The effect of cellulase treatment on hydrolysis of linen

In this paper, the effect of cellulase treatment was evaluated by means of phenol-sulphuric acid method. This method was performed by determining sugar liberation in the treatment bath with the amount expressed in glucose equivalent. As compared with conventional method, the measurement of amount of sugar liberated gave a more reliable and accurate result than the weight loss method. It was found that although the weight loss of cellulose became negligible when the treatment was done under agitation-free condition, the amount of sugar liberated was still readily measurable.     

Using artificial neural network to predict colour properties of laser-treated 100% cotton fabric

In this paper, artificial neural network (ANN) model was used for predicting colour properties of 100 % cotton fabrics, including colour yield (in terms of K/S value) and CIE L, a, and b values, under the influence of laser engraving process with various combination of laser processing parameters. Variables examined in the ANN model included fibre composition, fabric density (warp and weft direction), mass of fabric, fabric thickness and linear density of yarn (warp and weft direction). The ANN model was compared with a linear regression model where the ANN model produced superior results in prediction of colour properties of laser engraved 100 % cotton fabrics. The relative importance of the examined factors influencing colour properties was also investigated. The analysis revealed that laser processing parameters played an important role in affecting the colour properties of the treated 100 % cotton fabrics.     

Disease development and genotypic diversity of Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae in Swedish oat fields

The disease development and population structure of Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae, which causes stem rust on oats, were studied to investigate if sexual reproduction plays an important role in the epidemiology of the disease. The genetic population structure of P. graminis f. sp. avenae in Sweden was investigated by sampling 10 oat fields in July and August 2008 and seven fields during the same period in 2009. Nine single‐pustule isolates were first used to test simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers developed for P. graminis f. sp. tritici. Eleven of the 68 tested SSR markers were useful for genotyping P. graminis f. sp. avenae. For the main study, DNA from single uredinia was extracted and the SSR markers were used to genotype 472 samples. Both allelic and genotypic diversity were high in all fields, indicating that P. graminis f. sp. avenae undergoes regular sexual reproduction in Sweden. No significant relationship between genetic and geographic distances was found. Disease development was studied on two farms during 2008 and 2009. The apparent infection rates ranged between 0·17 and 0·55, indicating the potential for rapid disease development within fields. The incidence of oat stem rust has increased recently in Sweden. One possible explanation is a resurgence of its alternate host, barberry (Berberis spp.), after the repeal of the barberry eradication law in 1994. Barberry is present in several grain‐producing areas in Sweden, which supports the conclusion that P. graminis f. sp. avenae undergoes regular sexual reproduction there.     

Development of diapiric structures in the upper mantle due to phase transitions

Solid-state phase transitions in time-dependent mantle convection can induce diapiric flows in the upper mantle. When a deep mantle plume rises toward phase boundaries in the upper mantle, the changes in the local thermal buoyancy, local heat capacity, and latent heat associated with the phase change at a depth of 670 kilometers tend to pinch off the plume head from the feeding stem and form a diapir. This mechanism may explain episodic hot spot volcanism. The nature of the multiple phase boundaries at the boundary between the upper and lower mantle may control the fate of deep mantle plumes, allowing hot plumes to go through and retarding the tepid ones.     

Objective measurement of hand properties of plasma pre-treated cotton fabrics subjected to flame-retardant finishing catalyzed by zinc oxide

In the present paper, flame resistance property is imparted to cotton fabrics by N-methylol dimethylphos-phonopropionamide (Pyrovatex CP New, FR), melamine resin (Knittex CHN, CL), phosphoric acid catalyst (PA), and ZnO/nano-ZnO co-catalyst. The study shows that effectiveness of the FR-CL-PA reaction to form a crosslinked structure is enhanced by the co-catalytic reaction, resulting in enhancement of fabric’s compressional recovering ability. However, the low pH reaction weakened the fabrics, resulting in poor tensile strength and toughness, stiffer hand feel, brittle and tendered polymer layers, a less spongy fabric structure, and a roughened fabric surface with fuzzy fibrils. In addition, atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) was used to enhance materials properties by sputtering or etching effect. The roughening effect of plasma treatment enhances tensile properties of treated specimens. Nevertheless, the positive effect is negligible after post-treatment with flame-retardant agents. Moreover, the increased inter-yarn friction enhances the subjective stiffness of fabric and the rigid effect is even worse for plasma pre-treated cotton specimens subjected to flame-retardant treatment. However, plasma pre-treated specimens have a compressible structure after post-treatment with flame-retardant agents. Moreover, neutralization of flame-retardant-treated specimens helps minimize side effects of acidic finishing, irrespective of tensile and compression properties. The process also minimizes shear and bending rigid effect by removing unattached metal oxides from the fabrics.     

