Search

This research explores the effectiveness of two hybrid composites, pattern-1 (K-M-G-K-M-G-G-M-K) and pattern-2 (K-M-G-K-M-G-K-M-G), in experimental and simulation tests to create a cost-efficient hybrid composite. The composite includes Mulberry (M) silk (Bombyx mori) fibers reinforcing an epoxy resin-matrix hybrid with Kevlar (K) and Glass fiber (G). Both pattern-1 and pattern-2 are evaluated through experimental tests, and simulation tests are conducted to validate the findings. ANSYS Workbench is used for simulation tests to determine the best stacking sequence for protective gears, aerospace components, automotive parts, sport equipment and marine applications. The structural morphology of the hybrid composites is examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that pattern-1 performs better than pattern-2 in various experimental and simulation tests, with a wider plastic zone in the tensile test stress-strain curve, greater tensile strength (73 MPa and 67.923 MPa), higher load-bearing capacity, and enhanced ductility. Pattern-1 also demonstrates improved performance in flexural strength (45.35 MPa and 71.474 MPa) and impact strength (6 J and 5.4898 J). Simulation results confirm that pattern-1 is superior to pattern-2 in terms of energy absorption and resistance to bullet penetration.

Commercial microalgae cultivation is a dynamic field with ongoing efforts to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and explore new applications. We conducted a study to examine how different light exposure periods affect Chlorella vulgaris's growth. We employed a Phyto tank batch system of approximately 3.5 L with LED light control, controlled airflow, and sterilized bags, maintained at 22.0 ± 2.0 °C indoors. Various methods, including spectrophotometry, and cell counter were employed to monitor Chlorella vulgaris growth under different light exposure cycles. Additionally, quality analysis as feed source was employed by proximate, amino acid, beta-glucan, and microbial content analysis. The results revealed significant variations in C. vulgaris biomass production based on light exposure duration. Notably, the 16:8-h light-dark photoperiod exhibited the highest biomass concentration, reaching 6.48 × 107 ± 0.50 cells/mL with an optical density (OD) of 1.165 absorbance at 682 nm. The 12:12-h light-dark photoperiod produced the second-highest biomass concentration, with 2.305 × 106 ± 0.60 cells/mL at an OD of 0.489. Proximate analysis of dry algae powder revealed low lipid content (0.48 %), high protein content (37.61 %), variable ash concentration (average 10.75 %), and a significant carbohydrate fraction (51.16 %) during extended daylight and shorter dark periods. Amino acid analysis identified nine essential amino acids, with glutamic acid being the most abundant (17.7 %) and methionine the least (0.4 %). Furthermore, quality analysis and microbiological assays demonstrated that the C. vulgaris biomass is well-suited for fish and livestock use as a feed source and possibility as human nutraceuticals. These findings can be considered more environmentally friendly and ethically sound due to the absence of genetic modification.

The study aimed to develop fish powder as a promising dietary supplement to combat inadequate nutrition. To achieve this goal, the study assessed the nutritional aspects, including proximate composition, mineral content, amino acid profile, and fatty acid profile, as well as the microbiological quality and heavy metal contents, of six small indigenous fish species. The protein content ranged from 57.73 % to 65.26 %, with G. chapra exhibiting the highest protein content (p < 0.001). In all fish powders, the mineral composition was found in the following order: Na > P > Ca > K> Mg > Fe > Mn > Zn. The results revealed significantly elevated levels of total essential amino acids in A. mola (227.20 mg/g, p < 0.001). The PUFA/SFA ratio (> 0.45) and ω-6/ω-3 fatty acids ratio (< 4.00) were generally optimal. The quality and safety of the fish products for human consumption were confirmed, as both the total colony count and heavy metal concentrations remained below the recommended threshold. All ready-to-use fish products, except A. mola, meet over 20 % of the daily nutritional needs for PLW, infants, and adults. Hence, these findings advocate the utilization of the studied fish species as a dietary supplement to address malnutrition.

Metal nanoparticles made from biological source are currently catching a lot of attention to the researcher because of their versatile application in different fields. Realizing this fact, the present study describe the utilization of Amoora rohituka leaves to prepare silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and make their characterization along with evaluating bioactivities using different techniques. In UV–Vis spectrum, the highest absorption peak at 446 nm confirmed the formation of AgNPs whereas the FTIR spectrum exposed the participation of phytoconstituents with different functional group that play as reducing and capping agents in AgNPs synthesis. The face centered cubic structure with crystalline nature was found for AgNPs in XRD analysis and SEM captured the spherical-shaped images of nanoparticles with diameter ranging 5.63–23.6 nm. In antioxidant assay, the synthesized AgNPs exhibited prominent free radical scavenging capability for DPPH (IC50: 35.34 μg/mL) and ABTS∙+ (IC50: 10.39 μg/mL) radicals. The antibacterial efficiency of AgNPs can be ranked as Shigella boydii > Staphylococcus aureus > Escherichia coli. Moreover, the AgNPs displayed cytotoxicity against EAC cells in a dose-dependent pattern (IC50: 15.84 ± 0.85 μg/mL). The overall findings help to conclude that this green manufactured AgNPs might be a promising candidate for many biomedical applications.

