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PRODUCT WARRANTY

  • Murthy, D.N.P.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Reliability Society Conference
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    • 2004.04a
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    • pp.97-106
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    • 2004
  • Contractual agreement (relating to product performance). Established on sale of product. Requires the manufacturer to either rectify failures occurring over the warranty period or compensate through refunding a fraction of the sale price.(omitted)

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Application of Recent DNA/RNA-based Techniques in Rumen Ecology

  • McSweeney, C.S.;Denman, S.E.;Wright, A.-D.G.;Yu, Z.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.20 no.2
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    • pp.283-294
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    • 2007
  • Conventional culture-based methods of enumerating rumen microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, protozoa, and fungi) are being rapidly replaced by nucleic acid-based techniques which can be used to characterise complex microbial communities without incubation. The foundation of these techniques is 16S/18S rDNA sequence analysis which has provided a phylogenetically based classification scheme for enumeration and identification of microbial community members. While these analyses are very informative for determining the composition of the microbial community and monitoring changes in population size, they can only infer function based on these observations. The next step in functional analysis of the ecosystem is to measure how specific and, or, predominant members of the ecosystem are operating and interacting with other groups. It is also apparent that techniques which optimise the analysis of complex microbial communities rather than the detection of single organisms will need to address the issues of high throughput analysis using many primers/probes in a single sample. Nearly all the molecular ecological techniques are dependant upon the efficient extraction of high quality DNA/RNA representing the diversity of ruminal microbial communities. Recent reviews and technical manuals written on the subject of molecular microbial ecology of animals provide a broad perspective of the variety of techniques available and their potential application in the field of animal science which is beyond the scope of this treatise. This paper will focus on nucleic acid based molecular methods which have recently been developed for studying major functional groups (cellulolytic bacteria, protozoa, fungi and methanogens) of microorganisms that are important in nutritional studies, as well as, novel methods for studying microbial diversity and function from a genomics perspective.

SPECTROSCOPIC AND CHEMOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF SW-NIR SPECTRA OF SUGARS AND FRUITS

  • Golic, Mirta;Walsh, Kerry;Lawson, Peter
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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    • 2001.06a
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    • pp.1133-1133
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    • 2001
  • Fruit sweetness, as indexed by total soluble solids (TSS), and fruit acidity are key factors in the description of the fruit eating quality. Our group has been using short wave NIR spectroscopy (SW-NIR; 700-1100 nm) in combination with chemometric methods (PLS and MLR) for the non-invasive determination of the fruit eating quality (1,2). In order to further improve calibration performance, we have investigated SW-NIR spectra of sucrose and D-glucose. In previous reports on the band assignment for these sugars in the 1100-2500 nm spectral region (3-7), it has been established that change in concentration, temperature and physical state of sugars reflects on the shape and position of the spectral bands in the whole NIR region(5-7). The effect of change in concentration and temperature of individual sugar solutions and sugar spiked Juice samples was analysed using combined spectroscopic (derivative, difference, 2D spectroscopy) and linear regression chemometric (PLS, MLR) techniques. The results have been compared with the spectral data of a range of fruit types, varying in TSS content and temperature. In the 800-950 nm spectral region, the B-coefficients for apples, peaches and nectarines resemble those generated in a calibration of pure sucrose in water (Fig. 1). As expected, these fruits exhibit better calibration and prediction results than those in which the B-coefficients were poorly related to those for sugar.(Figure omitted).

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An improved modal strain energy method for structural damage detection, 2D simulation

  • Moradipour, Parviz;Chan, Tommy H.T.;Gallag, Chaminda
    • Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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    • v.54 no.1
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    • pp.105-119
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    • 2015
  • Structural damage detection using modal strain energy (MSE) is one of the most efficient and reliable structural health monitoring techniques. However, some of the existing MSE methods have been validated for special types of structures such as beams or steel truss bridges which demands improving the available methods. The purpose of this study is to improve an efficient modal strain energy method to detect and quantify the damage in complex structures at early stage of formation. In this paper, a modal strain energy method was mathematically developed and then numerically applied to a fixed-end beam and a three-story frame including single and multiple damage scenarios in absence and presence of up to five per cent noise. For each damage scenario, all mode shapes and natural frequencies of intact structures and the first five mode shapes of assumed damaged structures were obtained using STRAND7. The derived mode shapes of each intact and damaged structure at any damage scenario were then separately used in the improved formulation using MATLAB to detect the location and quantify the severity of damage as compared to those obtained from previous method. It was found that the improved method is more accurate, efficient and convergent than its predecessors. The outcomes of this study can be safely and inexpensively used for structural health monitoring to minimize the loss of lives and property by identifying the unforeseen structural damages.

