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Application of sawdust in civil engineering projects, specifically those with geotechnical applications, has been the interest of many studies. This study focuses on exposure of soil samples treated with sawdust to MgSO4. This study was conducted in three stages. The first stage was compaction. In this stage, the compaction characteristics of each mixture were derived. The second stage was to run unconfined compressive strength (UCS) testing and report the UCS peaks relevant to each mixture. The third stage was microstructural examination (i.e., SEM) conducted on the chosen samples before and after sulphate exposure to highlight the reactions during exposure. The results of first stage (i.e., compaction tests) suggested that increasing sawdust content, the OMC (Optimum moisture content) decreased and MDD (Maximum dry density) decreased. In the second stage, the UCS (Unconfined compressive strength) testing was conducted on 640 samples [including reliability tests] and the outcome suggested that sawdust increased the resistance of samples against sulphate attack. In stage three, the micro analysis backed the main body results, suggesting that sawdust had a positive effect on helping to form a better connection between the particles and therefore more resistance noted.

Background Aquilaria crassna has been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat vomiting, rheumatism, asthma, and cough. Furthermore, earlier studies from our laboratory have revealed that the essential oil extract from agarwood inhibited colorectal carcinoma cells. Despite of the wide range of ethno-pharmacological uses of agarwood, its toxicity has not been previously evaluated through systematic toxicological studies. Therefore, the potential safety of essential oil extract and its in vivo anti-tumor activity had been investigated. Methods In the acute toxicity study, Swiss female mice were given a single dose of the essential oil extract at 2000 mg/kg/day orally and screened for two weeks after administration. Meanwhile, in the sub-chronic study, two different doses of the extract were administered for 28 days. Mortality, clinical signs, body weight changes, hematological and biochemical parameters, gross findings, organ weights, and histological parameters were monitored during the study. Other than that, in vivo anti-tumor study was assessed by using subcutaneous tumors model established in nude mice. Results The acute toxicity study showed that the LD50 of the extract was greater than 2000 mg/kg. In the repeated dose for 28-day oral toxicity study, the administration of 100 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg of essential oil per body weight revealed insignificant difference in food and water intakes, bodyweight change, hematological and biochemical parameters, relative organ weights, gross findings or histopathology compared to the control group. Nevertheless, the essential oil extract, when supplemented to nude mice, caused significant growth inhibition of the subcutaneous tumor of HCT 116 colorectal carcinoma cells. Conclusion Collectively, the data obtained indicated that essential oil extract from agarwood might be a safe material, and this essential oil is suggested as a potential anti-colon cancer candidate.