Cord

This study mainly concentrated on revealing the scientific data on the properties of Sri Lankan coir fibre and classifying them into different grades based on scientific parameters instead of visual observations to establish quality specifications for the coir fibre industry in Sri Lanka. Critical parameters were studied for suitability of the industrial applications. Size distribution and average length of different fibres were determined by the frequency distribution method, to be used as industrial oriented parameters. The weighted average breaking load of coir fibre was determined using the universal tensile strength tester. As per the result, coir fiber has an elongation property of about 20-28%. Also, coir fibre is a highly resilient natural fibre and Omat coir fibre had the highest value among other coir fibre types. Porous microstructure of the coir fibre was observed through the scanning electron microscopy and hygroscopic characteristics described according to the structur...

The author reviews the role of string in early human communities, using prehistoric and ethnographic evidence. Fibres, rolled into string, offer a technical means of holding things together; but the process of manufacturing string itself inspired special roles and structures - which in turn held together the members of communities.

The production of handicrafts, wares and novelty items utilizing small and short pieces of coconut wood, fronds and shell is a highly feasible and viable option to derive income from coconut residues and other cellulosic materials found in coconut plantation. Handicrafts and novelty items from coconut fronds, wood and other residues are potential export commodities that can compete with other indigenous products because of their unique appearance and quality. Given the tremendous amount of readily available raw materials from coconut farms, a manufacturer is assured of a sustainable operation. Property tests conducted on coconut frond’s structure have shown its fitness to be used as alternative material to some light wood species. It has an average specific gravity (sg) value of 0.20 and mean volumetric shrinkage of 63%. Effectual use investigations of coconut fronds and coconut fruit residues on machining, treatment, gluing properties and finishing requirements are all satisfactory...

A comparison is made on the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the some morphological characters of coconut. The study demonstrated that the treatments T1 {Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Muriate of potash (NPK) + Neem seed powder (NSP) + Gliricidiasepium leaves (GSL)} and T2 (NPK+ GSL) significantly increased most of the morphological characters (stem girth, number of leaves, petiole and leaflets). The study revealed that vegetatively the coconut was grown well on soil amended with organic and inorganic fertilizers. The morphological characters i.e the stem girth (173.77 cm) of coconut at 20 cm height T1 (NPK + NSP + GSL) treatment produced maximum girth as compared to T2 to T8 {T2 (NPK+ NSP), T3 (NPK+ GSL), T4 (NSP + GSL), T5 (NPK), T6 (GSL), T7 (NSP), T8 (Control)} treatments. The 11 leaf scars length (80.44 cm) was significantly (p<0.05) highest in T1 as compared to T3 to T8 treatments. The present study also revealed that the number of leaves (28.77) were significantly ...

The pink discoloration in coconut water is a result of the initial enzymatic action of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) on the phenolic substrates which are naturally present in the product. Activity of the enzyme is further enhanced by metal contamination such as copper and exposure of the product to high temperature during its processing and storage. The optimum copper concentration to initiate pinking in coconut water was established at 3.96 x 10-04 mM. The PPO level was also shown to vary among coconut varieties and ages. When subjected to optimum conditions for enzymatic activity, the water from younger nuts (7-8 months old) went pink while mature nuts (9-10 months old) showed no discoloration. Application of food-grade resins to remove the phenolic substrates in coconut water was deemed as a possible solution to prevent the discoloration. Further testing in this area needs to be done. 

Bio composting process is the available means of converting various organic wastes generated from the industry and the agricultural sectors into beneficial products such as biofertilizers and as a soil conditioners. The unique feature of these agricultural wastes are their organic content, pH, and high C: N ratio. Coir pith is a biomass residue obtained during the extraction of coir fibre from coconut husk. Accumulation of coir pith leads to an environmental concern and its management is a major problem with all coir industrialists. The high quantum of its production and the difficulties experienced in its disposal have tended to create a major problem of pollution of large areas of land and water in coir fiber extraction units. Therefore, biodegradation of coir pith is an essential requirement to control pollution. Coir pith, even though a problematic waste; it is a potential wealth when it is converted into valuable organic manure by microbial degradation. A method of composting o...