Effect of GnRH Immunization on Testicular Function in Colts

  • Tshewang, U.;Dowsett, K.F.;Knott, L.;Jackson, A.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.348-353
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    • 1999
  • Ten Australian Stock Horses colts (five yearling and five 3-year old colts) of which 2 yearlings and 2 three year old colts served as control animals while 3 yearlings and 3 three year old colts received two GnRH immunizations within 4 weeks interval were used in this study. By the 5th to 6th week after immunization, the GnRH antibody titres in the plasma rose above 1:1000 and attained peak levels of 1:6500 by the 8th week and gradually declined to about 1:3000 by the 10th week in both the age groups. The testosterone and androstenedione concentrations of the control colts in both age groups were significantly greater (p<0.05) than that of the vaccinated groups. During the immunosuppression period, the vaccinated colts behaved like geldings. Semen could not be collected from 2 of the 3 three-year old vaccinated colts. The testicular dimensions, testicular weight, parenchymal weight, seminiferous tubule volumes, interstitial space volumes, Leydig cell volume, seminiferous tubule % of the control colts were significantly greater than those of the vaccinated colts in both the age groups. The 3-year old control colts had a significantly (p<0.05) greater % of Leydig cells than the control and vaccinated 1-year old colts. There was arrest of spermatogenesis with complete absence of sperm in the testes of the vaccinated colts while there was various stages of spermatogenesis in those of the control colts. Morphometric analysis demonstrated that the 3-year old colts had significantly (p<0.05) greater DSP/gm of testis and DSP/testis than those of the 1-year old control colts. This study elucidated that the GnRH immunization could suppress the testicular function of the 3-year old and yearling colts.

Effect of Mutagenesis of V111 and L112 on the Substrate Specificity of Zymomonas mobilis Pyruvate Decarboxylase

  • Huang, Chang-Yi;Nixon, Peter F.;Duggleby, Ronald G.
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.32 no.1
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    • pp.39-44
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    • 1999
  • Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetaldehyde as the penultimate step in alcohol fermentation. The enzyme requires two cofactors, thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) and $Mg^{2+}$, for activity. Zymomonas mobilis PDC shows a strong preference for pyruvate although it will use the higher homologues 2-ketobutyrate and 2-ketovalerate to some extent. We have investigated the effect of mutagenesis of valine 111 and leucine 112 on the substrate specificity. V111 was replaced by glycine, alanine, leucine, and isoleucine while L112 was replaced by alanine, valine, and isoleucine. With the exception of L112I, all mutants retain activity towards pyruvate with $k_{cat}$ values ranging from 40% to 139% of wild-type. All mutants show changes from wild-type in the affinity for ThDP, and several (V111A, L112A, and L112V) show decreases in the affinity for $Mg^{2+}$. Two of the mutants, V111G and V111A, show an increase in the $K_m$ for pyruvate. The activity of each mutant towards 2-ketobutyrate and 2-ketovalerate was investigated and some changes from wild-type were found. For the V111 mutants, the most notable of these is a 3.7-fold increase in the ability to use 2-ketovalerate. However, the largest effect is observed for the L112V mutation which increases the ability to use both 2-ketobutyrate (4.3-fold) and 2-ketovalerate (5.7-fold). The results suggest that L112 and, to a lesser extent, V111 are close to the active site and may interact with the alkyl side-chain of the substrate.

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Flow of a low concentration polyacrylamide fluid solution in a channel with a flat plate obstruction at the entry

  • Kabir, M.A.;Khan, M.M.K.;Rasul, M.G.
    • Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.63-73
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    • 2004
  • Flow in a channel with an obstruction at the entry can be reverse, stagnant or forward depending on the position of the obstruction. These flow phenomena have potential applications in the control of energy and various flows in process engineering. Parameters that affect this flow inside and around the test channel are the gap (g) between the obstruction geometry and the test channel, the Reynolds number (Re) and the length (L) of the test channel. The influence of these parameters on the flow behavior was investigated using a flat plate obstruction at the entry of the channel. A low concentration polyacrylamide solution (0.018% by weight) showing a powerlaw fluid behavior was used as the fluid in this investigation. The flow phenomena were investigated by the velocity measurement and the flow visualization and their results were compared with numerical simulation. These results of low concentration polyacrylamide solution are also compared with the results of water published elsewhere (Kabir et al., 2003). The maximum reverse flow inside the test channel observed was 20% - 30% of the outside test channel velocity at a g/w (gap to width) ratio of 1 for Reynolds numbers of 1000 to 3500. The influence of the test channel length (L) and the Reynolds number (Re) on the velocity ratio ($V_i$/$V_o$: inside velocity/outside velocity in the test channel) are also presented and discussed here.

Magneto-rheological and passive damper combinations for seismic mitigation of building structures

  • Karunaratne, Nivithigala P.K.V.;Thambiratnam, David P.;Perera, Nimal J.
    • Earthquakes and Structures
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    • v.11 no.6
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    • pp.1001-1025
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    • 2016
  • Building structures generally have inherent low damping capability and hence are vulnerable to seismic excitations. Control devices therefore play a useful role in providing safety to building structures subject to seismic events. In recent years semi-active dampers have gained considerable attention as structural control devices in the building construction industry. Magneto-rheological (MR) damper, a type of semi-active damper has proven to be effective in seismic mitigation of building structures. MR dampers contain a controllable MR fluid whose rheological properties vary rapidly with the applied magnetic field. Although some research has been carried out on the use of MR dampers in building structures, optimal design of MR damper and combined use of MR and passive dampers for real scale buildings has hardly been investigated. This paper investigates the use of MR dampers and incorporating MR-passive damper combinations in building structures in order to achieve acceptable levels of seismic performance. In order to do so, it first develops the MR damper model by integrating control algorithms commonly used in MR damper modelling. The developed MR damper is then integrated in to the seismically excited structure as a time domain function. Linear and nonlinear structure models are evaluated in real time scenarios. Analyses are conducted to investigate the influence of location and number of devices on the seismic performance of the building structure. The findings of this paper provide information towards the design and construction of earthquake safe buildings with optimally employed MR dampers and MR-passive damper combinations.