• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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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.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1421-1424
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• 2005

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two diets different in crude fibre content and ingredients on performance and on caecal characteristics of rabbits around weaning. Thirty litters from thirty New Zealand White does were divided at Day 18 in two groups fed, respectively, a low fibre concentrate (LFC, consisting mainly of soybean meal, delactated whey, barley) from Day 18-28 followed by a creep feed (CF, consisting mainly in alfalfa meal, barley and wheat bran) from Day 29-32, and a CF from Day 18-32. After weaning (32 days) both groups were fed the CF ad libitum for two weeks. During the pre-weaning period, mortality, milk intake and solid feed intake (from Day 20) were recorded daily, while the live weight of kits was recorded twice, at 18 and 32 days. At day 28, one rabbit/litter was slaughtered in order to obtain data on caecal content characteristics. After weaning, the rabbits were located in collective cages, feeding ad libitum CF; feed intake, live weight and mortality were recorded weekly for two weeks. During the preweaning period, there were no differences between the groups in milk and solid feed intake and, by consequence, in live weight at weaning; instead, the mortality was higher (12.5 vs 4.5%) for the group (A) that changed diet at 28 days. Group A showed also a higher caecal pH (6.12 vs. 5.72), propionate to butyrate ratio (0.73 vs. 0.46), ammonia content (9.3 vs. 7.1 mmol/l), but a lower total volatile fatty acid content (66.8 vs. 82.1 mmol/l) than B Group, probably due to the dried milk whey in the concentrate. After weaning, there were no significant differences between the two groups. The authors concluded that the use of a low fibre concentrate for suckling rabbits is not recommended.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.507-514
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• 2001

Two experiments were carried out to investigate whether duckweed is useful as a dietary protein source for fine-wool Merino sheep and to evaluate its effects on wool yield and characteristics. In Experiment 1, the sheep were given one of three maintenance diets consisting of oaten chaff (520-700 g/d) supplemented with 16-32 g crude protein/d in the form of fresh (1 kg/d) or sun-dried (50-100 g/d) duckweed. Each ration was estimated to provide 5.4 MJ (1.3 Mcal)/d of metabolisable energy (ME). The sheep readily ingested the fresh or dried duckweed. None of the wool measures (yield, rate of fibre elongation, fibre diameter) differed (p>0.05) between dietary treatments. In Experiment 2, oaten-chaff-based diets (800 g/d) supplying 6.5-7.2 MJ (1.6-1.7 Mcal)/d of ME were supplemented with iso-nitrogenous amounts (4-5 g N) either of urea (8 g), cottonseed meal (60 g) or dried duckweed (100 g). In this experiment, the rate of wool fibre elongation, thought to be related to intestinal amino acid absorption, was lower (p<0.05) for sheep given the oaten chaff/urea diet than for those given either oaten chaff/cottonseed meal or oaten chaff/duckweed for which the rates did not differ (p>0.05). Fibre diameter, which ranged from 16.0-16.7 mm, did not differ (p>0.05) between diets, but tended to be lower on the oaten chaff/urea diet so that volume of wool produced was also significantly lower (p<0.05) on this diet than on the diets containing duckweed or cottonseed meal. Rumen ammonia concentrations at 4.5 and 7.5 h after feeding were higher (p<0.05) for sheep given the oaten chaff/urea diet than for those given the other two diets. A comparison of the rumen ammonia concentrations, wool growth rate and predicted flows of amino acids from the rumen of sheep supplemented with duckweed rather than cottonseed meal suggested that duckweed is a valuable source of 'escape protein' for ruminants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1291-1298
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• 2010

The aim of this research was to investigate the dynamic changes of the level of total prolactin receptor (PRLR) mRNA and the short form prolactin receptor (S-PRLR) mRNA in skin of cashmere goats from the initiation of cashmere fibre growth to active growth. Eighteen half-sib wethers were allocated randomly to two groups. Melatonin implants were used in order to initiate growth of cashmere fibre before the normal time and reduce blood plasma prolactin (PRL) concentration. Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) was used to determine PRLR mRNA expression levels of skin from June to November. The results showed that, in Chinese Inner Mongolia cashmere goats, there were seasonal variations in expression of total PRLR mRNA in skin with levels decreasing from June to October. Synchronously, the cashmere fibre growth rate gradually increased during this period, but the expression levels of S-PRLR mRNA did not decrease along with seasonal variation from initiation to active growth of cashmere fibre. These results suggest that expression levels of S- PRLR mRNA might be involved in the process of cashmere growth. It was also possible that the change of alternative splicing of PRLR occurred in the skin of cashmere goats from proanagen to anagen.

