Given the increasing awareness of indoor air quality (IAQ) and the direct correlation to human health, passive removal materials (PRM) have become known as a potential strategy for reducing occupant exposure to indoor air pollutants (Lu 2013). In recent studies, untreated natural wool fiber has been recognized as a PRM for removing formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. These are common volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from sources, such as building materials, fixtures, furnishings and cleaning supplies (Darling et al. 2012). Test chamber studies have shown that wool fiber can irreversibly remove up to 67% of these VOC’s in an interior environment (Curling et al 2012). When the toxins come in physical contact with the fiber, a chemical reaction occurs due to the amino-acid side chains within the keratin molecule. Increase in air-tight buildings has recently become a concern with the rising popularity of sustainable building practices, causing occupant exposure to these indoor air pollutants to rise (Weschler 2009). Beyond known adverse health effects, such as eye irritation and respiratory issues, formaldehyde has been designated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a human carcinogen and is the leading cause for Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) (World Health Organization 2010). The interior cortex of a wool fiber is hydrophilic – highly water absorbent, and can absorb 1/3 its weight in moisture. Wool fiber has a unique wicking property that allows the fiber to absorb water vapor from the air in a regulating sense; absorbing when there is an excess moisture level and releasing the gained moisture when the surrounding atmosphere is less humid. This provides passive humidity regulation in an indoor environment, stabilizing the comfort level of 20-50% relative humidity (RH) without requiring higher air-conditioning or ventilation rates (Bingelli 2010). Wool also has excellent properties for optimizing indoor acoustics, as it absorbs acoustic energy via the friction of air being moved through the tiny spaces between fibers and reduces traveling noise and reverberation (Bingelli 2010). In an untreated, natural roving state the density of wool is ideal for acoustic control in conversational speech situations where 70dB or lower is present, such as meeting rooms, lobbies and restaurants. With the consideration of these properties, wool has the capability to improve the indoor environment quality (IEQ) and the health of occupants through the absorption of indoor air pollutants, humidity regulation and acoustic control. As Australia and the USA are among the top 3 wool producing countries, I will be working specifically with locally sourced wool from New South Wales and Texas as a basis for a sustainable IEQ intervention installation model that may be applied to future projects. The wool was obtained from local, small-scale fiber farms that implement hand processing in an effort to reduce toxins, in addition to lowering the manufacturing energy and transportation emission requirements. The local supply chain model provides increased environmental, social, economic and human health benefits to the design. Individual installations based on the vernacular wool fiber atrributes and interior climate needs will greatly increase the overall spatial environment, while also serving as an aesthetically pleasing piece of art. / text

Two groups of 5 and two groups of 9 Romanov breed hogs in each were performed at Pranas Gaidamavičius breeding herd at 90 days of age. All hogs were fed by the growing scheme what was used at the herd; probiotics were mixed into the four age for the test hogs: 2 kg/t of probiotics YEASTURE and MICROBOND. Wool production was evaluated, clipped wool weight, at age of 5 month. The results showed, that probiotics MICROBOND and YEASTURE activates the growth speed of hogs. The most growth of performance was with hogs fed with YEASTURE probiotics. During the test period, overweight of hogs from the test group was 14,29 percent higher than from analogues of the control group (p>0,05). Probiotics MICROBOND increased growth performance too. Overweight of hogs from the test group was 12,59 percent higher than from analogues of the control group (p<0,05). Wool production tests shows, that during test period, the average of wool overweight of the test group, fed with probiotics MICROBOND, was 0,5 percent higher than from analogues of the control group. And the same tests with the test group, fed with probiotics YEASTURE, shows that the average of wool overweight of the test group was 10 percent higher than from analogues of the control group. During the test period usage of probiotics YEASTURE and MICROBOND didn‘t had negative influence on hog‘s physiological rules and wellness. The usage of probiotics in hog’s nutrition is purposeful and effective hogs, which were fed with probiotics... [to full text]

