The effect of salt on the roller electrospinning of polyurethane nanofibers

In this study, we investigated the effect of tetraethylammoniumbromide (TEAB) salt on the spinnability of polyurethane nanofibers via roller electrospinning method. At first, solution properties, spinnability and fiber properties were determined and then all the results were analyzed. According to the results, TEAB salt concentration has an important effect on the conductivity, viscosity, spinning performance, fiber diameter and morphology. It was found that all these parameters increased with salt concentration. Also it was indicated that viscosity decreased with shear rate. Polyurethane including 1.82 wt % TEAB gives the best spinning performance although 0.87 wt % TEAB is the optimum value related to fiber properties such as diameter, uniformity and morphology given the ideal polyurethane nano web structure.     

The effect of ultrasonication on the micro-splitting of wool fiber

In this study, normal and dichlorodicyanuric acid (DCCA)-treated wool slivers were ultrasonicated in formic acid aqueous solutions. The effect of the ultrasonication condition on the wool fiber splitting was examined and the mechanism of the splitting by ultrasonication in formic acid was elucidated. No wool fiber splitting occurred at formic acid content up to 70 %, but the fiber splitting accelerated as the formic acid content increased from 75 %. Although no fiber splitting occurred up to 450W ultrasonic power, the degree of splitting increased significantly with increasing ultrasonic power above 450W. The wool fiber splitting by ultrasonication was heterogeneous and FE-SEM observations revealed a three-step splitting process: 1) full removal of scale, 2) removal of cell membrane complex (CMC), and 3) fiber splitting. A comparison of the fiber splitting of normal and DCCA-treated wool revealed that the scale of the ultrasonication-treated wool was removed by peeling off rather than by dissolution.     

The reinforcement effect of carbon fiber on the friction and wear properties of carbon fiber reinforced PA6 composites

The tribological performance of PA6 and carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/PA6) under dry sliding condition was examined. Different contents of carbon fibers were employed as reinforcement. All filled and unfilled polyamide 6 composites were tested against CGr15 ball and representative testing was performed. The effects of carbon fiber content on tribological properties of the composites were investigated. The worn surface morphologies of neat PA6 and its composites were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the wear mechanisms were discussed. Moreover, all filled polyamide 6 have superior tribological characteristics to unfilled polyamides 6. The optimum wear reduction was obtained when the content of carbon fiber is 20 vol%.     

The effect of an additive containing non-protein nitrogen on some fermentation characteristics of maize silage

A non-protein nitrogen additive containing ammonia, molasses and minerals was applied to precision-chopped forage maize to raise the crude protein content of the ensiled crop from approximately 8% to 10, 14 or 16%. The dry matter content, total nitrogen, water-insoluble nitrogen, and water-soluble nitrogen concentrations were measured at ensiling and 2 and 8 weeks later. The pH and lactic, acetic, propionic and butyric acid contents of the resultant silage were determined 2 and 8 weeks after ensiling. The levels of crude protein achieved were 10.8, 11.5 and 14.2%, which are equivalent to recoveries in the silages of 108, 82 and 89% of the applied nitrogen. After 8 weeks the water-insoluble nitrogen content of the treated silages had increased while the water-soluble nitrogen content had decreased. The increase in water-insoluble nitrogen may have been due to either decreased proteolysis or increased levels of microbial protein. There was a significant increase of 0.6 units in the pH of the silage when comparing the control to the highest rate of additive application. The additive increased the levels of lactic and acetic acid in the maize silage.     

The role of Na-montmorillonite on thermal characteristics and morphology of electrospun PAN nanofibers

Polymer organic-inorganic hybrid nanofibers constitute a new class of materials in which the polymeric nanofibers are reinforced by uniformly dispersed inorganic particles having at least one dimension in nanometer-scale. In the present study, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN/Na-montmorillonite (PAN/Na-MMT) nanofibers were conducted via electrospinning process. Electrospun PAN and PAN/Na-MMT fibers with the respective mean fiber diameter of about 220 and 160 nm were prepared. The influence of the clay-montmorillonite on the morphology and diameter of nanofibers was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. The microscopic techniques propose that the PAN/Na-MMT composite nanofibers show lower mean fiber diameter than the neat PAN nanofibers. Besides, the difference in nanoclay-content has a slight effect on the distribution of fibers diameter. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results suggest that introduction of clay-nanomaterials improves the thermal characteristics of fibers.     