This study examines how corporate board features and auditor characteristics in Bangladesh influence the disclosure of key audit matters (KAM) in annual reports from 2018 to 2021. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, the study finds that factors such as chair gender, the presence of women on the board, audit committee (AC) size, auditor tenure, and client-auditor relationship significantly affect KAM disclosure. However, AC expertise, family CEO succession, and board political connections do not have significant effects. Notably, having a family member CEO with a long-tenured auditor has a negative association with KAM disclosure, while a politically connected family CEO has a positive association with such disclosures. Additionally, Big-4 auditors of important clients are negatively associated with KAM disclosure.

The synthesis of silver nanoparticles using plant extracts is a promising field of research due to the versatile biomedical application of metal nanoparticles. In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using the aqueous extract of Mikania cordata leaves where extract act as both reducing and capping agents. Successful biosynthesis of AgNPs had been studied using UV Spectrophotometry that recorded the surface plasmonic resonance peak at around 451 nm. The structural properties and morphology of AgNPs were confirmed by scanning electron microscope with Energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopic techniques. In antioxidant assays, AgNPs were found as strong free radical scavenger as ascorbic acid (standard) with the values of 10.06 (EC50, μg/mL) and 20.94 (EC50, μg/mL) for DPPH and ABTS radicals, respectively. In antimicrobial study, the effectiveness of synthesized AgNPs was observed as follows: Shigella boydii > Staphylococcus aureus > Shigella dysenteriae > Escherichia coli. Moreover, the results of cytotoxic assay indicated that AgNPs inhibited the growth of EAC cells in dose-dependent manner. Overall results of this study suggested that the synthesized AgNPs from Mikania cordata leaves have the merits to use in the field of nanomedicines.

Trichosanthes dioica seed extract was loaded on a QA-cellulose column and the unbound fraction with the chitinase activity was run on SDS-PAGE. Multiple bands were observed and were separated by a Sephadex G-50 column. The combination of the 6 and 33 kDa masses supported the degradation of chitinase as purified earlier. Only the 33 kDa fraction contained sugar and showed chitinase activity. The chitinase was also isolated by using a chitin column. At 200 µg/ml protein concentration, the chitinase inhibited 49.1 %, 48.8 % and 38.12 % of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, HCT-116 and MCF-7 cells growth, respectively, in a dose-dependent manner. Exactly, 46 % and 82 % EAC cell growth inhibition were observed after treating the EAC cells bearing Swiss albino mice with the chitinase at the doses of 1.0 and 2.0 mg/Kg/day respectively. EAC, HCT-116 and MCF-7 cells growth inhibitions were due to the induction of apoptosis. ROS was accumulated in HCT-116 and MCF-7 cells. After treatment of HCT-116 cells, the expression level of p53 and TNFα genes increased and PARP gene decreased. On the other hand, elevated expression was observed for PARP, MAPK, NFκB, FAS, FADD, and Caspase-8 genes in MCF-7 cells. The induction of apoptosis in HCT-116 was further confirmed by caspase protein expression. The chitinase causes ‘S’ cell cycle arrest in MCF-7 and HCT-116 cells. T. dioica seed chitinase inhibited EAC, HCT-116 and MCF-7 cells by inducing apoptosis in vitro and EAC in vivo in mice. These promising results indicated that T. dioica seed chitinase can be an anticancer agent.

Applying flame retardant finish on jute makes flame protective jute products that can be another diversified use of it. The target of this experiment is to observe the flame retardancy improvement of the fabric properties after finishing treatment with various flame retardant chemicals. The untreated (raw) and H2O2 bleached jute fabrics having plain weave were used in this experiment. Borax, diammonium phosphate (DAP) and thiourea were used as flame retardant chemicals. The combinations of these chemicals were applied to the fabrics by the pad-dry-cure method with various concentrations. Vertical flammability, breaking load percentage, and weight gain percentage were performed on all samples to observe the change in fabric properties. Significant improvement was found for all chemical combinations compared to untreated fabrics. Here, the flame spread time and weight gain percentage increase, but the breaking load percentage decreases for every combination. Among all combinations, the borax and DAP combination especially at 6% concentration shows the 305% improvement of flame spread time for raw jute and 276% for bleached jute fabric. In contrast, the borax and thiourea combination showed the progress of weight gain percentage. Besides, better wash durability was reported for all samples after five washing cycles. These flame-retardant jute fabrics have prospective industrial applications as brattice cloth in mines and many other potential fields of applications such as flame-retardant kitchen aprons, furnishings for a public hall, theater and hospitals.

