Kazakh dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz, Tk) is a rubber-producing plant currently being investigated as a source of natural rubber for industrial applications. Like many other isoprenoids, rubber is a downstream product of the mevalonate pathway. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) enzyme catalyzes the conversion of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA to mevalonic acid, a key regulat...

The concept of a ‘‘bound rubber’’ phase extending over nanometre-scale distances from the interface of rubber-particle nanocomposites is generally accepted. However, the thickness and elastic properties of this interphase have not been confirmed by direct experimental observation. Here, we demonstrate the existence of bound rubber in hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR)–carbon black com...

Welding is a major industrial process used for joining metals. Occupational exposure to welding fumes is a serious occupational health problem all over the world. The degree of risk to welder's health from fumes depends on composition, concentration, and the length of exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate workers' welding fume exposure levels in some industries in Jeddah, Saudi Ara...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the opinions and attitudes of dentists toward the use of rubber dam during various restorative procedures in their dental practices. A structured questionnaire was designed, and distributed to 300 dentists and those that were fully completed were collected for analysis. The collected informations about the opinions and attitudes of dentists toward the...

Consecutive extraction of latex and natural rubber from the roots of rubber-bearing plants such as Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS), Scorzonera tau-saghyz (STS), and Scorzonera Uzbekistanica (SU) were carried out. Latex extraction was carried via two methods: Blender method and Flow method. The results of latex extraction were compared. Cultivated rubber-bearing plants contained slightly higher latex...

To improve the blast resistance of a wall system, it is necessary to enhance its energy absorption capabilities and/or increase its mass. Much research has been performed on improving the ductility, and thus the resistance, of a wall system using elastic materials externally attached to the tension side of a wall. This project investigated the static resistance of wall systems with elastic mate...

The Virtual Factory is a job shop scheduling tool that was developed at NC State. It has been found to provide nearoptimal solutions to industrial-sized problems in seconds. Recently, the Virtual Factory was expanded to include interfactory transportation operations which enabled the detailed scheduling of entire multi-factory manufacturing supply chains. Separately, a rolling horizon procedure...

In this paper, the effect of reclaimed rubber modification on the rheological characteristics of asphalt binders is studied. Reclaimed rubber with the extent of 12, 16 and 20 is added to the neat asphalt binder and then shear complex modulus is obtained for neat and modified asphalt binder via Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) test. Using Christensen-Anderson- Marasteanu (CAM) model, master curves ...

This study investigates basin-scale hydrologic implications of the replacement of forest-dominated land cover by rubber plantations in Montane Mainland Southeast Asia. The paper presents a new method for estimating the water demand of rubber and consequently water losses to the atmosphere through rubber evapotranspiration (ET). In this paper we argue that rubber ET is energy-limited during the ...