The effect of irrigation rates and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on fiber characteristics of Gossypium hirsutum L. cotton

This article reports the estimated relationships between fiber properties of the Acala 4–42 cultivar and N- and P-fertilizers and irrigation. Increasing water rates in the range of 4200–7200 m³/ha weakened the tensile strength of the fibers and increased their fineness; the regression of maturity, length and uniformity ratio was curvilinear: positive on initial rates and negative on those exceeding 5800 m³/ha. N-fertilizer favorably affected all fiber properties determined: fineness and upper quartile length throughout the rate range tested but strength, mean length and uniformity ratio only up to 250–500 kg ammonium sulfate per ha. The most favorable effect of P-fertilizer was in considerably increasing the length uniformity ratio; it also increased length and fineness but suppressed the maturity index.     

The effect of a silage additive and level of concentrate supplementation on silage intake, animal performance and carcass characteristics of finishing beef cattle

An experiment was carried out to examine silage fermentation, effluent production and aerobic stability in unwilted grass silage, which was either ensiled without additive or with a commercially available blend of ammonium hexamethanoate, ammonium hexapropionate and octanoic acid (6 l t^?1, Maxgrass, BP Chemicals Ltd., Northwich, UK) and to determine alternative approaches to obtaining the same performance in finishing beef cattle. Seventy‐two Limousin × Friesian and Charolais × Friesian steers (mean initial live weight 424 kg s.d. 28·3) were blocked into groups of nine according to live weight and previous performance and offered silage, either with or without the additive, and supplemented with 0, 1·5, 3·0 or 4·5 kg d^?1 of a concentrate with a crude protein content of 150 g kg^?1 DM or allocated to a pre‐experimental slaughter group to enable calculation of daily carcass gain. Daily silage intakes were recorded for 112 days. At the end of the experiment, all cattle were slaughtered and daily carcass gain, omental, mesenteric, perinephric and retroperitoneal fat depots [kidney‐knob and channel fat (KKCF)], fatness, conformation, subcutaneous fat depth over M. longissimus dorsi muscle and carcass fat, protein and bone contents were assessed. Across all levels of supplementation, cattle offered the silage with the additive showed significantly (P < 0·001) higher daily DM intakes than those offered the silage without additive. Cattle offered the silage with the additive but unsupplemented had significantly (P < 0·001) higher daily carcass gains than those offered the silage without additive and unsupplemented. The response in carcass gain was 76 and 35 g kg^?1 additional concentrate for the silages with and without the additive respectively.     

Numerical simulation of fiber strands on condensing effect of suction slot in compact spinning with lattice apron

Compact spinning technology is through the airflow force to get fiber strands to be compacted in the condensing zone. In this paper, it makes a deeper study on the morphological changes and movement process of fiber strands in the flow field of condensing zone. Based on the airflow data in the condensing zone, the geometrical model of single fiber is built, and then the trajectory of single fiber can be got. The difference of trajectory and compact effect of fiber strands is also analyzed in the condensing zone of straight, oblique and deformed suction slots.     

The effect of an acid salt-type additive on the fermentation of grass silages made in bunker silos on commercial dairy farms in Wales

The fermentation characteristics and chemical composition of 57 first-cut and 30 second-cut samples of grass silages, made in bunker silos on commercial dairy farms in Wales in 1990, and treated with a nominal 61 t⁻¹ of an acid salt-type additive at ensilage, is described. Typical chemical composition of grass cut for ensilage was 156 g kg⁻¹ dry matter (DM) and 28 g kg⁻¹ water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), with 181 g (kg DM) ⁻¹ crude protein (CP) and 232 g (kg DM) ⁻¹ modified acid detergent fibre (MADF). The effect of additive use was to produce silages with DM 230 g kg⁻¹ pH 3·93, ammonia N 70 g kg⁻¹ total N, with residual WSC 35 g (kg DM) ⁻¹, lactic acid 83 g (kg DM) ⁻¹, total acids 118 g (kg DM) ⁻¹ and butyric acid 0·7 g (kg DM) ⁻¹. No significant differences were found between first- and second-cut silages. Silage fermentation was restricted (i.e. lactic acid less than 60 g kg DM⁻¹) in only 20% of the samples.
It is suggested that on commercial farms the application rate achieved may be insufficient to produce a restricted fermentation.     

The formation and UV-blocking property of flower-like ZnO nanorod on electrospun natural cotton cellulose nanofibers

We report a simple and effective route to fabricate branched hierarchical flower-like nanostructures of ZnO on natural cotton cellulose fiber by combining electrospinning and the low-temperature hydrothermal growth technique. First, natural cotton cellulose nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning cotton cellulose /LiCl/DMAc solution. The electrospun cotton cellulose nanofibers served as flexible substrate, on which the branched, highly uniform, and dense flower-like ZnO were hydrothermally grown. The as-prepared cotton cellulose/ZnO nanocomposite fibers were characterized by SEM, HRTEM, EDS, TG, and UV-vis spectrophotometry. The modified cotton cellulose nanocomposite fibers were not only exhibiting dispersed uniformly, but also rendered excellent protection against UV radiation because of the incorporation of flower-like ZnO nanostructures. Therefore, the as-prepared nanocomposite fibers demonstrate a significant performance in ultraviolet protection and provide a potential application for ultraviolet detection.     

