Feasibility of Unwaxed and Waxed Banana (Musa acuminata x balbisiana) Pseudostem Fibers as Alternative Dental Floss Material

Oral health, waste management, and sustainability are prevalent issues faced by developing countries. Relative to these concerns, there remains a need for oral hygiene essentials that are both effective and environmentally responsible. This study aims to explore the feasibility of banana pseudostem fibers (BPF) as an alternative material for sustainable dental floss in terms of two physical properties, namely, tensile strength and elongation at break. Fibers were mechanically extracted from the outermost sheaths of banana pseudostems to produce two sample groups, unwaxed BPF and waxed BPF, the latter comprising fibers that were coated with a mixture of two parts coconut oil and one part candelilla wax. Both sample groups were tested for tensile strength and elongation at break. According to the mean and SD of both groups and one-way MANOVA, unwaxed BPF had significantly higher tensile strength and elongation at break than waxed BPF, revealing that the wax coating process diminished the physical properties of the BPF due to thermal degradation. Furthermore, the application of the coconut oil-candelilla wax coating was found to have a large effect on tensile strength and a small effect on elongation at break. Results show that there is potential in BPF to be an alternative material for dental floss in relation to the examined properties, although it may not be a substitute for synthetic dental floss material by itself. Modifying the fiber extraction and wax coating processes involved and assessing the chemical properties of the material are also recommended for further research

On the Effects of N-P-K Fertilizer to the Electricity Generated by Aloe barbadensis miller

Nowadays, electricity is a pressing conflict due to the increase in demand by the populace. Thus, energy prices have also increased, making it considerably inaccessible to several population members. Considering this, the researchers have studied the type of N-PK fertilizer that can improve the efficiency of producing electricity from a living plant. There were four experimental setups of Aloe barbadensis miller that were utilized in the experiment. Every variable and component of each setup was constant, except the type of fertilizer that was added to the soil. The first setup did not have any fertilizer, the second group had Nitrogen-based (N-P-K 21:0:0), the third group had Phosphorus-based (N-P-K 0:22:0), and the fourth group had Potassium-based (N-P-K 0:0:50). The researchers gathered data on electricity generated in the Aloe vera derived from a capacitor using a multimeter every 12 hours for 16 days. Descriptive statistics and repeated measures of ANOVA statistical tests were utilized to perform the data analysis. Results showed that the setup with potassium-based fertilizer had produced significantly greater electricity (p \u3c .05) among the four setups whose differences were insignificant (p \u3e .05). Time had a moderate but negligible effect on the electricity produced by the Aloe vera. It is advised to increase the time taken to observe the plant if further research will be done on the topic