Aggressiveness of Phytophthora infestans on detached potato leaflets in four Nordic countries

Potato fields in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were sampled for single-lesion isolates of Phytophthora infestans . The aggressiveness of the isolates was determined on detached leaflets of potato cvs Bintje (susceptible) and Matilda (moderately resistant). The aggressiveness tests were carried out in the respective home countries of the isolates, with the exception of the Danish isolates. Fifteen Danish isolates were studied in each of the other three countries, including five isolates tested in all three laboratories. Results obtained from the Danish isolates revealed substantial differences between the test laboratories for infection efficiency, lesion growth rate and sporulation capacity on detached leaflets. When the laboratory effect was taken into account, the differences in aggressiveness between the countries were generally small or inconsistent between the test cultivars and epidemiologically insignificant. By contrast, variation among isolates within countries was substantial. The magnitude of the variation depended on country and cultivar. Maximal variation for the means of the isolates was between 89 and 185 h for latent period, between 100 and 1297 sporangia mm⁻² for sporulation capacity and between nearly zero and 6 mm day⁻¹ for lesion growth rate. Typically less than 1% of sporangia were able to cause infections, except in Norway. These extraordinarily low values may be an artefact of the testing method. High variation in results between the test laboratories emphasizes the need for caution when comparing results obtained by different research groups.     

The effect of the pretreatment print paste contents on colour yield of an ink-jet printed cotton fabric

Optimum condition concerning the content of pretreatment print paste and steaming time for ink-jet printing was newly developed through the orthogonal analysis. The cotton fabric treated under the newly developed optimum condition could achieve a high level of colour yield similar to that of the commercially pretreated cotton fabric available in the market for ink-jet printing. The results were discussed thoroughly in this paper.     

Greater aggressiveness in the 2_A1 lineage of Phytophthora infestans may partially explain its rapid displacement of the US-1 lineage in east Africa

The displacement in east Africa of the US-1 clonal lineage of Phytophthora infestans by 2_A1 clonal lineage has been very rapid. This study tested the hypothesis that dominance of 2_A1 could be due, at least in part, to the increased aggressiveness of 2_A1 over US-1, using both a detached leaf assay (DLA) and a tuber slice assay. The assays were conducted in Uganda and Kenya but US-1 was only assayed in Uganda, because isolates could not be moved across borders and no potato US-1 isolates were available in Kenya. All isolates were collected from potato and compared on two potato cultivars (Kachpot-1 and Sarpo Mira), with the 2_A1 isolates also tested on tomato cultivar Rio Grande. Additionally, a tuber slice assay was done to test whether the capacity to infect tubers differed between 2_A1 and US-1. The aggressiveness of the isolates in the DLA varied significantly both within and among isolates classified according to clonal lineage and for type of host. The 2_A1 isolates were significantly more aggressive than US-1 isolates on both potato varieties evaluated. There were no significant effects of clonal lineage or potato cultivar used in the tuber assay. No significant correlation between foliar and tuber pathogenicity was observed. The 2_A1 isolates were significantly more aggressive on potato than on tomato. An effect of location was also observed in the DLA, on both hosts. It can be concluded from this study that greater pathogenicity of 2_A1 is at least partly attributable to its increased aggressiveness on potato.     

The relationship of leaf wetness duration and disease progress of glume blotch,caused byStagonospora nodorum,in winter wheat to standard weather data

Almost 50% of the variation in leaf wetness duration can be explained by maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and hours with relative humidity above 90% on a daily basis. All of these parameters can be estimated from a standard weather station. If variables related to wind are added the level of explanation increases to 69–76%. Leaf wetness duration explained up to 42% of the rate of disease increase (RDI) forS. nodorum. Leaf wetness duration was accumulated over a 5-day window period and correlated with rate of disease increase after a 7-day lag period. Standard weather variables could explain 20–34% of the disease increase. The relevance of these statistical models to disease prediction is discussed.