ABSTRACT: Nutrient contents of sugar palm (Borassus flabellifer) fruit pulp (SPFP) cultivated in Bangladesh are yet to be well-reviewed. Moreover, the nutrient contents of other popularly consumed edible portions of sugar palm fruit, i.e., immature endosperm (IE), and germinated endosperm (GE) are not studied yet. The current study showed that SPFP, IE, and GE were rich in carbohydrate, fiber, sodium, potassium, and zinc. IE contained the highest amount of fiber, while SPFP contained the highest amount of copper. Twenty-five phytochemicals having known antidiabetic effects were investigated for their presence in pulp, immature & germinated endosperm. GE contained the highest number of phytochemicals (23) followed by IE (19) and SPFP (14). Diabetic patients usually avoid edible portions of sugar palm, fearing that these may further deteriorate existing hyperglycemia. In the present study, this suspicion was investigated in alloxan-induced diabetic rats through supplementary feeding of SPFP, IE, & GE in addition to the regular diet for the nine consecutive weeks. Study results clearly showed that SPFP, IE, & GE significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels of experimental rats. GE showed maximum antidiabetic effects followed by IE and SPFP, respectively. GE, and IE returned the FBG levels within normal range by the end of the sixth week but not by the SPFP. Endosperms supplemented diabetic rats maintained the normal FBG levels even after withdrew the supplementary diets. These results suggested that supplemental feeding of the GE and IE to the experimental diabetic rats may restore alloxan damaged pancreatic β-cell function, and the reasons might be the presence of fiber, zinc and phytochemicals content of the endosperm.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of extensibility on cotton blended polyester-spandex core-spun yarn in the weft direction of 3/1 right-handed Z-twill denim. For the preparation of samples, 100% ring spun cotton yarn of 42 tex (14s/1 Ne) was used as warp, and 70:30, 30:70, 60:40, and 40:60 cotton-polyester core-spun yarn of 30 tex (20s/1) was used in the weft direction. Four categories of denim fabric were fabricated by using the air-jet weaving machine. Spandex yarn was used as a core material of weft with a percentage of 2%, 2.5%, 1.9%, and 1.8% respectively. Different physio-mechanical characteristics namely tensile and tearing strength, GSM, growth and recovery percentage, initial modulus, bending length, drape co-efficiency, abrasion resistance, flexural rigidity were evaluated to justify the quality of fabricated pieces of denim. Water wicking and breathability were taken into consideration when determining comfort. Higher cotton containing specimens exhibited lower tensile and tearing strength. Additionally, the produced denim fabrics showed balanced drapability and good breathability.

Tropical forest ecosystem act as a carbon sink and plays a vital role in climate change mitigation. The carbon storage capacity of tropical forest ecosystems is declining gradually in recent years. But studies regarding the multiple drivers of tree and soil carbon in the tropical forest ecosystems are scarce. Our study aims to quantify the tree and soil carbon storage capacity and to explore how these carbon storages are associated with both biotic (stand structure, anthropogenic disturbance) and abiotic drivers (climate, topography, and soil) simultaneously in tropical forest ecosystems. The present study was conducted in two forest-protected areas of Bangladesh, namely- Satchari National Park (SNP), and Khadimnagar National Park (KNP). Results showed that tree carbon stock was 72.9 t ha−1 and 58.2 t ha−1 in SNP and KNP, respectively. Besides, soil carbon was 77.1 t ha−1 in SNP and 130.5 t ha−1 in KNP. We found that tree carbon was positively correlated with all stand structure parameters. However, soil carbon was negatively correlated with tree richness, height, and basal area. Anthropogenic disturbance had a negative correlation with tree carbon and a positive correlation with soil carbon stock. No significant correlation was observed between tree carbon and local climatic parameters. But soil carbon had a positive correlation with annual precipitation and a negative correlation with annual mean temperature. Furthermore, tree carbon was positively associated with elevation and slope whereas soil carbon was negatively associated with elevation. Tree carbon was negatively correlated with silt% but positively with sand%. Conversely, soil carbon showed significant positive associations with soil moisture, bulk density, soil pH, and soil silt%. Our study provides a comprehensive insight on the understandings of key drivers of tree and soil carbon storage in the tropical forest ecosystem of Bangladesh. We concluded that anthropogenic disturbance and stand characteristics regulate tree carbon stock while soil carbon is mainly associated with local climate and soil properties in the studied tropical forest ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Background: Bipolar disorder (BPD) disrupts both personal and family life. In Bangladesh, studies on BPD and family issues are scanty. Therefore, we examined the impact of BPD on family relationships among married adults in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. Methods: 708 married adults were recruited in this study, and they were selected using multistage random sampling and interviewed them with a self-developed questionnaire. The Bipolar Spectrum Disorder Scale was used for screening BPD. Interpersonal relationships and overall family relationship were measured based on the participants’ responses to four statements. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression model were used in this study. Results: This study revealed that 3.2% and 4.8% married adults had poor relationships with their spouses and family members respectively. 5.8% adults perceived they were given poor importance in decision making about family matters, and 15.8% thought the family provided poor healthcare services in their sickness. 19.9% respondents chose a poor category of overall family relationship. Wives had higher rates of poor category of interpersonal relationship factors compared to males. BPD was found as a predictor of interpersonal relationship factors among married adults: relationship with spouse (p

