Nature Inspires Estrus Synchronization in Murciano-Granadina Goats under Extremely Hot Climate

Despite the seasonal nature of reproduction in goats, creating a capacity that enables getting goats pregnant throughout the year is of economical importance in commercial settings. The objective was to compare natural and artificial (hormonal) methods of estrus synchronization on pregnancy rate of Murciano-Granadina goats under extremely hot climate of southern Iran. To synchronize estrus, experimental goats received one of three treatments. The first group (n = 123) was treated with CIDR (intravaginal progesterone release) on day-0 and which was later removed on day-19 plus eCG injection followed by introduction to bucks on day-21. The second group (n = 157) was treated with CIDR on day-0 and with eCG injection on day-17, then CIDR removed on day-19 followed by introduction to bucks on day-21. The third group (n = 257) did not receive any hormonal treatments and were only synchronized naturally via introduction to bucks (natural mating). Findings revealed that natural synchronization (male effect) resulted in significantly greater pregnancy rates compared to the second group (69 vs. 53%, P < 0.05). The first group tended to have greater pregnancy than did the first group (63 vs. 53%, P < 0.10). Improved reproductive performance of dairy goats under hot stressful climate signifies the economical importance and practicality of natural mating as an effective method of estrus synchronization in commercial goat production

Preparation of Lithium Ion Conductor Glass-Ceramic with High Conductivity for Producing Lithium-Air and all-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this research, new lithium ion conductor glass-ceramics with NASICON-type structure (Li1+x+yAlxCryGe2-x-y (PO4)3, x+y=0.5) were synthesized using melt-quenching method and converted to glass-ceramics through heat treatment. Influence of addition of different concentrations of aluminum and chromium in LiGe2(PO4)3 glass-ceramic was investigated for ionic conduction improvement. Substitution of Ge4+ ions in NASICON structure by Al3+ and Cr3+ ions induced more Li+ ions in A2 vacant sites to obtain charge balance and also changed the unit cell parameters. These two factors led to ionic conductivity improvement of synthesized glass-ceramics. The glass-ceramics were characterized and the amorth structures were investigated by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Complex Impedance Spectroscopy (CIS). The highest lithium ion conductivity of 8.82×10-3 S/cm was obtained for x=0.4 and y=0.1 (Li1.5Al0.4Cr0.1Ge1.5(PO4)3) crystallized at 850 oC for 8 h with minimum activation energy of 0.267 eV. &nbsp

PROPER TENSILE TESTING OF UNIDIRECTIONAL COMPOSITES

Tensile tests are a basic characterization method for composite materials, but the specimens often do not fail properly. Obtaining reliable results in tensile testing requires avoiding stress concentrations near the grips. The material near the tabbed section is under longitudinal, transverse and shear stress concentrations, which leads to underestimated results and conservative design. This study therefore examines different geometries to find the best testing method that yields the maximum failure strain. The experimental results show that the novel arrow shape end tabs and continuous tab specimens allow reaching the highest failure strain value

Modelling the damage evolution in unidirectional hybrid laminates

Although composite materials are durable, strong and light, their brittleness limits their use in several industrial applications. The lack of ductility of composites can be overcome by hybridisation where low strain materials (LSM) are sandwiched between two layers of high strain materials (HSM). Hybridisation tends to improve composite properties by acting either on the overall mechanical properties or on the damage propagation mechanisms leading to failure. UD hybrid composites have complex failure mechanisms including multiple interacting damage modes, such as ply fragmentation and interface delamination. The damage mechanisms in UD hybrid composites varies with the thickness ratio of LSM/HSM. To study the behaviour of UD hybrid composites in different load and boundary conditions, a numerical model is required. The aim of this study is to simulate the damage evolution in unidirectional hybrid carbon/glass and carbon/carbon composites subjected to tensile loading by finite element models

Phase equilibrium modeling of structure H clathrate hydrates of methane + water "insoluble" hydrocarbon promoter using group contribution-support vector machine technique

In this work, the group contribution (GC) method is coupled with the least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM) mathematical algorithm to develop a model for representation/prediction of the dissociation conditions of structure H (sH) clathrate hydrates of methane with 21 hydrocarbon promoters namely as water "insoluble" promoters. Almost all of available literature data are studied to present a reliable model validated by the following statistical parameters: absolute average relative deviations (AARD) of the represented/predicted dissociation pressures from the reported experimental values: about 1.6%, and squared correlation coefficient: 0.99. © 2011 American Chemical Society.Ali Eslamimanesh, Farhad Gharagheizi, Amir H. Mohammadi, Dominique Richon, Mohammad Illbeigi, Alireza Fazlali, Amir Ahmad Forghani, and Mohammad Yazdizade

IS THE STANDARD FOR TENSILE TESTING OF UNIDIRECTIONAL COMPOSITES OPTIMAL?

Tensile tests allow for preliminary mechanical characterisation of composite materials, but the standard recommended specimens (ASTM and ISO) often fail improperly near the grip leading to underestimation of the tensile strength and conservative component design. Reliable results in tensile testing can be obtained by avoiding or reducing stress concentrations near the grips. To this aim, the present study exploits FE analysis to assess potential end tabs designs and find an optimal specimen configuration that yields the maximum failure strain. The optimal design results, with circle-shape end tabs, are compared with the experimental tests and numerical models of ASTM standard test specimen and two promising approaches in the literature, namely, continuous tab and butterfly specimens

Energy Optimization via Process Modification To Maximize Economic Feasibility of the Butane Gas-Splitting Process

Gas splitting is an energy-intensive process that is widely used in the chemical industry. Consequently, the cost effectiveness of this process can be maximized through energy optimization. This study focuses on the energy optimization of the commercial mixed butane gas-splitting technique via process modification. Because the previous process is impeded by the instability of the n-butane content in the feedstock, it consumes excessive energy and results in a product that is inferior in purity. Therefore, we initially simulated the previously used process model and then modified this process to achieve the target purity of the product and minimize energy consumption. The energy optimization model was designed in accordance with the standards of the commercial-grade product. After achieving energy optimization, we conducted economic analyses for the two modified processes by considering their capital and operating costs. Each modified process exhibited an approximate reduction of 19.67-21.85% in its energy consumption; however, only one of the two modified processes managed to enhance the product yield (by 1.00%). The net present value of the previous process model was 126.98 M$, whereas those of the modified processes were calculated to be 134.71 and 133.78 M$