The dissertation investigates the influence of macrostructure and other physical properties on mineral wool compressive parameters. The subject of the research is rigid mineral wool products. In the dissertation is described developed a more accurate methodology for the identification of the macrostructure of mineral wool in accordance with the directionality of fibre arrangement, which allows determine and predict the compressive strength through macrostructure and other parameters. Analyzed the strength parameters (compression stress at 10% deformation and point load at 5 mm deformation) of mineral wool products with different structures in laboratory and real operation conditions. / Disertacijoje nagrinėjama makrostruktūros ir kitų fizinių savybių įtaka mineralinės vatos gaminių gniuždymo rodikliams modeliuotomis ir eksploatacijos sąlygomis. Tyrimo objektas – standūs mineralinės vatos gaminiai naudojami įvairių atitvarinių konstrukcijų termoizoliaciniams sluoksniams. Disertacijoje aprašytas sukurtas tikslesnis mineralinės vatos makrostruktūros identifikavimo pagal plaušų išsidėstymo kryptingumą metodas, padėsiantis makrostruktūros rodikliais ir kitais parametrais prognozuoti gniuždymo stiprį. Ištirti skirtingos struktūros mineralinės vatos gaminių gniuždymo rodikliai (gniuždymo įtempis, esant 10 % deformacijai, ir sutelktoji apkrova, esant 5 mm deformacijai) laboratorinėmis ir realiomis eksploatacijos sąlygomis.

Biofiltraciniai įrenginiai - tai alternatyva standartiniams veikliojo dumblo valymo įrenginiams. Tinkamai įrengus ir naudojant šiuos filtrus galima ženkliai sumažinti eksploatacijos išlaidas bei pasiekti pageidaujamų išvalymo kokybės rezultatų. Biofiltrų efektyvumas labai priklauso nuo naudojamo užpildo tipo, todėl šiame darbe buvo nagrinėjama naujo užpildo nuotekų biofiltracijai tinkamumas. Atlikti tyrimai parodė, kad pasirinkti akmens vatos užpildai yra tinkami naudoti laistomuosiuose filtruose ir juose gali vykti organinių medžiagų šalinimas ir nitrifikacija. Organinių medžiagų šalinimo efektyvumas pagal BDS7 abiejuose filtruose siekė daugiau nei 95 %, o ištekančių nuotekų koncentracija neviršijo 5 mg O2/l. Pirmajame filtre, kuriame buvo naudojama specialiai apdorota akmens vata, skirta augalams auginti, vidutinis nitrifikacijos efektyvumas siekė 62,2 %, antrajame filtre, kuriame buvo naudojama statybinė priešvėjinė akmens vata, skirta pastatams apšiltinti, vidutinis nitrifikacijos efektyvumas buvo 61,6 %. Darbą sudaro šios dalys: įvadas, literatūros analizė, tiriamojo darbo metodika, tyrimų rezultatai, išvados, rekomendacijos, literatūros sąrašas bei priedai. Darbo apimtis – 64 p. teksto be priedų, 17 lent., 25 pav., 46 bibliografiniai šaltiniai. Atskirai pridedami 6 priedai. / Biofilters are an alternative for standard active sludge treatment plants. When used and installed properly, biofilters can significantly reduce operating costs and achieve the desirable cleaning quality results. The effectiveness of biofilters depends on the type of media used, so this paper discuses the suitability of new media for waste water biofiltration. Studies have shown that chosen stone wool media is suitable to use for trickling filters and it may also be used in organic matter removal and nitrification processes. In trickling filters, organic matter removal efficiency by BDS7 was more than 95 %, and wastewater outlet concentration was less than 5 mg O2/l. In the first filter, filled specially with treated stone wool for growing plants, average nitrification efficiency was 62,2 %; while in the second filter, filled with stone wool for buildings thermo isolation, average nitrification efficiency was 61,6 %. Thesis consists of: 64 pages of text without appendixes, 17 tables, 25 pictures, 46 bibliographical entries. Also there are 6 appendixes included.

