Search

Background: Pseudogenes are sequences that have lost the ability to transcribe RNA molecules or encode truncated but possibly functional proteins. While they were once considered to be meaningless remnants of evolution, recent researches have shown that pseudogenes play important roles in various biological processes. However, the studies of pseudogenes in the silkworm, an important model organism, are limited and have focused on single or only a few specific genes. Objective: To fill these gaps, we present a systematic genome-wide studies of pseudogenes in the silkworm. Methods: We identified the pseudogenes in the silkworm using the silkworm genome assemblies, transcriptome, protein sequences from silkworm and its related species. Then we used transcriptome datasets from 832 RNA-seq analyses to construct spatio-temporal expression profiles for these pseudogenes. Additionally, we identified tissue-specifically expressed and differentially expressed pseudogenes to further understand their characteristics. Finally, the functional roles of pseudogenes as lncRNAs were systematically analyzed. Results: We identified a total of 4410 pseudogenes, which were grouped into 4 groups, including duplications (DUPs), unitary pseudogenes (Unitary), processed pseudogenes (retropseudogenes, RETs), and fragments (FRAGs). The most of pseudogenes in the domestic silkworm were generated before the divergence of wild and domestic silkworm, however, the domestication may also involve in the accumulation of pseudogenes. These pseudogenes were clearly divided into 2 cluster, a highly expressed and a lowly expressed, and the posterior silk gland was the tissue with the most tissue-specific pseudogenes (199), implying these pseudogenes may be involved in the development and function of silkgland. We identified 3299 lncRNAs in these pseudogenes, and the target genes of these lncRNAs in silkworm pseudogenes were enriched in the egg formation and olfactory function. Conclusions: This study replenishes the genome annotations for silkworm, provide valuable insights into the biological roles of pseudogenes. It will also contribute to our understanding of the complex gene regulatory networks in the silkworm and will potentially have implications for other organisms as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textile yarns are subjected to numerous types of forces during knitting, usually leading to yarn damages, such as decrease in tensile, bending, shearing, and surface properties, which are closely related to different yarn properties, knitted structures/actions, and machine settings. This article comprehensively evaluated yarn damages in the computerized flat knitting process. Five different commercially available and commonly used yarns including cotton, wool, polyester, acrylic, and viscose were selected as raw materials, and the tensile, bending, shear, and frictional properties were investigated and compared before knitting and after being unraveled from plain- and rib-knitted fabrics, respectively. The results show that knitting actions/structures exhibit different damage extents for all different raw materials. It has been observed that the modulus is declined by 3–30% for bending, 2–10% for tensile, and 8–80% for shearing due to flat knitting action, respectively. The frictional coefficient of yarns also increased from 6 to 23%. As compared to yarn before knitting, the yarns unroved from plain and rib structures have been damaged to a great extent as a result of the loss of mechanical properties. The results are completely in agreement with the statistical analysis that clearly represents the significant loss in yarn properties during the knitting process. The microscopic analysis of the yarns clearly illustrates the effect of knitting action on yarn surface and mechanical properties. For yarn’s cross-sectional shearing properties testing, this article self-designed an innovative “Yarn Shear Testing Device.” The methodology and results are of great importance for improving the quality of knitted products, evaluating knitting yarns’ knittability, and in the development of high-performance technical textiles.

We present a collection of hands-on experiments that collectively teach precollege students fundamental concepts of polymer synthesis and characterization. These interactive experiments are performed annually as part of an all-day outreach event for high school students that can inform the development of ongoing polymer education efforts in a university setting. The Advanced Polymer Synthesis experiment aims to introduce broad concepts of polymer synthesis. Techniques such as ring-opening polymerization are explained and demonstrated. The Block Polymer Micellization experiment extends this idea to block polymers for drug delivery applications. Students are taught the idea of self-assembly and prepare micelles to encapsulate ß-carotene in water with flash nanoprecipitation. In terms of materials characterization, the vast physical properties space of polymers is explored. The Happy-Sad Spheres experiment provides an interactive demonstration of the glass transition temperature, while the Polymer Swelling/Rheology experiment features the interesting properties of cross-linked and entangled polymers. Evaluation surveys showed positive feedback from students in learning polymer concepts through this program. Overall, the simple principles taught by these outreach experiments can be easily incorporated into modern laboratory curricula with broad implications for disseminating public knowledge and promoting continued interest in polymer science and engineering.