Water is the ultimate and mostly used media during textile materials processing, especially in colouration. This study investigated the possibilities of using seawater for cotton and polyester fabrics dyeing. Single jersey fabrics made of 100 percent cotton and polyester were dyed using a standard recipe and two separate water source as dyeing mediums. It has been focused on the assessment of colour fastness to wash, perspiration, saliva, rubbing, water, light and colour difference value due to compare the efficiency of dyeing media. The results revealed that the cotton fabric dyed with seawater showed lighter shade than that of ground water sample. But for polyester fabric darker shade was obtained compared to ground water. The cotton sample dyed with sea water carried about 15% higher colour strength than ground water dyed sample but for polyester it was very negligible, only 3%. Moreover, the results of colour fastness to wash, perspiration, saliva, rubbing, water and light for seawater dyed samples of cotton and polyester were shown satisfactory outcomes having the grading of 4–5 in most of the cases. This exploration established that commercial dyeing processes were robust and can be practically transferable into the seawater medium for cotton and polyester fabrics.

The importance of local climate and biodiversity in tropical forest's ability to provide critical ecosystem services is well documented, whereas the relationship among local climatic factors and biodiversity with soil ecosystem functions largely remain unclear. We investigated the importance of local rainfall regime and indicators of plant (tree, herb, and shrub) diversity (richness and abundance) on soil ecosystem functions in two tropical forest ecosystems of north-east Bangladesh. We considered six soil parameters, i.e. soil water regulation (SWR), soil physical stability (SPS), soil microbial habitat (SMH), soil pH (pH), medium of plant growth (MPG), and soil aggregate stability (SAS) as indicators of soil ecosystem functions. Our study finds four rainfall parameters having significant (p < 0.05) positive effects on soil water regulation, soil physical stability, microbial habitat, soil pH, medium of plant growth, and soil aggregate stability. Tree species abundance had positive effects on SPS (p < 0.001) and MPG (p < 0.05), while tree species richness had negative effects on SMH (p < 0.001) and MPG (p < 0.01). Soil aggregate stability was negatively (p < 0.05) affected by tree species abundance, whereas tree species richness positively (p < 0.0001) affected SAS. We found no significant effects of tree species abundance and richness on pH and SWR. The abundance of herbaceous species had positive impacts on MPG (p

Climate change adaptation is one of the most crucial issues in developing countries like Bangladesh. The main objective was to understand the linkage of participation with Community Based Adaptation (CBA) to climate change. Institutional framework following different types of conceptual theories (collective action, group, game and social learning theory) was utilized to analyze the participatory process in local community level Village Disaster Mangement Committee (VDMC) that works in collaboration with local government. Field level data was collected through interview and group discussion during 25 April to 30 May 2015 in the Teesta riverine area of northern Bangladesh. Results showed that flood and drought were the major climate change impacts in the study area, and various participatory tools were used for risk assessment and undertaking action plans to overcome the climate change challenges by the group VDMC. Participation in VDMC generated both relational and technical outcomes. The relational outcomes are the informal institutional changes through which local community adopt technological adaptation measures. Although, limitations like bargaining problem, free riding or conflict were found in collective decision making, but the initiation of local governance like VDMC has brought various institutional change in the communities in terms of adaptation practices. More than 80% VDMC and around 40–55% non-VDMC household respondents agreed that overall community based adaptation process was successful in the previous year. They believed that some innovative practices had been brought in the community through VDMC action for climate change adaptation. No doubt that the CBA has achieved good progress to achieve the government Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) strategy of climate change adaptation. But, there is still lack of coordination among local government, NGOs and civil partners in working together. Research related to socio-economic impact analysis for the sustainability of adaptation measures implemented through local community could be undertaken in future.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severely disabling disease affecting the brain and spinal cord. The detection of MS at an early stage is difficult. However, detection of MS from blood cell gene expression may ameliorate the early identification of MS. The present study addressed overlapped genes between blood cell and brain tissues of MS patients. We analyzed microarray gene expression brain tissue datasets and eQTL data to identify overlapped genes in the blood and brain of MS patients. We identified 23 overlapped differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (PWP2, UPK3BL, NFATC3, NPIPA5, KNOP1, PIK3C2B, LDLRAP1, HN1L, FAM226B, STAG3L2, ZNF814, BMS1P5, SDCCAG8, CLN8, ARHGEF7, NEAT1, ANKRD42, C5orf34, DOK6, PKN2, SP1, DBF4B, VAMP3) in the blood cells and brain tissues of MS patients. The axon guidance mediated and postsynaptic differentiation associated pathways were enriched by the DEGs. The significant regulatory transcription factors (TFs) including SP1, ARNT, MEF2A, YY1, EGR1, MIF, FOS, NFYA, TFAP2A, MYC, USF, MXI1, JUN, MAX, E2F1, POU3F2, GABPA, TFAP2C, CUX1, 2623, SPI1 and microRNAs (miRNAs) including miR-650, miR-223, miR-9, miR-181b, miR-190, miR-561, miR-520c-3p, miR-658, miR-199b-5p, miR-660, miR-20 were identified in MS. The candidate drugs were determined from drug target overrepresentation analysis. This study provides biomarkers at protein levels (hub proteins and TFs) and RNA levels (mRNAs, miRNAs) in MS subjects that were similarly dysregulated in both blood and brain tissues. Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, Molecular biomarkers, Blood-brain common gene, Differentially expressed genes, Protein-protein interaction, cis-eQTL, Transcription factors, microRNAs

