• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.401-414
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• 2023

Organic clays are ideal habitat for flora and fauna. From a geotechnical perspective, organic clays are soft, weak, variable, heterogeneous and flocculated. Portland cement is a universally common stabiliser. However, some organic acids in soil inhibit full hydration and expose cementation products to rapid dissolution. This paper investigates scopes for use of C₃S cement to enable durable cementation. Prospects of using PP fibre alongside with C₃S cement, scopes for partial replacement of C₃S cement with a plant-based nanosilica and evolution of binders are then investigated. Binding mixtures here mimic the natural functions of rhizoliths, amorphous phases, and calcites. Testing sample population include natural and fibre-reinforced clays, compact mixes of clay - C₃S cement, clay - nanobiosilica, and clay, C₃S cement and nanobiosilica. Benefits and constraints of C₃S cement and fibres for retaining the naturally flocculated structure of organic clays are discussed. Nanobiosilica provides an opportunity to cut the C₃S content, and to transition of highly compressive organic clays into an engineered, open-structured medium with >0.5 MPa compressive strength across the strains spanning from peak to 1.5-times peak.

• 한국근적외분광분석학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국근적외분광분석학회 2001년도 NIR-2001
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• pp.1091-1091
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• 2001

Previous reports have shown that Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to assess physical and chemical properties of flax fibre and fabric quality. Currently, spinners assess yarn quality mainly based on strength and regularity measurements. There two key characteristics are influenced by quality of raw fibres used, especially the degree of rotting and strength. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the use of NIRS for assessing quality of weft grade yarn available on the commercial market. In order to develop the NIR calibrations, a range of samples representing poor, medium and good quality weft yarn samples was included in the calibration and validation sample sets. The samples were analysed for physical and chemical parameters including caustic weight loss, fibre fractions, lipid, ash and minerals. A detailed protocol for assessing yarn quality has been developed to maximize the accuracy of the reflectance spectra. The development of partial least squares regression models and validation of the calibration equations using blind samples will be presented and discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.329-335
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• 1992

Degradation of rice straw was observed to be higher (p<0.01) in the buffaloes than in cattle. At 48 h, the dry matter (DM) loss of straw for buffaloes was 53.6 0.8% and that for cattle was 48.7 2.6%. Palm press fibre (PPF) was poorly degraded in the rumen of both animal species. A loss of about 21% DM was observed in both cattle and buffaloes after 48 h of incubation in the rumen. The pattern of bacterial and fungal colonization of straw and PPF seemed to be similar in both cattle and buffaloes. Microbial colonization was restricted by plant structures like the silica crystals in both straw and PPF. The predominant bacteria colonizing both straw and PPF fragments were the rods. Eroded zones and digestion pits were pronounced in straw fragments after 1 h of incubation. The PPF fragments appeared undegraded even after 6 h of incubation. Fungal colonization of straw was rapid and extensive in both cattle and buffaloes. The sporangia observed in straw were mainly spherical or oval in shape, but fusiform sporangia with acuminate tip were predominantly seen in PPF fragments.

• 한국근적외분광분석학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국근적외분광분석학회 2001년도 NIR-2001
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• pp.1517-1517
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• 2001

Cultural conditions during production of compost, using wheat straw and chicken litter as raw materials, will affect the microbial and biochemical characteristics, leading to a wide variation in mushroom productivity. Over the past 10 years, chemical and instrumental methods, suitable for assessing compost quality have been studied in Northern Ireland. In addition, the use of near subject of investigation over the past 4 years. Previous studies have shown that NIRS can be used fer assessing quality of dried and milled composts. The aim of the current investigation is to develop NIR calibrations for key quality parameters such as dry matter, pH, nitrogen, carbon, ash, microbial population and fibre factions during the two stages of production using spectra of fresh composts. Near infrared reflectance measurements of fresh composts prepared by 6 producers were made during a two-year period. Although the spectra of fresh composts were dominated by two moisture peaks at 1450 nm and 1940 nm, good calibrations for determining moisture content, conductivity, pH, nitrogen, carbon and fibre fractions were developed. The results of quality assessment during commercial production using the calibrations will be presented and discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.861-868
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• 2012

During two years, four samples per year were collected in Vietnam from rice bran, cassava residue, brewer's grain, tofu residue, soybean meal, coconut cake, sweet potato vines and water spinach for chemical analysis and assessment of water holding capacity (WHC). The selected feedstuffs represent fibre-rich plant sources and agro-industry co-products commonly used in pig feeding in Vietnam. The content (g/kg DM) of crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE) and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) varied between feedstuffs and ranged from 21 to 506 for CP, from 14 to 118 for EE and from 197 to 572 for NSP. Cassava residue had a high starch content of 563 g/kg DM, while sweet potato vines, water spinach, coconut cake and soybean meal had a high content of sugars (63-71 g/kg DM). The content of individual neutral sugars varied between feed ingredients, with the highest content of arabinose, galactose and glucose in tofu residue, the highest content of xylose in brewer's grain and the highest content of mannose in coconut cake. The content of uronic acid was high for cassava residue, tofu residue, sweet potato vines and water spinach (57-88 g/kg DM). The content of soluble non-cellulosic polysaccharides (S-NCP) was positively correlated ($r^2$ = 0.82) to the WHC. The content (g/kg DM) of CP, NDF, neutral sugars, total NSP, total NCP, S-NCP and total dietary fibre in tofu residue, water spinach and coconut cake varied (p<0.05) between years. In conclusion, diet formulation to pigs can be improved if the variation in chemical composition of the fibre fraction and in WHC between potential feed ingredients is taken into account.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.191-194
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• 2017