The increasing cost of effluent treatment in the wool scouring industry is rapidly becoming a determining factor in the viability of existing scouring operations and new installations alike. This thesis details the development of an integrated effluent treatment process capable of treating the worst polluted effluent from a wool scour "heavy flow-down", to the point where it can either be economically discharged to local trade waste sewer, or directly discharged to river or ocean outfall with minimal environmental impact. The existing proprietary chemical flocculation process, Sirolan CF™, was improved by the addition of a bio-flocculation stage and turbidity monitoring and control, and the product from this process fed to an aerobic biological treatment system based upon the traditional activated sludge process. The biological treatment process was found to remove up to 98% of the BOD5 loading from the pre-treated liquor with a hydraulic residence time of at least 50 hours being required in the aerobic digestion vessels. A residual biorefractory COD of approximately 3,600mg/L was identified which could not be removed by biological treatment. When operating continuously, the biological process was observed to metabolically neutralise the pH 3.0 - 4.5 feed from the chemical flocculation system to pH &gt 7.0 without the need for supplemental addition of neutralising agents such as sodium hydroxide. This in itself provides a significant economic incentive for implementation of the process. Kinetic analysis of the biological process carried out under controlled laboratory conditions using a Bioflo 3000 continuous fermentor showed that the bio-chemical process followed substrate inhibition kinetics. An appropriate kinetic model was identified to represent the behaviour of the substrate degradation system, and modified by inclusion of a pseudo toxic concentration to account for the effect of pH inhibition upon the biological growth rate. The process was verified both at pilot plant scale and at demonstration plant scale at an operational wool scour. The demonstration plant was of sufficient size to handle the full heavy effluent flow-down from a small wool scour. At the time of publishing three full-scale effluent treatment systems based on this research had been sold to both domestic and international clients of ADM Group Ltd. who funded the research.

Darbo tikslas: ištirti mišrūnų ėriukų augimo spartą, gaunamos produkcijos kiekį ir kokybę bei šiuos duomenis palyginti su grynaveislių Romanovo veislės ėriukų produktyvumu. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Ištirti grynaveislių Romanovo ir RxBD mišrūnų ėriukų augimo spartą; 2. Palyginti Romanovo ir RxBD mišrūnų ėriukų skerdimo duomenis; 3. Ištirti Romanovo ir RxBD mišrūnų ėriukų mėsos fizines ir chemines savybes; 4. Ištirti ėriavedžių pieno sudėtį; 5. Ištirti Romanovo ir RxBD mišrūnų vilnos fizines ir technines savybes Išvados: 1. Gimusių RxBD mišrūnų veislės ėriukų svoris buvo 2,09 kg arba 151 proc. (P>0,05) didesnis nei grynaveislių R ėriukų. 2. Laikotarpiu nuo 5 iki 8 amžiaus mėn. Romanovo ir Berišon diušer mišrūnai ėriukai priaugo vidutiniškai 5,68 kg, arba 36,41 proc. daugiau (P<0,001) nei grynaveisliai Romanovo ėriukai. 3. Didžiausias svorio skirtumas, tiek tarp avyčių, tiek tarp avinukų yra pastebimas 7 – 8 jų gyvenimo mėnesį. 7 mėnesių amžiaus R veislės avytės svėrė 7,91 kg arba 25,6 proc. mažiau (P<0,01) negu bendraamžės mišrūnės, atitinkamai avinukai svėrė – 10,05 kg arba 31,4 proc. mažiau. 4. Lytis turėjo didesnę įtaką RxBD negu R ėriukams. Aštuonių mėnesių amžiaus R avinukai buvo 7,06 kg arba 20,63 proc. sunkesni už avytes, o RxBD avinukai buvo 11,23 kg arba 26,11 proc. (P<0,05) sunkesni už avytes. 5. Per laikotarpį nuo 6 iki 7 mėnesio amžiaus išryškėjo didžiausias priesvorio per parą skirtumas tarp R ir RxBD ėriukų. Mišrūnai per parą prisaugo 77 g arba 53,5 proc... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The objective of the thesis : to analyse crossbred lamb growth speed, the amount and quality of production gained and to compare this data with the productivity of thoroughbred R lambs. Tasks of the thesis: 1. To analyse growth speed of thoroughbred Romanov and RxBD crossbred lambs. 