Background Intrathecal (IT) opioid and local anesthetic combinations are popular for labor analgesia because of rapid, effective pain relief, but the duration of analgesia is limited. This study was undertaken to determine whether the addition of clonidine and neostigmine to IT bupivacaine-fentanyl would increase the duration of analgesia without increasing side effects for patients in labor. Methods Forty-five healthy parturients in active labor were randomized to receive a 2-ml IT dose of one of the following dextrose-containing solutions using the combined spinal-epidural technique: (1) bupivacaine 2.5 mg and fentanyl 25 microg (BF); (2) BF plus clonidine 30 microg (BFC); or (3) BFC plus neostigmine 10 microg (BFCN). Pain, sensory levels, motor block, side effects, maternal vital signs, and fetal heart rate were systematically assessed. Results Patients administered BFCN had significantly longer analgesia (165+/-32 min) than those who received BF (90+/-21 min; P<0.001) or BFC ...

BACKGROUND Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a new and convenient source of stem cells reported to be safe and effective in preventing and treating preterm complications. The initial processing step for this therapy involves cord blood collection and isolation of the mononuclear cell (MNC) layer. However, there is limited information regarding the feasibility and safety of cord blood collection in preterm infants, and whether cord blood cell quality and quantity are adequate for treating complications in preterm infants. UCB units from preterm infants are currently discarded due to safety concerns regarding collection and owing to the harvesting of inadequate volumes for banking. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and safety of UCB collection following delayed cord clamping (DCC) for preventing and treating complications in preterm infants. METHODS AND MATERIALS Singleton preterm infants below 35 weeks gestation were assigned to two cohorts: cord blood collection and non-co...

The coconut farming sector in Sri Lanka has been facing many problems which eventually led to a decrease in production and profitability in coconut farming. The main reason for the decrease in production has been the non adoption of scientific technologies primarily due to the lack of technical knowledge of coconut growers on scientific cultivation practices. Hence, a study was undertaken to assess the technical knowledge and the level of adoption of management practices with a view to identify and prioritize the training needs of coconut growers’. Training needs of the growers were assessed using the Borich Needs Assessment Model. The identified training needs were filtered by quadrant analysis. The discrepancy score of grower’s and the coconut development officers’ of the three districts were used as the dimensions of the quadrant analysis. The training needs were identified under four categories namely, planting practices, fertilizer application practices, agronomy practices and ...

Characterization of conserved coconut germplasm has been undertaken globally for identification of important features of different accessions for them to be effectively used in coconut breeding. One hundred and fifty seven accessions comprising of local and exotic material have been conserved in ex-situ field genebanks of Coconut Research Institute in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study is to quantitatively characterize nut yield and fruit components by weights among Sri Lanka Tall (Typica) coconut accessions. Twenty local tall coconut accessions were characterized for nut yield and fruit components following Bioversity International descriptors for coconut. Bunch wise nut yield was recorded in all the coconut phenotypes in the six most mature bunches in 25 randomly selected palms from each accession. Sampled nuts were scored for weights of fresh nut, husked nut, split nut and kernel and the weights of husk, water and shell of each nut were derived from the scored data. Analysis ...

Breeding programs of kopyor dwarf coconut require a population base with high genetic diversity especially for characters that relate to fruit production. The study aims to determine the appearance of three kopyor dwarf coconuts from Pati District and correlations among 13 characters of Kopyor Green Dwarf, Kopyor  brown dwarf, and Kopyor Yellow Dwarf and to study twelve vegetative and generative  characters which directly and indirectly affect the number of fruits. The study was conducted at The Paniki Experimental Garden, North Sulawesi, Indonesia from August 2015 to February 2016. The design used was randomized block design with three treatments and three replications. Observed thirteen characters including number of bunches (NB), number of fruit (NF), number of leaves (NL), number of leaflets (NLL), width of leaflets (WLL), length of the leafleats (LLL), length of petiole (LP), width of petiole (WP), thick of petiole (TP), length of rachis (LR), length of leaf (LL), height of ste...

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a number of attributes (a = 23) upon 5 major factors (Labor, Land and Capital, Machine, Technical and Market) that influence a selection of a particular technology to manufacture brown coir fibre in Sri Lanka (i.e. Sri Lankan Drum Pairs, Defibering Machine, D1 Machine). A cross section of owners of fibre mills (n = 30) located in the Kurunegaka, Puttlam and Gampaha districts were selected and a personal interview with each mill owner was carried out with the help of a structured questionnaire from May to June 2008 to collect data. The Semantic Differential Analysis techniques were employed to find the relative strength of the attributes of 5 factors considered in the analysis, where the responses were recorded on a seven-point bipolar scale. The “XLStat” software was used extensively to plot the relationships between the 23 attributes and 3 technologies. The results suggest that all three technologies are negatively perceived by ...