Depressive illness is a significant risk factor for ovarian cancer development (OC). The underlying mechanism is unclear (perhaps involving altered neuroendocrine factors), but identifying associated alterations in gene expression of OC in depression sufferers may uncover novel factors that affect OC progression. We thus analyzed microarray gene expression data from OC tissue taken from patients diagnosed with and without depression. We identified 34 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of depression from OC patients. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analyses indicated several molecular pathways including complement and coagulation cascades, the hippo signaling pathway, ether lipid metabolism, the MAPK signaling pathway, and antigen processing and presentation were overrepresented among DEGs. Subsequent, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis revealed pathway hub proteins (FOS, EGR1, JUNB, HSPA1B, FGFR3, TRIB1, CTSB, SERPINE1), regulatory transcription factors (TFs; FOS, EGR1, JUNB) and one miRNA, miR-101-5p from TFs-miRNAs coregulatory networks. The prognostic survival analysis of the DEGs revealed CXCL12, ARL4C, NQO2 associated with worse OC survival outcomes. Protein-metabolite interaction network analysis showed that upregulated protein CHPT1 (a choline phosphotransferase) interacts with four important phospholipid synthesis and signaling metabolites. Protein-drug interaction analysis revealed SERPINE1 and PLAT proteins interact with compounds that include thrombolytic drugs, plasmin inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, NSAIDs, and hypertension treatments. Thus, we identified evidence for factors and pathways altered in OC tissue when patient depression is evident, and characterized important aspects of these OC-depression links that may be instrumental in developing new treatments for OC patients. Keywords: Ovarian cancer, Depression, Drug targets, Biomarker signatures, Differentially expressed genes, Protein-protein interaction, Protein-metabolite interaction, Protein-drug interactions, Survival analysis

Drought stress is a serious abiotic factor inhibiting nutrient acquisition by roots and limiting cereal crop production in Asian Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Many studies revealed that balanced fertilization can improve photosynthetic activity by stabilizing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, improve proline, abscisic acid (ABA) and make the crop drought tolerant with efficient root system and finally improve crop yield. To mitigate drought stress, along with the usage of resistant and efficient genotypes, soil and foliar applications of macro- and micro-nutrients are being used in Asia. According to drought sensitivity index, the efficient genotypes are found more drought-tolerant than the inefficient ones. Studies revealed that irrigation alone is not sufficient to obtain satisfactory grain yield without balanced fertilization. At drought stress, the efficient genotypes accumulate higher quantities of ABA and proline, and exhibit higher activities of SOD, as compared with inefficient genotypes through greater nutrient accumulation by their longer and thinner root systems with high efficiency. Under severe drought with low nutritional status, the rate of photosynthesis, particularly water-use efficiency (WUE) increases in the efficient genotypes than in the inefficient ones. Consequently, these physiological and morphological parameters result in better yield performance by efficient use of water. Under drought, soil application of NPK along with foliar application of zinc (Zn), boron (B) and manganese (Mn) increase grain yield as well as micronutrients concentration of the grain. The rate of photosynthesis, pollen viability, number of fertile spikes, number of grains per spike, and WUE are increased by late foliar application of these micronutrients. This indicates that, by increasing WUE foliar application of Zn, B and Mn at booting to anthesis can reduce the harmful effects of drought that often occur during the late stages of cereal production in Asian LDCs. Therefore, it can be concluded that soil application of Zn, B and Mn in early stage combined with foliar application in late stage, especially at the flowering stage, is a promising approach to alleviate drought stress. Another attractive environmental friendly approach is to select efficient and drought tolerant genotypes with a more efficient root system. These findings are of high relevance for farmers׳ practices, the extension service and fertilizer industry to mitigate the drought stress in Asian LDCs. A few recommendations are made for extension of scientific knowledge to find more scope in support of mitigating drought situation.

