4 purposively selected divisions (Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rangpur). Female ST users and non-users were compared using HRQoL scores. Self-perceived Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) values and HRQoL scores were modelled to examine their association with ST use. Results A total of 2610 women (1149 users and 1461 non-users) were surveyed. The proportion reported any type of problem in all health dimensions was significantly higher among female ST users than non-users (mobility: 43.3% vs 19.5%, self-care: 29.6% vs 11.9%, usual activities: 48.7% vs 21.8%, pain or discomfort: 69.8% vs 40.6%, and anxiety or depression: 61.3% vs 37.5%). The average HRQoL scores were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.78–0.81) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.89– 0.90) for users and non-users, respectively. Moreover, EQ-VAS average values were significantly higher for non-users [80.7 (95% CI: 79.9–81.6) vs 70.27 (95% CI: 69.2–71.2)]. Controlling the sociodemographics, ST use significantly reduced the HRQoL score by an average of 0.15 points. The EQ-VAS values on average decreased by 0.04 points for ST use. Conclusions ST use is significantly associated with the HRQoL of females in Bangladesh. Considering the higher prevalence of ST, especially among women, HRQoL hazards need to be communicated for awareness building.

Abstract Uneven rainfall and high temperature cause drought in tropical and subtropical regions which is a major challenge to cultivating summer mung bean. Potassium (K), a major essential nutrient of plants can alleviate water stress (WS) tolerance in plants. A field trial was executed under a rainout shelter with additional K fertilization including recommended K fertilizer (RKF) for relieving the harmful impact of drought in response to water use efficiency (WUE), growth, yield attributes, nutrient content, and yield of mung bean at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, BARI, Ishwardi, Pabna in two successive summer season of 2018 and 2019. Drought-tolerant genotype BMX-08010-2 (G1) and drought-susceptible cultivar BARI Mung-1 (G2) were grown by applying seven K fertilizer levels (KL) using a split-plot design with three replications, where mung bean genotypes were allotted in the main plots, and KL were assigned randomly in the sub-plots. A considerable variation was observed in the measured variables. Depending on the different applied KL and seed yield of mung bean, the water use efficiency (WUE) varied from 4.73 to 8.14 kg ha−1 mm−1. The treatment applying 125% more K with RKF (KL7) under WS gave the maximum WUE (8.14 kg ha−1 mm−1) obtaining a seed yield of 1093.60 kg ha−1. The treatment receiving only RKF under WS (KL2) provided the minimum WUE (4.73 kg ha−1 mm−1) attaining a seed yield of 825.17 kg ha−1. Results showed that various characteristics including nutrients (N, P, K, and S) content in stover and seed, total dry matter (TDM) in different growth stages, leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), root volume (RV), root density (RD), plant height, pod plant−1, pod length, seeds pod−1, seed weight, and seed yield in all pickings increased with increasing K levels, particularly noted with KL7. The highest grain yield (32.52%) was also obtained from KL7 compared to lower K with RKF. Overall, yield varied from 1410.37 kg ha−1 using 281 mm water (KL1; well-watered condition with RKF) to 825.17 kg ha−1 using 175 mm water (KL2). The results exhibited that the application of additional K improves the performance of all traits under WS conditions. Therefore, mung beans cultivating under WS requires additional K to diminish the negative effect of drought, and adequate use of K contributes to accomplishing sustainable productivity.

This study emphasizes the possible utilization of carbonized microplastic particles (CMPs) prepared from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle waste for dye adsorption. Methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) are adsorbed in a batch experiment to determine the effects of various experimental factors, including contact time (1–210 min), solution pH (3–11), adsorbent dosage (1–20 g/L), temperature (25–600 °C), and initial dye concentration (5–70 mg/L). The variance analysis (ANOVA) results of response surface methodology (RSM) indicated that the second-order model was statistically significant and had a high coefficient value (R2 = 0.99 for MO and R2 = 0.92 for MB). The RSM results stated that solution pH and adsorbent dose significantly influence MO and MB dyes removal, where the maximum adsorption removal was 99.95 and 99.04% for MO and MB dye at high acidic (pH 3) and alkaline (pH 11) conditions, respectively, with high adsorbent doses. Furthermore, trained neural networks demonstrated a strong correlation between the experimental and projected colour removal efficiencies. The adsorption data for MO and MB were well explained by pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models. A thermodynamic study shows that dyes adsorptions are favourable, exothermic, and spontaneous. Finally, real wastewater and desorption studies indicate the effectiveness and environmentally friendly properties of CMPs. HIGHLIGHTS Carbonized microplastic particles (CMPs) were prepared from PET bottle waste by a simple thermal dissociation method.; Response surface methodology and artificial neural networks express a strong correlation between the experiment and projected colour removal efficiency.; CMPs reveal satisfactory results for experimental (MO = 99.95% and MB = 99.04%) and real wastewater applications (MO = 74% and MB = 65%).;