Textile composites with excellent properties such as higher specific strength, high modulus and high temperature resistance have wide application prospect in the fields of military, aerospace and automobile. In this review, the recent study on impact resistance of nanomodified textile composites is summarized and the latest characterization methods of textile composites interface are introduced. In addition, the importance of interfacial properties on impact resistance of textile composites is emphasized. Finally, the prospect on impact resistance of nanomodified textile composites is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further improve the sound absorption performance of woven spacer fabric reinforced polyurethane foam composites, bamboo powder with different mass fractions was added into spacer fabric reinforced polyurethane foam to test the sound absorption performance. The effects of cavity thickness, perforation rate and their combination on the sound absorption performance of the composite were studied. The results show that the sound absorption performance is the best when 0.5% bamboo powder is added into the composite; The larger the cavity thickness is, the more the sound absorption peak moves to the low frequency direction, and the narrower the sound absorption frequency band is; The larger the perforation rate is, the larger the peak value of sound absorption is. The peak value of sound absorption moves to the high frequency direction as a whole with the increase of perforation rate, and the sound absorption frequency band becomes wider and wider; The sound absorption effect of the combination of perforation and cavity can combine the advantages of both. The larger the perforation rate, the smaller the cavity required to reach the absorption peak, and the larger the cavity thickness, the smaller the perforation rate required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Industria Textila is the property of Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Textile si Pielarie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyzes the error between the theoretical calculated and actual values of single inserting yarn strain of multi-axial warp-knitted fabric under the uniaxial stretching process, and the "open M-shaped curved surface" of error was obtained theoretically. The analysis results show that the error increases with the increase of fabric elongation. The error is smaller in the small deformation range (fabric maximum elongation is 5%) and larger in the large deformation range. In addition, the error is also related to the angle between the single inserting yarn axis and the uniaxial tensile direction. The error varies periodically with the angle (θ), reaching its maximum when it is close to 90 °. In order to realize the correction of the existing theoretical calculated formula of single inserting yarn strain, the error formula was fitted by combining the laws of errors. The correction of the single inserting yarn strain was successfully achieved by the fitted error formula. The correction equation can correct the inserting yarn at any angle in the fabric strain range of 0–50%. The correction equation has a larger range of use and more accurate results than the theoretical calculated formula for inserting yarn. Finally, the validation was carried out with bias inserting yarn at ± 30 ° , ± 45 ° , ± 60 ° and ± 75 ° angles and the results were very good. Therefore, the corrected equation can replace the actual value of bias inserting yarn strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internal friction properties of the aramid woven fabrics modified by carboxylated cellulose nanofibers (CNF-C) were studied, in order to better investigate the effect of CNF-C on the internal friction properties of the aramid woven fabrics, the yarn pull-out force of the modified aramid fabrics were tested by single yarn pull-out test. The chemical structure and surface morphology of the aramid fibers were characterized by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the strong hydrogen bond between CNF-C and aramid fiber and the dipole–dipole interaction between the polar groups of the fiber (such as –NH, –C = O) and hydroxyl groups are the bond mechanism. Compared with the untreated fabrics, the yarn pull-out force and fiber surface roughness of the CNF-C modified aramid fabrics are significantly improved. When the impregnation time is 0.5 h and the CNF-C concentration is 1 wt%, the yarn pull-out force reaches the maximum of 13.3 N, which is increased by 133.3% compared with the untreated aramid fabrics. The internal friction properties of the aramid woven fabrics are obviously increased by modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to know the shearing shrinkage properties of multilayered biaxial weft knitted (MBWK) fabrics, the change rule of forming angle, the number of fibers at different forming height and shearing shrinkage were studied, respectively. Through the experiment of MBWK fabrics draping on cylinder and cube, the results show that the number of fibers increases with the increase of forming height, and the fiber volume content reaches the maximum when the forming height reaches the maximum. Besides, the shearing shrinkage is positively correlated with forming height and negatively correlated with the cylinder diameter and the cross-section length of the cube. The obtained formula of shearing shrinkage can be used to evaluate the formability of fabrics as the theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textile yarns are subjected to numerous types of forces during knitting, usually leading to yarn damages, such as decrease in tensile, bending, shearing, and surface properties, which are closely related to different yarn properties, knitted structures/actions, and machine settings. This article comprehensively evaluated yarn damages in the computerized flat knitting process. Five different commercially available and commonly used yarns including cotton, wool, polyester, acrylic, and viscose were selected as raw materials, and the tensile, bending, shear, and frictional properties were investigated and compared before knitting and after being unraveled from plain- and rib-knitted fabrics, respectively. The results show that knitting actions/structures exhibit different damage extents for all different raw materials. It has been observed that the modulus is declined by 3–30% for bending, 2–10% for tensile, and 8–80% for shearing due to flat knitting action, respectively. The frictional coefficient of yarns also increased from 6 to 23%. As compared to yarn before knitting, the yarns unroved from plain and rib structures have been damaged to a great extent as a result of the loss of mechanical properties. The results are completely in agreement with the statistical analysis that clearly represents the significant loss in yarn properties during the knitting process. The microscopic analysis of the yarns clearly illustrates the effect of knitting action on yarn surface and mechanical properties. For yarn's cross-sectional shearing properties testing, this article self-designed an innovative "Yarn Shear Testing Device." The methodology and results are of great importance for improving the quality of knitted products, evaluating knitting yarns' knittability, and in the development of high-performance technical textiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on first-order expansion of Taylor's series, the uniaxial tensile model of tri-axial knitted (TWK) fabrics is built. In addition, tensile modulus of TWK fabrics along any stretching direction is presented at small strain states. Under the premise of small strain, the calculated elastic modulus of tri-axial knitted fabrics can be got by two steps. Firstly, when the tri-axial knitted fabric is subjected to a uniaxial stretch, the relationship between the tensile strains of fabrics (ε) and inserting yarns (εi) are established. Secondly, the forces (Fis) exerting on a single inserting yarn can be identified. Easily, the elastic modulus of tri-axial knitted fabrics that own different included angles of bias inserting yarns can be calculated along any stretching direction. In addition, the theoretical model is justified by the tested results of tri-axial knitted fabrics, which shows a good agreement between theoretical results and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]