Investigation was conducted on three alkali metals (Li, Na, and K) supported by rice husk silica as catalysts for methyl esters production. A simple pseudo-heterogeneous transesterification process of used cooking oil with methanol was conducted to produce methyl esters using calcined alkali metal supported rice husk silica as a solid catalyst. Alkali metal silicate catalysts showed longer lasting activity than the traditional alkali catalysts. The optimum conditions for the process were: alkali metals silicate calcination temperature 500 °C, time 3 h; catalyst amount 3%; methanol to oil molar ratio 9:1; and a reaction temperature of 65 °C. The process was able to transesterify oil to methyl esters in the range of 96.5–98.2% in 1 h for all series. The catalyst is able to tolerant free fatty acid and moisture up to 1.25% and 1.75%, respectively. The catalyst was easily separated from the reaction mixture by filtration and able to reuse six times. The final product met the selected biodiesel fuel properties in accordance with European Standard (EN) 14214.

The synergistic effect of adding Silicon Carbide (SiC), Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3), and Graphene (GR) nanoparticles into Kevlar fiber-reinforced epoxy composites is investigated in this study. Within the epoxy matrix and Kevlar fibre reinforcement, these nanoparticles come in a variety of compositions. The mechanical and flammability features of the composite are revealed by experimental evaluation. Of the nanoparticles, graphene performs the best; the composite reinforced with graphene shows 324 MPa of tensile strength, 8 J/mm of impact strength, and 75.2 HRC of hardness. The composite layers' interior structure is investigated using scanning electron microscopy examination. To evaluate thermal stability of the composition the thermogravimetric (TG) and the differential thermal analysis (DTA) investigations were performed. Thermal stability is achieved by the graphene-reinforced composite at 775 °C. Additionally, corrosion tests and water absorption tests were conducted to assess the material's moisture sensitivity. The overall goal of the research is to ascertain whether adding various nanoparticles to Kevlar produces the best outcomes; graphene has demonstrated promising results in terms of improving mechanical and thermal stability.

Native mudskipper (Apocryptes bato) is a freshwater fish species found in the riverine coastal area of Bangladesh. However, nutritional compositions of this fish are still unknown. Thus, as pioneer report, the study aims to determine the chemical compositions, minerals content, amino acids and fatty acids profiles of male and female native mudskipper collected from the Payra River in Bangladesh. The results revealed that female mudskipper had significantly (p

Bangladesh is susceptible to climate change, thus a detailed study, including the analyses of trends, sub-trends, extreme events and indices was conducted to obtain a complete picture of the climate change pattern in Bangladesh utilizing daily rainfall, maximum, minimum and average temperature data of 26 stations from 1975 to 2019 using R 4.0.2 software. For the trend analysis Mann Kendal (MK), modified Mann Kendall (mMK), Innovative Trend Analysis (ITA) and Sen’s slope methods were used. Sub-trend analysis was conducted using ITA. Standard Anomaly Index (SAI) has been used to identify the frequency and severity of extreme events. ClimPACT2 software was used to check the homogeneity and calculate the extremes of temperature and rainfall data. Our analysis showed that during the last four decades, climate variables changed their patterns and trend heterogeneously over Bangladesh. Most stations showed decremental rainfall trend when central part of the country showed a substantial decrease. The northern and central parts of the country showed significant growth of trend for annual average temperature. The temperature in the monsoon season increased, whereas those in dry season decreased. The rainfall and maximum temperature were inversely related during monsoon whereas during dry season both of them decrease. The pre-monsoon and post-monsoonal rainfall also showed decreasing trends, indicating prevailing drought conditions especially in northern and central parts of the country. The SAI analysis showed alternating drought and wet years in almost all the stations. In the past 20 years, the country’s western region experienced more drought years than before whereas the coastal region experienced more wet years. The analysis of climate extreme indices suggests that, Consecutive Dry Days (CDD), Hot Days (TX90P) and Hot Nights (TN90P) show significant increasing trend throughout the country. The agricultural productivity, water resource management and food security are anticipated to benefit from this study.

The present perspective describes green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), a prominent semiconductor having high band gap (3.73 eV), from an aqueous extract of Epipremnum aureum leave. Several spectroscopic and analytical techniques, including UV–Vis, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDX, and TGA confirmed the bio-synthesis of ZnO NPs. The XRD analysis ratified the hexagonal crystalline structure of ZnO NPs with a tiny size found as 19.31 nm. An approximately similar size (29 nm) was noticed from an SEM study with a great extent of thermal stability up to 160 °C. Apart from these, UV–Vis, and FT-IR spectra confirmed the initial formation of NPs and functional groups derived from plant leaves associated with NPs. The prominent application of this study was to appraise the photocatalytic degradation of Congo red using ZnO NPs through batch study. The optimum photocatalytic degradation was attained as concentration (10 ppm), pH (2), catalyst dosage (20 mg), and contact time (100 min) for the current study. Results also divulged the good fitting of Langmuir isotherm, followed by Freundlich, Temkin, and Elovich isotherm. Furthermore, the kinetic data bolstered pseudo-second-order kinetics.