The generation of leather industry solid waste is a matter of concern for its potential polluting ability. This study assessed vermicomposting of leather industry-generated lime flesh and shaving waste through a mix with cattle dung using Eisenia fetida earthworm, aiming at sustainable reuse in agriculture. The chromium content of shaving waste was optimized to under 2 mg/kg using hydrogen peroxide with potassium carbonate treatment. The lime flesh was treated with hydrochloric acid treatment. Treated shaving waste and lime flesh were mixed with cattle dung in a proportion of 1:1 and 2:1 in different vermicompost fields. After 30 days 40 Eisenia fetida were introduced in each field and vermicomposted for 90 days within a moisture of 50%. The number of earthworms increased in the 1:1 portion of vermicompost. The number of earthworms, pH, total organic carbon (TOC), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), carbon and nitrogen ratio (C: N), total potassium (TK) and total phosphorus (TP) readings was taken at 0, 30, 60 and 90 days respectively. Composting resulted in a significant reduction of pH, and TOC. A reduction in C: N ratio by approximately nine-fold and an increase in TKN and TP was observed. A slight reduction of TK was also observed. The results indicated that the earthworm Eisenia fetida has been able to convert the lime flesh and shaving waste into nutrient-enriched fertilizer products in the same proportion of waste and cow dung. The vermicompost was applied on the Napier grass plantation and the accumulation of heavy metal effect on plants was investigated for eco-friendly plant growth. The composts and plants’ different parts were analysed for heavy metals. It was found to be under the permissible limits recommended by WHO. The vermicompost enhanced the organic matter significantly and nutrients were improved for better crop yield.

Rapid urbanization and industrial development have prompted potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in urban soil in Bangladesh, which is a great concern for ecological and public health matters. The present study explored the receptor-based sources, probable human health and ecological risks of PTEs (As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Cu) in the urban soil of the Jashore district, Bangladesh. The USEPA modified method 3050B and atomic absorption spectrophotometers were used to digest and evaluate the PTEs concentration in 71 soil samples collected from eleven different land use areas, respectively. The concentration ranges of As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Cu in the studied soils were 1.8—18.09, 0.1—3.58, 0.4—113.26, 0.9—72.09, 2.1—68.23, and 3.82—212.57 mg/kg, respectively. The contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and enrichment factor (EF) were applied to evaluate the ecological risk posed by PTEs in soils. Soil quality evaluation indices showed that Cd was a great contributor to soil pollution. The PLI values range was 0.48–2.82, indicating base levels to continuous soil degradation. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model showed that As (50.3 %), Cd (38.8 %), Cu (64.7 %), Pb (81.8 %) and Ni (47.2 %) were derived from industrial sources and mixed anthropogenic sources, while Cr (78.1 %) from natural sources. The highest contamination was found in the metal workshop, followed by the industrial area, and brick filed site. Soil from all land use types revealed moderate to high ecological risk after evaluating probable ecological risks, and the descending order of single metal potential ecological risk was Cd > As > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cr. Ingestion was the primary route of exposure to potentially toxic elements for both adults and children from the study area soil. The overall non-cancer risk to human health is caused by PTEs for children (HI=0.65 ± 0.1) and adults (HI=0.09 ± 0.03) under USEPA safe limit (HI>1), while the cancer risks from exclusively ingesting As through soil were 2.10E-03 and 2.74E-04 for children and adults, respectively, exceeding the USEPA acceptable standard (>1E-04).

