478 research outputs found
Numerical Solution of Nonlinear Fractional Volterra Integro-Differential Equations via Bernoulli Polynomials
This paper presents a computational approach for solving a class of nonlinear Volterra integro-differential equations of fractional order which is based on the Bernoulli polynomials approximation. Our method consists of reducing the main problems to the solution of algebraic equations systems by expanding the required approximate solutions as the linear combination of the Bernoulli polynomials. Several examples are given and the numerical results are shown to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method
Performance, immunity, serum biochemical and hematological parameters in broiler chicks fed dietary thyme as alternative for an antibiotic growth promoter
A research study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of thyme powder as an antibiotic growth promoter substitution on performance, immune responses, hematological and biochemical parameters in broiler chicks. In this study, 192 day old chicks (Ross 308) were allocated to four treatments with four replicates based on a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments included control, antibiotic (flavophospholipol), and 5 and 10 g/kg thyme powder. Supplementing the diet with antibiotic and 5 g/kg thyme resulted in a significant increase in body weight (P<0.05). Feed intake of broilers was not markedly influenced by treatments but birds fed diets containing antibiotic had the lowest FCR (P<0.05). None of the immune related parameters tested differed significantly among experimental treatments (P>0.05). Thyme powder at 10 g/kg level significantly (P<0.05) increased HDL-cholesterol concentration but protein, albumin, triglyceride, total and LDL cholesterol concentrations were not influenced. Treatments also failed to induce any statistical impacts on hematological parameters of broilers including red and white blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit values. The obtained results suggest that supplementing broilers’ diet with 5 g/kg thyme can indicate favorable influences of antibiotic growth promoter on performance without any detrimental impacts on immune responses and blood parameters.Key words: Broiler, thyme, growth performance, immunity, serum biochemistry, hematology
Investigation of the relationship between grain yield and quantitative traits in Tritipyrum; a new salt tolerant amphiploid; in comparison with Triticale and Iranian wheat by factor analysis
Analysis of genetic variation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 loci in Malaysian native chickens
The genetic diversity of 100 Malaysian native chickens was investigated using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for two candidate genes: inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS) and natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1). The two genes were selected because of their important role in chicken’s immune system. INOS and NRAMP1 PCR products were digested by AluI and SacI restriction enzymes, respectively. The restriction digests produced fragment sizes of 322 and 173 bp for INOS and 722 and 79 bp for NRAMP1 as one allele and an undigested PCR product as the other allele. Both loci were polymorph, however only INOS gene showed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Average heterozygosity and the Shannon information index (I) was 0.43 and 0.62 for INOS and 0.48 and 0.68 for NRAMP1 genes, respectively. The observed polymorphism in this study shows the ability of these candidate genes in marker assisted selection and introgression programs to increase resistance to diseases in both Malaysian native and commercial chickens.Key words: Malaysian native chickens, polymorphism, inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS), natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1)
Study of effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza (Glomus intraradices) fungus on wheat under nickel stress
ArticleIn many regions of the world soils are contaminated with heavy metals and therefore
restricted in their use. For instance, the absorption of nickel (Ni) in the tissue
of plants increase
the plant’s metabolism and cause physiological disorders or even death. Arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi are known to enhance the tolerance of host plants to abiotic and biotic stress. Thus, we
investigated the potential of the arbuscular m
ycorrhizal fungi
Glomus intraradices
to mitigate
deleterious effects of Ni in wheat. The experiment was conducted using four levels of Ni (0, 60,
120 and 180
mg
per
kg of soil) and two levels of mycorrhizal fungi application (with and without
Glomus intrar
adices
). Nickel stress significantly decreased seed number per spike, thousand
-
seed
weight, seed yield per plant, concentration of chlorophyll a and b. At the same time, we found
increased catalase (CAT) enzyme activity and dityrosine (DT) treatments.
Mycorrhizal fungi
application attenuated Ni effects, i.e. fungal presence increased seed number per spike, thousand
-
seed weight, chlorophyll a and b. Furthermore mycorrhizal fungi application reduce CAT enzyme
activity and DT. In general, our results sugge
st that mycorrhizal fungi application reduces harmful
effects of Ni stress in wheat
Investigating the probable consequences of super absorbent polymer and mycorrhizal fungi to reduce detrimental effects of lead on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
ArticleIn many parts of the world, agricultural use of soils is restricted due to heavy metal
contamination. Absorption of heavy metals, such as (Pb), in the tissue of plants increases the
plant’s metabolism and causes physiological disorders or even death. In order to study the
potential of super absorbent polymers (SAP) and mycorrhiza fungi application to mitigate adverse
effects of lead (Pb) on wheat, a greenhouse experiment was conducted. The experiment was setup
as a completely randomized design, with two treatments arranged in a factorial scheme with three
levels of lead (0, 100 and 200 mg per kg soil) and four levels of SAP and mycorrhiza fungi
application (without SAP and mycorrhiza fungi application, SAP application alone, mycorrhiza
fungi application alone, SAP and mycorrhiza fungi application combined). The results showed
that Pb significantly affected all parameters measured of wheat. The Pb-contamination caused a
significantly decreasing in plant height, total dry weight per plant and total chlorophyll contents.