Nanotechnology has shown a promising future in material science for its enormous applications in the field of analytical, biological, catalytic, electroanalytical fields and so on. Recent nanoscience has given huge effort to enhance the applicability of nanoparticles (NPs) though modification or functionalization process, which makes its more sophisticated than the conventional one. In this modification process, nanoparticles (NPs) are stabilized or factionalized using organic, inorganic, metal complexes, and even with Schiff base (SB) ligands and their metal complexes. Schiff-base ligand functionalized NPs have wide applicability in catalytic process, antioxidant, antifungal, and analytical techniques due to enhancing of interfacial area between SB ligands and nanoparticles. The functionalized NPs have been introduced as a sensor for the detection of minute level of heavy metals, pesticides, and biomolecules. The composite materials have catalytic activities in a myriad number of oxidations, reduction, addition, and synthesis of organic molecules. The results revealed that the catalytic activities of the nano-catalysts remained fairly constant even after using several times in a chemical reaction. Besides, the biological behaviors of the SB functionalized NPs were prominently noticed due to presence of various functional groups, atoms, metal ions as well as nanomaterial. Even, the imine group (>C = N−) of SB effectively interacts with the cell of microorganisms, and inhibits the growth of cell. Schiff base ligands and corresponding metal complexes as enzyme inhibitor and potential antioxidants. So, this review study provides an outline about the applications of Schiff base functionalized NPs in catalysis, analytical, and biological applications.

Background: and Purposes: The terminology “immune boost-up” was the talk of the topic in this Covid-19 pandemic. A significant number of the people took initiative to increase the body's defense capacity through boosting up immunity worldwide. Considering this, the study was designed to explain the natural products, vitamins and mineral that were proved by clinical trail as immunity enhancer. Methods: Information was retrieved from SciVerse Scopus ® (Elsevier Properties S. A, USA), Web of Science® (Thomson Reuters, USA), and PubMed based on immunity, nutrients, natural products in boosting up immunity, minerals and vitamins in boosting up immunity, and immune booster agents. Result: A well-defined immune cells response provide a-well functioning defense system for the human physiological system. Cells of the immune system must require adequate stimulation so that these cells can prepare themselves competent enough to fight against any unintended onslaught. Several pharmacologically active medicinal plants and plants derived probiotics or micronutrients have played a pivotal role in enhancing the immune boost-up process. Their role has been well established from the previous study. Immune stimulating cells, especially cells of acquired immunity are closely associated with the immune-boosting up process because all the immunological reactions and mechanisms are mediated through these cells. Conclusion: This article highlighted the mechanism of action of different natural products, vitamins and mineral in boosting up the immunity of the human body and strengthening the body's defense system. Therefore, it is recommended that until the specific immune-boosting drugs are available in pharma markets, anyone can consider the mentioned products as dietary supplements to boost up the immunity.

Potential toxic heavy metals are omnipresent in soil. Risk-based environmental management of soil refers to looking for the sources and exposure routes of heavy metals in human body associating with possible health risks of populace. The level of some heavy metals in waste dumping and non-dumping sites in Khulna was appraised. The soil pollution indices and health risks model were evaluated for the pollution status of soil and health risks among the local people, respectively. The prominent pollution was noticed in Koye Bazar dumping site due to the findings of higher value of geoaccumulation index (Igeo) (0.57), contamination factor (Cf) (2.22), and enrichment factor (EF) (2.52) for lead. The amount of iron in Mohammad Nagar dumpsite was estimated as 34397.00 mg kg−1, whilst the trace amount of Cr (0.39 mg kg−1) was analyzed in Koye bazar waste non-dumping site. The iron content in all dumping sites as well as lead in site-1 (S1) and site-3 (S3) exceeded the safe limit. Health risk indices model revealed that iron might exert the non-carcinogenic effects on both adults and child. But, chromium might have minimum carcinogenic risks (9.47E-07 in site-5) on adults. Besides, target cancer risks (TCR) value revealed that carcinogenic risks of cadmium for child and adults were ranged between 1.41E and 06 for adult in site-4 (S4) to 1.14E-05 for child in site-3 (S3). But, lead had no prominent carcinogenic effects on both child and adults.

Nature is considered as biological laboratory for the abundance in plants, algae, virus, yeast, and fungi. These biological resources are being used for the green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Biological synthesis of AuNPs is popular amongst conventional chemical and physical methods for the availability of natural components. Bio-assisted AuNPs have vast of applications in analytical and electroanalytical fields for the separation of proteins, detection of toxic chemicals, and tracing of heavy metals in various samples. The synthesized AuNPs are characterized by means of various analytical techniques for the information about morphology, functional groups, stability, elemental composition, and crystallinity. Therefore, the purport of this review was to recapitulate the bio-synthesis of AuNPs and their analytical applications for a researcher in material science.