2. To compare data of thoroughbred Romanov and RxBD crossbred lamb butchery data. 3. To analyse physical and chemical qualities of thoroughbred Romanov and RxBD crossbred lamb meat. 4. To analyse composition of ewe milk. 5. To analyse the physical and technical properties of thoroughbred Romanov and RxBD crossbred lamb wool. In the period 2011- in the farm of A. Krivelis the productivity and production quality of Romanov and Romanov x Berišon Dusher crossbreed lambs was analysed. It has been found that the weight of crossbred lambs is greater. The average weight of born crossbred lambs amounted to 3.47 kg or 2.09 kg or was 151 %. (P>0.05) greater than the average weight of thoroughbred lambs. The weight of lambs on the 21st day after birth is an important indicator since according to it the milk productivity of the ewe can be determined. During this period both Romanov lambs and crossbred lambs gained a similar amount of weight: accordingly 3.78 kg and 3.68 kg, however, as the weight of newborn lambs had differed significantly, the difference on the 21st day after birth amounted to 39 % (P<0.05). Therefore, after 8 months the difference of average weight between RxBD and thoroughbred Romanov... [to full text]

Primary wool follicles are initiated in the skin of sheep foetuses at approximately day 50 of gestation as the result of complex reciprocal molecular interactions between the mesenchyme and overlying epithelium. The lifetime wool production potential and fibre diameter of the Merino sheep is dependent on the total number of follicles initiated in utero. Understanding the molecular events that surround primary wool follicle initiation may provide approaches to enhance or manipulate this process in order to maximise the profitability of wool production enterprises. In order to study the morphological and molecular changes occurring during early wool follicle development, a foetal skin series spanning primary follicle initiation was generated. Foetal skin was sampled from the shoulder, midside and rump of four foetuses at 8 time points between day 43 and day 68 of gestation. Histological characterisation of the shoulder skin samples revealed that primary epidermal placodes emerged at around day 53, dermal condensates were visible from day 57 and downgrowth of the follicle began at day 68. An equation relating age of the foetus (day of gestation post AI) and crown-rump length, specific to Merino foetuses, was developed for use in future studies of this nature. Molecular markers of fibroblast migration, epidermal and dermal stem cells and cell proliferation were selected to test the hypothesis that dermal condensates are initiated at discrete sites beneath the epidermis as a result of a combination of migration and arrangement of multipotent pre-papilla cells. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of RAC1 and RHOa (migration markers), β1-integrin and alkaline phosphatase (stem cell markers), proliferative nuclear cell antigen and cyclinB1 (proliferation markers), patched-1, selected tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signalling molecules and eleven reference genes was conducted using midside and rump skin samples from each of four foetuses from the 8 time points. geNorm analysis of the reference and target genes revealed that the migration markers RAC1 and RHOa along with GAPDH were the most stably expressed genes in this sample series. Significant changes in mRNA expression were detected for β1-integrin, alkaline phosphatase, patched-1 and the TNF members EDA, EDAR, TROY and TRAF6. Many of these significant differences in expression coincided with key morphological events. Significant differences in expression were also detected between the midside and rump samples for numerous transcripts. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was implemented for analysis of the target transcripts within particular structures of foetal sheep skin. Frozen tissue sectioning, staining, LCM, RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were optimised for qRT-PCR analysis of endogenous controls and selected TNF transcripts. Several RNA extraction methods and reverse transcription approaches were trialled to ensure optimum extraction and reverse transcription efficiency for this tissue type. Exogenous mRNA transcripts were also incorporated prior to RNA extraction and reverse transcription to track reaction efficiency between samples. A comparison of different slide types revealed that laser pressure catapulting from membrane slides was an absolute requirement for foetal skin tissue studies. Follicle regions (including the epidermal placode and dermal condensate) and the adjacent non-follicle regions were laser captured from foetal skin, and the mRNA expression levels of patched-1 and selected TNF members was compared. Preliminary qRT-PCR analysis using this technique revealed that EDAR, TROY and PTCH1 mRNA levels were higher in the follicle regions than the non-follicle regions. The TNF signalling pathway appears to play an important role in primary wool follicle initiation and patterning at different sites on the body. Spatial differences in expression of some of these regulators may be involved in initiating different types of follicles. The molecular events surrounding primary wool follicle initiation also show a high degree of conservation between sheep, humans, and mice. Considering the high degree of DNA sequence conservation as well as the histological, signalling and cycling similarities between sheep and humans, sheep may represent a better model for the study of human hair follicle initiation and disease than the currently used mice and rat models. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1523639 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2010

The Sino-Australian wool trade relationship is the most significant in the international wool industry. China accounts for 65 per cent of Australia’s wool exports and Australian wool around 70 per cent of China’s imports. At the same time, it has also been one of the most contentious areas of Sino- Australian trade. There have been frequent disputes, protracted trade negotiations and numerous problems unsettling the smooth flow of product from Australian woolgrowers to Chinese wool textile mills. Despite a number of investigations and several bilateral and multilateral initiatives to improve trade protocols, in particular associated with China’s accession in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, many of these longstanding problems remain unresolved. A range of different methods are employed by China-located early-stage wool processors (ESWPs) to obtain their raw wool requirements. This research applies transaction cost analysis to examine the extent to which different raw material purchasing channels have changed (and are changing) over time. The research aims both to elucidate how China-located ESWPs govern the wool procurement transaction and to investigate the interaction of socio-economic (asset specificity, frequency, uncertainty) and transactional cost factors (information, negotiation and monitoring costs) influencing the decision-making of the ESWPs. This research is unique in that it has been conducted by a wool industry “insider” who speaks Mandarin and who has applied the Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) from the perspective of the Chinese management of the ESWP firm in order to identify possible improvements. Transaction Cost Analysis seeks to analyse the “make or buy decision” or in this case the degrees of backwards vertical integration into the Australian wool marketing system by China’s ESWPs. The “make or buy” decision has become a theoretical reality since China’s WTO accession — an institutional change that allows more vertical coordination and the potential for improved fibre selection in Australia’s wool market. Understanding these structures can provide considerable insight into how the Australian wool supply chain (particularly fibre selection and soft attribute differentiation) can be improved to the benefit of stakeholders. This is especially important from the viewpoint of improving the quality of China’s intermediate wool processing — a vital stage where any mistakes in fibre selection cannot be undone and are expensive, often only “discovered” much later at garment or fabric delivery stage. Being a natural fibre destined for the high-end apparel market, quality with consistency is always a challenge for wool, “the fibre”, in the modern textile landscape. The research finds that although the conditions exist for vertical coordination, a hierarchy structure has v only been employed by foreign processors that had pre-existent raw material infrastructure in Australia. Most Australian wool imports still enter China through intermediaries without sufficient completeness of the contract, mainly owing to the uniquely “Chinese” method of price and quality risk management. Two large privately owned Chinese processors have vertically integrated for some of their raw material needs but also use intermediaries to avoid over dependency. The fact that China has still not completely fulfilled WTO entry requirements, specifically in regards to Tariff Rate Quota administration, also contributes to state intermediary participation and sovereign risk issues that periodically destabilise Australian wool markets. Institutional reforms have had little impact on wool quality, and significant improvements in terms of outcomes for both processors and woolgrowers would only be possible by further integration of Chinese processors into Australia’s wool marketing system.

