Epidemiological studies of workers in wool textile mills have shown a direct relation between the concentration of wool dust in the air and respiratory symptoms. Injurious effects of wool dust on the bronchial epithelium could be important in causing inflammation and irritation. A pulmonary epithelial cell line in vitro was therefore used to study the toxic effects of wool dust. Cells of the A5...

The effect of melatonin on wool quality and thyroid function was studied. Ten ewes received a melatonin implant (M) on March 2004, and 10 ewes which were not implanted served as control (C). At monthly intervals over 12 months, f ibre length and growth were calculated, and plasma thyroxine (T4) concentrations were measured. Wool samples (~N = 2000 fibres) were collected and fibre diameter, stan...

Wool scouring sludge is the solid waste product of anaerobic treatment of wool scouring effluent. It has a high wool grease content (1316% of the dry weight, 45 -55% of the organic matter), resulting in a low melting point (approx. 45°C). The low melting point, the putty-like physical properties and the odourous. unstable nature of the sludge makes it unsuitable for land application in its raw ...

Clean wool colour (CWC) is an important wool price determinant and has been related to suint characteristics, i.e. sudoriparous and sebaceous gland secretions, such as suint percentage and suint K content. In this work heritability, phenotypic and genetic correlations among wool colour and skin traits were examined. The genetic estimates were assessed by Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) pro...

Keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are structural components of wool and hair fibres, and are believed to play a role in defining the physico-mechanical properties of the wool fibre. In this study, the putative ovine homologue of the human KAP26-1 gene (KRTAP26-1) was sequenced and four variants (named A-D) were identified. The sequences shared some identity with each other and with other KRTAP...

Wool grown by ewes with chronic lupinosis, induced by injections of phomopsins, was compared to that grown by control ewes and by ewes pair-fed to the feed intake of the phomopsin-treated ewes, during and after the period of phomopsin administration. Wool growth was not different between the groups during treatment. Fibre diameter and length of wool grown by the phomopsin-treated ewes were redu...

Blowfly strike and the methods used to combat blowfly strike were recorded on 33 properties in the Rûens area of South Africa during 2003/2004. Data were recorded on Merino and Dohne Merino hoggets (n = 4951) with at least 3 months' wool growth. The following data were captured: presence or absence of strike, site of the strike (body or breech), presence or absence of dermatophilosis as well as...

The Rex rabbit is a typical fur breed. Wool density, hair length, wool fineness, and hide area are the main indices of fur quality. We previously found that the CCNA2 gene plays an important role in hair follicle initiation and development, and it is involved in the distinctive wool density of the Rex rabbit. It is an important candidate gene for wool density selection through marker-assis...

Genetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated for dagginess, breech, wool, and fiber traits from approximately 29,500 progeny born in 2009 and 2010 in New Zealand dual-purpose ram breeding sheep flocks. Dagginess is adherence of fecal matter to the wool, and this study investigates the genetic and phenotypic correlations between dagginess and breech and wool traits. Estimates for heritabilit...

Wool handling is an important rural occupation where workers process 200 or more fleeces daily, separating them into various quality components. Loads and postures they experience carry substantial risk of low back pain (LBP). Although a formal skill training structure exists, interaction with loads and LBP is unknown. We examined whether skill and LBP influenced trunk postures and loads of 60 ...