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This paper aims to investigate the prepared modified alkyd and poly(ester-amide) (PEA) resins as antimicrobial and insecticide binders for surface coating applications.

Salicylic diethanolamine and 4-(N, N-dimethylamino) benzylidene glutamic acid were prepared and used as new sources of polyol and dibasic acid for PEA and alkyd resins, then confirmed by: acid value, FT-IR and 1H-NMR. The coating performance of the resins was determined using measurements of physico-mechanical properties. The biological and insecticide activities of the prepared resins were investigated.

The tests carried out revealed that the modified PEA and alkyd enhanced both phyisco-mechanical and chemical properties in addition to the biological and insecticide activities. The results of this paper illustrate that the introduction of salicylic diethanolamine and 4-(N, N-dimethylamino) benzylidene glutamic acid within the resin structure improved the film performance and enhanced the antimicrobial activity performance of PEA and alkyd resins.

The modified alkyd and PEA organic resins can be used as biocidal binders when incorporated into paint formulations for multiple surface applications, especially those that are exposed to several organisms.

Modified alkyd and PEA resins based on newly synthesized modifiers have a significant potential to be promising in the production and development of antimicrobial and insecticide paints, allowing them to function to restrict the spread of insects and microbial infection.

This study aims to focus on the preparation and characterization of the silver nanowire (AgNWs), as well as their application as antimicrobial and antivirus activities either with incorporation on the waterborne coating formulation or on their own.

Prepared AgNWs are characterized by different analytical instruments, such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction spectrometer. All the paint formulation's physical and mechanical qualities were tested using American Society for Testing and Materials, a worldwide standard test procedure. The biological activities of the prepared AgNWs and the waterborne coating based on AgNWs were investigated. And, their effects on pathogenic bacteria, antioxidants, antiviral activity and cytotoxicity were also investigated.

The obtained results of the physical and mechanical characteristics of the paint formulation demonstrated the formulations' greatest performance, as well as giving good scrub resistance and film durability. In the antimicrobial activity, the paint did not have any activity against bacterial pathogen, whereas the AgNWs and AgNWs with paint have similar activity against bacterial pathogen with inhibition zone range from 10 to 14 mm. The development of antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity of the paint incorporated with AgNWs were also observed. The cytopathic effects of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were reduced in all three investigated modes of action when compared to the positive control group (HSV-1-infected cells), suggesting that these compounds have promising antiviral activity against a wide range of viruses, including DNA and RNA viruses.

The new waterborne coating based on nanoparticles has the potential to be promising in the manufacturing and development of paints, allowing them to function to prevent the spread of microbial infection, which is exactly what the world requires at this time.

There is an urgent need to develop climate-smart agrosystems capable of mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects. Conventional agricultural practices prevail in Mauritius, whereby synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are used. It should be noted that Mauritius remains a net-food importing developing country of staple food such as cereals and products, roots and tubers, pulses, oil crops, vegetables, fruits and meat (FAO, 2011). In Mauritius, the agricultural sector faces extreme weather conditions like drought or heavy rainfall. Moreover, to increase the crop yields, farmers tend to use 2.5 times the prescribed amount of fertilizers in their fields. These excess fertilizers are washed away during heavy rainfall and contaminate lakes and river waters. By using smart irrigation and fertilization system, a better management of soil water reserves for improved agricultural production can be implemented. Soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) content, humidity, pH, conductivity and moisture data can be monitored through the cloud platform. The data will be processed at the level of the cloud and an appropriate mix of NPK and irrigation will be used to optimise the growth of the crops. Machine learning algorithms will be used for the control of the land drainage, fertilization and irrigation systems and real time data will be available through a mobile application for the whole system. This will contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 2 (Zero Hunger), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 15 (Life on Land). With this project, the yield of crops will be boosted, thus reducing the hunger rate (SDG 2). On top of that, this will encourage farmers to collect the waters and reduce fertilizer consumption thereafter sustaining the quality of the soil on which they are cultivating the crops, thereby increasing their yields (SDG 15).

This paper aims to explore the history of Anglican churches in Malaysia and discusses their typical features and their respective maintenance practices.

A narrative review of 84 literacy sources published between 1967 and 2020 on the development and features of Anglican churches in Malaysia, along with recommendations on maintenance practices from the asset and facilities management perspective. The exploration of churches’ features follows three main disciplines in building maintenance according to the Jabatan Kerja Raya Guideline for as-built buildings in Malaysia.