The application of anaerobic digestion (AD) as a sustainable waste management technology is growing worldwide, due to high energy prices as well as increasingly strict environmental regulations. The growth of the AD industry necessitates exploring new substrates for their utilisation in AD processes. The present work investigates the AD of two recalcitrant biomass: lignocelluloses and keratin-rich residues. The complex nature of these waste streams limits their biological degradation; therefore, suitable pre-processing is required prior to the AD process.In the first part of the study, the effects of organic solvent pre-treatments on bioconversion of lignocelluloses (straw and forest residues) to biogas were evaluated. Pre-treatment with N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) resulted in minor changes in the composition of the substrates, while their digestibility significantly increased. Furthermore, due to the high cost of the NNMO, the effect of pre-treatment with the recycled solvent was also explored. Since it was found that the presence of small traces of NMMO in the system after the treatment has inhibitory effects on AD, pre-treatments of forest residues using other organic solvents, i.e. acetic acid, ethanol, and methanol, were investigated too. Although pre-treatments with acetic acid and ethanol led to the highest methane yields, the techno-economical evaluation of the process showed that pre-treatment with methanol was the most viable economically, primarily due to the lower cost of methanol, compared to that of the other solvents.In the second part of the work, wool textile wastes were subjected to biogas production. Wool is mainly composed of keratin, an extremely strong and resistible structural protein. Thermal, enzymatic and combined treatments were, therefore, performed to enhance the methane yield. The soluble protein content of the pre-treated samples showed that combined thermal and enzymatic treatments had significantly positive effects on wool degradation, resulting in the highest methane yields, i.e. 10–20-fold higher methane production, compared to that obtained from the untreated samples.In the last part of this thesis work, dry digestion of wheat straw and wool textile waste, as well as their co-digestion were studied. The total solid (TS) contents applied in the digesters were between 6–30% during the investigations. The volumetric methane productivity was significantly enhanced when the TS was increased from 6 to 13–21%. This can be a beneficial factor when considering the economic feasibility of large-scale dry AD processes.

Lesotho’s current production of raw wool is sold to global markets through South African wool merchants. Lesotho does not have any wool processing facilities and as such, the wool from Lesotho gets processed in South Africa or sold to international markets like China where it is processed. Since 2012, the government of Lesotho has publicly showed interest in developing a wool scouring plant that would process locally produced wool instead of selling it in its raw unprocessed form to international markets. The understanding by the Lesotho government was underpinned by perceived economic benefits that could be realised by the country and the wool industry of Lesotho, if the wool scouring plant was developed. The wool industry is important to the economy of Lesotho and as such, wool production in Lesotho contributes to the living standards in the rural areas as their lives are highly depended on the production of wool. A vibrant wool industry in Lesotho therefore has the potential to contribute to the growth of the economy, the manufacturing sector, employment at both the herder and the manufacturing levels, and the export sector. Wool scouring or wool washing is the early stage processing of greasy wool. The purpose of wool scouring is to extract grease, dirt, unpleasant smell and other foreign matter from the greasy wool. Raw wool fibers contain fat, suint (sheep sweat salts), plant material and minerals. It is therefore necessary to remove these from wool by scouring with a combination of detergents, wetting agents and emulsifiers before further processing. Wool can lose up to 30% of its original weight during this process. The Lesotho government feels that there is a need to develop a wool scouring plant in Lesotho because Lesotho does not benefit from the South African wool scouring processes and anything that happens post that process. Given that no viability studies had been conducted in Lesotho to motivate the government’s interest in developing a wool scouring plant, this study was conducted with the aim to investigate the benefits of developing a wool scouring plant in Lesotho. The research design employed in this study was a mixed method, which is a combination of positivism (quantitative) and interpretivism (qualitative) data collection and analysis in parallel form. In terms of the qualitative component of the study, structured interviews were conducted, governed by in-depth interview guidelines developed by the researcher. A questionnaire was used for the qualitative component of the study. Among some of its findings and recommendations the study recommends that there is insufficient wool produced in Lesotho to support a local wool scouring plant, the government of Lesotho should rather focus their effort on the improvement of the wool production value chain to assist farmers. The study finds no grounds for the justification of the development of a local scouring plant in Lesotho and recommends that for such propositions to be made publicly, at least proper groundwork should be undertaken to investigate the technical feasibility of developing the scouring plant.