Abstract: Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation is a major land use practiced in Xishuangbanna of south-western China. Effects of rubber plantation (RP) and tea-rubber intercropping (TRI) systems on soil organic carbon pools were evaluated by recording changes in soil organic carbon in an age sequence of 12-, 20-, 26-, and 40-year old plantations. Labile organic carbon (LOC) increased in ...

Natural rubber is produced by a rubber transferase (a cis-prenyltransferase). Rubber transferase uses allylic pyrophosphate to initiate the rubber molecule and isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) to form the polymer. Rubber biosynthesis also requires a divalent metal cation. Understanding how molecular weight is regulated is important because high molecular weight is required for high quality rubbe...

Rubber biosynthesis takes place on the surface of rubber particles. These particles are surrounded by a monolayer membrane in which the rubber transferase is anchored. In order to gain better insight into whether rubber particles from different plant species share common structural characteristics, the micromorphology of rubber particles from Ficus carica, Ficus benghalensis, and Hevea brasilie...

The biosynthesis of rubber is thought to take place on the surface of rubber particles in laticifers, highly specialized cells that are present in more than 40 plant families. The small rubber particle protein (SRPP) has been supposed to be involved in rubber biosynthesis, and recently five SRPPs (TbSRPP1-5) were identified in the rubber-producing dandelion species Taraxacum brevicorniculatum. ...

In the presented work, sulfur concrete and rubber were used for producing functionally graded materials (FGM). The physical and mechanical properties of sulfur concrete and rubber were changed continuously across the thickness. On one side, there was just rubber and, on the other, there was pure sulfur; the properties of each substance were moved to reach another. This kind of material was cons...

Studies on the properties and applications of rubber cement-based materials are well documented. The sizes of rubbers used in these materials varied. However, information about the effects of rubber size on the properties of rubber cement-based materials, especially pore structure, mechanical strengths, and drying shrinkage properties, remains limited. Three groups of rubber with major particle...

In recent years, various studies have been undertaken on how to use waste materials in civil engineering projects. Among waste materials, waste rubber has been highlighted to be used for different purposes such as reinforcing of soil and making of reinforced slopes. To investigate the properties of granulated rubber-soil mixture and its application in making of slopes behind retaining walls, so...

An elastomer is a polymer with the property of viscoelasticity, generally having notably low Young's modulus and high yield strain compared with other materials.  Elastomers, in particular rubbers, are used in a wide variety of products ranging from rubber hoses, isolation bearings, and shock absorbers to tires. Rubber has good properties and is thermal and electrical resistant. We used carbon ...

With the increased use of condoms, contact dermatitis to rubber is being seen more often. To develop a rubber condom suitable for use by rubber sensitive people, a "hypoallergenic" condom, which is washed in ammonia to reduce the residues of rubber accelerators, has been manufactured. Fifty patients allergic to various rubber accelerators were patch tested with an ordinary condom and the new wa...

A distributed Brillouin fiber sensor has been employed to detect localized pipe-wall buckling in an energy pipe by measuring the longitudinal and hoop strain distributions along the outer surface of the pipe for the first time. The locations of the localized pipe-wall buckling are found and distinguished using their corresponding strain-load data. The formation of the buckling process for the c...