Effect of reinforcement and chemical treatment of fiber on The Properties of jute-coir fiber reinforced hybrid polypropylene composites

Present research investigates the mechanical properties of jute-coir fiber reinforced hybrid polypropylene (PP) composite with fiber loading variation and observes the effect of chemical treatment of fiber on property enhancement of the composites. Composites were manufactured using hot press machine at four levels of fiber loading (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%). Fiber ratio’s were varied (jute:coir=1:1, 3:1 and 1:3) for 20 % fiber loaded composites. Both jute and coir fiber was treated using 5 % and 10 % NaOH solutions. Composites were also prepared using treated fiber with jute-coir fiber ratio of 3:1. Tensile, flexural, impact and hardness tests and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis were conducted for characterization of the composites. Tensile test of composite showed a decreasing trend of tensile strength and increasing trend of the Young’s modulus with increase in fiber loading. During flexural, impact and hardness tests, the flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength and hardness values were found to be increased with increase in fiber loading. All these properties enhanced with the enhancement of jute content except impact strength. 5 % NaOH treatment provided an improving trend of properties whereas, 10 % NaOH treatment showed the reverse one. The FTIR analysis of the composites indicated decrease of hemicelluloses and lignin content with alkali treatment.     

The influence of water jet pressure settings on the structure and absorbency of spunlace nonwoven

Nowadays, the use of nonwovens as absorbent products is increasing. One of the most important methods for the nonwoven production is spunlace. This research evaluates the effect of spunlace nonwoven structures in wicking, water retention, water vapor permeability and porosity structural parameter of nonwoven. Carded webs from polyester fibers and viscous fibers of four different basis weights (35, 40, 45, and 50 g/m²) were hydroentangled using three different water jet pressures (50, 60, and 70 bar). To study the effect of these variables on the structure of nonwovens and absorbency related properties, sample’s characteristics such as thickness and mass density were measured. An electrical resistance technique was used to study the liquid penetration into nonwovens. The results showed that with increasing water jet pressure, mass density increased and other parameters like thickness, water retention, water vapor permeability and capillary pore size decreased. Also, it was observed with increasing basis weight, the sample thickness increased. On the other hand, with increasing weight, the amount of water retention, water vapor permeability and porosity structural parameter of nonwoven were reduced. The wicking characteristic of nonwovens using the least jet pressure and weight was the best of all the samples.     

Improvement of dietary fiber,ferulic acid and calcium contents in pan bread enriched with nejayote food additive from white maize (Zea mays)

Nejayote is the wastewater from the alkaline-cooking of maize and its solids are rich in dietary fiber (45.3%), calcium (5.7%) and ferulic acid (219 mg/100 g). Nejayote solids were used to develop a food additive (NS) consisting of 80% nejayote solids and 20% gluten. NS was incorporated at 3, 6 or 9%, in wheat flour to increase the dietary fiber, calcium, phenolics and antioxidant capacity of breads. The addition of 9% NS did not affect overall baking performance and bread quality but increased dietary fiber up to 54% in composite breads. Moreover, enriched breads contained about 745 times more free ferulic acid and increased approximately 70% their antioxidant capacity. Two slices of bread (64 g) supplemented with 9% of NS provided 29% of the recommended calcium intake. Thus, the NS could be used as a value-added food-ingredient for the preparation of composite bakery-products with improved dietary fiber, calcium, nutraceuticals and antioxidant properties.     

Effect of solvent and blended polymer on electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS/polymer blended nanofibers

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) (or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)) blended electrospun nanofibers were prepared in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethylene glycol (EG). The effects of added solvents (DMSO and EG) and blended polymers (PEO and PVA) on electrical conductivity and current-voltage (I-V) response were investigated. Electrical conductivity was dependent on both the additional solvent and blended polymers. PEDOT:PSS/PEO blended nanofibers showed a much higher electrical conductivity than PEDOT:PSS/PVA. EG blended PEDOT:PSS/PEO blended nanofibers showed much higher electrical conductivity than DMSO. The PEDOT:PSS/PEO/EG blended nanofibers web showed the highest value in I-V response.     

