Design and evaluation of a power tiller vegetable seedling transplanter with dibbler and furrow type.

Vegetable production plays a vital role in ensuring food security in Bangladesh. However, the majority of vegetable seedlings are currently transplanted manually, which is not only time-consuming but also labor-intensive and costly. In this context, a semi-automated transplanter can be considered as an alternative solution for mechanized seedling transplanting. To mechanize seedling operations, two types of transplanters were designed, fabricated and tested: the power tiller-operated semi-automatic dibbler vegetable seedling (DVS) transplanter and the furrow opener vegetable seedling (FVS) transplanter. The goal was to evaluate their performance and impact on field crop productivity. In the DVS transplanter design, the larger sprocket was adjusted to enhance the precision of hole-making by pressing the dibbler into the soil, creating holes where seedlings would be transplanted. On the other hand, the FVS transplanter utilized a furrow opener to create furrows, and the seedling is placed in these furrow at a specific distance from the furrow opener wall, where the distance between seedlings within the furrow could be adjusted based on the specific requirements of the seedling crop. The results of the evaluation indicated that both transplanters successfully planted seedlings without any missing placements, while hole covering was achieved at 115 and 118.2% for the DVS and FVS transplanters, respectively. The field capacity and field efficiency for both transplanters were determined to be 0.05 ha h-1 and 61.18%, respectively, with a coefficient of variation of 5% or less. Field tests conducted with brinjal crops at a forward speed of 1.2 km h-1 and a spacing of 0.7 × 0.6 m demonstrated that both designs yielded higher yield productivity compared to manual transplantation. Additionally, no issues related to vegetative development were observed. Both transplanters exhibited promising performance and significant potential in terms of accurately transplanting seedlings, and ensuring satisfactory transplantation quality. Furthermore, these transplanters offer several advantages, including less time-consuming, lower labor demands and even distribution of seedlings. This design encourages small to medium-level farmers seeking to engage in mechanized vegetable farming practices.

Fabrication and characterization of antimicrobial wound dressing nanofibrous materials by PVA-betel leaf extract.

This present study involves the formation and investigation of the characteristics of a fabricated mat from a PVA-betel leaf mixture. Under ideal processing parameters, nanofibrous mat is synthesized from the PVA-betel leaf blended solution by using the electrospinning technique. Afterwards, the produced nanofibrous mat is assessed for its thermal, antibacterial, morphological, moisture management and chemical interaction behavior using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), antibacterial assay, scanning electron microscope (SEM), moisture management tester (MMT) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) respectively. The antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria has been assessed using the agar diffusion technique, which reveals the creation of zones of inhibition with a value of about 20 mm. Besides, the fabricated nanomat reveals an average diameter of 183.4 nm with improved moisture and thermal characteristics. Furthermore, the generated nanofibrous mat has all the necessary components, as evidenced by the distinctive peaks in the FTIR spectra. Hence, the recently developed nanofibrous mat exhibits promising potential as a suitable material for wound dressing applications.

Incorporation of MPCM on cotton fabric for potential application in hospital bed sheet.

Over the last few decades, phase change materials (PCM) have attracted a great deal of interest in medical textiles due to its superior thermoregulation system, simple application, and so on. Patients, however, confined to bed in a medical facility face the serious risk of developing bed sores, which is not mitigated by the use of a standard bed sheet. Numerous articles and patents have been studied related to development of thermal bed sheets using PCM applied by various techniques; however, no such initiates was found to prepare and characterize of hospital bed sheets using microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) through screen printing method. Thus, this study aims to develop a hospital bed sheet constructed from cotton fabric incorporated with MPCM. To accomplish this, MPCM was mixed into the printing paste that had been applied on the fabric by screen printing method, and then dried at room temperature. Thermal behavior, thermal transition, and thermal conductivity of the developed samples had been investigated. Moisture management properties, mechanical properties, and bonding behavior of the samples were also examined. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to analyze the sample's morphology, and a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was used to determine how polymeric materials behaved when heated. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that the MPCM incorporated sample lost weight slowly, while the DSC test confirmed that melting began at 20 °C and ended at 30 °C. Furthermore, fabricated sample had higher heat conductivity (0.1760822 w.m-1 k-1). Overall, the results revealed a great potential for using the developed samples as hospital bed sheets to prevent patients from developing bed sores.