Endophytic Bacillus spp. from medicinal plants inhibit mycelial growth of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and promote plant growth

Plant growth promoting bacteria that are also capable of suppressing plant pathogenic fungi play an important role in sustainable agriculture. There is a critical need of conducting research to discover, characterize and evaluate efficacy of new strains of such bacteria in controlling highly aggressive plant pathogens. In this study, we isolated endophytic bacteria from medicinal plants of Bangladesh and evaluated their antagonistic capacity against an important phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Growth promoting effects of those isolates on cucumber and rice seedlings also were assessed. Among 16 morphologically distinct isolates, BDR-2, BRtL-2, and BCL-1 significantly inhibited the growth of S. sclerotiorum through induction of characteristic morphological alterations in hyphae and reduction of mycelial dry weight. When cucumber and rice seeds were treated with these endophytic bacteria, seven isolates (BCL-1, BDL-1, BRtL-2, BRtL-3, BDR-1, BDR-2 and BBoS-1) enhanced seed germination, seedling vigor, seedling growth, and number of roots per plant at varying level compared to untreated controls. All isolates produced high levels of indole-3-acetic acid (6.3 to 63μg mL−1) in vitro. Two most potential isolates, BDR-2 and BRtL-2 were identified 34 as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. subtilis, respectively based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing. These results suggest that endophytic Bacillus species from native medicinal plants have great potential for using as natural plant growth promoter and biopesticides in sustainable crop production

Cooling of air using heptadecane phase change material in shell and tube arrangement: Analytical and experimental study

A shell and tube latent heat storage (LHS) system using heptadecane with melting point 22.33 degrees C for active cooling of air has been analyzed analytically and experimentally in this paper. A theoretical model of laminar forced convection with varying wall temperature due to phase change material (PCM) outside a double wall circular tube and air as heat transfer fluid (HTF) inside a tube was employed to analyze active cooling of air. The analytical prediction in terms of outlet temperature was validated with experimental data. Furthermore, influences of some important design parameters (e.g. inner radius and thickness of the tube) on cooling effect were investigated. It was found that an optimum inner radius and thickness of the tube should be considered to design an LHS system. Better co-efficient of performance (COP) was observed for higher inlet air temperature while the outlet air temperature was almost identical. In this study, the COP of cooling was found 4.16 for 34.5 degrees C inlet air temperature using tube with 5.35 mm inner radius and 1 mm thickness. Some important thermophysical properties of heptadecane e.g. specific heat, thermal conductivity and density at liquid state were also examined and found 2.66 kJ kg(-1) K-1, 0.151 W m(-1) K-1 and 774 kg m(-3), respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Curbing global warming with phase change materials for energy storage

The application of thermal energy storage (TES) system with phase change material (PCM) is an effective way for energy conservation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction. Global warming is increasing along with the energy consumption. Many researchers are concerned about this present global environmental problem for fossil-fuel burning. Thermal energy storage system with phase change material is observed as a potential candidate for mitigating this problem. This paper emphasizes the opportunities for energy savings and greenhouse-gas emissions reduction with the implementation of PCM in TES systems. For instance, about 3.43 of CO 2 emission by 2020 could be reduced through the application of PCM in building and solar thermal power systems. Similarly, energy conservation and GHGs emission reduction by other PCM applications for thermal comfort of vehicles, transport refrigeration, engine cold start, greenhouse and waste heat management are also presented. In addition, some present investigations on the performance improvement of the phase change materials are addressed

Determinants of Postpartum Hemorrhage and its Clinical Outcome at Turai Yaradua Maternity and Children Hospital Katsina, Nigeria

Background: Postpartum haemorrhage is a common life-threatening emergency in the developing world and its frequency and magnitude are at obstetric peril. Postpartum haemorrhage is the commonest cause of maternal morbidity and mortality after vaginal delivery and constitutes a significant morbidity rate and potential for maternal death. Aim: The study explored the determinants of Postpartum haemorrhage and document its associated clinical morbidity in the study settings. Patients were recruited from the record department of Turai Yaradua Maternity and Children Hospital Katsina and an adapted World Health Organization instrument was employed for the study. Methods: Data were obtained retrospectively from 2012 to 2016 from the records department of Turai Yaradua Maternity and Children Hospital Katsina and the obtained data were coded and analyzed using SPSS Version 20. Results: The results showed that most of the patients were above 25years with mean age of 19years and significant number of the patients 41.8% were from low socio-economic background and largely multiparous. Uterine atony and pelvic trauma were significantly found to be the independent determinants of Postpartum hemorrhage r=0.712,P< 0.001 and r=0.621,P<0.001 respectively. In addition, maternal mortality rate of 10.9% and 9.0% were significantly found to be the most common clinical outcome of Postpartum hemorrhage among the studied group. Conclusion: The study concluded that uterine atony and pelvic trauma are the major determinants of Postpartum hemorrhage and coagulopathy been the least commonly associated predictor of Postpartum hemorrhage ,and therefore recommends the need for improved obstetric services and inter-professional collaboration with adequate health educational strategy at the study settings to check-out the burden of the problem. Keywords: Postpartum haemorrhage, Mortality, Determinants, Healt