And also, the results indicated that the combined use of superabsorbent and mycorrhiza reduced
the amount of superoxide dismutase enzyme. As well as, our results show that the application of
super absorbent polymer and mycorrhizal fungi seems to be a promising path to reduce
detrimental effects of heavy metal pollution of agricultural soils on plant performance.http://dx.doi.org/10.15159/ar.18.00
Effects of base fabric parameters on the electro-mechanical behavior of piezoresistive knitted sensors
Strain sensors embedded into fabric structure are
one of the most interesting research areas for health and
engineering monitoring. In this paper, a textile-based strain
sensor has been developed using an intrinsically conductive
stainless steel-polyester plain knitted fabric. The influence of
fabric structural parameters, such as loop length on electromechanical
properties of sensors was studied under a tensile
fatigue set. Knitted fabric structure deformation during tensile
fatigue was monitored and image processed. Peak fitting of
electric resistant waveforms (ERWs) and tensile fatigue versus
time were performed to analyze the ERWs behavior in detail
wherein the entire elongation of knit strain sensor partitioned
into two distinct phases, such as loop head and loop leg sections.
The results evidenced a discrepancy between loop head and loop
leg elongation rate at the stretching onset and end of relaxing
phase. The ERW with the higher resolution was obtained using
the longest loop length along with the higher extension.This work
was supported in part by FEDER through the COMPETE Program and
in part by national funds through Portuguese Foundation for Science and
Technology (FCT) under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 007136 and Project
UID/CTM/00264. The work of S. D. Tohidi was supported by the FCT
under Grant SFRH/BD/94759/2013. The work of A. Zille was supported by
FCT under Contract IF/00071/2015. The associate editor coordinating the
review of this paper and approving it for publication was Prof. Tarikul Islam.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Single polymer laminate composites by compression molding of knitted textiles and microparticles of polyamide 6: Preparation and structure-properties relationship
Knitted reinforced single polymer laminate composites based on polyamide 6 (KSPCsPA6) were produced bycompression molding of polyamide 6 microparticlesMPs()PA6powder-coating annealed PA6 Rib or Jersey knittedtextile structures. TheMPsPA6were synthesized by solution/precipitation activated anionic ring-opening poly-merization ofε-caprolactam. The tensile properties ofKSPCsPA6were studied in relation to the knitted re-inforcement architecture,fiber volume fraction, ply orientation and stacking orders. The tensile stiffness andstrength of the newly preparedKSPCsPA6withfiber content of 15% showed significant improvements as com-pared to the neat anionic PA6 matrix and to commercial hydrolytic PA6 (HPA6). The mechanical behavior of theKSPCsPA6was correlated with the geometry parameters of the knitted reinforcements, the polymorph content ofthe samples and their crystallinity indexes determined by differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-raydiffraction. The fracture behavior of KSPCsPA6was investigated by electron microscopy complemented by si-mulation studies.All authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the project TSSiPRO-NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000015 funded by the regional operational program NORTE 2020, under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund. This work was partially financed by FEDER funds through the Competitiy Factors Operational Program - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136. SDT thanks FCT for his PhD
Grant SFRH/BD/94759/2013. NVD thanks for the financial support of FCT through the strategic projects LA25/2013-2014 and UID/CTM/50025/2013. Finally, ZZD is thankful to FCT for the SFRH/BSAB/130271/2017 personal research grant
Microstructural-mechanical properties relationship in single polymer laminate composites based on polyamide 6
This paper studies theflexural and the impact properties of polyamide 6-based knitted reinforced single polymercomposites (KSPCs) prepared by compression molding of powder-coated textile structures. To prepare matrixcomponent, polyamide 6 microparticles (MPs) were synthesized by activated anionic ring-opening poly-merization ofε-caprolactam in solution and then used for powder-coating of the knitted structures. The influenceof the reinforcements' architecture, plies orientation, stacking order andfiber content on thefinal mechanicalproperties of KSPCs were investigated. Rib1 × 1 and Jersey knitted structures were selected as reinforcementsand treated by a stretching-annealing procedure to modify their mechanical properties. The anisotropic tensileand compression properties imparted by the knitted structures were found to be the major factors determiningthe impact andflexural behavior of KSPCs. Moreover, reinforcement's crossover points, the plies orientation andthe presence of a transcrystalline layer at the matrix-reinforcement interface were identified as relevant para-meters. The fracture mechanism of KSPCs was linked to the morphology and crystalline structure of the resultingcomposites and investigated by simulation andfinite element analysis of knitted reinforcemenents.This work was partially financed by FEDER funds through the COMPETE program and by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER 007136. SDT thanks FCT for his Ph.D. Grant SFRH/BD/94759/2013. NVD thanks for the financial support of FCT in the frames of the stra tegic project UID/CTM/50025/2013. Finally, ZZD is thankful to FCT for the SFRH/BSAB/130271/2017 personal research grant. All authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the project TSSiPRO-NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000015 funded by the regional operational program
NORTE 2020, under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund
Characterization of reservoir fluids:A predictive model for interfacial and bulk phase equilibrium properties
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