The effect of levamisole on sheep trachea alone and with trichlorfon combination

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of levamisole and levamisole-trichlorfon combination on isolated sheep trachea. Contraction was achieved with levamisole concentrations (10(-8)-10(-3) M) on tracheal strips of adult sheep (> 1 year of age). Pretreatment with trichlorfon (10(-7) M)-levamisole (10(-7) M) decreased the pD2 and E(max) of Ach when compared to levamisole pretreatment (p < or = 0.01). Pretreatment with levamisole (10(-7) M), decreased the E(max) (p < or = 0.01) and pD2 (p < 0.05) of bethanechol concentrations (10(-8)-10(-3) M) significantly. Pretreatment with atropine (10(-6) M) decreased the E(max) of levamisole (10(-4) M) significantly (p < 0.05). To conclude, levamisole acted mainly on the muscarinic receptors of the sheep trachea and this effect was partly inhibited by atropine. Adverse interaction was present between levamisole and trichlorfon.     

不同种植模式对棉花产量及纤维品质的影响

为探索适合黄河流域的棉花种植模式,设常规种植模式（4.5万株·hm^－2、常规整枝）和轻简化种植模式（9.0万株·hm^－2、简化整枝）2种种植模式,以20份品种（系）为试验材料,研究棉花在不同种植模式下的产量及纤维品质的差异。结果表明：种植模式对棉花株高、单株果枝数、衣分、铃重、单株结铃数、单位面积铃数、籽棉产量和纤维上半部平均长度、马克隆值和长度整齐度指数有极显著或显著影响。常规种植模式可以提高棉花的籽棉产量,轻简化种植模式下棉纤维马克隆值较好。     

The hypolipidemic effect of Citrullus colocynthis on patients with hyperlipidemia

Citrullus colocynthis is one of the medical herbs that traditionally have been used as an antidiabetic medication in tropical and subtropical countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the hypolipidemic effect of Citrullus colocynthis beyond the hypoglycemic impact on human. One hundred dislipidemic patients were randomly divided into two groups namely treated (n = 50) group and placebo (n = 50) group. The subjects were treated daily by powdered seeds of Citrullus colocynthis (300 mg) and placebo for 6 weeks. The serums, TG, Chol, LDL-C, HDL-C, SGOT and SGPT were measured with enzymatic methods at the beginning and the end of the project. The significance of differences within these groups was calculated by Paired T-test and by analysis of covariance between them. There were significant differences within and between treated and placebo groups during our treatment in TG and in Cholesterol after intervention (p < 0.05). A daily intake of 300 mg day(-1) of powdered seeds of Citrullus colocynthis can lower the triglyceride and cholesterol concentration significantly in nondiabetic hyperlipidemic patients.     

The antimicrobial characteristic study of acrylic fiber treated with metal salts and direct dyes

Acrylic fabric was treated with direct dyes in combination with copper and zinc sulfates as mordanting agents and then tested for their antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The metal salts used were also studied for their likely effects on the antimicrobial property of fabrics dyed with C.I. Direct Yellow 12, C.I. Direct Red 23, C.I. Direct Red 31, and C.I. Direct Black 38. Untreated (control) acrylic fabric exhibited no antibacterial behavior whilst dyed and mordanted fabrics revealed considerable antimicrobial properties. It was found that the fabric treated with C.I. Direct Yellow 12 and copper sulfate as mordant achieved the highest antimicrobial activity with good washing fastness. Finally, FT-IR analysis, light, and washing fastnesses of the treated samples were evaluated.     

The mechanical properties of polyurethane foam wound dressing hybridized with alginate hydrogel and jute fiber

The purpose of this study is to fabricate a smart wound dressing by hybridizing hydrophilic polyurethane foam (PUF) and alginate hydrogel. Hydrophilic PUF is used to maintain damaged tissue in a moist environment. Despite its many strong points as a wound dressing, hydrophilic PUF cannot be loaded with ingredients such as growth factors and cytokines that would enhance wound healing. Therefore, we introduce a pH-sensitive alginate hydrogel with the ability to selectively release drugs within the pH range of wounded skin. Due to the small pore size of PUF and the high viscosity of the alginate solution, the two are not easily penetrable. As such, a vacuum method is used to insert alginate hydrogel into the PUF. The optimum conditions for the vacuum method chosen are to be proposed. However, the mechanical strength of PUF decreased after containing alginate hydrogel. Therefore, Na-alginate powder for PUF, various types of crosslinking agents and jute fiber for alginate hydrogel were introduced to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogel/PUF hybrid wound dressing. Three different types of crosslinking agents are used for the gel formation. The most suitable crosslinking agent and its concentration for alginate hydrogel is also determined by the experiments. The experimental results are discussed with proper schemes and reasonable explanations.