Development of compatible lignocellulolytic fungal consortium for rapid composting of rice straw.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of lignocellulolytic fungi for rapid composting of rice straw. Forty-nine isolates of fungi were isolated from several natural and induced rice straw composting sources. Ten isolates were tested for their potential to decompose lignocellulosic rice straw by assessing their growth rate and biomass production, as well as their ability to decompose lignin and cellulose on rice-straw-powder-amended media. Four isolates (F26, F28, F29, and F44) were selected as potential lignocellulolytic agents for in-vitro compatibility study based on their optimum growth rate, biomass production, and lignocellulolytic activities. Six different interactions were found among four interacting isolates in the form of mutual intermingling, partial mutual intermingling, and inhibition at the contact point. Finally, a consortium of Aspergillus niger (F44) and Trichoderma viride (F26) was tested for in-vitro biodegradation of rice straw. The fungal consortium was able to decompose cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and total carbon significantly (p ≤ 0.05) over the control. The C/N ratio was reduced to 19.5 from an initial value of 29.3 in three weeks of the biodegradation process, thus showing the potential of this method for use in large-scale composting of rice straw

Bio-efficacy of microbial infused rice straw compost on plant growth promotion and induction of disease resistance in chili

Microbial fortified organic amendment in chili cultivation may affect plant development and disease suppression. Microbial infused rice straw compost, commercial rice straw compost, and fungicide Benomyl for chili (Capsicum annum L.) cultivation and control of Sclerotium foot rot were studied under glass house condition. Chili seed cv. Kulai were sown in the Sclerotium rolfsii infested and non-infested soil. After two weeks, five healthy seedlings were transplanted into planting bags. Growth performance and development of disease symptoms associated with S. rolfsii foot rot infection were assessed. Applying microbial infused rice straw compost increased seed germination and plant growth, and suppressed development of foot rot compared to using commercial rice straw compost and the Benomyl. A higher disease reduction (84.6%) occurred with 15 Mg · ha−1 microbial infused rice straw compost (62.7%), followed by Benomyl (53.8%), and 15 Mg · ha−1 commercial rice straw compost (46.2%). Application of microbial infused rice straw compost at 15 Mg · ha−1 yielded optimum seed germination and seedling establishment, plant growth, and disease suppression. Microbial infused rice straw compost is a good alternative to chemical fungicide in controlling Sclerotial disease in chili

Changes of physical and chemical characteristics during microbial composting of rice straw at various pH levels

The physical and chemical parameters were monitored for seven weeks during Trichoderma/Aspergillus inoculated rice straw composting at various pH levels. Three treatments (A, B, and C) were inoculated with lignocellulolytic microbial consortium (Aspergillus niger, F44 and Trichoderma viride, F26) and three were un-inoculated (D, E, and F). pH of the starting materials was amended to 5.75 (A and D), 6.75 (B and E), and 7.75 (C and F) with either acetic acid or sodium hydroxide. Three typical phases of temperature were observed both in inoculated and un-inoculated treatments during composting: mesophilic phase, thermophilic phase, and followed by cooling and maturation phase. The bioconversion were maximum in Trichoderma/Aspergillus inoculated treatments within 14–21 days as indicated by the profiles of electrical conductivity, bulk density, total carbon and nitrogen, and germination index. After day 21, the germination index of Trichoderma/Aspergillus inoculated treatment (B) without any pH amendment was increased to 74.5 indicating the maturity of compost and suitability for field application

Shariah governance practices and regulatory problems of Islamic insurance companies in Bangladesh

This paper aims to explore the current practices and problems in the Shariah governance framework of Islamic insurance in Bangladesh. The study reveals that the governance system of Islamic insurance companies in Bangladesh is largely based on voluntary initiatives by itself and there is an absence of full-fledged Shariah governance framework. All Islamic insurance companies in Bangladesh have their own SSB who performs the Shariah audits and review activities. Based on the critical review, it provides some suggestions for the improvement of the Shariah governance framework of Islamic insurance. In order to improve the Shariah governance system of Islamic insurance companies, Bangladesh government should enact a law for its operations and rulings. Moreover, the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority of Bangladesh (IDRA) should improve its guidelines for Islamic insurance operations to comply with Shariah principles and may recognize the Central Shariah Council for Islamic Insurance of Bangladesh (CSCIIB) so that, they can supervise and monitor the overall activities of Islamic insurance companies in Bangladesh

Integration of herbicides with manual weeding for controlling the weeds in rice under saline environment

