• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.137-141
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• 2005

The effect of cotton leaf mosaic disease on morphology, yield and fibre characteristics was examined for a susceptible cotton candidate variety CRIS-168. Plants inoculated at most susceptible growth stage (six week) under screen house showed severe mosaic symptoms. There was a significant reduction in plant height and yield. Cotton leaf mosaic disease was found to produce severe effects on plant morphology with 24.1% reduction in plant height, 25% in internode length and 37.5% in number of sympodia on main stem. However no changes were observed against number of monopodial branches per plant. Inoculated plants showed 82% decrease in yield/plant, 80% in number of boll set/ plant, 12.1% in boll weight, 12.8% in lint weight, 10.8% in seed weight, and 6.8% in seed index. Cotton leaf mosaic disease also showed effects on fibre characteristics with 0.8% decrease in GOT and 1.6% in fibre length. In contrast, uniformity ratio, fibre fineness and maturity index was increased by 20.5%, 14.4% and 0.9%, respectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.104-112
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• 1999

Since the anaerobic rumen fungi were discovered in the rumen of a sheep over two decades ago, they have been reported in a wide range of herbivores fud on high fibre diets. The extensive colonisation and degradation of fibrous plant tissues by the fungi suggest that they have a role in fibre digestion. All rumen fungi studied so far are fibrolytic. They produce a range of hydrolytic enzymes, which include the cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinases and phenolic acid esterases, to enable them to invade and degrade the lignocellulosic plant tissues. Although rumen fungi may not seem to be essential to general rumen function since they may be absent in animals fed on low fibre diets, they, nevertheless, could contribute to the digestion of high-fibre poor-quality forages.

• International Journal of Reliability and Applications
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2012

This Paper deals with the stochastic behavior and failure analysis of a Viscose Staple Fibre Plant which produces fibre for making clothes. The fibre making plant is a complex system with various subsystems as: Vendor (supplies Charcoal and Sulphur, raw materials for the process), Carbon di sulphide Plant, Acid Plant, Pulp Plant and Processing Plant. The considered system can completely fail due to failure of any of the subsystems. The Carbon di Sulphide Plant can fail in two different ways, due to lack of Sulphur or Charcoal. Processing Plant has the configuration 5-out-of-10: d and 6-out-of-10: f. It is also assumed that the system can fail due to workers strike and catastrophic failure. All failures follow exponential time distribution whereas all repairs follow general time distribution. Preventive Maintenance policy has been applied to reduce the failure in the system. Various reliability characteristics such as transition state probabilities, steady state behavior, reliability, availability, M.T.T.F and the cost analysis have been obtained using supplementary variable technique and Gumbel-Hougaard copula methodology.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.299-306
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• 2019

The natural fibre composites are termed as bio-composites. They have shown a promising replacement to the current carbon/glass fibre reinforced composites as environmental friendly materials in specific applications. Natural fibre reinforced composites are potential materials for various engineering applications in automobile, railways, building and Aerospace industry. The natural fibre selected to fabricate the composite material is plant-based fibre e.g., sisal fibre. Sisal fibre is a suitable reinforcement for use in composites on account of its low density, high specific strength, and high hardness. Epoxy is a thermosetting polymer which is used as a resin in natural fibre reinforced composites. Hand lay-up technique was used to fabricate the composites by reinforcing sisal fibres into the epoxy matrix. Composites were prepared with the unidirectional alignment of sisal fibres. Test specimens with different fibre orientations were prepared. The fabricated composites were tested for mechanical properties. Impact test, tensile test, flexural test, hardness test, compression test, and thermal test of composites had been conducted to assess its suitability in industrial applications. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test revealed the microstructural information of the fractured surface of composites.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.5
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• pp.613-618
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• 2020

Exhausting oil resources and increasing pollution around the world are forcing researchers to look for new, renewable, biodegradable materials to lead sustainable development. The use of fiber reinforced composites based on natural fibres has increasingly begun as prospective materials for various engineering applications in the automotive, rail, construction and aerospace industries. The natural fiber chosen to make the composite material is plant-based fibre, e.g. jute fibre, and hemp fibre. Thermosetting polymer based Epoxy (LY556) was utilized as matrix material and The composites were produced using hand lay-up technique. The fabricated composites were tested for acoustic testing, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and flammability testing to asses sound absorption, thermal decomposition and fire resistivity of the structures. Hemp fibre composites have shown improved thermal stability over Jute fibre composites. However, the fire resistance characteristics of jute fibre composites are better as compared to hemp fibre composites. The sound absorption coefficient of composites was found to enhance with the increase of frequency.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.135-143
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• 1986

The distributional pattern of the bast fibres strands or bundles in the stems of Sida species represented in Nigeria is studied. Three major patterns of arrangement are recognized, namely aggregation of fibre strands into units with wedge-shaped, or triangular, rectangular, rhomboidal, square and trapezoid outlines; serial arrangement of fibre strands into rings or circular, ovoid, semi-circular or crescentic rows; and intermediate pattern in which both fibre strands-aggregates and serial rows of strands patterns are combined. The first pattern is found in S. linifolia, S. urens and S. scabrida, the second in S. cordifolia, S. pilosa, S. ovata, S. rhombifolia and S. spinosa, and the third in S. garckeana, and S. acuta. A dichotomous key based on these features is presented. Dimensional characteristics of the bast fibre cells are also given.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.4
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• pp.515-520
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• 2020

