Wetting-Drying Resistance of a Lime Stabilized Soil Amended with Steel Slag and Reinforced with Fibres

The investigation dealt with the stabilization of expansive soil with combinations of lime, steel slag and reinforced with two types of fibres, copper filaments and polypropylene fibres. The investigation began with the characterization of the soil for its geotechnical properties. The initial consumption of lime required for the modification of the soil properties was determined from the Eades and Grim pH test. Cylindrical specimens of soil with dimensions 38 mm x 76 mm were cast using this lime content as a stabilizer along with varying quantities of steel slag for determination of optimum steel slag content. The pure lime stabilized soil as well as lime-steel slag modified soil specimens were reinforced with different proportions of copper filaments for determination of optimum fibre content. One dosage of polypropylene fibres was also adopted as reinforcement in specimen preparation. The optimal combinations identified were then subjected to a maximum of three cycles of wetting and drying followed by determination of unconfined compression strength (UCS). The expansive soil required a minimum of 3% lime for its modification. The optimum dosage of steel slag was identified as 5% and optimum copper filament content as 1%. Polypropylene content of 0.3% was also adopted as one combination. The results of the investigation revealed that lime stabilized fibre-reinforced soil with copper filaments was the most durable combination followed by polypropylene fibres. The introduction of steel slag in the mix could not generate enough beneficial durability to the soil after three cycles of wetting and drying.

Research of Silver-Plated Filament Embedded Woven Fabric’s Wearing Properties

In this paper, silver plating filament woven fabrics as the main research object. To design the content of silver yarn and fabric structure, and try to weave 18 set of samples With the different organizations and different silver filament content. To find out the preliminary conclusions, we will make the test and analysis about fabric air permeability, moisture permeability and hygroscopicity of the performance and fabric style. Finally got the conclusion: the change of silver fibers content in fabrics had a little effects on fabric properties because of it’s softness.

Development of Flame Retardant and Antistatic Fabric

Polysulfonamide Aramid 1313 blended siro-spun yarns and silver-coated filament are used to weave flame retardant and antistatic fabrics. The effect of fabric weave and silver-coated filament content on flame retardant property and antistatic property was discussed. Two-factor analysis of variance shows that fabric weave and filament content have little effect on fabric flame retardant property, while they affect fabric antistatic property considerably. Fitting curve of antistatic property and filament content relationship was also established.

Control of activated sludge bulking by operating clarifiers in a series

A full scale experiment with an activated sludge process in a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant showed that the operation of two settling tanks in series, with the first tank full of sludge, resulted in selection of sludge particles which had a lower than average filament content for retention in the process. Series operation of the two clarifiers was very successful in controlling sludge bulking. The functioning of the settling tanks as selectors of sludge particles which settle and thicken well has not been considered to any great extent. Two laboratory-scale activated sludge plants fed with an artificial wastewater were operated to explore this selection function further. The SVI values were measured and assessed. At the start of operation, the SVI was about 60–80 ml/g in both of the parallel and the series plants. After eight days of the operation, the SVI started to increase rapidly in the parallel plant, and in twenty days of operation, the averaged values of SVI were 163 ml/g and 116 ml/g for the parallel and the series plants, respectively. On day 38, MLSS from two aeration tanks were interchanged. In a few days after that interchange, the SVI values in the parallel, which was originally in the series mode, rapidly increased from 130 ml/g to more than 350 ml/g(SV30 = 930 ml/g). This experiment clearly supports the hypothesis of a microorganism selection function of the settling tank and also corresponds to the results obtained from the field study.

Actin filament content in platelets—A sensitive index of cellular reactivity

Blood platelets have the capacity to participate in a number of physiological as well as pathological processes within the circulation. In order to evaluate their cellular reactivity a number of platelet function tests have been developed. The main in vitro function tests are assessment of aggregation and adhesion, secretion, arachidonate metabolism, coagulant activities and the characterization of surface membrane glycoproteins (Day and Rao, 1986). Here we measure alterations of the G-/F-actin equilibrium of platelets. High F-actin values of unstimulated platelets indicate a hyperreactivity of the cell as examined in platelets from diabetics. Determination of the actin filament content in platelets can be considered as a new sensitive function test.

The actin filament content of hair cells of the bird cochlea is nearly constant even though the length, width, and number of stereocilia vary depending on the hair cell location.

By direct counts off scanning electron micrographs, we determined the number of stereocilia per hair cell of the chicken cochlea as a function of the position of the hair cell on the cochlea. Micrographs of thin cross sections of stereociliary bundles located at known positions on the cochlea were enlarged and the total number of actin filaments per stereocilium was counted and recorded. By comparing the counts of filament number with measurements of actin filament bundle width of the same stereocilium, we were able to relate actin filament bundle width to filament number with an error margin (r2) of 16%. Combining this data with data already published or in the process of publication from our laboratory on the length and width of stereocilia, we were able to calculate the total length of actin filaments present in stereociliary bundles of hair cells located at a variety of positions on the cochlea. We found that stereociliary bundles of hair cells contain 80,000-98,000 micron of actin filament, i.e., the concentration of actin is constant in all hair cells with a range of values that is less than our error in measurement and/or biological variation, the greatest variation being in relating the diameters of the stereocilia to filament number. We also calculated the membrane surface needed to cover the stereocilia of hair cells located throughout the cochlea. The values (172-192 micron 2) are also constant. The implications of our observation that the total amount of actin is constant even though the length, width, and number of stereocilia per hair cell vary are discussed.

Actin filament content and organization in unstimulated platelets.

The extent of actin polymerization in unstimulated, discoid platelets was measured by DNase I inhibition assay in Triton X-100 lysates of platelets washed at 37 degrees C by gel filtration, or in Triton X-100 lysates of platelets washed at ambient temperatures by centrifugation in the presence of prostacyclin. About 40% of the actin in the discoid platelets obtained by either method existed as filaments. These filaments could be visualized by electron microscopy of thin sections. Similar results were obtained when the actin filament content of discoid platelets was measured by sedimentation of filaments from Triton X-100 lysates at high g forces (145,000 g for 45 min). However, few of these filaments sedimented at the lower g forces often used to isolate networks of actin filaments from cell extracts. These results indicate that actin filaments in discoid cells are not highly crosslinked. Platelets isolated by centrifugation in the absence of prostacyclin were not discoid, but were instead irregular with one or more pseudopodia. These platelets also contained approximately 40-50% of their actin in a filamentous form; many of these filaments sedimented at low g forces, however, indicating that they were organized into networks. The discoid shape of these centrifuged platelets could be restored by incubating them for 1-3 h at 37 degrees C, which resulted in the reversal of filament organization. High g forces were then required for the sedimentation of the actin. Approximately 80-90% of the actin in platelets washed at 4 degrees C was filamentous; this high actin filament content could be attributed to actin polymerization during the preparation of the platelets at low temperatures. These studies show that platelet activation involves mechanisms for the structural reorganization of existing filaments, in addition to those previously described for mediating actin polymerization.