Ocimum gratissimum is a common plant in the tropics and has been used in food and medicine. Its usage in food and medicine could be attributed to its phtyochemical and antimicrobial properties. In this study we investigated the proximate, phytochemical, and antimicrobial attributes of air dried leaves of O. gratissimum. The aqueous extract was found to contain phtyochemicals with alkaloid and saponin present in appreciable amounts. The proximate analysis (crude protein and crude fibre content were 15.075% and 17.365%, respectively) showed that the leaf could be a good source of protein and fibre. The aqueous ethanolic extract of the leaf exhibited activity against a wider range of organisms when compared to the aqueous extract at the investigated concentrations. Aqueous ethanolic extracts of O. gratissimum leaf was active against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus and the aqueous extract of the leaf was active against P. aeruginosa.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• 제9권3호
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• pp.207-216
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• 2009

Bauhinia variegata Linn (Mountain Ebony) is a medium-sized, deciduous tree, found throughout India, ascending to an altitude of 1,300 m in the Himalayas. The plant is widely used by the tribals throughout India and popular in various indigenous systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy. Following the various traditional claims on utility of this plant in curing number of diseases, considerable efforts have been made by researchers to verify its utility through pharmacological screenings. The notable biological activities reported are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumour, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antigoitrogenic, hepatoprotective and haemagglutination. Industrially, the plant is widely used for the manufacture of wood wool board, production of tannin, oil, gum and fibre. The plant is also utilized for afforestation to conserve the nature. In this article, a comprehensive account of the cultivation, microscopy, phytochemical investigation, traditional and biologically evaluated medicinal uses of B variegata is presented.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.58-63
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• 2015

An experimental rearing of tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury was conducted to study silkworm-food plant-interaction and thereby to search for an alternate silkworm food plant. The silkworm-food-plant-interaction was studied with six different food plant species viz. Terminalia tomentosa, Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula of Combretaceae family and Lagerstroemia speciosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora of Lythraceae family. The rearing performance of silkworm on Lagerstroemia speciosa in terms of cocoons per DFL and silk ratio was found comparable with Terminalia tomentosa and Termonalia arjuna, the primary tasar silkworm food plant species. These three plant species also possessed better results in terms of physiological (leaf moisture content and net photosynthesis rate) and biochemical (Chlorophyll, protein, carbohydrate and crude fibre contents) characteristics to support silkworm rearing than Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula and Lagerstroemia parviflora. The correlation study between silkworm rearing performance and food plant's constituents indicates commercial perspective of Lagerstroemia speciosa as an alternate food plant for tasar silkworm rearing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제12권8호
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• pp.1228-1233
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• 1999

A study was conducted on four maize cultivars to determine the dry matter and fibre digestibility as influenced by advancing plant age. Samples of maize cultivars Akbar, Neelum, UM-81 and IZ-31 were harvested at weekly intervals/ growth stages. The samples of morphological fractions such as leaf and stem were also collected at various growth stages. Whole mixed fodder and different fractions of maize plant were analysed for their chemical composition and in vitro digestibility. The results showed that in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of whole maize plant, leaf and stem decreased significantly with advancing stage of maturity. Digestibility of NDF, ADF, hemicellulose and cellulose decreased significantly in all plant parts with advancing plant age/growth stages. Maximum values for the digestibility of dry matter and various cell wall constituents were observed in leaf, followed by whole plant and stem fractions. Cultivars were observed to have significant effect of IVDMD and digestibility of NDF, ADF and cellulose in all plant fractions. The results indicated that digestibility of maize fodder was affected by stage of maturity and cultivars. However, maturity had a greater effect on digestibility in all plant fractions than did cultivars. Dry matter contents were found to be significantly and negatively correlated with IVDMD of whole plant and its leaf and stem fractions. Based on correlations, regression equations were computed to predict IVDMD.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.9-15
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• 2007

A comparative study of the structure and organization of the primary and secondary walls in different types of tropical plant waste fibers was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thickness of each layer was also measured using Image Analyzer. TEM micrographs haveconfirmed that cell wall structure of all six types of tropical plant waste fibers (empty fruit bunch, oil palm frond, oil palm trunk, coir, banana stem and pineapple leaf) has the same ultrastructure with wood fibre. The fibers consisted of middle lamella, primary and thick secondary wall with different thickness for different types of fibers. The secondary wall was differentiated into a $S_1$ layer, a unique multi-lamellae $S_2$ layer, and $S_3$ layer.