Endometrial cancer (EC) arises from the lining of the uterus, and is a common female genital tract malignancy of post-menopausal women. Breast cancer (BC) is one of the risk factors for EC, but the molecular pathways and core genes shared by these two diseases have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we sought to identify the common molecular pathways and prognostic hub proteins in EC and BC that can be used for the prediction of the progression. We employed the statistical method Limma to perform differential analysis of transcriptomes of EC and BC downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. The gene functional annotations were performed through gene ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis. Hub proteins were identified from the protein-protein interactions (PPI) network analysis using the STRING database, and survival analysis was done on the hub proteins to assess the prognostic values using SurvExpress. We analyzed the EC and BC transcriptomics datasets individually, and 57 common differentially expressed genes were identified, shared by both EC and BC. GO and pathway analysis showed that 57 commonly dysregulated genes were involved in several altered molecular pathways, including protein digestion and absorption, cysteine and methionine metabolism, ECM-receptor interaction, and drug metabolism. We have detected key hub proteins (CDC20, EZH2, TOP2A, SPTBN1) based on a topological analysis of the PPI network which play vital roles in the progression and regulation of EC and BC. The survival analysis of the hub genes demonstrated that they were significantly associated with worse survival outcomes in EC and BC. In the present study, we have identified novel pathways shared by EC and BC at the molecular level, and also identified possible gene expression links between EC and BC. Keywords: Endometrial cancer, Breast cancer, Differentially expressed genes, Molecular pathways, Protein–protein interaction, Survival analysis

Aim: Diffuse low-grade glioma (LGG) patients have a tendency to develop glioblastoma multiforme within 5–10 years, with only 15 months life expectancy. The present study aimed to decode a diagnostic and prognostic gene signature in LGG and identify repositioned potential candidate biomarker therapeutics. Methods: We have utilized a publicly available transcriptomics dataset to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using Limma. The functional annotation of the DEGs was performed to identify Gene Ontology and pathways. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the (DEGs) encoding proteins was analyzed utilizing STRING via NetworkAnalyst. The ROC analysis and survival analysis of the hub gene was also performed in R and SurvExpress-a biomarker validation tool. We have utilized the L1000CDS2 to identify candidate small molecules or drugs to target the diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Results: We have identified 238 genes as DEGs in LGG compared to non-LGG samples involved in the biological process of signaling and metabolic systems. We then identified molecular pathways enriched by the DEGs including the VEGF signaling pathway, Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway, and p38 signaling mediated by MAPKAP kinases. We identified hub proteins (MAPK11, MRPL1, RAF1, CDC20, NOP2, TUBB4B, CTNND1, PWP2, FGR, BMP2) from PPI analysis. The ROC and survival analysis of the hub genes revealed that these biomarkers can be utilized as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker signatures in LGG. Several novel candidate drugs were repositioned; among them penfluridol, perheiline maleate is used for purposes other than cancer. Other repositioned drugs: AG14361, NCGC00185094-01, BRD-K61717269, C8273, BRD-A28970875, KIN001-127, BYL719, JW-7-24-1, HG-6-64-01, radicicol, MK-2206, and WZ-4-14 have not been described in the literature for treatment purposes. Conclusions: Our analysis of LGG datasets identified 10 hub genes as diagnostic and prognostic signatures, and the candidate repositioned drugs linked to these biomarkers. These biomolecules and repositioned drugs may be utilized as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis, and for development of a treatment strategy for LGG. Keywords: Low grade glioma, Diagnostic gene signature, Prognostic gene signature, Protein-protein interaction, Drug repositioning, Molecular biomarkers

Aerobic rice has the advantage of saving water. Most published work has focused on improving its yield, while few reported on its micronutrient status. In fact, Fe deficiency is a common nutritional problem in the production of aerobic rice. Short-term hydroponic culture experiments were conducted to study the response of aerobic rice to Fe deficiency and the effect of root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat on its Fe uptake ability. The results indicate that the amount of phytosiderophores (PS) released from aerobic rice did not increase under Fe deficient conditions. The Fe(III) reducing capacity of Fe-deficient aerobic rice did not increase and the solution pH did not decrease significantly. What's more, no obvious swelling was observed in the root tips. Aerobic rice did not show special responses to improve their Fe nutrition under Fe deficiency as both strategy I and II plants though they were very sensitive to Fe deficiency. This may be a reason which causes Fe deficiency problem in aerobic rice. However, root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat (PSw) could improve its Fe nutrition in the presence of insoluble Fe(OH)3. This suggests that aerobic rice could utilize Fe activated by PSw.