The pot experiment was conducted to select appropriate integrated weed management method in rice under different salinity levels (0,4 and 8 dS m-1). All the parameters including rice and weed measured were significantly influenced by weed control treatments at all salinity levels. Treatments including weed-free condition, Pretilachlor @ 0.375 kg ai ha-1 + hand weeding, Propanil + Thiobencarb @ 0.9 kg ai ha-1 and 1.8 kg ai ha-1 + hand weeding performed better under all salinity levels. Pretilachlor @ 0.375 kg ai ha-1 with one round of hand weeding and propanil + thiobencarb 0.9 kg ai ha-1 + 1.8 kg ai ha-1 with one round of hand weeding were comparable to weed-free yields, and were superior to other treatments under salinity condition. Considering all the parameters, pretilachlor @ 0.375 kg ai ha-1 + one round of hand weeding (at 65 DAT), propanil + thiobencarb 0.9 kg ai ha-1 +1.8 kg ai ha-1 + one round of hand weeding (at 65 DAT) gave the most effective control of weeds in rice under saline environments

Isolation and screening of potential actinobacteria for rapid composting of rice straw

Rice straw is produced as a by-product from rice cultivation, which is composed largely of lignocellulosic materials amenable to general biodegradation. Lignocellulolytic actinobacteria can be used as a potential agent for rapid composting of bulky rice straw. Twenty-five actinobacteria isolates were isolated from various in situ and in vitro rice straw compost sources. Isolates A2, A4, A7, A9 and A24 were selected through enzymatic degradation of starch, cellulose and lignin followed by the screening for their adaptability on rice straw powder amended media. The best adapted isolate (A7) was identified as Micromonospora carbonacea. It was able to degrade cellulose, hemicelluloses and carbon significantly (P ≤ 0.05) over the control. C/N ratio was reduced to 18.1 from an initial value of 29.3 in 6 weeks of composting thus having the potential to be used in large scale composting of rice straw

Molecular characterization of stress tolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for growth enhancement of rice

The study was undertaken to characterize plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for growth enhancement and stress tolerant traits and their efficacy on early establishment of rice seedling. In vitro growth promoting traits revealed that out of 30 PGPR isolates, 18 fixed nitrogen, 17 solubilized tri-calcium phosphate, 29 and 17 produced IAA with or without addition of L-tryptophane.In case of stree tolerant activities, PGPR isolates tolerated pH ranging from 5 to 10, Nacl from 1 to 6% and polyethylene glycol (PEG) from 10 to 40%, respectively. They showed antagonistic activity against Pyricularia oryzae with PIRG values ranging from 7−68%. After two-stage of screening, isolates UPMR7 and UPMR17 were identified based on 16s rRNA gene sequences and matched to the genus Bacillus and Citrobacter with 97−98% similarity. UPMR 7 and UPMR 17 were further evaluated on early growth promotion of rice variety MR219. Results revealed that PGPR inoculation had significant effects on plant growth compared to non-inoculated plants. Thus, it could be suggested that the isolates UPMR7 and UPMR17 have the potential to be used as biofertilizer and bioenhancer in sustainable rice cultivation

Shariah governance framework of Islamic banks in Bangladesh: practices, problems and recommendations

Shariah Governance Framework (SGF) is a structural process by which Islamic banks monitor, control and conduct their activities. This study describes the overall scenery of SGF of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. The paper also reviews the current practices, problems, legal and regulatory issues by using a deductive procedure and provides some propositions for the enhancement of SGF. The main objective of this paper is to understand the SGF, its current practices, problems and challenges which will be helpful to develop a SGF for Islamic banks in future. The study reveals that the Shariah governance system in Bangladesh is mainly voluntary rather than regulatory and there is an absence of full-fledged SGF. It seems that the Board of Directors (BOD) uses the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) in accomplishing their objectives and responsible for overall Shariah activities rather than the SSB. In order to improve the SGF, Bangladesh government should enact a law for the operations of Islamic banks. Besides, Bangladesh Bank (BB) should come out with a comprehensive Centralized SGF by outlining the roles, powers, and functions of all stakeholders to ensure the accountability of their works and improve the quality of the Shariah compliance. Moreover, the central bank can set up a Central Shariah Supervisory Board (CSSB) in its head office or can recognize existing Central Shariah Board for Islamic Banks of Bangladesh (CSBIB) along with power so that they can supervise and monitor overall activities of Islamic banks and solve the disputes among the stakeholders regarding the Shariah issues of Islamic banks

Growth and yield response to water availability at different growth stages of rice

Water supply is the most important factor which influences growth and yield of rice. An experiment was conducted at rain shelterhouse, Universiti Putra Malaysia to evaluate the effect of water stress at different growth stages on Malaysian commercial rice variety MR220. Treatments used in this study were: 1. flooding, 2. field capacity, 3. field capacity at panicle initiation stage, 4. field capacity at active tillering stage and 5. field capacity at first flowering stage. Number of tillers, panicles, spikelets, filled grains, length of panicles and yield were significantly reduced under filled capacity condition. Field capacity at active tillering stage also reduced number of tillers and panicles per plant, spikelets per plant, filled grains percentage, panicle length, and yield thus indicating that MR220 is sensitive to water stress especially at active tillering stage

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty