Effects of kenaf bast fibres on hydration behaviour of cement

The compatibility between cement and kenaf bast fibre and its improvement with various types of accelerators were investigated by observation and analysis on hydration behaviour in terms of hydration characteristics, namely, maximum hydration temperature and required time to reach maximum temperature. Five extraction methods (crude, water retting, decortication, NaOH retting and benzoate retting), four accelerators (CaCl2, AlCl3, Na2SO4, CaO), three concentrations (2, 4 and 6%) and three particle sizes (0.5, 0.8 and 4.0 mm) were used. The hydration behaviour of mixtures demonstrated that NaOH and benzoate were unsuitable with cement. Meanwhile, CaCl2 and CaO were found to be effective accelerators for restraining inhibitory influences. In addition, 2% accelerator was available and acceptable for quick-curing cement. Particle sizes of 0.5 and 0.8 mm required addition of accelerators to reach maximum cement setting

Outbreak of encephalitic listeriosis in red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa)

An outbreak of neurological disease was investigated in red-legged partridges between 8 and 28 days of age. Clinical signs included torticollis, head tilt and incoordination and over an initial eight day period approximately 30–40 fatalities occurred per day. No significant gross post mortem findings were detected. Histopathological examination of the brain and bacterial cultures followed by partial sequencing confirmed a diagnosis of encephalitis due to Listeria monocytogenes. Further isolates were obtained from follow-up carcasses, environmental samples and pooled tissue samples of newly imported day-old chicks prior to placement on farm. These isolates had the same antibiotic resistance pattern as the isolate of the initial post mortem submission and belonged to the same fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (fAFLP) subtype. This suggested that the isolates were very closely related or identical and that the pathogen had entered the farm with the imported day-old chicks, resulting in disease manifestation in partridges between 8 and 28 days of age. Reports of outbreaks of encephalitic listeriosis in avian species are rare and this is to the best of our knowledge the first reported outbreak in red-legged partridges

Serological Status to Natural Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Mixed Flocks of Sheep and Goats in Bangladesh

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JPD-Coloring of the Monohedral Tiling for the Plane

We introduce a definition of coloring by using joint probability distribution “JPD-coloring” for the plane which is equipped by tiling I. We investigate the JPD-coloring of the r-monohedral tiling for the plane by mutually congruent regular convex polygons which are equilateral triangles at r = 3 or squares at r = 4 or regular hexagons at r = 6. Moreover we present some computations for determining the corresponding probability values which are used to color in the three studied cases by MAPLE-Package

A people-centred perspective on climate change, environmental stress, and livelihood resilience in Bangladesh

The Ganges–Brahmaputra delta enables Bangladesh to sustain a dense population, but it also exposes people to natural hazards. This article presents findings from the Gibika project, which researches livelihood resilience in seven study sites across Bangladesh. This study aims to understand how people in the study sites build resilience against environmental stresses, such as cyclones, floods, riverbank erosion, and drought, and in what ways their strategies sometimes fail. The article applies a new methodology for studying people’s decision making in risk-prone environments: the personal Livelihood History interviews (N = 28). The findings show how environmental stress, shocks, and disturbances affect people’s livelihood resilience and why adaptation measures can be unsuccessful. Floods, riverbank erosion, and droughts cause damage to agricultural lands, crops, houses, and properties. People manage to adapt by modifying their agricultural practices, switching to alternative livelihoods, or using migration as an adaptive strategy. In the coastal study sites, cyclones are a severe hazard. The study reveals that when a cyclone approaches, people sometimes choose not to evacuate: they put their lives at risk to protect their livelihoods and properties. Future policy and adaptation planning must use lessons learned from people currently facing environmental stress and shocks

Examination of Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) pods using GC-MS for antimicrobial, larvicidal, phytochemical, and other purposes

Background: The myrtle family includes the aromatic spice cloves. An extremely precious spice, cloves are harvested before flowering. Plus, cloves are a health-promoting spice that should not be overlooked. They have a sharp taste and a slightly woody appearance. Cloves are full of helpful properties, such helping with digestion and eliminating foul breath.Methods: The antibacterial activity of clove ethanolic extract was assessed against pathogenic bacteria such as S. aureus, Salmonella typhi (Sal. typhi), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), and larvae of Aedes aegypti  mosquito. The phytochemical analysis, GC- MS were conducted identifying the chemical composition of clove pods.Results: According to the findings, cloves contain a large number of phytochemicals, each of which has a variety of medicinal applications. In addition, the findings of the GC-MS analysis revealed the existence of twenty-one chemical compounds, the compound eugenol being the most prevalent among them, with a percentage of 58.86%. The absence of nitrogenous and chlorinated compounds emphasizes the organic nature.Conclusion: Clove pods have many chemical constituents which possess antimicrobial, larvicidal, properties, adding weight to the idea that clove pods could be a rich source of natural therapeutic ingredients.Keywords: Medicinal applications; Spectroscopic technique; Mycelial weight; Ethanolic extract

Analysis of structural transformations during the synthesis of a MoVTeNb mixed oxide calalyst

This work presents a detailed investigation of the preparation routine for the multi-metal oxide Mo1V0.30Te0.23Nb0.125Ox used as catalyst for the selective oxidation of propane to acrylic acid. In situ Raman spectroscopy on the initial aqueous polyoxometalate solution prepared from ammonium heptamolybdate, ammonium metavanadate and hexaoxotelluric acid reveals the coexistence of Anderson-type anions [TeM6O24]n−, M = Mo, V; n ≥ 6 and protonated decavanadate species [HxV10O28](6−x)−. Raman analysis showed that the monomeric motif of the Anderson-type tellurate is preserved after addition of the Nb precursor and the subsequent spray-drying process. Calcination of the X-ray amorphous spray-dried material in air at 548 K seems to be the essential step, leading to a re-arrangement of the tellurate building blocks, generating nanocrystalline precursors of the phases finally established during treatment in helium at 873 K