Sawdust composts in soil improvement
As indicated in a previous paper 2) the use of wood wastes in soil improvement has received considerable attention lately. Composting seems to offer large possibilities for avoiding the adverse effects of fresh sawdust and to utilize the potentialities of sawdust as a soil builder in the best fashion. The literature on composting of various waste products has been listed and reviewed very comprehensively i n t w 0 recent publications 1). The investigations rePorted here are preliminary tests of methods of composting sawdust and tests of the resulting materials on plant growth in greenhouse pot cultures.
Sawdust composts in soil improvement
The experimental work here reported is a continuation of the pre• liminary tests of methods of sawdust composting reported previouslY 5), Results are given of further pot culture tests with plants in composts mentioned there after longer periods of decomposition. Information also was sought on effects of treatment with highpressure steam on sawdust-manure mixtures and on effects of varying proportions of sawdust to soil on plant growth.
Characterization of Aqueous Dispersions and Gels Made of Sodium Caseinate and Basil Seed Gum: Phase Behavior, Rheology, and Microstructure
The interactions between sodium caseinate (NaCas) and basil seed gum (BSG) in the presence of calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) were investigated. The phase behavior of the mixed aqueous dispersions and their gels revealed a homogeneous mixture, obtained at the higher concentrations of both CaCl 2 and BSG. The Herschel-Bulkley model sufficiently fitted the flow behavior of the mixture solution data. Apparent viscosity increased significantly ( p  < 0.05) by increasing the concentration of BSG, where the addition of CaCl 2 had no significant effect on the viscosity of the samples ( p  > 0.05). Furthermore, there was an increase in thixotropy due to the higher concentrations of BSG and CaCl 2 . Based on the frequency sweep test, at the low frequencies, a more gel-like behavior was observed in the case of the higher concentrations of either BSG or CaCl 2 . The rheological and SEM data suggested that the stronger structure of NaCas-BSG gel in the presence of the higher concentrations of CaCl 2 was related to the induction of complex formation between the two biopolymers.