Investigation of mechanical properties of basalt woven fabrics by theoretical and image analysis methods

This paper explains a study conducted to evaluate mechanical properties of woven structures of basalt. The mechanical properties like shear strength and tensile strength were studied. Tensile properties of basalt hybrid and non-hybrid fabrics are predicted by computational tool and verified with experimental data. The shear strength was investigated by using picture frame fixture. The tests were recorded by a CCD monochrome camera during displacement of specimen at various positions. The images were used for image analysis program developed in MATLAB. The results of image analysis were compared with the actual experimental results. The results illustrate that the mechanical properties of fabrics experience a marked improvement when hybridization of basalt with polyester and polypropylene in different sets of weaves takes place. These findings are important requirements for using such fabrics for high-tech applications and composite forming.     

Basalt nanoparticle reinforced hybrid woven composites: Mechanical and thermo-mechanical performance

Nanoparticles are gaining wider importance and increasing utility in many areas of engineering and technology. This investigative work is conducted to study the effect of incorporating basalt nano particles in composites with basalt/basalt and basalt/jute woven structures as reinforcement. The nanoparticles were developed from basalt, they were characterized and used for reinforcing composites of basalt and jute hybrid fabrics. The mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of hybrid woven basalt reinforced epoxy composites were evaluated. Microscopic examination was carried out in order to analyze the internal structure and fractured surfaces. Interfacial characteristics, material morphology and failure was studied by use of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and optical microscopy. Thermal stability was characterized by TGA. The results elaborated that the incorporation of basalt nanoparticles exhibited superior properties compared to the pure epoxy resin impregnated basalt fabric reinforced composites in terms of mechanical and thermal stability.     

Coccidiosis in preruminating calves the effect of management and short-term treatment on the spread of infection and reinfection

In farms with large numbers of individually-housed calves, the spread of coccidia is slow. In group pens, however, all the calves became infected within 3-4 weeks of being housed together. At the beginning of group housing no oocysts were found in the faeces of any of the calves. Sulphadimidine (SDM) was administered for 3 or 12 days at different doses and different times. Administration of the drug on Days 3-5 of group housing had no effect. Given between Days 11 and 13 or 17-19, the drug lowered (for a short period) the number of animals found to be excreting oocysts. SDM given between Days 6 and 17 kept the animals oocyst-free during that period. Within 2-3 weeks after the treatment all animals were excreting oocysts.     

Breeding for value in a changing world: past achievements and future prospects

Large-scale tree improvement programs began in the 1950s. Tree improvement is now part of operational silviculture programs in many companies and countries around the world and tree breeding programs have produced very impressive results: (1) realized gains in plantations being established today of some 40–50 % in volume yield above unimproved material for many programs; (2) increased efficiencies in all aspects of breeding, selection, testing and deployment; and (3) a shortening of the generation interval by a factor of two from approximately 30 years in the first generation to less than 15 years today for pine programs. What about the future? What should tree breeders be thinking, planning and doing to ensure that results 60 years from now are even more impressive than those from the previous 60 years? Tree breeders today live in a rapidly changing world faced with: increasing demands for food, energy and water; globalization leading to an interconnectedness of markets and rapid spread of exotic organisms; climate change and its implications for genetic deployment; burgeoning technology in robotics, communications and molecular tools; shifting ownership patterns of forest land; and the real possibility of completely new forest products and markets in the future. Three ideas for “Breeding for Value in a Changing World” are: (1) adopt a robust philosophy that aims to ensure maximum value produced per ha even in a future world that will be quite different; (2) embrace technology at every phase in the tree improvement process; and (3) encourage interdisciplinary teams of scientists to solve complex problems that require expertise ranging from molecular to landscape scales.     

Photoproduction of proton gradients with pi-stacked fluorophore scaffolds in lipid bilayers

Rigid p-octiphenyl rods were used to create helical tetrameric pi-stacks of blue, red-fluorescent naphthalene diimides that can span lipid bilayer membranes. In lipid vesicles containing quinone as electron acceptors and surrounded by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as hole acceptors, transmembrane proton gradients arose through quinone reduction upon excitation with visible light. Quantitative ultrafast and relatively long-lived charge separation was confirmed as the origin of photosynthetic activity by femtosecond fluorescence and transient absorption spectroscopy. Supramolecular self-organization was essential in that photoactivity was lost upon rod shortening (from p-octiphenyl to biphenyl) and chromophore expansion (from naphthalene diimide to perylene diimide). Ligand intercalation transformed the photoactive scaffolds into ion channels.