In the modern era, the world is facing unprecedented challenges in form of environmental pollution and international agencies are forcing scientists and materialists to look for green materials and structures to counter this problem. Composites based on renewable sources like plant based fibres, vegetable fibres are finding increasing use in interior components of automobile vehicles, aircraft, and building construction. In the present study, jute and flax fibre based composites were developed and tested for assessing their suitability for possible applications in interior cabin and parts of automobile and aerospace vehicles. Matrix system involves epoxy as resin and fibre weight fractions used were 45% and 55% respectively. Composites samples were prepared as per American society for testing and materials (ASTM) standard and were tested for individual fiber tensile strength, composite tensile strength, and flexural strength to analyse its behavior under various loading conditions. The results revealed that the Jute fibre composites possess enhanced mechanical properties over Flax fibre composites.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1657-1662
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• 2004

The forage potential of mulberry (Morus alba) was evaluated under Malaysian conditions. The yield and nutrient composition of plant fractions of mulberry (whole plant, leaf and stem fractions) were determined at four harvest stages, namely, 3 (W3), 5 (W5), 7 (W7) and 9 (W9) weeks in a randomized block design. The study was conducted over a 9-month period to assess the persistence of the crop to repeated harvests. Fresh and dry matter (DM) yields of all plant fractions increased significantly (p<0.01) with increasing intervals between harvests, with highest DM yields at W9. The leaf to stem ratio declined significantly (p<0.01) from 5.2 (W3) to 0.9 (W9), indicating predominance of the stem fraction with advancing maturity. The nutritional composition of plant fractions was also significantly influenced (p<0.01) by advancing plant maturity at harvest. Crude protein (CP), ash and the metabolisable energy content of plant fractions declined significantly (p<0.01) from W3 to W9, while there was a corresponding significant increase (p<0.01) in the acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin. From this study it was concluded that the optimum stage to harvest the whole plant is 5 weeks, which is a compromise between yield, nutrient composition (CP and fibre components), and the annual number of cuts, with good crop persistence to repeated harvests. Fresh mulberry whole plant can provide a valuable supplemental source of nutrients to poor quality basal diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.1277-1284
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• 1999

Eight feeds and their residues left after washing with tap water (water residue) or incubation in the rumen (rumen residues) were treated with hydrochloric acid, neutral detergent solution without EDTA (NDS) or both, and the release or sorption of minerals (Ca, Mg, P, Na, K, Cu and Zn) assessed. Six of the feeds were from Sri Lanka (Panicum maximum ecotype Guinea A, Glyricidia maculate, Artocarpus heterophyllus (jak leaves), untreated and urea-treated rice straw, and rice bran) and two from the Netherlands (maize silage and wheat straw). The initial concentration of mineral elements, the concentration of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and the type of feed significantly influenced (p<0.01). The proportion of the mineral elements released or sorbed. In general, feeds with high NDF content (straws and guinea grass) sorbed Ca from tap water, or released less in the rumen, and within these feeds the extent of sorption varied with source of fibre. Acid or NDS treatment removed little of the sorbed Ca, but they removed much of the Mg from both water and rumen residues. Fibres of wheat straw and jak leaves showed an affinity for Mg in the rumen. All feeds and their water and rumen residues sorbed P and Na from NDS, and the extent of sorption varied with the initial concentrations of these elements and with the type of fibre. Acid treatment removed part of the sorbed Na, but not the P. The solubility of K was not affected by the content of NDF, the type of fibre or the initial concentration of K. All feeds and their residues, except for the rumen residues of rice bran sorbed Cu from tap water and in the rumen. The recovery of Cu in rumen residues declined from 353% to 147% after NDS treatment, and with some feeds (glyricidia and jak leaves) the recovery was below 100%. Acid treatment removed part of the Zn sorbed by the water and rumen residues, but the capacity of residues to retain Zn varied with the type of feed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2022

Gas separation via hollow fibre membrane modules (HFMM) is deemed to be a promising technology for natural gas sweetening, particularly for lowering the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in natural gas, which can cause various problems during transportation and process operation. Separation performance via HFMM is affected by membrane properties, module specifications and operating conditions. In this study, a mathematical model for HFMM is developed, which can be used to assess the effects of the aforementioned variables on separation performance. Appropriate boundary conditions are imposed to resolve steady-state values of permeate variables and incorporated in the model equations via an iterative numerical procedure. The developed model is proven to be reliable via model validation against experimental data in the literature. Also, the model is capable of capturing axial variations of process variables as well as predicting key performance indicators. It can be extended to simulate a large-scale plant and identify an optimal process design and operating conditions for improved separation efficiency and reduced cost.