• Advances in environmental research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.225-237
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• 2018

The sorption of metal ions with low-cost adsorbents plays an important role in sustainable development. In the present study, the efficacy of sugarcane bagasse, rain tree fruits (samaneasaman), banana stem and their mixtures, used as bio-sorbents, in the removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution is evaluated. Batch studies are conducted, and residual ions were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)-atomic spectrometer. Effect of pH, initial metal ion concentration, reaction time and adsorbent dosage are studied. The Pb(II) removal efficiency was observed to be 97.88%, 98.60% and 91.74% for rain tree fruits, banana stem and a mixture of adsorbents respectively. The highest Cu(II) ion removal was observed for sugarcane bagasse sorbent with an efficiency of 82.10% with a pH of 4.5 and a reaction time of 90 min. Finally, desorption studies were carried out to study the leaching potential of adsorbent, and it was found that the adsorbent is stable in water than the other leaching agents such as HCl, ammonium acetate, Sodium EDTA. Hence, these adsorbents can be effectively used for the removal of these heavy metals.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.9-15
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• 2007

A comparative study of the structure and organization of the primary and secondary walls in different types of tropical plant waste fibers was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thickness of each layer was also measured using Image Analyzer. TEM micrographs haveconfirmed that cell wall structure of all six types of tropical plant waste fibers (empty fruit bunch, oil palm frond, oil palm trunk, coir, banana stem and pineapple leaf) has the same ultrastructure with wood fibre. The fibers consisted of middle lamella, primary and thick secondary wall with different thickness for different types of fibers. The secondary wall was differentiated into a $S_1$ layer, a unique multi-lamellae $S_2$ layer, and $S_3$ layer.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.133-147
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• 2020

Hexanal, a C-6 aldehyde has been implicated to have antimicrobial properties. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the antifungal activities of hexanal vapor against major postharvest pathogens of banana viz., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The pathogens were cultured in vitro and exposed to hexanal vapor at 600, 800, 1,000 and 1,200 ppm. Mycelial growth of both fungal pathogens were inhibited completely at 800 ppm and the incidence of anthracnose and stem-end rot diseases reduced by 75.2% and 80.2%, respectively. The activities of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and glucanase had transiently increased in hexanal vapor treated banana by 5 to 7 days and declined thereafter. Postharvest treatment of banana with hexanal vapor resulted in phospholipase D inhibition and also resulted in cell wall thickening of the treated fruit, which impeded the penetration of the pathogenic spores. This was further confirmed by scanning electron micrographs. The defense-related protein intermediaries had increased in hexanal vapor treated banana fruit, which suggests induced resistance against C. gloeosporioides and L. theobromae, via., the phenylpropanoid pathway which plays a significant role in hindering the pathogen quiescence. Delayed ripening due to inhibition of phospholipase D enzyme, inhibition of mycelial growth and induced systemic resistance by defense enzymes collectively contributed to the postharvest disease reduction and extended shelf life of fruit.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.463-474
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• 2024

Bananas (Musa spp.), which serve millions of people worldwide, face a serious threat from Fusarium wilt (FW) disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). Developing disease-resistant varieties particularly through breeding is challenging due to banana's seedless nature (parthenocarpic). As an alternative, cold plasma (CP) technology, has the potential to be used for crop improvement. Our study demonstrates a favourable impact of CP on the growth performance of banana (Berangan cultivar, AAA) in terms of height, leaf number and stem diameter. CP-treated plants also displayed delayed disease progression as well as lower disease severity indicated by slightly lower value of leaf symptoms index and rhizome discoloration index compared to the control plants. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed differential expression of several defence (PR1, WRKY22, PAL, and CEBiP) and growth (Cytochrome P450, NAC68, and CAT) related genes in CP-treated plants, particularly in conjunction with Foc infection. These findings shed light on the potential use of CP in managing FW in banana and offer insights into possible mechanism behind improved traits.