Placental p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) concentration and cord blood atopic markers were determined in 19 neonates. Increased placental p,p'-DDE was associated with a statistically significant increase in cord plasma interleukin (IL)-13. Furthermore, both cord plasma IL-4/interferon (IFN)-gamma and IL-13/IFN-gamma ratios were significantly positively associated with placental p,p'-DDE concentration.

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is one of the important tropical oilseed crops grown in more than 80 countries. It is called the ‘Tree of Life’ because every part of the palm finds one or other use in everyday life. India is one of the leading coconut producing countries in the world and many millions of Indians are dependent on this crop for their livelihood. Many research experiments are in progress to increase the yield of this crop as well as develop post-harvest products that will improve the socio-economic status of the farmers who cultivate it. The coconut cropping system, being unique, offers a wide range of ecosystem services which has not been studied in much detail. A recent paper from Philippines, however, throws some light on the importance of ecosystem services offered by coconut types. In this article we attempt to enunciate the ecosystem services provided by coconut in Indian scenario and the possibility of sustaining it through the recycling of coconut leaf litter as vermi...

Coconuts show a remarkable yield drop due to long dry periods caused by global climatic changes. Thus, breeding for drought tolerance has become a priority in coconut breeding in Sri Lanka. Five coconut varieties indigenous to Sri Lanka, namely Ran thembili, Gon thembili, Porapol, Bodiri and Red dwarf were screened for their drought tolerance potential in vitro. Mature zygotic embryos collected from self pollinated nuts of each variety were germinated and developed into plants with one photosynthetic leaf in Y3 medium. Water stress condition was induced by application of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) into the culture medium. The level of PEG in culture medium was gradually increased from 2% to 7% until the plants showed water stress symptoms in leaves; yellowing and necrosis. More than 75% of zygotic embryos of all tested coconut varieties successfully germinated in vitro and developed into plants. Plants of all tested coconut varieties survived water stress caused by 4% to 6% PEG and t...

Coir pith is a lignocellulosic biomass which is recalcitrant under ordinary conditions. Nitrogen fixation is commonly carried out in the soil and these soils acts as the medium for plant growth. This paper attempts to utilize coir pith as a substrate for two important nitrogen fixing organisms viz. Azotobacter vinelandii and Azospirillum brasilense. Coir pith was used as a source of carbon and energy by the bacteria and the ammonia produced during the process of nitrogen fixation was studied, the amount of ammonia produce indicates the fixation process by the bacteria. The present work succeeded in establishing the use of these two organisms to degrade the coir pith effectively and the resultant biodegraded material could be used as organic manure for plants.

10-16 century arms from Mozir museum of local lore, history and economy.
The subjects of this article are two combat axes and a cord from the findings refering to 1980s.
Both axes refer to the category of wide-blade axes. The first one has a blade, drawn off downwards, an extended cut butt and two pairs of side shekovitsas. This axe refers to the axes which were widely spreaded both as combat ones and as universal ones in the whole Eastern Slavonic region in 10 — 13th centuries.
The second axe is an axe with a flat butt drawn off significantly to the handle, butt bush and a hole made in the shape of an ellipse with cut top. The case is of an ordinary type and has an inside cut, The
samples of axes with such signs (flat butt in the first turn) appeared mainly in 15 — 16 centuries.
As for the cord, the authors refer it to the end of 15 th—beginning of 16th century. Its overall dimensions are as follows: total length — 81.3 cm, crossing length — 20.4 cm, blade length — 71.4 cm, blade width near the root — 3.3 cm, handle length — 8.4 cm, handle width —1.8 cm. The blade of the cord is lightly bent, the end of the blade is broken off. The cord has the handle of a nife type, with two holes for rivets. The handle has a right-angled section and is placed assymetricallv with regard to the blade axis, closer to the blade butt. The crossing has an ordinary shape and bears on its ends final elements in the shape of truncated trihedral pyramides. A convex steel plate, made in the shape of the leaf of a sea mussle «comb», is fixed to the crossing by means of forge welding.