• CELLMED
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.12.1-12.7
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• 2016

Cocos nucifera (C. nucifera) oil is indigenously used to treat cardiovascular diseases. However, coconut husk fibre (which is rich in polyphenols) has not been screened for this property. Based on the ethnomedicinal use of polyphenols in treating cardiovascular diseases, this study was carried out to evaluate the effects of polyphenols of C. nucifera husk fibre on selected cardiovascular disease indices in mice. Fifty adult male Swiss albino mice were assigned randomly into five groups (A-E). Mice in groups B, C, D and E were administered 31.25, 62.5, 125, and 250 mg/kg body weight polyphenols of ethyl acetate extract of C. nucifera husk fibre respectively while the control group (A) mice received 5% DMSO for seven days. The mice were sacrificed twenty four hours after the last administration of polyphenols. Heart and plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities and plasma lipid profile were determined. Results revealed significant reduction (^*p< 0.05) in plasma levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol with no significant change (^*p> 0.05) in HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride and VLDL levels in the plasma at all doses of polyphenols administered compared to controls. There was significant reduction (^*p< 0.05) in the activities of heart AST and LDH while plasma ALT, AST, and ALP activities were not significantly altered (^*p> 0.05) at all doses of polyphenols administered compared to controls. These results suggest that the polyphenols of C. nucifera husk fibre possess cardio-protective properties and also indicate their possible use in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.393-410
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• 2012

Conventional geotechnical instrumentation techniques available for monitoring of slopes, especially soil-nailed slopes have limitations such as electromagnetic interference, low accuracy, poor longterm reliability and difficulty in mounting a series of strain sensors on a soil nail bar with a small-diameter. This paper presents a slope monitoring system based on fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technology. This monitoring system is designed to perform long-term monitoring of slope movements, strains along soil nails, and other slope reinforcement elements. All these FBG sensors are fabricated and calibrated in laboratory and a trial of this monitoring system has been successfully conducted on a roadside slope in Hong Kong. As part of the slope stability improvement works, soil nails and a toe support soldier-pile wall were constructed. During the slope works, more than 100 FBG sensors were installed on a soil nail, a soldier pile, and an in- place inclinometer. The paper presents the layout and arrangement of the instruments as well as the installation procedures adopted. Monitoring data have been collected since March 2008. This trial has demonstrated the great potential of the optical fibre monitoring system for long-term monitoring of slope performance. The advantages of the slope monitoring system and experience gained in the field implementation are also discussed in the paper.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1849-1858
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• 2021

Objective: Tenderness is a very complex feature, and the process of its formation is very complicated and not fully understood. Its diversification is one of the most important problems of beef production, as a result beef aging is widely used to improve tenderness as it is believed to provide a homogeneous product to consumers. While few studies have evaluated the muscle structure properties in relation to tenderness from early post-mortem, there little to no information available on how the muscle nanostructure of beef carcasses changes during post-mortem ageing to determine the appropriate aging time for acceptable tenderness. Methods: Muscle nanostructure (myofibril diameter [MYD], myofibril spacing [MYS], muscle fibre diameter [MFD], muscle fibre spacing [MFS], and sarcomere length [SL]), meat tenderness and cooking loss [CL]) were measured on 20 A2 longissimus muscles of Bonsmara, Beefmaster, Hereford, and Simbra at 45_mins, 1, 3, and 7 days post-slaughter. Muscle nanostructure was measured using a scanning electron microscope, while tenderness was measured using Warner Bratzler shear force. Results: At 45 minutes post-slaughter, breed affected MYD and MYS only, while at 24_hrs it also affected MFD and MFS. On day 3 breed effected MFS and SL, while on day 7 breed effected tenderness only. As the muscles matured, both MYD and MYS decreased while CL increased, and the muscles became tender. There was no uniformity on muscle texture features (surface structure, fibre separation, muscle contraction, and relaxation) throughout the ageing period. Conclusion: Meat tenderness can be directly linked to breed related myofibril structure changes during aging in particular the MYD, spacing between myofibrils and their interaction; while the MFD, spacing between muscle fibres, SL, and CL explain the non-uniformity in beef tenderness.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.419-444
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• 2014

In this study experimental result of a total of eight SCC and FRSCC slabs with the same cross-section were monitored for up to 240 days to measure the time-dependent development of cracking and deformations under service loads are presented. For this purpose, four SCC mixes are considered in the test program. This study aimed to compare SCC and FRSCC experimental results with conventional concrete experimental results. The steel strains within the high moment regions, the concrete surface strains at the tensile steel level, deflection at the mid-span, crack widths and crack spacing were recorded throughout the testing period. Experimental results show that hybrid fibre reinforced SCC slabs demonstrated minimum instantaneous and time-dependent crack widths and steel fibre reinforced SCC slabs presented minimum final deflection.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.98-104
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• 2008

In this study, chromate and cetylperidinium chloride (CPC) removal from artificial wastewater was monitored by using micellar enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) and activated carbon fibre (ACF) adsorption hybrid processes. For the efficient chromate removal, molar concentration of the CPC should be five times that of chromate and it should be at least one critical micelle concentration (CMC). The MEUF was found to be effective in the chromate removal while ACF in the CPC adsorption to produce chromate and CPC free effluents. The chromate and CPC removal was 99.8% from MEUF-ACF process. Effluent chromate concentration was exponentially correlated with molar ratio of CPC to chromate and pH.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.634-636
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• 2007

The texture and microstructure in Cu/Nb added ultra low carbon steels through the different thickness layer were studied after hot rolling. It was found that the two ultra low carbon steels all show the inhomogeneity of hot rolling texture and the Cu-added ultra low carbon steel was far more inhomogeneous than Nb-added one. In the center layer, the strong ${\alpha}\;fibre,\;{\gamma}\;fibre$ textures and the shear textures including 001<110>, 111<112> were founded. Near the surface, the ${\alpha}\;fibre$ texture and the orientation texture caused by a typical plane-strain deformation condition of bcc metals were observed.