• Carbon letters
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2001

Porous carbons have been prepared from different parts of banana stems using two different routes, viz., by pyrolysing the mass at different temperatures as well as by treating the dried mass with chemicals followed by pyrolysis. The pyrolysis behaviour of all these materials has been studied up to $1000^{\circ}C$. Samples treated with acids exhibit more increase in surface area as compared to those treated with alkalies or salts. Analysis of BET surface area shows that the carbon prepared at low temperature shows mixed porosity, i.e., micro and mesopores. Samples heated to high temperature above $700^{\circ}C$ show decrease in macroporosity and increase in microporosity. Liquid adsorption studies have been made using methylene blue and heavy oil. The activated carbons so prepared exhibit higher oil adsorption mainly in the macro and mesopores.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.711-720
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• 2009

Leaf fibers have many good properties; they are strong, long, cheap, abundant and bio-degradable. Since they, however, contain a great quantity of non-cellulose components, they have been used for the materials of mats, ropes, bags and nets rather than those of clothing. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of leaf fibers in order to promote the use of leaf fibers for the materials of clothing as well as develop the high value-added textile fibers. Leaf fiber plants including New Zealand Flax, Henequen and Banana plant, which have various nature and shape, were used. New Zealand Flax and Henequen leaves were cut from lower part of plants. Banana leaves and pseudo-stems were peeled and cut from the stem of Banana plants. First, the thin outer skins like film of leaves, veins and stems were removed before retting. The chemical retting had been processed for 1hour, at 100 in 0.4% $H_2SO_4$ aqueous solution(liquid ratio 50:1). Then, the retted leaf fibers had been soaked for 1hour, at room temperature in 0.5% NaClO solution(v/v) to remove the miscellaneous materials. We investigated the physical characteristics of three leaf fibers including the transversal and longitudinal morphology, the contents(%) of pectin, lignin and hemicellulose, the length and diameter of fibers, the tensile strength of the fiber bundles, and the fiber crystallinity and the moisture regain(%). The lengths of fiber from three leaf fibers were similar to their leaf lengths. The fiber bundles were composed of the cellulose paralleled to the fiber axis and the non-cellulose intersecting at right angle with the fiber axis. The diameters of New Zealand Flax, Henequen and Banana fibers were $25.13{\mu}m$, $18.16{\mu}m$ and $14.01{\mu}m$, respectively and their tensile strengths were 19.40 Mpa, 32.16 Mpa and 8.45 Mpa, respective. The non-cellulose contents of three leaf fibers were relatively as high as 40%. If the non-cellulose contents of leaf fibers might be controlled, leaf fibers could be used for the materials of textile fiber, non-wovens and Korean traditional paper, Hanjee.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.315-322
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• 2019

In this study, the contents of ${\beta}$-carotene and cholesterol were evaluated in various types of agricultural and processed foods (vegetables, legume products, dairy products, and eggs). Certified reference material (CRM) with an assigned value was used for the validation of the ${\beta}$-carotene and cholesterol analytical methods. High recoveries (accuracy) of ${\beta}$-carotene (96%) and cholesterol (97%) were obtained from the quantitative analysis of the CRM, with a relative standard deviation (%) of 1.86 and 3.35% for the ${\beta}$-carotene and cholesterol, respectively. Vegetables contained relatively high concentrations of ${\beta}$-carotene (raw Toona sinensis, $1650.97{\mu}g/100g$, a raw small onion, $879.09{\mu}g/100g$, and a raw lettuce stem, $591.89{\mu}g/100g$). The ${\beta}$-carotene values in dried chickpeas ($22.94{\mu}g/100g$) and dried brown lentils ($21.98{\mu}g/100g$) were similar. The highest ${\beta}$-carotene value among the analyzed dairy products was found in banana milk ($234.21{\mu}g/100g$) while other flavored products (strawberry milk and chocolate milk) did not contain any ${\beta}$-carotene. Furthermore, ${\beta}$-carotene was not detected in goat milk and high calcium milk in this study. With regard to cholesterol among the analyzed samples, the highest cholesterol value was found in egg yolk (629.30 mg/100 g), and cooking methods (boiling and frying) had little effect on the cholesterol levels of eggs. In addition, the cholesterol content in vanilla ice cream was 28.77 mg/100 g which was the highest value among the analyzed dairy products.