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-IV) inhibitors are known as safe and well-tolerated antidiabetic medicine. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to synthesize some carbohydrazide derivatives (1a–5d) as DPP-IV inhibitors. In addition, this work involves simulations using molecular docking, ADMET analysis, and Lipinski and Veber’s guidelines. Wet-lab synthesis was used to make derivatives that met all requirements, and then FTIR, NMR, and mass spectrometry were used to confirm the structures and perform biological assays. In this context, in vitro enzymatic and in vivo antidiabetic activity evaluations were carried out. None of the molecules had broken the majority of the drug-likeness rules. Furthermore, these molecules were put through additional screening using molecular docking. In molecular docking experiments (PDB ID: 2P8S), many molecules displayed more potent interactions than native ligands, exhibiting more hydrogen bonds, especially those with chloro- or fluoro substitutions. Our findings indicated that compounds 5b and 4c have IC50 values of 28.13 and 34.94 µM, respectively, under in vitro enzymatic assays. On the 21st day of administration to animals, compound 5b exhibited a significant reduction in serum blood glucose level (157.33 ± 5.75 mg/dL) compared with the diabetic control (Sitagliptin), which showed 280.00 ± 13.29 mg/dL. The antihyperglycemic activity showed that the synthesized compounds have good hypoglycemic potential in fasting blood glucose in the type 2 diabetes animal model (T2DM). Taken all together, our findings indicate that the synthesized compounds exhibit excellent hypoglycemic potential and could be used as leads in developing novel antidiabetic agents.

Abstract Background Modeling exchange rate volatility has remained crucially important because of its diverse implications. This study aimed to address the issue of error distribution assumption in modeling and forecasting exchange rate volatility between the Bangladeshi taka (BDT) and the US dollar ($). Methods Using daily exchange rates for 7 years (January 1, 2008, to April 30, 2015), this study attempted to model dynamics following generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH), asymmetric power ARCH (APARCH), exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedstic (EGARCH), threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedstic (TGARCH), and integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedstic (IGARCH) processes under both normal and Student’s t-distribution assumptions for errors. Results and Conclusions It was found that, in contrast with the normal distribution, the application of Student’s t-distribution for errors helped the models satisfy the diagnostic tests and show improved forecasting accuracy. With such error distribution for out-of-sample volatility forecasting, AR(2)–GARCH(1, 1) is considered the best.

In this study, attempts were made to isolate Streptomyces sp. from soil samples of two different regions of Bangladesh and evaluate their antagonistic activity against fish and human pathogenic bacteria. A total of 10 isolates were identified as Streptomyces sp. based on several morphological, physiological and biochemical tests. Cross streak method was used to observe the antagonistic activity of the Streptomyces sp. isolates against different fish pathogens belonging to the genus Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Edwardsiella and human clinical isolates belonging to the genus Klebsiella, Salmonella and Streptococcus. Seven Streptomyces sp. isolates showed antagonism against both fish and human pathogenic bacteria. Four isolates viz., N24, N26, N28 and N47 showed broad spectrum of antagonistic activity (80-100%) against all genera of fish and human pathogenic bacteria. The isolate N49 exhibited highest spectrum of antagonism against all fish pathogens (90-100%) but comparatively lower degree of antagonism against human pathogens (50-60%). Rest of the two isolates (N21 and N23) showed variability in their antagonism. Results showed that broad spectrum antibiotic(s) could be developed from the isolates N24, N26, N28 and N47against several human and fish pathogens. The isolate N49 could be a potential source of antibiotic, especially for fish pathogenic bacteria.

Abstract Introduction Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a chronic autoimmune disease with complex etiopathogenesis. Despite extensive studies to understand the disease process utilizing human and mouse models, the intersection between these species remains elusive. To address this gap, we utilized a novel systems biology approach to identify disease-related gene modules and signaling pathways that overlap between humans and mice. Methods Parotid gland tissues were harvested from 24 pSS and 16 non-pSS sicca patients and 25 controls. For mouse studies, salivary glands were harvested from C57BL/6.NOD-Aec1Aec2 mice at various times during development of pSS-like disease. RNA was analyzed with Affymetrix HG U133+2.0 arrays for human samples and with MOE430+2.0 arrays for mouse samples. The images were processed with Affymetrix software. Weighted-gene co-expression network analysis was used to identify disease-related and functional pathways. Results Nineteen co-expression modules were identified in human parotid tissue, of which four were significantly upregulated and three were downregulated in pSS patients compared with non-pSS sicca patients and controls. Notably, one of the human disease-related modules was highly preserved in the mouse model, and was enriched with genes involved in immune and inflammatory responses. Further comparison between these two species led to the identification of genes associated with leukocyte recruitment and germinal center formation. Conclusion Our systems biology analysis of genome-wide expression data from salivary gland tissue of pSS patients and from a pSS mouse model identified common dysregulated biological pathways and molecular targets underlying critical molecular alterations in pSS pathogenesis.