Knife slicing of wood across the grain

Summary This paper investigates a method for slicing thick pieces of wood across the grain using a sharp steel knife, and it demonstrates the effectiveness of the knife slicing process at an experimental level. In order to highlight the key parameters facilitating or hindering the thick slicing process, several factors affecting the cutting forces and the cut surface quality have been studied; the blade geometry, the effect of friction, the cutting speed, the boundary load constraints and the wood moisture content. The results indicate that a large proportion of the cutting force may be related to the wedging action of the blade in the wood. Therefore, significant reductions in the cutting energy can be achieved by optimising the blade shape. A simple homogeneous strain model has been developed which quantifies the cutting forces in terms of the blade angle and the blade surface friction. The results from this theoretical model are compared with the experimental findings and discussed in relation to methods for improving the cutting technique.This work was funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology. This support is gratefully acknowledged     

Certification of sustainable forest management practices: a global perspective on why countries certify

In this paper, we examine national conditions that encourage the growth of a private regulatory environmental system to govern forests. Economic, institutional and social capital variables for 117 countries are used to examine factors determining forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council and domestic competitor schemes. Although economic factors, such as forest exports and GDP, are important in explaining the likelihood that a country's forest management practices are certified, the regression results support the idea that economic institutions and the social context under which firms and forest landowners seek certification matters. The ability of citizens to influence the political process is also significant; in particular, the likelihood that firms and forest owners will seek to certify their forest practices is significantly reduced if women have little or no effective voice in civil society.     

Dual role of the pigmentation gene B in affecting carotenoid and vitamin E content in squash (Cucurbita pepo) mesocarp

The yellow and orange colorations of the mesocarp of pumpkins and squash of Cucurbita pepo are due to the presence of carotenoid pigments that also greatly contribute to their nutritional value. Carotenoids, as well as tocopherols (vitamin E), are isoprenoid compounds formed by branches of a common biosynthetic pathway. Photodiode array HPLC analysis was used to simultaneously determine the content and composition of fruit-flesh carotenoids and tocopherols in five pairs of near-isogenic lines differing in the allelic state of genes previously identified as having profound effects on fruit color. The dominant B allele promoted carotenoid accumulation up to 5-fold and prevented tocopherol accumulation in all genetic backgrounds. The dominant L-2 allele doubled carotenoid content and, in combination with the dominant B allele, increased carotenoid content by 10-15-fold as compared to the recessive l-2 allele. The genes D and L-1 had no significant effects on mesocarp tocopherols or carotenoids content. These results indicate that the B gene, which affects both carotenoids and tocopherols, may play a regulatory role in the flux of the isoprenoid pathway products.     

Aggregation of peptides during hydrolysis as a cause of reduced enzymatic extractability of soybean meal proteins

With the purpose of analyzing the size and composition of enzyme-unextractable proteins in differently heat-treated soybean meals, a selection of extractants was screened for their ability to extract these proteins from enzyme-unextractable residues. The largest effects were obtained with urea, urea plus beta-mercaptoethanol, and dilute alkali; the latter extracted up to 87% of the enzyme-unextractable protein. Gel permeation chromatography indicated that a large proportion of the extracted material was of high molecular weight. However, the combined results from gel electrophoresis, LC-MS, and MALDI-ToF MS showed that the extracted protein material was composed of aggregated peptides. The largest aggregates were observed in the enzymatic residues originating from meals heat-treated at high humidity. Extracted aggregates were fully degraded upon subsequent proteolytic treatment.     

Evaluation of Hach Fish Farmer's Water Quality Test Kits for Saline Water

Hach Company Fish Farmer's Water Quality Test Kits (Models FF-2 and FF-1A) were compared with Standard Methods of analysis by determining dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, pH, total alkalinity, total hardness, chloride, total ammonia-nitrogen, and nitrite nitrogen in waters of 0, 17, and 30 ppt salinity. Results indicate that the kits generally are reliable for making routine water analyses of saline waters for practical aquacultural applications.     