The findings of the study have then been tabulated to form a maintenance framework to recommend suitable maintenance practices on specific building components based on different materials. The paper argues that as places of worship, the assets of religious facilities are intangible compared to any other types of building that serve a tangible function (i.e. shelter, commercial or industrial operation). Throughout the exploration of their maintenance practices suggested by vast sources of literature, it is proven that the maintenance of churches is not as straightforward as merely remedying the defects, but it requires the maintenance to radically minimise any disturbance to their aesthetics, thus making maintenance a more challenging task at churches.

This paper proposes a maintenance framework for Anglican churches in Malaysia by categorising building disciplines and their corresponding building components, which supports future research to improve the maintenance practices of religious facilities.

The aim of this study was to prepare antibacterial capsules and transfer them to cotton fabrics using the impregnation method.

For this purpose, helichrysum oil was encapsulated by ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) using the kneading method at three different molar ratios. The products were then applied to 100% cotton fabric through the impregnation method.

Morphological assessment showed that the inclusion complex had smooth surfaces and spherical shapes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimeter analysis results confirmed the formation of the inclusion complex between ß-CD and the active agent at mole ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 for helichrysum oil. According to the analyses, it was determined that the highest complexing rate was between 9.72% and 1:2 in capsules containing ß-CD:helichrysum oil and the sizes of particles which is 1:2 are determined to be between 2 and 25 µm. The presence of capsules on the fabrics was determined after 5 washing cycles. Antibacterial activity was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. The antibacterial analysis results showed that the inclusion complex provided a reduction of over 96% against both S. aureus and E. coli bacteria, and the fabrics exhibited antibacterial effects even after 5 washing cycles. The major constituents of the oil were decreased after 5 washes, but significant peaks were remained according to the gas chromatography analyses. These results indicate that helichrysum oil can be used for its antibacterial properties, and it has been observed that this activity continues up to 5 washes when transferred to the fabric in the form of an inclusion complex.

Although helichrysum oil is widely used in cosmetics, there is a lack of studies on its application in textiles. Therefore, this study investigated the potential use of helichrysum oil, which has a wide range of applications, in textiles for its antibacterial properties through molecular encapsulation. The use of naturally sourced substances such as helichrysum oil in the textile industry can offer an environmental and sustainable alternative. This study can be considered as a step toward the development of innovative and naturally sourced antibacterial products in the textile industry.

The host–guest molecules are often used in various fields and applications. This paper aims to discuss the role of host–guest complexes in the textile industry, focusing on calixarenes as a potential adsorbent for hazardous dyes. The paper begins with an introduction to nanotechnology and its many uses, including textiles.

The risks associated with the utilisation of dyes and its adverse effects on the environment are then also highlighted. This paper also discusses the structure and characteristics of calixarenes and their potential use as an adsorbent to extract toxic metals from aqueous solutions. The paper also explains the molecular structure of calixarenes, especially the ability of its upper and lower rims, which can be altered to yield derivatives with various selectivities for diverse guest ions and small molecules. In addition, the application of various host–guest molecules in the textiles industry to extract dyes also had been discussed.

In conclusion, the paper highlights the essential in establishing a systematic review on the significance of selective adsorbents, such as calixarenes, to isolate particular targets from diverse matrices in the textile industry.

Only discussing several applications for several host–guest molecules.

The paper concisely describes various host–guest molecule applications in the textile industry, with each molecule being elaborated upon in detail.

The export competitiveness has only calculated on only two aspects either comparatively advantageous or comparatively disadvantageous products for India or China. There is not any thorough study that has been undertaken for Indian manufacturing sector at a segregated level along with that of China. So, in the light of these shortcomings, the purpose of this study is to analyse the dynamics of export competitiveness of indian manufacturing sector vis-à-vis its emerging counterpart, china in the global market.

A modified revealed comparative advantage index has been used in two different phases of 2001–08 and 2010–18 to find the dynamic pattern of manufacturing exports of India and China in the world market.

The study revealed that India has shown a positive response in increasing its competitive positioned products from low-technology to medium-technology products during the study period. There has been a decline in the competitive positioned products of China and simultaneously China’s threatened product lines have shown an immense increment over the years. Moreover, Indian exports are concentrated to few low-technology and resource-intensive products, that share more than 50% of total exported value for its manufacturing in the global market, whereas, China is much diversified and the exported value is more scattered over its manufactured items.

The study does not include the factors that impacted the export competitiveness of the sample economies and thus adds a limitation to this study.

As there is very limited research on dynamics of export competitiveness of Indian manufacturing exports at harmonised system 6-digit level with China, this study fulfils the gap.