Spray retention and distribution on apple trees

Total deposits and their distribution on bush and dwarf hedgerow apple trees, sprayed at the late dormant and full foliage stages with a copper fungicide by five different methods, were estimated by colorimetric determination of the acid-extracted copper from all the tree parts, and for comparison purposes were converted to equivalent volumes retained. The bush trees were sprayed by hand lance (4500 litresha-¹), by automatic nozzle mast sprayer (2250 litres ha^?1), by conventional air-blast sprayer at medium volume (1125 litres ha^?1) and low volume (560 litres ha^?1), and by hand-directed ultra-low-volume (ULVH) fan-assisted spinning-disc sprayer (6 litres ha^?1). The hedgerow trees were sprayed by conventional air-blast sprayer at low volume (560 litres ha^?1) and by an experimental tractor-mounted ultra-low-volume air-blast sprayer (45 litres ha^?1). At the late dormant stage, the bush trees retained only 9–22 % of the total spray applied by all methods, except that those sprayed by the hand-directed ULVH sprayer retained 57%. At the full foliage stage, when most of the spray was deposited on the leaves, retention for all methods of application was 22–37%. The hedgerow trees at late dormancy retained 6% of the spray applied in low volume and 10% of that by tractor-mounted ultra-low-volume methods, but at full foliage, retention was 25 and 63 %, respectively. On both types of tree the proportions of the spray deposited on the tree components were related to the surface areas of those components.     

Fate of endosulfan in rats and toxicological considerations of apolar metabolites

[¹⁴C]Endosulfan, α or β isomers separately, was administered to rats as a single oral dose and as a dietary supplement for 14 days. No appreciable differences were observed in the fate of the two isomers. Five days after the single dose, 75% of the dose had been voided in the feces and 13% in the urine. Of the total radiocarbon consumed in the diet after 14 days, 56% had been eliminated in the feces and 8% in the urine. Bile collection studies showed that up to 47% of a single oral dose was eliminated from the liver via this route; enterohepatic circulation was not apparent. Maximum [¹⁴C]endosulfan equivalents in body tissue occurred in the kidney and liver, 3 and 1 ppm, respectively, after 14 days of feeding 5 ppm of endosulfan. Apolar metabolites in the excreta and/or tissues were a minor portion of the total residues and consisted of the sulfate, diol, α-hydroxy ether, lactone, and ether derivatives of endosulfan. The sulfate was slightly more toxic to mice than endosulfan, while the other products were less toxic. Neither endosulfan nor its metabolites were active in the Salmonella mutagenicity test. Endosulfan in the diet of rats for 28 days at 50 ppm did not induce liver oxidase enzymes, alter liver or kidney weights, or influence the rate of weight gain of the animals.     

Review of induced molting by feed removal and contamination of eggs with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis

As laying hens age, egg production and quality decreases. Egg producers can impose an induced molt on older hens that results in increased egg productivity and decreased hen mortality compared with non-molted hens of the same age. This review discusses the effect of induced molting by feed removal on immune parameters, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) invasion and subsequent production of SE-contaminated eggs. Experimental oral infections with SE show molted hens are more susceptible to SE infection and produce more SE-contaminated eggs in the first few weeks post-molt compared with pre-molt egg production. In addition, it appears that molted hens are more likely to disseminate SE into their environment. Molted hens are more susceptible to SE infection by contact exposure to experimentally infected hens; thus, transmission of SE among molted hens could be more rapid than non-molted birds. Histological examination of the gastrointestinal tracts of molted SE-infected hens revealed more frequent and severe intestinal mucosal lesions compared with non-molted SE-infected hens. These data suggest that induced molting by feed deprivation alters the normal asymptomatic host-pathogen relationship. Published data suggest the highest proportion of SE-positive eggs is produced within 1-5 weeks post-molt and decreases sharply by 6-10 weeks and dissipates to the background level for non-molted hens by 11-20 weeks. Appropriate treatment measures of eggs produced in the fist 5 weeks post-molting may decrease the risk of foodborne infections to humans.